The Quest Resumes...

As of January 1, 2010, I will be back in the game with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I am going to be starting at a different school, Phoenix Martial Arts. The school is further away, but is much more established than the school I had been attending and seems to have much more of an actual curriculum that you can use to chart advancement and such. My physical goals for 2010 are: 1)Run the ING Marathon in March. 2) If I feel that my skills have progressed to the point that would warrant doing so, to enter NAGA Georgia in September. 3) To take my Jiu-Jitsu to the next level and continue to have fun with it.

I have an incredibly supportive wife behind me in all of this. To help me along my way, she got me some great stuff for Christmas: A kettlebell to do some home weight training with; Saulo Ribeiro's JIU-JITSU UNIVERSITY; BJ Penn's Book THE CLOSED GUARD; The Perfect Pushup set.

Strikeforce on CBS picks

Antonio Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum: I will go with Silva on this one

Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: I will pick Mousasi. Have never been a fan of Sokoudjou.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Jake Shields (for vacant Strikeforce middleweight title): A lot of people aren't giving Mayhem much of a chance in this fight. I am going to pick Mayhem to pull this one off by submission.

Fedor Emelianenko vs Brett "The Grim" Rogers: Its hard to bet against Fedor. So I will pick Fedor to win this one.

Lesnar Fears Carwin

I suppose it is possible that "Lesnar has been sick (H1N1?) for the past month and unable to train." But why have we not heard about it until now? I think he is postponing the fight because he knows he is biting off a bit more than he can easily chew with Shane Carwin. Brock is just postponing the inevitable.

UFC 104 Picks

I am going to go ahead and post my UFC 104 picks here. Not planning to watch the show, other than the televised preliminaries, unless I can find a stream, but am going to follow the results.

My picks:

Televised Preliminaries:

Ryan Bader Vs. Eric "Red" Schafer: Should be an interesting matchup: strong wrestler (Bader) vs. BJJ wizard (Schafer). Being a BJJ guy, I am going to be pulling fot Schafer to catch Bader and submit him, but I am picking Bader to win, likely by ground and pound. (The actual fight was incredibly good, with Schafer withstanding onslaught after onslaught, remaining calm and throwing numerous submission attempts. In defeat, Schafer really gained a ton of respect from the fight world. 1-0 in predictions)

Patrick Barry vs. Antoni Hardonk:> Don't know anything about either fighter. At all. Coin toss. Will pick Hardonk to win a decision. (Another great fight. Barry wins by TKO in a slugfest. 1-1 in predictions)

Main Card:

Anthony Johnson vs. Yoshiuki Yoshida: I hear Yoshida is a technical wizard, but Johnson is just a power machine. I will go with Johnson by TKO here. (Johnson wins by devastating knockout in 41 seconds. 2-1 in predictions)

Spencer Fisher vs. Joe Stevenson: I am a big fan of Joe Stevenson. He could use a good solid win. I think he gets it here. Stevenson by submission. (Stevenson by TKO in second round. 3-1 in predictions)

Josh Neer vs. Gleison Tibau: Not hugely familiar with either fighter. Going to go with Tibau by submission here. (Tibau wins a unanimous decision 4-1 in predictions)

Ben Rothwell vs. Cain Velasquez: This should be a slugfest between a couple of big boys. I think this could be fight of the night. I am going to pick Velasquez. (Velasquez pretty much dominated Rothwell winning by TKO. 5-1 in predictions)

Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: Machida seems to be unstoppable. However, I have kind of a funny feeling on this one. Going with an upset and picking Rua to shock the world. (Well, this one went the full 5 rounds. Machida won the decision, but a lot of people, including Dana White, feel Shogun won the fight. 5-2 in predictions)

5-2...not a bad night of predictions.

New Beginnings: I arise from the ashes

I am planning a new beginning in my training and focus on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in January. I will be starting training at Phoenix Martial Arts Academy (hence the title), which is nearby and is an established school with a great reputation. I am waiting until January to start back because between now and the end of the year, I have a very full plate (between work, school, and some planned travel). Between now and then, I am focusing on getting my cardio, functional strength, and mentality where it needs to be to try to take my game to a higher level.

I am spending a lot of time analyzing techniques and strategies on Submissions 101 and Youtube. I have also discovered a website, The Wise Grappler, which is intended for the older grappler. Good stuff.

I am running a 5K in Cumming this coming Saturday, which I am excited about. Supposedly this is intended to be a very fast course. We shall see. I am trying to ramp up my running in preparation for the 1/2 Marathon on Thanksgiving. Good stuff coming.

Update---Hoping to get back on track near-term!

I know it has been a long time since I have posted. I have also not trained much in the same span of time...at least not BJJ...I have been doing a good bit of running and working out at the gym but have not been going to BJJ. This has been for a combination of reasons: 1) I have been extremely busy between school, life, and other stuff. 2) My job situation is a bit shaky right now, so I am trying to save a few bucks in the event I end up jobless. Not a good chance of that, but in this economy you just never know or sure.

More soon, I hope!

UFC 101 Live Coverage

2130- We are watching the pregame for UFC101. BJ Penn has gotten Marv Marinovich as his strength/conditioning coach. No change in my predictions. War Florian!

2135- Forrest Griffin has an incredible attitude going into this fight with Anderson Silva. His attitude is, "Someone is eventually going to beat Anderson. It might as well be me!"

2200-Showtime! The show is on.

Looks like the first fight is going to be Kurt Pellegrino vs. Josh Neer. The first round was a good exchange of grappling. Good stuff. Round two was also pretty good. It ended with Pellegrino taking Neer's back and attempting a rear naked choke.The fight is over. Looks like Pellegrino won. Yes. Pellegrino by unanimous decision. So far I am 0-1 in predictions

Fight #2 Ricardo Almeida by unanimous decision over Kendall Grove. 1-1 in predictions.

Fight #3- Johny Hendricks TKO over Amir Sadollah at 0:29 into the first round. Possible early stoppage, but it is what it is. 1-2 in predictions.

Fight #4- Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson- Fillin fight from the undercard due to Sadollah fight going short. Not familiar with either guy. Took Nelson in a fun bet with Julia. So far Riley seems to be winning after round 1.And this one has gone the distance. Aaron Riley wins by unanimous decision.

Fight #5- Forrest Griffin v. Anderson Silva. Silva knocked out Griffin at 3:23 of the first round. I am now 1-3 in predictions.

Fight #6- Kenny Florian vs. BJ Penn for the Lightweight Title. Fan poll says 70% of fans think Penn retains. I still disagree. We're about to see. BJ seems to have won the first round. Second round is hard to call a winner in. Round three likely goes to BJ. Round four, BJ Penn choked out Kenny Florian with a rear naked choke. I went 1-4 for the night. Oh well.