Jiu jitsu

August 23, 2025

Sharing your art is the price for making it. Exposing your vulnerability is the fee.- Rick Rubin

Despite that I am bedridden and non-ambulatory, I am in good spirits. Why? I have my whole life ahead of me. I WILL get better and I WILL get stronger. With age comes experience and wisdom. I have more clarity to my life.

I think about what I learned this year. Know thyself. Go towards that. Who cares what other people think.

I want to be an artist.

I have had this on and off relationship with art. This past year made me really think about it. I am 40 years old. I am going to die. We all are going to die. I really want to be an artist with the time I have left. What does that mean? I want to express myself. Not for fame, not for monetary gain, just to express myself. I want to put art on my walls that I like. That’s why I want to make art.

Sharing your art is the price for making it. Exposing your vulnerability is the fee.- Rick Rubin

I think about this quote from The Creative Act by Rick Rubin a lot. I always fear this. This is one of those unique things that I cannot get away from. The ridicule or disapproval of my art has always been my biggest fear. Now is the time to face it.

I’ve never had this feeling in Jiu Jitsu or language learning. I’ve never associated those activities with me. It is just a skill that I do. If I am awful at it, it’s not a big deal. But with art or drawing. When ever I share this with an audience, I truly feel like I am bearing my soul. If people dislike it or make fun of it. They are doing that to me. That is the vulnerability of art. Despite, that is the feeling I get. I still want to make art.

How do I learn art?

I’ve been reading and taking notes on James Gurney’s book

I am an art school drop out. I am proud of that label. My favorite artists are art school drop outs; Dave Choe, James Gurney, Joe Bluhm, and many more. I dropped out of art school because they didn’t teach fundamentals. They taught abstract concepts that involved art. Which was good, but I wanted to make strong work. Now I know that fundamentals in drawing was what I need and want to continue to make art. I didn’t know that at the time. So how do I learn fundamentals in 2-d representational drawing? In my amateur opinion, an old school atelier. For example, Watts Atelier in Encinitas, California. They teach representational drawing with busts, casts, figure drawing in several mediums. This is something that I wanted to do for a long time. At the current moment, I do not have the funds or resources to make that move.

The alternative approach is that I teach myself. Which is the harder route. Without a mentor or guide in this journey, I will be struggling for a long time. That’s why I always gave up before. It is really difficult to grow as an artist without a community, a nurturing community. It is possible. I’ll give you one example. I learned jiu jitsu by myself.

I have been doing Jiu Jitsu for over 15 years. I did have teachers in Jiu Jitsu, but I did use agency to supplement my learning. I went to Jiu Jitsu camps, bought dvds, took notes, bought private lessons from instructors. I took my learning into my own hands. I can say that at this point, I am comfortable with my level. Am I unbeatable? No, of course not. Anyone can be beaten. I do have a depth of understanding and a philosophy that I feel strongly about. 10 years ago, I was hungry for knowledge and skill.

I am a brown belt. There is still so much to learn. I will not stop learning, but the hunger to beat people has left me. I suppose that comes with age. I stopped caring about achieving the rank of black belt. What matters more than that your belt color is growth, depth of understanding, and proficiency of skill.

I will not quit Jiu Jitsu, but it will not consume me as it once did. It is an excellent form of exercise and good thing to bring with you when you travel. Anne Lamott said this about writing.

I’m good at it and I like it.

It will be the same reason why I continue to do it. I will take the things from my jiu jitsu journey and apply it to art. Investment in time, money and other resources.

A page from my current jiu jitsu journal.

Conclusion

I want to be an artist. I have to teach myself. I will take the lessons from my jiu jitsu journey to become a better artist.

2 de septiembre

In growth mindset, belts don’t matter, the constant growth is the most important part.

English

How do you get better at jiu-jitsu with open mat?

I recently did a speech on fixed mindsets vs growth mindsets in my toastmasters group. If you don’t know this term, you can simplify it into negative and positive attitudes. This term is made famous by Dr. Carol S. Dweck.

In terms of jiu-jitsu, a fixed mindset person goes into a jiu-jitsu roll with the want to win at all costs. They want the submission. They want to win. “Only a Sith deals in absolutes.” They focus on the superficial, measurable outcome. Did I win?

A growth mindset person in a jiu-jitsu roll wants to learn from every roll, regardless of the outcome. Yes, I love getting the submission. It is a huge dopamine hit and a point up on my confidence. I get it when you first start that you need all the encouragement and confidence you can get, especially when you get beat up day after day. I’ve been doing jiu-jitsu for over 15 years. I am a brown belt. In growth mindset, belts don’t matter, the constant growth is the most important part.

“Often, people do not see that black belt will be their longest belt.” -Saulo Ribeiro

I keep a journal, a jiu-jitsu journal. At first, I used to draw and write every move down. I would advise against this, but as a beginner, I didn’t know some moves were better than others or that some moves were body specific. Even this idea of jiu-jitsu philosophy, e.g. have a line of attack, don’t go for leg attacks from the top position, was foreign to me. As a beginner, take notes as much as possible. You will filter what works for you.

How do you get better at jiu-jitsu with open mat?

I leave open mat and, either in my car or in a restaurant, I write down and reflect on my performance. I write three things in my journal.

What did I do well? If I had an objective, did I complete it? My goal is arm drags to back takes. How many submissions did I get? Were they in line with my game or one off submissions of opportunity?

2. What are my deficiencies? What can I improve on? Did I get subbed? Did I escape well? What position gave me the most trouble? Can I recall the precise moment where my defense failed?

3. What can I do better next time? It could be your submissions. It could be escapes. It is up to you to reflect on what would you like to improve on.

This process could take 5 minutes or 10 depending on how much time you want to invest in it. I promise you that reflecting on your open mat performance will grow your jiu-jitsu skill set.

Keep a growth mindset. Jiu-jitsu is a long journey of growth.

Verano 2022 Junio a Julio

3 de junio,2022

Actualmente, estoy viajando a través Europa. Estoy en Irlanda. Las ciudades que estuve visitando son Dublín y Limerick. Mi vuelo a Barcelona es el domingo.

Mi itinerario para este viaje será los siguientes países, Irlanda, España, Alemania, Suecia, y Estonia.

Tengo que visitar a mi tia en Colonia, a mi amiga en Suecia, y asistiré a un camp de jiu jitsu en Estonia. Las últimas semanas serán en Valencia, España.

Brown Belt

I received my brown belt in Jiu Jitsu last month. I have been at Maven Jiu Jitsu since 2018. I took a year off to recover from surgery in 2019. In total, I have been doing Jitsu for over 12 year, give or take some time for inactivity, surgery rehabilitation, and laziness.

Whenever you switch academies or move, sometimes you have to start over. In my case, I had to learn the school’s system, ideology towards Jiu Jitsu and the instructors has to reevaluate my skills. My instructor has been a friend, mentor and Jiu Jitsu instructor during my time in Texas. He has been a pivotal role in my growth as a person, Jiu Jitsu practioner, student, and teacher.

What does the belt mean? It contains meaning if I give the belt meaning. Nothing changes currently in my journey. I want to grow, improve and help others with Jiu Jitsu. Hopefully I can still keep doing this martial until I’m an old man.

A few pictures and my speech.

Day 135. Porto, Portugal

Surfing, Jiu Jitsu and Family

Bruno, our surf instuctor, helping out Svenja with standing up.

A few days after the Copenhagen Camp I ended up in Porto, Portugal. I wondered what I would do when I got to Porto. From the start of my trip I knew my family was coming to Portugal. I had to decide what to do before I met them in Porto. My options were I would either walk another Camino from Porto to Santiago, hang out in Porto for a week, or…. wait for it. Go to a surf school.

How long does it take to not be self conscious in a wet suit?

Porto will be an unforgettable chapter in my trip. I learned to surf and met other beginners from all parts of the world. I trained Jiu Jitsu in the afternoon and nights after surfing. I drank and hung out with cool people whose couches I could use in the future. I was reunited with my family and I had old fashion family vacation.

Food brings people together. Argentina, USA, The Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, and France.

I booked the camp when I was in Vienna after talking to Tina, from Leipzig post, who described her love for surfing. I thought that I should try it out. One should push themselves outside of their comfort zones. How else can you grow as a person? I found Surfivor on Google. A great place with very comfortable accommodations. Bruno and Albert are very good surf instructors. It seems they still have a lot of enthusiasm for it after many years. There were plenty of beginner students just trying it out. Most nights the students ate dinner together and drank together. This experience has made me really enjoy surfing. I will continue to surf in the future.

Gabriel from Romania. He just finished the Camino Frances.

I get my recommendations where to train from the BJJ Globetrotter Facebook Group. I simply remember or search where people go to train on the forum. So far every place I’ve trained at has not disappointed me. I account that this is also a very open community that loves the sport and showing people their love for Jiu Jitsu.

Focus Jiu Jitsu in Porto, Portugal was one of the best places I’ve trained. Manuel Neto, the head instructor, was very friendly and welcoming. Focus has Jiu Jitsu three times a day Monday through Friday with one class on Saturday. The location of the gym is located inside a bigger gym/crossfit/MMA place about three blocks from the beach. I rented a bike and it took about 15 minutes from my hostel. A large amount of higher belts, one them just came back from Worlds and was awarded Black Belt. The facilities are clean, showers and a large mat space. The majority of population of Porto could speak English and the gym was no exception. I will definitely return to this place in the future.

My family visiting Porto before they attend a wedding in Lisbon was my favorite part. I love Jiu Jitsu and surfing, but I enjoy spending time with my family. It’s a good recharge from the months of travel I’ve been through. There were many times on my journey where I get homesick. I would call my sister and see how things are doing back home. I did this more on this 4 months of travel than my 7 years in the Navy. I took them to the restaurants that Tiago, the surf camp owner, recommended to me. They enjoyed the Francesinha, Restaurante Ababia do Porto and eating at the grilled fish street. We spent roughly two days in Porto together but I instilled them the love for Porto that I felt.

After 4 months of traveling I am reunited with my family.

My plan is to come back for a month to Porto maybe next summer. The surfing, Jiu Jitsu, and the amazing Portuguese food are a few reasons why I will return. I’m already planning my return to Portugal. I want to continue surfing when I return to California so I will be better when I come back. The lifestyle is very similar to something I imagine myself I would be when I grow older.

Day 90. Vienna, Austria

My time in Vienna

A summary of a week in Austria. I shaved my beard and started growing it again. I met some cool young travelers at my hostel. I trained at Roger Gracie Vienna. I met some cool Globetrotters that shared stories of the Globetrotter Camps. I ate some Schnitzel, drank some beer and attempted speaking German.

Walking back from the gym to my lodging is one of my favorite parts about traveling.

I trained at Roger Gracie Vienna with Orlando Neto. I trained six times there. We went over some techniques from sleeve grip from butterfly/sitting guard to a couple combinations. i.e arm bar, turnover. On another day we drilled a Fireman’s carry take down. Then open mat the last three sessions. The people there were really friendly, like most gyms. I enjoyed the diverse culture of the city, it showed very much in the gyms demographic. There were Germans, Italians, Brazilians, Croatians, South Africans, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and I probably left out a few. Most classes that were taught by Orlando were in English. I had a really good vibe from the gym.

Me, Tina and Eda on a ferris wheel in Prater.

I stayed at the Meininger hotel on Rembrandt street. It was a clean, modern hostel with wifi everywhere in the hotel. As a normal European hostel experience you meet many young travelers solo or in pairs. You exchange info and back stories. Solo travelers tend to flock together and go out together. That’s one of the best parts about traveling solo in Europe, there’s always people to go out with. There was Tina, a German on holiday, Chase, a Canadian doing Erasmus in France, Elie, a Frenchman traveling around Europe, Michelle, a Penn college student coming back from birthright from Israel and many more people. My life seems to gravitate towards being around a motley crew people. Or do I gravitate towards being around several different types of people that have distinct backgrounds than my own?

It’s customary to take pictures in your Globetrotter Gis. (Not sure if that’s true.)

I met Ähn and Karla, German BJJ Globetrotter veterans, at the open mat at the gym. They showed me around parts of Vienna. We had several conversations about Jiu Jitsu. I rarely have these types of conversations outside of training, it was very enjoyable. They shared stories of all the camps they attended and funny stories that happened during the camps. I’ve never been to a Globetrotter camp. After meeting these two it gives me a great impression of the camp’s attendees. I hope the rest of the globetrotters I meet love to have fun, eat, and train. I can’t wait until the Copenhagen Camp.

A good part of being in the military that was easy was not really worrying how you style your hair. There were hair regulations and dress codes. It was easy to adhere to those rules. I’m out of the Navy now, traveling the world, unemployed with no hair regulations. I’ve had the same hair cut for the last four years and I was not allowed to grow a beard except when I was on Leave. I grew it for two and half months. No one would really understand this unless you were a male in the American Military. I decided to start over and cut it all off again. I’m searching for a balance.

Jiu Jitsu in Chile

Cohab Equipo in Vina Del Mar.

I spent most of my time here. A exciting group of competition players. The higher colored belts put me through the ringer as soon as I first stepped on the mat the first night. Andres Perez is the head Black Belt and coach of Cohab. He spoke English to me and was very welcoming. I enjoyed the training environment and schedule. On average there are 3 classes a day with open mat sessions on Saturday and Sunday. I was able to train everyday when I wasn’t working at my hostel.

Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Valparaiso, Chile. This gym was about two blocks from my hostel. So it was very convenient. It was the first gym I visited when I recovered from my cold. The blonde haired purple belt, Nico, really put it on me when I was there. He was also preparing for competition the next day in Santiago. Samir was the Black Belt there. A friendly fellow and waived my mat fee. I would have trained more if their schedule was than three times a week.

Raul Valencia- Cicero Costha- Vina Del Mar

Raul Valencia Cicero Costha- in Vina Del Mar.

There is a good training here. I trained here twice. It’s one of those places where the white belts get taught to bypass the opponents guards fast rather than play into it. I was x passed many times by white belts. I like to go easy on white belts until they start using strength. They train hard here, an hour of training after drilling. I enjoy that kind of training. I didn’t train that long at any other gym in Chile. Raul Valencia was the head instructor there, Brown Belt. Big Ups to Francisca Floras for showing me around my last day.

Cohab- Reneca.

Andres Perez has a brother, that’s also a Black Belt, Fernando Perez. I went to visit him but he was out that day. I met Guillermo, purple belt, instructor. It was a small group with all white belts except Guillermo and I. Only white belts, but they were strong and quick. I had a white belt really tried to tap me with strength. He had good submissions on me but kept using his grip to pull, rather than adjusting position or abandon and try something else. Other than that it was a good time.

Here’s a good discussion questions. How do you roll when you travel? Hard or smooth? Do you give up position to lower belts?

I learned that I still don’t know anything about Jiu Jitsu. What I know is few drops in a water bucket. It’s never ending.

Day 41. Valparaiso

One of my favorite parts of my stay. Eating together with my Hostel.

I finished Christian Graugart’s book this week while working reception at my hostel. One take away from the book is that it’s easy for me to be self conscious of my skills and compare myself to other purple belts around the world. By the end of my trip I will roll with over hundred different strangers from countries all over the world. It’s ridiculous to compare each other. We walk our own Camino, our on path.

I have to enjoy to process, the journey. With the example of the Camino. The most enjoyable part was the day of walking. The getting up early and packing your bag. The walk by yourself or with people. The evening meals with other pilgrims. Those are my favorite memories. When I got to Santiago, the final destination. I got this meh feeling. That’s it. I was just sad that it was over.

“If you’re an asshole when you start out and you’re an asshole when you get back,”- Yvon Chounard.

I spend most mornings going for a walk and exploring the city. I sit at a cafe and I write in my journal. It’s very meditative. I enjoy this slow pace of travel. I’m reading a lot more. I have time to really immerse myself here.

I trained last Friday at Gracie Jiu Jitsu on Pedro Montt. Which is the picture above. Samir was the Black Belt. He is very welcoming. First time back since my URI(Upper Respiratory Infection). I rolled mainly with Nico, a purple belt who is competing in a tournament the next day in Santiago. He submitted me many times, with many different submissions.

Currently reading: The Portrait of Dorian Gray.

I will try to blog every week.

Jiu Jitsu Terms in Spanish

Compiled from Reddit and my own research. Please correct where you see necessary.

As I come to the end of my South American part of my trip until Brazil. Here are some of my research while I had some time to think.

Body- Cuerpo

Head- Cabeza

Face- Cara

Throat- Cuello

Shoulder- Hombro

Chest- Pecho

Stomach- Estomago

Arm- Abrazo

Hand- Mano

Hips- Cadera

Fingers- Dedos

Legs- Piernas

Knees- Rodillas

Feet- Pies

Positions- Posiciones

Closed Guard- Guardia Cerrado

Half Guard- Guardia Medio

Side Control- Pecho a Pecho/ Cien Kilos

North South- Norte Sur

Knee on belly- Rodilla en el estomago

Mount- La montada

Back- Espalda

Turtle- La Tortuga

50/50- Cincuenta Cincuenta

X Guard- Guardia X

Single X- Solo X/ Simple X

Deep Half- Profunda media

Inverted Guard- Guardia invertida

De La Riva Guard- Guardia De La Riva

Moves – Movimientos

Ankle lock- Llave de Tobillo

Knee Bar- Llave de Rodillo

Triangle- Triangulo

Armbar- Llave de abrazo

Choke- Choke/ Estrangulacion

Sweep- raspado

To Shrimp- Hacer la Gamba

Guard Pass- El pasaje de Guardia

Passing the Guard- Paseando la guardia

Useful Words- Palabras Util

Grip- Agarre

Loose- Libre

Tight- Estrecho

Space- Espacio

Heavy- pesado

Light- Ligero

Weight- Peso

Post- pata

Timing- Ritmo

Floor- Suelo

2 on 1- Dos en uno

to pull- tirar (infinitive)

to push- empujar (infinitive)

Good Training- Buen entrenamiento

Questions- Unas preguntas?

What is your name? – Como se llama?

I am (your name)- Soy ( tu nombre)

Nice to meet you- Mucho Gusto

For Example. Por Ejemplo

Can you show me? – Usted puede mostrarme?

Can I train here?- Puedo entrenar aqui?

How much does it cost?- Cuanto cuesta?

Thank you very much- Muchas Gracias

Oss- Oss

Travel Slow!

Day 27: Cuzco

It’s been five days having URI symptoms. I don’t feel like doing shit. I just want to stay in bed until I leave. I’ve been a connoisseur of tea and soup. I really enjoy Cuzco though. It’s just a shame I can’t shake this cold.

I got back from Machu Picchu and I went searching for Bunker Cuzco. I ran into Diego Yule. He runs Bunker with Nico Culrich. It was good to exchange Jiu Jitsu stories and have a local show me around. He showed me the Mercado de San Blas. Little things like showing a traveler a local market means a lot.

I trained three times. I’m proud of myself for training but feeling of being sick when I’m not training isn’t good. Some techniques Nico and Diego went over were an omoplata from spider and half guard/ knee shield. When I went to open mat we exchanged GI and NO GI. Diego was preparing for a No Gi tournament in May. We discussed how leg locks is now a system everybody needs to study. If not you will be behind the curve, especially as purple belts.

I met a Helene at the Open Mat on Saturday, a fellow BJJ Globetrotter. You can follow her blog. She has over 400 days on the road. She gave me some advice on traveling. She is truly an inspiration.

@helenebjj. Follow her on instagram @helenebjj and her blog

As a former US Navy Hospital Corpsman, I self diagnosed myself with acute URI (upper respiratory infection). (Note: self diagnosing yourself is a running joke in the medical field. Why? Nearly all patients google their symptoms and think they know what they have.) I have decided its viral and that I will just ride out the symptoms.

I fly to Lima then to Cuzco in a few hours. I hope the weather will be better for my symptoms.