• Leo Viera week-long training camp @ FightZone USA
• Erik Paulson and CSW – thanks to Paulson & Danny Suarez
• Visit to Gracie Academy – Rener, Rorion, and Ralek

i spent a week living the dream … morning private lesson with Leo Vieira, afternoon Fighter’s practice @ CSW with Erik Paulson, and Leo Viera camp training @ Fightzone every evening @ 8pm (plus getting to and fro in my red hard-top Mustang rental was pretty cool too :)

it definitely helped me prepare for the Gracie Nationals and was key to my success there.

working with Leo Vieira was fantastic, he’s just as amazing a coach as he is a competitor. i definitely look forward to working with him in the future. special thanks to all the Vieira bothers (Ricardo, Leandro, and Leo) as well as Kevin and Haley Howell for being such gracious hosts.

having to lose weight meant more than training just once @ night for the camp, so (along with Leo pvts in the AM) I was able to get time in @ CSW, Erik Paulson’s world class MMA gym in Fullerton, CA, where i got to work into the Fighter’s afternoon training sessions. included in the mix where all active & pro MMA athletes such as Josh Barnett, Babalu Sobral, Javi Vasquez (training for his Jen’s Pulver fight) and my good friend, Danny Suarez.

I also got a chance to drop by the Gracie Academy off Artesia and visit with the first family of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. They were incredibly welcoming and gracious towards me. I met Rener, Ralek, and Rorion himself – which was very cool since part of the reason i got into BJJ was the martial arts revolution that Rorion in part engineered through the Gracie in Action (style v. style Gracie Challenge matches) and the Original installments of the early UFC with his brother Royce Gracie. Itw as unfortunate that i was pressed for time and didn’t get a chance to train there this time around, but they’ve have an open invitation to anyone looking to drop by and visit. I will definitely take them up on that next time i’m in town.

So with the exception of the weather being absolutely terrible (flooding and tornados in Southern California?!) it was an incredible week of training and i can’t wait to visit the west coast to train with these talented fighters and coaches again … definitely before the World’s and Pan Ams :)

Check out these pics from the trip!