BIG BUGS AND BEACHES!

DAY 5

Here’s a little life lesson from the beach yesterday:

There was a huge moth right at the edge of the water. It was soaked and stuck to the sand. It was beating its wings as hard as it could to free itself, but it was no use. A little girl was working feverishly to build a breakwater out of sand to protect it from the waves. A big wave crashed over the breakwater and swept the moth out to sea. The little girl shrugged her shoulders and walked away.

I figure the moral of the story is this: when your shit is really on the line, you can’t rely on anybody.

We spent today driving around and checking out some more beaches. A beautiful morning turned into a scorcher of an afternoon. The sand at one beach was so hot I have blisters on the bottom of my feet. I have the weirdest splotchy sunburn today, too.

The only jiu jitsu content in today’s drive was the accidental discovery of an academy on the road to Praia Campeche. It is in a fitness centre that offers boxing, TKD and bodybuilding. Here’s a link. http://www.clicklojas.com.br/rangelfarias/ It’s not a priority, but if I have time I might check it out.

We had a great afternoon at Lagoa Pari, a freshwater lake that seemed more popular than the ocean beaches in the area. I can see why. The lake is ringed by mountains and the water was shallow and warm. Aya just loved it, because she could wade out far from shore and only be n up to her waist. I was still watching her like a hawk of course. The lake was full of tiny fish that kept nibbling at my feet and legs. Between the fish and the bugs, it’s like this country is trying to eat me one tiny morsel at a time.

The lake was in this amazing little park that was set up with family BBQ areas. There were about a half dozen families hanging out, having a few beers and grilling meat on those giant sword-kabobs. I only have a few days to base my impressions on , but it seems like family is important here. It's just a nice thing to see.

We’d arranged for the fixer and her boyfriend to cook us some traditional Brazilian dishes for supper. There were two kinds of fish, some sort of shrimp stew, a mango salsa and rice. It was all great. And it’s nice to have someone else do the cooking and cleaning for you in your own house.

I also got her to make some more calls about jiu jitsu. She confirmed my appointment for 1pm tomorrow with Glenio for a semi-private lesson for me and Russ. It’s Russ’s fifth jiu jitsu lesson ever, so I am stoked for him to be training in Brazil already.

She also helped me set up a private lesson with Marvio Charles. Marvio competes for Gracie Florianopolis and teaches privates to tourists at a local surf academy. I only know a bit about him from google, he has a silver medal from the 2006 mundials as a brown. He has competed against Andre Galvao – so you know he’s competing at the very highest level. The price is a bit steeper at about $70 Canadian. But he has bills to pay and he also picks you up and drops you off. It’s still reasonable by Canadian standards. My plan is to just ask what his specialty is and go from there.

Two private lessons in one day – should be memorable.

Tonight it’s raining as usual. What’s unusual is all the bugs on our deck. I tried to get a decent picture of one – but it doesn’t convey the scale. Suffice to say it’s a bright green, big-ass bug and not the sort of thing you want to see on your kitchen window.

Don't Force It.

DAY 4
Today is a big day for me. Liz proposed this trip, because she loves the sun and one of her best friends lives in Brazil. But she knew I would agree in a heartbeat for one reason – jiu jitsu.

My plan is to train at night whenever possible, so I don’t miss out on any time with Aya. The class schedule online says tonight’s class is at 8pm. I’m like a kid on Christmas Eve.

We start the day with breakfast at the bakery. This is a part of our little routine now. Liz and I take turns working our busted Portuguese on the staff, who seem patient and gracious.

This morning the sun is beating down on us by 9am – seems like a perfect beach day. We head to Joaquinho – about 20 minutes drive. The rural areas we drove through had sort of cowboy feel with horses and horse all along the route. As we got close to the beach we saw people sandboarding on the dunes. It’s like snowboarding – but frankly looks like a lot less fun.

We had an amazing day at the beach. We all got a bit pink – except for Aya, who we’d slathered in sunscreen. She had a great time gathering up shells and playing in the sand.

More Hinterland Who’s Who back at the house. This time it was a three-foot-long lizard. It looked like some sort of monitor lizard, but what the hell do I know. Again, it was Aya who spotted it. She’s got a hawk’s eye.

The whole time, all I can think about is jiu jitsu. But I was having some nagging doubts.I decided I needed some help, since I’d heard the instructor spoke no English. I emailed the fixer to call the jiu jitsu academy.

There was bad news and good news when she called back. It turns out classes are cancelled this week. But the good news – private lessons were available, for only 25 Rhiales ($17 Canadian.) Can he schedule me in tonight? Yes!

Ever since I was a little kid taking karate, I’d dreamed of studying a martial art in its traditional setting. As a hundred dogs barked at me while I ambled down the cobblestone side street to Glenio Weber’s house, I realized I have no idea what that setting would be for BJJ.

Every house has a gated yard out front. When I got to Glenio’s house I could see him sitting inside inside watching TV, wearing gi pants and no shirt. He didn’t see me. I looked for a doorbell. None. Then I saw the hundred-pound pit bull growling at me from the other side of the fence and realized he was the doorbell.

I waved my arms and the dog erupted – barking and lunging at the end of his chain.

Glenio let me in the side gate, far away from the cachorro. We exchanged awkward introductions and he told me to head down to the garage and get changed in the washroom. My Portuguese comprehension is improving. It’s a little like French and dusty memories of high school are coming back one word at a time.

Inside the garage was a little sitting area with old copies of Tatame and other Brazilian fighting magazines. The academy itself is in the basement under his house. It’s a modest-sized area decked out with blue mats. A support column stood in the middle of the room – wrapped in more blue mats. I’ve seen places like this dozens of times in old videos on youtube. I imagine this is what jiu jitsu looks like in small centers all across Brazil.

Glenio came down after a few minutes and got his kimono and belt on. He’s short and stalky. He told me later he weighs 77 kilos and is 39 years old. He got his black belt three years ago after training for 11 years.

The lesson began with stretching. Standard stuff. We had a bit of chitchat, such as it is between people who don’t speak the same language. We talked about where I cam from and what kind of people I’ve trained with. We talked a little about Thiago Tavares, who is fighting in the UFC tonight and is a member of the same team, Ataque Duplo.

Professor Weber asked what I wanted to work on. I told him I wanted to learn whatever was his specialty. He said lapel chokes.

The first technique was a basic lapel choke from side control. I’ve learned it before, but I rarely hit it in rolling. He showed me a lot of small details that make the technique work. But the most common refrain was the same thing I always here from instructors. “Nao force,” don’t force it.

I’m a big guy and the tendency is to just crank a technique when it doesn’t seem to be working. Professor Weber broke down this relatively simple technique for me and showed me how each part of it worked without any effort. The neck is the same on a strong man or a weak man, he explained – you don’t need to force it.

Then we rolled for a bit. Rolling with a black belt is always a treat – and humbling. I am almost always bigger than they are, but it doesn’t matter. I try to use finesse, but compared to them I am just flailing and gasping. Professor Weber kept reminding me to go light, with control. I was doing my best to play a suave guard game, but he just kept shutting it down.

After a reset, I get tired of playing guard and decide to try and take the top position. We get into that ridiculous wrestling-from-the-knee scenario that only happens in the gym and never in competition. I turn Professor Weber with an over-and-under. It was pure muscle and frustration without a lick of technique. “Nao Force,” again. I know it, too. Sometime it’s hard to overcome the balls-out approach that comes from years of wrestling. I consider it my biggest challenge in jiu jitsu – just trusting the techniques and learning to execute them properly.

Professor Weber noticed a basic half guard sweep I use and showed me a few more details to make it work better. He also cleaned up my transition to side control after the sweep.

Next was something new to me: a simple reverse arm bar from the top of half guard and a transition to the X choke. The arm is wrapped up in the lapel for the arm bar - similar to the magic grip for those who are familiar with that.

We took a little break for water. We talked about the fact that the academy was closed for the week. New Year’s is a big deal here and people like to take some time off in early January. I knew this might be a problem before I came. I thanked Glenio again for squeezing me in.

We rolled again. This time it was a little more spirited. Professor Weber tapped me with a variation of the choke he’d just taught me. It was clear he was toying with me to see where my strengths and weaknesses are.

At the end of class I thanked him again. He’d let the lesson run a half-hour over time. We took a few photos and arranged for another lesson on Wednesday. This time I’m bringing my brother in law who has only had four previous lessons in jiu jitsu. Glenio says next week classes are back in full swing and there will be plenty of other students to roll with.

I have heard about a few more small academies in Lagoa and the big ones in Florianopolis. I’m sure most of them will be bigger and fancier than Glenio’s garage academy. But it’s not about the size of the academy – it’s about the quality of the teaching and the experience. Glenio is a great teacher in any language and Ataque Duplo Lagoa will always be special to me – my first academy in Brazil.

* Pics coming tomorrow!

DAY 3
* Posted a day late.

Sunday, pretty chill.

An early highlight of the trip came this morning. Aya looked out the window and said “Look, a monkey,” like it was the plainest thing ever. There were two little monkeys in the bamboo out behind our house. We’d been promising her monkeys since we conceived this trip. We weren’t even really sure they had them in this part of Brazil. Anyways, there they were – about the size of squirrels, with their little tails hanging straight down off the branch. Aya’s been a little freaked out by all the bugs, so it was nice to see her get excited so about nature. I’ll confess I was excited, too. Maybe more excited. I also saw some sort of pheasant in the same tree later in the day.

The weather is the same here every day. It’s sunny in the morning. Around noon it starts to get a little overcast, which is almost a relief. In the afternoon it rains – sometimes a few drops, sometimes a torrential downpour. We’re starting to get on a schedule.

It’s funny what you don’t see when you first arrive. Today I noticed that on the way to the store where we’ve been buying mangoes and avocados, we walk directly under mango and avocado trees that are bearing fruit by the bushel. The mangoes are almost ready for picking. I have to ask about the avocados. They’re a lot smaller than the ones in the stores, but they seem ripe.

We spent the day just touring around. Sunday is a slow day in uber-catholic Brazil. We went to the town centre of Lagoa. Russ tried to find the kiteboard rental place and we waded in the lagoon picking up shells with Aya.

We were without our guide/translator/fixer and managed to negotiate a few purchases on our own; breakfast at the bakery, picking out some flipflops, etc.

Another small step towards getting some jiu jitsu training in…we found the local academy. It’s in a guy’s house. No sign out front. I assume it’s in his garage. We’ll find out for sure tomorrow!

Day 2

DAY 2

Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

• No matter where you are, you can always see or hear a dog in Brazil.

• The little bits of Portuguese you learn in jiu jitsu is actually useful stuff. You learn the colours and how to say thank you. But more importantly you learn the importance of hand gestures and sound effects. This is apparently a huge part of the language in Brazil. Enitre conversations can take place this way.

• People don’t flush their toilet paper in houses here. Apparently it screws up the plumbing. This makes no sense, I know. Every toilet has a tiny garbage can next to it. There is also a little hose attached to the toilet. Imagine a kitchen sprayer, except it is for your ass.

• I’ve learned the layout of the town. I’ve also figured out more or less where the jiu jitsu academy is. I cannot tell you how good it has been to have a tour guide for the first day or so. We don’t know anyone here, so we figure she has saved us a lot of aggravation.

• The beach is awesome.

• Suco is juice. Acai is pronounced ah-sigh-eeee. Put them together and it spells awesomeness. Make a little motor sound with your mouth and a swirly gesture with your finger and they will make it into a smoothie for you.

I also had an amazing run today with my brother-in-law Russ. It’s been a long time since I’ve jogged and we don’t really know our way around too much. I was a little wary of the whole thing, especially when he proposed heading out near sunset. But I went along anyway.

We head in one direction looking for the path to the lake. Two wrong turns and a hundred barking dogs later, we’re on the main road. Earlier in the day Evan, our guide showed me where the path to beach started. Russ loves the beach, so I suggest we check it out. Evan only took us as far as a dirt road and said it was a little hike from there. She also said something about sand dunes and that we’d feel like Lawrence of Arabia by the time we got there.

We run past tired-looking surfers as we head down the dirt road and onto a mucky path. Straight into the jungle. The path is criss-crossed with tree roots and lit by the dappled light of dusk falling through the leaves. Then its over a fallen tree and along a series of the half-rotten planks forming a path over a swamp for about 50 meters. As we break free from the jungle, I see what Evan meant about Lawrence of Arabia. We’re standing on a hill overlooking a muddy path through a valley of sand with little oases of rainwater on either side.

We make it up the first dune and then we see it – more sand. The next bluff is at least 500 meters away. The sand around here is like powdered sugar and if you’ve ever run in sand, you know how badly our legs are burning. My cardio is worse than I thought. I don’t know how I made it up that hill.

But as we trudge to the top we hear the sound of pounding surf and know we’ve finally made it to the beach. And we have it all to ourselves. We take a couple minutes to catch our breath and reflect on the guys we saw coming out with surfboards earlier. They earned their waves.

It’s twilight, so we start heading back. As we slog through the sand again, we can hear the sounds of the night creatures waking up; the buzz of cicadas, barking of geckoes and the chirping of what we guess are little frogs. Back up the hills we’d sped down – only now we moving at a snail’s pace.

Back into the jungle. Here it’s a little flatter and we can pick up speed. But it’s dark and treacherous. Back over the fallen tree. Suddenly Russ cries out. A low-hanging vine clotheslines Russ across the chest, raising big red scratch like he’d wrestled a cat. A few more wrong turns. By now it’s getting really dark and Russ is pretty far ahead of me. “Whoa!” Another exclamation from Russ. A huge bird dive-bombs him as he navigated the tree-roots and rocks in the darkness.

Finally, we make it back to the little dirt road. I catch up to Russ, huffing and puffing and coughing and sputtering.

We decide to sprint to the end of the road and walk the last couple hundred yards to the house. Cold beer and hot pizza were the only prizes we can claim, but it was well worth it. I usually go for a run every time I’m in another country. It’s a great way to get your bearings. I’ve never had a run like this. I've never seen such a variety of terrain in under an hour.

It’s just a little thing. People probably run that path every day and don’t think twice about it. But I’ll never forget it.

This is Brazil. So far, I like it.

Crossing the threshold.

It’s our first night in Brazil!

The trip really started yesterday. The journey from Halifax to Florianopolis is more than 24 hours total. We had some long layovers, though – five hours in Toronto and another four hours in Sao Paulo.

Traveling that long with a three-year-old is challenging. But for the most part, Aya was a peach. We figure she’s been on about two-dozen flights now, so she’s turned into a real pro. As for me…not so much. There’s always some little snag. This time it was my belt. The buckle busted as I was taking it off for security. So there I was, walking around the Sao Paulo airport trying to keep my drawers hiked up as I hustled out carry-on baggage around the airport. The cheapest belt in the airport duty free was $200 US. I might have looked like an idiot, but I’m no fool. I wasn’t about to spend that kind of money on a belt I didn’t really want. Luckily, Liz jury-rigged a repair using a ribbon from her carry on baggage. Gotta love her for her resourcefulness.

We also ran into some company. Liz’s brother was supposed to come down and join us at some point in the next three weeks. But he surprised us in the Toronto airport by joining us on the same flight down! His buddy works for Air Canada, so he can fly anywhere he wants for next to nothing. The flight to Brazil cost something like $60 and he got bumped up to first class. Must be nice.

At Sao Paulo, we had a planned rendevous with our old friend Melissa, who has married Brazilian and been living down here for 7 years. She introduced me to Liz ten years ago. It was her first time meeting our daughter, too. It was a sweet moment. She’ll be joining us in Florianopolis in about a week.

When we arrived in Florianopolis, our concierge was waiting for us. My wife Liz is a world-class planner who really thinks of everything. She found an American woman in Florianopolis who freelances as a concierge/tour guide/fixer. She picked us up at the airport and got us to our house. She is also going to make sure I find the jiu jitsu academy in time for class Monday! Here’s her website http://www.helpmefloripa.com/

Liz found our house online. She wanted something really special since we’re staying three weeks in the same spot. It’s an all-concrete house. Not a stick of lumber was used in its construction. It was built on the edge of a native forest without displacing a single tree. It features huge windows and won’t require any artificial light during the daytime. It has a great kitchen and a huge outdoor living area with a Brazilian-style BBQ and pizza over. We were told we’d see monkeys, but haven’t yet. Aya’s going to love that. We did see a butterfly so big we thought it was a bat. And the house has geckoes, which reminds us a lot of Maui.

So far, the whole place reminds me a bit of Maui, though admittedly I’ve hardly seen any of it. But there is a certain laid-back air to both places. A big difference seems to be that people drive like maniacs here, so that will take some getting used to.

Tonight we just had time to get settled. We picked up some groceries and take-out Brazilian food. Now it’s time for some much-needed rest. The concierge’s boyfriend is a chef and he’s coming over to teach us how to make some Brazilian dishes tomorrow. No jiu jitsu until Monday, so I can use the next two days in full to explore.

PENAO: Transition to Mount

This is the 5th in the series of Turtle attack videos I made with Penao.

Penao logo

For those who didn't see it...I helped design this logo for Penao. Penao doesn't have a home academy right now, so this is more of personal logo.

"Penao" is a nickname meaning a large feather. My understanding is it was Penao's older brother's nickname and he got stuck with it somehow. There's another story going around that it has something to do with his sweeps.

Anyways, the design incorporates the feather and the colour scheme of the 6th degree black belt. My excellent friend Marnie Gillis did the design work. I had some help along the way from Adam Gravelle and Joel MacKenzie.

In my humble opinion, it's one of the cleaner, classier BJJ logos I've ever seen.