In consumes my brain all day and I am 44 I did Krav for 4 yrs and Muay Thai from ages 35-39 I was done...then I got that itch again and realized I never grappled Only the last 20 months I have been doing BJJ and mma wrestling and it’s the hardest thing I have ever done It keeps me going I think I can train many more years I am not a bad azz or alpha male but a hobbyist
Before this : I was a big club tennis player and I did great at 4.0 singles and was mediocre at 4.5 Oddly for these 15 yrs I did zero martial arts
My son rose to the highest level possible for a kid in BJJ. He got his greenbelt at age 15 after 7 years of training. It was fun in the gym watching Tae Kwon Do kids (black belts) coming in and getting a shot at my son or some of the other more advanced kids (Orange Belts - 2nd Highest for a kid). The TKD kids lastes 30 seconds max. Once the punch/kick was blocked or dodged a take down was immediate and the fight was over. I wrestled, but wish I had been introduce into BJJ at a much younger age. You learn real quick that TKD against a skilled grappler is garbage. My son also studied Muay Thai, but is a grappler at hear. He won 2nd Place in the Kid's Worlds, and has many 1st places in California and international tournaments that are large, but not as large as the Kid's Worlds.
Back in the 50's while in the military I spent a little over a year in Japan. I and two buddies got heavily involved in judo at the local dojo. Near the end our stay our sensei arranged for three judges from the Kodokan College of Judo in Tokyo to come down to Beppu, kyushu to judge us. The three of us each was awarded Shodan which was the 1st degree black belt. It was probably one of the best investments I ever made in myself especially after I became a LEO in the suburbs of Detroit. The way I think I can describe it best is: The lessons I crammed into that time of my life gave me a feeling of confidence, real or imagined, that has been with me my entire life.
Does your son still train ? He must be a purple belt by now I am doing wrestling at age 44 I am quitting my bjj gym and will find a new one as the training is not very good despite having one of the best Bjj guys on earth
My son is 17. He has taken a break (1 year) for school, but appears to have that under control now and will likely be back at in this year. He dominated his Freshman year in high school Wrestling in the Sunset League (Orange County, CA). He went undefeated in league and only had losses in tournaments. One was a Varsity tournament, where the coach made my son wrestle up a weight class. He went against seniors, bigger, stronger, and more Wrestling years than him, but still did well. The new coach wanted him to "learn to lose". I found that out later and was a bit pissed off. You can learn that naturally, you don't set up a kid to get injured or blasted. Here is a sequence of his first match in that tournament. You will note the other kid is bigger as my son wrestled up to 160 instead of 152 where he was at. My son can make 145, but I don't like him cutting. 2 Points... that is a hybrid hip toss (Judo) / head a shoulder (Wrestling). I think my son just improvised and took what the kid gave him. Sadly, the head coach retired and the new coach was not so cool. His Sophomore year, he got Ringworm and Staph and right out of the gate from the dirty mats at the high school. It made him stay out for 3 weeks. Staph is no joke, dangerous, and makes you feel weak. The new coach then benched him, even though he won the Wrestle Off on his return for his weight class in 15 seconds by pin. I was a bit pissed, but decided to let it work itself out, except that it never did. I went to meets to see him sit and his "replacement" lose consistently. I finally had enough after league was over and had a talk with the coach. He allowed my son to Wrestle in the County Championships Tournament from my pressure. He had to go in unranked, so he got #1 in his first match. I felt bad for #1 when it was over in the 2nd period when my son Valley Dropped (take down) the kid into an immediate pin. The kid never saw it coming and had never experienced that common BJJ takedown before. He burst into tears. I think the kid thought he would win the tournament. He got 3rd and my son went on to sweep the tournament and take the top podium spot. It was an eye opener for the entire team, parents, and the Athletic Director who all took notice. When his Junior year (current) started the coach was back to his bullshit, my son got pissed off, and bailed out. It helped him academically and I don't think he doesn't want to wrestle college, so I was cool with it. I transferred him to Huntington Beach High School that is not known for Wrestling like his past school was (that will fade with the new coach). I am not sure if he will wrestle next year, it's his call, but if he does I feel sorry for whatever kid he gets from his old school. Here he is getting his green belt. That is Tim Cartmell on the Left. He's quite famous and travels the world doing seminars. His other coach there is Asa Fuller who is amazing too and competed in MMA. He had another coach, Marcus Almeida, also known as "Buchecha", who is has been #1 in the world in all weight classes multiple times. That is my son on the right. The sword he is holding is for 1st Place in Gi at the California Championships. The damn thing is sharp. He won a second sword when he took the No Gi 1st place too. I had to have them mounted high near his ceiling in his room, so he couldn't easily get to them. All of his medals are draped over the swords. It's kind of cool. Here is Buchecha winning the World Championship last year. I geek out on grappling too.
I've never been in a real fight. Im too rational to attack people, and I've been told I look too intimidating for anyone to attack me (personally I think I just naturally don't ever act like 'prey', but w/e). I've never trained in any martial art, but I've sparred a few times with people who claim to be trained, and they say I'm too 'squirrelly'. Is 'squirrelly' an art?
Your son is just a gifted athlete !!!! Does he still do BJJ My coach has me doing many body lock take downs for MMA. I am too old and slow to shoot in. I cannot shoot in.
He could try a walk-on for a College team!!! Too bad the garbage coach did that. I assume the Coach is a moron and had a personal grudge ??
I spent 3 years at Yokota when I was a kid in the 60s. I did the judo thing for a while. I didn't go as far as I wish I would have, but like you said, it did build confidence, and not in a macho or aggressive way. It just made me less afraid. Where were you stationed?
Wrestling is a great base skill. I wrestled all through junior high and high school and it set me up well for later. Physically, Parris Island was actually easier than wrestling practice.
I did not.. I am learning MMA wrestling as a 44 year old man .. not a 14 year old like you. We spend time on the standing double leg, Run the pipe single and variations and tons of body locks from mostly the side and rear positions
MMA version picks the best parts of Wrestling that works best with striking involved. So I am only get 20 percent of Wrestling.. This is enough for me at my age. We drill take downs for the entire hour but we dont go live !!! I just do think I have the drive and disipline to have done real WRESTLING in HS because of the time commitment, weigh cutting and INJURIES. I love fighting but I hate injuries. That is a problem lol
Your teenage son is a bad azzz That simple !! I want to guess he is also very smart because good grapplers tend to have high IQs
I dont carry a gun but a nice, tactical knife. I'm to lazy to fight and prefer a force multiplier. That said....I challenge you to a duel! LOL!
Ha! Well, that one is long gone now. They've closed most of the bases there. Yokota is one of the few remaining, and the locals are pushing hard to close it. We had some good times there.
Yeah, the locals did a good job of erasing any signs of the place. I went on Google Earth and couldn't find any trace.
My favorite move was the banana split tap out. Beating someone with that was awesome, because you really got in their heads for the next match. They'd open themselves wide open to anything BUT that. Oh and I didn't stop getting bruises after HS. I went into USMC LINE training after that.
