Tuesday, April 30, 2013

8th Annual East Heaven White Mountain BJJ Open Championship

    Photo used from BlackBelt Korea:  http://blackbelt.kr/wp/

This past Sunday I competed at our eighth annual BJJ competition here in Busan.  Now, I want to be perfectly clear:  Even though I've done plenty of competitions, I hate doing them.  In fact, last year in 2012 I did zero competitions (although this year I've done two).  Why?  I've been reflecting lately on why I don't like competing.  To be perfectly honest, I know that part of the reason I don't like competing is that I'm scared to lose.  Why am I scared to lose?  My ego?  Probably.  That's not something that I like to admit to myself, but it's true.  This is a feeling I've kind of had ever since receiving my purple belt.  It's not the only reason I dislike competition, but I know it's something that I try to hide away in the back of my mind.  I think it's a mixture of my ego and my lack of self confidence I suppose.  Anyway, I know it's silly, and I'm doing my best to overcome this particular hang up.  Actually, I think that there's nothing wrong with not competing.  It's not for everyone.   But, I don't want to not compete for the wrong reasons if that makes sense, and I want to try my best to always stay honest with myself. 

I think one of the most overused, cliche statements in BJJ is, "Check your ego at the door".  I mean sure, it's true.  Doing BJJ can be a very humbling experience, and guys or gals that can't take getting their asses kicked on a regular basis usually don't last very long in this martial art.  But, does that mean that we're supposed to have zero ego 100% of the time?  Human beings don't operate like that.  I try to stay humble, but that doesn't mean I have no ego.  We all do, and it's not always possible or easy to, "Check it at the door". 

There are a multitude of other reasons I despise competing, but I'm not going to waste your time talking about them.  Besides, it will just end up making me sound like a whiny little bitch.  Anyway, I'm glad I decided to compete.  I had a good time and ended up winning the -70 KG purple belt division and the -62 KG no gi advanced division. 


I also did a little bit of reffing and worked the score table for a couple of hours before my gi matches started.  It was kind of fun, and I was really impressed with the level of some of the white belts.  I'm telling you, some of these guys would have blown me out of the water when I was a beginner.


   My instructor giving the refs a pep talk, "Guys, don't screw up"

Photo from BlackBelt Korea:  The girl on the top is an elite wrestler who is on the Korean national wrestling team

Man, I made so many mistakes (as usual) it's not even funny, and I definitely have a few things I need to work on.  For me, the biggest challenge in competition is trying to find the right balance between staying relaxed, but not being too relaxed and keeping myself from getting gassed (in gi matches).  Here's my no gi final match against another purple belt.

                             
                             John Torres (DCBS) v.s. In Sung-hwang (John Frankl)

I know, I know.  I butt flop a lot, but my knee isn't so hot (in fact I'm gimpy).  I actually originally injured it during take down sparring.  After tearing my MCL this past summer,  I have to be very, very careful.

After the tournament I treated myself to a pizza and chicken tenders.  Yum Yum.  

Photo BlackBelt Korea http://blackbelt.kr/wp/:  Adidas Cup brown belt gold medalist Kim Young-Uk (DCBS) on the right


Sunday, April 28, 2013

Gladiator-DREAM, POWER, and HOPE

A girl I know here in Busan gave me this cool poster today from her fight in Japan last week.  Thank you Jade!


                            
    Gladiator-DREAM, POWER, and HOPE Jade Anderson (Team MAD) v.s.  Megumi Yabushita

                                                        Jade Anderson (Team MAD)

Black Belt Korea presents: Masakazu Imanari

I can't wait! 

                            

Seoul May 25 & Busan May 26 (Barbosa gym in Kyungsun)

Visit here to register:  http://blackbelt.kr/wp/?page_id=2889

일시
2013년 5월 25일 토요일(서울), 5월 26일 일요일(부산)
Sat, 25th May (Seoul), Sun, 26th May (Busan)
장소
서울(Seoul) – PM 2:00 ~ 5:00
서울YMCA 3층 유도장 (서울특별시 종로구 종로2가 9) / 02-732-8291
100명이상 운동 가능,  주차가능 (주차권 별매), 탈의ㆍ샤워시설 완비
Location : Seoul YMCA 3F Judo Gym (Chonggak Station Line no.1)
부산(Busan) – PM 2:00 ~ 5:00
동천백산 대연본관 (부산광역시 남구 대연1동 324-17번지) / 051-628-8567
부산 지하철 2호선 경성대부경대역 하차 5번 출구 직진 200미터 거리
Location : Dongcheonbacksan Dae-Yeon Bon-Kwan
address : 324-17, Daeyeon 1-dong, Nam-gu, Busan, Korea
Subway : Kyeong-seong Univ. Line.2


비도복 (No-Gi)
종합격투기와 주짓수를 위한 하체관절기 (2시간)
Mastering Leg Locks for Mixed Martial Arts & Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (2 hours)
스파링 (30분)
Sparring with Masakazu Imanari (30 min)
질의응답
Questions & Answers
________________________________________________
Total 3 Hours


세미나 참가비: 7만원 (70,000 KRW)


조기등록시 Pre-Register
~ 4월 28일까지 – 4만원 (40,000 KRW until 28th April)
~ 5월   5일까지 – 5만원 (50,000 KRW until 5th May)
~ 5월 12일까지 – 6만원 (60,000 KRW until 12th May)
이후 현장등록비와 동일
* PayPal is available.

* Bank Account for Payment : Nong-Hyup(NH BANK) 302-0450-1331-01 송광빈(Name)

* PayPal is available. (click here – email to song.kwangbin@gmail.com)

  - Register Fee on PayPal
   ~28th April, 40 USD
   ~5th May,  50 USD
   ~12th May, 60 USD
   after 70 USD
  - Please Check ‘Personal Payments’ and ‘Others’ 
* You can ONLY register with the register form above. No phone call or E-mail
* To get ‘Pre-register Discount’, the money must be sent by ‘the day’.
* The money paid will not be refunded. Please think carefully before you register.
* If the seminar is canceled, the money will be fully refunded.
* To send the register form, please drop the left square on the right square.

*There is also a discount for group-registration (minimum 5 people, 40,000 won for each)

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Stripes in BJJ


Sometimes, people ask me how many stripes I have on my belt.  When I tell them "zero" they sometimes get confused especially since I am very dedicated and have been a purple belt for well over a year.   I think it's a silly question to begin with.  I realize that the skill differential between someone with zero stripes and four stripes can be quite large, but in the end I'm just a purple belt, plain and simple. 

Truth be told, I could care less about stripes in BJJ.  Okay, okay I know what you're thinking:  "Yeah, sure man.  You don't care about stripes, but you feel that it's necessary to make a blog post about how much you don't care about stripes".

Look, I have to write about something, don't I?

I realize that stripes can help motivate students and help keep an instructor aware of where a student stands towards his/her next promotion (especially at big schools), but I think that many people put too much emphasis on the little pieces of tape around their belt.  Some tape or even my belt color isn''t going to keep me from catching an ass whooping from someone on the mat. 

I don't want to come off like I'm above caring about promotions.  Quite the opposite is true actually.  I remember really, really wanting to be a blue belt and really working hard and striving to get my purple!  To be honest, I like promotions (hell, who doesn't)?  It feels good  to have your instructor recognize all the hard work you've put in and your accomplishments. 

Actually, it's kind of cool not having any stripes.  People have no idea if I'm a fresh, newly minted purple or if I've been at it awhile.  It keeps people on their toes.   Also, having my instructor give me a kind word every now and then (something I think every good instructor should do) means more to me than a piece of electrical tape around my belt. 

Personally, I really don't need a marker to help motivate me to go to class and try to advance and excel.  I think the desire to get better should come from within me and not from carrying or worrying about when or whether my instructor is going to put something on my belt or not. 

These are all just my thoughts of course and my own personal opinion.  Just because I don't care for stripes doesn't mean that I think they are completely useless.  Also, any sort of positive recognition from an instructor is always something to be happy about and reflect on.  Now, stop reading this and go train!

Ham "Little Cutie" Seo-hee Highlight


Awhile back, I posted this competition match of professional MMA fighter Ham Seo-hee competing in the men's divison at one of our competitions here in Busan.

http://iloveleglocks.blogspot.kr/2012/10/ham-little-cutie-seo-hee.html

Team MAD posted this highlight reel of her, and I thought it was pretty cool.  Also, the Talking Heads rule!

        
         Psycho Killer

        
         SSEDA Open Work out

And, the award for the coolest song ever with the weirdest, worst video ever goes to....The Talking Heads!

                     
                      One of my favorite Talking Heads songs

Thursday, April 4, 2013

"Follow by E-mail" problem addressed and fixed

So, I just recently found out that my Follow by E-mail subscription wasn't working.  If you are fond of reading my inane babble, please feel free to sign up.  It will work now!

Also, my teammate Kang Jung-min is fighting this weekend at ZST. 35.  He is in the main event and will be taking on seasoned veteran Naoyuki Kotani who has fought in Pancrase, Rings, Pride FC, and the UFC. 


Thanks for reading!

Monday, April 1, 2013

DEEP Loud Impact: DEEP Macs Headbangers



Sure, you knew Imanari could rip your foot off in seconds, but did you also know that he can grind his way into your heart?

The man, the myth......the hardcore vocalist?

            

      
Man, I wish I was in Tokyo.  I would be there!


                               Go Imanari!

                               DREAM 17 Masakazu Imanari v.s. Abel Cullum

Speaking of shows, the Deftones are playing in Seoul on May 9!  Man, I haven't been to a show in years since I left Austin.  Unfortunately, nobody that I know likes them here.  I don't mind going by myself, but the tickets are insane-110,000 Won (about 100.00 USD).  I've never paid that much for a show.  That's more than half of what I paid to see then in Austin the last time they played at the Austin Music Hall.


The Deftones sounding unusually good live in Austin