Iman's Posts

A few weeks ago, I posted a blog which was a transcription of an interview with Relson Gracie from FightWorks Podcast. A week later than that interview, Renzo Gracie was invited to the podcast and he had a few things of his own tosay. Renzo is not only a black belt in jiu-jitsu (of course), but he is one of the Gracies with the most mixed martial arts fights out there. As a member of Gracie Barra, Renzo shared some of his thoughts about the comments made by Relson Gracie. Relson offered some frank opinions about some of the changes he perceives in jiu-jitsu and like most opinions, there are those who believe differently. Renzo is known as the perennial smiling nice guy in the Gracie family but his rebuttals in this week’s show will show an angle of Renzo you probably have not heard before.

In addition to the counterpoints that Renzo states in this interview, you can learn more about the late Rolls Gracie and his role in the early development of what we call Brazilian jiu-jitsu today.

TRANSCRIPTION OF RENZO GRACIE INTERVIEW

The FightWorks Podcast: All right family, this is Caleb with the Fightworks Podcast, and we have a very special guest on this week. Last week, we had a couple of big names on our show, and this week is just the same. Right now, on the call, I am joined by Renzo Gracie. Renzo, how are you?

Renzo Gracie: How are you doing my brother, nice talking to you here.

The FightWorks Podcast: We’re great, and we’re happy you’re here. Renzo, we brought you on because there are probably some opinions you have about our conversation with Relson last week.

Renzo Gracie: Yes, yes. Relson is a great guy, I love that guy.

The FightWorks Podcast: Some of the things that Relson said, may have…a few people in Gracie Barra may have strong opinions about some of the things Relson said. Do you want to start, or would you like some examples?

Renzo Gracie: Could you bring that up, because I didn’t have a chance to read the whole thing yet?

The FightWorks Podcast: One of the things that Relson said, that I think some people might find interesting, or maybe controversial, was that – and this is not an exact quote – “Roger Gracie is the only person in Gracie Barra who uses pure Gracie Jiu Jitsu.” I think he is talking about his style of attack with the closed guard, and that sort of thing. Does that help?

Renzo Gracie: Does that make sense to me, is that what you ask? [laughs]

The FightWorks Podcast: Sure, sure.

Renzo Gracie: No, it does not. Now its funny, now that you mention, I had a very strange experience this past week. One of my students, he actually went to California, and he ask me where he should train. I say, “the Gracie Academy,” because that was the closest place to where he was going. I sent him to Rorion’s Academy, the one in Torrance. He goes in, and they told him that he shouldn’t train there, because that place was the “real jiu jitsu place.” It was like they were saying he doesn’t know jiu jitsu, and is learning from a source that doesn’t know how to teach.

You know what happened, my friend: I see a lot of people now, especially my family, saying that. “Oh, I know the real jiu jitsu, you don’t know the real jiu jitsu.” We all learn from the same place, we all develop the same art together, growing up. But for some reason, once they jump in a plane and they move to America they try to sell a product, like the American people are a bunch of fools. Right now, I became American, and I know there are no fools here.

Do they pay for good service? They do. So if you feed them the real technique, if you give them the real sport, and everything like a good product, they will buy it and they don’t care about the price. But don’t try to bullshit them and expect them to accept anything you try to shove down their throat, because this is not the greatest country in the world for no reason. In reality, I see this crap today, “this is the real jiu jitsu”…let me be honest, I see jiu jitsu now turning into Krav Maga. Turn into kung fu! Like they are selling things that will chop your head in half, with a karate chop.

You know, its become a joke. Let me tell you what the real jiu jitsu is: the real jiu jitsu is the one that doesn’t back away from a challenge. It goes at the obstacle and defends its flag. It’s like, if you want to claim that you have the best fighting style, you should be in the UFC kicking some ass. That’s where the best competition is.

So when people call me, saying “this is the real jiu jitsu,” the next thing they are going to say is “I cannot use it, because I could kill you!” [laughs] You know, that’s what I heard my whole life, from those fake martial artists who claim they were better than everybody else. So believe it my friend, I live my whole life watching this and seeing this. We were always against that, and now suddenly one branch of my family is turning into that! It’s claiming that, but doesn’t go on the proving ground to prove it, does not step into the place where he should actually be representing jiu jitsu, to do it.

The only guys that are doing this now, is my team, and actually I’m from Gracie Barra. So if you’re talking bad about Gracie Barra, I was one of the founders. You talk bad about Gracie Barra, you talk bad about me! If you claim that I don’t know jiu jitsu…it’s a joke, you know?

The FightWorks Podcast: I think [laughs] the observation that you made about people claiming their jiu jitsu is the purest, or ‘the’ jiu jitsu, but not coming to demonstrate that against other jiu jitsu, is the important point.

Renzo Gracie: Yes! You have to understand one thing. The champions have the right to talk. The losers have to shut up. If you lost, you should shut your mouth off and walk away. So I don’t see no champions talking [laughs]. That’s the reality. People are selling a product, they become the king of the internet.

The ‘pure jiu jitsu’, it’s doing nothing but selling products on the internet. Again, trying to shove crap in American peoples’ mouths. This is just claiming: go and prove it with acts, my friend! The jiu jitsu was good when nobody else knew any jiu jitsu. Now, everybody knows, so now, only those who are really good shine. If you realise Gracie Barra produce more champions than anybody else, go to the world championship and try to fight in there.

You see, I am one of the guys who have the best game, believe it. If I wanna go compete on the championship level, I would have to dedicate like three or four years of my life to be on the level, of the sharpness, of those kids who are fighting in there. So I cannot question the level, the champions that they are: they are! If you win the world championship, you are legit. Nobody can question that.

Anybody questioning that, it’s because they’re afraid to step in there.

One thing I feel sorry about, is Rorion’s kids. They are very good kids, but their father feeds them nonsense. So, they could be unbelievable fighters, but they are going to end up as mediocre fighters, mediocre people. They are going to go through life as great businessmen. If I was them, I’d be selling self-help books, that’s what they should be doing. There is more money in that, instead of claiming that they are real fighters.

They are far from being real fighters. Far. Believe me. When they created a competition, when my cousin Rorion created a competition and created the rules, so his kids could win, and then tells that his kid is going to win, they couldn’t even win that. Not even the pure jiu jitsu rule that he claims he created, which was nonsense rules. Next thing I see, his kids could win nothing. They were losing to guys on the second tier, like Marc Laimon, he was beating them up. Guys who could not even feature in a world championship! People who could never compete in an Abu Dhabi and do well!

This, you know, it is talk. I don’t like to talk, especially because I do have a sharp tongue, and I’m going to strike everybody who makes no sense to me. Relson is a guy that I love, you have to understand. If he needs a roof tomorrow, he has a place in my house. Exactly like I did with his son, his son was here training with me for a long time, he’s a great kid.

Extremely good heart, very strong mind, could be an unbelievable champion, but he needs the environment for training: that’s the environment I create here in New York. A lot of champions come out of my academy. It’s not without a reason, we train for that, and the same thing at Gracie Barra. So, you can’t question that.

To be honest, if I today was Rorion, I would sign up my kids at Gracie Barra. I would put his kids to train there, so they could reach the top of their potential. Right now, they’re in an environment where they will be nobody, they’re going to be nobody for the rest of their life. Let me tell you one thing, I do believe in a spiritual world, and when you are born with the Gracie name, you have an obligation. You have to fight, you have to teach, and you have to influence people in the right direction.

So, if you start selling crap to people, if you start selling this, then chances are you’re going to fade, you’re going to disappear. You may fool one or two for a little bit, but you cannot fool everybody all the time. That’s the reality, you know.

The FightWorks Podcast: I think one of the complaints that comes from that side is they say modern jiu jitsu competition is too different from the way a real fight happens, and those rules are artificial. So, they don’t want to put their kids in, because they think it’s different from what was intended by people like Hélio Gracie.

Renzo Gracie: No, never. You have to understand, my uncle Hélio was one of the most amazing jiu jitsu fighters I have ever seen. He was responsible for developing a lot of the defence aspect. The fact that he was very weak, physically, but he was able to develop sharpness on the defence.

But, my uncle Hélio never had a chance to meet the Japanese person who actually taught my grandfather. Uncle Hélio never met him, never lay his eyes on Mitsuyo Maeda. So before Uncle Hélio, there was my grandfather Carlos Gracie, there was Jorge Gracie, there was Osvaldo Gracie and there was Gastao Gracie. Those four were fighting before my Uncle Hélio. Uncle Hélio had the chance to represent. Was he an important link on the chain? Yes he was. He was the Einstein, he spent his whole life on the mat, developing and working to make jiu jitsu better. But to claim that he was the creator? He was far from that.

This fight precedes us. We are nothing but messengers of what we receive. My grandfather was the first one, Carlos Gracie was the oldest brother. You know, the only difference, which for some reason my Uncle Hélio forgot, was the brotherly love. You see, if you call my brother Ralph now, and you ask him, who is better, him or me, he is going to tell you, it’s me. If you call me now and ask me, who is better, I will tell you it’s him.

We both know who is better, because we’ve trained together our whole life, but I want to see him in the highest spot. I know he wants to see me that way too. If you ask both of us who is actually better, that came out from my mother’s womb, we would both tell you it was our brother Ryan. This is the difference, between the brotherhood and the love we have for each other, and what my Uncle Hélio and his descendants have.

A lot of times, people only respect the hammer, so let me be honest: I am tired of being the nice guy. I have the fucking hammer in my hand! These people keep talking nonsense and insulting others. So they better be ready to step in there and stand up for their beliefs, because I’m ready to get in there and stand up for everything I believe. I also have a beautiful pair of brass balls to do it. [laughs]

The FightWorks Podcast: Renzo, I want to help clarify things. So, you are saying – for our audience out there – that Carlos Sr was the one who learned from Maeda, and Hélio learned from Carlos…

Renzo Gracie: Yes!

The FightWorks Podcast: …and then it went forward?

Renzo Gracie: Yes! He learned from Carlos and his brothers, Osvaldo, Gastao and Jorge. That’s the reality. He was the youngest one. He would be coming to the academy looking at them teaching jiu jitsu. You want to claim he invented jiu jitsu? If there is anybody who can have that claim, in our family, after my grandfather (my grandfather never claimed it), then it would be Rolls.

Rolls is the one who died in a hang-gliding accident, and he was the guy who actually completely changed jiu jitsu in Brazil. He started training a lot of wrestling, a lot of judo, he started training SAMBO, and he was able to incorporate all that into jiu jitsu. He was the one responsible for all the evolution we have today. He was the pioneer of all that change.

Rickson, as good as he was, Rolls was his teacher. All the new generation, they became that great because they learned from him. Relson was great because he learned from him too. So if someone has that claim, only Rolls could do that, but he was humble enough to understand that he was nothing but part of a link in a huge chain that we hope will last forever. I hope that I will see my son one day representing our sport in the ring.

Guys who don’t step in the ring, but want to claim they have the pure jiu jitsu, they sent my student away. Look at the difference: if one of their students came to my place, and claimed he is from their school, I won’t charge him, he will have the class for free. He will be training with us, and I will be trying to help him, in anyway I can, to improve his jiu jitsu. On the other hand, when my students goes there, he has to put up with an embarrassment like that. Someone claiming that that place is where the pure jiu jitsu is, and the jiu jitsu that he knows doesn’t work. This is a joke! I was laughing, when the guy told me, I was laughing.

That’s the reality. When a blue belt student of mine goes there, he is able to finish the brown belts! So, I really ask you, who has the pure jiu jitsu, who is the real deal? I’m not selling garbage here, I’m selling the reality, the one that I learned. I’m in a very privileged position. If I could go back in time, and be fifteen or sixteen years old again, I wouldn’t do it, because I had the chance to know the first generation, the second generation, the third generation, and for sure, I’ll know the fourth generation of fighters in my family. I will help to build them.

This rarity, I had the chance to see everything, to be in the middle of everything, I can tell you from my heart everything I saw. I know, a lot of people are becoming business orientated and their only thing is to make a buck at the end of the day. Believe it, if that was what my goal, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing, I’d be working in the financial market. I would have better odds to make it, instead of being in the martial arts business. This business is for those who put their art first. I would leave the rest of my life, without clothes, just wearing my gi and sleeping on the mat, with my wife and my kids living in the academy, and I would not betray everything I believe in and live, up to now.

So I tell you, while everyone would like to go back and be young again, I wouldn’t change my life one bit, because with what I learn and what I’ve seen, I’m happy with my age. I never understood when my father told me, when I was young, that every age would have its beauty. Now I understand. As I mature, the more I understand life, the more I understand every little experience that I had.

Everything that I’ve lived tells me that Gracie Barra – and now the Brazilian jiu jitsu dies out there, it’s lost – Gracie Barra is one of the main ones, because it was one of the initial ones. Gracie Barra, Alliance, and now the Gracie academies that are out there, to represent Brazilian jiu jitsu, they are the real deal.

If you have a guy competing in the world championship, if you have a guy competing in the nationals, on the top high level of athletes, and he’s doing good, that shows how great your schools are. Anyone that tells you otherwise, they’re out of their mind, it makes no sense. They shouldn’t be walking around the giants that I grew up with, you know, rubbing shoulders with them, which made me understand how great this sport is.

Anybody who gave that away, to get money back, only think about money, it’s completely wrong.

The FightWorks Podcast: Renzo, one of the things you said, I want to talk about. You said, if anybody deserves credit for making jiu jitsu what it is today, its Rolls, because he incorporated judo, wrestling, everything else, into something that before was more simple.

Renzo Gracie: Yes, he was responsible for all the innovations. I remember when I learned the triangle choke, at his academy, in Figueiredo Magalhaes 414 in Copacabana. I do remember, I was there! You can’t come to me and claim that you made this, you made that: it’s a joke. I see guys know, they learn a choke here and there, and they claim to create it. One strong example of that is when I show the anaconda choke to Rickson at PRIDE 2, the second PRIDE that I fought, we saw this move together. Seven years, eight years later, people claim they create it.

This all came from the infinite source of knowledge that my family is. Every time we came together, we exchange knowledge, we saw the moves, we saw everything. So for people to claim, like, that “now I have the purest”, they don’t go in the arena to prove it…it’s wrong. Rolls was always willing to be in there and prove how efficient it was. If you ran your mouth too much, he’d show up at the academy to kick your ass. That’s how he has, that’s how we learned, that’s how we grew up.

I had the chance to see all those generations, one after another, how everything was formed. I saw kids becoming men, you know, together with me as I was growing up. I saw guys like Roger. People claim that Roger has the purest jiu jitsu. Let me explain something to you: the only teacher Roger had his whole life was Carlos Gracie Jr, the head coach of Gracie Barra. He was his main teacher. When Roger was a champion, he came training with me here in New York to improve his no gi. My Uncle Carlos sent him over to train here with me, so he could start fighting in MMA.

In reality, everything Roger knows, was learned from Carlos Gracie Jr, the head of Gracie Barra. Believe it. If you want to sign up your kids, one of the best places to do it will be a Gracie Barra academy. So Rorion should actually do that! Especially because they are now like forty-five minutes from the academy. He should go there and sign up his kids, so they can learn what real jiu jitsu is, you know?

The FightWorks Podcast: There is a lot of Gracie Barra out there.

Renzo Gracie: Yes! For sure, he should go look for the closest one and go train there. Let me tell you one thing, I don’t tell you this to make fun, or try to talk down to them. I tell you this so they can read it, and understand they should be doing that!

Without the kids, Gracie Barra back then was too small. So every two or three days of the week, we had only ten guys to train with, when Gracie Barra was created. I was there, I was a kid, me, Ralph and Ryan. Every chance I had, I would go to Rickson’s academy to roll with him, to roll with my cousin Royler, and all the great guys that were there training.

He should do the same! If he wants to get better, he should go to his cousins academy and train there because that is where the champions are. They can claim they are good, once they can finish those guys. If you cannot finish them, if you cannot dominate them, if you cannot sweep them, if you cannot mount, you cannot show your superiority on the mat, just keep your mouth shut. You’ll look better. You won’t force me to go out of my way, to be talking the truth here.

The FightWorks Podcast: Renzo, you mentioned a story, one of the times when all the guys at Rolls academy down there, went to another academy, who gave problems, I think to Charles Gracie?

Renzo Gracie: Yes, yes, it was a guy from luta livre. We went there, and that’s how all of the fights between luta livre and jiu jitsu started. We had a fight on the street hours from that fight. Rillion, my cousin Rillion, who teaches in Florida, went down and fought the national champion in taekwondo, the luta livre guy. So, he beat the crap out of the guy on the street, and then this guy sneak from behind my brother Charles and knock him out, on the street. So, we went to his academy, and we beat the crap out of everybody there. That’s how everything started.

So, my friend, they force me to one day do a visit, because I will do it. I will grab two or three of my cousins here, and come over, to see who the real jiu jitsu is. So stop talking nonsense, stop selling your fish with doubts, stepping on people’s heads. You want to sell your fish, that actually isn’t fresh: it is fish that has been dead in a boat for over a month! Just because you keep it nice, don’t come and claim that our fish is bad. Our fish, we pick it up in the morning and sell at lunch time, that’s how the market works.

So don’t force me one day to do a visit, because I will do it. Right now, I’ve been training a lot, and I want to fight again. If along the way I need to do a visit, I will do it! I’ll bring the class with me, exactly like they liked to do it in the old times. I know exactly what is going to happen, when I get there, they will tell me “where do you think you are? You’re in America, I will call the police! You don’t belong here!” I do believe that is going to be the reaction. They don’t even have the balls to back it up, I don’t believe they have it. I know what I’m talking about, my friend, believe it.

I’ve seen everything, and anybody who needs to put the others down to look better, this is nothing but cowardice. I don’t put people down. I do admire them, I admire their work, I want them to succeed, but don’t come and claim that I’m behind in line, in any situation. That my team, the Barra Gracie, doesn’t have quality jiu jitsu. This is nonsense. That is the school that I helped to form, and that is the school that I’m willing to stand and defend any time.

I know that the quality of champions that come from that battlefield. I’ve been there to see it, and every time I have a chance, I go back there. Not only to teach, but to learn, because the people that are there are all great.

The FightWorks Podcast: Renzo, you talked a little about preparing to fight again. Can you tell our listeners a little about that?

Renzo Gracie: Yes my friend, I had a great meeting with Dana White, and the Fertitta brothers. They invite me to be part of the UFC. What can I say? How can I say no? I was two and a half years doing nothing but being lazy and eating chocolate, watching TV and watching the unbelievable fights that they put up, and I say, “this is it, it’s time to go back and have some with these young guns.”

So here I am. I will probably be back in action, I hope, at the beginning of next year. I know the invitation still stands, and my gut is already gone, I’m in good shape, so it’s time to battle.

The FightWorks Podcast: I know all of our listeners, because we are all jiu jitsu guys, listening right now, all over the world…our audience is called the Mighty 600,000. There’s not 600,000, but that’s the name.

Renzo Gracie: My brother, to be honest, with all the jiu jitsu guys here today, I do believe you have six million, my friend. [laughs]

The FightWorks Podcast: They are all going to be watching and pulling for you Renzo, so we wish you good luck with that. Anything else you want to tell our audience, before I let you go?

Renzo Gracie: My brother, thanks for this little space that you gave me, thanks for your friendship, and thanks for the giving the opportunity to express all my feelings. All you guys who train jiu jitsu, it is an honour to be fighting there for you guys. For every man who sweats and bleeds under the jiu jitsu flag, you know? This sport is not mine, it’s ours. So its a great pleasure to be representing us in there.

The FightWorks Podcast: Excellent. Thank you very much, Renzo!

Renzo Gracie: Thank you my brother, all the best my friend.

Hi guys, I am an avid reader of Nate Green’s blog (www.thenategreenexperience.com). I found the latest post pretty awesome and something that I will likely be trying myself. Unlike Ed and Ben who are more than willing to eat their same slightly less than appetizing salmon dish (I just don’t have the discipline) day in and day out, I like my food to taste good. In fact, I need my food to taste good! So I will give this an honest try and try to eat better (nutritionally and taste-wise). Anyway, I thought I’d share Nate’s blog post with you so that it might be a good read for some of you hard working peeps out there. Enjoy and check out Nate’s blog:

Every day this winter I ate at least one meal prepared by my private chef.

I’m not a millionaire, royalty, or anyone particularly special (though my mom would argue that last point); I’m just a lazy guy who knows the value of eating healthy and doesn’t mind spending a little extra coin.

But I have a little secret: having someone else cook your food doesn’t cost as much as you’d think. In fact, it’s usually cheaper than eating at restaurants, and if you find the right chef like I did, the food tastes better.

This post will show you how I found a private chef, the negotiations we made, and how you can find one, too.

And if that’s still a little out of your price range, I’ll tell you how to have multiple chefs cook for you instead. (It’s a no-brainer, but most people overlook it.)

Healthy Food Delivered to Your Door

In September of 2010, I was hanging out in Toronto with Phil, the CEO of Precision Nutrition. We were in the middle of a long meeting/brainstorming session in his apartment when I suggested we break for lunch.

Phil walked to his kitchen, opened the fridge, and handed me an already-cooked gourmet meal of lemon-pepper salmon, sautéed veggies, and quinoa. I transferred the meal to a plate, re-heated it, and dug in. Delicious.

Phil told me how he had six meals delivered to him every few days from a small company who specializes in preparing healthy meals for busy professionals.

That was all I needed to hear. When I got back home, I began my own hunt for a private chef.

Going Chef Shopping

It didn’t take me long to find someone who’d cook for me.

Brian, a guy I knew from my favorite café, was a chef who had worked at a couple of top restaurants in Missoula. Due to the lagging economy, he was in between jobs and looking for something to do.

I told him my idea and he agreed to cook for me if I could enlist another person to make it worth his time.

My friend Jason — website designer and fellow bachelor — liked the idea of not having to cook and agreed to join me.

Now all we needed was to negotiate a price with Brian and establish a few “food rules”.

How Much It Cost and “Food Rules”

Our food rules were pretty straightforward:

1. Organic food when possible
2. Grass-fed beef, free range poultry, and wild-caught fish
3. At least one serving of high-quality protein per meal
4. Vegetables or salad at every meal
5. Acceptable carbs: brown rice, quinoa, and some pasta, but only in small servings

The recipes, combinations, and food pairings were left up to Brian.

We settled on $130 each per week, which would cover the cost of groceries (Brian would do the shopping) and time spent in the kitchen.

For that $130 dollars, Jason and I were guaranteed at least 10 healthy meals each every week.

That broke down to roughly $13 per meal, about the same price you’d pay for a good sandwich or a mediocre salad with chicken.

As long as Brian made us each at least 10 meals and followed the above food rules, he could mix and match as much as he wanted and spend the money however he saw fit. In fact, it was in his best interest to keep his food costs low while still maintaining high-quality ingredients.

Jason and I would swing by Brian’s house twice per week, on Mondays and Thursdays, to pick up our next batch of food, pay, and review the food receipts from the previous week to make suggestions.

With the details worked out, Jason and I sat back, let Brian work, and enjoyed great meals.

Here are the ingredients of the photo, just a couple examples of the food Brian cooked for us:

-Orzo salad with broccoli, carrots, cabbage, asparagus, tomatoes, red peppers, basil, scallions, a special blend of walnut, wok, garlic and olive oil, and tamari soy sauce. On top of that is a sirlion steak.

- Stew made with cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, celery, carrots, onions, jalapeño pepper, chicken, home made veggie stock, a little cinnamon, salt and pepper, and a dash of cayenne pepper. There’s also brown rice to go in or with it.

- Chicken seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, basil, chili powder and coriander, and quinoa salad was cooked with onions, tomatoes, currants, dried apricots, and carrots.

The Benefits of Having a Private Chef

With at least one of my daily meals cooked and ready to eat, a few cool things started to happen:

• I lost more fat and looked better.

I attribute this to not only the ingredients and quality of the food, but to the fact I was actually eating consistently. As any self-respecting fitness pro will tell you, eating more frequently throughout the day helps keep your metabolism ramped up.

Before my private chef, I’d post-pone lunch or skip it altogether if I was “in the flow” while working on a project and didn’t want to cook or go out. But with a ready-to-eat meal, I had no excuse.

• I broadened my tastes.

Who knew I’d actually like Brussels sprouts or that a little Fat Tire amber ale is a good addition to meaty chili? And I never would have though to put shredded coconut in a fruit salad with pineapple, papaya, and oranges. (Try that, by the way.)

• I saved a little money.

Before hiring a private chef, I’d eat out at least two meals per day, which usually added up to $15 or more for lunch and $20 or more for dinner.

• I got to brag about having a private chef.

What? You can do it, too.

Tips For Getting Your Own Private Chef

While it’s certainly not for everyone, having a private chef can make your life easier. If you’re interested in hiring one, here are a few tips:

1. Got a friend who cooks for a living? Ask them if they’d be up for making a little money on the side.

2. Know a stay-at-home-mom or anyone who’s currently in between jobs that can cook? Ask around and see. The prospect of making an extra hundred bucks per week is always a good motivator.

3. Speak with a catering company and see what they’d charge to do your meals. Perhaps they have a few other clients who could benefit from a healthy meal service.

4. Partner up with a friend, like Jason and I did. It makes it more cost-effective for you, and worth the chef’s time if they can cook double the meals in roughly the same time and make more money.

5. Once you find your chef, establish some “food rules” of your own or hand them specific recipes you’d like them to make.

The Cheapest “Private” Chef Ever

If you have a Whole Foods or Trader Joes near you, start buying a few ready-made meals at the deli. They almost always have good selections of seasoned and cooked chicken and fish, along with vegetable medleys, quinoa-based salads, and beans.

I find this is a great way to buy several “lunches” for relatively cheap. Just make sure to go a couple of times per week and stock up on the fresher ingredients – most of the ready-made food will deteriorate in quality and taste after a couple of days.

You Still Gotta Cook

Just because you have someone else preparing and cooking a few meals for you doesn’t mean you get to put away your pots and pans.

Eating ready-made meals from a private chef (or from Whole Foods) is a great way to eat healthy without taking a lot of time to cook or clean up, which is why I eat them for lunch in the middle of the day, when I’m usually working on articles.

Still, I prefer to cook or go out for breakfast and dinner as I don’t want my sautéing skills to get rusty. Plus, cooking and eating with my girlfriend or friends is one of my favorite things to do (and, studies show, can actually lead to more happiness).

But while I still harness my inner-Emeril and bust out the ceramic knife every day, I have no problem taking a break from my work and reaching in the fridge for a gourmet meal prepared specifically for me.

I recently heard an interview on thefightworkspodcast.com which I enjoyed very much. In choosing my style of Jiu Jitsu, I had done a lot of research and much of this research came from Todd Smith (My Jiu Jitsu Teacher), but it was still very good to hear the opinions of one of the most legit BJJ legends out there. thefightworkspodcast.com followed this interview with Renzo Gracie’s rebuttal the following week (which I’ll post in a few days for you to read), and Renzo’s exciting and controvercial interview was followed by R4th generation, Rener Gracie’s interview a week later. These three interviews have been some of the most interesting discussions about Jiu Jitsu philosophy that I have read or heard anywhere. So here it is… Thanks to www.thefightworkspodcast.com. Check out their website if you are a martial arts fan for sure. Great stuff!

TRANSCRIPTION OF RELSON GRACIE CONVERSATION
Caleb: Relson, a lot has happened this year in jiu-jitsu. I think the biggest event in the very long history of Brazilian jiu-jitsu was that your father passed away in January. You want to talk about that?

Relson: Yes, firstly I am always going to be honored and blessed to be Helio Gracie’s son. Secondly, Helio Gracie changed the world. He was physically small. Carlos Gracie was his mentor in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Carlos taught class until he was 25, 27 or 29 years old. He was the instructor in the academy. But at 30 years old, this changed. Helio Gracie took over. Helio Gracie was the one who most developed and changed Gracie jiu-jitsu and made it effective the way it is. Then Carlos stepped to the side to be the mentor of the family, because Helio Gracie couldn’t get to the point that he was technically speaking without a mentor like Carlos. Both brothers worked together. That’s the way the Gracie clan, the Gracie family was: with the diet from Carlos, and the jiu-jitsu from Helio. Helio’s the one who made all the champions. Carlson, Robson, Reyson… all these guys compete in the family. Rolls, myself, Rorion, all these people grew up under Helio Gracie on the mats. Carlos Gracie Junior moved to my house to learn jiu-jitsu with Helio Gracie. Carlos never gave any classes to Carlos Gracie Junior. I don’t remember Carlos in a gi teaching us. Carlos was the mentor, the doctor. He was the one who told us the day we should fight. He was like a guru of the family. I totally respect him and I think both worked together but in different jobs. Carlos was the mentor and the doctor, and Helio was the instructor and the master in jiu-jitsu. Helio’s the one who built the Gracie clan: Rolls, me, all the tough guys in the family, Rickson… All these guys were undefeated and it was beautiful the way we were raised under Helio. Helio Gracie was the most technical in jiu-jitsu. He’s dead, but everything I do, everything I learned I owe to one instructor: Helio Gracie. Rolls followed Helio’s system and helped me train. Rolls made me train a lot of judo competition and was a good example for me. But Rolls came from Helio Gracie too. Pure Helio Gracie jiu-jitsu. Rolls didn’t take one class with Carlos Gracie. Carlos Gracie never taught jiu-jitsu to us. That is true. Carlos Gracie was the mentor like I said. He always helped in the process of the diet and made Helio Gracie who Helio Gracie was. But jiu-jitsu was built and developed 100% by Helio Gracie. Today it’s still the best jiu-jitsu in the world. I think there is nothing better than growing up with having Helio Gracie as your instructor and master. I never change anything that he taught me. I only try to develop something around what he did. He’s the one who created it. I don’t have to change his jiu-jitsu. I only try to adjust the positions he told us. But I repeat a lot the science that Helio Gracie taught us. I see results of that today. My son is brought up in the same way. He’s still young in competition but he’s going to prove Helio Gracie has the best jiu-jitsu. Nothing’s going to change. Everybody thinks that Helio Gracie passed away, but Helio Gracie is the one who 100% built us and it was Helio Gracie who made my jiu-jitsu strong. There is nothing to change about that. Nobody can disagree with this. Carlos Gracie was the mentor, and Helio Gracie was the instructor of the Gracie family. I hold him in the highest standing. Helio Gracie is never going to die for us. His jiu-jitsu is never going to die. His jiu-jitsu is here, simple and effective.

Caleb: We were talking last night about Roger Gracie. Can you tell the family out there what you said?

Relson: Helio Gracie was Rolls Gracie’s instructor, directly. Rolls was Carlos’ son but was adopted by my daddy. Helio adopted Rolls like when he was one month old. When I was born, Rolls was already in our home. He was my older brother. He was always my older brother. Rolls taught me a lot. During this process when my daddy taught us, we were concerned with his methods. Rolls was an incredible competitor. He was an example as a person and motivated fighters, pushing us to compete – the whole clan: the older brothers like us in the third generation, those in the second generation like Carlson. Rolls was part of the third generation. Rolls always motivated us to compete, and made us follow that path.

Caleb: …and so, Roger?

Relson: Like you guys know Roger is Mauricio [Motta Gomes'] son. Maurcio was Rolls’ best instructor. When Rolls died, Mauricio, as Rolls’ disciple, kept the same ideas that Rolls passed to him. Mauricio passed those to his son. Roger I think is the only one in Gracie Barra that uses Mauricio’s jiu-jitsu. Because I think Mauricio has been Roger’s instructor. That’s what I can see and I can feel. I think I am 100% right about that. Roger grew up with Mauricio’s ways, and that is Rolls’ way. Rolls’ way was closed guard, and that’s what Roger is doing. In all those tournaments he closes the guard. And I don’t see many guys in Gracie Barra doing this style. Roger’s the only one. Roger is the only one that keeps the Gracie style. He closes the guard, attacks the neck, sweeps, gets a good mount, and he submits everybody from the mounted position. You don’t see many Gracie Barra guys doing that. Only Roger. Because he comes from the old generation of Rolls’ students. The closed guard – that’s what Mauricao, his daddy, passed to his son. The guys interviewed me before the Worlds and asked me who was going to win, and who was going to be the open champion. I responded right away that Roger was going to be the champion because he’s the only one who plays closed guard and uses the pure Gracie jiu-jitsu. Helio Gracie never taught us butterfly guard, spider guard, x-guard, any guard that had a name. He never used them.

Caleb: There was just one guard!

Relson: He never opened his guard! Helio Gracie never uncrossed the legs. He told everybody to keep the legs crossed. He trained a lot of chokes from the guard. Armlocks, guillotines, omoplatas, anything that could be done in the guard. The guard is the position where you have the most options for submissions. In the guard, I have 25 or 30 ways to submit people. That’s the position that gives the most chances for submission. People don’t know this. I love playing the guard because I can see how much defense the opponent has. And I have a lot of ways to submit. If he’s not sharp in defense, he’s going to get caught. That’s what Roger is doing. Roger’s the only one I see in Gracie Barra that is following Rolls’ style. I don’t approve of butterfly guard, x guard, all these kinds of guard – I don’t use them. I have ways to neutralize this. So Helio Gracie taught us the way to neutralize these open guards, these butterfly guards. Helio said, “I’m never going to use butterfly guard, spider guard, I don’t hold the sleeves”. That’s not Helio Gracie’s style. That’s not Roger’s style. And so the example is there. Roger is the one that most practices Gracie jiu-jitsu in competition today.

Dan: I think it’s interesting saying that Roger’s original jiu-jitsu came from Mauricio, his dad, and not from Carlos Gracie Junior.

Caleb: It makes sense!

Dan: That’s an interesting point, because style wise, when you compare Roger’s style with a lot of the other famous Gracie Barra competitors like Romulo Barral, Victor and Braulio Estima, they have radically different games and styles versus Roger even though Braulio has the similar physique – long and tall.

Caleb: One of the comparisons that is often made with Roger: many people say, “You know who has a similar, very simplistic game like Roger’s? Kron Gracie.”

Relson: Yes, that’s the same style. You’re seeing the original jiu-jitsu from Helio Gracie. It’s from Rolls. I keep the same style. All my students are doing the same. And the result is incredible.

Dan: You mean you’re not going to help me with upside down guard?

Relson: [laughs] You have ways to neutralize that. I am not impressed with these things. The flying to pass the guard, jumping stuff. That’s not my game. That’s not Helio Gracie jiu-jitsu. I have ways to neutralize this fancy, flying jiu-jitsu. It’s not Helio Gracie jiu-jitsu for sure.

…

Caleb: One of the things you mentioned Relson is something that I don’t think many people know: you and Rolls have the same birthday.

Relson: Yes, Rolls and I were born on the same day on the 28th of March. I learned a lot with Rolls. Rolls was my brother. Anything I liked (the same color, the same food, the same toy), we fought over it. Rolls and I had the same tastes. Because we were born on the same day, our characteristics were pretty much the same. The same blood. Rolls was a tough man. He’s the one who taught me a lot, helped me a lot. I had a disagreement with Rolls when I was eleven and Rolls gave me a beating. He was thirteen. That’s the only time I remember taking a beating. It was really serious. He punched me because we had a disagrement. I went five years without talking to Rolls. I was so upset about that beating. He thought it was right, but I didn’t think it was right. But anyway I got a beating and I learned from that.

Caleb: How old were you then?

Relson: I was eleven. No I think like twelve, and he was fourteen. He locked me in the bathroom and then I got a good beating. The family broke the bathroom door. I was upset and ran out. Then I did a bad thing. I tried to pull a knife on him. Then I was locked in my room for a month because I pulled a knife on my brother. But I remember this beating and I learned from that. Because I didn’t talk to Rolls for like 5 years of my life. From thirteen to eighteen he was the guy I hated most after this beating because I still had a young mentality. It was hard to swallow. I really got a beating. Then after that I didn’t talk to Rolls for five years. But after 18 years old I forgot about it. I totally forgave him. And then Rolls was my best friend. The most incredible brother. I wish you guys could’ve seen Rolls compete because he was incredible. He was a motivator, and incredible instructor, an incredible fighter. He was strict about his diet. He never took any kind of steroids. He always fought open division like me. If Rolls were alive today, his life would be totally devoted to jiu-jitsu. I miss him a lot. But God knows what to do, and life changes. Rolls was a good man, a good fighter, and a great brother. I had the opportunity to live all my life with Rolls. He was a great man. I recommend anything that comes from him. Look at all the champions Rolls made! All the good instructors he made. Good students, good black belts like Fabio Santos, Roger’s daddy Mauricao, Alvaro Romano from Ginastica Natural, Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti. You guys know all this jiu-jitsu comes from the Gracie family. So everybody has a link with the Gracie family. Alliance, all these guys fight the Gracie family on the mats but all those guys come from us.

Dan: Relson, Rolls was a big motivator for you and your game wasn’t he? Didn’t he have a lot of influence on your game?

Relson: One hundred percent. Rolls was my older brother. He was two years older than me. Rolls was the one who introduced me to judo and started making me throw people on the ground. Rolls called m

e and asked if I wanted to train together. I would come from my school on Isla do Governador but on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I would go to Rolls’ school in the morning. The results were incredible. Rolls always pushed us to the edge. He made us train and compete hard. I miss him a lot. I had a lot in common with him. We had the same birthday. When you have the same birthday, we liked the same thing. Our tempers were the same. We are very similar. I miss him a lot. His cake was always next to mine when we had birthdays. I miss his cake being there. But I continue, and Rolls watches us from

there, like my daddy. I am very happy and proud to have this family and of how much they taught me. So I conserve the pure Gracie jiu-jitsu. Helio Gracie jiu-jitsu. That’s how I am, how Rorion is, and Rickson. We’re the older brothers. The ones who keep the Gracie name at top of the line for years and years and years.

Wow, what a weekend that was! So we finally got our new floor mats and running turf in last Friday. You heard right, the new gym now has a 40 yard sprinting track, we ordered the same indoor running turf that professional football teams use. It was like opening a big Christmas present, except really big! Here’s what the gym looked like just before we installed the new ruber flooring and running track…

Installing the turf actually turned out to be quite a bit more cumbersome than we imagined, despite the fact that the two guys that we had hired decided to not show up (don’t even get me started on that), our loyal friend and future champ Curtis Jackson along with Gisele were there all weekend to help me remove the old flooring (before that we had to move all of the weight equipment and treadmills at least 3 times) and install the new one.

Despite how finicky the turf was to put down, I think I will value it more when I’m sprinting on it while pushing a sled. Painful, yes! Effective, hell yes! I’ll attach some more pics of the progress. The track will be lined soon and we’ll also mark 10, 20, 30, and 40 yard lines on it. You guys are going to love this place. We are very close to being 100% done. We even got our blenders last week… for the juice bar?!! What do you mean what juice bar? OUR juice bar, it’s called Juice Monkey and it is going to rock your world! Also big thanks to Benny K for for helping out with the flooring install while getting a bit high on flooring adhesive. We are lucky to have such great friends. Osu!

This past weekend, I was home alone for a few hours and did something that shocked my wife and to a certain extent even myself! I scrubbed the balcony and BBQ clean, rolled out a carpet, bought some outdoor plants and made a little summer hangout space that I have been spending a lot of time in since Saturday. Also went out, got some fruit and other “healthy” ingredients and made the biggest batch of Sangria that one can consume in a few hours. (It was my free day, so don’t wag your finger).

As I sat down to enjoy my masterpiece in the pleasant 35 degree heat, I started thinking and evaluating this somewhat new chapter of my life, mainly the past 3 years since Versus was born, where I started, where I have been, and where I’m headed. I looked back to see what my goals used to be 3 years ago, how they have evolved over time(into little giants that at times haunt me at night:-) and how many of them I have reached vs. not even close to reaching. Despite taking great pride in being a positive thinker, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed in myself for not having met a few of my major goals. As an example, let’s focus on my Jiu Jitsu game. About a year ago I set a goal for myself to not get submitted by any blue belt or lower ranks in our club no matter what. It wasn’t about tapping people out or putting on “pimp-shows”. It wasn’t about winning medals, it was a realistic goal that I was (and am) passionate about: Not making mistakes that put me in a dangerous position. Well, this week during training, I put myself in a few very dangerous positions. So what went wrong? Everyone makes mistakes, however that shouldn’t become a constant excuse. Sometimes you have to say it like it is: “I screwed up!” and see what you need to do to fix it.

I mentioned goals. I talk about goals lots with my students and clients. So naturally they also become reminders to myself and over time the concept of Goal Setting has become a significant part of my day-to-day life and it has worked well for the most part. However, I’d like to propose a small enhancement to Goal Setting – introducing: The Promise. In order to make my objectives more emotionally charged, I’m changing the word “Goal” to “Promise“. My reasoning is that I will think twice more before breaking a Promise. By breaking a promise, I will be letting myself or someone else down. By keeping a promise I will build credibility and get one step closer to to reaching my objective.

Se here’s my plan…

My Objective: Don’t get submitted by Blue Belts or lower in our club
What do I need to do in order to get to my objective? Not give up dangerous positions
What do I need to do in order not to give up dangerous positions? Work on my defensive game – So…
I Promise myself to train at least 3 times a week with a special focus on my defensive game.
I Promise to not risk submission attempts that expose me to danger
I Promise to stay calm and collected and think before I act
I Promise to ask my coach (Todd Smith, he’s awesome at the defensive game) at the end and during each training session to give me tips that will help me improve my defense. Sometimes a small promise like this, the promise to ask a seasoned veteran for help is the most important step.

I will also try to make the same small Promises to myself in order to get to my other objectives. Give that a try and let me know how it works for you. I will definitely keep you updated on my progress too.

Charles Poliquin is an internationally respected strength and conditioning coach, so his opinion carries some weight with me [and most any other athlete, coach or individual who has done their homework.] In his latest column at T-Nation, he dissects the Crossfit method of training with some legitimate issues that we might take into account in ANY training model.

Crossfit has become a very popular approach to training, and one that I and other coaches and athletes may sometimes use. But I am pretty selective in that I don’t use their more “risky” exercises, and I don’t always follow their exercise order, or certain techniques –> The Kip being one of them.

“Don’t want to hurt your feelings” Disclaimer: This post is not intended to insult anyone. I and other coaches and trainers that I work with try to welcome constructive criticism. Take what you can from his comments and look at your own training program to make sure you aren’t making one of these mistakes.

CrossFit Analyzed

Q: Coach, in your last column you talked a little about CrossFit, saying that “no athlete has ever gotten any good training like that.” Have you had a chance to look a little deeper into the method?

A: A lot of individuals love CrossFit. Many of them believe it’s the perfect program to achieve their goals. They’re very satisfied with their progress. And I have no doubt that some individuals have never been injured from CrossFit.

That said, I have six major issues with CrossFit-type training:

1. Lack of sufficient testing protocols

When I looked over detailed notes from a CrossFit certification, I saw protocols for beginning, intermediate, and advanced workouts using multi-joint movements. But I didn’t see any protocols for testing trainees for structural-balance issues.

I’ve worked with Olympians in 23 different sports, along with lots of professional athletes. Before having any of those athletes do their first power clean or squat, I do a series of tests to red-flag muscle imbalances that could increase the risk of injury.

And if there’s a history of injuries with that athlete, then of course that’s addressed in the workout design.

I’ll give you an example: Olympic shot-putter Adam Nelson couldn’t do power snatches before I started working with him because he had adhesions in his rotator cuff muscles. After we addressed the injury with Active Release Techniques (ART), Nelson was able to reintroduce the exercise in his workouts. Within a month he was handling personal-best weights.

Jim McKenzie, a professional hockey player I’ve trained, went from a 281-pound close-grip bench press to 380 pounds in less than four months by focusing on corrective exercises — and that’s without doing any bench presses at all for the first three months!

2. Focus on a single training protocol

The protocols in CrossFit aren’t appropriate for developing the highest levels of strength or power or speed. I doubt if you’ll see any elite powerlifters, weightlifters, or sprinters using CrossFit protocols as their primary method of conditioning.

For example, when I trained [long jumper] Dwight Phillips for the Athens Games, we worked first on structural balance, and then on increasing his eccentric strength.

Besides winning gold medals at the World Championships in Helsinki in 2005 and the Olympic Games in 2004, in training he beat some top-ranked sprinters in the 100 meters. I didn’t accomplish this by having him superset high-rep push-ups with mile runs.

Coaches often overemphasize energy-system training with athletes, to the detriment of other physical qualities. Check out any exercise physiology textbook and look at the studies performed on elite athletes and their VO₂ maxes. It’s not necessary for a baseball player — or a basketball player for that matter — to have a VO₂ max of 70. [A VO₂ max in the high 50s is considered outstanding for a male in his late 20s.]

The promotional materials I’ve read about CrossFit imply that this type of training addresses all the strength and conditioning needs of an athlete, but the concept of specificity tells us that if you try to excel at everything, you aren’t likely to reach the highest levels at anything.

This is why we don’t see individuals who can run a mile in four minutes flat that can also bench press 500 pounds.

3. Insufficient instruction for teaching complex training methods

It takes more than a single weekend seminar to develop the competency to teach certain types of exercises, or to prescribe protocols for complex training methods. I’d include Olympic lifts, strongman exercises, and plyometrics in this category.

These training methods are sometimes criticized as dangerous by strength coaches. But when you look at why athletes become injured, you can often point to poor technique.

Interestingly enough, my first comments about CrossFit got a lot of business for my PICP coaches. They got calls from CrossFit practitioners who wanted to learn how to lift properly.

4. Inappropriate repetition brackets for complex exercises

Although high reps and short rest intervals can be used to develop muscular endurance, these protocols shouldn’t be used with some exercises.

This is especially true with Olympic lifts, where it’s difficult to maintain proper technique with high reps. And it’s especially difficult when supersetting Olympic lifts with deadlifts, or any other multijoint exercise. If you want confirmation, just watch CrossFit trainees do these lifts in videos on their website.

The Olympic lifts should be used to develop power. If you want to develop muscular endurance, you should use simpler movements.

5. Inappropriate exercise order

In the CrossFit “Linda” workout, what’s the logic in fatiguing the lower back with deadlifts before doing power cleans? Not only does it prevent you from doing the power cleans with optimal technique, it makes it more difficult to activate high-threshold motor units. That’s why you should do all your sets of power cleans before you do deadlifts.

Another problem is that combining weight-training exercises with sprints places an athlete at a high risk of injury, especially to the hamstrings.

6. Endorsement of controversial exercises

On one website of a CrossFit affiliate, I saw video clips of athletes jumping onto cars and standing on Swiss balls. I appreciate the need to use a wide variety of exercises with clients, but not if they’re high-risk exercises.

Because of these six concerns, I can’t recommend CrossFit training, especially for those seeking the highest levels of athletic performance.

But in the interest of being open-minded, let’s leave it at this: Despite its shortcomings, the CrossFit system is continually evolving. It’ll be interesting to see how it changes as more athletes, along with nonathletes, participate in the program.

Thanks to http://masculineheart.blogspot.com/

If you want to train, you will always find a way. That’s exactly what we’ve been doing with our BJJ training… finding a way to train. Since we’ve been waiting for our new training center to get ready to move into (and for our new mats to arrive!) it has been challenging to find the time slot and the floor space to train Jiu Jitsu. Todd Smith was away last week in California training at the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy, the head quarters of the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Organization. He got back to Vancouver this week and I and the rest of the guys couldn’t wait to hear stories about his training with some of the world’s best BJJ practitioners.

So we squeezed into our tiny temporary office (yes, our office has mat floors;-) and had a great training session. Thanks Todd, Ali, Troy, Saeed, Sina and Kiarash for coming out. Todd, thanks for the stories of Training with Rener and the rest of the Gracie Clan. Definitely should organize a group trip down. See you all next Monday.

Gracie Philosophy: Powerful Principles and Egoless Sparring

Drive'em Drive'em Drive'em...

Last night, we had a killer FighterBody workout. Sun was our shining, 20 warm degrees and to top it off, an awesome turnout, we had 16 FB’ers show up to our temporary spot on Alexander. We started with an easy jog over to Crab Park (what a great hidden spot), followed by a good stretch and some warm-up runs 50%, 80%, laterals up the hill to make sure muscles are loose and warm before attacking that beast of a hill!

Seriously? that wasn't enough?!!

First part of the workout consisted of 12 X 10 second sprints to the top of the hill, easy walk down and full 120 second break to flush out all of that lactic acid. The last 2 minute breaks start to feel more like 20 seconds. To top it off we did lunges up the hill, followed by three sets of frog leaps half way up the hill and run up the second half. We broke a good sweat!

Thanks to everyone who came out. Let’s take advantage of the sun and head out every chance we get. Until next week…

Iman R.