Hello Hello!!!

Last weekend had a pretty rough roller coaster ride! Had the honor of being sponsored to compete in Europa (put on by Fight To Win, and World Grappling Circuit)!  This sponsorship was awesome!!! I had previously won an absolute divison at the begining of the year, down in Spring, Tx, by beating out a few good guys. (Finals for Absolute below)

This weekend at Europa I had 5 matches in my gi division 155-169lbs, followed by 2 matches in my gi Absolute and ending with 4 in no gi absolute, for a desperate dash towards Gold and prize money!!  I ended up taking 1st in my divison, not placing in Absolute gi, and taking first place in no gi absolute winning 500 dollars and 50 in free supplements. I will upload a couple more matches , ignore the first ten seconds of the match...I had to convert the file to upload it at all. Enjoy!!!

Catching Everyone up to speed

Results of big 2 Competitions.

Pans was amazing, had many fights, made it all the way to the quarter finals, my 5th match. I feel like my last match was a perfect example of horrible scoring. I will insert a link below and I would love some honest thoughts on it as well. Lol, this match hurt me so  bad. Not physcially, was just tough to watch a match I felt I should of won, took me till yesterday haha. Was the first time I watched it since Pans.

Hope you guys enjoy :D

Secondly , I do not have any video footage of Worlds.  But I do have this GEM :P (2nd Place, Blue Belt, Middle Weight) OSSSSSSSS :D

Pans preperation

I feel like 6 times a week, coaching 3 times a week just isnt enough for me to excell at these high levels. Sometimes I feel like everythingI do just isnt enough. I am not trying to sound depressing, just a little discouraged at times, so much work. But if this were easy then everyone could and would do it. That is what makes us stand out, that is what makes us great. Sorry this is a short post, just a real post. I am tired of my job, all I can think about is jiu jitsu and my baby boy. He already shows great promise in the sport, he can mount and even say it!!! He knows what it is, and is constantly mounting mommy when I say mount. I know this sounds horrible, but it is the makings of a prodigy.Just a busy mind , that is all that is happening. I think some deep meditation will help me to focus and clear my mind. Ah well, back to working, going to miss the training with Bruno Bastos today, grrrrrr should of faked sick or something.


- I'll show you how great I am.

Coaching more exhausting than competition!!

Going to give a new Font a try. I will be playing with alot of things on my Blog, trying to spice it up a bit. I would like to start off by telling everyone about my weekend. This weekend was fun, but very tiring. Went to bed at 10 on Friday, only to get up at 4:15 on Sat morning to start our drive to Houston, Tx. Turns out we didnt leave till 6a.m , and made it there by 10:30!! From 10:30 till about 7:30 at night we were coaching team members at Naga Houston. I took my gi...just in case :D. I asked them what time my divison would start and it was going to be at 6 or 7, but take into consideration that they were 2 hours behind as of 4 o'clock. Since my intentions had been to simple coach, I stuck with that, not wanting to inconvience those I rode down to Houston with. After the tournament we enjoyed some Outback!!!!! Yum! I couldn't gorge too much because we have Pan Ams coming up , followed by quite a few tournaments. I am hungry though, veryyyyy tournament hungry. This is two tournaments I have coached at but not competed. I think it is one of the hardest things to do. It is very tiring, you have to be careful not to yell the wrong way, or you go hoarse and no one can make out anything that you are saying. Lol. It is quite an art, and then when people don't listen to you and completly go against what you are trying to coach them through, it gets frustrating. We all have been there though, we all have to learn from our mistakes, it is how we grow. You may be on the mat by yourself but we you are part of a T.E.A.M (who gets this reference?). We got back about 12:45, woke up early for a healthy breakfast and some Open Mat where I became the nail and not the hammer. We all have our days :D I hate going more than a day without training, makes me feel like I missed a week :D That is why Friday should not exist. Ah well, I have to get back to doing work stuff, later I will show you guys my new mat area (GHETTO).

Chicago Open

I wanted to provide you guys with the links to coach's matches. Also I didnt really get a chance to mention her, but his daughter, Danielle Alvarez has been on fire for quite some time. She is going to make quite the mark on the Jiu Jitsu world, watch out for her. Everything I post up video wise of others will be public, if it is not posted on a public forum then it is not meant to be and I will not use my social media connections to obtain them otherwise. Sometimes people don't want their videos up :D

Here is the match against Renato Tavares(above)

Been 2 weeks , better update

So some awesome things have happened that I must share with you guys. First and foremost I got a NINJA blender!!! It is simply amazing, chops everything up crazy quick. Makes me feel like a Jamba Juice. Secondly Coach took 2nd at the Chicago IBJJF and lost to Renato by a refs decision, Danielle took 1st. I thought it should of been at least an advantage for the takedown , seeing as it appears he jumps out of bounds. I will like all the pictures and videos for you guys. Yesterday we drove down to Houston for the Naga there, we had a few guys competing, I was going to sneak in but it was looking like an 8 or 9 o'clock kind of thing, with 4 hours on the drive back. Opted out on this one, Pans in just a few weeks, going to hit last week of training very hard then slow it down big time for next week. It will be awesome, and of course the comrade that comes with the whole event is simply priceless. I will post my thoughts on tomorrows training after class
">Gotta Get That Ninja





- I'll show you how great I am.

Complete dissapointment

As I hear our flight is delayed, all I can do is giggle, who cares I still get to leave it all out on the mat tomorrow! I am hungry , I have been cutting weight for this tournament for 2 weeks and have been good for the most part all week. I decide to indulge in a turkey sandwich , followed by a delicious yogurt parfait with some nasty granola on it hehe. Dont get me wrong I LOVE granola. Anyway, I hear the man at the service counter come on barking about how the delay went from 2 hours and 25 minutes down to 2 hours. .No biggie, I decide to start watching a movie, but get fidgety with anticipation for tomorrows combat. The man comes back over the speaker, maybe the flight is going to be here sooner than expected again, YAY!!! His words read like this.....The flight to Chicago has been canceled....AWESOME. So we are gonna get on the next flight.....sadly it starts out being the next day at 545 pm .....then it moves till Wednesday...either way neither of these put me in Chicago by 9. I try and find a solution, I wanna drive there, we wont make it in time.....disappointment. As I feel myself fall through the floor, I pick myself back up, I have teammates competing tomorrow at a local tournament, I will be there. I may not be going to war tomorrow but my teammates will, and i will be there to coach them. OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Sometimes we end up on foreign battlefields fighting different battles, we fight, we prevail. TEAM ALVAREZ BJJ


- I'll show you how great I am.

The Pink Panther

Today I got one of the biggest surprises ever....A BRAND NEW GI. Some of my AWESOME teammates pitched in and got me a brand new gi to match a pair of Kaylas socks, so imagine my delight when they were the EXACT SAME COLOR!! <3 my teammates, and will wear this gi in all legal competitions!!
">THE PINK PANTHER
- I'll show you how great I am.

Last weekend and this one.

Like I recently said, I had a very good win this past week. It was just what I needed. Everything lined up for me in a way that it usually doesnt. These things are things that I have complete control over, not random. So I guess what you could really say is that , I havent wanted to win this bad before. The thing that I struggle the most with is diet, although it is getting really easy to stay on track now. I see people eating gross food and gross meaning big juicy hamburgers with onion strings, BBQ sauce and pepperjack cheese....OH and bacon. And dont you dare forget fries, with ranch to dip it all in.. YUM....but when I see people eat things that I used to think were yummy, I want to vomit. It is absolutely disgusting. I think it comes down to my body adjusting to the more healthy foods I have been eating lately. I ended up being able to eat before my tournament, and I didnt have to sit in the sauna or do any last minute weight cutting, my mind was a 100 percent into it, and it showed. This weekend coming up I will also be able to do the same thing at the Chicago Open. It will be a good chance for me to test myself again before Pans. There is a guy I lost to at the Houston Open, rrather quickly mind you, that will also be at this tournament. I am excited to get to fight him again without the weight cutting I had done for the Houston IBJJF. I leave Friday, and come back on Sunday!! Time to get super focused for this weekend, there will be some wars. I cannot wait until class.


- I'll show you how great I am.

Research

Last night at the gym was pretty fun. I am having a hard time with Vins X guard, he seems to be able to get there no matter what. One thing that I was having success with is using the Brabo grip to prevent him from extending himself in half guard to bring my leg up onto his shoulder. I also have been pushing on this inside knee very hard, as I try and slide my weight off his X while keeping my hips parallel to the ground. I will have to try this more.
">X guard
Coach could fight Renato Tavares, he is a very good black belt and it will be one of the toughest fights he has had yet. Coach watches tape and asked me to watch tape as well and try to attack in some of the ways that he attacks. I studied him for about 2 hours last night and took quite a few notes, one of the things that he is very adamant about is setting up the Brabo grip, but not always switching hands, and sometimes he just feeds the lapel around the back. He also loves to underhook a leg from half and do the over under pass. He is very good at this. I have a list of notes I will put up one I am done looking at his material.
">Renato Tavares

">Danny Alvarez


- I'll show you how great I am.

Role Models

Something easily overlooked is our ability to influence others. It is my belief that martial artists should lead by example, especially higher ranks. Whether you teach, compete, or just love the sport you compete in you are a role model. You could apply this concept to just about any leadership role, or a role in which you are in public eyes. I say martial arts to point out something that really bothers me, I could give you countless names of people who epitomizes this. I could also give you countless names of people who do not. I understand that it is something to strive towards and not always achieved, but for goodness sakes. If you are in a position of authority, even more so around children or teaching children, you should not be using the F bomb. I was at a tournament recently where I heard AT LEAST 30 F bombs, not quite in one on one conversation, but LOUD F*** bombs. There were children around. It comes down to alot more than just swearing, it comes down to your actions, the core of who you are and how you behave, your beliefs. Many people may see it as cool or down to earth....I do not. In my mind we are raising the next generation to do better than we are, to be better than we are. I want my son to be a better person than I ever have been, and with that, I want other kids to have that as well. I want everyone to want that for their children. I still believe in ....it takes a village. Just a little blurp sorry I am rambling!!

">They are watching!
- I'll show you how great I am.

I felt great

So I must start off by saying I recently competed in IBJJF San Fran 2012. I placed 1st in Middle Blue Adult and 3rd in Absolute. It was awesome!! I started cutting weight at the beginning of the week and was right on point by Sunday when I competed. I would like to say I have never felt so good competing! Most times I have to dehydrate myself, and this leads to a very slow thinking, slow moving version of myself. This time, I had energy and food, I could think and therefore I could achieve what I knew I was capable of 1st place!! This is my first gold at an IBJJF, often times I run into a number of factors that do not go my way. It has been from dehydration all the way to mentally broken, but not at this one. I will be going again to IBJJF Chicago this weekend. A little sore but hey, comes with the territory. O O O and I fought me a bbbbbiiig boy, 320 lbs in the absolute, he pretty much gassed me lol. I need to work on my conditioning even more.
">1st Place Blue Middle Adult
- I'll show you how great I am.

Time off?

I haven't taken any time off of my jitz, but I have taken time off writing. I feel that I must continue. I just competed in Fight 2 Wins "Tournament of Champions 9" down in Houston , Tx. I had 5 matches, won 2 by submission, 2 by points and 1 by refs. I feel that I could have done much better, the way I rolled was still stiff. At one point during one of my absolute matches, I simply would not listen to my coach, this is something that I am going to have to nip in the butt real fast. I think one of the most useful tools to a competitor is having their coach with them, to not utilize this is foolish. I will be doing the 2012 Winter Classic put on by Killer Apps. Trying to take home that $200 for the absolute prize. Also I won sponsership for all the Fight 2 Win and WGC tournaments for 2012!! I will keep you guys posted.