Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu
Dive deep into the exhilarating world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with "Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu," where passion meets perspective, and the gi meets the daily grind. Hosted by a spirited novice, this podcast uncovers the intricacies, challenges, and rewards of embarking on the BJJ journey. From perfecting that elusive guard pass to sharing light-hearted tales of gi faux pas, we explore it all with a fresh and caffeinated lens. Whether you're a white belt finding your footing, or a seasoned practitioner reminiscing about your early days, this podcast offers insights, laughs, and camaraderie. Brew your favorite coffee, tie up your belt, and join us on the mats. Let's roll!
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Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu
Inside the Academy: Professor Joey Dean, Carolina Family Jiu Jitsu
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What if the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu could transform your life in ways you've never imagined? Discover this and more in our captivating conversation with Professor Joey Dean, the esteemed owner of Carolina Family Jiu-Jitsu. With his rich tapestry of experiences spanning boxing, wrestling, Muay Thai, and Judo, all culminating in his mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Professor Dean shares how martial arts have not only molded him as an athlete but also as a community builder.
Join us on a journey through the dynamic world of jiu-jitsu, where personal growth and community engagement are at the forefront. Hear Professor Dean's reflections on the unique bonds formed within the martial arts community, as he shares stories of family achievements and the enriching experiences that have come with his travels and training across various locations. From exploring safety and ethics in jiu-jitsu schools to discussing future trends, like the rise of nogi grappling, Professor Dean provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of the sport and its impact on students and practitioners alike.
We explore the intricacies of jiu-jitsu techniques and the inspiring stories of athletic triumphs, including heartwarming tales of family victories on the world stage. Engage with us as we discuss coffee rituals, health trends, and the journey of expanding a family-run academy. We promise an insightful and motivational experience, encouraging listeners to embrace personal growth, safety, and unity in the martial arts world. Stay connected with our growing community, and keep your passion for jiu-jitsu alive by training smart and rolling safely.
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Speaker 2:Welcome to Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu the blend of white belt enthusiasm, black belt wisdom and a dash of caffeine for that extra kick. Dive deep into the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as we explore the journey, techniques, challenges and the sheer joy of the sport from a White Belts perspective, from intriguing interviews with renowned coaches and professors to playful fun episodes that'll have you chuckling mid-roll. We've got it all brewed and ready. Now stepping onto the mats and into your ears, here's your host, joe Motes.
Speaker 1:Welcome everyone to another episode of Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu. Excited for this episode, I am kicking off a new series. As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, we are developing a bunch of series that will be insightful, engaging and going to have some amazing guests on. Today is our very first episode of Inside the Academy. This is where we have conversations and shine a spotlight on jiu-jitsu academies and their owners, and in this series we're going to dive into the personal journeys of the owners and the members of it and also the story behind their academies and schools and their insights into the world of BJJ. So my guest today I'm excited to announce we've been planning this for quite some time is Professor Joey Dean.
Speaker 1:Professor Dean is the owner of Carolina Family Jiu-Jitsu, located in Rock Hill, south Carolina. Professor Dean is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is also a PANS bronze medalist at Purple Belt. He has a background in martial arts. He was an amateur boxer and wrestler all through school and he also hails a background in Muay Thai and Judo, before making the move to focus more on BJJ solely, I believe, in 2019, he is an avid bow hunter and a Land Cruiser enthusiast. Professor Dean, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks, Thanks, Joe yeah so I gotta ask Land Cruiser enthusiast, what is that?
Speaker 3:You know the Toyota Land Cruiser Yep, it's like a SUV. You know the Toyota Land Cruiser Yep, it's like an SUV.
Speaker 3:Absolutely I don't know. When I was a kid my third grade teacher had a Toyota Land Cruiser and I remember she had us go out to her car with her to get some. I mean, a couple of other students we grabbed a few. Sorry, my voice is a little froggy. It turned on me yesterday so I'm all screamed out. But anyways, we went out to her car to help her bring in these paper bags of I don't remember what it was exactly, and there's some kind of school supplies and art project stuff. But she had this beige SUV and I thought, man, that thing looks sweet, it's all utilitarian looking, and so I was just asking her about it. And then, as I've grown up, every time I see one, see one, I'm like man, but I bought one when we lived in ely nevada. Um and uh have been looking for like years to find the. It's called the 80 series fj80 because it seats eight. You know, because I have six kids.
Speaker 3:So I wanted to be able to get something we can go play in and and ride around the mountains in the desert, you know, and uh and uh, you know it seats everybody and it's a sweet, capable rig. So I found that one and so I've had one ever since and just you tinker with it, you try to, I like it, I like mine stock, so you just try to make sure you're trying to always find oem parts and but they're super dependable and uh, and that's that's the fun part about it is, you know, like when you do mess with something, it it's only because you felt like it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So do you go like off-roading in it? Is there like so I see all these clubs, like these Jeep clubs. Is there like land enthusiasts clubs?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's exactly. And what's funny is you know, like I don't know if you've ever heard of the Jeep wave? Yeah, you know, people own Jeeps to drive past each other and waving each other.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, yeah. I see that when I rent a car and it's a Jeep, people are always waving at me. I'm like oh, that's nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. So there's a couple other dudes in the area that have Land Cruisers and I didn't know this was a thing. But I was driving one day Land Cruiser's like coming from the other direction and see the guy wave at me and I because I was like, well, it's a land cruiser, and I was looking and I saw him wave at me and I waved back. I was like, dude, we just did a land cruiser wave, my wife's very first one, yeah and so, uh, and then a few months later I saw another one and same thing.
Speaker 3:Another guy waved at me. I was like dang, that's awesome, we're getting to be like a actual subculture.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're part of something. You're part of another movement, right? Not just jiu-jitsu, but Land Cruisers. So when I was in let's see I think it was my second tour in Iraq we supported some of the Special Forces teams they call them ODAs and we were like 15 miles from the border of Iran and those guys had the had like a fleet of land cruisers and man they were like up armored and I was.
Speaker 1:That's my only experience with them and I got to ride in a few and it was like riding in a tank man. I was, I like felt safer in this land cruiser than I did an up armor humvee going on convoys. So anytime we had to go on like convoys or supply runs or whatever, or go between the uh, the bases, the fobs, I would always want to ride in the land cruiser because I felt like, yeah, and then also you're in there with like five special forces guys.
Speaker 3:So I think you're doing okay, right, yeah um, you know, um, that's kind of where I, when I decided that that's freaking it, I'm buying one is, uh, I work in the mining industry. So one time I was working down in the gold mine in columbia in south america. Um and uh, every rig on that site was land cruisers and I was like riding around in troopies. You know like, once it was like a troop carrier type one I got to ride inside an ambulance.
Speaker 3:Why I didn't get hurt, nobody was hurt. Caught a ride in the ambulance because it's pretty remote and that one was sweet. This I mean they were, there were trucks there were. It was like and there was like 50 series, 60 series, seven, you know 70 series there and 80 series lane cruisers and I was like that's freaking it.
Speaker 1:When I get home I'm finding the guys so I always like the broncos a lot of people are giving hate to the broncos, but I'm glad they're. They're back and I'm glad they're. They're that box box style. I always wanted one growing up. Yeah, yeah, I had a you mentioned that because that was my.
Speaker 3:That was my first car. My dad and I, like my sister, had one, my oldest sister, and so my dad and I I saved some money up and he bought. We didn't have these on me and we bought a Land Cruiser or not a Land Cruiser, a Bronco together, so it was the worst car I could have had as a high school student. Like terrible idea. Don't do that for your kids. Buy them the crappiest car. They should have a shit car, oh man.
Speaker 1:My car was a. My first car as a teenager was a 1976 Chevy Nova and I bought it out of a junkyard for $200. And when I was like 13 and had to work like several summers to get it up and running, by the time it was 16 and I had that car for years. But yeah, I couldn't imagine having you know. You see these parents who buy their 16 year olds like I don't know, Corvettes and like these sports cars.
Speaker 1:I'm like man, you're just asking for high insurance rates here, like my, my oldest son. He's 26 and he's had four car accidents in the past, like four or five years, and none of them was his or his fault.
Speaker 3:But still there's some kind of magnet that just draws car accidents to young people and yeah, I don't know that's it's no, it's the scariest thing, but that's why I I'm like, that's why that car should not have been the car I had, because we, like it was lifted, had 33-inch tires, had a 351 Windsor in it instead of the original 302 that it came with. Oh wow, like it had a big old Holley double pumper carburetor, like it was oh my gosh, yeah.
Speaker 3:So it was like I had this menial job in high school and I spent all my money to drive this yeah, I but it was like yeah, my nova had the same thing.
Speaker 1:It was a 305. Uh had a four barrel. Uh, holly, uh, holly bot, I can't. Yeah, it's holly, it's what we call them. A four barrel carburetor, yeah, yeah and uh. But yeah, yeah, I guess we could talk this whole episode about our, our car, our car, uh being car fanatic.
Speaker 3:That's kind of what I think. Having the bronco is kind of what set me on the path of being like dude, I've got to get a sweet offered vehicle. Yeah, so so professional you?
Speaker 1:you mentioned your, your uh in your intro. As far as the the information you sent over, what is it that you do for a profession outside of jiu-jitsu? Before we get into your, your jiu-jitsu journey, what is it that you do?
Speaker 3:yeah, so um, I am a hydrogeologist what is that?
Speaker 3:hydrologist. Yeah, yeah, hydro hydrogeology is the study of groundwater or, uh, you know, interactions between surface water and groundwater. You know what happens when water gets into the subsurface. And so you know my, my professional careers, you know I manage water resources for the mining industry, you know, and so, and that's that's been a myriad of different things. You know a lot of much of my career has been spent, you know, sitting on drill rigs, drilling monitoring wells or observation wells and then or production wells.
Speaker 3:You know that pump water For either like a city or the mining operation itself, you know, for either, or like to have water to use on site, or or even just to dewater, and that's dewatering, is a big part of mining and and heavy construction. So, yeah, drilling holes and making water go places it doesn't want to, because it always wants to go downhill, yeah, you know, pumping things like that, it's a big deal. And then surface water aspect of it, you know it's like you have to. Water is the one thing that will create environmental problems, you know, and safety problems. I mean water goes hand in hand with those two things, because water mobilizes bad things and it makes things fall apart when things are oversaturated. So you know that's. It's been a fun part, fun challenging gig, because you know it's. It's exceedingly important and water is the one thing but nobody really seems to pay attention to until it's a problem yeah, yeah, it's been a fun and challenging career yeah, it sounds like a lot of job security too.
Speaker 1:I mean, we kind of have to have it right, and like 71% or 70 plus percent of our planet is made of it right. So how in the world did you get in to becoming a hydrogeologist Like it just doesn't seem like someone who's driving around in a Bronco is like you know what? I'm going to study water. It's like what happened. How did that happen?
Speaker 3:you know what. So, what? It's funny, you asked that because, um, so my wife and I met in boise, idaho. Like, I moved to um boise when I was 15 with my dad um, you know, and I'm adopted. So, like crazy childhood growing up and finally, like you know, family friend is like dude, you're gonna go to prison, so I'm taking you. So we were in nevada, near carson city, and so we moved to boise, idaho, and, um, you know, just over the years of growing up there, it was, you know, it's a great town, um, really, really cool place to grow up.
Speaker 3:But went to school at boise state, you know. And so, um, at boise state, there's three tracks you take in the geoscience department for, like, a geoscience major and I was going to be a teacher, and then I realized that I probably was not going to go. Three tracks you take in the geoscience department for, like, a geoscience major and I was going to be a teacher, and then I realized that that probably was not going to go well, because I oftentimes say what I think I shared instead of using a filter.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I probably ended up like getting canned because because parents, you know that don't like take being a parent seriously really wicked me off. So, anyways, I had a professor. She was like, dude, you probably shouldn't be teaching, you can't. I was like, okay, so I'm already in their science department, so I just their science, you know, major. So I just switched over to a geoscience major and that's when you start. So, like the 100 level of classes they have, you take one of three or you have to take all three of these, these tracks. So it's like geophysics, um, whole earth geology, like hard rock geology, and then like, um, hydrology track, so studying surface water and groundwater, um, and atmosphere. And so I was, you know, taking those three classes. I enjoyed all of them. You know, took geology in high school to get out of taking chemistry and end up falling in love with it. And then you go get a you know you major and get a degree in geology and end up taking a shitload of chemistry anyway. So it's kind of ironic yeah but it worked out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it worked out and because I love chemistry, it's actually really fun, so, um, anyway. So so when I was in the you know the, I took geophysics and it was great and it was fun, and I didn't do poorly and took whole earth geology and it was like, okay, that's cool. But when I took the hydrology class, my brain just seemed to really understand water physics and the different ins and outs of managing it. I've been hitting head a lot and so I was, was like, you know, like my brain's really jiving with this and so, you know, I just really liked it and so that's what I was doing for coursework.
Speaker 3:And then, you know, like, one of my aunts is a HR manager in the mining industry, so at the time she was with the biggest gold miner in the world, barrett, and she said, why don't you't you, you know? And I was also, like you know, in my late 20s, when I went back to school and so, um, you know, it's like getting close to graduating and I was like 30 and she's like, why don't you, um, you know, apply for a internship?
Speaker 3:and I already done a few other internships and some other stuff because I recognized like it's a good idea to know what I'm going to be doing with this degree right right yeah and then so anybody listen to this here in school like, do as many internships as you can, because for one it's a lot of money to spend on a degree that you may end up hating yeah career fields.
Speaker 3:You know when you're done, so. So anyways, that's a, that's the story. I was a big deal because it changed my life. Like you know, I went out there and you know when you're done, um so. So anyways, that's a, that's the story. That was a big deal because changed my life. Like you know, I went out there and you know my wife and I doing pretty good as young parents, but you know like it was, it was obvious for, like man, sometimes we're struggling, you know, financially and stuff, and so going into mining was awesome. So, anyways, I did an internship that summer and was sitting on drill rigs all summer, you know, just drilling holes and man, I loved it.
Speaker 3:I loved the blue collar hanging out with a blue collar. You know rough culture of being a driller and it was really fun. And so that, like, ruined my last year of school because I realized that much of what you're learning is from people that have never done what they're trying to teach you. So I'm sitting there like man, but you know, right after I graduated I just went straight back to work at the gold mines in Nevada and drilled a lot of holes and got a lot of water moving and, you know, did a lot of really cool stuff, and so it's been a really fun career.
Speaker 3:You know, I'm grateful, though, because you know, for one my aunt, aunt Marie, who's a bomb. Thank you. And then I also had some really good first managers. You know, like people that I was learning from, that are still my mentors today. I still bounce ideas off of them and, you know, I think I'm the best at what I do, and that's only because I have the resources. I do with the awesome people, because they're obviously really the best ones. Yeah, yeah. So you know, it's been, uh, it's been really cool, but yeah, you know that you know.
Speaker 3:That's, that's why we've trained at so many different gyms, is because we've moved around a lot for my job, because, um, you know, like you said, job security, you know water is always. Water is all we need, always needs to be managed, like everywhere it's, even in the middle of the desert. You know whether it's where you're in, a place where it rains a lot or has a lot of groundwater, because the geology or, um, you know, or it's the desert, it doesn't matter. You dig a hole and try tries to fill with water yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:The only experience really, besides having to consume it daily with water that I have is, you know, trying to drink enough of it to stay alive and hydrated. I don't want to, you know. So you know people like yourself, it's keeping the water safe, you know. Hats off to you. So, yeah, yeah, thanks for sharing that. I I, when I read it on the uh, the, the form, that, the guest form, I was like what is that? Never saw that name before, like that title. Before I'm in and I'm in staffing, I've recruited for years, um, yeah, like 10, 15 years, and even in the scientific field Cargill. I know that's agriculture, but I recruited for them.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're all here for phosphate miners.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep, I recruited for them for a while too, and had never heard of that. So well, let's pivot here, man, let's start talking about jiu-jitsu. So let's start off here and, if you could tell, share with us about your personal kind of personal journey into brazilian jiu-jitsu when and and why did you start?
Speaker 3:and then we'll we'll jump into a couple more questions about that, sure um, I think you know, like, really, I guess you gotta start back from kid times. You know, like, really, I guess you got to start back from kid times. You know, like me and my buddies all joined wrestling when we were in middle school and that was fun, you know, traveling with each other as a team and you get to fight and not get in trouble for it. So it was like, you know, like we were all these rough kids and so we were all wrestling and that was awesome, um, you know. And then going into high school, uh, my best friend growing up, you know his dad was a boxer and so, like all all through childhood, you know, we'd grab his gear and he was a boxer, you know, I think, in like the seventies and eighties and um, so he still had his old gear though, so we'd put that on and you know our friend Fina was the toughest one out of all of us, so he'd beat the crap out of us and then us, you know, less tough people would beat each other up pretty good, and then all through, like doing that all through childhood and then, when we got in like ninth grade, started boxing at the Carson City PAL and wrestling I didn't pay attention to wrestling as much during that boxing time until, like you know, junior and senior of high school.
Speaker 3:But you know, combat sports have been a fun part of my life, you know, since I was young and then when I went back to school at I was like 29, I think 28 or 29, you know, and I had kids and you know I was like man, I want to be doing something, you know, cause I'd been pretty much since I hit 20 when I got married. My wife and I got married when I was 20 and, uh, she was 19. And so from that time forward, you know, like being a young adult, you're an idiot. Your friends and you were like we're all getting in bar fights and stupid stuff like that, and after a little while you get tired of that, you're like I can't do that. But I still wanted to be like training because I'd been doing stuff like that my whole childhood and up to graduating high school. And so, you know, so I started, like you know, going to boxing. Still, I hit up the local MMA gyms that were opening up in Boise at the time and just doing Muay Thai and different things like that.
Speaker 3:And then when I graduate where, when I was in college, though, there's the Boise State Judo Club, and so I joined that and it was awesome because I got college credit for being in judo, but, uh, fell in love with that man. That's so fun. You know the the technical nuance of of. You know, making someone throw themselves pretty much that was what my sensei used to always say is you're trying to get them to throw themselves. It was really cool and I love that. You know, I love that there's a ground game, so we still had to wrestle a bit. And you know, in judo, you know, depending you know 15 or 25 seconds, depending on how you guys hit the ground, and so it's like you know that's hard holding somebody down for 25 seconds, you know, and not being able to get you in half guard, because that negates your pin. Or, you know, get on their side or something to where there's no more, like there's no pin occurring. In judo they call it o saiko mi, it's like you know when your pin count starts. But anyways, that was great.
Speaker 3:And so, graduating college, you know we my wife and I were like, you know, well, I, we're going to move because I'm going to go straight into work in mining. And so we moved and you know, doing everything we can in the town, new town we're in. And then we moved again to Denver and, uh, this is working for a consultant consulting firm and, um, you know, like judo, for me to go to judo over there and I was a brown belt in judo at the time so like going to judo was like across Denver, um, you know, so it's like that's a pretty big town from where we were compared to where we live. So I was like man, that's like an hour drive. And so the nearest place to me was a jiu-jitsu school and so I was like, well, I'm going to go check that out.
Speaker 3:And so I went in there and that place was actually pretty cool because it was part of this school called the Greenwood Village, I think it was a racket and tennis club, but it was a big fitness facility and they had an MMA gym in there, like a martial arts academy in there, and it was cool because, you know, like I was doing like Jeet Kune Do and Silat and Eskrima and like Kali, you know, with sticks and knives and then Muay Thai training every day, and then I was kind of like I'm going to start doing the jujitsu in every day. And then, um, I was kind of like I'm gonna start doing the jiu-jitsu, so I go in there with my judo gi on my brown belt and I'm getting mopped on, you know, by like four stripe white belts. You know that are holding my sleeve and my collar at the same time because the gi is so much bigger, you know, and I'm like holy cow and like right, then it's just like the way that these guys would move. You know, like some of the things about judo, like when you're learning, like kodokan judo, is that like the, the ground game is cool for the rule set of judo, but, um, like there's parts of it that just that have been like um, focused on so hard that, like you forget that there's this other move you could do to get to a different position, or something. You know I mean like, like, if you watch kosen Kosen Judo like looks just like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, um, and then you watch like Olympic style Judo, it's it's.
Speaker 3:It's kind of like the ground piece isn't, like I said, it's like left out. Because you know, like if you negate things for five seconds, they make you stand back up and you start over. But so I was like, wow, I am like terrible on the ground and I'm so I could, I could take people down, but am like terrible on the ground and so I could take people down, but you know, once I got on the ground I'd get the crap beat out of me. So it's like I've got to keep doing this and so, you know, I just fell in love with that technical piece of the ground and the guy was a Higan Machado black belt, and so that was really fun, you know, just learning all that and learning that history. And from there, man, you know, every time we moved somewhere it was like, um, we moved back to Boise from, from Denver for a little while, so we were training with a guy I knew, mitch Coates. Um, his school was an alliance school at the time.
Speaker 3:And then it's like, that's how, like, I met Gigi Paiva, who's now in Boise with the school there yep um, you know, and that's such a rad thing to have in that, in in that town, that's cool, yeah, but uh, but anyways, yeah, so training with Mitch, and then then we moved um out to. You know, I went from from Boise back down to Nevada to live, cause I was traveling back and forth for work. And the cool thing was is, like you know, like my wife, she's been a stay-at-home mom since I think like 20, yeah, I think 2013, when we moved to Boise from Denver and I was traveling down to Nevada from Boise, so like six-hour drive, but I was on an eight days on six days off schedule and so, like I trained when I was home and I'd go down and like, find people to mess around with. There were some people who had mats in this little mining town and there was a little like martial arts school there, so sometimes I'd get access to that and so we'd go mess around in that, but then I'd go home and train.
Speaker 3:But my wife, you know, like she's been a stay-at-home mom since that time and you know she could do anything she wanted. But that time, and you know she could do anything she wanted, but she was like, well, she's a runner and she's doing these things. I was like, well, you know I'd like you to try and get some time to yourself, cause you, you know you got these three kids and you know we had three kids and and you know you need your own time. That's important. I think that I think that's something that you know we haven't always been good at is making sure that you know if you have moms that are doing all the work, you know we may be going to work, but try to stay home with your kids.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, oh it's so much work that is, and I'm not, I'm not just saying to you, I mean like if somebody is ever criticizing their girl, man, I'm just like you, you dog, you you don't even know, so so and I feel bad sometimes. I criticize my girl today and I'm like, geez idiot, what are you doing? You know, keep your mouth shut. So. So anyways, she was like you know, our friend Spencer and Laura they were, they were going to Mitch's gym and so his academy, so she's like I could go to jiu-jitsu with Laura and I was like, yeah, dude, that's sweet. So she started going jiu-jitsu and I'm like the whole time I'd been doing Judo I'd say things like we should get some mats for the house and stuff and she's like, I don't know, it'll be fun, the kids can do it. You know my kids were already doing some Judo at the Judo Academy or club when I was in college and then got them doing Jiu Jitsu.
Speaker 3:The day I did my first Jiu J, my three kids Sienna, savannah and Jax they started. They started jujitsu that day and they so I've been doing jujitsu for going on 12 years, or just about 12 years now in March, and so they have two. So it's nice having kids, you know they're they're that seasoned. But about a year later my wife starts doing jujitsu when we were in Boise. And so she's like, yeah, you know it's fun. And then I'm like, okay, well, I hope she really likes it. And then one time I got home from work kids are in bed I came home on my days off at the end of my eight day shift, and she's like, hey, we were working this move at Mitch's. Can you kind of show me through, because I got my blue belt? And I was like, okay, so I'm like I know what I'm talking about. And I'm sitting there thinking like, dude, we're on our living room floor doing jujitsu. And I was like. And then I said like in my head I'm like, yes, I got her.
Speaker 1:She's going to train forever.
Speaker 3:So, you know it's like, you know she goes, she goes, she won master worlds, you know. You know it's cool, you know she's a. You know she won master worlds at blue belt, so that was pretty cool and I'm like man, think about that. You know, like I didn't know how far it was going to go. But you know she loves jujitsu. We own a jujitsu school now together, so it's pretty cool. But I mean, yeah, yeah, it's just been like we're, you know, because of my job and traveling to different, uh, towns and different locations, you know it's like we've got an opportunity to train with a lot of really cool academies and a lot of really cool people and meet, meet some amazing individuals. That's the fun thing about jiu-jitsu is it puts you in in front of people that you wouldn't have normally met.
Speaker 3:So, um, yeah, and then you know we were, we lived in Florida and training with one of our best friends, one of my best friends, david Werner. You know, the John Machado Academy in Jacksonville, only one on the side of the country, and so when we, when I took this job up here, and it's in North Carolina, you know, you know, right, right on the border and I, I live in Rock Hill, just across the border in South Carolina. But you know, I was planning on moving and talking to David and I was like man, I don't want to go be part of a new group of people, you know, as a brown belt at the time, and I'm like you got my brown belt from David and I'm like I don't want to go start with a new group of people and have them have to learn you know, and like learn me and my family. And you kind of judged, when you started a new academy, you know, like for a year, not even considered for a year to be like moving anywhere up or down, or you know what I mean. And so I was like, and I love Jean-Jacques philosophy on on jujitsu in life, and I was like I want to stay with that and I love, you know, being, I would like love to have a David as my professor.
Speaker 3:And so I was like you know, like what do we? Do you think I could open a John Jock and Academy Academy up there? Do you think that that they'd let me? And he was like, let's stop start talking to him, dude. So so we did and you know I went, went through that and talking with that association John Jock and Jay and Mark those guys are amazing. The support we've had and help. That's been really cool. So we came up here to South Carolina opened the only John Jock Machado affiliate on this side of the country north of Florida. So that's been really cool, man, and so we've just tried to keep everything we really liked about all the academies we trained at and not do the things we didn't.
Speaker 1:So it's yeah, it's pretty much it man yeah, I, you know that's. That's a great journey. I'll always one of my favorite things about having guests on is and I ask that question every time, you know have them share about their journey. It's always different, but you know, kind of the back half of the journey it always kind of ends the same. I, I'm in recruiting. We every recruiter kind of falls into recruiting. You don't go to school, in college, and you're definitely not in high school thinking man, I'm going to be a talent acquisition professional but we all just kind of fall into jujitsu the moment we realize just how awesome it is and how much of a superior.
Speaker 1:In a sense and I'm not taking anything from other martial arts I think MMA is a good approach and there's something to learn from all of it, but just the dominance of it. And then you add to it the community side and you started talking a little bit about you know your academy's start and I want to continue on with that. I'm glad you shared, you know the how you started through Jean-Jacques Machado and Master Machado, uh, but what inspired you? Uh, but what inspired the name? You know, family or Carolina, family, jiu-jitsu. I'd love to learn about that.
Speaker 3:We went through a few iterations of names as we were talking about it, um, but I think that you know, like one of the things I like about it is it's like you know, we're in this part of the country where family is a big deal. I think that one of the things about not growing up in the South and seeing the South as someone from, as kind of an outsider, is like the first thing you notice is like people are really, really into family and that's what I like. You know I grew up in a really weird family situation and so, you know, like I always kind of I wanted to have, you know, a full on good family. You know, like a husband and wife, and you know I wanted to have lots of kids and so, like you know, family means a lot to me because I was, like I'm going to start over with this group of people that I can trust, like hands down you know what I mean Like it's a clean slate with a group of people that I know I'm going to love, you know. And so you know, going down here and seeing how much family means to people is a really, really important thing and we like that a lot.
Speaker 3:We lived in South Carolina from 2016 to 2019 before moving, you know, into arizona for a gig, and then um lived in florida for another job, uh, and that's when I met david and the jean-jacques association. But you know, like the thing about the south is that that family thing is just here, and when we lived here before it was like man, that's really cool. But uh, so we were like, you know, jiu-jitsu kind of becomes like a family, you know, and you're supporting each other, even when you don't even realize it, when you train, and so you know it's like something that that will attract people, attract people to want to bring their kids you, you know and get themselves training. You know, like Carolina Family Jiu-Jitsu sounds right, it sounds like the kind of place where you know, I know that I think that there are some people in our area that kind of hear that name and see it and they think, oh, it's just like some little kiddie karate school or something. And then they come visit and they're like, damn dude, these people are kind of hard, but I think that's because families are hard, you know, like.
Speaker 3:You know, like you always talk about, oh, that person's the, you hear like a woman you may know. She says something like oh, I grew up with four brothers, you know, that's why I'm tough, you know. Or like you know, like he's the youngest of four brothers, or you know what I mean, like you hear about those kinds of things. His families are tough and so it's kind of like that, you know, in the Academy it's like you know, everybody's got a bunch of siblings and we're all kind of just like pushing each other to be better on and off the mats, you know, and so it's like that's, that's, that was the vibe we wanted to put out there.
Speaker 3:You know that you know you're, you're trusting somebody, you're struggling with somebody and that builds a relationship that, uh, that I don't think you can get anywhere else. I think the only places that are similar, like like military units, you know, or, uh, you know you know like people that work in high stress, you have to depend on each other's situations, like you know like medical fields or anything about like partners that are, you know, partners in police forces in some of our bigger cities you know like that's, that's the kind of stuff where those bonds happen is where you struggle, and like you have to deal with stress together and you trust that person to like you're training. You know, like I remember Eddie Robbo saying like you trust in this person to like your training. You know, like I remember eddie robo saying like you trust in this person to not kill you. You're like if somebody lost their mind on that and you guys are just practicing technique, they could maim you right. So it's like you know, like that's, that's a, that's a deep thing, I think, in our psyches.
Speaker 3:That, which is why I think, like you said, we we kind of get drawn to it and we kind of like fall in love with it, is because there's something deep deep down that you know we aren't doing anymore that I think we did do Like as, as like early humans. I don't know if it has to do with like everybody had to be a warrior back in the day and now you don't. You know, I don't know if there's something, there's something missing over like a hundred000 years that we were doing. That we're not doing anymore. No-transcript. If we didn't have societies, humanity would have never got off the ground, because we have to have societies. If we didn't have societies, humanity would have never got off the ground, because we don't have teeth, we don't have claws. You know we can't live in nature alone.
Speaker 3:We'd be dead meat yeah, yeah, no, I don't know and so like that vibe that we put out there is a big deal. And one of the really funny things about our academy is like we literally have, like most of our kids classes are groups of siblings, um, you know, like there's a group of brothers, there's three brothers there's. It's funny because we had, like this one section of last summer where like four groups of brothers joined at the same time and they're all like three of each and it was like man and I've got three boys of my own in the class and you know, like their sisters, their two sisters and their older brother, teach the kids class and I advise, and uh, and so it's like, you know, that's a big group of kids, that all like our families, you know that, and so it's been pretty fun. And now we've got parents you know they're, they're, you know, training with their kids and yesterday we had, um, hey, son, my youngest just popped in.
Speaker 1:We Mine should be down shortly. We had yesterday.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I can hear that dang clod-hopping dog up there and then she's up there waking everybody up. But anyways, like yesterday, we had our first female student. She's the mom of our first kid student and she competed for the first time yesterday and she's you know, she's our first blue belt too. You know, she got her blue belt about six months ago. So I mean it's like seeing this cool stuff going on. You know, people training with each other and it's been really fun.
Speaker 3:You know and like and our you know one of the things that I think that One of the things I learned from Mitch Coates when we were going to his school. He was talking to kind of like the class one time and he was like you know, like why he's like I have black belt friends that can't keep their academies open and he's like, and they're always like, why, why, why? And he's like I don't know, but you know, gets advice from Donald Trump, this friend of his, and so like he kind of would trickle that information to Mitch. I kind of surmised and so Mitch was like the thing you got to understand is like if you don't make whatever business you have about the people that you're trying to serve with that business and not yourself, he's like it won't go anywhere.
Speaker 3:He's like so he's at my academy. He's like you come in, you're like you want to win medals, let's make it happen. Oh, you want to get fit, let's make it happen. You want friends, we got that, you know. He's like what do you want out of jujitsu? It can provide, and I will. I will do my best to make sure it does, and I'm like dude, I love that, and so that's. That's what we try to make sure it happens. Like you know, if you don't feel like a million dollars and you walk through the Academy doors, then then it's like we aren't doing our jobs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I like that, I like that a lot. I um, and thanks for sharing, uh, you know kind of the the story there. I um. Well, let me ask you this what have you seen, or how have you seen the gym evolve since it first opened? So I think you said you're at the two-year mark or a little bit over the two-year mark. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:What changes Like a week over?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what changes and also what challenges did you face that maybe you no longer face or still face? Yeah, so a little bit about the evolution and some of the challenges.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I think what's really funny is, you know, like we were like so when do we open the door? Do we do a big grand opening? I was like I don't know, like we didn't have anybody sign up before we opened the doors and so.
Speaker 3:But one of the things that was nice is like the landowner or the landlord. You know, having my, my friend, David, as my professor, he was like dude. He gave me like all of the coaching on how you do commercial. You know, like renting commercial and commercial buildings. I had no idea he's like you know this is for you guys all too. It's like I'm going to pass that on, like if you are going to go rent a building, like and they just straight tell you here's the rent and you got to start doing that on the first day and you still have things you need to build out inside that thing, like there's a thing called build out and you always ask, like what is the build out period you'll give me? Which means how many months of free rent are you going to give me while I get this place looking the way I need it? And because you don't want to be spending money when you aren't having anybody right. So, like I realize now, there were tricks we could have done to like get people signed up before we even opened the doors, but we didn't, you know, didn't know anything about that. So, you know, we were given four months of free rent. So that was cool because, um, you know well, we were like we moved here in December and we were like we want to open a gym in January, and so we, we spent I took a bunch of time off at the end of at the end of the year and we just spent like three weeks getting this place ready.
Speaker 3:Um, and it's a, it's a little like our gyms, a little, um, you know, 1500 square foot spot in between a subway and a daycare center. You know, it's right across from our kids' high school and it's a nice place and it had never been anything before. So it was like concrete with sheetrock dust all over it and sheetrock on the walls that were taped and mudded. You know no texture or nothing. So, which is fine because it looks cooler flat walls, walls, but anyway, um, so we spent that month getting it ready, you know, and as we were, you know, getting ready to open. You know, we get the mats down with the flooring in, everything looks really good and we're like, well, I guess we just start training on the schedule we put on the door, you know. And so january 11th, we're like okay.
Speaker 3:So it was me and my wife, you know know, teaching our kids jujitsu and you know, like my son he came in and he was already like he jumped at the time it was wrestling season, so he went right to the wrestling team and so he was wrestling at the high school, which was great because that team, like teenagers, were not happy about moving high schools. The two teenagers we had at the time and boy, the wrestling team really helped smooth that out because they like had friends right away and that was a really that group of kids and that wrestling team at that time, like all those kids have graduated since, so like it's a totally different team now, but like that was really cool. I'll get, we can get to that later, but like so my teenagers were already like off doing doing other stuff with the high school. But all the other kids you know know we were in there training during the kids' time frame on their schedule for kids' class. We had our four kids in there and then my wife and I would, just during adults' time, we'd work on some moves together. She had a purple belt, I was a brown belt, you know, and we were just trained, and then they'd roll and beat the crap out of each other.
Speaker 3:So people start trickling in, you know, they see this place that we've got, you know, emblems on the windows and we've got little signs out near the road and people like, oh dang, there's something here now. So people started just popping in. And so I think like one of the things we didn't realize is how we could have gotten people signed up before, before we opened. But it didn't really matter because, you know, it was like first week was one guy and he had been training at this, you know, at this other school in the area that, and then, and then so he comes in, and then the next week another guy and then the next week another person.
Speaker 3:Kids start trickling in and uh, and it, you know it's like really fun, because it was like, okay, now there's five of us training. You know, now there's now there's seven kids in class because there's three little kids signed up with our you know, our four, and then then my daughter turns 13 and I'm like, okay, well, that's our cutoff for kids class. At 13 you go to adults class, so then my daughter starts training with the adults and you know we got our three boys and then other kids that are trickling in. And then it's funny because we had, you know, first four months of free rent, so January, february, march, april, and by the time we got to April the gym was making its rent and its, you know, like utilities and then some, and I was like dude, that's sweet. And then a few months later it was easily able to pay off the mats and we're like dude, that's crazy. And then more and more people are coming in and we're having all these people. So then by that time we're already the balls rolling with becoming part of the Jean-Jacques Machado Association and, um, you know, and that's really cool. And then my professor comes up and he hangs out and do some classes and you just see people grow and you see, you see people.
Speaker 3:It starts catching traction in in this part of town and there's a couple other schools in in in the town of Rock Hill, um, that aren't very big either, but they're not very like. Rock Hill is not a huge city, you know what I mean? It's. I think it's like 50 or 60,000 people. You know the nearest school is like three miles away. Nearest school from that school is like three miles away on the other side of it, and so they're kind of in this like line across town and we're on the farthest west end of it, it which is a little more like out in the country, and so, um, yeah, northwestern high school is like like the last vestiges of what you would call a town and that's that's where our gym is, right across the street from that.
Speaker 3:So, um, you know, so like it attracts a lot of people that are in this part of the area that are like man, you know like they want to go do this kind of stuff. They they got to drive 45 minutes across town or in or into Charlotte to go do this. You know to go do something like jujitsu, and so you know like people that are big fans of UFC, people that are like they understand the fitness aspect of it, or you know, did other martial arts or wrestling, you know like they're like sweet. So it's been really fun to watch the growth, watch people coming in, and you know like we talked about you know like the goals that people have. You know, everybody starts.
Speaker 3:We ask you know, what do you want to do, jiu-jitsu? For, you know, and it's always cool to hear why. And then you're like, oh, I wanted to be doing something with my kids, you know. Or you know I want to get in shape, or my wife and I want to do something together, and it's like, exactly, that's awesome and so that's been a cool evolution to watch. You know, like that vibe grow into. You know, like what we thought we wanted to attract, but it's kind of grown past that because people are, you know like, you know people understand that it's very.
Speaker 3:One of the things we try to make sure we emphasize is I'm like you guys, like I don't, I don't know everything, and I'm going to tell you the same thing that I hear Jean-Jacques say all the time, which is like there's no right or wrong jujitsu, it's what works for you.
Speaker 3:If it worked at the time that you tried it, then that, then that's good jujitsu.
Speaker 3:You know, and I'm like you guys, this is, it's a martial art, which means it's art, it's your, it's your jujitsu, you know, and seeing people kind of take that idea and run with it, you know it's been really cool because you know like there's people that come because solely like it's meditation, like you can't think of anything outside of training when you're doing it, it's just everything flows right through you.
Speaker 3:If you have a thought in your head, it's gone within a second and you're you're focused so much on on the training and the breathing and trying to stay calm and trying to control and trying to not get this position and you know like you know like that's seeing people just grow. With that that evolution's been really, really cool. That they start like that's the point I was trying to make like doing hard stuff makes you realize that that you can do a hard thing and and like that the hard things that come to you in life aren't necessarily always going to be there and there are times that you can literally not have to think about them, and that break from everyday life is really valuable and we should be telling each other about it and pushing each other to find those moments. You know, and and and that's a that's an important thing and so like that's been really cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah I, it's so much there. I. I love that you shared some of your, your kind of your, your, your philosophy on how you approach you know teaching and those who start, you know, want want to come and train at Carolina. You know, and those who start, you know, want want to come and train at Carolina. You know family I um, there was something that you that you said around the the mental health, uh, benefit of of jiu-j I.
Speaker 1:I think that's one of the things that really kept me going. And you know I'm, I'm a father of five, I am the sole provider for the family. And when you're the sole provider of the family, especially of a large family, people don't understand the gravity and the pressures you feel from day to day, just like I mean, I'm, I have, I have what I feel is a pretty steady job and stuff. But every day something comes across your mind like man, what happens if I don't have a job tomorrow? Or you know, I mean, regardless of your savings, in today's economy, it's going to deplete, no matter what right when you're paying you know, six dollars for water and eggs it's just, it's.
Speaker 1:It's crazy, the the stress relief that it is, and oh, it's okay, um sorry our toaster for some reason like set off the fire alarm. We set it up.
Speaker 3:You saw the new fire fire alarm in the kitchen and it gosh. Our toaster sets it off almost every day. Yeah, that happens, yeah, um no, you're all good.
Speaker 1:I um well, we talked a good bit about you, or you shared a good bit about your philosophy. What I would like to ask, uh, more for just your insights. It's something that I'm curious, especially gym owners, because you, I mean you do. You do jujitsu, for you know a profession. What trends or changes do you see that are shaping the future of jujitsu? It could be the practice in itself, or school, school ownerships, what? What are some trends that you're seeing?
Speaker 3:um, yeah, I think you know, obviously, nogi is one of these things where, like it's, it's kind of being thought of as this it's the only way to go. Um, and I kind of dislike that, because I don't think you're doing jujitsu if you only do nogi. You know, like you're 100% missing out on it.
Speaker 3:You're, you're, you're missing out on an entire set of techniques that you won't learn unless you know how to manipulate people's clothes. You know, and it's like, I mean, like those are weapons. Why would you, why do you not want to learn that stuff? And if you I hear people say, oh, the nogi is so technical I'm like, what do you think the gi is? Like? You know, and like everybody today, that is a big nogi grappler that everyone's able to watch on TV, or you know, whatever, craig Jones, gordon Ryan, all those guys, um, nicholas Margolini, now, you know, all these dudes, all the pedigo submission fighting. I mean, I love all these, I love these guys. They're awesome, um, and they're even. They're even their, their, their personal or their character flaws. It's like that's awesome, that's humanity. Let them have them. You know, like, that's history Good for them. I don't care about any of that. The only thing I don't like is that they criticize the Gi and it's like dude, you guys all were champions in the Gi before you got into Nogi. It's like, why do you want to quit it? You know, like, and so it doesn't make sense to me, but, um, that that trend is kind of one of those things. I think. I think that will hurt jiu-jitsu more than it'll um, just because it creates this division.
Speaker 3:And one of the things that really pisses me off today is, like you know, like you kind of mentioned, you know, being the sole provider of um, one of the things that you know, being the sole provider of, one of the things that you know, like being the sole provider in your family, and I'm like I've I've I've always been fairly bold and, you know, sometimes a bit obnoxious at work in my career. You know saying the things that that that need to be said. I refuse to kiss butt, you know, and I don't care if you're the CEO of whatever company, like, if something needs to be said because the systems you have in place are not efficient, then I'm going to say something, or there's a safety issue that nobody wants to talk about, or any of that stuff. I'm saying it and I think to myself often, like man, I have to watch what I say, because I'm worried about getting fired for being, for doing the right thing. You know what I mean. Like um, and it's stupid because we have this division in our country. That that I think.
Speaker 3:I think 2020 really messed us up like that, that covid time frame. It made us all distrustful each other. We all have to like be extra sensitive to every little thing and which is why, like the multi, the mental health piece of jujitsu is so big to me, because I'm like nobody's gonna actually care about your health more than you. So don't expect policies that get put in place at your job or by the government to actually help your mental health. You know, like the only person that can help your mental health is you and you need to find things that actually cultivate that mental health. Don't rely on other people's policies and regulations.
Speaker 3:So, like in the job, you know, like you can't say or do these certain things and it just creates this division, cause you can tell there's people that are like I don't care, I'm going to say what I think is right, and then you can tell that those, those people that are like narcissistic jerks, you know, and like what you might call the toxic you know I hate that term but like you know the people that legit are, you know pieces of crap that are still going to say whatever they want. You know what I mean and if it hurts your feelings, like, you can't rely on other people to care about, whether they hurt your feelings or not. You got to be good at dealing with and managing that kind of stress. So, like that division that sits there, like I don't think that should creep into martial arts. You know, I'm like there like I don't think that should creep into martial arts. You know, I'm like we don't need more division guys, like we should be like celebrating and pushing each other's stuff all the time.
Speaker 3:If I see some dope nogi move, I'm like sweet, and I'm not saying don't do any nogi, you should be doing as much as you, as close as you can get to 50% of both.
Speaker 3:You know, because, like I said, like there's things in nogi you will never learn if you don't do nogi, like you can't, you won't learn them in the gi, and so like talking trash on each of those two pieces of the martial art is really dumb. I don't like that good bit of flash that people that, like you know, like when you watch a nogi match and a gi match, like they both have against two really high level, technical, really smart people, they both have these aspects you're like wow, like, and you can see why some people don't want to watch it, because they don't understand what's happening. But you know I'm like those are both really technical and fun to watch. So, like the gi, if you're really, really focused on the gi, you got to figure out a way to be like the nogi guys that are like promoting the flash of nogi. The only piece I don't like is the the shit talking about each other and, like you know, yeah talking trash and causing these problems because it's like it trickles down into the academies.
Speaker 3:You know, like one of the things we said when we opened our gym was like I do not want to be thought of for one. I'm not from this town and there's a couple of schools by people that are from this town. Um, I don't want to be thought of as the guy who came in, my wife and I. We don't want to be the people who came in and started like trying to scout people's from other gyms, right?
Speaker 3:yeah we have? We, we have open mat. We don't charge a mat fee. If you want to come and train on saturdays, dude, I'm like, I'm gonna learn from you, you're gonna learn from me. Why would I charge you for that? I'm like, if you want to come get a class in every once in a while with us during the week, I don't even care, you know, if you're gonna come all the time, you have another academy already trained out and that's where you get promoted.
Speaker 3:I'm like, well, like, I don't know if I'm comfortable with you, even like paying me for a weekly thing if you're gonna come in three times a week. You know what I mean. Because I don't want to be known as a dude that's stealing other people's other people from other gyms. You know, because I don't want to be in this this, this thing that's growing in jiu-jitsu, which is that like division and willingness to talk shit on each other. One of the things that we hated about some of the other schools we trained at is the professors would talk shit on some of the schools in town and and then we would go to like tournaments and stuff like that and you could tell that like there's animosity between people and I'm like, and I'm like, if you idiots get in a fist fight at this tournament, cops are getting called and the cops ain't going to come in here and act like they can break up the fight, because we know cops can't fight, you know? That's why we have the problem with cops.
Speaker 3:We have today Like they shoot people because that's the only thing they train. And I'm like you know, when you're under duress you turn to your highest level of training. You know, and so I'm like you idiots getting a fight in this, in this jiu-jitsu tournament, they're coming in and pepper spraying and tasing all of us not one of us is not getting that dude because they know they can't come in and stop us from from fighting each other and them. You know like there's no way. And so you know, like you go to tournaments. You're like that should not be happening. You know, like, so like I was at a tournament yesterday.
Speaker 3:Everybody's super chill and like, and there is one academy that I know talks trash on the other academies in town and I'm still chill with that guy because I'm like dude for one. He's really young and I'm like that's okay, I was stupid like that when I was really young too. And I'm like, but, but you know, like, why, why keep going with it? It doesn't matter. My wife and I are like, we're both like dude, like why, why foment that? So like that, that division, that kind of I feel like starts in this. No gi versus gi, these guys that are higher up, you know the people that everyone sees on Instagram and Facebook and on flow grappling and stuff, like when they talk shit on each other. It's like dude. You know, like people will watch if you are, if you have, if there's passion there, like that's what brings people to things right it doesn't have to be this circus.
Speaker 3:It doesn't have to be a circus, and that's what I don't want to see happen is like it doesn't need to be a circus to attract people or a freak show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, jujitsu doesn't need to turn into a soap opera. I mean, imagine what that would do to the, to the image you know I think about uh. So I'm, when I get into something, I love learning everything I can about it, like the history and things like that. And I I read uh drysdale's book uh, the evolution of brazilian jujitsu, and in it it talked a lot it's from the perspective that you know of carlson Gracie and the impact that he had. He and Holes Gracie and Carlson Gracie trained in the same studio. They had a rival but it wasn't malice in any way. They trained together every day. Their students got along.
Speaker 1:But at competition it was a competition and you know I think about. You know well, first off, holes Gracie, you know, obviously passed way way too soon and he was such a huge impact in just a short time that he was you know here. But I think it's important to realize even back then, in the highest you know tensions and in and competition era of of jiu-jitsu as it was developing, that we should be able to go to competitions, whether it's world or pans or opens, and be able to get along. It's one of the things I love about jiu-jitsu is, you know I'll go to the Atlanta Opens. Those are the only ones I usually compete in and it's just such a good vibe. And that's odd, especially when we're in an area where you know we have autos here, we have art of jiu-jitsu, we have Roberto Travens here, we have, you know, three alliance gyvens here, we have, you know, three Alliance gyms here, and then we have all of you know, the, the, the local gyms. So it's, I couldn't agree more.
Speaker 1:What do you think about this? And it's a little bit more fun for me. But you see this, this back and forth on guard pulling versus stand up and take downs. So I'm going to put it out there. I pull guard 100% of the time, almost 100% of the time, and it's not that I don't have take downs, it's I prefer to get you in a guard. And I'm 45. I'm not athletic. I never'm 45. I'm not athletic. I never have been. I'm training with monsters and I think you'd have a hard time telling Alio or crapping on guard pulling with the founders. And it's jujitsu, right, it's part of jujitsu. What are your thoughts on that? And it's jujitsu, right, it's part of jujitsu, what?
Speaker 3:are your thoughts on that? Well, the funny thing about the guard that we have today is, like you got to remember like the guard was meant. The guard is like. One of the things I make sure I cover in our class several times a year is that the guard is meant for you to be able to kick someone right in their freaking face or in their nuts or in their knee if they, as they approach you right like you need using the up kick you're talking about if you're on your back and up kick right, yeah, yeah, because it's like you know somebody got you down and the best, best weapons you have are the giant muscles wrapped around these bones on your legs.
Speaker 3:You know like, and like you know getting your legs in the game, in the fight. You know, that's, in my opinion, that's what I think's the difference between wrestling and jiu-jitsu is like wrestling they don't use the legs. Often they use like leg vines and things like that, leg rides, but like they aren't using them as a form of. You know, like there's not very many pins that you use your legs to keep them down in. You know there's like leg triangle and stuff like that. But you know, like, one of the things I love about jiu-jitsu is it's like I call it, it's got the fullness of the gospel, as full of a gospel of grappling as it can have. And I think the only other one that's probably as close is like Sambo, because of the. You know, one of the things that I think is important to recognize is that you know Holus kind of, I think that you know, from my perspective, I think, that he's jujitsu today is a mixed martial art.
Speaker 3:You know, it holds so many different pieces and I think Holus kind of grabbed some of those things, and one of the things I know he got in trouble for was going and doing like wrestling and things like that. You know, like people in his lineage didn't like that, you know, and it was like so we have all these things, you know, and the guard is the guard, though originally was meant you need to get those weapons involved and keep your opponent away from you when you're in a bad situation, and so the guards that we use today are for fighting people that know jiu-jitsu, you know, that know how to get past your legs. And so I think that it's funny when you hear like people talk trash on guard pulling because, like you know what guard pulling used to be called before we started calling it guard pulling what's that it was called.
Speaker 3:It was called shutemi waza, it was called sacrifice throws oh wow.
Speaker 1:So yeah, from the judo side, yeah it's from judo, like you.
Speaker 3:you. You know like if you went to your back, it was to take somebody down from that position right away. You know there was no hanging out there and so you know like I'll pull guard. I'm with you, I'm 45. But I was a wrestler and a judo person and so you know I'm like pulling guard is necessary sometimes. I weigh 155 pounds right now, so I'm like dude, there's some guys I have that like when I'm in mount and I'll squish the shit out of them and they'll still figure out a way to bench, press me off.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, that's so annoying.
Speaker 3:Gosh darn it. One of the things I think we've weirdly attracted is also highly coachable people, and it's like gosh darn turkeys, I teach you this stuff, not so you can use it on me, you know oh yeah, these guys are tough, but I'm kidding, but like Well, really quick on that.
Speaker 3:I do have one question, so, cause this is something I've thought about. If I ever open a gym and I'm a black belt professor, do you ever get afraid of like your white belt guy who's got like three weeks in or a month in submitting you Like? Is that, is that a real like? Does that stay in the back of Like? Why am I teaching people Like? If you look at our Google, it says like, focused on families achieving their goals, like I want you to be able to whoop my ass one day. Right, that's the point You're supposed to be. Everybody walks in the door. In my mind I'm like cool, another black belt, because in my mind everybody does jiu-jitsu, because that's the only people I hang out with and so you know you should be able to submit me like dude. I mean like, yeah, these kids that we're teaching, like sometimes these teenagers like they, they catch me sometimes and I'm like dude, that happens and it's okay.
Speaker 3:What I do worry about is the spazzy white belt hurting me, though, so that's I pull guard with them because I'm like you know and like and so like to that point. You know, like I'll you, you don't ever let them have it. I got yelled at one time training, um, when we lived in. We lived in louis baffin, I was teaching at source somewhere source and moitai but I would go to the in columbia south of carolina. My wife and I'd head over there sometimes to get some you know training with some black belts.
Speaker 3:And one of the black belts yelled at me. He's like why, why do I keep passing your guard so easy? And I was purple, purple belt and he's like dude, you keep doing these things that you know you can do on white belts? Um, you let them have stuff for free. You do these little things that you know, work on them. He's like stop doing that. He's like don't give them anything for free. And I keep them in a spot that shows them continually that someone my size can do whatever he wants, you know, and that my wife she's 120 pounds she can do whatever she wants, right?
Speaker 3:so it's like and that has gotten so many people to start training. You know the fact that that we are smaller and we just own people whenever we want it, you know what I mean Like, and then that's like I'm not obviously. That's that's what jujitsu people do, right we? Get to those points, I think it's you know like it's appropriate for the time.
Speaker 3:You did it. Like, well, I did a guillotine in this position. Well, why? Well, because that's what that person presented me with. You know, sometimes you're like this person presented me with the effect that it's probably better to pull guard on this person. For me, like when I go out and say, like when I'm competing, like I don't really try to do many takedowns, to be honest, like I might do, like fake, fake guard, pull an ankle pick or something that's kind of like my favorite right now.
Speaker 3:But yeah, or like collar drag and you know, come up with a single leg or something. But because to me those are low risk, high reward tries, you know, like I don't have to like shoot, if I shoot and this person's good at anticipating sprawling, you know like I, you know that's a, that's a high reward but high risk takedown in my opinion. But if I pull guard, like you know, I'm trying to sweep you within three seconds. Like in my mind because of judo, it's like if I go on my back you're down In my job. I need to get on top, stay on top. So you know, like for me in competition I don't oftentimes try for a takedown because like I'll go in there and be super low, like wrestling style, really, really low, and I'll make that person pull guard because my favorite thing is guard passing, which is a jiu-jitsu against jiu-jitsu thing. You know like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a chess match, right.
Speaker 3:That's when the chess game starts and like I love that technical side of guard passing. It's fun and I get to be a bit athletic at times if I need to and it's like you know so I'll, I'll do things that make them pull guard and I'm like cool now, I didn't have to defend you trying to take me down and I get to do my favorite thing. So I don't, I don't care, you know, you do you. There's no right or wrong jiu-jitsu, it's like what, what works yeah, yeah, and I think it's funny to hear people talk trash, because I was every like on instagram.
Speaker 3:I'm always like, oh yeah, well, they used to call these sacrifice throws back in the day before we started calling it guard pass or a guard pulling, you know, yeah I um, yeah, I think having a judo background too gives you a lot more perspective on it, but I do, I think it's it matters.
Speaker 1:I think it matters in the moment because I do, I do pull guard a lot, but but there are times where you know I'll go for a single leg, especially if the legs, like I mean, it's just there. It's obvious, yeah, you have to go for a single leg, so, uh, but now you know, we were talking about insights and things, and I just see that more and more and it's about the only controversial thing I comment on. Um, but yeah, so so what I want to do? Because we're kind of coming to the back half of the, our back end of the episode. This has been amazing, by the way. I'm super pumped that we're having this conversation. But one of the things I put in the series is kind of like a rapid fire round of questions, and it's just again. It's more geared toward fun, but if you're open to it, let's jump into that and then we'll kind of close out.
Speaker 3:There's one thing I wanted to say real quick though about evolution in jiu-jitsu schools and stuff like that real fast.
Speaker 3:That I think is super important to talk about and should be brought up in almost every conversation about academies is protecting our students. There's things that I think it's called safe Academy. You know like, when you want to have your Academy be registered with IBJJF, you have to take the safe sport, which is the you know like conduct and ethics program that the Olympics falls follows. You know like. You know like we need to be protecting our students 100% and and in particularly like from the sexual predator type stuff. I think that that like I think it was two, two, three years ago like there was a big wave of people being found out in jujitsu schools, particularly or maybe not just for jujitsu schools. But you know, that's the, that's the community I, the subculture I follow in our country. So you know like, people getting caught for that good, if you're a scumbag you shouldn't be around other people, you know 100%.
Speaker 3:Adults are kids and so like. For me, you know, like, one of the first things we did is got SafeSport certified, because I'm like no dude. I used to work with at-risk youth when I was in college. That was like my main college gig. I was working at a lockdown facility for kids and you know, one of the things they talked about is you don't set yourself up and what that means is you're never alone with another child.
Speaker 3:You know, like, so, like in our school, like that's our rule Like we do a 5.30 am morning class, so we're never alone with any of the students adults or kids in our academy. Never one coach and one one one student. Um, so like, I'm like okay, so like, when someone comes in in the morning class, you know something that's really cold right now. So we have people barely trickling in. No one's ever not come in and no one's ever been, only just one person. But if that ever happens, like I guess say, well, I can't have class because I our rule is we won't be alone with the ones one student, you know yeah, I so like yeah, go ahead so like you need to.
Speaker 3:you need to make sure that, like one of the things that I, when I, when I tell people like they're like looking for an academy, I'm like you know, then they come to us. I'm like you know, look at all of us, I'm like, but you should look at the ones and try and figure out how do you, how do you think they're doing with protecting your kid? Like one of the things that, like we're about to expand into a bigger, into not, we're not going to leave our location, but we're about to expand into a space next door and it's our gym, is wide open. There's no, there's no rooms. And I will.
Speaker 3:I like that because I can see where everybody is all the time. There's never two people in a changing room together, there's never, you know. Like you know we have changing tents, you know we have the bathroom and I'm like you can see everything. And when we expand over, it's like no, I don't want any rooms, like because nobody should be alone with each other. You know what I mean. Like that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3:And like, no, you don't travel to tournaments with just the student. You don't like that's like that kind of stuff, like if you have a coach that's wanting to do that kind of stuff with your kids or you, as I think that's a little weird and I think there's weird stuff going on there and it's like, yes, I want to be your friend, but you know we can hang out at barbecues and stuff like that. But like, when it comes like there's a certain level at which there needs to be appropriateness and, um, there needs to be some kind of line drawn where you're not not willing to compromise that. Because, like that conduct, you know, like that's a big deal. And I'm like dude when you find out those people have done those kinds of things to kids, or like other women in their schools or you know, or young men, I'm like bro, somebody should have tied a rock around that person's neck and thrown him in the river.
Speaker 3:you know, like yeah those people do not belong in society. Like I'm not about like any kind of like youth era was it euthanasia or what is it? Was it called like where you, you know anyways, where you like take people out of your society because they're you know, weird or you kill them? I'm like I think people that do inappropriate stuff to other people, like that, I think they might fall into that. That's pretty much the only time I think about that yeah like that's.
Speaker 3:That's a really important thing about the evolution of jiu-jitsu schools is people taking that more seriously? I'm liking seeing that because you can see that's happening more and more and that's really cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think there should be a requirement, something like that, or at least a course on how to identify. I I know the scouts when they started identifying a lot of that going on, a lot of leaders uh, I had to jump on it right away yeah, a hundred percent, right, um yeah but no, I think, I think you know, part of being an owner of of a business or anything, especially martial arts, especially a martial art where you're literally connected to the person during the entire training, right?
Speaker 1:This isn't a non-contact sport. I think that something like that absolutely should be a requirement and enforced. And I think um, I don't want to say this I think the image inside the academy matters, especially the behavior of the, the professors, and what they allow going and go, you know, go on. I mean couples join all the time. You and your wife started training um together, but I mean there's just so much uh, inappropriateness sometimes. I think that goes on. I'm glad that I've never been a part of an academy that had that, but I to your point, I think that owners need to consider that in their startup and making sure there are things that are in place fail-safes, whatever you want to call them that prevent and protect, especially the kids. No, I'm glad you brought that up.
Speaker 3:Well, and you have to be willing to like set boundaries. You know like we teach the kids like setting boundaries. You know, through honesty, like it's okay to tell people like no, mom, I don't want to hug Uncle Jimmy, you know what I mean. Like don't you know? Like no, ma, or like hey, I don't like you doing that, I don't, don't put your hand on my shoulder. Like, and we talk about, like this, I'm like you know, if somebody at school is doing something they're pushing you and you don't like it and you tell them, I'm like you then have the right to make them not touch you, you know, and I'm like you don't have to hurt them. But you, you, you know, and I'm like you don't have to hurt them, but you can let them know that you aren't messing around anymore, cause you asked them to stop.
Speaker 3:You know, be assertive, be honest with people about how you feel. And it's like you talk about that with the adults too. And it's, you know, like we've had students that say things that they think are funny. You know, when we're doing situationals or something, and I'm like I approached that student and I'm like I approach that student and I'm like, hey, don't talk like that, especially when you're about to train with a woman you know oh yeah, you know whether we like it or not, like, whether we like it or not, we have to be sensitive to the fact that, you know, women have in many ways been taken advantage of for the past.
Speaker 3:you know most of human history, you know, being being smaller and never having been put in a light in society where we, like now, today, I feel like in America especially we're like we take pride in our women training things that men used to only do, you know, like learning to use a firearm, learning self-defense, you know, like stuff like that, like now, like you can see, like we have pride in that with our, our women, and it's like still, even though you may thought it was funny, dude, you still gotta be sensitive to that.
Speaker 3:So don't talk like that. You know you're going to get your ass kicked out of here. You know what I mean, and so and I've had a couple of students that had to say that too, and they 100% are like no, you're right, thank. And I'm like don't you know? Because one of the things I don't want, like I don't think government regulation is necessary to make people you shouldn't have to have government regulation necessary to make people do the right thing, and I I hate the idea that there's people that are like no, there should be a regulation against about that. I'm like no, how about we just?
Speaker 1:just be a good person.
Speaker 3:The people that were yeah, how about we be really mean to the people that refuse to do the right thing? You know? Yeah and it's like, but but anyway. So yeah, no, sorry, I just felt like that's an important piece to talk about for the evolution of jiu-jitsu academies because, again, you know, like if your school isn't making that important, then it's probably not a good place to be I like that.
Speaker 1:I like that a lot. That's actually, I think, something that I'm going to include on these episodes going forward is, you know, the protection of, you know, not just children, but all those kind of entrusted in your membership. So I'm glad you shared that. So let's hit this rapid fire round. First question what's your favorite jiu-jitsu move or submission? I know you'd mentioned you like guard passing, but is there a specific pass submission? What's, what's your take?
Speaker 3:I think um. One of my favorite things is like the trickery of Torriando, like Torriando variations you know like keep it basic man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I'm, I'm not kidding, Like it's so fun to, just it's so fun to. You know, like, whether you pull their collar up onto their butt and spin them, or whether you, you, you have a collar and one pant leg and you pull one way and they, they, you know jujitsu is the maximum efficiency, minimum effort. You know, like, I want to use your momentum again against you and when you pull, I push and just you know spinning that and head dropping in the hip, you know, right away. So they can't get that outside leg back over. Actually, it's one of the things we're going to cover this week coming up, because so many kids got so many good guard passes and just didn't get their chest down and get their head down.
Speaker 3:So now the person's leg comes back and they're stuck right back in the guard. I'm like that's really awesome, that's one of my favorite things. And then I think my favorite submission is arm bar.
Speaker 3:I seem to have always been able to get that from a lot of different places and one of my friends, ariel I'm out in tucson, you know like I mean he's amazing, but in my mind I'm like I always, just always say like he actually does jiu-jitsu because he hits all these things, uh, these fundamental, like moves and submissions and things from anywhere, like he can apply those concepts and that's like I think that's the hard part about jujitsu is recognizing that this concept is what makes the move happen, not the that like the dogma of the move itself, you know. And so it's like, yeah, the arm bar is like the one thing that I think I've got I had that figured out early is like, oh, this position puts me in it. Oh, look, I'm in the spot where I can grab that arm, you know, and and actually have the control that I need to submit them, you know. And so I think that arm bar is definitely my favorite.
Speaker 1:If I have to go for something else, it's typically some type of armbar.
Speaker 3:So next question dream opponent to roll with train, with past or present? I want to train. I want to roll with Master John Jock. My son got to roll with him and I'm jealous.
Speaker 1:Does he come out, or do you go there or do you interact?
Speaker 3:Last year I got to see him three times. So like whenever he sometimes we'll go to where he's going or he'll go to our sister academies in Jacksonville. There, you know, there's two of them now in Jacksonville, but he'll go there. But every year we go to his academy in LA. So but you know, like we were in Jacksonville and he was there last summer and, like my son, you know, asked Master Jean-Jacques if he can train with him and he, let me roll with him, dude. And every so many people walked up to me, these black belts that know, master Jean-Jacques, you know, like 10, 20 years, they're like dude, I've never rolled with him.
Speaker 1:They're 20 years, they're like dude.
Speaker 3:I've never rolled with him. They're like what the hell? That's awesome, I don't know. That's awesome, you know. And I'm like, I'm like dang dude. And it was in my son, you know, he's pretty adept and he was like he's all. It was really weird. He was like he's so, like he can tell everything I'm gonna do and just when, just when I think I'm going to do this thing, he's like just this minor movement and I was like. I was like, bro, he probably saw you when you woke up this morning.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I got to roll with one of my with one of my, I guess, favorites that I always watch is with Leo Neguera, and I remember trying the Sao Paulo pass on him and he's kind of known for that and I saw him just kind of laughing and of course he cross-collared me, but it was awesome. I enjoyed that. I hope I get to. We have Bernardo Faria coming out for a seminar in May. Oh, cool, and I'm hoping so bad to get at least one role with him, because half game is mine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, to get at least one right, because half game is mine. Yeah, yeah, he is, yeah, uh. So two, two more questions here. Most inspiring match that you've ever watched, or most memorable match that you were in? Thinking, probably something along the the pans, uh, but uh, yeah, what's, what's your take on that?
Speaker 3:um, you know, like so most inspiring match I've ever watched was is my wife. Like you know, she doesn't compete often, but every time she does she goes out and does really well. But you know, like I remember the first time she went out and competed and this is the first time I ever actually got to see her Like she's been an athlete her whole life. You know she started running cross country when she was like six with the YMCA and she just oh, wow has always been an athlete.
Speaker 3:You know, like, walked onto the cross country team at Boise State, just different stuff, like that. I mean she didn't end up, end up competing there, but you know like they were like, yeah, we'll take you and um, but you know, it's like. So when I went and got to watch her actually like go be an athlete. She's like, you know, like after you do your first match, your hands are dead. You know like your hands are gassed, it's. You know you've blown out your grips. You're super tired, way more tired than you did in any of the hardest roles you've ever had. It's like you know. So she's like watching, watching her like cool off and prepare herself for the next match, you know. And then, and then, like you know, we find out like she was five weeks pregnant during like that first time she competed. Oh my gosh, oh, wow, yeah. And then she and I'm like, wow, man, you did all that fight, you know. And then that's like, it seems like that's the most tiring time.
Speaker 3:You know, yeah, you know, it's's like that was really cool and I would say, like you know, for me personally it was just my is my first jiu-jitsu match like that. I won my first jiu-jitsu match and I think about, I just think about it how, like man, it was hard and the ability to control another person in that type of situation at such a low level of experience. You know, I was like man. That was yeah, I can do this. I can do this hard thing if I have to what so?
Speaker 1:what was it like watching her win worlds?
Speaker 3:yeah, that was so cool dude, because, um, like that was like flow grappling, had only been out for like two years in terms of like putting stuff like that on tv and uh, the cool thing about it was, you know she was, she was a blue belt, she, you know she'd been a blue belt for a long time, cause I, you know, for like three years we didn't train with a black belt and then we lived in, we lived in Tucson. We only lived there for about 11 months. So, you know, we trained and competed there and and then, you know, we moved to Florida and we were training really hard and my wife's just murdering everybody in the academy. Everyone's like you should go to the Master Worlds, you should go to Master Worlds.
Speaker 3:It's 2020. So there's some people who weren't competing, some people we were in Florida, so everybody's like we're competing. And so they held Master Worlds, where they do the pans every year, and so we're like you should go do this, you should go do pans every year. And um, so you know, we're like you should go do this, you should go do this man. And so she's like, okay, I guess I'll go do it, you know. And so I was like man, cause I was planning on going, you know, and and like that's, that's where I got like my first major piece of call fire.
Speaker 3:My wife broke my ear while we're training for master worlds, you know, and trying to armbar me and it's like she's freaking tough, but you know.
Speaker 3:So like we're going, and she goes down and heard she competed the day before I did. So she went down and her and another person from our team they both go and compete and he got silver in Master Worlds and she got gold. But the first match, you know, like she goes out and my wife's really tall she, you know like she goes out and my wife's really tall, like she's 5'10, and she goes out and you can tell that the gal was like oh gosh, you know, my wife takes you down, our bars are right away and we're like dang, first match wrecked it, you know like. And then um, she goes the second match and wins. And the cool thing is is like we were watching all this on flow, grappling on our big tv in the living room, you know so my kids are watching their mom compete live on television that's so cool like a celebrity right, like a tv star yeah, yeah, and they're like you know, they're like, oh you know, and everyone's yelling.
Speaker 3:We're like, oh man, we're like videoing it and stuff and and, uh, you know, and then she gets the, gets the third match, you know, and it's like wins that match and it's like everyone's like oh man, yeah, it becomes like, oh my gosh, she's got a chance.
Speaker 3:Right, she's got a chance to win now yeah, and she, then she's in the finals and everyone's like, everyone's like messaging and calling us and like, oh man, I can't believe she's there, you know. And uh, you know, I'm posting stuff online and people family members are like, wow, this is crazy. And then she wins, you know. And uh, she wins and like like our kids are just like, oh, my god, my mom just won a world championship. And you know, like my wife kind of like downplayed, she's like, well, it's just blue belt, you know, and master worlds. And she's like she's always so humble and and uh, I'm like, dude, listen, let's take 99 of the people you see every day and go stick them in that tournament and will they win the world championship? And I'm like maybe 1% of them would. I'm like, so listen, anybody that criticizes you because it's a blue belt, why don't you just ask them, hey, do you have a world championship in anything?
Speaker 1:Yeah, blue belts have the highest brackets they have the highest at Worlds at PANS, at the Big Four, they're always the highest. I mean adult male blue belt. Are you kidding me? There's like 30 people in that.
Speaker 3:Those are killers, yeah yeah, they're killers and it's like and these and these ladies that my wife fought, I mean they were. It was tough, it was awesome and it was like a couple of the matches went went by advantage because they were just back and forth on each other, you know. So it's like you know you watch, so you watch that kind of stuff and I just again, you know she's really humble, but I'm like listen, how many people can say they have a world championship in anything?
Speaker 3:Anything yeah you know, in letter writing, or, you know, jumping on a pogo stick.
Speaker 1:I mean, you know what I mean. Like, I mean the gravity of that. Yeah, we have yeah it's like so yeah. Yeah, we.
Speaker 3:That's like that was cool, that was like the inspiring match, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that would be huge to watch, like your spouse, especially sitting there with your kids, like glued to the TV. And then you know as a parent and as a mom and you know you said your wife's a stay-at-home mom Just the message it sends to your kids that you can literally do anything you set your mind to and that you want, and I think that's huge. So last question on the rapid fire here before we wrap up this is caffeinated jujitsu. All things caffeinated. What's your go-to coffee, caffeinated drink? What have you?
Speaker 3:Man, I like just either straight black coffee that's just been brewed like regular old coffee pot. Whenever you're, at Starbucks.
Speaker 3:I'm not a huge fan of starbucks, but that that pike's, that pike's roast or whatever it's called. I'll just get it black, like when I'm traveling, for sure. But you know, when my wife and I drink coffee in the morning, you know it's brewed in the pot and and uh, I just put a little dollop of regular old milk in it and you know just and drink it. That way I like that. I think that if you're a coffee drinker you have to like, appreciate the smell and the taste of the coffee and not make it a milkshake yeah, I'm, I'm pro coffee, anti-energy drinks.
Speaker 1:I um man, I had this crazy like intestine infection after I drank an energy drink one time and it totally ruined me on energy drinks and I have recently started drinking more black coffee and I don't trust people who don't drink coffee. I can't fully trust you if you don't have some kind of caffeine going through you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, especially if you're like I don't drink coffee. You're like, okay, it says a lot through you.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, especially when you're like I don't drink coffee. You're like okay.
Speaker 3:It says a lot. It says a lot about you.
Speaker 1:You know, it tells me. It tells me a lot right Half the time.
Speaker 3:People say it like they're snooty.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh and I'm like wow.
Speaker 3:Do you think you're better than everyone? Huh?
Speaker 1:Yeah, the worst, worst thing in society.
Speaker 3:I think I got a 16 year old to beat the crap out of you.
Speaker 1:So is the right is the rise of the health snob personality where like gluten is bad. All this, everything's bad for you. You have to eat this or that. Listen I was born in 1979, grew up in the 80s 90s. We were drinking water out of the hose Hose dog. No one knew what gluten was. I mean, what the hell is gluten.
Speaker 3:I still don't know what it is. Well, that's what I'm saying. It's like come on man. For me. I'm like.
Speaker 1:Watering down a society.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, 100%. And you know the food pyramid being upside down, you know, know it's like, yeah, on the bottom, yeah, like it's like what are you doing? You know, and like it's like well known that the anyways. But you know that's a whole nother podcast for me oh gosh, yeah, yeah, I read, I read like I think you know, to your point of like, how these things now make people sick.
Speaker 3:I'm like, no, dude, it's because we all have plastic in us. Like, oh yeah, plastic is the, I think, the one thing that is wrecked health because it inhibits so many things that are natural processes in your body once it like gets in part into your, into your like system. You know, they say that you ingest like half a credit card size worth of plastic every day. You're like that's insane. And here's the thing being a hydrologist, it ruins a lot of shit. For me being a hydrologist oh my god, that's a water professional ruins a lot. You know like.
Speaker 3:So I'm like you're like let's go jump in this lake. I'm like, no, bro, I'm not getting in that lake. I see, I know it's in that lake. I'm not gonna like. But like, uh, don't get in your ears. If you go, don't get in your ears. But like, you know like your stomach. You know like, no, knowing a lot about water means I know a lot about water chemistry and I'm like right, you know your stomach is highly acidic and it dissolves every solid that goes into it. That's the point of it being acidic is meant to dissolve it and put it in solution so your body can, can extract those things out of this, out of the solution. You know, through your intestines. And I'm like bro, plastic gets like it gets dissolved too. It's at to a certain level and and that's what microplastic is, you know, that's why they find it in sewer systems, because it went through someone's body and it got dissolved and broken down with sulfuric and the sulfuric acids in your stomach. So I'm like you know, so it's like that's not good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you've given me a lot to Google. You got something wrong with you.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I agree, I agree, it's, uh, it's, it's been centuries, uh, proven benefits. So so, before we wrap up here, professor Dean, uh, what's next for you and Carolina? Family jujitsu.
Speaker 3:Um. The next next thing is, um, expanding the space. You know, we have a, we have a. We have a good problem right now where we have too many people and not enough mats, you know we have a good problem right now where we have too many people and not enough mats.
Speaker 3:That's a good problem to have, that's right, you know. So we went the rounds of looking for buildings nearby because we didn't want to have to have our current students have to travel more than 10 minutes from the current location. Just nothing was fitting the bill. So we're like we're just going to stay where we are and wait out the person next to to us and when their lease is up, we'll take it over and we'll knock out the wall between us and uh, and the landlord's cool with that. So it's like, you know, we're just gonna hang out and just uh, tell everybody be aware of your space around you, which is part of uh, part of jujitsu anyway.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it may have to start on the ground a little bit more, right yeah, or we do things like start standing in situationals. But, yeah, yeah, for sure, so so space growth, and are you competing any this year, or I know?
Speaker 3:you need to compete. I just got my black belt in October, so I do want to go down. I don't know if I have the time to go to the pans this year. The hard part is, you know, my current, my current job is is pretty taxing. But right now I have, you know, kids, six kids going in every different direction. But I'd like to go down.
Speaker 3:I was supposed to compete yesterday but there was nobody, no other black belts, so nobody. Nobody else signed up. So I was. I've been a lone soldier, so I was like my first one. But but you know, like one of the things I want to do is I, I want to, I want to go out to master worlds in vegas and, um, just, you know what will happen is the funny thing about you know, once you're in black belt my professor told me he said things about black belt is there's no divisions in black belt. It's not first drive versus first drive, it's black belt. And you go in there and you may have a. You know you may be going against somebody at Master Worlds. You know that's been doing jujitsu for twice as long as you've been a black belt, for twice as long as you've been doing jujitsu.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they started when they were like 10.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I mean, like the highest level I've rolled with is one of the old students from Brazil, and he is six stripe, and one of the John jocks old students from Brazil, and he is six stripe, and I mean he knew what I was doing every time. So it's just hilarious. So it's like, yeah, but I think that, uh, I think I'd like to go out there and just, you know, get my ass handed to me by somebody that's far more experienced, but it's cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's, that's the fun thing. I prefer training with higher belts. I mean, if I, if we get a trick, uh, pick up training partners at a seminar, what have you? I'll almost always ask a black belt role just because I feel that's how that's how I improve. I mean, I'm not here, you know, I'll never more than likely, I'll never be a world champion. I don't know if that's my aspiration. I would like to actually teach jujitsu one day, Um, but for me it's just the joy of improving and things like that.
Speaker 1:So if um you know, and, as we close out here, where can our listeners of today's episode find you? Either online, or what's the best way for them to uh to get in contact? Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, um Carolina family. Yeah, yeah, um carolina family jiu-jitsu on facebook um carolinafamilyjiu-jitsucom. That's our website. And uh, we are on instagram. We have uh, that's really where I do everything and just filter it to facebook because I don't really know how to use facebook well, we don't have tiktok anymore right, I mean that's, that's gone, it's just um, so it's car Family Jiu-Jitsu JJM on Instagram. So yeah, thanks guys for listening and Joe much love man, thanks for getting me on. It's cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I've enjoyed doing this for a morning episode. I may start switching some of these to morning records, so I appreciate you coming on and it's a great conversation, great content. I appreciate it. I know the listeners are going to like it, thanks man, but yeah that's a wrap for this episode of Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu.
Speaker 1:If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, share it with your training partners and leave a review to help more people discover the journey of jiu-jitsu. Stay connected with us on instagram for more updates. Join the caffeinated jiu-jitsu ig community and remember every day on the mat is progress.
Speaker 2:Train smart, roll safe and keep your passion brewing and that's the final tap on today's episode of Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu. A big thanks to all of our listeners, especially today's insightful guest, for sharing their BJJ knowledge and tales. If you felt that adrenaline rush and are hungry for more, hit, subscribe, drop a review and spread the jujitsu buzz. For show notes and to contact the host, reach out to the email provided in the podcast description and to join our grappling community, head over to Instagram. Get those geese, crisp your coffee strong and always be prepared for the next roll Oss.
