JACO BEACH

Its been years away from this blog, years spent actually surfing, not sitting in NJ wishing to surf. We just walk to the beach and surf everyday, or hop in the jeep and ride to different spots in this warm latitude. Some people might be jealous.

Hurricane Season '06

More surf, less jitsu these days. I haven't even thought about posting lately. I have dedicated all my free time to surfing this Fall season and it has really paid off. I think I got the most of every good day so far....Sept. 3, Sept 16, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, I can't even remember all the good sessions. It's like a big blur of hurricanes, weather reports, driving back and forth between NJ and Long Island. I'm also really stoked that I got to enjoy all this surf with my friends. I was always used to surfing by myself, nothing wrong with that but I think sharing the experience makes better memories. Jax thanks for coming up here from TX, Bill and Takeshi a little searching and we've been getting it dialed, thanks for driving too.

Summer is here

Well I love the warm water, but the waves are getting smaller and there are definitely more people on the beach. I had a lot of great sessions this spring and I'm starting to return to jiu jitsu more consistently now too. I think being in better shape from surfing a lot helps my jiu jitsu game tremendously. Not just for technique but for endurance. By the way I got choked completely unconscious the other day for the first time ever. It was a great experience, I was totally hallucinating for a moment like I was in a dream or something. I didn't know where I was but finally I started to wake up and figure things out. My instructor said I had been lying there for a while, I have no idea how long it was.

Royler Gracie Seminar

Royler Gracie will be coming to Performance Jiu Jitsu in Fair Lawn NJ on April 11, see Performance website for details. Hopefully I'll be able to make it, I haven't been training much because of a shoulder injury but I'd like to go anyway, his seminars are always excellent and he is also very friendly.

Well the weather is warming up, soon I'll be back in the water. I give a lot of credit to those guys who surf year round, they seem to get better waves though in the winter. I'm going to get a new wetsuit this spring and I'm looking forward to some surf.

Gracie Family on The Discovery Channel

Not sure when it will air but here is a link to the video
click here
I think it is pretty cool to see that Helio still practices and is in excellent shape for his age. I give him lots of respect for everything he's accomplished. The dedication and contributions that the Gracies have made to jiu jitsu is really amazing. To read more about this family's inspiring story, check out the book "The Gracie Way"

www.surfjitsu.com

www.surfjitsu.com is now in effect, hope you like it. Be sure to check out the shop for some cool clothes. Well I hope everyone had a good holiday. I got back from Costa Rica a few days ago and the waves were good the whole time. Mostly chest to head on the Pacific, and head + on the Caribbean. Wish I was still there but it's good be home and get back to jiu jitsu. "Pura Vida" as they say in Costa Rica!

Coming Soon (www.surfjitsu.com)

I am currently working on a real website for surfjitsu (www.surfjitsu.com). I have the domain and most of it set up, but I want to fix a few more things and add more content before I publish it. Also I am leaving tomorrow for Costa Rica! I can't wait to surf! Anyways, I'll be back on Jan. 17th so the website won't be up before then.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Watch Pride Shockwave tonight on PPV !

Merry X-mas, Happy Holidays

Royler Gracie Interview

I found this interview on a Brazilian website, www.surfreporter.com.br The original interview is in Portuguese but I translated the parts that are most relevant for Surfjitsu.

Q - How are surfing and jiu jitsu related?
RG - The relationship is perfect. I began catching waves at age 12. Surfing has a strong relation to jiu jitsu in that for both sports, when you're actually doing them you forget about everything else. Whenever I'm training or surfing, I don't think about paying the bills or any of life's problems. Surfing relaxes you and allows you to feel a zen like balance related to everything in life.

Q - Do you feel that jiu jitsu can help your surfing?
RG - Definitely, there is no better harmony than surfing and jiu jitsu. There are many people who practice jiu jitsu and are also top surfers, like Renan Rocha, Heraldo Gueiros, Guilherme Gross, or Richard Tatuì, and Rodrigo Resende "the monster" catches enormous waves. There's also the top jiu jitsu guys who surf. Rickson is the best, me I'm always catching waves, my brother Relson in Hawaii, Rodrigo Medeiros in San Diego, Silvio and Mauricio Behring, really there's a ton of people who surf. Marquinhos Nevel who finished 2nd place in the Challenge Surf contest (a contest exclusively for jiu jitsu black belts), also Guerrinha, Murilo, Zè Mario, there's so many. Sorry if I forgot anyone, if I tried to mention everybody I'd never finish.

Q - Would you prefer to battle big surf or fight against a big guy?
RG - I would prefer, without a doubt, to fight against a big opponent. I wouldn't want to be in the situations that these big wave surfers get into because I'm not trained for that, so I'd much rather fight a huge guy. I'd feel much more comfortable because that is like my natural environment. But on that subject, I also like the feeling of adrenaline that comes with surfing big waves. Of course nothing like the 50 - 60 footers that guys are surfing today, I can't even think about that. But I do like the feeling of the adrenaline and you definitely feel that when you're in the ring. I think everyone should try to experience that kind of adrenaline feeling.

Q - Do you have a message for anyone out there who wants to try jiu jitsu?
RG - My message to anyone who wants to learn, train, or improve their jiu jitsu is this: Be certain that you're doing it because you enjoy it, because you want to be there training on your own behalf. Not because it might be cool or something, and definitely not because you want to learn how to fight people. We are all here to help each other, not to bring more violence in this world. Peace and love, and lot's of jiu jitsu!

surf art

wow, I really like this guy's work. Check it out here http://www.robbhavassy.com/original_art/index.html

also check out http://www.danmackin.com














happy surf dreaming!

Choke DVD

I highly recommend this film to anyone, even if your not interested in the subject. It's a documentary from Manga Entertainment about different fighters training to enter the Vale Tudo 95 tournament in Japan. It tells a little bit about their backgrounds, where they come from, how they train, and at the end it has some scenes from the tournament.

What brings surfing and jiu jitsu together?

For some strange reason these two sports have an unusual connection. It seems that many practitioners of jiu jitsu enjoy surfing and vice versa. Since they aren't related sports, as surfing would be to skateboarding, or jiu jitsu to other martial arts, it raises the question... why do these sports overlap in the way that they do? Well sure, lots of people like to participate in more than one sport but I think there's more to it than that. I already pointed out that Rickson and Royler, two of the best in the world at jiu jitsu, also like to surf. But did you know that two of the world's best surfers, the Irons brothers Andy and Bruce, also train jiu jitsu? I think that's a pretty interesting coincidence, don't you?

Well, I don't really know for sure why these sports have the relationship that they do, but I have at least one idea about it. I think it has to do with the beaches in Brazil, particularly around Rio de Janeiro where jiu jitsu developed some of it's fame and surfing was also very popular. Also many surfers might be interested in learning martial arts because of the conflicts that arise when scrambling for waves in a crowded area, and jiu jitsu has proved itself very effective for self defense.

Please share any other opinions you guys might have! (post a comment or email surfjitsu@gmail.com)

Welcome to Surfjitsu

this is from a demo during Pride 5






Before I ever started training jiu jitsu I loved surfing. As I learned more about the Gracie family and their prominent role in the history of jiu jitsu, I also found out that both Rickson and Royler surf!