Unfortunately I had to miss a few days of training this week because of school. I had to get some stuff done for my physiology lab and study for a physics test. I’ll probably have to miss a few days next week too while I’m getting ready for finals. But at least finals are soon and I’ll be free!
Although I couldn’t train much at my gym this week, I was still able to hit up the Robson Moura seminar last Friday! It was held at Zombie BJJ PA and hosted by brown belt, Jeremy Henderson. It was one of the best seminars I’ve ever been to. Every time Robson showed a move, I was in awe. I think every time he demonstrated a move I said, “Ah.” Whenever I say “Ah,” it means I learned something cool and/or I’m mesmerized by the thought behind the move. The way he presented the techniques was so interesting, and I was able to pick up a lot of little tips for my own game.
I don’t want to get into detail about what Robson showed at the seminar because I feel that would be an unfair distribution of his information, but I will tell you about the general atmosphere of the whole event. At the beginning of the seminar, Robson showed two simple guard recovery drills to get our hips warmed up and ready for the impending techniques. They were something that I think will help our current beginner level students get a feel for more advanced movements.
After warming up, we moved into the meat of the seminar. I’ll be honest – some of the material had me confused for a little bit until I drilled it a couple times. It was nice being confused, though. As a white belt, everything confused me, and it was a lot of fun trying to figure it all out. Now since I know my basics, it’s easier to pick up on advanced techniques, which means less confusion while learning. So at first I was a little embarrassed that I couldn’t do some of the moves on the first shot, but then I thought more about it. The fun part about jiu jitsu is learning new and intricate things and being confused by them. It was a good time.
At the end of the seminar, Robson reviewed everything he showed us. He called me and one of the women who trains there, Michelle, to the center of the mat and asked us to do the two warm ups he showed at the beginning. He did this because according to him, women are better able to remember what they’ve learned (haha). It was funny because Michelle and I looked at each other, hoping one of us would remember, but we couldn’t! He then explained it and we were able to do it fine. It was cool being the guinea pig.
Finally, at the end of the seminar, he answered a few questions from the group. I don’t remember how this came up exactly, but he talked a little about life in Brazil compared to life here in the United States. “Life is easy here,” he said. This was a big eye opener for me. I had honestly never thought about comparing my life to the lives of those in impoverished countries. I complain about how hard my life is all the time – I’ll be the first one to admit that. But I never thought about how easy I have it compared to people my age in Brazil. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop hating the amount of work I have to do for school, but I might try to stop openly complaining about it on Twitter.
In conclusion, I definitely learned a lot from Robson Moura, including some sick jiu jitsu and a reason to appreciate how lucky I am. I hope to make it to another one of his seminars someday. It was absolutely worth it. I hope everyone enjoys their week – and their life!