A look back on March: California comes to a close

The past two and a half months have undoubtedly been among the best of my life. So much excitement and adventures, so many good rolls and battles on the mats, and best of all, so many good friends were made in such a short time that seemed to have passed so quickly.

I was able to visit 19 different schools and attend 3 different tournaments over the past 11 weeks. One of which was Pan Ams, something that I have wanted to go to for the past 3 years. I had kinda hoped that I could have done more, but that time was broken up by participating in the National Guard Best Warrior competition for my Brigade, as well as at North Carolina State level.

I have been asked a lot about what I learned technically and I have found that really hard to answer. Every class that I went to either covered something new or refined something existing, but when I look back on it is hard to pinpoint something in particular that really stood out to me. I think that I focused much more on the adventure of the trip much more than on becoming better, and consequently that is the result that I was given. A result that I am very happy with though. I do believe that I left having improved quite a good deal though because of that refinement and tweaking to techniques. Something as simple as changing grip placement can really make an impact on your game.

The Highlights:
Getting welcomed into CSG 360 and the  Gallegos Jiu-Jitsu association was what really made this trip as special as it was. The patches that I wear on my Gis mean a lot to me, and I have only ever worn two team patches before. I was honored to be able to add the patches that represent these associations.

A small gathering of the Gallegos Association

From the very first class at CSG 360 I was treated like a long standing teammate and a part of their family there. I enjoyed many good training sessions there, as well as a lot of fun and memorable meals and outings with part of the team. It is astonishing how quickly you can grow close to people in Jiu-Jitsu and having to say farewell was definitely tough. We said goodbye in style though! I was given a special treat of getting shark tanked by the team on my last day and that was an experience of its own. The team lined up and starting at the lowest ranked white belt it was 5 minute rounds with no time off all the way up the ranks. My gas tank hit empty somewhere in the blue belt ranks and a lot of lovable punishment was doled out from there on out. I absolutely loved it and it was a lot of laughing, hugs and submissions that I'll never forget. I managed to choke back the tears that swelled up as we said what hopefully will not be our last goodbyes.

A few pictures from the shark tank:

The conclusion: Pushed to absolute exhaustion

I also have to talk about the Gallegos Association. I was welcomed into 4 of their different schools. Twice for competition team training. The first thing is that even though I was a visitor, I was welcomed into a closed doors training session with their team. The second is that I was treated exactly like all of the other competitors. Professor Gallegos asked who had an upcoming competition, when I raised my hand, he added me into the pool of other competitors that received the focus of the class and were pushed to test their limits by everyone there. Getting treated like this really meant a lot to me and was a definite highlight.

For non JiuJitsu highlights I tried to hit a lot of the popular local joints, although I'll be honest, Del Taco became my thing out there. I tried my hand at surfing for the first time! There is something special about trying a new thing for the first time, especially when you suck at it. California is just beautiful and I mixed in some Army style hiking on some of the nearby high points to get some training in while enjoying the sights of nature.




What I Learned:

-If you are going to travel, pack a white gi and a lot of them. Many of the schools that I visited were white gi only schools. I only brought a handful of those with me, and those were barely able to keep up with my sweaty self, while my gray, blue, green gi's hung up neglected in the hotel closet.

-Visiting new schools is a ton of fun and exciting, but it doesn't necessarily outweigh the benefits of training consistently with one team. This is a topic that I would love to dive more into in the future, but I have come to the conclusion that it is better to settle into one school than to daily hop from one to another. The next time that I travel I will be picking one school and investing the majority of my time there.

-I did pick up a few new tricks and techniques during my time. I will be trying them out on my home school for a week or two before divulging them to everyone 😉


Conclusion:

California is one of the Meccas of Jiu-Jitsu. There is a mind blowing number of black belts there that I couldn't get used to. It was also surreal to get to meet and train under so many famous Jiu-Jitsu people. I have watched so many highlight or technique videos from some of them and it didn't seem real to be in the same room as them. If you are a Jiu-Jitsu junkie like me, I think that it's a trip that should be made at least once in a lifetime and it's one that I most certainly hope is not my last.

One final thank you to everyone that welcomed me in, made me feel like family, beat me up and made me better. It really was the trip of a lifetime and it would have been possible without the many people that make up this incredible community of grapplers.

About the Author:

Steven McMahon earned his Kyuki-Do Black Belt in 2011 from Grand Master Kim at Kim's Black Belt Academy and his  BJJ Purple Belt in January 2017 under Professor Charles Nunley. He trains out of Cornerstone BJJ in Fayetteville, NC. He is an active competitor at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Army Combatives tournaments.