What a Pain in the... Leg

Hi Guys. So this past few days have been really great. The interesting thing has been how many ways one can get hurt and not even fight... or even train. So granted, I hurt my hand the other day by falling wrong. Ok. I admit it. and then I hurt it again by walking on all fours but putting the pressure on the wrong hand - again. But apparently, it's not just me. I met a young girl, prob about 12 yrs old, who hurt her back. Did she fall wrong like me rolling with someone? No. Did she get beat up? No. This poor child got hurt rollerskating. She never got hurt in class or in any tournament but rollerskating... for fun. Someone pushed her. So I've been appreciating my safe space in the dojo. A lot. Oh! And the "pain in the leg" part... I hurt my leg exercising, not training, just a regular work out lol... Have a great day all. Cause I sure plan on it.

Forever and Ever, Amen.

Ah Man. Tonight was great. When we think about learning, we think about school teachers, we think about classrooms, we never think about life itself. We never consider our friends, our family, or anyone else as a teacher unless they have the title for it. I was speaking with one of my teachers, one of my younger older brothers who I have the honor to train with. I caught myself telling him that he wanted to get this "MMA stuff" out of the way before he had kids...

PAUSE

I realized how wrong I was the second I said it. See the issue is, last year, that was my thinking. Do this now before I have children. I didn't realize that this "MMA stuff" is not "Stuff" but a way of life. I began this journey thinking that it was just a "to-do." I saw myself doing it but I didn't understand that this is not just a "for-now" but it is a "for life." And the more I comprehend this, the more I accept it as a part of myself, and the more I see it translate into my life; the more I fall in love with it. It, not a "him." The truth is, my younger older brother is already a dad. I knew this. I've even met his son. I think the statement was meant to come out because I had not faced that old thought. Was/Is it a serious dream of mine to become an MMA fighter? Yes. But I can see why some of my loved ones had their reservations; I change my mind like I change my underwear. So somewhere inside of myself, I was still figuring out who I was, what kind of life I was looking forward to, and who was going to be in it. People make these choices everyday, in this aspect there is nothing special about me. But what is different is the acknowledgement of who I am, the life I am looking forward to, and who I will and will not allow in it. 

This is not a "for-now," this is forever. 

Does Snow Make it a 'No Go?'

One of the most annoying thing any fighter/ potential fighter can face is "unforeseen circumstances." This can range from injuries while training right before a fight to a day like today, bad weather. It's not appreciated. See, normally, people (like the anchorman this morning) say, "... if you don't have to go outside, don't go..." "Have to" is the key to your decision. If you have to go to work, you go. If you have to get your kids to and from school, you do so. So please understand, I may not "have to" get to the post office through this 6th snow storm for NY to mail out these packages I wanted to mail out since before Christmas - not a joke - but I have to get this work in.

Thanks for helping me sort out my decision. Stay warm. I have some rolling around to do.

I Am Blessed to be Alive Today

It only takes a few things in this life to make me happy. Breathing is one of them. You might think I'm trying to be funny but you really don't understand the power of 'breath' until it is taken away from you. I stopped breathing; it happened to me in many different ways today and they were all perfect moments.

I had the honor, the privilege, and the opportunity to listen in on a conversation with Master Instructor Ralph Mitchell today at Westinghouse High School located in Downtown Brooklyn. Sifu Mitchell  graced the school with his presence and spoke about discipline, spoke about choices of lifestyle, answered questions that the students had; all with humility and humor. To give you a taste of who I am speaking of, in case you don't know, this is one of the masters behind the scenes. You won't find his face in any movies but you may find people that he has sparred with to get them in shape for the movies. Who is he to me directly? He's my teacher's teacher. Who's my teacher? You guys have no idea, even if I told you.

Not only did I get to listen in on their conversation but I also had the benefit of having a chat with him and two other teachers in Starbucks. This was when I realized I literally had stopped breathing. And it's funny because I was just in my own head analyzing how awesome this was to be sitting here with Sifu and a Professor, and a fellow student/teacher (all students are teachers in my head), all at once and then I noticed that I wasn't inhaling or exhaling and I had to say it out loud because I related it to fighting. Sometimes when you're fighting you forget to breathe for the same reason; living in your own head as opposed to being present, in the moment. I know you guys want to know what we spoke about but guys you have no idea how big of a deal this was and therefore the conversation may go over your head but I will tell you this: I felt like a little girl talking to her grandfather when he said that he knew she was amongst a few that bested one of their more experienced fighters. I'm not bragging, I'm paraphrasing. It was a one-time thing. Some may have called it "beginner's luck." But it is what happened.

THEN! In Jiu-jitsu tonight I got to learn another submission known as the Ezekiel choke. Ha! Then I really found out what it was to literally have your breath taken from you and how to take away from someone else. lol You are fully mounted on your opponent and quickly, in the best way I, as a beginner, can describe it, you strategically put one arm behind their head to position your shoulder into their head, with your free arm that was bracing you from being taken over, you bring that arm to be interlocked in front of your other hand (the one behind the guy's head) over his throat and scissor squeeze (meaning you treat your hands like a pair of scissors and clip!) Man! I had fun today.

Truly blessed to experience it all.

Have fun guys and Make IT Yours.

In Pursue of Jiu-jitsu

Ugh I got hurt again yesterday. It wasn't even by fault of incorrect form.  Last week I hurt my hand by falling wrong - twice. Then yesterday, forgetting that I hurt myself before, started monkey-ing around and got too eager to see how to do a particular submission. I jumped over to my side, landed on my hand annnnnnddd... needless to say I remembered my best friend from last year, Bengay. But he wasn't in town so I went to visit IcyHot and Salonpas... very good friends, very.

I won't allow babying of injuries so I'm getting better as I keep moving. You really only see how valuable your body parts are when it is hurt. People really don't know how much advantage they take of what they use everyday. People relate to taking advantage of people in their lives or being taken advantage of, but rarely appreciate themselves. ... Just saying. Anyway, tomorrow is another day.



* The title of this post is Not "In Pursuit of Jiu-jitsu" nor is it meant to be.

So let's take a step back

As I'm editing this blog, I realized the description of it should have been my actual first post. "Ah Marlon, Ah Man!" is a blog dedicated to my YouTube viewers from 2013. When I first began my journey, I titled my YouTube video posts, "I'm Going to Be a UFC Fighter." I had to change the name because so much has happened in that year that my goals are slightly different (but I'll address that later, keep reading).

This name comes from the fact that every time something exciting happens, I call my cousin Marlon and tell him about what went on either about me working out or telling him of a new combination I learned. So now, when I address you, the reader, you have become my 'Marlon.' You almost became 'Xia,' after my brother, after all he has seen clips of me doing combinations and me sparring, but I'm not sure many people would be able to pronounce it. And somehow or the other "Ah YouTube Viewers, Ah Man!" just didn't have the same ring to it. lol.

As for my goals, I am still going to be a fighter but am I to go after a UFC championship? Probably not. As you get into MMA, you get to learn of the politics and the what-have-you(s) that is attached to practically every business. Is that something I'm interested in getting into? No. Not really. But I still am on the road to becoming a fighter. There are many fighters who have a low-profile, who can and actually have beaten some of these fighters that you see on television. It has been through training that I am realizing and learning about the true art of being and becoming a warrior, not idolizing what I see on television. Do I respect the fighters in UFC? Of course. It takes a lot of strength to showcase your skills and be in the eye of the public.

So, why the blog? Just because it's not UFC, doesn't mean I'm not going to fight.

NFL ATHLETES FORM A MUSCLE THUMPING SOUNDTRACK (From YouTube)

Found a new soundtrack to start my day. Wake Up Lovely Ppl! Thank you YouTube and Yucatan Health.

Urijah lost, Herb won

UFC 169 Barao vs. Faber was a disappointing fight.  "The California Kid" seemed to come in with a timed game plan that failed against the barrage of punches that was the attack plan of the undisputed champion Renan Barao. The fight was stopped in the first round by referee, Herb Dean when Barao began a serious ground and pound on Faber, who could only give a semi-hidden thumbs-up to Herb. Urijah said he could have handled it if he had more time but respected the decision, saying that "Herb is a very good referee and his job is to protect the fighters,  which he did... " Something to that effect.

This was a disappointment.  The fight didn't go past one round but if you've ever been in a cage before,  you know it's a lot easier to call it than to do it. I don't follow UFC and the shows but I do watch it when certain fighters are fighting.  Urijah is one and Ronda is definitely another. If you remember me saying it was the fight between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche, February 23, 2013 that changed my life and I told myself and others that I was going into MMA. Now a year later she's going to fight a fellow Olympian, Sara McMann on February 22, 2014. I'm looking forward to it.