#mixed martial arts

1. Injuries

2. Cutting weight

3. ?

So… I’ve switched gyms. I’d been thinking about it for a while, basically since before I started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu last April. At that stage, I decided to train at Nexus BJJ, a pure Gracie jiu-jitsu school under the Pedro Sauer system. It’s ten minutes from my house and it worked pretty well to go there three days a week and still keep up Muay Thai and boxing in the city another two-three days a week. But since Aniya was born in September, the schedule of everything has gotten really tight, so it’s been harder and harder to keep up both.

Changes were necessary so I started looking for a decent gym with both under the same roof, and began trialing at Nemesis MMA when they reopened after Christmas on January 2. They’ve a good schedule of classes in Muay Thai and BJJ and also do training in wrestling, boxing, judo and krav maga. Both owners and head coaches have serious fight experience and they’ve a good stable of active fighters on some of Australia’s top promotions plus a lad in One FC, so there’s plenty of quality sparring and training partners. There’s a good mix of hobbyists and fitness people alongside serious fighters and martial artists. And it’s a 15 minute drive from my house. But the main thing I was looking for is quality of training and attitude - what are they like? What’s their response to various situations? Well, they’re really sound and the training is solid. So I’ve decided to stay.

On top of all that, I’ve just started a relatively full-on job as Marketing & Communications Advisor for an ethical management consultancy firm here in Melbourne, so that means even more demands on my time. My first day was on Thursday so I decided to make a clean break and a fresh start and go to talk to both my Muay Thai coach Pedg and BJJ coach Murat after work that day and inform them of my decision. I was nervous. I’ve been training with Pedg since 2011 and he’s cornered me for ten fights. I’ve gone through huge growth there, developing close friendships through his gym and learning a lot about fighting and about myself. For the past half decade he’s been the biggest single influence on my life of anyone apart from my wife, so it was a tough decision. I was a bit sad. But it was time to go. He was really fucking sound about it, which was cool, and I’ll keep going in there for sparring from time to time. The same with Murat, though I’ve only trained with him for less than a year. It was something of a relief though, as the martial arts world can seem a bit like the mafia when it comes to leaving the family…

So I’m on a new path. The goal is to become a complete fighter.

Today is my first BJJ tournament!