Gogoplata Falls,

Hey guys,

So were getting back to normal after the labor Day long weekend, and what a crap-tastic weekend it was! (Weather wise that is) For the last few years I re-call Labor Day always being nice and warm, although my Birthday is coming up, and that’s always a nice day (first day of fall.) So I keep getting comments about how people like reading my blogs, so I’m gonna really try and make an effort to blog at least once a week. It would be awesome if all the people that tell me they are reading it become followers so I could hopefully get some free shit, ha ha.

So we had a good week of training last week, and I actually took a day off training (Saturday) my first one since Brasil. Sunday was great; BJJ followed by the performance class with Don, I hope as summer winds down, more of you will start to get involved regularly coming to performance classes. After class Vanessa, Morgan, and I took Kate on a nice little hike up to Gogoplata Falls (formerly Crystal Falls.) Monday was good I actually made it out to Maple Ridge to roll, although I was little disappointed as there wasn’t to many guys out.

So some big things going on right now, Chris Fraser ( Fraser’s Kickboxing) is going to be working with us in Maple Ridge, Abby, and Poco to help with our Kickboxing program, and were also going to be trying out a few other instructors in Vancouver and Poco to see how they fit in with the team. I’m also working on getting a Wrestling Coach who can come out a couple days a week and help us continue to improve on that aspect of our game, as well I’m hopeing my Judo friend will start with us in the next couple weeks! Stay tuned on the website and Facebook for info on that.

Almost all classes are back to normal now after the summer including the Tuesday Lunch class in Poco, and the Wednesday Lunch class in Maple Ridge. I’m looking forward to the lunch classes its always great to get a mid morning work out in, you feel great and your nice a ready to rock for the evening classes.

October 15th is gonna be a big day for the team as we have 4 guys fighting on the upcoming Battlefield Fight League card. Morgan Bentley, Jeremy Kennedy, Dave Kennedy (No Relation) and Jacen Brooks (Who is the main event and will be fighting for the vacant Welter Weight title. We are still working on getting Ryan Christopher and Ryan Ince fights on this card (or a card 1 week later) as well, so fingers crossed. All of these guys have been working there bags off, and are all improving tremendously. I cant wait to watch these guys get in the cage, and show everyone why West Coast BJJ is the best team out there, and why we don’t talk a lot of trash, we just let our fighting speak for itself.

I’ll see you all on the mats real soon,

Jason Gagnon

West Coast BJJ in Brazil

So were about half way through our trip now, and I thought Id share some of what we’ve seen, some of the differences in how people train here, and some random ramblings of stuff I’ve been learning;

Training has been amazing, we’ve been training twice and sometimes 3 times a day since we got here almost 2 weeks ago. The classes are very different here, almost much more informal. Back home a class starts at say 5:30, that means the class starts at 5:30, and the majority of the class will be there, ready to roll by then. In Brazil if a class starts at 5:30, that’s more like a suggestion (haha) People come in around 5:30, but the class wont fill up with everyone till around 6. People will come in, and during that first half hour, stretch a little, maybe do some light running, followed by 1, maybe 2 techniques, after which its sparring time. Classes also don’t really seem to have a specific time they end, they just kinda slowly sputter out, like a car running out of gas.

The rolls here are very different as well, for example every time you train for the most part it’s a 6 or 7 minute round, as people are getting ready to compete, they do not go over easy meaning you are really working and fighting for every sweep (like rolling with Shawn, lol.) The guys who compete also roll very hard, and are always looking for a finish. They are usually 1 on, 1 off. The serious guys or the smaller guys (That they expect to have more cardio–lucky me) will sometimes double up, but usually its 1 round of, 1 off. The cool part about that is during your time sitting on the edge you really get to watch and observe world-class black belts going at it on a daily basis’–which is great for observing the subtle stuff there doing that makes them so good.

One of the major differences I have seen in my time here is the consistency in which people here train. Sure there are lots of Blues, Purples, Browns and Blacks…But they are no different then the ones we have back home, some are really talented competitors, others are mind-blowing technical, and others are more hobbiest. What separates them from us, is they stick with it. These guys who are the good Blues, have been training solidly for 3-4 years, good purples 4-7 years, good browns 6-9, and all the blacks are 10 years+ for the most part. They don’t come for a little while then quit, they come, stay, and slowly improve to the point were there all awesome. I truly understand now what Don has been preaching to me for the last 2 years “Everyone here will be a black belt, it’s just a matter of time.” My time spent here has allowed me to  see this occurence. Listening to the older black belts (after receiving a generous helping of ass-whoopeing) telling us how terrible they were when they started. It’s an awesome learning experience.

One of the other major things that I expected to happen, and that I’m super stoked is the little details I’m picking up. I didn’t come here expecting to learn some secret technique that would be the answer to all my grappling problems, as people often look for back home. But all the little grips, hand fighting, skirt/Collar  controls, and simple defensive movements I’m picking up are making a world difference. I can feel my game getting sharper day by day.

Our experience training has been nothing short of wonderful, it seems like every time you meet someone and roll with them, you’re getting re-acquinted with an old friend. They laugh, and are so appreciative of a good roll. You wanna talk about leaving your ego at the door? These guys leave it at home, before they even get near the club. It doesn’t matter what your rank is, they treat you the same, if you get a tap, they congratulate you, and move on, and when you get caught (and get caught you will) it’s the same. You can truly feel the love of Jiu Jitsu here, and the bond it builds between 2 people, after a great roll.

Sorry for the inane rambling, Its been such a world wind trip so far, and I wanted to get down as much as I could

See you all on the mats very soon,

Jason Gagnon

UFC 116 Battle of the Brains

According to the Las Vegas Sun Dana White got a little too excited during the last UFC:

“This night almost gave me a heart attack,” White said. “I really went into the back, walked right out of the octagon into my back room, sat down and thought they were going to have to bring a defibrillator back there. I was seriously messed up after the show. I was blown away.”

His excitement was caused apparently by 3 fights in particular during this night: Lesnar’s “comeback” in the main event,  Stephan Bonnar’s win against Krzysztof Soszynski by pummeling him into a TKO victory in the second round after taking a serious beating and Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama’s battle of the punch drunks. All of these fights featured prolonged exchanges in which fighters would be hitting each other’s heads without taking much evasive action. As exciting  it must have been for Dana and his bottomline as sobering must have been to watch from a different perspective: If it was a record for Dana is was also a record for any neurologist counting punches and kicks to each fighter’s brains.

A classic study carried out with 69 active football players and 37 former members of the Norwegian national football team determined that 30% of the former players complained of permanent problems such as headache, dizziness, irritability, neck pain, and impaired memory. In addition, 35% of the active players and 32% of the former players displayed abnormal EEGs, compared with about 12% of matched control individuals.

When the former players were subjected to cerebral computed tomography (CT) and a neuropsychological examination, a full one-third of the athletes were found to have central cerebral atrophy (wasting of the central region of the brain), and 81% displayed at least some signs of neuropsychological impairment. Many of these problems were believed to be linked to concussions suffered by the players during their football careers.

Since there are no studies regarding longterm brain damage in MMA, this Football study is all we have. There is no reason to believe that a direct kick or punch against the skull will be any less damaging than playing Football and the examples of Leben or Bonar leading with their heads taking shoot after shoot or Lesnar going fetal and using his head as a means to tire out his opponent are pretty graphic. Most people don’t realize that our brains are as soft as butter while the inner skull is lined with sharp ridges and edges. Only because these fighter’s brains are missing the ability to flip the switch does not mean that their brains got battered around any less.

To think that no brain injury occurred that night would be ignorant and I hope that West Coast BJJ & MMA students training towards competing in MMA do NOT take these fights as examples of how to become a champion. These fighters will have to live with the consequences for selling their brain health for a fight purse and may regret this deeply in the future when they discover that a day without dizziness and headaches is a good day and how nice it would be to recognize your own children and grandchildren.

For more information on these topics please visit: http://subtlebraininjury.com/nolossconsciousness.php

Don Whitefield