Achieving the Rank of Blue Belt

Recently, I was awarded the rank of blue belt in BJJ

This was an awesome day to say the least.

After almost 2 and a half years of training in BJJ, I was able to graduate from my phase belt and wear the blue belt around my waist.

My Coach and I after he gave me my blue belt

It was your typical Monday night BJJ class, and we were all gearing up for our typical 8:00 pm-8:30 pm rolling session. This is my favorite part of the class, because we get to test and use everything we have learned in the class while at the same time getting a seriously killer workout in.

The philosophy that we have in our gym is that if we train harder and longer than any competition would require, than come competition time, we all are more than well prepared.

I have had many hard training sessions before in my life, but that Monday night was easily one of the hardest.

My coach and I battled against each other for minutes on end, with him showing no sign of letting up on me. He wasn’t just beating me, he was smashing me. It was to the point where I would be in bottom side control, and he would use constant head pressure to inflict pain and discomfort, drilling directly into my stomach. It was freakin’ brutal.

Some of the mastery guys and I snap a team photo after class

After getting destroyed by him and being utterly exhausted, I was now the victim of a game we like to call “vultures”. It involves one guy (me in this case) starting in bottom side control, and having to go from bottom to top position against an opponent. Once this has been done, a new and fresh opponent jumps on top of you in side control, and you must repeat the process again.

After a few minutes of that, I can easily say that I had surpassed my previous physical and mental limits, and I was fighting with pure adrenaline. I had nothing left in me, and my body felt five times heavier than normal.

When it was all done, I stood up with the help of my fellow students and tried to catch my breath for dear life. I also had the interrupting urge to vomit. I came very close to doing so, but I mustered the strength to hold it down (luckily!).

As my coach gave us all a wise talk on how training hard like we did will ensure that we will all improve, he mentioned my name. He elaborated on my efforts and the time that I put in on and off the mats, then pulled a blue belt out of nowhere and surprised the heck out of me with it.

Fellow blue belt Josh Colacone and I

Being extremely exhausted, yet elated, I was very proud to have done what I did. I thanked all of my team and my coaches, as they were the ones who helped push me through it all.

It was a great day for me and a huge goal had been reached. I cannot wait to see where I end up on  my journey as a blue belt.

Team Black Diamond Brings Home Medals at NAGA East Coast

On Saturday, May 5th 2012, The Black Diamond MMA Competition Team made an appearance at the North American Grappling Association East Coast Championships in Warwick, RI. Not only did the team perform well, we also managed to bring home several medals!

Now as some of you may or may not know, The North American Grappling association (also known as NAGA) is one of the most well-known grappling/fighting organizations around. NAGA holds grappling tournaments all year round across the United States. On May 5th, NAGA held their annual East Coast Championships right here in our very own Warwick, Rhode Island.

The Black Diamond Mixed Martial Arts Academy was proud to have some of its students competing in this exciting event. Some of the students that competed include myself, Andrew DaSilva, Luke Hopton, Joey Rosario, Ben Burdick, Andrew DaSouza, Slick Jimmy, and even our very own Coach Josh Labossiere.

For many of these guys, it was their first time competing in a NAGA tournament (including myself). For those of you who have never been to any kind of grappling/jiu jitsu tournament before, it is quite the experience:

The room is loud and filled to the brim with live energy, amplified by the screaming of coaches and the booming voices of the fight announcers. Adrenaline is pumping through each fighters veins, whether they can control it or not. Grapplers of all shapes, sizes and styles meet on the mats and put it all on the line to clash their abilities against one another.

After trying to visualize this, you can imagine that it is a very intense, gladiator-like scene. Much credit is deserved by anyone who steps out there on those mats, especially if it’s their first time. So, with that being said, a lot of credit goes out to all of the guys on the team who had the guts to step out on the mats and put it all on the line.

 As far as shiny metal things go, Team Black Diamond MMA was able to bring home the gold in the cruiser weight purple belt division, a gold in the no-gi novice middle weight division, a bronze in the no-gi novice feather weight division, bronze in the cruiser weight white belt division, and lastly a bronze in the no-gi intermediate lightweight division.

That’s 5 medals!

Now seeing that most of the guys that attended were competing in their first tournament, I can easily say that we did very well as a team. We didn’t win every match and every gold medal, but the hard work and determination I saw from our team was outstanding.

 As an overall experience, I would recommend competing to anyone who is able and willing. It is a unique experience unlike any other. Although it may slightly take you out of your comfort zone, at the end of the day it makes you a better grappler, a humble competitor, and brings you closer together with your team. It is definitely worth it!

A few members of Team Black Diamond celebrating after the tournament
(from left to right) Joey, myself, Coach Josh, Dasani, J-Cola

Again, much credit goes out to Coach Josh, Slick Jimmy, Luke, Ben, Joey, and last but not least, both Andrews for competing. A valiant effort by the team and a huge step towards a gym full of elite grapplers who are on the path to sweet, righteous victory.

-N