2021 Rio Camp: Day 4

Oct 28, 2021

Woke up at a reasonable time and got breakfast. Lots of heel hook details in nogi class this morning. The camp is going to the police training facility today. I've been there twice on past trips so I'm opting out. Caio gave me the address to a great acai spot so Endo and I went to look for that instead. Along the way we found a statue of Carlson Gracie on the sidewalk and grabbed some pics. About 7 blocks from our hotel we found Casa do Acai that did indeed have excellent acai. I described it as having an earthier flavor and thicker consistency. We then went back to the hotel to do a berimbolo private with our friend Travis from Ohio. He's a brown belt we met on both previous camps. Endo is definitely leveling up his bolo game. Time for acai again! This time we went to Ender's all time favorite spot Hiper Mate. It didn't disappoint. Very good acai, better than the daily Bibi's acai we get. For the evening training we went around the block and up to the 2nd floor to a tiny gym called Strauch BJJ. Master Strauch runs this gym. He's a Red belt and gave Caio his black belt. It was warm and cramped but inviting. Master Strauch often will try to wrist lock you when he shakes your hand and likes a good prank. He told us stories about different students he's had. Rich men that were not satisfied with life, poor men that were content and happy. He wanted us to hear the message of not taking life too seriously. Fulfillment in life is all about appreciating what you have, staying in the moment. He told us to root for everyone, for all teams, we're all here together. I noticed when we arrived he was wearing a no stripe black belt while he finished a private lesson with a couple white belts. He then put his red belt on but said he only did so because one of the black belts with us asked him to. He says he feels too boastful wearing the red belt so usually just wears a black belt when teaching. It was interesting to see someone that has achieved the top level of bjj a little bashful about it. It was a great example that this is not about the destination but truly the lifelong pursuit of bjj. We then did some sparring rounds in the cramped gym Brazilians vs. Campers. I went with a brown belt named Bruno. He was much larger than me but took care to keep me safe. It was a generous roll on his part and I appreciated it immensely. I still don't have use of my thumb so rolls have been challenging. I'm trying to pace myself and take safe rolls so I can make it through the next 10 days. Before leaving we took a picture with the Anderson brothers

They are the only ones that have also been to all of Caio's Rio camps. It's been a pleasure seeing them again. We then went back to the hotel so we could walk to tonight's restaurant. We went to Faenza for dinner. It was a buffet I've been to on past trips that specializes in pizza. It also had handmade pastas, sushi, bbq, and many desserts. The garlic pizza was by far my favorite. I had the 3 biggest guys at the camp sitting at my table and the amount of pizza they went through was astounding. They said yes to every pizza that came to our table! Ash and Tony are 2 of the big guys. They are both from California and met when they were trainers at Google. Ash now trains in Santa Cruz. Nate was also at my table. He's an old pal from when I started bjj at Gracie Barra Kirkland and it's been awesome having him on the trip. He also went in 2018 with us. The pizza that topped all the others were the dessert pizzas, chocolate pizza, strawberry cheesecake, brownie pizza, chocolate banana, they just kept coming out with more. Everyone tapped out to the pizza tonight. Just as i was tucked into bed a message came across the group chat that there was party in the mat room. Endo and I decided to check it out. Loud music was coming from the room along with laughing and drinking. We found Carlos, one of the campers, doing magic tricks for a group of campers and some locals. We watched some fun card magic until a hotel staff person reminded us we were in the mat room way too late. So we said our good nights and finally retired to our rooms to get some rest.