Have you ever trained with John Danaher? I've heard he's is a wizard on the mat and a BJJ genius.
Absolutely. John is a staple at Renzo's academy. I'm a brown belt myself, but I can't fuck with John. He is as humble as they come and an all-around great guy. He truly knows his BJJ and does a fine job as a professor at the academy. Last I heard, he is now George St. Pierre's BJJ instructor. Renzo tends to surround himself with very nice people and John is one of them.
You train boxing and BJJ 3-4 times a week. And I assume you are also in the gym hitting the weights. How do you schedule all this? What days do you do weight training and what days boxing/BJJ?
While I now only go to Renzo's gym every now and then, I found a place by my apartment that I can go to with more frequency. A Machado black belt opened his own gym and I go there (because it's 10 blocks away from my place) to roll with other brown and black belts. The Machado place also has a Muy Thai and boxing instructor (very convenient), so I take advantage whenever I can to get lessons from those guys as well. I do at the very least an hour 3-4 times of the week at this gym. My schedule looks like this typically when I go to the gym and train (remember, I do this 3 or 4 times of the week only, sometimes it's 3 days during the week only in a Mon/Wed/Fri split):
Wake up at 5AM
5:30-6:30 AM - Hit the local Equinox for weight training (3 blocks from home)
6:30-7 AM - Shower at the gym, jump into my suit
7:15-7:45 AM - Commute to work
7:45 - 8:00 AM - Eat a small breakfast
8:00AM - 5:00 PM - Work Day (meals in between)
5:15 PM - 5:45 PM - Commute home
6:30 PM - Have dinner with my partner
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM - Go to the Machado's gym or Renzo's gym
8:45-9PM - head home
By 10 PM I will have showered and still have time to have a few snacks, watch some tv and review files for the next work day.
BTW, you are very much over stating the consequences of a street fight. It's one thing if you assault someone and quite another if a mutual brawl breaks out. I was in a couple of rows last year. One was more along the lines of a challenge match like you mentioned but still bare fist no rules. Another was a brawl in a parking lot following a traffic altercation. Nothing happened and nothing has ever happened in street brawls that I've gotten in during my life. There was one incident many years ago when cops were called and all that happened was that I had to show ID so the officer can get my information and that was it.
In New York City, most if not all, fights will land you in jail, unless you have proper reason and witnesses to back your justification.
Anybody, and I mean anybody, can walk away from a fight. Not everybody can stand their ground and actually fight.
Swallowing your pride and holding back your rage/anger is one of the hardest things to do in this life.
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