Stand up work at Nova Uniao, Tropa Thai Social Program, and Exploring Rio

After Muay Thai training at Nova Uniao

This past week had its ups and downs. At the start of the week brought the usual great training, then I had a few days of being sick and then rounded the week off by getting out and experiencing more of what Rio has to offer. Even though it is never fun being sick I still had a chance to learn a lot.

Week in training

Getting some sparring in while visiting the Tropa Thai social program.

Monday morning I worked on wrestling, focusing on drilling takedowns to counter various kicks. After wrestling I met up with Simeon and headed into Nova Uniao for the afternoon. The first session I caught was nogi grappling. The class was very drill heavy, the warm up was completely sport specific movements. Some of the drills included swinging armbar drills and triangle drills. Each guy would quickly (and correctly) hit 10 reps to each side, switch with their partner, and then rep out another set. The live rolling was great. It seemed like every person I rolled against had a completely different style, which was awesome because it really forced me to adapt quickly and work my game. Immediately after Nogi I threw on the gloves and shin pads and did the Pro Muay Thai class. The instructor was a phenomenal coach and by watching him it was quickly apparent he has spend decades in the sport. He ran us through multiple combos. At first we would work a combo slowly and technically, and then we would switch to fast paced rounds with movement and speed. After about 45 minutes of fast paced drilling we did specific technical sparring. One guy could only spend the round throwing punches while the other guy could only throw kicks. This would go on for a three minute round and then you would switch rolls with your partner. The drill really allowed you to see more openings and work counters. We finished the session with free sparring and core work.

Melanie, one the the CR guests, training at Tropa Thai.

Tuesday morning I headed into Nova Uniao and got some great boxing training in. The main focus was aimed at head movement and countering (both things I need to work on). The coach would show three or four possible slips or counters and then we would alternate rounds with one guy throwing and the other guy working on the techniques. We finished up with a final 3 minute round with our hands behind our backs and all we could use was head movement and footwork to evade punches; it was a great drill and even at a slower pace a difficult one. After doing the drills I can see why Nova Uniao's Top level fighters, such as Jose Aldo, can be do dangerous and elusive on the feet.

One of the talented students at Tropa Thai

On Tuesday night a group of us went out to Tijuquinha and checked out Eduardo “Edu” Pachu's social program Tropa Thai. Edu, an accomplished muay thai and MMA fighter, has been running a free muay thai program for kids in a small favela for many years. Twice a week the concrete basketball courts behind a local school fill with kids of all ages who come in to learn muay thai from some of the best in Rio. The training is broken into two classes, one for younger children and one for teens on up to adults who have worked with Edu. The kids were very good technically and had a lot of spunk. Not only that but they are tough as well, not being able to train in a gym these kids make do training barefoot on rough concrete flooring, I know a lot of adults in the states that wouldn't have the mental toughness to do that. While most of the group watched, Melanie a guest from Boston, and I participated in the second class for teens and adults.

We did a lot of technical sparring and I had a lot of fun working new stuff against the kids (and they had fun getting to punch and kick a gringo). In addition I got some great tips from the instructor, who was able to spot some holes offense and defense. While the training was great, I have to say the most enjoyable part of going was watching the kids train and learn. Social programs like Tropa Thai offer the kids something constructive that will build character and create opportunities for them. My Portuguese is getting good enough to where I could talk to some of the kids and explain to them who we (the CR Gringos) were and what we are doing here. When I told some of them that we were from across the word, train martial arts and we came to watch them train the kids faces beamed and they worked extra hard to make good impressions on us. I really enjoyed going and I hope to make it back Tropa Thai in the future.

On Wednesday I woke up feeling pretty crappy. I was dead tired and just felt sick. I went in and sparred. It was not the best sparring session ever. My striking felt slow and I just couldn't seem to get into the rhythm of things on the feet. When I got to the ground though I felt good. I was able to work good top control and land some nice strikes. Unfortunately I also slightly reopened the cut from last week, not badly but it still kept it from healing up.

Out in Rio

The view from inside Sao Sebastian Cathedral.

For the next few days I did not feel well at all. I spent most of the time sleeping. I decided to take a long weekend, just relax and get better. By Saturday afternoon I was finally feeling better, so Nicole and I headed out into Rio. We first headed to Lapa, which first took a bit longer than expected due to a difference in bus routes (thanks Google Maps), but we made it none the less. On the first Saturday of every month Lapa hosts a huge flea market along one of the streets. While some of the stuff was pretty touristy, there was also a lot of cool antiques and trinkets. While walking there were various people singing or playing music so it made for a very festive and enjoyable time. While in Lapa we also went and saw the famous Lapa Arches and The Sao Sebastian Cathedral. The cathedral was really unique because it is a giant cylindrical pyramid. To look at it from the outside you wouldn't have any idea it was a church. Inside though you are able to see the beautiful stained glass artwork in the window and tons of beautiful church artwork. Originally we were going hike up Morro de Urca (the large hill next to Sugar Loaf) and catch the sunset, but we ran a little late to make the hike in time. Instead of stressing we did the Carioca thing and just walked a long the water until we came up to Bar Urca. Bar Urca was featured in Anthony Bourdain's “No Reservations” as a great place to snack and watch the sunset. It is. While the bar was busy and a bit chaotic, once we got our food and drinks we headed to the break wall and watched the fishermen come in for the day. After we finished we walked through the neighborhood of Urca. It was very nice place filled with beautiful houses. I really recommend if you head to Sugar Loaf take the time to walk down to Urca and walk along the water. It's really relaxing, which iswhat you want your trip to Rio to be.

The view from Bar Urca overlooking the bay.

While it definitely not fun being sick the time off did allow me to heal up on a few bumps, bruises, and aches that my body had developed. Now I am feeling good and ready to jump back into training and start the week off right!