ONRA:September11.08

Welll it looks likeGuam has made another big step forward in World MMA with Joe Duarte securing his place as a trial athlete in next seasons upcoming “Ultimate Fighter” on SpikeTV. Congratulations Joe, we hope and trust yu will use this visibility responsibly and in the spirit of our people. PXCLive on the 20^th  on

Guam. And Rites f Passage on the 28^th in Saipan.The Marianas Open will be collaborating with event ocorrdinatrs in the Philippines to host

NewBreed

Jiujitsu

Academy’s First BJJ and Submissin Grappling tournament in Octiober, and PXC will be doing a show in

Texas before the end of the year.. Amazing

Although, like anything else, the new face of competitive martial arts has given us a lot to celebrate about , it has given us a lot to be proud of and responsible for,.and its definitely given us a lot to be thankful  for. One thing that deserves merit is the bridge that we are mending with

Japan through  our affiliates and even opponents that come from the land f the Samurai. First of all, nothing will ever give excuse or good reason to the atrocities that some of our friends and families suffered during the Japanese occupation. Some have sacrificed more than most and before anything, understand that there is great respect for this loss and anxieties that might come form this loss. We can never erase that  .I hope that noone takes insult fron this article because that is not the intention. The fact that at times we have to go to war is a horrible thing and the war itself and its casualties are even worse.

Things are quite different todayThough we definitely must not forget, I think that for the most part our island as a whole has forgiven  these sins of the past. And we have moved forward. We cannot hold those that come in good spirit now responsible for the atrocities oof those that came before. As much as we might feel we owe it to our ancestors with small commitments to vengeance or prejudice, we should understand that we owe just as much to our descendants to give thema better picture of what incredible ties we have to our neighbors in the Pacific.

Beynd tourism, beyond financial gain, we also share the bridge of human interest. And as of now, this is a bridge well paved in large, with the common love of Martial Art , the pusuit of understanding and growth in Martial Art, and the desire to train and compete in Martial Art.

When BJJ and MMA first came to

Guam, we were so far behind in skill. The few heads that were looking for its growth, were discouraged by ridiculous instructor fees and unrealistic conditions that we dund it hard to imagine that wed be at pace with World MMA as we are today. Through contacts in Japan, and a sincere will to cultivate

Guam’s MMA identity, a collective effort fell into place to eventually launch the evolution of things that has given us the large number of headlines and news stories in local and international media that have positively decorated our  island today.

One thing I can say is thatour competitive visitrs from Japan have all left Guam with good stories and a healthy opinion of Guam and

Guam’s fluorisihing Martial Arts environment. This can be attested not nly t the evolving level f our events and athletes, but also in large part due to the support of the fans,inside and outside of the arena. So we all have played our part in this.

In celebrating this bridge between our peoples, tits easy to question what we owe those who came before us who saw a different side of the Japanese people> How can we so easily forget the atrocities f the past? Understand here that we are nt grgetting; if anything we are remembering –remebering that it was horrible and that we don’t want to pass this air of hatred and malice to

our children or to their children. We want to replace the bad air of the past with the oxygen of respect and admiration in not only the exchange of techniques, but eventually and imminently the exchange of customs, ideals, and good vibrations.

This past Monday, ,thePurebred?LloydIrvin Jiujitsu

Academy had a visitor from

Japan who has aBJJ BlackBelt and also happened to be a King Of theCage MMA World Champion. Only 2Miles away from the WarInThePacificPark in Piti, he trained with some of our islands best Jiujitsu players. There were no traces of animosity from both parties, even in the heat of hard sparring. In the end f the practice, the broken-english fighter ahtlete said Thank You and, after pictures,  mentioned above all” A very memorable Jiujitsu Experience

Understand that even though we may not reap the fruits now in diligent focus for good things as sport, the fruit will be there for our children as so much more.