It’sAFamilyThing:R.I.P.Thor

GoodFriends can be hard to find. Throughout life–we should embrace those that we find wholeheartedly. Fokai mourns the loss of a man’s best friend.Life is precious and in good vibes–God is indiscriminate.

Life Eternal for all of Man’s best friends.

FokaiCombatUnit:HurricaneWatch

GoodVibrations:Al&Raybro

Borrowed from Sherdog:Spike22′sRobWashington

Guam, a 30-mile-wide island, sits in the western Pacific Ocean, partially surrounded by two of the deepest surveyed points in the world. Or, as unbeaten lightweight up-and-comer Robert Washington puts it, “It’s a tiny island in the middle of nowhere.”

One would be hard pressed to find someone who could point out Guam on a map, but the island’s anonymity ends when it comes to mixed martial arts. Home to a rich tradition that dates all the way back to the Super Brawl events in the late 1990s, the island’s seemingly out-of-the-way location has made it the ideal middle ground for talent from Asia, Australia and Hawaii in search of international experience.

However, when Washington first set foot in Guam, MMA was the last thing on his mind. For much of his life, cold, hard logic, fermented by a childhood full of poverty and desperation, was the driving force in his life. The hard times go way back, as Washington grew up in East St. Louis, Ill. — a once prosperous city now dominated by crumbling factories and boarded-up stores. Deindustrialization and white flight wiped out the city and left Washington’s mother to raise three kids without a father or much of a fighting chance.

“There were gangs, drugs, guns, everything … and it was everywhere,” says Washington in a solemn monotone. “My mom was trying to raise us best she could, but there were times we ate mayonnaise sandwiches for dinner. I remember when we had to eat seasoned salt sandwiches and drink rain water because our water got cut off.”

From the word go, Washington had to climb his way out of a deep hole. The only one of his maternal grandmother’s 13 grandchildren to graduate from high school, he knew he had to turn that diploma into a ticket out. Questions at age 18 revolved around what escape route he would take.

“I had a chance to go to college; some NAIA schools offered me wrestling scholarships, even though I kind of underachieved as a wrestler. And then there was the Navy,” Washington says. “The truth is that I needed the money, my family needed money and I just felt like I wanted to get as far away from East St. Louis as I could get.”

The 9/11 terrorist attacks galvanized his decision. Despite being all but cut off from the American dream by circumstance, Washington still describes himself as a patriot.

“Growing up was hard,” Washington says, “but I always knew if I worked hard, I could make it out and make something out of myself.”

A year later, he was living in Guam as a military police officer, looking for something to satisfy the thirst for competition on which every wrestler thrives.

“I started wrestling with the Guam national team and [ended up] getting real good at freestyle wrestling,” Washington says. “I got good enough that I tried out for the Navy wrestling team and made it three years in a row, from 2002 to 2005, but I couldn’t go to the trials because military command couldn’t give me the away time.”

The disappointment of his stalled wrestling career was compounded by a deteriorating marriage and subsequent custody battle for his three young sons.

“I met my ex-wife on the island and we got married in 2002, but after a few years, things started getting rough and we separated,” Washington says. “When we divorced, there was a problem over who would get the kids. I’m just glad she eventually agreed that it was better for me to have them.”

The stability of his military career helped Washington make his case for custody, but he had to balance that career with the demands of being a single father to three kids. Even with the time crunch that comes with being a working single parent, Washington still wanted to add something to his plate that could replace the thrill of his wrestling days.

“I had a buddy of mine in the military who took a fight in a local show, and around then, I got to spend some time in San Diego and check out some MMA schools,” he says. “As soon as I got back to Guam, I hooked up with a random MMA school and won my first fight after three weeks of training.”

The fight did more than sate his appetite for competition; it proved to be a turning point in his life.

“It was the first time something made me that happy besides my family,” Washington says. “All the hard work felt like it could really lead me to something big.”

Enter Melchor Manibusan, the founder of Guam’s preeminent MMA gym — Spike 22.

“I knew I needed to find a better place to train, so I joined up at Spike 22 because I heard Melchor was the man in Guam,” Washington says. “My first sparring session was a disaster, though. I remember sparring with Melchor, and he hit me with an uppercut that felt like it broke my whole face.”

Washington was not far off; a fractured jaw left his mouth wired shut. The injury, when paired with the insane schedule he keeps, made the idea of quitting MMA seem like a logical choice. Instead, Washington pressed forward.

“I wake up at 5:30 [in the morning] and call my babysitter over so I can head to the gym and train for a couple of hours,” he says. “Then I go back home, get ready and go to work. As soon as I’m done there, I go back to the gym to train for a few more hours before going home to take care of my boys.”

The schedule rolls off his lips effortlessly.

“It’s hard sometimes trying to keep everything straight,” Washington says, “but hard work pays off, y’ know?”

On days when it all feels like too much, he looks down at a tattoo on his arm. Washington is covered in ink, but this piece always reminds him why he works.

“It’s the names of my three boys,” he says. “When it feels like I can’t go on, I look at that and remember that I can’t ever let them down.”

Washington remains focused on the tasks at hand, as he cuts weight for his July 15 bout against Australian Josh Payne. The fight will air live throughout Asia on ESPN Star Sports as part of the Martial Combat series in Singapore. It represents the highest-profile match of Washington’s career. He hopes to catch the eyes at the UFC, Strikeforce and any other promotion that could help launch his career, especially as his time with the Navy nears its end.

“We were having some over-manning issues, and the Navy couldn’t put me anywhere else, so I’m going to part with them on good terms,” Washington says. “I’ve dealt with so much that it really isn’t a problem for me. It’s the opportunity I needed to really dedicate myself to MMA and find out how far I can go.”

FokaiCombatUnit:RafaAdai!

Exclusive: Sponsors want to back Cobrinha versus Rafael Mendes to the finish

Due to the initiative of a group of American sponsors, fans of good Jiu-Jitsu are about to be treated to a dream match: a bout between featherweights Rafael Mendes and Rubens Charles “Cobrinha” with no time limit or points, ending when one of the two gets the finish.

According to the initial proposal by the sponsors, who are situated in Atlanta but are in no way linked to the Alliance academy where Cobrinha teaches in the state of Georgia, the rules are straightforward: it is to be a gi Jiu-Jitsu match where the one to get the submission wins. The winner takes home a 10-thousand-dollar purse.

The investors are still in the negotiating stage with Rafael, the current world champion, and Cobrinha, four-time world champion (2006/07/08/09) and runner-up in 2010. So as not to hinder the negotiations process, the sponsors requested GRACIEMAG.com keep them anonymous, for now.

“We’re really excited about this idea. Our group of investors is actually a small group of big Jiu-Jitsu enthusiasts,” says their spokesman, a brown belt linked to Renzo Gracie academy.

“Mendes vs Cobrinha is a stellar matchup set apart by one of the most interesting rivalries modern Jiu-Jitsu has ever seen, and we feel a match without a time limit or scoreboard could prompt them to have a more open, free-flowing and exciting bout than one on the clock and counting points – as well as it having great appeal for the fans. The idea is to in the future promote other matches of the same kind between major rivals. And what could be a better starting point to launch this concept than a matchup between two of the sport’s elite aces? Since Cobrinha is already contemplating retirement, we figured it could be our last and perhaps best chance to make this match,” explained the American sponsor.

So we asked him whether the 10-thousand-dollar purse going only to the winner is negotiable, as it would be a hard knock for the loser to come out empty-handed. After all, the honor of winning such a challenge would be enough for the fighters to go for the win at all costs.

“We realize a winner-takes-all purse is hard on the one who loses, but it’s another way we came by to accelerate the action, and keep the fighters aggressive the whole time. We believe this type of payout is further incentive, and it would be more lucrative for the champion,” opines the spokesman, who made it clear the challenge did not originate from either of the two fighters’ camps.

“I want to stress to both fighters that the idea is ours, it’s not a challenge issued by either of them, nor their academes. It’s for the good of Jiu-Jitsu, and I want to make that clear personally when I speak to the two athletes,” he says, believing in the success of the negotiations that, we repeat, are still in the early stages.

What about you, reader? Do you believe this is a valid initiative? Will a match in such a format work? And which other athletes do you dream of seeing in a time-limitless and pointless match? State your opinion below.

Check out Rafa and Cobrinha in Abu Dhabi in 2009:

TheFokaiWeekly:07072010

---

FokaiUK:Creg Creel Q&A.PedroBessaBJJ.UK

Garra:

Hi Greg, thanks for taking some time out for the Q&A bro.  Can you give us some back ground on you martial arts history, how long you been training and what got you into Martial arts, BJJ and MMA?

Greg:

hey no probs bro, yeah I started BJJ late 2004 with no previous martial arts history what so ever ha ha, I had never seen a dojo until I started BJJ, I gave up rugby when I was 19 and I was looking for something else to do, funny story really one of my mate got into a little trouble and to cut a long story short they meet up to get it on ha! I went along to watch the fight and after around 15 mins of running around they hit the ground I looked over and this guy was shouting out advise to the one guy, I looked at him thinking what the hell is this guy on about, after the fight finished  I  went home did some research and discovered  BJJ ,  I  started training  with my mate Adrian (blue belt) once a week which just wasn’t enough, one session a guy call Simon Rossiter(purple belt) came to train and he became a massive influence in my  BJJ forever,

Garra:

Who were the first people you trained under in BJJ?

Greg:

The first main Academy I trained at was Gracie Barra,   I went there with Simon and Adrian after pestering Adrian about extra training, they took me along where I met Chris Reece who was a purple belt at the time under Braulio Estima ( brown belt now) , we  were  travelling to Gracie Barra in Swansea 2-3 times a week a 100mile round trip to train there because there  was no BJJ in my home town , after that a black belt opened a class in  Bristol, England (Carlos Lemos), me and Simon started to travel to  Bristol  to train with him, the dream was to train with a black belt regularly at the time so this was a awesome opportunity, things didn’t work out the way we planned with Gracie Barra Bristol, Carlos upped and left, me and Simon were left without a club until we heard of a new black belt still in Bristol Pedro Bessa we started there in 2006 and the first session I did there I knew this would be my home for life!!

Garra:

You are one of the Youngest (if not the youngest) Brown belts in Wales and one of only 3.  How does it feel to be at the very top of BJJ in your country?

Greg:

I think I’m the youngest at 25, it’s a massive honour to be one of only 3 in wales at the moment, Wales has a massive pool of talent here with guys from Pedro Bessa BJJ like Kevin Cox ( brown belt)  Ross Nichols European champ at blue , Craig Ewers the welsh national judo coach and BJJ purple belt, Simon “mush Davis the list goes on all theses guys train hard fight hard, and the new blues Jamie Hughes and Scott Morgan,  and white coming through the competition scene it’s exciting times ahead for Pedro Bessa BJJ and BJJ in Wales.

Garra:

What are your biggest achievements to date in and out of BJJ?

Greg:

The most important thing to me is my family Amy and Roman, I had a brilliant upbringing and this set me up for life, cheers Mam and Dad. In BJJ my biggest achievement is getting my brown belt, as mentioned I’m one of only 3 in wales 2 for us belong to Pedro Bessa BJJ this was a massive mile stone for me. When I got the belt I felt on top of the world, as Pedro put the belt round my waist he said “time to train harder now Hippo boy” this filled me with motivation to be the best I can and to improve my BJJ and take it to the next level,

Garra:

What do you look to achieve in the next 2 – 3 years for yourself and also Pedro Bessa BJJ and Celtic Pride MMA?

Greg:

For myself I want to be the best out there fight the best guys in the UK and Europe and prove a guy from the Valleys of Wales can make something of himself, for Pedro Bessa BJJ I would love to help developed young fighters to compete on the UK BJJ circuit and build the club not in numbers but in quality, as for Celtic pride MMA the goal is to continue to built the team up form the grass routes fighting armature MMA semi pro and then professional MMA on the big shows, we’ve got a quality team with me and Lee Stingemore the Thai coach putting in a lot of time and effort into making sure our guys are in the best hands possible, the young guys coming through like Jamie Hughes(6-0-0)MMA  Ryan Williams at only 16 fighting and beating men in the cage ,Steve Gifford (2-0-0) semi pro all these guys have came from no MA background at all into very good MMA fighters,

Garra:

Who do you respect and admire in BJJ and in day to day life?

Greg

In my day to day life my girlfriend Amy puts up with A LOT, all the training I do away on weekends with the MMA team she supports me 100%, and my brother Matthew who’s a massive support to me,

In BJJ Pedro Bessa I respect and admire this guy 110% he’ll fight when ever where ever laying it all on the line every comp, fighting anyone to test his ability’s he’s been a massive influence in my BJJ and continues to support me and the team all the way,

Kevin Cox is another guy I respect he came from some dark times in is life fighting an illness which attacked his joints to come out the other end and back to full fitness with a little weight added on HA HA a lot of people would have given up if they was in his shoes.

I admire and respect Jacare de Souza and Andre Galvao, both guys fight to finish, looking for the submission win. Both guys are hugely entertaining in their approach to BJJ. Something I think that can get lost in the stall and win by advantage strategy we see in some competitions.

Garra:

Prof. Pedro Bessa has a reputation for giving people he likes interesting Jiujitsu nicknames, something that was apparently quite common in the days of TT back in Brazil. He has Espantalho (Scarecrow), Anao (Midget) why do you think he calls you Hippo?

Greg:

ha ha yep he calls me Hippo ha ha I don’t know why but I do know a Hippo is the most dangerous animal in Africa so I’ll cling on to that fact ha ha ha

Garra:

Thanks Greg for taking the time out of your busy schedule of training and family life and Congrats bro on the gold medal at the Hereford open and belated congrats to you and Amy on the arrival of little Rome.

Greg:

Cheers bro, can I give a couple shout outs??

To the big man Pedro Bessa thanks for all the training and support, my misses Amy for all the crap she puts up with, Simon Rossiter I wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for him, all the guys at Celtic pride MMA, Lee Stingemore my partner at Celtic Pride, Black Eagle Kimonos for the sponsorship, Garra fight wear, and all the guys that help me out Scott Morgan and Jamie Hughes

If I missed anyone I’m sorry

Cheers

Hippo in action

http://www.youtube.com/user/CelticPrideMMA#p/u/3/gVF92_yKP2E

http://www.youtube.com/user/CelticPrideMMA#p/u/4/bPzgUXQ5HvE

FokaiIreland:PedroBessaBJJLegit

Congratulations to the all graduates of the first  United States Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation and International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Referee Course held in the Pedro Bessa Acadamy in Cork City , Ireland …..Thanks to Professor Alvaor Mansor Guarconi Director Tecnico for a relaxed and informative class  . Thanks to Professor  Liam Beechinor from Pedro Bessa Acadamy Cork for introducing  Irelands Jiu Jitsu Community to USBJJ and IBJJF Familia …peace out Dofiman

FOKAI DIVISION SK8 , Chris” RASHERS ” Krosch , Pivot to Fakie , Hamburg Germany

Check out,
Done in Hamburg harbour.

Christopher Krosch
early bird Distribution

Lange str. 23
20359 Hamburg
Germany

Tel: 0049(0)40/33987294 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0049(0)40/33987294 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Mobil: 0049(0)163/3047800 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0049(0)163/3047800 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
E-mail: early.bird@hotmail.de

Hamburger Sparkasse
Christopher Krosch
Acc: 1228 134 977
BIN: 200 505 50
IBAN: DE 97 200 505 50 1228 134 977
Swift: HASPDEHHXXX

VAT Nr: DE264724925

ForLife:Alby

« Previous Page — Next Page »