http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php BJJ, Submission Grappling, MMA video, news, discussion, and more! http://www.OntheMat.com en Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:22:37 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=33 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:16:28 GMT Howdy all,

I've been skateboarding for most of my life, but for the last couple of years I sort of tapered off with how much I would skate. Didn't really have much interest or time to do it and like most old hobbies three times a week turns into three times a month which turns into three times a year...

Anyway, I just started getting back into it a few months ago as a sort of vacation from the rest of my life and damn, I forgot how much fun it is to go out for a few hours and skate through the city.

I've been trying to go out on sundays since Philly is pretty dead in the summer on sundays and I have the streets to myself. Riding around, trying tricks, ollieing over this trying the old stuff that I used to like trying. The only down side is that a fall that used to take me five seconds to recover from takes me about five minutes now, lol.

Good stuff! ]]> Sloth http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=33 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=32 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:53:52 GMT I've never spent much time on the written part of blogging before, on my other blog I put up mostly pictures and video; so I figured I would give it a shot.

Drive to train. For a few months now I've been a little complacent in my training. Not physically, I still spend the same hours, days, etc...time drilling, rolling and doing the rest; but I just haven't had the same fire that I had before to improve.

I don't know where it went, but it's a wierd thing to notice and it's kind of frustrating to deal with. It's not even that I didn't want to improve, or that I was completely unmotivated; it's just that there was some fundamental...thing that hasn't been there. The end result is that my confidence has been lacking some and my training attitude has moved away from where it needs to be for me to improve.

Anyway, I woke up a couple of days ago with a real fire lit under my ass to train again. I don't know where it came from or why it came back, but I feel inspired and motivated and I'm excited to work hard again. No excuses, no bullshit.

Since then I think I've had more productive and fun training than I've had for a long while and I can't wait to see where this takes me.

I'll write more later.... ]]> Sloth http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=32 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=31 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:46:12 GMT The Pan-Ams have been over for a few days now, but I am still feeling the effects. My team and I had kind of a rough start, but it all came together... The Pan-Ams have been over for a few days now, but I am still feeling the effects. My team and I had kind of a rough start, but it all came together in the end on Sunday. From finding out that my gi was illegal, to losing my first match in the absolute, to being in a triangle for nearly 4 minutes, it was a very rocky tournament experience.

I lost my first match in the black belt absolute division on Saturday. I was a favorite to win my side of the bracket and to not make it out of the first round was very disappointing. I had another case of me not being mentally there during my match. I was very very upset and I could not get over the loss. I know that if I want to be remembered as a great champion that I can't have inconsistencies. I didn't sleep hardly at all that night and I was just thinking that I could still have an opportunity to make up for it. Then Sunday comes...

Sunday was only for brown and black belts. One of my students, Justin Rader, was competing with me that day. My energy and focus felt much better. He was doing great, which was giving me more drive. I really wanted to look sharp on Sunday and everything was going pretty good leading up to the finals. Sunday night comes around and the finals are getting started. I had competed against my opponent before and I had a good idea of what his game is. He is a very game competitor and I knew he would be very hungry. The match starts out pretty good for me, I am feeling very confident and comfortable. I am in his guard and next thing you know, he sets up a fast triangle off of a loop choke. It is in tight and I start thinking about whether or not this is going to make me tap. I made a decision that I would just go out if I had too. Then the longest 3 minutes and 40 seconds of my life started.

I had a lot of time to think about things while I was in that triangle. I know that I have good triangle defense and I believed that I could eventually escape, but it was very tight and there were a couple of moments when I was having a hard time breathing. I started thinking to myself that this was my test to make up for the previous day. If I would have tapped and lost, I would have felt horrible about my performance, but if I can make it out of this and still come back and win then I will show everyone my heart and determination. Well, it took a while but I felt his legs getting a little weaker and I was able to escape after nearly 4 minutes of being choked. Then it was the start of another match.

When I stood up out of the triangle I was pretty dizzy and lost my balance a little bit. I had some time to regroup and get it together. Then I was on a mission. I was able to get some advantages for putting pressure on his guard and I make it to his half guard. I go for a kimura and we start rolling everywhere. I am rolling to get an angle to squeeze it and he is rolling to take the pressure off. I have it pretty deep, but he isn't giving up either. He ends up escaping and now we are tied with about 45 seconds left. I pull guard this time and nail a sweep over to mount with less than 30 seconds left. He turned and gave me his back, which I held on to until right as the match ended.

This was a very emotional win for me, because of how I started that weekend, losing first round in the absolute. It was a personal test for me and how much I believe in myself. I really learned a lot and I feel that I am going to be an even better competitor now because of what I went through. ]]> LovatoJr http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=31 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=30 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:34:02 GMT Well, I am in Los Angeles now getting ready to go to the tournament in a little while to coach my students. I couldn't feel any better. My mind is focused and my body is rested. On Wednesday, I spent about 45 minutes working with Saulo Ribeiro. He drilled me through some positions and then at the end gave me some pointers. It was awesome. No matter how many times I train with Saulo, I am still constantly impressed with how solid his technique is and how much knowledge he has. I haven't done anything physical since then. I want to keep that energy he gave me going into my matches this weekend.

Also, I got my stitches taken out on Thursday. My eye healed great and shouldn't be a problem at all this weekend. I am like 5 lbs. under my weight class limit, so I can eat really good. My hotel is nice. I spent some time in a hot tub and sauna to relax my body. Basically, things couldn't be much better. Now it is just time to go to war and do what I know I can do.

Tomorrow, I will have the absolute. They will take it all the way to the finals and then save that match for the end on Sunday night with all the other finals. I am looking at probably having 3 or 4 matches tomorrow and then another 4 on Sunday. I am going to love every minute of it! ]]> LovatoJr http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=30 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=29 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:40:43 GMT Well, the last few days have been pretty difficult for me. I haven't been able to train, only conditioning and drills. I am addicted to training, I train everyday and when I am in the same city as Saulo & Xande, you know I am dying to train with them. So to have to sit around and not be able to battle with my mentors has made me pretty depressed. I am trying to channel all that energy into my matches this weekend.

My cut has been healing well. It is dry and clean. I get my stitches out on Thursday & I know it will be good to go this weekend. To keep myself sharp, I have been running/sprints on the beach, hitting the airdyne, climbing the rope, and drilling takedowns & positions. These things are okay, but nothing can substitute the feeling you get after training an hour hard with Saulo & Xande. But, like I said, this will make me that much more hungry to get on the mat Saturday.

Today I got my competition gi in the mail and I am pretty excited about it. I will be wearing a modified version of my new Lovato Series Lucky Gi and I am very happy with how it came out. Scotty from OnTheMat.com was really cool about taking some of my ideas and putting them together with his popular Lucky Gi. The other cool thing that Scotty did, was provide several of my students that will be competing with their own gi. This made me very happy, because I know how hard they have trained and how happy it made them.

Pretty much the final list of competitors is up. I have some tough guys in my division, but I am feeling good. With the way the regular divisions are looking, the absolute has the potential to be awesome. I can't wait. ]]> LovatoJr http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=29 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=28 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:13:26 GMT Well training didn't go so well yesterday. It started off great, we had Leo Santos, Fabricio Morango, Xande, a big tough blue belt, & myself all rotating with each other. I went with Leo and Morango and felt great, then I went with the blue belt. We were fighting grips, I was looking for a 2 on 1 and as I was pulling him in he came forward and we hit heads. Unfortunately, he hit me with his forehead and I hit his forehead with my right eye. I bent over put my hand on my eye and started thinking about whether or not I was going to see blood in my hand. After a few seconds I pulled my hand away and it was covered in blood. Of course I was really upset, I was calculating how many days this was going to take to heal and how it was going to affect my training leading into the Pan Ams.

Xande got my cleaned up and we went straight to the doctor, because I definitely needed stitches. I was thinking the worst, like I wasn't going to be able to train anymore going into the Pan Ams and that I would probably have to tape my whole head up to be sure that I wouldn't bleed and get DQ'd. Anyways, I ended up getting 5 stitches and I will be getting them removed Thursday right before the Pan Ams. It should be healed good by then, but I have to really watch out these next few days. I definitely can't train, I can just do some conditioning and very careful drilling. These sort of things are the last thing a competitor wants to go through the week before a big competition, but that's how it goes sometimes. Fortunately, I have great coaches and training partners who aren't going to let this affect my performance. I just have to keep my mind focused. I already am in great shape and I know my game is sharp right now. The mental test has begun a little early.

Stay tuned for more. ]]> LovatoJr http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=28 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=27 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:03:17 GMT I just arrived in San Diego yesterday, I should have been here on Tuesday, but some bad weather delayed my trip to Wednesday. I am here to finish my... I just arrived in San Diego yesterday, I should have been here on Tuesday, but some bad weather delayed my trip to Wednesday. I am here to finish my preparations for the Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championships that take place next weekend in Los Angeles. While I am here I will be training at the Univeristy of Jiu-Jitsu with Saulo & Xande Ribeiro. Unfortunately, Saulo is out of town right now so Xande is in charge until Saulo gets back this weekend.

Anyway, after I arrived I went home and took a little nap. When I got up I had some lunch and then Xande & I went to the gym to lift some weights with Leo Santos (brown belt world champion) & Fabricio Morango (Gracie Humaita black belt & MMA fighter). I did a little bit of everything, some chest, back, shoulders, and a lot of deadlifts. I did pretty light weight so it wouldn't make me too sore or tight for my training. At the end we did some sprints with the sled weighting us down, it was a good work-out. Afterwards Xande & I headed to the University. He taught his class, then we did our training. We did 6 eight min. rounds. I trained with Xande the first and last rounds and with some of their blue & purple belts the other rounds. I felt pretty good, but I was still a little jet-lagged. We ate some sushi for dinner and at the end of the night discussed strategy for some of my potential opponents. I will be the only black belt for the Saulo Ribeiro team competing at this tournament so the pressure is on to make a big show.

Today we are about to have a special competition training session with many good guys. I will be back to tell you more. Stay tuned. ]]> LovatoJr http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=27 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=26 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:56:48 GMT Oklahoma Day 3: Most exciting day yet: Sunday turned out to be the most exciting day out here yet. After sleeping well in, Rafael, Xande and I went... Oklahoma Day 3: Most exciting day yet:

Sunday turned out to be the most exciting day out here yet. After sleeping well in, Rafael, Xande and I went to the academy for a little Sunday training. The launching of the new academy made for a lot of momentum for everyone apparently, as the open mat was simply packed with students today. A blue belt and a green belt first asked me to roll when I got there looking for some pointers, which I was happy to give, and then I worked my way through the senior students, and finally up to Xande and Rafael themselves. All told I was on the mat for well over two hours.

Something happened to me in the session yesterday. As any long time Jiu Jitsu student (or instructor, but in this context everyone is a student) can tell you, every day you get on the mat you have to deal with peaks and valleys. Some days you feel great and training goes great and you make big progress. Other days you feel not so great, you don't move well and it feels like you're not doing anything right. The successful people preserve through the valleys of training and manage to come out the other side so to speak.

Personally I've been in a deep valley lately with regards to my personal training. I won't go into details here, but for the last few months I've had a series of events that sort of drained the spirit out of me. It's really hard to explain, some things are going very well for me in the world of Jiu Jitsu (OTM and my small group of students are doing very well for example). However in my own training there has been something missing. It was as if I lost my spark and I couldn't quite figure out how to re-ignite it. There was definitely something missing. Recently I feel like I started climbing out of my funk, and getting some good rolls in with my friends Batata and Julio, but something still felt out of place on my part, like I wasn't firing on all cylinders and living up to my potential. I could intellectualize all I wanted to, but my spirit has been off.

I have been rolling all weekend and feeling the same way, but yesterday something just clicked in my head and for the first time that spark. It was that pure joy I feel from just being on the mat that came back to me, I mean really came back to me. I can't wait for the next time I get on the mat now and I can' t wait to show some new stuff I picked up as well as get back to training myself. The fire is back!

Last night I also went through my first Tornado warning (I am in Oklahoma after all). While Rafael told me this happens a few times a year even he got a little excited, but this brand new to Xande and I as we watched the coverage of the storm on the television, and looked outside to one of the most sudden and violent downpours I've ever seen. The wind kicked up and the tornardo sirens began to sound. Being a native Californian, I'm used to earthquakes as our natural disaster of choice, but those strike suddenly and without warning. With the Tornado watch, there was anxiety caused by the waiting and anticipation. Fortunately the tornado warning moved away from us and I think everyone made it through the night unharmed. It was very strange how quickly it got calm after the storm had passed. Again this may be old hat to folks living in Tornado alley, but for me this was a new experience. ]]> Gumby http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=26 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=25 Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:52:38 GMT The Grand Opening went at Lovato's went well. During the Xande seminar, there well well over 60 people on the mat, and plenty more in the surroundng area just watching and enjoying the grand opening.

Xande's seminar was really good. Nothing terribly fancy about what he showed, but the concepts he presented and the way he presented it provided new insights for both Rafael and myself and it should show big improvemets in both of our games. Really, I can't give a better praise than that, now an I. Xande has talked all weekend about "seeing the arrows of jiujitsu", and after the seminar we finally grasped this concept. If you have the opportunity to learn from Xande, suffice to say I highly, highly recommend it.

I also got to roll with a number of people (including Xande and Rafael). I'm not one to talk about training, what goes on in the dojo stays in the dojo, but I will say it was an honor and humbling all at once.

I'll have a lot more on the grand opening later, with pictures, video and the like.

Afterwards like many of you I am guessing I got to watch the UFC. I was happy to see Fitch win his 8th UFC battle in a row, he a good, hard working guy and deserves every bit of success he has. It was a tough match up for him, fighting someone as dangerous and relatively unknown as Chris Wilson and although it wasn't always pretty Fitch got the W. Hopefully Fitch's next bout is a title shot, and I hope to see more of Chris Wilson in the Octagon.

I don't really have much thoughts on the rest of the card. I won $5 from Xande on the Cheick Kongo vs Heath Herring fight, but we spent most of the fight cringing and covering our eyes. Honestly, how could the OTM Submission Grappler and multiple time world champion of the year pick someone to win with such terrible ground work?

One word about Anderson Silva. Wow. Dan Henderson is the man, but Anderson has definitely staked his claim to the pound for pound best MMA fighter in the world. Who could possibly be next? I'd love to see Matt Lindland back in the mix.

Another day of training lies ahead, and I'm extremely excited. Big day ahead ]]> Gumby http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=25 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=24 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:03:35 GMT Waking up at 4:00 AM is never fun for me, and although I occasionally technically do it on a road trip (especially when I visit the east coast, which... Waking up at 4:00 AM is never fun for me, and although I occasionally technically do it on a road trip (especially when I visit the east coast, which is three hours ahead of my native California), there is something about having to set your alarm in your own bed that makes it that much more painful. Of course, my good friend Mike, who is goodly enough to give me a ride to the airport at this ungodly hour, does this on a regular basis softens the blow a bit, and when I get to the airport I am quickly reminded that there is a whole world of activity going on at this hour, and I do well to quit whining.

I should be far more excited about this trip. I have all of the regular gear and trapping loaded up that I would for any other OTM trip, but this one will be different in that I’m not actually traveling to cover an event. Actually, the grand opening of Lovato’s new school IS an event; it’s just not a competition as I’ve attended hundreds of times before. I’ve known Lovato Jr for quite some time of course and when he mentioned this to me some months ago I said I would be happy to fly in and support. Icing on the cake is Xande Ribeiro will be giving a seminar this weekend as well and Lovato has enthusiastically stated we can get some training in. That’s right ladies and gentlemen; I am going to have the opportunity to get my butt kicked by not just one, but two current world champions. That is certainly worth waking up at four in the morning for.

Heck it’s an opportunity that any self-respecting fan of jiu jitsu (of which I am a rank and file member) would kill for. I am certain set to learn a lot on the mat this weekend. But make no allusions about it, I’m also set to learn about character building the way only a good butt kicking can deliver.

As of this moment, I would describe myself as being in pretty good shape and tuned up for a recreational Jiu Jitsu practitioner. What do I mean by “recreational Jiu Jitsu practitioner”? I mean someone who is an enthusiast and prepared for the daily rigors of academy training. This is a step below someone who is “competition ready” meaning someone who is in shape and tuned up for the rigors of a competition.

Now as you move up the ranks, being in top condition is more and more of a priority in either situation. As a black belt, I feel obligated to “defend my rank” so to speak at any given time. I’m not talking about the days of “the Gracie Challenge” or dojo storms like may have been more popular ten years ago or so, I’m saying that every day you get on the mat (which is pretty often for me) there is an obligation to represent a certain level, and to maintain that certain level it takes a fair amount of work and dedication.

I should very quickly interject that representing your level doesn’t mean you have to take every presence on the mat as a challenge. I’ve seen some people (at all levels) fall into that trap and after a dozen or so years on the mat myself I don’t really feel or care about that type of pressure on myself any more. Part of the growing process in life is being at ease with were you are at. Constantly seeking to improve, certainly, but at peace with yourself and those around you.

The flip side of course is being realistic with yourself and knowing what your limitations are at. A big part of this is knowing the difference between being in recreational shape in competition shape in a Jiu Jitsu mindset. Currently I’m in recreational shape. Not that there is anything wrong with that, however I am aiming to get back into competition shape. I do plan on competing again this year, so without question I have to be competition ready. The big question is to I have to be competition ready all the time, or is it okay to be in recreational mode sometimes? I don’t know the answer for myself right now, and I am certain the answer will be different for anyone asking that question. I’m not even sure if it is possible to be competition ready 100% of the time, or if that is even healthy. That’s the subject for another column I guess.

Even if I was in competition shape, the fact of the matter is I would likely be taking a (good natured) ass kicking from the likes of Xande and Rafael anyways. These guys are CURRENT world champions after all. You might recall that we named them the OTM Submission Grappler and Jiu Jitsu Fighters of the year respectively (come to think of it, we’ll all be watching the OTM MMA Fighter of the year Anderson Silva in action this weekend as well). One argument for being competition ready is that I feel I would be better prepared to take advantage of the huge opportunity afforded me this weekend. I intend to learn a lot from these two however and hopefully this puts me on the path towards competition readiness. I will keep you all informed of how it goes. ]]> Gumby http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=24 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=23 Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:38:35 GMT Judging by the headine of this blog, this past weekend was a good sports weekend. On Friday around 3 p.m. I headed over to Mandalay Bay for the UFC... Judging by the headine of this blog, this past weekend was a good sports weekend. On Friday around 3 p.m. I headed over to Mandalay Bay for the UFC 81 weigh-ins. It was good to see all the jiu-jitsu studs and ADCC vets on the card. Ricardo "Cachorrao" Almeida and his coach Renzo Gracie were super friendly as always. Jeremy Horn and Nathan Marquardt were all business, but took the time to give a friendly hello. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira seemed excited about making his debut fight in Las Vegas, as he and his team from Black House were in town getting him ready for his title fight all week. His twin brother Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira was not there, however, because he was coincidentally headlining his own MMA show at the HCF event in Calgary, Alberta, Canada later that night.

Frank Mir trains with us at Cobra Kai a lot and he was in good shape for his co-main event fight against Brock Lesnar. His striking coach Ken Hahn is one of my friends and coaches as well, so we started talking about the fight. As Ken and I talked about it and other stuff, suddenly I noticed Ken's wife looking over my shoulder at some weird meathead-looking dude who was pretty much breathing on my neck, eavesdropping, while I was talking to Ken about Frank and his fight with Brock. I said something along the lines of "This is gonna be a good fight, but I predict it's gonna end with a Mir-bar." The big ogreish goof who was being a totally nosey twat then butts in, "You want a real prediction? I'll give you a prediction! Brock's gonna roll Frank up into a little ball and obliterate him!" I think to myself "Oh great, this is the WWE tard crowd that Brock's attracting to MMA." Ken (who was annoyed at this guy talking junk about his fighter) gives him an annoyed "whatever dork" look, ignores him, and keeps talking to me.

That's when this stooge, who looked exactly like that overgrown mongoloid Sloth from "The Goonies" says, "Do you know who I am? I'm Brock's brother!" So I'm like, "Yeah great. It doesn't matter if you're Brock, buddy. We weren't talking to you." Then this douchey roided out jerkoff started roid raging and said, "Hey! What'd you just say? I dare you to say that again squirrel-neck! HAHAHA!!" I couldn't help but laugh at how random and bizarre this situation was and we kinda just walked off as he tried instigating more shit talk amongst other random people. To me it just appeared he was nervous for his brother Brock and now knowing how inexperienced Brock looked in the fight, this pre-fight nervousness was obviously for good reason.

After the UFC weigh-ins and the Brock Lensar brother debcale was defused, I headed over to BodogFIGHT event, which was being held south of the Strip at the Las Vegas Sports Center, which is the same venue where the last three Grapplers Quest West events were held. OTM had an OTM Fight Shop booth at the show and were one of the sponsors, which was cool since it was BodogFIGHT's first MMA show in Las Vegas. Dean Lister, Jay White, and the guys from Throwdown Industries were there, as well as Bill Cooper, Nate Diaz, Kit Cope, and some local fighters from Xtreme Couture and Cobra Kai. The main event was Nick "The Goat" Thompson vs. John Troyer, which Nick ended up winning via RNC in the first round. The Bodog afterparty was at Triq Nightclub at the Miracle Mile inside Planet Hollywood, but I couldn't stay out too late, since Chuck Liddell and John Hackleman were hosting a training seminar at the Throwdown Headquarters the next morning.

The morning came quick, so after I stopped by the Throwdown Headquarters for Chuck's shindig, I headed over to Cobra Kai to train before UFC 81 started. Lucky for me, most of the fights turned out the way I wanted, especially the predicted Mir-bar! I don't have anything personal against Brock or pro wrestlers. It just made me laugh a little picturing the look on Brock's brother's face, when Frank made Brock tap in 90 seconds. Then to add a cherry on top, Minotauro made Sylvia tap as well to win the belt. After the fights, I headed over to Sushi Joe's new spot, but I was pretty well hammered by this point and decided to head home after I ate instead of trying to hit any of the afterparties.

I woke up around midday Sunday with enough time to rehydrate before the Super Bowl festivites began. Growing up in Connecticut, half of my family are New England Patriot fans, while the other half are New York Giants fans. I however am neither, since I had a great aunt from south Florida who made me a Miami Dolphins fan at an early age by sending me endless amounts of Dolphins gear and clothing ever since I was a baby. Then every year she'd send me tickets to the Dolphins-Patriots game, since the Patriots played right up the road from me.

Unfortunately for me and my great aunt, the Dolphins suffered their worst season ever by going 1-15 and we were both forced to watch (from opposite ends of the country) as the rest of the family partook in what they saw as a perfect Super Bowl. I could honestly say I didn't care who won, but I did get a little kick out of the fact they showed a highlight of the 1972 Miami Dolphins undefeated season right after Eli Manning rallied the Giants back to ruin the Patriots attempt at matching the Dolphins undefeated legacy. So if I take that one small football related victory and combine it with the outcome of UFC 81 and throw some solid Bodog fights on top of it, I had a pretty good weekend! ]]> Bevois http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=23 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=22 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:35:57 GMT http://www.onthemat.com/forum/vbimgh...iewimages&id=2

Not too many pixs but there are some good ones! ]]> Scotty http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=22 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=21 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:50:50 GMT So i took a cab to the airport to figure out my ticket and get the rest of my bags. I went online and found a cool looking hotel in Koong Poor... So i took a cab to the airport to figure out my ticket and get the rest of my bags. I went online and found a cool looking hotel in Koong Poor section of HK. I took the train back over there and took a bus from there to the hotel. On the bus i could tell this is where i should have stayed since the area seemed a lot more hip and also more action going on. Got to the hotel checked in and went out for food and to look around. Lots of great shops and got some good turkish food to eat before going back to the hotel. I got online for a while and did some work but then i wanted to hit the streets. This part of town was full of indian and nigerian people. i was already over the nigerians.

i forgot to tell you that while i was changing my ticket at the airport i wanted to get online but ineeded a converter to plug in my laptop and charge it. they had free internet there and i need to get my hotel set up and look at some stuff to do online. While i was buying my conveter the whole store go run over by nigerians. they were totally rude to the people working there and they cut me in line and then knocked over my stuff while i was checking out with out even saying sorry. I was getting annoyed cause i was hungery and my blood surgar was low. So i got something to eat at popeyes chicken. While at popeyes the nigerians made an apearence there too. Here is the fucked part. i ran out of BBQ sause and went to the counter for more. in the 10 seconds i was gone one of the nigireans at the table next to mine was already scopping my food and stuff. i came back like wtf douche!! i was pissed and wanted to choke them out. i ate my food and left. on the way out i saw a line of about 75 niergirans with about 200 taped up boxes waiting in line to check in. i remembered how when i 1st moved to brazil and my fullfillment company got tricked buy some nigerians with stolen credit cards and we lost about 2k in product to them. i gave them all dirty looks and headed to the elavstor and just as i was about to get on. 2 more nigeriaians stepped in front of my bags and cock blocked me on the evevator. grrrrrr

The streets were crazy. all kinds of people out and all kinds of creeps trying to peddle everything. at one point i smelled some weed. i couldnt believe it. Drugs are pushishable by death in HK. i saw the sign at the airport. Next thing you know some indian guy was trying to get me to buy a fake rolex and some hash. lol no thanks i dont need to be beheaded over some bunk ass hash!!! i went in one bar and it truned out to be a strip / whore bar. i had already ordered a beer before i fighured it out. once my beer came i figured i'd make the best of it. the girls were nasty. one asked me to buy her a drink to which i told her you 1st, i'll buy the next round. she didnt like that much. then her friend came over and offered me a massage all over! that sounded good but she was sacary and showed me her saggy tits. i was thinking oh im really horny now. 1,2,3, NOT!!! ewwww! finished my beer and turned down the chance to fuck a really nasty girl for $220. whata bargin!!!

I hit another bar, this time i asked at the door. it was a whore store too. i was over it. Then a liitle lady grabbed me and said 90 mins only $199 HK. i did the math about $35 for 90 min massage. Ima sucker. my legs were still sore so i took her up on the deal walked up some stairs. it looked clean so i got another massage, stopped at 7-11 for some beer and when back to my room to crash.

The next morning came quick. i had a dream marcelo gracia called me to tell me paqueta was dead. it was one of those was that real dreams. weirded me out. I packed up my stuff and headed to the airport.

Luckily no nigerians at the airport this time.

I talked my way out of the change fee and i was off to taipei. It was a easy two hour flight. I now had to pick up my samples and I wanted to check out Building 101 the world's tallest building. It doesnt even look that tall because it is the only tall building in taipei city.

My sample guy met me at the airport and gave me all the new samples: new better fitting belt shorts, our new OTM Hawaii shorts, some new special underwear style shorts for under your gi or fight shorts, a new rashguard sample with a new polly blend that is sick and a few thing we are making for other companies. I talked to the guy who brought me the samples and he offered to by me dinner at a western restaurant. How could i refuse? LOL we had New Orleans style food! and oh they just had to tell me they had Salad Bar - it is american style. it was some good food but now it was raining hard and dark so my dreams of the top of the world on at the tallest building in the world. Driving back to the airport we kept passing these weird all glass buildings with disco lights and neon signs flashing like crazy. There were hot young girls dressed really sexy in them, i was thinking wow they got the whores on display around here. I asked my driver if they were whore houses and i couldnt believe how many there were. He laughed and told me they were bubble gum girls. That they sold candy and fruit. Guys will pay more to have them bring candy and fruit to the car and talk to them. Crazy i though.

Back at the airport i still had 6 hours to kill so i did a little duty free shopping for a friend and found a massage place. Well why not i was going to be on a plane 14 hours couldnt hurt to get all relaxed now. In the massage place they took me to what looked like an old lazy boy recliner with big long arms on it. I asked to make sure this a full body massage and not just a foot massage. They told me yes and asked if i wanted a face massage too. I was thinking, im here for 6 more hours I'll take any kinda massage i can get to kill some time. I figured it must be a facial or something. Well a while into my massage they started my face massage with some warm mist sprayed on my face and some kinda cream. There was a bright light on my face so i closed my eyes and just relaxed. After a while i felt something hard being run over my forehead i thought to myself, that feels like a razor! But i just lay there relxaing. The metal thing kept getting run over my forehead then my temples and my cheeks but then the massage woman started shaving my neck! i was like wowa, it is a razor. so i peeked open my eyes and saw that they were shaving my whole face with a regular utility razor, like the kind you scrape a sticker off your window with. My eyes crossed but i was over it, too late now. LOL so if you see me anytime soon you can check out my freshly saved forehead and my KingFu theater eyebrows they shaved out for me. You can literally drive a mac truck through my eyebrows!

So i am back to the airport and here i sit blogging you! too bad no web here in the airport but three terminals with a huge line waiting. After being in China where there was free wifi everywhere this seemed weird.

Well they just called my plane and i am on my way back. Post this when i can! ]]> Scotty http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=21 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=20 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:07:20 GMT Next day i had to figure out if i was going home or if i was chilling in HK for a day, I decided to chill and do some shopping. I found a cheep ass... Next day i had to figure out if i was going home or if i was chilling in HK for a day, I decided to chill and do some shopping. I found a cheep ass love hotel hostel place and got a room for $50 a night. The place was dirty and noisy but i was cool with it. i dropped off my stuff and hit the streets. I found a local birzar area and found the knock off section. Ended up with 5 pairs of jeans for $130 and two cool new coats and a belt. not bad. i was tired and had a blister from walking all day. Felt good to walk around after sitting for days.

I took a nap after eating at McD's. it was the only thing that seemed safe. HK is a dirty spot and something about eating at the same place my food was slaughtered didn't seem too good an idea given my current stomach problems. Back at the hotel i could here my neighbor was getting it on, good for him. The maid lady came by and asked me if i wanted a girl friend. at 1st it didnt even dawn on me that she was offering to get my a hooker. hooking is legal in HK, i was thinking shit i dont want a GF in LA wtf am i gonna do with one here??? I hit the hard ass small bed that my feet hung off the end and the sheets didnt cover to rest and digest the McDs. Flipped on the TV and the first channel i came to was French Porn with Chinese subtitles! Holly fuck, this was some serious stuff too, two huge black cocks being driven in a small french white girl. wow i was thinking on TV!!! Man they must love sex here.

After my nap i set out to find some of HK's night life i had heard it was good. But i got side tracked by the foot massage place my dogs were barking up a storm. SO i got an hour of foot massage and after i was beat up and really hungry. So i decided to try to find food. By the time my massage was over it was 12.30 and HK where i was was empty all but the lines of 30 to 50 people standing in perfect lines at a bus stop.Everywhere else there was chaos around HK but when it came to bus lines perfect lines of people waiting. This wasnt just during the night all day too.

Not wanting to get lost i decided to look for good food on the walk home. that meant McDs again i figured but i was wrong there was nothing but street food and i just couldnt do it. so i bought a bottle of water and went back to the hostel. I ate my last power bar. it was good too. i drank a crap load of water and took 2 sleeping pills i was oging to try and sleep off the hunger. reminded me of cutting weight and trying to fool your belly by filling it up with water so i could sleep. and sleep i did.

That night i froze to death, the heat didnt work, the sheets and nasty ass blanket that smelled like dog dung and oldness could cover me head to tow so i put my clothes back on in my sleep. then woke up in the am covered in sweat. i was nasty and i as out of clean clothes. I grumbled in to the shower and turned on the water. It was one of those shower/ bathes where you could shower and shit on the can at the same time and if you were gumbys size you could brush your teeth at the same time too. I was getting cold waiting for the hot water to get fucking hot. it just wasnt. i looked at the handle and it was to the red size. no way i thought and turned to to the cold side. Just like the backwards train doors it was opposite what it said.

on the train in HK the voice that announced the stops kept saying exit to the right but the doors opened on the left. figures the hot water would come out of the cold side.

It was over cast and cool in HK i was set to fly out that night but i wanted to see some more of HK. so i packed up my stuff and started walking towards the Airport. I wasnt planing on walking all the way there but i got pretty close. I had seen a giant Buddha brochure so i decided i would take the train to see the buddha it was the next island over from the airport. Once i got off the train to move to the tram up to see the buddha it started to rain. Figures i though but i was going to go anyway rain or not. so i walked over to the ticket booth. While on my way i saw two silly girls running through the a fountain in the rain and i was laughing at them. well they caught me and started smiling, i smiled back and walked away. Who cares right? Well once i got up to the tram launch spot the little worker person grabbed me and pulled me to the front of the line. and guess who i shared a tram with! yup the silly girls. turned out they were french and made the cold ass rainy ride a little more exciting but they were not hot enough for me to put anytime into it.

Buddha was cool, and it was cold but i made it to the top in all the fog. I was excited to see that at the top of the mountain in front of the largest outdoor seated buddha in the world was a starbuks. i dont even like coffie but i was cold as gazzy is to her x's and i had to warm up! lol JK gaz!!

In the middle of all this hiking i got a txt from ryan that i needed to stay one more day to wait for samples to be ready for the BJ penn hawaii shorts and a few other samples. so i now had to figure out how to change my ticket and where to stay another night. i was not going back to the crummy hostel that was for sure. ]]> Scotty http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=20 http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=19 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:04:18 GMT So here i am again we finished up at the bag factory to go eat. We already had lunch just a few hours ago and i wasn't even hungry. I asked to go back to my room since my head was still pounding away and i didnt have full bowl control anyway. But the guys just ignored my request saying that we would have japanese this time and i liked japanese some come and eat. We were at the same building as the karaoke again and that alone started making my head hurt more. We went in and this time right up to karaoke. FUCK!! i can't take this is was thinking. how am i going to live through hours of off key chinese pop music with the speakers that feed back!!! shit!!!!

Well we got to karaoke room and i asked to leave again. I was ignored again and the drinks started flowing and the smoke started billowing. Oh God i was thinking ima snap, again. Luckly one of the secretaries from the factory was over it too and motioned for me to come with her and i did! She took me downstairs to the japanese restaurant. I went but i wasn't even hungry. So i sat there with her, her boss, and two other people i had no idea who they were. I couldn't understand a word they said and rarely did i recognize what food was being deliver to the table but they wanted me to eat it all. i just couldn't i was stuffed from lunch and expecting a bowl of some sort solid or liquid i had no idea but i didnt want to push it. it is not like me to turn down food. My head was still slamming with that pound pound pound you get after a week of binge drinking, followed by front row at a garth brooks concert with the fat red neck chick seranading you every love song with coors on her breath.

I didnt have matt hughes book to save me this time but i did have my phone. so i played solitaire till the battery died. Then a gringo sat at the table next to us. He was a total tool hitting on this ugly older asain woman over dinner. normally this would have made my head worse but the sound of english was soothing. at least it was not flip naggia po wong chin i can't understand you!!!!! This guy was a dork class A. I looked at the time 8.30. I had no idea how long i had been there but at 9, i was going to ask to go back to the hotel again. Well at 9 everyone was having such a good time i pussied out. i kept feeling like i was being rude and they were so nice. They wouldn't let me pay for anything still!!! at 9.30 my butt was numb from the hard ass chair, the douche next to me was going on and on about how great his life is back in the old USA and how different it is than there trying to impress this woman so badly.

So i got up and asked to pee, i had been drinking beers and need to go. I was expecting my usual escort to hold my hand but this time they let me go alone. i dont know what happened but i started to freak. i think i felt like the guy in prison and they left the door open and no one was looking. I went pee alone. it was liberating. i was an adult again. it was awesome. so with this new freedom i decided to explore more of the building but it was all dead ends. nothing but hallways to nowhere. so i decided to go out side and see what that was like. While i was sitting on the stairs enjoying breathing all by myself two brits rolled up in a cab. I thought to myself, wait how can they take a cab and not get robbed and i can't? As they walked by me i called out to them. "hey! how dangerous is it around here?" they straight laughed in my face! "Dangerous? i have lived here 3 years and never seen anything dangerous !! Your the american if anything your the dangerous one!!!" I knew it i thought. I'd been in real dangerous places and this just didnt feel like one. I pulled out my hotel key and sure enough it had the address on it. So i stood up and went towards the brits cab, ready to take myself home for some rest and peace and quite!!!

COCK BLOCKED!!!!! One of the dam guy from the factory saw me or was following me, who knows? He grabbed me and dragged me back in. Oh i was pissed. When we got in i yelled to the Dork at the table next to us. "Hey Dude how dangerious is it here?" Him- "well it can be at night." Me- too dangerious to take a cab to my hotel!!!??!?! Just then the factoy workers all came in. There was a lot of chinese going back and forth. I yelled to the guy Im like a fucking prisioner here! i just want to goto my hotel!!!! i guess they figured that was enough so they loaded me in a van and i thought we were going to my hotel but no?? the guy dropped me off at some mall and left. WTF? i went inside the mall for a second then back outside to get a cab to goto the hotel. when i got to the hotel i was so over china i packed up my shit and took a cab to hong kong.

This was not as easy as it sounds. I got in the cab and an hour later i was just sitting on the island in the middle of the high way. Im like WTF are we stopped for? Then about 20 mins later the cab driver says "we go". so i went. we got out of the car and another car pulled up. i switched cars and then drove though china customs toll booth. It was no big deal till the every end where some guy in a uniform stuck a gun like thing in the window in my face and it went click!! freaked me out for a second but we were on our way. Drop me off at hotel i told the guy and he did. i finally go some rest. ]]> Scotty http://www.onthemat.com/forum/blog.php?b=19