Ok, so I'm new to this whole blogging thing. And I sat here like, ok, I have my cool new blog all set up, I'm awesome... Now, WTF do I write about??? Soooo I guess I'll start from the top!
I was born in 1985 in Springfield, MA. Yes, Massachusetts... Yes there are Black people in Massachusetts and YES I'm really Black.... Anyways... Well maybe that's too far back...
Fast forward to March 2008.... I was 22, I had dropped out of college the year before, I was (eh...am) in crazy credit card debt from an AWESOME Spring break (Is it really spring break if u dropped out already?), I had a BORING desk job, and was 190lbs. So life was lame, and SarJ was angry... Then I saw this cool stuff on TV called UFC. And these guys were beating the crap out of each other. Every so often the fight would hit the mat and Joe Rogan would be talking about how great the guys jiu jitsu is...
So I'm like, What the hell, i'm fat, I might as well get to a gym and punch out some of this anger and hopefully lose a few pounds. So I found a lil place in DC, and I started doing some Jiu Jitsu and some MMA striking and sparring. After 3 weeks of BJJ, my coach, at the time, told me I should compete. What the hell...
So I'm at my first tournament, weighed in at 189lbs... I go to my first match... The poor girl was like 120 lbs. So I football tackled her into side control. Some how got to mount. Just muscled her into a head-in-arm triangle (which i saw on tv) and tried to squeeze her head off. And thank God she tapped. I stood, had my arm raised, and in that instant...That moment the ref raised my arm, I knew I was doing something I loved. It was the BEST feeling I had in my life... I felt like I had accomplished something... Then I ran to the bathroom and puked up the Red Bull and BK hashbrowns I had for breakfast.
I lost my next match and pulled out a 3rd place medal... Awesome! Most importantly tho, it sparked the fire I had for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and competing. I stayed with the DC school for a few months, entered more tournaments.
November 2008: After lots of internet research, I decided I needed a school that would give me some serious BJJ training. I was getting really into the competitions and I wanted more! More training, more tournaments, more Jiu Jitsu! I found Lloyd Irvin's Mixed Martial Arts Academy.
The day I visited the Academy, I actually got to roll with Master Lloyd. Sold! Sign me up! I immediately began some serious training. After only 3 months under Master Lloyd, I won a gold in every tournament I entered including the 2009 Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships and earned my blue belt on March 31st of that year. I also dropped an incredible 30lbs!
Today: I've been training at Lloyd Irvin's for over a year. I'm in an incredible place in my life. I've FINALLY found what I truly love to do. I found what makes me happy. I've found what drives me. I've found something that gives me inspiration, hope, desire. I feel such a deep passion for Jiu Jitsu, I honestly don't know where I'd be without it. And thanks to Master Lloyd and his amazing school, I've been able to feed and grow this talent God has blessed me with. For so long, I could never see more than a few months ahead. Now, I can see myself, years from now, a successful, happy, competing Black Belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion. I've set goals for myself that others could never even imagine. Goals I see in my dreams, goals I pursue everyday with vigor and tenacity. GOALS I WILL ACHIEVE!
So yea, I'm a Champion.... Yall just don't know it yet...
