Making lemonade...

For as long as I can remember one of my instructors has been telling me that I need to go and train with Leticia Ribeiro. He has said many times that not only is Leticia one of the most skilled competitors in BJJ, but he really liked her teaching style and I could benefit tremendously by training with her. So, earlier this year I made arrangements to go to San Diego and take classes with Leticia. However at the last minute, I was forced to cancel the trip.



Then in June of this year,The Fenom Project and Marcelo Garcia Dallas hosted the first ever Leticia Ribeiro seminar in Texas. Around 20+ women from varying academies and belt levels turned out from all over Texas for the seminar. It was a great opportunity to meet other female BJJ enthusiast. The seminar was amazing and as an added bonus, Leticia brought the very talented 3 stripped brown belt, Beatriz "Bia" Mesquita, with her to Dallas. This was one of the best seminars I've ever attended. I strongly recommend going to one if you ever have the chance. It's worth every penny!

As anticipated, I really enjoyed Leticia's teaching style. The seminar was structured well and was appropriate for belts of all levels. Her teaching method had a natural progression and she had a keen attention to detail. We started standing up working on grip breaks and worked our way to ground technique. Not only is Leticia an amazing teacher she is very supportive and very down to earth. It was an honor to meet both Leticia and Bia. I hope that they come back to Texas soon.


Image by Georgette Oden

After Leticia's seminar, I was motivated to learn more and I've been working for several months on planning to attend Leticia's first women's camp in Rio. Then a week ago I found out it was canceled and rescheduled for 2011! I was upset and disappointed but tried to stay positive since I had already bought my nonrefundable airline ticket to Brazil. So, even though the camp has been canceled, I am extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to go to Brazil. It's a strange feeling having one of my long time goals becoming a reality. To be honest, I am a bit nervous about going to a notoriously dangerous country on my own. But with the help of some good friends, Rio Sports Tours and Leticia herself, my plans are coming together. I am extremely thankful for all the help in preparing me for this trip.

As just another reminder of the universe balancing out, it turns out that my friend Daniel Moraes will be hosting a camp while I am in Brazil. So naturally I am going to go spend a few days training with those guys. I am guessing that they will be training a lot of MMA, so I am thinking it will be a good opportunity for me to work on some no gi technique. Which will be an incredible help to me as I switch gears and focus on my next big tournament the No gi Worlds.




I am in a mad scramble to put all the pieces together in the short time I have left before I leave. I am weighing my options and rescheduling my adventures in Brazil. I am realizing that I am not a totally relaxed "go with the flow" type of person and need some structure to my plans to feel comfortable. But no matter what, I have faith and I know it will all come together. Who knows why things turn out as they do? Sometimes events happen beyond our control and we need to adapt and trust that it is all for the best! I am excited and happy about this life changing trip and know I will have a fantastic time in Brazil!

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