GRACIE BARRA MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA

Last Wednesday after a 11-12 hour bus ride from Cartegena, I finally made it to Medellin.What a beautiful ride it was through the mountains for hours upon hours of gorgeous, never-ending scenery. Reminder to anyone traveling by bus through South America...BRING WARM CLOTHES FOR THE BUS. It is soooooo cold I didn`t even know what to do with myself. I got off the bus and made my way to the Metro which was a lot of fun to ride! It´s like a Harry Potter ride hahaha..it never gets old.
I arrived at Gracie Barra Medellin Wednesday night where I was more or less ready to train! I was stiff from the 8-9 days I spent in total on the sailboat and long bus ride. Carlos Barreto from Panama opened the doors to his academy and wow! I have been having such a blast with those guys it´s awesome. Everyone´s always got a smile on their face and Carlos is quite the character! I´m still not through with the guys yet..but I´ve been training a lot and continuing with the learning process. Danny-a training partner of mine went over the 5 points of cross side with me, something Christian Graugart had taught them all in a seminar. I learned a great pass from half guard Crane Pass I could use in the future against all sizes of opponents but for me I see the most success while training with larger opponent´s as I have a bit more space to balance on :)

In general here in Medellin, the training is great because I am about 5,000 feet above sea level and giving my lungs a great workout. I definitely do not feel like I´ve have the BOOM BANG energy when I train, but my cardio is slowly getting there. I´ve been eating really clean, cooking every meal from cinnamon banana oatmeal for breakfast, lowfat plain natural yogurt for a snack, apples, chicken soup that helps me remember great dinners at Deb´s in Costa Rica!! Chicken, loadddds of vegetables, milk and water. I´ve done my best to stay away from drinking and sugar;sugar for me has always been the killer. I am really feeling great lately, paired with great energy at GB Medellin. There are always a few tips here and there from everyone I meet.

The other night we trained some NoGi where I was lucky enough to have Maria Arango . She recently won her division here in Medellin, her first competition and hopefully not the last, keep it up girl!...Congratulations to all the competitors whether they brought home some hardware or not!

Important things for me to remember:

• Ask yourself ..How will this exercise or workout help my game? -Carlos Barreto
• SHRIMP INTO THE PERSON NOT AWAY!Don´t give up your back. That´s the very last option.
• Don´t stop moving...ever.
• Pace yourself, breath, relax, think about what you´re doing.
• Something Carlos reminded me of that I remember my instructor Ariel Sexton (CR)saying- Attack your opponent, it doesn´t even matter if you can finish or not, the point is..it´s a distraction and you will free some space up while the other person is one step behind you. It´s like a game of chess.
• Try Blind Jitsu more often!!
• When putting someone in a triangle literally think about trying for the angle...you should be able to whisper ¨goodnight¨or ¨shh shhh shhhh¨ in your opponent´s ear! 
• Homework- let people pass my guard and recover from cross side

Carlos introduced me to a new style of training...blind folded. I could feel the movements, feel where he was to stay close-sticking to him like glue. I became more aggressive, attacking, feeling more confident about my base. I was a little nauseous at first but it passed.

Passing through Medellin, Colombia is a must. It´s a beautiful city with wonderful people, great views and awesome training! There will be more updates after I´ve finished my time here in Medellin for sure..with more photos to come.

CARLOS BARRETO
http://www.graciebarracolombia.com/

Gracie Barra Colombia- Brown Belt Carlos Barreto

Carlos Barreto and me first day training!

Zoolander

Danny and me...failed attempt

Danny, Sebastian and me after rolling

trying for the perfect shot...just not happening haha

WOMEN IN BJJ

Blind Jitsu..so much fun

Feel the flow

Getting started I stuck my finer rightttttt up his little nostril! haha oops!

Brilliant armbar

Beavis and Butthead he..he..heeehe

Trying to lock up a triangle on Danny...just not happening!

 Goofing around

Girls kicking boys ass´s....!!! yess

Zoolander...SEBASTIAN JAJAJAJA

ya casi!!

Add caption

Priceless...as soon as the camera is about to snap the photo I fall and land into moonshine position...
heart shaped butt and all!! hahaha

Thanks for training guys!

Maria and me

BJJ

Me and Mary

take downs

Overall my time was amazing with Gracie Barra Team in Medellin. I wasn´t feeling my best energetically during the 2 weeks but they continued to support and push me to continue. From training, watching endless ADCC clips and laughing/bonding with everyone I just have to say thank you for the great memories. Hope to see you all again someday!