Will Couchon: Feeling Good & Hunting for Win in MMA Debut!

A couple of days away from his amateur MMA debut and and Will is surprisingly in good spirits. He clearly has that just before weigh in gauntness but doesn't appear to be weak at all. While hitting the bag and rolling with Prof. Codella, the focus and attention to detail was evident. In fact, he was almost unrecognizable! There was no goofiness or signature BWAAHH!! to be found this morning, just the machine on a mission. Well, for brief moment, as you'll see in the video interview, the silliness surfaces but I believe it goes to show that he's got a good handle in balancing the mental aspect of his preparation.

Despite some prior missteps, this Saturday 10/29/11, will mark his MMA debut for the Dead Serious MMA organization. The fights wil be held at the Rahway Recreational Center, Rahway, N.J. Although it is subject to change, he believes his fight will either be the third or fourth of the night. His opponent, Joe Scanish 0-1 MMA, fights out of Goju Ryu Martial Arts in N.J. and seems like a game fighter. (Here's a link to his opponent's first amateur mma fight New Breed Fighters.) Will is the only fighter from our academy who is on this card. Unfortunately for Mark Feliccia, all his potential opponents are either accident prone or highly susceptible to contagious airborne pathogens and strangely enough, all have the same initials: TBA! This brother can't catch a break. I suggest he assumes the identity of our infamous underground warrior and guaranteed the opponents come flying out of the woodwork!!! 

Speaking of legitimate warriors, here is a video interview with our golden boy  sharing his thoughts on his preparation for this fight and also a video of him and Prof. Codella rolling lightly at yesterday's open mat.

 

 

If you haven't already purchased tickets, check with Will or Prof. Codella to see if there are any tickets left. **This fight card will also be available on a PPV live stream through Go Fight Live for $10, but I have to share that my first experience with GFL was truly aggravating because the stream was experiencing technical difficulties for the first couple of fights and I missed Mike 2K's match. When it did come back online the quality of the feed was good but customer service was doo-doo: no apologies, no partial credit, nada! 

So buyer beware. When you do purchase the stream you are able to see the replays of all the fights in a day or two which is good since you probably won't find these fights on you tube. You can get the details for the stream here:

Go Fight Live 

also the address, google map and fight card info here: Dead Serious MMA

From my observations and the testimony of our esteemed Professor it looks like Will is prepared physically, technically and mentally to do battle Saturday night. But, when one of our senior veterans and MMA fighter, none other than our badass brown belt Chez Budgell, says the man is ready to do our academy proud, it means that warrior recognizes warrior!! So Will relax, follow your game plan, and leave it all in the cage brother, this is your time to shine!!

Team Codella Invited To Train at Renzo Gracie Academy!

Prof. Mike Codella has recently announced that that our members, blue belts and above, have been invited to train this Saturday 10/22/11 @ 11:30AM at the main academy in NYC. It is not an open mat session. This is one of their scheduled no gi classes so for the love of Christmas do not be late!! 
Prof. Codella is not sure who will be instructing the class but you can best believe all of Master Renzo's black belt instructors are certified badasses!! Those of us who are attending should wear our academy gear to represent "The Rock" and Prof. Codella properly. If you plan on going Saturday let Prof. Codella know by Thursday, if possible, so he can have an idea of how many guys the main academy can expect to be training that day. 
There is no group transportation available but Prof. Codella has suggested that those of you who are interested in carpooling to midtown should make arrangements to meet at our school by 10:00AM to provide ample time for travel and finding parking.  It's been quite a while since our team has had the privilege to train at the main academy so let's enjoy this opportunity to break bread with our BJJ family, get some great training and truly represent the Renzo Gracie Fight Team to the fullest!!   Osss!

Renzo Gracie Academy  224 West 30th St.  (between 7th & 8th Aves.)  #212-279-6724

***There is no academy sign on the building. When you enter, the doorman will direct you to the end of the hall, on the ground floor, and down the stairs.

BeltQuest.com Technique of the Week #2 featuring Prof. Mike Codella

Our good friends at BeltQuest.com present their Technique of the Week segment featuring Prof. Mike Codella. This is the second video where Prof. Codella demonstrates two separate moves from the knee on belly position, a slick step over collar choke and a powerful back take. Let's continue to show our appreciation to Belt Quest by subscribing to their You Tube Channel: Belt Quest and liking their Facebook: Belt Quest. FYI- these gentlemen train at the AMA Fight Club in Parsippany, NJ, home of  UFC fighters Dan & Jim Miller, head trainer Mike Constantino and BJJ coach Jaime Cruz who's a Renzo Gracie black belt. Much love for their support.

***Some members have mentioned to me that they have had difficulties trying to post comments on the blog, so I have made some adjustments that should facilitate the free flow of feedback. To post a comment: 

1. Click the comment link

2. Select Profile- Click "Anonymous"

3. Write your response..(try to leave your name within your comment if possible..agree or disagree, like or don't like, it's all good. Just be respectful, please.)

4. Click Publish/Post. You'll then have to type in a word verification in the box, and you're all set.
You can also opt to check off one of the reaction boxes: funny/interesting/cool. 
I truly appreciate the Codella BJJ Family support and all the positive verbal comments I've received thus far. I've recently added a visitor counter at the top of the page and I was pleasantly surprised, shocked really, that since June 1st there have have over 3,200 site visits!! My sincere thanks to you all for your collective input, efforts and  encouragement! Obrigado!!

Congratulations to New Blue Belt Anton Lischchenko!!

Yesterday at the morning Gi class, and after some tough non-stop sparring Prof. Codella broke out a spanking new blue belt and applied the ceremonial smack down on our teammate, Anton. I had the distinct pleasure to be rolling with Anton when Prof. Codella intervened to promote him, which was fortunate for him because I was about to blow him away with my unstoppable sweep from bottom mount to signature foot lock finish..but I'll divulge the unique details of this high level maneuver in a future post..this is Anton's time to shine!! ;)

In all seriousness this young man is a beast; tough yet humble, always eager to learn and constantly looking to roll. Also, if you don't already know,  be wary of the judo throws!! 

Let us all congratulate brother Anton on his promotion...and continued success in your Jiu Jitsu journey!

BeltQuest.Com Visits Codella Academy!

The fine folks at Belt Quest stopped by last week to check out our academy for a tour video of the facilities. They also interviewed Prof. Codella and had him demonstrate a sneaky forearm crush for their Technique of the Week.

 

Many thanks to Belt Quest for helping to put the spotlight on our humble academy, including Jimmy Lopez & Co. of Monkey Bar Gymnasium, and featuring the slick and certified skills of Prof. Mike Codella! 

When you check out their site, you'll notice interviews of and techniques by Master Renzo Gracie and many of his black belts so be sure to show your appreciation and lend your support by subscribing to their youtube page, following them on twitter and liking their facebook page. All the links are on their website.

***Poll Question: Prof.Codella mentions in one of the videos that his book is being shopped around for the rights to be made into a motion picture. What actor do you think can pull off playing Det. Mike Codella?

Master Renzo's part will of course have to played by himself. He has to one up Master Rickson's for his role on the "Hulk"!!