Master Renzo Bringing The Whoopaz to Staten Island!

tokyo five brand/renzo gracie

Start to finish, the month of June has been very special for us at the Codella Academy. From legends of BJJ gracing our humble mats, to our teammates, young and old, displaying the tried & true techniques of the Gentle Art in the competition arenas and in the cage.  We were honored to receive a masterful and mesmerizing  seminar by the esteemed  Prof. John Danaher. We also celebrate the launching of this blog, Cageside at Codella's, and look forward to doing bigger and better things with this site for your entertainment and edification! 

There was a small but determined squad of two and a half men who invaded New England and just wrecked and pillaged the mats at NAGA and returned home with a treasure trove of medals, championship belts and swords! Props to Big Joe Terranova, Bobby Brown and his son Kieran for repping our Academy in "enemy" territory! Our very own walrus enthusiast Will Couchon took to it the next level at the Dead Serious Tournament, giving professional MMA fighters all they can handle on the mats and coming away with a bronze medal!! At Grappler's Quest, Rene, Joe, Albert Medina and Mike Bergamo brought their A games, fought tough matches and left it all on the mats! Despite some questionable reffing, they all held their heads up high in victory and defeat! Congratulations to Mike on his Silver Medal!! Later that same evening, at Asylum Fight League, Joe 'Thiago' Peteroy would go on to completely dominate and submit his opponent in a grappling match; Nick The Hammer Scianna put up a valiant and determined effort that led to a majority draw; and unfortunately, Mike 2K Hanrahan would not have the opportunity to unleash his skills due to his fight being cancelled as a result of poor  cage surface conditions.

All of the above brings us to the Why we're able to do battle in all arenas and excel at it! More specifically, the Who.. our champion and torch bearer for 100%  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu...Master Renzo Gracie! 

This Thursday, June 30th at 5:30ish!!, Master Renzo will be at Codella Academy to lead the no gi class. Prepare to be wowed, not only by his disarming smile and infectious humor but  by his extraordinary knowledge and brilliant breakdown and delivery of  these techniques!! Here are some videos of  Master Renzo to whet your appetite until Thursday!!

No Excuses! Now Get to Training!!

"Dad, I thought you said we were going to FunStation??" "No sweetie, I said you were going to have fun at the heavy bag station!!"

At Codella Academy you're never too young to train!! For some of our teammates, babysitting the little darlings isn't going to keep them from getting their rolls in!! No way! Check out the Codella Cub Day Care...excellent supervision provided by certified white belts!!

**Just wanted to share some upcoming projects I have planned, rumors I may have heard, and reminder about an excellent weekend of free fights on cable.

Negotiations have been settled and our very own Ches has cleared his schedule to grant  this blog an interview on video as well as share one of his favorite techniques with us. I believe this is an awesome opportunity to gain valuable insight on our senior brown belt. To make things interesting, I'd like to ask the Academy members to provide some questions, in the comments section, to ask of Ches. Nothing crazy or too personal, you will eventually cross his path on the mats! Possibly, his favorite techniques, training routine or competition experience, future plans, etc. There may be something in store for those who submit questions that are selected for the interview!

 Its been over a week since the John Danaher Seminar. What do you remember?? There was so much information and details, that unless you were a  good black belt who happened to bring his notebook, Prof. Chris Savarese, there are things he stated that have been forgotten or difficult to mentally connect the pieces. I was hoping to create a flow chart of the Seatbelt vs Whizzer position, with the input of those that attended, print copies and make them available for the Codella Team. While the comments will be entered online, the flow chart will not be available online. Are you starting to see a theme here??..Participation is priceless!!

**Rumor- there may or may not be some chatter about an in house tournament, possibly days vs nights!! "But, yo no se nada, I no speakee inglish!!"  What I do know is that it is a great training tool for those that are preparing for upcoming tournaments!  That is, if it actually becomes a reality! :)

Finally, this weekend will be be great for the MMA fans:

      Friday    6/24 Strikeforce Challengers on Showtime 11:00 PM
     Saturday 6/25 Bellator Fighting Championship MTV2 9:00 PM
     Sunday   6/26 UFC on Versus Channel   9:00PM *All 8 prelim fight to be shown on facebook/ufc!!



Enjoy! See you on the mats and remember, when you're not training, your opponent is!!

Fight Night!

Who in their right mind would want to mess with a crew of bad asses such as this!! Unfortunately there are many fools who tempt fate and although none of them would find any success, we all, fighters and fans alike, would fall victim to Mother Nature and horrific cage conditions. The setting was perfect, outdoors, cage was set up over home plate, Blue Claws stadium was not overcrowded, the view was great and the company of Codella supporters was awesome!
   The first match of the night was announced as a grappling match and everyone was surprised to see Joe competing instead of fighting. Turns out his opponent was over ten pounds underweight and could not or would not fight, not sure of the circumstances, but this seem to coincide with a loud rumbling felt and heard below the stadium seats. Apparently some Team Coach took to redecorating the Blue Claws locker room in disgust of said slight..but at the time of this writing the above incident has not been confirmed!! " Thiago" would win the match by straight armbar from the mount. Speaking of mount, I don't believe I've seen anyone get taken down and mounted as much his opponent was with the exception of Bubba the Grappling Dummy!! 
Amazing job, Joe! BTW, The Garv.com posted a recap of the fights and had the audacity to omit the clinic you displayed. I posted a comment on their site to add the results of the match. They responded with praise and a at-a-boy for you but no results. I tried brother!
Nick the Hammer...this is one bad m..dude! He was catching some serious shots and knees from his opponent in the first round. His opponent would get penalized one point for an illegal knee to the head in that round. Rounds two and three were fought mainly in the clinch against the cage, and while his opponent was tiring the Hammer was scoring with shots to the body and short, crisp, T-Rex uppercuts! The fight ended with a majority draw decision. The details are being worked on for a rematch between the two to settle the score. Nick showed a tremendous amount of heart in this fight, fighting back the entire time. You made us all very proud, brother!
  The remaining fights at the Asylum Ice Palace would eventually be cancelled, for fighter safety, due to the  slippery surface of the cage. As disappointed as Mike 2K was, it was probably for the best because your plan to keep it standing would have would have been seriously hampered. You'll get him next time brother. There are many of your teammates very eager to see you handle your business in the cage!!

While the night ended prematurely, the after party started early in the stands! Some fans felt they should get their moneys worth and put on their  bouts! There may have been more fights in the VIP section than in the actual cage!! The last song of the the night would be a piss poor rendition of  "Who Let The Dogs Out"  by the Lakewood P.D. K-9 Unit!! Until the next time, Peace!

Special Weekend for Codella Academy..

It's the calm before storm...night before our warriors enter the cage at Asylum Fight League at BlueClaws Stadium. The sky above Lakewood, NJ may appear dark and gloomy tomorrow evening but only because our stars will be sparkling and illuminating the arena when the bell sounds! Joe P. looks like a silent assassin for hire except this hit is going to be on the house! Nick "MB" S. has taken up residence at the academy, putting in mad work, and rain or shine he's coming to deliver!! Mikey 2K H. may be the rookie of bunch, but don't let the friendly smile fool you, this kid is the real deal!
So let's all come out to show support for our brothers, and if you get there early look for Frank Caruti, our first contest winner, he's looking to get the tailgate party started off right!!

This Sunday is an extra special for the Academy..our teacher and fearless leader will be one year.. younger!! Haven't gotten confirmation if this is a "milestone" birthday for Prof. but truth is curiosity may get this cat choked out!! So, that will continue to remain a mystery much like his jiu jitsu!!!

                   Prof. Mike Codella, 
         Have a Happy and Blessed Birthday!! 
 
 Finally, we honor all the fathers and grandfathers(?? yes, we have at least one of those!!) in the Codella Academy Family. May you all continue to be strong stewards and shining examples to your families!!

"Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father."  Lydia M. Child

"Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a rope!"  Bill Cosby

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong!" Charles Wadsworth

                  Happy Father's Day!!

**Clipart from www.kidsturncentral.com

And The Winner Is...

Truth is, if you are training hard at Codella Academy and a part of Team Renzo Gracie you're already a winner!!

Since that already is a given and without any further delay, Prof. Mike Codella, author Mike Mongelli and I were all in agreement and we selected poster "100deuce" as the winner of the essay response contest!! Here is the comment he posted:

 100deuce said..I feel the perception of thought changes over time, not the balance of "thinking or feeling". We all have one dollar of concentration to put towards a technique. For example , my triangle that I could never pull off. I put 90 cents into the four steps of getting my leg over my opponents shoulder, controlling the other arm, locking my legs and pulling the head. So much thought and emphasis leaves 10 cents for any problems, adjustments or counters. Professor Mike, through years of practice and thousands of successful triangles, puts 5 cents into the same four steps. This action is more muscle reflex then technique. He now has 95 cents of concentration left to think of where my body is. Does he have to adjust or block a counter. He has thought left over to think of two or three further steps depending on my reactions. This extra room of thought now makes it seem like he's just feeling his position rather then having to deliberately think of each step. I believe with training and experience the required thought for each step diminishes and leaves room for our mind to adapt to a situation, however still thinking. I beleave the statement of "no mind" would be better said as "all mind". The technique needed so little effort that we still have our dollars worth of concentration left to see the smallest detail to make the technique more effective.

June 15, 2011 12:04 AM

 Whether it was intentional to remain anonymous or the name was inadvertently omitted, "100 deuce" has until 6:00PM EST today 6-15-11 to identify themselves via email: jaystorm15@yahoo.com

to claim their prize: choice of (1) ticket to Asylum Fight League on 6-18-11, or Codella Gear( 1) Tee or Shorts. If this person is not identified by then, a runner-up will be announced..stay tuned!!

With winners, sparkling hardware always follows be it  competition medals, trophies, championship belts( it won't be long until Codella Academy has its own MMA champion!!) and fine jewelry??

Check out this piece from our teammate and brother Juan Rubert & Family at Serenade Diamonds!!

Now that is one beautiful medallion you can wear all day every day with pride!!  

***Update- Our winner has been identified and it's our teammate, Frank Caruti (big Hog rider and Paul's brother!). Congratulations. to him...he'll be rocking some Codella Gear compliments of Cageside at Codella's!!

Featured Essay: Thinking versus Feeling

This short, but thought-provoking essay was written and submitted by our teammate, blue belt Mike Mongelli. Please take a moment to read it and reply, whether you agree or disagree with his premise. It doesn't have to be long but I do encourage you to show your support. You can also check the +1 tab or the reaction box at the end of the post if you elect not to write anything. 

**Just to make things a little interesting, for all those that post a comment, one of those entries will be selected, by Prof. Mike-Mike Mongelli and myself, and the winner will get a choice of (1) ticket to Asylum Fight League fights on 6/18/11, (1) academy tee or (1) academy shorts, compliments of Cageside at Codella's. Winner will be announced here on Weds 6/15/11 You don't have to log in to the blog but you do have to write your full name at the end of your comment if you're an academy member; non- members can email me their contact info and guest # assigned to post at jaystorm15@yahoo.com 

      One complaint I frequently hear from practitioners of martial arts is that they often cannot commit to memory the techniques they perform in class.  It is certainly beneficial to do your best to remember what your teacher demonstrates, such as by internalizing these movements by working drills, or even by actually writing down what you observed and executed, but it is not the end of the world if one does not retain everything that is shown.  Personally I’ve spoken to and read many articles by black belts who believe that once one reaches the so-called level of master that one then realizes that the martial arts journey is far from over; rather that it begins all over again as though once more, one were a white belt.  The point is, learning any legitimate martial art is a commitment to undertaking a lifelong journey – it is absolutely impossible to remember everything!

     However, I believe that there is a deeper issue at hand here; one that goes further than simply not being able to commit techniques to cognitive memory – and it is not exclusive to beginners.  What I believe is the true problem that these martial artists commonly struggle with, a problem that may cripple their growth and demoralize them into quitting if not addressed, is that they place too much emphasis on the intellectual aspect of learning an art over the concept of learning it by feeling.  The way that I learn martial arts is by looking for a balance between my mental and emotional approach to them.  While of course one strives to know proper technique, or know how to escape sticky positions, obsessing over every detail in order to attain some semblance of progression or “perfection” will place too much emphasis on the cerebral part of learning, and this poses a legitimate risk of stunting the growth of the martial artist.  Seldom do these artists realize that the issue is not that there is too little memory in their approach, but rather instead that there is too little emotion in it (outside, of course, of the frustration they feel, no doubt caused by over-thinking).  There comes a point where sometimes one must stop thinking about what is happening and just let the body, which has been physically trained and encoded with the knowledge of the martial art, react instead.  I vehemently believe that the entire point of martial arts is to protect yourself through finding this balance.

     If you disagree with me and believe that mental obsession is a good thing, or that emotionalizing or feeling martial arts is not important – since you value thought so much, then philosophize over this scenario: if someone on the streets points a gun in your face, how much time are you going to have to “remember” what technique you should use?  A bullet can travel faster than the speed of sound; your reaction needs to be even quicker.  You will not think about what to do; you will just do.  That is the emotional part of training; that is the part that feels the martial art.  Do not underestimate the value of learning a martial art by feeling it – it may save your life.  Once you attain that balance between the intellect and instinct, only then may the boundaries in your martial arts journey – as well as the boundaries in the overall journey of your life – be removed.

     Feel it!

"Pressure...Builds Diamonds!"

After a recent class, there was a discussion going on amongst teammates regarding one of our fighter's preparations for an upcoming fight. The match would mark the first time this fighter enters an MMA cage. He stated that, other than a grappling tournament, he had no extensive competition experience to draw from in his efforts to suppress the anxiety, or command the dragonflies in his gut to fly in formation!
This fighter has been observed putting in work on the mats- many of his opponents, after rolling, are seen rubbing their shoulders trying regain the feeling in their arms. Conditioning is peaking under the guidance of elite trainer and task master, Jimmy Lopez of M.B.G. as well as the fighter's recent mode of transportation, the messenger mobile. One should not be surprised to hear that one day soon he opts to swim from Brooklyn to Staten Island to avoid the tolls and get in an extra workout! Needless to say his conditioning appears to be on point.
He went on to say that visualization is a technique he's been using to help him focus on his goal. Seeing himself execute his game plan. He has also asked his parents and friends to sit mat side while he spars to cheer him on, to simulate, as much as possible, the crowd and noise effect. Training his body, his mind, his spirit! Hmmm, two things come to mind:(1) this young lion has truly committed himself to suceeding inside the cage, (2) concern and worry are mounting for his opponent for has no idea what he is about to encounter on the night of June 18th! 

An older teammate who was listening to the fighter, says to him, "you know, pressure builds diamonds!" Now, rest assured you will not find this statement in any anthology of quotations, but no truer, more meaningful words have been spoken. More importantly, we all understood. It resonated among the group and with good reason. Codella Academy is the cauldron where the transformation begins...where steel sharpens steel!!

Get your tickets and come out to cheer for our brothers, Joe P., Nick S. and Mike H. as they rep Codella Academy at the Asylum Fight League on Saturday June 18th.

 

****Speaking of diamonds, be sure click on the link to check out and support Serenade Diamonds!!

Rolling Remix #1

Here's a video of Rene and Emerson rolling no-gi on Thursday morning. I just added  some of Prof's favorite music, Black Eyed Peas!! This is my first attempt at this but with persistent practice i hope to create some jazzy highlight videos to showcase the talent of our team members!!
                                            

This didn't make the final cut for reasons that will remain "unexplained", but I had to add a still shot of a sweet submission that appears to be heaven sent:

Unfortunately, it was "applied" well after the timer sounded!! :) 
It also captures the Codella Academy Warrior Spirit- Never Give Up and Always Look for the Finish!!


Many Thanks to Rene and Emerson....Stay Rolling!!

First Twitter, Now Blogdom!!

With Prof. Mike Codella's blessing, I, John "Big John" Norman, started this blog as a unofficial academy resource. My intent is to provide a means to let the members 'shine' by posting competition videos, interviewing our senior belts, as well as showcasing the kid's classes and the hardcore Monkey Bar Gym crew!! I hope to add videos of techniques taught in our classes, post tournament info and results, seminars, etc.
Feel free to catch me in the morning classes or contact me via email at jaystorm15@yahoo.com if you have any suggestions or content you would like for me to add to the blog. Looking forward to all comments, good or ...constructive!!  :)   Peace!