This is one of those moments I won’t forget. I remember hearing all my friends cheering and excited, but I didn’t even notice the other 90% of the people in the crowd. They don’t look very happy, but I only remember the excitement of the crowd and Dan, as usual, super excited about anything jiujitsu. I am thankful to have friends and teammates that I can be excited with! Thanks for the kind words Dan and I hope you recover from your injuries.

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Due to some unfortunate events, I’ve been forced to redefine my contribution to BJJ other than as a competitor and direct skill rolling on the mat. JiuJitsu.net, card games, running events, and commentary are all part of that bag.

I don’t believe any top black belts have a corner/strategist that is something other than their coach or training partner. In our sport, it is very unusual to have a random person to corner you. I have done it in the past for some top guys, but its been half unsolicited. I met Eliot one or two times at the gym and just started cornering him out of boredom one tournament. He ended up beating Tussa – one of his biggest career victories. Since then, it just kind of snowballed and he asks me to come to all of his competitions when I can.

This picture is special to me. Not only was it hands down his single biggest victory, It felt awesome to be cornering opposite Saulo and Lovato…both legends..and use my advice to come out on top of 7x world champion Xande Ribeiro. I’ll never forget Saulo’s look when he shook my hand shortly after this photo…a combination of respect and “I’m going to kill you.” His victory felt like mine!