the pilgrimage to HQ and rolling with GM Eddie for the first time

After trying to get there for almost a year I finally made it to HQ. After the starstruck thing calms down you see that everyone does go out of there way to make you feel like part of the family. I've been to a lot of gyms trained up at Couture's in Vegas but this was different. There is a feeling of being part of something bigger than just you or the team back home. I found it both exciting and humbling. I've had more than a few let downs in my life but meeting Eddie was not on of them. He's the real deal. A warm person, a gracious host and a genious in his chosen feild. Anyone who thinks he's past his prime needs to put in a little mat time with him. My words really can't do his talent justice. I think we still have his best work to look foreward to. I'm proud to to be some small part of this organization.

having trouble with the vid its youtube "10th Planet Yuma at HQ"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2-5IsAROZ4

Nice Brian!!!

Botello did an excellent job certifying you, keep up the hard work, it's great having solid people like you in the family :)

Nice Japanese NT Eddie! Way to hang Brian!!!

I made the pilgrimage last summer! But never got to even see Eddie.... HQ was closed and having class at Burbank. Eddie's schedule was crazy F'ed up. But I did get to meet and play with alot of cool ass people. And I got to test Victor on the mat which was awesome. He is very good, and the first person in a long time that I couldn't tap right off the bat! He was incredibly strong and had great posture. I think we flowed the whole time, because we couldn't finish each other. I love training like that

I remember thinking "WOW I'm working rubberguard with the person who invented RG, hey this is getting tight I wonder if I should taaa......" out cold. See if you can see where then count out how fast he did it. Keep in mind I have good choke resistance. Didn't help. (I denied it of course because I didn't want to stop, I don't think I could see for the last 2 minutes) I also took home a very cool black eye from Joe Rogan. Hey anyone can bring a postcard from hollywood this was way cooler. The best part is knowing it was not a one time deal but hopefully a lifelong relatioship with a vey cool group of people. :)

lol Brian. I have eaten some intense humble pie at HQ. No worries, just keep getting back there and bringing the experiences back to your students. Everyone wins that way.
RW

start the video at 4:05 and watch Eddie swing from Perp Jiu Claw to the triangle. and i believe that's the first time i have seen anybody sleep from a teepee. smooth flow.

great stuff brian. how much u weigh?

I'm so jealous. One day I will make that same journey! It sounds super homo stalkerish but it's definitely a dream of mine to roll with Eddie before I die! So nice to hear that they are warm and welcoming at HQ (not that I'd expect anything less). The 10th planet family is so awesome, I love it and I haven't really even met anyone yet... chatting with people here on the forum has been enough to win me over permanently. I consider myself a part of the 10th planet family already :)

10th Planet Rules!!

Some great footage there, I never get bored of watching top guys (and gals) rolling. It's an art form and no mistake.

i like the mecca reference. i too will someday go to the HQ

I cant wait. Id like everyone at hq to feed me humble pie ; )
Whenever I get the chance to get out there.

First off that is awsome! TY for sharing, its inspiring and makes me want to take the trip my self. But you got to do it and congratz friend.Watching i thought Holly F#@k is that Joe too?? Now im really jelous, you got to roll with the 2 dudes that made me want to do Jiu Jitsu and not just think its Jack ass wrestling. And im in the heart of wrestling country.
thanks again for sharing :)

If HQ seems to far (and it's not) hit up your closest moon. Just set the goal and then take the first step the path is shorter than you think. We're all family just start making connections. The best part is that's just the start. I weighed about 195 there, probably closer to 180 by the time I was done sweating. You may notice in the pic at the end I look like a very tired, happy drowned rat.

lol, great vid brian, i love it when your just lying on eddie's belly after the T-pee.

I hope to make the same pilgrimage in the near future. I had a room and plans to compete at no-gi worlds but now I cant (Not able to register with the IBJJF in time for my ID Card). So, maybe I'll just make it a trip to HQ since I'll be there anyway. Who know's we'll see. Sounds like you had fun. Good work.

Thanx for the support guys. I felt a little disapointed in myself because I wanted to make a good impression and I don't think I brought my A game. After I've had time to reflect a bit I think what happened is that my standards just got raised. Iron sharpens iron but it's very humbling when you start comparing yourself to the elite.

I can't believe how fast that teepee worked. That was insane. If you get a minute, would you, please, share your trip details? Where you stayed, ate, how often you trained... all that stuff would be great.

Brain could you describe in detail your rollz with Eddie???? Did you get put in Rubber Guard. How effective was his Lockdown against you. You seem like a big guy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brandon Mccaghren

start the video at 4:05 and watch Eddie swing from Perp Jiu Claw to the triangle. and i believe that's the first time i have seen anybody sleep from a teepee. smooth flow.

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Ha, funny you mention the perp jiu to triangle, cause when i watched that vid, thats what stood out to me...Eddie's transitions are stupid man. Most people think 3 moves ahead, seems like he thinks 3 matches ahead.

Beaumont, glad you enjoyed it out there, it's pretty cool to roll with all the regulars out there, really shows you where you are. Eddie was working on the Sorcerer a lot when i was out there, and guess what he caught me in. I recommend everyone to let their company send them out to Huntington Beach to work for 3 months so they can drive to HQ 3 days a week. :)

Im sure that trip was well worth the money

Rolling with eddie is rediculous. I felt like a total chump cause there wasn't a damn thing I could do to him.

The thing I figured out about Eddie is that he's not just beating you with the most available or the easiest sub. Like Brandon said, he's working through his personal checklist of moves he wanted to rep that day. If you go to the "How has your 10th planet game progresed" thread (which was about the same time I went up there) you'll see the things on his list were all the things he hit me with. The roll was surreal. The first part I did resist more. He's elusive and takes advantage of small openings to improve position. I tried to lock him down, forget that. He's very heavy in side control. I've rolled with John Botello who really commits all his weight and drives in like he does so I saw that comming. That's how I reversed him into side control then NS (after that things became very one sided). I did fend off several awesome subs. Homie control to back > back widow > roll to spider web (I knew arm crush was his fav so I blocked that and scrambled for top. I felt the seatbelt and flipped a coin on defending the choke or shooting a single, I picked defend. WRONG he switched grip into Jap necktie and I was done. The JN feels different than other chokes and I didn't see the finish comming. After that I was trying to focus more on learning than surviving. In rg I was really trying to watch every subtle shift and setup from the master. He worked through the whole path. If perp jiu isn't part of your game yet it needs to be. That was the only point I felt Eddie turn up the power instead of pure flow. Yes he has kick ass power I think he chooses not to use it a lot, completely shut me down. Then triangle to tee pee and good night. I denied it because I didn't want to stop, but he new. After that I couldn't see real well. He floated past my guard into twisterside and to mounted guillatine. Flawless victory. I'm planning to go up over the holidays with some of my team. Stayed at travel lodge on Vermont 84$ and there's lots of very cool little bistros to eat north of there. I know some people stay at the beach and drive in in the evening. That would be cool if you were there for a few days. I really hope that I get to meet some more of the Moons on the next run. I need to work 10P defence against other high level players. So hope to see you guys there.

Brandon, how far is Huntington from HQ?

Brian, the traffic in California is nothing short of misery. On a good day quicker, but i'd leave pretty much right after work and I needed to give myself 1.5hrs just to be safe. But to me, it was worth it. Wake up in paradise, take in the beach, go to work, then clear my head and drive out to class. If you want to see some of California, which i recommend you do, then stayin on the beach is a great option.

Always went up to this place right by main street on the beach, Chimayas or something, anyways, Tank Abbot would always be down there on his laptop drinkin, apparantly he's writing his biography. Even had his name on the back of the chair, apparantly his nickname is "Rooster" or something, no shit. Weird stuff.

Oh, one of the best things I did the whole time was take off and go to 6 flags, it puts the one in Atlanta to SHIT. We went early on a Friday, and stayed til close, pretty much got to ride everything several times and it was around Halloween so they had the whole place decked out. I fucking lover rollercoasters.

Three months out there really expanded my horizons, both life-wise & jits-wise.

Wouldnt have traded it for anything.

I'm planning to go out again around Xmas (if Eddie's around) hope to see you up there