Buckle your seat belts boys and girls, it’s time for another blog day Tuesday! I know I’ve talked before about the importance of self care (not only in Jiu Jitsu, but in life as well), and of the bonds we form in this sport that are incomparable to anything I can really explain, but I’d like to delve further into those topics because both have truly helped develop myself as not only an athlete and competitor, but as a person as well. I am lucky enough to have met so many supportive and knowledgeable people on this journey to expand and strengthen my prowess and abilities and help to fine tune the competitor I have become. The best thing about this is I am slowly learning that the more I know, the less I truly understand. While this sounds like an oxymoronic statement, it just means that I never really understood how little I comprehended in life until I expanded my peripherals. It’s like finally learning how to nail an arm bar without realizing there’s a thousand more entries and locks from numerous set ups. The more I learn the less I know and honestly, it’d a wonderful thing. Being open to learning (about any subject from any person) is one of the greatest gifts life can provide.
Let’s start with this past weekend. After trying and failing to lock down a match for a no gi superfight, I had someone step up to the plate. I had active competitors from all different rankings and weight classes accept the match only to change their minds and turn it down a couple of days later. The amazing woman in the cover photo, Kalina Beth, stepped up to the plate. She is newer to the competition circuit (which is shocking considering how skillful her technique was), and has seen me fight in the cage before, but decided to go all in and meet me on the mats. While I’m nothing but serious leading up to a match, I hope more than anything to befriend my opponents afterwards, especially in Jiu Jitsu, and I’m proud to say that my best friends are all amazing ladies I have competed against in this sport. I want to thank Kalina again for not only being a badass and taking the match, but for her sweet and kind demeanor and becoming my friend. I know I’ll see great things from her in the future and want to reiterate how contagious her smile and amicability are and I look forward to training together soon. Sirius Grappling put on a remarkable show and it would be an honor to be invited back to compete for them again.
As far as self care is concerned, I was the worst when it came to allowing my body time to rest and heal. I can not emphasize enough how much ice, heat, stretching, foam rolling, and even sleep is to the body and mind of an elite athlete. Our bodies literally go through the ringer, and it really does take a toll on your body and your spirit. A lot of times, I would have difficulty unwinding after a grueling training day and would collapse in a heap on the sofa, without stretching out my limbs, or icing my swollen and deteriorating joints, and forgetting to put heat on my knotted muscles, then end up tossing and turning all night being unable to sleep. Then came my savior of a sponsor; a CBD company by the name of Jits Juice. If you’re an active BJJ competitor or MMA fighter and you’re not using CBD for recovery, change that ASAP. We are lucky enough to stock up on Jits Juice at the gym to provide for the team, and my stiff grips, swollen joints, insomnia, and anxiety have reduced dramatically since becoming an avid user of the product. Not even my daily dose of turmeric and ginger has provided as much releif as a few drops of this miracle oil. I felt fantastic leading up to my match on Saturday and even more so after a brutal open mat on Sunday. I was able to jump into training this week for my fight camp without anything irritating me, that is, except for the lack of opponents willing to step up to fill in for the fight scheduled for November 10th, but that’s a whole other story. Perhaps they should invest in some Jits Juice as well so I can stop hearing about “injuries” forcing a back out.
Another major contributing factor is the diet I use to sustain myself. I like to make sure I am fueling my rigorous workouts with only the best. During a fight camp, I adhere to a 16-8 intermittent fasting schedule, and follow a low carb, low calorie, diet high in good fats and protein. This leaves me with plenty of energy to make it through training while also maintaining the proper nutrition to stay healthy during a weight cut, plus being aided by the added benefit of drinking my daily intake of EAAs (my favorite is the Grunt series by Redcon in pineapple banana). Making it to 105 isn’t easy, but I employ several “tricks” to help me during this time frame. I drink a minimum of a gallon of water a day, (yes I pee a lot, and learned a very hard lesson the day I wore a romper to the office. Think icy hard nipples on full display), I track everything I eat and drink through an app on my phone, and most importantly, I prepare all my food for the week beforehand. This is so I know everything that goes into my body with no surprises of added sodium or preservatives and nothing artificial. Fighting at 105 means I can’t cut corners when it comes to what I am supplementing myself with, and I am lucky enough to thoroughly enjoy cooking for myself and my family and portioning everything out in advance. For example, this week I made Korean BBQ using venison freshly hunted by my partner (I normally cut out red meat during a cut but the protein to fat ratio in deer meat is incomparable) and served it over beet & sweet potato “noodles.” Each serving provides me with less than 300 calories and 42 g of protein. A happy Sam is a well nourished Sam and lo & behold I will fight you if you eat pizza in front of me, or cry, whichever emotion is most dominant that day.
Lastly, one of the greatest things I posses that helps me the most in this journey is the support system my family surrounds me with. I often feel like I don’t deserve such amazing people in my life to love and care for me the way that they do and it is because of them I work so hard. This applies to my gym family as well and the friends I have in this community. Just this past weekend I attended the most beautiful wedding from a gorgeous BJJ couple both inside and out, and in between my embarrassing sobs of joy, I was smiling ear to ear being surrounded by such an amazing group of people I am privileged enough to call my friends. Except for the people that wrist locked me at the open mat, y’all are dead to me. I wish nothing more than for everyone to be enmeshed in such a great support system as well and hope everyone can meet great people along the way as I have with my opponent on Saturday. We have an open door policy at the gym and I would like to extend the invitation for anyone reading this to come train with me. The only time I try to hurt anyone is in the cage, but outside of that, I just want to spread more love. Even in Jiu JItsu competitions, I never want to hurt my competitor, I just want to employ my BJJ techniques in order to get the subs. I’ve become friends with so many people I have grappled against this year, win or lose, and I always let them know I can be messaged at any time to talk or listen and be their friend.
I may be horrible at trash talking, but I promise I will work as hard as possible to emerge victorious regardless. Self care starts from within, and that means allowing time for recovery, supplementing myself with excellent dietary choices, and surrounding myself with an amazing circle of people. If I fail at one of these things, I will fail in all of them, because a fight camp will wear you down physically, emotionally, and mentally, and it is up to you to make sure you are prepared for the long haul. I can’t express my gratitude enough to all the ladies I have befriended this past year and also to any of my sponsors who have truly helped me feel prepared for any fight and competition that I have. Also, a huge thank you to my family who have graciously volunteered for the ultra difficult task of taste testing all of my meal preps and supporting me on the journey to branch out and provide these services to others as well. It’s a tough job, but luckily enough their taste buds are up to the task. My inbox is always open, for any comments, questions, or general feedback. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. Take care of yourselves and each other and leave the world a better place simply because you were in it. Life is too short to spend it not taking care of yourself as best as possible. Don’t stay at a job that makes you miserable, don’t consume nothing but garbage and wondering why you’re so lethargic, embrace friendships, and be the first person on the dance floor to get down to the cupid shuffle and have a good time! We only have once chance at this whole life thing, don’t wake up one day with the question of “what if” lingering on your tongue.
