Black Friday

I may not be American, but as a Canadian I get to take advantage of a lot of Black Friday deals.  It may be odd to us to have Thanksgiving on a specific date rather than floating around the third weekend of a month, but we reconcile with some great savings.

And now I want to make sure that all of you take advantage of Black Friday deals with Triangle Athletics!  For instance, their kimonos are on for a great price: the non-lined Brooklyn is $99, regular $139!  And the rashguard-liner version – the one I constantly wear to the academy, to open mats, to charity rollathons – is on for $119, regular $149!  And for all of my readers who live in the States, the free-shipping deal is still going.

Take advantage of the deals now, before today ends!

–Kiyoshi “The Prototype”
Your #1 Canadian eh?
Respect the Technique, Triangle Army

Movember Rollathon

November 22nd was Gravity BJJ’s 3rd Annual Movember Rollathon, to raise money and awareness for Prostate Cancer.  Keri and I showed up around 4PM, and rolled until 6PM, watching a few Metamoris 5 matches in between.  Noon-5PM was the busy time when the bulk of people showed up to support, so next year we might go a bit later.  Regardless, it was very fun to get some good rolls in with different and new people.  I rolled with an old friend, Matt Kwan, for about 10 minutes – we couldn’t hear the ring timer – and it was good.  We were like two cats, limbs everywhere, but in a controlled fashion.  While he got the best of me – no surprise given he’s more than likely getting his brown belt soon – I managed a few things fairly well, and learned a few more things I can improve upon.  I would like to believe I am applying more pressure in order to play my game, but there are definite times when I go into full scramble-mode.

Saturday was big day for events:

• Copa Podio
• Metamoris 5
• UFC Fight Night 57
• Infinity MMA Open House
• Gravity BJJ Movember Rollathon

Keri and I caught three of those: The open house, the rollathon, and about half of Metamoris.  The open house was at 2PM, and we rolled with friends for about an hour and half before making our way down to Gravity for more rolls.  There were prizes at the rollathon, and I won a bar of Gi Soap.

I was fully equipped to roll for such a long while thanks to Triangle Athletics, so check them out and take advantage of their sale while it lasts!

–Kiyoshi “The Prototype”
Your #1 Canadian eh?
Respect the Technique, Triangle Army

Podcasts

I commute four days a week to school and back, which takes me about 40 minutes to an hour for the round trip.  I get easily annoyed at all of the commercials on all of the radio stations, and the constant repetition of songs that I just don’t enjoy, so I’ve long ago made the switch to podcasts and audiobooks.  Based on what I enjoy, I have some recommendations to make.

Chaos Theatre: Your all-in-one nerd podcast from MAHQ

Hosted by MAHQ’s own Chris Guanche, and Pedro G. Cortes of Tomopop, this podcast focuses on the nerdy aspect of life.  From books, movies, t.v. series, and anime, they’ve got it all, and on occasion some interviews, like voice actor Crispin Freeman, or game developers, or Kevin Smith.  Chris and Pedro have great on-air chemistry, and are quick-witted.  They not only review things, but they also answer mailbag questions, and have an Audible.com trial and recommendations for audiobooks each episode.  They update every two weeks or so, and are available on iTunes; just search for Chaos Theater.

Gundamn! @MAHQ: Your unofficial podcast of all things Gundam and mecha!

Hosted by SoulBroRyu and Neo the blond/brunette/whatever his hair colour is right now Ace, and Chris Guanche (who is currently on a vacation hiatus), this podcast focuses on mecha-based anime, and some sci-fi films like Pacific Rim and Transformers.  They also have interviews with voice actors, and do call-in episodes.  Each episode goes over breaking news regarding Sir Michael Bay (not actually knighted under the British Empire), Robot Apocalypse (sanctioned by the 12 Colonies), and other mecha news.  Then they have their one or two main segments, typically reviewing a mecha series, or having an interview.  Finally, they wrap up with the mailbag and voicemails.  Gundamn! updates every month or so, and are available on iTunes.  Plus, SoulBro makes some awesome audio commercials.

Verbal Tap Cast: Where fighting is easier outside the cage

Hosted by Kevin and Raf Esparza, two BJJ practitioners and MMA enthusiasts.  They have interviews with so many people, BJJ experts, MMA fighters from all organizations, and pre- and re-cap tournaments and cards.  This makes their update schedule a little difficult to keep track of, but near as I can tell it’s at least once a week.  They are also legitimately funny.  I’ve only been listening for about a month, catching up on the backlog of episodes, but now I’m almost there.  Find them on iTunes!

Open Mat Radio: Tapping you into Grappling Culture

This is the latest podcast I’ve begun listening to, and they have quite the backlog to sort through.  Hosts Paul and Rafael are very knowledgeable in grappling, and have tonnes of great interviews; B.J. Penn, Rafael Lovato Jr., Dean Lister, and so many more.  Some of their interviews are cut into two parts, making each of their podcasts very reasonable in length.  With over 100 episodes to go through, I haven’t been able to discern an update schedule yet.  Find them on iTunes, and they have some contests with cool prizes!

What are some of your favourite podcasts, and why do you enjoy them?  Let me know!

–Kiyoshi “The Prototype”
Your #1 Canadian eh?
Triangle Army, Respect the Technique.

Remember

Take today to remember the sacrifices the men and women serving our country have made.

–Kiyoshi “The Prototype”
Your #1 Canadian eh?
Triangle Army, Respect the Technique.

P.T.T. Open Mat

“We only have to be enemies for the 10 minutes we’re fighting on the mat, the rest of the time we’re friends,” Maestro Marcus Soares.

November 8th was a huge open mat day called “P.T.T. and friends Open Mat”, hosted at the Pacific Top Team Chilliwack location.  The P.T.T. crew is comprised of a great bunch of guys all over B.C., including Kelowna, Kamloops, Vernon, Chilliwack, Burnaby, Richmond, and more.  I typically see the P.T.T. guys at tournaments, so it’s a very nice change to get together in a non-competitive atmosphere and just roll.  Half-a-dozen of us showed up from Genesis, and I saw a few other academies like Adam Ryan’s and Revolution.

Harley promoted his son to blue belt, a huge accomplishment in its own right, a few months before he turns 16.  Plus, Harley and Super Dave promoted Steve to black belt, in part as something to look forward to after knee surgery.  It was cool to be there in person for something like that.

I had some really fun rolls, including a “rematch” with my friend and tournament-opposite Creigh.  Most of us were pretty darn careful when rolling among so many other bodies, but that didn’t stop it from being awesome.

–Kiyoshi “The Prototype”
Your #1 Canadian eh?
Triangle Army, Respect the Technique.

Review: Female Under-Gi Gear – Special Guest Reviewer!

This update is brought to you from a special gal in my life: Keri, a.k.a. BlackGryphon03, a.k.a. my girlfriend.  She’s a talented BJJ practitioner and aficionado, so without further ado, here she is!

Exam rituals

One thing they don’t really tell you in high school: you’ll get a lot of exams in post secondary.  Of course, they might have mentioned it, but high school was so long ago that I’ve forgotten.  Regardless, in 13 weeks, a student will typically see 2-3 in-class exams and then final exams.  I’ve written in-class essays, multiple choice/true-false on scan tron, short answer, and long answer; I’ve used pens, pencils, erasers, protractors, and rulers.  Studying prior to the exam is fairly key – which I would state is obvious, but I don’t always study if my understanding is already excellent – but the moments before starting the exam are crucial.

• Liquids: If it’s a morning exam (8:30AM or 10:30AM) then I have a coffee with me.  Regardless of the start time, I always have a bottle of water.
• Bathroom: Even if I feel like I don’t have to go, I go anyways.  It’s tough enough to sit in a room for 150 minutes, much less if you have to pee.
• Hands: This goes hand-in-hand with the bathroom, but I always wash my hands before an exam.  I hate being distracted by sticky hands, especially if I’ve been handling a coffee cup.
• Fingernails: Alright, so I’m pretty odd with my fingernails, I like them very short.  But as a nervous habit, I start “cleaning” my nails, which makes them a tad longer (to me) and then serves as a distraction because I want to trim them.
• Writing utensils: I try to have two pens, two pencils – sharpened, because dull pencils suck, and mechanical pencils hate me – and an eraser; plus any other required tools.

And gentle pre-test banter doesn’t hurt: for my Academic Writing final, we talked about craft brews and good pub food until we were given our exam booklets.  But it’s not necessary, just really fun.

What are some of your pre-exam rituals?

–Kiyoshi “The Prototype”
Your #1 Canadian eh?
Triangle Army, Respect the Technique