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Spring 2007
AIKIDO BRIDGE
SEMIN A R:
Tissie r
Do ran
Ikeda
Mu rashige
Spring
2007
GROWING UP IN JUDO 13
Dan Camarillo
Many people discover this in their first days on the mat of
a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school. The first 6 months to 1 year are
spent learning to defend and survive in the fully resistant,
fully alive randori environment. This phase diminishes
the ego and greatly reduces a student’s expectations.
It squares you with your actual physical and technical
capacity, in that specific realm, for all to see. The truth is
revealed on a nightly basis, leaving very little room left
for beliefs.
DIRECT EXPERIENCE VS. Belief their art against resistant opponents puts their students
at an immediate disadvantage. They may know their
In an interview years ago, Bill Moyers asked the particular art well, but it’s always necessary to go one
sagely Joseph Campbell if he were a man of faith. step beyond, to feel out the adaptations necessary for
His cordial reply was: “I don’t have to have faith. their age, and modify the arts to suit the current culture.
I have experience.”
flow and experiencing the euphoria of sparring. Others becomes “familiar” with it
will focus their attention on tapping out their fellow 4. A technique is practiced even more and the
students, as well as not getting tapped! So from my student becomes “comfortable” with it
perspective, this is not training—it’s competition.
5. A technique is practiced and drilled and the
student becomes “confident” with it
Now, with all of that said, here are the areas I believe
are important to those beginning their journey in
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:
• Guard control
• Guard passing
www.harris-international.com
www.royharris.com
phenomenal. I’ve been in Chico for the past 4 years Hunter-Gatherers to derive larger and larger proportions
building our practice while John ended up being too of their foods from animal sources as one nears the
talented for his (or our) own good and he was offered, higher latitudes. The Inuit for example derived nearly
I believe, an associate professorship at Seoul University 90% of their calories from hunted and fished animal
in South Korea. foods. In contrast, the !Kung San of the Kalahari have
an enormous seasonal variation that ranges from a high
of ~90% of calories derived from animal sources during
EJJ: What problems can you identify with modern
the winter to as little as 10% in the summer and fall.
diets. What do they lack and where are they in excess?
My main point is that amounts of protein, carbohydrate,
and fat might have been different for various locations
RW: Well…from my perspective modern diets,
and seasons. However, one commonality remained: our
particularly western diets are far too processed, contain
ancestral diet was devoid of grains, legumes, and dairy
far too many carbohydrates from grains in general but
until very recently in our evolutionary past.
refined grains in particular. This may sound nuts but if
one buys into evolutionary biology there was a clear
The implication of the Paleolithic diet is that it represents
demarcation for our species when we passed from the
the nutritional approach best suited to our genetics
Hunter-Gatherer lifeway (Paleolithic) to the Agriculturalist
as Hunter-Gatherers. An ever growing list of ailments is
lifeway (Neolithic). In simple terms, the protein content
being ascribed to an approach to nutrition and lifestyle
of our diet decreased, the carbohydrate content
that are at odds with our genetic heritage. It is interesting
increased and the amazing variety and bounty of our
to me that the study of any organism fundamentally
foraging ancestors was lost. Professor Loren Cordain is
involves how it acquires energy for growth and survival.
an amazing pioneer in this area of research. You can
There is little controversy that a koala bear for example
find loads of information at www.thepaleodiet.com.
is adapted to eat eucalyptus and removing it from a
specific ecology will likely negatively impact its health.
EJJ: Please give us the scientific lowdown on
Most of medicine ignores this fact with regards to humans,
Paleolithic diets.
possibly because we are opportunistic omnivores
who can survive on almost anything, at least for a time.
RW: I think it’s important to point out that there is no
Survival, however, is quite different than optimal living
one representative “paleo” diet. In reality the amounts
and that is what emulating a Paleolithic diet can provide
and types of macronutrients varied from location to
with regards to performance, health and longevity.
location and also on a seasonal basis. Information
www.performancemenu.com
www.thepaleodiet.com
Dan Camarillo a year just to compete? Not only did my brother and
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt I compete everywhere, we had to compete in our
Judo Third Degree Black Belt weight class and the weight class above. This was how
serious my father was, and it didn’t stop there.
GROWING UP IN JUDO
“I pictured it was going to
Starting a sport at a young age is not an easy thing to
do. I remember when I was almost 5 years old, and I used
be just like all the Bruce Lee
to watch my father leave at nights, never knowing where movies I watched on TV.
he was going. One of those nights I decided to ask him I found out it wasn’t; I found
where he was going and what he was doing. His reply out it was far better, but it
was, “Judo, do you want to go?” This was the beginning took me a long time to realize
for me. I didn’t know what to expect, but for some reason just how much better it was.”
I was excited. I pictured it was going to be like all the
Bruce Lee movies I watched on TV I found out it wasn’t;
My father sent us to Japan for training camps and
I found out it was far better, but it took me a long time to
competitions. My summers were nothing more than a
realize just how much better it was.
training school. It seemed like I was never going to get
the time to do anything else. I was getting older and
There was a problem about being young and being started to compete in the Junior High School Nationals.
serious in a sport. How serious can you be when you are This was when we would train every single day. Sundays
5 years old right? To my father, he was as serious then were the best: what could be more fun than to wake up
as he is now. How serious? No matter what I was doing, at 6 am on a Sunday, to train on our back porch while
or what I wanted to do, I always had practice to go to it’s freezing outside? I wore socks and my toes would still
at the end of the day. I was training 5 days a week and freeze up. The wrestling mat that we trained on was so
sometimes on Saturdays. When I got a little older, he hard that I couldn’t tell which was harder, the mat or
added Sundays… the concrete.
I got into big arguments with my father about Judo. to eat and rest. Judo practice would start around 9 am,
I always wanted to take time off and go with my friends to and it would last three hours. This was not all we did, we
the beach. It would have been nice not to have to leave had another practice that started around 5 pm and was
home to compete. My father and I argued so badly that another three hours. I remember this very well, because
I decided to quit Judo. All I did was hang out with friends this was where I spent my birthday. This was the hardest
and do those things that Judo kept me from. I thought I have ever trained in my life. I wanted to go home.
I was having fun, but deep down inside I realized I was Not because I couldn’t do it, but because I felt so out
missing something. There was a competitive side of me of place, and wanted to spend my summers differently.
that always drove me back to Judo. After about six I also felt like I was not doing it for me, but was doing it
A simple night of training with the Ralph Gracie Crew: As an adult, I now understand why I did not want to train
Cameron Earle (far left), David Camarillo (center left),
and wanted to goof off. I was very immature and thinking
BJ Penn (second right), Dan Camarillo (far right)
I knew what was best for me. Wishing I would not miss out
Bakersfield is very close to Fresno, and Fresno State on fun was a mistake I will have to live with. I found out
University at that time was in the top 3 places in the US my father was just trying to do what was best for me. He
to train for Judo. The closer the National competitions was trying to make me the best I could before it was too
came the harder we would train. Which meant, we late. Now I am older and can not go back in time. I wish
would drive to Fresno every Friday night to train. So now I would have listened to my father and trained correctly.
our Friday nights are taken up by traveling to Fresno for Everyone thinks they have all the time in the world to
a hard practice. This was getting old very fast, but we accomplish their goals. I now know that time is not
did this for years. The training we really needed was right what we have, and we need to do what we can to be
there in Fresno. So once both my brother and I got old the best.
enough, we moved. We became a part of the Fresno
State Judo Team. Some how, my father still had a hold of All those times I complained and quit I regret. I owe my
everything we did. He still made sure we always trained father a lot. I love Judo and Jiujitsu and what they have
no matter what. I felt there was no escape. No matter given back to me. If it was not for my father I would never
what I did or where I went, my father was going to be have been who I am today. If I would have listened to my
right there making sure I was training. father, who knows what I would have accomplished.
On an afternoon stroll through a museum of fine art The first annual week-long Aikido Bridge Friendship
you will most likely come across some of the works of Seminar brought together master instructors (shihan)
Pablo Picasso. As with many of the great lifelong artists, and a full range of students from a variety of different
Picasso’s exploration of painting took him through several “styles” and organizations from across the globe to
distinct phases of his career. Viewing pieces from his share, exchange, and grow their Aikido practice.
Blue period, Cubism, or Surrealist phases you can watch
Picasso’s evolution and exploration of art; distinctly
The seminar took place in mid-January at Jiai Aikido in
different looks but still with an underlying quality that
San Diego, California. The 30+ hours of training featured
says “this is Picasso.”
daily classes by: Hiroshi Ikeda shihan from the Aikido
Schools of Ueshiba (Boulder, CO), Frank Doran shihan
Imagine Picasso taking on different students for a few from the California Aikido Association (Redwood City,
years here and there over his storied career. Depending CA), Christian Tissier shihan of Circle Tissier (Paris, France),
on when they studied, they would come away with and special guest Morihiko Murashige of Birankai
different ideas and opinions of the art of painting. As (San Diego, CA). Every night also included a different
those students pass along their knowledge to another regional guest instructor including: Haruo Matsuoka
generation, the opinions and styles slowly diverge. sensei, Frank McGouirk sensei, Francis Takahashi shihan,
Dang Thong Phong sensei, and Lia Suzuki sensei.
The 4 main instructors each brought a distinct flavor of the guest instructors was a great example of how well
to classes, but common themes carried throughout Aikido works for all types of people. Every morning also
the entire seminar. Often, the same principles and featured a class by some of the highly ranked instructors
problems were addressed in multiple ways, with different, in attendance.
yet equally, effective solutions. One important
commonality was how to perform Aikido in a martially Despite record cold temperatures, the Bridge Seminar
effective manner. was a fantastic success, with many people commenting
that it was the best seminar they had ever attended.
Ikeda shihan’s classes focused on controlling the A notable part of the success were the open attitudes,
attacker’s power from the first moment of contact, and the desire to learn and try new things, and the friendly
how to control the attacker’s body through barely visible faces that came together in training.
spiral movements.
Dates and details for next January’s 2008 Bridge Seminar
Doran shihan mixed humor with his clear teaching style will be announced soon on the Aikido Bridge website
to demonstrate the need for closing off the attacker’s along with reviews, articles, and pictures from the
options, while creating openings that will be used 2007 event. DVDs of the 2007 seminar are currently in
against them. production and will be available through Bujin Design.
© aliciaphotos.com
© aliciaphotos.com
Don’t miss out on the EJJ summer issue, featuring an in-depth interview with Sheila Haddad, 15th dan Bujinkan Budo
Taijutsu, and founder of Seido Jujutsu; Robb Wolf prescribes a proven conditioning routine for competitive fighters;
Systema seminar review; black belt tips for finishing the triangle choke, and much more!