The eyepoke problem in MMA...

Check Keebler's thoughts (from Gracie Humaita Cleveland) on the right way to solve the eyepoke problem:

Watch this Wednesday-- from the Dallas Open last weekend

Mitch and I worked the IBJJF Dallas Open last weekend and as usual enjoyed it very much.

Check out this match between Fabiana Borges (GB) and Mackenzie Dern (GH).

What's new in the Lloyd Irvin rape prevention SEO games?

Sorry I've been out of pocket a while... have a major work project that culminates next Wednesday at 6pm (we hope) and after that I'll be able to breathe a little more easily.

As far as I can tell you, here's what's new:  Lloyd continues his attempts to game the SEO (search engine optimization) system by writing lots of useless press releases containing SEO terminology like rape prevention, rape self defense, Camp Springs Maryland and so on-- and he's writing a lot of garbage on two sites in particular, www.lloydirvin.n*t and www.lloydirvinrapeexposed.c*m.

Yes, that's right, he took over LloydIrvinRapeExposed and is using it to spew his "I'm the real victim" bullshit.  Please don't go there and add to his Google juice.  Instead, please, repost www.LloydIrvinRapeTruth.com everywhere you can, and give it lots of hits, please.

And there's a new entry in the "keeping it real" field-- http://lloydirvinexposed.blogspot.ca/2013/04/what-public-should-know-about-lloyd.html?m=1

That's worth some reposts and hits, too.

Hope you're well.  I'll burrow out of this avalanche of work sometime around the 21st.  Thanks.

Super easy start to a cocktail party or dinner..

Hope you have a great weekend planned!!! I'll be in Dallas visiting family and working the IBJJF Dallas Open and then enjoying Cinco de Mayo dinner out with friends...

Try this super easy little appetizer.  From Faith Durand at the Kitchn.




Baked Ricotta with Lemon, Garlic, & Chives
Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer

15 ounces (about 2 cups) whole milk ricotta
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 ounce fresh chives, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Small crackers or slices of baguette, to serve

Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 1/2- to 1-quart gratin dish or baking pan.

Mix the ricotta, lemon juice and zest, garlic, chives, and salt, and a generous quantity of fresh black pepper. Spread in the baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. (At this point you can cover and refrigerate the ricotta overnight, if desired.)

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until hot. Drizzle again with olive oil. Serve immediately with crackers for dipping.

Joe Rogan puts Lloyd Irvin on blast on his podcast

Watch around 1:18 or so:



Of course he won't even say Lloyd Irvin's name... giant pussy Joe Rogan!  As always I'm not your biggest fan.  "I don't know what he's guilty of" and whatever-- except you don't even have to know whether he gang raped that 17 year old girl... you can just say he bought the domain name LloydIrvinRape.com and used it to market his own rape prevention seminars! 

Gladiator Games, May 4th, Louisiana!

The May 4th Gladiators Games will be held at the Comeaux Recreation Center in Lafayette, Louisiana!  This will be a great tournament, a very close friend of mine (Josh Artigue) and Tim Credeur and their school, Gladiators Academy, will be running the deal.  Should be a really good opportunity especially because it is not single-elimination, AND it's a classy, safe rule-set unlike lots of local tournaments where it seems any ol' heelhook, neck-crank or spinal lock is okay!



This is located at 411 West Bluebird Drive, Lafayette, LA 70508.

Weigh-ins will be held prior to competition of your individual division. The venue will open at 8:00AM and walk-up registration will be allowed until 9:00AM. Failure to make weight will result in disqualification.

Children's and Masters Divisions will begin at 10:00 AM and adults will begin at noon.

The competition will hold both gi and no-gi divisions following the IBJJF rules. Visit http://www.ibjjf.org/docs/rulesibjjf1stedition.pdf for all the information on rules.

The competition format will use modified double elimination rules for division with 5 or more competitors. Divisions with 1-4 competitors will use a round robin format.

Absolute divisions will be offered but only competitors who have placed in their individual weight divisions will be allowed to enter.

http://www.gladiatorgamestournaments.com

Where have I been?

Sorry for the silence... I was working from home and being occupied with various projects, etc.  But I'm back now :)

Big shout-out to all the great people at the NY Open, especially Mike D, Charlie Liu and the guys at Matt Serra's, Ryan and Jen, Paul, Marcelo and Tati, Emily, Andrew, Shakia, Annie, Danielle, the Rock, the Crusher, Addy of the Green Gi, Chica at Killer Bees in Queens...

Here's a pic sent to me by Danielle, repping the "Female of the Species"--



Not a big shout-out to the people competing under the Team Lloyd Irvin affiliation (not the main academy which was totally absent-- but from some Virginia Beach academy called "Outfox MMA.")

Anyway, had the embryo transfer and now just waiting for to find out if it/they "took" or not.  Fortunately I was permitted to work from home, and now I am cleared by the doctor to resume my usual workouts and physical activity, even including training without knee on belly, no high impact activities, and no working out so hard that I can't speak.  And anyone who knows me knows I am pretty much always talking, so that's not going to happen.

Mitch and I celebrated our fifth anniversary-- we went out to dinner with our favorite cousins ever, Kathy and Joey.

I'm feeling great physically (though I gained 5 lbs from eating lots of fabulous food and not training for a few days, but it's going away quick!) and very excited by the opportunities-- not just for motherhood, which is duh of course, but also the restrictions to rolling "light" which my training partners are being super cool about, and which have made me more open-minded to trying different approaches.  I'm really playing a lot more open guard and trying to sort through the physics of base and connection, while applying some of the big picture lessons from Ryan Hall (muchas gracias) and Andris Brunovskis (formerly of TLI, visiting instructor with us for another couple days..)

Here's a match between Gianni Grippo, before he switched from Renzo's to Marcelo's, and Andris while he was still TLI, last year at the Houston Open.



And here's Andris v. Christopher Broadnax, in 2011.  Ironically Hillary reffed both matches.



Enjoy!

Watch this Wednesday-- Defeating the Sprawl

More goodness from 2013 Pan Champion Darren aka Keebler of Gracie Humaita Cleveland:

Bizarre, gluten-free pizza really is good...

Don't laugh, it's a cauliflower crust.  (Uses cauli instead of flour.  Cray.)

From http://www.mimosasnthemorning.com/2012/07/cauliflower-pizza.html

Recipe:

Cauliflower Pizza Crust-- adapted from http://www.eat-drink-smile.com/2011/04/cauliflower-crust-pizza.html

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower

1 cup shredded cheese (I used half mozarella and half parmesean)

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 tsp garlic salt

olive oil (optional)

pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*

Directions:

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:

Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater - this is what I did). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes (some microwaves are more powerful than others, so you may need to reduce this cooking time). There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.

One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Enjoy!

Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.

*And because I'm incapable of following a recipe true to form, here are my changes. First, mini pizzas are a much better option than one large pizza. Not only are they cute, but if you are two people trying to consume an entire pizza, it can get overwhelming. The next biggest being that I used a half&half mixture of fat free mozzarella and fat free shredded parmesan for the required cheese. I find that too much mozzarella can make homemade pizza bland and using this mixture alleviated that problem. The recipe also says you can use your own discretion for the toppings, so I decided to go with fresh basil, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

Lloyd Irvin Exposed joins the ranks..

http://lloydirvinexposed.blogspot.com/ has joined the forces seeking to expose Lloyd Irvin's past to anyone who cares to do the research, mainly looking to keep the information afloat in the top of the SEO game for the long run.  I encourage you to share this link.

Had a great weekend.  Trained a bunch, sucked a bunch, but had tiny glimmers of success here and there.  What more can I ask for?