Jason Cosentino has been training at ATT Orlando for a little over a year. In that year, he's made a big impression. He dropped over 40lbs and improved his strength, mobility, and endurance. Despite suffering an injury right before promotions, he continued to support his fellow white belts by attending their respective blue belt tests. He attended promotions, still injured and not expecting a promotion. However he was surprised with an emotional promotion to blue belt. Jason's conversation with Chris and Noah is raw and enlightening. Jason is the ultimate team player and tribe member. His story is fascinating. 

It's March 19th, 2020 and the world is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our gym, ATT Orlando, is closed -- as are many institutions. Since many of us (at this time) are working from home and/or limiting our contact with others, we decided to record a bonus episode to discuss the current climate. The conversation is both serious and humorous. We hope it helps you pass the time and entertains you. 

Chris and Noah catch up on recent happenings and discuss a number of topics. Some highlights are: Keenan Cornelius marketing with a jiu-jitsu eBook, the goal of a good coach, developing a jiu-jitsu game, funneling while rolling, what it means to go 100%, and the best moment in the Matrix. Noah shares a recent story of a white belt snarling to finish a lapel choke that was across Noah's mouth, which leads Chris to make some interesting, and rather obvious and hilarious, observations about snarling and its place on the mats.

Collie was recently promoted to black belt at ATT Orlando (same promotion ceremony as Chris). Collie covers his martial arts and jiu-jitsu development over the years and the importance of constant growth. Collie discusses some of his competition experiences and his goal to compete next year at a major IBJJF tournament. In addition, Collie touches on his protocol for dropping into other gyms and how he approaches the rolls. Collie is an incredibly gracious and quick to complement others. Thanks for the great conversation, Collie!

Denis "D-Money" Gonzalez returns to the podcast before a Saturday gi class for an entire conversation. Denis is a blue belt that has trained jiu-jitsu and muay thai under Paul Rodriguez for over 4 years. Denis covers his first muay thai fight and the anxiety and nerves leading up to the fight. Denis discusses his training goals and how he stays motivated to train both grappling and stand-up disciples on a weekly basis. Denis also explains how he met his friend, Zack (now a black belt), and how he was introduced to jiu-jitsu.

Chris and Noah sit down and chat before an evening gi class. As a result of probing questions from Chris, Noah not only discusses his history of lifting weights but also his childhood home in rural Maine. Chris talks about watching his son select ice cream and the riveting choice between "Brownie Bits" and "Pink Unicorns and Glitter." They finally turn to jiu-jitsu topics and cover, among other things, Craig Jones's recent drop-ins to Fusion X-cel in Orlando, Noah seeing how Brazilians love "THE LAAAPEL", a rundown of Noah's first leglocks drilling class, and Chris pausing mid-sweep to make sure his opponent is okay. 

It seems we have a lot of doctors at our gym training. Minutes after receiving his purple belt during a surprise ceremony after class, Jovan joins the podcast. Chris, Noah, and Jovan cover a myriad of topics: training motivation, goals, finding time to train as a resident in a hospital, watching martial movies as kids, the mental and physical benefits to jiu jitsu, and getting armbared by Kenny Florian in Boston. Later, Chris and Jovan take the conversation on a lengthy anime tangent. Towards the end of the podcast, Noah gives an update on Roman's status in NYC and reveals how expensive it is to train at Marcelo's and Renzo's gyms. Congrats on the well-deserved purple belt, Jovan!

In today's episode, we are joined by Julius Mobley, owner of Championship Martial Arts Conway and Spartan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is the second person to receive a black belt under ATT Orlando head coach, Paul Rodriguez. Julius talks at length about his lifetime in the martial arts, which started at the age of 3. Julius recounts his introduction to jiu-jitsu and meeting Paul for the first time. Chris and Julius compare and contrast their traditional martial arts backgrounds with jiu-jitsu and how the disciplines have influenced their views on training and development. Julius covers the ins and outs of running a gym that offers both karate and jiu-jitsu. Noah and Chris find out that Julius, at 6' 4" and 265lbs, is the smallest sibling in his family.

Thanks again to Julius for making the time to join us! You can check out his school at: https://cmaconway.com. Julius is a humble and immensely positive dude that always shows respect on the mats, even as black belt in two martial arts. He also gives the biggest bear hugs ever. Oss!