Epi 87 Brian Freeman, He is No Ordinary Blue Belt - a podcast by Byron Jabara

from 2015-06-15T16:00

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The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod


Brian Freeman is back on the BjjBrick Podcast! His last appearance was episode 16. Brian is a disabled vet with a T4 spinal cord injury with Brown-Sequard syndrome. He is from Rockingham, North Carolina. Brian is now a blue belt under Renzo Gracie.


Brian Freeman and Xande Ribeiro at IBJJF PAN 2015
Brian Freeman and Xande Ribeiro at IBJJF PAN 2015

We talk about:



  • What caused his injury

  • Getting started in BJJ

  • Doing some techniques in his chair, and training to not get separated from his chair in a self defense situation

  • What it is like to be part of a BJJ team

  • Competing with able bodied competition

  • His game and strategies that he uses

  • Why some techniques are difficult for him to defend, and how he deals with them

  • His experience at IBJJF Pan 2015

  • How everyone adapts Jiu-Jitsu to their bodies

  • How he moves around differently off the mat because of Jiu-Jitsu

  • His story of getting his blue belt

  • Competing two weeks after getting his blue belt

  • His goals when he competes

  • Competing in the expert division

  • His plans of teaching motivational and educational seminars


Brian Freeman getting his blue belt from Renzo Gracie
Brian Freeman getting his blue belt from Renzo Gracie

Links:



Quote of the week: "You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room" Dr. Seuss


Article of the week: "Injury Prevention in BJJ: Put the Odds in Your Favor"


First year of BJJ


Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

Further episodes of BjjBrick Podcast- BJJ, no-gi and good times!

Further podcasts by Byron Jabara

Website of Byron Jabara