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Chris Brennan >> Why C. Brennan left Gracie Torranc
| 4/24/04 2:47 AM | |
keseki
Edited: 26-Apr-04 03:40 AM Member Since: 05/27/2003 Posts: 14 |
If I'm not mistaken, Chris Brennan at one time trained at Gracie Torrance, and then left with a blue (or purple) belt. I want to know why. More generally, I'd like to know why people quit BJJ academies and go their own way--usually no gi, since with no-gi you can also be no-belt. To put it another way, is it possible to learn more outside of a BJJ academy, especially if you have a pretty solid foundation already, for example purple with a few years on it. In other words, is it possible that some people are actually being held back in their progress by the pace and style of teaching in most (or some) BJJ academies--those in the USA at least (the academies in Brazil seem to train differently after the student has gotten to a certain point where he can figure out what he need to do without a "sensei" spoonfedding everything, forcing pewople to do what they don't need or want, and not letting them work on what they do need and want. I would like to hear about this from people who have gone their own way in pursuit of better progress. And also from people who think staying with the same teacher, academy, or team, is the best way. |
| 4/24/04 10:19 AM | |
WestsideStrangler
44 
Edited: 24-Apr-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 4183 |
Well when I left the academy it was probably their worst day in the history of the academy. Not because I left but because Marc Laimon, Lowel Anderson, Ethan Milius, Richard Bressler, and a few others all left the same day. We were the best guys and only instructors they had. Here are a few reasone why I personaly left. #1 I wanted to fight MMA and they wanted no part of it. When I fought Pat Miletich for the first time my dad cornered me because I had NO TEAM. They only had room for one champion and no one else was going to get the attention they needed. Do you notice ANY Gracie Academy Champions besides their children? NOPE! The cameras in every room were a joke. Rorion would sit on his ass in the office and whyen he saw someone teach something in a amperfect way he would walk in the class rooom and call him on it in front of the teachers. This never happened to me thank god but he would actually walk in and say "NO, No, you are teaching that wrong" out loud in front of the class taking away credibility of the teacher and fropm Rorion himself because he is the one having him teach there. I was also paying $600!!!!! per month for a complete BULLSHIT instructor program that I am almost 100% positive no one ever got anything out of... Anyway I like Royce, Rorion is a prick and I am doing well and they have shrunk 100%. I am sure they are still doing ok but they have depletede 100X's from what they were. There was also one more comment that made me leave. When I told them I wanted to open a school one day the fuckin manager Sam Rand said and i quote "Who the fuck would go to Chris Brennan Jiu-Jitsu" "Who the fuck is that" "Good luck kid, you need these guys behind you" Well a few years later and NO I DON'T!!! Nanananana!!! :) CB |
| 4/24/04 11:20 AM | |
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Erica Montoya
Edited: 24-Apr-04 Member Since: 05/27/2002 Posts: 405 |
"Nananana" LOL...LOL...LOL!!!! |
| 4/24/04 4:26 PM | |
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howsyourhead
Edited: 24-Apr-04 Member Since: 02/14/2003 Posts: 628 |
lol |
| 4/24/04 9:34 PM | |
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keseki
Edited: 24-Apr-04 Member Since: 05/27/2003 Posts: 16 |
Thank you for answering my question. |
| 4/24/04 10:00 PM | |
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WestsideStrangler
44
Edited: 24-Apr-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 4190 |
No sweat bro |
| 4/26/04 12:59 AM | |
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JarvisKolen
Edited: 26-Apr-04 Member Since: 03/13/2002 Posts: 875 |
Chris: I'm glad somebody is willing to talk about those things out in the open. Jarvis |
| 4/26/04 9:48 AM | |
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wrestlingrick
Edited: 26-Apr-04 Member Since: 04/24/2004 Posts: 11 |
"I was also paying $600!!!!! per month " Holy Crap!!! |
| 4/26/04 12:43 PM | |
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jack2oc
Edited: 26-Apr-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 128 |
$600 a month. That was like rent money back then. |
| 4/26/04 2:19 PM | |
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bdussy5
Edited: 26-Apr-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 385 |
Chris, I hear ya on the Rorion comment, but how were Rener and Ryron? I admire their old school jiujitsu and their games. I also met them a couple of times and they seem real down to earth. Did you roll with them a lot? Thanks. |
| 4/26/04 7:33 PM | |
FiteSeeker
Edited: 26-Apr-04 Member Since: 01/07/2003 Posts: 702 |
TTT for Chris |
| 4/26/04 11:42 PM | |
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WestsideStrangler
44
Edited: 26-Apr-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 4192 |
Rener and Ryron were just starting to bloom at that time. They were always cool and they still are everytime I see them... |
| 5/3/04 9:57 AM | |
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Hunter V
16
Edited: 03-May-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 1433 |
Chris, do you know the reason why Laimon left? What were his feelings on why he left? Strange that SO MUCH talent was in that one school and they ALL have left for one reason or another. |
| 5/3/04 10:15 AM | |
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WestsideStrangler
44
Edited: 03-May-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 4247 |
I can't answer from Marc but we were room mates and we had some of the same reasons for leaving. |
| 5/5/04 3:28 AM | |
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Tommie Franchise
22
Edited: 05-May-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 2244 |
chris your the motherfucking man |
| 5/5/04 9:58 AM | |
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WestsideStrangler
44
Edited: 05-May-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 4259 |
NO! You da man... |
| 5/18/04 10:09 PM | |
|
omaplata
Edited: 18-May-04 Member Since: 12/16/2002 Posts: 705 |
Chris, whatever happened to Ethan Milius? Not many people know about him. But I took a few classes from him, and he was sooo knowledgable. Very talented guy. I know he lost bad to Serra at the Mundials back in 99 in the brown belt division. But that can happen to anyone (especially considering he went in one weight division higher so BJ could fight Terere). Back to the original question, whatever happened to Ethan? |
| 5/18/04 11:32 PM | |
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WestsideStrangler
44
Edited: 18-May-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 4321 |
Ethan was a freak and I have no idea where he is now. |
| 5/19/04 12:18 AM | |
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omaplata
Edited: 19-May-04 Member Since: 12/16/2002 Posts: 718 |
Last I had heard, he left beveryly hills bjj, and was teaching guys on his own. That was back in 1999. I hope he did not quite. It looks like he may have. |
| 5/23/04 1:27 PM | |
|
bush hog
Edited: 23-May-04 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 130 |
Ethan is a great guy. He has been focusing on his studies recently (law school) |
| 8/17/05 5:15 PM | |
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Adam LaClair
Edited: 17-Aug-05 Member Since: 03/23/2002 Posts: 2560 ImposeYourWill.com |
Yes, there are a LOT of old threads that shouldn't be allowed to drop off the radar. |
| 9/11/05 1:06 AM | |
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WestsideStrangler
44
Edited: 11-Sep-05 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 6159 |
Laimon and I wwre roommates so we knew we were leaving together but Richard Bressler, Lowell Anderson, and Ethan Millius left a couple days before and that pretty much made up Marc and my minds for us. |
| 9/25/05 11:46 PM | |
|
Iron Man
2
Edited: 25-Sep-05 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 944 |
if i am not mistaken, but richard and lowell left to start up beverly hill jjc. marc and chris were not happy at the gracie academy and they came to train at bhjjc. ethan was asked by lowell to come help teach at beverly hills. after a while chris left and i am not sure where he went to train at. richard was a very good teacher and i wished i had a chance to train more with him. he had an excellent grasp of the gracie basics. ethan was also amazing. he had such an analytical mind for bjj and grappling. marc credits ethan for helping him to learn on his own. both marc and ethan reaching a high level basically training on their own. ethan should be just finishing up law school and he doesn't train anymore. richard is still teach a grappling class in the westside. of course everyone knows what marc and chris are doing. but have very successful school and competition careers. i don't think lowell is teaching right now and i think he is living somewhere in the mid west. |
| 9/26/05 5:28 PM | |
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WestsideStrangler
44
Edited: 26-Sep-05 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 6199 |
I learned on my own as well |
| 10/25/05 10:50 AM | |
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WestsideStrangler
44
Edited: 25-Oct-05 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 6274 |
Well I rolled different eeryday. Some days I let my guys get all over me to work on my defense and others I just smashed them and rolled them up to work on all my offense. |
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