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My name is Romeo Barnes. I'm an author and a BJJ black belt with cerebral palsy. This blog is about my life balancing existence in two worlds. My latest book, My World is now available Amazon.com. Glad you're here, enjoy the journey.

Aggression

One thing I've always been is a coach's athlete. Even back in my track and field days, whatever my coach said I did. When I first came to Maguilla's back in November 2008 as a white belt I rolled super aggressively. This is the way I was trained by my first coach Lloyd Irvin who I was with from August 2005 until February 2006. Who always teaches get off first or you will lose because speed kills. So after my year and 8 month long hiatus I immediately fell back into the speed kills mindset. In April 2009, Maguilla and I had a conversation he said to me something I'll never forget. He said "Every round with you is like the 1st round of ADCC, slow down it's a journey not a sprint." This was way of making sure I didn't hurt myself or someone else. A month after this I got my blue belt. During this time, I would give taps to anyone who obtained and held a dominate position. A year after I got my blue belt I received my purple belt(May 2010) I was ready to turn my training up again when it was announced that I would surgery later in the year that's why I decided compete in the GrapplersQuest US Nationals in 2010 which I lost by triangle choke. After that I toned down my training so I could prepare to leave the mat in September. I didn't start training again until February 2011 due to complications from the surgery. Now fast forward to February 2012 and even though I'm a black belt, I feel like a white belt all over again trying to find that balance between aggression and the technicality of timing. It's just proof that BJJ is a never-ending journey and there's always something learn.
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