My many faces

First off, I have no idea why I haven't been writing and I know I do a horrible job of keeping this blog up to date. Please forgive me. As you may know the Mid-Atlantic was hit with a blizzard about 3 weeks ago followed by a smaller snow storm the day after and being in Maryland I was caught right in the middle of it. Well, I'll let this be known now snow and wheelchairs aren't the best of friends. Needless to say, I've come to loathe snow with an intense passion. Due to the snow I was stuck in the house until yesterday. Where'd I go? Take a guess... You got it I went to BJJ practice. There's something majestic about rolling around on those ugly blue mats. You wouldn't think preventing your limbs from being broken when someone is trying to hyperextend or twist them to cause breaks would be something anyone would look forward to but as I said there's a majestic quality about it; it's really therapuetic. You really need to exprience it to understand wh...

With 2010 just days away. Everyone's setting a resolution to keep themselves on track at least for the early months of 2010. The problem with resolutions is they are given in a manner leaving too much room for interpation and therefore laziness due to over-modification. What is a resolution? In terms of the new year's a resolution is a goal for the year. However, webster defines a resolution as a finish or the end of plot/story. Resolutions are often changed because they are too hard and couldn't be completed the previous year. This is due again to over-modification and a vague picture. My goals for 2010: 1) Publish Emotions Volume 2: Better Days 2) Win Mundials 3) Make Purple Belt I list them in order of importance NOT the order of completion desired. This allows goals to carry over into 2011 if for some reason, they aren't completed in 2010. The truth is there is really no END, which is what a resolution is by definition. There are two schools of thought. Some say you...

I've been away for a while. Everything is cool I've just been getting things together for 2010. With Emotions Volume 2 now subtitled Better Days(yes, thats the official name) scheduled for a spring release and the fact that I'm still working on Secret Paradise which will be my first novel things have been busy. In BJJ News I just competed at NAGA DC on October 10 th , I've been playing my matches over and over in my head since I left the venue I'm still waiting on the videos from the teammate who recorded them. In 2010, I'll attend Mundials (The World Championships) and I'll be damned if I dont come back with a medal or two around my neck. Now the belt level of the aformentioned medal(blue or purple belt) is up to Maguilla and how he plans to handle promotions in 2010. Speaking of Maguilla he was away the entire month of October he went home to brazil on "vacation". I firmly believe he went to go take the test to get his 5 th degree stripe...

ok i've been away for a while I know. I've been working on my novel I should be able to release it within the next two to three years after the Emotions series is complete if all goes as planned. A lot has happened in the past two months the book sales are finally picking up and I'm working on a deal with a local store. I will let you all know when a deal is finalized please know the book will always be available on http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.booksurge.com/ . There is no exact date for the release of Emotions Vol. 2, I'm shooting for Spring 2010. I'm also saving up to start my own publishing company I'm aiming for my novel to be the company's first release we will also re-release the Emotions series. In BJJ news as advertised I went to New Jersey June 27-28. I got there Saturday morning at around 8am we drove all night. Saturday I was not scheduled to compete so I stayed and watched the Pro submission fights even though I was going on literally n...

Collection of poetry reveals how emotions can heal pain Emotions: The Beginning of Turmoil by Romeo Barnes is the first in a poetry series that explores how creative expression can mend lives SUITLAND, Md.–Emotions: The Beginning of Turmoil by Romeo Barnes is a poetry collection that celebrates the healing power writing can have when dealing with the difficulties in life. Romeo Barnes was born with cerebral palsy. One dark night, when he was contemplating suicide, he began to write poems about his pain, and it was then he realized he has a creative voice and something to offer the world. This collection, Emotions: The Beginning of Turmoil, is what Barnes calls “the deepest release of his thoughts and feelings.” In poem after poem, Barnes explores how people can only be who and what they are, and to deny it is to face more difficulties in life. Using his life experiences as fodder for the poems, Barnes’ writing offers sage advice. Acting happy when you are sad can affect your well- be...

Muscle Memory... its a term every athlete knows and has a love-hate relationship with. Muscle memory simply means your body can perform the said action with you having to think about it. Its like tieing your shoe you just do it. Drilling allows techniques to become automatic and require next to no effort, that's why we love it. But it requires drilling that's why we hate. Let's face it, no basketball player wants to do 500 suicides in defensive posture. However, if you do it it'll make sure your back pedal and side step are on point. The same applies to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sparring is the fun part so we all want to do it. However, only sparring=bad technique i know my technique was off the first three months I was training with Maguilla; I knew it was because of my two years and eight months not training. But not drilling didnt help. I must say I'm learning to love it. In my opinion its the best way to warm up because you break a sweat and refine technique at the sa...

Earlier this week it was announced that I will be promoted to Blue Belt as of Saturday.The announcement made me reflect upon the realization of my current stage in life. When I first went to Maguilla BJJ my previous training had my head big I went from training with one of the top teams in the Mid-Alantic region to a much lesser-known team as far as names and publicity go. So didn't attempt to submit other white belts in sparring the way I should have. Instead, I chose to teach them what I know. This led to really bad sparring session in which I learned nothing. I have only had 1 full year of mat time. Due to having to find a new school I took two years and eight months off and pretty much lived on Youtube watching big tournaments and scences from instructionals to decide which ones I actually wanted to purchase. The point is you can prepare mentally as much as you want but nothing beats doing it, and more importantly, doing it whole-heartedly. That said, I have a new mindset that ...