Back to the gym

Bob Mercuri walks in a circle shaking hands, asking everyone questions tailored to their lives, interests, and level of experienc on the mat. The police officer and jiu jitsu purple belt under Pedro Sauer has a smile and a story for everyone. He has seen the popularity of Mixed Martial Arts ebb and flow; he was Chris Lytle's first jiu jitsu instructor and helped him get connected to Jason Godsey's Integrated Fighting camp.

"Look at all of you in gi's, you look like a real jiu jitsu team...well, except for Neal," Mercuri says. We laugh, but all my disposable income has gone to working on the house this summer. Soon, Bob, soon.

Mercuri talks a lot during his class, explaining three or four basic jiu jitsu techniques and breaking down the application of each for street defense, competition grappling, and MMA. Jiu jitsu used to be a secret weapon, but now street hoods and sports bar jocks often have a working knowlege of BJJ. "I used to teach people how to defend themselves against people who didn't know jiu jitsu. Now I teach people how to defend themselves against cage fighters!," Mercuri says.

I really like his class but I need more drilling. Street defense and competitive fighting both require what Musashi called "no-thought." You perceive and react forcefully without making conscious decisions. This is achieved through endless drilling which creates new neural pathways which control instinctive reactions.

Amanda and I are scheduled to talk with the owner of and train at Dragonfly Muay Thai in Avon, Indiana. The instructors there were certified by Sakasem Kanthawong, former Thai champ and longtime Fairtex instructor in Bangkok and the US. Amanda got shorts from Sakasem during the years he spent in Indianapolis, so we are both stoked.