Gordo's Academy

I've finally got around to taking a few pictures of Gordo's Academy.  It's just basically a house in a neighborhood right around the corner from where I am living.  It is a has two stories and they are in the process of expanding the ground floor to what looks to be more than double the mat size.  I am hoping that they will get this done before I leave.  Right now it can get pretty crowded during class, but that can work out to be advantegous because it allows for a break between rolls.  Usually there will be four groups rolling and anywhere from four to a whole bunch of people on the sideline waiting their turn.

This is the bottom floor.  It may be hard to tell the size but four groups rolling is just about maxing it out, especially the way they roll here.  They are all over the place, and barely reset if they roll into another pair training.  The addition will bring a good amount of needed space. 

The upstairs is a little smaller than the first floor, and is where the stand up and nogi classes are held.  There are a few bags and a quarter cage in the back right of the room.  I took this picture in an afternoon training session with the guys from the house led by Dennis. 

Speaking of the nogi classes, I have not done these yet, but from what I heard they are relatively small compared to the gi classes but full of blackbelts.  Jeremy said in his time here he would say that there are two levels of the nogi class...advanced and professional.  Although anyone is welcome to train nogi, and a few guys from the house go consistently, today must have been one of those pro days Jeremy was talking about.  Ze Mario Sperry and Vitor Belfort were both in training this morning.  I didn't stay for class, I'm having enough trouble with the gi so I'm not ready to feed myself to the lions yet, but a few of the guys from the house went and rolled with both Sperry and Belfort and were amazed.  It's awesome here because at any point you could be paired to roll with a world champion or legend.

On a side not I have my first of four private lessons with Gordo tomorrow and am very excited to get some one on one time with him.  I sat in and watched a private Jeremy had with Gordo today and he is an exceptional teacher.  Jeremy is a brownbelt and does a lot of nogi and has had some trouble crossing his game back over to gi.  Gordo watches and dissects moves like a scientist, and even some of the moves Jeremy showed Gordo, which he had not seen before, he thought about and pointed out good and bad things and ways to make them better.