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NYC Gym Series 03: Unity Jiu Jitsu

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Facility / Location: On a bone-chilling December night, circa 2017, I decided to check out Unity Jiu Jitsu (formerly on 37th and Madison). Having arrived early, the door was firmly shut. I'm told they were just finishing up an impromptu pro-training.  As I waited in my parka and jeans on the staircase of some questionable midtown structure, I could feel the steam seeping through the cracks of the door. Ten or so minutes go by and I'm now half-sweating.  Finally, the door swings open ... it's time.    Like a true Manhattan studio, it's  incredulously tiny .   The white mats take up 95% of the space, with the remaining being a small reception-desk and a closet equipped with a shower. That's it.  Nearly twenty or so people showed up on a Christmas holiday ready to take a two hour class. We start with guard-retention drills and move on to some spider-attacks. After we finish the drilling portion, having already felt like someone's soggy diner napkin,  I beco
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NYC Gym Series 01: Marcelo Garcia Academy

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Facility / Location : I arrived early by an hour. Patiently waiting, I see Marcus Tinoco showing some of his patented lasso guard during the drilling class on one end of the mat, and on the other end, another black belt instructing a closed guard break for the foundation program. Marcelo's academy feels pure in every sense of the word. The bright white lights shining down provides your retina perfect resolution; the cursive yellow MG sign plastered against the wall-mat is beautifully contrasted; and everyone's energy in the academy is alike as Marcelo's. The academy gi's (not mandatory) are crisp, and the rash-guards are sleek. But of course, with such a reputation, 50-60 people have now shown up for the gi class. The mats are beginning to feel crunched. This is New York City I remind myself, and if you are not comfortable rubbing shoulders with someone, then it's the wrong to place to live, yet alone train. And somehow, someway, I couldn't get over the a
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NYC Gyms Series 04: Babs BJJ

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Facility / Location:   Today, I am scanning the street for "Babs BJJ" on the corner of Broadway and Reade in the heart of Tribeca. However, what I find instead is  "Martial Arts - The Wat" and an arrow directing me down a flight of stairs. The studio is simple.  Rustic, furnished with plants, small trinkets, and candles. I am also greeted by a faint smell of incense and the sound of Sarama, traditional Thai music that is performed before fighters clash. You can tell there's a sense of tradition and pride embedded in "The Wat". More than anything, however,  I become nostalgic for my travels throughout Northern Thailand. But let's get into the meat-and-bones ... where the martial arts occurs... through the next door. Unlike the first partition, there's a roaring cadence. Pads are being smashed, sparring is commencing, mutiple timers are buzzing down, and there's hollering. One voice that sticks out is emerging from the back of the stu
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