Could you just briefly introduce yourself - name, age (if you want to!), job, nationality and anything else you would like us to know about you?
Hi, I‘m Jósep Valur Guðlaugsson aka Sexy White,Superman or the Viking but usually I end up being known as Forrest Gump after the cool factor wears off! I‘m from Reykjavík Iceland and I‘m a software engineer.
How long have you been training BJJ?
For 4 years and 2 months.
What other martial arts have you tried?
When I was around 12 years old I tried Aikido and then Kimewaza. Total maybe 3 years. I‘ve also trained weights, gymnastics, running and overall fitness since I was very young. Now I do BJJ, Weight lifting and Tango.
How would you compare them to BJJ?
I honestly don‘t think they work for self defense. I remember when I tried the Aikido techniques on my friends or family members who weren‘t willing to act the part and do somersaults or flips at the right moments things just became awkward. Today I just feel sorry for the people who have put a lot of time and effort in a self defence form that doesn‘t really work in real life. In BJJ you can easilly roll 100% with your friend everytime just as you would be fighting and no one gets hurt and I believe the best way to learn is by doing. I don‘t believe you learn to fight by doing Kata, just as well as no one goes inside a gym and benchpresses 100kg without first benchpressing 50kg.
Please tell us a little bit about what got you into BJJ.
In my old weight gym there were a few classes teaching BJJ when BJJ was starting in Iceland. I did a few session with some of my friends after training and we always had a lot of fun. But I dropped out when I got meningitis. Only a few years later I tried again. I got hooked and for the first 2 years I trained 1-2 sessions every day 5-6x a week. Now I try to go as often as I can.
What's your favourite submission and position?
I guess it‘s Guilotine or Kimura. Something basic, I‘m not very flexible and constantly sitting and a few poorly done squats and deadlifts has made my lower back pretty stiff and sensitive so I don‘t focus much on Armbars or Triangles.
Gi or no-gi?
I like both but I think I like no-gi more.It is faster and I don‘t have to wash my gi.
Could you give us a few words about what BJJ means to you?
The most important thing doing BJJ for me is that it‘s a great way of meeting friends. But it‘s also a great way for me to keep in shape and being active. Normaly the best part of the day is when I get to roll, then I can forget about work and the boring stuff and just play. If I show up tired, a friend will set the pace of the roll guaranteeing that when I leave I will have gotten a satisfying workout.
I have trained in many different clubs and always the morale has been good and I‘ve met a lot of good peoplein this sport that I consider my friends. After a few sessions people learn that this is not a place for egos. Most people, especially us guys, think we are much better at stuff we‘ve never tried than we really are so everybody who starts BJJ gets humbled in the beginning. This is no place to act tough, everybody rolls with everybody so we win, we lose, we learn from each other and we goof around.
Could you talk about any figures in sport or otherwise that have inspired you on your BJJ journey?
Actually no, I‘ve never had a role model in BJJ. I just enjoy the training. I don‘t look at any champions today and want to follow their foot steps, I‘m 34 now and I want to be the 70+ years old guy that still rolls with the guys. Helping out and being in noticably good shape for my age.
If you were asked to persuade a friend to take up BJJ, would you? How would you persuade them to take it up?I often do. I point out what a great way it is to maintain a good shape and how good the morale is.
What changes have you seen in your life since you started BJJ?
I think I‘m more relaxed. I have more friends and during Christmas parties with the family it is now custom that I attack a few of my relatives so we roll around the floor in our best suits, usually it ends with them ganging up on me!
Where do you see yourself in your training in 5 years? What aims and goals do you have for your training?
In 5 years I‘ll happily be doing the exactly same but I‘ll be 2 years older.
No comments:
Post a Comment