a student of Japanese swordsmanship, it ' s clear that“ To Study the

Old is To Understand the

New.” I was an“ Uchideshi

I was never a student of Carlos Gracie,

Sr., but I can say that I do study a lot and am inspired by him, even though I have never met him in person. I have felt his spirit in every BJJ class with my teacher.

showed the flow as in Aiki Flow- all the way from standing to ground.

Professor John Machado always spoke of“ Uncle, Carlos Gracie” who was possibly the single most important figure

” for almost 8 years in Japan, under sword Master Sensei Kubo Akira, and I have followed him for the last 30 years. I witnessed his skill in front of me everyday and it was inspir ¬ ing. He demonstrated his mastery as my teacher with every move, every breath. As he taught, he ' d often speak of Nakayama Hakudo, also known as Nakayama Hiromichi, Soke of Muso Shinden Ryu. This is why I also teach my students Arts and Crafts. You cannot teach, you can ONLY study.

When I moved to Los Angeles I searched for a teacher that could keep this spirit and inspiration, and I found Professor John Machado. Professor

We used to joke back then and we would call it“ story time” as Professor Machado would sit and share stories, inspirations, and things from his heart. He would share with his students while some kept rolling, or some would sit nearby. I used to go home and make a list of what I needed to keep studying. Not so much the techniques, as I always had techniques in my mind, and was always getting them right and wrong! It was more about the timing and where you ' d plan to use them. That ' s the key, because if you use great technique with the wrong timing, it would be like using the wrong tool for the wrong job. This I ' d already studied with one of my most inspired and inspiring teachers,

in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu history. He was the very first Gracie to germinate the roots of BJJ, Japanese Jiu Jitsu. Carlos Gracie was known by his nickname“ Pai Branco”, which means“ White Father” in Portuguese, by family and friends. This was the name his brothers and close family called him due to his habit of wearing white at all times and because he was considered the head of the clan, it ' s fatherly figure. He was the weak student his father brought to Maeda Sensei, using the stage name of Count Coma. Count Coma, Misuyio Esai Maeda, was a Jiu Jitsu / Judo representative sent to Brazil by Japan to share Jiu Jitsu with the world.

Machado always taught me that Brazilian

Hanshi

Patrick

McCarthy.

Hanshi

He had lots of stories, from Nutrition to

Ju Jitsu needed to flow with good spirit and good attitude and that you needed to maintain your own health. BJJ is an inspiring way of life and is all about having a good quality life.

McCarthy always looked to build a bridge between the Old Days Traditional Martial Arts and the Modern Martial Arts, using flow as used in Aiki Kenpo. When I found BJJ, it was the best fit for me but it also

Health, about how to flow, and I was inspired most about nature studies and human studies by this great teacher and his stories. He would tell stories of how he ' d swim in the river with alligators, or