Thanks for sharing. Good struggle. Keep the daily battle going in a positive direction.

Hi there, I am Rhett Saayman, 44years old, been training on and off for the last fourteen years in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Over the last six years or so I have managed to rope my wife and two kids into joining me on the mats, and training together, or being on the Jiu Jitsu journey together, has definitely made our family unit that much stronger and a bonus is we are all healthier for it as well!

Hi, my name is Doug. I was born in France (vive la resistance, et les croissant) but moved to America when I was very young. I started training in martial arts right when I arrived, but moved a lot so I wasn't very consistent. But it was always my passion. My Jiu Jitsu journey began when I was 15 in Hackettstown, New Jersey, with Dave Ferreira (those were painful years). Back then the school was called Integrated Martial Arts and Fitness West. Over the years we have been affiliated under some great lineages (Royler Gracie and then Rigan Machado, respectively). Our school trains in MMA, so we offer multiple programs and train in various styles. Thusly, I followed my Instructor through all the changes that our academy went through over the years. But I have a huge love for BJJ, and have nothing but respect and admiration for all the professors and the legends that have helped me on my path to be where I am today. I have competed in several NAGAs and Grappler's Quests back in the day, along with other small tournaments. I'm still working on tracing back my own record, some wins some losses. But I stopped competing many years ago, and since then have adopted the teaching mantle. Now I'm fortunate to enjoy coaching my students as they get to compete. It is truly one of my greatest joys, and I am blessed to work with an amazing group of people. At the age of 33 I am the head instructor of that same school I joined almost 17 years ago (now called Evolutionary Martial Arts), and have just recently been promoted to Black Belt under Professor Marcelo Meleiro (who was promoted under Andre Pederneiras). Whether I ever compete again or not, and no matter how many students walk through our doors, my mission is to spread the love of BJJ. I hope to meet many of you on the mat someday.