Monday, January 3, 2011

Matt Monopoli- My First Year

This is a part of a guest blogger series that we will be doing in 2011 and beyond. We will be featuring stories and entries from some of the students here at Simmler BJJ. This is the first of what we hope will be many.

Thank you to Matt for stepping up when we put out the call for guest contributors. Here is what Matt had to say about is his first year training BJJ and Simmler BJJ.


" 2010 was a great year for me at Simmler BJJ. It was my first year doing BJJ and I absolutely fell in love with it. When I first started training at the academy I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with it. I signed up because I needed to get into shape and was looking for a different alternative than going to the gym and doing the same mindless exercises over and over again. When I started I was 274lbs, at year’s end I was 211. That’s a pretty big change in a year, considering I went to the gym twice in the last year all of that weight loss came from BJJ. I never expected to fall in love with the sport, but I did. I like the fact that while your still getting an incredible work out it’s something that makes you think and something that you need to stay focused with in order to get better. I’m happy I decided to go and sign up because I’d probably go crazy if I couldn’t train now. I look forward to what 2011 has in store for me at the academy. Lots of hard work I’m sure. "


Thanks for sharing Matt. It has been great to watch you shed the pounds and your progress on the mats.


For other SBJJ students reading this, we want to hear your stories of success at the academy. Whether your goal is to get in shape, to compete, to be a champion, we want to hear it. Feel free to reach out to Dale Kline or me if you are interested in contributing to the team blog.



-- Dan Fontaine