Training with Gabriel ‘Napao’ Gonzaga

About a year ago Gabriel Gonzaga came to town for a few days of training before one of his fights. It was a great opportunity to get to work out with him while he was here. Gabriel is good friends with Eddie Mori. Eddie lives in Utah and runs a successful BJJ and MMA Academy in Roy, Utah. Eddie invited me and my team, Kacey Jackson, Koffi Adzitso and Noah Jenkins (of Fusion Academy) to come up and train with Gabriel, specifically for his wrestling and grappling.

Roy is about an hour or so away from where the rest of us live so it was a bit of a drive to get there. When we got there we found out that Gabriel was about 30-45 minutes out from getting to the gym so we kind of just milled around a while till he got there.

Once he arrived we started drilling takedowns and some pummeling. Gabriel was strong and moved pretty well. He was quick and had good grip. He didn’t look as big as he does on the UFC screen though…I guess what they say is true about how TV really does make you look bigger. 

We drilled for a while and then we did some live takedowns. That was pretty fun. It was nice to see how my guys and I faired against a BJJ World Champion and professional MMA fighter. I got the better of him on the takedowns and he got the better of my guys. Something that helped me see where we needed improvement at the time.

Gabriel and I had a few good scraps and it would have been fun to get more time training with him. It was great to have one of the top UFC fighters come through town.

Training with Gonzaga helped drive home why so many wrestlers are dominating in MMA right now. They work hard; have good balance and strong takedowns and defense. Even a lot of the better ‘strikers’ like Chuck Liddell and Quinton Rampage Jackson had pretty solid wrestling abilities before their striking really became what it is today. 

Things I took away from this training session were:
 1. You are probably a lot closer to the ‘higher level’ guys than you might think. This goes for all of us. Training is not necessarily an indicator of a competitor’s gameness but judging from this workout I feel that I would have faired very well in an actual grappling match. We often don’t give ourselves a fair chance because we may not have an accurate gauge of our skills. You must consistently train/compete with other athletes of roughly your ability
to get an accurate gauge of your current skills and abilities
2. Conditioning is ALWAYS going to be a factor. I felt good but Kacey had problems maintaining the pace. It affected his otherwise good technique. If you are going to compete you must have the stamina necessary to attack and defend over the course of your bout.
3. Looks can be deceiving and people move differently from each other. Gonzaga was harder to
move and knock off balance than I expected. His movements were smooth and then
choppy at the same time so it threw me off a little. Once I got the rhythm down
I was just fine. Train with more partners so that your reactions can become
consistent against more body types and movement styles. This can take some time
to develop so get started sooner rather than later. In some cases you may be
limited in the number of workout partners available but try to expand out as
much as possible. Go with little guys, big guys and everyone in between.

It was a busy Saturday. I had went to promote AdvoCare supplements at a local
5k race, then on to teach my wrestling class at the Herriman Rec Center. I had
already missed the opportunity to train with Jeff the night before because I
wasn’t able to get my schedule rearranged in time and I knew I couldn’t pass up
this opportunity again!

 Jeff was teaching a seminar at the UCTC gym at the VF Factory Outlet Mall in
Draper, Utah and I figured if I could get the appointment with my strength coach
pushed back a little I just might make it. All I can say is that I’m glad I was
able to get things more squared away on Saturday! Whew!

 Jeff taught some things for passing the guard that were great! They
definitely sharpened up where I should be making some pressure adjustments and
other nuance type movements. Then he showed us his underhook series from the
bottom and that was also very enlightening. It added a few pieces to the puzzle
for me.

After the seminar we were able to get some live grappling training in
together and I enjoyed every minute of it! It really helped me see where I am at
in comparison to the rest of the world and to one of the living legends of the
sport of grappling. Jeff as you may or may not know has won the ADCC Submission
Wrestling World Championships twice (he was a finalist 4 times) and also won
FILA Grappling World Championships 2 times. 

The first time I was able to train with Jeff was when we were team mates on
the 2008 USA World Championship team at the FILA Grappling World Championships.
Back then I really just wanted the opportunity to see where I stood against the
best. I had a great time training the day before the tournament and felt if and
when we met up against each other at the tournament that it would be a great
match and one that I could possibly win. We did indeed meet up in the finals
match for 1st and 2nd and Jeff won a hard fought decision against me. 

I controlled very well against him on the feet and even was on top on his
back (no hooks) at one point and made a small mistake that cost me a lot of
points. In the last 30 seconds I was able to get a throw on him and landed in a
position where I was able to threaten a submission but nothing more. At the time
I was grateful to have competed at my best against the best in the world.

Getting another chance to compare myself to greatness was really exciting and
I knew I couldn’t miss Saturday’s seminar and training. It was a great time and
I was able to see where I need more work and also to see what was working for
me. I was a bit surprised at some of the positions that I was able to reach and
felt that I have come a long way since my previous encounter. 

I was able to do a quick interview with Jeff about his training and how he
has been able to keep so consistent at such a high level over such a long time.
A lot of the things he talked about were philosophies that I had been practicing
over the past few years and it was nice to feel like I am on the right track in
that regard. One of the things that I think is most impressive about Jeff Monson
is his consistency and his longevity. He burst onto the grappling scene at the
1999 ADCC World Championships and then has continued to make waves ever since.
That’s 12 years of being at the top of the food chain!

 For many who never get to the top even one time would be amazing but to be
where Jeff has been over such a length of time is truly amazing. Check out his
video interview here and find out what he has to say!