I just wanted to give a shout out to Robert Morales for allowing me to train at his bjj academy in the Imperial Valley. I go down to the Imperial Valley to visit family during the holidays every year. And, for quite some time now, I have never been able to get any training in. I just could not find a place to save my life! I tried google searches, facebook searches, and even asking friends if they knew about a bjj academy in the Imperial Valley. I was finally pointed to a place during my visit on Thanksgiving. But, when I went to the location I was told, it was a different business altogether. When I found it in December, I felt like a major dummy because it was right around the corner the whole time!
I went in during a training session and the instructor was very nice. He invited me to train, and I was there for about a week of good training. Robert Morales originally received his black belt from Joe Moeira, but is now under Fabio Santos and teaches very well. Morales is a huge proponent of drilling and it definitely showed during the warm ups. I was impressed with the level of jiu jitsu in their academy. They have some good guard players and some very solid guard passers as well.
After one of the training sessions we stuck around a bit to talk, and he shared some very fascinating stories about bjj in the 90s. Robert was one of the few people who was in pursuit of his black belt during the 90s, and he was there to witness a lot. He shared some stories most people don’t know about the Gracies as well as stories about training with Vitor Belfort and other early UFC fighters.
So, for all of my people in the Imperial Valley, especially in El Centro, do yourself a favor and check out Morales Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It is a great way to lose fat, and upgrade your sexy. It definitely never hurts to know what you are doing in a grappling situation, AND it’s a lot of fun to train.
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Quick correction, Rob got his Blackbelt from Joe Moreira.
Thanks for the heads up Guillermo. I’ll edit that right away.
FUCK ROBERT MORALES AND HIS JIU JITSU… PLUS HE CHARGE 80 DOLLARS MONTHLY…. TO earn AT LEAST BLUE BELT YOU HAVE TO WAIT 2 YEARS .. THATS 1,920 IN TWO YEARS.. NO SHIT IM MEX YOU PAY 40 dllrs…. fuck this man really … he is not even a black belt he never tested for his belt.. my name is Jacob Jimenez I train at Kimura at mexicali.. fuck you guys….. the only guys i personally like are team united and this other guy i dont remember his name but his good too…. people dont make this money grabbing prick reach with your money train somewhere else… why to spend one year with a white belt around you waist paying 80dlls montly ahahhahaa… but yeah my brow….
Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion I guess. But, there are some things I’d like to point out to you.
1. The average time it takes to attain a black belt is 10 years, so when you consider 2 of those years to get your blue it’s actually pretty reasonable and along the lines of what most people believe it takes to get a blue belt (1.5 – 2 years)
2. As far as the validity of him receiving his black belt, I can’t speak about that because I wasn’t there when he received his black belt. Were you?
3. $80 a month for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is DIRT CHEAP. The mendes bros, cobrinha, xande, etc all charge over $200 a month. You have to consider that, ultimately, he is running a business (though it seems it’s more of a service to the community than anything else). It costs money to pay the lease for the building he is in rent, and all things considered $80 in the United States for BJJ is about as affordable as it’s going to be. Of course $40 is cheaper, but like you said, it’s in Mex. All things being equal, mostly everything is cheaper in Mex.
Like I said, you are entitled to your opinion. But, I felt the need to point those things out. However, at least you posted your real name instead of hiding behind an anonymous identity. One thing that confuses me, is how long exactly do you expect to train to attain the skill mastery associated with each belt level?
Jacob, ill make my points quick, obviously by your post its obvious you are a low class person so I wont drop to your level , but I will say, before you critize anyone do your reserach and get your facts straight,
Your welcome at any time to stop by for a free class and I guarantee you will learn Jiu jitsu as its meant to be taught, friendly free class then you can spar with me and my students, I was trained by the FBI to teach and I teach to the lowest level in the class so im sure youll understand,
Maybe your upset because my nephew ( Steven Villa submitted 2 guys from Kimura in MMA fights pretty easily too I might add)
This Blog was written by someone who had a good experience at my academy, why you choose to contaminate what he wrote with out any substanial information to back it up i dont know, The writer also trained for free I might add.
1. When people like members of the Gracie family, the writer of this blog, Fabio Santos, Carlos Valente and countless others say Im a good teacher, ill value thier opinion more than a person who has never trained with me at all, thats a sign of true ignorance. Come and take a class with me and then decide,
2. For the record , Blue belt at my academy under Coral Belt Fabio Santos , could take a year or more DEPENDING ON TRAINING TIME. There is no set time frame especially when training is inconsistant, My students are after skill not belts ,
3. I tested for my Black belt under Joe Moreira in the presence of Red Belt Francisco Mansur, who blessed my promotion, Google him as I bet you have no idea who he is,
4. I price my fees according to the area, $80.00 is cheap.
5. Since your at Kimura, I bet Israel Camacho is your coach and guess what , he trained under me and is a supporter of my academy, He often attends seminars since I have been the only person to bring High level Jiu jitsu Instructors to the valley, even Royce Gracie. what have you done to promote jiu jitsu in your community? besides right negative stuff on Blogs
6. For the record, Ichinoe Dojo has the MMA Team with the most wins in Mexicali and guess who teaches the Jiu jitsu program there??????????? ME.
7. Since your a fan of Team United, The winningest fighter and Jiu jitsu coach there is Cesar Avila and guess what ? Im promoting him to blue belt next month and another great Valley fighter Jose Salazar is training under me too, IV Combat Grappling is a supporter of my academy as well,
My doors are open for you to come and train with us but Im willing to bet youll never show up,
Jiu jitsu builds character so I really hope you keep training,
Robert
Great answer robert we miss the academy so much we talk about it all the time and we will be back soon robert is a great teacher me and my wife attended to his academy and when you love.something and really want it price dont matter and he is a reasonable.guy
We moved here from Las Vegas and my daughter trained under Master Ricardo Cavalcanti who was trained by the great legend Carlson Gracie. My daughter has now trained under the tutelage of Morales and his staff and I have nothing but good things to say regarding his instructions and the way he runs his academy. I am very satisfied with my daughters progress.
Thanks for sharing, Gil. I have found the Morales academy to be a great place to be. The residents of the Imperial Valley are lucky.
I want to roll with Jacob!!!
Do it, Toby!