MRSA information

There was an article in the IDS yesterday about an IU diver, Cassady Kahn who contracted MRSA. I went over to talk to her and hear her description of her experience.  she was misdiagnosed a number of times(by trainers,doctors,specialists), and it wasn't until she was extremely sick that they finally diagnosed it correctly, and within hours of being too late. It sounded like the surgeon had to cut out any infected area, including skin fascia, muscle and some bone. She has a long scar (~8") on the side of each of her legs: She ended up needing multiple (12) surgeries, some of which was reconstructive  after having lost so much tissue to the infection, as well as some very difficult physical therapy to get back to health.  After looking at the information that Cassady had assembled, I realized that the information we just posted on keeping the academy and student clean is probably inadequate.

the thing that stopped me in my tracks is  this:
MRSA Life Span Facts⁴
• MRSA can live for up to 7 months on dust.
• MRSA can live for up to 8 weeks on a mop head.
• MRSA can live for up to 9 weeks on cotton (towel).
• MRSA can live for up to 203 days (over 6 months) on a blanket.
• MRSA can live on the skin of otherwise healthy individuals, with no symptoms indefinitely.
 ⁴Journal of Infection Control (2001) 49: 255-261.

 The fact that hot water and a hot dryer helps kill MRSA might prompt us to rethink "washing the gi in cold water" and not to dry them, as many are told, to control shrinkage.

There is alot written on MRSA, One source Cassasdy used was by a company selling antimicrobial skin cleaner, but the info they have seems really thorough, and is intended to be distributed in varous formats  in pdf, video, etc.
I found alot of useful information on their website.
It includes this personal testimonial which is apparently very accurate. Talking to Cassady and hearing what she went through, is parallels what happened to her.
http://www.hibiclens.com/mrsa_video/index.html

here are a couple more:
http://www.hibiclens.com/movies/1-mrsa_vs_athletes.mov - first of a series of videos:  focuses on skin to skin contact between athletes as the prime method of MRSA spreading.
http://www.hibiclens.com/mrsa_information.html : quick and dirty just text with references so you know where the info came from. It has the MRSA life span info.
 http://www.hibiclens.com/edu_materials.html 
downloadable pdfs meant to be distributed to inform people about MRSA

additional info:
from USA Wrestling: http://www.themat.com/CoachesCorner/FinalMRSAGuide.pdf
after that, there is always whatever you find on the web...

Talking to Cassady was a very sobering reminder that we have to do what we can to help reduce the risk of MRSA infections. I think I am going to start using an anti-microbial cleanser that provides residual kill for 6 hours, before I get on the mat.

Greenwood EGO tournament results for the Razzano Academy

Dax and Jeff took  a group of students to this years EGO tournament in Greenwood.
Alex came home with 3rd in the Blue Belt division (see video one of his matches). He also got 1st in the No Gi Intermediate: (see video of match 1, see video of match 2).
Butter got 1st in advanced No Gi, and 2nd in blue belt gi
Zac got 2nd in the no gi divisoin and 2nd in gi white.
Honorable mention goes to Steve and Petey, who had some great matches, definitely win-able as I think both would attest. Dax gave best match (one of top five in tournament) to Petey's match, where he threw a ton of submission attempts.
More videos and pics when we get them. I hear they are out there...

Erick Szabados gets Plata at Rio Open

We were waiting for promised cool pictures, which I just received after putting a bug in Erik's ears:

Erik on the Podium at the Rio Open

Yes, one of our own, Erik placed second in the 2010 Rio Open Master's division, Blue Belt, light weight. Erik went to Rio for a month to train with Marcelo and company and had the good fortune to be there during the tournament. Bruce brought a group down so he had Bruce and Marcelo in his corner.

Erik and some other familiar faces from Indiana and Rio!

No question Erik had a great time, and got a good memento to bring back with him. Also, a big thanks for the trouble he and Marcelo went through to have one of Marcelo's banners made. Erik brought it back as a gift to Dax. It looks good in the Academy!
Here's a blog entry from the Jiu-Jitsu Academy blog with another pic of Erick and the group.

Roger Gracie Seminar

Dax made it down to the Roger Gracie Seminar that Bruce Shepherd just brought to Evansville last Saturday: Roger Gracie Seminar at the Jiujitsu Academy in Evansville . Good stuff, as those of you who are coming to classes this week are finding out!

Notes on keeping the BJJ studio/participants clean.

People who participate in close contact sports such as BJJ are susceptible to a variety of contagious bacterial skin infections such as MRSA, Staph, Strep, Ringworm , Impetigo.

Many bacteria can move, often by swimming through liquid. Sweating can mobilize bacteria, spreading it to other parts of your body or to other people’s bodies via the skin or the gi. Many can start when bacteria get into an open wound such as cut, scratch, abrasion, open sore or insect bite.

What the Academy does to reduce risk of contracting/spreading infections:

*Mats are mopped with bleach prior to the first class of every day.

*If blood gets on the mat, it is immediately cleaned up with bleach.

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What individuals should do to reduce risk of contracting/spreading infections:

*If you have open sores and don’t know what it is ,see a doctor to determine what it is. Notify Dax of any suspicious sores you might have.

*Don’t walk barefoot outside of the academy. Use shoes, flip-flops when going to the bathroom or outside. Also do not walk on the mat with shoes on.

*Take a shower within an hour of working out, the sooner the better There is less than a 2 hour gestation period for most micro-organisms to take effect.  This is probably your best defense against the spread of  bacterial skin infections. If you assume you picked up a bacteria, how soon would you shower?

*Wash your gi after every class, preferably within 2 hours of working out. Many bacteria survive on surfaces and fabrics. Washing your gi protects you and our BJJ partners. Same with rashguards, kneepads,towels, etc: after every practice.

*Cover any open sores or cuts with tape, gauze, bandaids, whatever is necessary.

*Wipe off any open sore/wound with anti-bacterial sanitizer, or soap  immediately after class.

*Make sure you clean any blood off your gi as soon as possible.

*If you have an contagious skin infection, stay off the mat. This will keep it from spreading to other members. After whatever you have is no longer infectious, you can return to the mat.

Marcelo Ferreira Promotion Seminar 2010

Another Promotion seminar has come and gone, and as you can see, the Razzano Academy had a good turnout. three of us were able to get down to Evansville for the Friday class with Marcelo, and the rest came down for the Saturday Seminar. Marcelo focused on the graduation ceremony movements for Brown belt graduation at his school. he broke down the series to digestable sections. Bruce said is plan is to some day replace the seminar format with the model Marcelo uses, one of a big graduation party where students do demonstrations for the group. the last couple of years, Marcelo's seminars have been butressed by cultural aspects of graduation taking it beyone just promotion. And as time passes, the returning students find themselves a part of an ever-growing family. great to see Marcelo and Lila again, as well as Bruce and his entire group! Here some pics of the seminar (from the Razzano Academy perspective)

A special congrats for Bret who got his black belt! After rolling with him, Dax can attest to his abilities. An unforgettable day for him, especially when we cleared the mat and he rolled with Bruce!  As one of our students watching Bruce roll with Brett is like watching Dax roll with a blue belt. It never ends, the learning and improvement.

Baaulio Estima Seminar

Braulio Estima? personable, charismatic, current adcc world champion, great teacher.

Bruce brought him to Evansville Jan 30th 2010 for a seminar, another great seminar with one of the greats of Brazilain Jiu Jitsu.

I have read that he has of of the greatest closed guard games around. As it turns out, that was indeed the focus of the seminar. Braulio started with some small tactics, things you normally do not call techniques, but elements that can be quickly shown, practiced and integrated into your game, things that can dramatically improve your game. Timing, position, leverage, control. Things to help hold your opponent down, to break down posture, maintain guard. Braulio made sure we understood conceptually the whys of what he had us drill, giving succinct explanations of the foundation of each element. He then built upon each element until we reached a position I will call an attack platform, where from this position, (you know, lapel pulled up under arm,around back of neck...well, come one in and it will be easier to show you!) Braulio demonstrated several submissions, having us rep each one for several minutes.

At one point, he stopped us to point out the video playing. (Bruce has video playing on the lcd panels in the room showing clips from Braulios fights). Braulio had us watch how he was controlling the opponent's posture, that he was using the same technique we were currently training. For Baulio, these techniques we were working on were "Gold". Enough said, point driven home.

At the end of the seminar, Braulio had us do effective rolling drill where he had students place themselves in the exact position we had used as a branching point for many of the techniques. Then had the student's opponent work to try and use the various attacks he showed us from that position. It was a good drill because it allowed the student to practice switching from one attack to the other, and gauge how it fits into their game, and also how much more it might need to be practiced to be effective. With three groups, one was always able to watch as others worked. Not only did we get to see Braulio roll, but many of us got to roll with him in this drill. He definitely favors picking opponents up, twisting them with his feet and dropping them directly into armbar!

The minutes after the seminar gave a view of his relaxed, playful personality. Most of the photos being taken had him goofing for the cameras, putting an exaggerated choke on the person next to him. Braulio ended by encouraging the group with some inspirational antecdotes from his past (he didn't train with a black belt until he was a brown belt, and at the start, only once a month because of living in a small town where there were none). Gettng an insight into the minds of these BJJ greats is always as meaningful, if not more, as the actual techniques shown. It is what makes them great.

Rest assured, the following weeks will find us here at the Razzano Academy working on what we learned at Braulio's seminar. I mean, what do you think we pay Dax for, if it isn't to take good notes at these seminars, and then to bring it all back and make it a part of our game?

New Apparel is in!

Make sure you check out the new hoodies patches and grappling headgear that Dax got in.
SWEET! I can hardly wait to see the mouthpieces and kneepads...