History, Tradition, Respect - Part 1

I have been meaning to write this post for some time. It has been daunting though and I was not able to focus my thoughts until this weekend where my wife and I took a nice fall walk through Mt. Auburn Cemetery which I highly recommend. Such a beautiful spot and a really nice observation tower in the middle with views over all of the changing colors of the landscape this time of year.

One of the first things that new members ask me about before they join is the history of the academy. I tell them that we are in our thirteenth year, ten in Watertown and two in our new location in Newton. But this is just time, here are some of the details.

1995-1997
The academy was located first in an office building on Walnut St in Watertown adjacent to a gym that used to be there. Roberto founded it with inspiration from his cousin Renzo who was successful with jiu jitsu in New York. Mark Fishman and Peter Macero might be able to tell you about the place. I wasn't there at the time. I know that they used to roll on foam without the cover and go home covered in small pieces of it as it would come apart as they rolled. Roberto had some real monster sized guys at the time and he used to tell me how sore he was when he got home from class.

1997-1999
Eventually the gym moved downstairs into the first level. This is the incarnation of the academy that I walked into. Nice grey matted area similar to now with padded walls and another room that was used for privates, adjacent training etc. The bathrooms were so bad, but eventually Roberto fixed it all up and it became very professional with an office and front desk. During this time, Patric, John Frankl, Kenny, Keith, Kirk Florian, the Balmes, Fishman, Peter Macero, the Kali, Will Kabat-Zinn could be found training on the mat with Patric and Kenny leading many of the classes including tournament classes. All of the classes were all levels at the time since we didn't have the numbers to differentiate them into beginner and advanced. Open mat was a little bit like the wild west and guys would come in from all over the place trying their skills with no intention of becoming members. They would usually get the Florian welcome and be on their way.

2000-2005
Good old Herb who can still be seen in the odd day class with Al when he isn't biking through Uzbekistan or complaining about the deer in his yard on the news owned the building but eventually sold it. The new owners moved Roberto upstairs next to the strangest boxing club you will ever go to, removing the sign from the road and making us nearly impossible to find. I still remember coming back from Vermont to find someone on the phone giving turn by turn directions to the place and the person on the other end still not finding it. Even though the location stunk, it was another very professional array complete with two rooms and the addition of showers which were nice.

Roberto was still doing construction full time as well as trying to run the academy. Babu and Tony and Richie Dimino were responsible for keeping the academy afloat during much of this time and should be commended for keeping it alive. Myself, Medina, Jay, Fred, Pellegrino, Aaron, Phil, Al, Jim DeLuca, Babu, Ikaro and many Dans were on the mat though I moved to Vermont in 2001 and didn't return until 2006.

2005-Present
With the lease closing on the location in Watertown and the building not anxious to renew (we were a bit loud for our neighbors), Roberto found the place in Newton. I can still remember coming in from Vermont for a visit and watching that industrial space being transformed by Babu and Roberto. At first it was a workshop, plugs every fifteen feet, radiant heat on the walls and some decrepit bathrooms. Man our place used to be cold. I have watched Roberto go wall to wall with mats, improve the bathrooms, build bleachers, paint and re paint, fix and re fix, have classes seven days a week, plus much more. Many of our conversations today revolve around continual improvements for the place.

He is never satisfied and always looking for the next project. I wouldn't be surprised if another academy or two emerged in the next year. Keep your eyes open for one opening in an neighborhood near you.

To be continued...
(old timers please email me with thoughts, corrections, etc. so I can add them - owenc@rocketmail.com)