1 WEEK LEFT UNTIL DEPARTURE

Hello everyone, the days are flying by and I have around one week left until I land in the beautiful Rio de Janeiro. Ever since I was a kid my friends and family have traveled to Brazil to train and compete and it has always been a dream of mine to go. Thankfully I have been blessed with an opportunity.

I have not been too far out of the country so Brazil will be the farthest. I have just seen mesmerizing pictures and videos of the beautiful country. I will be staying in Rio, one of the very popular and well known cities in Brazil. I am not sure what to expect. I am thinking loud and beautiful that's it. To be honest I am tired of LA and can't wait to experience new people and lifestyles. I am very excited to start learning the amazing culture and language. I can not wait to train in the birthplace of jiu-jitsu and experience all of the different styles of the gentle art. It is honestly a dream come true.

My coaches have been watching and helping me train hard as we always do. I am ready, my body is in great shape and my mind is ready. A couple of my friends train in Brazil frequently and have been coming to train with me and make sure that I am ready. My family is 100% supporting me and I can not wait to make this the greatest experience of my life. Thank you to everyone and keep up to date as I will be blogging frequently with videos and pictures!

OSS, valeu!

THE START

My name is André Khabbazi. I am 18 years old and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I started training around the age of 7 years old when my dad and uncle introduced me. From that day I fell in love and have not stopped since. I started training with Kron Gracie and have trained with Cobrinha and Giva Santana since. The Gentle Art has truly molded my life and helped shape me into the person I am today. I have traveled all over competing and training with people because of this amazing martial art. 

Going to Brazil has been a dream of mine since I was very little. I told myself that no matter what it takes I will find a way to go there and live the truly amazing lifestyle. I have received an amazing opportunity that I can't thank him enough for. Dennis Asche the founder of Connection Rio has given me the opportunity to become one of their sponsored athletes in Rio. I truly am grateful for this, he has changed many people's lives and I cannot wait for the opportunities that lie ahead. 

Check out his whole website at http://www.connectionrio.com/ and another man who is creating incredible videos and documentaries about jiu-jitsu http://bjjhacks.com/.

I am leaving for Brazil on October 31st, and will be blogging my stay and life as a carioca every Wednesday!

Make sure to stay tuned for photos and videos and check out their websites! Até logo!

OSS

L to R: Tim Peterson, André  Khabbazi, Jimmy Tang (noon training)