Meet our Athletes (Bailey Gao) - brazil-021 school of jiu

BRAZIL-021 HOUSTON
Meet our Athletes
CHOICE BUT TO MOVE ON. FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS, I
WOULD TRY JUST ABOUT EVERY SPORT KNOWN TO MAN,
HOPING TO RECAPTURE THE SAME PASSION AND DRIVE I
HAD FELT FOR DIVING.
The day I started Jiu-Jitsu, I never expected it to become
as big or perhaps an even bigger part of my life than
Diving. I was pretty timid going into a Martial Arts
academy for the first time but as soon as I stepped on the
mat, I was welcomed with open arms. The friendly and
familial atmosphere was the opposite of what I had
imagined. As time went on, I learned that the process of
training Jiu-Jitsu was a way to nurture my Mind, Body and
Soul. Every training session is a challenging and
humbling experience that makes life’s everyday problems
seem trivial. Jiu-Jitsu has truly changed the way I view
obstacles and confront challenges. I can attest that if you
play “human chess”, everything else in life is just tic-tac-
BAILEY GAO
June 1st, 2014
Name: Bailey Gao
Age: 29 Start Date: January 2012 Occupation: Engineer
Current Belt: Blue Competitor: Yes Reason for Starting: Wanted to learn a martial art for fitness and
self-defense.
!
When my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu professor Marcos Cerqueira
asked me to write something about myself for the upcoming
team newsletter, I felt very excited and honored. At the time of
this composition, I’m nearing the completion of my preparation
for the World Championships of BJJ, also known as the Mundial.
As I’m sitting here reflecting on my still infantile Jiu-Jitsu career, I
can’t help but think about the last time I was preparing for a
major international competition.
In the summer of 2005, I was at a training camp in
China training with the then Olympic Champion in Diving
in preparation for the World University Games in Turkey
(2nd largest games to the Olympics). Little did I know at
the time that due to injury and multiple surgeries, it would
be my first and last major international competition. In
the course of a few months, my Olympic dream,
something I had worked for since I was 12, was taken
from me. Naturally, I was devastated but I had no other
Bailey Winning his first fight at the 2014 World’s
Championship, with the support of Prof. Andre Terencio, Prof.
Hannette Staack, Carlos Jr (Brazil-021 Chicago) and Danny Kou
(Brazil-021 Houston).
Although I remain a very active competitor, I’ve known
since I was young that if your only focus is on winning
medals, you’ll have a pretty empty existence. Medals will
fade and rust over time but what you learned along the
way and the relationships you build, you carry with you for
the rest of your life. I am very grateful to have found a
team like Brazil-021 because we truly are a big family. I
have friends all over the world because of our growing
affiliation. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was made for everyone and I
hope it can benefit others as much as it has benefitted me.

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