Last week I went down to Boca Raton, FL and trained personally with
2004 judo Olympian Rhadi Ferguson. It was without a doubt the most
informative training sessions I have ever participated in. Many get lost
in his physical attributes, but one should not. He is an amazing
strategist. Moreover, his knowledge on certain aspects of tachiwaza far
exceeds anyone in the nation (I won't go into those details....sorry).
I consider myself somewhat of a guru when it comes to strength and
conditioning and the workout he developed for me personally will
forever change the way i condition. It will also take me from being an
athlete that is in awesome condition to an athlete that is far beyond
elite condition in roughly 12 weeks. The improvements in my
conditioning alone will make me a terror for anyone across the tatami
from me.
The judo we covered was mind blowing. There is so much more to
Rhadi's game than knee taps, doubles, and newaza. He showed me
what all great international players work on daily. Just by improving
this one aspect of my judo it will cause my game to increase
exponentially. We also covered a lot of newaza. Rolling with Rhadi was
very smooth, technical, and really fun. His ground game is super. I
have rolled with BJJ world champion Daniel Moraes, multiple time world
finalist Fredson Alves, Ryron Gracie,Rener Gracie and his game is on
the same level as all of them.
The session that really changed my approach was the hours and hours
we spent watching film. Rhadi is a Ph.D candidate and brings an
academic approach to watching film. He watches film purely for the
purpose of breaking down their game and improving his own. Does he
at times watch for the throw? Sure. But that only occurs after he has
digested the meat and potatoes of the match. I have never seen anyone
pick up the details of someone's game like he does. Just one film
session with Rhadi will lift your game.
Anyone wanting to jump start their game or add new details to it really
needs to go see him. Nothing is held back and his hospitality is
amazing. He truly wants to see you get the most out of your potential
and reach your goals and accomplish your dreams. I can't recommend
training with him higher.
Rahman Jamaal Howard--Team Relson Gracie 2006 BJJ Pan-AM Purple
belt bronze medalist.