Conception

When my family moved from Okinawa, Japan to Oceanside, California my wife was six months pregnant with our first child. While we were living overseas we watched on TV and the web as the pandemic unfolded and America started to look like a scary place to live.

Japan on the other hand was one of the most peaceful and beautiful countries I’ve ever been to; as well as a fantastic place to raise kids. It was second to none in safety. We would watch in awe as children as young as five would travel on the subway unsupervised. Meanwhile it seemed as though crime had never been worse back stateside. When we landed in Seattle in July of 2022 I witnessed an armed security guard at SEATAC scream at, cuss out and threaten another airline employee who was pushing an elderly traveler in a wheelchair through customs. In the moment I thought, it’s all true, how fast can we get back to Japan.

Things calmed down as we settled in to our new home in Oceanside but there was no question that crime was worse and I didn’t feel as safe walking around in our community. This was amplified by my concerns about becoming a new first time father and protecting my family. It naturally led me to considering getting self defense training, something I had not practiced in many years. I started searching on google for local Jiu Jitsu schools and one caught my attention, Gracie Barra (pronounced Ba-Ha). While meeting my wife’s new colleagues at the Camp Pendleton on-base bowling alley I noticed one of them, Chuck, wearing a Gracie Barra t-shirt. He told me that it was a great school and I should come check it out on a Thursday evening in August.

I did.

When I walked in Erick greeted me, he was wearing his gi and a blue belt. I told him Chuck told me how great it is there and I was excited to get started. Erick told me how Chuck was a great guy and he was happy I had come in.

I completed the trial class in a borrowed gi by the end of the evening was signing up for a membership. Later I would learn Chuck went to another Gracie Barra branch and Erick had no idea who he was. Erick is a good salesman, it would be wise to retain him on staff.

After a couple classes the Professor (black belt school owner) Doug, a retired Marine, heard that I hosted a podcast and YouTube channel and he wanted to ask me some questions about starting his own program. We met for breakfast outside of class and spoke at length. During our conversation he told me a number of reasons teaching Jiu Jitsu inspires him. One of the reasons was that he loved helping people by getting them on the mats. He told me about a guy he knew who he wanted to train. He was a double amputee Marine, wounded in Afghanistan. Doug told me he had convinced him to come in and try it soon though he’d never taught an adaptive athlete before but he was looking forward to it. Two weeks later JULIAN came in for his first class. Instead of being a quiet shy newcomer, like me, he was a loud, confident, happy, and highly motivated student of Jiu Jitsu. Despite it being his first day his presence was that of the Captain of the football team.

We became fast friends and training partners and after only a few classes Julian shocked everyone when he committed to competing at his first Jiu Jitsu competition.

Humbly I approached him about making a YouTube video about all this, but after a couple meetings it was clear that his story was far broader and more meaningful than what I could capture in a brief video that would come and go on the internet like a flash in the pan.

We were off and on the path that ultimately led to the completion of JULIAN: a Jiu Jitsu Story, which is now winning awards at film festivals and inspiring people worldwide.

I look forward to sharing this film with you soon and sharing the journey through this blog. Stay tuned to get get to know the journey and all updates regarding the film. Thank you so much.

Max