Ronald Boutilier hails from Olympia, Washington and is the most recent champion in the IBJJF’s Heavyweight, Blue Belt, No-Gi, Master 1 division. I got in touch with Ron to get some insight into how he prepares for competition and learn more about his outlook on martial arts and BJJ.
Read on to get inside his head:
Jack Cieslak, interviewer: Alright, let’s start at the beginning. When did you start training? Did you do any grappling in school? How about your family, any martial artists there?
Ron Boutilier: I wrestled through middle school and high school, and got into MMA during college. Nobody else in my family did martial arts. I heard from a friend’s father that his son, who was a wrestler, was doing well in MMA and grappling, so I decided to give it a shot.
JC: What’s your schedule like? Do you work a day job? How many days a week/hours are you in the gym? Are you supplementing BJJ classes with conditioning, lifting weights, etc.?
RB: I work four ten-hour shifts Monday-Thursday as a bridge engineer for WSDOT. Typically, I train grappling every day: Monday-Thursday nights it’s at Hammerhead in Lacey. I do weight lifting on Friday and Sunday.
JC: That’s a really intense schedule! You’re a beast. How’d you decide to join the competition team? Is this something you have to vie for or do you get chosen by the coaches or what?
RB: I just started competing on my own. I started researching tournaments and any tournaments I could find and I just register in to compete.
JC: Cool. I know it’s important to take initiative if you want to compete. I mean, you just gotta get out there—but of course, gym time is really important. So, what can you tell us about your breakdown of sparring time vs. drilling, how long you’re spending honing techniques, learning new ones, etc.?
RB: At Hammerhead we learn technique, drill it, then spar. We spend a lot of time drilling. Usually the new technique we learn builds off of what we learned the previous week. RGA is similar, but there is more emphasis on situational sparring. Pinnacle and MABJJ Seattle have the same format which consists of learning technique and drilling for an hour, and open sparring for an hour.
JC: Nice. That sounds like a really great mix. Lots of time to try out what you’re learning and put it to the test… Turning back to actual competitions, what attributes do you think make a fighter most successful at competition? What are the best and worst things about going to competition?
RB: A successful fighter will go into a competition will have fun and treat it like any day of training. The best thing about going into competition is having the pride in knowing you are truly challenging yourself.
JC: I gotta say, man, that’s a super-healthy attitude to have about competing. I know it can be stressful and hectic with everything going on around you, but here you are saying “just have fun, do what you’d normally do.” That’s refreshing! So, how’d you develop your style? Did you pick your style consciously, develop it organically? How have your coaches/teachers influenced you?
RB: I passively formed my style through chewing the meat and spitting out the bone, just trying to learn from everyone and stick with what is most simple and effective. My wrestling coaches influenced my intensity towards training and being relentless in attacking my opponent. All of my grappling instructors have emphasized being active by attacking to either execute the move or get my opponent to react so I can set up another technique.
JC: “Chewing the meat, spitting out the bone,” I like that. Which, you know, speaking of food: everybody hates cutting weight! How do you prepare for competition to make sure you’re on track for your weight goals?
RB: I always try to avoid cutting weight for competition because I am already pretty strong at my natural weight, and competition is about fun. I am typically 5 to 10 lbs lighter than my opponents. If I find that I need to drop a few pounds I simply just change my registration to compete in the higher weight. I don’t take it too seriously.
JC: Dang! Again, such a healthy attitude towards competing and also towards your weight! You never hear this stuff from a fighter! I always troll guys by telling them the best way to always make weight is to just fight at their natural, healthy weight. No one wants to hear that! Not from teammates, not from coaches… Do you bring a coach to competition or rely on in-gym guidance or what?
RB: Since I compete so often (almost every other weekend), I often compete alone. I try to remember what happened during my matches and then go over what needs to be improved the following week.
JC: Mmm, indeed, the warrior’s journey is often a solitary one! So, you’re the no-gi, blue belt, heavyweight, adult master’s 1 champ…do you have a preference, gi or no-gi?
RB: No preference. I like gi because it makes it easier to wrap up my opponents and get a submission, while no gi makes it very difficult for anyone to secure a position on me.
JC: No question there; gi jokes, controlling the other guy with their own uniform…that’s good stuff. But yeah, without the gi it’s a much faster, more athletic game, specifically because no one can get a grip. Man, this has all been great, but to wrap up, first off, what’s your favorite thing about BJJ?
RB: My favorite thing is the learning process, the mastery of the sport. It’s the best feeling when I execute a newly-learned technique on a tough opponent. The worst thing is that you have to rely on the availability of training partners to get better.
JC: I feel ya, it sucks when there’s someone you really want to work out with and they can’t make it. Life can really get in the way of jiu jitsu! Not that it sounds like you have a ton of free time, but what do you like to do when you’re not on the mats?
RB: Play guitar and go to metal concerts
JC: Awesome. Keep those fingers in good shape!
Okay, so there you have it, a peek inside the mind of Ron Boutilier. Train hard, have fun, and listen to metal and maybe you too can be a champion one day!
Joey Guel
The warrior’s journey might be, at times, a solitary one, but no one can do it alone. I dug into training and competition with coach Joey Guel to talk about martial arts and preparing to compete!
Read on to see the world of martial arts through his eyes.
Jack Cieslak, interviewer: To get started, how long have you been doing martial arts and BJJ? What made you get into martial arts? Are there martial artists or fighters in your family?
Joey Guel: I started martial arts early in life with Aikido, then Karate. In 1999, I started training MMA, mainly doing kickboxing and catch-wrestling style submission wrestling. By 2006, I put on the gi in BJJ. I got into Martial Arts cause I’ve just always loved anything and everything to do with the culture to the actual techniques since I was a kid. My uncle Jesse is a black belt in Kempo Karate and was a world record holder of some sort in “breaking.” I never had the opportunity to train with him though cause he lived too far away…
Guel: Bummer. But you made your own way. So how’d you get started coaching?
Guel: I started coaching after training for a couple years basically as an assistant then to having my own regular classes at Dennis Hallman’s gym Victory Athletics.
Cieslak: Gotcha, pretty straight forward. What would you say is your philosophy or style when it comes to coaching?
Guel: It changes from person to person. Students have different mindsets, abilities, and goals. I tell them the two most important things to training are consistency and intensity, and in that order, because it’s hard to be intense when you’re not consistent.
Cieslak: Do you coach a lot during the fight?
Guel: (laughs) I do tend to coach a lot from the corner. Always short, simple, repetitive. My philosophy for a fight is “stay on top or stay behind.”
Cieslak: What’s the training like for a competition team? Can you tell us about the breakdown of sparring vs drilling, learning new techniques, etc.?
Guel: Team practice is more about live training, fundamentals, and discussion/Q&A. We‘ll cover anything from technique details, strategy for proper application and execution, diet, and even dealing with competition anxiety. Drilling new or complicated techniques with full breakdowns is generally reserved for regular class.
Cieslak: What attributes make a fighter successful at competition?
Guel: A successful competitor must have conditioning, an appropriate skill set, mental toughness, and a BIG heart! (Aka “the will to win.”)
Cieslak: (laughs) Yeah, you see that a lot: “you can’t teach heart.” How do you approach actually training competitors?
Guel: When training a competitor, I try to work on existing skills and basics during camp and new technique/long term development in between training camps.
Cieslak: Who are the coaches, teachers, and martial artists whom you admire?
Guel: Some of my favorite coaches and fighters are Matt Hume, Marcelo Alonso, Dennis Hallman, Robert Follis, Duke Roufus, Duane Ludwig, Yori Nakamura, and Kazushi Sakuraba to name a few.
Cieslak: Oh shoot, yeah, Sakuraba, classic. So, what’s your favorite thing about BJJ? Least favorite?
Guel: My favorite thing about BJJ is its effectiveness and least favorite is the general rule sets regarding leg attacks in competition.
Cieslak: Oh man, not even gonna touch the leg attacks thing (laughs), but the effectiveness, can’t argue there. I think that’s what brings a lot of guys to BJJ: it just works. Alright, so wrapping up, what do you like to do when you’re not on the mats?
Guel: Off the mat I enjoy spending time with my wife and two daughters, 49ers football, video games, reptiles, and listening to music while organizing my stuff. I’m a little ocd (laughs).
———-
See, coaches are just like us: they like reptiles and football and being with their families. You gotta have balance in your life if you want to stick with anything long-term, especially martial arts.