Last year I was privileged enough to sit down with Lt. General Michael Ferriter of the United States military. “The General”, as he is called at Gracie BJJ Ohio in Columbus, was an extremely humble and gracious guest to sit down and share a 90-minute conversation with. Not only is General Ferriter an elite-ranking member of the US military, he is also a 4th-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and considered the Godfather of US Army Combatives.

As I sat down with the General, he told me story after story of his time with 4-star General Colin Powell. His reverence for General Powell, along with our conversation on philosophy, life, and BJJ, led me to reading and understanding more about this man. When I was younger I had known of Gen. Powell from the news and through President George W. Bush’s presidency, but I was young and didn’t understand a lot of things I do now. With a few years of experience and a couple of college degrees, it’s much easier to see some of the lessons of General Powell.

I invite you to also read General Colin Powell’s book, “It Worked For Me” and other writings from this great leader.

In other FBB news - we got a new treadmill! The newly refurbed Matrix T5 treadmill comes from All Pro Sports in Livonia, MI, and is a huge upgrade from the older LifeFitness treadmill that was upstairs previously. Such a large chunk of our FBB population uses the cardio equipment on a near daily basis (especially during the colder months), so we wanted to make sure that we have a good and reliable treadmill option for members who aren’t big on the self-powered treadmill.

Have a great week!

Tyler - FBB