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In a Georgia Straight article about DeCrooвЂ™s work, Rebecca Blissett wrote of his childhood: вЂњDeCroo had an upbringing that might charitably be described as fucked. and the Kootenays, before settling by himself in Vancouver. His mother took them back to Pittsburgh, but DeCroo returned here when he was 16 to rejoin his father, moving around northern B.C. DeCroo was born in Pittsburgh and mostly grew up there until his father, who had deserted the US Marines after serving in the Vietnam War, brought them to B.C.

DeCroo is also a published poet and a singer who last year released his eighth album, Old Tenement Man. HeвЂ™s kindly taking a break from working hard to memorize 87 pages of a script for a David Harrower play titled Blackbird, a play that takes the stage next month. As he stands to greet me, his hand goes up to move that characteristic lock of hair out of his eyes. Relaxed, he wears dark denim jeans and a hoodie with an oversized winter down jacket. On this February afternoon, DeCroo sits just inside the entrance of his regular cafe near his home of 27 years on Commercial Drive in east Vancouver. Week by week and month by month, DeCrooвЂ™s dedication, perseverance and persistence started to change him.вЂќ The post was written to acknowledge DeCrooвЂ™s accomplishment in earning a blue belt three years after that first meeting. This was the first time he humanized himself.

#PEACEFUL WARRIOR GYM HOW TO#

вЂњHe started asking me questions about how to improve his fitness and his cardio, and he told me that he was a musician, a songwriter, a performer. вЂњDeCroo first stepped on the mats in spring of 2014 as an unpredictable, spastic, insecure, egotistical, self-centered, narcissistic time-bomb waiting to explode,вЂќ wrote Duquette in a Facebook post. Just five years ago, DeCrooвЂ™s immediate reaction to any physical confrontation might have been unmitigated violence.ДeCroo first met his adversary, gym owner and martial arts instructor Roy Duquette, four years ago. Since he is a recovering addict and a childhood victim of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the impression of a hard life is also dead accurate. Since he is a performer-a singer-songwriter, poet and actor-this impression of DeCroo would be correct. Someone for whom it matters how he is perceived. A lock of hair carefully groomed into place speaks of someone who is conscious of how he looks. A deeply-lined, distinctive face that hints at earned experience, none of it easy. To say that Rodney DeCroo, 51, resembles Anthony Hopkins is to say that his face has character. They face each other and after a quick bro-pound, they go at it again. They roll onto their knees, breathing hard, straightening their story by MILANA BUCANД¬lothes. A brief fight to tear away the choking arm is followed by a quick tap-tap. This time the grimace is deeper and strangled. He hooks the heels of both feet inside HopkinsвЂ™ legs. A few moves later, in a fluid motion, the man slips one arm around HopkinsвЂ™ neck from behind, deftly latching onto the bicep of his other arm, and locks onto HopkinsвЂ™ back in a tight hold. Then, aggressively bridging his body and sliding his hips side to side, he manages to break free. Methodically, he counters by wedging one arm under his opponentвЂ™s abdomen and pushing the blade of his other forearm across his adversaryвЂ™s throat. His forehead glistens with sweat, his face a mask of forbearance. The one lying on his back, a younger Anthony Hopkins-type, grimaces silently, enduring the discomfort. Though their breathing is ragged the menвЂ™s faces are expressionless until one- an athletic man with tattoos flashing out from under his cuffs and open jacket-manages to pin the other, grinding his shoulder into his opponentвЂ™s face, turning it to the floor. Strong hands grasp lapels but then are ripped away until they reassert themselves on sleeves, around wrists. Within moments theyвЂ™re both clinched on the ground, tumbling, backs flared with exertion. IItвЂ™s a Friday night and just off VancouverвЂ™s Commercial Drive, in a dimly lit subterranean room with mirrored walls, two men square off. THE UNLIKELY VEHICLE FOR HIS ACCELERATED RECOVERY: THE BRAZILIAN MARTIAL ART, JIU JITSU. RODNEY DECROO GIVES HIMSELF A FIGHTING CHANCE AGAINST THE TRAUMATIC EFFECTS OF YEARS-LONG ABUSE AND ADDICTION. Despite suffering from PTSD, DeCroo finds opportunities for growth amid the crush and complexity, the submission chokes and locks of Jiu Jitsu.

Peaceful warrior gym