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by Joji MontelibanoIn South Philadelphia, social status is not measured so much by the car you drive or even by the house you live in,but rather by which door you use to enter a restaurant. Normal people, including Hollywood actors, Nobel Prize winners and heads of state, enter through the front door. The people on the inside, the most trusted inner circle, thefamily, the loved ones – they enter through the kitchen.Whenever I walked into a restaurant with Phil Migliarese III,we always entered through the kitchen.I first met Phil in the winter of 1997. He struck me as a streetwise young man, brimming with confidence and possessing the stereotypical swagger commonly associated with Italian-American youths from South Philly. I thought I hadPhil figured out from the start: white, middle-class kid, who probably never had a hard day in his life. Over the years,I learned just how far off my first impression was, and that Phil indeed was no stranger to adversity.Photo: Phil, Marko, Rick and Joe in Brazil after the worlds.

Phil and I were brought together by ashared interest in yoga. Both he and Ibegan our yoga study at an early age,Phil at 8, myself at 12. I happened to beteaching ashtanga yoga (This methodinvolves synchronizing the breath withprogressive series of postures—aprocess producing intense internal heatand a profuse sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs.) on Walnut Street at thetime. Phil showed up to one of my firstclasses. I was impressed by the extraordinary strength and flexibility he had,especially for a tall man of his physique.Phil enjoyed my class so much that hefelt he had to repay me in more than justmoney. He invited me to take an introductory class of Brazilian jiu-jitsu thatcoming Saturday. I went and I loved it.However, Phil didn’t quite feel that wasenough. So he offered to show me moreof Philadelphia.THE GRACIESBeforetheUltimateFightingChampionship, before every other martial artist in the USA knew what theguard was, and before "mounting"somebody was universally accepted as alegitimate fighting strategy, PhilMigliarese began training with theGracie family. He met Rorion, Royceand Relson Gracie at a Philadelphiaseminar in 1990, and was immediatelyattracted to their brand of fighting.Relson took the young, penniless youthunder his wing, and in exchange forsweeping mats, cleaning toilets andother odd jobs, Relson taught Phil thebasics of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. With natu-ral talent and a strong work ethic, Philquickly took to the Gracie method andwon the confidence of his teachers, somuch so that Royce singled him out as amere 14-year-old white belt to representthe Gracies in a challenge match againsta much older, stronger karate black belt.Although no stranger to fist fights (hegrew up in South Philly after all), Philwas intimidated by the sight of a blackbelt in front of him. Nonetheless, heapplied the basic maneuvers – takedown, control and submission. Thirtyseconds is what it took for a 14-year-oldwhite belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to defeat akarate black belt. Phil needed no furtherconvincing that he was in the rightplace.Rolling with Royce in 1992.I am eternally indebted to the Migliaresefamily for introducing me to the beautyof Philadelphia. Without them, I wouldhave lived out my tenure there as justanother working stiff, an outsider blissfully unaware of the wonders surrounding him. Phil and his brother, Ricardo,truly gave me an inside look into Philly,and in the process, I learned how closely intertwined the Migliarese brotherswere with the heartbeat of the city.Walking down the streets ofPhiladelphia with Phil or Ricardo waslike hanging out with the mayor. Everyshopkeeper, police officer, postal worker, street cleaner and dog walker knewthem.There are many prominent ItalianAmerican families in the South Phillyneighborhood where Phil and Ricardogrew up, many of whom have been castin a rather sinister light. It was notuncommon for young men of their ageto become associated with unsavorycharacters in their community. Suchcharacters gained notoriety for theirinvolvement in, among other things,street fights. Indeed, Phil would eventually succumb to the allure of a familythat had carved a niche for itself in theworld of fighting. It may have started inthe streets, but it ended in the dojos ofthe martial arts world. The family'sname was Gracie.MMA Worldwide 23

1995 at a Gracie tournamentRick, Helio, and Phil.This was Phil’s first opportunityto fight on behalf of the “GracieChallenge,” where the Graciesinvited anyone to fight a representative of their family in norules, no weight class, no timelimit matches. Although themain purpose of this challengewas to demonstrate thesupremacy of the Gracie technique, a false rumor circulatedalleging a 100,000 prize toanyone who managed to beat aGracie. Needless to say, thisrumor attracted a lot of yahoosand Philadelphia was notspared. From 1992 to 1993, Philrecalls, “Everybody wanted towin the 100k! I ended up fighting almost once a week. Was Inuts?” During that period, Philwon every match he fought.Rorion rewarded him with ablue belt. The road to black beltwas free and clear for Phil. Thefuture was bright. And then acar hit him.24 MMA WorldwideTHE ACCIDENTOn January 13, 1993, an SUVgoing 60 mph slammed againstthe passenger side of MikeTimmons’ car. Luckily, Mikeescaped with minor injuries, buthis cousin Phil was nearly killedon impact. He spent the nexttwo days in a coma. He brokeall the ribs on the right side ofhis body, his pelvis, his shoulder, his collarbone, all the fingers on his right hand, and hisnose. Needless to say, hisprospects for grappling againremained dim.For the next six months, Philoccupied himself with the studyof Pranayama, breathing exercises taught by the yogis ofIndia to benefit one's health. Healso engaged in visualizationexercises and the study of jiujitsu film. Although incapacitated at this time, Phil credits thisPhil, Steve Maxwell, Saulo Ribero, and Rick after Saulowon the worlds.

At UFC 1with Royler Gracie.strategic approach to jiu-jitsu. "I was soinvolved with the physical side of jiu-jitsuthat I never really stopped to think about . . well, I actually never stopped to think.Period."It takes an individual of exceptionalstrength and spirit to recognize opportunity in the midst of despair, and yet, this isexactly what Phil accomplished during hisconvalescence. Deprived of the ability tophysically train, he focused all his energyon honing his intellect and his spirit. Herefused to surrender to the apparent defeatthe accident had imposed upon him. Heintegrated his study of yoga with hisknowledge of the martial arts. Uponregaining control of his hand, he began towrite:“Yoga creates familiarity with one’s self:the first opponent. If self-defeatingthoughts arise before a match, one will naturally be fighting two opponents instead ofone. Better to defeat the first opponent –the ego – before coming around to face theother one. After the ego, any other adversary will be easy.”He also came to understand that in the fieldof combat, anybody can lose. Furthermore,January 13, 19931968 Mustang.he began to see emptiness in victories even if one wins, everyone will forget in ayear, so what then? These realizationsformed a dramatic departure from Phil’searlier understanding of martial arts. Priorto that, it was all about being number one,about beating anyone who challenged you,and about never losing. As any championcan attest, defeat is a sad yet inevitablereality for everybody.Phil then had to redefine his purpose forpursuing the martial arts. As he recoveredfrom his injuries, he developed what hecalls a “directed passion” – the type of passion without anything to prove. “Win orlose, you love what you do. Wins and losses are both learning experiences andopportunities to improve your art form,your fighting style, your game.”Next issue, we’ll pick up Phil’s storywhere it left off, following his miraculousrecovery and renewed vigor in training tobetter himself and others.For more information on Phil’sgym, log on towww.teambalance.com.For free videos and updates, go towww.jiujitsumatrix.com.

Rick, (My CousinFrank Ambrifi /brownbelt mma champ) andme (2007)by Joji MontelibanoLast issue, we learned of Phil Migliarese III who began training in Brazilianjiu-jitsu with the Gracie family long before the debut of the UFC. OnJanuary 13, 1993, a devastating car accident would nearly claim his life, butinstead, put him on an evolutionary path of martial arts self discovery.60 MMA Worldwide

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENTSUpon receiving a clean bill of health in1994, Phil approached his training withrenewed vigor. He was eager to apply allthe techniques he had visualized in hishospital room to his training and to actual combat situations. The results wereimpressive. In 1994, Phil spent a total ofsix months in Hawaii training intensivelywith Relson Gracie. As he describes it, he"lived and breathed jiu-jitsu," following astrict conditioning regimen, adopting theGracie diet, and rolling on the mat hourson end.After Rick won the worlds.Although having been severely injured,Phil quickly rose to the top of the rankswithin the BJJ circuit. Eager to learnfrom the font of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, in1996, he entered the Gracie Academy inTorrance, which Grandmaster HelioGracie had recently established as theheadquarters of the Gracie family in theUnited States. Phil was so impressedwith the Academy that it served as aninspiration for him to build a school lateron in his career.In 1999, Phil won the in-house tournament where over 100 participants competed. He became a senior instructor atthe prestigious academy and taught everyclass there for a period of four months.He received a Level 10 TeachingCertificate from Relson, the highest suchcertificate awarded by the Gracies.During this time, he also toured theUnited States with Royce, assisting himin several seminars and helping with theestablishment of the Gracie Jiu-jitsuAssociation in San Francisco. In additionto honing his skills in jiu-jitsu, Phil alsolearned valuable teaching and businessskills from Rorion Gracie at the academy,which would later serve him well in thecreation of Balance Studios.In subsequent years, Phil traveled toBrazil, competing in many tournamentsand beating the best of his class. Phil'smost prominent victory came in 2000, ina grappling match against UFC fighterand then ADCC champion Renato"Babalu" Sobral, whom he submittedwith an armbar four minutes into thematch. Phil's ascension within the worldMMA Worldwide 61