Old Man Jiu Jitsu all the way!
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Wednesday 27 June 2018
Tuesday 26 June 2018
Last night's class...
Killer comp class last night, everyone worked really hard in the stifling heat, lots of sweat left on the mats, burning off all the beer from Sunday watching England in the World Cup!
Thursday 21 June 2018
Slo mo scissor sweep video
Was playing around last night with the slo mo feature on one of my student's smart phones and we filmed the three techniques we have trained in class this week; namely the regular scissor sweep, an option when the person defends the sweep and an arm bar option from the scissor sweep attack.
I think the slo mo vids are a great teaching tool you can give to your students, so they can see where they need to be in relation to their opponent, as important things can be missed when teaching in normal speed, even when things are broken down into stages.
More videos to follow...
Wednesday 20 June 2018
Studio NW2 - BJJ and Muay Thai Academy
Huge congrats to two of my London Fight Factory black belt buddies Enrique Villasenor and Tiago Valente, as they open the doors to their new gym on Monday June 25th...
For more info visit www.studionw2.com
Training tonight...
It's time once again to stop making excuses not to train, give up the fight with the couch/TV/social media and get down onto the mats at Checkmat Wimbledon, where you can interact with real human people and get to twist them up at the same time. What's not to love?
The Surrey Open looms on the horizon in August, so it's all hands to the deck as we work as a team and get those that are competing ready for action....
#noexcuses
Tuesday 19 June 2018
Last night's class...
Had a very good turnout last night in spite of the England match being on the TV, sometimes it's hard to compete against things like the National Game, but last night was a very pleasant surprise indeed.
In addition to a good turn out, we had the pleasure of a purple belt by the name of Ryan, all the way from Oz, who was over in the UK visiting one of my students, who used to live out there and train with Ryan back in the day.
Lots of hard work and sweat last night as per usual, as we get ready for the Surrey Open, competition we haven't attended before, so I am looking forward to this event and seeing my lads and ladies do battle the mats...
Monday 18 June 2018
Well done Billy!
Huge congrats to young Billy who was awarded his fourth stripe at Saturday afternoon's class...
Friday 15 June 2018
Why do I teach and train Jiu Jitsu?
I teach and train Jiu Jitsu primarily as a means to have a set of skills to deal with violent situations out in the real world, competition Jiu Jitsu comes second, always will.
We live in violent times, people in London getting stabbed and killed on a shockingly high scale and only two days ago a guy was stabbed in the head at lunchtime, broad daylight in Croydon town centre - https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-croydon-stabbing-leaves-man-12697260
You owe it your kids and yourselves, wherever you live in the UK, get into some form of combat sports, be it boxing, Thai, Judo, Wrestling, Jiu Jitsu...
Anything that will give you the upper hand, because you never know when or where it's going to happen; I was attacked two years ago on the steps of the tube station coming home from a 15hr door shift with a fucked up back and I know 100% if I hadn't had any form of training the guy would have killed me or severely fuck me up, because not one person stepped in to help me, not a single person. I was on my fucking own.
Thankfully I weathered the storm of punches and kicks and and stomps, as I was knocked on my arse on the steps and was fighting with my back half on the steps and against the wall and was basically getting a good dose of ground and pound. I covered up best I could and slipped and weaved and took some good fucking shots, but I managed to get back on my feet thanks to technical get up and carried on from standing and then it was an even playing field, I could kick and strike now.
I gave him some digs and a few kicks and closed the distance with a clinch and got a few headbutts in and got the Thai clinch and being the Jiu Jitsu expert I finished it with a couple of knees to the head and he dropped like a sack of shit.
It was ugly. It was messy. No points for a takedown or guard pass, no fucking 50-50 or Berimbolo. It was full on 110% from this guy from out of nowhere, came out the blue, I got the adrenaline dump big time, but have been there many times at work on the doors and used it to my advantage. The average Joe would have just curled up and taken a good fucking kicking and ended up in hospital.
I got a round of applause from the commuters and they got told to fuck right off, why didn't anyone help me, set of cunts etc and got on the Tube and came home.
If you train BJJ, train for real life at least once a week in class or for half an hour class; pulling worm guard or inverting won't save you, but putting the gloves and going for it and getting a submission whilst your partner is beating down on you WILL...
I try and give my students the tools they need to get home safely after a training session or a night out or coming home from work, because it's a world of shit and scum out there and one day you might have to defend yourself for real and you do not want to be left wanting when the shit hits the fan...
Thursday 14 June 2018
Last night's class...
I managed to drag my carcass down to Wimbledon to teach class, after being manhandled the night before by Luiz and Rafael Lovato Jr; the next competition isn't until August 5th, so there's plenty of time to whip everyone into shape, whether they are competing or not.
There was lots of grip fighting rounds and people are now adding throwing attacks into the mix, once the grips were secured, two very important parts of training are now coming together nicely, the result is less bent back fingers and toes and more confidence in the stand up game.
Guard passing and sweeps are on the radar for the time being, more of which will be drilled to death at the next session which will be this coming Saturday afternoon at 130pm, looking forward to it already...
Wednesday 13 June 2018
Violent hugging with Rafael Lovato Jr...
Had an awesome time last night down at London Fight Factory, as Rafael Lovato Jr was in town and when ever he's in town he heads down to LFF and delivers some real game changing shit, as they say in the business and last night was no exception.
Rafael had flown in on the day yesterday and was ready to hit the mats and share the positive energy from everyone that had come to train; after a little chat Rafael chose his favourite position, the mount and gave a masterclass on maintaining the position, describing one of the concepts as 'violent hugging' that helps you maintain the position and that alone was worth the entry fee.
From this position, Rafael covered the cross collar choke, adding in a few details to help finish your opponent and a number of what if scenarios from attacking the arms. For those expecting fancy Berimbolo and 50-50 variations, this wasn't that type of class, as Rafael was at pains to explain that if you ended up in a real fight, it's the basics that get you out of trouble and basics trained well, something of which I'm in full agreement with Rafael and tell my students the same things.
The mount is one of the most dominant positions in Jiu Jitsu, but can be a position that's easily lost; with this in mind, Rafael showed a number of ways the position can be lost and then ways to regain the position, leaving you ready to attack again.
Some really great tips and pointers from a real legend and at the end of class, I managed to have a roll with Rafael and I'm very fortunate to be here this morning typing away after being handed a truly spectacular beatdown from such a legend of the sport, something I won't forget in a hurry. After sweeping me to mount, Rafael did what he does best from this position and submitted me at will, after controlling me with a large dose of violent hugging and other unpleasentaries. Awesome stuff indeed.
Once again, huge thanks to Luiz Ribeiro for arranging the session and Rafael told everyone on the mats that when ever he's in London, he'll always return to LFF to come and teach, so we look forward to seeing him again in the future.
Tuesday 12 June 2018
Congrats to Satinder!
Huge congrats to my student Satinder on his well deserved stripe last night, in another busy session as we get ready for the Surrey Open...
Thursday 7 June 2018
BJJ Pain...
This video makes for painful viewing, showcasing the various levels of pains a new white belt experiences in their first few months of training...
I hope the two guys in the videos made it through to the other side...
Wednesday 6 June 2018
Tuesday 5 June 2018
Should Keenan have been DQ'd?
That's the question on everyone's lips in the BJJ community right now...
Last night's class...
Great fun last night as we celebrated four years of twisting up fools... I couldn't get my hands on a cake for everyone, so double chocolate brownies had to suffice instead...
Monday 4 June 2018
Happy 4th birthday Checkmat Wimbledon!
Four years ago today, I opened the doors to Checkmat Wimbledon onto an unsuspecting public; four people attended the first class and two of them are still with me today and over the years, the club has grown in numbers and has a dedicated core of students that train week win, week out and are testing themselves regularly in competitions.
It's been a long hard slog over the years, literally starting again from scratch building up a new club and getting new students through the door, but it's been worth it, as we are now a well established club in the UK BJJ scene and also on the competition circuit.
Huge thanks as always to Steve Dixon at Holistic Studios for all his help over the years and to my coach, mentor and friend Luiz Ribeiro for all his support over the years and believing in me, when at at times I wasn't so sure.
Shouts out to Nick Briely for attending my first ever class, much appreciated mate; to Colin Ndawike and his students over at NWA in Croydon for supporting my seminars and being so welcoming to my guys when going to their open mats; to all the LFF crew for their many beatdowns they've handed me over the years and help keeping my ego in check, too many to name but you all know who you are and in coming over to the club and rolling with my guys; to my sponsors Harj Bains at BAIN and Omar Javed at Grapple Kings for keeping me in the best training gear in the business; to Mineiro and Neto Nunes for coming over to teach in the early days and last but by no means least, my long suffering partner Emma, for all her help and support, listening to my endless moaning about aches and pains and helping me get my socks in a morning...
We have a class on tonight, so it's going be a birthday class to remember guys and girls...
Ooooosss!
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