Eddie Kone BJJ Seminar

After my training session at Carlsons last week, I rounded off the week and the weekend with a trip to Rotherham MMA on Saturday 10th October, where my good friend and BJJ black belt Eddie Kone delivered an afternoon of jiu jitsu. I last had the pleasure of training with Eddie at my old club in Bolton (RIP) at the start of 2008 where the action was no gi; this seminar, all the action was with the gi, just how I like it.

Rotherham MMA club is run by head coach Mark Bottom, Charlie Farley and Jonathon Keeley and is the Northern arm of Eddie Kone BJJ network; it has recently moved into new premises and boasts a large matted area, plenty of bright freshly painted walls and a cage currently under construction.

The seminar was well attended with no less than six purple belts on the mats, with blue and white belts making up the numbers; I have always been a big fan of Eddie’s approach to teaching and the way he likes to get students to think outside the box when using techniques. The three hour class was split into three one hour segments; the first hour started from standing and covered a neat little entry into the Uchimata throw and from there, a number of alternatives were shown when your opponent defends the initial throw. These included a single leg and double leg attack, a triangle and reverse hip toss that allows you to take the back, all impressive stuff. The techniques shown took a little over twenty minutes to demonstrate, leaving the remaining time to practice all the combos, without feeling rushed.

After a quick water break it was onto the second hour of the seminar, which followed on from the first hour; when most people took their partner to the ground with the throw, they ended up in half guard. Eddie went on to demonstrate a number of slick sweeps from this position, one I’d already seen and a very very sneaky counter I hadn’t seen before, where you give the guy on top the illusion that he has passed your guard and you come back with a nice reversal. The third technique was from the open half guard and my favourite technique of the day, a superb sweep where you take the guy right over your body, rolling over your shoulder to complete the sweep. It took me a few goes to get it right, but when you do, it’s a beautiful sweep, it feels effortless and if done in competition, would guarantee you be a hit with the ladies at the after party.

Another quick water break followed and the last hour was all specific training, putting the first two hours into practice; my favourite part of the last hour was rolling with your opponent with your best hand tucked into your belt. Overcoming the urge to try and tap your opponent, this kind of rolling allows you to get into and hold positions you would generally miss when rolling with both hands in use. Guard passing became more technical and allowed you to really ‘feel’ the pass and how your body weight contributes more than you’d think to the pass. Great fun indeed.

Starting from half guard, the guy on top had to pass whilst the guy underneath could only use the three techniques shown in the seminar, nothing else, which really made you tighten up your game; round after round of specifics, including guard passing and defending chokes from the rear hooks took us through to the end of the seminar and by now the club was filled with a heat haze and very wet gi’s.

Throughout the seminar, Eddie was close at hand to answer any questions and help everyone on the mats get the most out of the training; attention to detail was the name of the game, as well as Eddie’s constant encouragement and patience when teaching a technique. With Eddie being a light weight player, his technique has to be spot on and cannot rely on brute force alone and he brings this across in his teaching, getting people to realise the benefits of practising proper technique over brawn and muscle.
All too soon another afternoon of jiu jitsu had drawn to an end, another three hours of quality mat time in the bank, all good in the grand scheme of things; it’s been great to get back on the road and train with old friends, as well as making new friends, so a big shout out to Rotherham MMA, hope to see you all again soon guys!

Eddie Kone can be contacted at eddiekone@yahoo.com