Extra classes @ Combat Base Bolton!

Due to expanding class numbers, there will be extra classes at the club with immediate effect from Thursday, March 1st.  The Fundamentals class on Thursday will run from 6-730pm and following that, there will be a gi and no gi sparring/specifics class running until 9pm.

www.combatbasebolton.co.uk/classes

Stroops MMA!

My good friend Eddie Kone has been raving on to me about a US based company, that sell cutting edge strength and conditioning products, widely used by some of the biggest names in BJJ and MMA.  Eddie told me about the amazing gains he and his students have made using these products and recommended I go and get a piece of the action.

I looked at the equipment online after a telephone chat with Gary Harker, Director of Education and am pleased to say I have made my first order, an Accelerator and Takedown, with all the attachments.  With these two products, I can take myself and my students to the next level, helping improve their takedowns, throws, shrimps, wrestling, ground and pound and many more exercises, giving them that killer finish come competition time.

If you haven't heard of Stroops (shame on you) then have a look at this video featuring Eddie Kone using some of the equipment at his gym in London.





For more info visit - www.stroopsmma.com

New Andre Galvao HL Reel!

Another HL reel of Andre Galvao to help inspire you and make you put your gi in your bag and go hit the mats :) 

Eddie Kone Seminar @ EKBJJ Rotherham!

Eddie Kone was up North in Rotherham last weekend, to host a seminar and to officially open the new Rotherham BJJ HQ, run by Jon Keeley; over twelve months in the making and enduring much heartache and pitfalls along the way, Jon and his team of helpers now have a purpose built facility for fitness and strength and conditioning, as well as a permanently matted area for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts.

Group photo

After a quick warm up, Eddie thanked everyone for supporting the event, which was well attended with a large number of blue and purple belts on the mats and started off proceedings with a few takedowns; from there Eddie showed some variations on the guard passes that Rafael Lovato Jr had shown at Eddie's place a few weeks before, which led nicely on to side control attacks, before finishing off with ways of taking the back and finishing from the back.

Open guard sweep

All that remained was an hour of rolling and I had a very enjoyable yet tough hour rolling with purple and blue belts, which is a credit to Jon, Monkey and all the other coaches in Eddie's group, the standard remains very high and at the end of the hour, some new blue and brown belts were given out.  Dan Taylor, Danny Harding and Iain Bushby were promoted to blue and Jon Keeley, Harry Jenkins and James Harding stepped up another level and entered into the land of brown belt.  Huge congrats to all involved, as well as a handful of guys that received stripes on their belts.

Jon Keeley (l), myself, Eddie, Monkey and young Harrison

Now the race is on for the first black belt to be given by Eddie, so place your bets, there are a number of contenders and will be a well deserved promotion when the time is right.  I'd like to thank Monkey and Jon Keeley for the continued friendship over the years and and giving me the chance to come over and train with all the guys and of course to Eddie for keeping me in the loop with his very busy teaching schedule.

Second helpings please!

With the training over, all that remained was refuelling at the Flaming Dragon all you can eat buffet, which is the law after every seminar in Rotherham; Eddie and myself gave the Teppan Yaki a thorough going over and Eddie was up to his usual tricks, playing practical jokes with everyone, myself included, to much laughter from all at the table.  Overall, a super day out, a combination of jiu jitsu training and fun and games post training, which is what the jiu jitsu lifestlye is all about.  Having fun.

www.ekbjj.com

Rafael Lovato Jr - exclusive interview!

My good friends across the pond in the good old US of A have put my interview with Rafael onto their website; be sure to read the interview and see what a world class competitor has to say about staying motivated and tackling that dreaded illness, 'belt-itis'...............http://www.bjjweekly.com/blog/post/rafael-lovato-jr-interview-issue-092

Academy Visit - Team Sukata Warrington!

My lastest academy report is now online at the Jiu Jitsu Style website :)

http://www.bjjstyle.com/news/sukata/warrington.php

Old Man Zhoo Zhitsu!!

Looking forward to my first competition of 2012, the Hereford Open next Sunday; as an aging Senior 2 brown belt, finding people to fight is a nightmare and sadly, the guy I was due to compete against next week, has had to pull out.

I spoke to Dave Coles and asked him if another Senior 2 was willing to compete, but Dave said he was commited to another competition, so I was looking at the fact of just reffing next weekend.  Gutted.

I love to compete and test myself at every event and try to make things work in a competition that I have been teaching in class and my first goal as a brown belt is to win my first match, preferrably with a submission.  I know it's going to be hard work in the first year, as I haven't been a brown belt for long and in the two matches I have had in 2011, the level of competition has increased dramatically.

That said, I scanned the competitor list for next weekend and saw there were two Adult brown belts competing in my weight bracket, so I spoke to Dave and asked if I could compete with the young guns and I am happy to report that I will be competing next weekend :)

To all the Seniors out there in jiu jitsu land, don't be afraid to compete, win or lose you always learn something and by learning you are growing more experienced within your belt colour.  Injuries notwithstanding, I'll be there next Sunday, flying the flag for Senior 2's and I will keep everyone posted on how I get on.

Onwards and upwards :)

New promotions at Fighting Fit, Manchester!

My friends over at Fighting Fit, Manchester, hosted Dave Onuma for a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu seminar at the weekend; after three hours of training and rolling, Dave promoted a number of people to blue and purple belt and gave stripes to a handful of well deserving lutadors.

Dave Onuma and the Fighting Fit Crew

Well done to everyone, hope to see you all soon :)

(Photo taken from CFS website)

http://combinedfightingsystems.blogspot.com/2012/02/cfs-bjj-manchester-4212.html
http://parttimegrappler.blogspot.com
http://www.fightingfitmartialarts.co.uk

Lovato Jr v Tussa Alencar - Pan Ams 2008 Finals

If this video doesn't inspire you to train even harder or send shivers down the spine, then you're probably in the wrong sport!

Never give up the fight, even when the chips are down.

Guard passing - Lovato Jr Style!

The BJJ Gods have well and truly lined up the stars for me this week :) I had the pleasure of Darren and Helen Currie teaching at my gym at the weekend just gone, going through the finer points of guard passing and if that wasn't enough I was down the Big Smoke yesterday to train with Eddie Kone and Rafael Lovato Jr and as luck would have it, Rafael gave a seminar on guard passing!

Group photo

Rafael was in London after the Euros for a few days to hang out and train with Eddie and I was lucky enough to grab a few minutes with Rafael out of his busy schedule and interviewed him, so keep your eyes peeled when it goes online.

With Rafael and Eddie

Rafael showed the class his favourite way of passing guard and linked a handful of passes from this position, as well as 'what ifs' from each position and showed that all passes can be linked and chained together, giving you the upper hand when playing the top game.  Every technique came with a few pointers to make each one more or less unstoppable and every pass ended you up in mount, seven points in the bag!

From the mount position, Rafael showed his favourite go to submissions, again packed with lots of useful tips, so I am looking forward to trying these out in class, you have been warned :) 

After the teaching, Rafael took a number of questions and gave his thoughts on the importance of drilling techniques and his love for competing and the fact that he a BJJ geek, which he is unashamed to admit.  This part of the class was very motivating and inspiring, as it gave an insight into the mind set of an elite level athlete and how they prepare for high level competitions, as well as how they deal with injuries, losses and plateaux.

Thanks to Eddie Kone for arranging the seminar and Rafael for taking time out for the interview.

www.okbjj.com
www.lovatojr.com
Facebook - lovatojrfans.com
Twitter - @lovatojrbjj

Eddie Kone gets first stripe from Lovato Jr!

Huge congrats to my very good friend Eddie Kone, who last night received his first stripe on his black belt from Rafael Lovat Jr; this came at the end of a fantastic guard passing seminar from Rafael, who stayed with Eddie for a days after the Euros in Lisbon.

Lovato Jr and Eddie Kone

Eddie has been a black belt for over five years and the stripe from Rafael was given in recognition of his time served as a black belt so far and was presented to Eddie at the end of the seminar in front of all his students.

Well done Eddie!!

www.okbjj.com

www.ekbjj.com