BJJ can save your ass!

Check out this article from Grapplersplanet.com outlining eight reasons how BJJ can save your ass. 

So get training!

http://grapplersplanet.com/8-situations-brazilian-jiujitsu-save-ass/ 

 

Old school BJJ v Gracie Jiu Jitsu

This quote was recently posted by black belt Simon Mc Govern, on a thread on the UK BJJ Underground; the topic was about people training under the Gracie Jiu Jitsu banner, when there are legit BJJ black belts in more or less every town in the UK.  This has been a bone of contention for many in the UK BJJ community, especially the ones who were involved with the growth of UK BJJ from the early days and they are sentiments that I wholeheartedly support and identify with.

Those who know, know.

Closed guard with Leo Vieira

Closed guard goodness from The Boss!

 

Six BJJ boosters!

Another great article from BJJEE.com; add these activities into your game, what ever your age and level and see your Jiu Jitsu go through the roof!

http://www.bjjee.com/articles/6-activities-that-will-positively-impact-your-jiu-jitsu/ 

Kurt Osiander - arm lock from the back

Coming back from a loss in Jiu Jitsu

If you choose to compete there will come a day when you end on the losing side and some take this very hard, with some people quitting the competition circuit altogether. 

Read the article below and learn how to deal with your losses and how to come back stronger than ever.
 
http://www.bjjee.com/videos/how-to-bounce-back-from-a-tough-loss-in-jiu-jitsu/

Flying Arm Bars 101!

Watch this and laugh at other people's misfortunes and as always, stick to the basics.........

 

New members!

Checkmat Wimbledon welcomes Rosie and Juliano to the team, taking their first session last night with Mineiro, a great way to start the journey.

 

Last night's class

Another highly enjoyable session last night with Mineiro at the helm; packed mats once again, hard work and lots of squats kept us all very busy as we covered breaking the closed guard.  Lots of drills on hand to get us in the mood and lots of specific training added to many a pair of sore thighs this morning from the students and myself.

Looking forward to the next session.

 

Excuses, excuses!!

We've all lost a match at one time or another, so take a few minutes to read this list of excuses to see if you have said any of these yourselves!

http://www.bjjee.com/articles/top-35-worst-excuses-from-jiu-jitsu-competitors-that-lost/ 

Berkut 2 results

I was right with Galvao!

http://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-news/berkut-bjj-results 

Arm bar drills

Here's a great little video showing some arm bar drills that can be integrated into anyone's workout on the mats, a great way to warm up before class.

 

Attack the back!

Check out this video, brimming with four points goodness............

 

Berkut BJJ 2!

What an awesome card this promises to be!!

What are your predictions? 

Galvao for the main event for me.

 

8 ways to avoid getting injured

A great article from the BJJEE.com website, applicable to everyone that dons the pyjamas, as well as all martial arts, substitute sparring for rolling for the striking arts.

Take special heed of rule #1.

http://www.bjjee.com/articles/8-ways-to-avoid-getting-injured-in-jiu-jitsu/ 

Kurt Osiander MOTW - Animal Planet

Knee shield pass with Kurt Osiander

Straight Footlock 101

During my early years in the grappling arts I was introduced to the world of Sambo by my Jiu Jitsu coach, Trevor Roberts, who implemented Sambo moves in his groundwork.  During this time, I trained a lot with Matthew Clempner and competed in Sambo events run by Martin Clarke and Matthew Clempner up and down the UK.

At this time, a lot of the BJJ guys were competing in these events as BJJ events were thin on the ground, so anything to do with grappling on the competition circuit and we were in there.  

Sambo is a great addition to your grappling game, these guys are the king of leg locks and in this video Vlad Koulikov gives an in depth analysis into the world of the ankle nibbler.

See you next Tuesday!!

Managed to drop in a Viz sweary in the title :)

Off for a week of sun and chilling out; keep training and I'll be back next week.

Top 10 Reasons for training BJJ

Have a read of this amusing article from Aces Jiu Jitsu Club and see if you can identify with any of the reasons.

http://acesjiujitsuclub.com/top-10-reasons-people-start-training-brazilian-jiu-jitsu/

Lunchtime sparring class @ LFF!

I arrived early today and was the first student through the door, as Luiz, Enrique and Marcelo welcomed me into the gym; as I was getting ready the regulars started to come through the doors and get changed and ready to do battle.

There's never an easy session down here, just the way I like it and as I was taping myself up, the mats started to fill up with young, tough, hungry purple belts.  Three black belts graced the mats and pretty much everyone on the mats had some kind of ache or pain, a niggly injury or a fresh one to deal with and I was among them with my own aches and pains, thankfully through hard training this week.

Luiz gave us ten minutes on the clock to warm up and it was six minute rounds for the whole session, my first roll being with Luiz.  A great way to warm myself up as I was squashed, flattened and generally manhandled for the whole six minutes.  The next round was with purple belt Omid, fresh off his triple gold victory at the London Open and another beasting ensued.

My next roll was with a white belt from Amsterdam and before the bell rang for the round, alarm bells were ringing as I saw his gnarly ears and felt his vice like grip on my collar; more alarm bells started to ring, together with my head as everything went dark, as I was rolled in to a classic sangaku jime with ease.  Judo black belt I thought as stars were in my eyes and after the roll I found out he was a Judo black belt of ten years and word on the mats was that he was on the Dutch Olympic squad.  Beware the white belt, they are not what they seem.

Mineiro gave me smile and offered himself for my next roll and with a quick fist bump we were off; Mineiro really tries to get the best out of you and let me attack and force the pace, but always ended up with me tapping out and always with a huge grin on his face.  Great fun to roll with people like this, no egos involved just the love of good training and self improvement.

After the roll, I was contemplating sitting a round out and slowly dying, but black belt Enrique asked me for a roll and who can say no to a black belt? La Furia is one of the lightest guys in the gym and one of the slippiest customers on the mats.  Trying to pin him is like trying to pin a hyperactive eel; one minute you think you have him, the next out shoot his hips and the next thing he's clamped to your back.  Six minutes of slippery shenanigans.

Purple belt James Bryan was next on the list and a tough technical roll ensued; James is strong as an ox but handles it well without hurting you and another solid roll was in the bag.  A couple of rolls with a few guys whose name escape me followed and just as Omid and myself were agreeing to a rematch the class was over.  

There are no easy sessions down here at London Fight Factory, there are no hiding places on the mats; when some one asks you to roll you roll, what ever the size or belt, no matter how sore you are, you just grit your teeth and get on with it.  I was very pleased with my performance today, my injury is as healed as it can be and the long hard road to mat fitness is in full swing.  It's tough enough having a week or two out, but having a good few months out of regular training and at my ripe old age, is nothing short of horrendous.  

Your timing is a second or two out, you breathe like an asthmatic and every pin down is torture, giving you many reasons to just stop and give up; you just have to take the beatdowns and become the nail for a while and take the beastings and one day in the near future the tables will turn and you'll become the hammer.  To all the over forties out there that have had time out, don't be scared, just get back on the mats and if you have decent team mates like I have at LFF, you'll soon be back up there.

Thanks to everyone I rolled with today and pushing me to the limit and beyond.  Ooss. 

Takedowns with Terere

Expert advice on gaining a quick two points -  http://www.bjjee.com/articles/tereres-tips-for-improving-your-takedowns-for-jiu-jitsu/

 

Stripes for the boys!

Huge congrats to young guns Harry and Dylan, who received their first stripe last night; both are seventeen and have competed after a short time training and entered the Adult division to really test themselves.  Both train regularly at the club and never complain when rolling all the adults, true warrior spirit and a credit to themselves and the club.

Well done guys!

Mineiro at Checkmat Wimbledon!

After the lunch time class yesterday with Mineiro, we headed off to a cafe for some much needed refuelling and chilled out for a few hours, before taking Mineiro over to Wimbledon, where he was taking the class.

The mats were packed with a superb turnout and after a quick intorduction from Mineiro the class commenced; the class started with the usual specific warm up, lots of running round, breakfalls, shrimping, technical get ups and then we were drilled to death!

Mineiro showed a sequence of drills that were all linked together and in pairs, each person practiced for two minutes each before changing and changing partners after each round.  Guard passing and guard retention drills were practiced and although two minutes doesn't sound a long time, when you are constantly moving around on the mats, you soon feel the burn in the abs and the sweat starts to flow.  Big time.

The session finished with six three minute rounds of passing the guard to knee ride, but with your hands in the belt on the bottom and one hand behind the back on top.  The guys on top stayed on top for three rounds, then on the bottom for three rounds; lots of fun all round and plenty of knees and feet in the abs, ribs and unmentionables.  This specific training is a great way to develop balance and timing makes you work hard on changing the angle to execute a successful guard pass.

By now the gym was a haze of hard work and perspiration, all the windows were steamed up and everyone's gi's were soaking wet, solid hard work from everyone.  Everyone enjoyed the session, I received great feedback from the students and I'm sure Mineiro will be back again real soon.

Ooosss!

Lunchtime class at London Fight Factory

Can't think of a better way to kick start the week than a lunchtime class down at London Fight Factory; black belt Mineiro took the class and soon had us all sweating profusely.

After a thorough warm up, we went through three drils, then joined them together for one long drill from start to finish, then it was time for rolling; got in four tough rolls in total, including black belts Enrique and Mineiro, whom I rolled with last, so had nothing to offer him but submissions.

Awesome training, as always and have the added pleasure of having Mineiro taking my evening class tonight in Wimbledon.

All this great fun and it's only Monday!!

 

Sunday submission!

 Check out this cool submission from Andre Pederneiras............