Happy New Year!

It's been a great year for Checkmat Wimbledon, the club has gone from strength to strength and I'm very pleased to have female students on board as well; we've dipped our toes in competitive waters and have come back with hard earned medals, not bad for a fledgling club.

The club has been very fortunate to have black belt tuition over the last few months, with everyone looking forward to (and dreading at the same time) 'Mineiro Monday' and everyone learning so much, myself included.  Obrigado Mineiro!

I'd like to thank all my students for all their hard work and support over the last year and I look forward to bigger and better things in the new year; thanks to Steve Dixon from Holistic Fitness Studios for all his help and support in providing an awesome training environment and to club secretary Dickie Wilkinson for promoting the club online and in the club newsletter.

HUGE thanks to Luiz Ribeiro from London Fight Factory for everything he's done to help me become part of the Checkmat family and a part of the team at his club, together with all the guys and gals I've met and trained with this year.  There's never an easy roll at the Factory and it's not been the best year personally training wise due to a pesky back injury, but I'm over the worst of it and my back's fully recovered and as strong as it will ever be, so I'm looking forward to the new year, where I can get myself back into full fitness and spread some Old Man Jiu Jitsu at the Factory.  Huge thanks to Gareth Baxendale, aka GARTISTA for his awesome club logos and to Paul at Subguards.com for turning logos into awesome rash guards and shorts.

Last, but not least, massive thanks, love and appreciation to my long suffering partner Emma, who's had to put up with all my moaning and whining about injuries, the tears of frustration and pain over my back and most of all, helping me get my socks on in the morning. Mwah!

Happy New Year to everyone I've trained with this year and everyone I've met on seminars and competitions; to all the new BJJ friends I've made and to all my old students who've kept in touch, hope you all have a great night tonight and the very best of British for 2016 and to everyone, an injury free New Year.

Ooosss!