Northern Monkey rash guards on tour...

Love to see my Northern Monkey rash guards on the mats around the world; two of my students who are brothers are having fun at the Globetrotters Summer Camp over in Heidelberg and are repping out in style :)

Nice one guys!

Last night's class

Great class last night covering opening the closed guard and passing low with the double under hooks, plus a few cheeky submissions; great fun as always and great to be back properly on the mats teaching and training with the lads here at Wimbledon BJJ and also getting my own training done over at London Fight Factory, long may my body hold out and let me keep training :)

Friday lunchtime class @ LFF

Had a brilliant training session with my Bulgarian training partner Slavimir over at London Fight Factory yesterday lunchtime; I absolutely love training with this guy, every roll is a combination of wrestling, Sambo and Jiu Jitsu, anything can and always does happen which make for really exciting and unpredictable rolling which can only make one better.

I count my lucky stars I get to train with this guy, he's really helped me every time we train together and I always leave the mats with a headful of techniques and concepts that keeps me awake at night for days lol

Until next week my friend...

Mat prowler...

Cheeky little photo taken by one of my students Ger, of my good self prowling the mats with my 'assistant' in hand, looking to 'correct' any errant students...

Wednesday night No Gi class

Due to the extreme weather this week here in London, Wednesday night class was without the Gi and as always, it's prison rules all the way...all non IBJJF friendly techniques on No Gi night, exploring banana splits, twisters and vaporisers among others, always a lot of fun teaching and training with the lads...

Last night's class...

After the intense week of Jiu Jitsu with Professor Cyborg last week, Wimbledon BJJ was back open for business last night, drilling out some of the info left by the Professor...lots of techniques and concepts to sink into the old grey matter, to be drilled on the mats and tested out in sparring.

A great start to the week last night and more of the same tomorrow!

Gold medal for Liinus!

HUGE congrats from everyone at Wimbledon BJJ and the Fight Sports London family to young Liinus, who competed at the Southend Open on Sunday and came away with the gold medal...hard work pays off!

Cyborg's last session and BBQ at New Wave Academy

Rounded off an awesome week of Jiu Jitsu training at the weekend with Professor Cyborg over at New Wave Academy, followed by a Brazilian BBQ and some sunshine after a torrential downpour in the morning...

My students and my old self have had an amazing week training at LFF and NWA, mixing it up with the rest of the Fight Sports London team and it really feels good be back on the mats after a long lay off...

The Northern Monkey is back!

Northern Monkey BJJ - Brabo Choke

Cyborg's last session and BBQ at NWA...

Can't believe it's almost the end of the training camp with Cyborg, the time has flown by!

Tonight over at London Fight Factory, the black belt ceremony starts at 730pm and the final training session with Cyborg is over at New Wave Academy tomorrow 1-3pm, which will be followed by a BBQ and I dare say, a few beers too :)

It's been an awesome week of training, packed mats and lots of positive attitude and energy and it's been great to see fellow Fight Sports colleagues all on the mats, with plenty more to see tonight and tomorrow.

Ooooss

Cyborg at LFF - Day 3

Yet another outstanding lunchtime session over at LFF yesterday with Cyborg, the mats were packed once again and another masterclass was under way; Cyborg quickly gave a recap on the moves taught the day before and went on to show some really cool DLR set ups and sweeps, with lots of what if scenarios that came from questions from the students, which led to some awesome counter moves and submissions.

As in every session with Cyborg, there's a lot of verbal instruction and guidance, covering concepts on all aspects of Jiu Jitsu, from regular training to competition and all points in between.

The next session with Cyborg is over at Studio NW2 tonight, which I'm unable to attend but will be back down at LFF tomorrow for more...

Berimbolos at Wimbledon BJJ...

'Berimbolos? At your age?!' 

This was the response from friends and fellow students after telling them I left the old school for a while and delved into the new school, teaching the Berimbolo last night at Wimbledon BJJ and it's all Cyborg's fault!

I was at the lunch time class yesterday and Cyborg followed up from his closed guard attacks with an open guards set into DLR and thus followed the Berimbolo and I'm pleased to announce I'm still just about to a) do the technique and teach it and b) able to get my socks on this morning, so a result all round for everyone.

Still shows that the old and battered Northern Monkey can invert and fool around and still get out of bed the next day...

Day 2 - Cyborg lunchtime class

Had an awesome time with one of my students over at London Fight Factory today, at the second lunchtime class; after a quick recap of yesterday's techniques, Cyborg progressed with more options of attacking with the omoplata from the closed guard, with a couple of defences and an excellent one on finishing the submission, that prevents your opponent from posturing and then something else if they do manage to posture.

Lots of fun and a packed mat once again, the energy on the mats was immense and can't wait to do it all again tomorrow :)

With Italian black belt and friend Fabio Fornoni

New members at Wimbledon BJJ...

Last night I welcomed two new members to the team at Wimbledon BJJ...

Simon on the left of the photo is an amputee and is on his second class, as I missed his first one as I was on holiday, so last night was my first class with him and we've already adapted the techniques for him and is working on a grip/underhook combo from the closed guard.

Ali on the right is profoundly deaf and last night was his first class, which he really enjoyed; Ali works for MMARAP with my good friend Jonny Buffong, who I also work with, so it's really great to have Ali on the team and between the three of us, we can help promote the outstanding work that Jonny and everyone at MMARAP does in and around London, helping make martial arts more accessible to people of all abilities.

It was an honour and a privilege to have these two fine young gentlemen share the mats with the rest of the team and it now challenges me to really show how Jiu Jitsu can transform theirs and others lives and show that there are no limits on what you can achieve in life...

With Simon and Ali last night...

Last night's class...

Busy mats last night, as we went over the content left by Cyborg on the first session of his at LFF...lots more to follow for the rest of the week.  Another awesome lunchtime session with Cyborg today, carrying on from yesterday, it's been a real great camp so far and lots more to train tomorrow :)

Medals for George!

Last night George brought in the hard earned medals he bagged at the Brighton Open at the weekend, showing that hard work always pays off...it's a great feeling as a coach watching your students train hard, compete and return with some bling for their efforts...huge congrats from everyone at Wimbledon BJJ and Fight Sports London and here's to the next comp :)

Cyborg Training Camp at London Fight Factory

What an awesome start to the week and my preparations for my Superfight debut in October, with the start of the training camp with Fight Sports boss Cyborg...lots of fine detail in the first session and I'm aiming to be at every lunchtime class this week, plus the final session at NWA, so lots of early nights and no booze for the Northern Monkey :)

Medals at the Brighton Open!

Huge congrats to young George who competed at the Brighton Open yesterday and came away with a bronze in the No Gi and a silver in the Gi division; huge congrats to our female student Ligia, who fought at the event and lost her fight, but I was told she gave 110% and really made her opponent work hard for the points win.

Back to the drawing board tonight...

Black belt Superfight!

I'm very pleased to announce that I have finally got my finger out and will be making my Superfight debut at black belt on the Jiu Jitsu Fighter 2 event at Dartford Judo Club, October 13th...

Time to hit the mats and get some hours in :)

Northern Monkey rash guard in the US of A

Really buzzing to see female Jiu Jitsu warrior Abi Pacinelli repping the awesome Northern Monkey rash guard over the pond in Philadelphia :)

Last week's class...

Another busy week here at Wimbledon BJJ for the Northern Monkey, as we get ready for the upcoming training camp with Cyborg, it's going to be an awesome week of Jiu Jitsu :)

Last night's class

Awesome session last night, packed mats and hard work from everyone, yours truly included...seven eight minute rounds of rolling in the bag, getting back to full speed slowly but surely :)

Congrats Ligia!

HUGE congrats to Ligia who was awarded another well deserved stripe last after training last night...a credit to the club and herself, she helps me keep the lads in check week in, week out :)

Ooosss

Thursday 1230 class and more free advice...

Another hot and sweaty session over at the lunch time class today at LFF, after a half hour drilling, it was time for an hour of rolling, five minute rounds and I managed to get six good rounds without injuring myself, which is what my training is all about at my age.

Gone are the days of non stop rolling every day, you have to face the fact that your glory days of thrice daily training are a rose tinted memory away, saved for mat side trying to impress the new hungry white belts...

You have to listen to your body and take a round out here and there, it's good to have a rest, stretch out, use the foam roller and get back some focus for the next round.  I've nothing to prove anymore and trying to match the younger belts for strength is a disaster waiting to happen and it's not going to be theirs.

Training is still as hard and challenging as ever, but it's down to you as an older mat rat to really look after your body, no one gives a fuck if you get injured because your ego got in the way; it's going to be you on the couch for weeks, unable to train and then the depression kicks in and you've missed six months of training and getting back up that hill gets so much harder, the older you get.

So, to all you older warriors out there, take some more free advice from the Northern Monkey; don't go crazy on sparring days at your academy and follow these pointers...

• Get a good night sleep the night before training day and in general
• Drink plenty of water every day
• Drink plenty of water during and after training
• Save the beer for cheat day and after a competition camp
• Eat well through out the day, try not to skip meals
• Stretch daily
• Roll to your body's limits
• Leave the ego at the door
• Never be afraid to tap

Once again, it ain't rocket science and the list isn't exhaustive...

Thanks for reading and as always, enjoy your training!

Tough rolls today with Marcelo (left) and Sharpey

Last night's class

The mats were on fire last night, a real pleasure to be back teaching at Wimbledon BJJ :)

Wednesday 1230 class at LFF and the secret to my success...

After a lovely short break away in sunnier climes with my lovely lady, it was back to business down at London Fight Factory, hitting the mats for the lunchtime class with Sharpey.

With John Kiely

It feels really great to be back on the mats, especially for us older mat rats, having any time away from training seriously impacts on cardio and endurance, your timing is way off the mark and every roll feels like hell.

I've been back training consistently for the last three weeks and I've weathered the initial storm of feeling like dying from just doing the warm up, getting my arse handed to me from the young fresh white belts, getting crushed from everyone else and am starting to get back into the groove once again.

The aches and pains after class are ever present, I think that's one of the hardest things to deal with when you get older; every morning feels like I've been run over by a truck and getting the socks on is a Herculean task.

Stretching is key, every single day, before during and after class, just stretch as much as you can; diet is also key here, you are what you eat, so aim to put the best fuel into your aging tanks and you'll save yourself a lot of grief.  Alcohol consumption has been knocked on the head and again this is another key area where you can really make inroads into feeling good every day, by not waking up with a foggy head, you've just got one more obstacle to deal with before you hit the mats.

As a Northerner, drinking is a big part of our DNA, but it's something that has to be dealt with, you can't keep on going at it like you did in your twenties and expect to shake if off as quickly as you used to do.

Before I went on holiday I'd stopped drinking for five weeks and I felt fantastic and I did indulge when I was away, but didn't go crazy and now I'm back training, I'm starting each class as fresh as I can be, injures nothwithstanding.

I was asked on Facebook what my secret was to losing all my weight (20K) and looking trim and the answers are in the text above; no Paleo diets, no intermittent fasting, no fads of any kind, just plain common sense.

Eat well, drink in moderation, train regular and look after your body, stretch every day without fail and have a foam roller close to hand; that's pretty much it to be honest, most people are looking for the Holy Grail when it comes to weight loss and training success, for me it's not rocket science and I've probably saved my wallet a good hiding as well.

So there you have it, some nuggets of advice from the Northern Monkey, hope you older grapplers take something from this article, would be great to hear your comments in the feedback section on here.

Oossss

Last night's class

HUGE thanks to Jas, Ron and Dan for taking the class last night in my absence, I was informed that lots of hard work and sweat was created from all who turned up, that's all I can ask for as a coach.

Well everyone, I'm back in tomorrow, look forward to seeing you all and twisting up fools :)