tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88203175352524407732024-03-13T13:34:28.209+00:00Chasing the Blue - A BJJ Quest.A guy's journey to Gracie Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt...and beyond!Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-15093046086677560642013-11-09T14:34:00.004+00:002013-11-09T21:32:28.495+00:00Back to the Bosch<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rickson Gracie –
Holland, 26 & 27 October 2013</span></b><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, once again, the <a href="http://www.bjjholland.nl/" target="_blank">Rickson Gracie Holland</a> guys re-affirmed
their relationship with and commitment to, Rickson with another visit from the
Master.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">With good connections now in Holland, and an established base
in ‘S-Hertogenbosch, cheap ferry fares and good hotel prices, I planned my
second trip of the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With it being
half-term, I was also able to take along my wife and kids and was also joined
by Simon, Mike (Carlsons) and my old friend Jim (who has been training for
about 6 months now at <a href="http://www.carlsongracieessex.co.uk/" target="_blank">Carlson’s in Essex</a> and is now thoroughly hooked on BJJ).</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a pleasant ferry crossing (apart from losing my
Rickson cap to the wind whilst on deck – much to my children’s delight!) we
drove across Belgium and Holland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last
time, this drive took only a few hours, but this time took around six due
mainly to being stuck in horrendous traffic around Antwerp – note to self and
all…do not drive near Antwerp on a Friday afternoon!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After arriving at our hotel in Rosmalen, Simon and I headed
straight back out to meet up with <a href="http://www.babytank.nl/" target="_blank">Michel</a> at his gym for a private lesson.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">During the preceding week, Rickson had been staying in
Holland running sessions for the Instructors that make up the Rickson Gracie
Holland team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michel was keen to show us
some stuff on passing butterfly guard, beginning with a very neat technique but
then expanding into the various principles around the technique and also then
into the principles of attack from the bottom.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The session was gold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve done a lot of coaching as part of my work and I’m a <a href="http://www.rfu.com/" target="_blank">RFU</a> qualified
coach, so I like to think I know what I’m talking about when it comes to
coaching and this session was one of the most effective coaching sessions on
Jiu Jitsu that I’ve ever had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For both
Simon and I, the progression that we made in that session from start to finish
was exponential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A really great session
and on a very useful subject.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next day started with a relaxed trip into Den Bosch for
breakfast, leaving my wife and kids as we headed off for Roermond – the
location for the first of our two sessions with Rickson.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On arrival, it was great again to see so many of the people
I’d met on my last trip and also properly catch up with a couple of people I
missed – Raoul (Black Belt that runs the <a href="http://www.amsterdambjj.nl/" target="_blank">school in Amsterdam</a>) and Russ (ex-pat purple belt that runs the <a href="http://www.bjjholland.nl/index.php/locaties/28-info/info-locaties/17-leiden" target="_blank">school in Leiden</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were also
a few familiar faces from the UK around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After doing the rounds, grabbing a bit of loot (including replacing the
cap that I’d lost at sea), Rickson called order and began the now familiar
formalities of introducing the seminar.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As before, I’m not going to go into detail with what Rickson
taught, but will list what we covered, so that the curious can at least
understand the span of what Rickson teaches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Day 1 - content overview</strong></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Defending base
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Defending grab and drive from behind</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cross-side escapes</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Revision on armbar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taking the back from guard
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Elbow escape</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was pleased that during some of the drilling, Rickson
recognised me and came up and said hi and at another point came and sat with
us, remembering us from his time in the UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To be honest, given the number of people he must meet around the world
each year, I had no expectation that he would remember us, so was really pleased
when he did.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a much later start on Sunday, we headed off straight
from the hotel for Roermond, this time with my wife and kids on board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ever since they can remember, Rickson is a
name they’ve known through me and now that they too train Jiu Jitsu, Rickson is
a legendary figure in their lives as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’d already cleared with Michel for my kids to tag along and meet
Rickson after the seminar, so, Gi’s at the ready, they watched the seminar from
the bleachers waiting for their chance.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Day 2</strong> followed a similar format to day one, covering:</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Movement and connection in the clinch</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holding clinch from the side</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Entrance to the clinch against a striking opponent</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vale tudo guard against a striking opponent</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holding cross-side - connection on top</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hip movement in Seo Nagi</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Posture in guard</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the end of the session, Rickson spoke at length at his
belief in the fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu as he understands it, his perception
that Jiu Jitsu is facing a split with the more sport oriented branch and spoke
with disdain at techniques that live only in competition, describing them as
“shit”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He spoke with pride at Kron’s
recent clean sweep at the ADCC in china with 4 submission wins, clearly feeling
that this demonstrated his case perfectly.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v6Uj1-Eqw84/Un5E3Wced8I/AAAAAAAAAgM/HKjfuZmkOVo/s1600/RicksonKids.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v6Uj1-Eqw84/Un5E3Wced8I/AAAAAAAAAgM/HKjfuZmkOVo/s200/RicksonKids.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After the seminar, Michel was great at ensuring that my kids
got to meet Rickson and get their belts signed – a really proud moment for me,
and one, should they continue their journey, that will form part of a memory
that many adults, let alone kids will not have the opportunity of.</span></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OWsPL2_91Zk/Un5FSGavj4I/AAAAAAAAAgU/1LMtqm2MBOs/s1600/MichelHipEscape.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OWsPL2_91Zk/Un5FSGavj4I/AAAAAAAAAgU/1LMtqm2MBOs/s200/MichelHipEscape.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Michel also spent some time with them both teaching the
elbow escape, rolling with them and watching them roll together – something I’m
really grateful for as it cements their learning and enthusiasm – hopefully a
real investment in the next generation. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The seminar was very similar in content to the others I’ve
attended, but this was of no detriment – it reminded me of key details and I
also understood better this time round, whereas it all seemed too much to
remember the first time.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rickson was in great form – very relaxed and did an amazing
job of spreading his time and attention amongst the attendees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also really enjoyed Jim being there too – because
he’s my mate, but also as I know that as a martial artist, he views Rickson as
the legend that he undoubtedly is, so it was really great to experience someone
else’s excitement at meeting Rickson and experiencing his teaching.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">During the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> session, Rickson talked about how
he felt that Jiu Jitsu was great training for life as it conditions you to find
comfort in uncomfortable situations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This philosophy was put to the test as we left Roermond with the wind
and rain beating down and news of the predicted storms hitting the UK coming
through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The news of Dover port being
shut on Monday morning didn’t look promising, but we made our way at a sedate
pace towards Dunkirk anyway with the storms seemingly crossing over us as we
headed through Belgium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived at a
windy but sunny Dunkirk, expecting huge delays, but to our surprise, the port
was almost empty and we sailed 30 minutes earlier than scheduled.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The crossing was pretty uncomfortable but we got home safe
and sound and earlier than anticipated.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I like to think, touched by the hand of Rickson, we attained
maximum efficiency from minimum effort and stayed comfortable in what could
have been a very uncomfortable situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or maybe we were just lucky – whatever the case,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>long may it continue!</span></div>
Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-1357305363479261172013-09-26T22:26:00.002+01:002013-09-26T22:26:52.100+01:00Double Dutch
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve spoken <a href="http://www.chasingtheblue.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/destination-awesome.html" target="_blank">before</a> about my Dutch connection that I began
cultivating a while back, and how I met <a href="http://www.babytank.nl/" target="_blank">Michel Verhoeven</a> at the <a href="http://www.chasingtheblue.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/destination-awesome.html" target="_blank">Rickson Seminar</a> last year.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Michel has been training since 1999 under Harold Harder – as
far as I know, Rickson’s first European Black Belt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In April this year, Michel was awarded his
Black Belt by Rickson and Harold.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Having had such a great time in Holland last year, enjoyed
the <a href="http://www.chasingtheblue.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/i-am-ronin.html" target="_blank">mini-seminar</a> that Michel did it had become my intention to go and train
with some of the Rickson guys, and the opportunity presented itself in
Jul/August of this year.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At various points in the year, the collection of 11 Rickson
Gracie schools in Holland get together for “Central Training” – a chance to
come together, to align, maintain bonds and share ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to plan a trip around one such
session.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Michel running his usual
classes on a Thursday and Friday and the central training on a Sunday, the agenda
was set for a great long weekend in ‘S Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch).</span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Training trip and
Central Training – Den Bosch and Gouda, Holland, 25 – 28 July 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My companion for this trip was Simon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We set sail from Dover early Thursday morning
and had a very pleasant 2 hour trip to Dunkirk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The drive from Dunkirk to Den Bosch (which is pretty much slap-bang in
the middle of the Netherlands) took around 2.5 hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank goodness for Si’s air-con as, with much
the rest of Europe, Belgium and Holland were experiencing a heatwave with
temperatures up to 37°c.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We arrived at our hotel, situated just outside Den Bosch,
near a small town called Rosmalen.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After check-in, we pretty much went straight back out and
into Den Bosch to check out the area and grab some food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More about Den Bosch later – certainly worthy
of note in its own right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After grabbing
our kit, we mad the short trip to Michel’s gym and were greeted warmly by
Michel and a number of people I knew by name and Facebook, and we quickly felt
at home.</span><br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Training, Thursday
25th<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then the training began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And bear in mind what I’ve said about the temperatures! We did a
thorough warm up mainly based around core Jiu Jitsu movements and drills and
then into some techniques.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The class was
given in Dutch (which is fair enough!) so I was grateful for the translation
given by the people I trained with, but even without that, it was clear from
Michel’s demonstration, intonations and emphases, what he wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The main things covered in that session were the cross
collar choke from guard (bottom) also incorporating a nice combo involving the
leg coming up onto the shoulder which gives lots of options, but also reminded
me of something that Dean showed a while back that really creates a lot of
leverage for chokes, armbars and triangles.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And then there was sparring…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Oh my god.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It must have been around
an hour of full-on sparring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
remember again – the heat!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh the heat!</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A succession of tough guys put me through my paces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was pleased to hang with most Blue Belts;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> t</span>he white belts were really good too – hungry
and frenetic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only higher belt I
trained with was Michel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He destroyed
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is all I have to say about that
</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, such was the intensity of the
rolling and the heat, I actually started feeling pretty ill – I was overheating,
could not catch my breath and felt like I would puke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t want to pussy out, so just kept
going and to be honest, my Jiu Jitsu may have actually improved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through lack of energy, I had no option to
relax and defend and this created lots of openings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess it also gave me some confidence that
even when I have pretty much nothing left, I can still defend myself.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was so grateful when Michel eventually called time... I
could barely stand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My gi was saturated
and I felt wasted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We drove back to the hotel, which was next to a Drive
through McDonalds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I drank my way
through two large drinks in an attempt to rehydrate and then it was back to the
sanctuary of my air-conditioned room.</span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Training &
Private Lesson 1, Friday 26<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th<o:p></o:p></span></sup></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Friday, we spent most of the day in Den Bosch so a few
words about the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Den Bosch is
beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A really well preserved
Medieval city with some of the oldest buildings in Holland, it’s built largely
over a network of Canals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people I
know have never heard of it and this is reflected by the lack of foreign
tourists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s something of a hidden gem
as this means it retains all of its Dutch charm – no tacky souvenir shops, no
seedy district and none of the usual sub-standard restaurants you normally get
with tourist-traps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time we ate
out, we experienced a friendly and relaxed social climate, great service and
some great food.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We visited <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g188581-d319475-r169851246-St_John_s_Cathedral-Den_Bosch_North_Brabant_Province.html" target="_blank">St. John’s Cathedral</a> – an awesome Gothic place
that it’s hard not to be inspired by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
also took a <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g188581-d3767494-r169855716-Rondvaart_op_de_Binnendieze-Den_Bosch_North_Brabant_Province.html" target="_blank">boat trip</a> around the canals which gave a relaxing and unique
perspective on the city and also sampled the local delicacy – the Bosch Bollen
(think a giant profiterole covered in chocolate).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gPjmg-aroZg/UkSg-X_CUTI/AAAAAAAAAdg/SqGwez-7WiI/s1600/Cathedral.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gPjmg-aroZg/UkSg-X_CUTI/AAAAAAAAAdg/SqGwez-7WiI/s200/Cathedral.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8d4Vj3rXk3E/UkShB-66WkI/AAAAAAAAAdo/88Q_T9v-5Jo/s1600/bollen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8d4Vj3rXk3E/UkShB-66WkI/AAAAAAAAAdo/88Q_T9v-5Jo/s200/bollen.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Den Bosch is a great place to walk around – lots of shopping
(if that’s your thing), great places to eat and some great things to see and
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For anyone looking for a relaxed
weekend break, I’d really recommend a visit.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Right, tourist info over and back onto training…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Friday’s session</strong> was shorter and a little less intense than Thursday’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a similar warm-up we drilled the Upa and the elbow escape.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rather than sparring, we did positional training – mount…top
maintain and submit, bottom escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Michel had invited over a guy from another nearby Rickson school – a
white belt, but a huge guy, specifically to train with me. It’s not often I get
to experience what others experience when I’m holding top<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and not often I’m mounted and my knees don’t
touch the floor.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was a sobering experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On top, I managed to hold mount but had no
finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the bottom, I really
struggled two out of three times and he submitted me once with a sort of
Ezekiel/knuckle in the mandibular pressure point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was really hard and I just could not
fashion any kind of effect on his sheer size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I did escape once, on the third attempt, but it was really just a burst
of anger fuelled by frustration rather than any kind of technique.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Michel watching
closely, taking notes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was this
analysis that was to become the basis of the private that I took with Michel
after the class.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Private lesson 1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We first worked on the escape from mount – a variation on
the elbow escape which Rickson had shown at his seminar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The key is the foot-hip-shoulder-frame
connection and really made a big difference to me – I’ve been focussing on it
since and it really has helped massively.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We then moved on to holding mount and playing a more
dominant, assertive and submission-focussed game from that position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main features here were attacking the
collar from the get-go, reacting to the escape attempt by moving to technical
mount and then working combinations from there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My timing and sensitivity need some work, but the concept is there for
me.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve never taken a private lesson before so I didn’t really
know what to expect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately for me,
over the previous two sessions, Michel had been watching closely, feeding me
opponents in a very deliberate way, and taking notes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exactly</i>
what to work on in the private both technically but also, and importantly, the mind-set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s this that for me, makes Michel a great
teacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can see from watching him,
experiencing his teaching but also seeing how he watches and guides his
students that he has a complete grip on every student, his/her strengths and
development areas and where they are on their journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His commitment to their development is
absolute.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time and money well spent…</span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Private Lesson 2,
Saturday 27<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th<o:p></o:p></span></sup></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So we spent another 2 hours with Michel on Saturday
morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We started off by recapping the
learning from the night before which was a great way to cement the
learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then worked on
knee-on-stomach, holding posture in, and breaking guard, guard passing.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Again, it was a really useful session and both Simon and I
came away with specific action points to work on.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That afternoon, we went into Rosmalen, which is a nice
little town where we had lunch (the Dutch do great Satay!) then we drove about
an hour to Arnhem to visit the <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g1066031-d2178670-r169852691-Airborne_Museum_Oosterbeek-Oosterbeek_Gelderland_Province.html" target="_blank">Airborne Museum</a> and then pay our respects at the
nearby <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g188568-d246554-r169853509-Airborne_Cemetery-Arnhem_Gelderland_Province.html" target="_blank">War Cemetery</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re in that
area, both are well worthwhile and I think the cemetery is an essential, moving
and humbling experience.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WTEHL08b6UE/UkSh2_bMnVI/AAAAAAAAAdw/Ae_8iwBzUIs/s1600/Grave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WTEHL08b6UE/UkSh2_bMnVI/AAAAAAAAAdw/Ae_8iwBzUIs/s320/Grave.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On our return, we went once more into Den Bosch for dinner
and experienced the city in full social-swing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The atmosphere was great and reinforced what a great city it is to just
wander and eat out.</span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Central Training,
Sunday 28<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th<o:p></o:p></span></sup></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We set off early for the hour’s drive to <a href="http://www.bjjholland.nl/index.php/74-verhuizing-gouda" target="_blank">Gouda</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here I met Mano, a Brown Belt who I’ve spoken
with a number of times, so always good to meet people in person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was also hoping to meet Raoul, another
Black Belt who runs the school in <a href="http://www.amsterdambjj.nl/" target="_blank">Amsterdam</a>, but I guess he couldn’t make it –
maybe next time!</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After the usual warm up we did a bit of drilling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think at this point, the previous days’
training were catching up with me and I was finding it hard to keep up and
immediately sweating profusely.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The focus for the session was competition, so we started
from standing – firstly maintaining base, then moving on to defending against
the guard pull.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then moved on to
working out of the under-arm bear-hug, using the frame-away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michel then took us all through the 50/50
guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was not from the viewpoint
of using it, but mainly recognising it and dealing with it, which, for
competition purposes is potentially useful.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was the first time that I’ve really looked at the 50/50
guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can honestly say that it is not
a position I would ever pursue, nor can I really see that without a sort of
consensus between opponents, how you could end up in that position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt completely counterintuitive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not a fan, but glad we covered it.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We rounded the session off with some stand up sparring –
going for the take down…winner stays on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had limited success and what was really interesting here was the vast
difference with Judo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of the
defensive posturing in BJJ would simply not be allowed in Judo – you’d be
penalised for stalling and leg grabs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was good fun and done in great humour, but really exposed how the rule set in Olympic
Judo is really oriented to a sport which, like boxing, fashions how the
governing body wants athletes to fight rather than how people <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">actually</i> fight.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After the session, we said our goodbyes and headed off for
Dunkirk for our Ferry home and all of a sudden our four days of BJJ were over.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It really was a great trip – both culturally and in terms of
Jiu Jitsu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A big thanks to Si for his
company and of course to Michel for his time and guidance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also thanks to all the other great people we
met and trained with – you really made us feel welcome!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ooss!<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><sup><o:p></o:p></sup></b></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NxN0aojmkig/UkSgC5cLwNI/AAAAAAAAAdU/W58-kJXEetY/s1600/boys.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NxN0aojmkig/UkSgC5cLwNI/AAAAAAAAAdU/W58-kJXEetY/s320/boys.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<br />
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<o:p></o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Michel Verhoeven
Seminar, Sidcup, Saturday 24<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> August 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This visit from Michel was organised by Paul Finn, on the
back of Michel’s visit in April.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was great to see Michel again so soon after our trip, and
also to see his right-hand man Joost again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A number of Paul’s students along with a sprinkling of
others were in attendance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of those
in attendance was prolific blogger and writer Can Sonmez – aka Slideyfoot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great to meet Can – we’ve exchanged
messages and views before and I’ve been reading his excellent <a href="http://www.slideyfoot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> for about as
long as I’ve been writing mine, so it was good to finally meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before the session we’d set up an interview
between Michel and Can – watch this space to find out where the interview ends
up, but it was good for me to sit in and listen to Michel’s story and thoughts
on Jiu Jitsu.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIkiXXrlJA0/UkSbKsSf6YI/AAAAAAAAAcw/NKQNFMYXme8/s1600/Interview.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nIkiXXrlJA0/UkSbKsSf6YI/AAAAAAAAAcw/NKQNFMYXme8/s320/Interview.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Slideyfoot has done a pretty good job of summarising the
seminar content <a href="http://www.slideyfoot.com/2013/08/24082013-michel-verhoeven-rickson-black.html" target="_blank">here</a>, so he’s saved me the job of doing that, but I will pick
up on some of the details I personally took out/remembered.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When practicing the Seoi Nagi throw, it was good to be
reminded of the sort of sit-back-and-down hip action that Rickson had shown to
affect your opponent’s balance and posture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With the Osoto Gari, I was also reminded of the back of the
knee/hamstring brace instead of the foot sweep that I was shown by <a href="http://www.chasingtheblue.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/blue-friday.html" target="_blank">Royce</a>.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A nice detail on performing the bent arm-lock was the focus
on driving your own elbow to the mat next to your opponent’s ear, rather than
focussing on the opponent’s wrist made performing that submission almost
effortless.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Covering the cross-collar choke is always good…it’s such a
hard thing to do well and the main small detail I picked up here was the
straightening THEN the turn of the wrists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Really does make a huge difference and the variation we were shown was
also pretty neat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xerl2K4EiwM/UkSieYYHzdI/AAAAAAAAAd4/bTvWt3AHyRM/s1600/cross.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xerl2K4EiwM/UkSieYYHzdI/AAAAAAAAAd4/bTvWt3AHyRM/s320/cross.JPG" width="247" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recapping the escapes from mount were another really good
reminder of the Private I’d had with Michel and generally, covering all of the
fundamentals, like the Upa were a great reminder of things that can get
sloppy/lose their edge over time without such reminders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Effective Jiu Jitsu is fundamentally simple –
you can never do enough of this stuff in my opinion.</span><br />
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Michel Verhoeven,
Private lesson, Sidcup, Sunday 25<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> August 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, on Sunday, I took myself back to Sidcup Dojo, for a
couple of hours with Michel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my last
private in Holland, we’d just started to look at holding posture in guard and
guard pass so I wanted to pick up where we’d left off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent almost an hour perfecting the posture
in guard and breaking guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fine detail
and feedback really helped me develop this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With most people it’s not a problem area, but one of those things I want
to be undeniable in my game – it’s so important as a foundation for the guard
pass and subsequent domination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main
things here were hand placement, the pressure form the hips and the taking of
slack in the back of the neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Done
well, breaking the guard is effortless.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We then looked at the pass itself and this was really a case
of tightening up what I already knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Michel really helped me create much more control and pressure in this
move.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We spent some time looking at cross side – Given my size and
some of the “pinning” elements of Judo, this is an important part of my game so
Michel asked me to take cross side and bring pressure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few minor corrections of my chest position
and hand positions had Michel groaning for mercy under the pressure – some
great adjustments and feedback!</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally, we finished up with a little positional training –
me starting from top cross-side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michel
wanted to see me dominating and really putting together a bit of a strategy to
go for the submission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With his
guidance, I gradually became a bit more fluid and started opening up
options.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For, me, I think, this is the
major area I need to develop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
knowledge of positions and techniques is pretty good, but I really need to work
them into a coherent game plan and be able to execute them in combinations when
rolling.</span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Doin’ it for the kids<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Michel spent the last part of my private session with my
Kids who had come along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been
teaching my kids Jiu Jitsu in my newly matted out garage for about a month and
a half now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s only recently that
they’ve shown enough interest and I felt that they were open to learning
properly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m using the old Rickson
Association Blue Stripe syllabus as a guide for what to teach them and I wanted
them to get some feedback and pointers from Michel.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Michel watched as they performed the basic movements from
the syllabus:</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Forward rolling breakfall</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rear breakfall</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shrimp</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Upa</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teeter-totter</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Standing up in base</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s3btSPL0pAU/UkSeALTGjEI/AAAAAAAAAc8/nV2e4HNXEoE/s1600/base.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s3btSPL0pAU/UkSeALTGjEI/AAAAAAAAAc8/nV2e4HNXEoE/s320/base.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">With each, they did well but improved rapidly as Michel
corrected minor faults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also then
covered the four-point base with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the end of the session, he presented them with their first stipe on
their white belts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both were delighted
and I was really proud of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
were pretty keen beforehand, but now they are both even more motivated to learn
Jiu Jitsu.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O0V9ClrspUk/UkSeW422XEI/AAAAAAAAAdE/qhPSzIRqDoc/s1600/tags.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O0V9ClrspUk/UkSeW422XEI/AAAAAAAAAdE/qhPSzIRqDoc/s320/tags.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m so pleased on a number of levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That we have something else to share is
great, but I also believe that Jiu Jitsu is a great lifestyle, builds great
character and is also a highly effective form of self-defence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also means that they are active.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re already pretty active with various
other things, but I believe firmly that kids are at huge physical and mental
risk from inactivity these days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
something of a personal life-mission on which I’ll write more in future, but
much of my attention and effort is currently aimed at children’s activity and Jiu
Jitsu is an area where one day, I hope to be able to open up the opportunity to
other children in addition to my own.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, thanks once again to Michel for his time and
attention and also for the time spent with my kids – we all got a great buzz
from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks also to Paul for setting
up the weekend.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And finally…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, as seems the way with this more sporadic way of posting,
a rather long post, but with the prevailing theme of my Dutch connection.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ll be back in Holland again in October for the Rickson
Seminar and I’m hoping I may be able to squeeze in some additional training
with Michel that weekend…we’ll see.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I really enjoy the focussed teaching that Michel gives and
the sense that he genuinely wants to see you develop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whilst in Holland, I really enjoyed being
with Team Babytank and feeling part of a club and part of a larger network of
people all committed to getting better together.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I spoke in my last post about being something of a Ronin
since the demise of Lake House.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I
feel as if I’ve found a new home, albeit in another country!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time will tell where this relationship will
go, but for now, I hope to be able to visit Holland a few times a year and just
enjoy some great training with my new friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dank u en tot ziens!</span></div>
Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-8258738403763332952013-04-11T18:52:00.003+01:002013-04-11T18:57:43.496+01:00I am Ronin<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xOyWtI-EzUI/UWb4A3HwwgI/AAAAAAAAAa0/xU8rb2otCU8/s1600/ronin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xOyWtI-EzUI/UWb4A3HwwgI/AAAAAAAAAa0/xU8rb2otCU8/s320/ronin.jpg" unselectable="on" width="262" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I face interesting times...training since Christmas has been somewhat patchy. I could have predicted the inevitable drop-off of attendance by others following our seminar with Rickson in November. I've managed to keep some consistency, mainly by training with Si, which is always great. However, things are changing...</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The landlord of the small industrial unit that has been our gym for the last 6 years, two-thirds of my Jiu Jitsu time, wants it back so we are now without a home. It wasn't much - it was too hot, or too cold, depending on the time of year - it was dirty, falling apart, but it served us well and kept our costs low. A move was always on the cards anyway as Dean moved house and now lives much further away from the gym, meaning a lengthy drive for him. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, right now, it remains to be seen what the next chapter for our small band will be. And where it will be. I suspect the changes may see some eventual changes in personnel as the additional travel for some will prove difficult. We'll see what happens.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the meantime though, I'm something of a "Ronin", which is actually a pretty good thing. For some time I've been quite frustrated by my own feelings that I've not really been progressing. I've also seen a good many people that started training around the same time as me achieving good things and well deserved promotions. This is not about the belt I wear at all - Jesus, I've had my blue belt now for coming up to 5 years - It's so faded that people can't tell if it's meant to be blue or faded purple. If I felt that my technical proficiency was keeping up, I'd be happy, but I know it isn't and that's what's frustrating. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For me, this situation means that, in order to train, I can take a pick of the various places and schedules around; (1) to get some training; (2) get a taste of different styles and instruction and; (3) benchmark myself against others beyond my usual training partners. In the run up to my blue belt, this was something I did quite frequently and I really felt it helped me get where I was going. Not least, the challenge of rolling at another club, really sharpened up my game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, within a 30 minute drive, I've got options with <a href="http://www.carlsongracieteam.org.uk/locations/bjj-kent/" target="_blank">Carlson Gracie Kent</a> (Tonbridge, Maidstone and Ashford). I know many of these guys from quite some time back - a great bunch of guys who train hard, fight hard and love their Jiu Jitsu. . I've also got options with the small and enthusiastic group at <a href="http://karasackali.co.uk/" target="_blank">Karasac Kali</a> in Sidcup. I've also got regular <a href="http://www.oakwoodjudo.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Judo</a> once a week on Fridays, which I'm still enjoying and making leisurely progress in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago, I went to <a href="http://www.carlsongracietonbridge.net/" target="_blank">Carlson Gracie Tonbridge</a>'s Friday night open mat. I spoke to Dave Broughton about it, so knew I'd get a nice welcome and I wasn't wrong...it was really great to see those guys again and, as always, they were genuinely pleased to see me and it was good to see them. As I mentioned some time back in a previous post, I had more adrenalin than usual as I made the short drive to the session - partly knowing that I was going to get some hard sparring and partly wondering how I'd get on. Once I got going, it was all good. Against many blue belts I did OK. Rolling with one big and very strong blue belt was really tough though - and not just because of his size and strength - his technique and movement were also very good. I tapped several times. It was the same story against another big guy who now holds a purple belt. Back when he was a white and blue belt, training with him was tough because of his size and strength, but I was generally able to overcome this. Now is a different story. Gone is the tough Jiu Jitsu and in its place is a technical and dominant purple belt game.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was these two experiences in particular that were of the most interest to me. One from the perspective of rolling with a guy my size who has less experience but is the same grade and the other from the perspective of rolling a guy who is my size, but who I once had the measure of and is now a higher grade than me. Both good measures of where I'm really at right now. I tapped. A lot. And I'm not bothered by that as each time I learned something new. I spent a while talking to both of them afterwards and they both gave me really good pointers on what they felt from me. My own reflection also drew out things from my own memory that I know, but didn't think to try at the time, so some nice revision too. I guess what bothers me most is my own lack of progression and this experience made this very clear. I'm not bad. I'm a decent blue belt. But I've been training now for coming up to nine years. By now, I should really be more than a decent blue belt. And again, I'm not talking about the actual belt I wear, I'm talking about what I can do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think back to when I was focussing on my blue belt and some of the experiences I had then - I could dominate most white belts and give some blue belts a pretty hard time too. I feel, after this amount of time, I should at least be all over other blue belts and hanging with purples, but that isn't happening. Somewhere along the way, I've been left behind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've also been training, not with any degree of regularity, with Paul and the crew at <a href="http://karasackali.co.uk/" target="_blank">Karasac</a>. I've mentioned Paul before, so won't re-cap, but they're a small and really friendly bunch who just want to train good, technical Jiu Jitsu. It's always a pleasure visiting them and I do what I can to pass on what knowledge I have that may help.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Going Dutch</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This leads me neatly to talk about this past weekend. I've mentioned in a previous post, Michel Verhoeven - a 4 stripe brown belt under Rickson Gracie and Harold Harder in Holland. I met Michel at <a href="http://www.chasingtheblue.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/destination-awesome.html" target="_blank">Rickson's seminar</a> and it was good to be able to begin that friendship with our new connections in Europe. I first became aware of Michel when he took over the running of schools in Holland for Harold, who took some time out from Jiu Jitsu. Michel was a young but talented blue belt at the time. Fast forward a few years and he's now an accomplished 4 stripe brown belt and quite an athlete. Anyway, Michel messaged me through facebook to say that he was in London this weekend and looking to train. Ordinarily, that would be easy as we had 24/7 access to our old gym. But with this gone, this was not going to be possible. However, the coincidence of Paul's session being on a Sunday, in Sidcup (not far from where Michel was staying) I thought why not set something up there? I would get to train with Michel and the Karasac guys would get some good high level instruction. Winner! And so it was arranged.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of the Karasac guys have been training around a year now I guess, so Michel agreed to cover some fundamental stuff. Given this, it was a good opportunity for me to also invite a long-time friend of mine who has been interested in Jiu Jitsu to come along and get a taste. Simon also joined in the fun. We really had a great time... a great technical warm up, nice techniques working shrimp, upa, cross collar choke from back and mount, armlocks and sweeps and topped off with a bit of rolling. Michel taught every technique with great detail and even though for many it was technique that was known, it was the fine detail that made the difference. Michel is clearly a talented guy and a great instructor - we all gained something from the session. During the rolling, Michel tried his hardest to roll with almost everyone. He was great - he was just everywhere..and nowhere. As I tried to escape, he was always one step ahead, if I tried to advance my position, he exploited my movement and swept or submitted me with ease. Just great. He also fed back to me that he felt I was not using my strength or size to my advantage and this is something Simon has said to me before too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For many years, I've tried hard to work good technique and train light to let technique do the work. I never wanted to be the one that people said "oh, yeah, he beat me but that's because he's a big/heavy/strong guy". I hate that. It's such a pussy thing to say. If I tap you, I tap you because in that instance, I caught you...not because I'm bigger, so to avoid that I've tried to train like a smaller guy. But you know what? I've noticed that smaller guys are usually quicker, or some people are more flexible, some are stronger. And not one of them has ever stopped being quick, flexible or strong when they train with me, and you won't hear me bitching that they only beat me because they were faster, more flexible or whatever. I guess it's called using your attributes. And this feedback tells me I should start using my attributes. So watch out...no more Mr Nice Guy ;P</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was really great to meet up with Michel and share some mat time with him. I personally got a lot from it and I'm sure everyone who trained did too. It's a relationship I hope we can develop from here. Thanks Michel. Check out <a href="http://www.babytank.nl/" target="_blank">Michel's website</a> here and a nice little film below (my Dutch is not good but I think you get the drift - nice choice of track too!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So where does all this leave me at the moment? Well, without a regular club for now. To be clear, I have no intention of moving permanently outside of my Rickson lineage and anyone with loyalty to their lineage will understand that. But Carlson's in Kent give me training options pretty much every day of the week, all the while they'll have me, so I thank them for that and their kind hand of friendship. I will look to do at least one friday open mat with them a month - I want to continue with my Judo, so will do that 3 weeks out of four with 1 Friday in four over there. I'll see how the rest of the schedules fit in. Then there's Sunday Eve's at Sidcup. It's easy to get to and always a good little session so I may look to do that with more regularity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, this" Ronin" period in my training could be a really good thing, so I look forward to a new order emerging from the chaos. </span></div>
Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-70826712140539466232013-04-10T22:59:00.000+01:002013-04-10T23:24:15.929+01:00Breathe with me!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've talked in recent posts about Rickson's demonstrations and explanations of his breathing techniques. Ever since I've been training with Dean, I've noted the train-like, rhythmic breathing he practices when training hard. It's something that a lot of people that have trained with Rickson imitate and I've personally found, even with a poor understanding of the physiology of breathing, breathing in an audibly rhythmic way, at the very least, creates a focus on the breath. A focus that's easy to forget when you're training hard and if you lose that focus, it can become very hard to remember to actually breathe - something a lot of beginners will identify with!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, on the recent occasions that I've trained with Rickson, he spent some time explaining his belief in correct breathing method and the benefits he draws from his own education in this area. Neither explanations were particularly about how to do it, but more why we should do it. In the sessions at our club, Rickson went further in talking about how he combines his breathing with movement to create a unique workout, which is documented in "Choke".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just after the seminar, Richard sent me some links and details of books related to the things that Rickson had talked about, which have been great (cheers Rick), so in this post I aim to give an overview of some of the things that I've gleaned from listening to Rickson and my subsequent reading. I'll start with the breathing and then move on to <a href="http://www.orlandocani.com.br/main.htm" target="_blank">Bio-Ginastica</a>, something which Rickson gave great credit to for his own conditioning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>What have we become?</strong></span></div>
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It seems that a lifetime of poor practice, posture and lifestyle has reduced our natural ability to breathe to a series of shallow and inefficient breaths. Just stop for a second and think about how you breathe normally. Chances are, like me, that you breathe into the top part of your chest. As you do, you chest expands and your collar bones and shoulders raise slightly. Occasionally you'll take a "deep" breath where your chest expands more fully and your abdomen raises too. Have you ever considered why your body makes you take these additional deep breaths?</div>
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Rickson focussed on the shape of the lungs. Take a look at this picture.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fig1. Diaphragmatic Breathing</span></div>
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As he pointed out, a lot of the volume of the lungs is in the lower parts of the organs. So, by breathing at the top of our lungs we are not utilising the full capacity of our lungs. This is particularly clear when we are "fighting" for breath due to fatigue. With our minds fixed on the sensation of fatigue and the need to get more air, we normally breathe harder and faster, but still only at the top of our lungs . The fight for air is one we'll surely lose, as, breathing in this way, we'll never take in as much air as we really need. Watch someone who's been exercising hard - chances are their shoulders will be up and down like a yo yo.</div>
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Now, we all know that to live, we need to breathe. But in his book, "Hatha Yoga - The Yogi Philosophy of Physical Wellbeing", Yogi Ramacharaka gives a detailed explanation of the physiology of breathing and the health impacts of not breathing properly. I'm not going to spend a great deal of time going over this but suffice to say that we know that putting oxygen into the blood is vital for proper function. It follows that the more oxygen we have, the better that function will be.</div>
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He talks about the misunderstanding of deep breathing and abdominal breathing, whereas he, and Rickson, advocate diaphragmatic breathing, which, to the uninitiated looks like abdominal breathing. Ramacharaka also talks about "Complete" breathing, which I'll take a look at now.</div>
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In "low" or abdominal breathing, we are drawing air into the lower and more voluminous parts of our lungs. Now, this is preferable to shallow and inefficient high breathing, but the lack of movement of the diaphragm means that we are still not expanding the lungs to full capacity and we are still not utilising the mid-space, or the top of the lungs - we are far from breathing at full capacity. Take a look again at figure 1.</div>
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The thoracic diaphragm is a sheet of muscle that separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity. When we breath in, it contracts and creates more space in the thoracic cavity for the lungs to expand. It stands to good reason then, that if we can manipulate or control the diaphragm, then we can create additional breathing capacity (interestingly, both Rickson and Ramachakara also talk about how controlled movement of the diaphragm also facilitates a beneficial gentle massage of the internal digestive organs).</div>
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Ramachakara talks about being able to manipulate the diaphragm to facilitate deep breathing and then, in one continuous breath, also facilitating breathing into the mid part of the lungs (thoracic breathing) and finally drawing up the shoulders to facilitate high or "Siphon" breathing. In this way, we are able to utilise the entirety of the lungs, or "complete" breathing. I've now tried this quite regularly. It is relatively easy, but requires a little bit of mindfulness (a clue that we're not normally mindful of the most fundamental action our body performs). When achieved, you do feel good - refreshed and alert and the proof is in the exhalation.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig 2: Three types of breathing</span></div>
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Try this: breath high, then exhale slowly and count. Breathe low (abdominally), exhale and count - it's probably longer than the high breath. Now do a complete breath, exhale and again, count. I bet it's longer still - testament to the extra capacity that you've created and life source that you've inhaled.<br />
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Ramachakara advocates practicing this and over time developing this as a new breathing habit. - seems sound advice to me.<br />
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A second feature of Rickson's approach to breathing concerns exhalation. It's natural to fixate on inhalation - we need air to live, but in order to breathe in effectively, we also need to be-able to breathe out. The air being expelled from our lungs is also doing a vital job in exporting waste from our bodies and in order for new air to enter, space needs to be created. We often consider that the "working" phase of breathing is the inhalation - we "fight" for breath when we are exhausted - a very active notion. And yet, it is Rickson's belief that the opposite is true - the most active phase in exhalation. We must manipulate our diaphragm to expel what Rickson calls the "black gas" from our lungs (a very good visual analogy). Ramachakara talks in his book about "cleansing" breaths which involved strong and rapid emptying of the lungs. Inhalation is actually then a very voluntary action as air rushes into the empty cells of the lungs.<br />
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So here, we have two parts of the whole and something to bear in mind the next time you are fatigued - by focussing on breathing we can find far more effective ways of both inhaling and exhaling and I think this philosophy really shows how it's a natural skill that, for all of our apparent civilisation and intelligence, we've somehow unlearned .<br />
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So with breathing explored, Rickson went on to talk about movement. Now, I've spoken about fundamental human movement before in this blog and the link with Ramachakara continues in that Rickson's chosen source of movement also stems from Hatha Yoga. In conversation, he credits much of his own journey into movement, breathing and Yoga to a guy called <a href="http://www.orlandocani.com.br/eng/main.htm" target="_blank">Orlando Cani</a> - the creator of Bio-Ginastica. Cani, a Brazilian, is, amongst many other physical education accomplishments, a Hatha Yoga adept. Combining his physical education knowledge, with elements of Tai Chi, Meditation, and gymnastics, he has created a system which works around the principles of animal-inspired movements. Again, some of this is display in the clip of Rickson from Choke and there's more information on <a href="http://www.orlandocani.com.br/" target="_blank">Cani's website</a> as well as some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/orlandocani" target="_blank">nice examples on YouTube</a>.<br />
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Readers of this blog may recall that in a <a href="http://chasingtheblue.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/i-like-to-move-it-move-it.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, I talked about <a href="http://www.ginasticanatural.com/" target="_blank">Ginastica Natural</a> under Alvaro Romano. Until I heard form Rickson about Cani, I'd never heard of him, but, it transpires that Romano originally worked for Cani and, it seems, took Cani's work and re-branded it. Read more about that in <a href="http://www.global-training-report.com/orlando.htm" target="_blank">this interesting article</a>. Cani seems more bemused and disappointed in this turn of events than angry, but it all seems to add perhaps an air of well-marketed emperor's new clothes to Romano's work. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe Romano has moved in a different direction or evolved in some other way. It's just interesting to note.<br />
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Packaged as a whole, hearing Rickson talk about his philosophy on breathing and physical conditioning and seeing in person his condition as a 54 year old, it's compelling stuff. Stuff that I've enjoyed looking further into and stuff that I feel can only be of benefit to me in both general health terms but also in my Jiu Jitsu.</div>
</span><br />Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-5748018538158758312013-03-24T13:20:00.000+00:002013-03-24T15:44:01.746+00:00The best meal I ever tasted...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Rickson Gracie Private Classes, Kent, UK: 14th & 15th Nov 2012</strong><br /><br />Looking back on last year, it was an amazing one in terms of Jiu Jitsu. Who'd have thought it could get any better? Well, it did.<br /><br />With Rickson in Europe (Seminars in Holland and his first UK Seminar in Glasgow with Royce Gracie Black Belt Scott McVeigh), Dean contacted Rickson to ask if he'd have time to visit our club. And so, the date was set.<br /><br />Ever since Dean first started training with Rickson back in April 1998, it's been his avowed wish to have Rickson teach at his own club. Last week that dream came true. And it was a dream come true for fourteen others, including me. The sessions were closed except to those that have trained with Dean over the years - a reward for loyalty to Dean, and Rickson's style of Jiu Jitsu. And it was this that made it a unique experience. It was basically classes with Rickson as our instructor. Because of the size of the event, whilst it was Rickson and some of the content was the same, it was entirely different from the seminar, and through this post, I'll say why.<br /><br />Unusually for our club (;P) everyone arrived early, mats out, photo of Helio on the wall, nervously waiting for Rickson to arrive. Eventually, in he walked with his swiss ball under his arm. Rickson was with us, in our club! But somehow it felt like it was always that way. He was so relaxed, it just seemed like another training session. We all warmed up, watching out the corners of our eyes as Rickson did his own extensive warm up using the ball. Then we started. Dean gave a heartfelt speech about his allegiance to Rickson and Rickson returned the favour with a warm speech about being with Dean and his students, then after a quick bow to GM Helio and each other, we began. Again, it's not my intention here to talk about the techniques, or to even attempt to explain execution, except to say that every movement, every position, leverage and connection were the order of the day.<br /><br />Rickson was clear and exacting in his delivery and here was the first benefit of this small group experience. Rickson was able to watch every single pair like a hawk and often stepped in with hands on, minor corrections. With just a movement of a hand, or leg, by two inches, suddenly, everything worked. Effortlessly. It was almost like being hypnotised - "when I touch you , you'll be able to execute perfect Jiu Jitsu". Sure, you can do a technique and make up for doing it badly by being strong or aggressive. But this proved that when done correctly, it almost feels like cheating (in fact I think Rickson used those words).</span><br />
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THIS is Jiu Jitsu. After this experience, I'd have to say saying that a good many people (and I still include myself in this as my skill level is still quite low) do not train Jiu Jitsu in the way that Rickson understands it - many people train grappling whilst wearing a gi, using techniques that come from Jiu Jitsu. BUT, the Jiu Jitsu is in the details, in the connections, in the effortless and undeniable execution of techniques. I'm sure (in fact I know) that there will be people out there who will read this blog and dismiss this as more dogma from a Rickson adherent. And if you've trained with Rickson and still think that, then cool, you're welcome to your opinion. But if you've never trained with Rickson and still want to believe that what you're doing is Jiu Jitsu and all this is just hype, then, well, I guess that's OK too, but I promise, you're deluding yourself. As Rickson would say, "no my brother...you got nothin'."<br /><br />The other difference in this small group setting was the ability to have Rickson show you first hand. He actually did a pretty good job in Holland, given the numbers of getting round people, but here, everyone had the chance to feel what Rickson was looking for. And this is why it's "invisible" Jiu Jitsu - you can see a technique and kind of understand what is happening, but unless you feel perfect execution, you can't appreciate the technique in its fullness. It's like looking at a cook-book. You can see a nice picture of the food and you can read about the ingredients. You might even be able to imagine what the end product will taste like. But,unless you actually eat the meal, then you'll never really know how good it tastes and smells.<br /><br />Looking back over my notes, we got through quite a lot on that first night and it whizzed by in double quick time. At the end of the session, I was able to give over something quite special to Rickson.<br /><br />Knowing that the visit was on, I got in touch with Seymour Yang, (AKA <a href="http://www.meerkatsu.com/" target="_blank">Meerkatsu</a>), BJJ artist extraordinaire to see if he would do a special piece of artwork for Rickson's visit. We settled on a design of a bear, in Rickson's trademark fighting stance, wearing Rickson's red and black belt.<br />
<br />The reasoning behind the bear was due to an account I'd seen of Pedro Sauer talking about a T-Shirt Rickson had printed back in the early 90s which showed the Gracies and Prof. Sauer as animals, based on the animal nicknames given to them by Helio. Rickson was represented by the Bear.<br />
<br />Take a look at the clip here:<br />
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<br />Amazingly, my instructor Dean still has one of these T-shirts from one of<br />his earliest visits to LA - quite a museum piece!
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, after a few emails, Meerkatsu's final designs arrived and went ontoT-shirts for the lucky attendees and a limited run of fine art prints (10 only). More on the prints later. I'm sure you'll agree that Meerkatsu's</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">anthropomorphism of Rickson is up there with his best designs - and great for him to have such legend wear one of his designs! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big thanks to Seymour for his time and efforts!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PBRJ9KWpUEU/UU73SeT1hII/AAAAAAAAAZc/OC7yDyQnnC8/s1600/Rickson_T.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PBRJ9KWpUEU/UU73SeT1hII/AAAAAAAAAZc/OC7yDyQnnC8/s200/Rickson_T.JPG" width="160" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the second session, everyone felt a bit more relaxed around Rickson after our experience the night before. Whilst warming up, Rickson explained how he uses the swiss ball for his warm ups and conditioning, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">along with other props such as elastics for resistance. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He then spent 20 minutes talking about his </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">breathing, which was every bit as captivating as it was in Holland. In </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">fact, he went further and talked about his training in Bio-Gymnastics with</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.orlandocani.com.br/eng/main.htm" target="_blank">Orlando Cani</a> - the original stuff before Alvaro Romano left Cani and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">started <a href="http://ginasticanatural.hospedagemdesites.ws/web/" target="_blank">Ginastica Natural</a>. Fascinating stuff and definitely worthy of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">further investigation.....more to come in another post sometime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then on to the main session. More great stuff and a defence against being </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">grabbed and driven forwards from the rear which was brilliant. Not much </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">else to say - as before the instruction was brilliant and Rickson gave all </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of himself to the session. I never felt that he was giving anything less </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">than 100%. He did speak at some length on his philosophy of Jiu Jitsu and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the direction of travel for the art and the sport. It was nothing </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">particularly that you can't find on YouTube, but seen in person, you could </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">feel his conviction that Jiu Jitsu competition is driving Jiu Jitsu away </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from its roots and served to reinforce my view that Jiu Jitsu based on </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">strength, athleticism, aggression and scoring points is not Jiu Jitsu as I </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">understand it from Rickson. When asked, he also talked with knowledge and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">enthusiasm about teaching kids Jiu Jitsu - something I would love to do at </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">some point and gave an interesting insight into his family culture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the session, Rickson was generous with his time in taking photos and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">signing stuff - another benefit of the smaller session (I didn't even try </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in Holland as there were so many people trying to get their shot). Two of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the things that Rickson signed was a copy of the aforementioned print of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.meerkatsu.com/" target="_blank">Meerkatsu</a>'s work and a patch from <a href="http://www.tapcancerout.org/" target="_blank">Tap Cancer Out</a>. Please check out their </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">website and go buy one of their great <a href="http://tapcancerout.storenvy.com/products/1040298-6-tap-cancer-out-decal-red-or-black" target="_blank">patches</a> (it won't cost you much, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">looks great on your Gi and raises money for a great cause!) or a <a href="http://tapcancerout.storenvy.com/products/297797-meerkatsu-scramble-gentle-omoplata-tee" target="_blank">t-shirt</a>, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">again designed by the ubiquitous and ridiculously talented <a href="http://www.meerkatsu.com/" target="_blank">Meerkatsu</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, both these items were sent to <a href="http://www.tapcancerout.org/" target="_blank">Tap Cancer Out</a> and were auctioned off to raise </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">important funds. Check them out on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TapCancerOut" target="_blank">facebook</a> to keep up with </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">their work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Of course, I kept one of those bad boys for myself and it now has pride of place in my front room:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After both sessions, I found it really hard to sleep - just thinking about </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">what he'd said, what I learned...just the buzz! I am very fortunate to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">have been part of it all - fortunate to be Dean's student and fortunate to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">be around at this time. Rickson is a legend of our art and he's alive right </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">now....not some black and white photo on the wall - he's here and he's </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">passing on, in person, a lifetime of accumulated experience and knowledge. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I'm in the middle of it! Don't get me wrong, I'm under no </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">illusion...this will not suddenly make me a great Jiu Jitsuka, but it will </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">deepen my knowledge and understanding and will definitely contribute to my </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">journey to become the best Jiu Jitsuka that <strong><em><u>I</u></em></strong> can be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy days. I hope it's not too long until we see him again.</span><br />
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Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-45872346798531926512012-11-20T21:36:00.001+00:002012-11-20T21:41:39.755+00:00Destination: Awesome.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Rickson Gracie Seminars, Amsterdam, 3 & 4 Nov 2012</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n6kL0ArY7nE/UKv0iRLoetI/AAAAAAAAAYE/iBAGIZ_ajjw/s1600/rickson+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n6kL0ArY7nE/UKv0iRLoetI/AAAAAAAAAYE/iBAGIZ_ajjw/s320/rickson+poster.jpg" width="225" /></a>Some time back, I connected with Michel Verhoeven - a Dutch Brown Belt under Rickson. I first knew of Michel as Blue Belt under Harold Harder, Rickson's only European Black Belt and as the guy that took over the running of Harold's school when Harold could no longer commit the time to running an academy. Knowing that Michel and Harold have hosted Rickson and Kron in the past, I asked Michel to let me know if he ever did so again.<br />
<br />Back in September I got a message from Michel informing of a visit by Rickson to Amsterdam and that was it. Nothing was going to stop me from going. Ever since I started Jiu Jitsu, I've always wanted to meet and train with Rickson.<br /><br />After a little negotiation with my wife, (which resulted in her coming too!) I secured my place and made my arrangements. I was also to be joined again by Steve H and Simon. <br />
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This was always going to be a special trip. The cost of the seminar was €200 (approx £160) for two 3 hour sessions - basically about £25 per hour to train with a legend. In the run up, I saw a few people on various boards suggesting the price was high, but by my reckoning that price was an absolute bargain. Seriously - £25 is less than I paid to train at Renzo's place in NY and this was Rickson!!!<br /><br />So, a ridiculously early start on Saturday morning (0300) for a very quick and comfortable flight to Amsterdam. A short hop on the train into the city to find our hotel, which was a great price and the perfect location. After a short familiarisation stroll in the city with my wife, a spot of breakfast and later, lunch, it was time to hook up with the guys and make the short trip out to Amstelveen for the seminar.<br /><br />On check-in, I met Michel in person which was nice and then on to spy the merchandise being sold by Rickson's girlfriend. And there, in the corner, warming up on a swiss ball, was the man himself. The atmosphere was hushed, excited and reverent. People made and re-made aquaintances as they changed (and it was good to see Gavin from RGA once again - seems he's the man when it comes to seminars!). <br />
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Rickson walked around and said hello and shook hands with every single person there, looking each in the eyes in a way that conveyed genuine openness and respect. Then Harold called order. We lined up, had our welcomes, bowed to the portrait of GM Helio and then mutually bowed to Rickson.<br /><br />Then the seminar began I am not even going to attempt to describe or explain it. And this is for the following reasons.<br /><br />1) I can't do it justice - I am not Rickson. I am not even close so I cannot explain in the way that he can.<br />2) Explanation is not enough - Rickson calls his Jiu Jitsu "invisible" and whilst some may sneer, it really is. You can only understand by feeling what he does. Rickson frequently called people out to help him demonstrate and develop a point and I was lucky enough to be one of them. Rickson wanted me to hold him round the waist and maintain base. I tried to do what I understood of what was required but couldn't hold him. With a few minor adjustments and feedback from the master, everything subtly changed and, not only did I feel rock solid, I was actually affecting his base as he tried to escape my grasp. It's all fine and minute technical detail, but honestly, it felt like some sort of hypnotic magic.<br />3) Even if I could explain, It wouldn't be right or fair - and this is on two fronts. Those that were there paid and travelled (from all over the world as far as New Zealand!) to be there. The session was ours and ours alone The second front relates to Rickson's philosophy on his Jiu Jitsu. It's such a tactile thing that he's developed over a lifetime and he explained to us that he will never release DVDs or books as these cannot adequately explain his Jiu Jitsu. Having felt it and been so close to it, I can assure you that this is true. I guess these two reasons are also why Rickson requests no spectators, photos or filming during the seminar and I respect and understand this. The Jiu Jitsu I felt and saw on those two days is inside me, in my memory. No photos or videos required.<br /><br />Demonstration generally followed the same pattern. Rickson would signal someone to join him and then ask them to execute a technique or ask them what they would do to defend or counter a move that he was going to do to them. With no effort at all, he would repeatedly defend against their technique or impose his intent upon their defence, highlighting, time after time how ineffective people's Jiu Jitsu was. And this was not down to something highly skilled that Rickson was doing - he was simply exploiting fundamental flaws in most people's understanding of Jiu Jitsu, leverage and connection. I guess something that will stay with me for a long time was watching brown belt after brown belt and black belt after black belt being made to look like beginners. It showed that many people, although<br />undoubtedly more proficient and knowledgeable than most (me included!), do not have the core concepts that Rickson is able to teach. I've since come to the conclusion that there are many people who grapple whilst wearing a gi and have an outstanding range of techniques with which to catch others less experienced than themselves, but there are very very few who understand Jiu Jitsu in the way that Rickson and some of his closest students do. I mean no disrespect to anyone who's worked hard to earn their rank in saying this, but I pretty much guarantee that if you asked any black belt that was there, they'd say they felt something special and had to re-evaluate what they thought they knew about Jiu Jitsu.<br /><br />And of Rickson himself? Well, they say never meet your heroes. I've met mine and the aura remains very much intact. He really does have a presence and an intensity about him, yet is a very relaxed and approachable person. Whilst teaching, he is uncompromising about what feels right and what feels wrong. He teaches with passion, commitment and energy. You never feel that he is giving anything less than 100% in terms of his attention or emotional or physical intensity. When he talks to you he makes you feel like there is noone else in the room and he can captivate an audience like noone else I've ever seen.<br /><br />This was demonstrated when he talked about his famous breathing technique and also at the close of the seminar when he talked about his life and his philosophy of Jiu Jitsu - it was just one of those moments that demands your absolute attention.<br /><br />After the seminar had ended, there was the inevitable clamour for autographs and photos and this was done with great generosity and patience - Rickson was still going as Steve and I had to leave to catch our flight back.<br /><br />All in all, it was a weekend that exceeded all of my expectations. Even though a short trip, the timings of the seminars allowed me to get out and about in Amsterdam with my wife. For anyone visiting I'd recommend the <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g188590-d231323-Reviews-Ibis_Amsterdam_Centre-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html" target="_blank">Ibis near the station</a> - adequate rooms and a great location, and I also had a great meal <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g188590-d2455316-Reviews-Cafe_Het_Paleis-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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Jiu Jitsu with Rickson Gracie and a weekend away with my wife. Win win!!!</span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-4992886308216301392012-11-20T21:02:00.000+00:002012-11-20T21:45:44.573+00:00We like da Mango!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Allan Manganello Seminars, Sidcup and Chelmsford, 18 & 19 Aug 2012</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, continuing their alliance to Prof. Sauer's Association, both Paul and Laurence hosted Allan for this two day seminar. As before, it was great to see Allan again so soon after Iceland and continue that aquaintence. Also over for the seminars was Halldor which was brilliant and served to strengthen the bonds that Jiu Jitsu creates. I also met up again with Gavin, from RGA who I'd met at Pedro's first seminar. I just love the way that Jiu Jitsu brings people together.<br /><br />Saturday was a hot and airless day in a small, but lovely little room at the <a href="http://www.thedojowebsite.com/" target="_blank">Sidcup Dojo</a>. The seminar was well attended by both Paul's guys and Laurence's and a sprinkle of a few others like me. After a warm up, covering fundamental movements with a detailed explanation of each from Allan, we moved into a great session of Gracie Jiu Jitsu self defence.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-McKgHO4BUEM/UKvrloloFWI/AAAAAAAAAX0/-h-pIfj8-N0/s1600/Me+Allan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-McKgHO4BUEM/UKvrloloFWI/AAAAAAAAAX0/-h-pIfj8-N0/s320/Me+Allan.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was all fundamental stuff - by that I don't mean basic, but core. Allan explained everything with precision and detail and all the moves formed a useful and realistic self defence sequence accessible to anyone. It was all stuff I'd done before, but I picked up new details and connections on everything and, in particular, standing up in base - something very neglected by most. I trained with one of Paul's newest students, in fact, I think this may have been her very first session and in very quick time, she was pulling together competent self defence moves.<br /><br />The sequence basically went - Stand up in base > defend punch into clinch > O Goshi to ground > Armbar. We also covered a few other points but the seminar was predominantly aimed at covering GJJ self defence fundamentals aimed at the high number of white belts at the seminar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are often discussions about GJJ vs BJJ, GJJ, vs"sports" Jiu Jitsu. I don't want to digress too much into that now. I think there's a place for both and I do think that someone that trains "sports" or competition oriented Jiu Jitsu has a substantial chance of overcoming an untrained opponent in a self defence scenario. I do think, however, that the GJJ self defence techniques are overlooked by many and that it adds another layer of technique and understanding to Jiu Jitsu. Horses for courses. I'm not going to say one is better than another, but they are different in both philosophy and application. To suggest otherwise is simply wrong IMHO.<br /><br />Day 2 was held at Laurence's place in Chelmsford - an impressive set up and a very professionally run academy. The self defence theme continued with defences against a straight punch to a takedown, defence and throw from a front choke, and then to the floor for some guard passing and some fine detail on the armbar from guard which completely changed the way I look at that technique. The seminar was worth that alone.<br /><br />Allan's instruction was excellent - easily some of the best I've experienced. His explanations and details are immense and it's delivered with a fine mix of authority, concern for correct technique but with great humour and fun. As someone that has spent a lot of time with Rickson and his family and now a key instructor under Prof. Sauer, I assure you, you will not find much better instruction out there.<br />
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Good times...<br /><br />Here's a little clip of Allan in action...awesome armbar!<br />
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Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-29201960080030679682012-11-19T20:32:00.000+00:002012-11-20T21:02:30.568+00:00Whale meet again....(groan)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Pedro Sauer/Andre Galvao Training Camp, Reykjavik, 29 Jun - 1 Jul 2012</strong><br /><br />After the experience with the Professor in Essex, I was clear that I needed to train with him again. Having checked his <a href="http://www.pedrosauer.com/" target="_blank">website</a>, I noted that he was running a training Camp in Reykjavik in Iceland, with <a href="http://www.galvaojiujitsu.com/" target="_blank">Andre Galvao</a> as a guest instructor. Through the usual mix of google and Facebook, I hooked up with Johann Eyvindsson - the instructor at <a href="http://gracie.is/" target="_blank">Gracie Jiu Jitsu Skollin</a>, a purple belt under <a href="http://www.louisvillemartialarts.net/viewInstructor.php?instructor_name=Allan+Manganello" target="_blank">Allan Manganello</a>. The chance to train with Professor Sauer - Tick. The chance to train with Andre Galvao - Tick. The chance to visit Iceland and experience the land of fire, ice and midnight sun - tick! It would have been dumb not to!<br /><br />My accomplice on this trip was Steve H so we set off from Gatwick Thursday morning and after about a three hour flight, landed safely at Keflavik Airport. A short hop to <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g189959-d645372-Reviews-Hotel_Hafnarfjordur-Hafnarfjordur.html" target="_blank">our Hotel</a> and then straight out again to go <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g189970-d1108831-Reviews-Elding_Whale_Watching_Reykjavik-Reykjavik.html" target="_blank">Whale Watching</a> in the midnight sun (we were really lucky with the weather whilst there - glorious sun the whole time). Simply, this was an amazing experience. After a couple of hours of seeing very little, we were suddenly entertained by a humpback whale pulling out all the tricks in its bag and with the backdrop of the barely setting sun, it was something I'll never forget.</span><br />
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<br />The next morning, it was up bright and early to join a "<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g189970-d1556635-Reviews-Reykjavik_Excursions-Reykjavik.html" target="_blank">Golden Circle" tour</a>- the Golden Circle is a route that takes you round Iceland's main natural sites/sights - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullfoss" target="_blank">Gullfoss</a> (the Golden Falls), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geysir" target="_blank">Geysir</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Eingvellir" target="_blank">Þingvellir National Park</a> - site of the tectonic rift between the American and Eurasian plates and also site of the Viking Parliament. It was a great trip and the sights well worth seeing. A small oddity of the trip was a stop at a horse riding school and a tomato farm. Tomatoes. TOMATOES!!!????!!!!
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W3Gy-uneBX4/UKqP2ENSF5I/AAAAAAAAAXE/A2aH85m4WP0/s1600/tomatoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W3Gy-uneBX4/UKqP2ENSF5I/AAAAAAAAAXE/A2aH85m4WP0/s200/tomatoes.jpg" width="200" /></a>The coach trip got back late so we then had a frantic dash to the Venue for the seminars. On arrival, we went in and joined the first session 1800-2100 led by Allan Manganello. It was great to see him again and we went through some nice stuff. Also accompanying the Professor was <a href="http://www.knoxbjj.com/page.asp?id=4" target="_blank">Mike Horihan</a> , another of his Black Belts. We also did a little bit of rolling at the end and my first training Partner was Halldor - a very capable blue belt, probably not far from his purple. It was really nice to roll with a guy who wanted to flow and explore movement. The time went quickly and then it was back to our hotel for an early night ahead of a whole day of training on Saturday.<br /><br />Saturday, and on the way to the venue we were picked up by Halldor who we'd met the day before and then into the first of the day's sessions. The morning was led by Andre Galvao. For the uninitiated, read about Andre's career <a href="http://galvaojiujitsu.com/biography" target="_blank">here</a>. He ran us through a really neat set up to a control and Kimura from cross-side.
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u1XbIrCIyjg/UKqRovq7gKI/AAAAAAAAAXM/KQ5ruLNtSIU/s1600/galvaoside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u1XbIrCIyjg/UKqRovq7gKI/AAAAAAAAAXM/KQ5ruLNtSIU/s200/galvaoside.jpg" width="146" /></a>One of the things that struck me during this seminar was the Professor's involvement. Quite often, I've seen Black Belts standing by watching the seminar host, nodding sagely as if they know the stuff already. Not even a hint of this with Professor. From the second that Andre was teaching, Prof. Sauer was one of us, right there at the front, learning new details. After over 40 years of training with, and teaching, the best, he's still learning - a great example of humility to everyone.<br /><br />Andre's instruction was clear and detailed. His Jiu Jitsu was smooth,<br />strong and simple. Yes, there are many clips of his aggressive and<br />acrobatic Jiu Jitsu, but from my observations, this is the icing on his<br />cake of some incredibly effective fundamentals.<br /><br />At the break, were the inevitable round of photo opportunities with the Champ. During this, his personality "off" the mat shone through - a hugely friendly guy for whom nothing was too much trouble. No ego and a genuine delight in meeting people. He sometimes gets a bad rap because of his behaviour in tournaments, but I can only imagine that this is because he is a hugely competitive person with incredibly high expectations for himself. As an everyday guy, he is generous, open and a fun person to be around.
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RcssMQq1GP8/UKqSa2VcJzI/AAAAAAAAAXU/z_GI0Sr1LBM/s1600/meandre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RcssMQq1GP8/UKqSa2VcJzI/AAAAAAAAAXU/z_GI0Sr1LBM/s1600/meandre.jpg" /></a>Steve and I were lucky enough to be invited to a private lunch with the Professor, Andre and a few others. One of the guys, Finni (a huge Viking of a guy) owns a few restaurants in Reykjavik so we were treated to a huge lunch of sausages, eggs, bacon, pancakes followed by heartfelt appeals to the professor not to cover any knee-on-belly in the afternoon!!! Great food and great company!<br /><br />The afternoon was the Professor's turn to teach, and, as in the UK, he invited questions on any and all aspects of Jiu JItsu. We covered..... We were also treated to a short break when the Professor retold tales of his training with Helio Gracie and his philosophy on Jiu Jitsu. I love this stuff and could listen all day. To me, the philosophy of Jiu Jitsu is as important as the techniques - it reveals the soul of the person and sets the context for our practice. It's captivating.<br /><br />That evening, we were treated to another fine meal at another of Finni's restaurants - meat soup followed by Lobster Salad. The food was amazing. I'm not a big fan of shellfish so was a bit apprehensive, but also very hungry. Simply, it was one of the tastiest things I've ever eaten.<br /><br />Sunday morning - a thankfully slightly later start and the final of our sessions with the Professor. During this session we mainly recapped all that we had learned previously which was a hugely beneficial use of time and before we knew it, it was time to go. I was genuinely sad to be leaving. I'd had an amazing time in Iceland, met some great people and had learnt some great stuff.
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To make some summary thoughts about this special trip, I'd have to also mention Allan and Mike. Having met Allan before, it was great to see him and spend time with him again. It was also great to meet Mike and both Mike and Allan were great to have around to help us whilst drilling. </div>
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I also have to mention Icelandic hospitality. Everywhere we went, people were laid back and friendly and couldn't do enough to help us. Johann looked after us, making sure we always had lifts, which was a great way to meet his guys and find out more about Icelandic life, politics and culture.</div>
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One of the conversations that has stuck with me concerned the Icelandic view of wealth and that it's not something particularly aspired to - everyone seems to have enough and not to particularly want for more - a very healthy mind set if they can keep hold of it. Another was in relation to crime in Iceland, which seems very low. Apparently there was a recent story on the local news about a car being broken into and a phone charger being stolen...can you imagine that being news in the UK!!!?? Oh, and one other thing which I thought was funny - our "<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chav" target="_blank">Chavs</a>" are internationally renowned! One of our drivers was telling us about how they're reviled as much in Iceland as they are by us!!! Anyone with any illusions of the grandeur of our former Empire should be aware - it seems we are internationally known for two things...our comedy and our chavs! LOL.<br />
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We really did not have enough time in Reykjavik. We only saw a small part of the city and it looks like a great little place. An old fishing town with great little restaurants and shops - the sort of place I can imagine just mooching around. I also really wanted to visit the <a href="http://www.bluelagoon.com/" target="_blank">Blue Lagoon</a> geothermal Spa, but we simply ran out of time.<br />
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Great people, great place - I really want to go back. The midnight sun was a strange experience, but I think next time, I'd like to go back and try and see the Northern Lights and, of course, train again with my new friends!</span><br />Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-85709145248251121042012-11-19T19:44:00.001+00:002012-11-19T19:44:26.544+00:00Hail Cesar!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Training at Cesar Gracie Gym (Gracie Fighter Team), Pleasant Hill, CA,<br />April 2012</strong><br /><br />Back over Easter, my family and I went to stay with my brother in law Jack and his wife Jen in Concord, CA (just inland of San Francisco). Last time we'd visited them, I trained in Oakland with <a href="http://www.chasingtheblue.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/heat-is-on.html" target="_blank">Eduardo Rocha</a>, which was great. Somehow though, I missed the fact that there was a gym in the Concord/Walnut Creek area and that the Gym was none other than the famous <a href="http://graciefighter.com/" target="_blank">Gracie Fighter</a> gym under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Gracie" target="_blank">Cesar Gracie</a>, home of the <a href="http://diazbrothers.com/" target="_blank">Diaz brothers</a> and J<a href="http://www.jakeshields.com/" target="_blank">akeShields</a> of UFC fame. Unfortunately, none of them, nor Cesar, were home when I was there.<br /><br />My intention, scheduled around family time, time in San Fran and an awesome visit to Yosemite, was to train as much as possible, with this gym having a good schedule and being only a 5 min ride from where I was staying. However, on the flight over I picked up a cold, but worse, a nasty eye infection that took most of the first week to clear up. Gutted.<br /><br />So, eventually, in week two of my stay, back in a semblance of health I went to the gym for an all grades session.<br /><br />The Gym is situated in a small strip mall, and, bizarrely, next to a Fish 'n' Chip shop. Quick tip to anyone that visits - the front door slides open. Do not stand forever trying to push/pull it. It won't work and you will look dumb ; / Not that I'd know, of course!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MKHSjWC_WJo/UKqKIoNfqtI/AAAAAAAAAWs/EP0rhzUX9Tc/s1600/cesar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MKHSjWC_WJo/UKqKIoNfqtI/AAAAAAAAAWs/EP0rhzUX9Tc/s320/cesar.jpg" width="203" /></a>It's a large and well equipped gym - plenty of mat space, lots of bags and a boxing ring. There's also a well equipped shop inside. To train there is $20 a pop, so not too bad.<br /><br />I trained two days in a row at the 1100-1300 session. Both Sessions were led by <a href="http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Alessandro-Ferreira-63503" target="_blank">Alessandro "Zoio" Ferreira</a> and followed the same format: Warm up with fundamental movements, a single technique, well drilled with multiple<br />partners and then some positional training - in this case, passing guard from standing, or escape from cross-side. On the second day we also did some rolling in 5 min rounds.<br /><br />The main thing that struck me in my time there was firstly, the number of very good black belts on the mat as a matter of course. All were very good and extremely helpful to me, in particular a female Black Belt by the name of <a href="http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Lana-Stefanac-16445" target="_blank">Lana Stefanac</a>, who showed me some nice finishes from cross-side. The<br />second thing was just how technical all of the guys there were. I guess, with the MMA link I thought Cesar's gyms would be hard fighting, hard drilling affairs. Actually, these guys were all very skilled and highly technical and the purple belts were especially sharp!<br /><br />I didn't really have time to make great conversation, but everyone I met was friendly and welcoming. I'd highly recommend it as a place to train if you're in that area, and, given time there I'd definitely have been there more.</span><br />Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-46609074577880715182012-11-19T19:25:00.000+00:002012-11-20T21:02:49.792+00:00Yield to win!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Pedro Sauer Seminar, Chelmsford, 19 Feb 2012</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd been wanting to train with Professor Pedro Sauer for a long time and this opportunity came out of the blue - Steve H at our club had read about it and set it all up... It had been arranged by <a href="http://www.blackbeltmartialarts.co.uk/instructors/laurence-sandum/" target="_blank">Laurence Sandum</a>, a JKD (amongst many other arts) instructor based in Chelmsford who, through his connections with <a href="http://inosanto.com/" target="_blank">Dan Inosanto</a> (who holds a Black Belt in BJJ from (I think!) the Machados and has worked extensively with Prof. Sauer) has hooked up with Prof Sauer's Jiu Jitsu Association.<br /><br />Prof. Sauer is an 8th Degree Red/Black Belt under Rickson Gracie and the late Grandmaster Helio Gracie and was one of the few that accompanied the Gracies in their move to the US. His reputation as a technical instructor is well known and his deep connections to Rickson have always made him someone that I'd sought to train with.<br /><br />A few words about the seminar organisation...This seminar was advertised on <a href="http://www.pedrosauer.com/" target="_blank">Prof. Sauer's website</a>, so anyone interested in training with Prof. Sauer could have seen it. It wasn't widely advertised on the usual sites, mainly as the guys organising it were new to the UK BJJ "scene". After the event there were a few people whining on about how it wasn't publicised and then questioning why Laurence was aligning to Prof Sauer when there were already many UK based Black Belts around and then the inevitable "BJJ Police" started sniffing around too.<br /><br />Let me say, I'm 100% behind the need to establish lineage. Laurence (and <a href="http://karasackali.co.uk/" target="_blank">Paul Finn</a>) have aligned themselves to Prof. Sauer as they too highly value lineage (this is hugely important to them in their JKD and the other arts they teach). Based on a recommendation from Dan Inosanto (and who would argue with his martial arts opinion?!) they sought out Prof. Sauer. In my humble opinion, short of Rickson Gracie himself, you will find no purer Jiu Jitsu lineage on this planet. Many will disagree because of their own lineage and loyalties (and I get that), but in my view, if you have the opportunity to learn from the source, then that's what you do.<br /><br />And as for why these guys do not align with other UK Black Belts - why should they?! And why is what they're doing so very different from what many of today's UK Black and Brown belts did when they first pioneered Jiu Jitsu in the UK? There's no conspiracy here, nothing to hide, noone assuming unearned rank, so for doubters, your time would better served developing your own Jiu Jitsu. Peace.<br /><br />Anyway, to the seminar itself. The sunday I went to was actually the second of two days (I now really wish I'd done both days!). There were around 20 odd people there - mostly white belts from Laurence and Paul's schools and a few other belts from a mix of academies. Professor Sauer had travelled with a few others from his association, including <a href="http://www.louisvillemartialarts.net/viewInstructor.php?instructor_name=Allan+Manganello" target="_blank">Allan Manganello</a>, and <a href="http://www.teamhopkinsgjj.com/welcome-home.html" target="_blank">Allen Hopkins</a> (and his student Waylon - now a Brown Belt), both Black Belts under him. It was great to meet all of them - every single one of them treated us like long lost friends.<br /><br />The seminar opened with a warm up led by Allen - all movements that were relevant to Jiu Jitsu...a great preparation and great just as drills by themselves. The seminar ran like an open workshop, with Prof. Sauer inviting questions from anyone on anything and then offering up solutions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I got in early with a question on holding mount. Having asked the same question of Romolo, I was interested to see if there was a different view or other details. The Professor's instruction followed a now familiar format. He asked me to come out and asked me to escape his mount, whilst showing (and allowing me to feel) how he defended my attempts at escape. It was simply impossible. Every time I moved, he made minor adjustments with his hips. Every time I tried to frame against him, he disappeared. It was like fighting vapour. There's no substitute for feeling that Jiu Jitsu. I understood. That's different from me saying I can now do it, but I know what I'm shooting for. It's beyond technique..it's a feeling.<br /><br />The same process was repeated across a range of other questions. But, more than techniques, three things stuck with me - over-riding principles and philosophy of Prof. Sauer's Jiu Jitsu: 1) Yield to win (don't fight - "flow with the go", as Rickson would say); 2) Control the Skeleton - this way of thinking about how to control an opponent opens up all sorts of possibilities and connections; and 3) White Belt mind - always try to find the simplicity in everything and never stop learning.<br /><br />It was a great seminar and I met a lot of cool new people. The Jiu Jitsu was sublime, but more than that, I was left with the impression of what a genuinely nice person Prof. Sauer is. So generous with his time, his knowledge and he just has an aura of assurance, happiness and calm - the behaviour of a man who is at one with the world and has nothing to prove to anyone. Just great.</span><br />
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Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-43593273227807419762012-11-17T22:47:00.001+00:002012-11-18T21:01:24.523+00:00Romolo Barros visit: 29-30 April 2011<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So, back
in April 2011, Dean brought over </span><a href="http://www.brazilian-freestyle.com/staff.htm"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Romolo Barros</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> from Hawaii. Romolo is one of
Rickson’s oldest blackbelts and friends and I’d heard lots about him from guys that
had trained with him back in the early days of Dean bringing Rickson’s Jiu
Jitsu to the UK.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-criSPcxk0Fg/UKgQaSmidOI/AAAAAAAAAV8/GHRmyOQSp0A/s1600/deanrolol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-criSPcxk0Fg/UKgQaSmidOI/AAAAAAAAAV8/GHRmyOQSp0A/s320/deanrolol.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I found
Romolo to be a very warm, friendly and laid back guy. Clearly the Hawaii
lifestyle has infused his very being and he talked about surfing as much as he
did Jiu Jitsu! </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I’m not going to recall everything we did during the seminar,
but both days generally followed this format: Warm up, self defence, escapes,
submissions, open Q&A, rolling. A</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">s with all high level instruction, it was
the simplicity of the techniques that I found most impressive and the high
attention to detail that made all the difference. All techniques blended
seamlessly together rather than a random collection of techniques which you get
at some seminars. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The thing that stuck with me most, mainly because asked the
question, was around maintaining the mount. I wanted to get Romolo’s take on
this as I know it’s something that Rickson has spent a lot of time on in his
recent seminars. Being shown a few little tips and then drilling that position
mad a hell of a difference to maintaining that important position.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">We also
saw Romolo at training on Monday night for a short while where he ran through
some nice chokes from inside half guard and cross side – I also felt the torque
and leverage first hand….amazing.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It was a
great turnout by the disparate bunch that makes up our little club and great
training. Another part of Romolo’s trip was to take some of the guys that were
read through some belt tests. The result of some pretty full-on test from what
I hear were the following promotions:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sunny
– Blue stripe</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Nuri
- Blue Stripe<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Monkey –
Blue Belt<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Richard
– Purple Belt<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Roubel
– Purple Belt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">"French" Steve - Purple Belt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dean
Taylor – Brown Belt<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In all
cases, these promotions were long overdue and testament to all the guys’
commitment and loyalty. Can’t say it enough, but well done to all, and
especially to Dean who is one step closer to a truly amazing achievement. I’m
hoping I might be ready next time round to put on a pretty new tag or maybe
even a belt.</span></div>
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Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-45324759443257177462012-11-17T22:13:00.002+00:002012-11-20T21:03:12.839+00:00Roger Gracie Seminar - Soho Academy Opening, 5th Sept 2010<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I came
across this freebie on </span><a href="http://www.efnsports.com/forum"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">EFN</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> as a celebration of the opening
of Roger’s new academy in the heart of Soho. A great opportunity to train for
free with one of the greatest BJJ players ever! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I met up with Si in London and,
being near Brewer Street, it was the perfect chance to visit </span><a href="http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/arigato-japanese-supermarket-london"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Arigato</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> and stock up on Pocari Sweat –
my favourite Japanese sports drink (which was desperately needed as that place
is HOT!). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Academy is tucked away in the basement (aren’t they always?) of a
building on Street. On entering, it had something of the feel of </span><a href="http://www.renzogracie.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Renzo’s place</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> in NYC (probably the white walls, blue mats and
the basement thing going on). The mats were packed and it was also great to
meet up again with Big Dean. There was a good buzz around the place and the
session started with British Judo legend and BJJ Blackbelt </span><a href="http://www.raystevensjudo.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ray Stevens</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> showing a couple of throws.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With
a number of Black belts on the mat, we were treated to a carousel of each
showing us a couple of techniques, which was great as there was something there
for everyone, but so many I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do any justice in trying
to remember them here! Introduced by Dean, I briefly met with Roger, who I
found to be relaxed and friendly...and very, very tall!!! I got the feeling the
day would go on and on and after a few hours, Si and I simply had to get on our
way, but it was well worth the trip so a big thank you to all of the guys at
RGA.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems that the Academy, however, was short-lived - something to do with the regulations on the use of the building. Seems a shame - it was looking to be a great place in a great location and would have been a huge sccess.</span></span><br />
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Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-2540763533652178412012-11-17T21:52:00.001+00:002012-11-17T22:02:20.962+00:00Hajime!<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Judo</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Back in
2010, I took up Judo. I’ve written before that my Son (and now also my
daughter) do Judo and back in August 2010, with summer holidays in full
flow, the kids’ and adults’ classes were combined and the instructor, knowing I
did Jiu Jitsu said I could join in if I wished, rather than sitting at the side
waiting for the kids. So I got involved. What the hell? I was there anyway for
the kids and Judo is ridiculously cheap. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qQy6DVecIiE/UKgHz9SMeVI/AAAAAAAAAVc/deNFp_LhEDI/s1600/mecam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qQy6DVecIiE/UKgHz9SMeVI/AAAAAAAAAVc/deNFp_LhEDI/s200/mecam.jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me and Cam sharing the tatame</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I really enjoyed myself (especially
sharing the mat with my son) and really got into Judo (and read a really good
book called “<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Pyjama-Game-Journey-into/dp/1845133498/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1353188685&sr=8-5" target="_blank">The Pyjama Game</a>”). With Ne Waza (ground work) I can more than hold
my own, but standing is a different world. Good 14 year old kids can trip or
sweep me with ease. This, I always knew was going to be the case. Apart from at
the highest levels, Jiu Jitsu takedowns are pretty scrappy and often neglected
in tuition (but you will find that the best Jiu Jitsuka also train Judo), so it
was good to learn some new things. I confessed some concerns about the ability
of my knee (old ACL troubles) to withstand Judo, but all the instructors are
older and carrying injuries themselves so fully understand and all the other
students are very kind to me during randori (free practice). Mainly through
technical knowledge and execution rather than competition, I am now an Orange
belt in Judo and it’s something that I feel can only help my Jiu Jitsu.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Being a
sport, it does have some curiosities to the Jiu Jitsuka. The aim of Judo is to
throw or pin you opponent onto his back. When I first started, predictably, I
would get frequently thrown and then be on my back, in open guard, ready to get
started. Of course, my opponent walked away, having scored Ippon (outright win
by throwing your opponent on his back). This took some getting used to. Also,
being a sport, it has a time limit which requires a lot more aggression and
directness when fighting. My Jiu Jitsu has always come from a position of
exploiting the opportunities that arise when defending oneself, but in Judo,
this is frowned upon and you can actually get warnings for being too “passive”.
Another little curiosity that springs to mind is that, generally, I “roll” with
my eyes shut. In judo, this is a no-no (as the referee has to assume that you
are unconscious) and in fact, in one inter-club Ne Waza competition, I was
disqualified against a Brown Belt (who I was clearly beating) as I had my eyes
shut. There are also a whole lot less submissions that you can use in Judo so
this has sometimes limited me, but you know, after a few weeks of feeling that
all these rules are restrictive, I got used to them. It’s just about
familiarity – Judo is a sport and as such it has its rules, but if you go past
that, there’s a lot in it that is incredibly useful to the Jiu Jitsuka. Here’s
a few things I’ve picked up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">- The
standing game: simply, there’s more to life than pulling guard or grabbing legs
only to get sprawled on. Done well, some throws are incredibly effective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Aggression: Judo is competition oriented. It’s a great focus for Jiu Jitsu
competition (if that’s your thing) to be active and do what you need to do as
quickly as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Technique: When all a guy wants to do is hold you down, it’s pretty tough to
get out. Jiu Jitsu works in the spaces left when your opponent tries to move
or submit, but when a tough Judoka grabs you in a determined Kesa Gatame,
that’s tough. You need to work proper technique to get out. Think your
cross-side escapes are good? Think again – ask a good judoka to hold you down
and see how good it really is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-
Fighting Judoka – as time goes by, more and more people are cross training
between Judo and Jiu Jitsu. This means rolling with Judoka and they can be
pretty tough and, at times, frustrating. If a Judoka is determined to “turtle”
and stay tight then it’s pretty tough to move them (not to mention pretty damn
annoying), but I’ve learned some nifty Judo moves to counteract this that will
hopefully be useful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Apart
from club visits (which are a very common and healthy thing in Judo – in Jiu
Jitsu everyone would cry “dojo-storm”, but a bit more cooperation and play
between clubs would be a good thing for everyone) and inter and intra - club
competitions, I have entered one Judo tournament – it was a Ne Waza Tournament
in High Wycombe. It was a while ago now, so don’t remember much of it, but I
came 3rd. I fancied my chances, but in the end, was far too passive – I even
got pinged for it in one bout. I did switch on in later rounds and things went
my way, but I was too “Jiu/Ju” to start with and that’s what cost me – that and
the HUUUUGE Greek fella that just fell on me and then laid there in my 1st
round. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Since I've gotten back more fully into Jiu Jitsu, Judo has taken something of a backseat. I maintain a licence and attend when the fancy takes me. I've no ambition to compete and I'm nit fussed about belts - it's more of a recreational/fitness thing for me, and this suits me just fine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Judo is a great challenge and I'd reccommend anyone to give it a go!</span></div>
Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-19555325155433877552012-11-12T21:28:00.000+00:002012-11-12T21:35:53.024+00:00Don't call it a comeback...<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
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My god, is it really that long since I wrote anything in this blog?!!!!</div>
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I got a comment on my <a href="http://www.chasingtheblue.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/interview-with-frank-forencich.html">last entry</a> a while back from <a href="http://www.slideyfoot.com/">SlideyFoot</a>. That was nice and much appreciated, so I suppose I (and you?!) have Slidey to thank for this resurrection. <br />
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Plus, there's so much that's happened and about to happen it seems appropriate to get writing again. I've got a lot of catching up to do so will make a number of small entries on some of the main things I've been up to (seminars and the like).<br />
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But first, I guess I should explain myself, so let’s rewind. 2009 was a year when work really began to get me down – you might detect that when reading back over some of those entries, so much so that I started looking at ways I could break free from the drudgery of wage slavery. To cut a long story short, I started working on my own training and development consultancy (that’s what I do for a living). By early 2010, I felt, despite the economy, the time was right to go it alone. I’d made enough contacts to feel there was enough work out there, so in February, I left employment and set out on my own with <a href="http://www.oracleld.co.uk/">Oracle Learning & Development</a>.</div>
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Life was pretty good to start with as I only really needed to work a couple of days a week to get where I needed, which meant lots of time at home, dropping the kids off and picking them up from school. I was able to put things into my work that I really enjoyed, and test out ideas that I’d been thinking about for a while so I felt pretty motivated. The work I was doing was all about me and my family so had real purpose and was genuinely satisfying.</div>
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However, life is never simple, and, even when there was enough work, getting invoices paid on time was a nightmare! Then summer came and to show how bad things got, in the space of three days, £1600 worth of work got cancelled. When margins are tight, this kind of thing is not sustainable. I was incredibly lucky in that parents, in-laws, grandparents all came to the rescue and saw us through the worst times. I also did some work with super-plumber Si (mentioned in these blogs) which really helped financially and was also a great distraction from my woes. I owe a huge thanks to all those people.</div>
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All through my planning and running the business, Mrs Al had been wonderfully supportive, but the finances were really putting a strain on our lives so I had to accept that that little experiment was over and started looking for employment once again. What followed were several months of soul-destroying job-searches, interviews and dealing with those awful job-pimps, recruitment agents. Eventually, early in 2011 I landed a good job, with good money, based in the City of London and, a couple of jobs later I'm pretty settled again.</div>
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And this brings us to here, November 2012. So what of Jiu Jitsu? It’s been pretty tough with this background…</div>
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Starting and running your own business is hard – chasing new business, planning, putting together new training material and tenders takes a lot of time and I generally found that my key time for productivity was in the evenings. This had an immediate impact on my attendance at training. Then there was the money. Now, it’s not particularly expensive to train where I train, but even so, when things are tight, every penny counts (including petrol!) so that too kept me away. <br />
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Then, as things started to crumble and defeat stared me in the face, my <a href="http://www.chasingtheblue.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Depression">black dog</a> returned. Feeling anxious and depressed by the loss of my little dream of a life of freedom and flexibility and the thought of returning to employment, I lacked motivation to do much of anything. </div>
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With the relief of a new job and the financial security that comes with it, my mood brightened, but, as mentioned, my first job after self-employment was based in London which meant about and hour and a half commute each way each day, which meant that I don’t get home ‘til around 7pm (and later if the trains were fucked – which they often were). After a long and often frustrating day, pretty much all I wanted to do was get home, see my kids for an hour and the eat and then go to bed. </div>
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Net result, not much Jiu Jitsu at all for a couple of years. I trained a few times here and there, but nothing with any consistency. I did get to a couple of seminars – one with Roger Gracie at the opening of his new Soho Academy and another with Romolo Barros (5th Degree Rickson Blackbelt) – more about both later.</div>
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At the back end of 2011, I got a contract job based in Bromley which brought me much closer to home and so, in January of this year, I got back to regular training again 2/3 times a week.</div>
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It was great to be back, but with so little training or consistency, I sucked. And my fitness was shocking. I remember one session where I was so unable to do anything constructive and was so frustrated with myself that I serioulsy wanted to cry. Like all things, this passed and my fitness built back up again and I'm back where I used to be, including my enthsiasm for Jiu Jitsu.</div>
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<b></b><br />
So, don't call it a comeback...I've been here for years...over the following posts, I'll cover off some of the things I've been doing in an attempt to bring this all up to date, and then I have some really exciting stuff from this year and, as I write this, some great stuff still to come!<br />
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It's good to be back.<br />
<br />
Al</div>
Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-42466519449114211662009-12-31T21:57:00.003+00:002009-12-31T22:08:43.521+00:00Interview with Frank Forencich<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Following my <a href="http://chasingtheblue.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-like-to-move-it-move-it.html">last post</a> on human movement, I've been looking deeper into this issue and I think much of what I've found will inform my exploits in 2010 (more on that another time). I've just finished reading <a href="http://www.exuberantanimal.com/frank/index.php">Frank Forencich</a>'s book "<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Exuberant-Animal-Health-Joyful-Movement/dp/1425956637/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262294911&sr=8-1">Exuberant Animal</a>" and wanted to hear more from Frank and also offer readers of this blog some of his insights, so Frank kindly agreed to a short interview. Here it is - enjoy.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Al:</b> Tell me a bit about your background, in particular your Martial Arts training.</span></span></span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Frank:</b> I trained intensively in kenpo karate and then aikido for a total of about 14 years. The transition between the arts was very difficult for me, but extremely educational. I had to completely re-wire my body and my movements. I was also fascinated that so many teachers would lay claim to knowing the single "right way" to move. What was correct in one dojo was ridiculed in another, just down the street. This led me to a deeper inquiry and a search for common principles. In turn, I became intrigued with the study of human origins and was inspired to travel to Africa. I wanted to know about the universals of human movement, not just particular styles. I still do some martial art movement, mostly in the context of Exuberant Animal, play-based classes. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Al: </b>In relation to your “Exuberant Animal” <a href="http://www.exuberantanimal.com/vision/index.php">philosophy</a>, how do you perceive the martial arts should be approached/trained?</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Frank: </b>Like many, I'm a fan of Bruce Lee's philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, or "the style of no-style." Obviously, when you're in combat, there' s no way to predict how an opponent will move or behave. Therefore, it's just crazy to train in a single method. I've seen people develop extremely deep neurological ruts that would be a tremendous liability in a dynamic situation. The key, as athletic coaches are starting to realize, is to be "adaptable, not adapted." This calls for a diversity of training, a diversity of challenges and movements, always looking for general qualities of power, speed, flow, agility and grace. And in this sense, martial can share a lot with the world of dance. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Al: </b>You’ve spent time with some hunter/gatherer tribes – did you see any martial traditions there?</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Frank: </b>I did not. Primal peoples were extremely dependent on tribal cohesion for survival. Cooperation in the hunt was essential; this was the social priority. Population density was low, so battle between tribes was probably infrequent. Consequently, there wasn't a great need for martial training. We see some evidence of combat weapons (spears and shields), but compared with the modern era, these were probably used more for bluff than for actual killing. This, by the way, is what we see in chimpanzee behavior: males frequently engage in threat and dominance displays, but actual violence is not as common. Jane Goodall observed "warfare" between chimp tribes at Gombe, but we can't forget the bonobo, the highly-sexualized, peace-making hippie primates of Central Africa. We have both of these tendencies in our lineage.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Al:</b> Are you familiar with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu- what are your impressions?</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: small;">I've only trained a little bit in this art. I found it to be enjoyable and incredibly effective. It strikes me as high-quality physical education, although I also see a fair bit of macho chest thumping in the competitive ranks.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Al: </b>I’ve just read your book “<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Exuberant-Animal-Health-Joyful-Movement/dp/1425956637/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262294911&sr=8-1">Exuberant Animal</a>” and what I loved about it was the warning that we risk losing what makes us human – our interactions with each other, the environment, our own bodies, but also that you offer thoughts and solutions on a way back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Frank: </b>We're at a really interesting and exciting time in the history of the body. Our physical relationship with the modern world just isn't working and it's time for trainers, coaches and physical educators to step up and lead the way to a new physical culture. We have to do more than just be good athletes who study high performance. We need to be speaking out and changing the culture, the schools and the workplace. In addition to training individuals and classes, we need to be writing and speaking, taking our insights to a wider audience. The forces of physical apathy are immensely powerful and well-funded. We need to offer a compelling counter-argument to the status quo.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Al: </b>I’ve got five year old twins and I love to watch how they play, move, even play-fight (parentally controlled of course!). It’s so fluid and natural! I mourn the loss of that. What can I do to ensure my kids retain at least some of that and try to recover some of it for myself, even in the face of the onslaught of the “Human Zoo”? </span><br />
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<div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Frank: </b>Rough and tumble play is essential to child and human development and we need to keep it alive. Above all, we need to get outdoors as much as possible and avoid the lure of computers, TV and video games. The real leader in this regard is <a href="http://barefootsensei.exuberantanimal.com/">The Barefoot Sensei</a>. See the website for his story and his inspirational lifestyle. Take off your shoes and feel the earth as much as possible. Keep sensation alive in natural settings: walk more, touch the land. Also, devote more time to authentic communication with other people. Avoid email. Real-time, face-to-face communication is the core of tribal cohesion and in turn, social health. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Al: </b>I’ve noticed a trend recently for lots of “back to basics” exercise regimes – Kettle bells, hitting things with sledgehammers, clubs, but they all still seem to me to have the gloss of a “brand” – a trend. What are your thoughts on this?</span><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Frank:</b> Yes, well, everyone has to make a living and this is a bit of a conundrum. When you get right down to it, all you really need for basic conditioning is terrain, gravity, momentum and human bodies. Add in some rocks and sticks and you've got a pretty complete outdoor gym. If people want to promote this as a "style," I'm not too concerned. Just don't try to lure me into a big-box gym packed with machines!</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> <b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Al: </b>I feel that you and people like <a href="http://movnat.com/">Erwan Le Corre</a> have a lot to offer to society at large at a time when the human race seems hell-bent on doing everything that is counter-intuitive to the species, but it feels like a “quiet revolution”. Is this how you see it? </span><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Frank: </b>Yes. But perhaps it's time to stop being so quiet about it! I keep looking around for more passionate voices in defense of health and the human body, but I'm not hearing much. Where are the militant PE teachers? Where are the militant coaches and trainers? The militant doctors, nurses and therapists? We need to speak out and speak up.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Al: </b>What are your plans for Exuberant Animal?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Frank: </b>2010 will be a big year for us as we refine our identity as a "Health leadership organization." We have some extremely talented people on our team. They have diverse physical training backgrounds, but all are inspirational health leaders in their own right. We will soon have a certification process in place and a lot of events coming up. And of course, I'll be speaking up and speaking out whenever I get the chance. My new book "Change Your Body, Change the World" is due out later this year. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><b>Al: </b>Frank, thanks for taking the time to chat. I hope to catch you at a UK seminar sometime and wish you all the best for 2010!</span><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Frank:</b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Yes, hope to meet you in the flesh.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many thanks to Frank!<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Frank is holding a seminar in London in April, hosted by <a href="http://www.wildfitness.com/london/seminars.htm">Wild Fitness</a> in April <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Check out Frank's Website at <a href="http://www.exuberantanimal.com%20/">www.exuberantanimal.com</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Check out some examples of Frank's training <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ExuberantAnimal">here</a> on You Tube </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A happy and healthy 2010 to you all,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Al</span></span><br />
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</div>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-66754723267259167162009-10-28T22:26:00.002+00:002009-12-31T21:57:58.608+00:00I like to move it move it!<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0x3W6hutEj8&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0x3W6hutEj8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Over the almost five years of my children’s lives so far, I’ve sat through many kids’ films. Some of them are tedious beyond belief (bloody Barney the Dinosaur!) but many of the Pixar/Dreamworks etc films are excellent fun. One of them, “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351283/">Madagascar</a>”, details the adventures of a bunch of animals from New York Zoo as they make a bid for freedom and somehow end up in Madagascar. From their pampered lives in New York they find themselves ill equipped for survival in the wild and comedy ensues as they slowly discover what it is like to be wild animals back in their natural habitats.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Through a series of magazine articles, I’ve recently picked up on the notion of “the Human Zoo”, a term first coined in his book of the same name by Zoologist/Sociobiologist <a href="http://www.desmond-morris.com/">Desmond Morris</a> back in the late 1960s. He drew remarkable similarities in humans with captive zoo animals and looked closely at the aggressive, sexual and parental behaviour of the human species under the stresses and pressures of urban living. The theme of the Human Zoo is also picked up by <a href="http://www.exuberantanimal.com/frank/index.php">Frank Forencich</a> – a human movement and health expert who heads up his own movement known as the “<a href="http://www.exuberantanimal.com/">Exuberant Anima</a>l”. Take a look at <a href="http://www.exuberantanimal.com/essays_stories_writing/zoojitsu/index.php">this article</a>. It’s clearly a fictional, sociological and political commentary, but it highlights the absurdity and dangers of what we’ve largely become – urbanised animals, detached from our natural environments, conditioned and unable to move the way nature intended and eating processed foods that are far removed from what we evolved to exist on. Forencich promotes exercise through play and drills such as <a href="http://jiujitsubrotherhood.com/2009/01/the-animal-drill-workout/">this</a> (taken from <a href="http://jiujitsubrotherhood.com/">Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood</a>) are perfect.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once you start digging into this philosophy that we have unwittingly become captives in this “Human Zoo”, you start to uncover a wealth of complimentary viewpoints and movements that subscribe to this outlook.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">First up is the “<a href="http://www.thepaleodiet.com/">Paleo Diet</a>”, created by Professor Loren Cordain, based on his own, and others’ scientific research into the diets of our hunter/gatherer ancestors. Cordain hypothesises that our modern western diet which contains high proportions of processed foods and cereal grains has only been with us since the advent of agriculture, which, in human evolutionary terms, is the blink of an eye. Simply, we have not evolved to cope with the modern diet and should, in the interests of health, return to a diet closer to that of our ancestors. This diet, not touted as a weight loss programme, but a healthy way of eating, follows simple rules such as, if you can pull it off a tree, out of the ground or kill it, then you can eat it, or lean protein and as much fresh fruit and non-starchy vegetables as you want. In his book, Cordain sets out the scientifically proven advantages of this way of eating, dispels some myths (such as those surrounding eating fats and red meats) and makes a compelling case for how and why we should make this diet part of our way of life once more. I’ve been following a self adapted version of this diet for about a month now and have found that I always feel full, have plenty of energy and, considering I’m eating almost all day (mainly snacking on fruit and nuts), my waist line is dropping! I’m eating tasty lean meats and fruit in probably greater quantities than at any time in my life. It just makes sense…to me at least.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sharing some ground with Forencich and linked to the “back to basics” approach of Cordain is Erwan LeCorre and his <a href="http://movnat.com/">MovNat</a> concept. Central to the MovNat philosophy is the need to be “fit to be free”. LeCorre’s training methods involve natural, functional movement, lifting, running, jumping, fighting, swimming, bounding - anything that intertwines your movement to the world around you.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It’s a philosophy that, once again, makes perfect sense. Our ancestors, who created the evolutionary need for our bodies to become what they are today didn’t stand in front of mirrors, in rows of treadmills, weights machines and MTV in order to become physically fit, they simply got on with the things they needed to, using their bodies as they were designed. Sure, the world has moved on and we do not hunt for our food or fight off wild predators, but there’s no reason that we should not get outside, connect with nature and get our bodies working in the myriad ways that nature intended. Gyms have constrained our fitness by limiting the body to a collection of named exercises, range of movement limited by pulleys and pivots, done under fluorescent lights in sweat-tainted air conditioned rooms, headphones on and no social interaction. (<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8257716.stm">recent research</a> has shown that exercising in groups is more effective and boosts happiness). The futility of the gym is borne out of in own experience. <a href="http://www.britmilfit.com/">BMF</a> puts my body through tougher workouts, more ranges of movement and is infinitely more enjoyable than the gym ever was. And how about Jiu Jitsu? A raw physical workout that’s often more like play, with friends and some crazy body movements that challenge even the most accomplished. It’s no coincidence that LeCorre has studied Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Forencich is an accomplished Martial artist including studying Aikido.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even what we wear holds us back. There’s growing evidence that training shoes have changed the way we run and actually cause more damage than they prevent. How many hunter-gatherer tribes do you see wearing trainers? Those that do have footwear have little more than rudimentary foot coverings. Trainers change our natural running motion, decrease sensitivity and feedback to our bodies. Even Nike are in on the act with their<a href="http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/products/free5?blogSource=en_US"> Nike “free”</a> – an attempt to reduce a trainer to the minimum and allow the foot to move as it was designed. I’m not in any place to ditch my trainers, but I find the evidence presented by people such as <a href="http://www.naturalrunning.co.uk/">John Woodward</a>, <a href="http://www.exuberantanimal.com/mick/index.php">Mick Dodge</a> and <a href="http://runningbarefoot.org/">Ken Bob Saxton</a> among many others, compelling. Do we wear trainers in Jiu Jitsu? No! We need the use and sensitivity of our feet to both attack, defend and give us feedback on our base and balance.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Jiu Jitsu, a form of conditioning has evolved and is taught at The <a href="http://www.unijj.com/">Jiu Jitsu University</a> under Alvaro Romano, known as <a href="http://www.ginasticanatural.com.br/ingles/">Ginastica Natural</a> (I’ve mentioned it before, <a href="http://chasingtheblue.blogspot.com/search/label/Ginastica%20Natural">here</a>); a blend of gymnastics, yoga and Jiu Jitsu movements, using the body as a tool and minimal equipment. Once again, it’s a back to basics system of exercising the body and rejoicing in the possibilities of human movement.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’ve recently been reading <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Wrestlers-Flung-Journey-Search/dp/0091910676">“The Last Wrestlers” by Marcus Trower</a> and, as I sat at my desk, vegetating and ruining my posture as an exhibit in the Human Zoo, the following words resonated like a clanging bell:<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I couldn't really believe that people really took office world seriously, that this was where they really wanted to be and what they fundamentally wanted to do..."<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I thought everyone knew that the real route to happiness was through the body..."<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a society, we marvel and celebrate the physical courage and achievements of the select few “professionals” as if full and effective use of our body is reserved for an elite minority. I’d argue that it’s a shared inheritance and one that we all need to get back in touch with before it’s too late. We’ve become conditioned by the confines of the human zoo, obsessed with rules and what is deemed to be “safe”, sleepwalked into a shockingly unnatural way of moving, eating and living.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jiu Jitsu shares a lot of ground with the philosophy of those trying to find ways to escape the zoo, but we need to keep an eye on what Jiu Jitsu is really about. For me, it’s simply the joy of human movement and possibility – an effective method of self defence is an added bonus. The rest is frippery.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let's get back to basics and just move. <br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-71347914993636640872009-09-01T21:43:00.003+01:002009-09-01T21:53:34.754+01:00Surrounded by positivity...<span style="font-family:arial;">I’ll open this entry with a bit of a catch up on recent training. It’s been a bit patchy for me recently what with trips up North doing my <a href="http://www.buildinganewlifebuildingwalls.blogspot.com/">Dry Stone Walling</a> and the odd evening away due to work. It’s amazing how out of it you can feel just missing a week or so of training… consistency really is the key to progress. Anyway, for about as long as I can remember back, we’ve been working on using the open guard…drilling, drilling, drilling, week after week, but it’s paying dividends. I’m not great at it at all but I feel a whole lot more comfortable using this position than I used to. I think it’s good to major on aspects like this until you really start to feel at home in a certain place. Using the open guard well in a defensive fashion leads to so many offensive opportunities it really is worth the time and effort.<br /><br />One thing I have felt though and this has been compounded by missing a few sessions is that I’ve slipped backwards a bit at worst and plateaued at best in terms of the whole movement/sensitivity thing that I was kind of getting. I feel I’ve resorted to a much more grappling/strength game lately and not only does this feel mentally disappointing, but it’s a whole lot tougher. I also feel that a lot of the guys around me are moving ahead. Simon is just awesome these days, but the other guys are making good progress too…don’t get me wrong…it’s great to see and I’m dead chuffed for anyone that improves – this is more of a commentary on my own self-perceived stagnation at the moment. Over the last couple of sessions, both Simon and Dean have given me a few pointers which have reminded me of where the real Jiu Jitsu lies. Time to get back to the source!<br /><br />I’m finding my schedule tough at the moment too:<br /><br />Monday nights – Jiu Jitsu,<br />Tuesday nights – BMF<br />Wednesday – off<br />Thursday nights<br />BMF Followed by Jiu Jitsu<br />Friday Off<br />Saturday morning – BMF, occasional Jiu Jitsu p.m.<br />Sunday – Off<br /><br />It’s not awful, but Thursday is really tough, but I’m keen to get three BMF sessions in a week as this is where my fitness and weight loss comes from…plus it’s really good fun. It just means I arrive at Jiu Jitsu thoroughly knackered. However, on the upside it also means I have to work good techniques as I’m too tired to give it the strong man, plus this risks all out cramp…every cloud etc. It’s OK – just have to make sure I’m hydrated and that I get plenty of rest between sessions….not easy with my kids waking up with the sunrise at the moment!<br /><br />I want to spend the rest of this entry talking about surrounding yourself with positive people, positive friends.<br /><br />As an opener, I want to congratulate one of my good friends, and previous cast member of this blog, Big Dean. Some time back, Big Dean switched his training to <a href="http://www.rogergracie.com/">Roger Gracie’s Academy </a>in Kilburn, mainly out of convenience of its schedule and location. The last time I saw Dean train, his improvement was dramatic – he’s clearly getting a lot from his four + sessions a week and the excellent tuition available there. Well, A couple of weeks back, there I was, browsing the forum over on <a href="http://www.efnsports.com/forum">EFN</a> and there was the news of Dean’s promotion to Purple Belt. I’ve already spoken with Dean and given my congratulations, but here it is again….really well done and well deserved. And to have gotten it from the current undisputed world champion in Jiu Jitsu and one of the Gracie family's most successful competitors (Roger) is just awesome. Nice one Mate.<br /><br />So, yeah, positive people, good friends. In the course of my work, I’ve hosted a number of sessions with various people on motivation and positive mindset. I’ve also heard on a number of occasions about top sportsmen and women who make sure that the set up around them, their training partners, coaches etc etc are all the right people – people that make them feel good – positive and encouraging. This is distinct from “yes” men as I’m talking about people that you intrinsically trust to have your best interests at heart, even if giving you tough feedback.<br /><br />The importance of this is so true. Negativity just drags you down. I mention this as something happened to me recently that made me realise that all of my friends in Jiu Jitsu are a great source of positivity. I’ve spoken many times about my good friends in Jiu Jitsu and I’ve just realised what it is that makes them all such great people to be around. They’re all always really genuinely happy that you’re there, interested in how you’re doing. They all want to help and create the right climate for good things to happen. Without fail, they’ll always energise me, make me feel positive about what I’m doing, comment if they think I’ve lost weight, small stuff like that, it really matters – it’s just a really encouraging and positive place to be. Although I don’t have the same friendships at <a href="http://www.britmilfit.com/">BMF</a> (I’ve only been there a few months), the atmosphere is the same. I love it and I thrive on it – it’s a good place for me to be. <br /><br />Outside of this setting, there are always people at work and elsewhere, people that claim to be friends that will seek to undermine your credibility and confidence in horribly Machiavellian ways – I just don’t understand or like it. Equally I don’t understand what it is about some settings, like Jiu Jitsu, that make it so unlike the rest of the world “out there”. It must just be a shared experience, interest, hope and aspiration. In counselling, they call it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconditional_positive_regard">Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR)</a> – valuing someone at the most fundamental human level.<br /><br />To illustrate this, another thing I stumbled across on the EFN forum is the story of a guy that trains at Gracie Barra Birmingham. I think his name is Steve Fan. He recently discovered that he has cancer in one kidney and his lungs. I’ve never met this guy but really feel shocked by his news… I can’t imagine how that must feel to be given that news. What’s so great about this shocking story though is the resultant messages of support from the rest of the Jiu Jitsu community. Such positivity must really give Steve a great boost and give him the positivity to fight his situation. It’s just great and I wish Steve every positive outcome.<br /><br />I’ve mentioned before another blog titled <a href="http://www.jiujitsubrotherhood.com/">Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood</a>. A great title – descriptive of how friendship should be and can be.<br /><br />Al</span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-38676916120418552592009-07-22T22:32:00.003+01:002009-07-22T22:44:30.043+01:00Review - myprotein.co.uk<a href="http://www.myprotein.co.uk/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361401359698531442" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 234px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 157px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/SmeGIXcglHI/AAAAAAAAARE/Rqnonm_pt9o/s320/myprotein-logo-med.gif" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Bit of a review and a plug, but thought it may be of interest.<br /><br />Recommended by a <a href="http://www.britmilfit.com/">BMF</a> instructor, I had a look at </span><a title="http://www.myprotein.co.uk/" href="http://www.myprotein.co.uk/"><span style="font-family:arial;">www.myprotein.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> - a sports supplements company trading solely on the internet selling “unbranded” sports supplements in bulk at a snip of the price of other brands. <a href="http://www.britmilfit.com/">BMF</a>’s pretty tough and with this, combined with Jiu Jitsu, I need all the supplementary help I can get to recover my weary muscles.<br /><br />In the past I’ve dabbled with sports supplements – mainly protein shakes as a post-workout recovery drink. The main brands I’ve tried until now have been Myoplex, Maximuscle and Protoplex (Holland & Barrett). The first two are typically expensive (around £30 for just under 1kg) and Protoplex about the same cost for slightly more.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.myprotein.co.uk/">Myprotein</a>’s <a href="http://www.myprotein.co.uk/bulk-powders/protein-powders/impact-whey-protein/">Impact Whey Protein </a>costs about £12.50 for a kg of flavoured powder. The cost alone makes them a winner.<br /><br />But there’s more. The taste is excellent – so far I’ve tried, Strawberry, Banana and Chocolate and all taste like reasonable milkshakes – not too sweet and a decent flavour. Some of the other brands taste pretty bad, almost “stale”. Then there’s the mixability – shaken up in a blending bottle (also available from the website), the result is a smooth drink – not gritty like some others. A big plus for me is in the ingredients – <a href="http://www.myprotein.co.uk/">myprotein</a> are transparent in what their products contain and importantly, contain nothing artificial, especially <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame">Aspartame</a>. It seems that you can’t buy anything these days without Aspartame being hidden in it and from what I’ve read it’s not something that I want anywhere near my body. Just google it – nasty stuff…take a look at <a href="http://www.health-report.co.uk/aspartame-formaldehyde-poisoning.htm">this</a> for starters. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Take a look around at the rest of the site and there’s plenty of stuff to keep the hardcore bodybuilder happy, but even everyday supplements like <a href="http://www.myprotein.co.uk/capsules-tablets-softgels/vitamins-and-minerals_/daily-vitamins/">multivitamins</a> are cheap here and good quality.<br /><br />The customer service is excellent – delivery is usually within a couple of days and you can choose what service you wish to use. I’ve phoned their helpline for guidance a couple of times and the call handlers are friendly and knowledgeable about the products.<br /><br />If you want to give them a low-cost try, most of their products are available as 99p samples, most of which is recoverable on placement of a full order.<br /><br />If you want to give them a try, enter the code <strong>MP135819</strong> when you checkout your first order and get a 5% discount.<br /><br />Great products, great service – not much more you could ask for.</span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-7690922973908225272009-06-08T21:06:00.006+01:002009-09-19T21:45:43.919+01:00Hear the drummer get wicked!<span style="font-family:arial;">I need to open this post with a big “Congratulations” to Roubel who got his Blue Belt at the end of May. Roubel has been training for something like eight or nine years (with some breaks) and in my humble opinion was at Blue belt level a good few years back. It’s always been the lack of opportunity to grade within Rickson’s Association that has meant some pretty long-held belts within our club. Under the Association, <a href="http://www.rickson.com/association/standards.html">gradings</a> are formal affairs and administered by “licensed” Black Belt examiners (of which there are now only a few still in the Association).<br /><br />But the times have changed.<br /><br />Rickson’s Association seems to be really only that by name. Rickson is back in Brazil doing his own thing and running his seminars. Many of Rickson’s Black Belts (whilst still loyal in spirit to Rickson) have gone on to do their own things. Association is mainly through loyalty to Rickson’s name and this is the case in our club. Rickson is Dean’s Instructor…that’s a strong enough link for us to be a “Rickson” club, but the loyalty is to him, not necessarily the Association – the two seem to be increasingly separate entities. It’s interesting that even Kron competes under the <a href="http://www.academiagracie.com.br/home.asp">Humaita</a> banner…<br /><br />These changes ultimately enabled Dean to speak with his friend, <a href="http://www.brazilian-freestyle.com/staff.htm">Romolo Barros</a>, one of Rickson’s Black Belts and close friends and seek permission to award a well earned belt. It goes without saying, but Dean is well qualified to understand how a Blue Belt should perform against the standards that Rickson sets and it was this, combined with Romolo’s knowledge of Dean’s Jiu Jitsu that allowed Romolo to sanction the award.<br /><br />This is great news for Roubel and I’ve confessed to him a degree of envy that it was Dean who gave him his belt. I’ve said it before, <a href="http://www.roycegracie.tv/">Royce</a> is a good name to drop, but ultimately, it is Dean that is our instructor and has guided us through, and I know that Roubel cherishes this accolade. I also feel that I can now wear my belt with some credibility – despite knowing (and having been told) that I’m the worthy holder of a Blue Belt, it always felt strange wearing it knowing that there were guys better than me still wearing white belts – sure, it’s all cosmetic and about opportunity, but nonetheless….<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/Si1yHHZaqWI/AAAAAAAAAP8/eJaqoqCsZkI/s1600-h/Image048.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345053799328950626" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/Si1yHHZaqWI/AAAAAAAAAP8/eJaqoqCsZkI/s320/Image048.jpg" /></a>Roubel’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and since he’s been back training regularly his Jiu Jitsu has become just great, aided by his naturally good movement and athleticism. When I roll with him, he reminds me of all that good technique and movement in Jiu Jitsu is…something that’s easy for me to forget. It’s great as I feel that between Roubel’s technique and movement and my size and strength, we can both develop each other’s games.</span><br /><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Training</strong><br /><br />Training’s going OK at the moment – we’ve been covering probably one main technique per session and really drilling it for the whole session. This is a really great way of learning as you get to fully understand the technique and the movement variations that can occur. If we’d have done this a few years back I think I’d have been impatient to move on to the next technique, but now I really value the depth of understanding that I can gain within each technique. It’s the difference between good and very good Jiu Jitsu. A lot of what we’ve been doing has also really highlighted the use of efficient leverage, which, when combined with sensitivity and movement is really what Jiu Jitsu comes down to. It’s great and adds a whole new dimension, but it’s tough trying to overcome the mind and body’s natural urges to use strength as a substitute. It’s great training.<br /><br />At the moment, I’m training 2-3 times a week, which is great as I love it, but work seems to be getting in the way a lot lately – a bit of travelling and a few overnight stays. Another problem, (but an infinitely nicer one to have) is that the summer brings with it, more opportunities for family days out…don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a complaint – I wouldn’t have it any other way, just it necessitates the odd missed session here and there.<br /><br />My back has been playing up a bit again recently too – not sure what’s going on but it’s certainly not as bad at it has been in the past. This has meant that my movement has not been all that I want it to be and when I’m rolling with the likes of Roubel, this is highlighted even further. I think it’s this that has led to a bit of frustration for me in my training recently. I have known and felt a better way of rolling…at times my movement has been good – now it sometimes feels like I’m regressing. I’m hoping that just as past “dips/plateaus” have come and gone, this one will too, but it’s always tough when you’re in the middle of it.<br /><br /><strong>BMF</strong><br /><br />I’ve been going to <a href="http://www.britmilfit.com/">BMF</a> for a few weeks now and I’m still really enjoying it. As with Jiu Jitsu, work has been getting in the way of the two sessions a week I’d like to attend but overall it’s going well. Gains? I’m not sure…I think I’m upping the intensity slightly, but haven’t lost any weight as yet (need to fix my diet!!!). In my last entry I told you how I’d plumped for a Blue (novice) bib. Well last Saturday we had a <a href="http://www.bmfmaidstone.co.uk/4.html">Fitness Test</a>. These are held roughly every two months and consist of a timed 1500m run, max press ups in 2 mins, max sit ups in 2 mins, max burpees in 2 mins and timed 15x 20m shuttle sprints. In doing this you are able to assess where your fitness lies. I set myself the target of getting the minimum scores needed for the Red bib group. I managed this in all but one of the exercises, which I was really chuffed with – to be wearing a red bib, you need to get “red” scores in at least three of the exercises. Sit ups was my worst exercise as I find these really make my back hurt…and I’ve got rubbish abs!<br /><br />Still, I hit my targets and next time I plan to wear a red bib. Granted, I’ll be at the bottom of that group, but it means that I’ll get worked harder and have something more to aim at. Another good feature with the BMF Fitness Tests is that all your scores are put into a series of graphs in your member’s area of the website. They show your exercise scores overall and then your scores for each exercise against the highest, lowest and average scores for the group. These are great for me as I work well with targets to hit, so now I’ll have scores to beat at the next test.<br /><br />One thing I am struggling with at BMF and have done with Jiu Jitsu also, is what to eat when. Tuesday is fine as it’s after work so I can plan my eating at work and time it well so I’ve got enough energy but am not full. Saturday morning however is harder as the time between waking and training is short so trying to eat enough but without feeling bloated and getting stitch is a challenge. One week I’ve felt close to being sick, another I just had no energy and lagged at the back of the group all session. It’s just a case of experimenting and finding a formula that works I guess.<br /><br /><strong>Kodo</strong> </span></p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/Si1zGiIgfPI/AAAAAAAAAQE/twD1Bg_C5iU/s1600-h/drums.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345054888837545202" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/Si1zGiIgfPI/AAAAAAAAAQE/twD1Bg_C5iU/s200/drums.jpg" /></a> <p><span style="font-family:arial;">One last thing that I have to mention is the show that I went to this last weekend. I went to the <a href="http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/">Royal Festival Hall</a> to see the <a href="http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/index_en.html">Kodo</a> Drummers from Japan. Now, the linkage here with Jiu Jitsu is tenuous at best, apart from, maybe a shared Japanese lineage and physical exertion, but I just had to post about this. I’ve always been interested in all things Japanese – I just think it’s a fascinating culture. I first heard of Kodo from a mate of mine who shares an interest and he told me about how he was blown away by them, so I’ve waited about a year for them to come back to the UK.<br /><br />Before the show, I was lucky enough to attend a talk with Kodo’s Cultural Director who gave a bit of history of the troupe and their work and lives, which was fascinating. Kodo are an ensemble of musicians, dancers and mainly Drummers who live on Sado Island in the North of Japan and their mission is to preserve the traditional Japanese cultural arts. For them this is done mainly through the use of the Taiko - the drums. The drums themselves are amazing – the larger ones hewn from single tree trunks and covered with animal hides.<br /><br />The show itself was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Drumming stirs a primal energy in all of us and the power of these drums makes your entire body shake. The skill, composition and timing of the pieces performed was amazing, but what really blew me away was the sheer physical exertion put into each performance. The largest drums are beaten with what can only be described as baseball bats wielded with huge speed and power for pieces that can last over ten minutes. Even some of the smaller drums are beaten fiercely with Rounders bat sized sticks. The deep postures the drummers hold are essential to be able to wield the power needed to strike the drums and these postures alone would challenge even the fittest people – add knocking ten shades of ssss out of huge drums, in perfect rhythm for ten minutes and these feats are not only artistically awesome but also super human feats of endurance! One piece was performed almost exclusively on the largest drum of them all – about 2 ½ times larger than a man with the drummer wearing little more than a fundoshi (loin cloth). This served undoubtedly to keep the drummer cool as by the end of the piece he was dripping with sweat, but it also showed the strain of every sinew in his body as he struck the drum. With the loudest beats you could see his whole body lift the baton into the strike with the kind of audible exhalation that only comes with violent physical exertion. After this piece these drummers then moved onto smaller (but still huge) drums that were played from what I can only describe as a half sit up position. Simply awesome. Holding a half sit up for the duration of the piece whilst laying into a drum skin in perfect artistic timing… awesome is the only word that springs to mind. I couldn’t help but shake my head in disbelief at what I was seeing and hearing. The two standing ovations were well and truly earned.<br /><br />If you have even the faintest interest in Japan, drums, performance or simply human endurance go and see Kodo if you get the chance. I was blown away. </span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><p align="center"><embed height="250" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jciVYQ5Vk_0&hl=" fs="1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></p><p><br /><br />Take care<br /><br />Al</span></p>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-49821562448713279822009-05-17T14:28:00.008+01:002009-06-08T21:39:41.172+01:00Stand by......GO!!!<a href="http://www.britmilfit.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336787132021010690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/ShATnv388QI/AAAAAAAAAP0/7AXlM9X-h4I/s200/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Earlier this week I went along for my free trial class with <a href="http://www.britmilfit.com/">British Military Fitness</a>. This was something I’d written about doing in a </span><a href="http://chasingtheblue.blogspot.com/2009/03/mind-body-and-spirit.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">previous post</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">.<br /><br />I turned up at their Mote Park venue in Maidstone nice and early and as 7.00 pm approached I noticed a group of healthy people gathering to the side of the leisure centre (ironically, most of the people to’ing and fro’ing the leisure centre looked anything but healthy, many red faced after their “workouts”, lighting a cigarette on their way back to the car!!).<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Anyway, disclaimer in hand, I approached one of the instructors – a strong looking guy wearing </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_Pattern_Material"><span style="font-family:arial;">DPM</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> combat trousers, called “Danny”. All of the BMF instructors are either former or currently serving military – most Physical Training Instructors (PTIs), all with fitness instruction qualifications to their names. Danny gave me an overview of what would happen in the classes and talked me through the three different groups within the class – <span style="color:#3366ff;">Blue</span> bibs, Novice, <span style="color:#ff0000;">Red</span> bibs, Intermediate, <span style="color:#33cc00;">Green</span> bibs, Advanced. Unsure what these fitness standards meant in reality, I plumped for Blue… I didn’t want to overestimate my level of fitness and embarrass myself. Apparently it is for each individual to decide which bib they wear at any given session, which is cool as I guess you could up yourself and really cane it, or drop down if you needed to take it easy. I think the bib system is also good in terms of progress – it gives you goals to aim for, much in the same way as the belt system works in Martial Arts.<br /><br />We jogged off to an area of the park for the warm up, which I had been warned would be the worst part. It consisted of a series of shuttle runs, gradually increasing in pace, with various exercises in between to warm up the major muscle groups. This was followed by a range of exercises and runs in groups, Greens, obviously running furthest and doing the most reps.<br /><br />Then the whole group was split into two – one group of Blues with a few lower end Reds, the other group Greens with upper end reds. The session was then a series of short runs interspersed with various forms of abdominal exercises, squats, burpees (the exercise loathed by all who’ve ever done military PTI – we used to call them “bastards” in the RAF), various types of press ups and so on – all done in reps of 10-20, numerous sets so the overall number of reps is quite high. If you follow the PTI’s instructions and keep moving then you are doing something continuously for an hour, but there were a good few in my group that either found it hard to keep up or simply slacked off (which I have trouble understanding given that they’d paid to be there and to get fitter – each to their own). At the end of all this, there was a warm down run and some stretching.<br /><br />The session lasted an hour and as I’ve said, if you keep moving, it can be an hour of non-stop movement which is good (how many gym sessions of an hour are a full hour of exercise?). The body weight exercises were in quantities enough to be challenging, but I found the aerobic aspect easy – I barely broke a sweat, but this has given me a bit of confidence in my existing level of fitness. I think, given that there was 1 or 2 lower end reds that were ahead of me and that I found some of the later press ups hard (damn you lactic acid!), I’m likely to stick with the Blues for a few weeks until I feel I can give a reasonable account as red – certainly I’d want to be at the head of the group I was in last night to feel that I was ready to move up….much like Jiu Jitsu – unless you’re at the top of the heap against all other white belts then you shouldn’t be thinking about a blue belt (IMO).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I went along to another session yesterday (Saturday) which was with a different instructor and was far harder - after some exercises my legs were like jelly and I found it really tough - great!! (Then I went and trained Jiu Jitsu for three hours straight after!!! - actually it was quite a good antidote.) Apparently there are some fitness tests coming up which should be a good way to guage where I am and also to track progress with future tests (approx every 2 months).<br /><br />I can’t really think of any downsides with the experience. The instructors are friendly, knowledgeable, approachable and game for a laugh and any images anyone has of a PTI shouting into your ear commanding you to drop face first into the mud and give them infinity should be dismissed. Even in the regular Forces, I never met a PTI that needed to resort to that to get the best out of people – they just have a genuine desire to see people give their best. Do that and you’ll get along fine. The other participants are friendly and encouraging (I’d guess that 70-80% of the membership are women), it was well organised and exercising with other people, in a sociable way, outdoors is simply so much better than the sterile gym, full of posers and slackers. The other advantage is that there are no limits that will create routine, which can be a killer of even the most committed gym-goers. I know, from what Danny told me, and from experience that every session will be different – all you have to do is turn up and do your best with what the PTI gives you to do.<br /><br />I feel I can make rapid gains with this, so I signed up for unlimited sessions per week - £38 per month where I live (it does vary region by region) which is only 50p more than my gym membership which I intend to cancel. I’ll be able to attend twice a week normally – Tues eve and sat mornings. The other advantage is that if I’m away somewhere with work, there are enough locations around the UK to be able to pitch up and train anywhere now that I’m a member.<br /><br />Overall, it’s a great sociable, directed workout which I think will motivate me far more than the gym. I also like the format which, if you have the right mindset will encourage you to push yourself further than being alone on a treadmill will. Big thumbs up from me.<br /><br />Catch you soon.<br /><br />Al </span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-90780268544288103562009-04-18T20:19:00.005+01:002009-04-18T21:25:18.270+01:00It's not just my belt that's blue...<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/Seo2gV3FxwI/AAAAAAAAAOM/w3FEpX1o3iM/s1600-h/stairs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326129438570956546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 289px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/Seo2gV3FxwI/AAAAAAAAAOM/w3FEpX1o3iM/s400/stairs.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I’ve been thinking about posting about this subject for some time now. I’ve wondered whether it’s something that I should keep to myself as there can be a lot of misunderstanding and prejudice around the subject. But I always intended this blog to be an honest account of my BJJ journey and the topic in hand is very much part of my relationship with BJJ. I also think that with, statistically at least, any one in four of the people reading this will be going through something similar and I hope, even if only in a modest way, that if I can help someone to see that it’s all very common, then I can break some of the confusion and stigma.<br /><br />I’m talking about depression.<br /><br />I’ve been properly diagnosed with depression for about four years now, but with hindsight I can think back to having lived with it for at least the last decade. It’s a difficult topic to discuss and all I can give is my own personal experience. I guess I’ll start with how it feels, and I’m pretty sure this will be different for every individual. And I apologise in advance if any of this seems disjointed…it’s mainly a flow of consciousness.<br /><br />For me, thinking back to my worst times, I can only really describe it as absolute, desperate sadness. Your whole world becomes void of light – the image of a grey cloud is a good one...except that it doesn’t just hover over you and rain periodically, it envelops you and constantly drenches you. It’s not just a case of being “a bit down” – it’s an insidious presence that completely alters reality…and it’s clever. You never see it happening. It becomes you. It becomes your reality and you don’t even notice. Despite even the best intentions of those around you urging you to not “let it control you” or the worst one, “get a grip”, you can never see anything except the bleak reality that exists for you. There’s a sketch by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZlJCApZh7Y">Peter Cook and Dudley Moore</a> as “Pete and Dud”, called “The Futility of Life” which sums this up nicely – here’s an excerpt:<br /><br />PETE: No words can convey the merest inkling of my innermost thoughts.<br />DUD: On the contrary. What you've just said has conveyed to me in detail the nature of your malaise. You're feeling a bit droopy.<br />PETE: A bit droopy? You're the sort of person who'd have gone up to Joan of arc as the flames licked round her vitals and said,<br />'Feeling one degree under? Like a nice cup of tea?'<br />DUD: You know what my mother would say?<br />PETE: No.<br />DUD: 'Somebody has got out of bed the wrong side this morning.'<br />PETE: If your mother said that to me today, I'd smash her in the teeth with the coal scuttle.<br />DUD: Oh, I see. You're feeling a bit temperamental. As Dr Groarke would say 'half temper, half mental.'<br />PETE: These glib platitudes are, if anything, exacerbating an already unbearable mood of depression.<br />DUD: If you're depressed, there's no point sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. That won't get the washing up done.<br />PETE: Dud, your uncanny grasp of domestic trivia is of negligible therapeutic value, and if you tell me to pull myself together or snap out<br />of it, I might well do something rash.<br />DUD: I wouldn't say anything like that. Get a grip on yourself, look on the bright side.<br />DUD and PETE (together): Count your blessings.<br />DUD: Ooh, Mr Acid Drop himself. Come on, you'll feel better if you get it off your chest. You can confide in me. I mean, what am I here for?<br />PETE: In your fumbling way you have actually articulated the fundamental question. What are you here for? What am I here for? What is the purpose of life?<br /><br />Depression is a horribly self-obsessed condition where your whole world turns inwards, as far as you’re concerned, no-one else understands what you’re going through and whatever is going on, it always feels worse for you. This is distinct from self-pity, which I think casual observers and cynics dismiss depression as being. Reality is in the eye of the beholder – we all see things differently and just because someone else sees that you have nothing to feel sad about, will not, and does not, make it so.<br /><br />There have been many times when I’ve just wanted life to stop. I’m not talking about suicide…I’ve just felt it would be easier to not exist…”stop the world, I want to get off!”. This is why I’ve often found myself curled up under the duvet, with tears in my eyes trying to pretend that the world outside is on hold while I try and get some respite. All kinds of thoughts enter my head when I’m in a depression - a kilo of self-loathing, a few ounces of self-doubt, a cup of cynicism, a few tablespoons of hatred and a good dollop of anxiety and anger – key ingredients for a maelstrom of spiralling negativity.<br /><br />You get moments of clarity when you start to see the roots of some of these thoughts and see the persona that you’ve become…you realise that you’re no longer the person that you used to be. For me, I became withdrawn and irritable and it’s true what they say – you always hurt the ones you love most. In public, you manage to maintain the persona that everyone wants to see, in private, you become moody, irritable…downright unpleasant to be around. That in itself is a huge cause for concern and grief and you can feel at a loss as to how you can get back, or even if you can.<br /><br />The good news is, you can. Thankfully, my wife understands what’s going on and can very objectively see the changes when I’m slipping into a depression and prompt me to seek help. I’m lucky in that I have a great GP who is very knowledgeable about depression and takes an interest in me and my family and wants to see us all well. In the past I’ve taken <a href="http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100002193.html">Fluoxentine</a> (“Prozac”) which at the time, faced with depression and anxiety was a great way to even out my emotional state. It brought me to a point where I felt I could cope again and even managed to come off it. However, for me, it evened things out too much – I didn’t experience the desperate lows any longer, but the cost was that I was also unable to experience the highs – to quote <a href="http://www.blur.co.uk/">Blur’s</a> “Country House” – “It’s a helping hand that makes you feel wonderfully bland”.<br /><br />I’ve spent a lot of time reading about and trying to understand my condition and I’ve come to view it quite objectively as the illness that it is. Some people have diabetes and take insulin to control it, others have asthma and take ventolin. You break a leg and you wear a cast to help it heal. You can’t see my illness, but like all the others, from time to time, I take a medicine to control/alleviate it.<br /><br />There is a scientific basis for depression – in my case I do not have enough <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin">Serotonin</a> available to regulate my mood. Some of this is genetic, some of it is brought about by my brain using neurochemicals too quickly due to stress, some of which can be caused by the way I think and feel about certain things. The physical link between thinking patterns and mental health are well established – literally a case of mind over matter. Many anti-depressants are what’s known as <a href="http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23068871/">Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors </a>(SSRIs) and these work by controlling the amount of Serotonin that is used by the brain to ensure that there is always some available to the brain, thus regulating mood, which in turn, helps control thoughts. For me, the neurochemical/thought pattern process is a bit of a chicken and egg quandry – I’m not sure which way round it operates, but once the cycle starts it’s a pretty rapid downward spiral that needs intervention to help it.<br /><br />I came out of a major depression with the help of Fluoxetine, feeling strong and capable, like I’d beaten the illness. In many ways I was grateful for the experience – it can give perspective on life, that, actually, it’s pretty great and you can only really appreciate that if you’ve seen the other side. I was also certain that having had the experience that I’d recognise the signs if it were to return.<br /><br />I didn’t. Like I said, it sneaks up on you. It’s a con artist. It obscures your vision so that the false reality that you experience becomes true reality and before you know it, you’re back in that dark place again. For anyone that’s seen “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM5yepZ21pI">The Matrix</a>” – it feels like that to me. Like you’re trapped in a reality that you accept, but something tells you that it’s not right, that it’s not really your reality and it’s a battle to get out of it.<br /><br />Right now, (I hope) I’m on the lower up side of the curve from a recent down. I’ve been taking <a href="http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100000520.html">Citalopram</a> (another SSRI) which, whilst having more initial side effects (nausea, problems sleeping) – and I suspect will be harder to come off, has been very good. It has stabilised my moods and hasn’t numbed me in the same way that Prozac did. I’m also, at last, after a long wait, getting some help through talking therapies which I hope will give me further insight to my thoughts and ways of moving forward.<br /><br />There are also plenty of other things to help you along: loads of reading – I’ve recently finished reading “<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Happiness-Handbook-Living/dp/0340750154/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240085143&sr=8-1">The Art of Happiness</a>” by the Dalai Lama, which had some great perspectives. At the moment I'm reading "<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindful-Way-Through-Depression-Unhappiness/dp/1593851286/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240085199&sr=1-1">The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness</a>" by Williams et al, which describes a grat way of using meditation to overcome depression. This book comes with a useful CD of guided meditations, and I've said <a href="http://chasingtheblue.blogspot.com/2009/02/slowing-down.html">before</a> that I find meditation useful. Topics like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro-linguistic_programming">Neuro Linguistic Programming </a>(NLP) and <a href="http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/Making+sense/MakingsenseCBT.htm">Cognitive Behavioural Therapy </a>(CBT) are useful and interesting. The web is an amazing resource for scientific data, support, experiences and so on. One of the most useful I’ve found is the <a href="http://www.mind.org.uk/">Mind</a> website (UK based mental health charity). I’ve also bought a “<a href="http://www.lumie.com/shop/products/bodyclock-sunray-100">Bodyclock</a>” from <a href="http://www.lumie.com/">Lumie</a> – an alarm clock that wakes you with a simulated sunrise - far more natural and civilised way of being woken on a dark winter morning (the seasons do have a major effect on my mood) and there’s also a sunset feature for use at bed time to lull you into a more natural sleep. I’ve found this excellent. Also from Lumie, I’ve bought a desktop <a href="http://www.lumie.com/shop/products/brightspark">Lightbox</a> to give me my dosage of light each day, again, especially in the Winter months. Whether this has worked or not, I’m not sure – I haven’t used it long enough to know, but I feel it may have reduced the fatigue I feel on grey days and all I can say is now that the lighter days are here, I feel my mood has improved dramatically. I’ve also looked into the linkages between diet, supplementation and mood and there’s compelling data around on this subject – well worth reading up on and there are a host of more natural remedies like <a href="http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Factsheets/Treatments+and+drugs/St+Johns+Wort++-+Hypericum+perforatum.htm">St. John’s Wort</a> and <a href="http://www.5-htp.org.uk/">5HTP</a> than can help, although you do need to read up as there are interactions between various types and prescription drugs.<br /><br />There’s one last thing I want to talk about and that is others’ perceptions on mental health. Some of my good friends have also had bouts of depression – some worse, all different in their own way. It’s really common…more common than you think because many people will not tell others about this problem for fear of being judged “a malingerer” or a “nutter” or some other prejudicial term. I was on the Tube the other day and I saw a series of posters for the “<a href="http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/">Time to Change</a>” campaign which is a joint project by some of the main mental health charities to end discrimination faced by people who experience mental health problems. Such a project is well overdue and is supported by some familiar faces, some of whom you would never have known suffered from mental illness. Please take a look at this valuable campaign.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a href="http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/what-were-doing/our-campaign/peoples-stories/stephens-story"><img title="Time to Change Stephen Fry Banner" alt="Time to Change Stephen Fry Banner" src="http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/files/webbanner/TTC_anti-stigma_stephen-fry-static_468x60.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Those close to me know I have this illness. Others do not – this is certainly the first time I’ve spoken about it publicly. Because it’s been hidden I’ve heard others making judgments about people. I work in an HR function and regularly hear people off work with stress and depression being labeled as “Skivers” or worse. Now, I’m not naïve and there will always be a percentage of people who play the game, but for someone who is in deep emotional pain to be labeled a “skiver” is disgraceful and offensive. Because there are no outward signs of suffering does not mean that the pain felt inside is not acute. I challenge everyone to consider what life might be like living with mental illness and not be so quick to judge. Please take the time to understand and challenge your own perceptions…it’s statistically in your interest to do so as one day either you, or someone close to you will suffer from some form of mental illness.<br /><br />So what has this got to do with BJJ?<br /><br />Everything.<br /><br />In a <a href="http://chasingtheblue.blogspot.com/2009/02/slowing-down.html">recent post</a>, I wrote about meditation and this meditation is great relief from the inner thoughts that can send me into spirals of negativity. It’s great exercise and exercise is a great remedy for depression, so much so that some doctors have prescribed gym membership to patients. It allows me to connect with something tangible, something where I can see, that with application, I can make progress – a metaphor for life and something to give me hope that I can do the same in other areas of my life. But I think most of all, it’s the people. Meeting like minded people who do actually care about how you are, what’s going on with you, like you – it counts for so much. It’s so important to keep active and social (god knows it would be easier to succumb and not) and having such great people around you makes it easy and pleasurable. So thanks to all my good friends in BJJ.<br /><br />I close this post with these few thoughts. For those that know me, please don’t think differently of me having read this. I’m still the same person I always was – just now you know something different about me. I don’t walk around near suicide every day. Mostly life is normal and I enjoy it. For those that don’t know me, thanks for reading – please think about what I’ve said and if you identify with anything here then I hope you found it interesting and useful.<br /><br />Wishing you good mental health…<br /><br />Al.</span><br /></span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-44131361056654786362009-03-20T21:56:00.015+00:002009-03-20T22:35:58.523+00:00Ye olde curiositie shoppe<span style="font-family:arial;">I wanted to share with you a little piece of Jiu Jitsu trivia that I just picked up. Bored (as I often am) at work, I decided to browse e-bay to see what Jiu Jitsu related items were around. The usual mix of MMA gear, the odd Gi and instructional DVDs popped up. But also amongst the mix was a cutting from “Punch” magazine dated 1910, titled “The Suffragette that Knew Jiu Jitsu: The Arrest” by Arthur Wallis Mills. </span><br /><br /><div><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315392939663466690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 232px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/ScQRt2pCoMI/AAAAAAAAANo/kKuATCTc4DI/s320/suffragettejiujitsu.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><div>What I thought was curious about this cartoon was the spelling of “Jiu Jitsu” which is often reserved nowadays in connection with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu whilst the Japanese original is often spelt “Ju”. It seems clear to me that it is only in recent times that any spelling of the Japanese word meaning “Gentle” has been standardised, hence the spelling in this cartoon.<br /><br />However, I still felt that this was a nice little bit of trivia that would look good in a frame, so I put in my bid, forgot about it and lost. To be honest, I was a little bit gutted – you can by prints of this cartoon, but I felt I wanted the original with all of its history still clinging to it. That’s just me.<br /><br />I put in a call to my Sister-in-Law, Tammy, who, with my Brother-in-Law and her Dad run a business in the US called “<a href="http://www.vintagerarestuff.com/">Bakertowne Collectables</a>”. Here’s a quick plug – they buy and sell all types of collections and collectables and trade over e-bay…they’re a great place to try if you have some unique collections to sell or are looking for an obscure item or publication. Anyway, I thought that Tammy, with her connections might know where I could get a copy of the original. Almost instantly, the reply came “I have that edition right here in my hands!”. Schweet! It’s not what you know…<br /><br />So I now have this original cartoon – monetary value is small, but I think it will look just great mounted and framed. Now I have it though, it has prompted me to do a bit of research on it and the history around it…the martial arts side. Women’s suffrage is well documented, but their involvement in Martial Arts is not so well known.<br /><br />So where to start? Well, this cartoon is a good place. “<a href="http://www.punch.co.uk/">Punch</a>” was a weekly satirical zeitgeist publication and published this cartoon shortly after the release of a series of photos of Edith Garrud demonstrating Ju Jitsu techniques on a policeman (or at least a man dressed as one).<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/ScQSFP9gjFI/AAAAAAAAANw/7zwFUoxvXJo/s1600-h/edith.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315393341597191250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 276px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 277px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/ScQSFP9gjFI/AAAAAAAAANw/7zwFUoxvXJo/s320/edith.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div>Garrud’s husband, William was a student of Sadakazu "Raku" Uyenishi - a Judoka who ran a Dojo in Soho in the early 20th century and was the author of the “Text Book of Ju-Jutsu as Practised in Japan”. William became the instructor at the Dojo when Uyenishi returned to Japan. Edith Garrud was active in the Women’s suffrage movement, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), led by <a href="http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WpankhurstE.htm">Emmeline Pankhurst </a>and her daughter Sylvia and from her makeshift dojo at no. 9 Argyll Place, London (near Oxford St) she taught women of the WSPU the art of Ju Jitsu.<br /><br />The need for women who were part of this movement to defend themselves became abundantly clear on “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(1910)">Black Friday</a>” - November 18, 1910. In response to the Prime Minister quashing a women’s voter bill, 300 suffragettes marched on the House of Commons. Police were caught on film assaulting unarmed women attempting to march past. Unthinkable isn’t it? For a few still, this happened within living memory…<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/ScQURuw_LxI/AAAAAAAAAN4/EO7Pcb2Lr5o/s1600-h/black-friday2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315395755047857938" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 258px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/ScQURuw_LxI/AAAAAAAAAN4/EO7Pcb2Lr5o/s320/black-friday2.jpg" border="0" /></a>Ju Jitsu became an empowering force for a number of women in the Suffrage movement as shown in the article “<a href="http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_healthstrength_0100.htm">Ju-Jutsu as a Husband-Tamer: A Suffragette Play with a Moral</a>” From a publication called “Health & Strength”, April 8, 1911<br /><br />In researching this, links to a Martial Art known as “<a href="http://www.bartitsu.org/">Bartitsu</a>” were also thrown up. Bartitsu was created by Edward William Barton-Wright who, while working as a railway engineer and surveyor in Japan, studied at two ju jitsu schools including the Kodokan Jiujitsu Dojo, possibly with Jigoro Kano, in Tokyo. He later incorporated stick fighting, Boxing and <a href="http://savate.org/joomla15/">Savate</a> into his learning and created an eclectic system which he named after himself – a pioneer in cross training and MMA if you will.<br /><br />Barton-Wright was also one of the earliest people to open his doors to women, although, after the demise of Bartitsu, Edith Garrud’s Dojo became one of the most prominent places in London for women to learn self-defence.<br /><br />Incidentally, Bartitsu was immortalized by <a href="http://www.sherlockholmesonline.org/biography/index.htm">Sir Arthur Conan Doyle </a>as the fighting system employed by <a href="http://www.sherlockholmesonline.org/SherlockHolmes/index.htm">Sherlock Holmes </a>– a feature not missed in the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988045/">movie </a>starring Robert Downey Jr released later this year, directed by Guy Ritchie. The movie is rumoured to contain plenty of fight scenes featuring Bartitsu - interesting since Guy Ritchie is, I think, a BJJ Brown Belt under <a href="http://www.renzogracie.com/">Renzo Gracie</a>, so I’d expect to see a distinct influence on the Ju Jitsu components of Downey’s Sherlock’s Bartitsu.<br /><br />Anyway, it appears that Ju Jitsu was seen, at the start of the last century to be an effective way for women to defend themselves – a thought I’ve often had about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu today and yet, there are still very few women involved and this is a real shame. Rather than veer off on this subject myself, take a look at <a href="http://meerkat69.blogspot.com/2009/03/jiu-jitsu-sisterhood.html">Meerkatsu’s blog </a>which has a good article on this subject and also some of the links provided <a href="http://www.efnsports.com/forum/index.php?topic=5546.15">here</a> by <a href="http://www.slideyfoot.blogspot.com/">Slideyfoot</a> to women in BJJ’s sites – they can give you insights that I certainly can’t.<br /><br />Take care,<br /><br />Al</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Main source of info and links </span><a href="http://martialhistory.com/2008/01/jujutsu-suffragettes/"><span style="font-size:85%;">here</span></a></span></div>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-78811234448331158382009-03-19T19:59:00.003+00:002009-03-19T20:26:44.364+00:00Mind, Body and Spirit<span style="font-family:arial;">It’s been just over a month since I made my last post…and how time flies! So here’s an update on all that’s been happening (or at least what I can remember!).<br /><br /><strong>Jiu Jitsu: The Next Generation</strong><br /><br />Some congratulations are due! On the 1st March, <a href="http://tonbridgekarate.blogspot.com/">Dave</a> and his wife Toyah welcomed their daughter Nieve into the world. Both of them train with us and are Sensei and Senpai respectively in <a href="http://www.bkk-uk.com/">Kyukoshin Karate</a>…I’d imagine with that pedigree, young Nieve has got an awesome journey in martial arts ahead of her! On 16th March, Simon and his wife Anna finally (long overdue) said “hi” to Marcella, their second daughter. Congratulations to you both!! And it doesn’t end there… Ram and his wife are expecting their first and Ian (AKA “Monkey”) and his wife are expecting their second not so long away. A ready made batch of Jiu Jitsukas!<br /><br />Really, congratulations to all of you…it really is the greatest thing a person can ever be bestowed.<br /><br /><strong>We can rebuild him…</strong><br /><br />I’ve already written about my quest to get fitter and slimmer so I thought I’d update on this. Since Christmas I’ve now lost about three quarters of a stone. It doesn’t sound much but when I’m being uncritical of my self, it’s actually quite good. I’ve made lots of small manageable changes to my lifestyle – mainly in the food I eat (although I’m still playing with this trying to get the right foods, right amounts an frequencies to get maximum benefit) and the result so far is slow, but steady weight loss. All that I’ve read has said that this is the way to go if you want to keep the weight off so hopefully this is good progress. Certainly my trousers feel looser which is always a good guide. There’s a long way to go yet though.<br /><br />I’ve also become somewhat obsessive about my fitness training…but in a good way I think. At the moment a typical week looks like this:<br /><br />Mon – 2.5 mile run at work<br />Tues – Jiu Jitsu (min 2hrs)<br />Weds – Gym (4 mile run, 10 mins row, 10 mins cross trainer all at average 70-80% MHR)<br />Thurs – Jiu Jitsu<br />Fri – 2.5 Mile run at work or Gym (as above)<br />Sat – Jiu Jitsu<br />Sun – Yoga and /or rest<br /><br />I think that’s pretty good, but I’ve now started doubling up, so, for example, last Friday, I did my run at work and then went swimming in the evening. Yesterday, I went swimming at lunchtime and Jiu Jitsu in the evening. Swimming’s great for this as it’s quite aerobic, but low impact. <br /><br />The sun has been out all of this last week, which makes my runs enjoyable, but I’m also starting to think I should dust my bike down and start cycling to work again now the lighter mornings and evenings are here (believe me – I have lights and reflectors galore but have still had far too many close shaves to want to cycle in the dark!).. It’s about 6.5miles one way so I figure this could also be a good, practical and functional way to add to my weekly regime.<br /><br />I’m in a bit of a quandary about what to do with Yoga. It has been great, but one session is not enough to really progress. There are no other sessions and we are encouraged to do daily practice (which I don’t!). I would say, after around four months of Yoga, I have a good idea of the principles of the basic poses and the things I need to be aware of (but there really is no substitute for a teacher making corrections!). I have a book by the founder of <a href="http://www.iyengaryoga.org.uk/">Iyengar Yoga </a>containing the main poses. I’m starting to wonder if I actually need to get up every Sunday morning to go to Yoga, or, with the props that I now have, whether I can simply practice at home. I do need to keep on with flexibility and core strength so it’s a tough one to call. Not sure what to do at the moment.<br /><br />One thing that might make the decision easier is that I’m toying with the idea of trying <a href="http://www.britmilfit.com/">British Military Fitness </a>(BMF) once a week on Saturday mornings. It’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I left the RAF. I’ve said before, I’ve never been fitter than when I was in my training in the RAF – the mix of functional exercises, aerobic workouts, camaraderie and genuine encouragement from PTIs (the image of PTIs shouting in your ears as you cry into the mud whilst doing your 1000th press up couldn’t be further from the truth – in the RAF at least!) is the most awesome recipe for rapid fitness gains. I decided to take a look at their list of locations and in the 8 years since I left the RAF, they have expanded enormously and now run sessions in a park not too far from me. The first session is free so I figure what have I got to lose?! However, if I try it and like it, then to be fair to my long-suffering wife, one of the weekend morning sessions is going to have to go (lie-ins at the weekend are very important when you have twins!). If I enjoy the BMF sessions, then I think the decision will be simple as I know from experience that the gains from that type of exercise will far outweigh the gains I’m making from one session a week of Yoga. I’ll just have to get some discipline and ensure I keep up some yoga practice at home! I’ll let you know how I get on if I give it a go.<br /><br />Lastly on the body thing, yesterday I had my second session of Osteopathy. Since before Christmas I’ve had a tightness in my shoulder blade that has extended up my back, into my neck and had started to give me bad headaches in the base of my skull and started to disrupt my sleep. Some things just go on their own, but this one was just getting worse so I decided to get some help. After an initial consultation and some prodding, my Osteopath found the offending tissue and said it was probably due to some kind of knock during my late teens. Nothing significant sprang to mind, but my late teens/early twenties were my best Rugby years and I took knocks every week. Anyway – he certainly did, literally, hit the right spot – there’s not much, even in BJJ submissions that has hurt more than when he massaged the offending knot of tissue – if tapping would have made him stop I’d have been doing my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnHlTTp_p94&feature=related">Michael Flatley</a> impression. The improvement after one treatment was noticeable and yesterday he went even further and deeper. I also got a full spine crack – neck, shoulders, lower back – wow, that always feels amazing and I arrived at training feeling lighter than air. Honestly, my back hasn’t felt so good in years. I’ve decided that £32 for a session is money well spent to keep everything doing what it should be so I’m going to have a session once a month as part of a “maintenance” regime. I’d recommend it – don’t suffer hoping things will just get better. You could be storing up problems for later – go get yourself seen to. Your body will thank you for it.<br /><br /><strong>The melting pot…<br /></strong><br />One of the great things about Jiu Jitsu is that it creates a common bond amongst all who train it. People come from all walks of life, wear the same gear and train the same things. Life should be a lot more like Jiu Jitsu. Last night we had a discussion about religion and it just served to highlight how great Jiu Jitsu is. In our club, we have <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/cofe/cofe_1.shtml">Anglicans</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/catholic/catholic_1.shtml">Catholics</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/mormon/">Mormons</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/">Muslims</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/">Sikhs</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/">Buddhists</a>, agnostics, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/">atheists</a> and each person is genuinely valued and respected for who they are, whilst at the same time, their religion being a total non-issue. We all share a mutual respect for each other and a love of the art we practice. Perhaps the world just needs more Jiu Jitsu?!<br /><br /><strong>Training</strong><br /><br />Training has ticked along well lately. We’ve been training mostly techniques of late – a good number of sweeps and submissions, mainly from butterfly guard. Dean has also been majoring on the good use of leverage. This has been the “yang” to the “yin” of the softer balance/sensitivity stuff we’ve been doing. Dean has his sights set on training with Rickson sometime in the middle of the year and this has focussed his mind on the fundamentals of Rickson’s teachings – the things that are most basic and effective in Jiu Jitsu and it’s been great to be a part of Dean’s preparations as his work effectively rubs off on us, his students. It’s great to see, practice, feel and discuss, how the hard and soft aspects of Jiu Jitsu work with each other – each having their time and place. For me, it’s great…I’m starting to get a good sense of how I need to move, feel, wait for the right times and also understand when to be hard and unyielding and remove options from my opponent. I need to work hard not to lose sight of the softer, free flowing stuff I’ve worked hard on – it would be easy to default to hard, static Jiu Jitsu, so I think some movement drills would be good sometime soon.<br /><br />This month has also been the month of Steves. Tugboat Steve has been back – great to see him and always a challenge. His strength is awesome and can challenge the best technique – a great guy to have to train with. Also, we saw French Steve for the first time this year. Even having not trained for possibly six months, he still doesn’t give an inch…great to see him back and looking forward to another visit in April.<br /><br />Training’s been good – what more can I say? I could bore you with my technique breakdowns but there are plenty of other blogs that do that much better than me and a myriad of books. On that subject, I’ve just had my copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jiu-jitsu-University-Saulo-Ribeiro/dp/0981504434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237494310&sr=8-1">Saulo Ribeiro’s “Jiu Jitsu University”</a> delivered. I’m a big fan of Saulo and Xande’s as I know how much they’ve trained with, and been inspired by, Rickson. On first scan, it looks like the best instructional book I own. I’m going to take a much closer look and I will review on this blog sometime.<br /><br />Catch ya soon(ish) ;P<br /><br />Al</span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-57368788386130253242009-02-09T20:30:00.003+00:002009-02-09T20:40:58.478+00:00Marcelo Garcia Seminar - 7th Feb 09<div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/SZCTFzAJFQI/AAAAAAAAANY/_IfAJpIuL3I/s1600-h/Group+Marcelo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300898489214506242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/SZCTFzAJFQI/AAAAAAAAANY/_IfAJpIuL3I/s400/Group+Marcelo.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:78%;">L-R: Roubel, Simon, Marcelo Garcia, Me</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">On Saturday I went to a Seminar with <a href="http://www.marcelogarciajj.com/">Marcelo Garcia </a>(2 time World Champion at Black Belt, 3 time ADCC Champion). It was held in Hove near Brighton and organised by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.grabandpull.co.uk">Grab and Pull</a>, which is, I think, a BJJ related venture run by Gus Oliveira of <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.bbjj.co.uk">Brighton BJJ</a>. The seminar was scheduled over two days – 1st day being Gi, 2nd Day being No-Gi. Cost for one day was £50, both days, £80. I attended just the one day – the Gi day. The session ran from 2p.m. To 4p.m. with just under an hour of rolling at the end and the chance for photos.<br /><br />Given the snow that had beleaguered most of the UK during the week, Si and I had a reasonable journey down to Hove and met Roubel there too. We had a good chat with a few guys we knew from other clubs, tournaments etc and I was also able to put faces to names of some of the guys that contribute to the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.efnsports.com/forum">EFN forums</a>. As we were chatting, Marcelo walked in – just a normal guy – really quite small but he had a smile and a handshake for everyone – straight away you got the feeling he was one of those people that everyone enjoys being around. And there were no heirs and graces – he was in the thick of it with the rest of us (I’ve been to seminars in the past – mainly traditional Martial Arts I have to say – where the seminar instructor has been treated like Royalty…big entrance, separate changing room etc etc and many a lot less well known or accomplished than some of the top BJJ guys).<br /><br />The seminar was held in the sports hall of the King Alfred Leisure Centre, which was absolutely freezing…something not lost on Marcelo as his opening remark was that this was his first trip to the UK and he couldn’t believe how cold it was. So after a quick warm up and stretch it was down to the business of the day.<br /><br />Marcelo opened by explaining that although the two days were Gi and No-gi, the techniques he was going to show were applicable across both as this was how he trained in order to avoid the need to have two separate “games” depending on what type of tournament he was entering – sound logic (this was also indicative of his style which was very competition oriented, with mention of points and time considerations – that’s the world he moves in and where he’s made his name). He explained that day one would look at work from the top position and day two, the bottom position with all techniques building up an array of options from one position.<br /><br />So, I’ll try to go through the details on the techniques he showed, but note that these explanations are given in ways that enable me to remember so I apologise in advance if they’re not always clear.<br /><br />1. Starting from standing, at the feet of seated opponent using open guard. First try pushing opponent back or grabbing ankles to tip back. Grab ankles and place between thighs and kneel tight in to butt of opponent. This will, to an extent, trap opponent’s legs. Move hands in through between opponents legs, placing elbows at hips, head on chest. Move head to side of opponent’s body that you want to pass to. Hold knee of same side. Kick opposite side leg up so that you effectively end up almost doing a headstand, clearing any potential hooks from opponent and come down into kneeling cross side and secure with underhook and clinch around head.<br /><br />2. Starting as above, but this time, as you kneel, the opponent is able to push your body away. To counteract this take grips on the side of the gi, then post weight with one arm and bringing hips in behind posting on the balls of your feet, head up. From here, using other hand, push opponent’s knee inwards and swing same side leg to posted arm up and around the head to slide own body down and across opponent to end up in cross side. Secure position.<br /><br />3. This time, whilst aiming to do the above, the opponent is able to place feet on your hips and push you away. Reach through and post arm on chest as before and place other hand on top of same side knee. With knee that is same side as posted arm, work into centre position so that foot is near opponent’s butt. Push opponent’s knee down to get other leg outside of opponent’s. In one movement, push opponent’s knee down and swing centre leg back and up to clear hooks and swing back inwards to opponent’s body to take knee on stomach. If opponent tries to escape, follow and then drop into kneeling cross side. Secure position.<br /><br />4. Whilst aiming to do the above, opponent manages to get half guard on centre leg and may also have grabbed posted leg (if you weren’t careful to keep it far away enough). As before, post arm on chest and place other hand on knee. Move leg to back of half guard (if this breaks it then great) and immediately shoot knee forward to land at opponent’s diagonal opposite hip. Take kneeling cross side and secure position.<br /><br />5. As above, but this time the opponent has blocked any movement from the trapped leg (and again, may also have grabbed posted leg (if you weren’t careful to keep it far away enough). Posting and hand positions the same as before. But as with technique number 2, swing free leg round opponents head to slide down body. From here, turn body to face opponent and use free leg and shrimp movement to free other leg still trapped in half guard (if still trapped). Cross side and secure.<br /><br />6. As above but having swung leg round, opponent has managed to grab back, preventing you turning to face him. Turn opposite way and take under grip and clinch around head. Place shin of free leg near trapped leg and roll your opponent onto his back whilst prising with legs to open half guard. Slide knees forward to escape half guard and take mount.<br /><br />7. Submission #1. Progress as per movement 5 to point of having freed both legs. Post uppermost leg out and drop lower knee to hip of opponent. It’s important to be sitting up in good base otherwise you’ll just be rolled off. Push up so that you are effectively sitting on top of the opponent, straddling him You should be able to have taken his uppermost arm over your leg so that the hand sits near the hip. From here you can take an arm bar, wrist lock or a shoulder lock by squeezing your own knee towards the other, or by placing your foot over the opponent’s head, sitting to the floor then executing by squeezing in with your knee.<br /><br />8. Submission #2. Progress as per movement 6. As you sit to the side, facing away from your opponent, wrap your closest arm round the back of opponents head. Keeping weight on the chest to keep opponent flat, work round to North/South position. Push hips back and to the floor. Bring free hand under to meet other hand and squeeze. Done properly, this should be a good, quick strangle but done badly can end up as a neck crank.<br /><br />Wow, didn’t realise there was that much until I’ve just written it and I hope I’ve remembered it right – there’s always the risk of confusing the odd bit, but there were three of us from the club there so I guess we can always work it out.<br /><br />One point to make about all of these – at every stage, Marcelo was very clear about the need to have good base, posture and to control the opponent and his hips, especially when in cross side type positions.<br /><br />I was really impressed with Marcelo’s instruction – clear, precise with great attention to the details that make a difference. During the practice he was walking around paying careful attention to everyone, answering questions and making corrections. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the majority of the moves and was taken by the speed with which Marcelo was able to execute them.<br /><br />The rolling at the end was done in rotating four minute bouts and was very enjoyable – no one going insane. I think the tone was set well by Marcelo and everyone followed his calm lead. I wasn’t fortunate enough to roll with him but those that did all commented on his amazing grip strength, lack of use of the Gi and his ability to almost magnetically grab and utilise anything of his opponent that was available. At the end Marcelo thanked everyone and seemed genuinely appreciative of the time and money people had given to go and see him – another mark of his humility. Then it was open season for the usual post seminar photo opportunities, again, all done in the same spirit as the rest of the seminar.<br /><br />All in all it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, learning some new concepts from someone recognised as one of the best. The things I took away from it were (a) just what a nice guy Marcelo is, (b) that good jiu jitsu is simple and (c) it’s good to work up a range of scenarios starting from one source – the techniques I’ve described above all stared from being at the foot of someone’s open guard and I can see now why Marcelo is as good as he is. If his whole game is like this, then he pretty much has an answer for just about any eventuality and all of them are drilled to instinctiveness.<br /><br />Value for money? Pretty good I’d say – about average for a BJJ seminar and for tuition of that quality and from a name like Marcelo Garcia, it’s hard to fault it. Thanks to Gus and his team for putting together a good seminar in the UK with a top name – I look forward to many more!</span></div>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8820317535252440773.post-41929270604475074962009-02-02T20:46:00.009+00:002009-02-08T21:39:46.905+00:00Slowing down...<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/SYdeZpXihdI/AAAAAAAAANQ/qh6Nit9V16A/s1600-h/vajrasattva.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298307281319003602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 215px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 275px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GTlZVwgmxGI/SYdeZpXihdI/AAAAAAAAANQ/qh6Nit9V16A/s400/vajrasattva.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">I’m pretty sure it’s something <a href="http://chasingtheblue.blogspot.com/2008/03/its-dogs-life.html">I’ve mentioned before </a>in previous posts, but the parallels between Jiu Jitsu and mediation are many. In fact I would go as far to say that good Jiu Jitsu is meditation. There’s an interesting post on this on <a href="http://www.jiujitsubrotherhood.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28:jiu-jitsu-is-meditation&catid=4:experiences-a-philosophy&Itemid=5">Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood </a>and I can concur with everything written there.<br /><br />A couple of years ago, I went to the <a href="http://www.lbc.org.uk/">London Buddhist Centre </a>(LBC) in Bethnal Green for a day long introduction to meditation. I think it cost about £25… I know they still run them. I went along having read lots on Buddhism, a rudimentary knowledge of meditation and, I guess, looking for some answers. What I got was a relaxing day with some nice people, some methods of focussing meditation and some nice vegetarian food. Really enjoyable and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in getting started on meditation.<br /><br />Just recently I’ve noticed a lot of “noise” in life and with a mail shot from the LBC my mind turned once more to meditation as a possible way to deal with this noise. The LBC runs drop-in lunchtime sessions from 1300-1400, costing only £1. So, with Bethnal Green only a couple of Tube stops from my office in London, I decided that, this year, meetings etc allowing, if I was working in London, I would spend my lunch times at these sessions. So far I’ve managed to attend twice.<br /><br />The LBC is a great little oasis of calm in a busy city and the shrine where the mediation takes place is stunning – it just has an immediate feeling of calm. It’s a bright space, the air laced with incense and the giant gold Buddha that dominates the room gives the room the sense of reverence that it deserves. Two mediation practices are taught at the LBC – “The Mindfulness of Breathing” and the Metta Bhavana. Here, I’ll give a quick outline of the mediations, but I’d advise that you do further reading around these to understand them in their context, or better still, find somewhere that will guide you through them as they’ll be able to give context and also pointers on things like posture.<br /><br />The mindfulness of breathing is probably the most accessible. You simply focus on your breath which is a constant and readily available feature that you can meditate on.<br /><br /><strong>Stage 1</strong>: You begin by counting at the end of each out breath – do this ten times and repeat, initially for five minutes.<br /><br /><strong>Stage 2</strong>: You count at the start of each in breath – as above. This is a very subtle but definite shift in focus.<br /><br /><strong>Stage 3</strong>: You drop the count but focus on the experience of breathing – how it feels, how the body moves, pretty much any experience associated with breathing.<br /><br /><strong>Stage 4</strong>: You take a single element of the experience of breathing (for me it was the sensation of cold as the air hit the back of my nasal cavity) and focus on that.<br /><br />Each stage was five minutes. As you practice, it is possible to extend the duration of practice, and, I guess to become less reliant on the “introductory” phases. You do (I certainly did) experience “wandering” of the mind, but the trick is to notice this and come back to the practice, but the overall aim is to reach a single point of concentration that is here and now. It is this that takes you away from thoughts of past or future, problems etc and this that helps to restore peace to our minds. It is this same principle that is applied to all “mindfulness” practice – being aware of what is happening in the moment that you are experiencing rather than letting the sometimes damaging and rampant internal dialogue that we all have from taking over our experience and making us unhappy.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.lbc.org.uk/medmore.htm">Metta Bhavana </a>(translates as something like “Cultivating Loving Kindness”) approaches a somewhat more spiritual angle on meditation, aiming to allow us to grow compassion and understanding towards ourselves and others, which I guess is no bad thing regardless of your religious views. Again, in the introductory practice that I have undertaken, the stages are done in five minute segments, but the aim is to extend the practice as you become more experienced. During the stages, you make the following “wishes” for the subject of your mediation:<br /><br />- May they be healthy<br /><br />- May they be happy<br /><br />- May they be free from suffering<br /><br />- May they make progress.<br /><br />Simple, but nice sentiments. But these are not words, you need to feel that they hold a meaning and almost picture your subjects benefitting from these sentiments.<br /><br />In stages, you apply these sentiments to:<br /><br />1) Yourself<br /><br />2) A close friend. It is recommended that this is someone same sex and not someone that you are romantically interested or involved with.<br /><br />3) Someone you know but not well – this could be a shopkeeper, postman, receptionist – the point is that this is someone that features in your daily life but you are not well acquainted with.<br /><br />4) An enemy – someone that you find difficult, perhaps even “hate”. </span></div><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">5) You open up these sentiments to the world around you.</p></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><div>I find this meditation a little more difficult – my mind wanders a lot more with this and a few times I’ve even felt myself falling asleep. Also, wishing well to an enemy is an alien concept and very difficult sometimes. But I think it’s worth persisting – to acknowledge that every person has hopes, dreams, desires and a wish to be happy, just like yourself, is a useful and grounding thing to do and if it cultivates a more open persona to others, then surely that’s a good thing…? I have found it a grounding meditation, especially in the last stage - realising that you are a small part in a much bigger worl that surrounds you.<br /><br />The goal of any meditation, is, as I’ve already said, to focus the mind on a single point of concentration, to stop the mind from drifting into uncontrollable thoughts about the past, which no longer exists, or the future, which doesn’t yet exist and to experience more of now. By doing this, we experience more of life, calm our minds and increase our ability to focus and concentrate.<br /><br />And this is why, in my mind, Jiu Jitsu, when practiced with a right mind, is meditation. Two or three times a week I put on a gi, step onto the mats and meditate. My mind is occupied with Jiu Jitsu, its movements, its sensations and it is immediate and single pointed. That’s what mediation is and if you are so minded, it can be likened to a spiritual experience. Jiu Jitsu allows you to experience life in the moment and without distraction – how many other parts of your life can truly do that?<br /><br />Sure, Jiu Jitsu is a great physical workout, but how many people really give their mind a workout….and I’m not talking arithmetic, memory, IQ type exercises, I’m talking something deeper, something more spiritual. This is why, for me, Jiu Jitsu will never be a sport, a workout or a recreational activity – it is all of those things on a physical level, but its so much more. It’s the piece of the puzzle that is far too often missing in modern life. It gives the time and space to “be”.</span></div>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08176057764656727608noreply@blogger.com0