The best meal I ever tasted...

Rickson Gracie Private Classes, Kent, UK: 14th & 15th Nov 2012

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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'."

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.

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.

Knowing that the visit was on, I got in touch with Seymour Yang, (AKA Meerkatsu), 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.

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.

Take a look at the clip here:

Amazingly, my instructor Dean still has one of these T-shirts from one of
his earliest visits to LA - quite a museum piece!

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
anthropomorphism of Rickson is up there with his best designs - and great for him to have such legend wear one of his designs! 

Big thanks to Seymour for his time and efforts!

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, along with other props such as elastics for resistance.  He then spent 20 minutes talking about his breathing, which was every bit as captivating as it was in Holland.  In fact, he went further and talked about his training in Bio-Gymnastics with
Orlando Cani - the original stuff before Alvaro Romano left Cani and started Ginastica Natural.  Fascinating stuff and definitely worthy of further investigation.....more to come in another post sometime.

Then on to the main session.  More great stuff and a defence against being grabbed and driven forwards from the rear which was brilliant.  Not much else to say - as before the instruction was brilliant and Rickson gave all of himself to the session.  I never felt that he was giving anything less than 100%.  He did speak at some length on his philosophy of Jiu Jitsu and the direction of travel for the art and the sport. It was nothing particularly that you can't find on YouTube, but seen in person, you could feel his conviction that Jiu Jitsu competition is driving Jiu Jitsu away from its roots and served to reinforce my view that Jiu Jitsu based on strength, athleticism, aggression and scoring points is not Jiu Jitsu as I understand it from Rickson. When asked, he also talked with knowledge and enthusiasm about teaching kids Jiu Jitsu - something I would love to do at some point and gave an interesting insight into his family culture.

After the session, Rickson was generous with his time in taking photos and signing stuff - another benefit of the smaller session (I didn't even try in Holland as there were so many people trying to get their shot).  Two of the things that Rickson signed was a copy of the aforementioned print of Meerkatsu's work and a patch from Tap Cancer Out.  Please check out their website and go buy one of their great patches (it won't cost you much, looks great on your Gi and raises money for a great cause!) or a t-shirt, again designed by the ubiquitous and ridiculously talented Meerkatsu.

Anyway, both these items were sent to Tap Cancer Out and were auctioned off to raise important funds.  Check them out on facebook to keep up with their work.

Of course, I kept one of those bad boys for myself and it now has pride of place in my front room:

After both sessions, I found it really hard to sleep - just thinking about what he'd said, what I learned...just the buzz!  I am very fortunate to have been part of it all - fortunate to be Dean's student and fortunate to be around at this time.  Rickson is a legend of our art and he's alive right now....not some black and white photo on the wall - he's here and he's passing on, in person, a lifetime of accumulated experience and knowledge.  And I'm in the middle of it!  Don't get me wrong, I'm under no illusion...this will not suddenly make me a great Jiu Jitsuka, but it will deepen my knowledge and understanding and will definitely contribute to my journey to become the best Jiu Jitsuka that I can be.

Happy days.  I hope it's not too long until we see him again.

I like to move it move it!

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, “Madagascar”, 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.

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 Desmond Morris 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 Frank Forencich – a human movement and health expert who heads up his own movement known as the “Exuberant Animal”. Take a look at this article. 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 this (taken from Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood) are perfect.

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.

First up is the “Paleo Diet”, 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.

Sharing some ground with Forencich and linked to the “back to basics” approach of Cordain is Erwan LeCorre and his MovNat 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.

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. (recent research has shown that exercising in groups is more effective and boosts happiness). The futility of the gym is borne out of in own experience. BMF 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.

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 Nike “free” – 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 John Woodward, Mick Dodge and Ken Bob Saxton 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.

In Jiu Jitsu, a form of conditioning has evolved and is taught at The Jiu Jitsu University under Alvaro Romano, known as Ginastica Natural (I’ve mentioned it before, here); 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.

I’ve recently been reading “The Last Wrestlers” by Marcus Trower 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:

"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..."

"I thought everyone knew that the real route to happiness was through the body..."

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.

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.

Let's get back to basics and just move.

Black bogies and handstands...

Good turnout Monday. There’s always a good vibe when there’s a good number – everyone’s really up-beat and there’s always a lot more good humoured piss-taking goes on. Not sure what Si was on – I think the fumes from the tyres burning near-by (we train in a delightful part of North Kent) were getting to him. Something about “Chopper” and obscure Japanese kids’ programmes?!

Just so you don’t think all of our conversations are obscure or lavatorial (although a good percentage are), this week I had a very topical conversation with Mike regarding the state of industrial relations and their impact on the UK economy. Actually, it was really a conversation started by Mike’s observation about black bogies (which he discovered tending to a well earned nosebleed) – a result of working in London and particularly using the Tube. This led to a conversation about the strike by the RMT…the incisive commentary being “what a bunch of bastards”. I tell ya, it’s like Newsnight down there sometimes.

Rick covered a couple of submissions from knee on stomach. First, just covering off the position – where your head needs to be for good balance etc. The first submission was a cross collar choke – dependant on the opponent rolling into the knee. Key points here, keeping knee on stomach, place head on floor over opponent’s opposite shoulder, lower hips and apply the choke.

A major learning point for me was how, when applying this type of choke (which I’ve already said I struggle with), it benefits to almost not think too much about it – keep relaxed hands, breath out as you drop towards the opponent (contract) and breath in and pull the elbows back (expand) to apply the choke. Really relaxed – the more you muscle this choke, the less it works. It’s more mental discipline to keep relaxed and calm than physical strength.

The next submission relies on the opponent rolling away from the knee. In this case you need to follow the shoulder with your hips and scoop up the uppermost arm. Base out with your free arm for the three point base. From here, dependant on how far your opponent rolls, you can drop forwards or backwards for the armbar. Pretty cool – although I need to work on the armbar falling back as my leg over the head always kicks up allowing an escape. Just need to slow it all down I think.

Rolling this week was the usual affair – I tried to work on just moving the whole time and went OK – a few moments I got caught flat and there were big chunks when I just didn’t move at all, but on the whole it felt better. It’s tough against most of the guys as they’re often a couple of moves ahead of me, but I guess at least they’re having to make those moves rather than being able to just sink in a choke from the off. The other thing I noticed is that in concentrating on movement so much I feel I’m actually missing the rest of the game, so the trick now is to make movement automatic so that I can feel everything else that is going on at the same time.

Wednesday was a good turnout again (for a Wednesday). We have an interesting warm up on Wednesdays – usual run around and fling your arms type stuff, but then we do hand stands and rolls and backward rolls with sort of flips – all very gymnastic…except I’m the least gymnastic person that ever lived – it was always thus at school I guess this is why I always opted for Rugby – as a forward it requires little or no finesse. Anyway, when we first started this I avoided doing the flippy handstand stuff for fear of coming a cropper. Eventually, I gave it a go and dropped like a felled tree for a few weeks, but you know what – now I’m not too bad with the handstand bit. I’m not going to win any awards for form or anything like that, but it’s alright. The backward flippy thing is a way off yet, but I like to think I keep everyone entertained with my efforts. It’s all good. Good BJJ can be pretty gymnastic (there’s even a whole BJJ/Gymnastics/Yoga hybrid thing called “Ginastica Natural” which looks interesting), but more important is confidence in your physical capabilities…it’s arguably far more important to discover what you CAN do rather than focus on what you can’t.

Anyway, this week we worked on cross side again. Really good to keep revisiting these core positions. We only worked a couple of variations from the endless possibilities that this position gives. I think the single biggest thing I took from this session was regarding making and keeping good connection with your opponent. The bridge and movement etc was all familiar, but the connections made with the arms made a huge difference to the success I had with this. Time went quickly drilling this position, largely because I think we know that it’s so important to understand it and try to work from it.

Rolling afterwards was really good. Just trying to keep on moving and using principles gained from the earlier technical stuff. There were a couple of points when I felt, probably for the first time, that I was actually using Jiu Jitsu and it was working for me, rather than doing a vague imitation. Really pleased. The only thing I was a bit annoyed about was that I ended up with knee on stomach with Mike and was in a perfect position to try out what Rick had shown us on Monday. Retard that I am though, I went blank and completely forgot the hand positions. I really cannot chew gum and fart at the same time…which is a real problem in Jiu Jitsu. Dunno… maybe I just got so excited that I actually got good position and that was why I went blank…or maybe my wife is right and men really can’t multi-task.

Anyhow, it was a really warm night, which wouldn’t normally bother me, but whatever it was, I just felt really breathless, like there was no air in the room. Towards the end, I just had to tap to catch my breath. I wasn’t particularly physically exhausted, I just felt like I couldn’t breathe. Really weird. Added to that, my knee “popped” during the session too. Not sure why – it does that every so often. It’s always disconcerting when it happens. The times when I tore the ACL, it was a “pop”, then nothing for a few seconds, then a build up of searing pain. So now, whenever it pops, I’m always waiting to see if the pain will come. Thankfully it didn’t, but it always aches a bit the day after. It’s annoying as it’s like a little reminder…just when I’m doing OK…”ha ha! Not so fast!”.

Still, not a major thing. The over-riding feeling for me was that this has been a good week.