The way...

Since my last proper post, training has continued as usual, and largely has been going great (apart from getting another bloody cold just as the last one has cleared up!!!). I'm still working on my movement, sensitivity etc with Dean and he's been really generous with his time helping me to get to grips with this and I just know it's going to pay dividends. It's also interesting in that it's kind of setting me up to be able to train myself and from what I understand of Rickson, this is very much the way that he's trained his network of friends and associates over the years. It's great as it's an ultimately sustainable way of training Jiu Jitsu so long as you can find a few like minded people to practice with.

A few things of note really in terms of what we've been doing - a lot more stand-up stuff with self defence application which has been great, a neat defence/escape from spider guard and really just focussing on the movement. There's little technique involved - a few set points here and there, but it all revolves around this movement and sensitivity.

Dean also brought in his set of "bodylastics" - exercise tubes, to illustrate how these can be used to practice the movements we've been doing whilst also doing specific conditioning. This was really interesting and guess what's now on my Christmas list?! Again, it's part of this ethos that with an appreciation of Jiu Jitsu and the true ethos within the art, you can train and develop a long way on your own.

I've also spent a bit of time chatting with Dean after training, sharing thoughts, philosophies and i've appreciated this insight into the way that Dean approaches Jiu Jitsu and it has made me appreciate all the more what we've been doing over the past months. A bit more on that later.

Earlier in the month I went to the Kent Open for my first tournament as a Blue Belt. I guess by many's standards, it was a quick entry so soon after promotion, but I'd entered (and paid!) as a white belt (I wasn't expecting to get my Blue Belt so soon!) but I couldn't lie and I'd paid my entry fee! It was a mammoth event brilliantly organised by the Carlson's guys, held at the Olympic Judo training centre at Dartford - just up the road from me (bonus!) - a great facility.

I knew that by going up to Blue Belt that I'd meet Janos AKA "Dumptruck" who had so resoundingly beaten me at the Southern Open. An absolute monster. Anyway. It turned out that in my category it was just me and Janos - one other Hungarian guy hadn't shown, so only one fight. This would be the only criticism I had of the day (and it's not a huge gripe - that's the way it goes), but there were two guys in the same weight class in the Adult category (I'm Masters) so by merging the categories we could all have had a couple of fights at least. To be fair, looking at the numbers there maybe there wasn't time to mess about with the schedule, but to have one fight (and lose!) for £25 ...well, I just wish it had been different.

So...yes, I lost. Pretty early on Janos got a single leg take down. I fell quite well and managed to frame him off and as far as I know he failed to secure cross side or knee on stomach. He tried a a choke with the fist in the throat quite early but didn't have the purchase. Eventually (and it must have been approaching time) he took a decent Gi choke. Janos won, but I must say I didn't feel as overwhelmed as I had at the Southern Open - maybe a combination of more experience of both Jiu Jitsu and tournaments? I'm annoyed with myself that I pretty much got consumed with holding him off rather than working some movement to improve my situation, but I guess that's my learning point from the day. It was also strange to be awarded a silver medal for losing one fight!

On the flip side, getting my stuff out of the way so early meant that I got to watch some good (and some not so good!) Jiu Jitsu for the rest of the day.

Si had a great day at the office ploughing through his division with relative ease to take Gold. Here's a film of Si's final - it speaks for itself - great roll to reverse the takedown and a trademark cross collar finish from Si:

All in all it was a good day and a huge congratulations goes to all the Carlson's guys that made it happen - hopefully one for the annual BJJ calendar! It was good to hang out with the guys (Dean T came along, as did Dave, Big Dean (who is in LA training at Rickson's Academy at the moment - can't wait to get the low-down when he gets back) and to cap it all, there was a Subway van there and I had a Meatball Marinara Sub - my favourite!


On to some other stuff that I've found interesting. I mentioned eralier that I've had a few good chats with Dean T and he's spoken about how a lot of his recent philosophy has come from reading about Morihei Ueshiba - the founder of Aikido (there are some great clips of him well worth a look on YouTube) Dean mentioned a collection of Ueshiba's writings - "The Art of Peace" (which you can read here) so I thought I'd have a little look into it to see what it might have to offer me in my training.

It's a small, digestible book, full of short quotes on a range of subject, some more spiritual than others, but found a good few words that held resonance for me in the way that I am experiencing training. Here are a few of my favourites - whilst they ultimately stem from his practice of Akido, I feel that the sentiments are equally applicable to true Jiu Jitsu:

On Training

The purpose of training is to tighten up the slack, toughen the body, and polish the spirit.

Iron is full of impurities that weaken it; through forging, it becomes steel and is transformed into razor-sharp sword. Human beings develop in the same fashion.

Instructors can impart only a fraction of the teaching. It is through your own devoted practice that the mysteries of the Art of Peace are brought to life.

Progress comes to those who Train and train; Reliance on secret techniques Will get you nowhere. Fiddling with this And that technique Is of no avail.

In your training do not be in a hurry, for it takes a minimum of ten years to master the basics and advance to the first rung. Never think of yourself as an all-knowing, perfected master; you must continue to train daily with your friends and students and progress together in the Art of Peace.

Ultimately, you must forget about technique. The further you progress, the fewer teachings there are. The Great Path is really No Path.

On Mindset

There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within.

A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.

On the philosophy of the art

The Art of Peace is the principle of nonresistance. Because it is nonresistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. The Art of Peace is invincible because it contends with nothing.

It is necessary to develop a strategy that utilizes all the physical conditions and elements that are directly at hand. The best strategy relies upon an unlimited set of responses.

Techniques employ four qualities that reflect the nature of our world. Depending on the circumstance, you should be: hard as a diamond, flexible as a willow, smooth-flowing like water, or as empty as space.

If your opponent strikes with fire, counter with water, becoming completely fluid and free-flowing. Water, by its nature, never collides with or breaks against anything. On the contrary, it swallows up any attack harmlessly.

When an opponent comes forward, move in and greet him; if he wants to pull back, send him on his way.

The body should be triangular, the mind circular. The triangle represents the generation of energy and is the most stable physical posture. The circle symbolizes serenity and perfection, the source of unlimited techniques. The square stands for solidity, the basis of applied control.

In the Art of Peace we never attack. An attack is proof that one is out of control.

Never run away from any kind of challenge, but do not try to suppress or control an opponent unnaturally. Let attackers come any way they like and then blend with them. Never chase after opponents. Redirect each attack and get firmly behind it.

Opponents confront us continually, but actually there is no opponent there. Enter deeply into an attack and neutralize it as you draw that misdirected force into your own sphere.

Even the most powerful human being has a limited sphere of strength. Draw him outside of that sphere and into your own, and his strength will dissipate.

The essence of training is to bring your opponent completely into your sphere. Then you can stand where you like.

Whirl in circles around A stable center. Manifest yang In your right hand, Balance it with The yin of your left, And guide your partner.

The techniques of Peace Enable us to meet every challenge Seeing me before him, The enemy attacks, But by that time I am already standing Safely behind him.

Pretty cool huh? That's how I want my Jiu Jitsu to be.

One last thing - proud dad moment. I took my 4 year old son to his first Judo class last week. Dartford Judo Club run a "Pre Judo" class for under 5's which is great as most clubs and classes don't start 'til after 5 years. Anyway, he got really stuck in and loved every second. He even won a couple of his fights! I'm so proud and his new Gi just arrived today - the smallest Gi you've ever seen! Cute.

There's always someone bigger...

I'm going to go a bit back to front with this blog entry and start with today's events. Today I went to the dubiously named Brighton "Grab and Pull" tournament - the first tournament organised by Brighton BJJ. I only really decided to enter about a week or so ago so no real expectations. I went along with Si and we met up with the guys from Carlson's which made for a great day out and as always, the guys made us more than welcome.

Although the day started later than published, the fights ran smoothly and quickly. There were a few mix-ups with fight weights, but the organisers remained flexible and in good humour which helped make a really relaxed atmosphere. I'm full of admiration for the organisers - I reckon I'd have flipped with all that stress so credit where it's due.

As with the Southern Open I was entered into the Super Super Heavyweight category (100.5kg +). After a long wait (about 4 hours) I was finally called. I really enjoyed my first fight. I was initially taken by surprise as my opponent jumped guard, but I dealt with it OK, quickly postured up, broke his guard and passed to secure cross-side. I then moved straight to mount and just secured that position, bringing weight and getting a nice high mount. I was just weighing up my options and resisting bridges and an Ezekiel choke seemed the best option so that's what I went for - sunk it in and stuck it on and got the tap - all lasted about 2 minutes. I felt I had good control the whole way through. Really nice guy though and enjoyed chatting to him before our match.

My second fight was a different story. The guy I was fighting was 122kg - that's 19 and a bit stone so I was giving away over two stone - and he was solid with it. He got some sort of sweep pretty quick and took mount very quickly too. That suited me - I stayed tight and was just looking to secure an upa, but he was clearly experienced and wise to this. As Si later pointed out, my mistake was that I stayed too flat on my back, preventing any decent disruption. Eventually, a combination of bad choices on my part and shepherding on his, he moved me to take an armbar which was successful. All over. That's the way it goes - sooner or later you always meet someone bigger, faster etc etc - different draws may have led to a different result, but that's the way it goes. It all meant I took bronze - again - that's OK. A medal's a medal. Just starting to think that losing weight might be a good idea for more than health reasons!

Si had a good first fight, took a decent takedown and then controlled everything as he always does, ending the fight with an armbar - great result. His second fight was against the eventual winner - a guy that had already shown some great Judo in his first fight and continued in his bout with Si, opening his scoring with a great ippon seoinagi. From there on, SI was always chasing the points. Si had the guy in guard and controlled him there for a long while always threatening to pull off one of his trademark cross collar chokes, but it just never quite happened. Eventually the guy passed and took a choke using his own gi. mathematics once again conspired to give Si a well deserved bronze. I get the sense that Si felt a little disappointed, but it was a good outing for him and there's always far too many variables in a tournament to worry about what could/should have been. Another good day out. I even met a nice parking attendant who bent the rules to avoid inconvenience. Once in a while something restores your faith in people.

Onto the last few weeks of training - usual story, Mondays and wednesdays at Rickson's, Fridays at Carlson's. All the usual drills really except that Dean T's sessions have been revelations - every lesson I've come away with a little gem. The ones that stand out are the relaxation required when applying chokes - I did one so well that I didn't even think I was doing anything. The other major thing was Dean helping me with my escape from cross side. I don't find bridge escapes easy due to my poor lower back mobility, so Dean showed me an escape using your legs to move your body to the side, slide the lower knee in to block the abdomen then project the free leg away to sweep your opponent over - really liked this and will work well for me - just need to drill it. The key with the leg movement is to engage the core of your body so that your legs connect up through your torso - realy obvious, but the penny dropped that previously I've just been waving my legs around - just a lack of understanding on my part. This also means that I really need to work up some core strength. After a good demonstration by Dean, I think I'm going to make an effort with an old Yoga video - I reckon this will benefit in sorts of ways.

Dean also spent some time with me rolling at the end of one session - in the way that he likes to roll - just playing really, working the movement and just "sensing". I really enjoyed this - it was imply fun but I could feel a whole lot more than I normally would - it's this "pronounced" form of training that gradually hones the sensitivity that allows the purity of Jiu Jitsu to prevail. Sure, I'm a long way from that , but it's really where I want to be in the way that I roll. It's what it's all really about. I'm really loving the training at the moment and finish every session with the same buzz that I had when I first started...love it!

Rick has also helped me with some escapes from a common position at Carlson's - the head crush either from under mount or sometimes when holding guard. It was clear I've just been doing everything wrong - when holding guard I need to release guard, trap arms and work sweeps. Under Mount, instead of going for Upas that aren't there I need to be shrimping out. So obvious...now I've been shown - cheers Rick...and thank you from my neck too!

One other breakthrough to mention happened during a light session with just me and Si one Wednesday. We just went through standing up in guard - trying to prefect this technique over and over. I finally made a few minor adjustments, the main one being to drive my stand from my foot position (like a sprint start), rather than awkwardly squatting to standing position...bit by bit, things just get better.

Everything's relative and belts aren't everything, but I've set out my goals and they remain intact. It takes many people only a couple of years to go from white to blue. By the time I hopefully get there, I will have been a white belt for four years, partly due to economics, but the results I get at tournaments and when rolling tell me I am where I should be. I want nothing more than to feel that any grades I earn came at the right time and that I am the best white belt I can be...still lots of work to do and I'm loving every second.

Speak to you again soon. I'm off to bed to sleep off this adrenaline headache.

The value of tournaments...?

A quick catch up on all the goings on since all the stuff I’ve just written about. I hadn’t trained any since last Wednesday except for a Gym session on Thursday. Friday and Saturday I just felt really tired so took the chance to rest. Sunday, I spent all day out watching Saracens Vs Wasps – gutted to see Saracens (playing in pink for Charity, which turned them all into a bunch of girls) go down 29 points to 40. A great game with some good tries but if only Sarries had played throughout like they did in the 2nd half….

Sunday night I went round to Big Dean’s to watch UFC 83. The main event was Matt Serra Vs Georges Saint-Pierre (GSP) for the Welterweight championship that Serra took from GSP at their last outing. I had hoped that Serra may pull it out of the bag again, but this was always a long shot. GSP looked to have his conditioning spot on and looked focussed in front of a home crowd. Sure enough, it panned out as per the script and GSP was in control every step of the way. Serra’s gas just ran out and at one point was too tired to put up much defence against some well aimed shots. I did see some of the BJJ for which Serra is famed, which was good, but GSP was just too dominant and with some nasty knees going into Serra’s ribcage, the fight was stopped to give GSP the win by TKO. Both fighters were consummate professionals giving each other due respect and plaudits and that was nice to see.

Another fight that I was impressed by was Mike Bisping’s debut at Middleweight against Charles McCarthy. Bisping looked trim and fierce at his new weight and easily outclassed McCarthy to get a TKO in the first round. It’ll be interesting to see where Bisping goes from here in this weight division. Even if he does sound like Ashley from Coronation Street.

So, Monday night’s session, just four of us again and I arrived not feeling 100%. I think it’s a continuation of the tiredness I’d felt last week and has transformed into a weird feeling of mild nausea and weakness. I can’t explain what it is, except that I just don’t feel “right” and it sucks – I’d rather be properly ill – at least that way I’d know what to say about how I feel. Anyway, we focussed on the stand up in prep for Seni – defending base, against throws and against opponents jumping guard. We also did some ankle picks which I found hard, but it was all to do with my posture. I found defending the jump to guard tough too, until Si pointed out that I shouldn’t try to hold onto my opponent as this was dragging me down – problem fixed! I found the whole thing tough – physically I mean – sweating loads more than usual, breathless real quick and my concentration wasn’t too sharp so I came away feeling pretty fed up with myself, but I guess it can’t be helped.

On to the “big” news from me. I’ve decided today that I’m NOT going to enter Seni. There are a couple of factors in this decision. The major one is poor organisation on my part. I thought that I had time to enter and logged on today to do that thinking that the cut off was 23rd (which it is). However, I’ve missed the deadline for early entry and late entry is at a fee of £40. It makes a significant difference to me financially and also in terms of the value that I attach to competing (i.e. do I consider the tournament and any potential benefit to be worth £40 – in short, the answer is no). I feel a bit down about it, mainly because of the time that Big Dean and Si have given in helping me train. I just want to say thanks to you guys. I hope you don’t feel I’m letting you down or that any of that time was wasted – tournament or not, it has all been useful and will still be useful as I turn my attention to other tournaments later this year. Sorry and thanks.

The second, less significant, factor is my current “wellness”. I could well be 100% again by the weekend, but right now I feel mentally and physically ropey, so why spend £40 and potentially give a less than honest account of myself at a tournament. I’ve done this in the past – played in important Rugby games with injury when I should have stepped aside. The result makes you feel a lot worse than if you hadn’t played.

I’m disappointed, but I guess that now, I just get on with training as I always have and I’ll have a look to see what tournaments are around for the rest of the year and decide whether I want to go in for them.

That'll ding dang do for me!

So, just got back from the Tournament. I got BRONZE! More than happy with that considering it was my first tournament.

First off, a huge thanks to Big Dean. After a late night, Dean was up and about to meet me at 0830 and accompanied me to the tournament, coaching me all the way, keeping me focused. Dean was at the side coaching me all through my fights and we didn't really get back to his until about 1800 - a long day that he didn't have to give up just for me. So truly mate, thanks...it really is appreciated.

So, onto the day - I arrived to find that there were 5 guys in my category. The atmosphere in the place was good - music pumping into the arena, guys re-acquainting themselves with people they've met through BJJ etc. The Tonbridge guys were there - good to see so many of them there and a big congratulations to all their guys that took medals.

It was about a two hour wait until my first fight so after a quick warm up, and a pep talk from Dean it was down to business. My first fight started off with lots of just gripping up and pulling about. Eventually, bored and frustrated with standing I dropped to try and get guard, but the guy got X-side. I managed to roll him off, surprisingly easily (all that drilling came in handy!), took X-side, tried for knee on stomach, eventually took mount and then submitted him with an Americana arm lock - not the best one I've done, but I figured what the hell? A win's a win. In my second fight I was up against a huge guy from Carlson Gracie Hungary. I knew a little of him from the guys at Tonbridge - he's a big, strong guy - I was giving away around 8kg to him and most of him was muscle! I kind of knew I was in trouble, but hey - you do what you can. He broke down my posture pretty early and rather poorly (and much to Dean's frustration, I'm sure) I went down to take guard. He was quickly on me, took X-side and then submitted me with a good choke. There wasn't an awful lot I could do against his sheer strength. He went on to take Gold. I'm kind of hoping he'll get his Blue Belt soon so that I don't have to meet him again in any future tournaments! My third fight, I knew I was on for a Bronze , so didn't want to lose it. This was a bit of a stale-mate for a long time. Neither of us wanted to do anything too rash, so loads of just standing, looking for a gap to do something with. With Dean's threats of violence ringing in my ears, I wasn't going to go down easily this time. After a bit of probing I got a sweep on the guy which got me points, but I couldn't follow up quickly enough and the guy stood up. So, off we go again...more of the same. Eventually, the ref gets bored and takes a point off me for stalling (Still not sure why I was the one deemed to be stalling when the other guy was doing the same - hey ho). From memory, I went for a double leg takedown but he sprawled. My opponent got my back but I managed to roll him off but couldn't follow up - the same happened again, then he went for a sort of rear naked choke, but it wasn't on at all and he couldn't make anything stick long enough to get points...just as time went. I think I must've won by 1 point.

Sure - I was pleased to take the Bronze, but I'd rather have won easier than I made it and I know I could have done. I think I was so preoccupied with not making mistakes that I wasn't as forthcoming as I could and should have been. At the end of the day though, I'd got a medal from my first tournament.

So, reflections on the experience? Well....

1) Waiting - god, there's so much waiting and when you don't know what's coming that's even worse as the adrenaline just keeps on coming. Even when I'd finished, there was the hanging about to get my medal. Next time I shan't rush to get there so early knowing that I'll have to wait two hours before I get on. I'll also know what's coming so hopefully can stay a bit calmer.

2) Standing work - considering how long this bit of the fight can last, it's really important to understand it and have some sort of a game - in my last fight I wasn't stalling at all - I was just waiting for an obvious route in - I got one, but it's so hard if you're just not sure what you're looking for. Some work to be done.

3) Don't give anything for free - in 2 out of three fights I went down voluntarily...a big no no. In one I was fortunate to work technique out of X-side, the other I got submitted. 50/50 - not a good tactic.

4) Match strength when required - there were a couple of times when I really should have pursued or driven harder to push home an advantage - maybe I wasn't aggressive enough. I know BJJ isn't meant to be about that, but then tournaments aren't about pure BJJ in my view - you do what's needed to win. I think a bit more controlled aggression might not go amiss.

5) My knee survived - I need to try and not worry to much about what can't be controlled. By "guarding" these weak points you become tentative and move differently which can be more risky that just going with it - easier said than done, but something to think about.

I did have some video taken of my fights (thanks Neil) and I'd have loved to have put up some footage, but numpty that I am, I royally effed up the download and lost the videos! (gutted!). Here's a couple of photos instead - promise some film in the future - sorry!:

(L) Me with my medal (R) a close up of my bling.

Will I compete again - yes! Where? When? Dunno, I need to work on a few things - I know what worked for me and what didn't so I want to go off, fix those things and go in better prepared next time now I know what to expect.

It's been a long but satisfying day...I'm off now to have well earned cold cider! Cheers!

Pass the toilet roll...

Really quiet week this one…only four of us training on Monday and three on Wednesday. C’mon guys – there’s plenty of you out there. Come train!

Anyway, Monday we covered some submission combinations from the mount. Richard started us off with the Ezekiel choke – a nasty little bastard that I’ve been caught with loads of times (usually by Big Dean). It was good to understand the mechanics of it. Then we looked at how this can be used to set up armbars, chokes, taking the back and all manner of other things. For me, it was all a bit beyond where I’m at, but the thing I took most from it was the mindset of not just setting up one option and investing all your effort into that one move. By doing this, if the move doesn’t come off, that’s it – it’s all you’ve got, game over. However, setting something up with two or three other possibilities always means that you’ve got several options open that you can switch between. Rather than get too bogged down in thought I spent a while practicing the movement for the armbar – I often get the position but can never finish it, so with some good pointers from the other guys I managed to iron out a few creases. It’s still not perfect, but slowly slowly…. One thing I really need to work on for this is my control – just need to develop some core strength.

Wednesday was just me, Si and Lee. We went through a reminder on keeping base in standing – a useful reminder ahead of the weekend. Then we worked on a bit of standing sparring. It was useful to do this with Lee, him being a big guy. I think I’ve worked out from this that I need to either be out of the way of my opponent or in really close – clinch range. At least at this clinch range, even if the other guy goes for a take-down, there’s a 50/50 chance that I can end up on top. I don’t want to be anywhere where the other guy can work a throw on me. So that was useful. We worked on guard for a bit – just positional training, which again, was a useful thing to do, re-capping the basics, then just rolling. Si had me tapping like a type-writer – I think nerves are getting the better of me and I was making my movements too big – just need to keep calm and go back to what I’ve been doing in recent weeks. Overall a really useful session – just to get a few things straight before Sunday.

Like I’ve said before, I’ve got no expectation. Most of the time I don’t think too much about it, but when I do, I’m bricking it. I know I’m gonna be really nervous on Sunday – it’s a real step into the unknown. As far as strategy goes, I’m just gonna start out for a clinch and go from there, work for the mount. I’m not too fussed about loads of positions, I just want to submit the opponent as soon as possible. I just need to try and stay calm and keep good technique and work with what the opponent gives me. I’m gonna be rolling with big guys. It’s going to be tough. But hey, whatever will be will be.

I’ll post Sunday night to let you know how I got on…..

Let's get readeee to rhuuuumblllllle!!!

So, I've alluded to it a few times, but yep, I'm entering a tournament. It's the Southern Open in Reading next week - (Sun 30th Oct). This will be my first BJJ tournament, and, frankly, the first time I've done anything like this...entering a competition where I only have me to rely on.

I'm really nervous, but really looking forward to it. I'm entered into the White Belt, Masters', Super Super Heavyweight Category (basically a "cattle and others" weight group) and I also figured I may as well give the Absolute class a shot too (may as well make the journey and entry fee worthwhile eh?).

I've got no preconception or expectation whatsoever so I'm just gonna go along, do my best and see what the experience brings. Right now, the only thing I'm worried about is the stand up bit at the start of each fight - I haven't done much of that and I don't need much to really screw my knee up, but I can't let that run all over my mind otherwise I'd never do half the stuff I do.

Win or lose, I'm just going in to this for the experience - no extra special training, weight loss or anything like that - that can come next year. I just want to see how I get on, especially under the pressure of competition. So, here goes.....