Blue Friday...

Well, you expect a quiet Friday night…and then…

On Friday 17th I went along to Eddie Kone’s Gym (Eddie is a Black Belt under Royler Gracie) in Hackney for a seminar with Royce Gracie. I wanted to go along as I’ve never met or trained with any of the Gracie clan so it seemed like a good opportunity. Thos reading this who know BJJ will know all about Royce. For those that don’t just google him. Regardless of what anyone thinks of him, his status in martial arts cannot be denied. He woke the martial arts world up to BJJ and the importance of grappling.

So, after a rubbish drive (endless traffic lights and slow moving traffic) I eventually found Eddie’s Gym which is above a convenience store on Lower Clapton Road. It’s a good place – well equipped and spacious. I was greeted in a friendly fashion by the guys that train there, even moreso by Eddie, who I guess recognised me from my Rickson Gi patch. Royce wandered in and was immediately in the thick of handshakes and photos all in good humour. I was immediately struck by his size…by this I mean how slight he is. He’s a little over 6ft but very slim. I could immediately see why the Gracies chose him to represent the technical superiority of their art in those early UFCs.

The seminar kicked off with some standing drills – the first was practicing the movement for Susae Tsurikomi Ashi. Starting with a “classic Judo” grip, lifting the opponent up and forward slightly to break his balance then stepping forward to block the front leg. Then we covered a sort of Tai Otoshi - fake a foot sweep, follow through to step to side of opposite leg bracing back of knee against opponent's knee. Post weight on front leg, pull opponent and straighten back leg for throw. Next up was Koshi Guruma - stepping one foot forward diagonally in front of your opponent’s same foot, then you pivot, hips under your opponent’s hips, lift then execute the throw. The last takedown technique was pretty nifty. Same grips, you pull your weight back so that you are virtually bent at 90 degrees. Swing the same side leg as your lapel grip up, as if to jump to guard, fall to your back, lift the hips and bring the other leg up to take the arm bar on the arm that you have maintained your grip on. Cool.

We then moved on to some guard stuff. A lot I had seen before, but it was good to get some additional details. In no particular order (except that which I remember): 1) Pull your opponent in with your legs and into cross-collar choke from beneath. 2) Attempt cross collar to bait opponent into scissor sweep (here I realised I need to work much harder on unbalancing my opponent before making the sweep). 3) Pull your opponent in with legs and arm drag. Escape hips out to opposite side to arm drag. Push opponent's near leg away with bottom leg and put in hook. Reach over back with to arm and grab lat/armpit keeping close contact. Pull up and over to take back, other hook in.

From open guard we did a few drills: 1) as opponent lifts leg to make classic guard pass, you block hip and shoulder, scoot out, then straighten to replace guard. 2) Similar drill but you simply circle your lower leg back inside to replace guard. These two are good movement drills. The last one that I remember was from the same starting point so, your opponent makes for classic guard pass. You brace against his body with the leg that is being passed raise hips and opposite leg up. Roll back over your shoulder, frame against the opponent who’s likely coming forward and sit back into guard. Again, a good movement drill, but possibly a useful technique in the right circumstances.

Royce moved quickly but took time during the practice to move among the attendees to make corrections and give pointers. He was also very concerned, as you might expect, with correct technique, stopping us at various points to point out common errors and potential pitfalls. It was all done in a friendly and humorous way.

Then Royce asked who had been training for over a year which was, I guess around half a dozen or so of us and he got us onto the mat in pairs to spar, wandering between us seeing what was going on. I was pretty OK with my first opponent, keeping good control and tapping him twice with a cross collar choke – once on top, the other from guard. My second opponent was a tough (is there any other kind?!) Polish guy who I later found out had five years of judo under his belt. This bout went on and on and on, both exchanging positions, near submissions, escapes. It was exhausting and seemed it would never end. Eventually he caught me in a cross collar choke from mount, I tried to upa out, but it was a touch too late and his balance was good. It was a good roll though and we both came up smiling but knackered.

Just as we finished, Royce called time and told me, my Polish opponent and one other guy to stay on the mat. My first thought was “oh, no – he’s going to make us go head to head!” and I was pretty exhausted. Instead, one by one, he shook our hands and said “Put on a blue belt!”. At first I didn’t really twig, but then I realised – Royce has just given me a blue belt – Wow! Totally unexpected and I felt a little drunk with happiness – or maybe that was just the after effects of the last choke!

Royce stuck around for photos, chats, to give individual pointers and was more than generous with his time. I got changed and after thanking a few guys that I’d trained with and Eddie, it was downstairs to the shop for a drink – never has a bottle of water tasted so good!

So here I am, a BJJ Blue belt. I know it’s a junior grade and I’m not going to be the best blue belt, nor was I ever the best white belt, but after 3 years and three months’ training 2-4 times a week I have reached a milestone I had wondered whether at the outset it was possible for me. I’m pretty sure I was the best white belt I could have been and know I’m good enough to wear a Blue Belt. For the time that I’ve put in, for the continuous effort to improve and for the mindset I bring to my Jiu Jitsu I know I deserve it.


A few thank yous are also due. To Big Dean and Si – thanks for keeping me going when training was looking like ending and for the training and coaching and time you’ve given me. Thanks to all the guys I’ve trained with – you’re all a part of my achievement, especially Richard who's given me some good pointers along the way. Thanks most of all to Dean Taylor. From the time I started, it has been Dean’s teaching that has inspired me to keep going and his communication of Rickson’s vision of Jiu Jitsu that has kept me on this path. More recently, it has been Dean’s encouragement that has helped me start to train a style of Jiu Jitsu I never though that I would be able to execute and it’s this that will help me on beyond this achievement.

Without this sounding like the Oscars, last and by no means least, thanks to my wife Laura for understanding how important BJJ is to me and putting up with me being out a few evenings a week!

So, I guess I’m now left with a question – what next??? This blog has been all about the lead up to a trip to LA next year with the aim of getting my Blue Belt and a year sooner, I get given it unexpectedly by Royce Gracie! I’m going to have to rename the blog for one thing and try and figure out a new colour scheme!!

Blogging aside, my training will continue as it has done – trying to master (is that ever possible?!) balance and sensitivity. I have a decent (enough) repertoire of techniques and I’m pretty certain that will continue to expand of its own accord through general training, DVDs, books, seminars – all the usual sources, but the work is really in the stuff we’re training with Dean T. I still want to get into better shape and will continue to use Jiu Jitsu as my driver for this. Purple belt is a possibility but many years away so is not really a focus at the moment. As for a trip next year…I still really want a decent BJJ adventure so we’ll see how that pans out – LA is top of the card, but if Rickson surfaces, Brazil could also be a possibility…whatever, I’ll let you know.

Thanks to those that have offered congratulations – I’ve had some very kind words. I leave this entry with a simple photo that I think sums up how I felt on Friday night – stunned, tired, but very happy:

This sucks...sniff!

I haven't trained at all this last week as on Monday I came down with a cold... (in honour, I'm publishing this entry in green). I guess I'm due one and one of the things of having kids is that they come home with anything that's out there.

It's not the worst cold I've ever had but its main feature seems to be lethargy. It sucks...no gym and no BJJ. All I want to do is sleep. The worst thing is that (I'm guessing I may be better once the weekend's out (I'm hoping to at least get to Yoga on Sunday)) I won't be able to train Jiu Jitsu until Thursday next week as I'm away with work on Tuesday night.

Recent training continues in the same fashion although we've started a bit of stand up - same principles of occupying space/yeilding, controlling your opponent's base with the odd trip here and there. I get the principles but just need to work a little more sensitively - there's still a temptation to over do it and end up wrestling with my opponent. In all of this there's a notion of self defence first and foremost, which is great. It means that the training is immediately transferable to a sports arena without any adaptation required - not neccesarily the case if Jiu Jitsu is trained primarily with sport in mind.

I trained on Sunday with Big Dean and Si - just casual, swapping a few ideas and observations - nothing taxing and good to just throw a few ideas around. Obviously it was good to see Dean again too - mate, it's been too long! I think it was a good thing that the session wasn't too tough as just after the first few signs of my cold started to make themselves known. :(

Another feature of recent weeks seems to be burgeoning numbers with Nuri bringing a friend along and old-timers returning (some threatening) to the fray. One major development worth spending a bit of time on is the news of Richard's (Blue belt, purple stripe) decision to stop training.

This came out of the blue and as quite a shock to all. Richard's not the longest serving member of the club, but is one of the most advanced and ever present guys. I'm only guessing, but I'd imagine a few factors in his decsion. Without going into detail Richard does a job that he's fully committed to both ideologically and in terms of his own career progression. It's a taxing job that most of us, me included couldn't even countenance doing - I'm just glad there are people around like him to do it.

He also lives in Whitstable so I guess a minimum hour and a half round trip twice a week is tough.

Whether this is forever, I guess time will tell and ultimately, only Richard knows. All I can say, and this is purely selfish, is it's a shame. I've definitely benefited from training with, and under Richard - he's able to feel exactly what you need to do to improve or make things easier and coaches really well. Maybe a long break will reignite whatever it is he's lost (assuming he has of course, or even that he wants to).

The other by-product of Richard ending his training is that Craig won't be around either as he got his lifts with Rick - a shame as I enjoyed rolling with Craig as he is much smaller than me so challenged me to roll with technique rather than strength.

Richard, if you're reading, thanks for the training, the coaching and the pointers and all the best for all that you do in the future.

Update to "Where is Rickson?"

Today, Dean Taylor, my instructor sent me a couple of links that make reference to recent Rickson activity that I thought was interesting so I thought I'd share it here:

The first is a recent (this month) interview with Rickson himself (in Portuguese):



No huge surprises in what he says, but it's interesting to see his views on Jiu Jitsu as a martial art above and beyond the sport and its links with MMA. The rough translation provided is:

“He said that he will probably not fight again, if he fight again he wants to get paid more than any other fighter (he said that he does Not need the money but he has too much to lose) and he doesn't need to prove nothing to nobody. He said that he is not impressed with anybody at this moment in BJJ in MMA, he said that he adores Minotauro but he is should be training more BJJ he has great BJJ but he should train less boxing or MT and more BJJ, because he should not have to take so much damage in a fight to win in the ground, when he is on the ground he usually wins but he has a hard time taking the fight to the ground. He said that he wants to change the image of BJJ in Brasil, he wants it to be a martial art that is effective like it is today but he wants everybody to do it, not just fighters, because he believes that, BJJ should be used to make people more confident, better citizens, make people more respectful, BJJ need to bring back some of the traditional martial arts ideals.” [sic].

Also, according to GracieMag, Rickson is running a seminar this weekend (11th/12th Oct 08) in Rio - “Rickson has reached a point in his life where he has decided to share with everyone, indiscriminately, his knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu. It’s a unique opportunity to learn the Jiu-Jitsu he has dubbed as "invisible", but that, although abstract, will be taught for application not just on the mats, but also off them”.

If this is true (aligned to the plans for a seminar series in 2009), this is going to be an awesome time for anyone that can attend these seminars.

The second is this interview with Shane Rice (scroll down the page)(Rickson Gracie Black Belt and main instructor at the LA Academy). What's interesting is Shane's take on what it's like to train with Rickson and the difference in the way Rickson approaches BJJ compared to most people. Some of the stories (like the legendary closed doors fight with Yoji Anjoh) are cool too. I've never met Shane (or Rickson!), but I recognise what he's saying in the philosophy that Dean brings to the way we practice Jiu Jitsu at our club. Some will dismiss this as just more Rickson propganda from a loyal student, but it's hard not to be inspired. Enjoy.

Where is Rickson?

Training this week has been more of the same and it’s going well – a couple of sessions this week just working hard on the principles we’ve been covering. Am I making progress? Yes, I think so – I may not have fluid, instinctive movement yet, but every so often I get something that feels great and works really effectively. My marker is that the frequency of such events is steadily on the increase week by week. I’m really enjoying myself at the moment.

For some reason, and I may have mentioned this already, my back is giving me a little trouble at the moment. Nothing like the “old” days, but I start out sessions a bit restricted then warm up into better movement during the session then it seizes up as I cool down. However, I’ve thought back to my time at the Osteopath’s and the hold/cold therapy that I was recommended so when I get in I’ve started using a hot water bottle and an ice pack alternately (always ending with ice) and it’s really helped – by morning I’m moving pretty freely. There must just be something that gets a little inflamed – I’m hoping that staying active, doing Yoga (my back always feels great after Yoga) and losing weight will gradually improve my back health.

On to the topic at hand. I thought I’d try and broaden the scope of the blog – mainly for interest but also as there are a lot of other things that surround BJJ – books, DVDs, news, products etc so I thought I’d try a few different pieces, reviews and so on. So today, I launch a pretty poor investigation into the question “Where is Rickson?”.

Rickson’s is a name that looms large in BJJ folklore and everyone’s got an opinion on him. To many, he’s a legend and an icon. Check any internet forum and there are many threads discussing how Rickson would fare against today’s MMA stars. It seems that as we approach the end of each year, rumours abound that “next year” Rickson is stepping into the ring for one last time, usually with the name of Sakuraba, “The Gracie Hunter” mentioned in connection. These rumours spark excitement, disbelief and their own speculations about who would win and how, and the inevitable discussion on Rickson’s age (he’s 49 at the time of writing) and whether he could still cut it in a professional Vale Tudo/NHB fight.

For an angle on this, we can look at a story from 2006, regarding Paulo Filho training with Rickson stating “I have trained with the toughest guys formed by Carlson Gracie. They were all great and I for sure don’t want to diminish anybody, but I have to say that no one ever did to me what Rickson Gracie has done during training these last days” suggesting that Rickson’s fitness and technique is as supreme as ever. And why wouldn’t it be? For sure, Rickson is genetically gifted, but why would anyone assume that he has stopped training, evolving, improving, just because he is no longer under the spotlights?

So where is he? Fitting with his legendary status, it seems that sightings of him and knowledge of his activities are fleeting. Every time he surfaces, there’s news or clips on the intranet and I guess there are two major things people want to know – is Rickson ever going to fight again and where/when and how can they train with him? It's a question that occupies my mind as a member of his association - especially since pretty much everyone else at my club has met Rickson and trained with him at least once...everyone except me!

Here are a few of the main sightings and rumours:

Rickson quits the US

According to this interview, Rickson has quit the US in favour of his Brazil homeland. Many observers speculate that the death of Rickson’s eldest son, Rockson back in 2001 in a Motorcycle accident (although rumours persist around the cause of death that I won’t grace with any mention here) prompted a retreat from public life for Rickson (and why wouldn’t it? The adage that no parent should ever have to bury a child springs to mind - take a look at this sympathetic interview which sheds light on Rickson's life straight after the death of Rockson). Rickson had this to say about his life in the US:

"There I feel that I am being sucked and I do not have a way to recycle that. "

I heard 2nd hand from someone that had spoken with Eddie Kone, who had trained in Brazil recently with Royler, that Rickson was at Royler’s Academy, just training and hanging out.

Rickson at the Mundials…

…and other assorted tournaments. Wherever Kron fights, Rickson’s usually around. Kron’s a big name. Not only is he Rickson’s son, but he’s also a pretty good BJJ prospect. OK, so after getting his black belt, he lost his first match at the Mundials. This created inevitable glee amongst far less talented people on internet forums all over with accusations of “sandbagging” at Brown Belt. From where I sit, these people conveniently miss the fact that Kron almost finished that fight by choke within the first two minutes but his opponent managed to tough that out – fair play, but it stands to some reason that a young guy (late teens) who’d been a Black Belt literally months, might lose out to an older guy with more experience. Kron isn’t Rickson, something that seems lost on detractors. I’m sure Kron will take lessons from the Mundials and return to dominate in future years. And Rickson will be there, coaching from the bleachers.

Rickson launches Budo Challenge

I think this was launched back in 2005 as a pilot with the prospect of more competitions to follow this foray. The notion behind the event was to promote Gi fighting with a rule set which encouraged submissions with core martial arts values such as honour and respect. This was seen as a rebuke by Rickson of competition Jiu Jitsu which allows competitors to play a tactical game of stalling and holding positions for points rather than seeking to end a fight by submission, which, ultimately, is Jiu Jitsu’s aim. It was also seen by many, with its production values, as an antedote to the rise of promotions such as the UFC, which many feel are now well removed from the core spirit of martial arts, something that Rickson quotes as his reasons for solely fighting in Japan during his “prime”. Take a look at this article which gives a pretty good overview of what Budo Challenge is all about.

I bought the DVD via the website and got pretty quick responses to emails to the producer, so there is an air of it not being completely dead, but almost three years on little else seems to have happened. I’ll review the DVD some other time, but suffice to say it’s a great spectacle for anyone that loves the Gi game.

Rickson joins Carlos Gracie Jr in Celebration

At the award of Carlos Gracie Jr’s Red and Black belt (8th Degree), in April 08, Rickson made an appearance as a guest speaker. This was a significant gathering of some of the best known names in BJJ and the promotion of a man who heads up the largest BJJ organisation in the world (Gracie Barra). Rickson’s presence was seen as significant by many because of a perceived “split” between those who believe that Carlos Gracie (Jr’s Father) is the true founder of BJJ and those that believe that Helio (Carlos’ brother and Rickson’s Father) forged what we now recognise to be BJJ. Such argument, if indeed any exists, is ultimately nonsense and was effectively buried by Rickson’s pesence at the ceremony, showing family unity between him and his cousins.

Rickson in Japan and launches the Jiu Jitsu Federation of Japan

Rickson holds a special status in Japan and has said in many articles he feels at home there amongst people who have a high appreciation of the martial arts. Because of his many Vale Tudo fights there in the 1990s, he is something of a celebrity in Japan and appears to spend a reasonable amount of time there.

Rickson has spent some time this year in Japan with one of his black belts, Takamasa Watanabe of Axis Jiu Jitsu running seminars with his son, Kron, which must be one of few, if not the only seminars or teaching he’s done recently.

Rickson (President) has also entered into a venture with Takamasa Watanabe (Director) called the Jiu Jitsu Federation of Japan. It seems that in addition to organising many tournaments, seminars and offering affiliation to clubs (for FREE and the list of current members is impressive), this organisation has, at it’s core, the desire to propagate the martial traditions that Rickson has spoken of many times and that are held in esteem in Japan, which is, afterall, where BJJ originated – almost a return to the roots.

Take a look at the website and you’ll get a better idea of what it’s about and here’s a little clip of Rickson talking about the federation:

Rickson slaps The Hulk!

Rickson makes a brief appearance in the 2008 film version of The Incredible Hulk, starring Ed Norton. In his short scene, Rickson plays a Martial Arts Instructor (a big stretch!) – confusingly labelled as “Aikido” in the end credits – teaching Bruce Banner a breathing method to control his anger. Quite how Rickson got this part (could be his famous breathing scenes in “Choke” caught someone’s eye), or whether this signals a wider interest in acting I do not know, but it’s still pretty cool that Rickson gets to slap the Hulk, thereby nullifying any arguments that he isn’t what he once was ;P LOL. Rickson beats the Hulk by Armbar! Here’s a clip (crumby quality but the only one I could find):

So there’s the best of what the internet has to offer…Still none the wiser, I decided to contact the Association Headquarters in LA and, as a member, ask simply “Where is Rickson?”.

I got this answer:

“Rickson pretty much living in Brazil, he spends only few times a year over here. He has a project for 2009 of seminars in the main cities of Brasil, US and some overseas. The Rickson Gracie Seminar Tour schedule is not available at the moment but we will post on the web. Rickson is not teaching in regular bases anymore or thus he has an academy in Brazil.” (sic)

I take the last part to mean that he doesn’t yet have an Academy in Brazil, but may be wrong on this.

So there we go – there may well be more info out there or people that know stuff for certain, but this is what I’ve found. I’d be happy to hear from anyone that has factual information on where Rickson is and what he’s doing. Let’s see what happens in 2009 with the Seminar project. I’m planning a trip to the US in 09 anyway so if there’s a dovetailing of plans there that would be awesome, but we’ll see…

Rickson… where are you?!