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.

Destination: Awesome.

Rickson Gracie  Seminars, Amsterdam, 3 & 4 Nov 2012

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.

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.

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. 

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!!!

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.

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!). 

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.

Then the seminar began I am not even going to attempt to describe or explain it.  And this is for the following reasons.

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.
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.
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.

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
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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Ibis near the station - adequate rooms and a great location, and I also had a great meal here. 

Jiu Jitsu with Rickson Gracie and a weekend away with my wife.  Win win!!!

We like da Mango!

Allan Manganello Seminars, Sidcup and Chelmsford, 18 & 19 Aug 2012

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.

Saturday was a hot and airless day in a small, but lovely little room at the Sidcup Dojo.  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.

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

Good times...

Here's a little clip of Allan in action...awesome armbar!