28 Jul 2012

I've been on holiday this week. My wife, kids and I really love the south Coast of England and by chance Bournemouth also happens to host a number of gyms where I can pop in and train - win win!
We were very luck to have had some quite outstandingly hot and sunny weather so it almost felt like training abroad!


My first port of call was to visit Matt and Ben at Scramble. In the photo, we're standing in their ginormawarehouse and I'm holding a their mini kimono car mirror thingy which they give away if you order lots of their stuffs. I was also presented with their latest 'shadows' rashguard, which I will duly test and report at some point very soon.



Later on, I popped in to the Gary Baker Academy for a few rolls. Last time I visited, Matt was teaching but this time, I turned up to a session run by Gary himself. I also had a great chat to Gary, who has been training in various martial arts for a very long time under some very renowned instructors. It was great to meet and train with the guys there and I had a lot of fun. Gary tells me he will be moving to a new location next week - a converted car showroom with squillions of floor space and glass and steel everywhere. It should be awesome by the sounds of it and I look forward to returning to see how it all looks.


As you can sort of see from my Instagrammed snap above, I got the chance to really test out the new purple gi made by Tatami Fightwear. I must say so far I really like it. Wash tests should see how it shrinks over time, which will make or break it as a gi for me personally, but so far, it's been a pleasure to wear.

So, in between fending off having sand kicked in my face by my kids and running away from manic wasps, I still found time for one more training session. This time I visited the Ippon Gym, run by an MMA fighter called Jeff Lawson. Jeff is known worldwide for his appearance as a fighter on the TV show TUF. He's a kickass MMA athlete and I can testify from personal experience that his jiu jitsu (Jeff is a brown belt) is very very badass too!

Saturday mornings at Jeff's place is open mat so I managed a bunch of refreshingly invigorating nogi and gi rolls with various peeps.  I must say Jeff has done a fantastic job of creating an excellent gym. I wish him the best of luck and mucho fun at their first birthday bash next month.


BTW it's probably no coincidence that I have done some design work for all the people I have mentioned in this report.  Here for example is the cartoon car I drew for Jeff - he uses the car as a mobile advert when he drives around town. The cartoon sticker is a promotional item he gives out to people he meets. It's great marketing!


Thanks so much to everyone's hospitality during my unannounced visits to their gym!

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Vacation rolling

I've been on holiday this week. My wife, kids and I really love the south Coast of England and by chance Bournemouth also happens to hos...

24 Jul 2012

Fingers crossed but the honey badger rashguards should all be on sale this coming Friday 27th July 2012. If you missed the poster listing all the retailers around the world carrying my design, then check out the image at the bottom.

Here's a very cool promo video made by the talented Joey Sylvester:



As with my previous honey badger rashguard design, I have taken it upon myself to ask a few badass grappler friends if they would kindly represent the brand. So welcome to the 2012 line up of honey badger fighters! (ok the first one wasn't instigated by me but world champion fighter Pablo Popovitch is a fully signed up Tatami Fightwear athlete - woohoo!)




I have a whole bunch of other fighters I've sent rashguards out to so hopefully I can grab a photo and some stats for them too.

Here's the poster with all the retailers selling the rashguard on the 27th:




Enjoy


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Honey Badger Rashguard (v2) News

Fingers crossed but the honey badger rashguards should all be on sale this coming Friday 27th July 2012. If you missed the poster listing a...

18 Jul 2012


Summary
Cute branding help this gi model stand out above the crowd. Superb construction, copious additions and attention to details help make this gi an impressive debut offering from Inverted Gear. The A1s in-between size however was probably a touch too big for me.


Gi Review: Inverted Gear, Panda Gi

Summary Cute branding help this gi model stand out above the crowd. Superb construction, copious additions and attention to details help...

15 Jul 2012


I popped down to London Fight Factory yesterday to attend a seminar by the 'half-guard wizard' Lucas Leite.

Lucas is a top class competitor and has won numerous titles, including Mundials in 2007 at black belt and in 2005 at brown belt. He fights in the incredibly stacked division of middleweight (think Kron Gracie, Claudio Calasans, Victor Estima etc etc) and you'll see how someone of Lucas's calibre has to be both physically and mentally at the top of their game. With his devastating game, based largely around the open half guard, his game is very much something I like to aspire to. Here's my very potted summary of the event...

Seminar: Lucas Leite

I popped down to London Fight Factory yesterday to attend a seminar by the 'half-guard wizard' Lucas Leite. Lucas is a top clas...

10 Jul 2012



I'm very pleased to announce my first official Meerkatsu endorsed fighter - Tanya Tansiri.

Tanya in full honey badger fightwear garb!

Tanya trains at the Fightworx Academy in Torquay, Devon, UK under BJJ black belt Darren Yeoman. I first met Tanya at one of our regular Chinese BJJ gatherings and I've both sparred with her and watched her compete at tournaments. I was particularly impressed with her great technique and huge appetite for training. Don't be fooled by her white belt, she's a badass grappler who has won numerous titles and is set for a great future in the sport. At the recent London BJJ Open, I saw Tanya put one opponent to sleep and in the following round, she armbarred her opponent who didn't tap. Luckily, being a medic, Tanya treated her injured opponent straight after. It's the first time I have seen someone both hurt, and heal, their opponent at the same time. Remarkable!

I'll let Tanya introduce herself in her own words:

"It was a hot Wednesday afternoon in August when I first walked through the doors at Carlson Gracie in London. Having just finished some big exams at uni and with rugby retirement looming I wanted to fill the void with a fun and physically challenging activity that may help with self-defence. In true BJJ style I was instantly made to feel comfortable. I loved it so much that I went back that night for an MMA and 2 more BJJ classes with enough money for a gi and membership. Needless to say the next day was a little painful! Nearly 2 years and many great friendships on, I’m still hooked but having moved to South Devon for work I’m now with Fightworx who made me feel just as welcome. My first comp was the English Open 2010 where I fluked a gold. Having taken 4 months out to have an operation, the next was English Open 2011 where I took silver in my weight class and gold in the absolute. I’ve had a slightly busier summer this year winning silver at the Southern Open, gold and silver at the London Open and gold at the Bournemouth Open. Next up for me is the UK premier BJJ Championship in Bristol and I’d love to get my hands on a Hereford Open medal because they look so cool! In the meantime I’ll continue to work towards my blue belt, training in the areas of weakness I realised through recent competitions. Oooosss!
A smile while choking opponent out, nice!

Tanya is very committed to learning and improving in the sport and I hope my little contribution of Meerkatsu stuff can help her along the way.


Attack of the 50 Foot Grappler!

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Meerkatsu Sponsors: Tanya Tansiri

I'm very pleased to announce my first official Meerkatsu endorsed fighter - Tanya Tansiri. Tanya in full honey badger fightwea...

7 Jul 2012


I took the opportunity last night to pop down to London Fight Factory. Michelle Nicolini was teaching a  class there so I presented her with the latest copy of Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine (in which she appears). I also got the chance to roll with her and it was a thrilling experience for little old me. Just to see at first hand the way someone of her fantastic ability can execute techniques with such precision and timing is an eye opening experience. I think she tapped me about 8-10 times within the space of five minutes - most of them were from the same set-up (leg drag, take back, bow and arrow) but she popped in a straight ankle locks just to keep my toes, excuse the pun!

Here's a video on Youtube of Michelle in action at this year's IBJJF Worlds.

 

It's worth nothing that Michelle is the current weight division champion at black belt at the World Pro Jiu Jitsu Championships, the IBJJF World Championships, IBJJF World Nogi Championships, IBJJF European Championships and the absolute champion at the Brazilian Nationals...the list of her achievements goes on. Pretty awesome in my opinion.

Thanks to Luiz, who runs LFF for once again inviting me down and thanks to Michelle for the interview and photoshoot.




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Rolling with the Champ

I took the opportunity last night to pop down to London Fight Factory. Michelle Nicolini was teaching a  class there so I presented her ...

4 Jul 2012

Hey guys, so it's my birthday tomorrow and I'm feeling in a good mood. I'd like one Meerkatsu follower to win this prize: A size L dragonfly rashguard and a copy of brand new Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine (issue 9).


To win this prize and be eligible for the random draw, you need to email me a photo of your computer, iPad, iPhone or other computer where you have used one of my desktop background wallpapers. Maybe stick your face in the frame of the photo too to prove it is your computer.

A bit like this, of this handsome and famous supermodel ;)


Here is a link to my collection of desktop wallpaper background art:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386508401409567.88068.145197825540627&type=3
and also more here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.249371858456556.60898.145197825540627&type=3

If you want ultra high resolution, try here for all you big screen junkies: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meerkatsu/sets/72157628208844033/detail/

Email me your photo to: meerkatsucomp@gmail.com

Contest ends midnight (GMT) Friday 6th July. I'll announce a winner at the weekend on here and Facebook.


Terms
No other prize alternative. Winner will be selected at random.


good luck!


UPDATE: The winner chosen at random is...Ben Beckingham


Well done Ben and thanks to everyone who participated. More contests soon!


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Contest: Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine and rashguard giveaway

Hey guys, so it's my birthday tomorrow and I'm feeling in a good mood. I'd like one Meerkatsu follower to win this prize: A size...

2 Jul 2012



The July/August issue of Jiu Jitsu Style magazine is now out to subscribers and online purchase. This issue will also shortly be available at newsagents in the UK - the first BJJ magazine to do so here. It's a fantastic moment for the magazine that I have been supporting with content since issue 1.

MMA superstar George St-Pierre leads with the cover story. Inside, readers will see loads of Meerkatsuey stuff, like the opening honey badger rashguard advert, my Michelle Nicolini interview and a very cool Final Word piece featuring the artwork of my fellow BJJ Artist Kelvin Yeo.

Go check it out!




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Jiu Jitsu Style - Issue 9

The July/August issue of Jiu Jitsu Style magazine is now out to subscribers and online purchase. This issue will also shortly be availa...

 

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