8 Apr 2011



Summary
An affordable light weight uniform with a number of high quality features that helps it punch well above its weight. I like the bold yet balanced use of patchwork and found this gi to be light and comfortable during rolling. My sample fell slightly short along the sleeve length but full final production version will have longer arms. I rate this gi as very good value for money!

I was sent this gi directly from Submission Fight Company but they can also be purchased from BudoVideos.


byMeerkatsu
in ,
April 08, 2011

Gi Review: Submission Fight Company Light Gi

Summary An affordable light weight uniform with a number of high quality features that helps it punch well above its weight. I like the b...
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6 Apr 2011

People, there are moments in our jiu jitsu journey when you have to stop and say to yourself, woah! did that just happen???
Such a moment happened to me tonight when Prof Ricardo De la Riva arrived at our humble little academy in north London and took the class. It was superb. Every tiny detail he showed was immense and of course, rolling with him afterwards was a huge honour. I'm still buzzing from the high!

This whole week is De la Riva week at Mill Hill. I'll be spending all day under his tutelage on Friday and Saturday and I hope to sneak in a little training on Sunday and hopefully Monday too. Naturally I'll be doing some photography as well and my good buddy Can (Slidey) will be interviewing him for a future issue of Jiu Jitsu Style magazine.

I have to give thanks to my instructor Nick Brooks who talks about De la riva with the hugest respect. Nick visits Brazil every year and trains for a month or more at De la Riva's academy. Then he comes back and teaches us all the good stuff he picked up. And boy what good stuff there is!

Expect more about my time with Ricardo De la Riva in future posts. For now, some photos:

Me being smashed by De la Riva

Ditto picture #1 lol!

My instructor Nick Brooks with Ricardo De la Riva

Awesome to watch these two roll


:)
byMeerkatsu
in
April 06, 2011

Professor De la Riva in the house!!

People, there are moments in our jiu jitsu journey when you have to stop and say to yourself, woah! did that just happen??? Such a moment h...
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1 Apr 2011

While most of you were enjoying the live stream from the Pans last weekend, a bunch of others were competing at the UK trials for the World Pro Jiu Jitsu tournament. Here is a fave clip from newly promoted BJJ black belt (under Roger Gracie) Andy Roberts. You may want teeth grindingly slow tactical 50/50 matches with only one advantage between competitors, but you ain't gonna get it. Andy shows us how to win in ten seconds or less...






:)
byMeerkatsu
in
April 01, 2011

The Flying Mr Roberts

While most of you were enjoying the live stream from the Pans last weekend, a bunch of others were competing at the UK trials for the World ...
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31 Mar 2011



Summary
Much hyped replacement for the first generation of Black Eagle Predators, the MKII is claimed to be one of the lightest gis on the market and even more astonishingly, to be completely shrink proof. This review looks at the Predator MKII in detail and examines the bold claims - however due to lack of A1 sizes, the rolling, fit and comfort performance will have to wait for Part Two.

Introduction
UK martial arts uniform and fight gear company Black Eagle do not like to make low key announcements. During the testing and prototype phase prior to the release of this MKII kimono, the company were already making very confident claims chief among which were that this gi would be the lightest on the market, and will NOT shrink. They released a pre-release review here.

Their claims were too hard for me to resist so I nabbed a MKII the moment it landed on our shores - and challenged the company to a bet...


byMeerkatsu
in ,
March 31, 2011

Gi Review: Black Eagle Predator MKII - Part One

Summary Much hyped replacement for the first generation of Black Eagle Predators, the MKII is claimed to be one of the lightest gis on th...
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28 Mar 2011


Summary
Ginormous bag made from hemp fibres which are a zillion times stronger* than puny cotton, this bag can fit two small children and three quarters of me. Pros: good for smuggling small children. Cons: not so good for smuggling adults. Oh and handy for transporting your fight gear when out and about.

This bag was sent to me for review by Europe's most awesome MMA store: Made4Fighters.

Introduction
When word got out on the forums that a new fight wear brand were marketing products made from hemp, everyone's ears pricked up. Hemp, as the publicity machine would have us believe, is much much stronger than cotton and is naturally microbial resistant. Their prototype BJJ gis have been floating around for a few months now and the full production models of their gis are currently just arriving at those who have pre-ordered. Hemp is cool, thin, light and very expensive to mass produce. That's why this bag costs a whopping £95!!

(* exaggerated for comic effect, actual strength factor is x4)

byMeerkatsu
in ,
March 28, 2011

Gear Review: Datsusara Pro Gear Bag (PGB-03)

Summary Ginormous bag made from hemp fibres which are a zillion times stronger* than puny cotton, this bag can fit two small children and ...
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26 Mar 2011

The rather awesome Slidey managed to find this long lost masterpiece on an internet archive. I've been looking for that article for years ever since I lost it when I upgraded computers and lost all my data, which coincided with the host server of my old trad JJ club website closing down. Seeing this again is like coming across a very old diary entry and half wincing, half feeling chuffed that I managed to record for posterity such a landmark moment in my life.

Anyway here it is in all its raw and innocent glory. Bear in mind that it was written for a Japanese Ju-Jitsu audience at a time (Apil 2003) when BJJ was much less prevalent in the UK than it is today...

April 2003
It may be from Brazil, but it's still Jiu-Jitsu.
By Seymour

So you've been a regular practitioner of Ju-Jitsu for several months, if not several years. You are learning new techniques and getting that warm glow of excitement as you see your own ability grow with each body drop and hip throw. You want to find out more by scouring the internet and thumbing through texts in the biggest bookshops. The 'Favourites' section on your internet browser is brimming with ju-jitsu websites and forums. Your own growing library of books will definitely include classics such as the 'White to Green' and 'Blue to Brown' books written by you-know-who.

byMeerkatsu
in
March 26, 2011

My First Ever Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Lesson!

The rather awesome Slidey managed to find this long lost masterpiece on an internet archive. I've been looking for that article for year...
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25 Mar 2011


Summary
A rare limited edition design from one of the most daring gi makers in the world, the Bull Terrier Limited Edition is aimed squarely at the extrovert with an eye for the outrageous. This Bull Terrier appeared to be cut a little smaller than many A1s I have sampled previously, it was still a very fun item to train in.

This gi was sent to me from www.BTfightgear.com via trendy UK fightwear company Scramble. UK buyers are able to purchase a select range of BT gear from the Official UK Seller for Bull Terrier (Facebook Group).

Introduction

I can just imagine a meeting at Bull Terrier head quarters going a little something like this:

BOSS: Guys we only have 1,634 different gi models, we need SOME MORE! I want ideas!
DESIGNERS: [shrugs shoulders]
BOSS: Come on darnit, must be something new no one has ever tried before?
LACKEY: How about silver foil lining? And make it one of only 100 ever made.
BOSS: I LIKE IT...PROMOTE HIM IMMEDIATELY!!

Yes, welcome to the world where loud is just not loud enough. Bold is simply not bold enough. The rare and soon to never ever be sold again Bull Terrier Limited Edition is one heck of a gi! Let's kick off with the stats...but I know, you don't care, you want to see the shiny silvery things right? We'll soon get to that bit...


byMeerkatsu
in ,
March 25, 2011

Gi Review: Bull Terrier Limited Edition

Summary A rare limited edition design from one of the most daring gi makers in the world, the Bull Terrier Limited Edition is aimed square...
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22 Mar 2011



Summary
An update to the hugely popular Estilo gi, the Estilo 2.0 navy gi offers improved styling and a softer more comfortable fabric. It still maintains the same cut and strength as the first generation - aspects that make the new Estilo an even more outstanding gi.


byMeerkatsu
in ,
March 22, 2011

Gi Review: Tatami Fightwear Estilo 2.0 in navy

Summary An update to the hugely popular Estilo gi , the Estilo 2.0 navy gi offers improved styling and a softer more comfortable fabric. ...
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20 Mar 2011

You got to have some kohoonas to walk into the cage wearing a Nacho Libra style wrestling mask and cape. That's what my team mate, and eventual winner of the Submission 1000 Grappling Challenge, Daniel Strauss did when his name was announced to the bemused audience.


If you recall my many previous posts about the Sub1K Challenge, you'll remember the concept as an eight man submission wrestling tournament incorporated within the fight card of an MMA cage fighting tournament. It was a risky decision and may have sent the MMA audience off to the bar in disinterest. But on the night, it proved to be hugely popular and I have to give credit to the audience, who were very appreciative of the action and showed good vocal support.

Here is a potted summary of the action:

byMeerkatsu
in
March 20, 2011

Event Report: Submission 1000 - Stevenage 19th March 2011

You got to have some kohoonas to walk into the cage wearing a Nacho Libra style wrestling mask and cape. That's what my team mate, and e...
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16 Mar 2011



Good people, friends, readers, grapplers, we all have been shocked at the catastrophic events in Japan this past week. Our friends at fightwear company Scramble have offered a charity T-shirt for you to purchase. All profits go to the relief effort right now. There are of course other ways to donate but I know how emotionallly distraught the team behind Scramble, for whom all things Japanese are held so dear, are at witnessing these events. Please all unite and help support the cause. Osss!


The Scramble 'Endure' charity T-shirt can be purchased from the Scramble webstore for £15.00 plus shipping. It is literally being printed now and will be available early next week.
byMeerkatsu
in
March 16, 2011

Help Japan

Good people, friends, readers, grapplers, we all have been shocked at the catastrophic events in Japan this past week. Our friends at figh...
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15 Mar 2011

Hey! Remember my hugely popular Design a Crazy Ass Gi contest last year? No? Oh, let me give you a quick recap: You sent me colourful gi designs, we picked a winning entry, Tatami Fightwear made the winning gi, we then marvel at how gorgeous it is...and IT IS! See...


Here was the winner, Evan Mannweiler's original concept art for the gi:


This photo shows the insidey bit...






And here's the promo ad for both the gi AND the rashguard. Oh, did I forget to say? Yessiree, rash guard with the Pin Up will be sold too. High Five all jiu jitsu world!



You can pre-order the gi from the Tatami Fightwear website for an incredible £95!!!
The gi will be shipped out in six weeks. Tatami tell me they worked with their factory flat out to get the gi absolutely perfect and as faithful to Evans' design as possible. Thi gi incorporates a number of original and innovative aspects so I'm dying to get my hands on one and review the heck out of it. The gi will only be made in strictly limited quantities so I would say if you love the design, order now, before it is too late.



:)
byMeerkatsu
in
March 15, 2011

Pin up Pre-Order Starts Now!

Hey! Remember my hugely popular Design a Crazy Ass Gi contest last year? No? Oh, let me give you a quick recap: You sent me colourful gi des...
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13 Mar 2011



Summary
A colourful and flamboyantly designed gi by a company that wears its faith based ethos boldly on its sleeve. This gi is well constructed and incorporates a number of novel details in both styling and construction. It was fun to wear and drew many admiring responses from team mates.
Please note: the final model will differ from this review sample.

byMeerkatsu
in ,
March 13, 2011

Gi Review: Sacrament 'Enoch' gi (pre-production prototype)

Summary A colourful and flamboyantly designed gi by a company that wears its faith based ethos boldly on its sleeve. This gi is well cons...
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