23 Jul 2005

It's been a strange old time this week. More terror attacks and drama on London as bombers strike again. Shootings, raids etc. It seems the bombers have done their worst to scare us and now, most people just shrug their shoulders and get on with life.

And life, for the Meerkat this week has revolved solely around BJJ. With Prof David Adiv making a rare visit to the UK, Meerkat took the opportunity to train with both David and black belt protoge Rosendo Diaz. These guys are truly at the pinnacle of BJJ in the world. They hold more knowledge and skill in their little fingernail than we could ever imagine. Half the chaps who trained with Rosendo last night were still beaming with gigantic grins. I too was beaming that I had obtained a few small but exceedingly valuable marbles of technical wisdom from Mr Adiv.
All in all, a fascinating and educational trip, made all the more worthwhile with the presentation of a blue belt by David to me. To top that, Eddie received his well deserved brown belt - he is now one of only a small handful of senior British BJJ instructors in the UK.

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Top left to right - Richard, Jonathan, small but dangerous me, Gary, Brian.
Bottom - David Adiv, Eddie Kone, Rosendo Diaz.

All blue

It's been a strange old time this week. More terror attacks and drama on London as bombers strike again. Shootings, raids etc. It seems ...

10 Jul 2005

A dark time in Meerkat world the past few days.
The London bombings last week have been an upsetting episode. Me and Mrs were close to Liverpool street around the time of the attacks. We extend our sympathies to those who suffered in the attacks.

Today at our JJ seminar, I threw a 15 stone brown belt and he landed bang onto his shoulder and nearly broke him. He was in such agony but refused medical attention. I felt terrible. Throughout the session I kept thinking 'This fella is big and I am going to get injured, I know it' but obviously it was him not me that got the injury bug. He sat the rest of the session rather forlornly with his arm strapped up, I suspect it will ruin his preparations for shodan grading.

To end my depressing week, just now I have come home to a scene outside my house. Some kid on a motorcycle crashed into a metal fence and flew head over heals over the fence. It made such a noise that everyone in the houses ran outside to see what happened. The paramedics were swiftly onto the scene but the kid was in a real bad way. One look at the metal fence and what remained of his bike and you could see he was speeding big time (in a quiet 20mph zone) - all the motorbike kids roundhere do it, it's a miracle no one got hurt before.

So Meerkat wishes all those who are injured this week a speedy recovery and justice to those that mean us harm.

Justice

A dark time in Meerkat world the past few days. The London bombings last week have been an upsetting episode. Me and Mrs were close to Liver...

6 Jul 2005

Meerkat has been suffering from a swollen ear for the past week. My ears must have got stuck during sparring when in various states of being headlocked. They are seriously red, swollen and very sore. One colleague at BJJ is quite annoyed at the bashing his own ears are getting so will be wearing a rugby style ear protectors. This serves a double purpose of protecting against cauliflower ear, and making him look like a seasoned pro, though may also make him look a tad silly. I am debating upon whether or not to wear one.

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The Meerkat’s JJ club had five surprise newcomers pop in last night. Surprise because it is usual for beginners to contact me first so I can prepare for them, but nevertheless they turned up and it was a good session. I am now getting quite a few members who have trained in other ju-jitsu styles – some of them to a very high level. I used to wonder what my little club could offer them, but they seem pretty happy training here and I’m flattered they continue to come. It is certainly true that an instructor can learn just as much from his students as they learn from him.

Cauliflower pain

Meerkat has been suffering from a swollen ear for the past week. My ears must have got stuck during sparring when in various states of being...

4 Jul 2005

I attended my first ever cage fighting show this weekend. So far I have ignored MMA as it seems rather brutish. But I have to say, it was a great show. There was considerable skill and talent on view. Yes, there was blood, yes there was a knockout that the squeamish may wish to avoid seeing, but overall, it was the skilled groundfighting abilities of those that train in BJJ that seemed to win the day. Of the 12 or so fights, at least 5 won by armbar and another 2 or 3 from choke. BJJ club regular Brad ‘one punch’ Pickett defied expectations by not living up to his name. Instead, the featherweight boxer won by submission (something called a corkscrew arm bar). There was also a huge Brazilian chap fighting. He looked like Jaws from James Bond. No, he was bigger than that. His opponent, big as he was, was no match and lost with a ‘verbal tapout’ – translate that as: HELP!!!
I very much admire the guts and courage it takes for any competitor to get in the Octagon cage. I can understand if armchair punters may not like the ‘boring’ elements (tight close quarter grappling) but it’s all part of the skill and in any case, how many boring time wasting boxing matches have you seen? So MMA deserves to get a wider audience and due respect. The only downer of the day was that my instructor Eddie was supposed to fight but his opponent pulled out at the last minute.
In other news, the Meerkat is awarded yet another stripe to his white belt. It must have been my newly acquired ‘hooks sweep’ from the butterfly, which is quickly turning out to be a favourite of mine. Well, it beats just lying there in closed guard and clinging on for dear life!

Cage Rage 12

I attended my first ever cage fighting show this weekend. So far I have ignored MMA as it seems rather brutish. But I have to say, it was a ...

 

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