End of Year Review

2 0 0 9

First let me begin by hoping that you all had a great Xmas and hope enjoy your New Year celebrations. Sadly I have not had such a good one as since last Monday I was struck down with flu, not even 'man-flu' but real flu. I was bedridden for five whole days and even now I am weak, feeble and hacking like an old hack. It means my Euros training is down the drain.

But apart from this small end-of-year glitch I have to say, 2009 has been what I consider to be my breakthrough year...

Braulio Estima - Invisible Jiu Jitsu - Lesson Two

I recently reviewed the free downloadable Braulio Estima lesson offered by Cagefilm. I really liked the video and I liked the way Braulio taught his techniques, so I ordered some more. This is my review of lesson 2:

The BJJ Frequency-Spousal Happiness Slide Scale

Dang! I had my very first row with my wife about how much time I spend training and how much time I spend on the computer writing about my training. After six years of pretty much the same level of output from me, I only get this now?

It was not a big row, in fact it wasn't a row at all. It was simply that my wife had booked four nights in a row of going out Xmas partying and I squeeked something about not wanting to miss a couple of BJJ sessions she snapped back at me with 'that look'. Oops.

Felipe Souza BJJ School Interview Out Now in MAI

Woohoo, two magazine articles by my goodself in one month, why Mr Ambassador you are surely spoiling us???

Mill HIll at the Hereford Open

A massive Big Up to my comrades who were in action this weekend at the Hereford BJJ Open.
This event was for white belts only and for most of the participants, this was their very first tournament.
Unfortunately I could not go and watch myself, but of course, I got the full lowdown from speaking to some of the guys afterwards...

Some thoughts on BJJ competitions

Attempting a triangle at Kent BJJ Open

This time last year I decided it was high time I tried to step up my BJJ level. I saw two things I needed to do in order to do this: give up my Trad JJ training, and compete at BJJ tournaments.

It was a tough decision as I really enjoyed running my club, but if I was honest, my heart was always heading towards BJJ. Looking back now, I don't regret my choice. The competitions I have entered have been a thoroughly enjoyable introduction to the sport side of BJJ, and I think I have really benefited from the experience. So much so, that I have decided to enter one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world - the European Championships in Lisbon.