30 Jul 2010


BJJ Spirits Vol.4

Summary
This is the fourth instalment of the semi-periodical Japanese BJJ and grappling magazine and DVD. It features interviews and techniques by a host of well known BJJ athletes including Ricardo De la Riva, Leonardo Vieira, Guillhame Mendes and Robert Drysdale. Despite having text and commentary mostly in Japanese, this production still represents a valuable instructional tool as well as a prized collectors item for BJJ nerds. I bought my copy from Scramble store in the UK.


Book Review: BJJ Spirits 4

BJJ Spirits Vol.4 Summary This is the fourth instalment of the semi-periodical Japanese BJJ and grappling magazine and DVD. It features ...
Daniel Herbertson's pictures are raw. But they are not raw in the gritty, film grainy black and white sense of raw - the type you usually see with a lot of  'moody' MMA photography. Instead Daniel's photos are super bright, neon glowing, manga-esque explosions of colour. They strongly echo the culture and 'scapes that surround his adopted city - Tokyo, Japan.

For today's expert photographer gallery, let me introduce you to the world according to top MMA photographer Daniel Herbertson...


Kazuhiro Nakamura after getting choked out by Kazuo Misaki.
The other photographers scrambled out of the way as the doctors came in to help Nakamura. I also of course allowed them them past to do their job, but I kept working to get the shot. On the tips of my toes and stretched to my maximum, I got this picture and ended up winning photo of the year at Sherdog. It really showed me the value of working that little bit harder and I think that was a turning point in my career.




Hiroyuki Takaya after TKO'ing Hideo Tokoro.
There isn't much to say about this. I think it captures raw power and aggression better than anything I've ever taken and yet it has no real violence in it.







Kazushi Sakuraba after kneebarring Zelg Galesic.

I was in Australia working a job I hated and I was depressed as it looked like that was my chosen career. I found UFC 1 and Royce Gracie. Then I found the Pride 2000 GP and I found Sakuraba. My admiration for Sakuraba lead to me training, to me moving to Japan for MMA, to me landing my current photography job. Sakuraba's fights changed my life dramatically and I could not be happier. I was literally crying as I shot this. My favorite photo of all time, it also won photo of the year at Sherdog.




Cain Velasquez KO'ing Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

The first UFC in Australia (I'm Australian), my first UFC, my first international gig (I live in Tokyo so it counts!) and my first gig with ESPN. I was really proud of myself and my accomplishments and it was around this time that I moved to full time photographer. All that being said, my admiration for Nogueira is similar to my admiration for Sakuraba and so this is a pretty tough photo for me to look at.





To see more of Daniel's portfolio, I thoroughly suggest you visit his website. Aussie-born Daniel pretty much covers all the big action happening in Japan for MMAfighting.com and you can follow his journey on his twitter account (@danherbertson) and blog. 

Finally I would like to thank Matt Benyon from Scramble and The Grappling Dummy for pointing me towards Daniel's work.


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My Favourite Photos by Daniel Herbertson

Daniel Herbertso n's pictures are raw. But they are not raw in the gritty, film grainy black and white sense of raw - the type you usual...

28 Jul 2010



It happened suddenly last night. Rumours started spreading on Facebook and various BJJ forums. Terere is in the UK - yeah he is - no he isn't - he's right next to me - you're bluffing - oh god, here's a picture...but how? and why?

I must admit, I'm new the whole Terere thing. I did not know who he was, mind you, when I first began BJJ, I did not really know who Royce Gracie was, so that doesn't say a lot about my BJJ history knowledge.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Terere:

"Tererê is said to be one of the most influential competitors of all-time, as well as the most entertaining. Much because of his aggressive and highly active style of fighting."
 And this from BJJ Heroes website:

"Fernando Augusto mainly known as Terere is one of the most charismatic Jiu Jitsu fighters to have ever stepped on the mat, this multiple time World Medallist was a top “Pound for Pound” best during the early 2000´s"

Wow!

And wait, there's more. Check this stunning statistic:

"Despite being fairly light weight (weighing around 165 lbs) Tererê competed the 2004 Championships in ultra-heavy class (over 221 lbs) finishing second, only losing to Fabrício Werdum in the final by points."

So why the big deal, he's an awesome champ, but there are many awesome champs these days. Well, his story is a tale of a wildcard talent, a flawed hero, who took a slide down the wrong side.



This quote is from Tatame magazine in February 2009:

"Since he was arrested in the United States in 2004, when it was held for two months due to a disagreement with the crew of the flight back to Brazil, Tererê alternated good and bad moments in life"


It's pretty open news that Terere's life sank into a spiral of drug addiction and depression. This, again, from BJJ Heroes:


"2004 was also the year that Terere’s world started crumbling beneath him, after being arrested in the USA supposedly for shouting abuse at an air stewardess, Terere fell into a massive depression induced by drug taking that led to dependence. His life has been incredibly shaky since then, as he abandoned the sport that he loved to live the life of a drug addict. In 2006 Terere moved to the North-eastern town of Natal on the state of Rio Grande do Norte, to escape the environment that was holding him in. He stayed clean for a while and started training again, however a relapse took him back to his crack dependence as he moved back to Rio de Janeiro."


But last year, reports surfaced that Terere was doing well in rehab. News sites and forums were abuzz with excitement as Terere was reported as saying he wants to get back to training and maybe even competing.

Charity events were held to support his rehabilitation. T-shirts were printed and the whole BJJ community waited.

Until now, this week, today, Professor Pedro Bessa, quietly, without fanfare, arranged the paperwork and visas for this people's hero to visit the UK for an extended stay of training, teaching and I suppose, just to get away from things. Fat chance at that last bit as already BJJ students are begging to host seminars or willing to drive hundreds of miles for the chance to train with the once-errant genious of the mat.

Who knows, maybe this ole 'Kat will meet him too and see what all the fuss is about.

Fernando Terere Augusto is in the house

It happened suddenly last night. Rumours started spreading on Facebook and various BJJ forums. Terere is in the UK - yeah he is - no he ...

27 Jul 2010

Couple awesome seminars with mentioning that are happening in London during August. First up, female BJJ black belt Gazzy Parman. Gazzy is a World no-gi champion, two time Pan American champion and an incredible 17 time Grapplers Quest Champion. She owns her own academy and is coming to London on the 8th August for a gi seminar at Rogers. It's open to everyone, cost is £40 on the door.






Next up, we have the evergreen Rubens 'Cobrinha' Charles on the 30th August. Again its a gi seminar and the cost is £40 before the 10th August, £50 thereafter. Cobrinha is a 4x World Champion, 2x World no gi champion, 4 time Pan American champion. Suffice to say, this one is gonna be awesome too.


Hmmmm, think I might mosey on down to both of these and hope I get the chance to interview these stars of the BJJ game!


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Gazzy Parman BJJ Seminar in London August 8th 2010

Couple awesome seminars with mentioning that are happening in London during August. First up, female BJJ black belt Gazzy Parman . Gazzy is ...

26 Jul 2010

Continuing on from Part One of our talk with Roger Gracie brown belt instructor Andy Roberts, here Andy covers some of the more frequently discussed topics that UK BJJers like to discuss on the forums and about his BJJ goals for the future:

Andy Roberts BJJ interview - Part Two

Continuing on from Part One of our talk with Roger Gracie brown belt instructor Andy Roberts, here Andy covers some of the more frequently d...

25 Jul 2010

Just a quick post to talk about some medal results from Meerkatsu friends. First off, my instructor, Nick Brooks, is in Brazil right now training with Ricardo De la Riva. But he also went to compete at the CBJJE World Championships - his first as a black belt. Nick lost in his first fight by one, perhaps contentious, advantage point, but we're all proud of Nick and know that had he been fully fit and free from injury, he would have smashed the black belt division. Read all about his exploits on Matt's Grappling Dummy blog here.


But my biggest shout out will have to go to Pippa Granger. On her first trip to Brazil she managed to win Bronze at the CBJJE Worlds, Silver at the Rio State Open and Gold in the absolute and bronze at middleweight (she is a pluma!) at the World Masters and Seniors events. I think that is absolutely amazing!

It just goes to show, hard, hard work, single minded determination, and lots of talent and the rewards are there. Pippa has gone through so much in her BJJ career it's worth a whole blog of its own! When she comes back, I hope to catch up with Pippa and get the full low down on her amazing trip and humungous medal haul.

Osuuuuuuuu!



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Pippa the Medal Collector

Just a quick post to talk about some medal results from Meerkatsu friends. First off, my instructor, Nick Brooks, is in Brazil right now tra...

23 Jul 2010

Hywel Teague is known by many as the editor of top MMA publication Fighters Only. Hywel is not only a writer, journalist, editor and of course, grappler, he also takes quality pro photos. Before we look at Hywel's favourite snaps, it might be useful to read a recent interview he gave to Liam Wandi for his Part Time Grappler blog here and here.

As a writer, it's natural for Hywel's photos to capture the story behind the photo. His snaps, many of which you can view here on his Flickr page range from casual pictures of training partners rolling, to carefully staged and dramatically lit studio shots. MMA and grappling events tend to lend themselves to great shot making. But Hywel looks for the less obvious choice - the quick snapshot, the glances that turn away from the lens, the emotions on the faces of spectators and bystanders. To me this is old skool reportage photography and a very refreshing way to look at fight sport. Here are Hywel's personal favourite pics from his extensive repertoire, I hope you enjoy them:


Royce
"This picture was taken one month and five days after Royce defeated his family nemesis, Kazushi Sakuraba. This was taken at a seminar in Yorkshire, and I obtained the first interview with him after his positive test for performance enhancing drugs (a world exclusive). The students either didn't know or didn't care about Royce's positive test, but it didn't stop them from turning out for the seminar. Contrary to how he looks in the picture, Royce was in good spirits that day, although we had one small moment of friction. During the interview, I broached the topic of the positive test and before I could finish the question he turned to me and said, "Man, do you think I took steroids?" I didn't answer, allowed him to fill in the gap, and we continued with the interview without incident. "



Coffee and Coaching
"Of all the images here, this is the one that means the most to me. The person holding the coffee is my coach, Karl Tanswell. Karl is a BJJ black belt with the Straight Blast Gym International organisation. He's also a phenomenal coach and an inspiration to me and many others. I'm lucky to call him a friend and miss him a lot. I used to train with him in Manchester but moved away and he's off travelling round the world right now, so we haven't seen each other in a long time. This pic sums him up for me - cup of coffee in hand, he's coaching two fighters in the old SBG gym that was located on Spear Street."



Hammer and Nail
"This pic really doesn't need a description, does it? It sums up much more of the spirit of jiu-jitsu than I could write in a paragraph or two."


Gunnar and Glyn 
"One of the things I love about  jiu-jitsu is that though we spend most of the time trying to tear each other's heads off, we spend a hefty amount of time helping each other get better at it. Pictured are Gunnar Nelson and Glyn Powditch, back when Gunnar was still a brown belt. They'd just spent the best part of 45 minutes rolling, and were discussing the fine points of some of the moves they had been using on each other. That's one of the things I love about jiu-jitsu - the openness between training partners and the sharing of information."



My thanks to Hywel for taking the time to share his passion with us, the latest issue of Fighters Only magazine is out now in all good and badass newsagents.

My Favourite BJJ Photos - By Hywel Teague

Hywel Teague is known by many as the editor of top MMA publication Fighters Only . Hywel is not only a writer, journalist, editor and of co...

21 Jul 2010

Andy Roberts (white gi) v Oli Geddes at BJJ British Open 2010
Andy Roberts is a brown belt under Roger Gracie and runs a popular full time academy (Andy Roberts BJJ)  in Farnborough, Hampshire, UK. Andy is a regular on the UK tournament scene, often combining referee, competition and coaching duties all in one day.

I first came across Andy in his guise as a moderator on the European Fight Network (EFN) forums. Since then I've been made all too aware of his firm stance against what he refers to as the self-righteous keyboard warriors that frequent the boards (me included I guess!), especially on the subject of the BJJ Police. If you've read my previous fighter profile with Rob Taylor, then I welcome you to hear Andy's alternative thoughts on the same subject and to hear about his passion and love for Brazilian jiu-jitsu:



Fighter Profile: Andy Roberts

Andy Roberts (white gi) v Oli Geddes at BJJ British Open 2010 Andy Roberts is a brown belt under Roger Gracie and runs a popular full tim...

18 Jul 2010


I enjoy dabbling in a bit of photography. The drama, tension and athleticism at grappling tournaments is perfect fodder for shutterbugs like me. But if I'm honest, I'm only a white belt maybe with a couple of stripes in terms of photography skills. So I thought it would be a great idea to ask some people who actually know how to take a good photo what their favourite photos are.

To kick off this series, I asked top American BJJ photographer John Cooper for his top picks. I first came across John's work via an ad he placed on the excellent BJJ Weekly newsletter. John runs www.cooperfoto.com and if you have a browse there, you'll see that he covers all the main IBJJF events in the US (The Pans, The Worlds etc). John's images just seem to burst out of the screen. they are vibrant and buzz with all the energy of the fight. But they're beautiful too, capturing the poetry of the mat. He's super talented and I hope you enjoy John's three favourite photos:


Tarsis Humphreys winning his division at the 2010 Mundials. John Cooper says: "I love this shot because it really captures the emotion of everything Tarsis had sacrificed leading up to his World Championship. In one moment he was able to finally release all that pent up anxiety, pressure and exhilaration."



Kayron Gracie in the warm-up area with his father, Carlos Gracie Jr at the 2009 Mundials. John says: "This photo was a complete surprise to me. I was waiting near the bullpen during the 2009 World Championships and I turned around to see Kayron Gracie sitting down stretching. His father, Master Carlos Gracie Jr., was standing behind him. I turned to take a quick snapshot of the two when Master Carlos bent down and kissed Kayron on the cheek. The face Kayron made reminded me of being a child and having your dad kiss you in front of your friends with a expression that says, 'Daaaad, not in front of the guys!'" 



John says: "This was an in house tournament and the two boys, Dustin and Dakota, are twins. I love these kids and watching them compete is always fun. But this particular time, tearful emotions burst forth from Dustin while trying to lock in the choke and I was ready. That single tear from Dustin tells a story of its own."

 My thanks to John for sending me his three favourite photos and taking the time to contribute to this blog. 




My Favourite BJJ Photos - By John Cooper

I enjoy dabbling in a bit of photography. The drama, tension and athleticism at grappling tournaments is perfect fodder for shutterbugs l...

15 Jul 2010

Gi Review: Tatami Fightwear Zero G (black) v Tatami Fightwear Competition Gi (navy)


Introduction

Tatami Fightwear are a UK based MMA and BJJ clothing company that have grown fast in recent years and are prominent in sponsoring a number of events and fighters. Their popular ‘Zero G’ model has up until now only been available in white (see my previous review of the Zero G versus other brands). It is now available in black and this review will compare the black to a newly introduced Tatami Fightwear model - the pearl weave gi in navy. Beginners may wish to read my What Gi Should I Buy? article first. Readers of this blog are also eligible for a discount from Tatami Fightwear (see end of article for details).

Gi Review: Tatami Fightwear Zero G Black v New navy gi

Gi Review: Tatami Fightwear Zero G (black) v Tatami Fightwear Competition Gi (navy) Introduction Tatami Fightwear are a UK based MMA an...

12 Jul 2010

Those spiffingly dedicated people behind top UK publication Martial Arts Illustrated have wisely chosen to publish my interview and photo set with Master Leao Teixeira, who conducted a seminar at BJJ School last month.

Well, if you buy the August 2010 issue you get not only my Leao interview, there is also an interview and step-by-step technique by BJJ black belt Thiago 'Monstro' Borges (not written by me). And, an entry by BJJ wunderkid Daniel Agard chronicling his ADCC World Pro gi tournament experiences (where he won the blue belt division). And, the issue states quite clearly and categorically, that my BIG Roy Dean photoshoot and feature interview will be coming out in next month's MAI....Wow! Truly a bumper issue indeed. Please buy it.

Huge Bumper Issue of Martial Arts Illustrated this Month

Those spiffingly dedicated people behind top UK publication Martial Arts Illustrated have wisely chosen to publish my interview and photo s...

10 Jul 2010


I just got hold of my Scramble purple and yellow NeWaza hoodie top and as you can see my kids got hold ofit before I could even try it on...the pesky monsters!
So here's the thing - I emailed Matt and asked if I could have a discount and he said: No! Stop blagging free stuff all the time you time wasting scrounger. But I hacked in to his website and typed in MEERKAT. Guess what? It gave me a generous 10% off. HAHAHA! The fool!

Try it for yourself - go on - type in MEERKAT when you order anything from Scramble and see if the ten percent thing works. Oh yeah, I'm mean and I'm mean. Now kids! Give me back my friggin hoodie!



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Pesky kids stole my Scramble newaza hoodie

I just got hold of my Scramble purple and yellow NeWaza hoodie top and as you can see my kids got hold ofit before I could even try it on....

8 Jul 2010

Gi Review: Vangaard Gold Competition Kimono (red)


Introduction
This ornately decorated single weave gi is made by French fightwear company Ayabuza.It should be noted for the record that the brand name of 'Vangaard' has been used by other, unrelated, fightwear companies. This review concerns the 'Vangaard' gi as made and sold only by Ayabuza. Prices on the Ayabuza website for this brand range from Euros 145 for a white A1, to Euros 170 for a coloured A4. The gi reviewed here is a red A2, which is priced at Euros 160. It is a premium priced product aimed at those looking for a bright gi that stands out from the crowd.

Disclaimer: I am not sponsored or supported by any company. This review remains my own personal opinion based on how it fitted me. Beginners may wish to read my What Gi Shall I Buy article before proceeding with this review.

Read on for the full detailed review...


Gi Review: Ayabuza Vangaard BJJ Kimono in red

Gi Review: Vangaard Gold Competition Kimono (red) Introduction This ornately decorated single weave gi is made by French fightwear compa...

5 Jul 2010

Rob Taylor is a BJJ purple belt from Gracie Barra Swansea. He is probably better known as the outspoken 'Rob T' on various internet forums. His posts on the subject of the 'BJJ Police' stand out as some of the most widely read forum threads of all time. Despite his heavy online presence, Rob is keen to assert his unwavering dedication to BJJ. To me, a thread without Rob posting on it is an empty thread. I hope you enjoy the interview:


Rob (left) competing at the ADCC-UK trials 2008

Fighter Profile: Rob Taylor

Rob Taylor is a BJJ purple belt from Gracie Barra Swansea. He is probably better known as the outspoken 'Rob T' on various internet...

4 Jul 2010

Hi everyone, unless you have already done so, would you mind helping out a fellow blogger with his gi survey. This is a very comprehensive survey of gi likes and dislikes and the blog owner says he will release the results once he has achieved 1,000 responses. So far he has got 660.

Cheers!

http://anderslamjiujitsu.blogspot.com/2010/06/brazilian-jiu-jitsu-gi-survey.html





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Gi Survey

Hi everyone, unless you have already done so, would you mind helping out a fellow blogger with his gi survey. This is a very comprehensive s...

1 Jul 2010


In Part One we interrupted our new member of the gi-addicts anonymous clinic. Without further ado, let us allow brother James to continue his gi addict confessional...


Confessions of a gi-addict: Part Two

In Part One we interrupted our new member of the gi-addicts anonymous clinic. Without further ado, let us allow brother James to continue ...

 

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