30 Jan 2013

Last weekend saw the 2013 IBJJF European Championships held in Lisbon. I did not go but was glued to the tide of social media reporting over who fought who and who won what. By all accounts, it was an absolute barnstormer of an event with many memorable moments that will be talked about for years to come (damn!). A quick round-up of key moments:

First up, my instructor, Nick Brooks, black belt under Roger Gracie, fought in the heavyweight Senior III division and submitted his way to the gold. A tremendous result for not only him but the whole club. We're all chuffed to bits over the title, which he adds to the many other Europeans he has won at each of his belt levels. That's quite a collection - see below:


My very good friend and sometime instructor David 'Malandro' Onuma won his black belt division too.  An amazing one-two for Team Mill Hill & Friends! BTW check out David's Malandro patch. Ahem, a little graphic design effort from moi.


There were more Brits to win gold as well. Luke Costello won the adult brown belt super heavies, Pippa Granger had by all accounts a thrilling match which she won gold in the ladies master light featherweight, my friend Mark Phung won masters brown belt at light feather, Anna Mayne and Vanessa English picked up gold in the womens brown and purple belt divisions respectively. A shout out too to my good pal Steve Fage, who I train with occasionally  he won gold in the purple belt senior 2 light division. And there were plenty more too numerous to mention. Well done to all the Brits who travelled to Portugal and test their skills against some very tough opponents.


Check out an amazing series of photos by the talented William Burkhardt of BJJPix here.

One of the matches that had everyone talking was Fernando Augusto 'Tererê' against Claudio Calasans. After a fantastic first round win, Tererê advanced to the final after Alan 'Finfou'  conceded a win to Tererê and in a touching gesture, handed Tererê the old black belt that Tererê gave to him many years ago.

In a statement afterward, Finfou said, “Fernando Tererê made me what I am in Jiu-Jitsu. He taught me since the white belt. This belt, he gave me one day and asked for 5 reais for it, I knew he was going to buy crack. I told him then that I was going to give him back the belt when when he got back on his feet. There was no better moment than that! I will sleep filled with joy and proud today!”

In the final, Tererê fought Calasans when the referee disqualified Tererê for knee reaping. It was a controversial decision. The video is here, so maybe you can see why people have been debating this:



The fights involving the Miyao brothers and Keenan Cornelius also had the stadium in rapt concentration. To the untrained eye, it might not be the prettiest jiu jitsu on display, but with the smallest error for either player potentially costing them to lose crucial position or grip control, this was never going to be a flaying acrobatic affair. Keenan eventually won both his weight and the absolute divisions, cementing his reputation as one of the best in the world at brown belt.



Full results are printed here.

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Brits at the European IBJJF Championships

Last weekend saw the 2013 IBJJF European Championships held in Lisbon. I did not go but was glued to the tide of social media reporting over...

27 Jan 2013


Summary
Tatami remakes Enson Inoue's famous walk-out gi when he was a fighter in the Pride Fighting Championships. The quirky patch placements and inner rashguard lining make for an unusual looking gi, the heavy weight of all the adornments and odd sensation of a gigantic fit when worn (though in actual fact the stats reveal it is no bigger than any other Tatami gi) make for a gi that takes some getting used to.

Disclosures
I have worked in the past on a freelance basis to provide Tatami Fightwear with graphic and illustration design. I have had no contribution to this product.

Further Information
This gi will retail for £120GBP through Tatami Fightwear's website (and affiliated resellers) at the beginning of February (possibly even sooner).


Gi Review: Enson Inoue 'Spirit of Japan' by Tatami Fightwear

Summary Tatami remakes Enson Inoue's famous walk-out gi when he was a fighter in the Pride Fighting Championships. The quirky patch ...

19 Jan 2013



Early in January, the MMA and BJJ world was shocked to learn of two male jiu jitsu students who were arrested for brutally raping their female jiu jitsu team mate. The internet forums, blogs, websites and social media have exploded in their condemnation. But the story is deeper, way more insidious.
MMA news and commentary website Bloody Elbow summarise the developments in this selection of posts here: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2013/1/10/3861544/two-lloyd-irvin-martial-arts-school-students-arrested

Many prominent members of the BJJ community have already spoken of the situation. For an example of some more personal thoughts, blogger Georgette sums up her thoughts here: http://georgetteoden.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/its-not-rape-culture-or-is-it.html

But I strongly recommend everyone read the words from former Lloyd Irvin student, Ryan Hall.
He writes a beautifully thoughtful essay on the darker side of life under a cult-like martial arts organisation. He implores us to take a deeper look inside ourselves and ask questions about what it is that is important to us, as decent human beings. It's a strongly worded and deeply heartfelt message that applies not just to martial artists among us, but to everything in life in general.

Here is the link to Ryan's essay:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/121007439/Open-Letter-to-the-Martial-Arts-Community

Finally, I, along with a large group of others in the BJJ community, will be doing something to support victims of sexual violence. The recent news surrounding Lloyd Irvin students are not just a one-off local incident. Sexual violence, especially those against women, happens everyday, all over the world and in every strata of society. A number of charities are devoted to spreading awareness, empowering and supporting victims and educating the masses. But really - as one commentator noted: we should ALL be anti rape.

Here are some awesome charities that help victims of sexual violence:

RAINN
Women Win
Equality Now


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Proud to be a part of the 97%

Early in January, the MMA and BJJ world was shocked to learn of two male jiu jitsu students who were arrested for brutally raping their ...

16 Jan 2013



Summary
Super comfortable and soft rashguard made mostly from bamboo textile. Excellent tight fit marred only slightly by slightly itchy stitch thread inside. However overall a very fine product that is made in America.

Disclosures: I have no personal or business links with WaMaDa.

Information:
Available from the website: http://thewamada.com/
More information from Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/TheWaMaDa
Cost: $65 plus shipping


Review: WaMaDa Genesis 'Bamboo' fabric rashguard

Summary Super comfortable and soft rashguard made mostly from bamboo textile. Excellent tight fit marred only slightly by slightly itch...

13 Jan 2013



Summary
GF Team black belts Jake Mackenzie and Vinicius Marinho taught a three hour seminar at GF Team, Richmond, London. Jake concentrated on half and deep half guard while Vinicius taught passing the aforementioned techniques. Both instructors offered intense detail on techniques that have been honed though their vast tournament experience.

[Disclaimer, this report only describes a few techniques and even then, the possibility of me erroneously describing them accurately is probably quite high, so bear with me.]

Seminar: Jake Mackenzie and Vinicius Marinho, GF Team

Summary GF Team black belts Jake Mackenzie and Vinicius Marinho taught a three hour seminar at GF Team, Richmond, London . Jake concent...

8 Jan 2013


I've trained in some form of martial arts since I was 18 and seeing as I am 43 now, I guess that means I've been doing it for a very long time. And yet I know practically nothing about kids martial arts training. I do know that it was always my intention for them to try out martial arts but not at the expense of pushing them to do it if they don't want to.

So it was handy that a new judo club aimed at kids opened up close to my home with a working parent friendly timetable and cheap prices. I checked and they are totally legit members of the British Judo Council and British Judo Association and their head dojo in St Albans has been running for some 60 years!



Another benefit of them learning judo is that I am less likely to jump in and 'take over' as I know little about judo compared to BJJ. Still, witnessing their very first lesson, I couldn't help but feel a swell of personal pride. Y'see my kids are very shy and hate doing anything or going to anywhere new. It's a trauma taking them to swimming lessons even. I knew that taking them to something as strange and alien as a dojo staffed by people wearing white pyjamas was a risking putting them off for life.

In the end, my fears were unfounded. The class was run in an excellent manner. There were lots of seniors around to look after all the kids. There was some technical instruction (attacking a person who has turtled up ha!) and then a ton of fun grappling related games and drills. My kids finished the class beaming and eager for more!

Kids being kids, I have no idea if my two will keep up with judo long term but for now, I'm so chuffed they've taken their very first baby steps onto the tatami.




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My kids begin the grappling journey, sort of.

I've trained in some form of martial arts since I was 18 and seeing as I am 43 now, I guess that means I've been doing it for a v...

 

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