Meerkatsu sponsors: Kat Gibson

Kat Gibson is a blue belt grappler under Carlson Gracie Team in London. She recently won double gold (gi and nogi) at the IBJJF London Open and gold at the British NoGi Open. A long time follower of my design work, Kat has kindly agreed to represent my brand. I spoke with her about juggling training with a busy academic career at Oxford University...

(Photograph by Dave Shu Photography)

Meerkatsu Art: Halloween themed desktop wallpaper

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Meerkatsu Art: ADCC 2013 Angry Panda

ADCC this year was held in Beijing, China, over the weekend. Tatami Fightwear had several of their sponsored athletes attending the event and asked me (at the last minute!) to design a special rashguard just for the fighters to use in Beijing. The result was this angry panda pictured above. Some of you may recognise the design from an earlier incarnation...

Gi Review: Rei gi Roger Gracie Edition Kimono

Summary
Super tough, thick and ultra heavy kimono built to last. The sleeves were sadly super short, much shorter than any other A1 gi I have reviewed. The weight was just too much for my personal preference however there were some quality touches to this gi model.

Disclosures
I have no personal or business relations with Rei gi. Roger Gracie himself is my own instructor's instructor and visits my academy to oversee gradings.

Information
Website - http://www.rei-gi.com/
Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rei-Gicom/164671700217148?fref=ts
Cost of gi - £90

Meerkatsu Art: White Tiger Rashguard

These Chinese White Tiger rashguards were designed by me on commission from Swedish fightwear company Kenka. As part of my deal with Kenka, I have been allocated a small batch of them for sale on my store - www.meerkatsu.com. They will go live 10th October 2013 at 9am.

Here are more photos and a little background about the concept:

Good Causes

I've been honoured recently to contribute artwork to help promote a series of fund raising good causes. Here is a run down of the events, I hope you can support at least one of them. Thanks!

BETA ACADEMY 12 HOUR GRAPPLETHON
Date: 19th October 2013
Location: BETA Academy, Washington DC
T-shirt? Yes
Who for? The Network for Victim Recovery of DC
Web details: Facebook page, Donation page

BLACK FRIDAY 24 HOUR GRAPPLETHON
Date: 29th November 2013
Location: Finney's Hit Squad, Granite City, IL
T-shirt? Yes
Who for? Tap Cancer Out
Web details: Facebook page, Donation page

GIVE THE GIFT OF A GI KIDS SEMINAR
Date: 26th October 2013
Location: Foster BJJ, Kent, WA
T-shirt? Yes
Who for? Carly Stowell Foundation and Jammin BJJ
Web details: Website

MOVEMBER 24 HOUR ROLLATHON
Date: 23rd November
Location: Gravity BJJ Academy, Canada
T-shirt? Yes
Who for? Prostate cancer research
Web details: Facebook page, donation page



I would like to wish all the above events the very best of luck with their fund raising.


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Fighter update: Tanya Tansiri wins the German Kumite

My friend Tanya recently entered a grueling grappling contest in Germany called the German Kumite. She had to fight all the ladies in the event one after another, gi and nogi. The winner would be the person who won the most fights. Tanya fought seven other women and scored a full house of seven wins - all by submission, including an epic hour-long encounter. It's a quite staggering achievement given that Tanya only received her blue belt back in December 2012!

I spoke with Tanya who wanted to say a few words about her experiences at the Kumite event...