Feel the love - What do other martial artists think of BJJ?

BJJ is the best martial art and combat sport in the world...fact. Sadly, not everyone in the martial arts world agrees. I was curious to see what bloggers and forum posters from other styles had to say about BJJ. Here are some choice snippets. Of course these views are simply those expresed by one person at a time and may not represent the general consensus but they give a reflection of views outside the closeted world of BJJ:


"It requires more skill to become a good thrower than to be good at ground...If I do a clean throw with no mat/tatami and smash someone's head into cement I guarantee it's game over. Nobody rolls on the hard ground, especially when others are around to kick heads."
From Judo Boy, Apr 23rd 2009, Seattle Dojo Forums.

"My opinion (READ: OPINION) Technique wise Aikido is really rich compared to the B Jujitsu. It will be hard for a B Jujitsu to tackle down a well versed AIKIDOKA...On the ground with the B Jujitsu on top of me ( We started with me lying down) I was able to do both IKKYO and NIKKYO on one of the hands holding me down."
From Aries Navy 26/2/02 aikiweb forum

"I think BJJ is overrated...Aikido to me is a martial art BJJ is a sport...Both have applications for self-defense, but both are flawed. If you really wanna learn to defend yourself take a 6 week Krav Maga course."
From Erik 13/9/07, Aikiweb forum

"fighting on the ground like this, doesn't protect your balls... A real street fight have no rules... and jujitsu is doomed to fail. And if your opponent is a real ninjutsu artist, and go for a free for all, he would just poke your eyes out with his fingers."
From Ling1134, commenting on Rorian versus Kung fu guy video here:

" if anyone has noticed recent UFC and other "MMA" fights, the one using the guard is getting his face pounded to a pulp, but he still maintains the guard. This is the most absurd thing I have ever seen!"
"Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques are neither Brazilian nor Jiu Jitsu. They are a stylize form of Japanese Judo, and they may be highly effective under the rules of a competitive format designed for it, but it is NOT a reliable form of self-defense in a street attack!"
From:www.alljujitsu.com - The Problem with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques, by Commander Nitro.

Can't you just feel the love people, feel the love.

byMeerkatsu

in BJJ, websites

July 30, 2009

Feel the love - What do other martial artists think of BJJ?

BJJ is the best martial art and combat sport in the world...fact. Sadly, not everyone in the martial arts world agrees. I was curious to see...

Read More

Mundials 2009

This year is the first year I've taken an active interest in the Mundials. Although a massive event, it is not televised or on radio so the only way to follow it live, is through following live twitter updates and online reports. The Fightworks Podcast arguably came out as the very best way to follow the action. Every few seconds or so, a couple of lines would feed through to whet the appetites of us eager followers.

In the black belt divisions, all the interest was on UK based instructors Braulio Estima, Vitor Estima, and of course Roger Gracie (sorry if I missed out on any others).

In a tremendous show of superiority, Roger defeated all his opponents by the same three stage technique - pass guard, mount, choke - to take both the Super Heavy gold and the Absolute gold (the first ever to defeat all opponents by submission in all matches I believe). Unbelievable! Braulio wins the heavyweight division (fighting his Gracie Barra team mate Alex de Souza) and his brother Vitor comes third in the medium heavy division.
It does seem unbelievably true, but the UK boasts some of the most successful and talented BJJ black belts in the world.
So how did my team mates do this year? Well they're not yet back from the US yet, but Daniel Strauss did post a note on his Facebook profile explaining how disappointed he was and how he simply did not fight very well and lost in round 3. Maybe being tipped heavily as a favourite worked against him, maybe just a bad day in the office. But there is no shame in defeat at the most elite tournament of them all. I salute him and all the others who entered and fought. What they maybe don't realise is that the whole build up, all those intense hours of conditioning, drilling, rolling, sparring again and again until their muscles burned in pain, yeah, all those hours - that's the true contest. And by that token, they've all walked away with something bigger than a medal. Their efforts also serve to inspire ordinary BJJ Joes like me.

Anyway, MY mundials is coming up very soon. The British BJJ Open in Birmingham. The estimates so far reckon about 600 fighters, covering every divisions and with competitors coming over from all over Europe. This looks to be the biggest tournament in the UK this year. A win here would really mean something. As a fighter, I hope to get a few good matches in. And as a spectator, I'm looking forward to seeing brown and black belt fights as well as the juniors and women divisions.

Some keyboard warrior news - I decided to set up a Faxia Rua appreciation society group on Facebook, in fact I was surprised it hadn't been done before. To recap, Faixa rua is a recently established brand of BJJ uniform and the person who makes them, calls himself Faixa Rua (Portuguese for 'street belt'). Faixa often posts side splittingly witty comments on various forums and it was in honour of his humour that I started collecting classic statements to put up on the Facebook wall. In 24 hours, 83 people joined my group, which is pretty astonishing.

Hopefully our members will be rewarded with more of Faxia's scathing wit and sharp humour.

byMeerkatsu

in BJJ, tournament, websites

June 08, 2009

Mundials 2009

This year is the first year I've taken an active interest in the Mundials. Although a massive event, it is not televised or on radi...

Read More

Did the BJJ Police meet their match?

The BJJ police have been in action again this weekend, hunting down instructors who claim to teach BJJ, but have they met their match this time?


Here's the deal - a certain Yorkshire karate club has listed on Facebook their entire week's schedule. It's quite a list featuring karate, fitness, weapons etc all the usual trad martial art (TMA) activities. But nestled in the Sunday morning class is something known as STAV (a martial art of Norse origin apparently) and then the description, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Neeenaaaneeeenaaaaa!!! Wail the sirens of the BJJ police who politely inquire to the head instructor as to who is teaching these BJJ classes. Here is a snippet of their conversation (edited by me for brevity, but spelling errors are as written by the original poster) as follows:

BJJ POLICE 1: Hello, I am interested as to who teaches your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lesson, what rank they are and who they train under? Thanks.

INSTRUCTOR: hi who are you and what do you do in matial arts

B1: I'm a purple belt in BJJ. Who teaches your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class, what rank do they hold and who awarded them that rank?

I: the bjj jujisu is a new class s just starting , we already have three 10th dan s in jujitsu a master in judo ,a 5th danin judo 8th dan master in wado 6th dan master in shotokan ,6th dan in bujitsu a master in stav . and a few 2nd and 3rd dan pluss afree style master europian champion in free stye , seems to be a lot of question from a purple belt, do you live near here now . do you want to train here or why the questions?

B1: I am concerned about any clubs which claim to teach the art which I have busted my ass at to earn the rank I hold (do you realise how hard it is to get a legitimate purple belt in BJJ?). I find it pretty annoying when people who have not gained any rank in BJJ decide they can teach it. So, who teaches your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class? What is their rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and who promoted them to that rank?
I don't understand why these questions are so difficult to answer. You asked me about my rank and I responded quite simply.

[now it gets nasty...]

I: listen your a puple belt im a 6th dan and your annoying me now i dont care what you think so just get on with your own business you've got a lot to lean i know how hard it is a lot more than you so get on with it and by the way i dont care if you understand , your instuctor should teach you more respect a purple belt in any style is just a beginner as far as im concerned
. stick to your art mate

B1: I have not shown you any disrespect at all. I asked you simple questions which, if you had legit BJJ credentials, should have been easy for you to answer. As it stands, it is clear you have just called a lesson "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" to attract students and make money.

[the BJJ police now start posting messages on the karate club's Facebook group
in reply, a number of the karate students sign up to EFN and start trolling the forum]

BJJ POLICE 2: How do you think it will look like if we as you say, dojo storm this place straight off the bat? this way we are giving him his chance to explain his bjj credentials.

KARATE GUY: just try dojo storm , ill roundhouse kick the lot of ya

B2: [posts silly photo of a person doing a karate kick]

KG: thats funny init pal, but ive actually broke peoples ribs with my patented spinning roundhouse

[lots of online laughter emoticons]

BJJ POLICE 3: Why are these blokes always fat bastards as well? Surely if you're training every day you should be in pretty good shape, they never are!
How can you sit there and take someone seriously when they can't even run up a flight of stairs without being out of breath.

[my favourite silly quote coming up here]

KG: pal i might not be able to run up a flight of stairs, but i can break 6 boards with a single strike

cue more online derision, accusations fly, insults dealt. At one point one karate member scans youtube and rates the BJJ police 1's fight videos all one-star (out of five) this person also claims that her karate instructor is also a BJJ 'Grandmaster'! More BJJ forum members (including yours truly) chip in with their comments and it continues still. You can read the whole thread (sadly some of the trolls have deleted their best posts) here.

What started off as a fairly innocuous silly giggle at a Facebook group has ballooned into this soap opera that has captivated the entire BJJ community for ooh, three days now.

To sum, you say potato, I say potartoe, let's call the whole thing off.

byMeerkatsu

in BJJ, bogus, websites

May 19, 2009

Did the BJJ Police meet their match?

The BJJ police have been in action again this weekend, hunting down instructors who claim to teach BJJ, but have they met their match this t...

Read More

Join my Facebook group - but only if you are small and light!

I formed a Facebook group - The Galo and Pluma BJJ Group - for roosterweights and light feathers to join.

Since us little guys and girls are fairly few and far between, I thought it would be a nice way to join forces and share experiences.
So far 19 people have joined which I'm really chuffed about, especially


a number of women too. I'm particularly pleased that under 50kg fighter Lisa Newton kindly accepted my invite. She is an amazing competitor, worth catching in action if you get the chance.
I will post links to videos and interviews to top-flight galo and pluma fighters on the group page to inspire us and maybe learn some tips from. I’ve also got patches and maybe t-shirts planned. It’ll be nice to recognise each other by the patch on our gis.
Already it seems we're all in agreement that the early days of learning BJJ are especially tough as we seem to constantly get crushed. But we also pick up new techniques fast and move faster than heavier players. As one member states:
“in the past I have resorted to taking various protein / weight gain drinks in my failed attempts to move me up a few categories. I realise now that we are ' special ' and respect my place in the galo and pluma divisions”


Mundials
It’s only 3 weeks to go until the BJJ World Championships, or Mundials as they are more commonly referred to (June 4th). This year they will be held in California which I thought was a nice move. It means more fighters from the USA and the rest of the world will take part and it will attract wider media interest. Surprisingly, for a top-level tournament that attracts the world’s elite players, anyone can enter. Long as you pay the fee and make weight, you can compete. Not that I would be tempted. It’s still a long way to travel just to get submitted in the first round! (Mind you, I am tempted by the European Championships in Lisbon next year.)

Mill Hill RGA will be represented by Daniel Strauss, Chris Hearn and Asif Ahmed. I couldn’t think of three more highly accomplished and skilled fighters. I wish them luck in bringing the bling back to the UK.



Training
I seem to be progressing nicely at the moment. I’m happy with my consistency and rolling with top guys like the aforementioned Mundial hopefuls certainly helps my own game. Last night, we were taught by one of Roger Gracie’s brown belts, Bruno Zanacar. Bruno went through a couple of neat little half guard escapes and then got us to spar for one hour! I was totally wasted at the end. The big event of the UK this year will be the British Open, in Birmingham at the end of June. Loads of people are gearing up for this and training hard so it’s a great incentive for me to step up the pace.

byMeerkatsu

in BJJ, mill hill bjj, websites

May 15, 2009

Join my Facebook group - but only if you are small and light!

I formed a Facebook group - The Galo and Pluma BJJ Group - for roosterweights and light feathers to join. Since us little guys and girls ar...

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Blog highlight: Diary of a Teen Ninja

This is not a blog as such, but a continuous forum thread written by a supposed teenager called Shinkengata who studies ninjitsu. Regulars to the Bullshido website will recognise this, but I've only recently come across it, so I thought I would share choice snippets with you...


Day 1:
Dear Diary,
I was walking home from school today with Vampirefr34k and D1abl0 and we saw this hella s1ck poster advertising Ninjitsu classes. It said we could learn to be Ninjas, which is hecka cool. I copied the number from the poster down into my cellphone with the HIM logo on it and walked home. Mom got p1$$ed when i asked her if i could join. She said something about me being gay enough as it is. I called her a bitch (under my breath, of course). I swear my parents just don't understand me.

Day 35:
Dear diary,
I got in my first real fight today. It was totally sweet. He started talking trash about my nail polish. I told him that his feeble mind was too weak to comprehend the symbolism behind it, and he called me an emo fagg. I felt all the power of all the Ninja grandmasters through the years swell up in me as i kicked him over in his wheelchair.

Day 74:
Class went pretty well. Some kid from a cage fighter school showed up and called us all pussies and homos. He challenged me to a match, but i didn't want to kill him, so i declined. Sensei cast a spell on him , so his penis should be shrinking pretty soon. hehe.

Day 160:
Dear Diary,
I got into a fight with Sensei when i went to his class to turn in my belt and tell him i was starting a school of my own. I won, because he went to do a rolling meerkat (!!! yeah.Ed) death kick and threw his back out. Maybe it was my constantly increasing Ki that caused his back to go out during the roll, because i put up a chi shield when he started to roll. I think it worked pretty well, if you ask me. I took most of his students, and we had class in my new Dojo behind Wal-Mart.
and so on for about 30 odd pages. It's worth reading during your lunch hour. Here's the full thread.

Also on Bullshido, presumably by a different author, is the Diary of a BJJ Teen: which is not quite a funny as the ninja thread, but not bad in places.

Martial Arts is so ripe for parody, I'm surprised it is not done more often. I myself am not immune to the odd juvenile gag, but I save those for April Fools Day.

Wish me luck for Sunday. I compete at the Essex BJJ Open.

byMeerkatsu

in humour, websites

April 29, 2009

Blog highlight: Diary of a Teen Ninja

This is not a blog as such, but a continuous forum thread written by a supposed teenager called Shinkengata who studies ninjitsu. Regulars t...

Read More

More on Brighton and more on fame

I've now had a little time to recover from the weekend's competition and reflect on the impact it has had on me. It's kind of weird and hard to describe objectively but I do feel different. Despite losing, I feel I have gained a smidgen of prowess (oh and a bronze medal for my efforts). It has also given me a new source of motivation (as if any more were needed) to get back onto the mats and train harder and smarter.


The event itself was very well run, with 4 mats in constant use and 4 more in various states of action as and when the need arose. I loved the fact that coaches, team-mates, friends, curious bystanders could stand or sit slap bang right next to the action. The huge crowds meant a headache for the organisers but the informal nature of the event I think is what made it so cool.

I was most impressed by the huge contingent that train under the Carlson Gracie banner. One of their main instructors, Simon Hayes, seemed to be omnipresent, bellowing instructions to every one of his team that fought. He is a huge personality and added to the flair and flavour of the day. Almost every mat seemed to feature a Carlsons fighter versus a Roger Gracie fighter, so numerous were both academies. Roger himself came down to cheer on his team, which I thought was a nice touch.

I also got to finally see the 'half-guard wizard' himself in action - RGA purple belt, Ollie Geddes.
Ollie did indeed start each fight by assuming half guard, and then, slowly, systematically, began working his way to victory. One fight was won by a fantastic 'clock' choke'. Another was finished off in style by a 'loop choke'. It was wonderful to witness such highly technical ju-jitsu mere inches away from me. [I'll be interviewing Ollie for this blog so watch this space.]

The womens division was small in number but numerous enough to contain some good fights at both white and blue belt. Notably, my team mate Dominique took Gold and just lost by a whisker to a very good fighter in the absolute category, to take Bronze.

Similarly, the juvenile category was also small in number, effectively becoming an 'open weight' division for under 16's. Team mate Dale Jones won all his fights to pick up gold (the sixth gold in a row, he would like me to iterate). But he also expressed his frustration. At 14 years old, he has no choice but to compete at junior/juvenile division, but his physique is that of a very strong young man. The result is you get the bizarre scenario, as in his first fight, where a very tiny, still boy-like 13 year old is pitted against a lad who appears twice his size. Still the future looks bright with Dale and the other young 'uns producing good skills and nice movement.

With so much action, it was hard to see all the fights. But I did see some very very skillful blue belt lightweight and middle weight work going on. I am SO glad I am not in that division. There was also some very good stand-up work, clearly from adept judoka, that made for some enjoyable throws.

For my first tournament, I don't think I could have picked a better one to participate. When the Gracie Invitational comes back again next year, it will be the biggest event in the UK and a quite different experience. I cannot wait.

On another slightly different note, it is nice to see that the Meerkatsu blog was listed among the Top 60 BJJ blogs recommended by BJJ radio podsite: thefightworkspodcast
Unfortunately, you have to download the list as a google reader import file, but there's lots of good sits among the 60 for me to peruse.

byMeerkatsu

in BJJ, tournament, websites

April 08, 2009

More on Brighton and more on fame

I've now had a little time to recover from the weekend's competition and reflect on the impact it has had on me. It's kind of we...

Read More

The BJJ Police

The BJJ web forums have been abuzz with a recent influx of so-called bogus BJJ schools. Well, they are not bogus per se, rather, they are martial arts schools who claim to include BJJ as part of their syllabus. Like a red rag to a scary bull, various members of the BJJ community have taken it upon themselves to enquire as to the legitimacy of these schools. Some call it a witchhunt, but the BJJ police defend their motives as preserving the purity of the sport...

One martial arts school, based in Rochdale was spotted to claim to teach BJJ together with many other arts that were combined into a whole system. When questioned about the main instuctor's background, the owner replied that he had no formal training in BJJ, just a couple of seminar attendances and watched a few videos. He has since removed all references to BJJ on his website. But before doing sdo, insisted that the term 'BJJ' was not copyright, so he had every right to use it if he wanted.

Another instructor, based in Southampton, also claimed to teach BJJ. The BJJ police enquired as to his credentials and, after a few heated exchanges, the instructor revealed a rather mysterious and unverifiable background. The story goes like this - our man did train in BJJ from a legit school and got to blue belt. Then he left the club to train with a Brazilian black belt who only taught private lessons, but who has since disappeared never to be heard from again. But before the master left, he presented a black belt to his private student. No one in the BJJ community has ever heard of this BJJ instructor. The chap decides he wants to open up a school and apparently gains the accredition of a well known master called Tinguinha. He also claims he is a brown belt under Tinguinha. A few emails from our BJJ police discover to Tinguinha himself discover that our man is not cleared to represent him, but that he did suggest he downgrade his level to brown as his black belt is unverifiable. This is all very strange to the BJJ police, who confront the club owner, who in the end, apologises profusely for alluding to rank and alliegances that do not yet exist. He also alters his website accordingly.

There are probably loads more examples of these exchanges, a visit to any ofthe forums where BJJ is discussed, such as EFN or Bullshido and you can pick up any one of a number of on-going dramas. In most cases, the main ire of the BJJ community is the claim of teaching BJJ when they have no formal rank or record in the sport. Watching a few videos and attending a few seminars does not make you an instructor.

Unfortunately, BJJ is a martial art that has no overall governing body. Anyone can claim anything and in some cases they do. That's why the BJJ police on these forums feel it is important to chase bogus instructors to verify their claims. Anyone who has spent years, sweating blood and tears, on the mat, earning their belts from a recognised instructor, can breathe easy. The BJJ police are on your side. Everyone else, better run or hide.

Of course these situations are different from bonafide BJJ practitioners who are also instructors in traditional martial arts and who feel it appropriate to combine the two disciplines together. Why? I'll explore that in another posting soon.

NOTES:
1. How do you prove genuine BJJ credentials?
Simply state your instructor lineage. For example, mine would be - blue awarded by David Adiv - Royler Gracie - Helio Gracie.
My instructor, Nick Brooks, would be - brown belt from Roger Gracie - Renzo Gracie - Carlos Gracie Jr.

Further evidence of credentials would also include a fight record in all competitions, but since mine is so dire, I'll leave that out for now ;)

byMeerkatsu

in BJJ, bogus, websites

February 13, 2009

The BJJ Police

The BJJ web forums have been abuzz with a recent influx of so-called bogus BJJ schools. Well, they are not bogus per se, rather, they are ...

Read More

Keyboard Warriors

As we wind down towards the end of the year, it is probably a good time as any to mention a few blog warriors who I like to read on a regular basis.

In the regular joe blog category, we have:
White Collar Jujitsu: http://whitecollarbjj.blogspot.com/
Steve's BJJ log: http://www.stevebjj.com/
I like reading blogs that reveal bits about the writer's personality, their humour, their trials and general opinions as well as the technical aspects of the sport. To me, I can identify with regular Joe Blogger who has a family, busy job, demanding wife etc but still has time to dedicate to training and of course writing enjoyable blog content.

For Instructional blogs, there is one that is top of every BJJer's favourites list:
Stephen Kesting's Grappling Tip of the week blog. Kesting has written books and produced numerous DVDs and I'm a big fan of his crystal clear instructional style. He is also very generous and by giving away a free e-book and numerous handy tips on his blog, is someone who stands up to be admired for not using his knowledge simply as a way to make money. He wants to share his passion with you and you really get the sense that he is there to help.
http://www.grapplearts.com/weblog.htm

Closer to home, Roger Gracie black belt, Nicolas Gregoriades, has a very informative, if less frequently updated blog here:
http://www.jiujitsubrotherhood.com/
My favourite article of his explains just how awesome Roger Gracie is at BJJ:
http://www.jiujitsubrotherhood.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16:understanding-the-phenomenon&catid=5:miscellaneous&Itemid=8

There are hundreds of BJJ blogs out there and possibly a thousand times more on the theme of martial arts. It is hard to read even a small percent of them and so a good blog has to really stand out. It should have enjoyable content, updated regularly, pretty pictures help and so does spellcheck. So, on that note, if anyone wishes to nominate Meerkatsu in BJJ Blog of the Year award, they can do so here:
http://thefightworkspodcast.com/2008/11/20/bjj-blog-of-the-year-2008/
No pressure...

byMeerkatsu

in blogs, websites

December 16, 2008

Keyboard Warriors

As we wind down towards the end of the year, it is probably a good time as any to mention a few blog warriors who I like to read on a regul...

Read More

Forked Tongue

According to google stats, I’ve just received my 2,000th visitor to the Meerkatsu blog this year. Of course this figure could easily represent 10 people visiting 200 times, or one person 2,000 times (more likely), I’m not entirely au fait with analysing the figures, but it is reassuring to know that some people read my rants at least some of the time. Interestingly, in the figures for 2007, there was an extraordinarily huge peak of visitors when I posted a photo of the rather gorgeous Kyra Gracie. So just for the sake of clarity, let’s see what she looks like again…

Taken from her website: http://www.graciekyra.com/
Every male BJJ practitioner I know goes on about Kyra, including me. But the website actually offers very interesting information, revealing her impressive fight stats and training photos and it endorses the widely held view that she is a tremendous athlete who is dedicated to her sport, which is more than can be said about me.

I had a number of people emailing me and commenting in my last post about the Chinese characters I wrote in the made-up fake martial arts diploma. It translates: I believe I am Chinese, but I am really a ‘Big Nose’.
'Big Nose' being an old-skool insult that Chinese people give to western ‘foreigners’. Other phrase book nuggets to use on your holiday could include ‘pale face white ghost’ (very nasty insult), ‘son of a turtles egg’ (probably the worst you could ever say) and ‘Imperialist Opium dealing scumbag’. OK I made that last one up, but in my experience, Chinese people used to be very blunt with their insults. What with the Olympics, international economy and general more openness they are probably much more world aware now and have more subtle insults. Or maybe not.

Anyway, the point I was trying to make was that I sometimes come across people here in the UK, especially martial arts fanatics, who live, eat, breathe, dress, and even speak with an oriental accent in their quest to be a martial arts master. It is really weird. But there are also reports of American BJJ instructors who, overnight, begin to take on a Portuguese twang when naming their techniques. For example, the word ‘guard’ is almost universally re-iterated by a Portuguese speaker as ‘Gwardo’, which is very quaint sounding but you know what it means. If you catch a native English speaker saying GWARDO, he has either been watching too many BJJ DVDs or has spent half his life in Portugal or Brazil…or just wants it to appear that way.
But nowhere is the ‘crime’ of pretending to speak in a fake accent more prevalent than in the karate dojo.
24FightingChickens master, Rob Redmond writes in his excellent website about just this very phenomenon:
To quote his article:

“I personally do not like using Japanese terms in my karate classes. I think it gets in the way of good communication, and that it makes things seem mystical that are truly quite plain and unimpressive. I also worry that use of Japanese in my karate classes will create an exclusivist culture where newcomers feel uncomfortable. I also tire of spending time and energy teaching the terms to students, or reminding them of what they mean. I also do not care for trying to teach pronunciation, since my Japanese is accented with American, it seems a little preposterous that I would be correcting pronunciation.”

It is probably for this reason that our style of trad JJ does not use Japanese words to describe techniques. But this can lead to problems when I get the odd Aikido, judo or jitsuka from another style coming to my dojo and talking about techniques using the Japanese terminology. I just nod, sagely, narrow my eyes, and witter something inscrutable under my breath…was that an insult maybe?…I'm not saying.

byMeerkatsu

in blogs, humour, kyra gracie, websites

August 28, 2008

Forked Tongue

According to google stats, I’ve just received my 2,000th visitor to the Meerkatsu blog this year. Of course this figure could easily represe...

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Shop 'til you Tai Otoshi

I missed SENI08. Completely forgot about it. Some people fought, some won, some lost. Who cares. Actually I do. SENI is Europe’s biggest martial arts expo. And the Gracie Invitational is the biggest tournament in it. One day I will compete, one day…
More on this later as I find out who won and who lost from my small BJJ circle of sparring pals.
Actually I can probably tell that the Roger Gracie Team won their usual haul of bling - if last BJJ class was anything to go by. I got tapped four times in a row, by exactly the same four techniques. As usual with many of these things, the very simplest of things would have prevented me from falling into the trap each time. Nick showed me how to defend that trap, then I fell for it again. Duh!

Been shopping recently for MA gear for my club. I’m going to use this opportunity to review and rate online martial arts shops:

BLITZ – This is a very well established brand and store. Only sell their own stuff.
PROS: Tons of trad and MMA stuff at very good trade/club prices. Quality of their own brand equipment is high and they update and upgrade their stock frequently.
For example, a basic Blitz gi I bought ten years ago is still in excellent condition despite hours and hours of sweaty training and rigorous grappling. They've also got a great Bargain Bin. I've found all manner of end-of-line stuff at knockdown prices. I love bargain bins.
CONS: Usually I visit the actual store and buy on site, but the one time I ordered online and they cock up big time. The telephone sales help was useless and it took a stiffly worded letter to the Managing Director to get them to respond and refund me. This gave me the chance to try some other stores out. It's also rubbish for return of faulty goods. Forms to fill, purchase order numbers to quote etc etc.

BYTOMIC – Lots of own-brand and name brand equipment.
PROS: Great easy to use website. Lots of choice for both basic trad, MMA. Also have a lot of interesting novelty and alternative MA products. Fast online support and helpline. Fast delivery. I've been using these guys a lot recently.
CONS: Slightly more expensive club/trade prices than Blitz. No BJJ uniforms. Other than that, nothing to complain about.

BLACK EAGLE – Recently established, selling own brand and name brand gear..
PROS: Good quality products. They make a very good and surprisingly cheap BJJ kimono. Excellent customer support. The owner gets back to your emails or calls you personally within the day.
CONS: More expensive than Blitz, not a great choice of equipment overall. I think it is one of the owners who poses in all the photos, looks a tad unslick since bless him, he's no finely honed athlete.

TAO SPORTS – Small high street shop recently expanded into large online store.
PROS: Quality, quality, quality. I’ve bought from Tao for years and their own-brand stuff is top quality. My kickboxing trousers have been worn for years and years and my own knees are more likely to wear out before the trousers do. Similarly, their boxing gloves are wonderfully garish and excellently made. My Tao judo gi could survive a nuclear war.
The customer support is one of the best, with almost immediate response.
CONS: Well you got to pay a lot more for good quality. Not a huge range of gear, but got all the basics.

MMA Universe - Very popular site solely dedicated to MMA and BJJ.
PROS: Probably the best place to buy MMA and BJJ gear, although their range is a bit limited. Eg millions of Wanderlei Silva, Koral and BTT stuff, but the MMA and BJJ world is vaster than just those brands. Would like to see more choice. Keenly priced though.
CONS: You need to purchase a minimum of £65 to claim the club or trade discounts, which is too steep if all you are buying are a load of groin guards. Blitz have no minimum fee. As for choice, BJJ and MMA punters should also check out...

Dragon Bleu - This French company sells a large range of trad, MMA and BJJ gear.
PROS: Huge range, keenly priced, postage is surprisingly affordable considering they have to ship to another country.
CONS: No club or trade discount. I bought an Atama gi from them and although the spec was the same as the one I ordered from USA, it was physically very different. I presume Atama tweek the design for different markets, but you don't know this until it arrives. Customer support is adequate.

International purchases - I've also purchased one-off items from lots of other shops including from the USA. Buying from the States doesn't really save much money since you pay huge amounts for shipping and tax. And it could take months to arrive or days, just pot luck. But you do get the chance ot buy stuff not available in the UK and the customer service I have found to be pretty high. I have read on forums that buying kimonos from Brazil can be a nightmare, so watch out. Finally, ages ago I saw one shop seriously selling an outrageous Stars and Stripes karate gi. I can't find it now. I'm dying to see it again, and of course laugh at the hilarity of such a concept. In fact, I might just blog an article about hilarious martial arts products.

Coming soon...Meerkat's recommended martial arts books.

byMeerkatsu

in BJJ, shopping, websites

April 30, 2008

Shop 'til you Tai Otoshi

I missed SENI08 . Completely forgot about it. Some people fought, some won, some lost. Who cares. Actually I do. SENI is Europe’s biggest ma...

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In praise of Bullshido

I’ve recently been chatting to someone from the Bullshido forums about hosting a possible London Throwdown (more about that later), but it reminded me that I have been meaning to write about Bullshido for while.

For those who are not familiar, Bullshido is a website dedicated to exposing the myths and hype that surround some martial arts and some of their infamous charlatans. It is by far the most informative and entertaining martial arts website on the whole of the internet. Unfortunately, it has acquired a reputation as a bit of a style basher. In that if you do something other than hardcore MMA or BJJ, then your style is obviously rubbish. And in fact many forum threads and articles are heavily biased towards this aim. But if you read the excellent deconstructions of so-called experts and view the huge library of video clips, I can guarantee you will walk away better informed about martial arts in general. The aim I believe is not to debunk martial arts, but simply to ask the reasonable question of whether something actually works or not.

Like many things, there are cranks, weirdos and plain outright scammers in all fields of life. Alternative medicine, for example has a lot of suspect misinformation (check out Bad Science, run by Ben Goldacre for a worthy expose of alt medicine).

The martial arts are also no exception. Many arts claim to teach you techniques that have no scientific basis and cannot realistically be proven to work. You just have to take it as read. That in my mind makes it too close to a cult, blind faith or religion for comfort. There is also nothing to stop anyone from setting up their own school and claiming all sorts of martial art prowess. As long as there are people willing to believe and pay for such instruction, such practices will always go on. Which is why Bullshido fills a very important role.

On their website, notable targets for their ire include:
Frank Dux - the man whose 'lifestory' inspired Van damme to produce the film Bloodsport.
George A. Dillman - the self styled, Grandmaster of pressure point fighting.
Ashida Kim - The Ninja Master.

Read and be damned. Bullshido are certainly thorough in their search to find the truth.

I’m not saying my trad JJ style is immune to propagating a few suspect beliefs. Some seminars I have attended have veered dangerously towards talk of meridian lines, one-touch rescucitation techniques and other ‘interesting’ interpretations of how the human body works. I cringe when I have to hear these things. They are often explained as fact, with no offer of a medical or reasonable explanation. Just because someone says if you hit L33 along the upper 'lung' meridian then you will feel feint, how different is that to saying: and if you wave this twig and chant intoxicum collapsicum, you will also feel feint? The words placebo, suggestion and parlour hypnosis spring to mind.

Many years ago, I attended a large seminar where a very highly ranked European sensei (he may have been like a fifth or sixth dan) gave a demo where he lightly kicked just below his uke’s knee and his uke collapsed as if shot by a 12-bore. We were all agasp in amazement. When we all tried it, some of my colleagues also attested to feeling intense pain and a sudden collapse. But I could not get it to work , nor my uke on me, so when the high ranking sensei came over, he performed the knee point technique on me. I felt nothing, but (and to my intense shame) I felt awful that he would be embarrassed in front of everyone, so I feigned a collapse (nothing too hammy, just a modest buckling). Yep, I tricked myself into believing this magical pressure point actually worked. The sensei walked away happy, the crowd were in awe and I acted honourably in saving his face. But it has haunted me ever since. I vowed from then that I would always aim to provide clear, logical and non-mythical explanations to techniques.

Of course, it is good to have an open mind and gain lots of knowledge. But it is equally important to be able to filter and interpret that knowledge intelligently. Realistically, a technique should be something that is logical, provable and repeatable. That is how one gains experience and wisdom. But it is human nature to want to believe in stories. They make ones physical endeavours seem more worthwhile and perhaps add a little mystique and glamour to otherwise mundane everyday lives. It is horses for courses and if a more ‘spritual’ approach to martial arts is your thing, then go for it. But a word of caution - just watch the pseudo psycho-babble, it can seriously harm your karmic chi levels. Oh, and the boys at Bullshido may just catch you.

byMeerkatsu

in martial arts, websites

April 17, 2008

In praise of Bullshido

I’ve recently been chatting to someone from the Bullshido forums about hosting a possible London Throwdown (more about that later), but it r...

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