It's a small word

It’s been five days now since my dad suffered a stroke and Meerkat has had time to reflect on what it means to be paralysed. 'Stroke' - it's such a small word that it is easy to not realise that it is such a devastating condition. All the MA knowledge in the world is useless when confronted by something that is more powerful than any punch or kick.
In the stroke ward, I was able to see first hand, how much of a lottery a clot to the brain can be. In some beds, there are people who cannot move at all – they need complete help for feeding, changing and toilet matters. In other beds there are those who can quite happily walk and move – but can’t remember their name and look lost and confused. For my dad, he is paralysed on his left side, but is thankfully not mentally impaired. After five days, he has regained some movement, but not much, and can talk fairly ok. He still needs help with bodily functions and everything else is a zillion times more difficult. It will be a very long haul to recovery with no guaranteed result.
One of the shocking sights on the ward is how young some of the patients are. I would say at least two look like they are in their mid-forties, maybe younger. Smoking, high cholesterol & high salt in diet, high blood pressure, illicit drugs like cocaine – all these things contribute to stroke. Observing the people in the stroke ward is a stark warning to everyone out there – live well, but live sensibly, or you too could be a victim, and sooner than you probably think.

byMeerkatsu

in

July 28, 2006

It's a small word

It’s been five days now since my dad suffered a stroke and Meerkat has had time to reflect on what it means to be paralysed. 'Stroke...

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Hot & Steamy in the Baja-de-Bethnal

Just had another seminar with Royce Gracie, this was definitely his best so far (I been to 3 now). Royce showed us a technique and then a follow-on and then a defence or counter to it. Some of the moves were again, so simple and yet, it seemed no one realised the possibility that the move existed from that position. My favourite of the night was a calf muscle crush which was achieved by attacking your opponent who was in turtle position- Royce then showed how this very painful technique could be overturned into an armbar by the opponent - sweet!
There were lots of great moves like that but the extreme humidity and warm temperatures (London is currently gripped ina heatwave) inside the Bethnal Green dojo made training almost unbearable. I think I sweated about three gallons. The whole floor was awash with fellow sweat and the mirrors were completely steamed up. The only person without a bead of sweat was Royce - I guess it like just another night in Rio - or California for him.
The session concluded with Royce making us spar. The first spar I had was with blue belt Suzi, who was fast and furious but I had a good weight advantage (hard to believe I know there are actually people smaller than me) so I felt ok with that one. Royce could see me and made me change partners to RGDA member (Adam?) who is a very big guy. Of course I got totally owned and got tapped about four times in a row! Royce looked at me and demanded to know how long I had been training? I thought he was having a go at me - like, Seymour you are so pants, how come this white belt is beating you! - but no he just wanted to assess my experience because he promoted my opponent from white to blue belt 2 stripes! Wow, now I didn;t feel to bad about getting owned. Royce also gave me another stripe (out of pity probably).
After that it was Q&A. He must get asked the same questions time and time again from all his seminars it was like he had an automatic response each time. Especially when asked about his recent Matt Hughes fight (overtraining was the fault in that case). But he was genial enough to answer any Q thrown at him, although he did get a bit touchy at one point - not even sure what the question was, but he tried to say how much Gracie Jiu-Jitsu had contributed to the current MA scene.
Anyway, a great session. I still didn't get to spar with Royce (he didn't offer this time round) but some lovely technques learned. And thanks to Suzi, the lone Leicester BJJ rep, for being a great training partner - come to London again soon!
I'm in bad need of rehydrating now...until next time!

byMeerkatsu

in

July 23, 2006

Hot & Steamy in the Baja-de-Bethnal

Just had another seminar with Royce Gracie, this was definitely his best so far (I been to 3 now). Royce showed us a technique and then a f...

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Meerkat is pretty chuffed to see the fruits of his labour - under the alter-ego seycat, when perusing through a copy of Fighting Sport Magazine at WHSmiths. I saw that my Royler photos were finally published nice and big. Hoorah!



To see all the images and read the article, you'll find Fighting Sport Magazine at a 'Smiths near you (tucked with the other martial art mags in the Hobbies and sports section)
Seycat/Meerkat photography is available for weddings, birthdays and bar mitzvahs...as long as there is a fight to shoot.

byMeerkatsu

in

July 12, 2006

Meerkat is pretty chuffed to see the fruits of his labour - under the alter-ego seycat , when perusing through a copy of Fighting Sport Maga...

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On me head son!

Everyone who watched the World Cup final of France v Italy will have seen the Zidane headbutt into Italian defender Materazzi. Commentators publicly deplored his violent attack but something inside of me went “WOW!” Call me sadistic, call me irresponsible but when I saw that head strike, all I could think of “Wow! So the head strike to sternum really does work!”
I mean, although players are known for their diving and play acting, there is no way in the world you could tell me that Materazzi faked his injury. That man was floored plain and simple. And our good ole syllabus includes just that very technique (green belt attacking sweeping loins if you must ask).

Sunday was also the day that Meerkat took part in a 3 hour Okinawan tonfa seminar. It was ok I guess. I’m sorry I can’t get too enthusiastic about yet more weapons kata, no matter how authentic. I didn’t give up karate to do jujitsu just so that I could do yet more karate katas – and tonfa work is basically karate in disguise. But it was taught well by a very senior and respected South African instructor, and it was nice to see my JJ buddies from other clubs.
Anyway, enough moaning. Looking forward to our club drinks and curry night. It’ll be a nice way to celebrate the summer.

byMeerkatsu

in

July 10, 2006

On me head son!

Everyone who watched the World Cup final of France v Italy will have seen the Zidane headbutt into Italian defender Materazzi. Commentators ...

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Mind, Body and Stick Ass Moves

WHALLOP!!! I smack the wooden stick down hard on my
opponent’s skull and watch in glee as it fractures into a zillion
pieces. Well, it would have done were it not for the fact that
my weapon was heavily foam padded and my opponent
covered in full face and head shield. This is the world of
Philippino stick fighting and it was introduced to us at
Imperial by our old mate Barry Harte, 4th dan at the
Hakudakan Dojo. Amongst a myriad of skills Barry teaches,
he is an instructor of this wonderful art and showed us how
lethal it can be in expert hands. The slender bamboo stick can strike,
obviously, but it blocks, parries, disarms, counters and crushes with
alarming speed and ferocity. Wow!
Sensei Barry also showed us a selection of very very cool control
and restraint techniques - including a lot of two fingered control
restraints...ouch!
In a nutshell - the best two hours spent with a stick and two fingers.
Many thanks to Barry for the top notch seminar and we hope to see
him again soon!

byMeerkatsu

in

June 28, 2006

Mind, Body and Stick Ass Moves

WHALLOP!!! I smack the wooden stick down hard on my opponent’s skull and watch in glee as it fractures into a zillion pieces. Well, it would...

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Back to reality

After a giddy past couple of weeks what with SENI and Royler and also Gordon Liu, it was time to get back down to normality in Meerkat’s martial arts world, so its back to BJJ and JJ training as usual. And my next project is to try and produce a competition team to enter this year’s Jikishin National Tournament in October.
About ten years ago, when I first entered the tournament (and won a silver in sparring!), it was quite a big event in the ju-jitsu world. Now it probably seems less big when you compare it to SENI or the many MMA events up and down the UK. But in our world (trad JJ), it is still seen as the big one to aim for. A medal placing here brings the respect of your ju-jitsu peers and is getting tougher and tougher each year as more and more competitors train in other MA to hone their fight skills.
Obviously for me, ground-fighting division is the one I want to aim for and it is encouraging that a troupe of my JJ club buddies are similarly keen. Could 'Team Imperial' win a ground-fighting medal for the first time ever?
Let us also not forget the other divisions of stand-up sparring and random attacks, where we usually do quite well.

In reminiscing over past times, I recall our good friend Chris Allen, who moved out of town and hasn’t trained with us for a long time. But I remember him because years ago, he came up to me and enthused about this new form of ju-jitsu from Brazil where most of the action was on the ground. We laughed. How could Brazilians know about jujitsu? And surely our devastating array of wrist locks and hip throws meant we didn’t need to learn ground work? Then he showed us a few moves. One was a triangle choke and the other a scissor sweep. We stopped laughing and wowed at the dynamics of these 'new' (sic) techniques. Chris since went on to devote all his training to BJJ – spending time in Brazil – and we were left wondering how we could learn this cool new stuff. Now, everyone is at it. It’s like an arms race at times. If we don’t learn BJJ to supp our trad training, you sure as hell know the dojo down the road is.I wonder where Chris is now?

byMeerkatsu

in

June 21, 2006

Back to reality

After a giddy past couple of weeks what with SENI and Royler and also Gordon Liu , it was time to get back down to normality in Meerkat’s ma...

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Royler Gracie seminar

In a small, slightly hidden warehouse, last night, 35 eager students of the grappling game took part in a seminar with the world's second most famous Gracie brother - Royler. This was one special night as Royler has never been to the UK before and a real privilege. The seminar was three hours long and I could have stayed there for three more, so fascinating the tuition, so sharp the dissection of techniques and explained to a level where every one of us had the look of 'ohhhh, so that's how you do it'. Stand up, passing guard, choking, combining choke with sweep - all basic and simple stuff, the stuff you can pick up in any training vid or BJJ book. But here, in this dojo, shown by one of the world's most enduring and evergreen exponents of the art, here the techniques came to life.
It must have been a little tough for Royler. Brother Royce has literally just lost his fight to Matt Hughes the night before. The two brothers are very close so it must have been a blow to the family pride. But here was Royler, explaining to us about joojitsooo and still smiling and showing us the joy of grappling.
Of course Meerkat and Mrs Meerkat were especially honoured to be given the job of official photographer. With big white backdrop and studio lights set up, we snapped away crossing our fingers that the pictures would come out. The pressure was on as all the camera crew, reporters and magazine press were opting not to take photos instead happy to rely on our product. Gulp! Well, I think my pics are a little overexposed, white gi - white backdrop darn! But one or two are hopefully useable. I'll post a full reportage on my pic gallery soon. In the meantime, here are a couple of interesting poses!


Royler helicopters Meerkat - oh the fun on my face.


Meerkat sends Royler flying the wrong way, oops.


Royler gets his own back, this pressure point hurt like hell!


Baby Meerkat gets in on the picture.

More photos here: http://www.pbase.com/seymour/roylerseminar

byMeerkatsu

in BJJ, eddie kone, royler gracie, seminar

June 01, 2006

Royler Gracie seminar

In a small, slightly hidden warehouse, last night, 35 eager students of the grappling game took part in a seminar with the world's secon...

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Graced

It’s been a mixed week if you are a Gracie fan. At the weekend, UFC legend Royce Gracie lost his fight to Matt Hughes. I did not see it but read that it was pretty one sided and quite vicious. With Hughes winning by taking the back and hammering blows until the ref stopped it. Although Royce lost, I don’t think anyone was too surprised by the result as Hughes is younger and has had a huge number of top level MMA fights to his name. It also shouldn’t affect Royce’s popularity as his achievements in the early days will always be remembered. With BJJ rising in popularity beyond all recognition, the Gracie name is etched in granite.

I said a mixed week, well, the good news is Royler Gracie is coming to town on Wednesday. Not only am I quivering with expectation but Eddie asked if I could take some official photographs before the seminar – with the possibility that they would be published in martial arts magazines. I certainly was not gonna miss this golden chance to capture one of the martial arts greats, so off me and Cat trudged to Calumet to buy a 9 foot backdrop and stands. I also managed to acquire my dad’s Canon Eos 5D – a real beast of a camera that can snap images at a whopping 35 MB per frame. Just crossing my fingers and hope that everything works as planned. Imagine me, ordering Royler Gracie around telling him to stand there or put his arm there like some bossy photographer…gulp.

byMeerkatsu

in

May 30, 2006

Graced

It’s been a mixed week if you are a Gracie fan. At the weekend, UFC legend Royce Gracie lost his fight to Matt Hughes. I did not see it but ...

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SENI SHOW 2006

Wow! what an amazing SENI Show I've just had: I got a VIP all areas pass; I got to hang out all day with top HK movie legend Gordon Liu; I got to see my BJJ buddies compete and to top it all, I got to meet Chuck Liddell (current UFC champion) all on my own!

But first, there was hassle getting my pass, my name was not on the guest list as promised and my aunt was not around to verify my credentials. Somehow I convinced the woman at the gate to let me in, plus I got an almost impossible photo pass to allow me complete access to all areas and photograph whatever I liked (videoing and photography was not allowed in certain zones). This gave me the unique chance I was dying for to capture the BJJ contest in all it's close detail. How pleasurable it was this year (unlike the ridiculous debacle last year) to walk unimpeded into the fight zone and snap away, and whenever a steward jobsworth tried to chuck me
out, I just showed them my stamp and they backed away muttering apologies.

RGDA-UK fielded a small team this year. First up was the Asian whirlwind KJ in the rooster blue belts, who despite all his best efforts, could not get the better of some very technically
proficient blue belters. But he got to have two fights and never got submitted - a proud debut I think. Mark was next, his blue belt middle weight division had something like 20 or more competitors, so it was a long wait for his turn. Although outpointed in the end, Mark's flexible and subtle approach to competing meant he was always in with a good chance, just narrowly missing the crucial submission he was looking for. Mark was disapointed but as one of
our best players, he looked prety good to us. Next was Melitta, the dark haired assassin Melitta in the ladies white belt lightweight. I joked with Melitta after her fight that I tried to get good
photos of her but since she spent all match being pinned under her stronger but rather unimaginitive opponent, all I got was a picture of her arms and legs doing their best to escape. A tough match with few chances for Melitta, but she gave it everything and can be proud to have entered. Last up was our man Oz. Now Oz is special, he is as strong as an ox and knows no boundaries. In the middle weight white belts, this was probably the toughest division with
over 40 competitors. Oz began very well with a superb double leg takedown - 2 points straightaway. His opponent looked stunned and frantically fought back eventually getting Oz's back and sinking in those hooks. He then worked the choke for what seemed like ages. Yeah, it was ages because Oz refused to tap and eventually went to sleep. Eduardo the ref called a halt and there was poor Oz, lying unconscious on the mat. After only about a minute, he came to but
didn't seem to realise where he was. His first words apparently were 'I want a PIZZA'. Anyway he soon stood up to a very generous round of applause from the crowd and grinned away to much credit from our gang. Fomr now on, Oz will be known as Pizza Boy!
Full respect and props to all our competitors, a brave and honorable bunch. Next year - we'll be back!





For the rest of SENI, I hung out with Gordon Liu and I ended up pretty much trailing him as his personal photographer all day. It was a very interesting insight into how the PR machine works from 'inside' as it were. To be honest, I never knew how famous and popular Gordon was, but his fans queued up all around the Combat Magazine stand and he would have been there all day were it not for his schedule and the very efficient Aunty of mine, ushering him to the demo stage.The HK cinema buffs were a refreshingly mixed bunchof people, young and old, nerdy and the trendy. I think he was amazed to see so many recognise him everywhere he went. At the demo stage, he showed a kung-fu form that was blindingly impressive. Again, I got privileged access to photograph up close and afterwards, another queue formed for autographs. Everyone wanted to chat to Gordon and if they couldn't get to him, they talked to me, assuming I was part of his entourage (which I guess I was!).
Then there was a Q&A session at the movie lounge. Gordon was in his element discussing his Kill Bill role and his views on martial arts cinema today.



Later in the day while we were chilling in the VIP lounge. There developed an extraordinary scene. Some PR woman came in and asked if we could all move out since Chuck Liddell was being interviewed here and they wanted privacy. My Aunt, whe is a most feisty PR woman kicked up an amazing fuss with the organisors (who mistakenly double booked the rooms). Poor Gordon, me and Chuck were standing there gobsmacked at the ensuing row. Anyway, I was too nervous to photograph the big man, but I did shake hands and say hello. He got to have his room in the end, because he is Chuck Liddell - UFC champion and the biggest MMA star on the planet, and we were, well we were next doors.
The rest of the day was spent at more signings and official photograph sessions. I wandered around snapping all the impressive displays and browsing the millions of merchandise stands. For the evening, we watched PRIDE & GLORY, the multi martial arts fight show and saw great Muay Thai, kickboxing and MMA action - a real nice end to the day and it seems that even traditional kungfu guy Gordon enjoys a ripping fist-fight as jolly good entertainment.
Here here!

FULL PHOTO REPORTAGE HERE: http://www.pbase.com/seymour/seni2006

byMeerkatsu

in

May 07, 2006

SENI SHOW 2006

Wow! what an amazing SENI Show I've just had: I got a VIP all areas pass; I got to hang out all day with top HK movie legend Gordon Liu;...

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Fist of the North Star

Things are hotting up again in Meerkat World as we prepare for SENI 06. This is the biggest martial arts exhibition in Europe. Loads of stars of the MA world turn out for SENI, and this year, Meerkat will have an exclusive access as his relatives from China will be bringing over Chinese acting legend Gordon Liu (Kill Bill films and numerous Chinese Language kung fu films)



Meerkat is the grandson of Hong Kong film directing legend Li Han Hsiang. Most of the Chinese film industry knew my grandfather very well - he made a lot of movies! Sadly my Grandfather passed away in 1996. But his legecy still continues and every now and again, Meerkat is lucky to meet those who knew him and acted in his films - including Gordon Liu.
Gordon will be signing autographs and talking about his movies at SENI. He will also demo his Shaolin Kungfu skills - hopefully Meerkat will not asked to be uke! It was even suggested that Gordon pop down and train either at my JJ club or at BJJ - can you imagine that! Unfortunately, the timing would not make this happen.

I will report on SENI, how well my BJJ buddies did at the Gracie comps this year and my meet with Gordon in the next bulletin!

byMeerkatsu

in

May 03, 2006

Fist of the North Star

Things are hotting up again in Meerkat World as we prepare for SENI 06. This is the biggest martial arts exhibition in Europe. Loads of star...

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Royler Gracie Coming to the UK!!!

The news that we have all been waiting for – BJJ and MMA sensation Royler Gracie will be hitting the UK for just one day in May. And lucky ole Meerkat will be first in line to attend this special seminar. Thanks to BJJ coach Eddie being the only international affiliate carrying the Royler name, this will be his first ever visit to the UK.
A little rundown of the who Royler is: to most he is the 5th son of Helio Gracie, and the younger brother to Royce Gracie. Royler has carved his own name as a fight legend with over 300 fights including winning the BJJ World Champs 4 times and the Abu Dhabi subgrap champs 2 times. As a willing ambassador for the sport, Royler showcases his techniques in several popular BJJ instructional books.
This visit is special. But more than just being a chance to meet a legend, what Royler’s visit demonstrates is a huge expansion of BJJ and MMA in the UK (and also Europe). From very small and humble beginnings a decade ago when one or two plucky Brits first began their clubs, BJJ is now one of the fastest growing martial arts in the UK and I have lost count of the number of clubs and instructors there are.

In other BJJ news, Meerkat was happy to add his contribution to the RGDA-UK new club logo. See here:

byMeerkatsu

in

April 19, 2006

Royler Gracie Coming to the UK!!!

The news that we have all been waiting for – BJJ and MMA sensation Royler Gracie will be hitting the UK for just one day in May. And lucky o...

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Seven Day Slam - Day 7

Day 7: Saturday - Ju-Jitsu in the church!
A slightly easier start to my day - it being Saturday I could afford a lie-in. But before I knew it, I realised I was on the northern line to visit Pete McCarney's new dojo in Kentish Town.
I wasn't sure what to expect, I walked in and mass was being held. Ooops! Wrong part of the church.
The training hall is behind the church, so when I walked in I was pretty impressed that it was a good size and very quiet - a world away from the hustle of LA Fitness, his previous venue.
I was in a different state of mind today. By now, my aching joints and sore muscles still hurt, but I cease to notice them. Instead, my body was conditioning itself to everyday training, and as such was ready for anything. I found my breakfalls and strikes were getting snappier and the throws a little bit tighter. In essence, I was reaching the level of fitness and conditioning I used to have when training towards my black belt.
I'm not going to make too much of a big deal here, my 7 day challenge is nothing compared to the training a marathon runner, cagefighter or soldier would do.
So what was the point?
Well, apart from showing that I have an appalling lack of social life and that I am a rather neglectful husband and father - I wanted to prove that I could physically train every day. I also wanted to illustrate that in order to succeed in anything, you need to dedicate a lot of time to it. This is especially true in martial arts. Just training once a week surely cannot do justice to one's ability in MA. In our jujitsu style, we train to react to punches and strikes with our own strikes or blocks and throws. Just how good do you think you can be with just once a week training?
It is my opinion that once a student embarks on martial arts as a hobby, a twice a week regime is the bare minimum one should do. It doesn't have to be the same MA, but the body needs to be conditioned to accept this standard.
In this month's grappling magazine, I'm reading an interview with a BJJ black belt who mentions that he trains every day, twice a day! And I know that this is fairly common amongst the senior BJJ community. Maybe this will be my next Meerkat challenge!

Until then - together in jitsu pain.
Meerkat

byMeerkatsu

in

March 25, 2006

Seven Day Slam - Day 7

Day 7: Saturday - Ju-Jitsu in the church! A slightly easier start to my day - it being Saturday I could afford a lie-in. But before I knew i...

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