Gracie Barra Glasgow!

The Gracie Barra Glasgow gym is located in the city centre about 5 minutes from the Central station for visitors and students it's and easy access.

Gracie Barra is one of the most well known Jiu-Jitsu academies in the worlds and with the expansion into the UK it was not long before we seen GB gyms pop up in Scotland and I believe we now have 2 or 3 with this one being the biggest.

Run by Ricky Gillon a lifelong martial artist who has both black belts in both traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Lucio Lagarto Rodrigues.

Lucio visits the gym every few months to cash in on a seminar, therefore, all of the gym duties and classes are run at this time by Ricky. Currently, Ricky has one brown belt under him in the academy who occasionally coaches.

Classes follow a regular GB training schedule and are based on weeks of set techniques which are continued until completed and then run back over with improvements as the techniques are understood more and more. This is a great way of learning and developing a solid base and it is imprinted on most GB members.

Also, the classes follow a self-defence and sport style of teaching where you will learn one or two self-defence situations before moving on the sport side of things. Personally, I really like this as I'm becoming more and more interested in the self-defence side of things being more traditional Jiu Jitsu.

The gym has 2 training rooms for Jiu-Jitsu (one huge hall pictured and the other normal sized room nicknamed the sauna) with a separate weights area with a squat rack, kettlebells, bench and numerous other lifting tools and cardio machines.

Complete with separate men/womens changing area and showers which are cleaned every day it has the amenities for every Jiu Jitsu practitioner to feel at home.



Thinking back on the early days of GB Glasgow when it was a small group of twenty or so that would be dedicated to learning the techniques while fighting over the sheets of paper with them listed to make sure you knew them haha  

Then we reached blue belt level and the Nogi started with our first class 2013 again with most of the 20 present killing each other with new Nogi moves!

After the second year of being Gracie Barra and with big names such as Lagarto, Roger Gracie and both the Estima brothers coming up to Scotland for the first time the gym became more and more popular with a good team of individuals dedicated to making it work on the mats with being friendly and open to new students and of course the competition guys who were performing on the open scene.

 

Around this time a few guys left, even more, guys joined and we kept on with the big fight which was turning up every day and showing dedication to the sport.

The gym caters to over 100 students easily.

I received my purple belt from Ricky in 2015 (4+ years) after 4 years of hard training. I was always in class regardless of the struggles in my life and I was lucky to have studied numerous other martial arts in my life so I was in the right frame of mind to start the long journey to black belt.

Jiu Jitsu really did give me a new healthier lifestyle as I left my old job, studied Fitness, Health and Exercise, became a NASM certified PT and I even country to study under new martial arts teacher. Now I am one of the main coaches for my team in Barcelona.

A huge shout out to Hollywood, Matty, Jack, Mike, Hobbs, Stuart, Colin, Kronk, Davie, Sami, Majid, BIG Gary, Thomas, Kilday, Tommy, Mark, Iain, Shelley, Andrew, Callum, Chris, Corbett and George.

Anyone else I forgot it's because the team is so huge now but I miss you all on the mats!

  

40 Broomielaw, Glasgow, G1 4QN, UK

http://www.graciebarrascotland.com/

Tel : 0141 229 0959

Blue belt promotion!

Finally made my first goal in Jiu Jitsu!!  The Blue Belt!   

Around 2 years after I started my jiu jitsu journey, I received my blue belt here at Anaconda by my professor Chen Moraes. It has been a long journey so far, and I have worked hard to earn my belt.  

I lack confidence in my jiu jitsu skills, but I feel that all the hard work and blood, sweat and tears (there’s been lots) have made me earn my belt none the less. 

To finally say I am a blue belt makes me feel proud of myself and that I have accomplished something. I am stronger and I know things that other people don’t. It is also just the beginning and I know I will never stop learning. When I started I thought I would never get better and never get to blue belt, but I just kept going and kept training. 

Jiu jitsu is something that means a lot to me and has become such a big part of my life. It is the hardest thing I think I will ever do in my life as every day you have to go through pain and struggle on the mat, no matter what! It truly is like therapy, because there is no hiding when you train, you have to face yourself and your weaknesses.

People ask me all the time, why do you train so much?  

Do you have to go to the gym every day?              

Yes, I do.  

It can be hard for people to understand why I would rather go to training than go out for beers. But that is what jiu jitsu does to you, it makes you want to be better. You can’t really drink the night before training, because you will feel like crap and not be able to follow the class as normal. And when you train almost every day, you don’t really fancy drinking that much.  

I lift weights every weekday before work, go to work, and go train at night afterwards. This means that by the time the weekend comes, you’re kind of tired, ha, ha.  But I think jiu jitsu gives me so much, I learn so much about myself and how I deal with situations. And the fact that I get to share it with my man Dean, just makes it even better. We enjoy randomly attacking each other in the house, talking about techniques, or watching fights. 

I originally started with kickboxing and then jiu jitsu afterwards. After we moved to Barcelona I have only been training jiu jitsu and just practising striking on my own. I do miss it as I was part of such a great team in Glasgow and I try to keep it up and think about connecting striking and grappling. 

I have always been a fighter and always liked those kinds of sports. It suits my personality to punch, kick and choke people rather than dancing or doing a spinning class!   

Thinking about it when I was younger I used to hang out with the boys in my class watching wrestling and trying out the different moves on each other. ha ha

Jiu jitsu, kickboxing, boxing and mma are all such challenging sports to be involved in, it will make you so much stronger mentally and make you able to endure almost anything! 

Becoming a blue belt sets the bar higher and puts more pressure on me to be better and know more. I need to step my game up to feel like I belong in the blue belt category. It adds a responsibility to my jiu jitsu, I am not a beginner any more, I am someone with experience and knowledge of the art now. 

I am now working on techniques and positions where I struggle, and becoming more confident. I look forward to finding my own game and to become a better player all around.  

My team mates are helping me every day when I get frustrated and feel like I want to give up. They’re always there to push me further and my professor as well who rolls with me every class. Every time I get frustrated and want to stop, he says keep going you have to work out!   Obviously also, I would not have gotten this far without Dean to push me forward, challenging me, making me work harder and giving me confidence. He is my big motivation every day! 

By Anne Sofie Skalvik

                                                                        

                                                                             

Interview for Martial Arts Warriors Website.

Recently I was approached by a member of MAWARRIORS.COM a website who offers martial artists and schools a free place to advertise and come together posting such things as seminars, live video feeds and interviews such as this.

They asked me a few simple questions in regards to my BJJ and martial arts background as well as asking about my current club and how I ended up in Barcelona.

We are actually going to stream a live class direct from our to gym to help the site on July 2nd so if you are interested then tune in to see some special techniques being shared by a master of the sport Coral Belt Chen Moraes.

Please feel free to watch and comment!

I always enjoy speaking about my Jiu-Jitsu as you will see!  Somebody stop me! HA

Enjoy!

www.mawarriors.com

Anaconda BJJ Barcelona

For the past few months I have been training here at Anaconda BJJ Barcelona.

I first visited this gym in 2014 and made some good friends in the week I was able to train and kept in touch with some members. After moving to Barcelona for a few months I was still speaking with a few members who then encouraged me to come back and re join the team.

The club is run by Coral belt Mestre Chen Moraes who has been teaching Jiu Jitsu for over 20 years and practicing the art for about double that.  A relaxed figure with old school style Jiu Jitsu he is an encyclopaedia of techniques which he has now in fact put into writing for us all to enjoy.

The gym is on Calle Ventallo (Gracia) and is a 5 minutes walk from the nearest metro stop Joanic (Yellow Line) which is easy accessible from the city and its takes me approx 25 minutes to travel from Placa Catalunya.

The gym has 2 medium sized matted training mats and one unmatted space for fitness classes. It also has a selection of heavy bags, striking equipment, pull up bars, climbing ladder and rope.

The main mat for BJJ can fit approx 12 people (6 pairs) comfortably for rolling although any more than that and the mat space is too busy and you end up being involved in other rolls! haha

Classes are run 5 days a weeks with one morning class 3 times a week 11 am - 12 pm and 5 evening classes either between 6 -7:30 pm or 9-10 pm.   Currently a new schedule is being reviewed as the students have requested more time on the mats as currently 1-2 hours per night maximum is limiting to higher belts who need as much mat time as possible.

Currently the club has 4 purple belts which are the highest grade apart from Chen himself. 

I personally have had the pleasure of learning many new movements and techniques under Mestre Chen as he has a specific eye for finding the most efficient technique for whatever position you are in.

The gym also hosts numerous other martial arts such as Capoeria, Boxing and Hapkido. 

Although with low numbers coming in this needs addressed in that the emphasis be back on the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well as the timetable being revised for students who want free mat time or somewhere to work out on weekends.   

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A subject that has been brought to my attention by members disapproval and that is grading days which require a fee. Belts arent given easily here so after your hard work should you also have to pay a grading fee?

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu belts are earned on the mat and with my friends having trained for years paying a monthly fee of X amount why should they then pay for a grading come the day they have been working hard towards?

I appreciate that authenticity certificates and knowledge given by the professor but this seems a little outdated with members not interested in grading due to this.

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Other than this the club has been kind to me personally and I have a great experience learning under someone with so much knowledge in Jiu Jitsu. It has been a pleasure training with everyone and having the opportunity to help coach and take the warm ups is great for my coaching progression. 

I have made great friends with the team and everyone wants to work together to take the club to the next level and improve on things that need addressed for future attendance.

A small hidden gem in Barcelona I would advise the club for any travelling Jiu Jitsu practitioner! 

Hope to see you on the mats ! :)

Team Trondheim Bjj

I have had the pleasure of training with Team Trondheim BJJ in Norway. 

The gym training area is 2 big matted areas and a space for striking with boxing equipment available. 

There is also private changing rooms, weight room for strength and conditioning and a kitchen for making snacks! 

There is something for everyone with a timetable full of BJJ, nogi, kids classes, krav maga, kickboxing and MMA classes. 

The club was founded in 2002 and the main instructor Per Christian Andresen has instructor licence under Harris International Grappling Association led by Roy Harris. Classes are also run by active members and coaches of the club that are also competing in national and international tournaments. 

The environment is relaxed and everyone was really nice and friendly to me as a visitor in their gym. The quality of the teaching has a high standard and you can see this in the rolling afterwards. 

There are some great grapplers here and the guys work really hard! I have been exhausted after every session trying to control some of these big guys, so it has been a challenge for me as a smallish girl. I get great use of my big legs though! 

As I now have been training in Glasgow and in Barcelona, I haven't really trained in my home country of Norway. I was quite nervous before as I am still only a white belt myself, and wasn't sure if I would have anything to bring to the table as a visitor in a new club. I manned up and tried my best and tried to just enjoy the experience. And that is what is just so fantastic about jiu jitsu! 

You can go anywhere in the world, and no matter what language we speak, we still all understand the language of jiu jitsu! 

As I stood watching he first technique being shown by the instructor, I felt relaxed immediately, because I know this. It is still the same positions, still the same submissions no matter where you are! 

I feel you instantly connect with people because everyone knows what it's like to be on the mats and work your ass off and get beat every day. 

I met some great people and everyone were friendly and welcomed me with open arms. I also learned some great techniques and got experience rolling with new people of all shapes and sizes. I got to test my skills and see how I handled myself in a new environment in a new club. 

As I started my jiu jitsu journey with my man Dean, I usually have him next to me as safety and as a support. It was a big achievement for me to visit a club by myself and represent my former team Gracie Barra and my current team Anaconda. I gained some confidence in my jiu jitsu as everyone gave me great feedback and I know I gave people a hard time on the mats! oSSS!

Team Trondheim BJJ - http://trondheim-bjj.no/

Post by Anne Sofie Skaalvik

www.annesofiesoprano.com

Barcelona Jiu Jitsu Team - Haubert Team - Warriors Factory

Barcelona Jiu Jitsu Academy - Haubert Team.

Or the warriors factory as they like to call it!

Tbh I would say that's exactly spot on as the amount of great quality Jiu Jitsu practitioners is insane!

Firstly Id like to say thanks to David and the team for having both myself and Anne-Sofie and for welcoming us. We both learned many techniques and knowledge was certainly passed on!


The gym is a short metro from the city and on first glance its big with large matted area, pull up bars, punch bags, weights section, cage and therapy room for massages. It has decent changing facilities too which is always a must have.

BJJ training is obviously why people come here and David Blankenheimer (Faxia Preta under Raphael Haubert) is the main professor.  I can say he is no slouch when it comes to Jiu Jitsu and is an advocate for healthy living!

I've seen the guy climb a rope upside down! No joke, upside down climbing rope! Sight to see haha!

His teaching techniques were straight forward and direct and I was lucky enough to join during Half guard week (a personal fave position) so I could somewhat tell if this was going to work which it did!

The warm up drills were great regardless of whether they were passing drills, guard retention or submission orientated they were always relative to the class techniques that day.

Everything I learned from his teachings made it into my game and that makes a good mentor!

This is shown in his teams attendance and numbers! Id say at night there could be 30 people on the mats and with a large majority of this female which was great to see.

Raphael Haubert was also luckily over from Dubai to teach so I got to experience the teachings from another very knowledgeable source!

All put together this is making for some great fighters!

3 golds from the Madrid worlds this week shows that this team is to be reckoned with!

Great team, great mentality and a pleasure to train with!   Ossss!

BJJ Journey!

It's been over 4 years now on my own BJJ journey and time for a new update!

I received my Purple belt nearly a year ago in Glasgow and since then I've moved not only countries but teams!

I've been enjoying my purple belt time so far and I have had the opportunity to learn from some great Professors and even a master of the sport.

Having so many great BJJ teams in Barcelona is certainly a benefit and it seems that the BJJ politics are not so tight here and cross training is rife with many of the top guys training in multiple gyms across the city.

Not because they do not value loyalty or friendships but because all athletes train to be the best and limiting yourself to one set of training partners simply will not make you the best you can be,

Brassoloto, Haubert, Blankenheimer, Moraes, Galvao, Cabanes, Liera Jr  are to name a few some of the black belts who are here regular if not all the time.

I have met many new friends through the sport and I have a small team of good guys that I can learn and improve with now under the tutelage of Chen Moraes.

I plan on staying here in Barcelona until the summer months and then see what happens and where life takes me on this wonderful journey!

Recently travelling keeps coming up in my mind so maybe its time to call shop here and travel elsewhere to pastures new!

Somewhere south , way south! South America? Down Under? Who knows!

Somewhere with a BJJ gym should I say!

Updating newer posts and will re upload them soon! Pics Included this time :)

Newest posts will be updated and reloaded soon with pics included thsi time! Exciting time with some new sponsor and ambassador opportunities opening up!