The past 5 years since my last post have flown by, blogging was never really a passion more of a way to document my jiu jitsu.
Love, Laughs, Broken hearts but I'm still here, still kicking!
Some of the old timers are still here but the young ones moved out of the city, so the new generation of Anaconda Fight Club already being sharpened.
In the end I got my belt in 2020 from Chen in the gym with all my friends and family here in Barcelona, it was a great day! Actually, to my surprise my good mate Allan also received his so it was even more glorious for the team.
Just last month i received my 1st dan, that's how long its been, I have many stories to tell from those years and ill get around to them in subsequent posts.
It was climatic, I am not sure if it was how I imagined it, It always seemed like an unachievable goal and to be honest I have been hard set in choosing another health related goal since.
I am training tonight, so I better get ready! 14 years in at 36!
Well I can't believe I'm saying it but I graded to brown belt tonight here in Barcelona at Club Anaconda Jiu Jitsu under Mestre Chen Moraes 8th degree coral belt.
I have worked really hard to get here training and coaching 6 days per week leading up to this moment and now I realise how far away I am from being content with my Jiu Jitsu and how far it has to come to reach black belt level.
I was also tested in teaching a full class and given a brown belt test to complete which was nice showing the class approximately 40 techniques, escapes, attacks and sweeps.
Although saying that, training with a master of the sport at Coral belt really brings home the truth that the black belt is only the beginning.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
My style has now become more direct with an emphasis on taking the finish and maintaining top position all coming from Mestre Moraes teachings under the Luta Livre and grappling expert Mestre Jonas de Silva Olivieras who trained under Roberto Leitao for example.
I'm also happy to say that now I'm considered a true Anaconda after spending 3 years here and having contact for over 4y with the team. This is the first belt I have graded under the Anaconda Jiu Jitsu academy banner and I couldn't be happier with the improvement's and different teaching style I have been shown coming from the Fadda lineage.
Inside and outside of the gym I am trying to set a positive example for the students below me and I recognise my role as coach, teacher and influencer to the new members of our small family.
Although I am glad to say I feel like I have done my time at purple belt which is now over 3 years. I have hundreds of mat hours, improved my conditioning, changed my diet for the better, competed in competitions and have had some memorable moments of winning + losing and this has helped me evolve in to a new better athlete with a positive outlook.
''There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.''
Brown belt is about attacking more and cut out all the unnecessary fluff from my game.
Cut a movement from 5 steps to 3 and from 3 to 1.
Be direct, Be ruthless and show no mercy!
Now I have something new to work towards, a new challenge lies ahead and new available submissions are at my finger tips to master and to apply in competitions mainly being my favorite - the kneebar.
''Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.''
I am also very grateful for all of my team for sticking by me and giving me the space to grow within the team as a coach and I feel privileged to be considered a role model to my friends and training partners coming up the ranks.
We trained hard, sacrificed our bodies (my fingers and rib are broken haha) and then we came and conquered.
It was our first outing this year as a full team to the main Jiu Jitsu promotion `Giland` here in Barcelona and it was actually the first competition for a few members of our team so it was a great way to break the guys into the competition scene.
First up was Julio, senior, white belt.
Great matches and in his first he swept into half guard, passed and secured mount.
I remember he was up like 25-0 before taking the armbar from full mount and finishing his opponent.
Overall a great showing for him!
Don't let his stature fool you! He is solid as a rock and a bombero here in Spain!
Second up was Alvaro, Adulto, White -94kg.
Great fight with a superb back take from Alvaro.
He then secured the bow and arrow grips but couldn't finish it due to the opponents resolve and defences. He won this fight on points and then lost his second on points to the division winner and absolute winner.
The third was Rhayang, White belt, Over 100kg.
His opponent never showed up so he took the gold in this category. I know this is a faux pax and he was unsure of even taking it although we said to him it was the hard training up until the comp that defined him and he should take it.
In his absolute fight, he lost to the division winner who was a big strong bull of a guy with an MMA background.
Next up was Rory, Blue belt, under 83kg.
He had a great match against the eventual division and absolute winner although unfortunately lost via 6 points. Still was a great match to watch as it was a battle from the closed guard. Still, as I said to him the hard work leading up to the fight is where you gain the experience and to keep his head up. He has the heart of a warrior so I know he will be back!
Afterwards, it was me, Masters, Purple, Under 76kg.
The first match I was against a Gracie Barra competitor (my old team is GB) who I heard from other competitors after our fight had medalled at the Mudials at purple. The guy also had 4 stripes on his belt so I knew this would be a tough crazy fight and it was!
I pulled half guard and the referee stopped us as they didn't reset the timer! Although in the end this actually helped me as I was over the initial contact anxiety.
Afterwards, I went for a fakey single and got half guard again, swept from there when he postured with a single leg style sweep.
He regained guard and I passed with the X pass and controlled him from the turtle although I ended up on bottom half again in a scramble as I was trying to secure the crucifix.
I then stuck him into my frustrating half guard lockdown and nearly subbed him with the Electric Chair although his leg passed and we ended up in a battle for a minute until I ended up sweeping him to side-control.
I passed to mount and got the points and he bridged and got me off although I countered with the new Renzo Gracie pass defence and nearly got the tap although I only had 2 fingers on the lapel so I had let it go.
Afterwards, I went to my bread and butter butterfly sweep and secured the knee slice pressure pass for the win at 16-0.
The second fight went exactly how I wanted it to and was probably my fastest match ever securing the triangle in under 2 minutes.
Lucky I had visualized the sequence a thousand times!
I pulled closed guard, overhooked the arm and started to work my overhook sequence, the guy tried to posture and pass although I controlled his passing arm to secure the triangle and got the finish.
My opponent was real nice and he had some good performances beating a judo black belt so I will probably see him again real soon!
All in all, it was a good day for the Anaconda team and we all took something away from that day. We bonded as a team, made new friends across Jiu Jitsu and pulled off some great personal goals. Without you guys, I would be nothing!
Ever since the last Nogiland competition where I got subbed by the Ibjjf Roma open winner, I had been planning my return patiently working on my mistakes and developing not just my physical game but my psychological game and mindset as previously It just wasn't there and my confidence was lacking.
Also just after this, I had a personal breakup and went through some difficult times with this in Barcelona as well as hearing of multiple family health issues back home in Scotland. So really my level of confidence and motivation had dropped and I needed to start rebuilding.
Luckily I was given a lifeline and my hard work had finally been noticed elsewhere and I was promoted to the Training department at my workplace. Now teaching soft skills, I was luckily able to use this material and draw on the experience of my peer's to help me control my emotions by using rational thought.
Also even though I studied Sports psychology over 2 years at college and have a keen interest and currently study Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Sports coaching, I'd never really taken a step back and tried to apply this to myself or thought I would have to.
So, in fact, I needed a coach+mentor of my own...
*Olympic gold medallist Chris Hoy has a coach and was coached even though he was so exceptional at what he does winning every gold medal possible in 2008. He says your coach is there to make marginal gains. Tiny little gains that make a difference and this manifested when he went to the London Olympics and broke world records as well as took gold. – MARGINAL GAINS
After studying coaching deeper and looking into not only the methods+techniques which top athletes are often subjected to by sports psychologists I determined what techniques worked best for my own personal development and tried working on those to overcome my internal struggle.
The top 3:
Imagery - Using all of my senses to visualize winning, performing certain movements and help boost confidence while lowering anxiety.
Attentive Focus - Focusing on specific cues and triggers while learning to block out excess noise, persons or surroundings.
Self Talk - Using self-talk to express motivation and specific instructions to myself.
'I was visualising a particular combination of pull closed guard, arm trap, triangle and I lived, slept and dreamt of this particular sequence.'
'I focused on only the referee and my opponent and practiced blocking out others in training and leading up to the fight I constantly tried to focus in busy areas of my life.'
'I was speaking to myself every day telling myself that I would take this, I would finish my sequence and I would implement my game on my opponent.'
No Joke that when I was focusing and using the self-talk method I remembered a scene from an old movie I loved as a kid called Cool Runnings.
When one of the guys is in the toilet talking to himself in the mirror pumping himself up for a confrontation! haha
I would recommend using all of those 3 techniques as they helped me greatly over the past few months and I recently gave a 30-minute presentation on some of the techniques used by sports psychologists and the presentation is attached below for whoever may have an interest.
After my hard work and with help from others I can finally say I'm coming out the other side and have managed to get back what I was looking for. My determination, confidence and self-development progress is back! So I can once again say I'm back to the previous ass-kicking style of the past!
Playing guard in the gi the past few months working on retention, counters and escapes.
Also twister hook entries from basically anywhere and seeing the set up and entries in to the back or working on the leg drag has been a prime focus
Finding the knee bar from new places and it seeing the option to attack this submission has made it my favorite this year.
I will have had my purple belt for 3 years soon so really focusing on being more aware of the full leg game has brought my game on leaps and bounds and I hope to adopt a real attacking style of Jiu Jitsu this year at brown belt when its all legal.
The final book in the trilogy of nogi Jiu Jitsu techniques has been complete!!!
Grappling y Submission Curso Avanzado The new advanced level grappling book by Mestre Chen Moraes featuring myself as uke and translator for the English language has been released. The final part of the trilogy has it all! Strangles, chokes, cranks, slicers, toe holds... you name it! We cover 103 advanced level Jiu Jitsu and Luta Livre techniques, situations and positioning, working through many of the more advanced positions.
Focusing on effective and efficient techniques you should have been training for at least 6 years and covered the basic and intermediate techniques shown in the previous entries.
I have been reading the books more and more (mostly on the metro lol) which is actually helping me learn Spanish at the same time. Being able to continue to work on techniques and refer to them in the book is a great learning source as I can scribble on my book making points on what I need to improve on.
This book is available online with home delivery along with the rest of the series -
Currently working with the training department at my workplace here in Barcelona I was asked to present a small presentation showing different teaching methods and my ability to create content.
Of course i decided to choose jiu jitsu as this is something I am passionate about!
Enjoy!
The new intermediate level grappling book by Mestre Chen Moraes featuring myself as Uke and translator for the English language has been released.
The second part In the series we cover 97 intermediate level Jiu Jitsu and Luta Livre techniques working through many of the more advanced positions.
Focusing on effective and efficient techniques you should have been training for at least 3.5 years and covered the basic techniques shown in the previous entry to the series.
Footlocks, muscle slicers, kneebars and toeholds are some of the submissions covered to give content examples.
This was released in both physical stores and online you can purchase it here following this link -
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