Bjj In Barcelona!

So I'm planning on moving to Barcelona in 2015 to spend some of my younger years in the sun and to actually enjoy myself more than I am currently in the U.K.

One of my best-friend lives there already so I have someone to give me pointers and help me with the official stuff needed to live and work in Spain.

And also my fab girl is also looking to move over later in 2015 after she has finished her University degree so I am lucky to have people in my life that are willing to let me follow out some of my dreams and I am grateful for that!



When it comes to finding friends and keeping fit I have to find my own way and seek out the right gym for me to train at to keep my Bjj flowing and progressing at a good level.

Finding and picking a new gym is no easy feat and as my research so far is giving me a total of 6+ Bjj gyms in the city that I have to scope out and approach before I make a decision on where I will be based.

Where did it start?  What team do I choose? Am I a creonte for changing teams abroad?

I started Bjj classes in 2009 in a small church hall in Rutherglen with Royce Gracie Scotland.

During travelling in 2009 I also done some grappling/Bjj with a friend who I was living with in Germany and a then Czech mma team in Prague.

When I came back I was primarily striking (Freestyle Kickboxing) as I always have until I reconnected with my old Kickboxing coaches Allan and Martyn who were taking classes in the Battlefield gym (Glasgow Kickboxing). The gym also done Bjj so it was an easy transition in 2011 when I decided to focus on it full time.

The Battlefield gym then got an affiliation with Gracie Barra and changed its focus to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (The best choice for everyone involved!) and I have stayed there for the last 3+ years keeping true to the team apart from training abroad with other teams/affiliates.

I do like Gracie Barra and what it has given me apart from just Bjj such as friends, lifestyle changes, new outlooks in life and the drive to study sports at higher level.

But I also feel that Bjj in a whole as a martial art is like that to many people and not just the Gracie teams so when I move to Barcelona I am going to be more focused on what team can give me specifically what I need!  

Where are the best guys that will run through me, the team spirit and cooperation, the laughs and falls of the group and of course the coaches have to be passionate about Bjj so much that it radiates from them every day and creates a positive influence for the rest of the us.

I'm also looking for a team with striking classes and a conditioning area as I dont want to have 2 memberships to different gyms just to tick all the boxes of modern day training like the CPT model.

As I previously stated I have found at least 6 Bjj gyms that need inspecting before I make any decision so I will be visiting each and writing up each review as it happens!

Lucky for me I have been to Barcelona multiple times before and have already been to 2 gyms so far - Atos and Gracie University.

Gracie University - Headed by Robin Gracie (Helios youngest son).

The gym is near the Sarria train station and to be quite frank was a pain in the arse to find as it was tucked away in a quiet street with one sign and a buzzer entry system so you cant see anyone around the building or a reception area until inside. (30min-1hour finding it)

The gym itself as you can imagine from a chain of Gracie Uni affiliated gyms has a nice interior with a separate office for Robin and shop upstairs leading to the bottom area which is near fully matted (decent size) with shower and changing area (also decent size).

I had a PT session with Robin 60Euros/1 hour. We ran over what Jiu Jitsu was to him and his family and we rolled in basically straight away. This was a great way to teach as i then saw as it allowed for Robin to feel my movement and patterns straight away and fix any bad habits I had while filling in the gaps of my Bjj so it flows better.

I then stayed for a class with the rest of the team which involved another black belt from the club teaching some side-control positions and escapes. This was presented well and broken down in English as there was a large amount of foreign students present at the time for a black belt grading of a friend.

All in all the club had good facilities and good instruction all be it a little bit out of the way. I would give it a 6.5/10.

ATOS -  Headed by Gustavo Galvao who is the current world champ Andre Galvaos brother and a few time national champion.

Atos was situated near Hospitel De Llobregat which is a 25min train journey from the city centre to Bellvitge station and then a 5-10 min walk.

The gym was well signed outside and is pretty massive inside as it looks like a renovated warehouse for storing goods.
It boasts a reception, kitchenette for making shakes and food, 2 large training zebra mats, a full crossfit section with bars/battling ropes and also a cage for mma making it far better equipped for the athlete who wants to train multiple martial arts in one gym.

The training started off a little later than expected as Gustavo was around an hour late so I was stuck outside the gym until the crew arrived to open up.

The afternoon class was pretty quiet with around 10 of us in the class although the evening classes are supposedly much busier with a larger variation in belts.

We started with passing drills and movement drills for a warm up then led into a session primarily involved with full guard and the breaking of grips and sweeps similar to a flower sweep.

The class was taught in Catalan and was broken down in parts to English to make sure I was still following the steps as being shown which was fine.

All in all I was happy with my time at the gym and will be going back this week for some further training which I will log on here soon!

I would give my time at the gym a 6/10.

Anaconda Bjj - Chen Moraes

Chen Moraes is a longtime practitioner with at least 40+ years of experience and sports a red/black belt. He grew up in Brazil and was good friends and training partners with Renzo and the rest of the Gracie family.

His academy was around 20 minutes outside of Barcelona with a short walk along a busy road which was easy to navigate around which was great as from experience the other acadmies have been difficult to find.

The academy itself was a small academy with a reception area, 2 matted areas and shower/changing areas. Classes were nogi in the afternoon/gi classes in the evening 5 days per week.

Classes were relatively small with the highest belt being blue belt 2 tabs when I was present although that was not a problem as Martin my now friend is a strong player and dedicated so it was good to roll with him and learn most days.

The training varied each day depending on Chens choice of techniques although what I did like was that I would go in early to drill before class and Chen would take notice and base classes on the positions I was drilling. This made me very happy as I had the chance of a master of the art to look at my game and fix holes in it as he saw fit.

His teaching was calm and collected and his game seemed to be also very direct and straight to the point which actually flowed into my Jiu Jitsu well and out of all the academies in BCN I have visited so far I took the most out of  his teaching. Someone of that level has points to make and things to say that you just cant ignore.

Chen also let me teach the warm up drills and take the guys through some partner drills to see where my level was at which was great as I love coaching and taking exercises even if my Spanish wasnt upto scratch.

All in all a very good trip to the academy and the guys training there were very welcoming to me and i can say I made friends that week that I could rely on again in the future for training partners.

I would give my time here a 8.5/10.

NEXT UP -

Gracie Barra - Leonardo Gontijo
Haubert Team - David Blankenheimer

Energy Systems and Basic Nutritional Information.

What is energy when it comes to Anatomy and Physiology?

When rolling has it ever occurred to you just what energy you are actually using?

When does a change in the energy used for muscle movement actually happen and are there given times between them?

Do you even know that the human body has different uses for different energy sources?

These are some basic questions which if interested in Health and Fitness you have to ask yourself and find out more on as an understanding of how your body works in certain situations and prolonged periods then you can plan ahead to get the best possible energy load from yourself in a sporting environment!

I have included 2 written piece's from myself which are free to read and download on any device!

Please feel free read and give me some feedback or ask any questions regarding the uses of our energy systems!! 

Anatomy Energy Systems!

Understanding Nutrition for Strength and Endurance!

Belt Testing and Purple Belt Requirements.

So its dawned on me that I will soon be coming into my advanced stages of Jiu Jitsu being purple, brown and black belt. And I have been collating  my techniques (to the best of my memory) into a specific order and gathering as much information as to what I need to do to get my purple belt grade.

I'm now advanced blue belt (2tabs) which I received Feb 2013 at my academy and around half way on my journey to faixa roxa! My attendance and progression has been good throughout those stages and following IBJJF guidelines Ill be ready in the next year if I keep up training 3+ times per week.

Personally I feel a belt test would best suit this stage as it would give me a chance to show everything I have learned through out the fundamentals, advanced and black belt programmes and where I can show that I'm not a one trick pony that has not looked into other areas of my game.

My academy has not done belt testing so far and to be honest I'm not sure that's a good choice as testing gives you the chance to show what your worth, and give your professor first hand knowledge of your movement and skills while being watched. Although we do have a list of techniques which we run through being tested is something altogether different.

Another reason is that I'm not really interested in competition. I've competed in numerous other martial arts during my lifetime and nowadays I'm more interested in learning the martial art to progress myself as a person and my lifestyle. Some students are given extra credit for a medal whereas people who don't want to compete have no way to show their skills by merit other than techniques learned and progression in their game.

Having searched online numerous sources I have found that Pedro Sauer academies testing to be some of the best in that a traditional setup with professors watching and calling techniques while the students perform.

Yes this may seem a little traditional like doing Kata's but is that a bad thing?
Kata's are there for a reason... to make sure you can perform the techniques for your grade.

So many of the guys are learning off of websites and youtube that you hardly ever see someone drilling basic fundamentals moves or body movements. Just last week I was listening to some white belts talking about inverted moves and berimbolos but one of those guys didn't know how to pull guard properly never mind a berimbolo. So it could definitely help with giving a clear structure and base for those individuals as they know they will be given a test to pass.

When I was a white belt (not saying that in a bad way) I literally took a full 6 months-1year working my defence from the bottom, full guard, half guard and side control. They were the first things on my list to learn as I knew with a solid base of defence you can learn to capitalise on your opponents mistakes when attacking to sweep, escape and get a better position.  Solid fundamentals = solid advanced techniques.

Anyway I digress.....

Having searched for purple belt requirements pretty much everywhere I came up with a list of the general accepted requirements and techniques needed. To my surprise they did not outline fairly new open guards such as dlr, lasso, inverted. But I guess that's the new style which is evolving right now and as far as I can see only older lists of techniques exist.  Although I can imagine in an academy like Atos (mendes bros), Cobrinha BJJ etc you would have movements like this involved in your grading as this is the style of the Professors themselves.

So down to techniques. I have a list of general techniques which are accepted for purple belt grading -
I have added some which I feel relevant in RED.
(Most added techniques as you will see are related to the open guard)

Conditioning-
Conditioning programme 3-4 days per week focusing on NASM CPT model due to my qualifications.
Stabilization Endurance, Strength Endurance, Hypertrophy, maximal Strength, Power.

Movement -
Increased flowing movement on the floor and standing including falling techniques, shrimping, inverted movements, stretching, drills.

Self defence -
5x+ standing defences, 5x+ ground defences, Kicking and punching defences, Advanced kickboxing/Thai, basic weapon use. 

Takedowns/Throws -
2x single leg, 2x double leg, 4x hip throws, 1x leg throw, 3x arm/collar throws, 4x trips, 4x counters.

Sweeps -
5x+full guard/standing, 5x half guard, 3x+ butterfly, 3x+ spider guard, 3x+ Dlr sweeps, 3x+ Lasso sweeps, 3x+ x-guard sweeps, 3x inverted sweeps.

Escapes -
4x mount, 5x side control, 3x turtle, 3x back escapes, 3x knee on belly, 3x north south, 3x armbar, 3x triangle, 3x omoplata, 3x choke, 3x leg lock, 2x leg ride, 3x kimura.

Passing -
3x+ full guard, 3x half guard, 3x spider, 3x butterfly, 3x DLR, 3x Xguard, 3x lasso, 3x inverted.

Submissions -
5x full guard, 6x mount (low,medium,high), 5x back, 3x spider, 5x side control, 3x+ north south, 3x+ knee on belly, 5x double attacks, 3x inverted, 3x kimura trap.

Personally I feel the purple belt tests which are documented are missing a vast majority of the new guard styles which are being played. I already know everything I have put down here so I am on the right track as it is, I just need to perfect techniques to a higher level and broaden my horizons on the nogi style as I mainly train in the Gi.

Osssss

PS. some of those tests are attached.

Pedro Sauer Purple Techniques
Aloisio Test Purple

Training Abroad!

Unforgettable experiences, making new friends, meeting your idols, learning new skills and techniques from master technicians, working with top conditioning coaches and personal trainers and the list goes on!

I've been around Europe training in the past and present (next Sept14) to Germany, Spain, Holland and the Czech Republic and the experiences are second to none.


Travelling has always been one of my major passions and I normally go abroad 3 times a year so when I started training BJJ seriously 3 years ago and became addicted, it felt a natural progression to combine both of them together and see what happened!

It can be quite nerve racking walking into a new gym in the UK, never mind foreign gyms where a language barrier can be present to the point of using hand signals to get your point across. But I was always welcomed and I cant say a bad word about anywhere I have been.

That said the etiquette in Jiu Jitsu in general is very humble so I would always shake everyone's hand when I walked on the mats and make an attempt to talk to everyone which was always received well and I was never turned away, knocked back or looked down on when I was partnered/rolling with higher belts.

I have however been knocked back from sparring kickboxing with a few people because maybe their ego was too much to handle and the thought of an outsider giving them a hard spar was too much to take on in front of their coaches. Who knows!?!

What I did find funny about the Jiu Jitsu side of it was everyone was spying my gi to see where my patches were and what team I came from and I could just see the competition guy's licking their lips like they had a new toy to play with!

But hey hey, I know what that's like, no one wants to get tapped from the outsider coming into the gym to try out the team before they decide to commit or not or whether in my case they were just over for a couple of sessions and a pt with their Prof.

The rolling seemed to always be at near 100% with the lower belts to even some purple belts as it felt like they had more to prove by rolling and smashing a travelling blue belt whereas the better purple and higher brown/black belts would just let me play my game and try figure it out as quick as they could before sticking me in some pretzel shape in the simplest but most effective way possible just to show me where they can go with it.

The professors are always so inspiring and motivational its hard not to walk out of a session feeling on top of the world and in some ways indestructible from the techniques and visions they give you in not just your Jiu Jitsu but life in general. It seems the Brazilians especially have a way with words (even though in English) that seem to relate to you and your life in ways you would never think and their life experiences and stories always rub off on you in some way.

Take Lagarto for an example (Whom I have only met and trained with in the UK), he is full of stories and life experiences and this radiates off of his personality when you meet him. His speeches are always aimed at a specific point with ups and downs and have a way of filling you with enthusiasm to keep following your Jiu Jitsu dreams whatever they may be!

The training from the professors is also second to none and I have always came away from a class or PT session with something new to work on, or in some way I have had the blanks filled in which i needed to progress my Jiu Jitsu to another level.

I once had a PT session with Robin Gracie in Barcelona, and as we discussed there is not a set techniques that I need to learn (unless that is directly what I went for i.e de le riva from the man himself) and that we shoud in fact just roll in and along the way if he spots something I need to do or that I'm doing wrong he will fill me in directly to in some way fix my bjj.

Personally I found this very useful as we would roll through every position I could think of which was obviously minute to what he knew and when we came to a position where I maybe stalled/failed to escape or failed to finish a technique he would say "hey lets work on that a bit" and we would run over the basics from that position leading to advanced techniques depending on how well I took it in.

Id say to anyone that was travelling to take a gi and just go for it, you will always be welcome and you will always walk away from it feeling amazing. Its something that stays with you and the techniques are something you have to show for it so please help teach and pass them on to your friends back home.
That's the way of Jiu Jitsu sharing and helping your team reach new levels through cooperation and coordination!

All in all spreading Jiu Jitsu in some way and giving something back to the people that work day in day out to make Jiu Jitsu what it has become today  is satisfying and the friends are people i will never forget and I would like to think that I have made that impression on them too!

Osss!

Butterfly to X-guard back take!

Butterfly to X-guard back take.

1. Get butterfly hooks and grip right knee
2. Elevate and switch to Xguard, keeping opposite leg held near your head.
3. Push opponents leg away to break posture and clear leg over head with xguard.
4. Keep hold of the cleared leg and take belt with free hand.
5. Switch both shins/legs to the back of the opponents hamstrings/upper leg.
6. Kick opponent forwards while at the same time taking leg hooks and over under arm grips.

Starting Bjj - Anne Sofie

I only started bjj about 2 months ago, and I'm hooked.

I've done kickboxing for a while and really enjoy it, but bjj really does require more from you as a person.
You have to commit to it, you have to practice, and you have to stick with it.

I enjoy every class and the support from higher belts is great and even if i get smashed in the class, there's always someone that will help me out, give me tips and get me back on track.

It can be hard when you only know a few things and they don't come automatically to you just yet. Saying that though, I feel much more secure while rolling than I did only a few months ago.




I see myself as a tough girl and I like to be challenged physically. And rolling with massive guys that can easily control you is definitely challenging.

But then it is such a great sense of achievement when you manage to get a sweep or break someones guard or make a pass!  And I do enjoy when some of the boys at the gym become completely silent after being beat by a girl. I don't think they appreciate that, ha, ha.

It makes you feel so strong to know that in a situation where someone would attack you, you do know ways to get out of it.

A random guy attacking you in the street is not going to know that you know bjj, so he's not going to be prepared for it.  I've learned what to do when someone attacks you from the back, have you in headlock, have both your arms among others.

Although they don't come automatic just yet, I know how to escape from mount, chokes, sweeps from full guard...all these things would help me in a situation with someone attacking me. It definitely makes me feel safer and more prepared.

It's such a great environment in bjj as well, everyone makes you feel welcome and tries to help you out. You do feel part of a family where everyone is passionate about the same thing.

And I don't know how it happened, but I think about bjj all the time. I go through it in my mind, read through the techniques I've written down in my bjj book, I've even dreamt about it! It does get you hooked, but in a good way. I think there's worse things one could be doing than learning how to use your body and challenge yourself both physically and mentally.

Now, I have to mention the Gi's!
Like actually, how did I start looking at Gi's on the Internet all the time?

I always thought that the uniform they were wearing was a bit odd.
But now I want one in every colour! Especially yellow, and red, and orange, and brown, and purple, and... Yep. :)

Anne Sofie Skaalvik

Gi Addiction!

Right that's it! No more!

No wait that one is really suave! And that one has contrast stitching! AND THAT ONE COMES WITH 2 SETS OF PANTS!

I think i may be an addict, fair enough i only have 6 gi's but with 4 of them at £100 quid a pop its still an expensive addition to my wardrobe!

But with the contrasting styles, cuts, rashguards, stitching, limited editions there is so many to choose from i could spend all my money easily!

I gotta catch em all!


I'm still missing some real crackers for my collection: CTRL, Shoyoroll (not too bothered about SYR), VHTS, Gameness.

My list from fave to worst of the gi's:

Meerkatsu Heavenly Kimono - Just a real good fit for me, perfect in the legs and arms being in between sizes its a nightmare to find the 'perfect gi'.  The gi has slim arms and legs, contrast meerrkatsu emdroidery and a very nice rashguard inliner featuring the heavenly kimono wrist-lock artwork.
Update -Somehow a small tear occured in the crotch area which I flagged to Seymour and he kindly offered to help me out with straight away.

Tatami Estilo Purple - The Colour ! Oh the colour!  Pimping IS easy in this gi, a decent size cut although the trousers have shrunk over 3 washes. Ive also found the colour has faded slightly too but im sure some dylon further down the line will get it back to pre training saturation!
Regular A2 size although the jacket seemed to run large on this compared to a regular estilo v3/4.
I actually had some problems with the stitching in the gi being loose in many areas and also the estilo logo was missing from the arm, I contacted Tatami about this and they were ind to give me a large discount off my next pruchase.

Tatami Estilo 4 - Cracking gi top which fits well and it nice and snug, the trousers again a little on the short side. (Got some metal gear solid patches on this gi which look sweet! FOX HOUND!)

Aesthetic Alpha 2 - I love the style of this gi and the fact it comes with 2 sets of pants is excellent, although what the hell is with the cut, honestly its massive, the sleeves are 7-10 inches wide and the trousers have are at least 2 inches wider than every other gi i have in the same size (A2).  I must say the guys at Aesthetic have been more than kind in trying to help me get the right fit, great communication throughout and they have offered me a change of size and are even willing to pay for alterations at a third party store.

Gracie Barra Signature gi - The old Gracie gi before they changed to storm (which we will come onto). This was actually given to me second hand from my prof 2 years ago and was worn/ripped into the ground by the time i was finished with it. Although I had plans!
A few trips to a local fabric/alteration store and i got it patched up and a new collar put over my existing one. (cost me £20 to get the collar stitched over)
I also used some black Dylon machine dye x2 which turned the gi pure black with contrast white stitching throughout!
The gi has shrunk considerably over the years but it looks great in my eyes, worn old skool look!

Gracie Barra Storm Training gi - Wow, these gi's what is with these gi's? Is it me?
Fair enough the old GB  gi's were prone to the patches coming off here and there but hey hey it was made in a cheap warehouse in Pakistan but crap storm gi's?

The fit has been cut diagonally, supposedly for a competition style fit (I don't get it). So when the gi sits on your shoulders and you put your arms out wide it shortens drastically. Also the collar is weird stiff, like it hasn't been made from good quality elastic inside. And the trousers are very very short, actually the shortest of all the trousers I own. I actually swapped a mate for a size up hoping for a longer fit but they are basically the exact same so now I have hammer pants!

(Update, I've read of a few GB gyms using other manufacturers and putting patches on the gi instead of buying stock Storm ones, so its not just me lol!)


If you fancy an insight in to the needs and wants of the BJJ addict world then follow the link below to a great facebook group page where you can fuel your addiction!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/147551411937438/

Some new coaching opportunites!

So some great news not just for myself but for the rest of the guys in the programme and for the club!

A few longtime members have been selected for the Gracie Barra trainee coaching programme in our Glasgow club.

To qualify for the trainee programme we had to pass the pre-requisites of belt rank, ability, cooperation, professionalism, teamwork and show a commitment and great attitude towards our club and all members.


To pass we have to complete over 60 hours of coaching training including homework, instructors classes and on the job training and then we are given the opportunity to take on the full coaches programme.


For the time being as a blue belt I can only help coach the fundamentals and advanced programme but give me a year+ to purple belt and I can help out with the black belt programme.

I must say I'm pleased at being given the chance and opportunity to push our club to a new level! Very exciting times!! Oss!

Flowing!

"Be Water, my friend"

A piece of Bruce Lee's famous quote which puts perfectly into words the constant learning curve of Jiu Jitsu and the need to change with your surroundings and not to limit yourself to certain patterns.

Being like water.....What does that really mean when it comes to Jiu Jitsu or any Martial Art?

Water is fluid, it has constant movement and adapts to it's surroundings without hesitation. He also mentions that it can crash and be solid when it needs to be.

In relation to Jiu Jitsu - Crashing and being solid can relate to sticking to a set game plan and playing your guard or passing game for the first few steps ahead. But realising that your opponent will not just fall into your game plan and that you will have to adapt to their own movements is essential and that is where the fluidity comes in.

Intuition, instincts and muscle memory can come into play as many practitioners drill set patterns although they can never determine what their opponent will do as a separate entity as the options would be infinite.

Jiu Jitsu is the constant shift of Action and Reaction between opponents and the aim is 'flowing' of techniques. 

'Flowing' - A term used widely in Jiu Jitsu means the constant movement of techniques with a partner. Once a certain level has been reached and the higher you progress in your skill level there should be no stalling, no position that trumps you completely, theoretically you should be able to continue the movement infinite.

Every thing leads to something else!