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!