2012 comes to close with a purple surprise

Friday night, I left work shattered, hungry and in two minds if I'd go straight home and crawl into bed or just show up at training and go through the motions.
We warm up, then get to passing guard. Then coach calls out two names and we're told to move to the sides.
It's on, grading Mataleao style. No announcement, no set pieces to demo, just two men and a scrap.
After my second scrap, coach pulls a purple belt from his bag and calls my name. I'm thinking 'no' and turns out I actually said it out loud.
On that day, tired, hungry and bemused I became a purple belt. It still feels surreal as I type this now.
Now begins the journey to prove I deserve that belt.

English BJJ Open 2012

Half Guard Steve (HGS) getting ready 

So it's that time of year again. The English Open has come around and for the first time since taking up BJJ I didn't enter. More on the whys in another post. But I was there to support coach and two other team mates.

I'll be adding more to this entry later, so come back and check it in about a week or so.

- fight videos (coming soon)
 Usual black and white photos.

Returning to the mat after 2 months

Considering I've not done any form of constructed exercise for two months as I was travelling in India. For my first day back I did well.

This is not to be taken as me smashing everyone I faced to pieces. What I mean is I was tapped a few times by a purple belt and held my own with the rest. But most importantly at no point did I feel I was being rag dolled.

Now this could be due to the gang easing me back into the mat wars.

But I feel it is related to me stripping down my BJJ game and focusing on the fundamentals of good base and working for superior position over the last year. And cutting out the fancy comp stuff like inverted guard etc

I did enjoy my first roll back. For the next few weeks my only goals related to BJJ are to simply show for the sessions on time and with all my kit. And to enjoy it. Simples.

Congrats to Abid

Small group today, and as we finished coach pulls out a brown belt and blesses Abid with it.

Test

Content

Fairburn ABC - Home Show

Friday night I get a few guys from work and head down to the Boleyn Working Mens Club. Fairburn ABC are having their home show and have 9 bouts lined up. I boxed for Fairburn as a kid and it was great bumping into Jumbo (head coach), and all lot of the kids I trained with a over a decade ago. They're not kids anymore. All of us hitting our 30's. I was surprised that apart from me, none of the others where competing in any combat sports.

As for the bouts, the last bout stood out for me. A master class on attacking the body by the Fairburn fighter. In the end the fight was stopped in the third round, with a visiting fighter with some very sore ribs.

The work guys I took along loved the evening out, £10 at the door with the proceeds going to the Fairburn Amateur Boxing Club. Awesome night out.