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.

Coaching: Mr Quite now Mr Armbar

Had a really small group yesterday. Only four youngsters. So I asked them what they wanted to work on submissions or positions (yeah, they picked submissions). So I started showing the arm bar to omaplata to triangle to armbar drill. It didn't go down well at all. So decided we'll focus on armbar from guard, and that’s what we did, again and again. Machida didn't enjoy this and his long arms were really long levers for Mr Quite (now Mr Armbar) to clamp on some impressive (gruesome to view) armbars. Sparring also started right here. This allowed each of the young guns to field test what they'd drill against full on resistance.

Warm up: Rolling forward, backward, one Ginastica exercise

Technique: 1. Armbar from closed guard in detail. Drilled around 25 reps each, with tweaking every 5 reps.

Sparring: Starting position in closed guard, two on one grips, with legs locked over one shoulder (trapping arm and head). First to submit or a gain a Point scoring position wins. Every restart swap around.

Lesson I learned: Every lesson doesn't need to be high intensity or break neck speeds. Sometimes good old fashion drilling session followed by a very specific positional sparring session goes down very nicely indeed.

New rule instated: Those who came late and didn't put the mats out, they can put them away.

Register for a competition, then to prepare well’

'A truer test of my Brazilian Ju-Jitsu is to register for a competition, then to prepare well’.

On the day I’ll come in on weight, face my opponent across the mat, heart racing, nerves rattling, mind blank of any game plans or techniques and just scrap with every intention to submit them and none to cause them damage. When it's over, regardless of the results on the day I’ll walk away with a smile knowing I prepared well and left it all on the mat.

- Badshah (just a regular guy who enjoys BJJ)