BJJ Seminar & Summer Grading: New School BJJ with Helio "Soneca" Moreira

The day started with 7 black belts

I recently had the pleasure & honour to attend Professor Helio Soneca's Summer Grading and seminar at Ernest Bevin College in Tooting, South London. The seminar was open to all and was immediately followed by New School BJJ's Summer Grading.

The Instructor

Helio Pires Moreira, aka Soneca, is a big deal. The man is a bit of a legend to be fair. He's one of the first black belt produced by the powerhouse Gracie Barra back in the old days. The NAGA, Brazilian Nationals- & Mundial champion has a lot to teach so when I heard he was coming over to London for the third time to teach and grade at his affiliate New School BJJ, I jumped at the opportunity. I mean, how many black belt do you know who started jiujitsu at the age of 8? Exactly!

Master Rickson Gracie discusses the future of jiu-jitsu with master Pedro Sauer and the head instructors at the Gracie Academy HQ: Ryron and Rener Gracie.

In a new video shot at the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California, Master Rickson Gracie discusses the future of jiu-jitsu with master Pedro Sauer and the head instructors at the Gracie Academy HQ: Ryron and Rener Gracie. Here's the video and the subtext to the video as published on YouTube:

Published on 7 Jun 2016

Jiu-Jitsu has reached a critical point in it's evolution. On one hand, it is one of the fastest growing sports on the planet, on the other hand, it is at risk of losing its identity and suffering the same fate that has negatively affected nearly all other martial arts. What made made jiu-jitsu famous in the 80s and 90s was its unprecedented effectiveness in real fights, yet today, most jiu-jitsu academies do not teach the elements that make the art applicable in a real fight.

BJJ Tips: How to get a blue belt in BJJ

In order to get a blue belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu, you need to show your instructor that you have embraced the fight ideology of jiujitsu (close the distance, take down / pull guard, climb the positional hierarchy, finish the fight) and demonstrate that ideology by leaving your strength and speed at the door and embodying the fundamentals and basics of jiujitsu.

Fundamentals of Jiujitsu:

The fundamentals are, in my opinion, not jiujitsu techniques per se but rather the solo movements that build jiujitsu and, consequently, all healthy movement. These movements are performed in a very similar fashion by all jiujitsu practitioners and other grapplers irrespective of belt and level.

Bridging (3 variations)
Shrimping (3 variations)
Getting to your knees from lying flat on your back (2 variations)
Squatting
Lunges
Rolling over your shoulder (3 variations)
Breakfalls
Pivoting over your knee
Hip switching / Box drill
Sprawling
Standing up from lying flat on your back (Technical Stand-up)
Generating momentum on your feet (6 directions)
Generating momentum on the ground (2 variations)

While two jiujitsu black belts may show you two slightly different methods to perform an arm lock from guard or  how to set up the triangle choke from side control top, 99% of grapplers and jiujitsu practitioners will perform the above fundamentals the same way. This, to me, is the true heart of jiujitsu. Not the medals, not the self defence, but learning how to move correctly.

Basics of Jiujitsu:

The basics are what we recognize more as jiujitsu and or grappling techniques.

Since jiujitsu can be seen to include 1000s of techniques, how do we decide what makes the cut for this list of basics? I use the following principles:

BJJ tips: Using the belt or the tip of the gi jacket in passing the half guard pass

Almost 4 years ago I made this short video on a method of using the opponent's belt (or tip of the gi jacket for that matter) to trap the arm and facilitate the half guard pass:

How to get a brown belt in Jiujitsu: Surround yourself with greatness

"I became better at jiujitsu all on my own, with no help from anyone else", said no one ever.

Yesterday I had the honour to test and pass for my brown belt in Gracie Jiujitsu under my friend and teacher, Royler Gracie black belt and head of EKBJJ association, Mr Eddie Kone. Holy Jesus on roller-skates!

Since getting my purple belt back in January 2010, I've had the privilege to learn from a number of amazing coaches, mentors and legends. I'd like to say thank you to them:

• Mr David Onuma
• Mr John Will
• Mr Christian Graugart
• Mr Ryron Gracie
• Mr Rener Gracie
• Mr Rickson Gracie
• Mr Steve Campbell
• Mr Italo Feriera
• Mr Nick Brooks
• Mr Eddie Kone

Gradings, Belts and BJJ: CFS Biannual Grading 25th November 2012

Grading in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is quite a big deal for many reasons:

1. There are very few belts*: You automatically start BJJ with white and between that and black belt you only have blue, purple and brown so in total most of us will have a grand sum of 4 major gradings**

2. Gradings in BJJ are performance based (in most places). If you are technically*** at the level equivalent to a blue belt, purple belt, brown belt or black belt then you will most likely get it really soon****

3. There are very few solitary activities in BJJ / grappling. Even most of the warm-up drills requires a partner. There are no kata as such so, while you have to do the work yourself, you are always part of a group. You can not become good at BJJ / Grappling without good training partners to work with you. Steel sharpens steel and all that and therefore, when it's time for you to achieve a grade, it's time for your team mates to cheer and clap for you, shake your hand and / or give you a manly hug and, if your team does this kind of thing, whack you really hard with their BJJ belt!

4. The belts are not uniform in their progression. What I mean by this is that if White belt represents 0% skill and black belt is 100% skill***** then this doesn't mean that blue is 25%, purple 50% and brown 75% skill so, in a way, each belt has a deep meaning of its own and should indeed be celebrated.


With that being said, this weekend saw the CFS Biannual Grading at Mill Hill Jiu Jitsu Club. The grading was preceded by a training seminar conducted by two black belts. Mr Andy Nugent taught a great seminar on entries and finished of the straight knee bar. Leg locks are dangerous which is why many academies never focus on them but if you are to follow Andy's fantastic advice and drills anyone can approach this topic and study it very well.

This was followed by head instructor Mr David Onuma's Game Changer Seminar. I call it this because rather than focusing on just one topic, Professor David shared entries and adjustments that helped completely change the way we approach i, the mount position and ii, passing the De La Riva guard.

My training partners for the day were Miad Najafi who heads up the Brighton branch (Elements Martial Arts) and Simon Chan (a brown belt in BJJ under Master Ricardo De La Riva who teaches BJJ in south London) and it was an honour and a pleasure to share the mat with them. It was the first time for me to meet them but hopefully far from being the last.

The seminar concluded with sparring for those who wanted to stay but not before David lined everyone up then, along with his branch instructors, conducted the belt and stripe grading and David handed out Student of the Year Awards to those who have been nominated by the branch instructors for working extra hard throughout 2012 to improve their jiu jitsu (happy to share that our gym had not one but two names: Mr Don Barr and Mr Graeme Kidd). The following names (in the order they feature in the picture) were called and received (to many surprised faces) their new belts from the boss:

Shareef Esoof - Blue
Tim Bowden - Blue
Damien Roberts - Blue
Yousuf Nabi - Brown
Gary Baker - Purple
Matt Macguire - Purple
Steve Payne - Purple
Tom Gent - Blue
Lewis Renney - Blue
Andrew Bell - Purple

Oh yeah. We were asked. We voted. There was a belt whipping!

That concluded what was for me a long weekend of training. I arrived in London on the Saturday already to train with my instructor for three hours (mount top and bottom seminar) and then we rolled for an hour in his private dojo where I learned a ton. So approximately 7hrs of jiu jitsu training in two days. Not bad for a Part Time Grappler :)

Until the next time

*for adults, that's mostly it. Some schools employ the green belt as an intermediary between the white and blue belt. Kids have a much bigger range of belts.
**obviously stripes, if your BJJ academy uses them, on the colour belts are a big deal too and if you stick with BJJ for the long run there is the red and black and the solid red belt to look forward to but we're talking after being a black belt for 31 years you can apply for your red and black (also known as coral) belt from the IBJJF.
***patching holes in your technique with athleticism and attributes will not get you the belt and trust me, good instructors can always tell!
****most instructors take pride in grading someone to any belt level so they often take a number of factors into consideration such as maturity, experience, consistency of training, competition participation and / or results, teaching experience...etc.
*****every black belt I've spoken to told me black belt is the start of the true jiu jitsu journey so this is just a hypothetical statement



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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ / Grappling Tips: Comparing Your Skill To Peers. The Danger of Small Samples

Is the earth big or small?

Do you compare your grappling ability to that of your peers on the BJJ mat? Have you ever felt like you (or someone else) are not really worthy of your belt / achievement (irrespective of whether you felt you deserve more or less)?

Spending the last week observing maths teaching at a high school inspired this post. If you are trying to learn a skill and hence dedicated 2-5 hours / week to learning it and the teacher gave you a pop quiz at any random time and you scored say 18 or more out of 30 then you can smile and rest assured that you are learning enough to pass*.

It would be rude of me to come up to you and say that you are not really worthy of your grade or that you should be moved down to a lower-ability group.

Now look at the groups below.  These groups are theoretical representations of how 10 pupils may fare at a test with the maximum result of 30. This means that by most standards a score of 15 is a pass.

How would you feel if you scored 18 and happened to be in group A? How about in group B or C?

Nothing in your own performance has changed. You are still you, the curriculum is still the same, your score is the same and the test is still the same. The only difference is the score of others**.

If you score 18 in group A and compare yourself to others you would probably think that you are the bees-knees. Top three in your class and all that jazz. A proverbial “big” fish in a “small” pond. Meanwhile, an 18 score would probably make you feel like an average student in group C and, ironically, scraping by in group B.

The fact of the matter is that you are learning your chosen skill just fine. There is much danger in comparing yourself to others and, in all honesty, it’s kind of rude. The example above shows that your performance doesn’t change so you are, in essence, simple expressing envy at the success of your peers.

Just like in a classroom where all marking and assessment is done by your teacher, progress assessment in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu should be left to your head instructor. He or she has seen it all. Most good BJJ / grappling instructors have been around and seen a wide variety of students so when they grade*** you they are doing it against the backdrop of a big sea of blues, purples, browns and ultimately black belts.

I understand that it's only human to do this. I am simply suggesting that you catch yourself the next time you do it. Simply smile at yourself and acknowledge what you are doing****.

*we are talking about passing here and not peak performance. An average purple belt and an elite purple belt competitor are two different animals

**if all three groups have the same instructor / teacher, there are questions that can be asked but that’s outside the scope of this article

***or simply give you advice about your performance. Motive for training and personal goals change the game! More on that in a future post
****something I learnt from mindfulness meditation so if you see me smiling on the mat after I get a proper beating you'll now know why

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

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BJJ Tips: IBJJF competition rules & illegal submissions

When competing in BJJ it is vital to understand the rules of the event. As more and more events are adapting the IBJJF rules and since two of my friends and team mates are competing at the upcoming British Open this weekend, I thought I'd look at what's allowed for white, blue, purple, brown and black belts submission wise.

If you scroll down the IBJJF rules document to the page were penalties are outlined, you get a breakdown of what is allowed for which BJJ belt. See the screenshot below*

But that doesn't really look very simple and straight forward, at least not to a slow fella like me so I decided to flip it around (chart screenshot below):

What's the difference between a purple belt and a brown belt in BJJ?

LV Brown / Black Belt Requirements? Money!

I've recently received Roy Dean's fantastic new product "The Brown Belt Requirements". I'm currently in the process of writing a review but if you are impatient, feel free to check out Slidey's take on it here. I agree with a lot in it (not all) and it's a very thorough review so I highly recommend it.  

One thing that really struck me in it is how narrow and focused the BJJ game becomes at the brown belt level. I've always known that from other fields that the more advanced you become the more focused and laser-sharp your details become, but the level required here for a brown belt is something I've never witnessed before in other fields.

Brown belts are required to shift their focus from effectiveness* to efficiency. It's no longer good enough to be able to beat someone (or escape their attack) but you must also be doing it efficiently. If you are unsure what this means, I remind you of Dr Jigoro Kano's words: 

"Minimum effort, maximum output"**

The way this translates to day-to-day training and rolling is

Royler Gracie Receives Coral Belt from Rickson and Rolker Gracie

There is hardly anything worth achieving in jiu jitsu that Royler Gracie, son of the founder Helio Gracie, hasn't already achieved. Many times over! Royler has successfully competed in MMA, dominated the world BJJ scene and won the ADCC multiple times. Recently, he was promoted to the coveted Coral Belt. The promotion was carried out by his two older brothers Rickson Gracie and Rolker Gracie.



Many congrats to Royler and his students.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

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BJJ black belts: Different versions - an explanation

I've recently been befuddled by the variations of black belts available. I am not talking about brands of black belts (of which there are many) nor about black belts vs red-and-black (also called coral) belts vs red belts. I'm talking about straight up black belts (the one after brown and before coral).

Looking around, I could identify 4 different versions (if you know of another, please let me know) of the black belt:

Solid black belt, with no tab on it. It kinda looks just like the ones given in judo and many other oriental martial arts

Photo courtesy of Meerkatsu, featured here with Cobrinha

Black belt with a white tab on one end. This version of the BJJ black belt is rare, but definitely exists

BJJ Tips: How to lose 3 years of training!

It took me approximately 3 years of training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a blue belt to get my purple belt. All I needed to do to go back to being a blue belt was move from one part of the room to another :)

Embroidered BJJ purple belt from Black Eagle photographed on a chair at work - near the lockers



The same embroidered BJJ purple belt from Black Eagle photographed at work - on my desk


I think my desk is trying to tell me something!
Ok fine. A more serious post later on today :)

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

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BJJ Belt Embroidery: Black Eagle Martial Arts

Sponsors of the Part Time Grappler, and all-round top-grade suppliers of martial arts goods, Black Eagle Martial Arts, makers of Predator Fightwear, were kind enough to send me an embroidered BJJ A2 purple belt. I asked for the blog title to be emboidered on it in such a location that it ends up on my back when I'm wearing it

and also for the kanji for our martial art: Jiu Jitsu near one end (the none tabbed end of the BJJ belt).

I think it turned out beautifully!

Many thanks guys. You are absolutely awesome! For information on belt embroidery services from Black Eagle Martial Arts click here.

PS. If you have a minute and want to read about my friend Meerkatsu's experience with Kataaro, please check out The Tale of the World's Most Expensive BJJ Belt. Having met the awesome meercat, I can attest that it looks pretty cool. We're just going to have to battle the two next time we meet.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

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BJJ: It's not about the colour of your belt! The fifth and final lie in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Over a series of 4 posts I introduced my idea of writing about the 5 lies that helped shape my view on BJJ and grappling. I talked about

the first of the 5 lies of BJJ: To avoid pain, just tap when you get caught!

and my oh my did the post receive a massive response. Within a couple of hours there were over 20 comments (now over 35! all very valid and extremely well written) on Facebook and I'm sure there are more now. I thank everyone who took the time to read the post and comment on it and Graham for taking the time to write a post inspired by mine on his excellent blog.

Later on that week I talked a little about the second lie that helped shape my view on this amazing martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and that lie is:

-BJJ / Grappling is for everyone!

The third lie that helped shape my view on this amazing martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is:

-You don't have to compete to get good at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu! The Third Lie in BJJ.

And the fourth lie is:

-Training no-gi BJJ will transfer into your gi BJJ! The fourth lie in BJJ / Grappling

To conclude this series of blog posts, I give you my opinion on the fifth lie in BJJ that, ever since understanding it, changed my outlook and enjoyment of the sport and art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

-In BJJ, It's not about the colour of your belt!

Is the colour of your belt in BJJ important? Some instructors (and practitioners alike) will tell beginners that the belt colour isn't really important. That it isn't really a big deal. That they should just focus on training and getting better at grappling and the belts will just come with time, as if getting good at grappling and BJJ and thinking about where you are along the development curve (as symbolised by the 5 coloured belts in BJJ: white, blue, purple, brown and black) are two mutually exclusive concepts. Belt colours in BJJ are treated with the same hypocrisy as the joy of sex in most orthodox abrahamian religions: you're not supposed to want it or covet it, but if you're really really good it'll be bestowed upon you, in abundance!

The truth of the matter is, the belts in BJJ are a big deal, for many reasons, and to say otherwise and then get emotional (happy, sad, excited, jealous, scared, constipated) when you or a peer are given a new belt indicates that you aren't being completely honest with yourself. It is what it is and while I sincerely believe that belts are, more than anything, tools for the instructor to know how tailor her instruction to the learner(s) she is faced with, I still know that when someone receives a new belt there's good reason to congratulate them. It IS a fantastic achievement and a milestone. It's freaking awesome, so way give people guilt for wanting it?

So next time someone says "Nah I don't care about belts. They come when they come. I just want to get good at grappling!" tell them "Good for you! I really want to reach mine". No need to burst their bubble. No need to NOT congratulate them when they do get to the next belt (just to make a point). No need to put some nasty comment when they update their Facebook status telling the world how happy they are about their new BJJ belt. In the words of Skipper, the penguin captain from Madagascar: "Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave". The belts in BJJ are still a very important part of the art.


Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi ----Did You Like This Article?--- Click here to add The Part Time Grappler to your Favourites / Bookmarks

BJJ tips: How Is A Blue Belt Different From A White Belt?

As I was watching two BJJ white belts roll yesterday* I caught myself silent-coaching (it's like coaching from the side of the mat, but silently). As Damien postured up in Mike's closed guard, I saw Mike work to establish the collar and sleeve grip and my internal commentator went: "Wonderful. Now open your guard and go for the sweep. Now. Sweeep himmm now! Now. Ok. Now. Oh oh maybe Now? Now?"

The closed guard demonstrated by Dunk-man and Jordan

BJJ is a Journey Shared on the Mats

A few weeks ago the Fightworks podcast ran a poll about whether or not people would continue training irrespective of skill improvement or belt promotion and the results were very exciting, namely 75% of the poll takers said they wouldn’t discontinue training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu even if they were never to improve or get promoted.

Mr Tom McAlpine expressing his joy after getting his well-deserved purple belt yesterday at the BJJ Labs

While nobody likes to tap to a choke or a joint lock, everybody understands, or at least should, the value of tapping. It made me so happy to see the results of the poll as it confirmed my theory on why we love Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so much: because it's a Journey Shared on the Mats (JSM)

No one who's done even a single session of BJJ can deny that it's a journey. Yes you will learn a skill or two even on your first day but you will immediately realize that grappling is not an easy, quick affair. But to be fair, the same is true for any endeavour in life worth pursuing, from table tennis to sculpture, ballet to javelin throwing or cooking to playing the piano. “Nothing worth having comes easy”, the saying goes.

Part of the attraction of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu journey is that it's a shared one, and shared so intimately. Losing a practice match in table tennis or missing the C# during rehearsal is definitely frustrating but it's nothing like your partner choking you out after sitting on your chest! Also, as pissed off as you are at getting caught, part of you always goes: Nice one!

Our coach Martyn Cahill congratulating Michael Carroll on his new purple belt at the BJJ Labs

We closely share each others ups and downs. We know how they feel from first hand experience. We hug, fist-bump and pat backs to connect with each other. We know our "well done" was heard, but we still insist on reaching out and shaking their hand.

Finally, the journey must be shared on the mats. Living in England, I know tons of football fans who go thru months and months of religiously following football (that’s soccer to our American amig(a/o)s) without ever kicking a ball on a field. That’s not the same in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. While you don’t have to be a mat-slave or pro-fighter-hopeful, you need to be at least a Part Time Grappler to truthfully share the journey of BJJ.

Don’t misunderestimate what I mean, I love blogging (with people like Meerkatsu, Georgette, Meg, Cane, Slidey, Allie et al constantly pouring their hearts out who could resist!) , chatting to my BJJ-buddies, going to parties with them, reading mags and watching Mr Ribiero et al discussing the “aspect of the momento” for hours on end on YouTube nad DVDs but nothing replaces that cold feeling of the mats touching my bare feet. It’s like someone reached out and turned down the “Volume” dial on life. When that happens, I always look across the mat and catch a glimpse of the same feeling in the eyes of my pyjama-clad friends. The JSM is the most important part of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and without it, it’s all just silly.


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BJJ Tips: Using Your Belt to Pass the Half Guard

I wrote a quick post a couple of days ago about unorthodox use of the BJJ belt. It was just a silly joke but I thought I may as well make it up to those who clicked on it expecting some functional BJJ knowledge.

Here is a quick video I shot yesterday at the LABS: Fighting Fit-Manchester of a neat trick where you use your belt to create a leverage that immobilises the opponent’s top arm in half guard, affording you more time to work your guard pass to side control.

The inspiration to this move is Sensei Kashiwazaki’s gem of a Judo book: Osaekomi




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