Not drowning just waving :-)

Well despite appearances to the contrary I am in fact still around and also round

Last few months have been fairly hectic with family things and a new job over in Bradford which is going great but has stifled training opportunity a bit. However with my first pay day in about 7 weeks coming up (the joys of job moves) and GB Leeds being a short ride from work. I aim to be back training much more often as of next week and yes I miss it.

However some cool things are to be posted soon I attended a brilliant seminar with Felipe Jerry a world class black belt. I went to Professor John Goldson’s first big class also a great day.

Coming up are a profile of Dave The Iron Giant Keeley, news of Kim Taylor’s next seminar, a trip to the ADCC in September and hopefully the UFC end of the year as my fight club membership will give me early and discounted tickets so would be rude not too

Did you spot the gorilla

Well it has been too long, far to sporadic and just not what I wanted but I finally feel well, healthy ish and in a couple months should be back at full silverback power.

The blog has also slowed down as it is hard to write and review about a sport that you love so much while you are not able to do it for one reason or another.

However I made a proper return to training and sparring last night and it felt great and this time I am back and pushing harder than ever, I will also be getting some Gi reviews, another couple of app reviews, Mr Samurai will be adding a review soon and even a book or two as I am a bit of a reader (don’t worry they will be BJJ/MMA/Fighter related).

I was really pleased when Jiu Jitsu style dropped through my door, it is an excellent magazine and is just what the british scene needs, also good to see Mr Yang spreading his media output even further.  I would heartily recommend a subscription you will not be disappointed http://www.bjjstyle.com

I also had a revelation when rolling with the newly promoted black belt John Goldson about 10 days ago, I was able to catch another blue belt opponent a few times in submissions but with John (while I never get close ever) it all seemed even further away than ever.  I was unable to get anywhere no small positional wins nothing.  John then asked me why I did certain things I did and I explained it was because I always did them and got away with them, in fact I had been getting away with them in the roll just before.

Then it struck me, Big Man Jiu Jitsu is a style as of course the game has to be adapted to your body style and size but do not fall into the trap that I had fallen into.  I was too reliant on the fact that I was so much bigger, heavier and a wee bit stronger than a lot of the lads I rolled with and either my size or my strength meant that I could get away with bad technique.  I could tuck my arm behind my head to defend a potential arm bar as a lot tried to rive it out and I won that battle.  However against John and others like the purple belts and some blues and especially the other hulks I compete against this does not work.  They are either strong enough to change my position which I have already made poor for myself or more often they have the technique to exploit what I do.  This was further re enforced last night while drilling a technique, I asked if the way I did something would also work as it seems too and the answer was the same yeah it does work against those who I can out power or who know less but it is not gonna work as I move on and up.

I guess then the advice is this, by all means adapt your game to play the one that works for you, John was talking to me about this, I need to play a big man game, control, control, position, control and then submission.  Careful movements, all pressured and controlled and always use technique.  It does not matter if you do not know 5 submissions from every place at first, just learn the position first and the submission will come and even if it doesn’t in competition the guy on top normally wins.  Size and strength have got me to my blue, but only technique and application will get me further and I want to go further.

John Goldson – Black Belt

Well I have to say it was a momentous day yesterday for GB Sheffield, I am so sorry I could not make it down but I am on the comeback trail and I will be back to the next Lagarto session all being well.

Why was it such a big day well there were quite a few belts handed out:

Young Jake received his Orange belt and I am pretty sure he is a black belt in the making that boy

Blue Belts went to Naz the Samurai, Adam, Dimitri and Kyle which is a great achievement and well deserved by all.

Also a number of stripes were given out, and my good friend and brother in arms Chaz got his second stripe which is fantastic and makes me feel better about the fact that he so frequently kicks my ass

However the big news of the day has to be this:

 

pic courtesy of Gregg Rodgers

 

Our coach and a man who has given me so much support and help through the last 2 and a bit years received his black belt and received it from a great in the sport Lagarto.  This is such a well deserved achievement as John has worked so hard both personally but far more so for the sport both at the gym and in the north of the UK in general.  He has done all this in a selfless and tireless manner never in it for anything other than the love of the sport.  I am so sorry I was not there to see it but will continue to train with John and will see him tonight in his first full session as a black belt.

This is the goal that we all aim for and very few will make it all the way and it is something that John I am sure and all of us at the forge are immensely proud of and we will all go from strength to strength as a family and a team.

John Goldson Interview

Check out my interview with John on the front page of major website http://www.onthemat.com/

My first to hit like this with the Ross Pettifer one going into print soon.

Many many more to come John my thanks.

Don’t you forget about me

Well I will be away for a few days next week and probably not doing too much actively online but there is a mass of stuff all to come which I am very excited about.

I have a new logo in the works done by my very talented mate Richard see his work here

My gum shield fitting for the review is due next week which I am looking forward too and also have the same old dentist fear so let’s see how at ease I am put.

The Roy Dean No Gi app review will be up soon as will the huge Draculino subscription app and website review, I have also been asked to review a couple of other BJJ apps and will be going through these over the next few days, initial glimpse looks good so far.

The Tatami Gi review is well under way with some great photo’s done, measurements, rolling, more photo’s, washing and more measuring already having taken place and I think I might be falling in love, however I have had word from a couple of other suitors who hopefully I can come to a Gi review arrangement with so I will not commit too soon

My interview with Ross Pettifer has been completed and he is a compelling person to talk to this will be going into a newly redesigned MMAD magazine shortly so watch this space as the Ross Pettifer story has only just begun, this is a man going places.

I also have a fascinating interview with John Goldson owner of the Forge Gym where I train talking to him about everything from the future of BJJ and MMA in the North as well as the time he was a corner man to an iconic UFC fighter.

Most recently my good mate Rob from across the pond has hooked me up with Team Quest BJJ instructor Carlos Zapata read about him here which is very exciting.

Finally I have a BIG announcement (yes it is that big) about a BJJ Hall of Fame Black Belt and multiple world champion coming up in the next few days.

Watch this space and come along with me I promise an interesting journey if nothing else

If you have ideas or feedback please give me a shout on here or

mail me stewnorriss @ gmail.com
FaceBook
Twitter @stewnorriss

Zen and the Art of BJJ (or how I found peace)

Well I recently posted on facebook about how I have found a peace in life that I have long looked for and of course received the requisite hammering from my friends

So maybe I worded it badly or did not have chance to quite explain fully and frankly I don’t care which is once again testament to the place I find myself in.

Those who have known me for some time will know that I was a fairly reckless youth once a knee injury put paid to my rugby career as I discovered the joys of drinking and fighting on the tarmac tatame. Then in the last four of five years I have battled a few problems which have seen many an adventure but not always in a good way (but that is a tale for another day) seen a few friends become ex friends and generally I have felt a bit on the outside here and there.

However in the last month or so it has struck me that this feeling has gone away and I feel far more centred, relaxed and happy than I can remember in a long time. The reasons for this are of course a strong family, a strong relationship which was the saving of me, a good set of mates and work is also going well, though I do have to miss too much training for work including tonight but nothing is perfect.

Then the final piece of this puzzle has come with The Forge and BJJ, and it was when I grabbed my chance there stopped worrying about my game as much and what I could do and how when this and that happened and I stopped and took stock and realised all that had been given to me with this. I have a brilliant set of mates down there most of whom kick my ass on a regular basis but do it with a smile and a word of advice which is different to my street warrior days

John is a constant source of advice and help as well as a great coach and is building an amazing club, I have been behind the curtain and trust me when I say the new MMA setup is amazing it really is. I felt like a kid in a sweet shop and just got a bit giddy but it also made me think that the Forge is really a place to be proud to train at and call yourself part of the family.

Personally while I am not good enough to ever coach anyone or offer techniques really I will always try to help and encourage and a few people have made some really nice comments about that recently which again has brought a smile to my face. It also made me to worry less about my game and just to try and help and improve along with everyone as a family, I now am as happy to be tapped by someone who I have tried to help and watched develop as I am tapping them (well almost
Then there are those moments of support which are out of the blue such as when I had my wallet lifted everyone asked how I was and I saw three un-prompted acts of generosity which again made me glad to be part of the whole BJJ thing. So to Ross, Naz/Sal and Seymour one of the extended members of the BJJ circle of friends I have my thanks to you.

Things like this and Pete Dutton sorting out, burning and sending me a DVD of our epic Big Man BJJ tussle at the Seni which went the full time and was only split by a tiny margin just make me realise that I am lucky to have found this sport, ethos, philosophy, lifestyle, spirit call it what you will.

Now all this may sound a bit Disney and happy chappy and to be frank I am not that bothered it is really written as a thank you to all who have stood by me over the years and those that have welcomed me in the past couple of years. To anyone reading this thinking of coming to BJJ and worrying about it or the way it will be I suggest if you are near enough come down to the Forge and if you are not look for your local club and give it a go, it will be the best decision you made.

Feliz aniversário para Mim

Well as I have pointed out a few places elsewhere today is my second anniversary of training Gracie BJJ at Gracie Barra Sheffield down at the Forge under John Goldson and Lucio ‘Lagarto’ Rodriguez.

It has been on the whole an immensely positive time yeah I have had a few low point but they have mainly been in my head and not really connected to the gym and don’t we all have those moments.

I have gone from 26 stone to 22 stone, from a no belt to a blue belt one stripe and from someone who had never fought legitimately to someone who now has a silver medal at the Gracie Invitational at the Seni. All in all quite a change around in my outlook and they way I am, I would never have thought I would find a sport again which I loved as much as I did Rugby League but I have.

I never thought I would enjoy that ache and fatigue of a good workout but now if I go too long I miss it, hence rolling while on holiday in Spain.

The other big positive of it all has been meeting a very good set of people who have mostly become good friends and who support me and I will be there for as long as I can. So to Gregg, James, Chaz, Naz, Rich G, Ross, Damo, Damo, Dom, Max, Dunc, Steve, Big Dave, Chris, Yousef, Hayden, Guy, Tracy, Ben, Pete Dutton, Dan, Taffi, Fiddy, Dmitry, Ellie, Ming, Big and Wee Paul, Pete, American and English Rob, Ryan, Seymour and of course my coaches John, Lucio and Lagarto as well as all those at ShootFighters, Manchester and anywhere else I have trained I thank you and you have my respect and my gratitude for helping me on my journey and for your continued support. (anyone I forget I apologise)

These are the folks who supported me through thick and thin and who recently when I had my wallet lifted all checked to see I was OK before they started taking the mick, well all but Gregg, Ross even donated a very nice wallet to me to replace the one I lost, thanks bro.

The Forge continues to go from strength to strength and last beginner class I went to had over 40 people on the mat which is brilliant. The MMA part is due to start soon and I helped carry the cage in last week it is going to be awesome.

So to all thinking about MMA or BJJ please come along FORGE OPEN DAY sadly I will not be there as I am off to watch the NFL in London which I booked back in Feb but I will be back soon. Also to anyone who thinks they just fancy MMA I suggest you give BJJ with the Gi a go it is brilliant and truly the best decision I took.

With all this in mind I have this to say as I finish, I do not know if GB Sheffield is the best gym or has the best this or that, all I do know is that for me I have never found anywhere better. No gym I have trained at has felt as much like home and as much like I am getting better and stronger every day and that is what matters to me.

Here is to many more years, more stripes, more belts, more medals for us all but most importantly more friends and a bigger and tighter family at GB Sheffield.

13/09/10 Starting weight 22st 11lbs / 319lbs / 145kgs
20/09/10 Now 22st 8lbs / 316lbs / 143.5kgs
06/10/2010 Now 22st / 308lbs / 140kgs
20/10/2010 Now 22st / 308lbs / 140kgs

Total loss 11 lbs / 5kgs

(edited to correct Portuguese grammar)

On a personal note

Well this one is more of a personal note that usual but do not worry it is not a self aggrandising post just a little state of my union address I guess.

Honestly things are going well, why is this? Well the Forge continues from strength to strength and now teaches MMA with a 20ft cage to be installed this week this will all be christened by an open day join in here

This is great as I love to see the Forge going from strength to strength as it really is my home from home and I am as happy there as I am anywhere else but home.

John Goldson went on Sheffield Radio last week and did a sterling job promoting the club and the sport listen again at
this link

On a personal note things are also good:

Work as ever is busy as a busy thing but is going well and they even accept the warrior t shirts and the odd bruise and Gi burn to the face.

I feel much more comfortable in my game than I have in ages with a new found love of the half guard position and a couple of cheeky little sweeps as well as a nice submission ankle lock taught to me by Mr Ross Pettifer it is lots of fun. I am finding myself stuck on my back rarely now and when I do know what I should be doing to get out even if at times I cannot always do it.

I now have an early morning training session at the gym with Damien, Ross and by the looks of it others will join and this can only help with things and so far my weight loss is still going on which is also a good thing.

Finally it is great to see the progress of my mates at the gym, Big Naz is becoming harder and harder to tap using his RDR style , Chas as ever it is a nightmare and a pleasure, Gregg elbow on hand is a killer but your advice is always so helpful, Ross, Damien, Mr Rayner it gets better every time and finally a mention to 15 year old Jake who weighs about a third of what I do (well maybe half) who tapped me with an arm bar displaying the most perfect of technique.

With a team like that how could I go wrong, I want push forward and better my stripes and in time my belt when I am ready to do so, it is a long journey but one I love.

13/09/10 Starting weight 22st 11lbs / 319lbs / 145kgs
20/09/10 Now 22st 8lbs / 316lbs / 143.5kgs
06/10/2010 Now 22st / 308lbs / 140kgs

Total loss 11 lbs / 5kgs

Time Out

Now with title included

Sam well done on another win and Taff well done on that 4^th stripe.

Fraid this is another one which is just the ramblings of a fairly fed up BJJ car wreck of a man

Well this last week or so has been too busy at work and to compound my injuries I have now come down with a fairly nasty chest infection which last time I had it at the back end of last year got a bit serious to say the least.  This all leads to a few things, the long work hours and extra days in work means I cannot meet up with the strongest little man I know my good mate Chaz, in a timely UFC manner which is the first one in some time, sorry bro.

It also means that I have to put training on the backburner for a few days if not longer, Wednesday was the last time I went.

Now previously I have written about the fact that time out may be a good thing as it will allow ouchy things to stop hurting and body to heal.  Looking at this I am not so sure really, I am never going to take enough time for everything to get better (lord knows that could be years ) so maybe it is actually a counter productive thing.

It is odd all in all as mentally a few things occur, I obviously miss training as it is my release from what is becoming an increasingly pressured job with longer and longer hours, secondly I hate to think I am missing out of new techniques and teachings from John and the rest, new things I could use, adapt and add to my limited arsenal.  Finally I miss my mates down there as the Forge and the people in it have become a big part of my life now.  So as odd as it sounds I miss seeing the likes of Gregg, James, Naz the Samurai, Chaz, Lazy lazy Steve, Taff, Hobo Rich, Hayden, my new mates Ross and Damien, Dunc, Fiddy, Antony the ninja and the rest.  Couple the fact that I am far more grumpy both at home and at work the picture is complete yeah that is right even more grumpy than usual and man I am grumpy.

Physically it is also an odd one as I am (hopefully) not going to miss too much so the ouchy things will not get the full chance to heal.  Then when I return they will just feel that bit tighter due to the rest.  Also the things that you get used to such as the Goldson patent knee on belly which moved to knee then elbow in chest and finally the hideous knee in kidneys seem to hurt that much more.  Your receptors and threshold have in order sharpened again a little and dropped you are in effect reset no longer used to the punishment.  Thus on return it all feels new, painful and not something that is much fun, but as it is the nature of the BJJ best I will put up with it.

Also it seems that the tiny amounts of cardio I have built up vanish in a couple of days sat round coughing and wheezing.  Even the patented run round in a circle 1,2,3,4 drill for a warm up seems like an ultra marathon.  Well even more so than usual as I admit the whole running thing is not my bag any more.

So in conclusion as with a lot of things in BJJ I am left confused, time off is both great and awful, it both helps and hinders, you both heal and yet feel more pain, I sleep better but worse and finally you are fitter but much less fit, however one thing I do know is it makes me miss rolling, my mates and coach at the gym and BJJ in general.

I’ll be back……………….

The nature of a Team

After my last post and the response to it both on line and in person it got me to think about the nature of a team and the difference between one in name and in reality.

I have spent most of my life playing team sports with the main one which I was pretty decent at being Rugby League.  Now my main bulk of games over a number of seasons were for differing junior and academy level teams for the Sheffield Eagles RLFC.  I loved it absolutely loved it and when my knee injury came it was devastating both physically and mentally.  However now I look back on it and on my team mates who at the time I thought meant so much to me as we were such a tight team and I wonder.

At the end of the day I got a few messages and some folk stayed in touch, even to this day, some went on to become top flight international players almost all didn’t.  But even through my time playing I realise one thing now, yeah we wanted to win and to do well but most of all ‘I’ wanted to do well.  Not just me but every player in the team thought first of ‘I’, admittedly yes we were younger and there would only ever be so many contracts so we had to scrabble with our team mates to be top dog.  Scoring a team try was great, being the player to score it was amazing, note I played prop and only got 1 career try .

Now do not get me wrong we were a team as of course we always had a common enemy, the opposition were the number one focal point.  However tucked away was the fear that in defeat we would look bad or that someone else’s dropped ball may reflect on you as the man who passed it.  Also I was as guilty as any when players got hurt, they went to the back of my mind normally as that as just the way.

Now this was in a ‘team’ sport one where the value of team was pushed so hard every week, live as a team die as a team and all that, but it was not true I have seen man of the match go to someone on the losing side more that once.  It was just not as it seemed back then I guess and this has been brought home to me by GB Sheffield.

I am struggling at the moment that much is true both with injury and with my state of mind/focus/confidence/chi/force/wax on wax off call it what you will.  Yet as you will often read individuals state BJJ is at the end of the day a solo sport, you roll on your own in competition and you win or lose on your own.

From what I have found however this is just not true.

I have been to a couple comps and come back with (as they say up north) nowt, but never once did I feel like a failure or had let the team down and I was always in the team photo line up.  Of course personally it hurts but at the gym it does not matter you are applauded for going and representing with honour and pride and then helped with the areas that let you down.

Since I have been hurt I have been asked numerous times how I am and how I am getting on by a lot of folk (update elbow will not straighten, foot is limiting me to two sessions a week max, so about as fit as normal ).  Last Monday I went down to training after my last post and folk just wanted to help me, Fiddy gave me a clinic on starting from knees while not starting actually from knees, and yes bro I have been working in it.  Naz, Ross, Chaz, Yousef et al came to chat and see if they could help in any way on stuff I was struggling with and James ‘Spin’ Fairclough suggested that I was not going through anything no one else had been through.

The whole atmosphere was one of help assistance and understanding, one of a real team.  It made me think of the times that I have sat watching others at comps with GB guys sat round me competing or just watching and I was never thinking of anything other than they guy competing.  For them to do well for themselves and represent us with all their skill, win or lose does not matter as the fact that you are there under the banner and have put yourself in the spot light is what matters.  Your effort and the manner which you conduct yourself is applauded and that is what matters when you get back from the gym.

It is the same when it comes to belts and stripes, you can see in people’s faces that they are genuinely pleased for you when you achieve one as it is a boost to the team and to the gym.

What is this down to, is it the ethos of “Organised like a team…Fight like a family”?  Yes it probably has something to do with this, but more so I put it down to two things.  John our coach fosters the team thing, never pushing it but making it something we all understand, we need to be there for people as they will be for us.  Never do something to your team mate you would not have done to yourself and above all remember we all matter to each other, we are as strong as the weakest member (who at the moment is probably stronger than me, so I guess then it is me )

The other thing is the people, a genuine, decent, friendly and helpful bunch of folk who I would do all I could for, despite that maybe not being that much as my skills are fairly limited unless you need a database building .  These are the foundations of the team and of my progress so far in this sport that I only regret not finding earlier.

So two final things, good luck to Sam on Friday as he furthers his impressive fledgling MMA career.

Finally without the numerous guys I have mentioned so far in these posts and those who I have not mentioned because I am terrible with names you know who you all are and thank you.