Interview with Colby Black – Draculino’s main man

Well I have said it before but I am finally back in the game and back online.

I have been concentrating on getting my new job settled and making sure I make the right impact and that is now all going great and am enjoying myself even though it is a fair bit of travel.  I also managed to squeeze a wee break in to the south of France and all that along with settling a few other things has taken me away from the game I love and from this site.

So I thought that the opening of the new Forge and the Mendes Brothers Seminar would be a good time to kick start my ass into gear again.  Thus as of 23rd September 2011 I am have until December 30th 2011 to get from 23st 5lbs to a maximum of 21St and to prgress my BJJ in general.

I will also be tweeting from the ADCC weekend and writing an update when I get back so you can follow me @stewnorriss Here

Now to the main point of this article, I ran an interview some time ago with the legendary Draculino none of which would have been possible without both Justin and the Colby and I wanted to learn some more about Colby the man himself and also about his training.  In typically cool style he produced a video interview for me in two parts and here they are.  A genuinely interesting and certainly very good guy…

Interview Part 1
Interview Part 2

 

Book Review – Bloody Revolution A Journey Into UK MMA

So I have just finished reading the new UK MMA book “Bloody Revolution A Journey Into UK MMA” click here for info

I should always mention that the cover picture was taken by my GB Sheffield team mate and recent forge blue belt and all round good guy Martin Rhodes as he can get a wee bit precious if he is not mentioned.

I thought this was a really god read, easy to follow, well researched and shows that this is something Mick has a real passion for.

I have been to a few MMA fights in the UK and frankly Mick captures it perfectly, a world of hard dedicated men who give all they can in cages and rings from tiny leisure centers to large arenas. He also captures beautifully the people who go and watch and this is perhaps the bit that I most associated with and laughed at, the cage side Royce Gracie’s dressed like a Burberry cologne bottle with more bad tattoos than the whole of Sheffield put together.

This then is what makes it so readable so much fun so interesting, it is not just another book about the fights, the fighters et al, as we have all read a lot about this and the events, there are sites galore out there that cover this in depth. This gets under the skin of what makes MMA in the UK so good and also at times so awful to attend and watch. How quickly the mood can swing, swing back and then settle again and how blood feuds as well as long term bonds are formed at these events.

It is a book I would highly recommend to all UK fans as you will associate with it and it will make you both smile and shake your head, for all readers over seas it is a great insight into the world of MMA over here and well worth reading.

Also published on the US websites http://www.mma.humankindpreview.com/book-review-bloody-revolution-a-journey-into-uk-mma

and on the front page of on the mat http://www.onthemat.com/blogs-posts/book-review-%E2%80%93-bloody-revolution-journey-uk-mma

UK MMA – New Book

How cool is this, a new UK MMA book has just come out “Bloody Revolution A Journey Into UK MMA” click here for info

The cover picture was taken by recent forge blue belt and all round good guy Martin Rhodes

and the author’s (Mick Bower) daughter also trains at the forge, now if that is not reason enough for you lot from the forge to get out there and buy it I do not know what is.  However this is not just for forge guys this is a book for all UK MMA fans, I have just started reading it as it was an early birthday gift so I will report back later on but it seems well written and easy to read.

The book is also available in paperback and kindle formats from Amazon UK

So why not give it a go support a UK based and even better (in my opinion) South Yorks based writer as if this ones goes well I am promised there will be more to come.

And anyway what is there not to like about a man who told Jaime Oliver Go Home

Ross Pettifer – New site

My good friend and training buddy Mr Ross Pettifer has launched his new website

http://www.rosspettifermma.co.uk/

Check it out and my interview with Ross which I did for onthemat here

Good Luck ‘Sapo’

This weekend Rafael ‘Sapo’ Natal fights in the UFC against Jesse Bongfeldt at UFC 124 in Canada, ‘Sapo is a Draculino black belt and the man himself will be in the corner for the fight, ‘Sapo’ has beaten such MMA veterans as Travis Lutter in his career and now works as an instructor with Renzo Gracie.

Good luck to ‘Sapo’, Drac and the team and here is hoping for a victory on this high profile record setting card.

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.

Just like the prodigal son

I eventually managed to return to the Forge.

Just a quick Saturday update.

So a couple of cool things happened this week with people who have read my blog, generally pointed to it by Mr Yang so thanks for that mate, asking me to write some stuff for them.

The first was On The Mat which is a big website and has a lot of cool folk contributing to them, and now me so I will bring the cool factor down

The second is MMAD Magazine who are currently online but are launching a hard copy in the new year and want me to be a north of England type guy looking at BJJ and MMA which is very cool indeed and I am looking forward to both.

So hopefully these both come off and more of my random ramblings as well as some interviews and other things will be coming soon.

Anyway back to today and I had a great session back at the forge, the place looks amazing now it is all opened out and it really is more and more becoming a fantastic place to be proud of training at.

The session today was with Lucio Sergio Dos Santos a world class black belt from Brazil and he taught us a few very cool moves from the Omaplata setup (videos and pictures to follow) and once again was a total joy to train with.

All in all things are looking up and I hope to get a full week under my belt next week, work permitting as ever.

So the goals, a slight amendment:

1) Get below 20st (22 currently)
2) Get another comp medal somewhere (UMA in dec my first target)
3) Try and earn another stripe
4) Push Gregg and I over the 400Lbs limit for a dead lift which is now the aim for Feb Gregg’s borthday (just for fun) 70Lbs to go
a. Hit 200Kg 440Lbs for my birthday in April.

That time of year again

Well it is my least favourite time of year again when it gets dark early, is wet, windy and cold not much fun. Couple this with the fact that I am working more hours than I have ever done for the same reward plus the added threat of company cuts and all in all things are not too much fun.

However looking at it I also have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward too not the least of which is a week’s holiday coming week after next with my girlfriend who as ever is number 1

However one of the other main things is getting back to the newly designed and kitted out Forge which looks great in pictures and I am told is even better in reality. Though the new matting makes shrimping an even worse experience I am told as it adds quite a few on to the run

But the new cage and setup all looks awesome and I hope to get back on Saturday as rolling and the whole thing does really release those happy endorphins and adds the bruises too

My new early morning gym regime with Greggor, Rob and Damo and Ross when they can is also doing me good and means that at least when I am at work too late to get to rolling I am at least doing something. It is also nice to work out with someone who is as strong as me (nearly ) and as daft so will always just try that extra few Kg.

I am setting myself some serious goals that I am going to do a few things by I hit 34 which is April

1) get below 20st (22 currently)
2) get another comp medal somewhere (UMA in dec my first target)
3) try and earn another stripe
4) push Gregg and I over the 400Lbs limit for a dead lift (just for fun) 70Lbs to go

So these are serious and I have my mind set on them as something to focus me and to keep me thinking in the right direction. I will update them as I go on each week, next week normal service will be resumed with a post about the new forge and some other random meanderings.

“We are not content with negative obedience, nor even with the most abject submission. When finally you surrender to us, it must be of your own free will. We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us; so long as he resists us we never destroy him. We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him. We burn all evil and all illusion out of him; we bring him over to our side, not in appearance, but genuinely, heart and soul. We make him one of ourselves before we kill him. It is intolerable to us that an erroneous thought should exist anywhere in the world, however secret and powerless it may be. Even in the instance of death we cannot permit any deviation . . . we make the brain perfect before we blow it out.”

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)