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)

Stop, take a breath and slow down

Now before I go into this let me say I am not for one second presuming to teach anything to any one, there may well be clubs who consider a blue belt a worthwhile coach but I certainly would never presume and the Forge has far far better proponents of the art than me.  If you want to learn technique, a move, an escape or any of these things go and see John or one of the purple belts if not him.  All I am suggesting here is something which John and others passed onto me and made a big difference to me and my game.

It is a simple thing but when I first started like many people I acted the complete opposite way as that intuitively felt like the way to go.  The advice is, slow it down, take a breath, get your head up and think about what you are going to do.  Now in a fight type scenario this seems contradictory after all surely you need to go 100Mph to be the best don’t you?

Well no in all honestly you don’t and this is also illustrated by another sport which looks like it is doing just that but in reality isn’t, the 100 metres sprint.  Look at the top guys such as Usain Bolt and when you see them in slow motion what is the one thing that is always commented on, answer, how relaxed he is.  In fact a few sprinters have suggested that it is not how fast you run but in fact how slowly you slow down that makes the difference.  Most runners hit top speed at between 50 and 60 meters and it is all slow down from there so the one who to use an common term ‘gasses’ the least and can slow down more slowly will win of course there will always be the odd anomoly.

This is very much the case I have found in BJJ, for example there is one lad who is getting very good, and is also very strong but worries about being on the bottom against me, so he charges in as fast as possible at the offset.  I no longer even try to fight back against it I just weather this storm and survive until he starts to slow down which he always does and then I more often than not end up on top and he will tap generally because he has nothing more to give.  It happened in the recent Carwin v Lesnar fight, one man gave all he had as fast and as hard as possible and when the fight did not end he had nothing left.  The thing is that if your opponent starts off so fast and furious that when the pace starts to drop no matter how fast they are still going you feel it is getting easier and they feel it getting harder so the psychological game is tilted towards you as well.  I try and tell new starters to watch the likes of John and others when they roll and watch the slow patient control with controlled bursts of energy.  Many think that a fast start against a big guy like me will win it for them but if it doesn’t and they go from 10 to 5 to 1 very quickly and I keep at a consistent 5 or 6 (more likely 3 ) throughout the roll then by the end it will feel much worse for them.

John also stated that another thing I was doing while going hell for leather was just reacting, not thinking ahead and not grabbing and pinning things for a forward plan but just because I thought I should.  This also leads into trouble as you may well escape nine moves but the tenth will get you and so on.  Also you have no plan of where you are going so all you are doing is prolonging a fight until you get more and more tired and the fight ebbs away from you.

It is something which works for me and has changed my ability to compete and keep competing, I even put down my decent Seni showing to the fact that I took it steady and worked for positions slowly and methodically with patience, keeping some stamina back.  Also John, Chaz and Kerry yelling in my ear helped

BJJ becomes BMJ

There are a few things that you have to learn when coming to BJJ, well OK there are loads of things but for me a couple of things changed my game and I think really helped me to improve (not saying I am that good, just better than I was).

Now I have a few nicknames Grandao (larger than large in Portuguese), Big Stew which is obvious and one of my favourites which is Stewnormous which was coined by 6’3″ 19stone buddy Hayden from New Zealand.  Then finally James “Spinaroonie” Fairclough announced that I was an anomaly because I was soo big and yet very flexible.  Now all this was stuff I knew but had not really been using, my size and the way I can bend means that I can be very good in some positions but in others am very poor indeed.  Of course I need to work on all areas and learn the proper and best techniques the correct way from John who as ever is excellent at teaching these.  However some things are just not for me and some only work if adapted for my size and anatomy.

Thus I began to work on my “game” and develop what suits me better, there are certain movements that when I do them at my height and weight just leave too many gaps.  But a nice smothering side control game which leads to arm bars and shoulder locks suits me great.  Working from guard is both good and bad as it is hard to get off my back when put there at times but my strength is a bonus for controlling an opponent.  Some chokes with hands deep into the collar are trickier as there is not too much room anyway let alone for my giant paws, but a nice little ezekiel choke works a treat from front and back.  All in all what I found was as my friend Naz the Samurai calls it BMJ – Big Man Jitsu.

There are many guys who do the small man version, quick agile and all movement but that is just not a game I can play.  I use the natural advantage that I have which is size and flexibility, I also make sure while that I move at the speed of a tectonic plate I keep my control at all times, never lifting my weight.  Now some folk think this is unfair but if I asked them to slow down a bit and stop running round to my back I am sure they wouldn’t

At first I was very nervous to do this as I was and still am worried about ever hurting someone after all none of us do this for a living and we all have jobs which it is nice to be able to make it to the next day.  My game then became quite a defensive one and one of very little else, until John and my good friend Chaz drilled into me that I need to up the aggression, go for the moves and drop my weight.  John explained that if I control it and it starts to hurt someone they will tap and it will not be a problem, control is the key.  Get that position before submission and make sure that I use all I have to my advantage as no one else will hold back from using what they can.

With this in mind I went to the Seni and did OK there with a game very much based on control, balance, using my weight and making sure I concentrated on only going for things that were there and would better where I was not just throwing moves for the sake of it. I am now back in the gym and of course am still bested often by all those folks who have their game far more developed and to a higher level than me but at least now a days I do get the odd win here and there.