Grappling and BJJ tips. The Part-Time Grappler.

BJJ / Grappling tips: How best to learn BJJ / Grappling: Listen to my actions and see my words

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:30:00 +0000

The best way to learn BJJ, grappling or any other activity is to focus on the details of the fundamental skills. The more we understand grappling details, the better we understand the whole picture and the reason for that is because everything is connected in BJJ. If you do the first three moves correctly, there is a higher probability that what you do after that will be good too.

My strongest memory of enhanced learning is from spending a lot of time with my karate instructor sensei Siamak back at the Gothenburg Kanzenkai. On one occasion, we were practicing lead leg inwards foot sweeps entry to punches (ashi barai to gyaku tsuki) and I just couldn't get the sweep to work. I was bashing the hell of my partner's leg (to his dismay) but I just couldn't get it to budge. I asked sensei over to watch and correct and very quickly he realised what I was doing (or rather not doing). Simply, my angle of entry was a little off (I searched the internet for pictures to demonstrate what I'm saying and these two are the best I could find)

This is the angle I was coming at

this is the correct entry angle

While that technique did become my favourite attack (and I still use it, even in BJJ), it's what he said afterwards that was one of the most important lessons I've had in martial arts and learning in general:

"You must always try to steal the most amount of knowledge from all your teachers. We as instructors always strive to share as much as possible, but there will be times when a move or detail gets missed. We are only human. You must not only watch my actions and listen to my instructios, but also listen to my actions and see my words"

Translation to BJJ speak:

Listen to my actions: Thanks to friction, actions in martial arts (gi BJJ more so than nogi) make an inescapable and distinct noise. A shuffle, a thud or sometimes a rustle. When the instructor says: "do A then B then C" but when she demonstrates you can hear a clear rustle between B and C it usually means there was a tiny move or vital detail that the instructor (accidently or otherwise) missed out: A small step or hip escape that gives you that vital angle to make the sweep effortless, a soft tapping sound just before the cross punch that indicates the non-punching lead hand patted the opponent's guard away to clear the path.

See my words: Visualise, visualise, visualise. how would the instructor's words translate in 3D? When she says: "insert your hands deep into the gi lapel to make the cross choke from guard effortless", close your eyes and imagine what a really deep grip looks and feels like. Now open them and see what the instructor is showing. Do the two images match? If not, what appears to be the difference and why? Is it something you could have percieved using the "Listen to my actions" method outlined above? Adjust and learn, just like learning to strum a chord on the guitar.

I think you get the point but because this learning method, dare I say "learning secret", made such a huge difference in my learning / teaching of BJJ, Karate and all other fields, that I would like to demonstrate with an example.

In the video below, esteemed martial artist and 4degree BJJ black belt Mr John Will teaches the finer details of the rolling arm bar. This fine piece of BJJ instruction is from his DVD: "Mastering Armbars" which he made with his good friend David Meyer and fellow Machado jiu jitsu Black Belt. You can buy it here and here

Did you enjoy that? The reason I chose this clip (with John's permission of course!) is because he is a fantastic instructor. He believes in the finer details of BJJ and shares as much as he can everytime he teaches. He is very generous with his instruction. But even someone of his experience and BJJ pedigree will sometimes move without telling you he just moved. He's not trying to hide anything from you (nor is your instructor) but he's done the move so many times before that that small detail becomes automated*. It's now for you to find it. The example I'm talking about here is what happens on the 12th second of this rolling armbar instructional. John's instructions from the 9th to the 17th second are:

"I grab the leg, pull it around over my head, *rustle rustle* throw the left leg on top and even though I haven't...."

Did you hear that *rustle rustle* that happened during the 12th second? Can you tell what it is?

It's that vital (but tiny) hip escape that John does to the left that facilitates a smooth transition of his left leg from under David's head to on top of it. Try it with or without the hip escape and you will notice a huge difference in ease of motion.

"Obvious!", some of you might think. But If I had a penny for everytime I saw an armbar fail** because of inefficient angle I'd be rich.

People, especially beginners, give up on BJJ techniques when they don't work. "It's not for me. It doesn't suit my game" you hear many white belts say.

Hmm. I bet you'd think differently if you paid more attention to the details that make BJJ the sweet science it is.

Again, thanks to John for allowing me to use his material.

*not to mention, it's right there for you to see :o)
**Once you understand the value of this angling move, you will start looking for in all your armbars from every position (what John calls "The second level of leverage". More on that in a future post

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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BJJ & Martial Arts: Team / Style mentality. Are you passionate about your chosen Art or school? Why is that?

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:56:00 +0000

Don't you mess with my friends!

You often hear about team loyalty in BJJ. People who belong to a particular BJJ team or, as some call it, fly a certain flag, feel a sense of identity and common grounds with others from other BJJ clubs from the same team, even referring to them as "sister clubs" and such. In some cases, decreasingly so nowadays, you have BJJ athletes who refuse to train with non-team members and therefore never visit their jiu jitsu academies for a roll or a lesson. "Each to their own" taken to a whole new level.

That attitude has always bemused me a little. Maybe it has to do with my upbringing and maybe it has to do with my initial training in martial arts or even my introduction to Buddhism 5 years or so ago but I think it mainly has to do with a wider point of view. I feel it all has to do with how I look at luck, serendipity and randomness.

While I do believe there are fundamental differences between how a , for instance, Goju ryu karate practitioner practices and executes a cross punch to the way a taekwondo stylist does and I don't think silat throws and jiu jitsu throws are all the same, I do NOT believe for a second that the majority* of practitioners know this when they first stumble into a karate dojo, taekwondo dojang, kung fu kwoon, Brazilian jiu jitsu academy or MMA gym.

The CFS BJJ Team Annual Grading and Seminar 2011

Brand New Beginner, let's call her Brandy, starting her first session of martial arts does not know the difference between Karate and jiu jitsu, let alone Wado ryu vs Kanzenkai or Gracie Barra vs Nova Uniao vs Alliance. Yes she may have done some research online (unlikely), sent a few critical questions on an email to the instructor (forget about it) or even read a martial arts magazine article or book (what? why?) but even in the very unlikely event she may have done that, there is no way it could have prepared her for what the class actually feels like or (and here is the silly part) the nuances between different brands and styles of that particular martial art.

You are most likely to build some kind of a feel for BJJ or the martial art you are practicing after some time (say, 6-12 months) on the mat. Only then can you say you have really tried jiu jitsu (or krav maga, Shotokan or silat) and only then can you claim an affinity (if any) or lack thereof. That's another reason why I hate the "first session free" mentality. What is one session going to show you? How do you expect a martial art that takes a life time to perfect to be condensed into 60 minutes?**

Friendship is more valuable than any team badge

After a few months of training at a martial art school, it is likely that you form a number of friendship bonds with others on the mat. All martial arts involve some form of partner work (kumite / sparring in Karate, randori in judo and rolling in BJJ) and you can't do this month in and month out without cracking a few smiles (or ribs) and becoming chums with your training partners. You come to appreciate each other and look forward to the sessions and if you think it's about the art and not the people, try training at another school (from the same style and team) and you will soon start to miss the familiar faces of your friends and mat-journey colleagues.

When this happens, it is easy to understand that you feel excitement when these friends compete or when your instructor is mentioned in a favourable light in an interview or even a random online conversations (hello forums!) and since teams are symbols, they carry that value of uniting the affinity of many team players. All this is fine and natural and human. I like my instructor and BJJ friends a lot so it is not weird to assume that he/she also likes her instructor and BJJ friends and they the same so it is not strange to assume that people who choose to train under the banner of my team kind of like each other and care for each other's well being. Yeay for my team and boo for other teams.

It's never easy to roll with a black belt,
but the hardest part was getting Eddie Kone to
take the session seriously!

The strange thing happens when people forget the complete randomness with which they stumbled into that particular martial arts school in the first place. I'm happy for people to love the team they train with but I find it embarrasing to see adults base whom they should spend their training (or in some extreme cases leisure) time with based on chance incidents that happened months or even worse, years ago. We enter the martial arts to grow. Self defense, competition, health...these are all expressions of the need to grow as people. I want to grow so I no longer fear the unknown (self defense), nerves and confrontations (competition) or even old age and illness (health) and every time you hesitate to spend time chatting / training with someone because they are from a different academy, team, faction or even style of martial art you are doing the opposite of growing.

I recently stumbled across this beautiful video on the healing powers of martial arts. Not chi or something like that but the positive effect they have on our being. I hope you enjoy it too.

*some do, but they are a tiny minority and half their information is wrong or out of context.
**to some extent, I understand that, say, a purple belt who is looking for a very competition-driven school may get a good feel for a new academy within a couple of weeks or so but certainly not from a single session.

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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BJJ Tips: IBJJF competition rules & illegal submissions

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:18:00 +0000

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):

I simply moved the lines around so the progression of submissions allowed flows better (the green ones are allowed for all competitors from age 16 and above and so on)**

Chokes, armbars, shoulder locks and straight footlocks (which I seem to have put in twich!) should form the meat of everyone's training.

The next step is to tailor your BJJ competition prep training*** around what's allowed vs not allowed in your belt category****. It makes little sense to spend the last 3 weeks before a competition getting really good at finishing knee-bars if they are not even allowed at your belt level.

*I doubt there are any illegal straight armbars which is probably why they don't feature
**And added armbars, and omitted kids rules as we don't have any at the Labs - Fighting Fit Manchester.
***Obviously when/if you are NOT preparing for an event feel free to diversify your training. Follow your bliss.
****A similar argument can be made for training within the margins of your competition weight category (± 5-10kg). More on that in a post coming really soon.

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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 / Grappling Tips: mat time - fundamentals v combinations v crazy jiu jitsu

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:41:00 +0000

Here is an example of three technique sequences that are aimed at different levels of proficiency in BJJ:

Americana from mount: Everyone should know how to perform this technique. It's a basic and very very effective Brazilian jiu jitsu attack from mount and while there are many good instructionals on how to perform the Americana from mount, I feel that Ryron and Rener show it best in the Gracie Combatives (watch here for free, courtesy of Gracie University) course. If you don't want to go the link, this clip from 2007 Gracie Insider is very good too.

Amrbar counter to the americana prevention: No technique will work all the time and on everyone. Every technique in grappling and BJJ has counters and counters to the counters and here is a beautiful example. It's beautiful because of it's simplicity. It's almost impossible to finish the americana shoulder lock with one of your arms still trapped under the opponent's head so a simple way to prevent them from finishing it is to trap that arm there with a heavy head and a death grip. As you progress in grappling and BJJ it's important to learn to combine your attacks and the counter demonstrated here by Mr James Smart at the Gracie Academy in Cape Town (I trained privately with James during my last visit there and he is very good) is an excellent transition.

Omoplata counter: This is just crazy. This is just mad ape-shit jiu jitsu from Mr Paulo Sandsten and I mean that in the bestest way possible. I honestly have no idea what the hell is going on here but I find it very intriguing. Becoming creative with your jiu jitsu is a beautiful process that everyone should "indulge" in. I say "indulge" because I don't think this is where the majority of mat time should be spent but when someone with solid jiu jitsu fundamentals invests in his or her creativity in grappling, you get this kind of beauty. The fact that the clip comes from somewhere in my homeland of Sweden is the cherry on top.

I don't feel beginners should only ever practice fundamentals or that black belts should never dedicate time to the good ol' elbow knee escape et al. In fact, Stephan Kesting said it best recently when referencing the way the staff at Google work - They spend the majority of their time of productive activities. Maybe 70% or so on the fundamentals. They also invest 25% of their time on projects that may or may not lead to productive outcomes. These are not fundamentals but they rest firmly on them. The last 5% is spent on totally bonkers and out-there activities. Crazy shizzle that is not necessarily aimed at producing anything of use but, funnily enough, sometimes does!

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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

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BJJ Tips: The Difference between blue belt and purple belt in BJJ and a gem by John Will

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:49:00 +0000

What is the difference between a blue belt and a purple belt in BJJ? Many well-respected black belt instructors will tell you that a modern day blue belt has more or less all the tools she needs to become really good at grappling. Learning more and more BJJ techniques is no longer the number one goal, but rather getting good at what you already know. How do we do that? We practice. We put in the hours on the grappling mats. That is hardly a secret. What you do on those sacred mats, however, is up to you. How and how much you dedicate yourself to your grappling journey is all you. Your instructor or coach can guide you and show the way, but you always have to put in the graft yourself. Think about the following for starters:

If you waste 3-4 minutes of every BJJ session this could mean the difference between being a blue belt and a purple belt in BJJ!

Here is the maths.

Last Thursday, we had the pleasure of learning from a fantastic teacher and experienced martial artist Mr John Will, 4th degree BJJ black belt and head of Will / Machado BJJ Australasia. In his seminar, he taught the foundations of the guard as taught to him in 4 private sessions by the founder of BJJ Helio Gracie back in 1987. He also taught us many attacks from the omoplata position and from the side mount position but the true gems were not the particular techniques but rather the delivery style and wisdom he shared.

Just before we commenced drilling the first technique he showed us, John helped us invest in our BJJ future by paying attention to our present:

"Don't waste time on the mat. Don't dilly-dally! If you waste time you are building a terrible and costly habit. Here's an example:

If you waste 3 -4 minutes* per hour of BJJ, and you train an average of 4 hours per week (2 x 2 hour sessions, for instance) then over the span of, say, 6 years of training you would have wasted the equivalent of five to six and a half months of BJJ training! That could easily be the difference between being ready for a purple belt and remaining a blue belt"

It's not too uncommon to hear that someone is close but not quite there yet.

I have on occasion heard an instructor tell a BJJ student she is 4 or 5 months out. That doesn't necessarily just mean "train hard for 4-5 months and you'll be ready" but rather I now understand that that could mean "by applying yourself to training and not wasting 3-4 minutes** per session you can break this time-wasting habit and reap the rewards"

If you are an instructor, I invite you to echo John's wise words at your next session and see the change in your athlete's eyes, then drop by and let us know how it went.

*I don't remember the exact figures John used but I did the maths myself (based on a 50-week training year) and it adds to the ratio of 5 months of grappling for every 3 minutes regularly wasted.

**3 - 4 minutes is very easy to waste! Arriving 2 minutes late, taking 30 seconds longer water break and chatting to your training partner 3 x 10sec when you should be drilling and voila! Bye Bye Purple belt!
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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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What's the difference between a purple belt and a brown belt in BJJ?

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:45:00 +0000

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

that a brown belt no longer just knows the elbow-knee escape from mount, but rather should have such a sharp (and early) mount prevention game and strategy that he shouldn't find himself under a stable mount all too often. I knew this from rolling with Martyn (our brown belt head instructor at The Labs and a nightmare to keep under mount) but I'm slowly getting a grasp on the why and how he does it. Two of key factors that shone from Roy's DVD are:

1. Precise placement: Roy Dean's instructor Mr Roy Harris (a BJJ hero of mine) makes the point in the DVD that some precise placements of your limbs afford you a mechanical advantage that others don’t, which means you are less likely to tire or crumble under pressure

2. Anticipation: This is a big one. In a way, I'm talking about Jedi mind tricks and in a way I'm not. Anticipation here means (as I understand it) realising when a position is lost / gained and where it could potentially lead and being ready for those possibilities. For example, you have side control top. What is your opponent going to do (or rather, what is she most likely to do)? How can you best take advantage of that and how can you best prepare for that (likely) eventuality?

To escape side control (our example) your opponent can i, pull guard (or otherwise entangle you with their legs), ii, get to their knees, iii, bridge and roll you or (less likely) iv, attack your with a submission from an inferior position. Ask yourself:

a, how can I block their escape or, more precisely, how can I best place myself to block that route (keeping efficiency over effectiveness in mind)?

b, if they do escape to the three options above, how can I attack immediately in the transition?

This is a big revelation to me. I know you are all much cleverer than yours truly and probably knew all this already but for moi, this is awesome. I can’t wait to go re-watch some of the fantastic instructionals that I previously felt where way above my head.

Roy Dean DVD set “Brown Belt Requirements” review to come soon. You can buy it from Budovideos here or download it from iTunes here.

*Effectiveness: getting the job done, one way or another.

**That’s one translation of Dr Kano’s words, but it’s not the only one.

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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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Guest Article: The White gi as metaphor for blank canvas

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:39:00 +0000

My friend Naushad Ali sent me this beautiful piece as a guest article. I hope you enjoy it.

"One of the senior belts at my gym was telling me how a BJJ Black belt was very discriminating on whom he let train at his facility. His students were not allowed to have unclipped nails, neck tattoos, and definitely no coloured GIs. While the first rule makes sense on grounds of hygiene, and the second rule may appear somewhat harsh, the third rule intrigued me. Given his place in the BJJ world then it is safe to say he can afford to be so judicious, but his insistence that a white gi be worn by his students no matter their rank, stuck furthermost in my mind.

I remember reading that Howard Liu (the man behind Howard Combat Kimonos), was inspired to create his now famous blue gi by noting that judo competitors at the world and Olympic level wore blue gis. He correctly intuited that this practice may be one that the governing bodies of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu may choose to adopt. Fast forward nearly a decade on and now we have gis that are black, red, yellow, even camouflage (when the invisibility powers of a ninja gi are simply not enough). Coming from a no gi background and preparing to become committed to studying Jiu Jitsu I asked my current coach Ed (Kone, head instructor at EK BJJ), as to what gis I could wear as a white belt. He explained while it was up to me what I chose to wear but as his school was trying to be compliant with IBJJF standards he would prefer me to get a white or blue gi. He told me I could get the ninja gi once I was promoted to blue belt. I did not like the idea of an all white ensemble, and since the bulk of my weekly wash was coloured clothing anyway I decided I was best off wearing a blue gi.

Recently Ed for some bizarre reason promoted me to blue belt, (along with someone else who deserved his blue belt much more than I did). I began thinking about getting a new gi....... the ninja gi with matching shruiken and nunchucks. But as I started thinking about it, I starred contemplating what the white kimono with the white belt meant symbolically (to me if no one else). I then started seeing it a blank canvas on which a student can paint their own destiny. A quest for knowledge whose zenith is where unbridled imagination meets unyielding effort. And while the colour of the belt we wear around our waist will change its final colour is a weird allegory to the space it cannot begin to cover. While much has been learned in what was white eventually becoming black, the space it leaves uncovered represents the incredible amount yet to be discovered. And while this knowledge is infinite, not just in Jiu Jitsu but in all things, just as the stitches of the kimono constrain the cotton, we who wear it are similarly constrained. But these constraints give shape and direction, allowing us to achieve infinitely more working with them and within them than we could ever hope to working against them."

BJJ journals, training diaries / notebooks. Do you use them?

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:34:00 +0000

Do you use a BJJ diary, journal or any system (manual or electronic) to record your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu sessions and chart your progress? Don't you hate it when you forget details that can either make or break a technique and wish you had written it down or recorded it somewhere?

We often hear in BJJ / Grappling and all combat sports that it's not how much you know (number of sweeps, transitions and submissions) but how well you know it (depth of jiu jitsu details, correct timing in response to opponent indicators, essential components and their sequence). Any good jiu jitsu instructor will spend the majority of your time on the mat ensuring you are consistently doing the right things, avoiding the wrong grappling habits and drilling against progressive resistance. With me so far?

But the jiu jitsu session has to end at some point. Whether it's a 60, 90 minute session or longer it has to end and you are left with, at best, a fragmented memory of these do-this-but-not-that grappling details. Obviously it is your responsibility to ensure that you retain this wealth of jiu jitsu information and drill it (say, during open mat time) against various training partners until it becomes a habitual act. An automated response. The problem we all face (to varying degrees) is:

How do I make sure I'm covering the most essential details when drilling with my buddies but without the watchful eyes of my BJJ instructor?

To put in context, if you learn the tripod sweep from open guard on Monday and make a committment to drill this with you brilliant buddy Benny or great mate Kate at the next Open-Mat session on, say, Friday or Saturday, how do you make sure you retain as much as possible of the detailed instruction you recieved? After all, we all know that practice does NOT make perfect. Only PERFECT practice makes PERFECT.

Over the 7 or so years I've been training grappling (and all thru-out my Karate, Taekwondo and Kung fu years before that) I always kept notes. Sometimes I supplemented these notes with diagrams. Detailed diagrams, with arrows and frikking speech bubbles and shit! In fact, my diagrams of Wing Chun stances, moves and techniques were a gazillion times better than my actual Wing Chun!

Some other times, I omitted all technical notes and kept a mental / psych journal instead. I learned how to do that from an awesome sports performance book called The Mental Athlete*. In a nutshell, you analysed your sessions and noted:

(1) What went well,

(2) What went less than well,

(3) Why you think (2) didn't go so well and

(4) What will you do to avoid it happening again.

That journal actually saw me thru blue belt all the way to purple. It was great because you listed all the positive things about the session and even the negative things got turned into actions. I highly recommend the book and this type of journal.

Around that time, I started this blog (or rather, the first version of this blog!). I found the blogosphere to be a great medium to communicate and share but I also find sharing my personal training in the blog Uber-boring. There are people who are really good at documenting their training / teaching such as Slideyfoot and they actually make reading it very beneficial. I can't do that. I bore myself so I wouldn't expect you to read it.

I do, however still keep notes of my jiu jitsu / grappling learning. I separate these into:

1. Notes on techniques I learn from instructors (Martyn, David, Stephen, sparring partners and from attending seminars...etc.)

2. Notes on techniques I learn from media (Books, DVDs, apps, YouTube, Gracie University...etc.)

3. Notes on techniques I teach (sessions, privates, videos I record for the blog...etc.)

I use a number of tools for my note-taking. These are:

1. A video recording device (FlipPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry)

2. A camera for pictures

3. A phone App where I can take notes

4. Training Journal (stays at home)

I use (3) to note the details ASAP after I learn them so I can note the maximum depth so I can transfer all that to (4) when I get home. The only problem has been that sometimes, I can't or simply don't want to goof around on my phone (or any electronic media) at or immediately after a BJJ session. I was, therefore, VERY happy to learn about this awesome website called PocketMod.

PocketMod is a completely free web-based resource. Using a very simple and efficient template, you learn to create and publish an 8 page booklet, in less than a minute! It's very cool**.

PocketMod allows you to choose from a variety of note-taking formats (up to 8 pages) and then drag and drop them onto a big template. Once you print this on a standard A4 paper, you follow theire simple instructions to fold that A4 into an A7-sized 8-page booklet that you can easily slip into your training bag. This is neither an expensive phone nor a cumbersome training journal. You can take it with you to the mat (or at least mat-side) and if one of you friends steps on it by mistake, it's cool!

Here is an example of one I created today:

And here are the notes I put on page 2:

Super quick. Go now to PocketMod and create your first training notebook. Play around with it until you nail it.

Just remember where you heard about it first ;o)

*The Mental Athlete is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
**If you're a geek like me :)
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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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You are NOT Andre Galvao nor Rodolfo Vieira: But these two matches are beautiful!

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:31:00 +0000

Andre Galvao vs Rodolfo Vieira. Two awesome BJJ practitioners. Top level artists and athletes. Very few should emulate them.

What? Who am I to say this? I'm a nobody. I'm a very ordinary purple belt who trains part time. I do not have the time (nor the desire) to reach the heights of BJJ, No Gi submission wrestling or MMA achievement that these fine specimen have reached and that's exactly why I shouldn't emulate how they behaved in this fantastic match at the Abu Dhabi World Pro Jiu Jitsu absolute finals:

One of the best things I learned in BJJ is from 4th degree black belt Roy Harris. In one of his fantastic instructionals he explained that in BJJ there are rules and:

As a beginner you learn the rules and you obey them
As in intermediate grappler you start breaking the rules and learning from that
As an advanced grappler, there are no rules

Similarly, Matt Thornton once wrote that in BJJ, there are no rules, only warnings.

If you try to do what Andre and Rodolfo do in the match above, you will get the living crap swept, passed, mounted and submitted out of you. You won't be able to make it work (if you are anything like me and let's face it, the absolute majority of us are not of their calibre).

They hardly ever establish positions. They are basically playing chess on speed. I'm not saying it's sloppy, because it really isn't. I'm saying if I tried to play the way they play I would make it look sloppy. I would look like an idiot and I would probably injure myself and my training partners (or at least really piss them off) and I wouldn't (here is the important one) learn anything of value.

As a beginner (and 6-7 years of part time training into BJJ I am most definitely a beginner) I am still working hard at learning and obeying the rules of grappling. I always work for the underhook before I attempt passing half guard. I keep my elbows close to my ribs* when in guard in fear of getting arm dragged or arm barred. Unlike Mr Galvao, my awareness level is still developing and I do NOT see the arm bar a mile off like he does.

While the above match is fantastic and great, I still don't think it's better** than the one they had a few years back (the ADCC 2009 Brazilian Trials), this time NoGi. As you all know, I'm more of a gi fan but great grappling is great grappling and this one has one of the most beautiful back takes in the history of back takes! I hope you enjoy it.

*Yes I admit that I toy with giving my arm sometimes from inside closed guard to encourage my partner to go for the armbar so I can pass but that's not my core game. That's something I experiment with sometimes.

**except for the throw. Dang it that was a beautiful throw. I'm sure Seagal invented it though!
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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 / Grappling in Russia Needs You: Elena “Kimatsu” needs your support!

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:46:00 +0000

BJJ in Russia is growing. It's important to remember that Russia has a strong tradition in grappling arts and combat sports. They have always had strong Judo, wrestling and Muay Thai teams and even have their own martial art: Sambo.

Elena introduces herself in the letter below, which I urge you to read and share on Facebook and Twitter...etc. What the intro below doesn't share is her passion for the grappling sports. She's an accomplished judoka (black belt) and sambo-practitioner (champion competitor) and recently added 2 gold medals at the World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Moscow Trials, earning the right to participate in AbuDabi Pro World Championships Jiu-Jitsu in 2012 April 12-14.

Once again, "Passion" is a word that comes to mind. So when I heard about Elena letter from Kiril, the man behind the Brutal TShirt brand, I felt obliged to engage and try to help.

I am waiting for Elena to come back (hopefully victorious) from Abu Dhabi so I can see how we can best help her cause. In the meantime, here is her letter.

Hi everyone,

My name is Elena Zenkevich aka Kimatsu.

I’m a BJJ blue belt training and competing for Alliance BJJ Russia Team (75+ kg open weight division according to FILA regulations). I’m also an instructor of Vologda Alliance BJJ Team and have around 16 students, including 5 girls.

Today I would like to share with you some of my thoughts regarding the future and perspectives of Russian grappling, currently under FILA regulations.

It’s not a secret that the number of national-level BJJ & Grappling tournaments here in Russia is not that big. And for this particular reason it’s very important, and interesting, for every competing athlete to always take part in such events, whenever they are held.

The latest news about Russian FILA Grappling Championship (Gi & No-Gi) that will be held on March 31st – April 1st 2012 has aroused the interest of both me and my students.

Therefore, we got in touch, in advance, with Russian FILA Grappling Federation in order to obtain more specific information about the application and taking part in the competition in general.

I was VERY SURPRISED to find out that we can’t participate in this event simply because the Federation has limited women’s weight divisions at 58kg No-Gi and 64kg Gi. All the other heavier categories existing under the International FILA Grappling Regulations have been excluded by default.

What exactly is the reason for such discrimination?

Maybe there is no interest in regards to heavy divisions AT ALL? No, it’s not this. Men compete there in all possible weights. Is there a lack of women athletes competing in these weight divisions? No, neither this. We DO EXIST, but Russian FILA Grappling Federation is not interested in us for some reason.

Or is there a lack of heavyweight women-grapplers mainly in Russian FILA Federation?

This is probably the only logical reason I see.

In other words, does Russian FILA Federation hold a national-level championship for their own athletes and in their own interests ONLY? Are they interested in their own sportsmen getting all the titles and medals? So what is the difference, after all, between small local tournaments and national-level ones if strangers aren’t allowed to compete, just so they don’t spoil the picture…?

It’s a pity that all this is happening, but worse is the fact that it can become a common practice here in Russia. If it does, then what kind of sport development and fair play at a national level can we speak of?

I would really like to know if this is a common practice only here in Russia or does this often happen in other countries too? For me, this brings more questions than answers…

Best Regards,

Elena Zenkevich aka Kimatsu: www.bjj35.ru

BJJ 35, Vologda Alliance BJJ Team, Russia

P.S.

Please share this letter with your friends and all those interested in this sport. We would highly appreciate if you could help bring awareness of the whole international BJJ and Grappling community on this issue. Thanks!

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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 / MMA Motivation: The Passion of Pioneers and the Origins of Vale Tudo

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:26:00 +0000

I don't really follow MMA, but this motivational video really caught me off guard. Also, I miss PRIDE.

Vale Tudo is the parent of modern day MMA but Vajramushti could be the great grand parent of Vale Tudo.

I think what the above motivational video did was remind me of the passion that pioneers have for their chosen field.

John B Will is one such man. To learn Karate, he travelled to Japan. To learn Silat, he lived in Indonesia. To learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Vale Tudo, he travelled to Brazil and the US. He took private classes from Helio Gracie. He learned directly from the Machado brothers. He invested in his passion and craft.

In this article on GrappleArts.Com, you can read about John's travels to the origin of one of the oldest forms of free fight, all the way in India.

It is this passion that really shone thru when I spoke to him during last year's seminar at Factory BJJ and it is this passion (and, undeniably, knowledge) that I hope you all join me in sharing on the 5th of May.

Click here to read John's Bio and reserve your spot for John B Will's seminar at Fighting Fit Manchester.

But hurry, we currently only have 15 (at the time of writing) slots left for the seminar. Training with John is a privilege you shouldn't deny yourself so do not miss this opportunity.

BJJ / Grappling Tips: Mount Escape to Heel Hook

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:20:00 +0000

I saw this as an extra on one of Roy Harris' BJJ VHS (oh yeah, back in the day!) instructionals. Heel hooks may or may not be part of your game but that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of this transition. It opens doors and presents you with options from an otherwise rubbish place to be (at the bottom of the mount)

Obviously, I'm not suggesting that you seek out mount bottom. As far as the positional heirarchy of BJJ, Mount Bottom really sucks. However, when life hands you lemons...

BJJ Inspiration: Saulo Ribeiro

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:27:00 +0000

I leave you to enjoy these beautiful pieces from the master:

This gem has been around for a while. My favourite part is at 2:37 where he says: "Our mission is to bring joy" If it's good enough for Saulo, it's good enough for me

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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 concepts: Escaping the mounted position

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:08:00 +0000

Mount in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is king. Obviously, taking your opponent's back with hooks is just as awesome, but getting to mount and keeping it as the great Saulo puts it is "the Mecca of jiu jitsu". That last thing you want when you reach mount is to simply lose it and if you find yourself under the mount, you want to be escaping. Now. A while ago, I stumbled across this awesome video of the legendary Rickson Gracie teaching a private session where he does things my mortal brain can not understand. My eyes see, but my head goes "huh?" Invisible Jiu Jitsu - The amazing balance and connection of Rickson Gracie:

So when I found a video by 2 instructors I hold in very high regard, the awesome 7th degree black belt Joe Moreira and his 3rd degree black belt Michael Jen, explaining concepts which I recognized from the Rickson Gracie video above, I was over the moon. I will be rolling the jelly as soon as I get on the mat. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

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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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Gi Review: Predator by Black Eagle. The new design

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:31:00 +0000

Disclaimer: The Part Time Grappler is sponsored by Black Eagle & Predator Fightwear. Having said that, this did not affect the objectivity of my review for the simple reason that Black Eagle ASKED for a review. They wanted to know what was good and what they could do even better.

Short BJJ gi review: This is a good competition gi. It's sparsely decorated which allows addition of team and club patches without it becoming too much of the good thing. The gi jacket has been re-designed to offer a wider skirt (for loopin chokes) but maintained the nice collar and sleeves. The gi pants are still ripstop and uber-light. The gi feels very soft and nice to roll in. Take it to a comp and you won't regret it. It is currently priced at £89.99 (approx. $143 or €108) on http://www.black-eagle.co.uk/predator/bjjclothingtype-bjjgi/f/

More detailed gi review: Check out the picture below.

That skirt width difference between my first Predators (black gi) and the new generation might not look like much, but I love using the sneaky gi lapel choke Renzo Gracie shows here from side control and trust me those extra centimetres make a difference.

The lapel is very nice. It's thick, but not too thick. It's rubbery, but not too rubbery. It's one of the best things about the gi.

Also check out these re-inforcements. I'm sure other brands do them too, but for a clumsy, slightly heavier grappler like me, they are brilliant. I also roll with big guys so when and if they go for a Brabo grip and yank, I'm not worried they'll tear the gi.

The material is the same as the previous generation Predator and I'm happy they stuck with it because it's awesome. It's very soft even after several washes and Black Eagle maintain that their gis shouldn't shrink, ever!

The pants are very nice. Very light and very resiliant. What you expect from a competition gi with rip-stop pants. The whole gi is very light and very resiliant. As I said above, this is a good gi.

So good so far?*

I really had only one major gripe with the gi and as this was a sample, I wasn't too worried. The stiching on the embroidery (which is scarce on this model - simple & clear lines was the theme) started to unravel already after the first roll. I took some pics and sent them to Predator HQ and this is what they told me:

Basically there are many different ways of embroidering, although there are similarities between the different programs and machines. The Satin stitch is the one used on the lettering of the Predator. We have been taught that when a satin stitch is greater than 10mm wide we should use a ‘Fill stitch’, now although this is the same rule / assumption from the embroidery machine manufacturers we only ever satin stitch up to 6mm wide and fill stitch on any width greater. When we use satin on BJJ kimonos we tend to stick to a rule of 4mm.

All this said you will find that our own expertise on embroidery has never produced a complaint, whereas our manufacturers are often a law unto themselves. The problem you are likely to experience with the long satin stitch is that you could potentially unloop the whole text for the Predator, although we have never known this to happen, and yours is the first real complaint about this.

The Eagle should be in a Fill Stitch so you should be able to see the difference between that and the Satin… basically if you run your nail over it you will notice movement (gaps) in the satin, and not in the Fill. I have also inspected around six other kimonos and they do not appear to have the loose threads you have, so you may have got a rogue one.

Form your comments, however, management has decided to insist that all future orders are produced using the fill stitch, which will hopefully alleviate this ever becoming a problem.

That right there is why I love working with Black Eagle: They take feeback on board.

Here is the official word on the gi from Black Eagle:

The 'Predator' BJJ Gi is the latest design, incorporating many new design changes to produce one of the lightest and toughest BJJ Competition Gi's ever!

Manufactured from a new improved Pearl Weave offering greater strength without compromising weight!

1. Ultra light, ultra strong ripstop trousers
2. Ultra Light Pearl Weave jacket
3. Extra lines of stitching on re-enforced lapel with ripstop overlay
4. Ripstop trimming to sleeve cuffs and jacket trim
5. New patch designs and Predator embroideries
6. Sanforized - Guaranteed never to shrink out of fit (still allow for an initial shrinkage of around 1%)
7. Mercerised - Increases the strength of the fibres and further protects from shrinkage
8. Additional loops on trousers for greater comfort fit
9. Improved Competition cut, and fully IBJJF legal

Additional belt loops (6 in total) ensure an even more secure fit, resulting in the trousers staying put during training and, more importantly, competition, giving athletes far superior mobility without being hindered!

The BJJ gi market today is full of high quality products, but also a lot of shit. Even within the great brands, you will have to think about your own needs and wants. I prefer a lighter, resiliant model that allows me to add my own designs without it becoming too much.

If, however, you want an already blinged up gi with canvas pants and cotrast stitching, the Predator is not for you (but I'd kep my eyes peeled for their upcoming project: The Tamashii, a work-in-progress that will knock your socks off!).

*I love Brazinglish. It's actually Mr Cleber Luciano who said "So good so far" when asked about how his team are doing at the Pan Kids. Watch the whole coverage at http://youtu.be/8y78NY0zXqo

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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 / Grappling in Self Defence: My cousin Ali 1 - Robber 0

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:52:00 +0000

Actually, this could be titled Jiu Jitsu 2 - Idiots 0. I'm sure you're one of the 165,000+ who have seen the recent Ryan Hall video where he controls a very angry and offensive drunk at a restaurant. The man is totally unharmed and ends up apologizing and paying for Ryan's and his friends' dinner. If you've missed it you can check out the interview with the video on the Fightworks Podcast. But that's Ryan Hall. He is an awesome Black Belt and competes for the Marcelo Garcia Team. You expect him to do well.

A few weeks ago, I called my mother to check on her. She told me she was on her way to my aunt's house to check on my cousin Ali. Ali, she told me, had caught a robber in the house and restrained him until the police arrived. This, I thought, I had to go see! Below is a short interview I did with the man of the hour.

Does Brazilian Jiu Jitsu work in real life self defence?

Let's start with a short introduction:
My name is Ali, I'm 22 years old and I live in Manchester.

How long have you practiced jiu jitsu?
Haha, I have had 2 private sessions with you. One on mount escapes and one on mount maintenance. That's all.

Cool. I believe you've recently been involved in an incident. Tell us in your own words what happened.
I was at home from uni having a nice afternoon nap. My room is upstairs and no one was supposed to be getting home for a couple of hours so I was very surprised to hear noise coming from the living room. I got up from bed and, still sleepy and not quite with it, I headed for the staircase but when I heard the sound of steps on broken glass I hurried down thinking a family member was home and had fallen or something. I was very surprised to see two strangers standing in our living room. The floor was covered with broken glass from the window they had broken in thru and a glass table they had accidently smashed making their way in. Not the cleverest of robbers.

As soon as they saw methe one nearer the window shouted: "FUCK!" and ran out the same way he came in. The other guy, which I recognised as a local lad, froze in his steps. That's when I lunged at him, tackled him down and held him down. I was still not sure what I was doing, why I was doing it or where I expected any of this to lead. I just saw a robber in my house and I reacted.

He struggled under me and almost got to his feet once or twice and that's when I suddenly remember your advice and mounted him with both hooks under his thighs and kept a wide, low base with my arms. He really panicked here and started to thrash me around but hugging his head, I didn't let him roll me off him. I could hear your voice: "Find a comfortable position where he's using too much energy and you are not!" and I was so happy it all worked. I somehow managed to rach the phone and called 999.

Wow, you held him down AND called the cops?
Yeah, well it gets better! When I managed to call 999, I was still in shock and full of adrenaline. It was a huge head rush. They kept asking me all kinds of weird question and wanted me to give them details of what had happened. I was shouting at them that it WAS STILL HAPPENING! so the operator hung up on me! I decided to wait until I had calmed down a little then called them again, all while still controlling the thief.

Jeez! How long from start until the police arrived?
45 minutes.

45 minutes! How did you manage to hold him down for 45 minutes?
Well we were both getting tired, but he was getting a lot more tired than me and the more we stayed the more confident I felt while he was screaming for air and space. He kept shouting: "Nah man please don't choke me man. Please let me go. Just open the door let me have some fresh air man." I wasn't choking him. I wouldn't know how to. I was just controlling his head like you showed me.

What happened when the police arrived?
He started lying. He claimed I saw him in the street, dragged him and started beating him up. Luckily, the police took our statements and then called in another officer. I didn't know this then but the other officer had been trying to nail this robber for the past 7 years! He was very happy to see him and called me a hero. I'm not a hero, but jiu jitsu really works.

Did either of you get any injuries?
Nothing too serious. A few scratches and bruises from when he was clawing at my face to get me off him and I got cut a little fromt he broken glass but once I had him controlled there wasn't much he could do.

What a story. I hope you have a speedy recovery and I also hope to see you on the mat soon for some more jiu jitsu.
Thanks Liam and thanks for the lessons.

I thank Ali for taking the time to re-tell me his story. I respect his choices but I hope next time he stays upstairs and dials 999 from his room. It is only lucky that, in 2012, they weren’t armed with knives or worse.

Interview with Shama Ko, BJJ purple belt, champion competitor, blogger, photographer and all around really cool gal - second part

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 08:39:00 +0000

There are lots of BJJ blogs around and I must admit I'm very picky with which one I read. What I look for is honesty and an interesting story. Shama's blog has these qualities aplenty.

The adventure I've been following (Shama's recently been changing academy and has therefore been around to many Austin academies) has been very intriguing to say the least and it got me interested in interviewing the girl behind the words and I was NOT disappointed. Shama was honest and very generous in her replies and I thank her for that. I give you here part two of two:

The Part Time Grappler Interviews Shama Ko:

Do you compete in your sport(s)? Have you won any competitions?

I've been competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since 2004. I've placed in twenty-seven competitions. The most rewarding accomplishments were winning the 2009 Pan Ams and placing 2nd at the 2009 World championships. I've been out of and on for over six months with a reoccurring injury that has put competing on hold, but I'm looking forward to making a comeback at the 2012 World Championships.

What is the greatest thrill you have gotten out of practicing your sport?

Overall it has been the discovery of realizing what I am capable of by pushing my limits. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has provided me with the tools and opportunity to explore who I am, gain a deeper appreciation for myself and helped shape me into the strong and confident woman I consider myself to be now. I am a huge believer in positive visualization and affirmations. We don't have control of a lot of things in life, but we can achieve anything with the right attitude, believing in ourselves, hard work and a willingness to never give up or settle.

Give us your top 5 tips for time-management (to fit exercise around life)

Time management is a constant battle for me with all I have going on. I tend to prioritize what's most important or time sensitive and find a balance with everything else. I live by my organizer. It's my daily bible. Being organized is crucial when managing a juggling act.

Although I am more of a creative type, I need to have a structured routine and with that comes the prioritizing of my life. It is good to have a plan of execution. Lastly, although I am a self-starter and tend to work better alone, I am learning to never be afraid to ask for help when I need it.

Now let’s balance that with what you consider the top 5 time-thieves.

My day-to-day life isn't structured or dictated by having a "job" and a boss telling me what to do. I am my own boss and having discipline and structure is a must. The five worst thieves for me are: Procrastination, taking on too much, not checking my schedule daily, being too rigid with my planning and "farting around" as my mother would say.

There is a delicate balance between being flexible and having a structured game plan. I’ve learned with time and experience, that life is always throwing us curve balls. The inability to go with the flow is perhaps most damaging to time management. But I know I need to stay focused and remember to check my organizer on a daily basis. Procrastination or finding excuses to put things off can throw my whole week off if I'm not careful. I also sometimes tend to take on more than I'm capable of realistically accomplishing. Learning to say no and being honest with myself has helped me be more productive. “Farting around” on social media sites like Facebook and surfing the web is another time stealer.

Do you have any regrets?

We all have some regrets in life. I think that is a common human quality. Of course, I sometimes find myself thinking about what I could of, should of or would have done differently, especially after a competition. However, my philosophy is to keep moving forward and learn from my past. After all, it is our experiences, good and bad that make us who we are. Living in the moment and learning from our mistakes instead of harping on them is what brings growth and helps us in finding our weaknesses which in turn builds on our strengths. Having faith in yourself whatever your beliefs may be and always being grateful for the blessings you have, is a much healthier and happier way to go about life than worrying about things we can't control or things that have already happened.

Finally, why do you train? What drives you?

Having goals are great and they kept moving forward, but primarily I truly love what I do. I am genuinely passionate about everything I do whether it is photography, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, building the community, empowering women, or competing. Everyone loves something and whatever that love is, a person, a place or an activity, it is being honest with yourself and letting it develop organically that will fulfill your life most. Having that genuine fulfillment and never giving up no matter what life throws at you, leads to opportunities that can make your wildest dreams come to life.

I really thank Shama for taking the time to write this interview and wish her all the best in her adventures. Make sure you read her blog regularly.

Interview with Shama Ko, BJJ purple belt, champion competitor, blogger, photographer and all around really cool gal

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:25:00 +0000

There are lots of BJJ blogs around and I must admit I'm very picky with which one I read. What I look for is honesty and an interesting story. Shama's blog has these qualities aplenty.

The Part Time Grappler Interviews Shama Ko:

Hello. Why don’t we start by you telling us a little about yourself?

My name is Shama Ko. As a kid I always wished I had a "normal" name, but now as an adult, I can't imagine my parents naming me anything else. My name comes from the Shama-thrush bird. I'm told that when my mom was pregnant with me she would sit in the rain forests on our goat farm in Palolo Valley and sing-talk with the Shama-thrush for hours on end. Needless to say my parents are hippies. I was born and raised in the island of Oahu, Honolulu, HI. Like most people from Hawaii, I'm a “mutt”. I am Korean, Irish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, German, French and a little Native American. I currently reside in Austin, TX. I've been here for over a decade so I guess I'm a Hawaiian-Texan now.

Are you currently working / studying? Is that Full time / Part time?

I am a full time freelance photographer and own my own company called Shama Ko Photography, which was established in 1999. I've recently launched a new brand called Mean Streak, which is primarily focused on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA photography. Photography, like any other technology-based industry, is constantly evolving and in order to keep up with the times I’ve returned to school to study the latest photography methods in the field. In addition, I am an organizer for two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Women's groups called, Girls in Gis and Austin Women's Open Mat. In addition, I also do freelance writing for TXMMA and my blog, The Adventures of Shama Ko. I also periodically contribute to Gracie Magazine and BJJ Legends. As if I didn't have enough going on, I have a few other ventures in the works.

You also set aside time to practice a sport. Which sport(s)?

I got my start in Martial Arts with Muay Thai, which I trained in for three years before discovering my passion for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Currently, I only train in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. For fun, I also enjoy cycling, snowboarding, surfing and rock climbing.

How long have you done that?

I've been training Gracie Jiu-Jitsu since 2003. I am a purple belt. I got my start in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Phil Cardella at Relson Gracie Austin. I trained with him until last year. I currently study and train Gracie Jiu-Jitsu at Gracie Humaita Austin with Donald Park and I’m loving it!

Do you follow any special diet? Do you use any dietary supplements?

I don’t exclusively subscribe to any of the popular diets like the Gracie, Paleo, Eat Right for Your Blood Type or Raw diets. However, I have incorporated elements from all of them. I eat a balanced diet with low carbs, sugar, dairy and no packaged or processed foods. However, I'm far from perfect and I admit I cheat from time to time.

For the most part I try to only eat organic, cage free and fresh foods. My diet consists of lots of veggies and protein. Eating healthy is crucial when an athlete of any kind. The old saying "you are what you eat" is 100% true. I also take Neocell Collagen Sport on a regular basis. It’s made with “nutrients you can trust”. It’s made a huge difference in my recovery from my injury last year.

How do you manage to fit your training around work, study and family time?

I think the more accurate way to say it for me is, how do I fit work, personal time and school around my training schedule. Training is a must! I have to train for my mental and physical health. It's my release. Of course sometimes work takes priority over training, but for the most part I structure my life around GJJ class times. I especially structure my life around training when I'm actively competing in tournaments. The time, energy and resources invested in GJJ can take on the role of another job.

I'm not the best tight rope walker. Keeping a balance with all my activities is tough. I have to work hard and diligent at being organized, having structured routines, planning ahead, being flexible and make time for "me".

Making a living is a big priority, because everyone needs to eat and pay the basic necessities. However, I've realized lately that taking time out for me is what is most important. Even machines need regular maintenance and upkeep. If you don't care for your own needs everything can quickly fall apart. Running on high non-stop is dangerous mentally and physically. Sometimes you have to just press the “pause” button on life and enjoy the things you want to do and not always focus on the things you have to do.

End of part one

Stay tuned for part two where Shama shares her best tips on time management and the secret to her motivation.

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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: Taking the back, RNC finishing tip and my waffle about control in BJJ and Grappling

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 09:08:00 +0000

Chris Hauter, BJJ black belt under the Machados and one of the Dirty Dozen (the first 12 non-brazilians to get a black belt in BJJ. You can train with John Will, another member of the Dirty Dozen at Fighting Fit on the 3rd of May) is known to tell his students that "no matter how good they get (at jiu jitsu), there is always more to learn. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is the “art without limits,” its nature is “boxes within boxes.” ".

I love that saying. I learn more everytime I roll. As my friend Don called it the other day: "Small victories". Even when I just go to the mat and get beasted. Escpecially when I get beasted!

Everytime I get my ass handed to me when rolling, it gives me incentive to really think and research what I'm doing and what my training partner is doing. Not always looking at ways to counter, but to prevent them getting there in the first place.

One of the recent things I've been working on in BJJ is simplifying and closing down any gaps I present when rolling*. If Im inside someone's guard, I'm trying to take away from them the ability to attack. If they're in my guard, I'm trying to take away their ability to posture up or in any other way prevent my attacks and sweeps. It doesn't always work, but it always teaches me something and I can feel myself getting better at it.

One of the areas I've been noticing this is control of the legs when playing guard, both gi and no-gi jiu jitsu.

The space between your hamstring and your calf is so important. Just think of the De La Riva hook and how the small master used it to create enough leverage to disrupt his bigger and stronger opponents' balance and sweep them during all his years at the Carlson Gracie Academy and at competitions. But there are many other ways to use that control (or negate it!).

When almost finished passing guard and almost settling into side control, I know my opponent is trying to re-hook my near leg and put me in half guard and by simply:

1, flexing the hamstring and bringing my foot to my butt and
2, flexing my glutes and hence bringing my hamstring closer to my back

I deny them access to that space. Like I said, it doesn't always work, but it always teaches me something.

I could show you a ton of examples where controlling the space between the opponent's hamstrings and calf gives you great control and denying them the same gives you the upper hand. I'll start you off with these two beautiful video clips:

Stephan Kesting on back take and RNC

Counter to back take from the De La Riva back take:

I will continue to invest time and energy into learning more about how use small controls like that as I believe they, collectively, add tons to my game. If you find cool stuff along those lines, please do share them. I loves learnings!

*This is one of my favourite verses from the Tao de jing:

"But I have heard that he who is skilful in managing the life entrusted to him for a time travels on the land without having to shun rhinoceros or tiger, and enters a host without having to avoid buff coat or sharp weapon. The rhinoceros finds no place in him into which to thrust its horn, nor the tiger a place in which to fix its claws, nor the weapon a place to admit its point. And for what reason? Because there is in him no place of death."

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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 Interview: Balance in BJJ: Interview with Chris Moriarty, Alliance BJJ Black Belt

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:17:00 +0000

The Part Time Grappler Interviews Alliance BJJ Black Belt Chris Moriarty:

Balance in BJJ is very important. The reason is because this damn art is so addictive!

Chris Moriarty is an Alliance BJJ instructor and black belt under Romero Jacare Cavalcanti in Atlanta and while that is in itself a great achievement, he is also a multiple world champ and ADCC competitor. On top of that, he is currently studying medicine at university.

Over-achiever much?!!!

Listen to his fantastically insightful interview on The Fightworks Podcast

http://thefightworkspodcast.com/2010/03/07/chris-moriarty/

I was listening to it for the 4th time when it hit me: How come I've never approached the man for a Part Time Grappler interview? Afterall, he'd be ideal.

Tracking him down, the uber-busy Chris was kind enough to reply to my questions with some very insightful answers. I hope you enjoy them.

Hello. Why don’t we start by you telling us a little about yourself?

My name is Chris Moriarty. I am 28 years old and I am from Atlanta Georgia.

Are you currently working / studying? Is that Full time / Part time?
I am currently finishing my second year of medical school.

You also set aside time to practice a sport. Which sport(s)?
I train both Brazilian Jiu jitsu and Judo.

How long have you done that?
I have been training bjj since January 2002 and I have been doing judo on and off for about 5 years.

Do you follow any special diet? Do you use any dietary supplements?
Right now school is almost all consuming so I have to eat a lot more supplements. I eat a couple of protein bars and have a few shakes every day to try and complement a few whole meals a day. I eat pretty clean during the week. I don’t eat deep fried foods or junk food. Usually one meal a week I will eat whatever I want.

How do you manage to fit your training around work, study and family time?
It is tough right now because I am in the academic portion of medical school and there is almost no time for anything. I work out at lunch Monday-Friday. On Thursday I usually do about an hour of Uchi komi with a classmate of mine who used to train a little bjj and judo as well. On Friday I still teach a class at the main Alliance academy. On Saturday I usually run and Sundays are left up to whatever I feel like doing. I hope to get back to training more regularly when I finish up my second year in May.

Do you compete in your sport(s)? Have you won any competitions?
I haven’t competed since August 2010. I really wanted to get competition out of my system before I started medical school so I competed quite a few times that summer. I really didn’t think much about it since I started, but recently I have started to get the itch again.

What is the greatest thrill you have gotten out of practicing your sport?
I would have to say getting into medical school. If it weren’t for the positive influence that bjj has had on my life, there is no way that I would have been able to find the discipline to become a good student. A close second would have to be when I won the final match in the 2007 World Championship at brown belt. It was just surreal. I won every match that day by submission. When I am doubting myself, it helps to have that memory in the back of my mind haha.

Give us your top 5 tips for time-management (to fit exercise around life)
1. Don’t obsess about balance at the beginning. Allow yourself to get over-involved in what you are just starting to do. Think about how ridiculous it would be to tell a person who just started bjj and loves it that he shouldn’t train every day because he needs “balance”. You will find balance on your own over time.

2. Recognize when your career or your sport is preventing you from helping your own life. Training bjj is awesome, but I am not going to attempt to train every day if it is going to make my grades suffer. I am a medical student first and an athlete second.

3. On the other hand, don’t neglect your fitness for your career. There are some weeks that I have almost no time to do anything, except study. I try not to beat myself up mentally for not working out as much as I normally do, but I always do something physical.

4. Don’t get so stuck on a routine that you have no flexibility when circumstances or life demands change. One of the worst things that can happen is that you convince yourself there is no point in working out or training because you can’t put 100% into it. Some of the best training is that which you do when you are forced to relax and don’t have the energy to be explosive.

5. I can only think of 4 right now haha.

Now let’s balance that with what you consider the top 5 time-thieves.
1. Internet porn
2. Youtube x 4

Do you have any regrets?
Sometimes I wish that I would have talked a little less and been nicer to people when I was younger. I burned a lot of bridges. I was pretty full of myself when I was training full-time.

Finally, why do you train? What drives you?
I love bjj. I train now more for my mind and my fitness. I really love training standup. On the ground I am very intuitive and really understand what is going on. With judo I still feel like a beginner. It is fun for me to dissect techniques and try different things when I am training. Training is also a great opportunity for me to practice calmness and emotional control.

I would like to thank Alliance Atlanta for putting me in touch with Chris and Chris for taking the time to answer my questions.

BJJ vs a bigger and stronger opponent: Real life encounter.

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:04:00 +0000

Recently after a BJJ session, one of our newer athletes walked up to me and said:

"Just wanted to tell you Liam that this stuff saved me in a confrontation. I had to make a quick decision and before I knew it, I used the hip throw from your classes, had the guy on the ground and controlled him"

I looked at him with wide eyes and thanked him for the kind words.

Something I taught helped save a person's health and well-being in a real-life confrontation.

Can you put a value on that? I think not. I felt chuffed to bits.

I asked him later on if it was OK for me to share his story with you all in the form of an interview (names left out for privacy reasons). I hope you enjoy it.

BJJ in Self Defence:

How old are you and where are you from?
29, Northumberland. Lived in Manchester for 10 years now though.

Where were you when the incident happened?
In Santa Marta, Colombia.

What time was it?
1am maybe

What exactly happened? Where you on your own or in company of others?

Outside a bar, a female Colombian friend was waiting outside with a cut foot. (I've no idea why she went outside in the first place.) After much discussion, I arranged with the doorman to let myself and the girl back inside to bandage her foot. For some reason and completely unnecessarily, a friend of the girl, a young lad, kept arguing with the doorman. Everything got aggressive and the doorman hit the lad. To be honest, the lad probably deserved it. I tried to calm everyone down and the doorman seemed to then take a dislike to me. He was posturing up at me and I felt he was going to swing for me, so I moved in towards him, to his side, and pulled his far arm in so it was trapped. He then got me in a playground-style headlock which I slipped out of and then took his back. We stood there for quite a while before I realised he wasn't going to calm down. So I thought it best to hip-toss him to the floor and get myself out of there. So I did.

Everything calmed down, we were walking away, then the little bell-end of a lad (and the girl) went back for more. My mate then arrived and correctly pointed out that I shouldn't be trying to defend some Colombian lad who I hardly know. So I let him go back and get an absolute kicking from the bouncer and a few of the bouncer's mates. I went off with my mate to a party, we pulled some fit Argentinian birds and generally had an awesome night. The end.

Why did you do what did?
Because I felt that he was going to hit me. So it was best to get in there first. Also to give the other lad an opportunity to move away.

How did you feel at the time? What was your thought process? Where you thinking much?
Slightly worried that I was getting involved in a fight with doormen in a notoriously dangerous country where its not uncommon to carry knives and guns.

And pissed off that this little dickhead was starting fights needlessly with people much bigger than him, knowing that I would have to get involved to help him out. My thought process was - I don't want to get involved in a brawl with Colombian bouncers, so I'll try and calm the situation down, then give ourselves time to get the fuck out of there.

How did you feel afterwards? What were your thoughts?
I felt a bit guilty for leaving the young lad but that quickly subsided. A bit pissed off that the female Colombiana probably wasn't going to shag me after I left them in the shit. And also quite happy that I was able to get out of there quickly without getting caught up in an ugly fist (or knife or gun) fight.

Also, I was secretly happy that I looked pretty cool when I hip-tossed the guy. But also disappointed that not many people saw it!

Ha-ha. How long have you trained in Martial Arts? How long of that in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? How often do you train (BJJ and other activities)?
Not long. I've been training in BJJ since August (2011) I think. I did a bit of Muay Thai a few years back. How often do I train? Not enough!

I thank my friend for the very candid answers.

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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 / Grappling Training: Attribute training vs Skill Training

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:14:00 +0000

Marcelo Garcia Vs Ricco Rodriguez (pic is borrowed)

There are many different aspects to getting more competent at a sport (BJJ, grappling and MMA included), but they can generally be grouped under three categories:

1. Sport-specific skills: In grappling that includes techniques such as the upa escape, the scissor sweep and the triangle choke.
2. Sport-specific attributes: In grappling that includes attributes such as sensitivity, timing, agility, coordination, recuperation and balance.
3. Sport-specific mental preparation: In grappling that includes survival in bad spots, working with the clock, patience, mental recovery between a succession of matches and dealing with pre-match nerves.

I believe that the general framework for these is the same whether you treat BJJ / Grappling as a sport (with a defined sportive career) or a martial art (a lifelong pursuit which may or may not have a strong competitive element). It is however true that the specifics of each will vary depending on your focus (event rules, match duration and opponent size & skill level may or may not be important to you).

What has become really interesting to me recently is what people choose to focus on*. I find it quite telling.

Think about it. To train in the skills of your art, you more or less always need a partner. Yes you can work your jab in the mirror and yes you can perform armbars and chokes on a grappling dummy but that learning curve plateaus very quickly. To learn skills, you need to drill against progressive resistance with a partner (ideally a few partners.)

Mental preparation can be trained solo, but it takes a lot of self-discipline (and a knowledgable teacher to at least set you on the right track). The challenge here is that results are progressive (i.e. take time) and very hard to measure.

What does that leave? The gym. I see an large number of practitioners spending a disproportinate amount of time working on their attributes. Of course, as professor Roy Harris once said, "attributes are those qualities that fuel your
techniques" and they are an important part of the puzzle. It's when grapplers mistake them for the magic pill that will solve all problems that issues arise. Gaps in your game? Gym’ll fix it!

Reserving judgement, I started thinking about why people choose to dedicate more time to attribute** training when that time could be spent on skill training. I started observing and listening and here is what I noticed:

1. The need for instant gratification is a strong motivator: Learning to grapple is a slow process. Carlos Gracie Jr makes it clear on Graciebarra.com "Becoming a champion on and off the mat takes time, hard work and dedication built over the years", while (if done correctly) strength training can result in small but measurable results from one session to the next.

2. Grappling is very confrontational. I don't mean that every roll is a confrontation with your training partners. What I mean is that every time you step on the mat you are put face to face with who you really are. If I have convinced myself that I am of a certain (inflated) skill level, that image (illusion) will crack the moment my foot touches the tatami. When I need to tap, I need to tap. I can make up some bullshit about why I needed to tap, but we all know bullshit when we hear (or say) it.

3. Progress within attribute training has a clearer system of measurement. It's very easy to determine if you are stronger, faster, scooter than yesterday. It is not as easy to determine if your armbars are getting "better" or "tighter" than yesterday. Don’t believe me? Try writing a grappling training diary.

What does all this mean? Nothing concrete really. These are just observations. Take them as you may.

*It's one thing if your coach analyses where you are in your preparation and decides that you are doing well in your skill training and mental preparation and that you should focus more on training your attributes in the gym. It's another when you make that decision for yourself.

**Let’s be honest, when most beginner - intermediate grapplers hear "attributes" they are not thinking sensitivity, timing, agility, coordination, recuperation nor balance. They are thinking strength and / or endurance. They are thinking Grrrrrr!

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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 / Grappling Tips: Inspirational Characters. Standing on the shoulders of giants

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Fighting Fit Manchester: The best place to train BJJ, MMA and traditional martial arts in Machester will be hosting John Will, 4th degree under the Machados and head of BJJ Australasia on the 3rd of May. This is very exciting!

Ever since I was a child I've always loved spending time in the company of inspirational characters. Whether it was an uncle who studied at university, an aunt who had travelled the world and seen cool, far-flung places or a teacher who had stories to tell from interesting historic events. Growing up, this continued and, naturally, trickled into my many interests.

When I studied medicine at Gothenburg University, my most interesting lectures where with one professor who had spent considerable time with Doctors Without Borders and had many tales to tell from his time in both eastern Africa and the Far East. Dodging bullets and saving children. I didn't really retain much of the lectures themselves but when he started telling anecdotes, my ears would immediately perk up.

Later on, when I started training Karate, I went from club to club. I trained at a number of both martial arts and dojos before I found Gothenburg Kanzenkai which was and still is a great institution and training environment, but what drew me to it was the characters I met there. Sensei Siamak is a great man. An inspiring person. Someone who is educated, well-travelled and had a great sense of humour. A family man with tons and tons of stories from back in the day. He was there when Karate started in Iran, one of the top nations in the sport. He was there when Shinan Farhad Varasteh founded the first karate club in the country back in 1966-67. He is someone I could spend hours listening to and learning from.

This happened again when I attended a seminar with John Will about a year ago. There is something about pioneers that sets them apart from others. Their past struggles were different. Don't get me wrong, no one reaches a decent level of skill in ANYTHING without enduring hardship. Diamonds are created thru pressure. I, and many of my friends, however simply walk into a martial arts club down the road and practice.

Pioneers, by definition, could not do that. When John Will started his BJJ journey, he couldn't simply walk into the nearest club, pay a fee and start training. He had to go to the source. He had to put his life on hold, take risks and seek instruction from masters who were thousands of miles away. Thousands!

When Shinan Varasteh opened his first Karate dojo in Tehran, he had to convince people that what he had to teach was worthwhile. He had to convince the authorities to allow him to operate and had to convince landlords to rent him the space and facilities he needed.

When John started teaching BJJ, local martial artists from all disciplines must have been curious, but at the same time must have felt a little threatened. He faced challenges you and I will most likely never have to. We stand on the shoulders of giants in the martial arts and that, my friend, is why when they talk I drop everything and I listen.

Here are snipets from three articles that John Will, co-founder of BJJ America and head of BJJ Australasia, generously shares on his website. Please use the links below to download and read them, over and over.

Things I wish I knew when I was a blue belt:

Think of it like this, for every position that exists in the ground-fight, (more than a dozen different positions) you should become clearer and clearer on your answer to three questions:

- what is your number one ‘go to’ move from that position
- what is your escape if you are caught in that position
- what is your best transition (where to now) if you are losing that position

Having a good working knowledge of these three things, from each of the ground positions, will give you the foundation of your overall Game.

Tactical BJJ

Do not misunderstand. BJJ, like Boxing, Kickboxing or Wrestling, will still provide you with more useable real-world skills than other more theoretical and noncontact arts – it’s just that we still need to apply some tweeking if we are going to take it to the ‘street’, ‘into battle’ or into any other no-rules, ‘live’ environment. So, time to apply a Tactical Patch …

The Mechanics of Luck:

Every single one of our ancestors had to survive long enough to be able to reproduce, to allow for the set of circumstances to eventuate in our own birth. Not one of our millions of ancestors managed to die before procreating and thereby setting down the next step in the evolutionary path that has ultimately led to each of us being born.

My father, being well-versed in logic and a man of science and reason, believed that man is, in the larger scheme of things, just another type of animal, albeit a highly evolved one. He read Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as a youngster, and ever since had marvelled at the extraordinary nature of the evolutionary process. What he hadn’t previously thought about was the absolutely extraordinary chain of events that had to occur for each of us to have even been born at all. We are, in every way that matters, each and every one of us, incredibly and monumentally, lucky.

Fighting Fit Manchester: The best place to train BJJ, MMA and traditional martial arts in Machester will be hosting John Will, 4th degree under the Machados and head of BJJ Australasia on the 3rd of May. Make sure you contact Fighting Fit and reserve your spot. The management has been working very hard at balancing seminar price while still capping number of attendees so maximum attention and benefit are reached. Final price and time details will be released within a day or two.

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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 / Grappling & Martial Arts: The Black Swan Theory and how BJJ changed the world

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:47:00 +0000

Royce won not because size and strength, but despite lacking them.

Dr. Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a genius. In his book "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" which spent 36 weeks in the New York Times Best-seller List he, amongst many other things, predicted the banking and economic crisis. He warns us about shit that can suddenly come and hit us straight out of left field! He doesn't describe it quite like that, but he refers to it as a Black Swan event. To identifying a Black Swan event he gives these criteria:

1. The event is a surprise (to the observer).
2. The event has a major impact.
3. After its first recording, the event is rationalized by hindsight, as if it could have been expected (e.g., the relevant data were available but not accounted for).

I can give you many examples of Black Swan events but the best one related to grappling and MMA is the first UFC. When skinny ass Royce walked victorious out of the octagon it was 1, a suprise to all observers, 2, it had a major impact and 3. the even started a huge wave of rationalisation. That last one took a while (and in some people's minds still hasn't happened).

There are many conclusions that can be learned from such events, but what learning more and more about Black Swan events and grappling (or even life in general) has done is made me more humble and plain-out nice to people.

I have come to realise that the majority of people are not prepared for Black Swan events. They build their lives in a way that avoids surprises like the plague and rests on an (illusion of) certainty and predictability. When something happens that rocks that shaky foundation, they will spend much energy attempting to defend their old belief system. The jump to that last step of "rationalizing by hindsight, as if it could have been expected" takes a long time and may sometimes outlive the person. It's sad, but true.

I went thru events in my life that shook me and made me synical at first, but now I'm much less synical and more welcoming. BJJ helped. Buddhism helped. I love change. I understand that shit happens and that I, sometimes, won't be ready for it and I'm much more ok with it now than I once was.

I also try everyday to remind myself that when someone disagrees with the facts presented it could be because they are seeing a black swan for the first time. Their brain can not compute it or perhaps their heart is too scared to open up and embrace it.

Let's all just be nice to one another.

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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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Interview: Katie Powell - Macmillan Cancer Support fundraising Manager for Lab Rats Stuart and Andy Lorne's campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Liam H Wandi) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:56:00 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of meeting someone who makes a living by supporting victims and survivors of cancer. Katie Powell is the fundraising manager helping my two friends Stuart and Andy Lorne from Fighting Fit in their campaign to raise money for Macmilan Cancer Support.

If you would like to make a contribution or check the progress of their campanign, please check it out here. Remember, donations from as little as £5 make a difference and everyone has a fiver to give to support their immediate community.

Interview with Katie Powell from Macmillan Cancer Support

Hello Katie. Please introduce yourself and your involvement with Mcmillan
My name is Katie Powell, I’m a fundraising manager for Macmillan Cancer Support working within Manchester, Salford and Wigan. My job role involves supporting everybody who would like to raise awareness for Macmillan and fundraise with us, that can range from working with supporters who want to do challenge events, hold coffee mornings, have cake sales, raffles and arrange of other charity events to supporting our corporate partners in the area.

How did you hear about the Lorne Brothers?
I met Stuart and Andy after they got in touch to ask for support in organising their MMA event for Macmillan. They explained their dad was being supported by Macmillan whilst receiving treatment for cancer and they wanted to do something to show their appreciation and help raise awareness for the work of Macmillan.

Katie with a very sleepy-looking Liam

What do you think of how they're doing so far?
I was really impressed by their determination d dedication in organising the event, their enthusiasm is just fantastic and I have been more than happy to offer them as much support and guidance as possible. I am really enjoying working with them and wish them lots of luck at the big event! I would also like to say a personal thank you to everybody at Fighting Fit Gym in Manchester for their support of Andy and Stuart and to everybody for their kind donations.

Tell us about Macmillan and what they do
The aim of Macmillan Cancer Support is to reach everybody affected by cancer and make a positive difference in their life. We offer emotional, practical and financial support to all those who need us. We are a national charity, however we work on a very local level, with many Macmillan cancer services being offered in local areas. We are often overwhelmed by the generosity and support communities demonstrate, and the warmth for Macmillan across regions is evident.

Please remember Macmillan Cancer Support needs to continue to grow and meet the needs of people affected by cancer, to enable us to continue to offer and expand our services we really need everybody’s support. If you would like to organise a fundraising event of make a donation please do get in touch!

Tell us how much, say, £100 translates to in regards to salary of a nurse or adviser (adjust the amount if you need to)

What Services Your Money Could Pay For

£1 could pay for 14 copies of our Money worries leaflet. This features information about how we can help with financial difficulties by giving advice on benefits and information on Macmillan Grants.

£2.50 could pay for an audio CD version of The cancer guide. This could help a person with sight loss or visual impairment receive the cancer information they need.

Every £5 we spend on our phone service could lead to our cancer support specialists helping people affected by cancer claim £165 in benefits they are entitled to.

£10 could pay for 21 copies of The cancer guide. This Macmillan booklet can help someone recently diagnosed with cancer, and their families, understand more about cancer, its treatment, and the help available.

£22 could pay for a service provided by volunteers that offers emotional or practical support. The money would also fund a volunteer coordinator and the training and support of up to 30 volunteers for an hour.

£25 could pay for a Macmillan nurse for an hour, helping people living with cancer and their families receive essential medical, practical and emotional support.

£50 could pay for a Macmillan Grant that buys a person with cancer a microwave oven. This would help to make the preparation of food easier.

£100 could pay for a Macmillan Grant that buys fresh bedding for a person with cancer who is dealing with nausea, night sweats or incontinence because of their treatment.

£157 could pay a Macmillan Grant that covers the cost of a person’s travel to hospital for treatment.

£189 could pay for a Macmillan Grant that helps a person living with cancer heat their home when they really need to.

£333 could pay for a Macmillan Grant that helps a family affected by cancer take a holiday and enjoy precious time together.

EVERY PENNY COUNTS!

If you would like to make a contribution or check the progress of their campanign, please check it out here. Remember, donations from as little as £5 make a difference and everyone has a fiver to give to support their immediate community.

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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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