It’s side control month again, where this week we’re looking at maintaining side control. Last night focused on ‘hip to hip’ side control (class write-up on slideyfoot.com as always), with lots of drills intended to help students get used to mobility from side control.
In the ‘no hands’ drill, you have to try and either maintain or escape side control, but with a twist: your hands are either behind your back or tucked into your belt. The idea is to help students really focus on where they are putting their weight and staying mobile. You can check out some brief Instagram video here, on our @artemisbjj account. The longer YouTube version is embedded below: be sure to follow our YouTube channel if you haven’t already! 🙂
On Wednesday we’ll be covering some transitional movements, before progressing to a sequence of related attacks on Friday with the breadcutter choke. Open mat is on as normal on Sunday, although Can and several of the team will be at the Hereford Open. Best of luck to everybody competing.
Can has returned from the BJJ Globetrotters Summer Camp 2015 in Leuven, which was awesome. In fact, it was so awesome that we’re planning to send a team next year. If you would like to go, keep August 2016 free. A return flight from Bristol to Brussels (a short €8.80 train ride from Leuven) is around £70, while the camp itself should cost about €199 (judging by this year).
That gets you six full days of training, though it does not include accommodation: the plan is to rent an apartment or something like that for the week. If you’d like more information about how it went this year, Can has a write up on his blog, along with details of all the classes he attended here.
Also, if you want a club t-shirt, we have enough people signed up now to put in an order so it’s just a matter of everybody paying (though if you haven’t yet signed up and you’d like one, there’s still time, just let Can know your shirt size). It will be £14 per shirt.
Can will be putting in a patch order soon too, so again, just let him know if you want a patch for your gi (whether that’s a chest patch, on the leg, or a larger one for the back of the jacket).
New and old injuries need to be treated with care. Fortunately, BJJ can be adapted around your body. In this guest blog, Tracey talks about how we’ve been able to accommodate her back injury in classes at Artemis BJJ.
I slipped a disc in my lower back about 4 years ago which caused nerve damage and I lost complete sensation in both legs. After lots of physio, I regained all feeling and use in my right leg, but still have no feeling down the left side of my left leg and foot. My balance isn’t very good now either, since my left leg doesn’t give any support (or rather, it does, but I can’t feel it!)
I do yoga twice a week to strengthen my back and core, but I have to take every precaution that I don’t hurt my back in class. After a bit of a shaky start when I wasn’t really sure what moves I could or couldn’t do, I know my capabilities and limitations now.
In class I have to avoid:
Knocks or jolts to my lower back, so I cannot have standing sweeps done on me
Footlocks on my left foot as I cannot feel them!
Things I probably do differently to everyone else:
Don’t stand up during sparring, unless partnered with a higher level belt who has the experience to alter their game to avoid sweeping me. They can also steady me if I lose my balance.
Tend to do most moves on one side only where the right leg needs the strength.
Aim for closed guard/side control positions where my back feels the safest.
How Artemis BJJ help
I now attend the mixed class more often than the women’s class. Usually, the moves are a lot more challenging on my back and new to me. To make sure I feel safe and at ease during drilling and rolling, Can (instructor):
Partners me whenever possible with Paul, a blue belt
Lets me know before the class what move will be taught. If I don’t feel safe doing it, Paul can adapt it or teach me a different one.
Is careful of who he partners me with, as I am very wary of sparring with new people
I may not be able to take part or do everything that everyone else can do, but it doesn’t matter, I can still learn jiu jitsu and be a part of the class which is great!!
Tracey has been training at Artemis BJJ for a year and brings her son along to open mat sessions. Check out her BJJ art work here
Kirsty joined the Artemis BJJ women’s class in late March, as a complete beginner. She swiftly progressed to the mixed class, then motivated a group of students from the club to join her at a competition. After only three months of training, she won a bronze medal.
It’s been fantastic to watch her develop over that time. Kirsty is always smiling and laughing, meaning that a class with Kirsty is guaranteed to be a fun class! She kindly offered to share her thoughts on what the women’s class and training at Artemis BJJ has meant to her so far.
I have never really done any martial arts before, but when I moved to Bristol from Swansea I was interested in taking up a new hobby. I was lucky enough to find the women’s only class at Artemis BJJ, as the thought of walking into a room full of big scary men was very intimidating for me.
I went to my first class, it was a small class and Can was so helpful on making sure I got the technique just right. I walked away thinking how great that was. After a two week holiday to Thailand I was quite jet lagged, so there were 3 weeks off between my sessions. At this point I was worried about how much stuff I might have missed and I am still so new, so I actually doubted coming back.
I pushed myself to go again, and it was definitely the best decision! The classes run on a cycle so you will catch up on everything that you miss, which made me feel so much better. I remember chatting with the women in class, enjoying the atmosphere and felt confident enough to jump straight into the mixed class, even after just one women’s class!
Everyone is different and the purpose of the women’s class is to learn the basics to feel comfortable in the mixed, but I jumped straight in. Since then, it has been a whirlwind of excitement, achievement, learning and enjoyment. I am completely hooked and have made some beautiful and true friends as everyone is so friendly at Artemis BJJ. You will always find someone to chat to and help you with whatever you need!
The best part about it all for me is that I’ve struggled with my body image ever since I can remember. Brazilian jiu jitsu has given me some confidence, raised my self esteem and now I feel I have really overcome a lot of issues that have held me down for so long. Also, I have lost weight and my overall fitness has improved so much, I am leaner, stronger and most of all happy with myself.
I have been training 3-4 times a week since April, and my progress has been great. Having the right people behind you, pushing you, ultimately helps you achieve your maximum potential. Competitions can be a big part of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu if you want them to be, but they aren’t compulsory. However, I wanted to give it a go!
So on July 5th, after being supported by my team at Artemis, I competed and brought home a bronze medal, which is the first medal for the club and I feel so empowered as a woman. Competition isn’t for everyone but it is exciting to see your team mates develop and compete regardless!
In the space of three months, I have started training 3-4 times a week, I have grown emotionally, lost weight, developed a skill very good for self defence and have a bronze medal! Finding Brazilian jiu jitsu has been the best thing I’ve done in years!
The women’s class is a year old this month: come and join us! Your first week at Artemis BJJ is completely free, with access to all our classes. So, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. For more testimonials, click here.
Update September 2015:Â On a training course at her job, Kirsty had a video editing project. She produced this cool little video about what BJJ has meant to her.
On the 5th July, a team of three competitors headed up to Roll Models in Stoke, supported by Can and Laura. All three did really well, putting their techniques into practice against some tough opposition. Ross was able to win his first match on points, hitting a beautiful ankle grab sweep (which he only learned two weeks ago). He then put up a good fight against the guy who went on to win silver.
Steve also gave a strong showing, dominating his opponent but narrowly missing out on some points. He nearly sunk in a clock choke too. Kirsty did a great job of sticking to her game plan, beaten in a very close first match, but then winning her second, bringing home a bronze medal for the club. Awesome! She’s only been training for three months total, after starting in the women’s class.
Well done to all three of you: video is in the works, so we’ll have lots to study and refine before the next competition in Hereford (check the Competitions list for info on upcoming tournaments). Roll Models was impressively organised, with a decent venue, laid-back atmosphere and friendly refs. Best of all, Roll Models offered free entry to women. We certainly plan to be at the next one!
Last night marked our largest ever class, with eighteen people on the mat. Artemis BJJ classes have gone through a lot of growth this month, after moving everything over to MYGYM Bristol. The increase in sign-ups has enabled us to reinvest in the club, moving all lessons down to the large main mats.
Friday is therefore joining that main mat timetabling, running 18:30-19:30 as usual. Open mat sessions are all still upstairs, but if this growth continues, it won’t be long before it’s possible to move the Sunday open mat downstairs too. Hooray for space! You can take a look at the Classes page to clarify exactly where sessions are now taking place.
It was especially cool that four of the students yesterday were women. As it stands, almost a third of the current membership at Artemis BJJ is female, meaning we’re progressing towards that 50/50 gender balance goal. Remember, there is a women-only class on Wednesdays: full details are over on the Women’s Class page. Bring your friends! 😀
If you’re interested in training with us at our central Bristol location just around the corner from Cabot Circus, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line at info@artemisbjj.com. You can also call on 07740 197 319, or visit our Facebook page.
In June, we’re moving to an expanded timetable at MYGYM Bristol in St Paul’s. In addition to the existing classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, there will now also be a Friday session from 18:30-19:30, along with a Sunday open mat from 12:00-13:00. These will replace the classes in Kingswood. Full details over on the Classes page.
Several students will also be preparing for competition, heading to Roll Models in Stoke on the 5th July. They will be working on takedowns and their competition gameplan, mainly at the Sunday open mat. Whether or not you would also like to compete, you are more than welcome to join in: they will be doing drills to build up to the tournament over this month, with people playing the role of referee, coach, points scorer and so forth. Should be fun!
On the 10th May, Laura, Kirsty and Zoe headed up to the Super Seminar at Gracie Barra Nottingham, along with Can (full write-up on slideyfoot.com). It was a co-ed event taught by four of the top female competitors in the UK, Leoni Munslow, Yas Wilson, Gret Zoeller and Vanessa English.
As well as sharing some great technique with us, the seminar was also a great opportunity for women from around the country to network and train BJJ. There are at least two future events planned, in London and Manchester: keep your eyes peeled for announcements.
From now on, the Wednesday mixed class at MYGYM Bristol will be on the huge mats downstairs, rather than the studio. That means lots and lots of space for drilling and sparring!
To accommodate that, the women’s class (which is staying in the studio upstairs) will be moving to the slightly earlier time of 18:25-19:25. That means everyone has enough time to transfer from one class to the other. Check the classes page for our full timetable.
We look forward to welcoming you to the much larger room: the long-term plan is to eventually move the Monday class downstairs too, possibly adding in more sessions during the week. Watch this space. 😉
Grapplers from around the country gathered at MyGym in Bristol for International Women’s Day, with the aim of rolling for twenty-four hours to support the charity Equality Now. It’s always great seeing the BJJ community get behind a good cause
So far, we’ve raised almost £3,000 for Equality Now (you can still donate, here). Thanks to everybody who came down to roll, especially those who went the extra mile and got stuck into fundraising. Special thanks to our fantastic sponsors, Seymour ‘Meerkatsu’ Yang, Tatami Fightwear, MyGym and Gimono!
