Ok Shayne from Hastings has confirmed he is bring a small group down to roll, so it should be a great day.

I have secured prizes for the 3 top divisions, namely: White belt open, Blue belt and the Absolute division. The major prize is a digital Camera!! supplied by Computer Link in Petone www.computerlink.co.nz other prises include John's Books and Patch Kits. So I would suggest everyone jump in to be in for a chance at the goodies. :)

Jonny Bares has stepped up and offered the services of his family to supply the food. I can't express how grateful I am for this as it was becoming very stressful to say the least. Thanks a heap to Jonny and his Parents!!

Also with the Napier crew in town we will endeavour to have a get together on the following day for some idea swapping and fun! Stay tuned.

BJJ Fundamentals, 19 in class,

Tonight we played it very low key with Dion taking the warm up. Firstly we grappled from Sidecontrol simply working the several escapes that have been covered in the last few weeks. We then progressed into 1 step sparing.

Although there were a few very new members the class went very well and everyone seems to have gotten the idea of this type of slow methodical training.

15 in class tonight, I had planned to continue the takedowns but as the class was made up of different people from Monday we grappled instead.

16 in class, tonight we covered a few simple takedowns.

1) Basic rear leg reap
2) High Single leg
3) Intermediate rear hook sweep takedown.

BJJ Fundamentals, Middle of Labour weekend and still 17 on the matt.

As with Thursday we covered the same escapes from side control to try and get some repetition.

- Basic escape to guard
- Escape to knees
- Ecsape using side winder to shoulder lock
- Escape from head control to the back.

A couple of problems, The caterers I had hoped to use will not work for less than 40 people and even I'm not bold enough to say there will be that many for the after function. So if any of you have any ideas please shout out as I'm stuffed. :)

Also there will be prizes for the open divisions and Blue Belt!!! Yes prizes!!

Here is the info for the Comp:

http://www.gsw.co.nz/Comprules.pdf

http://www.gsw.co.nz/gsw_comp.pdf


G.S.W. In-House BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU COMPETITION.
Hey All,
Our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition will be on Saturday, 6 th November 2004 starting at 2pm and going until finished. Directly after the comp we’ll have a BBQ end of year gathering. G.S.W. will supply the food but alcohol will be a BYO affair.

The comp rules are the ones used by John Will in his BJJ Australia Nationals and can be accessed online at the GSW site. Also copies will be available at the club. The weight categories will be dependant on numbers of participants, as this is a small in-house comp I expect everyone to give it a go as that is the whole idea behind running this competition.

In addition to weight classes the competitors will be matched according to experience, which will be determined by the length of time training. There may be a few competitors coming from Napier for the experience as well.

EVENT: GSW In-house Machado Brazilian Jiu Jitsu comp
WHEN: Sat 6 th Nov 2004
WHERE: Mt Vic Dojo, L1 25 Home St,
Mt Vic, Wellington.
TIME: 2.00pm. Until late afternoon
COST: $FREE!!!.
DIVISIONS: by Experience - Dependant on numbers in Division!!!!
0 – 6 mths training
6 – 12 mths training
1 – 2 years training
2 – 5 years training
White Belt open Division
Blue Belt open Division
Absolute Division (All ranks)

RULES: BJJ Australia rules
REGISTER: By the 1st Nov 2004
CONTACT: For more information: Geoff Grant
Thanks
Geoff

Yes I ventured one into Wellytown after dark last night. As my wife pointed out, I must like you people as I've been out with you all more than anyone else in my life.

Anyway I was safe as it was still light when I left home and the monsters weren't out yet. But the walk down Cuba st was hair raising (I think?). Here are a few shots from the night, sorry if everyone looks sleepy or drunk, but I think they were. :)

http://www.gsw.co.nz/images/izi/

It was a nice night and apart from the very pissy waitress, all good fun. Izi and Joe we wish you the best of luck together and hope the wedding goes well.

Fundamentals 21 in class tonight, including 2 brand new students.

Tonight we covered a few simple escapes from side control including basic hip escape and escape to knees. Then we advanced to escaping when our opponent has our head secured.Using several tools and dealing with each problem in succession, rather than all at once. First identifying the main problem and dealing with that then progressing to the next one.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned in class lately is the idiot factor. That is, any idiot can scratch, bite, kick, punch or gouge your eyes. In fact you yourself can do it too, but in class it is more about learning skills to take you beyond that mentality. In the street you’re going to use any skill/reflex you as these things are ingrained.
But you’re coming to class to learn new skills so I would be ripping you off if I were to teach different ways to bite and scratch. If you have and opponent who is flailing about with no real clue or if they are clearly trying reach your eyes then use your superior skills and shut them down. Give them no room in which to move, control them utterly and you will not be faced with these problems. [/endrant]

As I mentioned below Melissa has organised a get together for Izi, to celebrate her coming marriage to Joe.

Its this Friday at "the Flying burrito Brothers" cnr Cuba and Vivian st 730 - 800 pm. Be there!!

19 in class tonight.

Started with a lite roll and then played pass or sweep for 30 mins. Continued on with 6 pairs grappling with the rest watching, then switching partners.

Wow 21 people on a Monday??? What gives. :)

Tonight we covered some simple standing techniques including:
Pummeling,
Arm Drag
Duckunder and than combined them into a drill for underhook / arm drag supremacy.

We also covered a couple of Half Guard escapes, sweeps and concepts just to totally confuse everyone.

Response for the comp has been great and looks like almost everyone will give it a go. Also Melissa mentioned a gettogether for Izi's wedding. This Friday night in town. Stay tuned for more.

BJJ Fundamentals 20 in class.

On another sunny Sunday afternoon the class was packed!!

Today we covered simple grappling concepts. As I've mentioned before I can only teach a big guy's game and the flow achieved by Dion, Nick, Ichi and the like is not a skill that comes easy to me.

So today we pretty much tried to hammer the need for flow. It all started pretty bad but by the end everyone was rolling smoothly and seemed t grasp the concept. :)

Test this for me will you??

http://www.gsw.co.nz/blog.htm

I've inserted this blog page into a frame on the GSW main site. Can you guys see it? Does it look ok? Have I just wasted my morning on something utterly pointless again??? Post your helpful and insightful answers in the comments section below. Thanks

Ok, tentative date is 6th Nov: 12 noon till late?

The idea is to run a small in-house grappling comp for you guys to get a feel for the format and for me to get used to running a comp. I hope this will be the staging ground for a couple of bigger gatherings early next year.

I put out an invite to everyone in the Machado camp but as it is late notice and as John is due at the end of the month, the response was muted. Comp will be very low key, divided into weight and time training and should be attempted by all, so everyone gets a roll. There will be a couple of open divisions as well to liven things up.

After the comp we'll have a BBQ as a end of year get together. Although we don't officially close for xmas it's a good opportunity to have a gathering.

I'll let you know more later. Also don't forget John Will 23rd and 24th of November. 1 Class and 1 Seminar!!

18 in class tonight.

Again just grappled all night with several variations on the grappling theme, also played Pass or Sweep for a few rounds. The first really warm night and I can see the heat will be an issue in the venue as the days warm up.

13 in class tonight.

Grappled all night. Pretty messy with a couple of people going home injured.

BJJ Fundamentals (Yeah right) 21 in class.

Today we covered several random sweeps:
1) Basic Sweep (Scissor Sweep)
2) Hook Sweep
3) Reverse Scissor Sweep
4) Basic hook situp drill
5) Basic sit up Hook sweep
6) Arm Shrug / Cross Face Hook Sweep
7) Bear Hug to Fore Arm choke Hook Sweep

The idea was to get people into hooking sweeps in a variety of different ways while also covering a range of skills in the process. The result was a mishmash of unrelated sweeps and skills sets that confused more than informed. :)

Today there were 4 women in the class and Melissa had 6 in the women's only class. Hopefully that signals the start of good things for that class.
We also saw the return of Jonny for the US. He was in NY for a month for a wedding and took the opportunity to train at Renzo Gracies academy for 3 weeks!! If you get the chance sit down and listen to his experience at the club as I can guarantee it will be invaluable. Welcome back Jonny.

As most of you know I send too much time on this PC, so there are things I
take for granted and I'm not sure if you guys are aware of them? So I'm gonna throw some links to friends of G.S.W and also a couple of my favourites. Here they are in no particular order:

www.bjj.com.au
John Will Australia

www.bjj.co.nz
Machado BJJ NZ

www.gsw.net.nz
My web management hobby

www.posthaste.co.nz
Your first choice for couriers in NZ :)

http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/show_member_listings.asp?member=328218
Me selling stuff on Trade Me

www.fluidnz.com
The only healthy thing I put in my body!

www.computerlink.co.nz
My PC and parts suppliers these guys have some of the best prices in NZ. Including Ton's of second-hand PC for CHEAP!!

www.iserve.co.nz
Internet service providers second to none in NZ. These guys make it too easy to get a web site running.

http://www.clubphysical.co.nz//index.cfm/Locations/Wellington
Wellington Gym where AR works

http://www.mma.tv/TUF/index.cfm?FID=12
Mixed Martial Arts discussion forum The Underground.

www.bjjtapes.com
online store for BJJ DVD's and gear.

www.atama-kimonos.com
The best Gi's and the fastest service. Single White Kimono.

http://www.cafepress.com/gsw,bjjnz
Buy G.S.W and BJJNZ gear online from the States. In US$!!!

Thats all for now, I've gotta go. May post some more of these latter.

Had a private lesson with AR this morning at the gym. My first real private for a very long time and made even stranger by the fact it was Gi less and on Jig saw mats.

Grappled for about 40 min's and gave him some basic pointers on his game. Then talked shit for 20 min's :) It felt really weird to be grappling on the Jig Saw mats again; I'd forgotten how sticky they were, and how difficult to move it is on them. But had a blast and hopefully AR gained some good more info for his development.

BJJ Fundamentals 19 in class.

Once again good class numbers, tonight there were 5 Women int he class. Great to see all the ladies getting into it.

I stuck with the theme of this week and let everyone work on whatever they wanted to. Most went for the syllabus stuff. With 19 in the clas there was quite a variety of information and skills being covered.

Richard says goodbye to Wellington and his students and it would be cool if we some of us could turn up to see him off. He's having a class and photos with his kids tomorrow Saturday 09/10, 4pm Vogelmorn hall, Vennell St Brooklyn.
Would be cool to see some of the guys there.

19 in class tonight.

Started by laying down the law about leg locks and the importance of submitting BEFORE damage occurs. Leave your ego at the door it has no place on the mat. It's important for everyone to be aware of their intensity and who their partner is.

Class broke into groups so everyone could work on whatever they wanted, Syllabus stuff, their favourite sweep, or Pass or just something they had seen on a DVD or in a book.

I spent most of the class with DH going over the first stripe stuff and quickly covering 2 basic sweeps.

I can see the headline now: "Daylight savings kills BJJ class". In class tonight there were 11. Pretty small compared to recent numbers, and the strange thing was class was made up of more of the newer members than anyone else. Also Izi was the only Blue Belt.

Pretty much grappled all night, spent some time with Izi working through some of the problems she has with the apes. :) How her and Melissa deal with you boys and keep coming back, I'll never know.

"Fundamentals" 19 in the class.

Tonight we just covered Syllabus stuff with everyone breaking into small groups and running through the requirements for their next stripe.

Hi everybody
Day 17

Dan talk thai. Yes Dan talk Thai ....very well! (MTP)
I'm in the seediest black-marketest underbelly of phuket -- Patong.
Lots of night life, bars, ladie boys, competitive restauranteurs,
nobody speaking my god for saken language.
I thought the Number 1 GI (thanks James) was gonna break a few hearts
or possibly cause some heads to be busted open as overly made up
skanks fought over the round eye.
Obviously I'm an attractive man - but I just felt like a piece of
meat. ha ha what bollicks.
Patong's ok, but as I sat having dinner surrounded by about 20 other
couples (the majority were men 30-60yrs with young Thai girls) Me all
by myself I wondered at the humanity of it all.
Not really but I did get my ass out of there quick before an
incredibly broad shouldered man'vixen' tried to sit with me.
The ferry over was interesting as one Thai woman proceeded to empty
her stomach all over the passenger deck (the sea was quite rough)
sending people stampeding to get away - much like the snake incident.
The next hour to phuket there was a nice puke aroma as everyone tried
to find a plave to sit that wasn't in spew.
She just sat there happy as ......... I would have been as ashamed as
a m@#%erf*#$@r.
Today going down to the beach to work on my whiteboy tan. I'll try
not to buy much shit, money's gettin low, though I got some dvd
bargains and a $4 tshirt as is the rule for Thailand. No tshirt =ou
never really went there.
I'm done. Looking forward to London. hot showers, not having to lug
my life on my back.

Love to all
Dan 'the man-san' Number 1 GI love you long time Mc

"New work words

BLAMESTORMING Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.

SEAGULL MANAGER A manager who flies in, flaps about like a lunatic, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.

ASSMOSIS The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.

SALMON DAY The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.

CUBE FARM An office filled with cubicles.

MEERKAT MADNESS When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on. (This also applies to applause from a promotion because there may be cake, coffee and doughnuts.)

MOUSE POTATO The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.

SITCOMs Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids or start a 'home business'.

STRESS PUPPY A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiney.

PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE / SCIENTIFIC THUMP The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again

ADMINISPHERE The rarefied organisational layers beginning just above the common worker. Decisions that fall from the 'adminisphere' are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve. This is often affiliated with the dreaded 'administrivia' needless paperwork and processes. 404 Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error message '404 Not Found,' meaning that the requested document could not be located.

OHNOSECOND That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake.

WOOFYS Well Off Older Folks.

COMPUTER USER NON-TECHNICAL IT helpdesk speak for a particularly annoying user (clue: it's an acronym...)"

Hi everybody
I'm currently in Ao Nang, which is down South, somewhere where it
rains a f@%& of alot.
I left Koh Phanang yesterday morning after an awesome 3 days of
drunken pillion scooter riding, putrid snake whiskey drinking(think my
snake shat in the bottle), and hungover wrestling watching.
The full moon party was pretty cool, but not quite what I'd built up in my
head. I saw no blatant lesbianism, and a definate shortage of midgets.
It was just like Fevah in Wellington really, but on the beach. Of course.
When I got off the ferry yesterday, I think it rained the years worth in
about 3 hours. Now I know why those other backpacking types have big
raincovers for thier packs. Duh!
All my shit is soaked. Never mind.
Today I did a long-tail boat tour round a bunch of islands. It was all very
nice ...... till, you guessed it ............ more rain.
Tomorrow to another island called Koh Lanta. Come on sun. Where are
ya baby? Maybe I'll stop and buy one of those coat things : )
Take care everyone. I'll try and email when I get to Phuket.
Dan

Fundamentals 17 in the class.

Once again covered open guard skills. Started with general skill drills. Working up to specific sweeps including leg reap and hook sweeps when your partner is standing. Also combined these with front and back sweeps.

We also covered foot in bicep sweep and then revisited butterfly sweep, including setup from closed guard.

Had a quick roll with Alex and Matt after class and gave them some pointers on improvements to their game.

Tonight was Richards last night at GSW. Sad to see another member of our close community leave us. Although Richard will no doubt be seen on the mats in the future, I know it will not be as regularly as he would like. Good luck in the Bay and I hope the new job leads you to what you desire. I'll certainly miss you at the club but I now you'll keep in touch.

Started with quick warm up using basic movements: hip-outs, reverse shrimping, 'Barbosa' shrimping. Then a few minutes of pass or sweep. Technique: How to apply pressure to an opponent who 'turtles'. 1. Sprawl, put weight with chest on opponents back, move around to side of still turtling opponent - keep weight on! 2. Drive knee underneath opponent and look for 'clock choke' grip. 3. Drive opponent with chest, adjusting grip on neck appropriately, until you barrel them into 'arm-enclosed side control'.
4. As opponents arm is trapped, switch base to rear, and take mount. 5. Change grips to take opponent's still trapped arm their face and slide up into side mount. 6. Release wrist to take far lapel and finish with lape half nelson choke. Optional finish with armbar.
The class consisted of alternate rounds of light-sparring and sparring, with various stages of the technique taught in between.
A lot of the class don't have a 'game' to deal with opponents who turtle up. This circuit gives you a starting point and a strategy for how to deal with that position. Ask Dion for a review of this circuit, and for rollover variations.
Cheers, Dion.