New Website!!

We have a brand new site.

We will still be updating the blog from time to time but all the information you need about Derby Jujitsu and MMA can be found at our new site.

Enjoy!

www.jujutsumma.co.uk

Would you believe me if I said this year has been quiet?

2011 has been a really good year for the club and we are going make sure that 2012 is a great one! In comparison to previous years it has been a quiet one but as a recap here is what we have been keeping ourselves busy with. What a way to end the year by sharing our favourite memories with you.

This year we have seen six of our guys compete and the two most notable successes are Matt Nash taking home the first MMA Factor Belt and Champions Title in June and Anthony Bridget's victory in his 1st ever MMA event at Sprawl n Brawl back in May. Congratulations to you and all our fighters who competed this year we are proud to train with you every week.

Here is a picture of a dishevelled Matt Nash after deservedly winning his belt at the MMA Factor prize Fighter Competition in June.

Here's a victory shot for Anthony as he takes his opponent off his feet with a punch!

As a club we have been and watched six different MMA events across the country including AMMA Championships in Wolverhampton back in July, watching Jeff Monson compete in October and seeing Vaughn Lee fight in March during what must have been one of his last fights before joining the UFC, we wish him all the best and are excited to watch his career unfold.

On top of this, for the benefit of our fighters, the club has been to four interclub events where fighters have an opportunity to spar and compete in a friendly environment with different clubs across the country for the benefit of their training.

Lets not forget the exclusive training session held with UFC Ref' Marc Goddard who gave some really valuable advice as well as providing expert training (and threw Sensei around the mat which doesn't often happen lets face it). Marc said he really enjoyed himself and is happy to come back so lets see you all get behind us in 2012 and we will see if we can convince him to pay us another visit.

The Jujutsu club has seen a number of gradings, lots of new faces and so much personal development from everyone. Some of the clubs best fighters attend both the Jujutsu and MMA sessions and we have seen then develop rapidly from their commitment to training. Well done to everyone.

Our favourite memory of the year has to be the launch of the Prize Fighter Competitions. An exclusive event was held with only 200 tickets on sale and it was a big success, especially with people new to the sport. We keep getting asked when the next one is so watch this space early next year, that's all we will say for now.

 

  

Then we rounded it all off in style and in the age old Christmas Tradition of a British Panto. We had a huge turnout and the adults loved it more than the children!

Jeff Monson Vs Paul Taylor Sprawl 'n' Brawl 09-10-11

Members of the club went to Birmingham on the 9th October to taste some more of this countries MMA delights and witness its rising talent. As always with Sprawl n Brawl all of the matches were exciting to watch, we also saw the return of Chris “The Cyborg” Rice. When the footage is released we will put it up for you. For now though...

Jeff Monson Vs Paul Taylor

We are still waiting for the official footage to be put up but here is a little clip we borrowed from one of the other spectators. The clip starts around three minutes in. What you miss on the footage isn't much. Jeff Monson was clearly looking for the take down closing in on Paul Taylor eventually backing him toward the cage as Paul was trying to defend Jeff's advances.

Here they are once Paul Taylor was taken to the ground. 
The general consensus is that Paul Taylor knew if the fight went to ground the out come was inevitable. We will let you watch the clip and decide for yourself. 

For all the clubs Jujutsu members look carefully. It's all white belt techniques that Jeff Monson is using. They are the foundation stones for a reason. Jeff's execution is spot on. So I guess he's a pro for a reason too!

Enjoy.

Where we have been, where we are going

The club has seen a string of successes lately and is going from strength to strength. We have recently moved to a new premises and those interested in attending a class or members wanting information on class times and venues should call 07944506889.

Class Times are:

Mondays: MMA

Saturdays: Traditional Jujutsu

      

The MMA Factor Prize Fighter Competitions.


Our recent MMA Factor Competition was a roaring success for both those in and out of the ring. The level of competition was very tough for an amateur level and the excitement amongst the crowd of spectators was immense. Visit our facebook page for pictures from the club and fans.

Visiting other clubs

Back in July a few members from the club visited our neighboring team in Birmingham, Team Sprawl 'n' Brawl, for some friendly inter-club match-ups. The feeling on the day was great and as always they made us welcome. We were pleased to see some amateur members mucking in and rolling around, increasing their experience and testing their skills. We find this type of get-together so important in the world of UKMMA. Not only does it bring together clubs from across the country in an open and friendly environment but it’s the closest experience a fighter can get to taking on someone they don’t know and testing their skills before getting into a ring for the first time.

Sprawl 'n' Brawl hosted their own Prize Fighter competition this Sunday which was another great success on their part with over 1500 people in the crowd. The weight category was 70Kg fighting at a Semi-Pro level & they put up a £3K cash prize for the winner.

What we are looking forward to:

We are really looking forward to attending the AMMA Fighting Championship this Saturday 17^th July in Wolverhampton, we will keep you posted on how that goes. You can also visit this Facebook page for more info. For directions see the official website via the link above.

And of course: Our Next prize fighter competition coming to you in 2012. Watch this space!

Anthony Bridgett - MMA @ Sprawl n Brawl Birmingham Semi Pro

Congratulations Ant' - Great start with your 1st Semi-Pro Fight and a win!

Everyone has a first time

At the end of February our club took three students to represent Derby in an MMA event, Sprawl ‘n’ Brawl, which was held in Birmingham. There were nearly 1500 spectators there on the night who travelled from across the country to watch the matches.

We had three young guys representing the club in both the amateur and semi-pro divisions of the competition. It was an exciting night and we are very pleased to say that our only semi-pro entrant, Anthony Bridgett defeated his opponent with an outstanding level of endurance and ground fighting skills, walking away unscathed and with a unanimous vote in his favour from the judges, claiming victory in his first ever MMA competition.

An MMA match is exciting at the best of times, but for one of the clubs members, Gemma Kane (our first female member but no longer the only girl!) it was twice as exciting as it was her very first one. Keep reading for her take on the exciting first time experience.

Popping the MMA Cherry

I know it's a bad title but you were all thinking it!

First off, you should know I have never even watched a boxing match on TV. However, I have seen my fair share of martial arts films and been training for nearly four years. Before getting to the venue I had a strange nervous sensation, not knowing at all what to expect, and also because we had 3 guys from Derby competing in a 1500 strong crowd of brummies. I couldn't see them cuddling and giving each other reassuring pep talks before the match let's put it that way. 

Well I was mistaken. You see being a short stop I needed to get good seats I wanted to see our guys compete. So I grabbed a couple of stools on what was essentially the wrong side of the ring and away from my team mates. It was great! I think it added to the experience, we talked about the matches with everyone and a couple of the fighters we didn't know gave a wave and a smile as we applauded them after the matches. Brill!

The second thing you should know about me is I am actually quite reserved. Yes, really. I have never been able to shout out at sporting matches, never talked to the TV when I don't like what is happening in a film. Well that all went out the window the second one of my team mates was in the ring. I nearly fell of the stool standing and leaning forward in the vain hope they could hear my encouragement over the crowd!

Before any of our own clubs entrants were in the ring, we witnessed an array of martial arts abilities from some seriously weighted punches to some highflying kicks and full on body drops, not bad for a nights entertainment! However, I am sorry to disappoint you now and break the illusion but it wasn’t any of those such fancy moves that brought victory to the competitors that night. In many cases it was actually quite difficult for the spectator to see who the clear winner was, due to the pure level of fitness and length of endurance these young sportsmen have. Rolling back and forth on the ground they were relentless and in some cases impeccably matched. This scenario continued throughout the night, but just when the audience thought they had it all sussed, out of nowhere we saw our first tap out, only 3 matches in! With an arm bar no less, the victor defeated his opponent with the most basic of JuJutsu moves, but it was so effective. We saw this time and time again throughout the different matches, someone’s guard being let down for the slightest moment and then their arm was lost. These moves are the foundation stone upon which the martial art is built, and this just reinforces the need for their prominence during training.

Moving into the semi-pros, you (some of you) will be excited to hear we saw our first KO of the competition. For those of you who have never seen this before (and I hadn’t) it does not mean the opponent fell to the floor unconscious and was carried away on a stretcher. Though it was phenomenal to see so perhaps a quick verbal replay:

            The two opponents were well matched in size and technique with neither one demonstrating a clear advantage. They had been dancing around each other both on the ground and on their feet and made it through to the second round.  A semi-pro fight allows shots to the head, so as the two opponents moved around the ring, one thrusting at the other with the slightest hint of a dropped guard, opponent A swung in for a headshot which stunned opponent B and caught him of guard, with his back against the ring  his eyes were like dinner plates and blood and spit literally flew from his mouth. His legs turned to jelly, and visibly gave way beneath him, flying forward as he slid to the floor and simply sat down! It was a unanimous victory for opponent A. The losing opponent was fully compos mentis and in possession of all of his faculties as he stood up to congratulate the victor and shake hands.

Overall there were about 16 matches, and to replay each one would send you to sleep, but I can assure that after seeing each one I was very much wide awake! The thing with MMA is the endless possibilities it brings. A boxer is a boxer. He stands on his feet he punches with his fists and dodges those thrown at him. What does a boxer do when he comes up against a ground fighting expert? One swift trip to the ground and the dynamic shifts, in seconds a persons strengths and assets are taken from them. The only way to succeed is to reposition themselves and keep on fighting. 

If that's not a metaphor for life then I don't know what is. I really can't wait to see my next match but I have a sneaky suspicion I wont have to wait long.

xjusgemx

Back to Basics

In a recent article from the February edition of Martial Arts Illustrated, there was a quote highlighted from the text: "forget techniques just walk". This is similar to a phrase that has been uttered on the mats of our Dojo many a time. The article itself was about distraction, and there's one particular distraction I would like to focus on and again I will call upon the quotes from the article.

"Art for Arts Sake"
Meaning, for example, why would you fuss over a fancy throw, simply because it looks impressive, when it is the simplest efforts that can create the greatest results. Often as martial artists, fighters and professional athletes we are distracted by the spectacular display of the art itself, the one that first drew us in. Likelihood is we saw someone perform an outstanding move, forcing their opponent into a submission, or watched one too many kung fu movies as a child, and we have been hooked on the dream of our own success ever since. The reality is that it is not those moves, not the high flying throws or the fancy techniques, that will see you through. It is more important to focus on the foundation that our training is built on - to build upon that core and become the experts we crave to be. Even in Martial Arts, there's no point being a jack of all trades and a master of none.

In life, martial arts, and sportsmanship remember we aim to succeed. Do not be distracted by others - you are not here to impress them you are here to be successful and to be respected for your efforts. You will be respected and you will find success if you focus on what is important and forget the distractions.