Season's Greetings!

Wishing all friends and family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

May the year 2009 bring more great training sessions, much skill improvement, new people to roll with, and all the other good stuff! ;-)

Training session on 29/12/08

It's a public holiday on 29/12/08 but BJJ Class is still on as usual at 8pm. See you guys there!

Training session on 15/12/08

It was a great session this week as a couple friends from KDTA and Crush MMA came to roll. To Fang, Raul and Rizan, hope to train with you guys again whenever you're free. :-)

Class on Monday, 8/12/08

It's a public holiday (Hari Raya Haji) but BJJ Class is still on as usual on 8/12/08 at 8pm. See you guys there!

No-gi training session

Some pics of our 1st no-gi training session:

BJJ Demo

Some pictures of our training group in action! (Finally)

Nice job, you guys! See you all at the next session!

SHOUT OUT!

Congrats to our training partner Leong, who was promoted to blue belt by his instructor Sam Wee (KDT) last week.

Good job, buddy!

Training Session on 27/10/08

The Monday training session will be on as usual on 27/10/08.

Please take note.

Anyway, "Happy Deepavali" to all Malaysians!

BJJ Etiquette

Here're a few tips to bear in mind in order to make your (and your training partners') training more enjoyable:

1. Always show respect to your instructors, training partners, and fellow human beings. Respect in training means: do not seek to harm fellow students physically (e.g., by cranking a submission harder than necessary to make them tap) or emotionally (i.e., by calling them names or making jokes about hurting them). Respect also means that you must train seriously and hard enough for you and your partner to improve his or her skills, conditioning, and fighting spirit. Not giving your best during training detracts from both you and your partner’s experience.

2. Maintain good hygiene (i.e., shower and brush your teeth regularly). As you can imagine, it is difficult to concentrate on technique when you find your partner’s smells distracting!

3. Keep finger and toe nails short and clean to prevent injury to yourself and others.

4. Bring a clean, washed and dry gi to each class. Also, always keep a rash guard or T-shirt in your gym bag for no-gi classes.

5. Keep shoes off the mat, so that we can keep the mats clean and sanitary.

6. Do not walk outside with bare feet. If you have to go outside, wear sandals or shoes. Items (5) and (6) are especially important to prevent the spread of skin conditions such as ringworm.

7. Do not shout loudly or use profanity in the dojo. This should go without saying.

8. Do not talk while the instructor is talking. It distracts those who are trying to learn and is disrespectful to the teacher, as well as other students.

9. Stand, sit with your legs crossed, or kneel during class. No lounging. Studies show that people learn more effectively when seated in upright postures.

10. Please wear your gi, a T-shirt, or a tank top while in public areas of the Dojo. No bare backs!

11. Try not to leave the mat during class without the instructor’s permission.

12. Keep cell phones off during class. Again, they distract those who are trying to learn.

13. If the instructor has not changed the task, then continue doing the task he or she has given (i.e., don’t sit around talking because you feel you have done a technique enough times). You can NEVER do a technique too many times.

14. It is disrespectful to ask an instructor or a higher rank to train with you, so wait until they ask you to roll.

15. During the roll, give way to others who are of higher rank.

16. Shake hands before live training or sparring.

17. Much of what we practice routinely with each other will seriously injure the uninitiated. It should not be practiced on others outside the class.

Training Session on 1/9/08

The Monday training session will be on as usual on 1/9/08.

Please take note.

Nevertheless, "Selamat Hari Merdeka" to all Malaysians!

The Ribeiro Brothers' Highlights- Saulo and Xande

Check out the highlight video of Saulo and Xande Ribeiro, they're our inspiration.



p/s Saulo and Xande are now teaching at the University of Jiu Jitsu, San Diego, California.

Simple Tips Beginners Should Know

Here is a simple but great article I found on the web which every beginner in BJJ or submission grappling should be aware of. It comes from Nathan Leverton's Total Grappling website.

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Beginner Grappler Tips

Enjoy The Training

This is a hobby/pastime for most, you are learning to fight but you should also be having fun. It will be hard at times and you may question if it's worth it but you gotta be enjoying it deep down. If you don't then find something else, life is to short.

Relax

Every newbie gets told to "relax" about a hundred times, it'll take time to come but is important for productive training.

What they roughly mean is:

a) Pace yourself. Don't try to go all out for 30 seconds then be unable to carry on rolling without passing out or throwing up. Learn that gassing sucks and that a purple complexion suits nobody.

b) Don't be so tense. It'll slow you down and make you tire quicker. Not every muscle in your body has to be working at full contraction the whole time!

c) Don't freak out in bad positions or when you're caught in a sub, it's just training. By staying calm and reacting instead of panicking you'll learn more.

d) Expend your energy as efficiently as possible.

e) Don't try to do moves a hundred times faster than needed (or that your skill level allows). Mechanics and leverage are important too

f) Don't try to bully moves. Use what is there, not just what you want. Also, learning when to let go of a move is as important as when to go for one.

g) Head squeezers suck. You're there to learn, not to try and headlock someone to death.

Breath

When newbies tense up they tend to hold their breath as well. Try to keep a regular breathing pattern. Sounds simple but you'd be surprised how hard it can be when under pressure. You will gas anyway but breath and you'll last a lot longer.

The full article can be seen here:

A story of "David and Goliath"...

An inspirational true story for the not-so-big guys out there.

It didn’t look like it would be a fair fight.

Michigan 120-pound Brazilian Jiu Jitsu captain Mandeng Tirmizi
looked up at his 200-pound opponent towering over him.

He planned his first move, and considered his alternatives if his plan should fail. Though confident in his abilities, he wasn’t sure if he could win against the largest opponent he had ever faced.

Click here to continue reading
Source: Michigandaily

An invitation by Mandeng

Mandeng at Arnold's, 2004.

Mandeng taking on his bigger sized opponent.

Janson and Mandeng in Singapore March '08.

I am here to invite you and your family & friends to join the class (actually it's more like a training group, with a very informal set-up, no sifu/sensei thing) ,with practices on Monday (8pm-10.00pm. You may leave anytime if its too long) and Saturday's open mat (6.15pm-7.15pm).

Anyways, just some quick info on BJJ- it's a highly effective martial arts that emphasizes grappling and ground control. In BJJ, we teach throws and takedown, submissions (joint locks and chokes), positioning and pinning, and half the class is spent on 'rolling'- that's the BJJ's lingo for sparring. There is no form or kata to be memorized, and if you're concerned about getting black eyes, worry not! This is a grappling art so no striking/hitting is allowed. In other words, BJJ is just like wrestling, but in judo uniform. This is not the main point, but in case you're curious of how effective BJJ is, well, you may always hit google or youtube for extra research.

BJJ provides excellent workouts, both for endurance and muscle strength. It is also a great de-stresser. Personally, as I am busy working full time and chasing the MBA at the same time, BJJ provides the outlet to channel my energy, it keeps me fit, and it definitely keep me sane.

Anyone, everyone, all (including children) are welcome to check out the class first before deciding. Absolutely NO previous sports/martial arts background is required - the class is tailored for beginners. Please don't hesitate to contact me at mandengg[at]gmail[dot]com for further information or any concern on fees, time, training etc.

Coach's profile

Mandeng, extreme right being awarded blue belt by
BJJ World Champion Xande Ribeiro

Mandeng in action, Singapore '08

This is the profile of a friend and training partner of mine, who will be sharing the coaching duties with me.

Tirmizi Y. or 'Mandeng', as he is affectionately known to his friends, started his BJJ training in Fall 2003 when he was a student at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. During his time as a student in the States, Mandeng was an active BJJ competitor. Amongst the tournaments that he won or placed were Arnold Gracie, Gracie US Nationals and Canadian-American championship.

Representing the University of Michigan's BJJ club and weighing 120 pounds, he would naturally face bigger guys either in under 145 pounds, or the open weight category. He became a reliable competitor and earned the respect of his teammate, and in summer 2004, he was appointed as the competition team captain of the club.

After close to 2 years competing as a white belt, Mandeng received his blue belt from Xande Ribeiro (multiple time Mundials Champion and brother of BJJ legend Saulo Ribeiro) in June 2005. He returned to Malaysia shortly afterward and laying low from BJJ for over a year, until he met Janson and gradually eased back into training in late 2006.

Outside BJJ, Mandeng is currently an executive at a Big 4 Firm while pursuing his MBA. 

Primary Instructor : Sean 'Abdula' Bansfield (Saulo's Black Belt),

Favorite Submissions: Armbars (all kind of 'em)


COMPETITION RECORD:

GI

1. Alive Singapore "Lordz of the Pain" BJJ tournament March 2008 - bronze medal, blue belt, under 66kg
2. Saulo Ribeiro Spring Invitational, May '05, white belt, Under 150lbs- 2nd place
3. Gracie Nationals, October '04, Absolute Division- Semi Finalist; white belt, under 130lbs-1st place
4. Canadian-American Championship, June '04, white belt, Under 150lbs -2nd place
5. Arnold Gracie, Apr '04, white belt, Under 127lbs, 1st place
6. Wolverine Classic, Apr '04, white belt, Under 140lbs - 2nd place

NO-GI (INTERMEDIATE)

1. Wolverine Classic, Apr '04, under 140lbs, 1st place

Group training sessions in August 08!

OK! We'll be starting the training sessions for beginners on Monday, 4th August 2008 at 8pm.

Note: Sessions will primarily be gi based ie you require a BJJ/judo uniform. However, the final week of the month will be focused on no-gi grappling.

Training group

New training group for beginners to start (hopefully) in August 2008.

More details soon...