This position is really under rated in BJJ. As it is viable option to establish a guard pass and submission, it is important to cover this topic at least 4 weeks per year. This position and the north south choke has been made very popular by Marcelo Garcia and I wrote a report a while ago. So go check out the link http://www.aucklandbjj.com/2014/03/training-report-north-south-choke.html I did not teach this technique because I wanted to cover more basic principles in the beginner class but will over it in the next North South position which will come up in 3 months time. Next week, we will be covering guard subs such as arm bar and triangle in the beginner class

This week, we finally completed our nogi season. This was the longest nogi season that we had. It started every Thursday from 25/08/16 to 30/03/17. 7 months of Nogi fun. From now on, we are back to training GI on Tuesday and Thursday. Please purchase an additional GI if you only own one gi. It is NOT cool to wear the same used gi on Tuesday and Thursday. I purchase my gi from Auckland Martial Arts shop. http://www.amas.co.nz/uniforms/judo-aikido-jiu-jitsu/ They are good and economical entry level GI at a price of $130 for the black or blue gi and $120 for a white gi. At our club, we can wear any color and brand of gi. We do not force our students to buy specific brand or specific color. We are not a Mc Dojo. As long as your gi is clean for every training, we are cool. You can also purchase your gi online. Couple of options come in mind for companies based in NZ that sponsors local talents. https://fujimae.co.nz/ http://www.mmaaddict.co.nz/ Support th

The competition in the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is booming in New Zealand. Just few stats for the entries at the latest Nogi Nationals organised by NZ grappler. 196 kids 69 Adults 29 Masters Age varies from 4 to 54 years old Weight varies from 19 to 135 kg. 46 teams 67 females and 227 males competitors When? Saturday 01/04/17 Where? ASB Stadium 237 Kohimarama Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland, New Zealand 1071 What time? S C H E D U L E  📋 [SINGLE ELIMINATION] 8am Youth weigh in 10-11:30am Youth compete 11am Advanced Adults weigh in 11:30am - 12:30pm Advanced + Advanced Absolute compete 12pm Intermediate Adults weigh in 12:30-1:30pm Intermediate + Intermediate Absolute 1pm Beginner Adults weigh in 1:30-3:00pm Beginner + Beginner Absolute + Women Absolute For more information on the event and their organizer. http://nzgrappler.co.nz/

Fabio visits New Zealand on a regular basis to see his parents. He will be doing a seminar held at Oliver MMA on Saturday 08 April 2017. Fabio is the presenter of the videos on BJJ club. They are short videos of black belts demonstrating techniques in Brasil. Due to this special role, he has his finger on the pulse of the latest techniques from the birth place of BJJ. To top it all, the ever smiling Brazilian instructor is also introducing psychology to this seminar and that is something new for me. Seminars usually consist of techniques and sometimes are linked to graduation. Psychology such as emotional intelligence and managing emotions for competition are unprecedented concepts and very avant-garde so to speak, Jiu Jitsu is getting more competitive as a sport. There is really only so much techniques that one can absorbs during a seminar. Therefore, I think Fabio is on to something really clever by introducing  these notions.

To conclude our nogi season which is ending with the NZ grappler National NOGI competition on Sartuday 01 April 2017, we got some rashies with the hammerhead shark logo on a pre order basis only. Of course, we are not a Mc Dojo so you can wear any rash guard you want to and definitely you do not have to buy and wear our $60 rash guard to train.

Serge taught the Knee on the belly to the beginners. It is a dominant position which is rewarded with 2 points. Stu taught some more leg lock like knee bar to the advanced students. Andy and his students from Evolve visited us on Thursday for some NOGI training. If you live around East Tamaki and want to train BJJ Check out their website http://www.evolvefunctionalcrosstraining.co.nz/group-fitness-classes/brazilian-jiu-jitsu/

I missed out on this seminar 2 years as I was already booked for a holiday so this time around, I definitely did not want to miss out. 2 years ago I was already intrigued by leg locks as it is something that is rarely taught in BJJ, But the thirst was growing as the recent success and popularity of the leg locks has been promoted by the competition team trained under John Danaher at Renzo Gracie Academy. Leg locks are frown upon in BJJ and there is a great need to learn leg submissions. After all, they could easily represent 50% of the possible submissions if you look at the human body in such. Why do we neglect them when we specialise in submissions? First impression did not disappoint. As I walk in, I get greeted by the tall rev as he is wearing his black rash guard which happened to have the clerical collar that priests usually wear. That was it. I was in the zone and knew it was going to be an unique experience. It just felt as walk in and met the person that

Last week training report. Serge taught 2 side controls and 3 subs from side control. Stu took the advanced students and competitors to covers IBJJF competitions rules and point system. They also drilled some techniques. The rash guards are with the DHL courier driver as I type this report so we will have them before the National NOGI competition organised by NZ grappler on the 01/03/17. Bryan from Evolve has invited us to attend his nogi class on Mondays in order to prepare for the above event. They will also attend our Nogi classes on Thursday. It will be good to network with other clubs of similar size and that shares the same goals and interest. Stu and myself also attended a seminar on leg locks but I will write up another review to cover that topic. But we can expect Stu will be teaching lot of leg locks for the next month. Also, I am getting some patches made for the new logo. This week topic is knee on the belly for the beginners.

John Jensen (The Rev) is a BJJ Black belt from America who specializes in leg locks. He returns to AMMA for a special seminar on leg locks, some good, some bad, and some down right ugly. Seminar is on Saturday 18th March 1-4pm at Auckland MMA. $40 admission, and open to all team affiliations. The Rev is accepting special requests on techniques, so feel free to message us with your requests.

Saturday was open mats at Atos and Sunday was open mats at Auckland MMA. https://www.facebook.com/advbjjopenmat/ http://aucklandmma.co.nz/ https://www.facebook.com/atoscitybjj/ http://citybjj.co.nz/

Back position is highly rewarded under IBJJF point system as it is rewarded by 4 points. We cover this position 4 times per week. We taught back position escape and several submissions from back control on Tuesday. We strayed a little from our program on Thursday as we taught guillotine instead. Every time we are near a NOGI competition, we always covers the topic of guillotine.

From their facebook page event https://www.facebook.com/events/648738408632278/ http://nzgrappler.co.nz/ Saturday, April 1  at 8 AM - 6 PM pin Show Map ASB Stadium 237 Kohimarama Rd, Kohimarama, Auckland, New Zealand 1071 Details NZ Grappler’s 2017 NO GI Nationals will be held Saturday 1 April at ASB Stadium Kohimarama. Both adults and kids will compete on the same day. Early registration fee is $60 for kids, and $70 for adults SPECTATOR FEE Adults: $15 Kids: $10 DIVISIONS Competition is for both kids and adults of all levels and from all academies. There will be Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced divisions for all weight classes. The adult weight classes in kilograms (kg) are IBJJF No Gi divisions: MEN (kg): 55.5, 61.5, 67.5, 73.5, 79.5, 85.5, 91.5, 97.5, 97.5+ WOMEN (kg): 51.5, 56.5, 61.5, 66.5, 71.5, 76.5, 76.5+ RULES AND SCORING NO GI rules will be full IBJJF rules for NO GI. To download the rule booklet, pleas

We will like to congratulate on Andy on taking the role of BJJ coach at Evolve which located in East Tamaki - Auckland. If you need more details, check out their website http://www.evolvefunctionalcrosstraining.co.nz/group-fitness-classes/brazilian-jiu-jitsu/ https://www.facebook.com/evolvefunctionalcrosstraining/

It was long time overdue but finally done it. Great occasion to go surfing at Muriwai beach, hang out and BBQ. We shall do it more often, Already contemplating renting a batch for the next event which will help us extending the event over 2 days. Long term goal will be going outside Auckland for more surfing expedition and BJJ (who knows)

After over 3 years as a IBJJF black belt, Serge has been promoted to first degree. Taking him one step closer to second degree where he will be able to promote our students to IBJJF black belt. http://ibjjf.org/list-of-black-belts/ The best part was that Serge did not have to do the gaunlet or pay for a seminar.

Mount position is the most devastating position in BJJ and is rewarded 4 points. This week, Serge taught mount escapes, arm bar and americana from mount to the beginners. Stuart took the advanced students on Tuesday and Igor taught the advanced class on Thursday. Thursday attendance was unusual as we had over 20 people on the mats for our nogi class. Next week topic for beginners is Back position. Couple of dates to put on you calendar. Inter Club Nogi with Atos on Saturday 11 March. NZ grappler Nogi National Competition on Saturday 01 April. Then it is the end of the NOGI season. We will then train GI on Tuesday and Thursday. Then Inter Club with Atos on Saturday 15 April to prepare for the NZ grappler event. (TBC) NZ Grapper Regional BJJ GI competion on Saturday 13 May (TBC)