Busy Times

It seems we are always up to something extra at Guardant Jiu Jitsu these days.

Gedo, Trevor and Braedon receiving their grades

Not long ago it was the road trip to the competition in Kapiti then just this last weekend I travelled to Taranaki for an in house competition and catch up at the Southern Tribes team  headquarters.
Last night was the end of the 2nd term so I held a grading for the kids who train.
All did well and from what I've seen here and on my travels, the future of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in New Zealand is in safe hands.

Southern Tribes - Gracie Barra inhouse competition 6/7/2014

Team Roadtrip for NZ Grappler Tournament

The 21st of June saw a car load of us make a trip to the Kapiti coast for a NZ Grappler regional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament. It was a first tournament for most members of the team and I was very happy with everyone's performance. Gedo took silver and Jason took bronze in their divisions. Roll on the Nationals in August where we will fight under the team banner "Southern Tribes Aotearoa".

Team Road Trip for Bruno Alves Seminar

Robson and Jason from our team came with me to the Kapiti coast recently for a Bruno Alves seminar hosted by New Zealand Grappler . It was an awesome experience for all of us, learning from a current BJJ world champion.
I look forward to more road trips to seminars and competitions as a team in the near future.

Always learning

Always keen to learn and keep up to date with my Jiu Jitsu. I've been making sure I take advantage of seminars and bring home the knowledge for the rest of the team.

First was the Gracie Barra Aotearoa camp in Auckland with World Champion, Bruno Alves. That seminar was huge with so much game changing technique taught.

Next was the first ever New Zealand Grappler seminar in Paraparaumu with Gracie Barra NZ head coach, Steve Oliver. Starting with some handy takedowns then some modern Jiu Jitsu,  some grappling specific MMA training then no-gi rolling.

Being part of Southern Tribes - Gracie Barra NZ has opened up a world of opportunities for myself and the rest of the Guardant Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team.

Representing Southern Tribes - Gracie Barra at the first New Zealand Grappler Seminar
in Paraparaumu. left to right: Allan Welsh, Wayne Perry, Vaughan Antonio

Photo with Gracie Barra head coach, Steve Oliver after the first NZ Grappler seminar

Gracie Barra represented well at the first NZ Grappler seminar

Seminar with World Champion Bruno Alves.

Four new Gracie Barra black belts at the 2014 Camp.
It was awesome sharing the mats with 8 Black belts.

Selfie with my Professor, Pina Simpson at the Gracie Barra Camp.

Guardant Jiu Jitsu on the Rise

12/3/2014 Grading

Seeing some new faces on the mat which is great. The team keeps growing. 

I'm off to learn more Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from Gracie Barra black belts in Auckland in a weeks time.

I will bring some game changing stuff back to our mat for sure. 

Big News! Huge News!

Guardant Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Team is now a member of Southern Tribes Aotearoa and affiliated to Gracie Barra Taranaki.

BJJ black belt, Pina Simpson is my new coach and I am very excited to be a part of Gracie Barra Aotearoa.

Students at Guardant Jiu Jitsu now have access to Gracie Barra training camps, seminars and the huge support network that comes from belonging to one of, if not the biggest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team in the world.

Watch this space

Guardant Jiu Jitsu, part of IBJJF registered Team BJJ Globetrotters

Guardant Jiu Jitsu welcomes all Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Globetrotters and anybody else with a good attitude to visit and train with us.

The BJJ Globetrotters share a common set of values:

• We don’t pay each other any affiliation fees
• We wear any patches we like on our gis
• We are free to represent any (or no) team in competition
• We encourage training with anyone regardless of affiliation
• We are willing to promote anyone who deserves it—members or not
• We arrange camps, seminars and visit each other for training and fun
• We believe everyone is equal both on and off the mats
• We strive to enjoy life, people and the world through Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

The team is officially registered with the IBJJF, in order for our members (and non-members, for that sake) to compete at those tournaments.

Fun with Sweeps

You have to have fun sometimes. This weeks been hard work drilling all the basic sweeps so we finished off with some fun sweeps and added the helicopter arm bar for good measure.

NEW LOGO

I'm having 25cm diameter high quality sublimated patches made up so had the logo redrawn.

Let me know how many you need for your Gi. Price will be $10 per patch.

FREE 1 WEEK TRIAL

Pretty good week

Thank you Yoshi Takano for grading me to Purple belt 1 stripe on Monday. Thanks to my students for helping me get to this level. We lift each other up as we climb. A huge thank you to my wife Sonya and my daughter Alexa for putting up with all my training. It will be worth it I promise. 

I was already having a good week so far with earning a stripe on my BJJ Purple belt from Yoshi Takano. Then today Maurie Staples came to training at the Napier Judo Club, fixes one of my throws and grades me and Hamish both to Blue belts in Judo. Thank you Coach Andrew Truman and Sensei Maurie Staples for investing the time and effort into me. Also thanks to all my training partners at the club for keeping me honest and my wife Sonya Perry and daughter Alexa for supporting me so much.

Yoshi "SAMURAI" Takano opening new Gym

My Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master, Yoshi "SAMURAI" Takano Is opening his new Gym in Nasushiobara-shi, Tochigi, Japan. If you are in this area you should go to his opening and take advantage of the free 1 week trial. It's the best thing you can do for yourself and those you love.http://www.facebook.com/events/145252035635396/

Guardant Jiu Jitsu International

Guardant BJJ Blue belt, Bryan Garrett has moved to Ireland and is teaching in a town that had no Brazilian Jiu Jitsu until now. Well done Bryan and I wish you and your students all the best. You can count on my support.

JOIN THE TEAM

Be part of the Napier Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Team - Guardant Jiu Jitsu

Guardant Jiu Jitsu Team Growing

It's been about eight months since moving my BJJ classes out of the garage and into the Napier Judo Club's dojo. The team is starting to build momentum, gaining new members and developing good basic grappling skills. Some guys are wanting to compete and I support this.
We are very lucky to have a good relationship with the local Judo club and some cross training has been possible.

Often takedowns are a neglected part of Jiu Jitsu training but they need to be practiced since all official matches start from standing. Not to mention many self defense situations begin with you on your feet.
Receiving a takedown or throw by way of breakfalling also needs to be practiced. Otherwise you run the risk of serious injury when sparring, competing or even just falling over. I know from painful, personal experience what happens when you do not know how to breakfall in a grappling match. Six months with NO TRAINING! The dislocated elbow was pretty sore as well.
I do not want any of my students to suffer the same way, so we will continue training some basic Judo for BJJ situations occasionally.

We offer a free week of trial classes for prospective new members to our team. So if you or someone you know is keen to try Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for fun, sport or self defense, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I'm currently planning an in house league for members of Guardant Jiu Jitsu. Rather than a competition run on one day. A series of matches run over the next half of the year with points awarded for each win. I need to work it all out but needless to say at the very least a cool trophy will be awarded to the winner.
Let me know your ideas about this, guys.

Also if you are creative and want to design team shirts, logos or even just have ideas about them. Let me know about it.

Looking forward to rolling with you all soon. OSU!

Keeping it Fun

The month of May has been huge for the Guardant team with promotions. Blue belt for Jamie Stevens. Plus Cody and Logan Evans earning a stripe each on their white belts. You may have heard grades don't come easy in BJJ. That's pretty much an understatement. They are earned with time on the mat, sweat and a heap of work drilling the various movements and techniques. Everyone progresses at a different rate but we are all on the same ladder. So it pays to lift as we climb and we all improve faster.

My Jiu Jitsu coach, Yoshi "SAMURAI" Takano says: Train every day.... It's our way.... Only Training makes result.

Presenting Jamie with his blue belt

Drilling the basics but keeping it fun has become the norm for us. 

We often throw in something complicated or flash looking but break it down into enough small steps so everybody gets it. It's a great exercise to show yourself how much you are capable of with some patience and practice. 

As my Judo coach Andrew Truman says: You already learned the hardest physical movement in the world to learn as a baby...walking. So you can do this!

Here's to another month of progression and fun.

Seminar Success

The Yoshi "SAMURAI" Takano Brazilian Jiu Jitsu/BJJ seminar was a huge success. We had around 20 adults over the two main sessions and even a couple of kids for the children's workshop.

One of the founding members of our team Bryan was graded to Blue Belt in BJJ. New member Corey received his first stripe on his Blue Belt and I myself was ambush graded to Purple Belt and made an official Coach under Yoshi Takano and his coach Kenji Ogusu.

Yoshi has posted a few of the techniques covered in the seminar on his and his coach Kenji Ogusu's new facebook page http://www.facebook.com/JpnzJuJutsu.
Feel free to check them out and like the page if you want to.

We've had some new people join the Guardant Team since Yoshi visited on 7/4/12 and there is still room on the mat for more.

BJJ SEMINAR IN NAPIER

I am very happy to announce my friend and coach Yoshi "Samurai" Takano will be in Napier for an afternoon of seminars. Here is the link to the event:  http://www.facebook.com/events/189939071119515/

It will be held at the Napier Judo Club Dojo which is where I teach my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes from.

$50.00 per person gets you into both 12pm & 5pm Seminars.
There is also a kids only Martial Arts class at only $10.00
Barbeque after 5pm seminar.

***Timetable***

12pm-2pm Basic BJJ skill

2pm-3pm Kids class (only $10)

5pm-7pm Submission/Guard position

7pm BARBEQUE

Martial Arts people from ANY school or style welcome!
Beginners and Kids welcome for the seminar!!
Come along and give it a go!

Brought to you by http://www.facebook.com/Guardant.Wayne



Master Yoshi Takano’s Background:

Yoshi "SAMURAI" Takano Yst Chch Black belt registed under
Kenji Ogusu Ko Gym KO SHOOTO GYM
Jiu-Jitsu Fedaration Of Japan (Rickson Gracie)

- Former member of Jr Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team (Japan)
- Asia-Oceania Wrestling Championships (4th)
- NZ Wrestling/Grappling Champion
- MMA UMAF Light Weight Champion
- Brazilian Ju-Jutsu Black Belt (under Kenji Ogusu)
- Judo Black Belt
- Starter of NZ FILA Grappling
- Former Wrestling Coach in Crichton Cobbers
- Former Wrestling Coach in KO SHOOTO GYM
- Official NZ Instructor of Combat Wrestling

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CHRISTCHURCH-SCHOOL-OF-MARTIAL-ARTSMMASAMURAIDO-JO/132258350183387

Yoshi's Master Kenji Ogusu's background:

Kenji Ogusu
Owner of KO SHOOTO GYM SHIZUOKA/JAPAN

MMA-Fomer World Pro SHOOTO 2nd of the world
BJJ-Black Belt
Brazilian Ju-Jutsu Asain Champion

His black belt registed under
Japn Jiu-Jitsu federation
Jiu-Jitsu Fedaration Of Japan (Rickson Gracie) 

I hope to see as many people there as possible. This is a great opportunity to lift your ground game and a brilliant deal to boot.

Martial Arts, an Investment in YOU

Recently I had a customer come into my workplace complaining how he's worked all his life, payed his taxes bought toys for his retirement but now has to sell them because the pension doesn't pay enough to run them. Motorbikes, boats and big cars are all fun as long as you can afford to run them. My customer had set himself up for disappointment by investing in toys that required a higher income than he had planned on having at retirement.
Investing in yourself by training in martial arts or any skill that makes you happy is a way of making sure you have something you can always be involved in. You might not be competitive but you can enjoy practising your skills for your entire life or just be involved in the scene. Invest in yourself because nobody can take that away from you. Worst case scenario, you could be the mysterious homeless guy in a ripped up dirty gi, training and living under a bridge. Do something that makes you feel important. Do something that is going to give you life long pleasure.

Reasons for starting Martial Arts

Why does anybody decide to start learning a martial art. For some people it's self defense. For others it's for fun, sport or the lure of a black belt. Many people start for fitness and social reasons.
In my opinion these are all great reasons to start. Any reason to start that's not simply for the sake of causing harm is fine in my book. I started because as a teenager I became facinated with what I saw in Kung Fu movies and fighting video games. It looked cool and flashy and I really wanted a black belt. I still play the games, watch the movies and I'm still training but it's become more about becoming the kind of black belt or person in general that I want to be.
Whatever it is that gets you into a dojo for the first time may not end up being what keeps you there.
Make the most of your training, have goals and have fun.
See you on the mats.