Refugee Women of Bristol GrappleThon, 7th-8th March 2020

Class #1229
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 07-08/03/2020



I'm writing this up the following week, when the coronavirus pandemic has really begun to hit Europe hard. I was uncertain about how it would affect the GrappleThon last week, but seven days ago (the 8th March feels like a different world now!), the situation did not seem as serious. There were definitely less people than usual, but enough to keep us going through the night.



In terms of rolling, I had a great spar with Piotr, who is always great to train with. He's much bigger and stronger, but has that rare skill of being able to adjust his intensity level to whoever he is sparring with. I also got to roll with one of my best friends, Weronika. It was so good to see her again, it's been too long! Last time was Summer 2019, I've missed her.

My favourite part of the GrappleThon, as usual, was playing DnD. My student Dan is a fantastic DM, he runs most of the games at GrappleThons (I still need to finish the write-up from last year's event). Due to the smaller numbers, there weren't enough people to keep the grappling going without us. As I REALLY wanted to play DnD, I went with the 'why not both' approach: a surprisingly tiring combination. ;)



Another major highlight for me was something I've been waiting to do for a number of years. Weronika has moved around quite a bit since I first met her in 2016 (when she was training in Wales). She's been through multiple countries, currently in France. That means she has been under multiple instructors. I have rolled with her many times over the years, plus watched her roll with people of all sizes, from white to black belt. So I felt totally confident to promote her to blue belt. Supremely proud, and quite emotional. ❤️



Naturally the most important part of the event is raising money for a good cause. Given all the nasty xenophobic behaviour that's been unleashed by Brexit and the right wing government that have been pushing the country to shoot itself in the foot, I wanted to pick a charity that represented the better nature of the UK. So, I went with Refugee Women of Bristol, a great local charity near to the gym. So far, we've raised almost £3,000, with more due to come in over the next month. If you'd like to help out, you can donate here.

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A post shared by GrappleThon (@grapplethon) on Mar 7, 2020 at 9:20am PST

1st GrappleThon Germany at Nexus Fighter Academy, Hamburg

As usual, I spent most of my time engaged in social media and chats. Cool to catch up with BJJ Globetrotters friends, plus Tom from Liverpool, who went to the Artemis BJJ Camp a couple of weekends ago. It was especially nice to hang out with my Winter Camp buddies John and Eva.

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A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Apr 27, 2019 at 4:30am PDT

There were also lots of terrifying wrestlers at the event, most of them training in Hamburg. They were booked in for their own shift from 1pm to 4pm. No way in a million years I would want to spar with any of these monsters (I like my limbs where they are), but it was fun to watch. Also yet another reminder of just how much more intense wrestling is by comparison to BJJ. ;)

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I continued to just watch and chat in the daytime and afternoon, then into the evening as well. Annoyingly my phone data doesn't seem to like going outside of the UK these days, it's own personal Brexit. It is a relatively old phone now, so perhaps I need to upgrade to get proper data. I need to call the phone company to get that sorted. John, who is a techy guy and had a look, confirmed that the setting were all in place. He engaged in a mighty Battle of the Beards at 6pm.

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As it got into the night, I could put my plan into action. Surprisingly, my plan actually worked: try to nap at 9:30pm, sleep until around midnight/1am, ready to roll when it gets quiet at 2am. I spent 1.5hrs rolling with Ana, Eva and Lilo. Which was cool, although they were super tired, so not a very balanced roll. Something I'll remedy at the new camp I see them at. ;)

Lots of fun, trying to work on a tight mount, head up passing and my usual framing from guard. 😉

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This is when I started to appear in the photos. Ana set a pattern of a photo every hour, much like at the Southampton GrappleThon that the Rainha crew did back in the UK a few months earlier. It's a nice idea, I might start instituting that at my own events. That meant I got to be part of the early morning crew photos. ;)

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A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Apr 27, 2019 at 9:59pm PDT

Ana ran an impressively well organised event, particularly given this was her first one. I hope she makes it a regular thing at Nexus Fighter Academy, it's an awesome excuse to head over to Germany. Helpfully spaced between my usual camp activities too: Winter Camp in January, some kind of GrappleThon at my place a few months later, then Ana's, then my camp, onwards to Summer Camp, another GrappleThon and/or Artemis BJJ Camp, Halloween meetup, then we're back into Winter Camp. Perfect solution to stopping those nasty Post Camp Blues. ;D

Womankind GrappleThon, 9th-10th March 2019: Final MYGYM event

For some reason I forgot to write this up at the time. It was a stressful time for me leading up to the GrappleThon and for a while afterwards, as our venue was closing, so I had scrambled to find a suitable replacement. I did eventually managed to secure a location, which is where we've now been for a year as I write this, but it wasn't easy.

So, our final weekend at MYGYM was emotional. Saying goodbye to the building that had built my club into what it was, as well as changing my life from an office-worker to a full time BJJ instructor. I had a lot of great memories, from training, seminars and previous GrappleThons. MYGYM had served us very well: the building no longer exists, waiting to be replacement by some more faceless flats. Developers are always on the prowl, though I can't be entirely negative about them, as after all I am part of the gentrification problem (given I'm not originally from Bristol ;D).

Despite what I optimistically wrote in the Instagram post below, sadly MYGYM did not return. However, fortunately Ibb has managed to continue sharing his enthusiasm for helping people get fitter, still at the same Facebook page as before. I wish him the very best of luck, he was a great landlord and massively important to Artemis BJJ's growth. :)

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It's been a wonderful 5 years at @mygym_bristol. @ibb1982 has been an excellent landlord, always super supportive of what we've done at @ArtemisBJJ. Thanks to how MYGYM was set up, we grew organically onto that big main matspace. 👍 Like upstairs, the downstairs mats have a lot of memories for me too. Our first club gradings, teaching ever larger classes, and of course the annual @GrappleThon. It has become an amazing community of grapplers from loads of schools, all sharing technique and raising money for charity. 😎 So although it's sad to see the building go, the community is not about a building, it's the people. I look forward to that community going on to bigger and better things in our new homes: Artemis BJJ continues (with an expanded timetable!) at 7 Lawrence Hill, while MYGYM will be back soon. 😍 #nostalgia #endofanera #timeflies #MYGYMBristol #bjjclub #slideyclub

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We eventually raised almost £5,000 for Womankind, a great total. Once again, couldn't have done it without the fantastic support of Seymour 'Meerkatsu' Yang, who has been integral to the GrappleThons since the beginning. I had the pleasure of rolling with him once again, where as usual he voraciously went for my legs. One of these days I'll get comfortable with footlocks, but for now, still terrifying. ;)

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A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Mar 9, 2019 at 2:41pm PST

Also as ever, lots of DnD! This has become my favourite part of the GrappleThons, as we essentially do a simultaneous DnDaThon, which is still rolling of a sort. Just rolling dice rather than people. Dan is such a great DM, plus we had remote DMing from the magnificent Eva once again via the joys of the internet. I love how that DnD group has grown over the years: there are so many fellow geeks in BJJ, truly a wonderful thing. ;)

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Hooray for introducing people to #DnD! One of my favourite things. All while raising lots of money for #charity at the @ArtemisBJJ @GrappleThon: rolling dice with #DungeonsAndDragons, plus rolling people with #BJJ. 😀 _____________________ #WomankindBristolWomensTherapyCentre #ArtemisBJJgrapplethon #charity #fundraising #bjj #brazilianjiujitsu #grappling #jiujitsu #bjjforeveryone #brazilianjiujitsulifestyle #dsgear #SupportWomensBJJ #BJJDungeonTrotters #BJJDungeonTrottersLive

A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Mar 9, 2019 at 8:04am PST

26/02/2019 - Tuesday daytime, leg drag

Class #1118
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 26/02/2019

I don't often use the leg drag and I haven't taught it for a while now. However, it is a popular pass, so I thought it was about time I taught it again. Like last time, the excellent videos Jason Scully has on The Grappler's Guide proved useful, along with the (also excellent) BJJ Library, where Saulo shows a slightly different version.

22/02/2019 - Friday blue belt + class, knee cut pass and follow ups

Class #1117
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 22/02/2019

Today I went through those follow ups Donal taught me, which I have been calling the 'leg squish pass'. You wriggle your hips around their knee if they get it in the way, then sprawl on their legs like a frog. Focus your weight through your hips, pressing into the middle of their thigh. You can then move behind them, either waiting for them to move you, or replacing your hip pressure with your hand and moving behind.



I also got in some training myself, continuing my regular drilling (this time with Kirsty, as either she or Josh have been popping in to drill with me at least once a week). Most useful take away this time was on bringing the legs back in Priit's open guard if they get behind you. Your legs reach back, but your butt stays on the ground. That means they can't stack you on your neck, as you take the weight on your legs, not your neck/shoulders. Very important distinction, I will keep drilling that.

21/02/2019 - Thursday daytime

Class #1116
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 21/02/2019



Just Rob today, so I did a private lesson on passing. I also had a chance to practice teaching what I wanted to show in the blue belt plus class, which is some knee cut/knee shield troubleshooting. That's all based on the awesome series of private lesson that Artemis BJJ co-founder taught me years ago, back before we set up the club.

19/02/2019 - Tuesday daytime

Class #1115
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 19/02/2019

17/02/2019 - Sunday open mat

Class #1114
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 17/02/2019

I fit in a roll with Erick, which was fun, starting with him on my back. I tried to lean forward Priit style, but ended up on my side. Eventually worked my way free, using the slow motion seoi-nage, but ended up inside guard instead of side control. From there I went to safety position, as Erick was doing a good job of controlling my posture, before working back to the standard posture. I attempted to grab his arm when he got my collar to stand and pass, which after a couple of false starts worked. Slow and steady to pass.

In the process he kinda got a half butterfly position, which I blocked due to an underhook and holding his leg. However, he did manage to work to the sweep, though I freed my leg. Before we could play too much in open guard, time ran out. Fun times! :D

Then, lots of drilling with Kirsty and Josh, which was cool. I'm trying to institute the regular drilling recommended by Mario, though it's taken a while to arrange a time we can all make. Went great today, really useful. I ran through some Priit and Mario drills with Kirsty to start, then we delved into the butterfly pass a bit (as Kenny mentioned I was leaving myself wide open to hooks). I later drilled that with Josh too, and I think the most effective grip seemed to be grabbing the opposite foot on both side, meaning both my arms are occupied. I can still balance on my head and shoulder to hop past.

Also, while the flip is flashier so I like it for drilling, doing a bland hop is more effective. You can then shuck past any attempts by them to bring their knee in through a combination of brushing it past with your hip, your shoulder, your knee and pulling on the foot grips you have.

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I also drilled Priit's running escape > turtle > panda sequence with Kirsty, which was also really useful. We started off with light resistance, then started up it a little (though still well off sparring pace). I am slightly concerned about leaning forward too much with somebody bigger, though it seems I'm flexible enough to go relatively far. I'll keep testing. This is shaping up nicely, so it's a pattern I can repeat, with some tweaks.

I want to drill Priit's open guard properly, I still haven't gotten comfortable with anything past the basic first stage. As I'm going to a seminar with him on open guard, that should be very helpful. More drills for the running escape/turtle/panda would also be useful, so I'll have a think.

16/02/2019 - Clifton open mat

Class #1112
Artemis BJJ (The Exercise Club, Clifton), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/02/2019

Good rolls with Matt H, it's been a while. I'm continuing to work on framing. Matt is trying to not rely so much on his (extremely good) over under pass, so while we did end up there, he wasn't driving as much as he could have. That's why my frame was enough to prevent him completing the movement. He could have grabbed my posted arm and completed his drive forward, I think.

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A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Feb 16, 2019 at 12:23pm PST

So, I'd like to drill that position a bunch, testing out how to keep my frames in place under pressure. For example, there is the variation that was showed at RGA Bucks when I visited a while back (one of Dan's classes, IIRC). Rather than posting on your straight arm or with a right angle elbow, you lean into the elbow with an acute angle. That makes it harder to them to pull out your posting arm.

I also tried to use my legs for framing too, having rewatched some of Defensive Guard recently. I felt like I lost connection, so will keep playing with that.

14/02/2019 - Thursday daytime

Class #1110
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 14/02/2019

Testing out the unstoppable sweep again, it's been a while. This emphasised the importance of pulling them forwards (and it is forwards, not just down as some people were doing). When I teach this on Monday, I'll highlight that motion of bringing your elbows to your head while you're gripping their collar and sleeve. Also, being right on your side before you go for the sweep.

12/02/2019 - Tuesday daytime

Class #1109
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 12/02/2019

07/02/2019 - Thursday daytime

Class #1108
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 07/02/2019

Tripod sweep fun.

05/02/2019 - Tuesday daytime

Class #1107
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 05/02/2019

My second go at teaching Mario's frame switch, in a broader lesson. Looking forward to sharing this some more tomorrow, I think it should prove useful. I've been working on the material from Ryan Hall's Defensive Guard for a few years now (also drawing on Jeff Rockwell's Sit Up Escape System), this fits in really nicely. I was super pleased with Mario's lesson, exactly what I wanted to help my open guard. The test will now be if I can both apply it to my open guard, as well as help my students do the same.



I had a good roll with Adrienne too: it's always awesome when she makes it to class, one of my favourite people to roll with. Super tight defence!

03/02/2019 - NoGi shoulder clamp, open mat

Class #1106
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 03/02/2019

I went through the James Boyle variation on the shoulder clamp again, still mainly teaching it like Aaron Milam showed me in his 2017 private lesson at the Leuven Camp. James' version adds in more leverage, along with that straightforward sweep, where you just bundle them over by shifting your weight.



I had a quick roll with Erick after that, continuing to practice my framing. I also took the opportunity to give a lapel grip a go that I saw on reddit from Breck Still. You pull the gi tail over their back and feed it to your hand, but then you also overhook their arm and feed it again to your overhook. Still calls it the 'master lock' (as he likes giving things names like that), I'd just call it an overhook gi tail grip.

That felt like a strong control, but I wasn't clamping the overhooked arm enough to kill his post when I was attempting to butterfly sweep. I think I also was letting myself get too stacked to move into a triangle properly, but it was very handy to have my right arm free (like Still says).