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Starting Monday November 9th We're always looking at how to improve the training here and make it better for everyone from Beginner to Black Belt. Since we moved in January, we've set up a new programme of classes and developed a brand new curriculum. We've also had to take some time to get used to what works for people's times, parking, and travel to the new gym. We've identified 2 big issues from feedback in the last few months- Earlier classes are better for most people Pe

The age of content. Thta's what someone called it the other day. Content. And Jiu Jitsu isn't safe from the "Content Creators" either! They're everywhere, mostly creating rubbish! But it's not all bad news. Never before have as many top athletes and instructors offered their entire catalogue of technical instruction for free. It's incredible to think that we're all sitting with a complete library of techniques in our pocket right now. And even more incredible to think that mo

Problem Solving "You left just as you were becoming interesting!"- Sean Connery in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade A lot gets said about the Blue Belt disease- people leaving Jiu Jitsu after their Blue Belt. I don't know why it happens, but I suspect that some of it has to do with the learning curve getting more shallow and requiring a bit more intention as you develop your skills. For me, it's frustrating to teach someone the fundamentals, only to find they don't go on to

We are working on a new strategy to help grow female participation in our club. You'll already have seen some changes, and we're still working on it. In the last few months we've- After feedback, made a new custom Black Gi for female members Stocked an emergency supply box for females Created an all new Women's Only class Increased social media visibility of women (can't see it, can't be it) But we still have work to do, and we've made this one of our major priorities in the

A Way to Advance your Jiu Jitsu Training I've just launched a new way of enhacing your training if you are a member here at Kyuzo. Kyuzo Groups is a follow on from our Applied Jiu Jitsu programme, and goes across 4 different topics. There are the things that I believe every Jiu Jitsu athlete, regardless of their goals, need to work on to fulfil their potential. Technical Skills Physical Conditioning Mental Skills There's also a 4th group- Tournaments and Standards. This one d

From Beginner to Black Belt, which class does what at Kyuzo? Teaching Jiu Jitsu used to be so simple for me. 23 years ago I only had about 4 students, so I'd just work with each one individually to try to make them better. I was really inexperienced back then, so we would basically see what worked, fail a few times, then go back and try something new. This haphazard approach worked because all of the original Jiu Jitsu guys had a sort of pioneer attitude. They were all really

It's hard to believe that it's been 8 months since the big move, but it is (as of this morning actually!) We were so long in our old home that I thought it would be really tough to move, but actually, it's been the opposite. Bringing our Jiu Jitsu club here to the new area of Rathborne and Ashtown has actually been a pleasure. We've gone from kids coming into an industrial estate with trucks clattering past them to seeing kids scooting and walking to training themselves. It's