Category Archives: News

All the posts on the Artemis BJJ blog are under the News category, in order to make it easy to link to all the Artemis BJJ posts at once.

Episode Seven of the Artemis BJJ Podcast: Carlos, Roger & Jean Machado


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For the first episode of 2017, I’m bringing out the big guns. Back in 2012, my friend Triin from Fenom Kimonos arranged an interview for me with Carlos Machado, the eldest of the legendary Machado Brothers. His younger sibling Roger also joined in, along with a representative of the next generation, Jean Machado (son of Carlos’ brother John). An edited version was later published in Jiu Jitsu Style magazine, along with my history piece.

We talked at length about the history of BJJ, along with the specific history of the Machado Brothers’ journey to the US. There was a discussion of early female black belts in the States, the important role played by Chuck Norris, as well as a long and thought-provoking discussion of teaching pedagogy. Many of the ideas I’ve brought to the class structure at Artemis BJJ resulted from this chat with Carlos Machado.

In five years, naturally some things have changed. The WBJJO had only just been launched in 2012, with a goal similar to Rickson’s later JJGF. There was also a Machado reality show mooted, which would be cool: as far as I’m aware, that hasn’t yet been broadcast, but I’d certainly watch it.

07 Carlos Machado, Roger Machado & Jean Machado on the Artemis BJJ Podcast Brazilian jiu jitsu Bristol
Carlos Machado, Can, Roger Machado and Jean Machado

The Metamoris Pro was also very recent back in 2012. Carlos talks in this interview about his thoughts on the infamous match between Ryron Gracie and Andre Galvao. That led into discussion of its implications, such as the question of time limits.

This episode means I have now just about maxed out my free storage on Spreaker. If you would like to support the podcast so I can upgrade that storage, head over to our Patreon.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, let us know on info@artemisbjj.com

New Instructor at Artemis BJJ: Lisa

Lisa instructor pic Artemis BJJ womens classIn exciting news, we have a new instructor at the club! Lisa will be taking on responsibility for the women’s class from now on, with other women at Artemis BJJ covering when she’s away (e.g., Kirsty, who has been with us for a while now). She will also be part of the team helping to cover the other BJJ classes when Can is away.

Lisa has been training since 2012, earning her blue belt in 2014 from Lucio ‘Lagarto’ Rodrigues. She is also a qualified massage therapist, which has enabled her to work at elite BJJ events like Polaris. To find out more about Lisa, head over to the instructor page.

 

Xmas Opening Times 2016


  • Sunday 18th December, Neil Owen seminar 12:00-15:00 (£20)
  • Monday 19th December, 19:30-21:00, xmas meal at Pieminister from 21:00
  • Tuesday 20th December, 13:00-14:00
  • Wednesday 21st December, 17:55-20:30
  • Friday 23rd December, 18:30-20:30
  • Sunday 25th December, 🎅 CLOSED 🎅
  • Monday 26th December,🎄CLOSED🎄
  • Tuesday 27th December, 12:00-13:00 (TBC)
  • Wednesday 28th December, ☃CLOSED☃
  • Friday 30th December, 18:30-19:30
  • Sunday 1st January, 💃CLOSED💃
  • Monday 2nd January, 19:30-20:30

So, that means NO CLASS on Xmas Day (Sunday 25th Dec), Boxing Day (26th Dec), Wednesday 28th or New Year’s Day (Sunday 1st Jan).

It’s been an awesome third year for Artemis BJJ, with growing student numbers and a whole bunch of great seminars, plus an incredible club trip to the Globetrotter camps in Leuven and Bournemouth.

We’ve got lots planned for 2017: there will be another 24 hour GrappleThon on 15th/16th April, an even bigger group of us is heading to Leuven for the BJJ Globetrotter camp in July, and hopefully we’ll see yet more black belts visiting Artemis BJJ too. Exciting stuff!

Have an awesome Xmas and New Year! Reindeers for everybody. 😀

Details of Artemis BJJ Charity GrappleThon 2017 For SARSAS

Poster for Artemis BJJ GrappleThon 2017 by MeerkatsuWhat: The concept behind a GrappleThon is very simple: at least two people are grappling at any one point over a predetermined period.

When: 14:00 on Saturday 15th April 2017 until 14:00 on Sunday 16th April 2017.

Where: At our central location in St Paul’s, which is MYGYM Bristol, Unit 4B Dean Street, Bristol, BS2 8SF

How: To take part, simply turn up and roll. If you want to earn a fantastic custom Meerkatsu t-shirt (kindly provided by Tatami Fightwear), there’s only one way: join the fundraising team on MyDonate! Full guide on how to do that here.

Why: We will be raising money to support SARSAS. They provide an essential helpline for survivors of rape and sexual abuse. To learn more about SARSAS’s important work, have a read of their website, here.

Donate: Head to our MyDonate team page, here.

Press: Take a look at the Artemis BJJ press page for upcoming articles and interviews about the GrappleThon (as well as previous events), here.

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors, renowned BJJ apparel brand Tatami Fightwear, top BJJ artist Meerkatsu, upcoming BJJ brands Tacerob and KASENartworks, plus of course our awesome hosts, local fitness specialists MYGYM.

For the top fundraisers, we will also have a range of prizes and goody bags (thanks to The Grapplers Gift), as well as customised shoes from KASENartworks. If all that isn’t enough to tempt you down, Lisa Chappell is once again offering free massages, plus Strength Lab are due to return to share some awesome fitness knowledge with us. 🙂

Episode Six of the Artemis BJJ Podcast: Chrissy & Brian Linzy


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This interview follows on directly from the chat with Val Worthington, recorded during the same April 2014 trip to Virginia. Chrissy and Brian Linzy are two of the three founders of US Grappling (the third is Andrew Smith), pioneers of true submission only tournaments.

We covered lots of topics, ranging from the Linzys’ start in BJJ, the growth of US Grappling, how submission only is special, the IBJJF, governing bodies and BJJ in the Olympics, through to Chrissy’s thoughts on women’s classes and teaching.

Like my talk with Val, speaking to Chrissy and Brian had a massive impact on not only the women’s class at Artemis BJJ (which I launched not long after getting back to Bristol after this trip), but how I wanted to run my club and approach its growth.

Chrissy and Brian Linzy, Val Worthington, Leslie DoveTo find out more about US Grappling, head to their site here. The cool Groundswell Grappling Camps we talked about can be found here. Finally, the articles Chrissy wrote for me are all here.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, let us know on info@artemisbjj.com

Episode Five of the Artemis BJJ Podcast: Chelsea Bainbridge-Donner & Tom Barlow


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This interview is from last month (10th October 2016), just before Chelsea and Tom taught their third seminar at Artemis BJJ. Chelsea is a top competitor training at Art of Jiu Jitsu under the Mendes Brothers, Tom teaches in Plymouth and has lots of titles to his name as well. He is also a commentator on Polaris, so you would have heard his voice on the recent Polaris 4 stream.

chelsea-bainbridge-donner-seminar-3-chelsea-tom-jpegWe chatted about teaching, women’s classes, the business of running a school and their histories in BJJ. In case you’re wondering about some of the background noise, that was the kids TKD class downstairs at MYGYM in Bristol. Not a flock of birds, like I thought at first when listening back to this. 😉

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, let us know on info@artemisbjj.com

More New Classes At Artemis BJJ | Self Defence for Women in Knowle

Our timetable continues to expand, with a new Wednesday class starting next week on the main mats from 18:30-19:30, right after open mat (the women’s class will still be running in the studio upstairs, 18:25-19:25). Sunday now also has a nogi session from 11:00-12:00. Be sure to check our timetable to check out all we have on offer.

Also starting next week are classes for women with a self defence focus, over at the Knowle Healthy Living Centre. These will be taught by Adrienne from 19:30-20:30 on Thursdays in the dance studio. They are included within your Artemis BJJ membership, or for non-members, £3 a class. For more details, head over to her website, here.

artemis-bjj-women-laughing brazilian jiu jitsu

Bristol #RollForNichole at Artemis BJJ

Last month, the jiu jitsu community sadly lost Nichole Ossman. Her friend Averi Clements wanted to do something to honour her memory, coming up with the idea to #RollForNichole. The aim was to bring BJJ schools together around the world, raising awareness of mental health. Supporting your team mates can have a much bigger impact than just sharpening up their mount escape: you might even save their life.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on

Artemis BJJ did our small part, holding a #RollForNichole during our Friday and Sunday open mats last week. There was a good turnout, with grapplers joining in from various academies. Thanks to everybody who came down to show their support: hopefully all the participants not only had fun and picked up some good tips, but also gained a renewed commitment to being there for students who might be struggling with mental health issues.

A photo posted by @grapplethon on

For a longer write-up, head over to slideyfoot.com.

Episode Four of the Artemis BJJ Podcast: Rener Gracie


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Rener Gracie, son of the pioneering Rorion Gracie, heads up the Gracie Academy in Torrance with his brother Ryron. He is also the face of the Gracie University, an online training program used throughout the world. In this interview from Can’s visit in 2013, Rener talks about the early days of the Gracie Academy, his thoughts on running a school and discusses self defence.

There have been a lot of changes to Gracie University in the ensuing three years, best explained by the video Rener recorded with his uncle Rickson and Pedro Sauer earlier this year (if the embed below isn’t loading, click here):

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, let us know on info@artemisbjj.com

This Friday and Sunday, #RollForNichole at Artemis BJJ

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on

Open mat is a wonderful part of BJJ, particularly the fun vibe. That gets even better at GrappleThon events, when a whole bunch of BJJ clubs get together (e.g., our friends at Pedro Bessa BJJ and Origin BJJ, whose GrappleThons are featured in the embedded video).

This week, there’s an event that will highlight that aspect of BJJ, in memory of somebody we sadly lost recently. I’ll quote Averi Clements from her Jiu Jitsu Times article talking about her friend Nichole:

“On Friday, October 7 (for those who have tournaments on Saturday) or Saturday, October 8 (for those who have work on Friday), I want the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community to come together and Roll for Nichole. I want us all to have an open mat in her honor at our individual gyms. Invite other academies, invite people who have never done JiuJitsu before, invite whoever you want. Take an hour or two to do the thing that— at least for a while— gave Ozzy happiness and a release from the things she was battling inside her mind.

But on whichever day you choose to do this, I want you all to sit down with your coach and teammates and take the opportunity to talk about mental illness. I want you to tell each other that you’re there for each other, and I want you to discuss the warning signs of suicide, which can be found here. I want you to discuss all kinds of options for help, including talk therapy and medication. By the time you leave that gym, I want every single person to know that mental illness is as serious as a physical injury or disease, and above all, I want you all to know that you’re not alone.

During all of this, I want you to create a memory with your teammates. Laugh together. Take pictures together. Post them on social media and use the hashtag #RollForNichole so that everyone inside and outside the jiu-jitsu community can see just how big our extended family is and how we support each other.”

We have an open mat on Friday (18:00-18:30) and a longer one on the Sunday (12:00-14:00), so let’s #RollForNichole on the 7th and 9th October. Event page here, everybody welcome!