BJJ crash course in London???

Question

Im looking for anywhere that offer Brazilian JJ as a crash course in or around London??

Anyone know of anywhere???

Thanks All

Answer 1

It would be difficult to learn BJJ from a crash course, as it takes a long time to gain proficiency in BJJ. Improvement generally comes from extended time on the mat, which means BJJ does not translate well to crash courses.

The closest thing I can think of is the Gracie Combatives Program, a controversial option (mainly due to the reasons I gave above) offered by the Gracie Academy in the US. In 23 one hour lessons, they claim they can teach you enough to potentially be worthy of your blue belt:

http://www.gracieacademy.com/programs_ad...

Of course, that is in the US: that isn't currently available in the UK. There is a Gracie Academy affiliate in Bradford, so you could try contacting them if you're interested in more information:

[e-mail]

However, like I said, Gracie Combatives has a lot of critics.  For example:

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthre... (Bullshido)

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f12/gracie... (Sherdog)

http://www.efnsports.com/forum/index.php... (EFN)

As I've never taken the course, I can't personally comment. It could be that its an excellent introduction: without direct experience, I can only make assumptions.

If you had a lot of money, you could book yourself in for an extended series of private lessons, but that would be very expensive, and most likely you would still take a long time to reach any kind of competency. Group classes are generally a much better idea for beginners.

I'd suggest that instead of looking for a crash course, you take a trial class at one of the many schools in London. I train at the Roger Gracie Academy (near Westbourne Park tube station), and can personally recommend Felipe Souza's school in Battersea, Nick Brooks school in Mill Hill, Andy Roberts school in Guildford and the RGA affiliate in Farringdon (as I've trained with the instructors from those academies).

There are many other great places to train BJJ in London too, like Carlson Gracie London and London Fight Factory, to name but two. Have a look at this map for a full listing:

http://slideyfoot.blogspot.com/2000/01/u... (Map of UK BJJ)

Hope that helps: feel free to contact me if you've got any questions, as I've been training BJJ in London since November 2006, so I'm fairly familiar with available options.