On the 11th December we were able to host Ben Poppleton at Stealth BJJ. Ben is a 3rd degree Black Belt under Master Carlos Gracie Jr. He is also the first British person to be awarded a black belt by a Gracie. As well as overall being a well respected coach.
As normal the seminar was open to anyone from any club. So it was great to see people from other clubs on the mats at Stealth BJJ. His insight in to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu he had demonstrated at a previous seminar, meant it was definitely going to be a great day to learn.
Ben has a very down to earth teaching style. The way he builds the topic of the day up, means that from white to black belt you will get a lot from the session. Previously his focus had been the Jiu Jitsu application of the Eckersley Hold, an old school judo pin. Today we moved from top position to bottom to look at Sumi Gaeshi, a type of judo throw, but used as a sweep on the ground.
Even though we were looking at a sweep, the main focus was on the grips. As Ben stressed these were the most important part of the technique. Having this level of control over your opponent, was going to be vital to making it work. The in depth explanation of why they are important, ensured everyone was getting this fundamental point correct.
From this Ben moved onto the various types of sweeps that were available from this position. We also looked at the various reactions your opponent could make and how to problem solve them. It was really great to be able to spend a lot of time on one area. Ben placed a lot of emphasis on specific parts of the techniques. So it was very clear that he had spent a lot of time drilling down into it. It was really fortunate we were able to get the results of his studies.
Ben was keen to stress that he had worked on this technique for his purposes. But he wanted us to go away and work with it to make it our own. This was a good reminder to the less experienced people in the room. That now they have a foundation of the technique that they will need to work with it. So it will suit their body type and abilities.
If you want to get in contact with Ben for a seminar or to train at his academy he can be contacted here.