BJJ Helsinki (brazilian jiu-jitsu)

[ajdias]

FYI, if anyone in Helsinki area is interested in practicing brazilian jiu jitsu the language of instruction at Taistelija is english and most of the people in the group seem to speak it fluently.

I started two weeks ago and I definitely can feel it in my body... Training sessions (3x 1,5 hours) are quite hard, specially for a old and proud guy like me...

Most guys in the group have done MAs for years and have been doing BJJ from 3 months to 2 years. There's only two of us newbies, which means that we train and fight with the more advanced. I am not sure if I think of me as a pain in the ass because I insist they demonstrate their moves or as a relief since they can breathe for a while

If you are interested you can visit during one of the sessions and talk with the instructor; Rogério is a cool guy besides he is also working as a private entrepreneur, which means that you can work out arrangements in case you want to try for a limited period or have some other limitation. Just don't tell him I told you this... Feel free to PM me or ask bellow, ask for António if you go by.

Here's some more on BJJ from Bubba's post on another thread:

Bjj - It's a great system. It's very much like judo but be careful...In judo you spend most of your time standing and doing throws, hitting the ground and doing a bit of groundwork. BJJ is kinda the opposite, it's mostly ground work the throws are very weak and not emphasised at all. I'm kinda generalising...but sometimes you have to.

You will literally go to the gym and roll around on the ground.

Having said that, BJJ is very good at what it does...one of the best ground system out there. BJJ is also very strong, big organisations, lots of seminars...lots of trips to Brazil..I'll send you PMs about that!

The downsides...it is pretty much only ground fighting. So very one dimensional...not the best system for the streets. If you do end up falling on the floor in a 1-on-1 match fight...great. but that isn't likely to happen. The other downside is that it is pretty much a competition art so all the dirty stuff is out.

If you crosstrain with some striking it is awesome though. One of the good things is most BJJ is connected to MMA/NHB so usually the gyms will have a few sessions where you will train striking, stand up grappling and the ground stuff Or you can do just the BJJ and non-gi/kimono work...

But it depends what you want...If you want a self defence system I would say - 'No' or 'Yes, with crosstraining'...if you want some fun and maybe competitions and get in shape then 'yes'.

You can get the course information and Rogério's contact from here (Google translation)

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

When will I see you in the ADCC?

I'll see you in next years Finnish Open Submission Wrestling comp. (I got bronze last time )

[ajdias]

When will I see you in the ADCC?

In the audience, if is ever held in HKI

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

Sissy!

I think the main ADCC events are held in Turku...the gym I trained in were the organisers so the events were here. SW and BJJ aren't good spectator sports...you have to be involved in the sport one way or another to enjoy it.

[ajdias]

It's the same, I would not last long in the -91 category.
I don't have life to train regularly throughout the year and I am 10 years older than most guys...

[Bubba Elvis XIV]

I was in the -85...Awful, I cut weight and hit about 83...bit of a mistake. Problem was there was some brusiers who had come down from about 95...yikes!

The guy I fought at the end was one of the best in Europe!! And gone on to do quite well in MMA and BJJ / SW. good fighter, hard guy to fight though.

But it was a good experience...

On a side note (and just my own opinion). I personally hate the -85 series...You're not big enough and strong enough to be a power wrestler and not small and light enough to fight like a terrier, you're something in between. So, you have to be fast, strong, agile, flexible...that's a lot of skills to work, and theres a bit of a contradiction in a lot of that. It's hard to train and improve all those areas at the same time. I wanted to cut a hell of a lot of weight and go -79. But then I'd be a 'tall' guy in a short guys class, and that's not good in SW/BJJ..Perhaps that's ok in boxing, MMA and striking sports but not so good for grappling sports. I think in shooto it's like -83 or something, I think that would have worked for me.

(excuses, excuses... )