Hey any thoughts on where to train in London? So far have been recomended to train at Gracie Barra, no idea where it is though. I'll be staying in Earlsfield...also no idea where that is...come to think of it probably should have posted on the Europe thread..Anyway, all sufggestions will be helpful.
Cheers,
Andrei
If you want to pay huge rates, by all means go train with roger.
However there are plenty of good schools with great teachers in the uk for far less charge.
Whilst i lived in london i trained with Master/Alliance UK - headed by Roger Brooking (jacare Black belt) awesome crew of guys,plus we beat roger gracie's academy at a number of different teams events.
Roger Brooking is old school, he grew up with travern, Gurgel, Paiva and the like. super cool guy, and a very good instructor!
As for roger gracie, we all know he is a brilliant competitor, but it is unknown as to how good an instructor he really is.
London Shootfighters is probably the best if your after MMA, based in north london, very easy to get to on the tube. Currently they are producing some top quality pro fighters, Lee Murrey, Curtis Stout and Mark Weir to name a few of the more main stream students. However if your after BJJ you have Gracie Barra in west london, also close to the tube. however if you have a little money to spend, join The Third space health club in picadilly circus, they have a great BJJ and Boxing/kickboxing team and classes are all included in membership.
I trained at Gracie Barra a few years ago its in kensington and they have another one but i forget where it was. Great place to train. My first day there was 10 people in the class, roger had just won the mundials and there was another world champ black belt (cant remember his name) and another brazilian champ black belt philipe souza. the rest of the guys were pro fighters and there was one or two newbs. Were very friendly guys i reccomend training there to anyone.
Cool, what I really need though is an address or a website, like I said im staying in Earlsfield, but i dont know London too well...any more suggestions?
if memory serves me correct earlsfield is south west london(I think. therefore a tube ride or in your case it will be an overland train, as earlsfield is not linked to the underground, is what you will need in order to get into the centre of london.
approx 15-20min to get into town. from there its a matter of getting on a the underground and heading to your chosen academy.
All of the major schools ie, Gracie Barra(west central), Master/Alliance(North central,Brazilian top team(central),Carlson Gracie(east central) etc are situated in london city.
London city is vastly larger than sydney/ melbourne or another aussie city, so travel even though geographically fairly close in proximity to one another, will take a little longer than expected.
My suggestion, check them all out and then make your mind up - thats what i did.
For specific addresses go to www.sfuk.co.uk
"plus we beat roger gracie's academy at a number of different teams events." by adding the results of all your teams from around the uk together :-p
using this tube map
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/colourmap.pdf
work out where is easiest for you. If yopu are in Earlsfield, either go to Wimbledon and change onto the district line or go via Clapham Junction to Victoria and get on the tube there.
Roger Gracie Academy (Roger Gracie and Felipe Souza) - Ladbroke Grove
Budokwai (Jude Samuel) - South Kensington
BTT (Eduardo Carillio) - London Bridge
Carlson Gracie Team (Wilson Jr) - Royal Oak or Aldgate
London Shootfighters (Paul Ivens and Alexis D) - Latimer Road
Rio Grappling Club (Luiz Tosta) - Russell Square
Eck. My girlfriend wants me to move to fucking Cornwall with her. Can't think of anything fucking worse.
I've only heard good things about peoples training experiences with Roger... however why wouldn't you shop around a bit before committing to one club?
I am posting this for a friend in London.
"I currently train with roger brooking. The club is in Seymor Leisure centre in Marble Arch - closet tube station is edgeware Road. Baker st and marble arch are also close but not as close as edgeware rd - which i discovered after a year of training there.
depending on where exactly u are in earlsfield roger brookings club will be quite handy for you. as you can just jump on the district line from wimbledon or southfields and it will take you 15 minutes to get to edgeware road. the club is 5 min walk from there.
email tony@thegurnick.com if you need help
Here is his website
http://www.tabe.co.uk/masterbjj/ukacademy.htm
tell him tony sent you
LOL... I am posting this for a friend in London as well...
"I moved to London about 18 months ago after training in Melb for a number of years. I tried 3 BJJ clubs and without a doubt the one that has the best atmosphere, great instruction and the club that made me feel the most welcome was Gracie Barra. I am not debating tournament rankings or getting into a 'my club/instructor is better than yours' pissing contest but stating what I found.
I went to Carlson Gracie's club at Royal Oak station and was welcomed and had a good training session. The day after I went 1 stop further to Gracie Barra....chalk and cheese not saying a bad word about Carlson club just that I found home at Gracie Barra.
I agree whole heartedly with previous posts that state check them all out and find which one you like the best. There are great instructors here and OK instructors...you get what you pay for. If you want to save money then find a club that you like in your price range, if you want a great club with great instructors (always a Brazilian BB on hand) then I look forward to seeing you on the mat at Gracie Barra.
FYI I have been involved in martial arts for over 20 years and been lucky enough to train with some of Australia's best and now Roger. What does that mean? Just that I'm getting old and look for a club that provides intelligent instruction and a healthy training environment.
I care not if people tell me I'm talking sh!t...I enjoy my training and I receive excellent tuition and have access to great training partners. Does that mean my club is better than yours or my club wins more tournaments than yours? No...just that it's a great club with some of the world's best grapplers."