Hi.
Yes the NSWBJJ Federation is an Incorporated Association and was created in 2001 with it's 1st competition circuit started in 2002 to develop and run BJJ in Australia as it is done in Brazil under the International BJJ Federation which has been improving and growing numbers of federations world wide to the recognition of the sport BJJ.
I think that is a very good idea to be recognised by the Government in Australia for sure. In Brazil the Confederation (that is the national body formed by all state federations) is recognized by the government and by the COB(Brazilian Olympic Comitee) under the IOC. That's why the International BJJ federation is expanding BJJ around the world and opening new National federations in a lot of countries to be able to get numbers to apply to the Olympics some day.
Maybe the Olympics is not the best for the sport but for sure opens a lot of doors, principally in the media and consequently for sponsors, $, business, events,...
Let's organize our sport in this country and then we will not have problems with insurance and this kind of things anymore but first we need to be sure that accreditation will bring qualyfied people to coach and not some d head who has a certificate 1, 2, 3... but dont know even what an arm-bar is. So the old way still the best way to guarantee that BJJ still a real martial art.
I agree that all of us need to do courses and have burocratic recognition but most important than this is to keep BJJ the way is conducted by generations and stay united to the good of the sport.
In NSW the Federation already started to organise the things and one of the measures that brought a very good result was that to compete in the NSWBJJ CIRCUIT or any event recognized by the NSWBJJ FEDERATION the club must be under a BJJ Black belt resident and teaching in Australia. You can be a blue or purple belt teaching in a club but MUST be under a Black belt to compete and bring your students to compete, this forces the person who wants to teach BJJ to join a BJJ Black belt academy and doing this he will learn the authentic BJJ and pass to his students the same keeping the art real and the sport organized because the Federation will have his records in file.
We have referees courses as well conducted prior each Federation event (normally 1 weekend before the event) to keep the rules updated in the International comp level and form new refs to principally train our athletes to when they go compete overseas (US, Brazil,etc). This inconjunction with a big number of events did put the NSW BJJ competitors level very high in just 3 years being prooved in Brazil with lots of Australian world champs since last year in all different belts and divisions.
Ideas and unity are the best weapons.
Let's use them well for the sport and everybody's benefit.
Thanks for the update and all the info Paulo.
Elvis
That's great to hear Paulo - I think it is a first for Australian BJJ?
Thanks for your response Paulo, that sounds great. NSW really sounds
like you've all got your acts together. So does that mean that the NSW
Federation has factored the Australian Sports Commission into your
longterm goals?
Yes we would like to be recognized by the government including the Australian Sports Comission for sure. The only problem is that the AFBJJ has to be recognised first to make possible for us to be recognised too, I think, once they are the National Body and we are a State one.
The AFBJJ isn't an incorporated association but a company so I dont know what they need to do to be recognized!
I hope they do it because if this happens will make the sport grows even quicker in OZ.
If some of you know how to do it contact the AFBJJ and let them know!
Paulo.
bjjbb - I know for a fact Peter de Been has looking into it in these recent weeks. Right now I am not sure how the BJJ community should go about it yet, but I would personally like to see BJJ develop into a recognised sport with the ASC. What's the best way for me to contact you - through your website?
Well that is good news all round. Great to see that there is progress happening in the BJJ Community.
Elvis
Coaching Accreditation already exists for Brazilian JiuJitsu in Australia.
People do not have a clear understanding of the Coaching Accreditation system so let me give you some points.
The Peak body for for JuJutsu/JiuJitsu/JuJitsu regardless of how you spell it or if you call it Koryu JuJutsu, Brazilian JiuJitsu etc is the Australian JuJutsu Federation. It has been recognised by the ASC since the start of the Coaching Accreditation scheme.
The AJF is an umbrella organisation that anyone can be affiliated to and the AJF is the administrator for the JuJutsu Accreditation as approved by the ASC.
Coaching Accreditation is broken down into two parts.
Sports specific e.g. the gradings awarded at club level and
The theory and principles of coaching the course offered by the AJF or other associations which have an affiliation to the AJF.
Any group who wants to run their own JiuJitsu specific course can do so as long as it is approved by the AJF/ASC. That means any group of schools or federations can apply to the AJF to have their own course approved.
The easiest thing for people to do is to approach the AJF, ask for the appropriate forms, create their own course have it approved, pay the appropriate fees and run their own course.
So to the heads of schools and federations stop procrastinating and get it done.
An interesting website, check out:
A pretty professional package, but I'd expect no less from a ASC recognised organisation.
I had a look at the accredited instructors and found (edit) two names I recognised, Rodney Ellis and Larry P.
I noticed that AFJ is "Incorporated" (presumably in QLD): who is currently on the Board?
Thanks for the info Larry.
Elvis
Already explored the AJF. I was referring mainly to
BJJ coming into its own, under its own rules and
competitions.
The president of the AJF is a guy named Roger
Quick, very nice guy and open minded in running
the AJF. He said technically Judo and Aikido clubs
can also have associate membership with the AJF
because they are derivatives of traditional
Japanese Jujitsu. BJJ is more than welcome to
join.
BJJ will always come under the broad definition of JuJutsu.
I can tell you that ahuge amount of work and money goes into becoming the NSO for Australia and then applying to be a course administrator for coaching accreditation.
The AJF would be the only way for BJJ groups to gain recognised coaching accreditation in the near and I beleive distant future.
A lot of people think that the course is designed to teach you technique. The truth is the course is about teaching you to become a better and safer instructor.
Do you think that in order to advance, that there would be a need for BJJ to come into its own as a distinct sport? At the moment, BJJ comes under the sub-category of "grappling" under the AJF. But in terms of wanting to push BJJ into a more mainstream context with larger BJJ-only tournaments, BJJ would totally overshadow the main part of what the AJF stands for (or strives to be).
I believe BJJ should be affiliated with the AJF. But to push for BJJ's own future, there also has to be a separate organisation that will push for BJJ not only as a martial art but also as a sport with its own competition rules, its own marketing team, with connections to the Brazilian side of things as well.
This is where the misunderstanding is.
The AJF is only an Umbrella body which exists to administer coaching accreditation and maintain links to GAISEF and the World Games Association. It is not a style or school of JiuJitsu.
Members are encouraged to maintain their own identity and grow.
BJJ needs to do one very important thing before ir can go any further. That is a unified distinct National body.
I will not kid anybody by saying non-political because that is impossible.
Just think about that old saying.
"Together we stand, devided we fall"
Well that sounds good to me. What's stopping
Australian BJJ? Politics?
By the way Roger Quick told me that the BJJ
representative in the AJF is Larry Papodopulos
(?sp) in NSW. At present there are no BJJ-only
clubs affiliated with the AJF. Their members are
schools who provide a variety of martial arts,
JJ-related, of which BJJ may be a part of the
schedule.
Will the NSW Federation affiliate with the AJF?
Larry -
I am genuinely interested and would be happy to join AJF tomorrow if I knew a few things ...
The AJF would be a great solution but the BJJers and sub grapplers will not join the AJF en masse unless they see AJF has a clear vision and agenda that promotes the sport(s) they love. Do you think we will see outward signs of this from AJF?
Does the AJF currently endorse any tournies under BJJ or ADCC competition type rules?
Does it have a voting/membership structure like golf clubs and other sporting clubs/associations do?
Does the AJF allow individuals to join if their club is not affiliated? If so how much does this cost?
Thanks
Dave
Are you telling me I've been speaking with Larry himself?
gakami, yes.
Elvis
lol hi larry
Just got sent some stuff re Judo NCAS courses run by the JFA Inc. - thought it might be of interest to a few of you...
NCAS Course Costs (to be held late 2004):
New Level 2 (4 day course) $160 incl.GST
New Level 1 $120 incl. GST
(2 full days participation is required)
Level 1 and Level 2 Updates $ 100 incl. GST
(2 full days participation is required
Additional requirements: Theory Certificate from Sport and Recreation; Current First Aid Certificate (All Level 2 applicants)