Champion’s Creed hosted their 4th Annual MMA Camp June 1st to 2nd.
The camp was to include 4 instructors:
Day 1 – Grappling
- Professor Roy Harris (5th Degree BJJ Black Belt)
- Rich Martens (Myself) (1st Degree Black Belt)
Day 2 – Striking
- Lee Mein (Owner of Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Centre in Lethbridge, AB)
- Paul Sukys (Owner of Classical Martial Arts Centre)
You can learn more about each of these instructors here
Unfortunately Mr. Harris was not able to attend to teach his segment, due to some health related issues. As a result I was asked to teach both the morning and afternoon grappling segment on Day 1.
We spent a full day working on the “No Man’s Land” position. This is a term Mr. Harris coined for the in between zone that is a mix of guard and side mount escapes. Basically working on sweeps and escapes when you have one shin across their belt line and they are still attempting to pass with pressure.
We spent the morning working on the more technical aspects of this position, gradually building up from the basic position until they have their hips, shoulders, knees and elbows all moving in unison. As their opponents attempt to apply pressure each student was able to sweep or improve their position in one way or another.
During the afternoon segment we spent an hour putting it all together. Drilling individual movements and attacks again and again so that everyone could develope a feel for the movement and timing of each technique.
We finished off with going to our knees and taking our opponent’s down when they applied a specific pressure. Someone called the position the “inverted slap” which got a few laughs.
I had a great time teaching such a receptive group of people. Everyone worked very hard and I definately appreciated the compliments at the end of the day!
A big thanks to Brian and Sheila Bird from Champions Creed for bringing me out for the 4th year in a row. I look forward to being a part of this camp every year. If you are ever in Calgary, make sure you stop by Champions Creed Martial Arts. Great instruction and a great learning environment.
I’ll see everyone back at Nomad Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Sherbrooke on Monday June 10th.