21/07/08: Cancelled classes 25/26/27 July & 2/3 August (PLEASE READ!!!)
There will be no classes on 25th, 26th or 27th of July. The club will be shut these three days for improvements and renovation.
There will also be no classes on 2nd or 3rd August. On the 2nd August there is the VT Jiu-Jitsu grappling competition (see Upcoming Events page) in Chippenham and on the 3rd is the Braulio seminar.
19/07/08: Changes to Saturday classes
There has been a change to the Saturday schedule, there are now two morning classes only. At 10am is a basics class which will concentrate on drilling the fundamental techniques and movements. Then at 11.30am there will be an advanced class where more complex techniques will be taught.
The basics class will be suitable for all levels and an excellent introduction for beginners. The advanced class will be aimed at more experienced students who are more used to all positions and movements. You are welcome to train with or without a gi in these classes.
Please see HERE for class schedule.
Please see HERE for further details of different classes.
14/07/08: Bristol Open results
Yet another great day of competition for the club with the usual success;
Shaun Parry - gold (medium heavy)
Ashleigh James - silver (heavy weight)
Jon Andrew - silver (super heavy)
Chris Cook - bronze (juvenile)
Congratulations to all who fought; Shaun, Ashleigh, Jon, Chris, Jarryd, Mitchell & Jonnie Davies.
12/07/08: Kids Saturday class cancelled
There will no longer be a kids a class on Saturdays. Another lesson may be added to the schedule in the future so please keep checking this site for updates.
06/07/08: Cancelled classes (13th July, 2nd & 3rd August)
There will be no classes on the following dates;
13th July (Sunday) - due to the Bristol Open,
2nd August (Saturday) - due to the VT Jiu-Jitsu competition,
3rd August (Sunday) - due to the Braulio seminar.
01/07/08: Ash Williams gets double silver at the British Ju Jitsu Championships
Congratulations to Ash who took silver in the open weight pairs demonstration and open weight random attack at the British Ju Jitsu Championships held in Manchester last weekend.
29/06/08: ADCC results
More gold medals! Amazing performances from all the competitors and especially Marley Swindells and Ashleigh James. Marley took gold in the novice absolute division and Ashley took gold in novice 100kg+ division.
Marley lost in the 2nd round of his weight category (on points) but then later fought the same opponent in the absolute, tapping him out with an armbar in under a minute! Ash got some monsterous takedowns, as usual, to dominate his division on way to gold.
Some videos will be posted soon. Keep checking back.
19/06/08: More amateur MMA success
Stephen "Biff" Barfield competed at the Grapple & Strike amateur league on 15th June, his first competition after approximately two and a half months training with Chris in private lessons. He had two fights which resulted in a win and a draw.
Congratulations Biff! Another great result for the club.
15/05/08: Combat Academy results (UPDATED 18/05/08)
Confirmed results are;
Juniors;
Ashley Bendle - bronze (under 40kg)
Shaun Bendle - silver (light heavy)
Aaron Vickery - bronze (light heavy)
Josh Williams - silver (heavy)
Ash Williams - gold (heavy)
Adults;
Ash & Josh Williams shared bronze (under 71kg)
Ashley James - bronze (open weight)
Ashley James - silver (over 93kg)
Chris Fowler - silver (under 93kg)
Lee Mitchell - gold (under 93kg)
Please keep checking the site for updates as some videos from this event, the Gracie Invitational and Welsh Open should be posted sometime this week!
28/04/08: SENI success!!
As is now the usual story, Gracie Barra Swansea had great success this weekend at the Gracie Invitational. Results were as follows;
Chris Rees - bronze (purple belt under 88.3kg)
Chris Rees - team bronze
Russ Evans - gold (white belt under 76kg)
Lee Mitchell - gold (white belt under 88.3kg)
Ash Williams - gold (juvenile under 64kg)
Amazing performances guys and congratulations to everyone else who competed; Rob, Marley, Sam, Jarryd and Gary. See the forum for more details.
19/04/08: Braulio Estima seminar confirmed
The seminar will be held on 3rd August. See the Upcoming Events page for full details.
19/04/08: Crossfit at Gracie Barra Swansea
Crossfit is a type of fitness class which is defined as "a strength and conditioning program built on constantly varied, if not randomized, functional movements executed at high intensity".
From 2nd June Crossfit classes will be running in the club throughout the week. For more info on the classes and Crossfit, see http://www.crossfitswansea.com/
31/03/08: Welsh Open 2008 results
Another awesome event for Gracie Barra Swansea. Medals for the club were as follows;
White Belt
Super Feather --64kg
Ashley Williams - silver
Feather - 70kg
David Thomas - silver
Lightweight - 76kg
Russell Evans - gold
Jarryd Hoy - bronze
Middle – 82.3kg
Jordan James - gold
Middle Heavy – 88.3kg
Chris Fowler - gold
Jamie Phillips - bronze
Super Heavy – 100.5kg
Paul Mathias - gold
Ashley James - bronze
Super Super Heavy - +100.5
Gary Richards - bronze
Absolute
Ashley James - gold
Blue Belt
Middle – 82.3kg
Jonny Davies - bronze
Congratulations to everyone who competed. Everyone fought well and showed the strength of the club!
06/03/08: T-shirts available to order
You can now order club t-shirts with the same design as the hoodies. They cost £15 for adults and £10 for children. Please speak to Chris or Steve to place your order.
03/03/08: Another MMA win
Alex Evans, who has recently joined the club, won his MMA fight against Jamie Banks in the Ultimate Warrior Challenge this weekend. Alex took the fight to the ground immediately and secured a rear naked choke at just over the 3 minute mark of the first round. Congratulations!
Next to fight are Dean and Zack in Angrrr Management on 29th March, then it's Jordan James on the Cage Rage Contenders show on 12th April.
16/02/08: Results from Bristol Open - Winter Leg
Today's Bristol Open brought more medals to Gracie Barra Swansea. Russell Evans dominated all 5 of his opponents on route to the gold medal in the under 76kg white belt category. He won one match by points, one by rear naked choke and three with armbars!
Ash Williams once again stepped up to fight in the adult division (under 64kg white belt) and put on an amazing performance to take the silver medal. Ash finished his first fight with a triangle, then won the semi-final on points. In the final he escaped from a number of bad positions to eventually secure the mount on his opponent with a choke locked in. Unfortunately, with only seconds remaining, he was unable to secure the tap out in time and lost on points.
Steve, Jarryd and Dave also fought with both Steve and Jarryd winning their opening fights.
Congratulations guys, awesome performances all round!
25/01/08: Hoodies now available to order
Please order and pay in the club, your hoodie will then be available in approximately 2 weeks time.
Adults - £30
Front: Gracie Barra ‘G’ symbol and “Gracie Barra Fighter” underneath
Back: Larger Gracie Barra ‘G’ with Gracie Barra Swansea, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Submission Grappling, Mixed Martial Arts, www.graciebarraswansea.co.uk underneath.
Kids - £25
Front: Gracie Barra ‘G’ symbol and “Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu” underneath
Back: Larger Gracie Barra ‘G’ with Gracie Barra Swansea, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, www.graciebarraswansea.co.uk underneath.
The hoodies themselves will be black with white and red text. The ‘G’ symbols will be red and outlined in white.
09/12/07: Hereford No Gi Groundfighting results
Amazing results with numerous medals won once again! Congratulations to all who entered.
Adults
Ash - Gold under 65kg (only 15 years old winning an adult division!)
Alec - Gold under 78kg
Zack - Silver under 78kg
Zack - Bronze absolute
Dai - Bronze under 65kg
Kids
Ash - Gold
Aaron - Gold
Special mention also to Lee Mitchell who fought in the under 86kg category. Winning 3 fights and losing 2 he finished in 4th place.