On Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the British Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Open Champions held by Professor Braulio Estima and his team, I personally went to support my friends from my Instructor Neil Simkin’s academy and Martin Cope’s Eclipse Academy. Since coming from a striking background and attending many striking tournaments in my 33 year career I have witnessed many disrepectful incidents on the tournament circuit from disrepectful fighters to attacking referees. All for the sake of a trophy. The BJJ Open was a breath of fresh air with over 1100 competitors, the areas were never not running the fighters carried themselves with the true value of a Martial Artist, there was never any argumentwith officials or fellow fighters. As for my friends who fought…..it is an honour to train amongst them! True warriors that fought for their schools, they showed respect to everyone watching and displayed their skills to the highsest standard. A high point of the day was between Jake Handley & Connor Durbin, these two fighters displayed some of the fastest jiu jitsu of the day. A true reflection of greatness from both Neil Simkin and Martin Cope. I look forward to next year as this tournament can only get bigger. caption id=”attachment_2051″ align=”alignnone” width=”2448″] Molly Baxter [/caption]