NICK BROOKS SEMINAR ON 24TH JUNE IN AID OF CLINTON COMBATS CANCER FOR CASH!

Roger Gracie black belt and all-round awesome jedi-like person Nick Brooks will be doing a free (yes, FREE) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu seminar at BKK Fighters on Friday the 24th June at 7:30pm in aid of my charity, Clinton Combats Cancer For Cash. All we ask is that the attendees make a donation. There is no minimum amount, but please give as much as you can. Nick has very kindly given his time in aid of this great cause, and many seminars generally go for £30, £40 or £50 a pop - sometimes more. So this is a fantastic opportunity for all you grapplers out there to get some invaluable advice from one of the best in the business.

For those of you who don't know of Nick and his accomplishments (and even all you clever-clogs who do), here is a little run down of his achievements so far.

Weight 66Kg - FeatherWeight
Height 1.81 m - 5’ 11”
Black Belt Under Roger Gracie

Blue Belt December 21st 2004
Purple Belt September 19th 2006
Brown belt September 19th 2007
Black belt October 31st 2009

Nick Brooks joined the Roger Gracie Academy on the day it opened on the 12th of Februrary 2004, and 7 months later fought his first BJJ competition at the Londinium International BJJ Championship. Nick won all his fights by submission to take the gold, and became hooked on competing.

Nick then went on to win the London Open BJJ Championship, this time in the featherweight division and again winning all his fights by submission.

Nick then travelled to Abu Dhabi, where he won his first 4 fights yet again all by submission before losing 3 - 2 to the eventual winner. Nick then won gold in the European Open BJJ Championship, and was also chosen to represent the UK national lightweight team. There he met Ebe from GB Milton Keynes and began to supplement his training with Braulio Estima and younger brother Victor.

Nick's game started to change into a more attacking style of guard. He won GOLD at the Gracie Invitational, submitting all but 1 of his opponents.

In the 2006 European open BJJ championsahip, Nick again won gold in the featherweight division, and then entered the open weight division where he beat the heavyweight gold and silver medalists by submission before losing to the super-heavyweight gold medalist and eventual winner, and again was chosen to repesent the UK National lightweight team.

Later that year, while training for the Gracie Invitational, Nick broke his finger so decided to switch from the gi event to the no-gi event. Despite being his first no-gi competiton, Nick found the transition quite easy, going on to win the Urban Gorrilaz Submission Wrestling tournament in the -66kg division, again beating all his opponents by submission, winning the final in a very quick 33 seconds.

Nick then travelled to Brazil to fight the World Masters & Seniors where he again won gold, submitting all but 1 opponent. There he began training with Master Ricardo De la Riva, with whom 1 month of intensive training really changed his defensive strategy and began to fine tune his guard game.

In 2007, Nick again (yes, yet again) won gold at the European Open BJJ Championships to make it 3 years in a row, and then took gold in the Pan Americans, also reaching the quarter finals in the open weight category before losing to the eventual silver medalist by a single advantage.

Nick then fought the HGFC Submission Wrestling competition and won the -65kg Division before going to take 4th in the open weight division.

Nick then won his pool submitting all but 1 of his opponents in the Irish National Championships.

6 weeks after being promoted to Brown Belt, he travelled to LA to compete in the 1st World No-Gi Championships and fought well to place 3rd in the featherweight division and then went one better to place 2nd in the open weight (Absolute). Unfortunately in the process, Nick picked up a nasty elbow injury.

In 2008, he decided at the last minute to fight the Europeans, this time at the heavier weight of lightweight (due to the lack of trainng and injury). But he still did well to place 3rd in his division, and then went on to place 2nd in the open weight.

At the Gracie Invitational in May, Nick closed out the brown belt featherweight division with team mate Cesar Lima, before returning to Brazil to fight the World Masters. Once again, Nick returned to train with Master De la Riva, and with the guidance of Roger Gracie’s father Mauricio Gomes, went on to win gold.

At the beginning of 2009, Nick decided to again fight the Europeans at the heavier weight of lightweight and once more managed to win gold. Nick then represented the UK Black Belt LightWeight team where the UK Finished 3rd behind winners Brazil & Poland.

And that's just the story so far... Nick is heading off to Brazil in July for more fun and games, and we lucky people will have the opportunity to learn from him before he heads off to sunny Rio De Janeiro to once again cause physical discomfort to his fellow competitors. Yes, you are lucky.

All you need to do is show up at BKK Fighters at 7:30pm on the 24th June with your gi and whatever amount you can donate to my charity (where ALL PROCEEDS go to Cancer Research UK), and be prepared to learn from an incredibly accomplished jiu jitsu fighter and teacher.

Nick is a very approachable person in general, so if you have any questions about that reverse triangle you're struggling with, or the best way to pass the guard, or whatever jiu-jitsu-related  shenanigans are perplexing you, Nick is the man to help you. As for questions unrelated to jiu jitsu, I suggest you see a counsellor. Or share it with the class to make us feel superior. Or better yet, bottle it up until one day you explode in a rage and... sorry, I'm going off on a tangent.

The venue address is: BKK Fighters
                                 Hythe Quay
                                 Spurgeon Street
                                 Colchester
                                 Essex CO1 2NS

I personally cannot wait for this seminar, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all on the mats!

Cheers

The Fat Flamingo

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!

Nick Brooks just informed me that black belt Daivid 'Malandro' Onuma will also be giving his time for free and teaching with him at the seminar. Damn it, you folks are SOOO lucky - all this just for the price of a donation! You can't do much better than that ;)

David Onuma is a black belt under Ricardo Viera, 3 x European Champion (1 at purple belt and 2 at brown) and I'm thrilled to have him on board - as should you!

I'm really looking forward to seeing you all on the mats on 24th June!

The Fat Flamingo