Jun 30, 2024
Fantastic news for SJC as Jonathan joins the instructor team after passing his 1st Kyu (Brown belt) grading last weekend!!
Sensei Jonathan has been at SJC for several years after previously grading to Dark Blue at Bath Uni Jiu Jitsu Club. Brown is considered a teaching grade in our style, and for the past few weeks Jonathan has been helping teach the club under the supervision and assessment of lead instructor Alex Trusselle, and 5th Dan founding instructor Jim Bass. All of this, while simultaneously attending dedicated training sessions across the country!
This is a huge achievement and represents exceptional skill and an enduring commitment to supporting the club and his own development. Well done Jon, we look forward to following your teaching journey over the next few years.
May 04, 2024
It is competition season once again and, once again, Southampton Jiu Jitsu is showing the country how hard we train! Both our juniors and adult Jitsuka attented our annual Randori competitions and both proved to be amazing events with the largest respective turnouts since 2020. The Randori nationals represent key events on the Jitsu calendar, as they are a chance to train with numerous other students from across the country, and pressure test our Jiu Jitsu in a safe, sports-oriented enivronment.
Several of our juniors travelled to Walsall for our annual Junior nationals event! There they competed against other juniors from the around the country and it is with grade pride we offer congratulations to Simone, who won bronze in his belt category, and to Alex B who won both gold in his belt category and first place in the open elite competition.
BUT it was not just a triple celebration but a quadruple celebration, as Alex B also graded at the event to successfully earn his Dark Blue belt! Dark Blue, or 2nd Kyu, is only one away from Brown and so is not to be taken lightly.
The fun did not stop there, however. The following weeked (May 4th) was the adults competition, and the force was most certainly with us! Anooj, Hannah, Dom, Jacob, Richard and Jonathan, along with Senseis, Jim, Alex, Clark and Sam made the trip, and well done to the following for bringing home the medals!
- Dom M - Gold in his belt category
- Jacob - Silver in his belt category
- Richard - Bronze in his belt category
- Jonathan - Silver in the Elite competition
Huge congratulations to all, and see you next year!
Mar 28, 2024
A big thanks to local paramedics Alex and Gary for visiting SJC and giving the whole class some high-level first aid training.
Throughout the evening, the group had a chance to practice the recovery position and CPR and got a detailed lesson in injury assessment and AED usage. A nice reminder that self-defence is not all about fighting!
All of our instructors are first-aid trained for the safety of the students, but the students themselves rarely get a chance to practice what we consider to be vital life skills such as this.
Mar 09, 2024
SJC this weekend held a joint grading with the Thames Valley region. A total of 3 juniors and 9 adults fought for their belts and we are very pleased to announce a 100% pass rate! Huge thanks to Sensei Simon Hewings of Brighton Jiu Jitsu Club (brightonjitsu.org) for making the trip and serving as the assessing instructor, and to all the seniors who turned up to Uke!
From SJC juniors:
- Harrison: Red belt
- Simone: White with orange
- Alex C: White with orange
Our grading adults came collectively from SJC, Oxford Uni Jiu Jitsu and Oxford Town:
- Selina: Yellow II*
- Matt: Yellow
- Anooj: Yellow
- Jacob: Yellow
- Dom M: Yellow II*
- Caro: Orange II*
- Dan: Orange**
- Dom J: Green
- Joseph: Purple
*Extra props to Selina, Dom and Caro who all received 2 mons (stripes) on top of their belt to recognise that they excelled themselves!
**And a double congratulations are in order for Dan who double graded from novice to orange - an extremely rare sight!
Dec 08, 2023
It has been a busy couple of months for Southampton Jiu Jitsu to close out the year, with something seemingly happening every weekend. But there have been a couple of major highlights which have proven conclusively that 2023 was a great year for the club.
First, major congratulations to our own Jonathan He for achieving bronze in the dark blue category at the annual Atemi Nationals. Held in Sheffield, the Atemis is the heart of what we do: a weekend of great training, tough competition and socialising with friends across the country. The next national event will be the Randori nationals in May 2024 - see you there?
But whilst we were still recovering, 7 of our members (2 adults and 5 juniors) were put through their paces at a grading, and we are pleased to announce a 100% pass rate! These accomplishments reflect the hard work, dedication, and perseverance of our members. Each belt represents not only a new level of expertise but also a commitment to continuous improvement in the art of Jiu Jitsu.
- Alex C: Promoted to Junior Yellow
- Alexis: Successfully achieved Yellow 1
- Chris: Achieved Orange 2
- Finn: Promoted to Junior Purple
- Isabel: Advanced to Junior Light Blue
- Simone: Attain Junior Yellow 1
- Zara: Earned her Junior Light Blue
Last session of the year will be Dec 21st, and we will return on Jan 4th. Until then, have a fantastic Christmas from everyone at Southampton Jiu Jitsu!
Nov 18, 2023
Southampton's junior Jiu-Jitsu squad once again left an indelible mark at the TJJF Junior Nationals in Walsall last weekend, showcasing their skills and determination. The entire squad walked away with well-deserved proof of their success.
Isabelle's outstanding performance secured her a gold medal, a testament to her dedication and prowess on the mat. Zara and Finn displayed impressive skills, earning them silver and bronze medals, respectively. capping off the day on a high note, Alex B clinched the title of junior national champion by emerging victorious in the open competition.
The instructors and fellow students of Southampton Jiu Jitsu are bursting with pride for Isabelle, Zara, Alex, and Finn. These achievements not only highlight the individual talents of these rising stars but also underscore the club's commitment to fostering sportsmanship, healthy development, and instilling valuable life skills in its members. Congratulations once again to Southampton's junior Jiu-Jitsu sensations!
Apr 04, 2023
After months of hard training, the under 18s in the club had their opportunity to put their skills to the test in our Spring Junior Assessment. We are pleased to announce the presentation of SEVEN new belts to our fantastic juniors. Congratulations to:
- Simone - graded to 8th Kyu (Red) from Novice
- Leilani - graded to 9th Kyu (White w/ Red) from Novice
- Ian - graded to 7th Kyu (White w/ Orange) from Yellow
- Callum - graded to 7th Kyu (White w/ Orange) from White w/ Yellow
- Zara - graded from 6th Kyu (White w/ Green) from Yellow
- Blake - graded from 5th Kyu (Green) from Orange
- Alex - graded to to 7th Kyu (White w/ Yellow) from Novice
An incredible performance by all. Well done for coming and showing off!
Mar 25, 2023
Congratulations to Milo and Alex for representing Southampton Jiu Jitsu at this year's Junior Randori Nationals and coming out victorious!
Alex B won gold in standing and ground resulting in one overall gold medal. He also won gold in the open.
Milo (for whom this was his first tournament) fought in the ground competition and came away with silver.
Amazing performance and a great day out with Sensei Sarah and various other instructors and students from around the country. Now it's down to the adults to see if they came score similar victories in the adult nationals!
Dec 22, 2022
Please be aware that there will be no training tonight. This is despite tonight having been previously advertised as our final session of the year.
The instructor group would like to take this opportunity to say well done to everyone who trained this year (even for one session!) and for your continued support of the club. It has been a fantastic year, now let's give everyone a good couple of weeks of RR&R (rest, relaxation and recovery!) and come back with a bang in January.
First session back is Thursday January 5th 2023! See you all there! đź’Ş
Dec 08, 2022
November has been a busy month for Southampton Jitsu, with both the junior and senior Atemi Nationals competition, followed by a grading to take us into December. But it was not without results!
Juniors Kiran and Alex headed to Walsall (properly accompanied of course) to represent SJC’s juniors and came out with a medal each: Kiran won a silver medal in his belt category, while Alex won gold in both his belt category and the large open. This continues our streak of victories at junior competitions; long may it continue.
Then the latter half of the month saw a trip to Sheffield for the adult Atemis. Together we embarked on a fantastic two days of training (and some drinking…) with some of the best Jitsuka from this country - and beyond! It was great to see and mingle with Vienna Jiu Jitsu International, which now includes SJC alumni Jose. Great to see you again, Jose, see you again at the internationals!
The weekend was another success as both Anthony and Jonathan represented the club in the competition, and Jonathan came away with a silver medal in his blue belt category. Meanwhile, Senseis Alex, Sarah and Justin got to flex their vocal chords as mat controllers.
And last, but certainly not least, we closed out the month with a grading, where Isabelle, Anthony, Alex and Jonathan successfully graded to green, orange, light blue and dark blue belts respectively. Fantastic to see all the hard work paying off.
Unless anything dramatic happens at the Christmas party (let’s hope not bar perhaps a few hot toddies… sorry Sensei Alex!) that probably represents the last of the news for this year. Bring on 2023! Until then, congratulations again to Alex B, Kiran B, Antony, Isablle, Jonathan and everyone else who has trained with us this year. You have all done us proud.
