Further to the news in the last post, Rob Staples and Andrew (Toppo) Toporis received their brown belts from Braulio Estima on Saturday 7th March 2009.

Rob and Andy are the first Channel Islanders to receive their brown belts and there are only 11 other people who have received this belt from Braulio at all.

Now on to the good news, Rob and Toppo are pretty good and locking people up in knots and making them squirm, beg for mercy, pass out or simply throw up.  Such is their ability.  So it is with great pleasure that I am able to say that the club had a lot of students there on Saturday for their gradings.

No, I don’t mean because we all think they do a wonderful job at the club putting in lots of hours for the members and training them to a very high standard as is obvious if you have read recent posts on the competition results our BJJ combatants have achieved.

No, no, no.  I meean because it was a very full house and lots of people to participate in the whippings.

This was not to be the usual whippings though and I am really sorry that I was not there to see it and actually take part.  This was brutal.

I felt sorry for Matt Norris who recently was awarded his purple belt so was forced to endure the onslaught himself. 

Instead of the usual running of the gauntlet, Matt, Rob and Toppo had to stand apart from each other in a line in the middle of the room whilst every member walked around and gave each of them a folded belt accross the back.  But wait, if that’s not enough, Braulio insisted that everyone went round three times dishing out as much punishment with each stroke as their training weary bodies allowed them to do.

For those of you who know Braulio and think he’s a nice guy, think again.  Pure barbarian with a great big smile.  He doesn’t just fold his belt….no.  He doesn’t just whip his belt….No.

He platts his belt so it looks like some kind of chain and he puts so much effort in to the strike that if there was no body, ie, Rob, Toppo, Matt, there to take the blow, he would still be spinning like a tornado now.

I have attached some images of the whippings, bruises and final rewards.

Joking aside, the belts are well deserved and only goes to show the kind of class instructors and students our little Jersey club has.