He is now the reigning British and European Champion and we are very proud for him to be a Carlson Gracie Team purple belt.

Dave and Karim also competed for Great Britain in the purple belt teams event and produced an excellent display of Carlson Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

They were both undefeated and finished a total of 5 opponents by submission helping to earn a Silver medal for Great Britain.

It is with great pride that i announce that WALID TADJOURI was promoted to Black Belt today by Carlson Gracie Revolution Team Head Instructor Wilson ‘Junior’ Cretaro.

Walid was on the mat at the very first Carlson Gracie London class and has represented the team since the very beginning.He has been training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for 10 years.Walid has won countless Gold Medals at every belt level and is well known as a formidable competitor on the U.K. scene.

He has been a fantastic friend and training partner to both Dickie Martin and myself since the start of Carlson Gracie Team.

Walid runs his own Carlson Gracie Mata Leao academies in Stratford,East London and Luton as well as still teaching every week at The Boiler Room in Hammersmith,Carlson’s Headquarters.I know his own students will be very proud of this massive achievement.

Walid’s promotion took place on a special day at The Boiler Room,with 120 students present to witness the event.There were about 30 more belts awarded and i will announce everyones achievement when i get all their surnames for the UK Belt Register.

Congratulations Walid,It’s a long road we have travelled together my friend.

128 Carlson Gracie Team fighters travelled to The Boiler Room Dojo in Hammersmith,London for the event.

As well as Walid Tadjouri’s promotion to Faixa Preta by Wilson Junior Cretaro,the following fighters were also awarded belts by Black Belts Wilson Junior,Dickie Martin and Simon Hayes.

Carlson Gracie Team strictly follows Brazilian tradition and does not charge students financially in any way to be promoted in the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,but instead a new Belt signifies a very expensive commitment of their time,intellect,spirit and loyalty.There is no grading-Just a test of heart and ability every time you step on the mat.

Well Done to the following guys-

Brown Belt-

Michal Adamczak

Purple Belts-

Ryan Robinson
Mariusz Szulc
Mark Phung

Blue Belts-

Patrick Zimmerman (6/12/09 Wilson Junior)
Robert Tokarczyk (9/12/09 Wilson Junior)
Andrew Ohls (9/12/09 Wilson Junior)
Sacha Mackenzie
Robert Watt
Tom Boswell
Kevin McGlade
Tomorr ‘Kung Fu’ Shala
Chris Duff
Ahmed ‘Rolls’ Amin
Dikaios Papadogkonas
Lucasz ‘One’ Gudanowski
Nick Steddy
Dave Holland
Stef Reader
Steve Ladley
Steven Obi
Mark Woods
Brendan Flannigan
Mick Allen
James Lutman

Dickie Martin – British Champion Black Belt +80 kg division
Murali Panch – British Champion Super Super Heavyweight Purple Belt Masters
Caiomhe Suitor – British Champion Women’s Purple Belt Featherweight and Absolute Division
Jason Bell – British Champion Super Heavyweight Blue Belt Masters Division
Karim Shah – British Champion Lightweight Blue Belt Masters division
Vince Skillcorn – British Champion Middleweight White Belt Adult division

Great to see all the hard work paying off and so many British Championship winners representing the Carlson Gracie team.

It was particularly poignant for Instructors Simon Hayes,Dickie and Steve Haydock because it was at the same venue in 2002 that Marc Walder and Royce Gracie ran the first Gracie Invitational,and all three were present as students on that historic day.

Coming back there 7 years later and winning the team trophy for Carlson Gracie Team was an amazing honour for the club.

Well done to each and every Carlson student who turned up to fight or support,you did a great job and we are so proud of you all. I speak for the whole Carlson Gracie Team when i thank Marc Walder,Dave Coles and all the refs,table judges and helpers for an outstanding day.

Also a huge thanks and massive respect for all the other teams that make up UK Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.Without all of us competing against each other and pushing each other at every competition the sport would not be as diverse or be growing at such a fantastic rate.

Carlson Gracie Revolution Team won the team event with 229 points to the second place teams 131 points!

Monday at 6.30pm-7.45pm will be our new basics class that joins the Friday 7.45pm-9.30pm basics class.

The first Monday class will be on 2nd March.

These classes are in addition to our new daytime classes (Mon-Thurs 12pm-2pm) Monday & Wednesday are No Gi,Tuesday & Thursday are Gi.

The basics classes are aimed at White belts,to help them build a strong foundation to their jiu jitsu,but all levels are welcome.

As usual,beginners and White belts are welcome at ANY Carlson Gracie class but we recommend attending the basics class in addition to your other classes.

All classes (BJJ,MMA,Muay Thai and Judo) are included in the £60 unlimited monthly payment,with no direct debits necessary.