{"id":9143,"date":"2012-01-08T06:27:35","date_gmt":"2012-01-08T05:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143"},"modified":"2012-01-08T17:44:31","modified_gmt":"2012-01-08T16:44:31","slug":"intervju-seymour-yang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143","title":{"rendered":"Intervju: Seymour Yang"},"content":{"rendered":"

*After the swedish version there is a english version*<\/span><\/p>\n

Seymour Young har lila b\u00e4lte i BJJ och tr\u00e4nar p\u00e5 Mill Hill BJJ. Han driver bloggen ”Meerkatsu BJJ blog” och \u00e4r en av de mest produktiva gi-recensenterna i v\u00e4rlden.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nEn leende Seymour p\u00e5 rygg.<\/p>\n

Hur och n\u00e4r kom du f\u00f6rst i kontakt med\u00a0 Brasiliansk Jiu-Jitsu?<\/strong>
\nJag drev och instruerade p\u00e5 en traditionell jiu jitsu-klubb i London n\u00e4r en av mina elever ber\u00e4ttade om den h\u00e4r nya grejen som kallades f\u00f6r BJJ. Han visade oss lite l\u00e5s, jag har f\u00f6r mig att det var en triangel och en armbar fr\u00e5n mount. Efter\u00e5t sparrades han mot oss och alla undrade vad fan det h\u00e4r var f\u00f6r n\u00e5got! Det h\u00e4r var 2003 och BJJ var v\u00e4ldigt nytt i Storbritannien. Trots det hittade jag en klubb i London att provtr\u00e4na p\u00e5 och sen dess \u00e4r jag fast. Jag slutade d\u00e5 med traditionell\u00a0jiu jitsu f\u00f6r att endast koncentrera mig p\u00e5 BJJ.<\/p>\n

Ber\u00e4tta om din blogg \u201cMeerkatsu BJJ blog\u201d.<\/strong>
\nJag b\u00f6rjade blogga 2004 utan n\u00e5got riktigt syfte.\u00a0 Jag b\u00f6rjade skriva inl\u00e4gg som handlade om min kampsportskarri\u00e4r, inte s\u00e4rskilt intressant egentligen. Idag fokuserar jag mest p\u00e5 att skriva gi-recensioner, artiklar om t\u00e4vlingar och min egen konst och design. Jag f\u00f6rs\u00f6ker h\u00e5lla en s\u00e5 h\u00f6g niv\u00e5 som m\u00f6jligt p\u00e5 inneh\u00e5llet. Mitt vanliga jobb \u00e4r att g\u00f6ra reportage f\u00f6r tidningar och tidsskrifter, s\u00e5 jag f\u00f6rs\u00f6ker f\u00f6ra \u00f6ver den kunskapen till mina BJJ-artiklar.<\/p>\n

Meerkatsu?<\/strong>
\nJag ville ha ett unikt namn som var l\u00e4tt att komma ih\u00e5g och inte anv\u00e4ndes av n\u00e5gon annan. Jag \u00e4lskar djur och surikater (eng. meerkats) \u00e4r ett coolt djur. Jag la bara till \u201dsu\u201d i slutet f\u00f6r att f\u00e5 en mer japansk klang, och allts\u00e5 lite mer kampsportsaktig.<\/p>\n

Hur kom det sig att du gjorde din f\u00f6rsta recension?<\/strong>
\nF\u00f6r att svara p\u00e5 den h\u00e4r fr\u00e5gan m\u00e5ste du ta mig tillbaka till n\u00e4r jag var en n\u00f6rdig liten skolpojke som var besatt av bilar. Jag k\u00f6pte ofta biltidningen \u201dWhat Car Magazine\u201d och andra magasin. Trots att det var m\u00e5nga \u00e5r kvar tills jag sj\u00e4lv fick k\u00f6ra bil, \u00e4lskade jag att l\u00e4sa recensioner om prylar och teknik. Det g\u00f6r jag fortfarande, men jag \u00e4r inte lika besatt l\u00e4ngre, tror jag. Jag antar att den n\u00f6rdigheten har f\u00f6rts vidare till mina BJJ-artiklar. Min f\u00f6rsta riktiga gi-recension som jag skrev var f\u00f6r en Faixa Rua<\/a> och sen dess har jag recenserat 30-40\u00a0 gi-modeller. Jag f\u00f6rs\u00f6ker g\u00f6ra mina gi-recensioner s\u00e5 intressanta och bra som m\u00f6jligt, s\u00e5 jag l\u00e4gger ner mycket tid p\u00e5 bilder och sj\u00e4lva presentationen. Men k\u00e4rnan i varje recension \u00e4r informationen om storlek, krympningar, vikt och mina personliga tankar om kvalitet, passform, k\u00e4nsla och komfort som jag hoppas att l\u00e4sarna har nytta av n\u00e4r de ska k\u00f6pa en ny gi. BJJ \u00e4r en dyr hobby, men bra recensioner kan hj\u00e4lpa n\u00e5gon att l\u00e4gga pengarna p\u00e5 r\u00e4tt utrustning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00c4r det du som kontaktar tillverkare om gi-recensioner eller tv\u00e4rtom?<\/strong>
\nJag har haft v\u00e4ldigt tur f\u00f6r det \u00e4r v\u00e4ldigt s\u00e4llan jag sj\u00e4lv har bett om en gi f\u00f6r att recensera den. Normalt kommer en f\u00f6rfr\u00e5gan direkt fr\u00e5n f\u00f6retaget. Det \u00e4r mycket b\u00e4ttre d\u00e5 inte alla gi-tillverkare tycker att det \u00e4r bra PR att skicka ut gratis produkter mot n\u00e5gra ord i en blogg (som inte ens \u00e4r garanterat positiva). M\u00e5nga f\u00f6retag ser dock v\u00e4rdet i att utnyttja BJJ-bloggarna. Det \u00e4r ingen skillnad mot de gamla bilrecensionerna jag l\u00e4ste som liten, en produktrecension \u00e4r ett s\u00e4tt f\u00f6r f\u00f6retagen att n\u00e5 ut till sin m\u00e5lgrupp och naturligtvis tar de en risk n\u00e4r de uts\u00e4tter sin produkt f\u00f6r en oberoende analys.<\/p>\n

N\u00e5gon recension du har tackat nej till att g\u00f6ra?<\/strong>
\nF\u00f6r flera \u00e5r sen gjorde jag en gi-recension d\u00e4r modellen var s\u00e5 d\u00e5lig att jag valde att inte publicera den och jag f\u00f6rklarade varf\u00f6r f\u00f6r f\u00f6retaget. Jag \u00e5ngrar verkligen det beslutet nu eftersom min recension kunde ha hindrat m\u00e4nniskor fr\u00e5n att k\u00f6pa den h\u00e4r d\u00e5liga gi-modellen. Jag slaktade den i stort sett. Idag skulle jag definitivt ha publicerat den. S\u00e5 l\u00e4nge jag \u00e4r r\u00e4ttvis och specifik i min kritik kan jag inte f\u00f6rst\u00e5 varf\u00f6r ett f\u00f6retag skulle ha inv\u00e4ndningar mot mina slutsatser. Jag f\u00f6rs\u00f6ker alltid backa upp mina p\u00e5st\u00e5enden med data och bevis. Det \u00e4r inte bra att bara s\u00e4ga att den h\u00e4r modellen s\u00f6g. Det \u00e4r viktigt att f\u00f6rklara varf\u00f6r den s\u00f6g.<\/p>\n

Tycker du att det \u00e4r sv\u00e5rt att vara objektiv i recensionerna?<\/strong>
\nDet kanske verkar enkelt, men det \u00e4r egentligen ganska sv\u00e5rt f\u00f6r en recensent att vara objektiv, s\u00e4rskilt om man k\u00e4nner sig skyldig att skriva n\u00e5got bra om f\u00f6retaget eftersom de gav dig en gratis produkt. Det \u00e4r ett problem som jag tror att alla BJJ-recensenter har funderat p\u00e5. Min l\u00f6sning \u00e4r att vara specifik och bryta ner recensionen i sm\u00e5 delar. Det finns ingen po\u00e4ng med att skriva om hur himla bra en gi \u00e4r bara f\u00f6r att den \u00e4r bra. Man m\u00e5ste titta p\u00e5 detaljerna. Personligen m\u00e5ste jag vara \u00e4nnu mer informativ i mina recensioner eftersom jag numera designar och illustrerar mer och mer som frilansare \u00e5t olika f\u00f6retag som tillverkar kampsportsutrustning. Det \u00e4r inte sant att s\u00e4ga att jag \u00e4r oberoende d\u00e5. Men jag f\u00f6rs\u00f6ker vara s\u00e5 objektiv som m\u00f6jligt. N\u00e4r jag g\u00f6r en gi-recension b\u00f6rjar jag med att konstatera mitt personliga engagemang i f\u00f6retaget och sen skriver jag en s\u00e5 saklig recension som m\u00f6jligt. Fullst\u00e4ndig \u00f6ppenhet \u00e4r viktigt i s\u00e5dana fall. Jag kan fortfarande kritisera en gi om jag hittar n\u00e5gra fel med den, \u00e4ven om det \u00e4r ett f\u00f6retag som har anst\u00e4llt mig som designer.<\/p>\n

Som illustrat\u00f6r och designer, var f\u00e5r du din inspiration ifr\u00e5n?<\/strong>
\nHelt klart f\u00e5r jag mest inspiration fr\u00e5n den naturliga v\u00e4rlden, vilket framg\u00e5r av min f\u00f6rk\u00e4rlek till seriefigurer baserade p\u00e5 djur. Jag har uppenbarligen tillbringat f\u00f6r m\u00e5nga timmar av min barndom med att se dokument\u00e4rer om djur (mellan biltidningarna s\u00e5klart). Jag har till och med studerat botanik p\u00e5 universitetet f\u00f6r att f\u00e5 teckna som en del av mitt examensarbete. P\u00e5 n\u00e5got vis fungerar min fascination av djur och BJJ bra ihop.<\/p>\n

Scramble \u00e4r ett m\u00e4rke du har jobbat med, n\u00e5gra andra m\u00e4rken?<\/strong>
\nJag \u00e4r god v\u00e4n med Matt, som \u00e4r en av \u00e4garna till Scramble, och han st\u00f6ttar mig lika mycket i min karri\u00e4r som illustrat\u00f6r som jag st\u00f6ttar honom i hans coola kl\u00e4dm\u00e4rke. Vi samarbetar ofta i olika projekt d\u00e5 det k\u00e4nns r\u00e4tt. Faktum \u00e4r att han planerar att anv\u00e4nda mitt Tengu-konstverk<\/a> och det ska bli v\u00e4ldigt sp\u00e4nnande. Matt \u00e4r sj\u00e4lv en duktig designer och verkar ha en magisk touch n\u00e4r det kommer till design. Men jag \u00e4r v\u00e4ldigt glad \u00f6ver att f\u00e5 samarbeta med ett antal olika f\u00f6retag. P\u00e5g\u00e5ende och nygjorda designprojekt innefattar Tatami Fightwear, Predator BJJ, Oss! Clothing, Competidor Brand, Ronin Brand, Kingz Kimonos, Pitbull Fightwear, Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Gorilla Fightgear, Strike Fightwear, Jaco och m\u00e5nga andra d\u00e4r produkterna precis har sl\u00e4ppts eller ska sl\u00e4ppas. Vissa undrar varf\u00f6r jag bara inte lanserar ett eget m\u00e4rke, men jag f\u00f6redrar faktiskt att frilansa \u00e5t olika f\u00f6retag. Varje projekt inneb\u00e4r en ny utmaning. H\u00e4r \u00e4r n\u00e5got som \u00e4r alldeles nytt f\u00f6r Grapplingbloggens l\u00e4sare. Grapplingbloggen kommer vara f\u00f6rst med att visa det h\u00e4r som jag nyligen har designat. Det kommer sl\u00e4ppas i mitten p\u00e5 januari som en t-shirt och jag kommer bara att g\u00f6ra 50 st i tv\u00e5 olika f\u00e4rger. Mer information kommer snart p\u00e5 min blogg och Facebook.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Vilket r\u00e5d skulle du ge till nyb\u00f6rjare som ska k\u00f6pa sin f\u00f6rsta gi?<\/strong>
\nDet b\u00e4sta s\u00e4ttet att f\u00e5 r\u00e5d \u00e4r fr\u00e5n dina klubbkompisar. Recensioner p\u00e5 n\u00e4tet hj\u00e4lper, men inget sl\u00e5r att f\u00e5 ett r\u00e5d av en riktig person. Han eller hon kan p\u00e5peka varf\u00f6r just den h\u00e4r eller den d\u00e4r modellen var bra eller d\u00e5lig. Om n\u00e5gon p\u00e5 klubben har samma storlek som du s\u00e5 kan du \u00e4ven testa hans eller hennes gi. Problemet med v\u00e5r idrott \u00e4r att det finns v\u00e4ldigt f\u00e5 butiker som man kan g\u00e5 till f\u00f6r att prova en modell. \u00c4ven om du provar den kan du inte riktigt veta hur mycket den kommer att krympa och hur den k\u00e4nns n\u00e4r du tr\u00e4nar. Det \u00e4r h\u00e4r du kan f\u00e5 hj\u00e4lp av en recension p\u00e5 n\u00e4tet. Mitt andra r\u00e5d \u00e4r att alltid fr\u00e5ga efter rabatt. Det \u00e4r l\u00e4ttare att g\u00f6ra n\u00e4r man ska k\u00f6pa direkt fr\u00e5n tillverkaren, men de flesta internetbutiker kan ge n\u00e5gon form av rabatt. Om de s\u00e4ger nej, handla helt enkelt n\u00e5gon annanstans. I de fall jag har betalat f\u00f6r en gi har jag aldrig betalat fullt pris eftersom jag fr\u00e5gade efter rabatt.<\/p>\n

Vilken \u00e4r din favorit-gi?<\/strong>
\nJag har ingen favorit-gi. Vad jag har \u00e4r en personlig rotation av modeller som jag k\u00e4nner mig mest bekv\u00e4m med och som har h\u00e5llit l\u00e4nge. Det inkluderar Tatami Fightwear Estilo 2.0, Black Eagle single weave, Black Eagle Raptor Gi och dessutom en ny Ronin Brand Gold Class. Den h\u00e4r upps\u00e4ttningen \u00e4ndras med tiden och n\u00e4r jag hittar en gi jag gillar, forts\u00e4tter jag med den och om den inte passar mig perfekt ger jag bort den.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nSeymour och Michael Langhi.<\/p>\n

Du tr\u00e4nar p\u00e5 Mill Hill BJJ, kan du ber\u00e4tta om den klubben?<\/strong>
\nNick Brooks, ett Roger Gracie svartb\u00e4lte, \u00e4r den som h\u00e5ller i klubben. Nick och jag k\u00e4nde varandra i m\u00e5nga \u00e5r innan vi b\u00f6rjade med BJJ. Han var ocks\u00e5 instrukt\u00f6r i traditionell\u00a0jiu jitsu (5:e dan han ocks\u00e5!). N\u00e4r jag flyttade hem fanns det bara Nicks BJJ-klubb i mitt omr\u00e5de d\u00e4r jag var intresserad av att tr\u00e4na. Det \u00e4r ett fantastiskt st\u00e4lle att tr\u00e4na p\u00e5. F\u00f6rst och fr\u00e4mst har vi instrukt\u00f6rer som Nick, Daniel Strauss och Oli Geddes som har t\u00e4vlat och vunnit medaljer i stora t\u00e4vlingar \u00f6ver hela v\u00e4rlden. Den typen av erfarenhet \u00e4r sv\u00e5r att hitta i en instrukt\u00f6r och som medlem har vi enorm nytta av det. F\u00f6r det andra verkar det som att klubben lockar till sig m\u00e5nga BJJ-stj\u00e4rnor som kommer in och instruerar, som Roger s\u00e5klart, men f\u00f6rra \u00e5ret kom ocks\u00e5 Ricardo de la Riva och v\u00e4rldsm\u00e4staren Rodolfo Vieir. Till sist vill jag s\u00e4ga att Mill Hill BJJ har den d\u00e4r kamratliga st\u00e4mningen som en BJJ-klubb ska ha, tuff och seri\u00f6s tr\u00e4ning i kombination med stor v\u00e4nskap.<\/p>\n

Hur har grapplingen utvecklats i Storbritannien under de senaste \u00e5ren?<\/strong>
\nDet h\u00e4r \u00e4r ett stort \u00e4mne! F\u00f6r att sammanfatta b\u00f6rjade BJJ bli k\u00e4nt runt 1998 d\u00e5 Royce Gracie, och Renzo tror jag, h\u00f6ll ett par seminarier f\u00f6r ett f\u00e5tal intresserade och nyfikna kampsportsut\u00f6vare. Ett svartb\u00e4lte som heter Chen Moraes startade den f\u00f6rsta riktiga BJJ-klubben n\u00e5gon g\u00e5ng runt 1999. Han organiserade till och med den f\u00f6rsta BJJ-turneringen i Storbritannien. Men det var f\u00f6rst n\u00e4r Mauricio Motta Gomes (f\u00f6r n\u00e4rvarande 7:e gradens r\u00f6d- och svartb\u00e4lte) b\u00f6rjade instruera runtom i Storbritannien i b\u00f6rjan av 2000 som BJJ exploderade. Och tv\u00e5 killar startade klubbar, ena hette Roger och den andra Braulio. Deras n\u00e4rvaro verkar ha hj\u00e4lpt till! Jag m\u00e5ste ocks\u00e5 n\u00e4mna alla sm\u00e5klubbar som instruerades av ut\u00f6vare som inte hade tillg\u00e5ng till riktiga tr\u00e4nare i b\u00f6rjan. M\u00e5nga av dessa \u00e4r nu brun- och svartb\u00e4lten och med sitt engagemang hj\u00e4lpte de till att sprida BJJ runt om i landet. Idag har vi en levande och snabbt v\u00e4xande BJJ. Det finns klubbar i de flesta st\u00e4derna. Det finns ca 50-60 svartb\u00e4lten som \u00e4r bosatta h\u00e4r och det anordnas v\u00e4lbes\u00f6kta t\u00e4vlingar n\u00e4stan varje m\u00e5nad. Unga brittiska ut\u00f6vare b\u00f6rjar ocks\u00e5 synas p\u00e5 de stora t\u00e4vlingarna, som t.ex. Daniel Strauss som nyligen t\u00e4vlade p\u00e5 ADCC VM och talanger som Daniel Agard (World Pro-medalj\u00f6r), Luke Costello (VM-medalj\u00f6r), Stephen Martin (VM-medalj\u00f6r) och Yaz Wilson (VM-medalj\u00f6r) f\u00f6r att n\u00e4mna n\u00e5gra. Jag kan \u00e4rligt talat s\u00e4ga att det aldrig har varit s\u00e5 sp\u00e4nnande att h\u00e5lla p\u00e5 med sporten \u00e4n just h\u00e4r, just nu \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Interview with Seymour Yang<\/h2>\n

Seymour Young is a BJJ purple belt and trains at Mill Hill BJJ. He runs the blog ”Meerkatsu BJJ blog” and is one of the world’s most prolific gi reviewers<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA smiling Seymour on his back.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

How and when did you first come in contact with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?<\/strong>
\nI was teaching and running a traditional ju jitsu club in London when one of my students told me he tried this new thing called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He showed us all some moves, I think it was a simple triangle choke and an armbar from the mount and then he sparred with us and we were like WTF is this crazy thing! That was in 2003 and BJJ was very embryonic in the UK. However I found a place in London to try out a class and I have been hooked ever since. I since left traditional ju jitsu completely in order to concentrate on BJJ.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your blog \u201cMeerkatsu BJJ blog\u201d.<\/strong>
\nI began the blog in 2004 without any real purpose. It started off with random posts about what I was doing in my martial arts career, nothing very interesting to be honest. Today it focuses mainly on gi reviews, event reporting and my own art and design. I try to write and present the content to as high a standard as I can – my day job is to produce feature stories for newspapers and magazines so I try to replicate that professionalism across over on my BJJ material.<\/p>\n

Meerkatsu?<\/strong>
\nI wanted a unique name that one could remember easily and was not used by anyone else. I love animals and Meerkats are kinda cool creatures. I just added the ’su’ bit at the end to make it sound more Japanesey and thus, more martial arty.<\/p>\n

How was it that you did your first review?<\/strong>
\nWell, to answer this, you have to transport me back many decades to when I was a geeky little schoolboy obsessed with cars. I would buy What Car Magazine and other consumer magazine publications, even though clearly I was years away from being old enough to drive I just loved reading reviews about gadgets and technology. I still do but less obsessively I think. I guess this kind of geekiness has just transpired into my BJJ content production. The first proper gi review I wrote was on a brand called Faixa Rua<\/a> and I have reviewed 30-40 gis ever since then. I try to make my gear reviews as interesting and enjoyable as possible so I take a lot of time with the photography and presentation. However at the heart of each review is a set of data concerning size, shrinkage, weight and my personal thoughts over the quality, fit, feel and comfort that I hope is useful for readers when they are considering buying a new gi. BJJ is an expensive hobby but good quality reviews can help make somebody spend their money wisely.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Is it you that contacts brands regarding gi reviews or the other way around?<\/strong>
\nI have been very lucky, very rarely have I actually requested a gi for review. I normally get approached by the company directly. This is much more preferable as not every gi company feels that sending out free merchandise in exchange for a few words (which are not guaranteed to be positive for the company) is good public relations. Luckily, many brands do see the value in utilising the BJJ blogger network. It is no different to those old car review magazines I used to read when I was a kid – a product review is just one of the ways a company can reach out to its consumer base, but of course they do risk subjecting their product to independent analysis.<\/p>\n

Any review you have said no to?<\/strong>
\nSeveral years ago, I did receive a gi that was so bad I decided not to publish it and I told the company why. I personally regret that decision now because my review could have prevented people from buying such an awful gi. I basically had bottled it. Today I would definitely have published it. As long as I am fair and specific in my critique, I can’t see how a company could object to my findings. I always try to back up my assertions with quantitative data and evidence. It is not helpful to just say, this gi sucked. It is important to provide details over why.<\/p>\n

Do you find it difficult to stay objective in the reviews?<\/strong>
\nAlthough it might seem an easy job to do, remaining objective for any reviewer is actually quite hard, especially if you feel obliged somehow to write something nice about the company because they bothered to send you something for free. It is a problem I think all BJJ reviewers have thought about. The solution I have found to such a conundrum is to be specific and break down the review into little details. Just like the my answer to the previous question, it is absolutely no help at all to simply wax lyrically about how awesome so and so gi is because it is just awesome. One has to look at the details. For me, I have to be even more informative with my gi reviews – this is because I am now working more and more with various fightwear brands providing freelance design and illustration – it is not true to say I am independent. But I am objective and I try to stay as unbiased as I can. Whenever I review a gi, I state upfront my own personal involvement with the company and then proceed to write as factual a review as I can. Complete transparency is important in such cases. Having said that, I am still happy to criticise a gi if there are problems or issues that I detect – even if that same company is one that has hired me as a designer.<\/p>\n

As an illustrator and designer, where do you get your inspiration?<\/strong>
\nMost definitely it is the natural world where I draw most of my inspiration – as is evident by my complete bias towards animal based cartoon characters. I obviously spent way too many childhood hours watching wildlife documentaries (in between reading car review magazines). I even studied botany at University so I could draw stuff as part of my degree! Somehow, merging my fascination with wildlife and BJJ makes for a good partnership!<\/p>\n

Scramble is one brand you have been working with regarding graphics, any other brands?<\/strong>
\nI was good friends with Scramble owner Matt before he formed his company and he is hugely supportive of my illustration career as much as I am supportive of his cool apparel brand. We often collaborate on projects whenever the idea seems right. In fact he’s just planning some gear that will feature my Tengu artwork<\/a> and I’m very excited about that. Matt is himself a talented designer and he seems to have the magic touch when it comes to art direction. But I’m very lucky to also work closely with a wide range of companies. Current ongoing and recent projects have involved new designs for Tatami Fightwear, Predator BJJ, Oss! Clothing, Competidor Brand, Ronin Brand, Kingz Kimonos, Pitbull Fightwear, Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Gorilla Fightgear, Strike Fightwear, Jaco\u00a0 and many many others just released or soon to be released products. Some people ask why I don’t just launch my own brand, but I actually prefer freelancing for different companies. Each project presents a fresh challenge. Here’s something that is brand new and exclusive for your readers, your blog will be the very first to show this item that I designed recently. It will be launched in mid January as a t-shirt and I will only make 50 in two colour variations (full details on my blog and FB page soon).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What advice would you give a beginner who wants to buy their first gi?<\/strong>
\nThe best place to go for gi advice is your team mate. Online reviews help, but nothing beats the advice of someone in the flesh. He or she can say this gi sucked or that gi was nice and point out why. If you have someone who is similar in size then you can even try out a gi in person. The problem with our sport is that there are so few actual physical stores where you can walk in and try out a gi. Even then, you will not really know how it will shrink and feel during training. This is where the online reviews can help. The other advice is, always ask for a discount. This is easier when you are dealing directly with the gi maker, but most general fightwear webstores can give some level of discount. If they say no, simply shop elsewhere. In the rare few cases I have paid for a gi, I have never paid full asking price because I asked for a discount.<\/p>\n

Which is your favorite gi?<\/strong>
\nI do not have a favourite gi. What I have is a personal rotation of gis that I feel most comfortable with and have lasted me a long time – these include the Tatami Fightwear Estilo 2.0, Black Eagle single weave, Black Eagle Raptor Gi and, a new addition, the Ronin Brand Gold Class. This line up changes over time as I find a gi I like, I keep it, if it one that does not fit me perfectly, I give it away.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nSeymour and Michael Langhi.<\/p>\n

You train at Mill Hill BJJ, can you tells us about the academy?<\/strong>
\nMill Hill is run by Nick Brooks, a Roger Gracie black belt. Nick and I have known each other for many years prior to BJJ – he was also a traditional ju jitsu instructor (5th dan too!). When I moved home, the only place I was interested in training in within my area was Nick’s BJJ club. It is of course a fantastic place to train. Firstly we have instructors like Nick, Daniel Strauss and Oli Geddes who have competed and medalled in major tournaments all over the world. This kind of experience is very hard to find in an instructor and as students we all benefit enormously. Second, our academy just seems to attract large numbers of elite BJJ stars who pop in and teach – like of course Roger, but last last year we had Ricardo de la Riva over for a few days and then current World Champion Rodolfo Vieira popped in one evening etc. Lastly, I would say Mill Hill just has one of those awesome brotherly and sisterly vibes that a good BJJ dojo should have – tough and serious training coupled with great friendships.<\/p>\n

How has grappling developed in the UK over the last couple of years?<\/strong>
\nMan, that is whole other topic! But in summary, BJJ was sort of known about from around 1998, when Royce Gracie and I think Renzo taught a couple of seminars to a few interested and curious martial arts practitioners. A black belt called Chen Moraes started the first proper BJJ club sometime around 1999 – he even organised the first BJJ tournament in the UK. Without a doubt however, the BJJ scene truly exploded when Mauricio Motta Gomes (currently 7th degree red and black belt) began teaching around the UK in the early 2000’s. Oh and couple guys opened up academies, one called Roger, the other Braulio. Their presence seemed to have helped! I can’t also forget to mention the many many small academies and clubs taught by dedicated BJJers who did not have access to a regular coach in the early days. Many of these guys are now brown and black belts and with their dedication, helped spread BJJ around the country. Today, we have a vibrant and fast growing BJJ scene. There are academies in most cities and towns, many of them full time. There are now 50-60 black belts resident in the country and we have well attended tournaments pretty month each month. Young British born BJJers are also beginning to make a mark on the World scene, with the aforementioned Daniel Strauss recently competing at the ADCC, and exciting talents such as Daniel Agard (World Pro Cup medalist), Luke Costello (Mundial medalist), Stephen Martin (Mundial medalist) and Yaz Wilson (Mundial medalist) to name but a few of today’s emerging competitors. I can most certainly say there is no more exciting time to be involved in the sport than right here, right now \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*After the swedish version there is a english version* Seymour Young har lila b\u00e4lte i BJJ och tr\u00e4nar p\u00e5 Mill Hill BJJ. Han driver bloggen ”Meerkatsu BJJ blog” och \u00e4r en av de mest produktiva gi-recensenterna i v\u00e4rlden. En leende Seymour p\u00e5 rygg. Hur och n\u00e4r kom du f\u00f6rst i kontakt med\u00a0 Brasiliansk Jiu-Jitsu? Jag…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,197],"tags":[282],"class_list":{"0":"post-9143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-intervjuer","7":"category-nyheter","8":"tag-seymour-yang","9":"wrapper-post entry","10":"no-post-thumbnail","11":"wrapper-post-text"},"yoast_head":"\nIntervju: Seymour Yang - Grapplingbloggen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Intervju: Seymour Yang - Grapplingbloggen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"*After the swedish version there is a english version* Seymour Young har lila b\u00e4lte i BJJ och tr\u00e4nar p\u00e5 Mill Hill BJJ. Han driver bloggen ”Meerkatsu BJJ blog” och \u00e4r en av de mest produktiva gi-recensenterna i v\u00e4rlden. En leende Seymour p\u00e5 rygg. Hur och n\u00e4r kom du f\u00f6rst i kontakt med\u00a0 Brasiliansk Jiu-Jitsu? Jag…\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Skriven av\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Daniel Rosendahl\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Ber\u00e4knad l\u00e4stid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"22 minuter\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Daniel Rosendahl\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/59368c54a5e3f2e3adeea43bc97002c8\"},\"headline\":\"Intervju: Seymour Yang\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-08T05:27:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-01-08T16:44:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143\"},\"wordCount\":4366,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/01\\\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Seymour Yang\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Intervjuer\",\"Nyheter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"sv-SE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143\",\"name\":\"Intervju: Seymour Yang - Grapplingbloggen\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/01\\\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-08T05:27:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-01-08T16:44:31+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"sv-SE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"sv-SE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/01\\\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/01\\\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg\",\"width\":\"500\",\"height\":\"387\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?p=9143#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Hem\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Intervju: Seymour Yang\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/\",\"name\":\"Grapplingbloggen\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"sv-SE\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Grapplingbloggen\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"sv-SE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/04\\\/cropped-grapplingbloggen-logo-2017-v2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/04\\\/cropped-grapplingbloggen-logo-2017-v2.png\",\"width\":570,\"height\":110,\"caption\":\"Grapplingbloggen\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/59368c54a5e3f2e3adeea43bc97002c8\",\"name\":\"Daniel Rosendahl\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"sv-SE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f36e29660179c24c3ea92d445a4ada0dff0ce23106cf47712832fbc16628fdf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f36e29660179c24c3ea92d445a4ada0dff0ce23106cf47712832fbc16628fdf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f36e29660179c24c3ea92d445a4ada0dff0ce23106cf47712832fbc16628fdf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Daniel Rosendahl\"},\"description\":\"Startade och driver GrapplingBloggen sen 2009.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grapplingbloggen.se\\\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Intervju: Seymour Yang - Grapplingbloggen","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Intervju: Seymour Yang - Grapplingbloggen","twitter_description":"*After the swedish version there is a english version* Seymour Young har lila b\u00e4lte i BJJ och tr\u00e4nar p\u00e5 Mill Hill BJJ. Han driver bloggen ”Meerkatsu BJJ blog” och \u00e4r en av de mest produktiva gi-recensenterna i v\u00e4rlden. En leende Seymour p\u00e5 rygg. Hur och n\u00e4r kom du f\u00f6rst i kontakt med\u00a0 Brasiliansk Jiu-Jitsu? Jag…","twitter_image":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Skriven av":"Daniel Rosendahl","Ber\u00e4knad l\u00e4stid":"22 minuter"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143"},"author":{"name":"Daniel Rosendahl","@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/#\/schema\/person\/59368c54a5e3f2e3adeea43bc97002c8"},"headline":"Intervju: Seymour Yang","datePublished":"2012-01-08T05:27:35+00:00","dateModified":"2012-01-08T16:44:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143"},"wordCount":4366,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg","keywords":["Seymour Yang"],"articleSection":["Intervjuer","Nyheter"],"inLanguage":"sv-SE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143","url":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143","name":"Intervju: Seymour Yang - Grapplingbloggen","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg","datePublished":"2012-01-08T05:27:35+00:00","dateModified":"2012-01-08T16:44:31+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"sv-SE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"sv-SE","@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Seymour_Yang_2.jpg","width":"500","height":"387"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?p=9143#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Hem","item":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Intervju: Seymour Yang"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/#website","url":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/","name":"Grapplingbloggen","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"sv-SE"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/#organization","name":"Grapplingbloggen","url":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"sv-SE","@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/cropped-grapplingbloggen-logo-2017-v2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/cropped-grapplingbloggen-logo-2017-v2.png","width":570,"height":110,"caption":"Grapplingbloggen"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/#\/schema\/person\/59368c54a5e3f2e3adeea43bc97002c8","name":"Daniel Rosendahl","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"sv-SE","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f36e29660179c24c3ea92d445a4ada0dff0ce23106cf47712832fbc16628fdf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f36e29660179c24c3ea92d445a4ada0dff0ce23106cf47712832fbc16628fdf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f36e29660179c24c3ea92d445a4ada0dff0ce23106cf47712832fbc16628fdf0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Daniel Rosendahl"},"description":"Startade och driver GrapplingBloggen sen 2009.","sameAs":["https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se"],"url":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9143\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grapplingbloggen.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}