Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - why all the hype.

Since Royce Gracie won the first ever UFC event the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has sky rocketed in popularity. Celebrity participants include Mark Zuckerberg, Tom Hardy, Jonah Hill, Bixente Lizarazu and even South Shields own Chris Ramsay who all train regularly in the gentle art.

Identified as the single most effective martial art for fighting, Jiu Jitsu emphasises the use of leverage, skill and strategy against an opponent. An effective way of fighting without the requirement for athleticism. That’s why so many people are choosing Jiu Jitsu over other self defence options like Krav Maga & Karate or Kung Fu.

Jiu Jitsu is a huge part of modern Mixed Martial Arts and local Jiu Jitsu tournaments are replacing Sunday League Football in terms of participation for adults to scratch their competitive itch.

The fact is many people start Jiu Jitsu with no idea of tournaments and most won’t have a clue who Gordon Ryan is, they start because they want a new hobby, a way of keeping fit and for many an introduction to new friends something you’ll find plenty of on the mat.

If your looking for a new hobby, a way to spend a few hours out the house as a break from your wife and kids which isn’t going to the pub, then try Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. You’ll find a club and great coaching in most towns or city’s and many will offer a free trial so you can see what the fuss is about.

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Lewis Howe had his first fight since joining the team, the former academy Rugby player went 3 rounds with Duje Milano - Milano came in with a wealth of experience in Kickboxing and Boxing but it was Howe’s ability to mix it up that lead the him getting the submission win in the third round.

Next up was Shaun Randall who also faced part of the Norwegian team brought over to compete on the event, Shaun went 3 rounds with a unorthodox opponent who used a variety of strikes and takedown attempts throughout the fight but it was Randall’s striking that won him the fight as he landed a number of clean punches before finishing his opponent with a head kick.

The final amateur fight of the night for the SBG South Shields team featured Alex William, recently promoted to Purple Belt and he showed why the 17 year old made quick work of Abdi Omar Ismael in just over a minute finishing the fight via armbar.

One of our 16 year old student was attacked by a man whilst sat minding his own business with his friends when a man approached him and began to kick him. Our 16 year old student is a BJJ world champion. Guess what happened next? “

“A smooth sea never makes a skilled sailor!”

As he continues his rise to the top of the pile of domestic Welterweights, The Love Doctor has another tough test in his way in Madaras Fleminas. Fleminas is 7-0 as a professional but that’s nothing strange to Proctor who still only 24 years old has already taken the 0 from Ashley Reece (6-0) and Sam Boult (7-0).

Proctor is a full time fighter with a full time job and if you don’t believe us you should follow his training on Instagram (@AdamProctor).

Tickets are available at the gym to support South Shields own Proctor as he looks to bring home another huge win!

14 year old Alex Williams picked up a Silver medal at the Youth MMA World Championships in Rome, the Redcar youngster who’s Dad (Anthony) drives him up to South Shields daily to train at SBG South Shields. Defeating opponents from Italy, Ukraine and Russia on his way to a final showdown against the United States.

“Alex got to fly to Rome and represent his country he may have fell just short of his dream of being a World Champion in MMA, he’s in the same age bracket next year and I’m sure he will bring home the Gold” Coach Alex Enlund.

Alex trains harder than most kids whilst doing incredibly well in all of his academics, the team are incredibly proud of this young man and his achievements.

Alex started his journey in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu much like our Growing Gorillas, he’s a multiple time World, European and British Champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is looking to repeat his achievements in MMA.

14 year old Alex Williams heads to Rome in August to compete at the Cadets European MMA Championships held by IMMAF. Alex qualified by fighting for his place on the England team, he heads to Rome on April 3rd for a two day tournament! Traveling to compete is normal to Alex who’s fought around the globe in Jiu Jitsu competitions including California & Abu Dhabi picking up multiple World Championships. The Middlesbrough teenager with the help of his Dad (Anthony) travels an hour each day to train at SBG in South Shields.

After picking up his first career loss at Bellator Newcastle in front of his home town crowd Chalmers needed a change, rather than commute to Birmingham weekly to train at the Renegade gym in Birmingham the former reality TV star wanted to train closer to his native Newcastle and made SBG South Shields his home. Only weeks away from Bellator London, Chalmers is more than settled in and making huge progress. Training with the likes of 10-1 professional Welterweight stand out Adam Proctor, BJJ Purple Belt and professional fighter Davie Mclaughlin and amateur fighter Will Brown who heads to Rome in June to compete at the IMMAF Euros. The 4-1 Pro has great training partners around his weight class to help him get back to winning ways.

SBG South Shields is based in South Shields town centre less than 25 minutes from Newcastle City Centre via car or public transport. The gym offers aone week free trial to anyone looking to try out the classes or join the team!

At SBG South Shields we offer Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that transcends environments, body types, age and gender. It’s important that we offer the fundamentals as we look to increase the effectiveness for each of our members/students in a fight or competition.


We don’t encourage kids to pull guard, although this increases the chances of winning a match and getting on a podium we prioritise takedowns and trips. It’s important our children have skills for competition that will also aid them in conflict as often a child will not be able to distinguish the difference.