Mike Horihan UK Visit – April 2018

Robin French with Mike Horihan and Peter Squire - April 2018

As part of his recent tour to visit PSBJJA affiliated clubs around Europe, Mike Horihan spent the best part of a week in the UK; a great opportunity for myself and the other UK-based instructors to not only get some quality time in on the mats, but to also to understand the latest back room developments within the association.

Whilst teaching the very best Gracie Jiu Jitsu class you can, every time you step on the mat in that capacity, is clearly of the upmost importance, there are so many more roles that an instructor / school owner needs to fulfil; some that will go completely unnoticed (until the time you don’t do them…).

All of these roles and necessary skills need nurturing, coaching, and mentoring just as much as how to do a sweet sweep.

That being the case, myself, Peter and the all guys at Team Pedro Sauer UK, are incredibly lucky to be a part of the Pedro Sauer association; with guidance from high ranking guys like Mike Horihan, Professor Allan Manganello, and from Master Sauer himself, support is always forthcoming and generously given.

In the case of this visit, this meant that weaved through Friday’s workshop in Chelmsford, and Saturday’s seminar at Southend Combat Academy, were answers to more contextual problems, like “How does this technique fit in with idea X?”, and “In which order do you generally find it best to teach progression Y?”. Answers that help to create a better mental model of the bigger picture of Jiu Jitsu.

This carried on through to the two further days of instructor training; a chance for the gathered instructors to bounce ideas off of each other, to work on teaching methods, and to get the latest syllabus updates.

A huge thank you again to Mike for taking the time out to visit us. With all the fresh information, as well as being so technically dismantled by Mike in rolling, the visit has left me massively motivated. Whilst I understand that I may never be as good as the guys that I look up to, if I continue to aim to their level, there’s no way that I can’t improve. Or more simply put…

“Aim for perfection, catch excellence”!