| Gracie Barra Bath [Volume 1, Issue 1]

Gracie Barra – Organized like a

team, Fight like a family
Carrying this philosophy over into every aspect of
our lives Contents
Brazilian Jiu-jitusu is a lifestyle and a life long journey of discovery and self –discovery. Special Interest Articles
In this newsletter, I promise to always speak from the heart and hope to enlighten
Organized like a team 1
myself just as much as I want to open your mind not only to the world of Brazilian Jiu-
jitsu but to this family we call Gracie Barra, Gracie Barra Bath. What makes a good Team Mate 1/4
Good Hygiene 2
What does Organized like a team, Fight like a family mean to you? Well to me it means
Staph infection, what is it? 2
somewhere I can come and be myself and be accepted for who I am. To be a part of
something so fantastic it takes my breath away every time I see it in action. It’s not the Staph and BJJ 3
big things that happen but the smaller things that not everyone may pick up on. I love
watching everyone help each other, stand by each other and willing to go of our way Individual Highlights
for each other. It’s the respect we have for our Tutors and fellow team mates. It’s What you would like? 2
coming to class and knowing that we come out not only as better fighters but as better
Article Preview 3
people, more prepared for life.

We come into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for many different reasons but I think we can all agree
the underlying reason is to learn how to fight or defend ourselves. Don’t you think we
walk away with so much more? I do!

What makes a good Team Mate?

In the opening I mentioned the word respect, we all hear the word respect and we all
know what it means. However do we know how to bring it to the mats? Do we really
know what it means to show respect to everyone in our academy and to the BJJ
community?

When joining, there are only a few simple things we would expect from anyone looking
to come into the academy to train with us.

Continued on the back page.

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Look to yourself to be the best you can be!
What would you like to
read about?
As this is our first addition of many to
come, I hope. It would be nice if we all felt
a part of this newsletter.
I would love to hear about your ideas for
the newsletter or if you fancy writing an
article then please feel free. As you can
see though space is limited so try and keep
it as condensed as possible.
Each month I will write here up and coming
articles that may catch your interest and
possibly prevent an overlap of
ideas/articles.
Next feature Article:
- Training and your diet!
Good hygiene
This is a topic that can never be
discussed enough in my opinion,
although no one actually likes being told
they need to rethink their levels of
hygiene.
Hygiene in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, MMA or
any other sport for that matter is crucial.
Every time we come into contact with
any one, we are potentially passing on
what could potentially be a life
threatening virus or bacteria. I don’t
mean to scare you but I do want to
shock you into looking at yourself and
What is Staph?
Simply put, it’s a very nasty, highly contagious bacterium that is going to eat away at your
flesh if not stopped in time.
Staph, Staphylococcus or MRSA – Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, is a group
of bacteria that can cause a multitude of diseases as a result of infection of various tissues
of the body. Staphylococcus is more familiarly known as Staph (pronounced "staff").
Staph-related illness can range from mild and requiring no treatment to severe and
potentially fatal.
Over 30 different types of Staphylococci can infect humans, but most infections are
caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococci can be found normally in the nose and on
the skin (and less commonly in other locations) of 25%-30% of healthy adults. In the
majority of cases, the bacteria do not cause disease. However, damage to the skin or
other injury may allow the bacteria to overcome the natural protective mechanisms of
the body, leading to infection.
What are the symptoms and signs of a Staph infection?
Staphylococcal disease of the skin usually results in a localized collection of pus, known as
an abscess, boil, or furuncle. The affected area may be red, swollen, and painful. Drainage
or pus is common. When Staph is in the blood (bacteremia or sepsis) it can cause
high fevers, chills, and low blood pressure.
What types of diseases are caused by Staph?
- Skin infections (see above) are the most common
- When the bacteria enter the bloodstream and spread to other organs, a number of
serious infections can occur. Spread of the organisms to the bloodstream is known as
bacteremia or sepsis
There is much more information on this subject. I have only highlighted a small part, if
you would like to find out more about the bacteria please feel free to do your research.
The better informed we are the safer we are against infection.
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Next Feature Article

The Gracie Diet

The Gracie Diet is designed to
allow athletes to maintain peak
Staph and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu health for consistently hard
training which is essential for the
modern Mixed Martial Arts fighter
If you have been reading this newsletter properly, would of have read that staph, is a
or Submission grappling or Jiu
common bacteria living on 25 – 30 % of healthy adults. However it’s when the skin
Jitsu competitor
becomes damaged or the bacteria is allowed to grow unchecked that it starts to
present a problem.
Piqued your interest?
The BJJ world is having to deal with this infection in a big way, all you have to do is
look up Staph infection and BJJ on the internet and there are literally hundreds of Read the next Newsletter for the
people complaining about having caught Staph from their academy. Academies full low down on how to eat well
having to close their doors while they get this infection under control and stop and stay healthy.
spreading further amongst it’s people.

Why? Why is this bacteria causing so many problems? Because it spreads quickly like
wild fire when unchecked. You can have the best hygiene in the world but if the
person next to you doesn’t care, there is a very good chance of you picking up a nasty
infection.

Can you see now why we stress over and over again how important it is for all of us to
have good hygiene? Think about this, you wouldn’t roll in the toilet would you? So
why would you bring it to the mats when each time you walk in there without your
shoes on? Or you forget to wash your hands? How about not washing your Gi? Every
little opportunity this bacteria can take to spread, it will! The results are not pleasant.

Top ten staph infections

If you are still doubt as to the true nature of the beast and its ability to take you out.
Please do yourself a favour and have a look at this link. I will warn you it’s not for the
faint hearted!

http://middleeasy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2056

I know we all think we are indestructible but let’s not test it against this infection.
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Gracie Barra Bath
Wansdyke Business Park
07515 689 559
bjjbath@gmail.co.uk
Organized like a team, fight like a
family
Find us on the Web:
http://www.graciebarrabath.com/
Gracie Barra Bath
Wansdyke Business Park
What makes a good Team Mate cont.?
I guess the first thing would be to always present yourself in a respectful manner. This
means makes sure you are dressed appropriately for the class your about to take.
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu requires what we call a Gi, while not all new comers will have one
immediately, we do expect you obtain one as soon as possible if you decide to
continue. Everyone is expected to own a Gracie Barra Gi.
We are part of an elite academy, Gracie Barra. When you ask anyone in the Brazilian
Jiu-jitsu world to name one of the top teams, you are guaranteed Gracie Barra will be
mentioned. How can we be expected to gain the respect of the BJJ world and fight like
a family when we can’t organize ourselves as a team?
That’s only a small part of it however, the way you conduct yourself on and off the
mats is the most import aspect here which I want to focus on.
The minute we join Gracie Barra Bath, we are representing the best, the most elite
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu club in the world! Gracie Barra. When we misconduct ourselves we
are letting the team down.
On the mats, it’s impolite to talk over our tutor and have small conversations amongst
ourselves. Remember you are here to learn and if you are not paying attention then
you aren’t learning. Questions are always welcome and should be asked but wait for
the appropriate moment to voice your question.
Burping and passing wind on the mats are just as unacceptable. Yes, we’ve all been
there where we’re training so hard that gas just has to escape somewhere. Please
however try your best to keep it to a minimum. Do not belch out loud in front of
everyone. Gas escaping from the rear can be done in private. No one is going to stop
you from going to the toilet. Remember however, if your diet is in check then these
things should be happening on rare occasions not as a party trick that’s done on
command. However accidents happen and we will all usually point and laugh.
Before you simply run off the mats however, it is always polite to ask the
tutor/professor if it appropriate to do so. As you get to the edge of the mats, turn to
face them and give a simple bow before walking off and returning
We never just leave the mats at anytime we want during the class. We are always
given plenty of opportunity to drink water, go to the toilet. We don’t use our
telephone during class time and it should always be put on silent as not to disturb the
class. Any issues can be discussed directly with the tutor, as it is only polite to inform
him before class starts. That way he can show the same courtesy to you.
We are all here to learn, remember if you are being difficult and not allowing our
training partner to execute the position we just learnt, word is going to get around and
you will probably find yourself without a training partner. Unless your training partner
has asked you to put the pressure on, then simply allow them to do the move
unhindered. Remember I’m not saying don’t help by correcting a mistake you spotted
or giving a suggestion to make it easier for them.
We all like to have fun and enjoy ourselves. If you aren’t enjoying something then it
simply becomes a chore. We all know too well how much we dislike doing our chores.
However if BJJ is becoming a chore to you simply because the tutor is having to
continually remind us how to conduct ourselves, don’t you think we owe it to our team
mates to check our own behaviour? If we all take responsibility for our own actions,
everything falls into place faster, easier and pain free.