Daniel Strauss Seminar 19/11/25
The Raspberry APE
On 19th November, my instructor and good friend Daniel Strauss visited Sabre to deliver a seminar on the relationship between butterfly guard and X-guard, sharing some of his favourite concepts and techniques in both of these essential no-gi guards. Dan is an elite grappler and an intelligent and eloquent teacher. It was fantastic to host him at Sabre.
The seminar was well attended by Sabre students and friends of Sabre from other academies. It was brilliant to have everyone training together for 2 hours of skill development.
Learning together
Boys in Blue
On the night, I award three blue belts. This was a special event, as these are the first students who have trained with me from complete beginner to blue belt. These blue belts are well deserved. My students do not get belts for turning up for a certain number of sessions. These three have the technical knowledge, experience and sparring ability for this belt.
Huge Congratulations to our Sabre blue belts:
Jordan Fyson
Alex Blackbourne
Olly Millet
Proud of my Blues
A 2nd Degree and a Red Ankle Band
I received the 2nd degree on my black belt from Dan during the seminar. It was a special moment for me, of course. Not least because Dan has become both my instructor and my friend over the years. The 2nd degree marks 6 years as a black belt. It makes me reflect on how lucky I am to still be able to take part in the sport I love, and to share it with my team.
Perhaps slightly more special was the moment Dan finally awarded me the legendary Red Band. When Dan used to teach the Ape Team out of Mill Hill, he graded us using ankle bands. I was working towards the Red Band when I had to stop training for a while - and Dan subsequently closed his class. After all these years, it was emotional for me to receive the Raspberry Ape’s highest honour!
Seeing Red
Thank You
A big thank you to Sabre students and my friends from other academies who supported this seminar. It couldn’t have happened without you. Thank you all for your support of Sabre this year. We will continue to grow in size, success and reputation next year. Watch out for more events coming soon - we have open mats and seminars in the pipeline.
