Dickie Martin is one of the UK’s most accomplished BJJ players, with victories in many of the UK’s premier events, as well as enjoying success in the BJJ Europeans event in Portugal. The Fighting Photographer took time out to speak to Dickie and find out more about this very popular competitor from London.
Carl: Firstly congratulations on your performance at the Europeans in Portugal earlier this year; talk us through your matches.
Dickie: My first match was against a German who pulled guard. I used my favourite guard pass and made it to half guard. From there I used my favourite half guard pass and secured side control. I then used the secret choke which is a variation on an old Carlson Gracie technique which allows a quicker and stealthier entry.
Second match was against a very tough Spaniard and I relied heavily on my Judo to get 3 takedowns. I finally managed to pass guard with an excellent technique that has served me well over the years but before I could progress to submission time was up.
I watched my final opponent in his semi-final and he had an amazing guard with all sorts of omo-plata sweeps and submission attempts. I noticed a small weakness in his game when he was in top position so I pulled guard and exploited that weakness. I finished him with a triangle.
CF: Who else represented the Revolution team out there?
DM: We had a pretty big team this year with over 30 guys from all over Europe. At Carlson Gracie London we are proud to represent the BJJ Revolution Team alongside our Brothers from Carlson Gracie Tonbridge and Carlson Gracie Hungary as well as other teams from Northern Ireland and Greece.
CF: How many times have you been to the Europeans?
DM: Four times so far; the first one in 2004 was very special, I think everyone from the UK who went and competed there felt the same but in terms of size and organisation this last one was incredible, the entry was huge and the standard was very high.
CF: What will be your next tournament to enter, here in the UK or abroad?
DM: My focus is on the Seni this year then after that maybe the World submission wrestling games later in the year.
CF: What have been your main achievements in BJJ the last few years?
DM: In competition I have won the following titles,
Blue Belt
London Open Champion
Seni Gracie invitational champion
Dorset and Hampshire Open Champion
European Championships Silver
Purple Belt
European Champion
Seni Gracie Invitational Champion
Copa Bitteti Champion
Brown Belt
European Champion
I’ve also been fortunate enough to represent the UK in BJJ (silver medal European Teams event 2004) and submission wrestling, World Grappling Games 2007.
I’m also very proud to have been a part of the Carlson Gracie London team since the very beginning all those years ago in the Albany Hotel and hope that I have contributed in some small way to making it the excellent academy that it is today.
CF: You’re also a Judo black belt; how does the Judo training compliment your BJJ training?
DM: Judo training is a big part of my BJJ training, anyone who isn’t training Judo and considers themselves serious about studying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is missing the point in my opinion.
Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are basically the same sport separated by a few minor differences in the rules; imagine if there were no time limit on the ground in a Judo competition, what you would have then is a sport in which the elite BJJ players could challenge for medals.
Some of the most impressive groundwork I have ever come up against has been pure Judo from the likes of Ray Stevens and Kenzo Nakamura so it’s nonsense when people talk about Judo having no groundwork. Maybe at your local YMCA that may be the case but if you dig deep enough you find there is treasure. Some of my most successful (and painful) techniques came from 6 months of training with Judo Jim Warren a few years back.
CF: Where do you train for Judo?
DM: I’m very proud to train at the Budokwai in Chelsea under Ray Stevens.
CF: Who are the instructors at the Carlson Gracie academy in London and how long will they be in London?
DM: Wilson Junior is the head instructor and he is around for a few years at least. He is assisted by myself, Simon Hayes, Walid Tadjouri, Barnaby Gorton, Scottish Brian, and Nisar Shaikh.
CF: That’s a lot of instructors, how does that work?
DM: We run training sessions every day of the week so there’s plenty of classes to teach and we feel that all the senior members of the club have a lot to offer to the members so we try and have a diverse timetable so that students can get a real taste for the wide variety of techniques and styles within BJJ.
CF: Have you guys any seminars lined up at the club?
DM: Nothing concrete as yet but we will definitely be hosting Rodrigo Medeiros and Demetrius Ramos again this year, they both bring so much information and positive momentum to the club whenever they come
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