Hi, I’m Jack, and this is my website, BJJ media.
My passion for martial arts started as a kid, inspired by my grandfather, a martial artist, and his father before him. I was raised primarily by my grandfather, and I absorbed his love for martial arts, mainly through action films.
Like many, my journey began with Bruce Lee movies, shadowboxing imaginary foes in the living room when the credits rolled. While my grandfather was a huge Bruce Lee fan, I was more drawn to Jean-Claude Van Damme, particularly Kickboxer and Bloodsport. However, it wasn’t the violence of the films that captivated me but the speed, precision, and power of the techniques.
Growing up, I always intended to train in martial arts, but with limited facilities nearby, I focused on running, weightlifting, and general fitness. It wasn’t until I moved to Greater Manchester that I re-discovered kickboxing and Muay Thai. I especially enjoyed Muay Thai for the elbows, clinch work, and sweeps, which unexpectedly laid the groundwork for my grappling skills.
By my mid-20s, my enthusiasm for striking began to wane. Friends training in MMA encouraged me to try it, and for a few months, I immersed myself at an MMA gym, across a wide range of classes. While I appreciated the variety, I missed the specialization of Muay Thai. The biggest takeaway? My grappling needed serious work if I wanted to be a well-rounded fighter.
I faced a choice: return to Muay Thai or improve my grappling to become a more complete martial artist.
As you might guess, I chose grappling. I’ve been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for the past few years, earning my blue belt within that time—and I love it.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is humbling, can be challenging, but is also incredibly rewarding. It reignited my passion for martial arts, introduced me to amazing people, and even led me to compete across the UK, earning a solid collection of medals. It’s also the inspiration behind this website, as I’ll explain further below.
About BJJ Media
I built this website for a few reasons.
- To share information about the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- To share my experience, and reviews of gyms, equipment etc.
- I would like to share information about my specific BJJ journey.
- I always wanted a website.
TL;DR
Man likes martial arts, tries different ones, is average, tries to get better, and posts about it on the internet.