Gracie Barra Harrogate December Newsletter
It’s been a busy November! We’re at the business end of the competition season, with big events taking place - The English Open and the ADCC British Open. We had a small but mighty team head down on both occasions to test themselves against opponents of an exceptionally high standard. A huge congratulations to everyone who took part, and we can’t wait to see what you’ve learnt, here on the mats at Gracie Barra Harrogate in December.
We’re also sad to be saying goodbye to Professor Khalil, who teaches his final class at Gracie Barra Harrogate on Thursday 21st December. As such an important figure for Gracie Barra Harrogate to date, he’ll be really missed, but we wish him all the best as he pursues a Jiu Jitsu club of his own - Gracie Barra Apperley Bridge.
Whilst we move towards Christmas, we begin looking at what early 2024 is going to bring. It’s not too late to register for January’s GBF programme, kicking off on the 8th of January for 8 weeks. Simply get in touch with the team to book your spot, or the spot of someone close to you as a gift!
In terms of competition, we’re now counting down to the Empire Grappling Yorkshire Winter Open, taking place on 13th January at York Sports Centre. With a strong attendance expected from the club, we’d encourage anyone who’s been thinking about competing to go and give it a go! Your club mates are on hand to support you every step of the way, and win or lose, we’re incredibly proud of those who choose to test themselves outside of the academy.
Please note our Christmas closure dates below, and head down the club beforehand to get your pre-Christmas training in!
We’re also really excited to see everyone at this year’s Christmas Party on 22nd at Revolucion de Cuba! Don’t forget your festive cheer and dancing shoes.
English Open 2023
A big well done to the team who went down to the English Open on the 25th November. Aaron, Mikey and Luke all came home with gold medals after incredible performances. This group shows incredible dedication to their individual Jiu Jitsu journeys, putting in long hours to perfect their game - and the results are fully deserved. Well done guys!
ADCC British Open
Last weekend, Professor Lewis, Coach Luke, and Billy travelled over to Sheffield to compete in this year’s ADCC British Open. With exceptional standards across all brackets, each person showed incredible technique and resilience. Whilst Professor Lewis and Craig lost tight fought contests, Billy went on to win silver, whilst Coach Luke went all the way to win gold! Congratulations to everyone who took part, we’re all so proud of you for putting yourself out there in exceptionally hard contests.
A big shout out to Craig who headed over to Coventry for the British No Gi Open on the same day - he did the team proud!
Grapplefest 17
A huge well done to Professor Lewis for his performance at Grapplefest 17 against Bellator veteran, Saul Rogers. During an intense contest, Saul won the bout via choke. We’re all hugely proud of Professor Lewis for testing himself against an athlete with extensive experience on the biggest stages. Thank you to everyone who came down to the academy to cheer him on, we’re proud of the fantastic community we’ve got at Gracie Barra Harrogate, and the evening demonstrated its strength.
Goodbye To Professor Khalil
We wish Professor Khalil all the best as he teaches his final session at Gracie Barra Harrogate on Thursday 21st December. Professor Khalil has been such an important part of our club since we started, and he’ll be hugely missed on and off the mats, as he pursues a Jiu Jitsu club of his own - Gracie Barra Apperley Bridge!
Please feel free to head down on 21st to wave him off as he starts this really exciting chapter.
Introducing Our Sister School: Gracie Barra Apperley Bridge
We’ve been working hard behind the scenes on an exciting next chapter for the academy. We’re really excited to announce that we’ll be opening Gracie Barra Apperley Bridge in 2024 - a sister school of Gracie Barra Harrogate.
As mentioned above, this will be led by a familiar face in Professor Khalil, who we know will be a fantastic Head Instructor. We’ll be updating our members throughout the progress of launching this new club - please feel free to follow Gracie Barra Apperley Bridge - @gbapperleybridge on Instagram!
Empire Grappling Yorkshire Winter Open
As mentioned above, we’re really excited for the upcoming Yorkshire Winter Open. We’d encourage anyone who wants to test themselves outside of the academy to register and give competing a go! Registration is easy, and this is a great opportunity to compete closer to home. Register here to get started, with plenty of Gracie Barra Harrogate members already marked down to take part.
GBF - January 2024
It’s not too late to register for this year’s GBF programme! Kicking off on 8th January, our latest GBF programme promises another 8 weeks of fun learning the fundamentals of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, as well as simple and effective self defence techniques.
Need Christmas gift inspiration? We’re offering GBF gift cards for our latest programme - get in touch with the team today to find out more.
Christmas Closure
The academy will be closing it’s doors for the Christmas break from 22nd December 2023, reopening on 3rd January 2024! With only a few short weeks left, get down to the academy and get your training in before relaxing over the Christmas break.
For those who may be in need of some post Christmas rolls, keep an eye on the adults Whatsapp groups for dates and times!
