Social Blunderer

For the month of March, Alexandra Park BJJ (as featured on Channel 4) will be offering women and girls free classes. It is open to all practitioners regardless of experience. It will cover all the basic skills and movements of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and more advanced techniques for those with more experience.

Our BJJ classes enable you to develop your fitness levels, balance, coordination, and flexibility in a no-pressure environment and provides the opportunity to start a new sport at a reasonable price with like-minded beginners. All classes are mixed-gender.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a full-contact martial art, combat sport, and self-defence system focusing on grappling, especially ground fighting. Alexandra Park BJJ offers Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes for all levels.

Classes for girls under 13 will run on Saturdays at 12 pm. For girls/women over 13 classes will run on Saturdays at 1pm and Thurdays at 7.30pm. All classes will take place at Alexandra Park School, Rhodes Avenue, London, N22 7UT.

Thinking about getting fighting fit in 2024? The BJJ course enables you to develop your fitness levels, balance, coordination and flexibility in a no-pressure environment and provides the opportunity to start a new martial art at a reasonable price with like-minded beginners. Free places for boys and girls under 18.

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/martials-arts-course-for-beginners-bjj-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-tickets-738109313827

The #BJJCourse is back in September! Register for it here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/martials-arts-course-for-beginners-bjj-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-tickets-515729981257

There are free places for women. 6 weeks of training for just £45

It took me a while to get through this graphic novel. It focuses on the religious revolution in Zurich. Not being familiar with Christian theology, I floundered a bit because I struggled to understand the arguments that people disagreed about. 

What anchors the book is the central character of Felix Manz, someone who was prepared to suffer for his beliefs. The crux of the book is how his life was changed by Huldrych Zwingli. Zwingli mentored Manz, and together they were able to take over Zurich's religious establishment. Manz subsequent disillusionment with Zwingli's leadership forms the main body of book. The writing captures the tensions felt by everyone in this time of social upheaval and how dangerous it is for charismatic leaders to gather people around.

The art here is gorgeous. It's hard to describe the style. The colours are faint yet bright, almost as if they used colouring pencils or very light paints to illustrate the book. The palettes of blues and browns contrast nicely. It captures the excitement of young people being exposed to world-change ideas as well as any comic I've read. 

Looked at as a book about how revolutions inevitably end up disappointing some of its most ardent supporters and how those supporters react By Water is a compelling read.

Thanks to Plough Press and Netgalley for the ARC. 

Alexandra Park BJJ will be running a 6-week introductory martial arts course in September 2022 (TBC). It will cover all the basic skills and

Alexandra Park BJJ will be running a 6-week introductory martial arts course in January 2022 (TBC). It will cover all the basic skills and movements of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This course is open to anyone over the age of 12.
The BJJ course enables you to develop your fitness levels, balance, coordination and flexibility develop in a no-pressure environment and provides the opportunity to start a new sport at a reasonable price with like-minded beginners.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a full-contact martial art, combat sport, and a self-defence system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting. Alexandra Park BJJ offers Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes for all levels.
The course will run on Thursdays & Saturdays at Alexandra Park School, Rhodes Avenue, London, N22 7UT. For the duration of the course, attendees will be able to attend Monday sessions at no extra charge.
All Participants at Alexandra Park BJJ are expected to sign up to our code of conduct and an insurance waiver.
Prices:
£45 per person (+booking fee)

Martial arts are a great way for children to build confidence, get fit and have fun. Alexandra Park BJJ runs classes for children aged 6+

Children and teens of all skill levels and abilities will benefit from Jiu-Jitsu classes at Alexandra Park BJJ. Our programme is designed to teach children self-discipline as well as providing a unique way to express themselves. Our instructors are trained to interact and offer gentle correction to children and teens who practise the art of Jiu-Jitsu. Children over the age of six can begin their training on Saturdays.
By starting young, children are equipped with invaluable skills that stay with them forever. From increased respect and self-discipline to improved confidence, fitness and team skills, martial arts such as BJJ can shape a child’s character and help them take life in their stride.

Kids classes take place on Saturdays – 12:00 – 13:00 at Alexandra Park School (The Gymnasium), Rhodes Avenue, London, N22 7UT For more info contact: 
enquiries@alexandraparkbjj.co.uk 

Home

Learwife is a strange nightmare of a book that hooks you in and won’t let go. The prose at points physically affected me. It creates an oppressive miasma that makes you feel as trapped as the Learwife of the title. In odd ways, it takes the works of Shakespeare, Camus, Kafka and, Beckett, remixing them into something stunning.

It is lyrical and compelling. As an exploration of grief and how that state of emotion colours all our memories. Learwife seamlessly veers from our protagonist boasting rhapsodically about her achievements as a queen, wife and mother to threnodies about the harm she caused and was caused to her by those she loved.

Learwife never shies away from how cruel and unfair life is. My reading of the book is that it is about a character trying to make sense of pain and reaching for those joyful moments that give us pleasure or satisfaction.

It plays with enigmas and ambiguity. How many of Learwife’s memories are accurate? Is the Convent real or a metaphor for limbo?

A brilliant book and one that I think I’ll come back to.

BUY IT here. They’ll kick me some money

Bridget Collins writes another superb novel. Much like The Binding, her latest story, The Betrayals, has motifs around exploring painful past relationships, coping with the trauma they cause and trying to find a way to live in a future where the scars aren’t so afflictive.

The characters here are compelling. They aren’t necessarily likeable or make logical decisions, but you can’t help but care for them. Léo, especially, is a contemptible bounder who happily works for a dictatorial regime. Only a political misstep sees him exiled to Montverre, an academy that teaches the national game called The Grand Jeu. What The Grand Jeu actually is, is never explained but seems to involve dance, music, maths and philosophy.

One of the other main protagonists is Claire, the first female Magister Ludi. Much like in previous Collins’ writing, through her lens, we see how oppressive societal norms can prevent people from achieving their potential and being happy.

There are some stunningly beautiful passages in this book. The characters do make some head-scratchingly poor decisions. It never quite reached the heights of The Binding for me. In part, that is because I preferred the world The Binding was set in. The Betrayals world was a less enjoyable place. Collins writes unsubtle commentary at the ease that countries can slip into despotism and how fascism is insidious in infecting all parts of society. Given the world, we live it hit rather too close to home. That said, the central conflict around the relationship between Claire, her brother Carafax and Leo kept me on edge.

This is a wonderful novel.

BUY it here. They’ll kick me some money.

A smashing parody with loads of anarchic humour. The premise is what would happen if the orcs from LOTR managed to hijack the Starship Enterprise.

VIGNEAULT’s art lends plenty of energy and nails the punchlines for all the visual gags (a particular favourite of mine involves rat corpses).

Our orc heroes are as dumb as they are vicious and this set the stage for delightfully silly escapades. From encounters at space bars to fending off bionic bounty hunters and imperialist rat pirates, the enter book moves at a quick pace from one gag to another.

Outside of the orcs, I loved the depiction of Star Bleep as a bunch of way, way too nice, pacifists, obsessed with condiments.

A lovely series for kids (of all ages) who like orcs, Star Trek, and gags about all the things that connect them.