The UK’s TUFF Grappling Challenge proudly announce their first Submission Only show: TUFF Invitational.
TUFF Invitational will consist of 12 submission only, super fights each lasting 20 minutes long.
The event will be held on Saturday, December 6th in Gillingham, Kent, UK.
To view the updated fight card CLICK HERE , Tickets can be brought from this link HERE
One of the most eagerly expected No Gi superfights will be Vanessa English vs Rosi Sexton (Ex UFC fighter).
Vanessa English is a brown belt BJJ player from Nottingham, UK who took gold at last year’s World Championships at purple belt. In this interview she talks about her upcomin g submission only superfight and about her BJJ Career:
TUFF GC: Hi Vanessa, thanks for taking part in our event. How does it feel to be in it’s to TUFF Invitational?
Vanessa English: It feels great to be taking part in TUFF invitational. I’ve never competed in a submission only competition before so I’m really looking forward to rising to the challenge.
TUFF GC: You have been very active on the competition scene all over the world in recent years and have picked up some major achievements. Can you give us a quick round up of what you have achieved?
Vanessa English: Well last year at purple belt I won the IBJJF European championships, the IBJJF Nogi Europeans, and the IBJJF World championships. This year at brown belt I again won the European championships and managed to get bronze in the absolute division too. This year has been a little quieter, but I’m ready for a come back now!! Haha!
TUFF GC: That is good to hear! What does the future hold? You obviously have a lot to live up to now!
Vanessa English: Well I’m where I’m supposed to be now, and I’m lucky enough to be in a great position where I can work towards achieving my goals in jiu jitsu. My ultimate goal is to be a black belt world champion and I know that I will put in the work in order to get there. Jiu jitsu is a very fast growing sport so I hope that one day I can make a good career of it, and then who knows, maybe I’ll have to work on my stand up
TUFF GC: Women’s BJJ seems to be growing more and more as the months go by, I am seeing more ladies turning up to classes and also seeing a few promotions to brown belt recently. What is your take on women’s BJJ in the UK at the moment and is it heading in the right direction?
Vanessa English: For sure, it’s getting more and more popular with the ladies. Sometimes in Nottingham we have more females on the mats than males haha! So it’s got to be a good thing.
In regards to the ladies recently getting promoted to brown, this is awesome! It means women will see that it is possible to achieve the black belt, and it will hopefully inspire them to carry on. We’re lucky to have one of the three black belt females in the UK here in Nottingham too, Gret Zoeller. Perhaps one day we’ll see filled black belt categories at the British open and more black belt super fights at events like TUFF invitational
TUFF GC: Hopefully Vanessa! Back to the TUFF Invitational, your opponent for the event is Rosi Sexton. What do you know about Rosi and what excites you about this match?
Vanessa English: Rosi is a great fighter and completely admired by the female martial arts community. What she has achieved over the years is phenomenal. Rosi obviously has a great Nogi game, so this excites me in itself. I’ve seen some of her take downs in her MMA fights too, without a doubt, she’s one tough lady and is going to be a challenge for me.
TUFF GC: Can we expect an MMA future for your or is it strictly jiu jitsu?
Vanessa English: Watching women fight in the UFC is very inspiring, you’re always guaranteed an exciting match! Haha! It’s something that I’ve had mixed feelings about for a long time, but we’ll see what happens. For now I’m strictly jiu jitsu and I have to be if I want to compete at the highest level.
TUFF GC: Quite a few successful competitors seem to be coming out of Gracie Barra Nottingham. What do you think are the ingredients to the successes your gym is having? Do you guys seem to drill more or is it more competitive rolling?
Vanessa English: The level of technique in our gym is of a high standard, and I guess that’s expected when you have one of the best black belts in the world as your head instructor, Victor Estima. And if that wasn’t enough, we also have the guidance from Gareth Neale who is Victors first black belt, my professor, and partner who will be competing at the TUFF event too.
There are a hand full of us who will do additional training through the day like drilling and specific training, and then we have the competition training where we all work very hard. The competitive rolling is mainly reserved for those who attend the competition sessions, otherwise we’re a club that tries to enforce technical ability over brute force!
The recipe for success really is hard work as team, making each other stronger. You get out of it what you put into it.
TUFF GC: That’s the recipe of life! So is there anybody that you truly look up to and try to base your game on?
Vanessa English: There are a lot of great BJJ competitors out there that I admire, however I can’t say that I base my game on the likes of anyone else. There are definitely techniques and concepts that will become fascinated by and will end up using in my game, but I mainly try to focus on developing my own style
TUFF GC: With all the positives in Jiu Jitsu, there are always down moments. What’s the biggest low point in your Jiu Jitsu career and how did you bounce back?
Vanessa English: There has already been a number of times when I have thought to throw in the towel. I’ve sat on the edge of the mat with a room full of big bulky men wondering where my place is in all this. I take a look down to my broken toes, my chipped nail varnish, my oversized knuckles, then I get called in to spar. I get my hair caught in somebodies armpit, I feel every little knock and bump and I feel tender and fragile. My timing is off, I have no zip to go, and I feel weak.
I had one of my biggest losses this year at the world championships; I lost my first fight. Immediately after I felt as if I coped with it well, no tears, I just got on with it and was ready to get back training to figure out what had gone wrong. After a little while though it all started to sink in, and I started questioning the reason why I dedicate so much of my life to this weird activity where everybody rolls around on the floor trying to hurt each other! I let negativity take over my positive thoughts, I started thinking how maybe I should grow up and start trying to settle into a normal job and buying a house etc. as at that time I couldn’t see much further that that. I guess you could say that me and jiu jitsu had a little falling out- I wanted a divorce haha! So we had a break from each other! I really needed to step back and take a look at the situation from a more objective point of view. I was still training but just allowed myself time to visit family and friends, I went on holiday, and I had a whole lot of time to reflect…and a whole lot of time to start missing jiu jitsu!
On my return from holiday I had seen some videos of our students and team mates who had just been competing, it was just great to see, especially seeing such improvements and heart given. At that point I really started looking at how far I’d come, and how much the people around me have helped me to get this far. Suddenly my positive thoughts started kicking ass! I look around me and I see a group of positive people who will always do their best to help, I see a healthy lifestyle that spreads and captures people into a more fulfilling and meaningful existence. Then I realise why I train jiu jitsu and why I continue to advise anyone to at least give it a go. The armpits, broken toes and chipped nail varnish are things that I can cope with haha! There will always be opportunity to shine in competition providing I carry on working as hard as I have been, that opportunity on that one day just simply wasn’t for me.
TUFF GC: The ups and downs are what makes every journey unique. So what is your favourite activity besides Jiu Jitsu
Vanessa English: I love playing music. Unfortunately I’m rusty now due to focusing all my energy on jiu jitsu, but it’s still nice to have a sing song now and again
TUFF GC: Thanks Vanessa for the great interview. Do you have any final words and anybody to thank?
Vanessa English: Thank you, I’m really looking forward to the TUFF event, very sure it will be a great show. I’d like to say thank you to my sponsor Tatami fightwear who have been very supportive over the years, and also to my professors and team mates who are always there for me, through my ups and downs!
