[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” status=”published” publish_date=”” class=”” id=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” hover_type=”none” border_size=”0″ border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”no”][fusion_imageframe image_id=”2090|full” max_width=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”none” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]http://www.sbgmanchester.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ironman-2019.jpg[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]
I wanted to take some time to process things before I posted anything about receiving my BJJ brown belt on Monday 16th December 2019, not to try to be profound but to correctly convey what this means to me. It is so much more than just a belt and a promotion to me. Upon receiving it I couldn’t not talk about Karl, but to do so in this context is quite painful for me, but I knew, as soon as I started to write about Karl it would take more than just a few words.
All of my previous promotions in BJJ came from Karl so it was a very emotional moment to reach this milestone and not have him there. I am still quite emotional about it and also shocked, I didn’t expect to be promoted just yet, if ever, but I am truly honoured and privileged to be awarded my brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by Matt Inman, president of SBG UK and head coach at SBG Manchester and the man Karl always knew would one day take up the reigns.
Matt is an amazing MMA fighter and an even better coach, he Is also the hardest working, most dedicated man I know; he puts his team and the gym before everything else. Thank you for everything Matt, the painful beatings and the even more, at times, painful truth.
The ego is a funny thing, it makes you think you deserve something when you don’t and don’t deserve something when you do.
‘But I trust in my coach’s experience and ethics.’
I want to thank coach Chris Coltrane, who is without doubt the most humble and egoless martial artist on the planet. Chris is always encouraging and always willing to run through things with you in his own time, no matter what your level. He is an absolute legend and fantastic BJJ player and coach.
A big thank you to Casey Jones; Karl’s first black belt and the most incredible coach. Casey coached me through many the fundamentals of BJJ and their importance. If you want to learn worm guard or donkey guard, he’s probably not your man. If you want to learn to smash pass a guard in the most direct and effective way whilst simultaneously making your opponent feel at his most uncomfortable then he is the man. I always look forward to Casey coaching at the Manchester gym. Quite frankly, he is the best there is!
Thank you to Abdul Choudhury. To see the true essence and effectiveness of BJJ and how the smaller man can effortlessly dominate and defeat a much bigger opponent, then watch and learn from Coach Abdul. No matter your age, size and level, you can learn so much from Abdul. Great coach and a man whom I am proud to call my friend.
Ella Tanswell for her love and support, strength and courage. Such a kind, generous, humble and honest human being, the epitome of a real martial artist. A UK legend in Muay Thai and now a BJJ black belt! just incredible, such an inspiration. My reaching brown belt level would definitely not have been possible without Ella’s determination and iron will to keep things running just the way Karl would have wanted and also to encourage me to carry on training.
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I wasn’t sure if I could ever train again when we lost Karl, my coach, my hero, my teacher in so many ways, my younger big brother, my friend, my real, always there for me friend. I haven’t said much about Karl over the past two years because it hurts so much to do so. But I feel like now is not only an appropriate time but a necessary time.
It is hard for me to imagine that Karl and I started our grappling journey together; this was at his first gym, Defence Unlimited in Piccadilly, around 1994. We met through our mutual friend and JKD coach, Steve Powell. I started having private sessions in JKD and Filipino martial arts with Karl, two systems that he was very versed in.
I also trained a little Muay Thai and western boxing to compliment these arts. Although Karl was very dedicated to the arts he was coaching at the time, he was definitely getting a little disillusioned with some of them and was looking for other avenues to explore, particularly the grappling arts. There weren’t any real grappling coaches in the area at that time and definitely no BJJ coaches. Everything was learned from video tapes and seminars. We attended seminars from the likes of Erik Paulson, Larry Hartsell, Rick Young, Marco Ruas, Royce Gracie, old school wrestlers, grapplers and NHB fighters.
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Whilst writing for Combat magazine, I managed to get us both our first gis for free, in return for writing a review; I think they were probably karate gis as they were quite thin and didn’t last very long but they were better than nothing. I started training a bit of ne-waza with Mike Gregory, another JKD instructor from Leigh and Karl started judo with Steve Pullen. When we got together for my private sessions, would go over what we had both learned.
There weren’t really any events to test your grappling skills back then so Karl would put little interclub grappling sessions together with the likes of Mike Gregory’s gym. In my first comp at around 70kg I competed against the legendary Ian Bromley! That was an eye opener. He wasn’t quite the grappler he became, thankfully, but still a monster. The little inter-clubs would eventually become the ‘Sub- League,’ one of the first and most popular grappling events in the North West.
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Around about this time, life got in the way of my training so I stopped for a while. Karl continued coaching and training, learning and evolving. His appetite for BJJ was growing exponentially, he received his blue belt from Royce Gracie and then his purple from SBGi President, Matt Thornton, SBG UK was born and he was now on his path to BJJ mastery.
Mine and Karl’s relationship changed from that of coach / student to that of friends and business partners. We spent lots of time together outside of the gym for the next 20 years or so. We worked on some amazing projects together, some that were successful, some not and many never realised. Perhaps something we did discuss, yet to come?
Although we got together very often and I had some privates with Karl and some of his other coaches, I didn’t start training fully with Karl again until around 2003 for a brief spell and then more seriously around 2010. I was still a white belt in BJJ and Karl had just received his black belt from Coach Thornton the year before. I remember feeling old even back then and felt it unlikely that I would ever really achieve much in a combat sport full of hungry, young athletes but nevertheless, I just wanted to train and be around the gym again.
In 2012, I lost my job and found myself with no income, Karl didn’t hesitate to help me out. Although the current gym was still in its infancy with very few members, he gave me a job and paid me a basic salary out of his own pocket, not gym profits, his own money. He also gave me a very good commission-based income. I always, always wanted to get out of the 9-5 routine and Karl always encouraged me to do so; the opportunity Karl gave me allowed me to do just that and I am now very happily self-employed. I would never have been able to do that without Karl and obviously dear Ella, who still looks out for me just as well as Karl did.
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Since I started training regularly, I’ve had some pretty bad injuries that threatened to stop me training, some serious medical conditions that also prompted specialists to advise me to stop training and a number of personal issues that drained me emotionally and mentally. Throughout all of these low times, Karl was always there for me and he helped me through them, offering to pay for some of my medical bills. He always listened to my problems without judgement and offered help, advice and support and; I hope I can say that I did the same for him in his own times of despair.
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Karl and I shared a lot of personal thoughts and feelings, heart aches, insecurities, vulnerabilities, financial problems, work problems and life problems. Most people know Karl as being a strong, no nonsense tough guy, a martial arts visionary and world class coach; of course he was all of those things, but he had a side to him that many people didn’t often see; he was also a gentle, kind, caring, loving man with a heart of gold. A man who would go out of his way for you and give you the coat off his back if you needed it, although there’s every possibility that he had nicked it in the first place, but joking aside, Karl was a straight up genuine guy who treated his close friends like family and had time and respect for most everybody. He was fiercely loyal and he expected the same back; if you crossed him that was that, he didn’t suffer fools or disingenuous people and had no time for bullshit and excuses. Many people think he was cold and uncaring, he most definitely wasn’t, he was incredibly caring, perhaps too caring at times and it hurt him terribly when people let him down, especially when he had given them so much.
He would give people his all, his knowledge, free training, a place to stay, he would travel around the world with fighters for nothing in return, just to ‘be there’ for his fighter, he gave people money, love and respect and all he asked was for the same kind of loyalty and respect in return. He rarely, if ever asked for anything from anybody. He was one of a kind, a truly remarkable man. I owe him so much and I am sure many, many more people feel the same way.
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Eleven years ago, I never thought I’d get to where I am in BJJ, in fact I probably doubted I’d even still be training today; if I am being honest, I think Karl would have probably thought the same. But I am still training; I feel fit and strong and somewhat competitive, even if I am falling to pieces on the inside but as Coach Zenon said to me last night “at least you only have one more ironman to go.”
My longevity and growth owes so much to the effectiveness of the SBG curriculum and the amazing coaching and training I have received from Karl Tanswell, Matt Inman, Chris Coltrane, Casey Jones, Glyn Powditch, Zenon Ogar, Abdul Choudhury, Elliot Powell, Sundeep Manik, Jay P and Jon Bond. A special shout out to Jonathan Lee, an amazing coach who was there pretty much from the beginning. I’ll keep trying to tempt him back.
I am honoured and forever grateful to be a part of the greatest BJJ and MMA team in the world and I am honoured to call Karl and Ella, all of the coaches and all of the guys and girls at SBG Manchester my friends and my family.
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Karl Tanswell will never be forgotten whilst I am around; I always try to work Karl’s name into conversations and make every new member aware of who he is and why we are here.
I love and miss you Karl and I hope I have done you proud. I certainly couldn’t have gotten here without you.
Viva SBG
Simon Kenny
December 2019
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