A Weekend with Roy Dean (Seminar at The Stillness Gym June 30, 2018)

I have  been watching Roy Dean’s jiu-jitsu DVD’s since I was a white belt.  Professor Dean is not your typical Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor. In addition to his BJJ credentials, he holds high ranks in Japanese Jujutsu, Judo, and Aikido.  Where a lot of BJJ instructors purposely avoid the formalities of classical martial arts such as bowing and sitting in seiza, Professor Dean keeps the etiquette and feeling of traditional Japanese instruction as he sets up his training sessions.  His style of jiu-jitsu, coupled with his emphasis on the traditional methods, has prompted me to be a fan of his work for a long time now. When I learned that Professor Dean was going to be leading a seminar at The Stillness Gym in Beaufort South Carolina the weekend that our dojo break began I had to make sure that I was there.

I had visited Beaufort the year before and after we returned home I learned that there was a Jiu-Jitsu school there called The Stillness Gym.  The gym is owned and run by Cesar Clavijo, and it is truly unlike any other dojo that I’ve ever visited.  My first impression was that the building was signless. If I hadn’t seen people in gi’s walking in I wouldn’t have known where to go.  Outside, there was a bench with cubby holes for shoes and a sign that says “no shoes allowed inside, no exceptions”. Most dojos don’t allow you to wear shoes on the mat but this was different.  I placed my shoes outside and when I entered the building I was immediately impressed with the vibe of this facility. It was very clean, smelled nice, had neutral paint on the walls, and it felt more like a yoga studio or meditation center than a gym.  

I met Cesar almost immediately as I entered and he was very welcoming and informative.  In fact, every person that I met at this seminar was gracious and welcoming. If you are in the Beaufort area of South Carolina and you are interested in Martial Arts or fitness development, I know where I would go.

On Friday night before the seminar Cesar and the Stillness Gym hosted an open mat.  I really enjoyed all of the rolls, and especially the opportunity to roll with Professor Dean.  What impressed me the most about training with Professor Dean was the way he blocked or frustrated my efforts, with what seemed like very little effort on his part. After that open mat I felt like I had already learned so much, and the seminar hadn’t even officially started yet!

As part of the open mat we were able to watch a gentleman be tested from his blue belt to purple belt.  After a demonstration of his escapes he was put through several long, tough, but very dignified rounds of randori. The belt presentation, in fact the whole process, was something that I believe this student will remember for the rest of his life.  

The seminar began at noon on Saturday morning and after a “bow in”, we began training right away.  For the first half of the seminar we practiced several guard passing concepts (that I’m very excited to add to my tool box) and for the second half we explored some bent arm locking techniques.  The guard passes where very efficient and methodical. One of Professor Dean’s quotes was something like “ passing guard is like rock climbing, you have to secure your next hold before you progress.’’  He also described two guard passing styles as like a bear and a snake. The bear passer uses pressure, bites down, and sometimes hibernates, while the snake passer is fast and loose. He spoke of using the bear style to deal with a quicker opponent, and the snake style to deal with a stronger, larger opponent.  These particular visualizations worked well for me.

The bent arm lock flow portion of the seminar was very well thought out.  We looked at some flows to and from the “kimura” and “americana” locks. We explored a “pressure kimura” technique that will immediately go into my repertoire.  And for my ninja out there we even took the arm into a hon-gyaku (ni-kyo in Aikido, I believe) after our opponent escaped the kimura.

The seminar was fantastic overall.  Professor Dean is a great instructor who sought to pull the best out of the students, not just show off his abilities.  He also got in and rolled with several of the open mat attendees which was very enlightening. The Stillness Gym and Cesar Clavijo were very gracious hosts.  I can’t wait to come back down to do it all again! Who’s coming with me?