Rolling in Tawau

My old karate buddy Paul Chin has been spreading the word about BJJ, all the way to the far reaches of Tawau, Sabah.

I felt like a secret agent, 5am woke up, 7am insertion (meaning: I drove to LCCT), caught the first flight out and landed in Tawau at 10.20. The flight was 2:45 and landed smoothly and I was greeted by Paul and his long-term student, Jackson.

It took all of 30 minutes to drive to town and it's just like any other small town in Malaysia, although this one is famous for its scuba diving spots (Sipadan, Mataking islands) and I was brought for a quick bite and for Paul to check into a local hotel.

I was surprised to discover a bowl of fishball noodles costs RM5.00, RM1.00 more expensive than Bangsar and Kuching was RM3.00 (I'll post more on my Studio 23 visit separately).

Seafood was cheap and fresh and Tawau reminded me like Kajang or Semenyih, large estates, huge plantations and lots of heavy construction companies littering the landscape.

I discovered that about 40% of the locals were illegals from Indonesia (Kalimantan) and Philippines who simply took a boat across or simply walked across the border, no passports, nothing.

It's a family affair

Anyway, this trip was going to be interesting as it will be the first time I present a 6-hour seminar and to border policemen. They have a monthly rotation work cycle, 1 month at the border followed by 1 month back in Tawau. When they are back on base they train, roll everyday and experiment with jiu jitsu.

I was pretty excited to show them some material from the Monkey Jitz program and the information was lapped up. No drama and everyone had a good grasp of the material presented.

Jackson has the responsibility to lead and teach the class so naturally he had the most questions concerning techniques and the issue of resuscitation cropped up. What to do if someone is choked out? One of the policemen volunteered to be choked out and I applied a rear naked choke. He was out within 3 to 4 seconds. I positioned him in the recovery posture and he woke up after another 3-4 seconds with a big smile on his face saying that it felt like going to sleep. People need to see that under controlled situations, there is no need to fear the unknown. Chokes need not be held for long periods to have an effect and the confidence comes in knowing that you can help your training partner recover from oxygen deprivation in a quick and safe manner.

Giving some pointers to Jackson

The seminar ended with a roll with everyone and some photos taken. I'll post more when Paul sends me some from his camera. Everyone had a really great attitude and respect for BJJ, and for that I think they owe that to the efforts of Jackson and Paul. Thank you again for making my seminar there so much easier.

Overall, the hosts were their usual hospitable selves and safely sent me to the airport after a dinner and I took the last flight out of Tawau. My only regret was that I didn't get to see much of the town as I got there early and left in the evening, spending all day on the mats. Perhaps another time I will make a social visit.

My flight back was delayed for 3 hours so I didn't get back home til 3am. Driving to the airport and back were both on empty roads. It felt like the highway was all mine. I expect the roads and airports will be packed for the rush back today as school restarts as do many office people on Monday.

After a restful night's sleep, here I am again, charged up for the week ahead and the restart of the gym tomorrow. See you back on the mats.