Sunday:
On Sunday, November 11 2018, we had the great honor of hosting Jiu Jitsu legend Kurt Osiander at Black Knight Jiu Jitsu! Kurt is based in San Francisco, is a black belt under Ralph Gracie and is one of the most beloved personalities in the sport. His nickname is “The Rhino” for his pressure game and aggressive attitude when sparring (and his horns! lol). Kurt is no joke and has won many titles in BJJ including the Pan American Champion.
There was twenty two students in attendance on the day (two missing from the photo above). We were blessed with people from Canberra, Orange, Shell Harbour, Canowindra and our locals from Cowra for three hours of awesome techniques, which I won’t detail out of respect for Kurt and his future seminars. Following the seminar we had a meet and greet where students had photos taken and asked for autographs. A hugely successful day for our club and I am so happy with the support from out of town!
After the seminar was said and done a few came along for dinner at the Imperial Hotel. I grabbed a guitar and we all had a top feed followed by some sing alongs and drinks after dinner…. great night!
Monday:
Monday was a pretty laid back day. Kurt, Michelle and I took a trip to the local Prisoner Of War camp in Cowra, famous for the breakout that occurred on 5 August 1944, when at least 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war attempted to escape from a prisoner of war camp near Cowra, in New South Wales, Australia. It was the largest prison escape of World War II, as well as one of the bloodiest. Kurt takes a real interest in history and both Kurt and Michelle were blown away with the story of the breakout. We then ventured to the Japanese Gardens to take in the sites before heading to the town of Young that night to train more Jiu Jitsu! Our members in Young were treated to a great surprise when arriving to find Kurt and Michelle there! Kurt helped out with the class that night and students (and I) were so thankful for his participation!
Tuesday:
The following day we converted our gym into a photography studio where friend, photographer and Black Knight member Brent Young provided a cool photography session with Kurt (photos to come!) As I understand, some great photos came out of the shoot and I look forward to checking them out in person!
The photo shoot was followed by a private class and then some chill time for the evening!
Wednesday:
Our time was coming close to an end by Wednesday so we decided to take Kurt and Michelle out to Lake Wyangala for some kayaking. Great times, plenty of laughs and sore arms later! Some of us got a bit too much sun! They both got to see some wild kangaroos hopping around and Michelle even managed to get a cool photo of one standing near our car.
Wednesday night we trained at Black Knight Jiu jitsu academy doing some no gi Jiu Jitsu. Once again Kurt was very helpful with advice and joined in for some rolling as well.
Thursday:
Thursday morning we headed off at 8am for Canberra Airport, where Kurt and Michelle would catch a flight to their next destination, Wollongong! It was such a blast having them in our town for the four days! You couldn’t meet two nicer people on the planet! Both are straight shooters and funny, funny people! We got to talk about so much, from BJJ to guns, archery, pets, history, personal life, and more! I feel I have made friends for life with these fantastic humans and I look forward to visiting clan Osiander in San Francisco some time soon. Thank you so much to both of you, Kurt and Michelle, not just from myself and Tasha, but everyone at Black Knight Jiu Jitsu 🙂
I would personally like to thank Ben Smith for picking Kurt and Michelle up at the Airport on arrival, Richie and the gang at the Imperial Hotel Cowra for providing a bed for the Osianders during their stay, everyone who supported us and came along to the seminar (especially those who traveled some distance!) and Kurt and Michelle for being so awesome!
Til next time….
Shane
Black Knight Jiu Jitsu 