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69 Educators providing Other courses in Belfast

Belfast Tool Library

belfast tool library

5.0(12)

Belfast

Belfast Tool Library is the first tool lending library in Northern Ireland. Tool Libraries work just like any other library. You become a member and then you can borrow tools. We’re not-for-profit, and are applying to become a charity. The team behind BTL are all volunteers. We’re from lots of different backgrounds, but share the same passion to build community, and to share skills and resources. There’s definitely a few tool geeks among us too - but you would expect that, right? We’re located at the former Belfast Met/Rupert Stanley Building in the old woodwork workshop. After lying empty for some years, the building has been taken over by Vault Artist Studios, and brought back to life. It is off the Newtownards Road and close to the centre of Belfast with parking available. Our goals are simple. We want to: Promote DIY, making and repair skills through the sharing of tools Make Belfast a more sustainable city Create opportunities for learning and development Bring people together, regardless of who they are or where they come from Sounds great, right? We plan to have a community workshop which is open to members, a space for working on your own projects and learning new skills. The workshop will have larger fixed tools and equipment available for members to use. In the future, we hope to run classes in DIY, making, building and safely using tools. Belfast Tool Library received a set up grant from the National Lottery Awards for All scheme, for which we are very grateful. We are also indebted to all our supporters, volunteers and those who donated tools. Our ongoing costs will be met by donations and the support of members. You can join Belfast Tool Library today below.

Gracie Barra Belfast BJJ Academy (Northern Ireland)

gracie barra belfast bjj academy (northern ireland)

5.0(58)

Belfast

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is widely acknowledged as the most effective martial art in the world. The Gracie family, from Rio De Janerio, Brazil, are considered the founding fathers of BJJ, having learnt a hybrid form of judo and traditional Ju Jitsu from a travelling Japanese prizefighter, Mitsuyo Maeda, in the early 1900s. The creator of Judo, Jigoro Kano had tasked Maeda with spreading his new sport around the world, and when Maeda left Brazil, the Gracies started their own academy, teaching their modified ‘Gracie’ (Brazilian) Jiu Jitsu. For the next 80 years the Gracie family modified and refined their art, holding public challenge matches to prove the effectiveness of their blend of jiu jitsu. Despite these very public, and often controversial, matches, the art remained largely unknown outside of Brazil. This changed in the 1990s. In 1993 the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was established. This competition pitted various styles of martial arts against each other. Royce Gracie, son of one of the founder of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, dominated the event, beating each of his much-larger and stronger opponents with ease. Royce’s performance in the UFC changed the martial arts world forever: his performance demonstrated that with the correct application of technique and leverage the weaker and smaller man could defeat any adversary. Since 1993 there has been an explosion in the growth of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, with clubs in Los Angeles to Australia, China to Russia. BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU IN BELFAST Closer to home, in the late 1990s Mauricio Gomes, a representative of Gracie Barra and an extended member of the Gracie family, arrived in the British Isles and set up BJJ clubs in London, Birmingham, and Belfast. Gracie Barra Northern Ireland was constituted, and since then the club has grown from strength to strength. Maintaining close ties with its sister clubs across Britain and Ireland, the club has hosted some of the most highly regarded practitioners in history of the art, including Mauricio’s son Roger Gracie (the most successful BJJ competitor of all time), as well as four-time world champion Braulio Estima (IBJJF Hall of Famer and ADCC champion) and his brother Victor Estima (NoGi world champion). In 2011, and with Maurico’s blessing, Braulio Estima awarded Graham Keys his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He was the first person in Northern Ireland, and the third in Ireland, to attain this rank. Under Graham’s tutelage, Gracie Barra Belfast has become Northern Ireland’s most successful Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academies, having produced Irish, British, European and World champions. Recently, and in recognition of the Graham’s expertise, Ulster Rugby approached the club to help with their training and preparation for their up-coming 2014 season. Today, Gracie Barra Northern Ireland is the only official Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club in Northern Ireland, and the largest and most successful BJJ club in Belfast. Everyone is welcome to come and train, at our classes held in a number of locations across Belfast. The club can trace its lineage directly back to the founders of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.