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About Chelsea Leah

In this post, we’ll give you a brief insight into Chelsea Leah, her history, and her career in the BJJ world.

Chelsea Leah’s Jiu Jitsu journey is a truly remarkable one. It has spanned the globe, and she has forged a reputation for being an incredibly technical BJJ player.

Introducing Chelsea Leah. BJJ Black Belt and World Champion.

Chelsea started Jiu Jitsu at the tender age of 12 years old. However, unlike today where most academies have dedicated kids programmes, Chelsea had to go straight into the adult’s classes. Despite these obstacles and her much larger training partners continually trying to sit on her head, she quickly advanced through the belts. At 16 years old, Chelsea earned her Blue Belt, and shortly after that, went on to win the adult division of the Pan Ams.

Fast forward to 2014, after many years, traveling the globe, teaching, and training with some of the worlds best BJJ players, Chelsea won the IBJJF World Championships as a Brown Belt. What makes this achievement more incredible is that she submitted all her opponents on route to the gold. After this fantastic performance, Chelsea received her Black Belt on the podium from Andre Galvao.

Chelsea winning the World Championships in 2014 — Photo Courtesy of 2XChromoZone

Shortly after receiving her Black Belt, Chelsea moved to Newport Beach to train with the Mendes Brothers, and learn their style of Jiu Jitsu. The Bros quickly realised her skill as both a competitor and an instructor and asked her to teach at their academy, the Art of Jiu Jitsu. Chelsea gladly accepted their offer and taught at AOJ for the next three years.

Chelsea teaching at the Art of Jiu Jitsu in Newport Beach

As an athlete, Chelsea is considered one of the best female competitors on the planet. She has medalled at just about every major competition out there and has fought on professional Jiu Jitsu events such as Metamoris and the 5 Super League.

Chelsea winning double gold at the London Open in 2016

On top of being a high-level BJJ competitor, Chelsea regularly teaches seminars around the U.S. and Europe. She is highly regarded for her technical knowledge and easy to follow teaching style.

Chelsea and Tom have taught a number of tandem seminars, and attendees regularly comment on the quality of instruction and depth of insight received during their seminars. This type of quality instruction has been built into the Escapology BJJ curriculum from the beginning.

Tom and Chelsea got in October of 2017, and had a beautiful daughter in 2019. Jiu Jitsu and parenting takes up a huge amount of their time, but when they are not training or teaching, they travel and have adventures with their dog, Kimura.

Chelsea making weight for the IBJJF Europeans

Find Chelsea on Social Media

⇒Instagram: @chelesa__leah

⇒Facebook: @leaahhbjj

About Tom Barlow

It’s understandable to have some questions and concerns about instructors before joining an academy. In this post, we’ll give you a brief insight into Tom Barlow, his history, and his career in the BJJ world.

Tom “the mighty Barlow” Barlow has been active in the UK BJJ scene and the international competitive jiu jitsu circuit since the mid 2000’s. He received his black belt in 2011 from Braulio Estima, and has trained all over the world with greats like Eric Paulson, Andre Galvao, Rafa and Gui Mendes, and Otavio Sousa, among others.

Tom has been very successful in competitive BJJ as well. He is a three-time No-Gi World Champion at featherweight, European Champion, and has competed in a number of professional, submission-only events like the Polaris Pro and Tuff– you also might recognise him as a recurring commentator for Polaris.

Tom teaches regular seminars around the U.K. and Europe. An excellent competitor and athlete, he has made the transition to coach and professor remarkably well, and manages to balance his needs as an athlete against his student’s needs with ease. Chelsea and Tom have taught a number of tandem seminars, and attendees regularly comment on the quality of instruction and depth of insight received during the seminar. This is the type of quality instruction that has been built into the Escapology BJJ curriculum from the beginning.

Of course, no athlete is born in a vacuum, and everyone’s path into BJJ is different. Tom has a long history with a number of striking arts, but has largely decided that getting hit in the face is no longer his calling. Interestingly, despite spending most of his time training in the gi, it is also nearly impossible to find a photo of Tom in which he is not flexing his biceps, showing off his abs, or a combination of the two– thus, it is also almost impossible to find a photo of Tom in a gi.

Tom and Chelsea got married in October of 2017 and had a beautiful daughter in 2019. Jiu jitsu and parenting takes up a huge amount of their time, but when they are not training or teaching, they travel and have adventures with their dog, Kimura.

Find Tom on Social Media

⇒Instagram: @themightybarlow

⇒Facebook: @tomasabarlow

Match Breakdown: Tom Barlow vs Anthony Ferro (Masters Worlds 2016)

Last, I fought at the Masters Worlds in Las Vegas on only ten days notice. I also decided to make this the first competition in 8 years where I’d fight at light featherweight.

Despite my giving my all, I lost in my second fight by 2 pts. I could make all kinds of excuses, but the reality is the guy who beat me was better than me on that day.

He imposed his game and won the match. He also hit a beautiful sweep I couldn’t help but admire as my head bounced off the mat.

Am I disappointed? Of course I am. I thought I could win the competition, but the lack of preparation really showed in my timing.

The other question you may be wondering is, do I regret the decision to compete? Not in the slightest. I accomplished two goals (competing at Master Worlds and making light-feather) and it felt good being back on the mats after a six months.

I learned a long time ago, the only things you regret are opportunities you don’t take.

Anyway, one of my friends recorded my first match so I thought I’d do a breakdown of the techniques and tactics I used to get the victory and what I was thinking during the fight. Check out the breakdown below:

https://youtu.be/snDpHY80C74

There are a couple of really interesting points in the video including:

why I switch from the Brabo grip to a collar grip
when I first recognise the arm bar option
how I set the arm bar up

And a whole bunch more.

Enjoy the video and leave a comment to let me know what you think.