Marshall Stamper Seminar Recap – Kaohsiung BJJ, October 19

I’d packed my bag earlier in the day and headed out with half an hour to spare. On an almost rainy Sunday afternoon, the question was never “to go or not to go”—it was when to leave. I knew traffic on Wufu Road would be ridiculous, and I also knew I’d face a moral challenge at that final red light: whether to make a Kaohsiung left—an illegal left turn—or go the long way around.

Seminars are a chance to see things from a new perspective, pick up fresh ideas, and connect with new people while catching up with old friends. The Marshall Stamper seminar on Sunday, October 19 at Kaohsiung BJJ was no exception.

Kaohsiung BJJ continues to raise the bar. The new gym extension looks fantastic, the people are friendly, and the level of skill on the mats is tangible.

Marshall, a 10th Planet black belt, brought a sharp technical approach delivered with humor and clarity. His seminar blended ecological concepts with traditional drilling—something for everyone along the training spectrum.

Seminars are also great for meeting new training partners. Mine happened to be competitors from the previous day’s tournament. Finding new partners between techniques can sometimes eat up time, but our trio worked smoothly together and benefited from having different body types to problem-solve with.

The techniques covered ranged from tai chi–style push hands to shin-to-shin wrestle-ups and beyond. Each of the twenty-plus attendees used the two-hour session to refine details on reverse shin-to-shin positions and meat hook entries.

We also touched on the legality—or lack thereof—of certain techniques under various rule sets, which gave me plenty to think about.

The seminar wrapped up with an engaging Q&A. I’m already looking forward to the next one.

It turned out that traffic was bad on Wufu, but morality won the day and I took the long way around the last intersection and still arrived in time.