30/07/2025
I'm extremely saddened to hear that teacher, training partner and friend to many Oli Geddes unfortunately passed away yesterday.
The first time I met Oli was about 18 years ago when he rocked up to cover a jiu-jitsu class I was doing as a white belt. He'd travelled all the way from London to Guildford just to teach us bunch of d***y white belts for an hour. I'm not sure I'd have the same motivation to do so but he did it!
Needless to say I was blown away with his teaching skills but also his calm demeanor, his intelligence, his humility and overall his determination to succeed in this unique art!
The more I got to know him over the years the more I realised how tough he was as a competitor and training partner. I swear my calf muscle has never been the same after he nearly snapped my shin in half 🤣 I have the privilege of saying that everytime I get straight footlocked by someone I can remind myself "yeah it's ok, but it's not as knarley as Oli's was."
Most importantly what I've learned from Oli is that if you want to pursue something you love then don't hold back, go all in and dedicate yourself entirely to it like he did with Jiu-jitsu! But remain humble and always give something back to the people that helped you to achieve your dreams.
Whether you knew him or not, we all have a huge debt of gratitude to him for helping to expand UK BJJ the way it has.
I'll always remember him very fondly and he will be missed hugely by not just me, but the entire Jiu-jitsu community.
Rest easy brother. See you on the otherside. X
