NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Can "Slideyfoot" Sönmez, co-founder and instructor at Artemis BJJ.

Based in Bristol, U.K., he is involved in organizing the International Women's Day GrappleThon for Equality Now.

Equality Now is an international charitable organization which works to end violence against women around the world. It aims to protect and promote the human rights of women and girls around the world through legal advocacy and mobilization of public pressure, and to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world.

The International Women's Day GrappleThon for Equality Now will raise money by having 24 hours of continuous grappling starting at 1400/2 PM UTC Saturday, March 7, and going to 1400/2 PM UTC Sunday, March 8, which is International Women's Day.

The location is Artemis BJJ, Unit4B, Dean St., Bristol, BS2 8SF Bristol, United Kingdom.

We spoke with Can "Slideyfoot" Sönmez by Skype Wednesday.

"This will be the fourth event like this I've run," he said. While there is no set format for GrappleThons, and many people have organized them differently, the basics are, "You just have at least two people grappling at any one time, and it's over a pre-determined time period."

He continued, "The idea is basically to get some grapplers together, so it doesn't matter what team you're on or what experience level you have. Come down, roll, and hope you raise some money for a good cause."

There are also many different ways to raise funds, but in this event, "The way I do it, you set up a fundraising page, get your friends to sponsor you."

And he stressed, "The bottom line is you're looking to raise some money for a good cause."

We discussed more of the details of this event, how people around the world can participate in it, the growth of women's grappling, how other people can organize similar events, and much more.

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Labels: Artemis BJJ, Can Sönmez, Eddie Goldman, Equality Now, GrappleThon, grappling, International Women's Day, No Holds Barred, Slideyfoot, wrestling