The Grapple Mill

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The Grapple Mill Martial arts school focusing on the development of competitive and hobbyist contact sports.

THE GRAPPLE MILL GI GRADINGA brilliant evening at The Grapple Mill as we welcomed Danny Hughes, head coach of 13th Dimen...
15/10/2026

THE GRAPPLE MILL GI GRADING

A brilliant evening at The Grapple Mill as we welcomed Danny Hughes, head coach of 13th Dimension and our overseeing black belt, to present some well deserved promotions.

Congratulations to Tom Johnson and Luke Trevelyan on their purple belts. Both have over a decade of training and have been part of Danny’s ASW lineage from day one.

Congratulations to our three new blue belts: Carl Swaine, Yad and Lee Sheridan. All homegrown and thoroughly deserving. Carl has been an absolute wrecking machine!

Josephine and Jonah Mensah both received their yellow belts, meaning all three Mensah siblings are now yellow belts. Young Adam received his grey belt on his 15th birthday. Always enthusiastic and getting stuck into the adult classes. Happy birthday, Adam!

Eight promotions in total. Every belt represents time, effort, consistency and commitment.

I’m a Manchester lad and a proud Lancastrian. From Burnley to Wigan, Rochdale and Manchester, we share that Red Rose heritage. Danny’s ASW, Atherton Submission Wrestling, lineage brings together judo, catch wrestling and Brazilian Jiujitsu into submission wrestling. Preserving that heritage with coaches like Danny Kris and Jayden is important to The Grapple Mill and the North West.

A massive thank you to Danny, who never misses our gradings. His ethics, morals and commitment to his affiliations are second to none. He’s an active black belt, a fantastic coach and an IBJJF registered black belt who ensures promotions are properly overseen.

Affiliation should mean something: trust, standards, shared values and people who stand by their word. We’re proud to be affiliated with Danny and 13th Dimension.

Congratulations to everyone promoted.

The Grapple Mill. Proud of our roots, proud of our people.

Female only session tonight💪🏼Tonight we worked on guard retention,triangles,triangle arm bar and triangle defence🔺 also ...
07/10/2026

Female only session tonight💪🏼

Tonight we worked on guard retention,triangles,triangle arm bar and triangle defence🔺 also throwing is some positional rounds.

It’s amazing to see more females on the mat and seeing the improvement as the sessions go on

If your wanting to try something new in an all female environment with good energy and laughs then don’t hesitate to send us a message. It’s a great way to learn a new skill,learn self defence,meet new friends and most importantly,have fun💁🏼‍♀️

06/10/2026

Tuesday Gi class with Josh 🥋

Busy one tonight and some really good work on the mats.

We worked on the twisted half guard pass and deep half guard sweeps, both with and without the lapel.

Fundamentals are a huge part of our team training at The Grapple Mill. It’s easy to get caught up chasing the latest fancy technique, but having a solid understanding of the basics and being able to apply them under pressure is what really matters.

Good work tonight everyone. 👊

06/10/2026

Last night at The Grapple Mill, Kris Leeson was away, so the class was taken by Josh, working through some half guard concepts, passing, and plenty of wrestling.

A lot of stand up work, taking people down and putting the Michael Pixley material to work. Everyone is getting sharper by the day.

Great to see Adam back after a few months away, coming back with a bang. Also good to see Josh’s son Jayden back on the mats, making the trip down from Liverpool and getting stuck in.

We’re building a really strong group of teenagers and adults at the moment. Youth, experience, size, strength and agility all mixing together.

Jayden says he wants to be the king of MMA one day. There’s definitely talent there, but talent only gets you so far. Hard work is what matters.

And that’s what we do at The Grapple Mill.

We work.

WEEK 2 OF THE SYLLABUS | FULL GUARDReally good Gi class tonight at The Grapple Mill.I took the class myself tonight and ...
29/09/2026

WEEK 2 OF THE SYLLABUS | FULL GUARD

Really good Gi class tonight at The Grapple Mill.

I took the class myself tonight and we got straight into full guard, working through around five or six different armbar variations and, more importantly, the transitions between them.

That’s what I love about this stuff. One movement from your opponent can completely change what you do next, so understanding how everything connects is massive, especially for the beginners and intermediates.

Good numbers tonight, plenty of rolling, plenty of technique and some seriously good Jiu Jitsu going on.

And I’m not just saying it when I say we’ve got some killers coming through. Some of these guys are absolutely smashing it and they’re not even blue belts yet, never mind purple belts.

Really good session tonight.

And considering how much we love Gi, it’s pretty funny that we currently only have one Gi class a week at The Grapple Mill. 😂

That might be about to change though…

6am Tuesday morning Gi class. It’s on the agenda.

Onwards and upwards. Keep building.

🦍 YOU DON’T GET OUT OF HELL BY STANDING STILL.Vanilla Gorilla mode on Monday nights.Down at The Grapple Mill with Kris L...
29/09/2026

🦍 YOU DON’T GET OUT OF HELL BY STANDING STILL.

Vanilla Gorilla mode on Monday nights.

Down at The Grapple Mill with Kris Leeson, working through DLR, killing the guard, passing and getting into some nasty reverse DLR leg lock positions.

Nothing fancy. Just good training, good people and getting stuck in.

You turn up. You get smashed. You learn. You come back and do it again.

That’s the game. 🦍🔥

SUNDAY WRESTLING | 10AMSunday morning at The Grapple Mill.A really good Submission Wrestling class led by Luke Trevelyan...
27/09/2026

SUNDAY WRESTLING | 10AM

Sunday morning at The Grapple Mill.

A really good Submission Wrestling class led by Luke Trevelyan, working on some of Leeson’s and Pixley’s stuff alongside some of Luke’s own wrestling. Big shout out to Luke because the class was absolutely quality.

After a really tough weekend, it was exactly what we needed. Getting on the mats, hand fighting, working some wicked takedowns and just putting the work in.

The development at The Grapple Mill is honestly second to none.

If you think you’re going to get easy rounds passing through The Grapple Mill, you’re very much mistaken.

We might be a young gym, but everyone is working hard, everyone is pushing the pace and we’ve got some absolute savages on the mats.

And I can say that with confidence because I see the development happening every single week. We’ve got guys coming through who are going to be blue belts and purple belts before long, and they’re going to be a serious problem.

Really, really good class this morning.

Keep turning up. Keep working. Keep pushing the pace.

Last night’s Gi class at The Grapple Mill was a special one.All three of my kids finally stepped up into the adult class...
23/09/2026

Last night’s Gi class at The Grapple Mill was a special one.

All three of my kids finally stepped up into the adult classes, and after well over a decade of training, it was amazing to watch them come into their own and train alongside the adults.

Watching them work, push themselves and test their skills was genuinely brilliant. Jonah was really pushing hard, going with the adults and showing just how much technical ability he’s developed. The physical strength will come with time. Right now, it’s about developing the technique, the confidence and the experience.

I’m incredibly proud of all three of them. I’ve been training Jiu Jitsu for well over a decade myself, so seeing my kids now stepping onto the mats with the adults is a pretty special feeling.

Huge credit to Luke Trevelyan, who is an amazing coach and has a real ability to bring the best out of my kids and the younger guys he coaches.

Last night we worked on some great judo sweeps, mixing in some of the Michael Pixley details, open guard and some tight positional work.

A seriously good class, and you could feel the buzz in the room.

Onwards and upwards.

Keep showing up. Keep digging deep. Keep building. 🥋

Grappling Family KeepBuilding

22/09/2026

Jacob putting the Iron Mill to work 💪

Jacob has been part of The Grapple Mill for close to two years now, and it’s been great watching him grow, develop and put the work in week after week.

Last night, he was getting stuck into our Iron Mill, The Grapple Mill’s in house strength and conditioning suite. It’s a space designed to help our members build strength, fitness and confidence alongside their grappling.

And it’s not just our members who will be using it. Jacob’s football team will be bringing their strength and conditioning sessions indoors during the autumn and winter months, giving the players a dedicated space to stay strong, fit and ready for the season.

Supporting young people and grassroots sport has always been important to us at The Grapple Mill. We’re proud to support Rossendale Valley Juniors FC, including sponsoring their youth teams and supplying their playing kit.

It’s about more than just BJJ. It’s about creating a place where local kids, athletes, families and teams can train, develop and enjoy being active.

The Iron Mill. Built for the work. 💪

10/09/2026

WOMEN ONLY JIU JITSU

Tonight. 8PM. The Grapple Mill.

Strong. Capable. Confident.

Jiu Jitsu is about more than learning how to fight. It is about testing yourself, building confidence, learning what your body is capable of and becoming comfortable in situations that once felt uncomfortable.

No ego. No judgement. No intimidation.

Just women training together, learning together and getting better together.

Whether you are completely new to Jiu Jitsu or already have experience, Saffron will get you on the mats and working.

Every Thursday at 8PM.

Your first session is FREE.

Book your place through the drop in section at:

www.thegrapplemill.co.uk

Come down. Get on the mats. See what you are capable of.

Address

Bacup
OL130NA

Opening Hours

Tuesday 6pm - 8pm
Thursday 5pm - 7:30pm

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