Speaking of the Dog - The SF Controversy

Not sure if anyone heard the news but there was a fistfight between an associate of Dog's son LeLand and MMA legend Don Frye a couple weeks back at a disastrous Pro Wrestling and MMA Convention. I am not sure of the specifics behind the fight and I am not going to try and repeat all the different versions of the story. All in all, Frye got the worst of the scuffle.

The weekend event was an absolute disaster with 25 guests no showing and many of those who did show up not getting paid. Probably the disorganization of the event played a huge role in tempers flaring...but, again...I wasn't there. I can only speculate.

BTW I was originally planning to go and then changed my mind. Looks like I lucked out in that regard.

Dog The Bounty Hunter in a WHOLE LOT OF TROUBLE

The Dog The Bounty Hunter program has been a cult favorite among MMA fans largely because his son is a student of BJJ and (I believe) did a couple MMA matches. Plus, there was that cool episode where they arrested the MMA dude while he was climbing in the cage...etc.

Well, it looks like the Dog's career is all but over as an extremely vicious and racist rant made by the Dog during a phone call has been recorded and handed over th National Enquirer. I listed to it on the newspaper's website and it is some pretty brutal stuff.

Here is the link:

Wing Chun Grappling Book????

About a decade ago I was in a NYC bookstore and slipped through a book entitled Wing Chun Grappling. I didn't purchase the book, but assumed that it would be one of those perpetually "in print" titles like most martial arts books. Oh well...big mistake on my part because the book not only is out of print I can not locate it in any used book venues online or otherwise. Does anyone remember this book or know where I can purchase a copy of it? This title seems like an odd curiosity in the world of martial arts publishing that has disappeared from print more than likely because the audience that wants grappling books and those who want wing chun books are mutually exclusive. But, it would still be interesting to check it out and see what the material entails.

Side Note on Judo-BJJ and the Scarf Hold

If you are studying BJJ you are often advised to invest a little time learning judo. Often, this infers that you need to learn the throws of judo and to a great extent this would be good advice. However, it is nor just the throws of judo that are beneficial to the BJJ game. Despite the fact that submissions from the scarf hold position are fully legal in BJJ there is very limited time spent on teaching/learning attacks from this position or its variations. In judo, the scarf hold position is primarily used to score a pin victory, but judo also offers a number of attacks from this position that would prove useful for a BJJ players game. Because of this investing some time learning the scarf hold, the proper way to hold someone down in the scarf hold and a few submissions from this position would be a wise thing to do.

Benefits of Personal Training

Personal training is quite popular these days for a very good reason: personal training works. Often, trying to stumble through a weight lifting or cardio work out based on knowledge acquired from a book is not always the best path to success. When it comes to “maxing out” your gains you will be limited by your own lack of depth of knowledge on the subject matter. As such, seeking the help of a solid personal trainer may be the way to go. What also needs to be pointed out here, however, is the fact that the physical trainer needs a little information as to your goals and expectations in order to make the training sessions worthwhile.

Keep in mind, there are a TON of benefits that can be derived from personal training such as weight loss, strength conditioning, increased cardio conditioning, and a host of other positive benefits. (You can learn more about personal training programs if you click here and visit socalworkout.com) Of course, in order to maximize these tremendous benefits you will need to give your trainer a little help)

You can get the most out of personal training provided that you enter into the training session with the express purpose of arriving at a goal vs. a haphazard training method. For example, if you show up at a person training session with the goal of “getting in shape” or “exercising” you have not really communicated anything to your trainer. Now, consider telling your training “I want to develop core strength” or “I want to expand my cardio conditioning” or “I want to develop a way of training around a pre-existing injury” the training session now has a focus that not provides the personal trainer with an idea of HOW to train you. This will definitely help you maximize your goals and tap into all the great benefits personal training offers.Sponsored post

Private Lessons and Specialization

Sometimes it takes a bit of time to become skilled at a particular ability. This is something that make people realize. However, what many people do not take into consideration is the fact that when you "dilute" your training the ability to develop that skill can be impeded. For example, say you book 5 private lessons and then spend the 5 lessons on 5 separate subjects. (Guard passing one day, armlocks another day, chokes another day, etc) That really is a bad way to train per se, but consider the following: spending 5 straight privates on just guard passing. It is pretty obvious that coming out of this type of training would result in more specialized and deeper knowledge of the subject because it has been tackled in depth over a (somewhat) extended period of time. Again, there is nothing wrong with studying different topics in your private lessons; but, if you invest time in ONE area for several lessons you can get more involved in the subject matter and this may yield a solid and clear understanding of the subject that would not be possible under a different training methodology.

Secrets of Judo Book

A while back I mentioned that an excellent book on Judo Newaza was TEACH YOURSELF JUDO (its only is about 30% Newaza and 70% throws though) and if you want another really well written book that contains a great deal of information on the subject of throws and ground fighting would be the classic book SECRETS OF JUDO. This book was originally written in 1964 and it still is a relevant book to this day as it is a great resource material that covers a number of different topics and subjects that are not commonly found in judo at all. (There is an interesting illustrated section that covers guard passing in brief) While there are not many Judo books out there that cover Newaza in depth there are a few out there (such as VITAL JUDO) and they offer an interesting perspective that covers the material in a decent amount of depth.

MMA and Sportsbooks

How do you know when MMA has arrived? When it receives significant television coverage? When the mainstream media covers it? How about when sportsbooks start to take bets on it. Ok, sportsbooks have been taking bets on MMA events for a while now and it should come as no surprise. The PPV revenue that the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been providing is so significant that the entertainment world (and the gaming world) clearly took notice. Yes, you can place bets on mixed martial arts events in the same way that you can place bets on the more "mainstream" boxing. (outside of a few enormously successful pay per view events, boxing is really not a popular spectator sport at all)It is somewhat interesting to note that less than 8 years ago the future for MMA looked bleak and that it was headed the way of Roller Derby as it had virtually no exposure on PPV thanks to many providers bailing out and it presence on cable TV was non-existent. This, of course, turned around in recent years and it should come as a shock to no one that gambling institutions would try and cash in on MMA as well.

More on this subject to come

Reversals from the Turtle Position - Points?

One of the interesting aspects of Telles Turtle Guard DVD is that he refers to the turtle position as a variation on the guard and that reversals should count as sweeps. (Hence, they should receive two points) This is a somewhat interesting perspective because the turtle position is "officially recognized" as a disadvantaged position and not a guard position. As such, reversals do not amass points. Then again, there is an important question here...If someone such as Telles is using the Turtle position to his advantage then how can it be considered a negative position to be in? The answer, I believe, is that very few people demonstrate solid skill in dominating from the Turtle position and that pretty much kills the notion of tournament rules ever being re-written for reversals from the turtle position to count as sweeps. If the turtle is not recognized as a guard then sweep points can not be awarded. However, there is always the possibility to award takedown points from the turtle, but that will probably prove to be a pipe dream as well. So, while Telles truly pointed out the numerous benefits associated with attacking from the bottom of the Turtle Guard, it doesn't seem like any tournament rules organization will come over to his side any time soon.

Flair as Dusty Rhodes??? (1974)

I usually don’t post about professional wrestling on this site, but here is something I thought everyone would get a big kick out of. This is a really old Ric Flair interview…probably the oldest Flair interview in existence. I believe the year on this may be 1974 and it is incredible rare television footage from Mid Atlantic Wrestling. What makes this footage so over the top is the fact that Flair’s gimmick at the time was to COMPLETELY rip off Dusty Rhodes. In fact, Flair originally asked Rhodes permission to use the last name Rhodes, but Rhodes had told him no way. It is funny how today Flair still talks about Rhodes with great reverence, yet Rhodes despises him and once said on an interview “Flair doesn’t care about anyone but himself.” Anyway, check out Flair channeling Dusty Rhodes from 33 years ago:

Motivation

A while back I mentioned that is was not always the best thing to train when you are hurt or otherwise unable to make a training session. Now, I stick by this statement as such a practice is usually the road to making yourself prone to injury. However, there also has to be a line drawn where a serious student needs to avoid being inconsistent with training. Skipping out on classes repeatedly because of being tired or unmotivated is usually not the smartest move in the world because it will undermine your ability to log lots of hours on the mat. And, as anyone who has been doing this game for a while knows, time on the mat means pretty much everything in terms of developing solid skills. So, stay motivated and stay consistent in your training. It will pay off.

Telles DVD Vol 2

I started watching Volume 2 of Telles Turtle Guard Series (yes, folks, I am very, very slow on the proverbial draw these days when it comes to reviewing and watching my DVDs, but I have been so busy with work that I have been left with little time) and I have to say that Telles really did hit the ball out of the park with this series. There are a number of reasons why this DVD is an excellent one, but the main, primary reason it works so well is the fact that the DVD is very deeply centered on basic movements and solid principles based on weight distribution and body physics. In other words, this is not a flashy DVD series that looks to promote moves that are based more on complicated movements that may prove difficult to functionalize. Instead, what we get on volume two are a number of ways to reverse someone to the side control from your turtle position. This is clearly a more advantageous position to be in and Telles provides the proper medicine for how to do it. This is a really excellent volume. More to come.

Audio Video FAQ Site

Audio and Video needs have greatly increased in the past five years thanks to the great expansion of the internet. Have you ever had the need to rent High End AV equipment? If you have, have you ever felt a bit overwhelmed in terms of what you need or what exactly to do with the equipment that you have rented? Ok, don’t scoff! This is serious! Sure, audio visual equipment look easy to operate, but it is much trickier than what it appears on the surface. It is not uncommon for people to rent equipment and then not really understand how to operate it. This can lead to a number of embarrassing situations or even incredibly serious situations where critical A/V work that needed to be performed was not done. Seriously, no one would want to be in a situation like this!

This is why you need to work with a company that offers top of the line. Audio Visual Equipment and AV Installations . www.reflex.co.uk offers such a great service and, on top of that, this company’s website also offers a great Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page that can greatly help anyone who is in need of such information.

The FAQ offers a number of solid informational topics such as explaining the need for videoconferencing, proper audio and video set ups, the need for proper properly maintaining the equipment after it has been set up, etc. Also, there is a unique spin to the traditional FAQ list as there i a cool media player that provides excellent information on the subject. Yes, the audio video service site has an audio visual frequently asked question function! This is a really well designed and highly comprehensive FAQ. If you have any questions about your AV needs, this would definitely be a website to check out.

Telles Turtle Guard

I just watched volume one of the Telles Turtle Guard set and I have to say this is really a solid instructional DVD. What I liked about volume one the most was that it provided simple basic drills for the mobility required to go to your knees and the basic counters (reversals, putting the opponent into your guard) are very simple, straight forward techniques that would be effective for pretty much everyone.

I haven't checked out the material on the other volumes in this series, but when I do I will make note of them. But so far volume one really does deliver the goods as a solid, basic instructional that provides sincerely helpful material. This is, after all, what you want in an instructional dvd more than anything else anyway

I have a boxing blog too folks

In addition to this blog I also have a Boxing Blog that I have been working on for several months before I even started this one. I cover a lot of material on this blog and my inspiration for it is the excellent three book series in the Start Up Boxing line of books (Yes, there is an MMA book in this series, but I haven't picked it up yet) So, if you want to read a little common sense info on basic tips and pointers regarding training in boxing and kicking boxing as a hobby.

A Few More Words on those Jiu Jitsu Submissions

In my previous post, I mentioned that for beginners the better submissions in the closed guard are the cross collar choke, the guillotine and the kimure bent armlock. So, what was it that made these jiu jitsu submissions effective? For a beginner, these submissions are safer for a beginner in the sense that they do not have to give up the closed guard and change to more difficult control positions such as the ones utilized for armbars, triangle chokes, etc. (Those jiu jitsu submissions leave you open for guard pass counters)

Now, here is another aspect to the kimura, the cross collar choke and the guillotine and one that even advanced practioners will find useful...you do not need any control to submit and opponent with these submissions. You can finish an opponent from any position with these specific jiu jitsu submissions because they do not require positional control to finish. (Well, the kimura does, but you can manipulate a person's body with it from any position)So, that is a little food for thought for those who would like to re-examine these old submissions.

The Three Top Guard Submissions for Beginners

I realize that many people will disagree with me on this mainly because what I am about to write would be considered mundane, but bear with me and I will explain why these three closed guard submissions should be the top submissions employed by a beginner:

The Guillotine, The Kimura, and the Cross Collar Choke.

The reason that these submissions are advised for beginners is that they do not require that you need to use a lot of guard skill to move or leverage an opponent. As such, you open and re-close your legs to finish the opponent. With and armbar or a triangle, you must control a fragment of the person's body. With the previously mentioned submissions, you maintain a control over the entire body. This is, clearly, much easier. An armbar or a triangle performed by a beginner just creates easy openings to pass the guard and should be avoided until a little more skill is developed

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Going to your knees

Nah...this isn't about going to your knees and praying that you don't get choked out..again. This is about one of the most misunderstood escapes in the jiu jitsu game. Basically, the reason that you go to your knees is to avoid getting pinned in side control or to escape from a side control pin. In a competition match, going to your knees denies your opponent the ability to gain three points to a guard pass.

Now, if you are one of those folks who tries to put people in your guard, but they are passing your guard with ease. Here's a way out of that...as you elbow escape and your opponent seeks to counter your elbow escape WITH COMMITMENT (ie...your elbow escape will work if he doesn't counter) then you should pull the wool over his eyes and go to your knees, Give it a shot.

Swain

Just a quick update. I have borrowed the old Swain Judo grappling DVDs and I'll be writing an expansive review on them as soon as I finish them up. Yeah, I know...I am slow on the draw when it comes to finishing these things but I am a busy, busy guy. BTW...I've waited 5 years to check out these dvds so a few more days won't hurt