tallgeese

Yes, it does fit a certain niche market. Justice, you're logic is sound; however, this thing has pretty much been designed for weapons purposes from the get go. No use making it anything else. Now, you're concept has great merit. I've spent enough time in tactical catalogs to make this work out best for all of us: Step 1) Market the Smash Lite as pictured above. Capitalized on the uber-cool factor. Step 2) Then release the Smash Lite, Model C (for concealed). This is obviously for those people what want to be armed but not looked armed. Step 3) Wait till the demand slacks and release the Smash Lite and Smash Lite, Model C in a Tactical Line. This means you'll have both a Tactical Smash Lite and a Tactical Smash Lite, Model C. The only real difference in the two lines is that these will both be painted completely flat black and come with a lanyard. Step 4) We release first the Smash Lite and then the Smash Lite C (because by now people will just drop the model and call it the "C") with one of the high end strobe lights that has flooded the light market lately. This will wreck your vision just as much as the bad guys, but people will buy them by the boat load anyway. This will be the Smash Lite, Model X and the Smash Lite Model CX. Why? Because "X" is cool. Marketing note, of course you'll release the tactical line with these options as well. Now you can really get wordy in a catalog or stack on more endless letter combinations. Nothing ensures more SWAT geeks will by your product. Now that we've established a Smash Lite empire, it's time to market accessories. Everything from light filters for the caps to belt holsters with more retention mechanisms than the one for my gun. By the time the zombies invade, we won't have to use our Smash Lites, we'll just need to fly to our private island, probably near the Blackhawk and 5-11 principalities, and wait out the undead out in blissful, well-lit, peace.

7/19 abs 1 mile run, interval neck curls shoulder press squats GS, MP, I'm gonna be down there visiting family in Aug, the 10-13. Any chance we can schedule some workout time for all of us? Maybe a cookout too, I have some killer stuff I've been working on over the summer.

With props to the above mentioned examples (I'm also partial to D-X, sensei), I think the obvious choice is the Iron Sheik v. Hogan rivalry from so far back I can hardly remember. Nationalism at its finest.

I stumbled on this recent interview and was so impressed by it I had to share. It's probably THE most articulate breakdown of the true ART of BJJ I've heard ever. Well worth the time to hear out if you're at all into grappling. I wish I could be more people into this side of jits.

So.....Happy.....

7/18 Ok, really, it was 91 degrees in the acadamy today. Like rolling in a winter coat in the middle of summer. What in the world is wrong with me. Drilled half guard, to taking back, roll to arm bar. 30 mercifully short minutes of free roll

Sweet!

7/17 neck work weighted pull ups bench press dead lift abs I was going to run as well, but my kids decided that fishing was more in order. Who am I to argue.

Happy Birthday!!!

I think we're missing the point to get lost in academic details. I don't think we need to look at this from a stand point of test validity and what journal we can lobby it into. Take a look at the numbers, the commonalities in the sample and infer what you can for your situation. Utilize what happen and what was noted to analyze your own game. The fact is, ugly or good, some of the samples are examples of a higher level of conflict and potential stakes that most people studying martial arts have been in. There's value there, and in looking at patterns. Take them with a grain of salt.

BB of C, welcome to Chicago politics. I'm sure it was on a docket somewhere, but no one noticed until BBJ media outlets picked up the passage press release. Obviously, it's still not mainstream news, even here after two major torunies leave town.

7/16 am: Drilled half guard to back. Roll to armbar 60 min free roll pm: Drilled 30 min of takedown work Reviewd the pendulum sweep and subs off it. 15 min of rounds working this live Back to takedowns for 10

I'm pretty eclectic. However, high on my playlist right now is 30 Second to Mars.

Welcome to KF!

Welcome aboard KF!

Without a doubt. Good point about the total calm, they never stress down even in negitive situations. This says a lot about how high level jiu jitsu should look. I love the look at transitions these guys give in this vid. Around the 3:30 mark Torress rolls thru some inverted stuff, he's switching between De La Rive adn reverse De La Rive the whole time and Garcia...well, he's just everywhere smooth. Always moving and tranisitioning to work different positions. It's training to expand the game at it's best.

Here's an absolutely fantastic match I came across on you tube. Truly an amazing display of high level competitors at play. The relaxation and transition is incredible. BJJ at it's finest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDBqw0ZjBKk

Being the practical guy, and not a numbers guy, I'll refrain from commenting on such things as sample size, ect. I will however, comment on a couple of things. First up, almost verbatim from the article, there is the statement that of the high percentage of fights that go to there is a scramble for dominance. Position is something I've always preached for self defense grappling. Here's the thing, to me this is even more of an argument FOR training ground fighting that not. You don't learn to scramble for positional dominance by avoiding training for the ground fight and focusing finishing people from standing while they are down. You lean to do it by training grappling. Not to say finishing from up top is not important, but I don't think this is an argument to not train ground fighting. I think it does go to my theory that training positional control is highly important so you can achieve top position. So, even if it's not the best sampling ever it does teach us some valuable things. Good find. As a side note, it's important to understand what environment you're working in. In the past several years professionally, I can say for sure that 100% of the fights I've been in have gone to the ground. All of them. This is due to a couple of reasons, for starters the need to control a subject and place him in custody. For another, it's easier to cuff someone fighting while they are down. Last, fights involving cops generate a lot more cops. When you put multiple bodies on one or two combatants they tend to fall over. Hence, me and the polyester pile end up on the ground a lot. Even when scrapping one on one with a bad guy, I feel much more in control if I can dominate positionally and still maintain the ability to escalate or disengage or continue with the course of action. I can either push the control from there to detaining the subject or simply hold position until back up arrives. These are concerns that are very specific to me. Everyone will have similar concerns, most people never evaluate this. It's important to do to be able to interpenetrate information we get like this study for our response patterns.

7/15 2 mile run, hard with intervals abs

Really, almost every school I've been in, outside pure competition places for mma, have trained some sort of methods for multiple attackers in a somewhat live format. It's very instructive. Look, I've never said you won't learn anything from kata, I'm just saying that it is a training method devised over a hundred years ago. Maybe we need to look at modern teaching/ training/ learning models and move with the times to be more effective. Heck, collegiate and pro level athletes have changed the way they prep drastically in 20 years. Now your asking us to prep for combat using methods that haven't changed in 5 times that? If you don't train at a dojo who is pressing forward, ie. looking at new training methods to address problems, then don't just accept less than ideal training and keep going. Bring up ideas to your coach, most that I know are open to suggestions and research. Or, if you're unable to have your needs met that way move on. There are plenty of inventive schools pushing the edge of training. Or if you don't want to do either, look at developing a group within your current group to work on this stuff. I had the luck to grow up under an instructor that was not only very creative at tackling the problems of training but encouraging for everyone to go out experiment and bring it back. Still, there's no reason you can't develop this as well. Again, I'm not saying kata has NO redemptive features. Only that there are more modern, effective methods. Now, Calvin makes a great point, and his I understand fully. He likes to do kata. You can do it forever without breaking your body up. I get that, and I fully support it. You should get out of the arts what you want. I've gotten older and wiser on this point. MA's are a highly individual in nature. Not everyone will train them all the time for self defense. For some, part of studying is about cultural or historical connection. They are great for that. One does not have to justify kata thru the lens of combat. Just understand teaching modalities that are appropriate for what you want.

7/14 1.25 mile run neck work pull ups shoulder press curls squats abs

brickshooter, with due respect, I don't think that kata really is designed in that matter. When you talk look at kata design, it's a moving anatomy text. Bunki as we think of it often does not move in a direct pattern. One movement might be showing a striking location, another movement might be half of a sweep. It's a text book, largely misunderstood today my many martial artist. Even assuming that the individual movements could be strung together in a cohesive fashion, by drilling kata for years you're assuming that you're incident with multiple attackers will occur every time from the same angles with the attackers producing the same attacks. This is where I like to talk about being creative with randori and drilling methods. If you want to prep for this, work mitts with multiple holders moving to random locations. It will be a more realistic feel and give you more to think about with distancing and timing. Realistically, multiple attackers usually mob a single defender thus rendering most kata style responses less than effective. It's more about moving and creating distance, circling and controlling one individual at a time in a fluid movement than beating up single attackers out of a mob till you're the last man standing. You'll also notice that I never state that kata does not teach locks, throws, ect. However, again, this is often out of sequence. It's open to interpretation and decoding. Why not simply learn those movements and drill them. This lets you cut a step out of an already long learning process. This gets you ready for an event faster. That in turn increases the likelihood of your survival. The time spent drilling kata can now go to more direct, fluid training.

Smashlight....I love it! Now I just need one. Like I said, the welding is apparently a problem. However, I am ignorant is such matters. If anyone has ideas, I'd listen. The thing had better do double damage to undead. It's going to be part of my zombie apocalypse survival kit. Don't worry, I'll cut everyone who had a hand in the development of the light in. I predict about a million unit sales number from Cheaper than Dirt alone.

7/13 Back from the trip. Jumped back in tonight. 20 min work on pummeling. Drilled guard to high guard. Sweep to arm bar. 45 min free roll

Hey all, just for discussion and information purposes I wanted to post this link to some commentary on new state regulation of BJJ comps in Illinois. It's the best synopsis I've found of what can be convoluted wording in official documents. From what research I've been able to do over the past couple of days, it seems to be right on the mark for the implications to amateur BJJ comps in Illinois. It's such a deal breaker from a corporate standpoint that NAGA has already moved it's next tournies out of state and the IBJJF has postponed it's Fall open. http://www.subcultureusa.com/news/il-house-passes-bill-1490