tallgeese

I'll second both above. Justice is right, it should have no bearing to him or anyone else.

I've seen, as well as everyone else, has seen the Bubba and Grapple Master dummies built for BJJ and other grappling arts. I've always thought that one would be pretty neat for getting extra reps here and there, but like alot of people I don't have $600 to throw around on something that is a supplemental tool. Well, as it turns out, there are several on line guides for constructing your own. Some are better than others and I complied a few to come up with something I thought would work. I decided to give everyone here my thoughts on it in case they were thinking of it. Also, having been up and running with it for a few weeks now, I can give someone a better feel for it's uses and limitations so they can decide if it's worth it for them. First up, there's no end of variations you can do. Basically, most homemade instructions will be built around an endoskeleton of heavy duty wire bundles used to carry electricity into one's home from the lines outside. It's think and heavy and if done right, the most expensive part of the operation. Basically, you'll have a soft spinal cord with arms and legs taped on. Some people just pad this then with pool noodles. Personally, I wanted it to mimic a person's joints as much as possible, so I used a PVC exo skeleton that made up a spine, neck, upper and lower arms, and upper and lower legs. I also used PVC taped to the hard spine to make shoulders and hips. This allowed me to run a single piece of wire thru these articulations and cut down on the parts that could fall off. The PVC was then drilled and poly cord used to hold it in proximity for the joints. There are then alot of methods recommended to pad this thing and flesh it out. I used a combination of pool noodles and the blue foam from Wal-mart used as camping mats. For the body, I used a couple of cheap foam pillows covered by some more camping foam and duck taped to firmness. This works fine and is much more cost effective than the high density foam that some instructions use. I'd suggest checking out several sites and piecing together the features you want with the cheapest effective material you can find. Then get lots of duct tape and an old gi. As to the function, having the hard PVC in there is a good idea, it really lets you get a better feel when you're working with it. Also, build a good defined neck, this lets you set chokes and cranks pretty effectively. In use, it's pretty good - FOR WHAT IT'S DESIGNED FOR. Don't try to throw it, ground n pound it, or expect it to feel like a real partner. That being said, it's really good for working positional transitions from the top and submission series from side and full mount. It's good for drilling guard escapes and sweeps from there. It will even let you walk thru set ups from your guard to a degree, but you won't be able to push off it's hips real well. It just dosn't have the mass. Now, mine came in final cost at just shy of $100 buck and a day's worth of off and on work. I get to use it after or before lifts for 10-15 min to run simple reps of movements to further beat them into my head. For that, it works great. Should you build one? Well, if you see a Bubba in your future, I'd hold off and just get one of those. If there's no way you're going to sink that kind of money into a dummy, then it's worth constructing one to rep on. Just be aware of the limitations. If you get to be on the mat 4 or more times per week, I don't know that I'd build one either, but if you're limited to a couple times per week of really drilling grappling an grappling only, then it's helpful. Bottom line, I'm glad I have it in my work area and would recommend it. Just make sure you don't think it will be as good as the real thing. But, for simple repetition, it's a helpful tool for reconstructing new movements in your head and working them in chain.

Glad to have you back!

I too prefer MT pads for most kicking drills. I think it allows for more fluid drilling. That being said, kicking shields really let you power things. It's hard to outshine them for doing power work on rounds, sides, stomps and the like. As for drills, aside from repping power, I have a few standards: Front leg front in a push, back leg MT round, knees. Lead round (inside quad), back leg round, close and knee. 45 stomp to knee, MT round, holder bails, chase down with thrust front. Back leg thrust front, set down thru, round w/ shin to body, set down thru, MT round. Start w/ collar tie and knees, holder shoves away, MT round, back to knees as an option. Just some thoughts.

I second, or third, going to check out each individual school and the instructors there. Also, consider the atmosphere and your compatibility with the other students there. Look at what they are doing and evaluate it against your needs. That will be the best indicator. The no punching to the head thing is a limitation, for sure. However, all of us deal with limitation in some way in reference to what we do on the mat. The big bonus is the emphasis on contact which cannot be understated in it's importance. Check out both and see which seems like a better fit. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

today- 2.5 hour seminar with Charuto Verissimo. Mainly worked out of spider guard and drilled attack series and options. Transitioned to De'lriva guard and worked from there in the same fashion. Finished with some gi specific attacks from side mount. 30 min free roll at end. Focused on putting the days lessons into use. Had some real success with that as well as repping some things from last week. Great time and a heck of a good seminar. Lots of stuff packed into a real good teaching package. Learned alot.

today- legs 20 min of drilling on side mount series and guard escape series.

today- BJJ nite: Worked from side mount. Reviewed neck work from last week, then moved into armbar on the far side. Finsihed by overcoming grab counter. 45 min of free roll.

It's a choke/neck crank set up from side mount or top in half guard. There is then a variant that passes the arms a slightly different way to compensate for distance.

It's higher, for sure. There is a great level of function and quality, but you'll pay for it. I think I spent around 90 on my current set of boxing gloves from there. They are easily the best competition level gloves I've ever owned and they've held up for three years now. That said, due to the cost, I don't work heavy bags and such in them. I don't remember what I paid for their MMA gloves. All their gear that I've had is good. The major downside is the price. While I'd give thumbs up to all the gear from them I've used, I do wonder if it's worth the tag sometimes.

I thought it was a solid card. Good fights across the night. Henderson v. Bisping was exciting and heavy handed. GSP put on a masterful performance and really put on a clinic on the double leg takedown. Lesner and Mir was a good fight to watch. Lesner gets a bad rap for being just big and cutting to heavyweight, but what else is he supposed to do in light of no superheavy division. If you actually break the fight down, and manage to avoid the antics after, he played a real good game. His ground control against a skilled BJJ player was excellent and his weight is always where it needs to be to hold position. Now, his behavior afterward, well you can't really defend it so I won't try. I don't think it's going to hurt the UFC long term at all. However, I think it hurt Lesner due to the face everyone is talking about it and not his dominate performance vs. a skilled BJJ opponent. Not a bad way to kick around a few hours. There was alot of hype going in that I just try not to pay attention to. It's easier to just sit back and watch the fight that way.

Good to hear you're working on stringing things together for the Combat Hapkido. That's really where I feel you start to take things and make them your own. today- am: back/bis/abs drilled cross side series and guard escapes for 10 min as cool down pm: mitt work- 5, 2 min rounds. Start with heavy power combo, add close to elbow range, defend vs takedown, push back to range and strike, add double leg of your own. 25 min of secondary skill work- tuite from wrist grab, string into second position and takedown. 15 min review of cross side series from last week. 15 min drilling the addition of Babro series to end. 3, 3 min rounds of free roll. 1, 7 min round of free roll.

Yeah, when you talk about value for quality CS stuff is hard to beat. I do agree, based on previous experience that Fairtex models do fit better than just about anything out of the box.

So, in an effort to get rid of my poser UFC brand training gloves, I recently tried out a pair of Combat Sports MMA Training gloves. These are an open palm, open thumb that's about as basic as they get. That being said, basic is fine as long as it's constructed well and serves it's purpose. On the construction front, I found these gloves to be solid. Seams were sturdy and the material appeared to be durable. Padding was adequate and along the lines of what one would expect from a glove of this nature. It was a bit dense, but acceptable. The velcro closures clamped the wrist well and all of the velcro was covered once wrapped, a pet peeve of mine. They held up well for striking and allowed good ability to grab. On the down side, they are pretty rigid. Due to the angle of the fingers, there is a bit too much compression between the smaller fingers while striking. This can really add up if you're working any kind of bag work. Expect a long break in period. All in all, I give them a "just all right", which is unusual for me since I tend to really like CSI products. Personally, I'll probably continue to use my poser stuff until I get another pair of Fairtex. The most attractive thing about these gloves is the price, and if you're working a budget like most of us these days, that's a major concern. On that front, at least these things won't break down anytime soon. Just don't expect the comfort of higher end models.

today- 3, 2 min rounds on bob. Focus on boxing combos alone. circuit with 3, 2 min rounds on ground and pound bag. Hip and movement drills only, start simple move to complex. chest/tris/abs 2.5 mile run

today- BJJ night: Drilled on spider guard position, mainlytransitioning there from full guard. Added set up and finish with triangle choke. Spent lots of time working thru the specifics and technical neuances of the triangle. Finished with 45 min of free roll. Worked under the idea that if you had to force a submission it "didnt count". Same with strengthing out of submission attempts or mad scrambling to avoid bad position. This heightned the techncal aspect of the game and added a "flow " to it. Helped me alot, definatly a drill I"ll use more.

Gracie's bout against Kimura in the early 20th century. Which was probably topped by his 3+ hour fight shortly thereafter against an opponent who outweighed him by 30-40 lbs.

Nice work guys.

I often get looks from the other angle. Everyone expects me to be able to whip 'chucks around or spin a bo. Neither of which I can do or have ever really trained to try and do. The idea of just focusing on knife and club work is odd to many people who look at it as part of ma's. Certainly, I get odd looks when I talk about guns.

Welcome back!

pm- back/bis/abs

today- 40 min of work thru the high single series. Hit 4 takedowns from the position and drilled them, along with a couple of follow ups along the way. Started from a simple arm drag, added a more complex entry from a fight scenario. 25 min of drilling from side mount, which is where you end up alot after throwing with the above movements. Passing to mount, and submission. 6, 3 min rounds of mma focus sparring.

Congrats on the promotion!

today- BJJ night: Worked series from side control. Start with passes to full mount followed by attack series. 40 min of free roll.

Welcome aboard!