tallgeese

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Everything is part of a string, always. Until the threat stops. Nothing should be thrown out there alone or without commitment.

Check out Blauer's High Gear armor. It's all the bonuses of a Red Man without those drawback you mention. they work very well.

So, train all your weapons predomainatley out of that side so it's not just a kick they are worried about. You can still suprise out of a single side model.

Or, train the most time on the side that works best for you so that you can be the train and force the issue with that side. Just a thought.

Good question. I suppose, it's formation was largely a western thought process, even if aspects came from other eastern arts. That's a very western concept in and of itself. I guess the best thing to do would be ask the powers that be in the ruling circles and see what they think. I'm leaning towards yes, western.

I think I'll do one as soon as the situation presents itself again. There's not another actual NAGA in the midwest until later in the year, and even it's a good drive from me. We'll see. Certainly, I'd do one given the chance.

Congrats, Kuma!

Lots of people worry about the two being mutually exclusive and get into a trick bag of thinking over it. If you're justified, use the force you need. Be sure can articulate it. You'll be fine. If you can leave, do so. After that, juries really aren't out to convict victims.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

Thanks, pittbull. I concur, the rule set is very good. It's really set up to favor and push submissions. You can't get by with takedown after takedown to score, or simply transitioning from position of control to position. It really rewards advancing your game in the direction of control and submission.

Welcome aboard! Glad to have you and we're looking forward to hearing from you.

Congrats!

Just a quick self pat on the back and a chance to share with the group here. We went up to the midwest NAGA tourney this weekend and just got back. I ended up taking 2nd in the men's 30-40 advanced division. First bout I won with a kimura after pulling guard and working for a bulk of the round. He actually stood up with me still in guard and I set the lock from there then kept it as we came back down. Second bout was the championship bout. It went the distance and I lost by four points. We went back and forth but he was able to takedown and secure a side mount and get 4. I got back to half guard but spent too much time there without advancing my game. By the time I got to guard I was down to a minute and just couldn't get a string to land. Both guys were good and both bout difficult in their own way. The guy I lost to was a seriously good grappler. It was a pleasure to be on the mat with a guy that smooth. Still I was real happy with the outcome. After cutting from 170ish to 154, I was happy that it paid off. I'm sure gonna cut back down if I do it again. One of my guys fought in the beginners 30-40 in the 170-179. He did well. Lost his first match, but it was his first time in the NAGA. He went the distance and lost by 2 on a rough scramble. Anyway, I strongly recommend trying one of these if you're into the submission thing. I'd been to smaller ones and coached at the NAGA but it was my first time competing in one. Well run but a bunch of good guys.

Ok, it was the NAGA weekend so, yesterday- In the sauna on and off for about an hour to finish off my weight cut. Weighed in and made weight. Promptly went out and had food. Went to an hour long seminar prior to the tourney put on by one of Royce Gracie's bb's. Pretty good stuff. Mainly technical work, a bit of free roll at the end. Ate again, turn in. today- Matches at tourney. Two, one won by submission, one lost on points. Good enough to take home second. I'm off for a week now for sure for a little break and recovery. And food

I'm from a small organization, so all of the "under the banner of..." stuff is confusing. So is the concept of who can rank and who can't within or outside of an organization. If you're a bb rank and throw a test for one of your guys, get some of your peers together for a board and go. The whole organization thing only really matters when it come to what kind of certificate you get. At some point, it's over complicating things. At lest to me, that's all.

Congrats, Justice!

Congrats, Kez! Way to go!

Ok, I'm confused.

You are correct. The SPEAR that is Blauer's big claim to fame is based off the principle. It's the base around which his basic CT program is based. It's a solid program too. The movement is actually a great bridge to all sorts of whatever you like to do after inital contact. It's highly useful and easy to teach. Really good for LE types and can be absorbedby just about anyone into combative arts. It's not like he created the idea, he just capatalized on it in the best manner I"ve seen. There are a couple of other programs out there that take it into account. I'd have to dig for a bit to find them. Certainly worth checking out.

I'd agree. Your body is going to put itself into a natural defensive posture almost through a startle or flinch response. It's not a bad thing, just something to be aware of and capatailze on. I even train about 80% of the time off my natural stance side. Maybe more, and most of the time I spend training off the other side is out of negitive training situations and Ill usually find that my body will bring me back to a comfortable posture without consideration. So, that's where I spend most of my time training out of.

today- 1 mile run on the treadmill rest worked rounds of submission strings, light resistance from: guard mound side scarf hooks in light roll for 4, 3 min rounds worked on takedown form rest 3.5 mile run

I've made a couple. You can take a suitable length of wood, say a 2x6 and cut it down to about 6 in or so. Tack or staple down a length or bike tire inner tube. wrap it tightly around the wood and tack or staple it down securely at the other end. You'll now have a chunk of wood wrapped in inner tube. Then, you're going to wrap this all with small diameter rope. Stay away from the nylon and kermantle line. Use some of the rough natural stuff you can find at hardware stores. Tack it down, wrap it tight and then you've got it. This one is small and portable and lets you hammer on it almost forever if you've secured all the components well. The problem I have with this version, which I built and used for quite some time, is that it's really only good for tearing up your knuckles. If you're into heavy conditioning for striking surfaces, it's probably a good choice. For more functional work, I take two lengths of 2x4, about 1.5-2 ft in length and cut closed cell foam (think the blue wal-mart camping mats here) to fit specifically to them. Leave a couple of inches of exposed wood at each end for bolting later. Usually 2 to 3 layers of foam is good. Use duct tape to keep it affixed. Wrap the tape around the whole construct, it'll hold better. Make sure that you cover all the matting or it will fall apart prematurely. Now, take one and mount low, say knee or shin level to a wall stud with a lag bolt. Set the other head height. This will allow you to cut angles off them, throw strikes, fold strikes, parry and strike, integrate hands and feed, ect. They are really good tools. On the down side, you'll have to replace the foam occasionally. Or at least wrap another layer on. Hope these help. There are probably hundreds of other designs. These are the ones that I've actually built and used.

All true. It still come down to what one wants. If your looking for fast progress, it might be better go with what your body type best suits.

today- 4, 3 min rounds of working takedowns 4, 3 min rounds of escaping/working from guard 2, 3 min rounds of escaping/maintaining mount 3, 3 min rounds of free roll, from knees, 50-70% working skill building 1 mile run on the treadmill