GeoGiant

Maybe I' odd in my way of thinking.... but upper cutting isn't something that I feel the need to practice on a bag on a regular basis. For me, upper cutting is more about holding and maintaining my shoulder and elbow positions while twisting at the hips. I practice the punch shadow boxing and I seem to generate a lot power when I work with someone on the hand pads. You can still practice the motion of the upper cut on the de- bag but you won't be able to practice for power. The only thing I've seen on the market for practicing power upper cuts is that ring you can install on a free standing heavy bag.

The answer seems fairly obvious ... no. To mirror MMA Jim's statement, you are at a tactical disadvantage wearing a gi. I just started grappling a few weeks ago and I''m ready to abandon my gi pants, belt, t-shirt outfit in favor of shorts and tight-fitting athletic style short. I'd go shirtless but no one else is. The gi offers to many places for your opponent to grab. I can't count the number of times I wasn't able to transition from a side mount to a full mount because someone had a good grip on my belt. I suspect that banning the gi was a good way to keep a level playing field. Some people probably abandoned their gi the second they realized that they were at a disadvantage. Others may have refused to abandon the gi due to feeling of disrespecting their art... just my opinion.

I woke up the day after a MMA class & I had mild pain at the end / top of my shoulder. Web MD has my injury listed as an acromioclavicular joint, or AC joint, sprain. I've been doing the ice - ibuprofen thing for the past 2 days and it appears to be getting better. I'm just trying to get some advice from others who have had this injury.

We don't use pads, other than hand gear, in my MMA class. I'm a thin guy so I know what you mean. When I bang my shin it REALLY hurts. I'm not sure I can help you other that to say - try to protect the "hurt" area when you are fighting. When I bang my shin I tend to switch my stance so the hurt leg becomes the rear leg. If I have pain in an area before class I wrap that area with an ace bandage. After class, take ibuprofen and ice the hurt area for 20 minutes. Daily sessions with ice may help your body through the conditioning.

Welcome!!

Welcome!

Once you ride a bigger bike, especially a cruiser style bike, its hard to go small. I rode a 750 cc for years then I got a used 600 cc because it was really cheap but first gear on that bike was worthless! When I stepped up to an 1100 it was a little intimidating for the first 5 minutes...

Even with what the Dophins gave up I think this is a good deal for them. Hopefully with the amount $$ they gave Marshall he will focus on football. Who is going to be throwing him the ball? The same worries you have about Marshall i have about A Bolden in baltimore. I love Bolden but it seems like he has done nothing but complain about his contract for the last 3 years.

I would say double end bag. The d-e bag allows you to work on your timing, footwork, as well bobbin & weaving with head and upper body. I work various jab and cross pattern combinations while moving around the bag. Moving in and out to change you distance from the bag also allows you to practice blocking or moving out of the way of a punch. I started by using boxing gloves and as I got proficient at punching the bag I slowly downgraded my hand gear to just wraps. I work elbows, back fists and ridge hands into my combinations too. You are right, uppercuts can be done but it’s difficult. I don’t work uppercuts on the d-e bag.

Welcome!

You probaby don't need this information... but the cup type is important. The old school triangle things can cause problems.

Wow. Number 1 - I ALWAYS wear a cup. It would feel weird to have my gi on without a cup. When I first started karate i saw a guy go down from a kick in the buttons. I bought a cup that day! The only dirty fighting I ever experienced was a guy in class [he doesn't attend class anymore] sort of head checked me when we got tangled up. No one else saw it but i felt it. I wrote the situation off as an accident until one of the BBs in my class pulled me aside.

I see this site has a FB page. I looked at some of the "fans" on the KF page but I didn't recognize any of the names.

Nice bike. I always buy used. Let someone else pay for the upgrades I don't know if you want to look on EBay but i found my bike at a great price. There are a lot dealers that sell on EBay.

After reading everyones posts I feel foolish for not getting a better mouth guard sooner. I'm calling my dentist ASAP.

Wow, outside the gym / dojo sounds like it would tough. Everyone I have worked out with I met at the gym / dojo and developed a friendship. Maybe you may want to think about joining a dojo for a few months to meet people... or how about posting your "ad" on bulletin boards at different dojos...? We have a bulletin board at my dojo and people post all kinds of stuff.

Jeffrey, thanks. BTW, I use the metric system any time i can LOL. IcemanSK, you answered my next question. What started me on this quest to get a better mouth guard was a HARD shot to the jaw. My face felt out of line for 2 days. I think the problem was that I was opening my mouth trying to suck in air when i got hit. Being able to wear a mouth guard and breath after I started panting would be great.

Hello, hello. Welcome!

Wow, I had no idea you could get such a thing. I will check with my dentist. You are right; $150 is a drop in the bucket compared to having a tooth knocked out. For my own information, can you describe your mouth guard – Is it top & bottom pieces or just a singular upper piece like I have now??? Does the dentist made mouth guard make is easier to take a hit if your teeth aren't clinched??? Is $150 a standard price??? Thanks!

I, like most, choose a dojo that was close to my house as opposed to picking a style... but I was new to MAs. If i moved somewhere i think i would make the style more of a focus. The only criteria I has was (1) no dojos in a strip mall & (2) no national chain dojos.

Recently I got tagged in the jaw and I didn't have my teeth clinched on my mouth guard. Well, it hurt! I couldn't touch my back teeth together for a day. I've been trying to practice clinching my teeth more... wearing my mouth guard for warm ups etc. I seem to be biting through the mouth guard. Am i biting too hard or is the mouth guard too cheap (I got a $3 clear jelly type guard).

I don't mind what appears around the board but those little boxes that move around the screen and have to stop before you can close them drive me nuts [there are none of those here].

Ditto. Professional in the ring or kid on the play ground, there is only one way to shut someones trap. I agree that I don't want to see the UFC turn into WWE but you can"t mandate respect.

.... tell me how you really feel. I hear ya. I should clarify my intent. I don't want to come across like I'm going to pick up a book, read it & apply a technique that others have trained countless hours to achieve. Thinking that I could do that [& I know I can't] would be disrespectful to anyone that trains in the art. With that being said, I'm the type of person that tries to diagnose the reason my dryer won't work before I call a repairman. This guy that my posts reference does have experience. He's a 3rd degree BB in karate with 5 years experience in BBJ and I'm a yellow belt with 8 months experience in karate & 2 months of MMA... [LOL - that looks ever worse when you see it spelled out like that - LOL]. At this stage of my MMA experience we are still learning the basics of the basics but at the end of each class we do a low intensity stand & fight, then down to the floor drill. I'm always paired with this big guy because I can't dominate him with my conditioning and height / reach like I can with some of the other new-bi students. Let’s face it, no matter how good you are, if you run out gas during the match you are in trouble. This guy lets me work through the techniques we are learning however at the end of session he always gives me a burst of intensity. Needless to say, this burst of intensity knocks me on my @@@. So after class I come here and try to utilize the collective experiences of this forum to plan my next attack / defend drill with this guy. Getting back to your post, if I had to guess, this guy did some technique to counter what I did. I’m sure my double leg take down wasn’t that good but this guy NEVER felt like he was off balance to me. I assume he didn’t explain what he did because he doesn’t want a new-bi “looking head”…. but I just can’t help myself. The thing is, this guy doesn’t seem to make a mistake. I’ve had other BBs kick the crap out me but I managed to get a tap out here aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand there… not with this guy. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. It makes me what to absorb as much as I can and give it another Try! Toptomcat – we don’t wear gi tops. Usually gi pants and t-shirt.

Ok, I have an update! After listening to everyone’s advice I practiced dropping down for a double leg take down. I watched several videos online and I felt like I had a good understanding of how to move in, disguise my take down, drop down and hook the legs. During the MMA arts class I was matched up with the big guy I’ve been trying to figure out how to beat. We started from a standing position and moved around each other, more or less boxing. With my hands up protecting my head, I move in and shift my shoulders like I’m going to punch… then BAM I drop my weight down to one knee while keeping my hands up… as soon as my knee hits the mat I hook my arms around his thighs and my head his tight against the outside of his thigh… the instant I have his legs hooked I’m thinking drive him to the floor… I got him! Then it happened… he squatted down. Any momentum I had is gone. I start to push forward using the leg that was straight and I try to drive my shoulder into him while pulling his legs to me… but by now his hands are on my shoulders and he sort of does a squatted sprawl, if that makes sense. Now I got nothing, I’m being driven into the mat face first and he is coming down on top of me… sigh. After class I ask him if I did the double leg take down correct and said “yes, you had both legs hooked”. Soooooo I’m back to square one and now he is looking for me to shoot for his legs (every try after my first did not yield the same results as the first time). My question is, what is the counter to his squat? This guy never shared that piece of info with me.