TJ-Jitsu

Good for you man. Too many people get comfortable once they've been removed from the game for too long, or they fear that their students will see that they're "mortal" if they compete. Good luck. Day of or night before weigh ins?

Just so we're clear... You fought yourself and you both succeeded and failed at the same time?

The objective of gloves has always been for the protection of the hands rather than the face. That said, when someone has a fight coming up and you cannot take the chances of cutting this guy on a regular basis, grease and 16oz gloves are the way to go. In regards to elbows and knees, there are pads for both as well....

I'll throw In my two cents. First off the reason for wearing gloves is to protect your hands, which despite what anyone tells you are NOT designed for punching. Early mma events show the frequency with which fighters break their hands when punching. The irony is that it was those fighters who were the most adept at it. At the end of the day, the human body is capable of generating far more power than the bones of your hands can endure. Next step- you need these gloves to protect your hands while you develop the power and learn how to hit with power. I understand some people have no concern for sport, but the assumption is that you already know how to hit hard. Doing bag work bare knuckle will beat your fists up too much and rob you of precious time doing more bag work and therefore learning how to develop more punching power. Once you learn how to hit with power, then you could opt to go with less protection, but you'd probably rarely do it to be honest. As far as sparring, I always spar with 16oz gloves. It's a requirement If you're doing full contact. 4oz gloves are for the actual fight or for grappling. You can't do any mild contact without taking good risks of broken facial bones and or cuts. That's the reason for doing it the way we do- for what it's worth

I would pass... while an 18 year old could hypothetically have the know how and skill, such examples would be the exception rather than the rule. Even if they had the physical ability they still would not have the teaching expertise by that time. Can you? Possibly. Would I recommend it? No

It's never a bad idea to have more options. Think of it like that. It's not so much that they're conflicting but merely offering other options. Example- how to fight from a clinch- A wrestler may prefer to shoot A judoka throw or trip A Thai boxer knee A western boxer dirty box You're could say they conflict with one another, but I'd say they merely offer more options-l, which is never a bad thing

Its really quite simple- is one training against fully resisting opponents? The closer one gets to full resistance, the better their execution of practical techniques. That's exactly the reason why the guy showing all the groin grabs and eye gouges gets a lol and from me- how many times has he done this? Even if hes super deadly prison riot cop bouncer guy, maybe hes done it 50 times. Hobby martial artists do their techniques 50 times in a single week compared to a lifetime.

This doesn't happen during a jiu jitsu class. You train grappling and look for the submission only. The slaps you speak of are used when someone wants to fight- that is a no holds barred challenge match.

You're getting this impression that jiu jitsu guys are (as you put it) a bunch of rogues with testosterone fueled muscles with tapout shirts and attitude- basically you make it sound like its a bad episode of Jersey shore. This isn't the case at all Alan. Everyone that you train with his his or her equal at a jiu jitsu gym. Lets be practical- if we ran this like fight club and only the toughest survived.... we wouldn't have a profitable business in the least. Resistance is always encouraged but never forced. Its also not a "yes or no" type question but more a matter of degree- HOW MUCH resistance is there? So there are plenty of people who train jiu jitsu with limited resistance compared to the others in the gym. Once again though nothing comes for free so you can expect to learn the style quite well, but will never be on par with the guy that's a pro fighter because of the effort he put in.

Imagine that we're talking about swimming. There is a correct way and a not so correct way of swimming. It comes down to efficiency. Sure there are lots of ways to do it, but just because someone can tread water doesn't mean they're qualified to teach swimming or that they're even good at it.... follow me?

Slapping is not practiced in jiu jitsu- anywhere! You are looking at challenge matches, not training videos. Most people don't come back to jiu jitsu because frankly its tough. Most people don't like tough.

All of this is explained beforehand. This isn't sparring its a fight. You need to understand the people that are asking for these matches. These are the guys that are all "you cant take me to the ground" and "that stuff doesn't work on me" so we decide to have a fight. Now here are the rules for a challenge match- the challenger can do whatever he wants, we merely ask that you don't bite for the sake of diseases. You CAN bite, but it'll quickly become the last time you're able to do that. Now the rules for the jiu jitsu fighter- hes not allowed to strike with a closed fist but hes going to take you down. After he does hes going to get to the mount. Hes not going to punch you with a fist, but rather hes going to slap you to demonstrate just how much control he has over you. Then he'll choke you. You'll want to "try again" (they always do...) but they also fail to realize that if this were an actual fight you would not have that option. So what you're asking me to do is to not only not hurt you, but also not embarrass you at the same time. Meanwhile there is no doubt that you're trying your hardest to injure and cripple me the moment you get a chance. The fact that I'm slapping you instead of punching you is about as merciful and compassionate as one can get. The first match is usually a few slaps to get you to turn your back. The second match the slaps are much harder and more frequent. If you insist on a third match, there are no more slaps (or submissions for that matter) and its punches and elbows at this point. A few things to consider- this is still much more humane than any striking style is going to be (considering they'll hit you to the point of unconsciousness with blunt force trauma.) No other martial art ever allowed someone to walk into their school, challenge them, and have the potential to walk out unharmed. This is a FIGHT and I'm able to have enough control so as to only hurt your ego and not your body. What other martial art can offer that? When looking at these videos, you're often not seeing what led up to the match and the banter of the challenger. You speak of Chinese styles and other martial arts, so allow me to call you out on that one- show me a video of a challenge match with a style other than jiu jitsu or modern day mma- a full contact no holds barred match at that and show me the "humanity" demonstrated by the challenged. Lets assume you can find a match, you'll notice that the challenger will be beaten so profusely that an immediate rematch is not possible. You're going to leave the jiu jitsu school with injuries only to your ego (unless you persist). In regards to martial arts and the "code of conduct" you speak of you also need to understand that not everyone is interested in that. I don't train martial arts to become a better person or improve my spirituality, I train because I like to fight. Martial arts are supposed to teach people how to fight. I take great offense to people who claim to be able to do it while simultaneously being unable to do it. The whole situation could have easily been avoided if the challenger merely took a couple of classes....

Isn't the point of BJJ is to get a submission with a joint lock or choke hold?The embarrassment should be with the person doing the slapping and not the one being slapped! This practice of mounting another person and slapping them from a spectators point of view looks like physical abuse and not looking anything resembling a martial art technique. It's a fight Alan.... what grounds do you feel I should be nice given that the other person is trying to cave my face in? I use "me" to reference joe jiu jitsu fighter...

That's such a vague and subjective statement to make in the sense that it supports everything and nothing at the same time. We're talking about why the technique doesn't fit the situation and why its very unlikely to succeed compared to other options available. You seem to argue that because something "might" work its therefore a good idea despite having extremely limited success.

The question is kinda nonsensical. Whether one is doing judo or jiu jitsu your opponent is also fighting with the same rule set. This means that neither is more or less challenging than the other and which one is or isn't is a subjective question and answer. I'm not sure if it makes sense to you or not, but it's kinda like asking if it's harder to compete in a bench press competition vs a deadlift competition.

You're not completely understanding what we (myself and Tempest) are saying, so I'm going to try to further elaborate. The chosen technique is less of a matter than the position its applied from. Tyson took a chunk out of Holyfields ear while they were in the clinch, no doubt it hurt him, but consider it didn't prevent him from fighting. Part of the reason why holyfield reacted the way he did was because it probably hurt like hell, and it was blatently illegal. Consider the following: Attempt to bite someone when they're either mounted on your or on your back- any position where the person is on top of you. Its "cute" to say the least, one of those situations where you say "aww, you're trying to hurt me aren't you?" Now if you're mounted on someone or on their back (in a dominant position) I can bite much more effectively because I have control of you and you don't of me. So now lets talk choice of technique. In the clinch, Tyson chose to bite. What other options may he have had? He could have headbutt which on top of hurting like the bite does, would ALSO have possibility of knocking his opponent out, opening up a cut above his eye (which would allow holyfields blood to drip into his eye and blind him). He could have thrown elbows, just as effective as headbutt. Likewise with knees, which are more devastating. Finally he could have thrown him which pretty much becomes a knockout. Now why didn't Holfield do any of these things? Because fighting in the clinch is illegal in boxing so holyfield didn't do it. To suggest that he'd be unable or unwilling to is obscene. They're called "dirty" tactics because if two fighters agree to not use something beforehand and then one of them goes back on their agreement, they're a dirty liar. So when it comes down to it, you see how "dirty" techniques sure are an option and they can have an effect, but that effect is really only there to firmly establish the bottom of the barrel. Against any trained an competent fighter, it becomes the least of any viable technique to use.

There are simple principles that apply to self defense just on the basis of human anatomy... in short for any striking attack to be effective the attacker either needs to be in a strong position. This is why striking techniques don't work to escape grappling problems. When someone does something simple like a headlock- your body and balance is compromised. No amount of "dirty fighting" will escape this hold. That's the biggest problem I see with self defense. To me, eye gouges, groin strikes, and biting loosely translated mean "I don't know how to get out." Biting? Humans have a pathetic bite force- we cant even break through denim with our teeth. I've had quite a few people attempt to bite me, and I've usually laughed while they did. Its terribly ineffective. Eye gouging and groin grabbing- its not a "yes" or "no" but a matter of degree. I mean, someone need only close their eyes when gouged which is a quite natural response. Same applies with any groin strike. One needs to be a dominant position (on the feet or on the ground) to have any power for these techniques to have any merit whatsoever. So does there need to be a "style?" Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean theres not a science to fighting...

Yeah but the heart and soul of boxing is sparring. If you don't spar, you don't know boxing. I didn't say that you wouldn't spar. Just that it might not be the main focus. But, I've never had the opportunity to train in a Boxing gym, either, so all my speculation is based off things I've read or heard.Sure- if its any consolation I've never "officially" done boxing either- just thai boxing and MMA. Its also a fair statement to also say that its not about whether you "know" or "dont know" boxing, but how well you know it- its a matter of degree rather a yes or no question. People are just creatures of habit, and one of the most difficult things to learn when boxing is how to keep your composure, balance, and guard while someone is punching you. Just like a tournament will, active sparring can help weed out the weak point in your game and will give you something to work on. One doesnt need to be a pro fighter or train like one in order to become proficient- if you boxed twice a week and sparred once a week (say 4-5 rounds) or even every other week, you'd gradually build up a good repoire over time (say 2-3 years). Also, while you will be getting punched in the head there are degrees of sparring as well- theres the type where you're getting ready for a fight and theres the type where you're moving around just as well, but using less intensity.

Yeah but the heart and soul of boxing is sparring. If you don't spar, you don't know boxing.

That would be legs kicks i'm assuming? As that always been the achillies hill to american kickboxing. While the style does make using round house kicks more difficult, it DOES open up side kicks and side teeps and other kicks, like hook kick, which can be very powerful if done correctly Sure, just not as powerful as your classic thai roundhouse. Discussions over which is "better" is really a discussion on strategy. The good thing about the sideways kicks is that they're fast at the expense of power- both to deliver and move afterwards. These fighters are usually out of the pocket quickly after they've hit their opponent, leaving very little in terms of a counter attack. The good thing about the thai roundhouse is the commitment to the strike- it'll break whatever it hits- hands, arms, faces, legs- it represents a full committment to hitting your opponent. Thats the problem though- committment. Your typical MMA fighter will eat a leg kick to get a takedown because frankly its worth it. So theres a triad now of A beat B B beats C, C beats A.... who you're fighting is going to determine what strategy may or may not be better. couldn't agree more. I've done Muay Thai as the majority of my martial arts training....The interest in American KB comes from learning shotokan at the recent and how well it can flow combined with traditional boxing, which gave me and insight and feeling for how KB works.Curious... what made you start shotokan? There was a lot of reasons...I wasn't able to train Muay Thai, and my friend who is a shotokan instructor offered to train me for free, if I would help out cross training her students in muay thai/help with the sparring, to mix it up. One reason I took it up, was at the time I was focused on trying to fight MMA, and the thing I like about Shotokan, and the biggest interest point actually: The blocks. In boxing/muay thai, a lot of defense techniques are based/rely on gloves. I took interested in shotokan to learn defense techniques that would seem more suited for MMA/bareknuckle. and its been good! Taught me a lot of new striking strategies, new techniques. A lot of the stuff is great, and can be used very well in full contact situation or MMA, but it requires some adjustment to make it more suited for such situations. But it had a lot of similar fundimentals to boxing I found, with the stance, application of techniques. This is where I found interested in American kickboxing, from the similarties and how well i found it meshed. Who were you learning Muay thai from and how do they "rely" on the gloves for their defensive techniques? I'll offer a thought experiment: These are two completely different statements: Muay thai relies on using the gloves for blocks My muay thai relies on using the gloves for blocks.

Yeah I agree. Part of the problem was the inability to generate any power in kicks from a sideways stance. I think the "minimum kicks" rule is ridiculous. If someone can beat you using half the amount of tools that you are, hes significantly better and you shouldnt be winning....

Define "pretty good guys."

I can only tell you from experience that injuries and tragedy have been blessings in disguise for me. Think of it like this- it MIGHT be more appropriate to say that your back responds poorly to YOUR kicking movements, rather than kicking movements in general. In order for your initial statement to be true, you would have to have attempting every feasible way of throwing a kick. You very well may have (I dont know) but Im willing to bet you probably havent. This means you need to "learn" a different way to do the same thing (or accomplish the same task I should say.) Im not saying it'll be easy, but the injuries and tragedies visited on my life have had a way of improving my game light years beyond what I could have imagined- because it forces you to do something different. Of course its not easy and this is the reason why "normal" people quit. Sometimes the injury heals and sometimes it doesnt, but learning how to adapt and do things differently or achieve the same goal via a different route makes your adaptable, and the ability to adapt is something thats of great imporatance for martial arts... My two cents

I've got nothing good to say about that and everything bad.... so I'll leave it at that....

That would be legs kicks i'm assuming? As that always been the achillies hill to american kickboxing. While the style does make using round house kicks more difficult, it DOES open up side kicks and side teeps and other kicks, like hook kick, which can be very powerful if done correctly Sure, just not as powerful as your classic thai roundhouse. Discussions over which is "better" is really a discussion on strategy. The good thing about the sideways kicks is that they're fast at the expense of power- both to deliver and move afterwards. These fighters are usually out of the pocket quickly after they've hit their opponent, leaving very little in terms of a counter attack. The good thing about the thai roundhouse is the commitment to the strike- it'll break whatever it hits- hands, arms, faces, legs- it represents a full committment to hitting your opponent. Thats the problem though- committment. Your typical MMA fighter will eat a leg kick to get a takedown because frankly its worth it. So theres a triad now of A beat B B beats C, C beats A.... who you're fighting is going to determine what strategy may or may not be better. couldn't agree more. I've done Muay Thai as the majority of my martial arts training....The interest in American KB comes from learning shotokan at the recent and how well it can flow combined with traditional boxing, which gave me and insight and feeling for how KB works.Curious... what made you start shotokan?