baronbvp

I have been watching The Ultimate Fighter recently, and I noticed something peculiar to MMA. I watched the story of one guy who is a black belt in jiu-jitsu. This being MMA, he decided he wanted to win his bout with punching. He was young, as they almost all are, and his coach was very frustrated because the kids was uncoachable. He lost his bout by getting beaten at punching,. He never took the other guy down once, never even tried. If he had, it would have over in less than 30 seconds because the other guys was not a grappler. Seems as though some young guys give up on the horse than brung 'em in an effort to be well-rounded. In his case, it was bad strategy and he was one-and-done. If you saw the recent title bout where Chuck Liddell lost in the first round to Rampage Jackson, all the hype didn't add up as he got beat by a greater puncher. Another thing I can't stand is the requirement to make weight. Guys do everything they can to get down to 155, way worse (and IMO unsafe) than we used to do in high-school wrestling. They have to cut like 20 lbs in a few weeks. Then, after the weight-in, they puff back up to fight at 170 or so. This one kid couldn't make weight and got booted from the show in shame. That is a bad part of the sport that needs to be changed.

MMA is about fighting. Some may apply art to it, but it is about fighting and doing it well. I have been to three MMA schools, all of which were excellent and of high character. All three had serious fighting fitness (strength and endurance) training as a core underneath their fighting training. One was taught by a very excellent JKD guy, with assistant instructors in MT, BJJ, stick fighting, catch-as-catch-can wrestling, and other styles. His goal was to train older athletes/artists/accountants/whoever to fight. I liked the environment there best. The other trained ring fighters. Pedro Sauer is the head BJJ instructor. You will find none better. Two Thai brothers with over 350 professional MT fights between them in Thailand taught the MT. That school also offered classes in Krav Maga, straight Jiu-Jitsu (for the falls), and boxing. They even had classes in actual MMA - how to ground and pound, etc and use ring strategy. That school was a little rough for me but they were all business. I also took MT from a guy who invented his own mixed martial art called Jung Su because he is a DAN in Tang Soo Do, Jiu-Jitsu, karate, and Thai kickboxing. He seeks the most effective street-useful style using techniques and strategies from all four of those arts. So, he invented his own art to fill a need he saw that wasn't being met. What Bushido Man said earlier is exceptionally germane: truly well-rounded fighting is about standing, clinching, and ground fighting. A good MMA school will teach these three mindsets and distances using techniques from mixed styles. They will also teach the transitions from one to another. A REALLY good school will add conflict deescalation, fear response control, etc. Bottom line to me: MMA is here to stay, and is the fastest growing martial art. It is about effective no-holds-barred (within legal bounds) fighting. You either knock out or submit your opponent. The name "MMA" is irrelevant. You could even say there are kata; I train on my own now using kata I have developed for myself. I have never seen any real fight that wasn't ugly. Most TMA fights I have seen that got very intense turned into full-contact kickboxing anyway, because the fighters modified their styles in the heat of contact. I like MMA, though I don't care for some of the "angry young male" street-fighter mentality of some practitioners and followers, like can be seen on The Ultimate Fighter. I am a better fighter now that when I did only karate.

Well done, Marie!

Bushido Man, holy jeez! Sounds like you guys handled it well. Kudos to your mom hanging tough, and to you and your family for taking such good care of her. Keep us posted. I agree with The BB of C: guess having to fix my clutch wasn't such a bummer after all.

This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. An exercise in morphing, this video shows the faces of women painted by famous artists over a span of 500 years. Artists range from DaVinci, Raphael, and Botticelli, to Dali and Picasso. Nice cello music accompanies it.

There is a great article in the articles section of this forum by a woman with MS. If she can do it, I'll bet you can find a way.

Last weekend: hung 5 curtain rods, planted new front yard. Not exactly what I had in mind for Memorial Day. I would rather have gone to Arlington Cemetery to reflect.

That's one reason my right jab is good. I get to use it a lot against righties circling away from my left.

You know, one thing I just recalled that my shorin ryu sensei used to say, was that the side kick is best used when kicking to the side. (Seems like a "duh," but follow me through this.) He preferred to use the side kick to attack someone coming in from the side while you were otherwise engaged. He was big into multiple opponent street fighting defense. He rarely likes to pivot from any kind of forward stance into a side kick stance. He would almost exclusively use the side kick to lash out/hold off a second attacker who came in from either side as he was dealing with a primary threat. It's a quicker kick when you launch it to the side without a setup move. Sometimes he did use the side kick against a single opponent, but he pretty much only used it when he could strike something juicy without a setup move. Sometimes it ends up being to the front or rear depending on relative positioning after other moves or defenses. For instance, I like to use it as a strong kick to the face of someone on their knees; not easily blocked. So another reason you don't see it in MMA may be that they never have a second opponent. Does anyone else use side kicks this way?

Thanks, Cross. I will check that out. So far I have focused on mirror drills with punches that include my MT-style punches, JKD punches (thumb up, straight lead), and old karate chambered punches. I also do mirror clinch/knee/rotate moves and round kicks. I have a 50 lb heavy bag in my home gym. It is not heavy but is much more solid than the standup floor bag I used in MT. I have had to tighten my fists even more and I pay very close attention to my mechanics to avoid wrist injury. I do these drills at my regular gym, too, where I took MT. Unfortunately, they won't let anyone use the boxing equipment unless they pay for a class; I have "fed back" that bit of nonsense to the management. I have also gotten back into lifting heavy. And even though I am built slender, the little bit of belly fat I have is ever more stubborn to the point where I just can't eat right/do cardio enough to keep it off. At some point in life, other priorities seem to win out. It's only about an extra ten pounds, but my body seems comfy where it is now. I have to admit, I don't miss the pain of training MAA. I work out hard, but smart. I'll check into those solo resources. Thanks, Baron

Unfortunately due to work time constraints and being a little tired of being thrown around at 45, I quit formal training at my JKD school. I now train on my own in Muay Thai and lifting weights, running, hiking, etc. You lose a lot by not training with partners; but Cross, Sohan, you and some others have inspired me to take my training in a different direction by training on my own. I can actually work on technique better and do a lot of visualization in the privacy of my own home gym. Truthfully, it is a positive change. I miss the school some, though. Breaks of life.

I noticed once I stopped side kicking and doing a lot of slow round kicks that my hip pain went away. I don't do that anymore. Getting older requires training modifications at some point for most of us, I think.

I agree, Bushido Man. And I agree with what Patrick said. Perhaps he doesn't display the team leadership that teams want now. After all the issues in Minnesota, is he not leading the team the way the Dolphins had hoped? I can't imagine why he would be quite so marginalized there beyond his injury. He doesn't seem to have a much support from team management or the fans. I don't read the Miami press, so I could be wrong. That's just my sense of it. I would think they'd at least let him compete fairly for the job. On a side note, despite the title of this thread: before you know it, football season WILL be here! Thank God for that.

Drank beer, watched the Indy 500. Too bad my girl Danica didn't win.

Here's a link to the fight video: http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/ufc%2B71%2Bliddell%2Bjackson/video/x238ub_chuck-liddell-vs-quinton-rampage-ja

Very much so, and a great little bit of posting right there. You are a very knowledgeable man.

Agreed. Personally, Bushido Man, I think your Chiefs are disrespecting Green big time. At some point there's a hit to their reputation that isn't worth any savings they can milk from here out of the Dolphins. I know it's a business but there is no reason for all this bad blood being created.

I guess my 37 year old boy Chuck can't stand with the big, strong 28 year old. BAM. The other undercard fights were mostly upsets as well from what I've read. I unfortunately didn't get to see them live.

Bold call! Rampage can take a beating. I don't think it will be so easy. Congrats on the digital black belt, by the way.

I think Keyshawn Johnson (USC Trojan, baby) will make an excellent football commentator, better than most. There's an interesting article on SI.com where the writer thinks he'll be the Charles Barkley of the NFL.

But so is JKD.

It's tonight, perhaps the biggest MMA fight since UFC 66 or maybe ever since the sport is exploding. Who do you pick? I think Chuck wins but it goes to a decision.

Bunkai is the application of kata or other forms in actual sparring, fighting, or analysis. It is where you demonstrate or show why a form is the way it is - the combat application of it.

Could be a cartilage separation of some sort from your ribs, or bruised or cracked ribs. Sam Sheridan writes about this kind of chronic injury in his recent book A Fighter's Heart.

Here is a great recent blurb from Peter King on SI.com: Since I am moving to Berlin next summer, I will be eagerly following the Berlin Thunder. If the Chiefs and Bills (or any other NFL teams) come to Germany, I'm there with my Lofa Tatupu Seahawks jersey on.