SubGrappler

NSAC I believe is the thorn in the side of MMA in America. Bunch of old boxing fans over there that know nothing about MMA.

You're absolutely right- Logic would have it that if you can defeat 10, than 1 should be a piece of cake.... right? If this were the case, you would be able to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that you can defeat multiple opponents, correct? If thats the case, you realize you could win thousands, if not millions, of dollars fighting in the UFC and Pride organizations. Fair enough, I'll get around to it when Im not feeling as lazy. The papers are not a viable source either, because it only covers the most violent of the encounters. No one cares about the bar fight that joey got involved in last week- its not in the papers, but it doesnt mean it didnt happen. Almost every occurance I see at the bar involves 1 patron fighting 1 other. Im not assuming- I know I have the capability because I've done it many times before. But, if its not safe to believe that you can control a single opponent, wouldnt it then be disastrous to believe you could control 10?

He needs that experience- I would have done exactly the same thing you did. You can learn alot of things about yourself, your style, and the flaws of you techniques (or better yet, a technique you realize you can rely on).

Mwuahaha, you've got ringworm Its caused by fungus on the mats that finds its way onto your skin. Its basically athletes foot, except its not on your foot. Lamisil clears that up in a couple of days (or you could go hardcore and bleach it)

Nick Diaz is a brown belt- I saw him at this year's Pan Am games. As far as Wanderlei destroying Tito, I'd certainly root for Wandy, but hes never shown to have very good takedown defense. I think it would show Silva dominating the standup, only to have Tito take him down and be able to do nothing on the ground. Could you imagine Silva fighting under UFC rules? Hes the kinda person we need (him, a Cro Cop, or a Fedor) to popularize MMA in the US. The only thing I see being an obstacle is the rule against kicking a downed opponent- Silva as we know it would not exist (and neither would those hilarious highlight videos). As Randy said it "Wanderlei is someone who would love nothing better than to stomp a hole in your head."

Well its also been said focus on probability rather than possibilty. Probability is you'll be in a one on one fight. Possibilities are endless. While everything may be possible to the open mind, there comes a time when your mind conflicts with reality.

Im talking about your training methods. However you win a tournament doesnt really matter. But if all you can do is footlocks, theres going to come a time when you fight someone who's got a decent defense against them. I for instance immediately go to butterfly guard when my legs are opened in no gi, so its difficult to isolate a foot for attack. In a situation like that, if you dont have a guard pass, you're going to be kinda screwed. I also like BJJ for practical reasons. Footlocks have their place, but once again, people arent as quick to pounce on a foot in a fight, because you give up top position, and your opponent has two hands to pound you with. Im not saying they're bad, but I am saying that you should not rely on them.

Thats not neccessarily true. Think about it this way. On the feet, he should hold a decisive advantage over me, but hes been doing point sparring his entire life. Once we hit the ground, the advantage goes to me. You'd be surprised the difference between a newbie and a jiu jitsu fighter with 3 months experience.

Ten??

I know that with 3 months of training in BJJ i was able to beat my friend who was going for his 4th degree black belt in Tang Soo Doo and had been training for 17 years.

Choose whichever style you want, but if you've got an injured shoulder, rather than avoid using it and nursing it through whatever you do, you're better off working it out and rehabing it with weights and strengthening exercises.

Not neccessarily- martial arts are supposed to teach you how to fight. Philosophers teach you how to become a better person It depends. Alot of people say "I've never had to use my skills in a real life situation." That pretty much means that you really have no idea whether or not what you know works (or if you do or dont know how to fight). Now, Im not saying go out there and beat the hell out of people for fun, but theres no reason you have to change your attitude and philosophy just because you decided to learn how to fight. It would also be nice to compete in something thats full contact, that way you wont be nearly as nervous or scared when a real opportunity comes around. Thats his preference, and theres nothing wrong with it. But, what if he had gotten into a fight and realized that what he was trying to do was grossly ineffective? What if none of it worked? He would realize that he spent all those years doing the wrong thing. If this happened to him when he was say, 20, then hed have even more confidence in his techniques and fighting ability (and KNOWING that you can fight goes a LONG way in a fight). Once again, thats a matter of opinion/preference. I have to deal with situations like this at work, and I handle them just as you wrote, but I do that because thats what I got hired on for (and my instructor is close friends with my boss). I dont want to leave a bad taste in either of their mouths. If im not working though, then its an entirely different story.

Footlocks becomes relatively easy to defend against in a short period of time once you start to become exposed to them. They're too valuable to not have in your arsenal, although I will agree that the only footlock in mine is the toe hold. I go for the guard pass- I think its far better and what you should always be trying to do. If you opponent defends so hard that he presents an opportunity for the foot, then by all means take it, but I dont think a footlock should be the first thing going through your head.

No, Sapps not a wrestler- his style is listed as "NFL" He was once a lineman Hes 6'6 387lbs with 6 pack abs. Truely a beast, which ironically is his nickname.

Its not so much the style that you base yourself on, but rather the way with which you practice those techniques. For instance, if all you do is point spar, then you'll get good at point sparring. If you practice your forms, you'll get good at forms. Kempo is fine. Tae Kwon Do is fine. Karate is fine. As long as you attempt to practice in realistic situations (the fewer rules, the better) once in awhile, whatever you do is fine. Chuck Liddel, current Light Heavyweight UFC Champion, has trained in Kempo. The thing that marks the styles made popular by Mixed Martial Arts is their training methods. All styles of standup fighting have a basic front and roundhouse kick, but Muay Thai guys are known for being devestating with them, and thats due to their training methods. That is not a true statement- to say that is to ignore all the differences that seperate all the different martial arts. You can be the most athletically gifted person in the world- that doesnt make you a good fighter. Everyone has to be trained, and it depends on whos training you and what it is you're exposed to. Royce Gracie wasnt fast, he wasnt strong, and he was by no means a menancing person. Everyone else he fought was. In today's mixed martial arts venue, that statement holds true, because the fighters are all trained in the same things in all ranges of combat.

He has a red sash in all 5 animal styles No it doesnt. This is pretty much how it works- a deep rooted stance means you can deliver powerful blows, but it also means you have no chance to sprawl either. If you're flat on your feet, or rooted in the ground, the takedown will be quicker and easier. Being light on the feet means you take considerable power away from your blows, but also allows for quick takedown defense. Theres 3 defenses to being taken down- the first is your hands, second is your elbows, third is your hips. If you stand your ground in a deep rooted stance, then theres no way for you to make space between your hips and mine-therefore you'll be much much easier to take down than otherwise. Wrestlers are the masters of takedowns. If this were true, you could go in to the Olympics and win an Olympic Gold Medal using this technique. Theres a reason why it hasnt been done. and because Jason did not do much when he was standing either. Thats the idea of closing the distance- Jason tried to get his shots in. But against someone determined to close the distance' date=' you're going to end up in a clinch. Once they got there, Royce was the better of the two and succeeded in taking the fight to the ground. I believe someone posted his homepage. Im sure he'll answer questions you may have.

Its not so impossible- look at random street fights you can find online, or even get a video of them at the mall for $20. Its true that most fights are going to end up on the ground. This doesnt mean that you're going to lose unless you're a grappler. In any of these randomly shot street fight videos, almost no one has any training. It is BECAUSE fights are so chaotic in nature that fights end up going to the ground (two legs are not very stable when throwing your body weight behind punches, and when you have another near 200lb person punching and shoving back at you). What goes behind the idea of showing people that most fights go to the ground is that it proves to them the opportunity to use their grappling skills. If you teach someone a technique on the ground often they'll ask "when am I going to use this?" By showing them that the fight inevitably goes to the ground, you can say "at this point of the fight, you outclass your opponent enough that you have the opportunity to end the fight." This seems like a better option than simply trying to batter your opponent, only to have him get back up to his feet in a neutral position.

You're right, but at the same time your philosophy is flawed. Brett Favre and I both have a head, two arms, and two legs. He can throw a football over 60 mph that dislocates his recievers fingers when they catch the ball. That doesnt mean that I can do the same. Martial arts and fighting are the same as any other sport you care to compare it to. For instance, they're not running any new patterns in football yet teams are still scoring off the pass play- no one's throwing new pitches in baseball, yet batters are still striking out. Its all about setups, and how often you're willing to practice your techniques. I know what a jab is, what a cross, left hook, and uppercut are- but Im still going to be knocked to the ground if I standup with a competent level boxer.

Maybe he saw Bob Sapp vs Akebono

I agree, but if all you do is footlocks, then you'll never learn how to pass the guard and get to a dominant position. I think thats the reason you're not allowed to do them until you're a brown belt.

Absolutely- The general consensus is that with 6 months of training, you have enough of the tools to take someone down, achieve a dominant position, and finish the fight with a submission hold. You'd be surprised how far just a few moves could go. My friend has done many martial arts, finally deciding on BJJ. He used to go around with the Gracies helping out for seminars. You'd be surprised how many people think they cant be taken to the ground. One instance had a guy take his sweats off half way through the seminar, showing a karate black belt with numerous stripes on it while he said "thats all great, but how are you going to get me to the ground?" My friend got a little excited- this was pre UFC days and he'd never seen Royce fight, so he couldnt wait to see what he (Royce) would do to the guy. Without hesitation, I believe it was Rorion who said "thats not a problem" and pointed to my friend and said "take him down." His jaw dropped, and he was nervous (hed only been training about 5-6 months) but they told him just to use his wrestling (he had been a collegiate wrestler prior to BJJ). As the first kick was thrown, my friend grabbed the leg, stepped in, and slammed the guy to the mat.

Yeah, but it shouldnt- thats a cheesy way to fight (ignoring the rules). They showed a good example of how biting and eye gouging dont change the tempo of a fight a whole lot. The guy who did both thankfully got his own in the end (Royce refused to release a chokehold when he tapped out).

Yeah, its unfortunate that his 15 minutes (actually I guess it was only 5) was being brutalized by Johnny Rhodes in UFC 2 in one of the worst beatings in its history. Word is that he actually entered on the spur of the moment- one of the other competitors originally scheduled to fight withdrew from the match and they needed a replacement quickly- Ettish stepped up to the plate. Its good to hear as well that hes expanded his horizons and including a bit more in his schools. Cal Worsham started off as a 1 style martial artist (TKD) and he got busy and crosstrained in order to become a much better fighter. Im sure Ettish could/should do the same.

Some people just like to be belt collectors, rather than say, sports card collectors. Doesnt make you any good if you study 10 different martial arts, but you're not good at any one of them.

Kind of suck? You realize that K-1 is home to the BEST standup fighters in the WORLD- that includes any kung fu, karate, kickboxing, or tae kwon do fighters you can name.