Sweep from seated guard

"Redbelt" Movie Trailer

A David Mamet movie about jiu-jitsu..hmmm..i dont have high hopes.

Strength and Conditioning

Dave was interested in the first sandbag exercise so I'd thought I'd post it.

Rolling Armbar from Turtle

Here is a nice detailed description of how to perform a rolling arm from the turtle. It explains in detail each of the necessary steps to successfully apply this move. You can tell by the way this guy teaches this that he has got the move down pat. Its a popular way to attack the turtle in judo.

Daniel Moraes X guard pass

Rigan Machado Melbourne Seminar

Here are the details for the upcoming Rigan Machado Seminar in September.

Leozinho Guard Pass

If i'm not mistaken its Kid Peligro doing the English voiceover for one of Leozinho's signature moves.

C Class Shooto Perth August

The details for a C class shooto event in Perth on 31st August can be found here. I know some of you guys want to compete in MMA and this is the most legitimate and sanctioned way to get your career underway. Habby runs these comps regularly so keep an eye out for future events. Forms can be downloaded here.

MMA Live ESPN

Tony Desouza

Get past the beard, industrial noise and accent (somewhere b/w hawaii and chile) because Desouza knows his stuff. If its good enough for Rigan Machado, Marc Laimon, BJ Penn and John Lewis then its good enough for me. There are a variety of chokes here including the peruvian neck tie, guillotenes, anaconda and other neck arm variations.. Watch and learn. Remind me to drag this out after the pan pacs when we go to no-gi training.

Danzig V Sakurai Pride 33 Feb 2007

Kawajiri v Alvarez Dream Lightweight GP

Farber V Markham

Thanks Chris for this one...

Dig bko - MyVideo

Peruvian Neck Tie

Thanks Travis for this one..

bc besse - MyVideo
And heres the explanation...no idea who this guy is btw.

This choke is in line with the other neck/arm chokes that are popular in no-gi grappling at the moment. Did I see this on the awesome Jeff Rockwell's no-gi choke clip posted last year? Will have to check. Yep, its the last clip on the page where he demonstrates this choke.

Champions Cup Trip October

Looks like we are go for the Hobart trip in October. Flights are booked and paid for so give me $200 asap. It was $89 there and $110 return on Virgin. I have SMSed the flight details to your respective mobiles except Marco so can someone forward the details to his phone. Have booked 4 Standard Tower twin rooms at the Wrest Point Casino for Fri and Sat nite at $165/nite, these can be paid for at check out from the hotel on Sunday. At this stage its the the following bunch of lads are going...should be a great trip.

Brett (Ringwood)
Dave
Jeroen
Rick
Chris
Jason
Marco
Paul

Shock and Awe by Fedor....

feds bilvia - MyVideo
That short right hand followed by the lead left hook has leveled some big guys. Maybe Randy should retire on top whilst the going is good? I mean I love Randy but this man is a beast. Even if Randy survives the initial onslaught whats he got in a ring as opposed to the cage. Not as much to pin your opponent against the cage like he did Gonzaga before the slam. Who is next for Fedor? Barnett? Arlovski? Couture? Cant wait to find out.

Roy Dean Headlock Escapes

MMA Live ESPN

UFC vs Affliction Banned Preview

Ah Tiffany...i think they hired you for your in depth knowledge of MMA ; ) Nice eye candy.

Triangle Choke Roy Dean

Josh Barnett Interview

Been thinkin......

Was listening to Carsons Corner Podcast the other day with Eric Paulson who was talking about BJJ, Catch Wrestling and Olympic wrestling and how if you can combine elements of these three things that you would have a great grappler and that perhaps this beast has not yet been created. On reflection I thought that this man already exists and his name is John Donehue. Coach knows Paulson well and has hosted his seminars in Australia previously. Coach has the transitional control of BJJ, the takedowns, scrambles and base of a wrestler and the painful submissions including neck cranks of catch-as-can sewn up. Gene Lebell black belt, Rigan Machado black belt and training partner, RAW submission coach and training partner of Rico Chiaparelli. That still is the best CV of any instructor in Australia today bar none. Spoke to Jason about it and he shared a similar sentiment when he heard the podcast as well. Why you would train with any other group is a mystery to me? Reminds me of the time Coach was coming back to Australia from the US in the late 90's and his reputation preceded him. The stories I heard was that he was "the real deal" and scary good. And after the instructors weekend just gone, 10 years later, I realised again that no-one can even get close to him. Now I say this for two reasons. Firstly because John would never say it himself and secondly to remind members of the Extreme group just how lucky we are....we have the complete package right at our doorstep. With the amount of guys out there teaching MMA and grappling on very little experience at all its important to sort out the wheat from the chaff sometimes.

Affliction Banned

After talking to Smithy last night at training its looks like we're on for Sunday to watch the PPV on Mainevent starting at 10am at his place in Mount Martha. Ricky has also kindly offered to host the event at his place in Cranbourne if thats closer for anyone. Contact me for details. Broadcast begins at 9.30am with a preview, 10.00am undercard fights and 11am mainevent. This has some of the best heavyweights on the planet on the card and should be a great event, if not the card of the year. This is the first time I get to watch Fedor fight live without knowing the result and I must say I'm pumped. Cant wait to see how he goes against his first decent opposition in three years. So get permission from the fun police and hook up with the boyz to watch some primetime MMA!

Brutal KO

Bet you dont see this one coming....

Geoff Thompson The Fence Part 1

Way back when I was way watching Royce Gracie win the early UFC's wondering what the hell Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was and how anybody could possibly fight from thier back, I was at the same time introduced to Geoff Thompson from the UK and his ideas on self protection. Some Wing Chun guys who I cross trained with at the time introduced me to both areas and it opened up a whole new world for me. I had to swallow my pride about what I thought fighting was and start again. Evolve or die. One of Geoff's big things is controlling pre-fight diaglogue and distance using the fence which he explains here. As I have said before BJJ/MMA training are not self defence ready arts and if this is one of your goals for training then you need to explore other areas to complete the package. I have talked up Tony Blauer and his SPEAR sysytem on this blog in the past, but Geoff Thompson also has some great stuff out there. As Geoff explains here the last place you need to be in a scrap is on the floor and this "fence" buys you time, distance and options. Watch as much of his stuff on youtube as you can. Geoff has been quoted as saying that the essence of self defence is learning to punch fucking hard. He aims to develop as much power in a short distance as possible from the fence position. Pre-emptive strikes to get the KO. Like Tony Blauer often describes action beats reaction everytime.

Interview World Absolute Champ: Xande Ribeiro

Pride MW Barn Burner

This fight has all the aspects that makes MMA the best combat sport in the world. Enjoy.

Hideo Tokoro vs. Darren Uyenoyama - Dream.4 MW GP 2008
Uploaded by moltisanti87

MMA Live ESPN

Affliction Banned Fight Card

On Mainevent Sunday July 20th from 11am. Are u busy that day smithy?

Leo Viera v Eddie Bravo ADCC 2003

BJJ Worlds 08 budovideo preview clip

Congratulations

A big congratulations to the first round of John Donehue Extreme Black Belts. An event ten years in the making. From the left, Habby Heske, Rodney Ellis, Coach John Donehue, Larry Papadopolous, Bernie Jenkins and Cris Brown. This is an amazing group of martial artists in thier own right who now form the basis of the Extreme organisation on a national level. As I have said before if you add up the experience in this group of instructors its scary. As commented on the forums Bernie has taught most of the the other local black belts at some point, Habby has fought pro boxing and thai boxing, Cris has gone to 5 Olympics, Larry fought Pancrase and Shooto before it was trendy to do MMA and is considered a pioneer of grappling in Australia. All are very well rounded martial artists with incredible skills. A huge asset to the group, please train with these guys any chance you get.

Progress in BJJ

Progress in BJJ is pretty simple really. On reflection of this weekends gradings, instructor training, personal experience and running a small club for two years I have decided it comes down to doing three things: training, tournaments and technique. During my time training I have failed in all these areas at some time or another and no doubt may do so in the future, so I speak from experience as well as observation. These actions (i.e doing), as distinct from attitude and intent, which is another thing altogether will ensure progress.

Training
Get on the mat at least twice a week every week. 3-4 sessions is ideal but not always practical. Be consistent with your training. Make yourself accountable and make training a priority in your life. Get at least six months training under your belt before attempting a grading or a big tournament.

Tournaments
Compete in 2-3 tournaments a year. Just to test yourself against your peers from other schools. Obviously winning is great but just get in there and mix it up. Set realistic expectations for yourself, deal with the nerves and get it on. Pressure testing. A great learning experience.

Technique
Get a handle on the syllabus and be able to perform all the techniques on it in a smooth and effective way with a compliant training partner. Each grading demands a higher level of execution than the previous grading and obviously by the time you reach blue it should be solid and by purple its second nature. Each person develops thier own game but must be able to execute fundamentals.

So that's it in a nutshell. Not so hard really, or is it? Without exception if your doing these things with a good coach you will improve regardless of age, talent, intelligence or size. You can watch as much youtube and dvd's as you like but without actually "doing" its all for nought.

A BJJ Mundial History Lesson

For the record Xande beat Roger in the finals of this years Absolute with 2 takedowns to take the crown.

Cobrinha HL Vid

Instructors 2 day Training Camp

This was a great two days of training. Getting a chance to roll with the best of the Extreme bunch was amazing. Between Larry, Habby, Bernie, Chris, Rodney and the Coach there is some serious experience present on the mat. Best just to sit back and soak it up. Learnt heaps of new stuff and refined lots of the basics that will keep us busy at the club for a month. It will be a case of teaching it to remember it. The Friday morning session was taken by Chris Brown and John Donehue and focused on takedowns and throws with the gi and strategies to obtain grip breaks and set up single leg attacks. After lunch their was some match practice and open forum comments on how each match played out. That evening was the grading and a chance to see how the syllabus worked in action. Day two was no-gi with emphasis on guard passing. Each instructor demonstrated their bread and butter passes and we work shopped these together. There was also time for a q&a with the coach about some techniques, trends in grappling and finishes. And as usual feeling is believing. The pressure, pain, leverage, balance and angles that the coach creates are incredible. Another chance for some competitive wrestling and it was off to lunch. After this it was a chance to sit down and review the grading syllabus and insure that there is consistency in the ways in which techniques are taught and perhaps top up on any areas that were not present in the existing outline. There was a positive mood and a feeling that this kind of thing needs to happen more often. Great to catch up with the crew and cant wait for the next one.

MMA Live ESPN

Grading Nite

Congratulations to all students who attended. I was very proud to see Dave get his blue. Dave was the first student at Mornington so to see the progress that Dave has made over this time is fantastic. He is a great student and makes training a priority in his life and is part of the fabric of our club. Its a great step for Mornington Extreme to produce its first blue. Hopefully the first of many. Jason also got a bump to purple. I consider Jase a training partner rather than a student because he teaches me as much as I can teach him. We are lucky to have him as part of our club. Anyone who has wrestled with Jase can attest to his talent, skill and strength. His solid wrestling and awesome jits now combined with some improving stand up skills, look out. Chris got four stripes on his white and is knocking on the door of a blue. Niall moved to two stripes as well. Smithy and Rick had to sit out with injuries but were present to watch the occasion. Both are due to grade but unfortunately will have to wait. However, on a more disappointing note, their were a few guys who I felt were in a position to grade who did not attend. These things don't come around often and when they do you need to seize the moment. Gradings are about personal achievement for certain but they also reflect the growth of our club and therefore are bigger than just the individual. BJJ is a team sport since you can only be as good as your training partners. As is often said, iron sharpens iron. So if you are invited to grade realise that its not all about you and perhaps consider the bigger picture. Trust me, no-one ever wants to be graded in BJJ or thinks their ready for the next rank because it just places a big target on your back. Thats the challenge. But once again, a great nite for Extreme and I was proud to be a part of it.

Judo Groundwork HL

Best of Newaza
Uploaded by Boretz

Rickson in the new Hulk Movie

BJJ goes even more mainstream.

K1 World Cup Superheavyweight

Some talk that Semmy may return to MMA. Look Out. He is one big dude. Now that he is the top of the heap at K1 and made some cash maybe a return to MMA might make sense. I remember he struggled on the ground in the early days, but with his stand up skills and a solid takedown defense he could prove a handful.

Semmy Schilt vs Jerome Le Banner
by Sino21