Cool MMA video blog

Found another blog with some great fights called http://www.mmascraps.com/. Check it out have added the hyperlink to the favourites list. It has the recent Frank Shamrock v Cung Le middleweight title fight.

Pride KO's

Knockouts
Uploaded by DamienakaFritenite

Some good old days of Pride here. Knees to a downed opponent. Henderson with heavy hands. Rampage slams. Fedor KO's Zulu Jnr. Cro Cop drops a guy with a liver kick. The memories......it gets me all teary.

Different Levels of Intensity in Training

To get the most out of each session it becomes important to identify three different aspects of jiu-jitsu when rolling with a partner. Learning, Training and Competing. Like all concepts there is heaps of overlap bewteen these areas but so often I see novice grapplers always driving the car in top gear to the detriment of their and their training partners development.

Firstly then there is play, going light, which in my book equates to experiement without consequence. Try stuff and see what happens, let yourself into bad spots and tap if required. No big deal. Play is a huge part of learning and it teaches you to relax and improves sensitivity and timing. If you cant let yourself do this on a mat because your ego is too easily bruised then it impedes progress greatly and doesnt make you a good training partner. Remember this IS a team sport. You can be only as good as your training partners.

Next is just plain old wrasslin at the end of class which is competitive and against a resisting opponent but still about learning and not just winning. Trying to apply things you have learnt and expanding weaker areas of your game. But this is still not a match or competition in the truest sense, there are no refs, time varies and so do the rules. But you do have a contest, but no-one actually cares if you win or lose. This level is all about problem-solving. Again understanding this second level will make you a better training partner.

Lastly, of course, their is a genuine match, time limits, rules, points, scoreboards, refs, spectators, trophies etc. This is a true test. It can occur at training or at a tournament. Putting it on the line. Getting the angry eyes out and meaning business. Small mistakes can lead to big consequences. Performing when the lights are on you. Often I have seen guys treat a comp like a training session getting into bad spots before putiing their foot on the gas or leaving things too late and time runs out. They may have been more skilled than their opponent but didnt "switch on" in time. So next time you have a match practice in training bring your A game from the start. This is invaluable experience for tournaments. Dont wait and see what happens, go out and make it happen. Action beats Reaction everytime. Competing is about winning the contest.

Keep your training partner in mind and decide what intenisty level is best for the both of you to get the most out of training, smashing a smaller less experienced partner is not an exercise in learning. Also a more experienced grappler may be in play mode whilst his partner might be going flat chat to just stay competitive. So two people may be in completely different zones. Realise the difference in the goals and expectations of each wrassle.

Dont forsake technical progress just because you have the desire to constantly compete, but conversely, you must also retain the ability to pull the trigger when it actually counts. This can be a delicate balancing act but critical to your success as a grappler. Stories abound of superstars in the gym who couldnt put it together on the day and also guys who get smashed at training but turn it up when it really counts.

Bas Rutten Inverted Heel Hook IFL

ESPN Ultimate Fighting Story

Affliction Clothing Brand Commercial

Affliction is the latest brand for the MMA crowd in the USA. Interesting to see Boxers in this gear as well. I wonder if this is a sign that MMA has gone mainstream in the USA as its about to make its debut on free to air television on the CBS network. This is a big step for the sport as it has previously been cable or pay per view only.

ATT HL Clip

Sidehold Escapes - Roy Dean

JJM Leg Attack Combo

ADCC 2005 Kyra Gracie V Erica Montoya

Clock Choke By Ze Mario

ADCC 2007 Absolute Final Garcia v Drysdale

Adcc 2007 Absolute Final Marcelo Garcia vs Robert Drysdale
Uploaded by arnojjb

Imanari "10th degree in Leglocks"

For all you leglock nuts, here is the king of them all. Check out his HL clip and some of his fights and instructionals that are linked after the clip. Legs are easy to attack and difficult to defend but the trick is to maintain control of your opponent and this guy has mastered that art.

UFC 83 Promo

Fedor HL Clip

Wont miss an opportunity to post another clip of the best heavyweight in the world. Heavy hands, calm, patient, wrecking ball. Just wish he would fight a decent opponent some time soon.

More Ryan Hall

Here is another piece of commentated match footage by Ryan Hall. I post this stuff because there is lots to be learned by experienced guys talking their way through a match. This one is harder to watch for me than the Baret match because Matsamoros plays a very defensive game the whole time. I was glad that Ryan caught him with the heel hook because at least he was there for a fight. Mind you two guys sitting to guard simultaneously is always good for a laugh.

Ryan Hall v Baret Yoshida

JJM v Carl Uno ADCC 1999

Sweet HL Vid from Underground Forum

Brian Ebersole

I was talking to Jason the other day about this guy and he is coming to Australia to teach MMA for a week in early April. He will be teaching at the Kimekai School in Chelsea Heights at some stage so I thought I might go and check it out. I will let you know when I get more details and anyone else who wants can come along. From the talk on the forums he has lots of fight experience. His fight record can be be found at Sherdog. Here is his fight with Suda in Shooto back in 2005. Larry Pap from Extreme Sydney also had a match with Suda which I have posted previously.

Cobrinha HL Vid

Return of the Gi and the Mat Strikes Back

On Tuesday 25th March after Easter we will return to Gi training full time. This will give us 6 weeks to begin preparations for the AFBJJ Vic State Champs to be held at MSAC on Saturday 3rd of May. There has been some talk of making the trip to Tassie for the Champions Cup in September so please make sure you have qualified for this tourney by placing in this years states or last years pan pacs or champions cup to be eligible.

We will try and get the softer wrestling mat down every Saturday to get some all important match practice and takedowns going before the comp.

Oh I figured out whats going on with MMA training at Chelsea and it seems I had it all wrong. It's a Kimekai Karate School in Chelsea Heights off Wells Rd that has BJJ/MMA classes and these are Iisted on the Peter de Been website. I know Marco Mazzanti, the head instructor who teaches in Highett, from Shukokai days. I had a good chat with him at the Champions Cup last year. He is a fantastic martial artist and his school in Highett is where De Been started his BJJ club, Marco is a purple belt with Peter. Dont know much about the chap teaching at Chelsea Heights but it seems from the website that he has a background in traditional karate and kickboxing and is a qualified chef. Kimekai KO is their team of MMA fighters who compete at local shows. I also know Wayne Ronaldson who has taught Karate for Marco in the past and competed in MMA events. Wayne is also tough as nails, so I hope he is there as well, he is a great training partner.

The baby faced assassin......Josh Barnett

Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Josh Barnett - Sengoku WVR
Uploaded by moltisanti87

Could this be the man to beat Fedor or Randy? Barnett has already beaten Randy once before but can he do it again? Sure am keen to see this guy fight more than he now does.

Timing, Sensitivity and Distancing

Back when I taught Sport Karate to teenage athletes at an international level the tricky part as a coach was developing alive drills or games that improved the qualities of timing and distancing. Since Sport Karate is ultimately a glorified game of tag, these two factors most often influenced the outcome of a bout, when participants were of a similar skill level. Now that I coach Jiu Jitsu I have come to realise that teaching timing is equally important and that the quality of sensitivity replaces distancing since, in most instances, you are in physical contact with your opponent. When you think of how well Jason is doing on the mat at the moment it is these two things (timing and sensitivity) that set him apart. Its not in how many techniques he knows but in the application. Thanks to Randy Couture and Matt Tornton for getting my head around this concept. I have added a definition of Sensitivity to my list of nine qualities that are required for execution of Jiu Jitsu techniques against a resisiting opponent.

Timing And Sensitivity - Randy Couture

Randy Couture - Using Knee Bumps in the Clinch

Timing And Sensitivity - Matt Thornton

McGivern V Horwich IFL

Great fight. Good stand up, clinch and ground action. Relentless pace. Lead uppercuts by McGivern are really crisp and the sort of shot that works in MMA only, you'd rarely see that in boxing. This match is everything I love about MMA.