Archive for February, 2009
What's up everyone?
Posted by: | CommentsJust finished teaching my classes tonight at Joslin’s MMA. The last class, which was boxing, was pretty busy with over 20 people in. I trained a little bit with the class as I taught them a few different counter punching drills. I really didn’t feel into it tonight though. Actually I felt like crap!
I think I’m a little tired from a long week of training and a lack of sleep. A few nights ago my daughter was playing on the living room floor with some craft stuff. There were these little balls of soft material, about the size of a gum ball, that she was sticking onto some paper.
I was sitting a few feet away from her, working on my laptop. Next thing I knew she ran up to me in a panic! After I figured out what she was saying to me — she’s 5 and she was crying — I realized that she had inhaled one of the little things up her nose. Looking into her nose I saw the thing stuck way,way up inside. I started to freak out too, which didn’t help things but I wasn’t sure if it would mess up her breathing or cause serious damage. I was a little comforted by the thought of those people who are able to pass chains and spaghetti noodles through their own noses without choking. It was a strange thought but it definately helped.
So after more than 3 hours of me trying to get tweezers up her nose, I finally gave up and took her took the hospital emergeny department. They had my wife and I plug one of her nostrils and give her mouth to mouth, breathing hard in an attempt to push the thing out of her nose. Obviosly she wanted her Mom to blow in her mouth instead of me. It didn’t work!
A doctor managed to come in a short while later and pull the whatever ya call it out of her nose with long tweezers. We all started to high five him as we broke out into celebration after which we went home. I got about two or three hours of sleep before I had to wake up to go talk MMA on the radio at a local station.
That’s why I feel like crap!!!!!
How are you guys doing? Any plans for Valentines day?
UFC 97 (Montreal) controversy!
Posted by: | CommentsLooks like the UFC’s return to Montreal could be facing an obstacle in the form of the Quebec athletic commission. Changes that may be implemented by the commission may result in changes to their rules and regulations which would differentiate them from the unified rules that the UFC currently uses. That could spell trouble for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Montreal in April.
I find it strange that changes could be in the works even though the TKO fight organization has run for years in Quebec with both elbow and knee strikes being allowed. In fact, when I used to fight there we were allowed to knee a downed opponent in the head! Now rumour has it that the commission may be calling for no elbow or knee strikes at all and may be adding something that may resemble a standing eight count when a fighter gets dropped with a strike, what’s with that?!?
I hope this issue gets resolved and the fight card goes on as planned as I already have my ticket!
Here’s the article from Sportsnet where I found this bad news.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/2009/02/12/ufc_qac/
What are your thoughts?
Some Training at Joslin’s MMA – Hamilton
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s a few of the classes at Joslin’s MMA in action! Come out and try one of my classes for free to see how we do things.
Should Strikeforce have Kimbo fight?
Posted by: | CommentsKimbo Slice, also known as Kevin Fegurson, was one of the many fighters whose contracts were recently purchased by Strikeforce.
Kimbo’s huge ability to draw fans to the sport, earned mainly through the videos on the internet which show him mauling people in street fights, placed him as in main events fights from the start of his mixed martial arts career.
His last few matches have shown that he has stuff work on in his game especially if he is going to compete against the world’s top tier fighters. The thing I like about Kimbo is the fact that he seems to be a pretty humble guy in his interviews and readily admits his weaknesses.
Whether he fights for Stikeforce or some other organization, I’m looking forward to seeing him fight again. If he takes the proper steps, trains hard to round out his game and is released from some of the pressures he must have had at Elite XC, he may be able to work his way up the ladder or at the very least give us some great fights in the future.
Good luck to him.
What do you think?
Pic of the week
Posted by: | Comments
This is a way back picture of me when I was…I don’t know I’m guessing almost 1 year old. A friend of the family made a gi and black belt for me and gave it to my parents as a gift.
I believe the pic was taken in the backyard of my first house –which we lived in until I was five–only a few blocks away from where I grew up living on top of my father’s martial arts studio.
UFC Fight Night 17 Picks!
Posted by: | CommentsLooking at the upcoming UFC fight night card, I’m having a tough time making my picks. I think it’s because there are a few fighters that are fairly new to the UFC and many of the matches on the main card are solid matchups. Here’s my take on the action.
Mac Danzig vs. Josh Neer
Before his loss against Clay Guida at UFC Fight night 15, Mac Danzig was on a five fight win streak. I think that decision loss may have put some extra fire into his training for this fight and we may see Mac come out stronger than ever. Neer on the other hand has a lot of experience in the cage and has shown some good striking ability and toughness in the past. I think Mac will be too well rounded for Neer and will get the “W” that each of these fighters is looking to etch into their win column.
My pick – Mac Danzig (2nd round submission)
Anthony Johnson vs. Luigi Fioravanti
This fight is a tough one to pick for me even though fans most overwhelmingly are picking Johnson to win. In my opinion this fight could end up being the fight of the night. Hmmm, who to pick? As I sit here writing this I’m still having trouble choosing. Alright I’m going to go against the grain and choose Luigi Fioravanti to win this one.
My pick – Fioravanti (decision)
Cain Velasquez vs. Denis Stojnic
Looking at Velasquez’ record I noticed all of his wins have come by TKO or KO which is always an impressive factor especially when you take into consideration that it’s much tougher to knockout your opponent in MMA where takedown and groundwork often allow s hurt fighters to recover from solid hits. Stojnic record is also very impressive and from what I’ve seen in videos of him he possesses strong striking skills and is no slouch on the ground. This fight could get interesting. I think it will be over quickly with one of them scoring a knockout sometime during the second round. I think that person is going to be Valasquez.
My pick – Velasquez (Ko 2nd round)
Joe Lauzon vs. Jeremy Stephens
These two fighters have similar experience and their records are pretty much mirror images of one another. I think if Lauzon were to win this it would be with a submission and for Stephens it would be by decision. This is another tough pick in my opinion. I’m going to go against popular thinking and choose Jeremy Stephens to win this one.
My pick – Stephens (decision)
What are your picks?
MMA Training Tip – Shadowboxing (Last minute burst!)
Posted by: | CommentsLast minute burst!
Shadowboxing is one of my favourite ways to practice my mixed martial arts techniques. It gives me a chance to focus on certain aspects of my striking game without feeling the pressure of an opponent’s attack. It also gives my coach an opportunity to effectively analyse my punching, kicking, head movement or any of the other techniques I am working on during that specific workout. Usually he’ll make a few suggestions or corrections which I will drill consistently until everything is technically sound.
The problem with shadowboxing is that is can quickly become boring if it is continually performed at the same pace, using the same techniques or drilled for the usual duration. I have a number of ways that help keep things exciting for me when I shadowbox.
One drill that is a lot of fun, pushes me cardio wise and improves my punching ability takes place during the final minute of a shadowboxing round. Once that final minute arrives, winding down what is usually a 5 minute round, I begin to throw punches consecutively without stopping. Focusing on speed and quantity I make sure to move my head off the line of fire or change my angle every four or five strikes. I also avoid throwing double jabs opting to throw many hooks, uppercuts, and body shots instead.
When done properly this drill will force a fighter to punch reflexively, without thought and offers a cardiovascular challenge to even the most well conditioned fighters. The constant angle changes and head movement between combos will soon transfer over into sparring making the athlete more difficult to hit.
Try it out next time you shadowbox.
Train hard, train smart and have fun!
MMA Ripped is now live!
Posted by: | Comments
MMA ripped is a workout program that’s designed for MMA fans who want to lose fat and get ripped.It was created by Eric Wong, who is my strength and conditioning coach.
The program was developed using the knowledge Eric gained while training pro fighters. Unlike many sports, mixed-martial artists need to be lean and muscular with great cardio, but they still have to make weight, so they can’t get too bulky. So the MMA Ripped workouts are designed for that exact goal – to shed fat and develop a lean, muscular body. The program also includes actual MMA skills, like boxing and jiu-jitsu moves.
But because most guys don’t want to get black eyes or roll around with other sweaty guys to get in shape, Eric’s gotten my help in bringing MMA skills into the workouts. In the program, I teach you MMA skills as if you were training with me 1-on-1 through video lessons, which are very detailed.
There are also videos of every exercise in the program so you can see exactly how they’re supposed to be performed.
So if you’re an MMA fan and you want to get in shape and look like a mixed-martial artist, then you have to check out the program. You can find it at www.MMARipped.com.
GSP Corner Man Greasing?
Posted by: | CommentsGeorge St. Pierre’s spectacular victory over lightweight UFC champ BJ Penn has been overshadowed by controversy this week.
The Penn camp has stated that they will be filing a formal complaint that St.Pierre used a “greasing agent” during his main event fight at UFC 94. There are a many short video images floating around the net showing different times during the fight where people think Vaseline on GSP’s body played a factor.
Are the accusations true? That would be a difficult thing to prove after the fact. There was a point in the fight where BJ began worked his high/rubber type guard to successfully lock GSP’s shoulders inside. St.Pierre made a tiny movement and slipped out of danger. I remember asking myself, why was that so easy? That position normally is a pain in the ass to get out of especially against a guy who favours using it and has great flexibility.
I never thought more about it after that but when videos of GSP’s corner-man –the guy carrying and applying the Vaseline between round — were posted showing him rubbing GSP chest, shoulders and back several times I admit that I became a little suspicious. That was not a very professional move on his part.
It definitely wouldn’t be fair if GSP’s camp did use Vaseline on the body to gain a small advantage as he is tough enough to beat on an even playing field.
Regardless if the allegations are true or untrue, all fight camps should learn from this and the guys administering the Vaseline should not touch their fighter anywhere but the face.
George fought extremely well delivering great takedowns, strong pressure, slick guard passes and some powerful ground and pound. I don’t think any amount of vaseline was responsible for that much domination.
How does everyone feel about this?
When it's better to strike…
Posted by: | CommentsThis is not an MMA video but this guy can throw down!
