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Happy to get this site back up and running.

I had to make a few adjustments to it so if you find anything that seems to not be working properly (ie. training videos, pages etc.) please comment on this post to let me know.

I’m off to Newfoundland to teach a seminar. I’ll try to post from there throughout the weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Every so often we watch a fight that is exciting from start to finish. A match where a fighter or both fighters  pull off some really cool, crisp and effective attacks and counters. I love those fights. The match between Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida, that took place a while ago is one of the first that pops into my mind.

Then there are other matches where many attacks seems slow, ineffective and telegraphed. It’s during those matches that I’m thankful, as a spectator, that it is only scheduled for three rounds if that is the case.

What’s makes a match boring to me?

I think it’s when two ground fighting specialist tries to strike it out on the feet. I find it hard to watch punching exchanges that consist of two fighters throwing wild punches, with elbows flared, body squared while moving in wrong directions. Even worse is when punches do land squarely on the intended target, which is always the head, they rarely cause a knockout because of improper body mechanics.

I imagine the opposite situation would be equally as boring to me although we don’t see it as often. That is if two highly skilled strikers with limited ground skill, flopping around on the ground missing submission opportunities or not taking advantage of a key position from which they could have ended the fight.

That being said there are some exceptions where a ground specialist or wrestler may have enough power and athleticism to score some knockouts and be exciting to watch regardless of the fact that they lack technical expertise in striking.  That is however fairly rare and seems to only be possible when there opponents possesse weak or average striking ability themselves.

In the future, I hope more fighters continue to play to their strengths and not feel like they have to prove that they can do it all when they step in the cage.

What do think think makes fights boring?

Time for another MMA Discussion. This one is easy just

Choose your favourite:

1. MMA fighter-
2. Least Favourite MMA fighter-
3. Fight Organziation -
4. Marital Art -
5. Fight of all time-
6. Martial Arts  Movie? -
7. MMA Website -
8. MMA Technique -

11 more days…

until the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Workshop with mulitple time world champ Rubens “Cobinha” Charles at Joslin’s MMA.

I am pumped up for this one, come join us for a great night!

Date: Tuesday, January 12th, 2010.
Time: 7pm-9pm
Place: Joslin’s MMA (436 Concession Street, Hamilton, Ontario)
Cost $100

Looking to begin your training with us?

Purchase the “New member package” and receive entry to the “Cobrinha” workshop, a free BJJ uniform and one month of unlimited training at Joslin’s MMA for only $199 ($300 Value)

Register at Joslin’s MMA or online by CLICKING HERE

COBRINHA IN ACTION!

When a doctor diagnosed me with my first concussion –I was around twelve years old—it was no big deal. I was back to normal in little time, playing hockey again within the next day or two. There were no lingering symptoms other than the amusing memory of how strange I was acting –super talkative, forgetful and spaced out– in the dressing room the night I was concussed. I still remember the laughs of my teammates as I made light of the situation. We had a lot of fun with it.

Concussion two was not any different. Number three barely bothered me at all. I remember thinking to myself, what’s so bad about a concussion? I feel fine!

Concussion number four occurred while I was teaching a self defense class at a local high school. I was around twenty years old at the time. After the class I was rolling around with some of the guys, showing them some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques. Somehow I managed to misjudge the location of the ground and as I swung back for an arm lock and I cracked my head on the thin matted area they had set up for us. Again I became forgetful and spaced out for a short period of time but the following day I was my normal self.

A quick but really hard fall my head during a grappling tournament resulted in concussion number five for me. I had somehow managed to make it all the way to the finals with a really bag hangover from the party the night –and morning– before. I wasn’t at my best and I paid for it that day. Being twenty one at the time, I took it as a lesson for the future, and never did that again.  

The only good part about the incident was when my vision cleared and as I was lying on the floor looking up, the hottest girl in the building had jumped over top of me to see if I was alright. With the haze that was my view and the buzzing sound ringing within my ears, I honestly thought she was some sort of angel. I’m guessing that she must have had some medical training to react like that. Regardless, I seemed to feel a little better immediately.

Over the course of the next week, things were different. I didn’t feel like training at all and I was having some issues with my vision. Anytime I would look downwards things seemed off, a little blurry and it seemed to take an extra amount of time and effort to focus on objects on the ground or off in the distance.

Regardless, I was back in the gym doing my thing after a week or so.

Several years later I sustained another concussion, raising my total to six, in training. Two months! For two months I couldn’t train, lift weights or run a treadmill without feeling nauseous. Even worse I had to pull out of an MMA in which I would have been fighting for the “King of the Cage” championship belt. That sucked! Eventually I started training again, working with Eric Wong at first who was my new strength and conditioning coach at the time. Boxing, wrestling and kickboxing followed and soon I was back in the ring battling it out for the Apex welterweight world title.

Winning that bout early in the first round by Knockout I soon got the call the fight Josh Koscheck, 4 weeks later, at UFC Fight Night 7. They mentioned that nobody available in the division wanted to fight him and asked If I would. After realizing that it was indeed the UFC calling and not my buddies trying to punk me, I excitedly said that I’d fight.

In Early 2007, after battling inside the Octagon with Josh, I was in the gym preparing for the second UFC bout of my three fight contract. Chris Lytle was to be my opponent and we were excited to face him. I was hoping we could have won the fight of the night bonus check that night at UFC 72 in Sacramento.

The fight never happened.

I couldn’t exercise for the next year.

It was the worst time in my life!

Another concussion, the seventh one of my athletic career, which occured during a training session in preparation for the Lytle fight, combined with all the buzzers and light dimmers and bell ringers that us fighters experience while training and competing, had thrown my world into a chaotic spin. Zero of my concussions had come as a result of a knockout, they will are just a result of solid hits in the head, an accumulation of a lifetime of training.

 Learning to live life as something different than a pro-fighter while dealing with the depressive symptoms that post concussion syndrome brings was insanely challenging, a tougher task than facing any opponent in a ring or cage. Replacing the extreme high that fighting had given me for so many years presented even more of a challenge. The first few months after the injury were the most depressing and down times that I’ve ever had to experience in my life.

When my brain could handle the chore, I began reading many books in an attempt to fill my desire to learn. The same desire that I believe helped me become the best martial artist I could be. I’d read books about anything that I thought would improve myself as a person, teacher, father, husband or entrepreneur. I quickly realized how much there was so much to learn but was really excited by it all.

It’s been nice to finally have time to hang out with my two kids and wife. Training two or three times a day, as I did for the past 10 years never allowed me to do that. I am now very excited for the future. I see myself building other fighters up so that they can reach the top of the fight game.  I want to write some books, create many instructional DVD’s and open up several martial arts schools so that some of my students can make a living through martial arts.

Will I fight ever fight again? I’m not sure but for now the reward is just not worth the risk.  I do miss getting punched in the face a bit though which may be a little strange. For now my training consists of a lot of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling technique and striking practice, working on new things and keeping the old stuff sharp. I must admit I’m having a lot of fun doing it all.

Hope you’re enjoying the blog. It’s been a lot of fun for me to write, talk MMA and share ideas with all of you. I’ve got lots more to come!

In my next article I’ve got three super funny and embarrassing (for me) concussion related stories to tell you… I’ll post it up soon.

P.S I just transfered the voicemail, of the message the UFC left me on my phone, to a computer file (I kept it saving it on my phone to show my grandkids ). Click here to listen

=> To sign up for my newsletter and gain access to some great MMA content… CLICK HERE.

Many times when applying the basic kimura (click here to watch) from the 1/2 guard your opponent will defend his arm by placing his body over his hand. Here’s a great way to counter that sort of defense.

==> Click here see the counter

=> For complete access to over 75 of my free fundamental MMA instructional videos including ground, striking and takedown technique  CLICK HERE.

Nowadays, so many people are wearing shirts that represent our great sport of MMA. From Punisment,Tap Out, Warrior to Sinister, Affiction and many others, the list of companies jumping into the mix seems to be growing steadily.

I don’t own too many fight style t-shirts but I do recall the first one I bought many years back at a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament in the states. A camoflage Tapout tee (pictured top left) if I’m remembering correctly.

Back in those days it was the original Tap Out Crew manning a small booth, stocked with t-shirts, hats, beanies and more, selling to the small crowds of fighters and spectators that would pass by throughout the day.

I think it’s awesome how much the sport has blown up and that you now find so many people wearing MMA sytle clothing in support of their favourite companies and fighters.

What type of Fight style clothing do you wear and what was the first thing you bought?

Over the next few weeks I’m going to be writing a series of articles. Each will describe a piece of the process that a professional fighter goes through before every single fight. I’ll share my personal experiences when it comes to signing contracts, preparing for bouts and fighting the fights. You’ll also get an inside look at some of the after party celebrations.

I’m really looking forward to writing this one!

I’m going to post a few videos showing you a submission sequence that starts from the bottom of the half guard. This first video shows the standard setup for the kimura shoulder lock attack and the following videos –I’ll post a new one each week– will demonstrate what you should do when the opponent counters it.

==> Click here to watch the video

=> For complete access to over 75 of my free MMA instructional videos and other great stuff…CLICK HERE.

On Sunday December 20th, I’ll be teaching a BJJ workshop (with gi) focusing on one of BJJ’s most used and effective submission holds, the triangle choke.

Come learn some of the best ways to sneak your triangle choke attack through your opponent’s defenses and once it’s locked I’ll teach you how to maintain the triangle until you force the tap out.

==> CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO OR TO REGISTER ONLINE