In my opinion, the biggest and baddest MMA forum on the net. There are some reasonably smart and well trained guys posting in there, so you’ll probably be able to find decent answers to what you’re looking for. Also, if you desire to start a huge war about which fighter is the coolest, look no further for hours of entertainment and smack talk.
This is an oldie but goodie. It has a wealth of information, some MMA related, some traditional martial arts related. While combing the net for some solid advice on boxing, I found it here and have kept coming back. Pretty neat, like this brief, but accurate post on clinching without getting hit.
I know, it’s a body building site. I hate bodybuilding in general BUT… many articles written there have a semblance of science backing them up. You’ll see a few authors put the “works cited” section at the bottom with references to real medical journals and such. All in all, if you’re trying to find something specific, you might browse around here for a while. Plus, they’ll have little gems pop up from time to time.( Like the “Hammer Down” MMA workout series – part one Strength and part two Endurance.)
Ari Bolden and his jujitsu-loving team put together a nice website. Every video here is good quality, well presented, and technically sound. You want training on the Rubber Guard? Oh yeah, this is the place. The forums are pretty decent too. They have a good number of guys, and the useful-information-giver vs trolling-douche-bag ratio is very favorable. In a nutshell, it’s like the reverse of youtube.
Some times it just has to be done. Take a wicked submission, add heavy metal, and blend into a video montage (credit: commrade101). In particular, I like how the vid shows a wide variety of armbar submissions and positions.
“Ten Best MMA Armbars”
The ten best MMA armbars are as follows:
(0) – First up to bat – Rickson Gracie shows off the step over armbar from side control, showing the scientific view of how the armbar works. He’s just showing the move, not executing it in a fight so it doesn’t count toward the top 10.
(10) – Sakuraba vs Randleman. Notice how Sakuraba utilizes the kimura control – Randleman uses a wrestling suplex and attempts to take the back, but boom – Sakuraba weaves his arm into the kimura control and reverses the position with a roll/sweep, eventually getting the belly down armbar.
(9) – Carlos newton vs Pele – Quick transition into a perpendicular armbar from guard.
(8) – Frank Mir vs Tim Sylvia – Sylvia unsuccessfully stacks the guard and pops his elbow.
(7) – Dong sik yoon vs Zelg Galesic – Dong starts in the mount, goes for the armbar and Zelg tries to immediately reverse it. Notice how Dong controls the leg as they roll and before he extends down to finish. Smooth.
(6) – Enson Inoue vs Randy Couture. Sorry Randy.
(5) – Fedor vs Coleman. Coleman gets pwned, part 1.
(4) – Nogueira vs Coleman. Coleman gets pwned, part 2. Nog shows the triangle bar combo.
(3) – Masakazu Imanari vs Robbie Olivier. Before the underpass, there is an armbar waiting for you.
If case you haven’t noticed, I’ve added a Gear page to SLC MMA, on the top next to “HOME” and “ABOUT” tab. If you check the page out, I’ve detailed the 5 essential pieces of MMA gear. I’ve even posted a few product recommendations to get you started.
If you own a particular shirt or gloves or whatever – drop me a line and tell me how you like them. I’d love to pass the info along to all the readers here. I know that a friendly recommendation can go a long way to buying good stuff. Plus, there are times when having good connections can get you a great deal if a friend knows a hook up.
For example, getting a decent Judo or Jujitsu gi locally in Utah – if you go down to Kiai Martial Arts, down on state street, and tell them you’re a U of U student they’ll give you a 5% or 10% discount. Look under the U of U MMA Classes post for their address and phone number.
Note: Dude in the blue is headed for a painful landing via the Uchi Mata throw.
A lot of traditional martial artists have great footwork, and this certainly applies to the Judoka. Personally, I see an increasing need for mixed martial artists to understand the fundamentals of Judo. The ability to control how and when a fight goes to the ground is essential in MMA.
Sensei Leo White, shows off an awesome judo combo that revolves around sly footwork. First, he goes in for an outside leg throw, Osoto Gari. In MMA, this could be a knee strike to your opponents inner thigh from the over/under clinch.
If he can drive forward and upset his balance correctly, Leo (in the blue) can get his leg behind and chop backwards, throwing the opponent down in front of him. Depending on the guy, you may or may not be able to pull this one off.
No matter! – this was a setup. Sensei White talks about how leg work is the judo equivelent of the boxers jab. In the below picture, the opponent dodges the knee strike/throw attempt.
Sensei White transitions by getting his hips (quickly!) to his opponent and begins the Uchi Mata throw. Bam.
Even though you don’t have a gi, you can pull off both of these throws with over/under control. (BTW, if you need help with over/under control start to develop your clinch control power)
Remember, in MMA, you’re sneaking in knee strikes or “Hellbows” to help get these reactions. It’s important not to think of judo throws as a one hit KO punch – it needs to be a seamless technique in a stream of combinations, just like strikes and sumbissions.
Anway, here’s the video:
If this has tickled your MMA bone, and want to get some more Judo knowledge, I’d sugguest the Karo Parysian “Judo for MMA” book. Whether you like him or not, Karo Parisyan knows his Judo and has been a big influence in raising the awareness of how effective judo can be in MMA. Both his DVD’s and the book have detailed instruction on how to nail the Uchi Mata and Osoto Gari throw in No-Gi situations. Just so you know, I have his book and it’s awesome – money well spent.
Alice: Oh, no, no. I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn’t matter, as long as…
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn’t matter which way you go.
Brazilian Jiujitsu is complex. There are dozens of distinct positions, hundreds of techniques, thousands of variations. The map above shows one small version of beginning BJJ.
Despite the nebulous complexity, I know you want to get as good as possible, as quick as possible. AND … you want to have a fight plan that you can use to defeat your opponents.
The solution to both goals is the same. You need a road map of where you want to go.
When thinking about progressing in your training, you want to list the things you need to learn and improve on. You highlight four or five things and find techniques and tweaks to get good at them, rotating your practice evenly over a period of time to cover all the things throughly.
You review your progress, make some tweaks, and go through the cycle again. If you don’t consciously control how you train and what you techniques you choose to train, you cannot make consistent progress.
Making a game plan, especially if you’re a beginner, is fraught with pitfalls. Even if you’re fairly advanced, having a coach to help you progress is virtually a must. Which moves do you choose? Which positions and transitions?
Steven Kesting, one of the most gifted grapplering instructors I’ve come across, has 35 page pdf called “A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu”, a copy of which can be found here. It’s a solid overview of BJJ and which positions and submission you should learn first.
In his own words, Steven says
The goal of this book is NOT to teach you specific techniques – you can learn those from your instructor, your fellow students, and other resources such as books and DVDs. My goal here is to give you a basic framework to help you make sense of all the different techniques you are learning. In essence I am trying to give you a big picture which functions as a kind of filing system to help you learn more efficiently,and to access the correct technique quickly in the heat of battle.
If you want to get good at BJJ – fast – check it out. If you want to tailor your own road map, try picking a half-dozen things from the chart at the top of the page, and then learn and drill techniques that associate with them.
Fight Roadmap
When you step into the ring, its time to play by your game plan and win. If you go into a match without a concrete plan, you will be at the mercy of the opponent, forever reacting, countering, and trying to squeeze in your moves. In the BJJ Road Map linked above, Kesting has a solid progression to use when grappling.
You’re in the opponent’s Guard and break it -> Side Control -> Knee Mount -> Full Mount -> Rear Mount.
The idea is that you should always know where you’re going. It shouldn’t be a time of meditation, “Okay, I’m in side control, what now? As you progress through the chain you should try one or two submissions at each place. Immediately go for one sub, then the other, then transition into the next position. Quickly, but smoothly – 1,2,3.
Here’s a map I made for when you begin grappling from a standing position.
When you start, you’ve only got two options – so not much thinking. Fake one to set up the other. You hit the next level down and still, only a few minimal choices.
Wherever you are in a fight, you should have a pre-memorized, ready-to-fire-off technique. Limiting your options speeds up your reaction time. No hesitation.
Bang, bang, bang. The opponent should always have to be defending your constant attacks. You flow don’t the chart, constantly trying to make it worse for your opponent by gaining progressively better positioning.
Now then, memorize at least one good escape from all the disadvantageous positions, and if you find yourself there, escape back into somewhere you recognize and continue down the tech-tree.
I know I haven’t covered all avenues, but I think you get the idea. Reading the BJJ Roadmap will help fill in the gaps, then start learning techniques to plug into your game plan. Happy scheming!
