SLC MMAExploring MMA and Jujitsu in Salt Lake City Utah

A Tribute to Pride FansFiled Under: Rantings

“I cannot believe how many people are into Japanesse mixed martial arts!”

Inverted Guard in MMA? (Huge video collection)Filed Under: Instruction

I was talking to a friend of mine at the gym about the inverted guard, aka the upside down guard, and how some guys use it in jujitsu to stuff guard pass attempts.  It works more or less like this : from regular closed guard, a guy breaks the connection between your legs (unlocks your ankles) and starts to pass to one side, controlling a leg. If he’s passing to the right side, you dive into him and roll to your right and get upside down, making an new connection with your legs.  Then, you can pull off a few forms of triangle chokes via inverted guard.

Anyway, I was wondering about the validity of inverted guard in MMA.  On one hand, punching someone’s face from this position seems devastating.  On the other hand, the inverted guard is a legitimate branch of the jujitsu tree and perhaps can still be used effectively. (You can see MMA fighter Nick Diaz move in and out of the inverted guard in the fight video above).

In a way, I see the rules of the MMA match playing a big part. Is the guy on bottom allowed to up-kick a downed opponent? Is the guy on top allowed kicks to a downed opponent? What about knees to a downed opponent?

The thing is, I can’t fully recall a fight where a guy has utilized the upside-down guard in MMA.  You see it in flashes, when guys drop and roll for knee-bars, roll out to escape the turtle position, etc.  If you can remember a fight where the inverted guard was used (or abused),  please let me know!

Here are a few matches that showcase the inverted guard, and again,  you tell me what you think.

“Cyborg” vs Bill Cooper (thanks Eric!)
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Ryan Hall at NAGA
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Rolleta Vs Wallid
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Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Cobrihna, guard, inverted guard, jujitsu, Margarida, Nick Diaz, Ryan Hall, upsidedown guard

Sotomayor and Your Right of Self DefenceFiled Under: Rantings

Let me just start by saying that I personally think you, (and  I) have a legal, innate right as Americans to self defense.  True, MMA is an entertainment sport and not a system of self defense per se, but martial arts are fundamentally rooted in the notions of self defense.

In Utah, we more or less have adopted a “Castle Doctrine” which is the idea that my home and my personal space, wherever I’m standing, (so long as its legal to be there) is my castle. If you attack my castle, I have a right to use deadly force to protect it.  An officer from a sheriff’s office explained to me like this, “You should never be forced to flee where you are. You can stay and fight.”

When ass needs to be kicked, I think you have a legal right – yea, a moral imperative – to put fist into face. (But don’t take that for legal advice, no matter how awesome it sounds).

That being said, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has said some curious things about your right to self defense.

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Granted, the right to self defense relates to gun control and can be a sticky issue. So a senate hearing would be a good time to clear that up. I love how the Senator Tom Coburn asks her, “Do you have a personal opinion, or can you give me your opinion, of whether or not in this county I personally, as an individual citizen, have a right to self defense?” and she says, ” I don’t know.”

Yep. She doesn’t know. And for her opinion – she doesn’t know if she has one? Maybe the question was confusing.

Oh, but if she did have an opinion, it’s abstract and irrelevant.  Kind of like how irrelevant it was that John Mccain wanted to ban MMA because it was brutal cockfighting. Or irrelevant that an “all natural cherry soda” with “no preservatives” also contains “no actual fruit juice”.

All I’m saying here is that its relevant.

Plus, she is wrong, because the Supreme court has ruled on the notion of self-defense and how it relates to the second ammendment – in the 2008 ruling, DC vs Heller.

On the bright side, Sotomayor does know how nunchucks work. (Go to about 2 minutes 30 in the vid) That’s comforting.

But hey, what do you think?

Tags: political drama, self defense, sotomayor, your right to punch someone in the face

Catch Wrestling Seminar with Billy Robinson @ Altitude CombatFiled Under: Seminars

I just heard about this from Noah J – there is going to be a catch as catch can wrestling seminar over at Brandon Ruiz’s Altitude Combat. Wednesday and Thursday night, $20 bucks a night.

I know it’s short notice, but Billy Robinson is one of those old school powerhouses, like Karl Gotch.  Billy has trained some very tough guys – like Josh Barnett and Sakuraba. Not to mention that Brandon also has a serious grappling resume. I rolled with Brandon once at Fusion – he was messing around, let me take his back and attempt to choke him, which was like trying to submit a mighty oak tree with Olympic greco-roman experience. Epic fail. Anyway…

You’ll want to RSVP to see if you can still get  in. Check the Altitude Combat page for more details.

PS – Appearance it’s tough to find the place – it’s in a warehouse like district just off North Temple and 800 West.

PSS – Did you notice the Brock Lesnar catch wrestling hold from half guard?

Thanks Noah for the heads up!

Tags: Billy Robinson, Brandon Ruiz, catch as catch can, catch wrestling, grappling, Seminars, wresling

UFC 100 PredictionsFiled Under: Rantings

Here’s my quick UFC predictions:

Lesnar beats Mir 2nd TKO.

Henderson bludgeons his way to unanimous decision.

GSP by KO 1st round.

What do you guys think?

Tags: ufc 100