SLC MMAExploring MMA and Jujitsu in Salt Lake City Utah

Kenny Florian training for Jose AldoFiled Under: UFC

I’ll just leave this here.  Happy Friday.

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Tags: ABB, Kenny Florian

Weekend Link Roundup: Sumo WrestlingFiled Under: Rantings, Uncategorized

I’ve been digging sumo wrestling recently, and really enjoying their sense of  grappling. Those fat dudes have an amazing grasp on head positioning, hip control and that full box of twinkies.

But seriously, as I watch some matches,  I’m taken aback by how quick and powerful these guys are.  For guys in the know, you’ll recognize a lot of judo and wrestling.

I wanted to just start your weekend off right by providing a couple of pics, vids and links.

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After I see one of these big guys slamming down on the ground, I think of  Gandalf  in the LOTR: The Two Towers: “From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak I wrestled with that obese giant … until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountain side.”

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When you hit a solid throw, it feels amazing.

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I like to watch how these behemoths use under/over hooks and head placement. Kinda reminds me of fighting with your back on the cage in MMA – you’ll see it better in the vids.

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You’ll see a huge man get knocked out with a palm strike to the face in the video above, Bas Rutten style.

Enjoy your weekend!

Tags: sumo

Bare Essentials of GearFiled Under: Gear

There are four items you’re going to need if you want to train at least moderately hard in MMA (not counting clothing, you nude weirdos).

Mouthpiece: At first, you can pick up the ultra cheap boil and bite ones ($2-$10) and upgrade to the nicer ones later. I use a custom mouthpiece fitted by a dentist, but that can be pricey.

Gloves: The basic ones I’d pick up are the hook and loop style gloves, $19-$40.  Save the fingerless ones for later.

Handwraps: If you’re doing more than a small amount of punching, you’re gonna need a few pair to protect your paws.  I like the mexican style, 180″.  The length is non-negotiable; longer is better. At ~$3 buck a pop, pick up two different styles and see what you like.

Athletic cup: Many dudes (and ladies) dissuade themselves from wearing them. Many of them regret this decision.

Things for later: Rash guards, headgear, punching mits, punching bags, shin guards, etc.

Tags: Gear

So you wanna be a fighter: Dream BigFiled Under: Rantings

You may have (read:never) wondered what my dreams and aspirations may be.  Recently, I had this crazy dream where Steven Seagal was lecturing a group of NBA players on martial arts – all the while playing ping pong with one arm because his other was holding a basketball signed by Lebron James.  He was actually kicking butt at both the ping pong and the lecture – I’ve set a goal to be as baller as dream-Seagal.

The point? I have bizarre dreams and so do you: you want to become a professional fighter. And I think that’s awesome. I know enough about the sport and profession to dissuade most interested persons from pursuing a career in fighting … but you know what?   If you have the spark to go for it, DO IT.  Dreams are a starting point of greatness; they’re an itch that need to be scratched.

What about the fear of failure? What if  you’re not cut out for life in the pros?

So what? Who gives a crap?

Sure, you’ll get knocked out and choked out and tired out from trying – but you’ll be more hardcore than 99.9% of the couch-dwelling mouth-breathers out there.

Your dream is a starting point to a journey and not every dream is the finial destination.  If the dream wasn’t exactly where you wanted to go,  maybe you’ll discover a better-suited goal along the way. Or maybe you find that your dream is exactly where you want to go.

Either way, I’d like to see more people set sail into the deep water.  Enough with the second guessing and the excuses.

Go out there, do your thing, see what happens.

Tags: amatuer fighting, amatuer mma, dreams, goal setting, Steven Seagal