For those interested in the sport-science part of MMA training, there are some upcoming exercise physiology lectures up at the university of Utah that may interest you. Topics range from things like “Fatigue as a Specific Sensory System” to “Oxidative Stress and Muscle Dysfunction Following ACL Injury and Surgery“.
These talks are held on various dates, but are always on Friday starting at 2:00PM. To check out the schedule for the colloquium, see it here.
The University of Utah MMA/Jujitsu class schedules are up. There are Monday-Thursday morning classes, and two Wednesday night classes.
There are two changes to the official schedule as it’s posted now at www.utah.edu.
One change is that the W 6:00-8:00PM Aikido class is really going to be a Jujitsu class. Yes, there is a healthy relationship between Japanese Jujitsu and Aikido, but still, it won’t be an Aikido class. It will however, still be a lot of fun.
The second change is that the Monday/Wednesday 9:30-10:40 AM class instructor is still being coordinated.
Also, remember that the fitness classes are 1/2 a semester long, so make sure to sign up for both half-semester sessions if you want a full semester of training.
I was watching a Shonie Carter video on throws and he said something pretty catchy: “Punish first, submit later.” I’ve known about the concept for a while, but I loved the phrase.
The idea is that after you gain a dominant position, you punish your opponent with some strikes and hopefully open up a submission. When they are defending your punches, try to isolate a limb and crank it – flowing between ground and pound and submission searching. I’ve heard a couple of different MMA legends – BJ Penn and Bas Rutten come to mind – say that you don’t want to have two modes: a striking mode and grappling mode. It shouldn’t be an on/off switch – your strikes and submissions should be integrated.
That being said, it seems that submission attempts can wear both combatants out physically, and unless the submission finishes, you may not have been better off because of it. Strikes however, chip away at the enemy and even when they are blocked cause cumulative damage. As long as you are striking efficiently and following some smart guidelines of ground and pound, you are making active progress toward both a potential striking victory and a submission finish – given that you have an integrated punch/submit attitude.
The season 9 Ultimate Fighter Finale Wilks vs. Johnson is a good example of a fighter who have this mentality. (Watch it below for as long as it stays up)
Here are the easy to watch versions of the Throwdown grappling tournament videos .
If it interests you, the higher higher quality videos are available for direct download on my server at the bottom of the original “Utah Champion” post.
It’s time again for the Utah Throwdown Champion Submission Challenge XI, down in Orem. It’ll be a great time – no time limit, no gi, no points submission tournament action.
