Comments for SLC MMA

Comment on Advice for Beginning Students by Paul M

Paul M — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:54:04 +0000

Your comments regarding relaxation and tensing up are spot on with regards to my reactions. I find as I tense up then I make another mistake, I try and use brute force to fix my problem. From what I see these two things go together, especially when you find yourself on the defensive. The article that Catie posted from badmartialarts.com was extremely helpful for me conceptualizing what happens to lessen my effectivenes while fighting.

Comment on 4-Hour Workout: University of Utah Jujitsu Clinic by Glenn Friesen | Customer Service Training

Glenn Friesen | Customer Service Training — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:40:22 +0000

Are you ever coming through San Luis Obispo, CA? We have some MMA folks here that could use some schooling!

Comment on About by Ryan Schneider

Ryan Schneider — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:52:08 +0000

I’ve looked through this website, and I must say that I feel this is awesome! Definately a staple in the world of organized MMA.

Comment on Advice for Beginning Students by Karli Mcmillan

Karli Mcmillan — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:09:31 +0000

I love this class at the University of Utah. I am just a beginner and I like these tidbites. After reading this I have started practicing with my roomates. I am trying to go over all of the moves i have been learning with them. However, there are some times i dont get how to position my body to get into a full mount or half mount. I have to keep trying different things with them to try to get to understanding it. This is kind of hard though because they don’t really want me to try these moves on them. HA! I also like how the class is based for the topics above. Some of the guys i practiced with in the class (SORRY GUYS!) really want get into the more difficult stuff too fast. When they don’t even have it down they have a tendency to think “If i use more strength then i can do it better” and will use strngth over understanding. Dont get me wrong a lot of them get the move down fast and then want to try it in real life. I also dont understand that these guy (and some girls) think that they can start hardcore MMA with only a couple of months when it takes professionals years. Everyone seems to be in a rush but I really want to understand the basics. I don’t know about any martial arts or even any boxing so even holding my hands up to my face is new while fighting is new (yeah i know that wierd). I think a lot of the guys that have been doing MMA for a while asume their partners know it. I will say though that after I tell them to relax and go slow so i can understand it, they help instruct or (more often then not) roll there eyes while instructing me. RELAX guys! I love this class and i will be continuing classes like it in the future. I also am going to use the acronym K.I.S.S. for other times. I like it! SEE YOU IN CLASS

Comment on Karate Advice to Advance your MMA by Thuy Nguyen

Thuy Nguyen — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:21:31 +0000

This reminds me of what Tony Robbins (a guru motivational speaker) says about the importance of modeling our way to success. He says that the poor are not are a disadvantage due to lack of opportunities, instead it is the lack of good role models in their environment. “People are a factor of their environment”. When I came to college I wanted to be the one who figures out everything or I didn’t know there were people who already walked my path and wrote books about it. Then I discovered many books about leadership, finance, relationship, marriage, etc. that all have helped me become a wiser person. I then model people who wrote these books and have seen my relationships enriched and finance increased. I will take this concept to my practice of martial arts. I will watch videos, read books, and speak to people who have already years of experience and wisdom so that I don’t have to start all the way at the bottom, I can just pick good techniques from them and build upon that to a higher level. That is how progress is made – the next generation can just build from the older ones. Martial art is beautiful. Thanks to my karate teacher Bart for teaching us the moves that have built my confidence and strength.

Comment on Karate Advice to Advance your MMA by Whitney E.

Whitney E. — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:52:54 +0000

This reminds me of another quote by George Herbert Palmer – “I am defeated, and know it, if I meet any human being from whom I find myself unable to learn anything.”
Both of these quotes pull out the idea that learning and progressing can come through watching the mistakes and perfections of other people. I have always been taught to learn from the mistakes of others so that I personally will not have to make the same mistakes to learn a similar lesson. Adding to that we must also learn from the good traits of others.
Often in fighting we are trained to look at the weaknesses of others so that we might be able to exploit those weaknesses and come out ahead. But it is also important to watch their strengths not only so we can effectively defend ourselves against them but the wise fighter will watch the strength of others, follow their techniques, and let others stregths become their own. This idea is rather basic but few truly put it into practice.

Comment on Advice for Beginning Students by Darron Brown

Darron Brown — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:50:02 +0000

How are you doing Bart? Taking this course was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The martial art I am most familiar with is Shotokan. This mainly deals with striking. One of the main reason’s I enjoyed this class was that it introduced me to multiple grapple, and submission techniques. One of the main topics you express in your blog was to stay healthy, and relax. I can recall time during your session where you had to repeatedly remind us of that. Sometimes being overly aggressive, too soon, can lead you to getting submission kicker. Staying calm was one of the key component to learning and being successful. Asking question was very important as well. I asked at least five questions a class. I wanted to make sure I perfected the little stuff, before we learned things more difficult. This course was more about defending then actually attacking. Overall, I thought the class was great and I look forward to continuing it in the future.

Comment on Advice for Beginning Students by Alex Quitiquit

Alex Quitiquit — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:48:03 +0000

I’m glad that I had the chance to read this article. I feel like I really need to do a few of the things on this list, including relax. I have found the class to be pretty intense and I may need to focus more on technique rather than the exercise. I have been sharing my techniques with friends and I’ve actually convinced one of my friends to join. The safety paragraph was also revealing, and I will make a greater effort to keep my body focused and in shape.

Comment on About by Kevin Peck

Kevin Peck — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:25:54 +0000

Bart, can you call me or email me please? I need to talk to you about class. -Sgt-

Comment on Advice for Beginning Students by Richard Coleman

Richard Coleman — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:52:17 +0000

Thanks for taking the time to type this all out for us, Coach. It’s all good advice, but my favorite is the “A tight fist can hold nothing; a relaxed hand can accept.” Really shows us newbies how to think about training.

It also helped put training into perspective when you said that it’s better to know five moves you can actually use than to vaguely have 500 in store. In a real fight, you should be able to disable your opponent or take an opportunity to run away before even a beginner exhausts his spectrum of techniques (usually one or two hits), therefore it is much better to fully know how to utilize five than know 500 in theory.

Finally, the “write everything down” idea is one of the best I’ve ever heard. If you have to stop training for a period of time (like I do as I only signed up for the half-semester class), you can review the techniques you’ve already learned in your spare time, then you are ready to start right back where you left off when you’re able to train once more.

Thanks, Coach!