Just in case you needed some motivation to party down or train hard, here’s a little something to help you kick start your weekend.
Tags: MMA, motivational posters
I was surfing the net and found a video of Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira that I hadn’t seen before. It’s 30 minutes long, and shows Nog teaching 11 MMA specific techniques. The video was shot back in his Pride fighting days, for a Japanese audience. It’s pretty cool - Antonio speaks in broken English and it’s translated into Japanese.
30 minutes is quite a long time (for web surfers anyway), so I’ve listed the techniques in the video below. The video has nice technique recaps, so it’s easy to navigate to any distinct part of the video.
I’ve seen Big Nog use almost all of these moves in MMA fights. Watch one of his highlight vids and you probably can check off more than half of the above list. (There is even an amusing compelation named after the anaconda choke he uses).
If enjoyed that kind of material, I hear that Big Nog’s book, “Mastering Mixed Marital Arts: The Guard” is excellent. After reading the amazon reviews, I’m saving my extra pennies to buy it.
Tags: Big Nog, defense, guard, Minotauro, MMA, submissions, the guard
Article Summary: Self talk (ST), or inner talk, is vital to a healthy mental game and performing well - and mixed martial artists should spend some time thinking about it.
Imagine bombs blowing up around you, gunfire whistling past your head, and you’ve still got save the President from terrorists and get the girl. You’re freaking out, which is normal considering the circumstances. Now, what do you say to yourself to calm down, kick ass, and get the job done?
It’s obvious that something like, “Stop freaking out”, “I’m going to die” or “Don’t panic” won’t be as effective as “I can do this” or a confident “It’s go time.” This makes intuitive sense, right?
However, few people manage their self talk as a technical part of their mixed martial arts game. Ironically, UFC fighters frequently talk about how important the mental game is.
Tags: game plan, MMA, Philosophy, psychology, self talk, winning mind set
Mixing up Mixed Martial Arts
By Garland H.
Editor’s Note:
I think Garland has done a good job and has really thought outside of the box in his written assignment for the MMA class at the U of U. I have left almost all of Garland’s writing intact, that is to say, I have only edited it in a minor way in order to be posted here. To sum up his whole paper, I use his words at the end of the essay:” I think that if the reader opens his or her mind and looks at things with open eyes, they will see the utility of sport techniques in the self defense and combatives arena, and traditionally combative strategies and techniques within the context of a sport framework.” - Bart
Kali Tudo 1
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Kali Tudo 2
Introductory Note:
I have written this editorial piece with the intention of opening people’s minds and helping shut down preconceived ideas about what belongs or does not belong in a mixed martial arts fight. I want the reader to keep in mind throughout this article that MMA is just a modern term for a certain type of pugilistic competition that incorporates striking and grappling, and does not necessarily preclude the supplementation of other arts to the thus far tried and true arts that comprise the personal styles of individuals fighting in mixed martial arts competitions today. In a more holistic perception of the wide-world of fighting, I also want to plant the seeds in the readers mind of where sportive techniques and techniques and tactics for combative or defensive application overlap in each other’s domain and pose to them a question; if something works, is it wrong? I have written what I believe to be true, I have trained in the Filipino Martial Arts for a few years but I do not consider myself an expert on these subjects.
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The Filipino Martial arts are notorious for their combative applications, especially in regard to the use of knives and edged weapons and impact weapons such as sticks, batons, baseball bats, and so forth. Indeed the art of Pekiti Tirsia Kali as taught by Grandmaster Leo T. Gaje, Jr. and his son, Rommel is trained extensively by the Phillipines military, and has expanded to include firearms training and anti-terrorism tactics. Martial arts movie fanatics can also probably recognize Guro Dan Inosanto opposite his instructor in JKD and friend Sigung Bruce Lee in “Game of Death” wielding and manipulating two sticks in a beautiful and intimating show of skill and dexterity.
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of the Filipino arts are their empty hand and grappling components that can be readily seen in panatukan (Filipino boxing), sikaran (a kicking art) and dumog (wrestling). These terms are, for the most part, general nomenclature for ranges rather than a particular subset of techniques, as Filipino systems are usually family based and tend to systematize and organize their arts differently. Also occasionally included under the broader umbrella topic of Filipino arts are the Indo-Malaysian arts of silat and kuntao, of which there are just as many family based arts, but are usually distinct from Filipino systems in their movements to a discerning eye.
Perhaps the most prolific and cutting-edge force in the Filipino Martial Arts today is a group that has just recently been getting the coverage they have long deserved. The Dog Brothers, currently lead by Guro Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny, has in the past few years released material on incorporating the Filipino Arts into different aspects of combat. They entered the world of firearms training with an emphasis on training at the zero to five foot range where most “good guys” are killed by knife wielding attackers along with firearms expert Gabriel Suarez in “Die Less Often” and “Die Less Often II” (see Tueller’s drill and the 21 foot rule).
They have also been covered by Discovery channel and MSNBC as well as other news programs for their rather unique method of practicing what they preach in their maxim “higher consciousness through harder contact.” – full contact stick fighting with the aid of only a fencing mask and hockey gloves for protection.
At this point in my paper, you are probably wondering just what the hell this has to do with Mixed Martial Arts. Well, the Dog Brothers are coming out with their second feature on using the Filipino martial arts in mixed martial arts, which they have aptly dubbed and trademarked as “Kali Tudo.” The Dog Brother’s idea is to supplement what works in the Filipino Martial arts in the context of mixed martial arts competition or how to make it work in the cage along with more conventional mixed martial arts techniques and strategies. As evidenced by their approach of finding out exactly what works in a full contact stick fight, the material in the first Kali Tudo tape is solid, and as with all of their titles, the second title is sure to live up to the bill “if you see it taught, you see it fought.” It is also important to state that the current alpha dog of the Dog Brothers also worked closely with Jean-Jacques Machado on developing grappling strategies with the stick different from those seen in conventional Kali and is himself well versed in jiu-jitsu as one can see in this highlight reel of his fights. (See this link for Crafty Dog Highlights)
What Works? (a rant)
Take the average individual on the street and ask them the difference between karate and kung fu and they will look at you as if you asked them the square root of some random prime number. Better yet, ask them the difference between mixed martial arts, jiu-jitsu, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The average everyday person with little to absolutely no interest in the martial arts does not make such distinctions or ruminate on martial matters. On the other side of the coin, ask a tae kwon do practitioner and a kyokushin karate fighter and ask each one whose kicks are “better”.
Although it may be amusing to watch the ensuing carnage, the real moral of this exercise is to bring to your attention the simple fact that talking about martial arts among martial artists from different backgrounds is like bashing Marx to a Communist, telling a Kantian philosopher that the Categorical Imperative is “slave morality”, screaming God is dead to a rabid fundamentalist, and talking trash about Manchester United to a bald and burly soccer hooligan in their own stadium all at the same time. You run the risk of trampling on something that another person holds sacred, and it is extremely important to note that opinions are just that unless backed by strong supporting evidence. Even then, it is necessary to note that “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” in the world of martial arts. When introducing an opinion or idea that challenges the status quo of whatever a particular cult of martial artists consider their dogma, respect is of the utmost importance.
There is a long-standing controversy in the martial arts world about how to judge whether or not something is effective or practical by using a “street fight” as the benchmark. According to this school of thought, if something works “in the street” then it is the gold standard. The individuals that tend to support this ideology come from combatives or reality based self defense backgrounds and tend to tout the superiority of eye gouging, fish hooking, biting, hair pulling, spitting, using weapons improvised or otherwise, tail hooking (you really don’t want to know), and essentially anything else you can’t really practice with a partner over anything found to be effective in a sports arena. The other school of thought tends to be the combat athletes who fight competitively under strict sets of rules that stringently disallow these types of techniques and look poorly upon individuals that use them (remember the Holyfield-Tyson fight?), but actually practice their art on a non-compliant opponent who is intent on doing them harm as well.
The main question I feel is important to ask is…what the hell is a “street fight”?
The average everyday individual is highly unlikely to ever be involved in any sort of serious violence unless they live in Kingston, Sarajevo, Baghdad, or Kabul. The most common type of fight that most average Americans are prone to witness is a drunken brawl, which typically starts out with posturing and pushing, escalates to a haymaker punch, followed in short order by an attempted headlock and then the fight being broken up to the dismay of inebriated bystanders. Less common, but certainly feasible is when one of the drunks has some sort of weapon, or an entourage, which raises the stakes of the situation to a life-or-death struggle. Both of these situations could be easily avoided by being aware of your situation and then doing the smart thing by beating feet in the opposite direction, or employing well-honed communication strategies to disarm the situation verbally.
Using violence even in a self-defense situation is tricky from a legal standpoint, and using “too much” force, as decided by a vindictive state prosecutor and ignorant arresting officers, could place you in prison regardless of the true “objective correctness” of your response. I would simply like the reader to consider this: Is it better to use potentially lethal force and maybe live up to the maxim “better to be tried by twelve than carried by six” or box it out, as it were, with an assailant using high percentage “sport” techniques? Or…is it indeed better to mix the two in order to have a toolbox with just the right instruments for just the right occasion? I think that if the reader opens his or her mind and looks at things with open eyes, they will see the utility of sport techniques in the self defense and combatives arena, and traditionally combative strategies and techniques within the context of a sport framework.
Resources:
Interesting comment on the The 21 foot rule -
The 21 foot rule is not a law, or even really a rule: it is a study. The study tried to determine the distance at which an officer could fire two rounds at a subject that was charging at him with a knife.
The problem is, bullets do not act as a magic wand to stop a subject. Often, due to a determined mental state or the presence of narcotics, numerous rounds are required to stop a subject. Also, unlike the study, in real situations officers often do not know a subject has an edged weapon until the subject is in motion, or even after they have been stabbed.
What is Kali (from Kali Means to Scrape)
Pekiti Tirsia Pitbulls (Recon Marines) and Rommel Tortal (from Kali Means to Scrape)
Close Range Gun Combat Dog Brothers + Gabe Suarez
Tags: crafty dog, dog brothers, Filipino martial arts, FMA, Kali Tudo, MMA, stick fighting
WARNING NOTE - I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I AM NOT A PHYSICAL THERAPIST. IF YOU ARE INJURED, GO SEE A PROFESSIONAL.
Kneeling on the mats for hours, slamming someone’s face into your knee from the Thai Clinch, heelhooks and knee-bars - fight sports can be tough on the knees. Many fight cards have been changed due to knee injuries, so much so, that it’s almost common.
I injured my knee a while back and have since done some research to help me understand the subject. Boy, there is a lot to know. Here’s what I found out.
To See A Doctor Or Not To See A Doctor, That Is The Question
“I’m I really hurt bad enough to go see a doc? Can I afford it?”
If you had an unlimited pile of money, sure, if it hurts - why not go see a doctor and check it out? Or maybe you’re on a team of some kind and lucky to have a a sports medicine specialist on staff- then the check up is free. Of course, there’s the chance that there’s nothing the doc can do to make you heal faster and all you need weeks of rest and relaxation.
To me, there are two major distinctions in terms of knee pain.
1. You just had a sudden pain hit while you training - caused by a distinct injury.
2. A nagging pain that develops as you train, over time.
For the second type of pain, go see a professional, because it may not get any better if you don’t do something different.
For the first type, I think Medline Plus gives some good advice:
Call your doctor if:
- You cannot bear weight on your knee
- You have severe pain, even when not bearing weight
- Your knee buckles, clicks, or locks
- Your knee is deformed or misshapen
- You have a fever, redness or warmth around the knee, or significant swelling
- You have pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, or bluish discoloration in the calf below the sore knee
- You still have pain after 3 days of home treatment
(From the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus Encyclopedia: Knee Pain, www.nlm.nih.gov )
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Get A Correct Assessment
Maybe you’ve decided to go see doc, maybe you’re going it alone. Either way, before you know how to fix the problem, you have to know what the real problem is.
If you want a professional, get a doctor, orthopedic specialist or sports medicine doc to check out your knee. If you’re not sure who to go to in your area, see if you can find who your local college football, basketball, or wrestling team uses.
I understand, there are considerations. I’m not rich and I don’t have great insurance. Plus, I’m a “do-it-yourself” kind of guy. If you are going to wait it out and try self-diagnosis and home care, you might try checking out this knee problem page at www.webmd.com or this knee symptom page at www.jointhealing.com to see if you’re on the right track of identifying the problem. It’s important.
For instance, if you tear the the ligaments on the sides of your knee (the extracapsular ligaments, the MCL/ LCL), there is a good chance of the injury healing on its own. However, the other ligaments (intracapsular ligaments) have “have limited potential for spontaneous healing and frequently require surgical reconstruction” (source).
Common Problems and Solutions
In terms of injuries, some of the most common are (in no particular order):
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However, in the textbook Introduction to Sports Medicine and Athletic Training, it states that the most common sports knee injuries are MCL tears (I happen to have one right now). In the fight-sports, it seems that ACL injuries are almost equally common.
There is a great ACL Injury FAQ posted on grapplearts.com with some awesome specific info, and if you have one, check it out.
One good thing about knee injuries it one simple formula solves a lot of problems.
R.I.C.E.
R. Rest. You know, not working out.
I. Ice - Cryotherapy. From the above textbook, the general procedure is to ice your knee 4 times a day, for 20 minutes a session, each session 2 hours apart.
I’ve heard some guys say 10 minutes on, 10 off is good, but I’ve had good success with the textbook version.
Another tip from the text - when you make an ice bag, make sure you squish out all the air in the bag before you seal it. You’ll get better cold coverage on your knee.
Also, make sure you ice the top part of your knee, not popliteal fossa - the soft underside. It’s got a network of capillaries, veins and nerves. Icing can damage the stuff back there.
C. Compression. Apply gentle pressure to the knee - a knee brace or knee sleeve will do the trick. Make sure there is a “snug” feeling without being too tight. Maybe something like this:
E. Elevation - get that knee lifted up and try to stay off it.
Drugs
Here’s what I’ve been told by a nurse. Taking some medicine will serve two main purposes: pain-relief and swelling reduction.
You want to take a full dose of an anti-inflammatory - Ibuprofen, Naproxin, Aspirin. It seems logical, if you have minor pain just take a minor dose, right? In terms of controlling swelling, you really need the full (as directed) dose to get the anti-inflammatory effect you’re looking for.
The thing is that some inflammation can help, bringing in some good body chemicals, but too much inflammation is bad. Many injuries are serious enough that the body overcompensates with it’s swelling so taking some Ibuprofen for the first day or so after the injury is a good thing. As the swelling goes down and you don’t need pain management, you don’t need them. However, your mileage may vary. People react differently to drugs, even over the counter ones. You know the drill - use common sense and seek medical advice when needed.
Supplements
I’ve never been a big user past my weekly multivitamin, but some people swear by the them. Glucosamine, shark cartilage, omega 3 fatty acids/DHA/EPA complex (like highly the ever popular supplement Flameout ), calcium, vitamin C - there is a wacky, wild world out there pimping supplements to helps your joints. You can read about some of them here.
I think there is some value to a few, and if you’re training hard I’d make sure you’re taking enough of the most important sports supplement: food. There are many guys who are over-training or have symptoms of over-training because they aren’t getting proper nutrition from well balanced meals.
Rehab
If you have to lay off the knee for a while, you’ll need to be extra careful when getting back into training. When it comes to specific knee rehab exercises for you, I’ll leave it to your physical therapist. In general, here is a decent list of knee rehab exercises. The list includes stuff like step-ups, calf raises, squats (you can do just the first 1/4 if you need). Another list with some different options can be found here. It talks a bit about stretches, coordination, and usage of the stretch-bands.
In this article, there is a more structured, “back to full function” approach, as well as an outlined workout program.
Of course, these are just examples and may not suit your injury. However, whatever the game plan is to heal your knee, you have to see it to the end.
When you’re sick and the doctor gives you a set of anti-biotics, you need to continue taking them as the prescription dictates until they run out, even if you’re feeling better - if you don’t you risk re-infection with a now resistant bacteria. In this context, we get that. But when it comes to training, we just like to jump the gun. If the doc says, 6 weeks, no training - take six weeks off. If the doc out lines 12 weeks of recovery exercises, do them.
If you’re passionate about your sport, take extra care not to push too hard. When you have a weak link, you’re more likely to injure yourself again. You’re still at risk of re-injuring the knee, or even injuring another body part. While protecting the bum knee, you can put other parts in danger -that’s what happened to me, I was nursing a hamstring tear on one leg, then I hurt the knee on the other leg.
In the majority of texts I read, when things aren’t too serious, you can exercise with weights as long as your knee tolerates. Just take it slow and easy.
If you’re looking for a simple book to supplement your knee knowledge, you might want to pick up “Treat your knees” by physical therapist, Jim Johnson. It’s short, to the point, and solid scientifically.
Surgery
There are times when things are serious enough that no amount of rest and exercise will fix the problem. It’s time to consider surgery. Can you put it off? Sometimes. From the stories I’ve heard, most people said that they wished they had gotten it done sooner. Many people can continue walking around, living and training, but remember, there are injuries that absolutely cannot be undone with ice and TLC. If one of your cruciate ligaments are ripped to shreds, it’s only a matter of time before re-injury.
If it’s come to surgery, a book you may want to consider is “Heal your knees” by orthopedic surgeon Robert Klapper and water therapy expert Lynda Huey. They show a bunch of exercises like pool walking, underwater bicycle kicks and quad extensions. This book talks about x-rays, MRI’s, surgery, post-hospital advice, etc. To me, it would be more useful if you think you’re going to have to go under the knife than the above “Treat your knees” - which is more pragmatic and abbreviated.
Prevention
In an interview with MMA trainer, Greg Jackson, he says:
If you’re training smart and the people around you are trying to help - not hurt you - that’s important. I think most people get injured when their teammates are trying to take their head off. You can be competitive without trying to blow each other out of the water. So you need a cooperative competitive dichotomy and you’ve got to skirt that line. Most injuries I know come through people getting a little overzealous, rather than just the freak injuries.
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I think this is spot on for knee injuries. Good training partners both push protect you. The first line of defense for your knees is a safe, quality training environment.
Know when to tap, when to stop. One of the defining attributes of adulthood is knowing when to stop. There is a difference between discomfort pain and injury pain. Don’t let machismo mess up the next few months of your training.
If you’re knees are sore, give them time and protect them.
You can also do specific exercises to prevent knee problems. Here’s a page about specific ACL injury prevention - their program includes warm ups, stretches, agility drills, etc. If that’s too much, make sure you read the article “What squatters Knee’d to know“, by Frederick C. Hatfield, aka Dr. Squat. Hatfield goes over proper lifting shoes, knee wraps, and proper squatting technique.
Talking with a friend of mine who does some flexibility and strength coaching at the U of U, he gave me the tip to make sure you’re adjust the angles of your feet when stretching. He also mentioned that you don’t want to hit the same exercise the same way every time. For example, you will want to pick different variations of the squat, such as the sumo squat where your feet and knees pointing slightly out, squatting with a wider stance. Making sure you’re getting strength and life with those different joint angles is important to keep the knee stable and strong.
Resources/Refrences
http://www.gundluth.org/upload/docs/Services/SportsMedicine/knee-MCL%20gradeII-1+instability.pdf
http://www.jaaos.org/cgi/content/full/8/6/364
http://www.jaaos.org/cgi/content/abstract/3/1/9
http://www.fpnotebook.com/Ortho/Knee/CltrlLgmntTrOfKn.htm
http://www.fpnotebook.com/Sports/Pharm/RcThrpy.htm
http://www.fpnotebook.com/Pharm/Analgesic/NnstrdlAntInflmtry.htm
http://www.fpnotebook.com/Sports/Pharm/LclCldThrpy.htm
http://www.grapplearts.com/ACL-Injury-FAQ.htm
http://sfuk.tripod.com/articles_03/sports_injuries1.html
Tags: fixing knee injuries, knee injuries, MMA, mma knee injury
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