I’m pretty pumped for this card; Brock Lesnar vs Cain Valasquez notwithstanding. I’m looking forward to Utah native, Court Mcgee, Jake Shields vs Kampmann, Diego Sanchez – pretty much every fight has something I’d like about it.  Additionally, Brendan Schaub (vs Gabriel Gonzaga)  is fighting and he’s talked smack about Lesnar, so I’ve got  little drama to enjoy too.

But really, the main point here is that it’s great to be an MMA fan.  We had UFC 120 broadcast for free and a serious night of fights just a week later. 

On Brocktoberfest

Here is my take on the Brock vs Cain fight.  Brock is a clear, heavy favorite. I’m not writing off Cain, but the deck is stacked against him.

What is Cain going to bring to Brock that he’s not well equipped to handle?

Wrestling? I think he can deal with that.  A good double leg to put Brock on his back might be a game-changer, but I don’t really see that happening. It would be a fun scenario because Lesnar’s BJJ coach Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros says Brock’s got a surprisingly aggressive guard game.   I also don’t see Cain slowing Lesnar down with any Greco/dirty box on the cage.  Randy Couture roughed up Brock a bit with it, but it’s not a hole in the armor of this beast.

The striking game isn’t Brocks strong suit (as Brendan Schaub had remarked about) and  If the match were to be a pure stand up bout, I’d give the edge to Valasquez.  That being said, I don’t see it being a stand up war.  Cain can probably sneak in some hard shots, but that won’t stop Brock. I think of it in comparative terms. Cain doesn’t hit as hard as Shane Carwin. Cain pounded on Ben Rothwell’s face, but didn’t knock him out cold; Carwin, from a similar position, sent Frank Mir into la-la land.

Submissions? Once bitten, twice shy. 

As for speed and cardio – both guys are pretty freakish in this department.  In the third, fourth and fifth rounds, if Cain hasn’t suffered too much damage I think we’d see an advantage in performance on his side. 

Anyway, I’d love to hear your two cents.

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.
- Albert Camus

• Execute a three-punch combo, closing the gap with shuffle footwork
• Immediately step back out at angle, anticipating counter attacks and defensive readjustments
• Burst into opponent with a two-hit combo

The first set of strikes isn’t necessarily to hit a home-run – it’s to close the gap and set up the KO punches. If they land and do damage, great; but you want to put your fists in their face, disguising your encroachment towards a better positional advantage.  You cut away with a burst step, 30-45 degrees to the side, preferably away from their power hand. Your opponent will likely try to square back up to you or throw counter punches, but you’ll be to their side (looking into their ear) beating them to the punch. 

I haven’t really standardized what I call this combo – “3 cut 2”, “five hit combo”, “3 slip angle counter”, “1-2-3, 1-2”.  What would you call it?

Anyway, to illustrate a bit more about why cutting out of the line of attack is so important, I appeal to someone far greater than I to show us: Fedor.

One more vid, from our local taking it to the MMAT guys (Brandon Kiser) . It plays off that theme – distracting your opponent with a punch to set up your footwork … and that footwork enables a hard hitting blow.

Above,  Jon Favreau (Hogan) and Robert Downey Jr (Stark) chillout after working their boxing.

After watching Iron Man 2 on opening night, I’m pretty impressed. Nice to see that Hollywood has taken a break from destroying my childhood joys and let a decent comic book movie slip by, un-bastardized. No really Hollywood, thanks for sodomizing Spider Man 2 and 3, Dare Devil, Ghost Rider, Judge Dredd, 80% of the Batman movies, GI Joe, and the new Superman stuff. I’m glad you did that.

Anyway, during one scene Tony Stark is boxing with Hogan and slips in an elbow to the head from close range.  Hogan says something like, “What the hell was that?!”, to which Tony mockingly replies, “It’s called mixed martial arts, and it’s been around for about three weeks.”  Hogan spits back, “It’s called dirty boxing, and it’s been around a long time.”  Of course, then Scarlet Johannsen  is there for some logical cinematic reasons and ends up jumping in the ring, doing this crazy flying-leglock-on-head throw and finishes Hogan with an armbar.

At least that’s what I think happened. Scarlet’s hotness made that part a blurr.

Where were we? Aw, yes. The point, if I even have one, is that the components of MMA have been around a long time, but it’s nice to have a little media love, besides the Diaz brothers kicking a dude while he’s down. To sign off, I leave you with some pics of Robert Downey Jr practicing his martial art of Wing Chung on set.

I’ve heard it all.

“Aikido is too dangerous, so therefore it isn’t allowed in MMA.”

“Aikido doesn’t work on trained fighters or resisting opponents.”

“Aikido masters are bound to a philosophy of gentleness and non-fighting; therefore no true Aikido master can compete legally anyway.”

“Aikido is sucks in MMA, therefore Aikido sucks.”

“Steven Seagal knows Aikido, and he’s killed like 300 people. It must be awesome.”

I’m sure you can dig up your own “nuggets of wisdom” on a Sherdog or Youtube – these sites being the epitome of truth, balance and logic. ( Personally, I love the way information and error is rolled into one comical thread of flaming, poor grammar and misrepresentation)

Aikido isn’t the only disputed martial art in MMA; I’ve heard similar jaw-jacking about Karate, Judo, Dog Brother’s stick fighting, etc. There are always fanboys and haters, no matter what you choose. I’ve recently had some people ask me about this, so I’ve decided to post my thoughts.

Anyway, there is some sorting out to do.

In the next few pages, I’d like to see if I can shine some light on Aikido and it’s relation to MMA.

The Truth about Aikido

The truth about Aikido is that it is not Mixed Martial Arts. While this might seem explicitly obvious, this often gets lost in the noise of the internet.

Every discipline, MMA and Aikido included, has a set of generally accepted rules, ideals, and goals. Just like a culture (or discourse community if you want to get technical), these disciplines “share common social space and history, a common system of standards for perceiving, believing, evaluating and acting.” (Kramsch, p 127). On these grounds, MMA and Aikido are almost unrelated.

I think this is an important line of reasoning because Aikido in particular is the victim of a multitude of unfair comparisons, evaluations and straw man arguments. Aikido and MMA expect different things from their students, and their students should expect different things from their respective arts.

Analyzing MMA and Aikido

When evaluating how “good” Aikido is, we must ask, how good at what? How good are Aikido techniques in a MMA competition fight? Or how good is Aikido, as a martial art, in acheiveing the goals it sets out for itself? How good is Aikido training in preparing a fighter mentally, physically and technically for a MMA bout?

It’s generally accepted that Aikido is a defensive art; its techniques emanate from the philosophy of gentleness, control, and flowing with an attackers power. Many techniques are designed to address weapons (Japanese sword arts) and multiple attackers; techniques involve wrist locks, joint manipulation and throws but never strikes or kicks. I know a couple of policemen and bouncers who have used Aikido effectively. Aikido is non-competitive art. Aikido also has a large spiritual component as well.

Now consider the rules and goals of MMA. The general goal of MMA training is prepare a person to be able to win MMA fights. The fighter can win fights by knocking his or her opponent out, submitting them via chokes/joint locks, or scoring well on judges score cards. Generally, competitions are made up of 3 five-minute rounds; fighters wear 4-ounce fingerless gloves, no shirt and fight-shorts; eye-poking, biting and neck/groin strikes are prohibited; judges score rounds on a 10 point system based on aggressiveness, ring control, strikes landed, etc; timidness or avoiding the fight in the ring can cause a reduction in points; small joint manipulation is illegal; You get the idea.

From this, its easy to see that Aikido diverges from MMA and creates a product to suit its framework.

The Crossover of Aikido and MMA

From what I’ve said above, you probably get the idea that Aikido has a little, but some, overlap with MMA. Still, you’re probably asking, “Okay, but can Aikido techniques be useful in MMA?”

Yes, absolutely. If you choose the right ones.

Also remember that , Morihei Ueshiba created Aikido from a collection and fusion of Japanese Jujitsu, sword fighting and spear fighting arts. (BTW, the take down Lyoto Machida uses in the vid can also found in Russia) While attending a seminar given by my Sensei’s Sensei he instructed the kimura, armbar and the fireman’s carry throw, among many other things *. In fact, the fireman’s carry is one of his favorite throws – one that a bunch of guys down at Fusion BJJ use – and at 80 plus years old and 110 lbs, he threw me better than a lot of guys I train with now.

There is a fighter named Rik Ellis , an MMA fighter who has an extensive Aikido background (but obviously trains MMA now) and he’s said some interesting remarks. He has said that the Aikido-in-action in MMA is very different than that which is typically trained. The typical stance and hand movements are left behind, but body movement is applicable. When asked, he mentioned a few specific techniques like, “Irimi Tenkan which I use to put my opponent either into or out of the cage wall.” I believe he’s also mentioned using Irimi nague from the clinch, as well.

Also, John H, one of the instructors down at Fusion (who has had a half dozen or so years of Aikido training in addition to his brownbelt in BJJ) told me that the notions of distancing and angles could also be useful in a MMA setting.

The Problem with Aikido as component of MMA training

With that said, there are several major problems in justifying Aikido as an appropriate component of MMA training. Like I said earlier, Aikido isn’t a good match in terms of goals and ideals, so right off the bat it’s like cross-training in snowboarding to get better at water polo.

In no particular order, here are some other things to consider:

Outside of the subset of potentially transferable techniques, Aikdio spends a good deal of time developing things that are of no use or negative impact to your MMA game (stance work and hand position, for example). In contrast, a discipline like collegiate wrestling spends a majority of time giving you tools and attitudes that easily adapt to MMA, and furthermore these tools make up about 1/3 of the MMA game (striking, wrestling and submissions).

Aikido has a lack of attention to defense of fast, linear strikes, striking combinations and leg kicks. Perhaps I’m wrong, but 70-80% of the techniques are geared towards circular strikes, wrist locks, grab counters, gi-manipulation, self-defense applications and throws. (Please, Aikido students correct me if I’m wrong!)

Aikido doesn’t teach you how to punch and kick.

The Aikido stance isn’t really that good for MMA. The lower base and front leg forward seems like it could be taken advantage of easily by a good kicker or double leg take down. I heard a story of a Muay Thai student abusing an Aikido guy in a dojo match up with low kicks. The extended front leg got beat up to the point where the Thai guy just stopped out of mercy. Perhaps the tale isn’t true, but it makes sense.

Aikido doesn’t really address ground and pound, clinch fighting and BJJ/wrestling deal with Newaza (ground work) in a fashion more true to MMA, IMO.

Aikido practitioner wear the hakama – a gi – while MMA fighters need to make sure their techniques work 100% without them. Additionally, MMA fighters wrap their hands and wear gloves. The gloves change the game considerable in terms of you ability to grip your opponent and your own hands, as well as hampering wrist locks (if they are even allowed in your MMA fight).

In the world of competitive sports, lack of aggression is a killer. (And don’t confuse yourself: MMA is a sport – not self defense) . The purely defensive mindset of Aikido may be artfully beautiful, but misplaced in MMA. The best defense is a good offense, as they say.

Aikido has a steep learning curve. It’s complex and requires a deep amount of body sensitivity and awareness. These things do not come quickly. I remember my Sensei talking to me about a wrist-lock called the 20-year technique; a move that obviously required a lot of work to become good at it. Not to say that a six-month “20-year technique” wouldn’t be useful; however, from my experience, it’s reasonable to say that a simple one year punch beats a complicated one year punch defense. To me, Aikido seems like something you have to get into it for the long haul for it to triumph other things.

MMA has an inherent element of physical fitness training built into it. Aikido can make you more flexible and relaxed, perhaps burning a modicum of energy, but Aikido in no way prepares you for the rigors of fighting. Strength-endurance, explosive power and top-notch cardio aren’t found in there.

Additionally, there is the problem with technique selection. Sure a standing kimura could be a valid technique, but wouldn’t a straight jab be more useful a greater portion of the time?

Summary

So there you have it. When someone asks, why isn’t Aikido or Tai Chi or Kung Fu used MMA, you have an answer for them. Divergent expectations, rules and goals. Apples and oranges and pineapples.

I want to remind you that I’m in not “bashing” Aikido. I think it’s a wonderful thing with a lot of fascinating philosophy, tradition, and technique. It’s just not a great fit in terms of complementing MMA performance.

Also, if you’re looking for an Aikido class, Logan Heinrichs is an excellent instructor and teaches at the University of Utah (there is a misprint in the instructor name this semester).

P.S. If I’m ignorant to the facts, inform me! If you’ve got an opinion, share it!

* Including how to defend against a seated opponents sword draw when you are facing off with him, kneeling face to face.

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.

1. Omoplata to foot lock.
2. Omoplata attempt, transition to back control, and finish via armbar from the back.
3. Armbar finish when opponent is resisting. This is a really slick move; he switches the arm he attacks.
4. Standard Kimura arm lock.
5. Sweep from blocked kimura.  Look how he bases strongly and really pushes off that back leg.
6. Kimura attempt to back control, finishing with a rear naked choke.
7. Open guard ground and pound defense, up-kicking into a triangle.
8. Closed guard ground and pound defense, transition to a belly down armbar.
9. Half guard G&P defense, sweep into side control, finish via headlock.
10. Attacking within the G&P, then defending the calf crusher.
11. Sprawl counter to a low single-leg take down, finish via a gator roll/anaconda choke.

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.

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.

Words can Help, Words can Hurt

In my personal experience, I can think of no instance where someone had heavy negative self talk and competed well, no matter the sport.

In sport karate, I’d overhear competitors “get down on themselves” saying stuff like, “I’m so stupid, can’t keep letting my guard down!” Inevitably, in their next match they’d get sloppy, let their guard down and get blasted.

While speaking with a director in the U of U exercise and sport science department and some staff,  I learned how important the “head game”  was in running a triathlon.  We chatted about a man who trains very hard – even being able to complete a full triathlon in practice – but when competition day came around, he’d buckle under the pressure and would not finish the race. The man would get in his head, over and over repeating stuff like “My legs are burning.” and “I’m so tired”.  On the flip side, one woman said that she’s finished a number of triathlons despite being dehydrated and hypothermic – let alone tired. Furthermore, she talked about how she loves the head game, and when the going gets tough she yells at herself like a drill sergeant – “You f*ing b*tch, get off your ass and RUN.”

These anecdotes illustrate what science has begun to prove: Positive self talk improves performance and negative self talk impedes it.

Believe it or not: Language influences reality

Whether you believe that positive self talk can improve your game or not, ST works. In fact, one particular study noted,

These results suggested that the type of self-talk used (i.e., positive or negative) was more important than one’s belief in self-talk. Results supported previous literature indicating that techniques designed to produce positive self-talk should be included in psychological skills training programs.  (emphasis added)

In other words, ST isn’t some new-age mumbo-jumbo that only works if you believe in it hard enough.

Where the mind goes, the body follows

If you’d like to do a small science experiment, try this: Tie a heavy paper-clip at the end of a foot long piece of string. On a piece of paper draw a circle and some arrows, as below.

Holding absolutely still, hang the paper-clip a half-inch above the circle and imagine the paper-clip swinging around the path of the arrows.  Chances are, you can get the clip to move with just your “mind powers”.  You can even draw the arrows going the other direction and get the clip to move counter clockwise.

This isn’t a result of magic – it’s subconscious mind creating micro-twitches, little muscle movements outside of your awareness to move the string and paper-clip.

This is just a generic way of showing how the mind controls the body in unseen ways.

In terms of self talk, the preferred modus operandi is to phrase all of your self speech in the positive. Use language such as “I going to win” in stead of “I’m not going to lose.”   Keeping your mind solely on what you want, not on what you don’t want.

Some schools of thought (Nuero-Linguistic Programming, to name one) suggest that using “negative” or reverse-commands is dangerous – a command like, “don’t think of a pink elephant” causes one to think of a pink elephant.

It reminds me of my favorite Far Side cartoon by Gary Larsen.  The picture is of a percussion player, standing behind the orchestra, holding only one cymbal. Above his head is a thought bubble saying, “Don’t screw up, don’t screw up, don’t screw up.”  The caption?  “Bob screws up.”

Different Types of Self Talk

There have been dozens of studies about self talk and specific sports performance – how self talk affects a golf swing, overhand baseball throw, butterfly swimming times – each revealing a little nugget of truth.

Generically, use self talk increases self-confidence and decreases cognitive anxiety. ST can help you relax and de-stress. Two instructors down at Fusion BJJ (Tony V and Noah J) told me that they use statements like, “Just like at home” and “It’s just hard practice” when fighting to ease their nerves and mental tension, affirming that they can perform just as well in competition as they do in practice.

Technical performance can improve as well; self spoken statements like, “Keep your head up” or “Elbows down!” can trigger a body response to clean up move.

Additionally, there is motivation self talk, statements like “Power through” and “Keep pushing” – phrases to increase your level of focus and muscle power for a particular activity.

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose

There was an interesting study done with young basketball players, illustrating how different types of self talk aided them at different times.

Athletes reported a significant preference for motivational ST when dribbling and shooting, while they did not favor one ST type over the other when passing. Moreover, athletes’ motivational ST was perceived as a significant aid for their concentration, confidence, and sense of relaxation during shooting, while instructional ST as more beneficial for improving their technique during passing.

To me this suggest that you should get in the habit of practicing techniques with their appropriate self speak phrases.  Every time you practice passing from half guard into side control, you could chant, “keep hips low, keep hips low.”

Repeating the Mantras

You probably have noticed that most self talk comes in doubles – ie: “I can do this, I can do this.”  It’s a very natural way to say them, and seem to have more force when doubled up.  Why, exactly?

At this point I could reason with you about how repetition is the mother of all learning, why yoga mantras must be repeated more than once or how it takes at least 7 or more repetitions to make an impression on the subconscious mind.

Instead, I’ll pass along a hillarious story about a pick up artist, Rick H, renowned in the seduction community for his extreme confidence and potent mojo.  Rick is a character to say the least. I’ve never met him personally, but through mutual acquaintances, I’ve been told he’s a legit womanizer. Like a no-fear, funnier, crude version of Don Juan Demarco.

Anyway, a dude starts talking to him about trying to pick girls up in Vegas and running into hookers and asks if he’s ever got “ladies of the night” into bed without having to pay.  Rick says, “All the time.”  He adds something like, ” You have to be funny about it though.”

His system goes something like this, early in the night he’ll meet and chat up a lady, but eventually she’ll give a tell-tale line, “I’m working.” He then gives some BS explanation why they need to “get warmed up”, and she laughs. He ends with, “It’s good for you. It’s good for you. It’s in your own best interest. It’s in your own best interest. C’mon.”

Rick said that for some reason, the key to making it work is saying “It’s good for you,” and “It’s in your own best interest.” But you have to say them twice, otherwise it doesn’t work.”

The inner game of MMA

After hearing some guys at the gym talk about Pedro Sauer’s teaching them to “go with the flow” and “flow with the go”, I considered how too much self talk could hamper performance. I certainly knew that being “too in your head” – analyzing, considering options, assessing performance – bogged down a mans ability to perform well.

John Will, black belt under JJ and Rigan Machado and one of the ‘BJJ Dirty Dozen’ – the first twelve non-Brazilian BJJ black belts in the world – says this about being fully in the moment while grappling:

“…[O]ne of the hallmarks of the truly good grappler, is that he or she becomes more fully and completely ‘engaged’ in the moment than others.

You can repeat some mantras but you don’t want to suffer from getting too in your head.  You’re supposed to be performing a motor skill, not assessing complex behavior and situations. (I believe this is called analysis paralysis).

Resources

http://bjj-australia.blogspot.com/2009/05/struggle-of-combat-demands-our.html

http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol8Iss4/SelfTalkandPerformance.htm

Negative Self Talk and Sports Performance :

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-35005403_ITM

How and When athletes use self talk

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/10413200490498357

Mechanisms underlying the self-talk–performance relationship: The effects of motivational self-talk on self-confidence and anxiety

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W6K-4T4J865-1&_user=418636&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000019853&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=418636&md5=61753a3754e7157a9a30a8d0e225abd5

Self Talk improves penalty shot performance -

http://jvi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/25/3/233

Self Talk in Basketball

http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol9Iss1/BasketballSelfTalk.htm

Olympians Use Self talk

http://www.sports-psych.com/interviews.html

Randy Borum on the Mental Aspects of Fighting

https://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=blog.home&entry=3117

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

.

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.

…

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

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):

• Hamstring tendon strain
• ALC/PCL/MCL tears
• Knee-cap (patella) dislocation
• Patella tendinitis (jumpers knee)
• Cartilage injury
• Bruises
• Iliotibial band syndrome (runners knee)
• (For a full list, see here)

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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

Want to be a warrior? Me too. A couple of articles from the net got me thinking.

There is beautiful, philosophical side to martial arts. MMA has it too – even though it’s popular to wash over it with a testosterone-driven gladiator mentality.

Rodney King, from the Crazy Monkey Defense crew, addressed some of this in his post on his Embodied Warrior blog, called The Everyday Warrior – How MMA Can Be A Positive Force In The World

… [W]hen one speaks to these men in modern martial arts today, about going beyond the physical- about using the vehicle of (Mixed) Martial Arts as a way to become more as human beings, to make a positive difference in other men’s lives- an uneasy silence befalls the air.

True warriorhood is the ability to deal with ones dark side … and to admire ones positive side. This requires a philosophy that sees the physical expression of martial arts as a doorway to a purposeful personal enlightenment and transcendence above the narcissistic needs of the self.

I’ve had the good fortune of dealing with both extremes in the fighting/MMA sub-culture. Some guys are just in it for the physical, technique driven, beat-the-crap out of you part, and that’s fine by me as long as you have a positive energy behind it. I love rough-housing just for the sake of play.

On the other hand, there can be a philosophical, spiritual side to a warrior. It doesn’t have to be a new-age let’s hold hands and heal the world type of spirituality either. There is a refinement of character with physical discipline, and martial arts can bring a new appreciation of the frailty of human life and the reality of death.

People can point fingers at the MMA forums and fans, saying they are immature loud mouths who crave violence. I can’t say that their wrong – because many probably are. But there is more to it. Anyway, a nice article.

Also, over at the Art Of Manliness, there is a post titled, “The Hard Way.” To me, it emphasizes how the path of least resistance, easy living and hacks are chipping away at our life. As my old Sensei might say, “There are no secrets to the art. Relax and keep drilling.”

The author of the post says it succinctly:

We’re missing out on a fundamental truth of manhood – doing things that are hard molds boys into men of strength and character.

Again, worthwhile read. Bushido isn’t dead in MMA, it’s growing.