Tag Archives: mma

Street Fighting Should Be Legal but Regulated by the IBJJF

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USA. New York. 1950.I think a lot of the problems in public discourse (in real-life and online) arise from the fact that people don’t have to back up their words with action. That’s why I am usually more comfortable talking to a guy who has been punched in the face, or especially lost a fight, many times in their life. There is a humble reality-check that comes with that. Reality-checks like that can come in many ways, but fighting is a potent one.

I think fighting on the street (or anywhere) to resolve a conflict, when both people agree to it, is a great way to learn about the consequences of words except for the fact that people can get seriously hurt (or die). So I propose that Congress pass a bill legalizing street fighting but that it be regulated by the International Street Fighting Federation (ISFF) that will be a branch of the IBJJF ;-) The goal is to make illegal any techniques that can cause permanent bodily harm. No ground and pound on a hard surface, no slams, etc. If you do any of those things, you’ll go to jail, otherwise if both people agree to it, the fight is completely legal. You might get banged up pretty bad, but you’ll be fine a week or two later.

Obviously, this idea (much like A Modest Proposal) is not a serious one (especially about the IBJJF), but I still am saddened when I’m confronted with people in our society who hide behind the veil of the “I’ll sue you” threat versus the much more basic human threat of fighting. I think most of us (including myself) would be a lot more careful in talking crap if we had to back it up through fighting.

PGL Eight-Man Tournament Next Saturday

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I’m excited to be competing next Saturday (Nov 24, 2012) in an 8-man no-gi tournament against a group of top-notch purple, brown, and black belts. It’s the second tournament of its kind put together by the Professional Grappling League (facebook). I know most of the competitors (Garry Tonon, Rob Mudrak, etc.), but haven’t gone against them before.

There are a lot of unique things about this event. It’s basically organized with the spectator in mind in a format similar to MMA: one match a time, in a boxing ring, with three 3-minute rounds (1 minute break between each). There is no explicit IBJJF-style points and it’s scored on the same kind of 10-point system as MMA. I personally love this idea because, at least in theory, you have to make it look like you’re winning, which means you have to keep going for submissions or positional progression, or better yet just submit the guy.

Here’s a blog post previewing the PGL II event where I’m refered to as “The Russian Fridman” which I believe means that this event is not just an 8-man grappling tournament but a long-awaited remake of Rocky IV. Not to hype it up or anything but this is Cold War II.

Did I mention that almost everything is legal including neck cranks, inside heel hooks, outside heel hooks, knee slicers, bicep slicers, wrist locks, and controlled takedown slams? That reads like a menu from hell.

If you can come out and show support, I will be especially thankful on this Thanksgiving weekend. Email or facebook me for tickets. The weigh-ins (with food) are Friday night at 7pm in Brewsters Pub in Maple Shade, NJ and the tournament is Saturday night at 7pm  in Marlton, NJ (google maps). Both are 20-30 minutes from Philly.

By the way, because of this event, I now have a GFL.tv page. How awesome is that? I’m going to give that link out when I give presentations at conferences to hopefully strike fear into the hearts of fellow academics ;-)

Patches in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, and MMA

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roger-gracie-jiu-jitsu-fashion-plain-black-shortsThis is one of those posts where I get in trouble with my coaches, and they tell me to take it down because I’m an idiot. So let me just say that this is my opinion and my opinion only, and I’m just one guy, and an inexperienced one at that.

So here we go. I personally don’t like any labels, patches, branding, etc on fighters in MMA, jiu jitsu, or submission grappling. I have tremendous respect for fighters that have the opposite view, but for me it’s just what I like: simple. It was nice to see Roger Gracie wear simple black shorts (which is a relative rarity in MMA) to his last week’s Strikeforce battle.

Now I understand the importance of teams in BJJ competition, so I think a single little patch is cool, but coming from a judo background, I will always prefer a gi with no patches at all (except what nation you represent). So instead of the patch covered gi of Caio Terra in the image on the left, I prefer the “patch-light” gi of Jimmy Pedro on the right.

Caio-Terra-with-lots-of-gi-patches

jimmy-pedro-no-patches

 

 

 

 

 

I know that some patches bring athletes money, some patches (like those of your team) bring athletes pride, but to me, the former doesn’t matter, and in the latter case I prefer to carry my pride a little quieter, on the inside. Everyone will know what team I represent when I stand on the podium with a gold medal around my neck, and if I don’t make it there, I wouldn’t want anyone to know anyway.

“There are black belts, and then there are BLACK BELTS”

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This line that I heard come out from the mouths of several MMA commentators (UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator) frustrates me to no end.

It is true that, in general, rank is not necessarily an absolute indicator of skill level. Moreover, for example, a sport jiu jitsu gi competitor may not necessarily be able to effectively apply his game to the no-gi or mma scenario.

To me, however, when said by people that are not practioners of jiu jitsu themselves, this quote comes off a little disrespectful. To me it’s like talking about how good of a soldier someone who was awarded a purple heart is. It doesn’t matter how “good” of a soldier someone is, the purple heart in itself deserves respect and honor. A man that was awarded a purple heart is a hero, no matter how accurate he might be at a shooting range or mentally sharp in a combat situation.

A jiu jitsu black belt is a mark of years of dedication to a sport, art form, and way of life.

Perhaps I’m being overly sensitive, but when an MMA commentator says ”there are black belts, and then there are BLACK BELTS”, I cringe. I think there a better ways of saying the same thing, without disrespecting this tremendous accomplishment.

Ninja Turtles Would Not Do Well in the UFC

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I’m sorry to break your heart but this post is not about the teenage mutant ninja turtles. It’s about the turtle position and its applicability in MMA or “self-defense” situations.

I’ll find myself bailing to turtle from open guard and am able to eventually re-guard (so I never lose points). However, whenever I’m in the turtle position I’m always thinking about the fact that in a real fight it is one of the worst positions you can possibly be in.

In fact, I wish that sport jiu jitsu rules reflected the danger of this position. For example, if someone takes me down into turtle, it’s not a takedown in most cases as far as I understand.

“Bailing” to turtle is a good way to avoid the pass, but I’m going to try to work the tight inverted guard like Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu’s tornado guard, for example, as shown below. It’s definitely a major undertaking, but just the process of working it (even if I don’t bring it to competition) I think will improve my flexibility and general body awareness. And of course, it will make my half guard or open guard that much harder to pass while always keeping the opponent in front of me (which is the major flaw in my view of the turtle position).

Facing Muhammad Ali

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I watched a new documentary Facing Ali told from the perspective of 10 champions or top contenders that fought him. I recommend it highly, mostly because Ali, the man, is incredible and awe-inspiring, so any way you try to tell a story about him, it will be damn interesting, especially if you’re into combat sports yourself.

The man is a hero and a rare kind of athlete that transcends the sport. However, there was something about this movie that really made me think. One little fact about boxing is obvious but I kind of forgot it given my relatively recent fascination with all things MMA and grappling. The fact is that championships bouts used to be 15 rounds. That’s 45 minutes. And anywhere from 500 to 1000 punches thrown in a fight (depending on the weight class and style). That’s compared to 5 round, 25 minute championship fights in the UFC. Given those stats, I began to appreciate even more the discussion they had in this film about the mental part of the game, the will to survive, to come back, and to overcome incredible amounts of punishment.

It seems that the only thing better than Ali’s hand speed was his chin and his heart.

Here’s a trailer:

Rhadi Ferguson with Strikeforce

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Rhadi Ferguson

Rhadi Ferguson has been a prominent figure in United States judo, and so it’s exciting to see him gain more publicity for the sport of judo by having success in MMA. His first two bouts ended early in the first round with a knockout win. In my opinion his striking looked a little awkward. Though he is 35 years old, I hope he takes his time in adjusting to this new sport (his 4th professional one) and doesn’t bite off more than he can chew. Granted this man can chew a lot, especially at 205 lbs when he looks like 240 lbs of lean muscle.

His third fight was just announced to be on Jan 7 under Strikeforce. He’s going against another inexperienced fighter Ion Cherdivara.

Ion Cherdivara

I would love to see a good takedown and a submission, though given Rhadi’s raw power, he’ll probably be looking for ground and pound off of the takedown.

I’m also not sure that Rhadi Ferguson is a good fit for 205. He is a natural 230 when he’s in peak condition. I have no idea how he’ll be able to come down to 205. It might take too much out of him.

In any case, good luck, Rhadi!

Here are some other notable judoka in MMA:

Freestyle Judo

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A judoka and grappler buddy of mine, Matt Marcinek, told me about something called Freestyle Judo. I’ve heard about it before from several people but never really looked into it.

I would say it’s an evolution of judo back to its roots and forward to a martial art that is more encompassing of different grappling styles. It takes the parts of judo that make it an exciting spectator sport, and the parts of jiu jitsu that make it applicable for self-defense / MMA scenarios.

Matt also mentioned that they are planning to hold a freestyle judo event in PA sometime this summer (2011). I would definitely come out to support it. It’s very grass roots right now, but much like voting for the Green Party candidate, I think this type of event has a chance of putting enough pressure on the IJF to alter its rules in the less restrictive direction.

Illegal Techniques Can Be Effective

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I stumbled across the following at-first-glance insane video of a guy defending the rear naked choke by biting. Moreover, he teaches how to prevent the attacker from pulling their arm away when you start biting, so that you can actually deliver damage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahzPKhRiMlo

A lot of people, in the comment section, are making fun of him, and certainly not taking the technique seriously. However, after thinking about it for a little bit, and letting the shock (and dark humor) of seeing someone actually teach biting as a self-defense technique wear off, it started to dawn on me that this may actually be a good defense against the rear naked choke in a life-or-death situation.

I won’t comment on it further, because I have very little experience with biting. I’ve personally never seen it attempted in a street fight. Of the illegal techniques, people usually resort to headbutts, strikes to the groin, or hair-pulling. I think that these techniques are illegal in MMA because they are dangerous and have an “aura” of unfairness. Those are precisely the reasons for why they should be used in a self-defense situation. Bottom line is they work.

MMA is a sport with rules that encourages safety of the fighters, as crazy as that might sound. Elite MMA athletes are great fighters. But I don’t think that they are the best street fighters in the world. The game changes drastically when the surface is concrete, no technique is illegal, and at all times your life is on the line. Put another way, it’s no longer a game or sport, and requires a drastically different form of training.