7 May 2009
This Article is comes from Mixed Martial Arts
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DaMarques Johnson posts his thoughts on the latest episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" in his blog here.I must say, the blogs are getting exponentially better every week, and this week he even answered some of the burning questions from MMAJunkie.com posters. Check it out.
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4 May 2009
This Article is comes from Mixed Martial Arts
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More from "The Ultimate Fighter" cast member DaMarques Johnson. ">Here’s his blog about last week’s episode, in which he secured the U.S. team’s first victory via triangle choke over Dean Amasinger. And here’s an interview with him that was posted on the USA Today MMA page.
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4 May 2009
Friday night I went to my first Horn’s Elite event. For those not in the know, these are MMA events put on here by Jeremy Horn.
What can I say but “WOW!”
I was floored by the level of talent. I am an avid follower of MMA, but I ahve to admit that it has been a few years since I have paid vey much attention to the MMA local scene. I did not expect to see what I saw.
Let me just start with the main event of the night: Brandon Melendez, from Bountiful Utah and Chris Kennedy out of Vegas. Although I really would have liked to see more action in this fight, I was too busy being awed by their ability to be too upset about that. Chris looks like a freaking He-Man action figure or something… If I looked like that, I would get a calendar made of myself, and hang it on my own wall. Holy ripped! And Brandon… I want to know what part of Bountiful he lives in, because I hereby swear to never, ever talk crap to anyone from there. The fighters Friday were amazing, but watching Brandon was just on a whole different scale. I hope to see a lot more of him.
Another really amazing fighter was David Castillo. David fought Paul Sizemore, a heck of a nice guy out of the Unified gym (which is made up of a lot of nice guys.) But David was just way too much for Paul. Although both men are good strikers, David was just so fast, and so powerful that he was able to completely ignore Paul’s reach advantage and kept stepping in for devastating body shots. I mean, Bas Rutten style body shots… The kind that just make you cringe. This fight ended from one of those shots. I hope Paul is okay, and that he suffered no broken ribs (and an intact liver.)
Shawn Conroy was also an amazing bundle of furiosity. He came out slugging hard and ended it quickly. Very impressive. I’d like to see more from him to see how well rounded his game is… hopefully we will.
All in all, I screamed till I could barely speak. It was amazing. I can’t wait for the next one.
Ah, one other thing… Throwdown had someone at the event, who had glowing things to say about Jeremy. For those who don’t know, Throwdown also puts on similar large figh events here in Utah. It was really, really cool to see Jeremy and Throwdown supporting eachother, and what’s best for the sport here in Utah.
3 May 2009
This Article is comes from Utah Judo
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Yesterday we had a Judo tournament here in Utah (about an hour away from me, in Ogden.)
I thought a lot before this tournament about what exactly I wanted to accomplish. I summed it all up in my mind shortly before my first match. I walked off by myself, and said a short prayer. I asked that I be given the strength to perform as I knew I should. Not that I would win, or throw every move perfectly, but that I would know that I did my best.
I am pleased to say that was the case. I was really bummed to find out that there was only one other person in my weight and experience range there. He and I had to go three matches to determine a winner. I think he was a bit bummed at only having a single opponent as well. But by the end of the third match it was all that either of us could do to walk a straight line to leave the mat.
My opponent was a tall man with a very firm handshake (we met before the match.) But it wasn’t until we gripped up with each other for the first time that I realized just how much trouble I was really in.
He was strong. Really strong.
The first match was a good, lengthy battle, but he eventually nailed me with a great Osoto Gari.
The second match was a bit different. I realized that there were some holes in his throws, but he was a stronger thrower than I was. Due to these two factors I started letting him do move of the throwing, and just played a bit more careful. I found that if I kept my kazushi (balance), that when he would go to throw he often left some holes. I was able to take advantage of these, and turn some of them against him. Eventually we found our way to the ground. I felt I had a stronger ground game, and eventually pinned him.
By that point I was nearly dead. 
Entering the third match I just didn’t have the fire I need to pull off a throw, so I tried to play it more like the second match, and take advantage of his mistakes. Unfortunately he was playing a lot more careful. I still kept from getting thrown clean for a long time, and very nearly pinned him again (he managed to get into half guard so we got stood up.) Eventually he hit me again with a very solid Osoto Gari.
He won the day, but I am pleased with my performance. I feel I did everything as well as I was able.
So now reflection on how to improve:
I feel that my biggest problem is the limit of my Randori partners (okay, and my cardio, and being fat 
.
I think many of us Randori with the some few people so much that we get used to them. I really need to mix it up more. I need to practice more with taller people, and heavier people, and lanky people, and fast people. That way I am more prepared for what gets thrown my way.
Thank you to my opponent for a wonderful, challenging, and enlightening match. Thank you to all of those who supported me, and to Mike who teaches me so much. Thanks to those of you who read this… I hope that my experiences might help someone else out there.
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