Archive for July, 2009

31 Jul 2009

Hapkido, Martial Arts

  • Posted by Utah Martial Arts Feeds

    • Mushin Self Defense Spot Light

    This Article comes from Hapkido TV
    To see the full original article click here

    We visited with Brian Yamasaki and Brandon Kiser owners of Mushin Self Defense in Bountiful Utah. They like to go by the Muay Thai titles of “Coach and Crew”. It was cool to see the way they continue to follow the roots of respect and discipline throughout their whole curriculum.

    They told us about the name “Mushin”. Dr Yamasaki majored in Philosophy and came up with the Zen name “Mushin”, which means “the no mind or mindlessness.” Dr Yamasaki wanted to capture the idea of being unlimited or not bound by any certain way of doing things. Deep stuff.

    They both gave us a great training session on over and under-hooks, as they apply to self defense, and more specifically “anti grappling” techniques. Brian explained that an overwhelming majority of the time you see MMA Clips, MMA techniques, and MMA instructors they will show striking, to getting the clinch, to getting the take down, and then going to the mat. More times than not guys are just show it from the ground. Rarely do we see it the opposite way. Which is, getting up from the ground, to standing up, to exiting the clich and back to the long range.

    Brian and Brandon did an amazing job of describing the two basic configurations of under-hook or over-hook. As they explained,HTV Theme Song you will see combinations of both. (Some people prefer the under or over due to their size)

    They demonstrated the vulnerable position one can get in if an attacker claps hands around the waist in a body lock for the take down or lift. As Brian said, “one prevention is worth ten cures.”Brandon then took over to describe how to “monitor” the hand to stop the clap and possible strike. Then went on to show how to use your head in the “pocket” and manipulate the attacker’s base.

    Great stuff! Mushin Self Defense is located in Bountiful Utah off the 2600 South exit. Their phone number is 801-296-0734. Check them out!

    Allen Hughes
    HTV

    To comment on this post, please visit the original article click here

    31 Jul 2009

    Grappling, Judo, Martial Arts

  • Posted by Utah Martial Arts Feeds

    • Judo, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, and Arm Bars

    This Article comes from Utah Judo
    To see the full original article click here

    Arm BarThe last month has been a great experience for me in a lot of ways.  First off, a moved a bit out of my comfort zone… I have been taking my son to Muay Thai classes, in addition to our Judo training for a few months.  But I decided to try and take him to an MMA gym.  Not only that, I decided to join in.

    What did I learn?

    Well, for starters, it’s fun as hell to throw people who have not had to deal with Judo around the room.  I have commented for some time now that I am surprised not to see more Judo used in the UFC and similar MMA organizations.

    But there was another lesson to be learned.  Although Hidden Valley, where I train teaches both Judo and Jiu Jitsu, I think I had not focused enough on my jiu jitsu game.  I had gotten good at throws, and relied on my strength and size on the ground rather than my technique.

    The result was, that when I was finished throwing people in the MMA class, I got my trash kicked by a good Jiu Jitsu fighter who arm barred me every few seconds.  But all this was great.  It showed me how far I had really come with my throws, and how far I still needed to go with my ground game.  It also showed me that each and every school has a ton that I can learn from them.

    I walked into class last night, and said, “I need help.  I really don’t feel like getting my ass kicked by a Jits guy anymore.”  Of course, the response was pretty much what I knew it would be.  My Sensei has been telling me for quite some time not to rely on my “Squishy Waza”, and to work on my technique.  It appears that I just needed a bit of a wakeup call to really listen.

    But I think this tells me a lot more than just: My throws are getting pretty good, my ground game needs a lot of work.  It has also taught me that we need to listen to our Sensei’s closer, even when we feel like, “It’s working, so why should I change?”  It might be working in that situation, but it’s still wrong.

    Also, I have learned to really respect all of the disciplines.  If I fight someone who knows nothing about Judo, they are in trouble.  If I don’t hone my jujitsu, I am in trouble.  But kicks, strikes, elbows, knees, Karate, Muay Thai, etc.  There is value in all of these.  I will be tightening my game, keeping my arms in better to avoid arm bars, etc.

    Also, there is a ton to be learned wherever you train, if you are humble enough to listen.  I will be listening much closer to my Sensei in Judo, and I will also be learning from the holes in my game as I train at the MMA gym.

    This whole experience has really lit a fire under me to help drive me to the next level.

    To comment on this post, please visit the original article click here

    31 Jul 2009

    Hapkido, Martial Arts

  • Posted by Utah Martial Arts Feeds

    • Hapkido TV Shoulder Elbow Hold

    This Article comes from Hapkido TV
    To see the full original article click here

    Shoulder Elbow (Kimura) defense from the guard.

    “We want you!”
    Allen Hughes
    If you are unable to view this video click here
    HTV

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    29 Jul 2009

    Grappling, MMA, Martial Arts

  • Posted by Utah Martial Arts Feeds

    • A Tribute to Pride Fans

    This Article comes from SLC MMA
    To see the full original article click here

    “I cannot believe how many people are into Japanesse mixed martial arts!”

    To comment on this post, please visit the original article click here

    28 Jul 2009

    Grappling, MMA, Martial Arts

  • Posted by Utah Martial Arts Feeds

    • Inverted Guard in MMA? (Huge video collection)

    This Article comes from SLC MMA

    To see the full original article click here

    I was talking to a friend of mine at the gym about the inverted guard, aka the upside down guard, and how some guys use it in jujitsu to stuff guard pass attempts. It works more or less like this : from regular closed guard, a guy breaks the connection between your legs (unlocks your ankles) and starts to pass to one side, controlling a leg. If he’s passing to the right side, you dive into him and roll to your right and get upside down, making an new connection with your legs. Then, you can pull off a few forms of triangle chokes via inverted guard.

    Anyway, I was wondering about the validity of inverted guard in MMA. On one hand, punching someone’s face from this position seems devastating. On the other hand, the inverted guard is a legitimate branch of the jujitsu tree and perhaps can still be used effectively. (You can see MMA fighter Nick Diaz move in and out of the inverted guard in the fight video above).

    In a way, I see the rules of the MMA match playing a big part. Is the guy on bottom allowed to up-kick a downed opponent? Is the guy on top allowed kicks to a downed opponent? What about knees to a downed opponent?

    The thing is, I can’t fully recall a fight where a guy has utilized the upside-down guard in MMA. You see it in flashes, when guys drop and roll for knee-bars, roll out to escape the turtle position, etc. If you can remember a fight where the inverted guard was used (or abused), please let me know!

    Here are a few matches that showcase the inverted guard, and again, you tell me what you think.

    “Cyborg” vs Bill Cooper (thanks Eric!)

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    Ryan Hall at NAGA

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    Rolleta Vs Wallid

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    JR Santos VS Alvin Ramierez

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    Margarida vs Pe de Pano

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    Cobrinha Vs Ryan Hall

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    Auckland BJJ Open: Purple Belt Semi-finals

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    Nick Diaz inverted guard kneebar

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    To comment on this post, please visit the original article click here

    25 Jul 2009

    Uncategorized

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

    • Affliction on the Ropes?

    thumbnailAffliction, an impressive fight organization competing against the UFC, has had a major force in its corner: Fedor Emelianenko.  Fedor has seemed unstoppable in year of fighting against the best in the world (30 wins with only one loss back in 2000.)

    But other organizations have also based perhaps too much of their success on a single name: Notably Elite XC, and their reliance on Kimbo Slice to draw in dollars and viewers.  When Kimbo slighted to prove to be less than the unstoppable force he was touted as, the foundation of Elite XC quickly crumbled.

    Fortunately for Affliction, their are no such breaks in the armor of the impressive, and well loved Russian.  But the problem with an impressive fighter is that he’s only impressive if you have someone equally amazing for him to fight.  Affliction has been able to pull this off this far with fighters like Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski.

    But this week they ran into some serious troubles.

    Affliction “Trilogy” was scheduled to air on August 1st.  Josh Barnett was scheduled to slug it out with Fedor.  Josh is in extremely impressive fighter and a lot of folks were eager to watch this fight.  Unfortunately, Josh tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid on Wednesday.

    Josh was quick to respond through his blog on Thursday, letting his fans know that he was as surprised as they were (You can read Josh’s comments on the situation here.)

    Affliction continued to try to find a suitable opponent for Fedor, apparently reaching out to long time fighter Vitor Belfort (which, in my mind is really just laughable.)  But as of this morning, they have opted to cancel the event instead.

    This is not the sort of thing you tend to see an organization come back from.

    Obviously there is good and bad to Affliction failing… less competition, more control for the UFC, less power for the fighters, more for the organization.  But I say that anything that finally puts Couture, Lesnar, and Fedor all in the same ring isn’t entirely bad :)

    24 Jul 2009

    Hapkido, Martial Arts

  • Posted by Utah Martial Arts Feeds

    • Mushin Self Defense Spotlight

    This Article comes from Hapkido TV
    To see the full original article click here

    You will love this first video in a series we did with Mushin Self Defense! Underhooks, overhooks, MMA, BJJ, and even Jeet Kune Do.

    Cool Stuff,

    Allen Hughes

    HTV

    To comment on this post, please visit the original article click here

    23 Jul 2009

    MMA, Martial Arts

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

    • The best of Utah MMA: Horn’s Elite Aug 14th

    I am pleased to be able to announce another upcoming Fight Night put on by Jeremy Horn.  I have been so impressed by the quality of the events that Jeremy Horn is putting on here in the valley (You can read my review of one of them here.)

    The fights are Friday, August 14th (don’t be an idiot like me, and accidentally show up Saturday.)  And the quality of the card looks great.

    I would have to say that the fight that I am the most excited to watch is whoever the heck David Castillo is going to pummel next (you can see the full Fight Night fight card here.)  I watched Castillo in a Horn’s Elite Fight Night event a few months ago against Paul Sizemore out of Unified, and was shocked at his abilities.  David can shoot body punches that make the ground under your feet ringside seem to shake.  He lands a few of those, and then when the opponent drops their guard a little in hopes of retaining some semblance of a functional liver, he blasts them a few good ones in the face.

    I know this sound pretty simple… go to the body if they protect the head, to the head when the guard the body, but I ahv never watched anyone do it with such effectiveness as Castillo.  He repeated the technique against an amazing striker in Throwdown Quatro.

    I can’t wait to see him fight again.

    I’m also really excited to watch Dave Foley, out of Ogden go head to head with Kevin Hamby.  Foley Dang near pulled out a win against John Sharp, one of the infamous Sharp brothers the last time I saw him fight.  I’ll be eager to see how he does this time out.

    I’ll also be live tweeting the event on my twitter account.  If you’re at the event and want to say “hi”, just tweet me by typing “@utahmartialarts [your message here]” on twitter.  I’d love to meet any readers.

    See you there!

    23 Jul 2009

    Uncategorized

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

    • Kimo “Lazarus” Leopoldo not Dead Anymore

    Many of you had probably heard day before yesterday, the unfortunate news of the death of Long time UFC fighter Kimo Leopoldo.

    In our own article here, I had commented on the fact that:

    “Whatever he battled however, Drugs, challenges, Royce Gracie, Kimo never gave up.”

    Well, apparently death is no exception.  Seen here, clearly deciding “down with death,” Kimo now rejoins the ranks of the living.

    In a phone interview with Yahoo Sports, Kimo was quoted as saying, “I knew I wasn’t dead.  So when I was reading this I wondered if I was jinxed or something was going to happen.”  Somehow, that’s exactly what I would expect Kimo to say.  Love him or hate him, Kimo is never boring.

    To see the full Yahoo Article about Kimo’s amazing recovery, along with video interview click here.

    22 Jul 2009

    Grappling, Judo, Martial Arts

  • Posted by Utah Martial Arts Feeds

    • Hidden Valley Judo and Jiu Jitsu

    This Article comes from Utah Judo
    To see the full original article click here

    IMG_0198I blog fairly consistently about my experiences, successes, and challenges as I (and my son) learn Judo.

    But it’s important to point out that no one can effectively learn Judo in a Vacuum.  I am not in a  room alone perfecting my technique.  It is only through the wonderful teaching from my Senseis, and the support of a Dojo full of people who really have become like family to me, that I am able blessed to be able to grow and learn like I have.

    From the beginning this has been due to my Dojo, Hidden Valley Judo and Jiu Jitsu.  Not only have I been supported, mentored, and yes… to get mushy, loved here.  But the Dojo has always been great in its tolerance of my kids coming with me, sometimes to learn, and sometimes just to go into the “play room” and raise hell with the other kids while we train.

    Every single class I learn so much.  You can’t learn what you really need from an instruction video.  It’s the patient, experienced teacher pointing out that you need to tun your foot a fraction of an inch more, pull harder with the lead hand, and shift weight more to your left foot that you really excel.

    Thank you so much to Mike, Dr. Chen, and everyone for all that I have learned, and intend to learn.

    Get ready, because I’m throwing you next :)

    To comment on this post, please visit the original article click here

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