Twelve blogs of Christmas: Fun

Hey guys, trying to keep up with these blogs for Christmas has been a bit challenging but I am determined. Love you guys!!

Hear no, Speak no, See no..  Felipe - Jorge - Ben

    On the 3rd day of Christmas I got to have FUN! We all know how hard it is to prepare for a fight, but the rest of the time the training should be fun. Not everyone is going to fight and even if you're pursuing a fight career, take some time to enjoy the training. Have some fun with the people around you. crack a smile for goodness sakes. It's not all smashing elbows and head kicks. Even if it is, would it hurt to smile while you're doing it. There's enough so called "tough guys" walking around.
    I love what I do and I love my job, and I love the attitudes of the team. Always smiling, always laughing, and always training hard. Trust me when I say that I couldn't do it everyday if it wasn't for the fun. You should try it some time.

The twelve blogs of Christmas: Truth

   Hey guys, it was deifinately a long weekend. I watched some terrible refereeing

in which my fighter got fouled at least seven times in a fight and lost a split decision. Next time we're gonna send him in the ring with a folding chair to smash over his opponents head. It won't get called so we're not worried. Anyway, that's a blog for the future, this one continues the 12 blogs of Christmas series. Enjoy.
    On the second day of Christmas Muay Thai gave to me. Truth, and the truth is, you're tougher than you think you are. This is one of the most common revelations after spending enough time training and sparring and this confirms yet again that people love the safety of their own space. Most will never put themselves in a position that challenges the way they perceive themselves. It's unfortunate, but truth isn't for everyone. Hence the saying, "Ignorance is bliss". I suppose the reason for that is that sometimes the truth hurts. I've come to find out that the ones that think they are the baddest guy at the barbecue are really sheep in wolf's clothing. Either way, there will be a revelation. It might come after the first time you take a strong hook to the chin, for others it might come in the first two hour train as they push themselves beyond their perceived limitations. It has to happen because there is no place to hide from yourself when the fists are flying.
   From kicking a bag in a cardio class all the way to sparring with champions in two years is something that can't be taken away. It is a bi-product of realizing that we are all just men and women, no one better than the other and all just trying to find our way. Once you get that, sharing a punch, kick, or choke is the same as having a coffee together, just with more bruises. This one is definitely for Jorge, who has gone from quirky to cornerman duties in a of couple years. Finding his truth required a concentrated effort to slow him down in the ring. It was often like being on a merry go round sparring with Jorge. He circles better than anyone in the business..lol.. However, once he slowed down he actually proved to be able to trade punches and kicks with speed and accuracy. Jorge's problem was he didn't believe he could take it. It's a hard concept to accept that you are going to get hit and it's completely legal. After taking his first real power shot to the chin in a heavy sparring session, Jorge proclaimed, "Damn, I'm tougher than I thought I was". He put himself in a position to find the truth. That's Jorge's truth, what's yours?

The 12 Blogs of Christmas: Heart

Happy Holidays to all the LMTers out there. I wish the best for you and yours this holiday season. I'm still recovering from Thanksgiving and with Christmas right around the corner I decided to do a series of  twelve short blogs leading up to that wonderful night when old Saint Nick leaves you boxing gloves, mouthpieces, and Judo Gi's under  your tree, or something like that. Don't judge me...

Me and Pam after a private session.

    On the first day of Christmas nobody gave me anything, because you can't teach heart. As combat sports go, there are those that plan on fighting and those that don't but are  just as addicted to the training as  those preparing for battle. Training at least four times per week and sparring with sharks on a regular  basis without fear. The biggest thing about combat sports for people like this is they don't have to do it, risking injury with no set goal other than to do something athletic that they enjoy. People often start  doing a little contact and quickly decide that maybe they should  stick  to tennis. Others get injured and limp away with the mentality that it is just par for the course. In most cases it's weekend warrior types of guys ready to fulfill their testosterone fueled dreams, but not in this case. In this case it's just Pam. Yep, 1st grade school teacher, Pam. I've watched Pam get her nose broken twice and leave a healthy deposit of blood on the canvas and as soon as possible be back in class working on her technique. She is the epitome of heart. She could be kayaking, or mountain biking, or Yoga but she loves Thai boxing and has been consistently getting better and giving the boys a hard time on a regular basis. Now she's doing private lessons and putting it all together nicely. It might seem like nothing but after looking at her with blood dripping from her nose and tears pouring from her eyes, and watching her stand back up and keep fighting it just validates everything I believe about heart. I've watched muscle bound grown men quit on their stool in the
corner because they, "can't  breathe". While  everyone is running around TRYING to be a badass, I would rather just be like Pam and have heart.

A view to a score

My view as a judge for MMA

So I had an opportunity to judge an amateur MMA event on the Friday night before the Hendricks vs GSP fight. The fights were okay and I was definitely a little nervous going in. I really wanted to make sure that I was judging fairly. I have a lifetime of experience with striking, and about about 6 years experience grappling, etc.. As the fights went on there was plenty of one sided fights and early stoppages so it was pretty easy and then there came a fight where both fighters were well trained. One of the fighters pushed the pace from beginning to end and landed strikes with reckless abandoned, the other fighter fought going backwards landing strikes out of desperation but none of which were enough to slow down his opponents forward momentum. At one point during the second round the fighters ended up on the ground the dominant fighter on top and looking for a submission, he locked the submission in but it was being defended well. The fighter on the bottom was able to sweep into top position but the dominant never let go of the submission and shortly after the bell rang. The dominant fighter continued his aggressive attack all the way through the third round. I had no doubt of the outcome as I handed the scorecard through the cage but as the announcer began to read "We have a split decision"... I was in shock, the dominant fighter went on to win but I was confused. I looked at the judge next to me and said "split decision?", he walked over to me and said "the other guy was on top in the second round". That's when it hit me, this kid knows his striking and watches fights, is a fighter, however he didn't know what was going on during the grappling portion of the fight. Now i've already done a blog on judging and I have had my own issues with judges with fights i've had, but now i've judged and it is in no way an easy job, but how do you do a job that you're not trained for?

GSP vs Hendricks scorecard

        And then UFC 167 happened. Everybody will have there own opinion on the fight but the overwhelming majority of people have voiced there disgust with the judging in that fight. The champ, George St. Pierre won and retained his title but looked as if he got run over by two trucks and three busses. There are whole slew of problems with the point system, some say with the rounds and time limits, but the reality is even if those things were fixed and the fight goes to the judges scorecards at this point you still just don't know what will happen. Like the guy that judged the fights along side me, the majority of the judges out there judging MMA fights just don't have the training. I don't believe it's relegated to just MMA we see it in boxing, and in some team sports which is why replay is becoming popular. Even the well trained ones get it wrong sometimes, but at least they're trained. I have plenty of experience teaching and competing and I still felt the pressure of judging, I can't imagine having to judge squarely a world title fight. It must be an assault on your senses. Now all that being said, there has to be a solution, furthermore there needs to be. When it affects whether a fighter is going to be paying his rent or couch surfing for the next three months while awaiting the next possible fight to pop up. Most of these guys aren't rich and a loss on their record in a fight they should have clearly won could possibly reshape their careers. Some for better and others for worse, but should that be left in the hands of someone who quite possibly has never taken a Jiu Jitsu or Muay Thai class or for that matter even stepped inside a gym? Sounds crazy but unfortunately it's true. Bad decisions and judging put a huge black mark on the sport of boxing and continues to do so and now it seems as if it's starting to seep into MMA judging. Hopefully this undereducated judges pool is held accountable for their actions and then maybe we'll see some proper scores on those cards. Until then every time it goes to the cards both fighters will grit their teeth and cross their fingers while the scores are read.

Some pads with Jorge

Felipe preparing for his December 7th fight.

Have a vision

         Hope all is well with each and every one of you. It's been an amazing year and as we come closer to the end of the year I want to touch on the subject of Vision. I'm talking about foresight and why it's so important. Going into the forthcoming year, we'll all start doing the usual goal setting for ourselves. But

are our goals empty promises? This isn't about setting a goal, this is about envisioning the goal as you undertake the process of reaching it. Setting a goal is not enough, you have to see it in your own mind. If you can't do this, accomplishing what you set out to do will be extremely difficult. You'll have a hard time convincing other people of what your going to do if you don't first believe it yourself. There is something to be said for imagination. Everything that has ever been made from human beings started first as a product of someone's imagination. In that same frame of mind, everything you want to achieve in life has to first start in between your ears.
          As far as sports go, it is often heard in interviews throughout the season,"our goal is to win a championship". These teams have their eyes on the prize as a collective unit. However, some extra ordinary players often have visions of  hitting game winning shots ie. Magic Johnson's hook shot in the 1987 NBA finals
to propel the Lakers over the Celtics. Magic has publicly stated that he had dreamed about beating the Celtics in this way and he believed it. You can still go out to the basketball court on any day and see and hear guys counting down and imagining hitting the buzzer beater game winning shot. There are many variables that have to fall into place in a team sport for the championship run to all work out. Unlike in the combat sports where a lot of the success one has starts from within. It does take a team of trainers etc, but the real idea of where a fighter wants to end up is solely based on his or her personal desires.

         At UFC 162 everybody got quite a shock when, who many people believe to be best fighter in the

world, Anderson Silva was knocked out by Chris Weidman. It was a surprise to everyone but Weidman and his coach, both of whom proclaimed victory long before the fight was to even happen. Chris Weidman had visualized beating Silva and even in the faces of the media and naysayers he stuck to his prediction and in the end, it worked out as he had envisioned it.
         Having a vision or spending time visualizing your goals is not some new concept to the world, but I doubt we do it enough. It is a great tool to prepare you for any goal being pursued and at least when it comes to getting kicked in the face or choked unconscious it's better to have as many tools as possible. So take some time before, and during your personal quests to see in your mind the future that you desire and then take those visions and run with them. The more you see it the closer it is to being accomplished!