Becoming it...

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What's up people!?! It's been a minute since I've been able to fingers to keyboard. My schoolwork in pursuit of this Psychology degree is taking up most of my writing time. I am actually rewriting this one because it magically disappeared overnight. Anyway, we are approaching our first fights of the year this week and the team looks sharp and ready for whatever comes their way. During this camp for them I found myself being very reflective of myself and where I am now and where I am going. I don't know if it's because I've reached middle age or the effect of fatherhood on my psyche but instead of winding things down I want to do just the opposite, I want to ramp things up. Now what that means exactly, I don't know. I just know that I am not just satisfied with my current state or any accomplishments I may have had in the past. I realized that I am stricken with the same obsession as many others like me, the obsession of Martial arts. We are Yin and Yang, pushing and pulling and connecting with something in our souls that most people are afraid of and some people won't even admit exists.
        I've been back on the mats doing Jiu Jitsu and the thought of competing is bouncing erratically around my brain. After a short hiatus I returned to the mats with an improved game and a growth mindset and with that it seems that my game has evolved. I don't care for points or for what may give me wins by advantage, I only want to go for the submission and try my best to use the art the way it was meant to be used. I refuse to settle for stalling and holding positions, I have accepted that me going for it might lead to some losses but I'll never be where I want by being complacent and safe. The greats are hardly ever resting on their laurels. As I told one of my students this week, "it isn't the belt around the champions waist that matters,it is the struggles, sacrifices, injuries, as well as friends and family members and sometimes significant others that are lost to ignorance along the way". Greatness requires understanding and belief in what is possible and what is possible is anything and everything.
        I want to be the best me possible in the arts I train daily(Boxing, Muay Thai, and Jiu Jitsu) and add a few more tools to the chest by challenging myself to learn the blade, archery, and firearms. I love this feeling of not being finished the feeling of being absolutely obsessed with what my body and mind and spirit can do when they are in tune. This can go for anything in your life that you choose to do. You must first find the thing that moves you, then fall in love with it, obsess over it, and submerge yourself in it. Work so hard at it that you simply embody the very thought of it. Become it...

Is your training well rounded

        What is up people?!! It has been a minute but I am back and I am going to be here for a long time. So much has been going on with the LMT crew and in my personal life that it has been hard to keep up. Let's run through it really quick. First off I am back in school studying psychology trying to add to my tools for the athletes I train. I am finally becoming a pro and fighting October 9th and my fighters are looking great in the amateurs and my daughter just turned one year old, time flies. It has been an amazing journey and I am embracing every minute even the not so great ones. That being said we are popping the clutch and peeling out as we move forward with the LMT movement so buckle the f@ck up!! I wanted to touch on this subject as I head forward towards my fight and my amateur fighters enter new realms with their careers.

        In the past the physical training that was available was limited. Fighters would do the typical calisthenics and skill training along with the daily runs and possibly some heavy lifting. For the longest time it was not only what was considered the best way to train but it was also frowned upon in some circles if a fighter stepped outside that box and tried something new. Eventually athletes were "cross-training" and that became the new thing. Now fighters and other athletes are using scientific formulas mixed with a little "bro science" to get them to their peak physical shape.
         Let me first say that the amount of exercises and programs available are mind blowing. If you go on social media and flip through pictures you'll see dozens of people at sports fitness facilities doing all sorts of training to reach their goal. Working with the top trainers and pushing themselves to the next level. The only problem for the average Joe is that those places are pricey. Many fighter are fighting just to break even and most have part time or even full time jobs to make ends meet. So how can someone compete with that type of training without having that kind of cash in the bank. Well for starters you're going to have to be disciplined. You have to make up your mind that you want to get better, faster, stronger and nothing is going to stop you. Now beyond that the next step is research.
There are plenty of free resources when it comes to fight training and the first on the list is always going to be YouTube. The great thing about YouTube is that you are able to see and understand how the movements should be done and in some cases the reasoning and science behind it. At then end of this blog I'll add some links for you to check out some websites etc.
         It's been my experience that you can't stick to one way to get into great physical shape. Of course long runs are a staple in combat sports as well as sprint work. I would contend that high intensity interval training and swimming are also great ways to increase your cardio capacity. For strength you could use a mixture of heavy lifting, kettlebell training, and body weight training. Lastly you're going to need some flexibility training. My amateurs have been seriously active in yoga the last couple of fights and it has helped immensely with their breathing as well as flexibility. I've seen high level athletes starting to make their way into pilates studios as well to get that extra edge. Ultimately you have to look within yourself and at the available resources and make the extra effort to be great. It will not be given to you, you have to take it.
        One thing I have always said and stick by one hundred percent is that your skill level can often be the key to beat the more athletic opponent so after all is said and done you can have all of the physical tools but you must master your craft in order to put that athleticism to work. Understanding how your art is suppose to intertwine with your physical capability is the doorway to achieving the highest levels in combat sports.

Links to greatness:

http://www.speedofsport.com/

http://funkmma.com/site/

http://www.nakmuaynation.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpLH5tDGl_QiRJ1eDUTLFxQ

https://www.youtube.com/user/donheatrick 

Guess they haven't seen Kevin Ross fight

What's up people?! Hope all is well out there in your world during this holiday season. Before you jump to conclusions about the title of my post let's get one thing clear, though I am ma huge Kevin Ross fan this post isn't about how sick his spinning elbow looks or how he throws that sneaky head kick off the misdirection. No, this post is about us, the participants and fans of said fighting acumen. See we have a bit of a problem here in the U.S.. The problem is that in the midst of a combat sports renaissance world wide, from MMA to Jiu Jitsu, and even boxing finally making a comeback. Kickboxing whether it be Muay Thai, K-1, or Glory just isn't getting the love in the states. I'm not sure of the reason, because watching a high level kickboxing match is every bit as exciting as anything else on television.
           Maybe that's the problem, no major television deal. I mean we have Lion Fights on Axs which is awesome except for when I talk to people about it most of them don't know if they "have that channel". Not only that but they are not at all familiar with the fighters. If not knowing the fighters is an issue then an organization like Glory with an amazing show including dancers, pyrotechnics, smoke, and some good marketing, should have no problem promoting the fighters. Well, Glory does do a great job marketing it's product, unfortunately most of the fighters are European. So yeah, that doesn't help the American kickboxers almost at all. Leading the charge in Glory was Joe Schilling winning the middleweight tournament. Glory let his contract expire. So yeah, instead of seeing an awesome glory card featuring a fight between Schilling and Manhoef we instead had to tune in to Bellator MMA to watch the awesome knockout that should have further helped the growth of kickboxing in America. MMA wins.
           Speaking of MMA winning it just reminded me of how women's MMA has blown up and it was primarily kick started by one Gina Carano and carried on by now MMA champion Rhonda Rousey but let's keep it real, Gina is the original and was the first true face of MMA. There's only one problem with that situation and that's that Gina was a Muay Thai fighter first and had there been an outlet, maybe kickboxing could have shared in the success of women fighters.
          I don't know if we are that far away from enjoying some of the lucrativity that MMA has garnered, I don't even know how much of that we even want. How would it change our community if we were blessed with Muay Thai on Fox or Glory on ESPN a couple of times per month? Might not be in a good way as the market as we know can be oversaturated. That doesn't mean I wouldn't want fighters to have an organization that offered  good pay, promotion, marketing, and a way to let the fighters use their personalities to acquire some sponsorship dollars.
          So you see when I that "I guess they haven't seen Kevin Ross fight", what i'm really saying is I guess they have never seen Kevin Ross, Joe Shilling, Angela Hill, Tiffany Van Soest, Miriam Nakamoto, Angela Hill, Wayne Barrett, Joseph Valtellini, Chris Mauceri, Raymond Daniels,...etc..etc..because if they had they would realize that they have been missing out on seeing some of the most exciting fighters this country has to offer.

"If you ain't tappin', you ain't learnin'"

In view of last weeks brutal submissions of Machida and Noguiera, I think we should discuss tapping. I know competition is different than training, however, I don't know if not tapping is an expression of ego, determination, pride, strength or stupidity. It may be a little of them all and possibly some other attributes. All I know is that I would rather tap in a couple fights, learn from it and improve for my next fight, than not tap and risk a possible career ending injury or not be able to make money for months while recovering. I might even have to agree with "Rampage" Jackson when he says, "man I don't trust anybody", in reference to tapping during a fight. It's true, Rousimar Palhares, Bas Rutten, and now Jon Jones, who let Machida fall like a sack of potatoes as he walked away never looking back to see if his opponent was even alive or Frank Mir, who snapped Tim Silvia's and Nogueira's arms respectively, don't care if you don't tap. There are guys in this sport that will put you to sleep and break you in half or worse if given the chance. The risk is all up to you!

Now, that being said there are a couple guys out there that bend like rubber. Ben Henderson and Dan Hardy have defied the odds when defending submissions or at least hanging on until released from the grip of their respective opponents. When you see arms rotate in positions they shouldn't be in and then seconds later those same arms are throwing punches, it leaves you shaking your head.

All I can say are the words that were repeated to me over and over again. Train hard, learn how to be comfortable in awkward positions, and last but not least, "if you ain't tappin', you ain't learnin'".

The following are some videos from the Nitro tourney a couple years back. Enjoy!

Get the kids involved

I know this is a touchy subject for some but for me this is easy. Find a good martial arts school or MMA gym and put your kids in it. I can totally attribute my demeanor and lessons in discipline to taking Taekwondo when I was a kid. Cities across this country are cutting funding for after school programs leaving kids to find something to do with their idle hands. There has been a rise in crimes committed by kids and teens as well as a rise in gang memberships. Bullying has become an epidemic so serious that teenagers are committing suicide to cope with the problem. Childhood obesity is out of control in this country. The uneducated might believe that putting kids in martial arts promotes violence but in fact it does just the opposite. Martial arts promotes principles of discipline, respect, hard work, and health. In fact, what i've come to learn is that the more you learn how to fight the less you actually want to fight. Not only that but after a while you begin to exude confidence that can be seen in your posture, heard in your voice and noticed even in your walk. Usually, bullies will stay away from the confident type and if that doesn't work at least they will know how to protect themselves.
Martial arts can be a single parent's best friend. You can almost guarantee that your child will be safe at the local MMA gym. At the very least kids will be safer than they are out in the streets hanging with their buddies after school. In our world of fast food, video games and extreme excess martial arts are a great way to keep kids active and keep the fat off. The lessons learned will carry throughout the lives of these kids all the way to adulthood. So don't hesitate to shop around for a good martial arts or MMA gym and let the good times roll. You might actually get some peace and quiet at home as well.