When it comes to wrestling techniques in MMA, there are probably not many people as good as Randy Couture in applying them. He has proven time and time again, that wrestling can be more than useful even in an environment where strikes are thrown.
There are lots of Randy Couture training videos on the Internet. All of which are useful and I advise you to check them out when you have the chance. I have added the following in this article because I feel it is a technique that can be used many times during MMA fights. When clinched up many people tend to try and strike nowadays, before/instead of going for a takedown. Knees are always a common favourite but so are short sharp hook punches. By using Randys duck under method shown below, you can easily counter this and end up on top of your opponent. As Randy states, in real time, there must be no pausing through the execution of this pick up (Te Guruma in the Judo world). Also, always remember to keep your chin up which will prevent your opponent from going for a guillotine when under his arm. Control his punching arm and bend well at the knees when performing the far side duck under so as to miss possible punches thrown.
Marks
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Technorati Tags: randy couture, wrestling, judo
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Randy Couture's Duck Unders
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Uchi Mata for MMA
Through my Judo training during the years I have always tried to think how Judo throws can be adapted for MMA. Since Gi's are not usually used for MMA fighting I always think about different grips for different throws and when they should be used, (for offence or counter).
The following clip shows Karo Parisyan adapting Uchi Mata, a very powerful throw used in Judo, for MMA and as a counter to a very popular MMA takedown. Enjoy.
Marks
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Friday, 25 April 2008
Blindfolded Grappling
One time at a Judo competition I just finished one fight and was preparing for my next. While I was sipping on my water I watched a few fights that where happening and noticed a fight where one of the fighters was blind. The ref guided the blind person to his opponent and they started the fight already holding each other. My initial reaction was that the blind person was going to get easily beaten.
It turned out that the blind person won the fight via an armbar and went on to do quite well. I was shocked, and after the tournament when most of the fighters where chatting, I went up to him, congratulated him on his success and naively asked how he trained because of his blindness. He went on to explain that because he can not see, he has been forced to use his other senses. He told me that he relies on hearing and sensitivity. Eager to understand what he meant, next time a went to Judo training, I told my teacher about it. He told me that many times he used to train with a blindfold on and encouraged us to also do it from time to time. When we did train with a blindfold on, we learnt that you become extra aware of your,
With time, and by combining all of the above you are able to feel which attacks and counters you should apply, and also when to apply them. It is very easy to relay heavily on the eyes and forget about our other senses. It is something that everyone does, but sometimes are eyes miss things that could have been captured by our other senses, and for this reason blindfolded grappling is highly advised from time to time.
Hearing - By listening to your opponents breathing pattern to try and determine when he is about to attempt a technique,
Your opponent’s grip - By becoming aware of how your opponent is gripping you (behind the head, holding near your shoulder etc) you think about what techniques can be attempted and what can not.
Your opponent’s movements – Your sensitivity to your opponent’s movements become clearer and you learn to react to your opponent’s movements appropriately.
Marks
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Technorati Tags: blindfold, judo, grappling, senses
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Kata Gatame Choke
Kata Gatame is one of the most effective hold downs in Judo competition. It can be quite easy to gain a victory with it but what is easier and what not many Judoka tend to do is apply a choke from it.
It is used as a choke SOMETIMES by Judoka but not as much as it should be. BJJ and MMA fighters always apply a choke from this hold down position.
As already mentioned, this is not a new technique, but it is amazing to see so few Judoka using it as a simple to apply choke, rather than a hold down.
From the Kata Gatame position,
(Picture taken from http://mail.widzew.net/~maciejb/judo/gfx/duszenia/kata_gatame.gif)
Simply squeeze your arms together while placing pressure on your opponents arm with the side of your head.
Marks
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Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Which Martial Art is the Best to Learn
When someone who has never trained in martial arts before makes the decision to do so the first thing they ask is “which martial art is the best”. That’s a fair enough question. Obviously no one wants to be doing something that is a waste of time and not practical. The true answer to that question is that there is no martial art which is the best. But there is a martial art which is best for YOU.
To find the right martial art for you, you need to ask yourself a few questions. Firstly, what type of martial art catches your eye. Do you like the flashy kicks of teakwondo, the dynamic throws of judo, hitting the bags in a Mauy Thai class or maybe the rough and tumble of submission wrestling. You need to know, because you’re never going to excel in a martial art if you find it boring. You’ve got to want to go training, not go just because you’ve paid your annual fee at the start and you don’t want to lose out. Secondly, you need to be realistic about yourself when choosing a martial art. A small guy weighing 150 pounds with very little strength may go to a sumo class a few times and find that he is getting belly flopped all over the place where a big 250 pound hulk may find he/she is doing well in that martial art. On the other hand, both guys may go to a kung fu school, and because of his/her quickness and mobility, the smaller guy may love it and the big guy may find it hard to move as fast as the others. You need to look at what God gave you physically, and match a martial art to what you are suited to. Lastly, you have to be opened minded. To find the best martial art for yourself, which should lead to the best way of fighting (for sport or street) for yourself you need to understand that each martial art has something to offer. No matter what anyone says about some martial arts being practical and others not, you will always find something that other martial artists do differently and you may be able to include this in your personal repertoire to achieve better results. There will always be those also who stick to what they know as being “the be all and end all”. Some martial art teachers claim that all they learn in there own gym or school is all that is needed, but that is far from correct. Start out with one martial art, train in that for a while, then go and cross train to gain further knowledge. These are some points that should be reflected upon when trying to establish the best martial art to take up. It all depends on the person, there is no one martial art that stands out above the rest, and there never will be.
Marks
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Technorati Tags: best martial art, judo, teakwondo, mauy thai, submission wrestling
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Dynamic Russian Judo
The Russians are known in the Judo world for being excellent pickup specialists. There throws are dynamic, powerful and agility is needed to be able to pull some of them off. The following is a video which shows not only there abilities in throwing, but some of there abilities in escaping throws and pickups. Enjoy!
Marks
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Thursday, 7 February 2008
How to Sprawl for Fighting and Training
A while back, I wrote an article entitled Defending the Takedown (for Strikers), in which I talked about the basic takedown defences. I mentioned the Sprawl as part of the defences. Many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and other grappling styles know of the sprawl and use it to defend mainly pickups and tackles (shoots).
One thing I have noticed unfortunately though is that most Judo practitioners still don’t use this technique when attacked with the above takedowns, and instead try to spin out them, by trying to turn so they land on there front. Although they will stop there opponent from winning in competition, they will always find themselves in a very vulnerable position, and it is not wise to be done on the street. By sprawling, you land on top of your opponent, in a dominating position, and it is easy to get back up on your feet if you’re on the street. The best demonstration of the sprawl which I have seen was on a production by Frank Shamrock called The Ultimate Home Workout. In my previous article I wrote that “When your opponent dives in for your legs in a rugby tackle type attack (or pickup), kick your legs back, and drop your chest onto his upper back area. You will both end up on the floor but lying on his back, it should be YOU in the dominating position” The drill to practise the sprawl is,
If your new to sprawls, perform repetitions to begin with, concentrating on slow and quality technique, and after you feel you have mastered the movement, the best way to carry out this drill is to sprawl by time. Perform as many as you can in 30 seconds then 1 minute, working up to two minutes, and least 5 rounds. This is a great exercise which works nearly all of the muscles in the body, providing a strength, ploymetric and cardio workout in one.
From a normal fighting stance,
Drop your legs behind you, landing on your thighs as opposed to your knees, toes as opposed to the top of your feet and hands,
Make sure you hands land on your palms, (not fingers or fist), shoulder width apart with your fingers pointing outwards,
On landing, remember to keep your chin up and breathe out (breathing in when you’re up again)
As soon as you land, quickly thrust back, and stand, ending up in your fighting stance, taking about 1-2 seconds for the whole sprawl.
Marks
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Thursday, 31 January 2008
The Best Judo Tip for Throwing
A Judo throw requires not much strength at all. Whether it’s a hip throw, a throw to the rear, a pick up, sacrifice or whatever, they all have the same basic principle. YOUR OPPONENTS BALANCE MUST BE BROKE FIRST.
When your opponents balance is broken then a slight push, pull or trip and the opponent will be thrown. Breaking the balance can be done in many ways. The basic way is to push or pull your opponent in any direction. Front, back, sideways and to the corners. When your opponent has been taken in one off these directions, and his/her balance has been broken, then he/she can be thrown. A lot of time nowadays, strength is used to throw, which also works, but when a throw is done in this manner, the thrower can lose balance and also fall to the ground. Balance can also be broken by your opponent’s natural movement. When a foot is taken off the floor (as in to step) his/her balance is naturally broken. An example is if your opponent steps forward towards you, his/her balance has been broken to the front allowing for an easy throw to the front which could include, Uchi Mata, Koshi Guruma, O Goshi or maybe a sacrifice throw like Tomo Nage etc. Again, if your opponent attempts a throw and fails, then moves back to position, as he/she is moving backwards, his balance is being broken to the rear, allowing for maybe O Soto Gari, or Morote Gari. To be able to throw someone with this type of timing requires a lot of practice, but is just an example of how two people sparring or fighting are constantly losing balance. Kyuzo Mifine is regarded as some, to be the best Judo Fighter ever. His balance was crisp and smooth and could throw many people much taller than him by the exact method detailed above. The best part of his throws, was that he rarely fell whilst throwing, remaining standing. This is the true essence of Judo, and is what all JudoKa should be aiming to achieve.
Marks
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Great Karate Biography
Occasionally I like to inform you about certain martial art and training books which I feel are worth there money. Many times I have bought many books that give useless information which is impractical for fighting, or biographies of famous martial artists which portray pointless lives. The book which I shall speak of today fortunately does not belong in that category.
My Journey in Karate by Kancho Joko Ninomiya gives a great insight into the Enshin karate founder’s life. Joko Ninomiya came from Japan to the USA and set up his karate school in Denver. Having a Judo background and from there moving to Ashihara karate, it tells of his story in becoming the All Japan champion, which includes details of his training routines, people he would train with and the hard life which he lived when he first moved to the USA. It also gives information on how he brought students to his school, the success of his school and his work with troubled youths. I first read this book about 5 years ago, and continue to read it again and again. It is very motivational for any martial artist looking for extra inspiration to there training, and I recommend it to all. It can be found at many book stores or on the Internet.
