So the NoGi tonight was pretty tough. Most of the lads were pretty tired from the Muay Thai which i didn’t do tonight, mainly because i had to get some things ready for my social occasion tomorrow. I think in this regard it’s important to get a balance between training and social life right; it’s all good to be great in training, but if nobody outside of training knows you, what’s your headstone gonna look like?

“Here lies Luke Wykes. He had a great stack and liked twister side control”.

That’s not for me.

Anyway, back to the point.

Tonight’s session started with Lee showing us how to attack the turtle with a basic elbow-in-shoulder turnover, nothing new there really.

But then he showed us a technique he called the “catweazle”; a transition from this into the twister, where we simply put the knee in the hip, your free foot locking his near foot, and keeping control of the hand. Possibly the worst description ever but if you want more info, get to class!

The twister is something we’ve been working on for a while, and it’s a totally radical move. It’s revolutionary in that since it was re-popularized by Eddie Bravo, it’s opened up a whole new system and the Truck position has now become infamous and synonymous with a good reverse kesa-gatame game.

The class then went standing, where we worked on some techniques of our choice. Myself and Steve used a little resistance on each other so we knew what we could get away with, and i was impressed with the results. I felt much better on my feet than i had in months today, and i’m not entirely sure why. I quite like rolling for Kneebars, i sincerely wish that sometime, we can learn some kneebars in class.

The class took a turn back to the ground with some specific training, where myself and Dan trained a little. My focus tonight was on the Z-Guard and playing off the bottom, something i achieved with moderate success.

Within Sparring i noticed my cardio wasn’t top notch but i was catching some nice things, some Kimuras from Z-guard, etc.

No update tomorrow as i’m not training!

On this edition of No Holds Barred, we focus on discussing the article “Punch Drunk Love. How boxing explains John McCain” by Michael Crowley in The New Republic, which quotes me extensively about McCain’s obsessive campaign against mixed martial arts in the 1990′s. We also discuss the significance of those views of McCain for today.

In addition, we also discuss the EliteXC show on CBS this past Saturday, the monumental drop in ratings from their May 31 show, and other issues including the future of the IFL, MMA coming to New York, and the flawed pay-per-view model for combat sports.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

IFL, the International Fight League. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
EddieGoldman.com

Good showing here from both guys, i think our own Steve Wright played a smart game but towards the end i think his head let him down.

Oh well, not bad! Anyone who’s got the guts to step out there is a hero anyway.

Luke.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman focuses on the appointment of longtime boxing judge Melvina Lathan as head of the New York State Athletic Commission.

We start with a commentary on the significance of this appointment, and what it means for the sports of boxing and mixed martial arts in New York.

At a ceremony held Friday, July 25, at the Police Athletic League in Harlem, New York, officially announcing her appointment, we got comments from Melvina Lathan about her new job, boxing, and MMA. We have the statements both she and New York Governor David Paterson made at this ceremony. We also asked Governor David Paterson about his attitude to MMA coming to New York. And we got the very positive comments of Larry Hazzard, former head of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, and Randy Gordon, former head of the New York State Athletic Commission and now co-host of the show Fight Club on Sirius Satellite Radio, about the appointment of Melvina Lathan, and boxing and MMA.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

IFL, the International Fight League. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
EddieGoldman.com

As of tonight, the Friday night class at the main HQ is changing to a more competition oriented class, with an emphasis on drilling and sparring techniques rather than learning new ones. This is perfect for us, as a club this will help our cardio and confidence with techniques, so this can only be a good thing really.

I trained with Adam tonight, and as a general rule it went quite well. I worked a little rubber guard, i’m still a little inflexible but i’ll get there in the end. The move i was trying was just to gain mission control, then to transition to the Jiu-Claw (aka omoplata, someone please explain the difference, other than holding the leg?).

this is one of my money techniques now, and is certainly a “go-to” move in my gameplan.

That was my main choice of move to drill, and along with the twister side control setups we’ve been working, tonight certainly felt like an Eddie Bravo tribute session for me.

I quite like the twister side control and the twister move as i’ve already alluded to on the blog, but i’ve noticed with the gi on, it does feel a little more awkward. This may be best saved for a Thursday No-Gi session.

Sparring was interesting, Adam’s a very physical guy to roll with, and that’s somewhat my weakness. I’d like to think of myself as technical from the bottom and quite physical yet technical on the top, which suits my body and movement type better.

In terms of my performance this was okay, but there were times when i felt drained, this i attribute to a hectic week though. My emphasis from the top was on twister side control and s-mount, and on the bottom on regaining half-guard.

Not much else to say really; Fridays are now a very personal class, and as such, things that are applicable to me may not apply to the whole class, so bear that in mind.

Until Monday,

train hard, kids!

In a way i’m slightly embarassed to put this on the blog on the basis that for the vast majority of the fight, i’m stalling.

But by the same token, i’m somewhat proud of this as my first win.

I think i could have done better, i certainly should have killed his inside arm whilst in my side control, but hey, during the adrenalin of the competition, i didn’t think.

Oh well, there’s always next time.

Coming tomorrow will be the rest of the guys from the gym’s fights.

Enjoy.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our correspondent Matthew Kaplowitz about the debut Affliction “Banned” mixed martial arts card, which was held Saturday, July 19, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Matthew was in the arena covering it live.

In a lengthy discussion, we present a very nuanced analysis of the positives and negatives of the Affliction show, including the lessons of the 36-second blowout by Fedor Emelianenko, the top heavyweight and pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world, over former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.

Eddie also opens the show with another commentary on the problems facing those promoters reliant on the pay-per-view TV model, the growing availability of fights from around the world online and for free, and the inconclusive ending of the Dream lightweight MMA tournament in Japan.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

IFL, the International Fight League. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
EddieGoldman.com

Got to the King Alfred Leisure Centre in what felt like record time, and I for one was certainly quite pumped up about today’s events. With my PSP full of tunes and a good place to sit and stay moderatley separate from the action, i managed to keep my head more in the game than i did at Bristol.

The organisation was pretty good, Gus (the guy who ran the competition) was friendly and helpful, and he certainly put some decent work in which is much appreciated.

What i liked about today was that there was a good atmosphere, i’ve never been to a place where everyone seemed so friendly, particularly one of the guys who recognised me from this blog (hey, i’m getting famous!) and a few others who genuinley remind you that the BJJ world is very different to the outside world.

Good showing by 3 of the lads today, unfourtunatley Steve Boughey was injured and couldn’t compete, shame.

Steve Wright was outpointed in a very close affair in the first round, but put on an extremley good show to reinforce to all in attendance exactly why he is becoming a prolific competitor. or something like that.

Jez Lord unfortunately lost by RNC, but this was in a relativley close fight.

I won my first fight by points (think it was 7-2, don’t quote me on this) against one of the big guys from the Carlson Gracie team (Hellboy?), and lost my second to another guy from the same establishment via Americana.

I’m very happy to get my first win, particularly in such a good fashion as a confident points win. I did have the experience of being up against a guy taller and stronger than me, but on the day that isn’t all that matters.

I’m happy to have had the experience of my second competition, and i feel this is really going to drive my training along.

For those of you that haven’t yet competed or are sitting on the fence as to whether or not “competition is for you”, my advice is to do it. I spent far too long sitting on the fence, wondering whether or not to compete, and in the end the worst that can happen is that you lose, and at this stage of the game, who cares about a loss.

Infact, it’s the losses that will DRIVE You forward. If you win all the time, you have no desire to improve, the mindset of a pure winner becomes very one-track and this is detrimental to peak performance.

Went and had a drink in Brighton when i realised my t-shirt was on back to front (yeah, you can see it in the picture) but i guess that’s what happens when you’re knackered from the fighting.

Take care,

Rev. Luke.

I’m going to go a bit back to front with this blog entry and start with today’s events. Today I went to the dubiously named Brighton “Grab and Pull” tournament – the first tournament organised by Brighton BJJ. I only really decided to enter about a week or so ago so no real expectations. I went along with Si and we met up with the guys from Carlson’s which made for a great day out and as always, the guys made us more than welcome.

Although the day started later than published, the fights ran smoothly and quickly. There were a few mix-ups with fight weights, but the organisers remained flexible and in good humour which helped make a really relaxed atmosphere. I’m full of admiration for the organisers – I reckon I’d have flipped with all that stress so credit where it’s due.

As with the Southern Open I was entered into the Super Super Heavyweight category (100.5kg +). After a long wait (about 4 hours) I was finally called. I really enjoyed my first fight. I was initially taken by surprise as my opponent jumped guard, but I dealt with it OK, quickly postured up, broke his guard and passed to secure cross-side. I then moved straight to mount and just secured that position, bringing weight and getting a nice high mount. I was just weighing up my options and resisting bridges and an Ezekiel choke seemed the best option so that’s what I went for – sunk it in and stuck it on and got the tap – all lasted about 2 minutes. I felt I had good control the whole way through. Really nice guy though and enjoyed chatting to him before our match.

My second fight was a different story. The guy I was fighting was 122kg – that’s 19 and a bit stone so I was giving away over two stone – and he was solid with it. He got some sort of sweep pretty quick and took mount very quickly too. That suited me – I stayed tight and was just looking to secure an upa, but he was clearly experienced and wise to this. As Si later pointed out, my mistake was that I stayed too flat on my back, preventing any decent disruption. Eventually, a combination of bad choices on my part and shepherding on his, he moved me to take an armbar which was successful. All over. That’s the way it goes – sooner or later you always meet someone bigger, faster etc etc – different draws may have led to a different result, but that’s the way it goes. It all meant I took bronze – again – that’s OK. A medal’s a medal. Just starting to think that losing weight might be a good idea for more than health reasons!

Si had a good first fight, took a decent takedown and then controlled everything as he always does, ending the fight with an armbar – great result. His second fight was against the eventual winner – a guy that had already shown some great Judo in his first fight and continued in his bout with Si, opening his scoring with a great ippon seoinagi. From there on, SI was always chasing the points. Si had the guy in guard and controlled him there for a long while always threatening to pull off one of his trademark cross collar chokes, but it just never quite happened. Eventually the guy passed and took a choke using his own gi. mathematics once again conspired to give Si a well deserved bronze. I get the sense that Si felt a little disappointed, but it was a good outing for him and there’s always far too many variables in a tournament to worry about what could/should have been. Another good day out. I even met a nice parking attendant who bent the rules to avoid inconvenience. Once in a while something restores your faith in people.

Onto the last few weeks of training – usual story, Mondays and wednesdays at Rickson’s, Fridays at Carlson’s. All the usual drills really except that Dean T’s sessions have been revelations – every lesson I’ve come away with a little gem. The ones that stand out are the relaxation required when applying chokes – I did one so well that I didn’t even think I was doing anything. The other major thing was Dean helping me with my escape from cross side. I don’t find bridge escapes easy due to my poor lower back mobility, so Dean showed me an escape using your legs to move your body to the side, slide the lower knee in to block the abdomen then project the free leg away to sweep your opponent over – really liked this and will work well for me – just need to drill it. The key with the leg movement is to engage the core of your body so that your legs connect up through your torso – realy obvious, but the penny dropped that previously I’ve just been waving my legs around – just a lack of understanding on my part. This also means that I really need to work up some core strength. After a good demonstration by Dean, I think I’m going to make an effort with an old Yoga video – I reckon this will benefit in sorts of ways.

Dean also spent some time with me rolling at the end of one session – in the way that he likes to roll – just playing really, working the movement and just “sensing”. I really enjoyed this – it was imply fun but I could feel a whole lot more than I normally would – it’s this “pronounced” form of training that gradually hones the sensitivity that allows the purity of Jiu Jitsu to prevail. Sure, I’m a long way from that , but it’s really where I want to be in the way that I roll. It’s what it’s all really about. I’m really loving the training at the moment and finish every session with the same buzz that I had when I first started…love it!

Rick has also helped me with some escapes from a common position at Carlson’s – the head crush either from under mount or sometimes when holding guard. It was clear I’ve just been doing everything wrong – when holding guard I need to release guard, trap arms and work sweeps. Under Mount, instead of going for Upas that aren’t there I need to be shrimping out. So obvious…now I’ve been shown – cheers Rick…and thank you from my neck too!

One other breakthrough to mention happened during a light session with just me and Si one Wednesday. We just went through standing up in guard – trying to prefect this technique over and over. I finally made a few minor adjustments, the main one being to drive my stand from my foot position (like a sprint start), rather than awkwardly squatting to standing position…bit by bit, things just get better.

Everything’s relative and belts aren’t everything, but I’ve set out my goals and they remain intact. It takes many people only a couple of years to go from white to blue. By the time I hopefully get there, I will have been a white belt for four years, partly due to economics, but the results I get at tournaments and when rolling tell me I am where I should be. I want nothing more than to feel that any grades I earn came at the right time and that I am the best white belt I can be…still lots of work to do and I’m loving every second.

Speak to you again soon. I’m off to bed to sleep off this adrenaline headache.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses with our colleague Kid Peligro, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, a senior editor of theADCC News, and a correspondent for our show, the origins and history of the renowned Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championship.

We also speak with Matthew Kaplowitz, the newest correspondent for our show, who is on location in Anaheim, Calif., for the Affliction mixed martial arts card this Saturday, July 19, at the Honda Center, and on pay-er-view. He was at the weigh-ins Friday, and we discuss them and the atmosphere there.

And we continue our discussion of the role of peer-to-peer streaming video sites and the pay-per-view model.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

IFL, the International Fight League. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the U.S. and to check your local listings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site, ifl.tv, for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
EddieGoldman.com