Eddie Goldman of No Holds Barred and SecondsOut Radio and comedian Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling were guests on the nationally-syndicated “Joey Reynolds Show” late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, November 18/19. Eddie Goldman is also the boxing correspondent for the “Joey Reynolds Show”.

While Jackie provided a healthy dose of his edgy humor, Eddie focused on some serious problems facing boxing which are far from a joke, but are turning that sport into one. Joey and Eddie discussed the continuing problems with the treatment of the media at the Nov. 8 fight between Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr. at Madison Square Garden, as well as other problems plaguing that sport. But we also had a little time to discuss some good sports news, the revival of roller derby.

The “Joey Reynolds Show” is a national radio broadcast in New York on WOR 710 AM and on 100 other stations via the WOR Network. The show airs live beginning at midnight EDT and runs to 5 AM EDT. For more information on the “Joey Reynolds Show,” click here.

For more information on show producer Myra Chanin, go to http://motherwonderful.com.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
No Holds Barred

“The road ahead will be an rough one. There will be blood. There will be sweating. There will be the occasional longing to quit. But I will not fall. I will bend….but I will not break.”

I repeat this mantra to myself as I look in the mirror every morning and stare in amazement at what used to be a machine. The 6 pack I once had has been replaced by a mound of dough that is my stomach. My once chiseled face has been replaced by something that looks more like a bloodhound than a man. Needless to say…I’m fat.

I am everything I used to resent. You ever walk through the mall and see the short fat guy with the bad shave and raccoon eyes and wonder why that hot chick is walking with him? Thats me.
Once I was at the gym and my Ipod went dead in the middle of a set. Not wanting to get out of the rhythm I was in, I kept my headphones on and kept truckin’. Meanwhile, there were these two good looking (but older) women standing about 3 feet in front of me and I noticed they would glance over on occasion. I knew they were talking about me and since I had headphones on they thought I wasn’t even listening. I was trying to make out what they were saying and when I actually did…I began to wish I didn’t hear a damn thing:

Girl 1: “Look at this guy”
Girl 2: “Yeah. He’s kinda cute”
Girl 1: “Yeah he is…imagine how hot he would be if he wasn’t so fat”
Girl 2: “Oh my god-I was thinking the same thing!”
Girl 1: “You were? Let’s go fuck ourselves” <--This part may or may not have happened.

Can you believe that sh*t?

I always look forward to the Friday class because of it’s fragrant mix of the weekend, sparring, a smaller class and a chance to get some decent BJJ in before we spend a decadent post-millenium weekend. It also gave me an amazing excuse to get the new gi it’s first taste of action, a full review can be found elsewhere on the blog.

Tonight’s session was pretty amazing from my point of view; the sparring was good, and although the room was as cold as the McCartney/Mills divorce saga, it’s safe to say that i took something away from this class that was certainly missing from a few of my previous sessions.

I rolled with three people tonight; Adam, Mark and Simon. Adam in himself poses a unique challenge because of his strength, with Mark being perhaps one of the most technical fighters at the club, and Simon being the true beast that he is.

I was impressed with my performance, as i managed to swing from move to move with a little bit more fluency tonight, although by the end of the session i was noticing my cardio was beginning to let my mind down a little bit.

I think we’ve all been at the stage where by the time we’ve thought of a solution to the problem, the guy’s already moved on and poses a new and exciting threat. That’s what keeps BJJ fresh.

Anyway, my rolling was okay; i’m continuing to work on my bottom game, with my closed, open and rubber guard now seeming to be a treat in my mind, rather than the chore they were 6-8 months ago.

No techniques were shown (as is the norm on Friday) which gave me a chance to try and work some of the butterfly guard stuff we’ve been doing, and some techniques that I’ve picked up from instructional and the endless goldmine of BJJ knowledge that is youtube.

The butterfly guard is an interesting position, because quite simply, it works. It’s a position that i never thought would be as effective as a regular closed guard or more exotic open guard variants like the De la Riva, but the guard WORKS. And that’s what’s important in BJJ, not the flashyness of the move, but the effectiveness of it.

Particularly since Braulio’s seminar, there’s been a bit of a butterfly renaissance at the classes i’ve attended, and in my opinion, this can only be an amazingly good thing.

I hope that the butterfly guard is the focus of the coming week’s sessions, as i have a sneaking suspicion it will be.

All good, and i’m seriously looking forward to monday. Be there or be square.

With Xmas around the corner i know a lot of guys start buying the Christmas Gi’s, and i thought since i’ve been a good boy all year, i’d make sure Santa got me something new to choke people with. Santa loves a bit of violence!

Scouring around the net wasn’t something i fancied this time around, and i couldn’t really be arsed paying out ridiculous amounts for shipping which i think we’ve all faced at one time or another, so the one remaining option is to get one from inside the UK.

Seeing a few tshirts featuring “Faixa Rua” at the club, i thought id check out the brand and was pleased to see they sell Kimonos.

This morning i received my first Gi in a long time, the white Faixa Rua gold weave, which i can honestly say I’m thrilled with.

This is my first a5 Gi, and the top fits roughly the same as my Koral a4 does, which gives you an indication of the cut size. However, I’m expecting a little shrinkage but nothing too major.

Upon first impression, the Gi trousers are well fitting yet loose and comfortable, and the jacket seems to be soft yet strong.

The price was also pretty phenomenal; a Gi of a decent quality for £60 in this country is almost unheard of, so to say my pocket is thankful is an understatement.

The patches that come with it are reminiscent to me of a regular Koral gi, yet they are unobtrusive and look quite professional; i was worried at first that the Gi would look like a generic Judo Gi, but i can most certainly say it has a unique character that I’m more than chuffed with.

There is enough space to personalise it, with the back being just plain white, giving enough room to sport the BJJ version of go-faster stripes: the team patch.

Training with it in the first session was a pleasure, although the sleeves were perhaps a little long for the more technical stand up work, although reportedly these shrink after the first few washes.

It washed nicely on 40 degrees, and i haven’t noticed a huge amount of shrinkage, but this is something i’ll keep you updated on.

The pricing is competitive, with a gold weave white costing £60, a Blue pearl weave costing £70, and a black double weave costing £80. For more information please see www.faixarua.com or email faixaruakimonos@googlemail.com.

My score: 9/10.

Pros: Pricing, quality of gi, seems quite light, great service, looks and feels good.
Cons: The sleeves are perhaps a little large (although im expecting them to shrink).

This Gi has a serious chance of becoming my first choice gi; if you want to move away from the regular brands, go for Faixa Rua!

More reviews coming this holiday season? let’s see what Santa brings!

Posted 2008-11-21
by David Thomas

Flow rolling is to a grappler what improvisation is to a jazz musician. It’s a fun, creative experience that develops your skills and helps you connect with your partner.

Every grappling gym has its own way to get grapplers warmed up and ready for maximum athletic performance and the rigors of the full intensity of ground fighting. I prefer what I call "flow rolling": a series of grappling rounds at low intensity with no submissions allowed and an emphasis on constant motion, cooperation, and resilience over static resistance and competitiveness. Since most grappling matches demand explosiveness, strength, and competiveness, flow rolling puts many students off their game, but the benefits can be substantial.

Here’s my pitch for why you should flow roll every time you warm up:

• Maximize athletic performance. New studies of athletic performance have demonstrated that athletes who warmed up for 20 minutes just before intense athletic activity are actually stronger and have improved muscle flexibility.
• Expanded creativity due to lack of competitive pressure. When you aren’t fighting off submission attempts or stuck inside a tight guard, your mind has more time to work though new moves, alternate routes, and unconventional ideas. You can improve your mindset and patience about working through disadvantaged positions. Creativity is limited when you are under pressure. Relax your mind and let the ideas flow.
• Improved mat dexterity and coordination. Watching 2 experienced flow rollers is really impressive. You can develop improved mat dexterity with consistent flow rolling.
• It’s fun and develops teamwork. It’s a nice change to roll around with your mat partners when you aren’t trying to submit them. Put a smile on your face and enjoy the interactive dance. I tell the youngsters in my kids class "play like monkeys!"

So go ahead, improv like a jazz musician. Play like a monkey. Flow roll.

Simply amazing this guy history. Enjoy!

I think most people who train in sports like BJJ find certain training partners along the way, who they “click” really well with both in training and socially. One of mine is Christian Montes, whom I met in his New York gym, Ronin Athletics, back in 2004 when it was very small with less than five guys on the mat. It was immediately obvious, that we had a very similar approach to BJJ training, and whenever I train with him, I always get a ton of little details to take home and implement in my own game. Although I only go visit for few days every year, I consider Christian one of my very best friends and I feel that our almost parallel careers and development of technical level within BJJ, provides us with some unique sparring that is really worth a lot to me, both on the mat and business wise.

Since my first visit to New York, I have been coming back every year to train and hang out with my friends in the small gym, that has now grown to a full size, full time place in the center of Manhattan. I know there are many world class instructors just around the corner, and I always plan on going there for training as well, but every time I end up just hanging out with all the guys at Ronin. Training there reminds me so much of training at home in my own gym. The vibe and people are very similar and I really enjoy it, which is always the number one reason for me to train. NEXT time though, I will go visit Renzo and the other gyms… maybe

What that said, here is a short clip I had Christian Montes do for this blog. His offensive game from cross sides top is pretty similar to mine, but I think he has quite a few cool details that are worth checking out. Enjoy the video and stop by Ronin if you are in NYC!

Posted 2008-11-20
by David Thomas

All you need is one case of ringworm to get permanently creeped out and paranoid about rashes. That happened to me about 5 years ago when visiting a
grappling gym in the LA area. Ever since then, I’ve been proud to claim my Austin-based gym has never had an outbreak of any kind.

Don’t step on the mats if you have a rash that is undiagnosed or diagnosed as contagious. Be smart:

1. Get a diagnosis from a doctor and email your coach to tell him you are taking time off.
2. Make sure you get instructions from your doctor on how to know when the rash is no longer contagious and follow their directions on medication and treatment.
3. Do not return to the mats without your doctor’s clearance.

There are numerous highly contagious skin rashes that can cause nasty symptoms that persist for months. Don’t be the source.
It could get you banned from the mats, depending on the damage you cause.

If you have a non-contagious skin condition that looks like a rash on any skin surface that is visible, please inform your coach.
People will get creeped out and suspicious if they see it, so get it out there and make sure people are comfortable before just jumping on the mats.
You don’t want folks getting the wrong impression and avoiding you for no reason.

Comments? Post!

I am here to destroy you! I will slice through your guard like a hot knife through butter! I will breach your feeble defense and attack with an onslaught of submissions. I will relish in the reality that is your downfall. I will smash, I will slam, I will pounce my way through your game. [...]

Since my last proper post, training has continued as usual, and largely has been going great (apart from getting another bloody cold just as the last one has cleared up!!!). I’m still working on my movement, sensitivity etc with Dean and he’s been really generous with his time helping me to get to grips with this and I just know it’s going to pay dividends. It’s also interesting in that it’s kind of setting me up to be able to train myself and from what I understand of Rickson, this is very much the way that he’s trained his network of friends and associates over the years. It’s great as it’s an ultimately sustainable way of training Jiu Jitsu so long as you can find a few like minded people to practice with.

A few things of note really in terms of what we’ve been doing – a lot more stand-up stuff with self defence application which has been great, a neat defence/escape from spider guard and really just focussing on the movement. There’s little technique involved – a few set points here and there, but it all revolves around this movement and sensitivity.



Dean also brought in his set of “bodylastics” – exercise tubes, to illustrate how these can be used to practice the movements we’ve been doing whilst also doing specific conditioning. This was really interesting and guess what’s now on my Christmas list?! Again, it’s part of this ethos that with an appreciation of Jiu Jitsu and the true ethos within the art, you can train and develop a long way on your own.

I’ve also spent a bit of time chatting with Dean after training, sharing thoughts, philosophies and i’ve appreciated this insight into the way that Dean approaches Jiu Jitsu and it has made me appreciate all the more what we’ve been doing over the past months. A bit more on that later.

Earlier in the month I went to the Kent Open for my first tournament as a Blue Belt. I guess by many’s standards, it was a quick entry so soon after promotion, but I’d entered (and paid!) as a white belt (I wasn’t expecting to get my Blue Belt so soon!) but I couldn’t lie and I’d paid my entry fee! It was a mammoth event brilliantly organised by the Carlson’s guys, held at the Olympic Judo training centre at Dartford – just up the road from me (bonus!) – a great facility.

I knew that by going up to Blue Belt that I’d meet Janos AKA “Dumptruck” who had so resoundingly beaten me at the Southern Open. An absolute monster. Anyway. It turned out that in my category it was just me and Janos – one other Hungarian guy hadn’t shown, so only one fight. This would be the only criticism I had of the day (and it’s not a huge gripe – that’s the way it goes), but there were two guys in the same weight class in the Adult category (I’m Masters) so by merging the categories we could all have had a couple of fights at least. To be fair, looking at the numbers there maybe there wasn’t time to mess about with the schedule, but to have one fight (and lose!) for £25 …well, I just wish it had been different.

So…yes, I lost. Pretty early on Janos got a single leg take down. I fell quite well and managed to frame him off and as far as I know he failed to secure cross side or knee on stomach. He tried a a choke with the fist in the throat quite early but didn’t have the purchase. Eventually (and it must have been approaching time) he took a decent Gi choke. Janos won, but I must say I didn’t feel as overwhelmed as I had at the Southern Open – maybe a combination of more experience of both Jiu Jitsu and tournaments? I’m annoyed with myself that I pretty much got consumed with holding him off rather than working some movement to improve my situation, but I guess that’s my learning point from the day. It was also strange to be awarded a silver medal for losing one fight!

On the flip side, getting my stuff out of the way so early meant that I got to watch some good (and some not so good!) Jiu Jitsu for the rest of the day.

Si had a great day at the office ploughing through his division with relative ease to take Gold. Here’s a film of Si’s final – it speaks for itself – great roll to reverse the takedown and a trademark cross collar finish from Si:

All in all it was a good day and a huge congratulations goes to all the Carlson’s guys that made it happen – hopefully one for the annual BJJ calendar! It was good to hang out with the guys (Dean T came along, as did Dave, Big Dean (who is in LA training at Rickson’s Academy at the moment – can’t wait to get the low-down when he gets back) and to cap it all, there was a Subway van there and I had a Meatball Marinara Sub – my favourite!

On to some other stuff that I’ve found interesting. I mentioned eralier that I’ve had a few good chats with Dean T and he’s spoken about how a lot of his recent philosophy has come from reading about Morihei Ueshiba – the founder of Aikido (there are some great clips of him well worth a look on YouTube) Dean mentioned a collection of Ueshiba’s writings – “The Art of Peace” (which you can read here) so I thought I’d have a little look into it to see what it might have to offer me in my training.



It’s a small, digestible book, full of short quotes on a range of subject, some more spiritual than others, but found a good few words that held resonance for me in the way that I am experiencing training. Here are a few of my favourites – whilst they ultimately stem from his practice of Akido, I feel that the sentiments are equally applicable to true Jiu Jitsu:



On Training



The purpose of training is to tighten up the slack, toughen the body, and polish the spirit.



Iron is full of impurities that weaken it; through forging, it becomes steel and is transformed into razor-sharp sword. Human beings develop in the same fashion.

Instructors can impart only a fraction of the teaching. It is through your own devoted practice that the mysteries of the Art of Peace are brought to life.

Progress comes to those who Train and train; Reliance on secret techniques Will get you nowhere. Fiddling with this And that technique Is of no avail.

In your training do not be in a hurry, for it takes a minimum of ten years to master the basics and advance to the first rung. Never think of yourself as an all-knowing, perfected master; you must continue to train daily with your friends and students and progress together in the Art of Peace.

Ultimately, you must forget about technique. The further you progress, the fewer teachings there are. The Great Path is really No Path.

On Mindset



There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within.



A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.

On the philosophy of the art



The Art of Peace is the principle of nonresistance. Because it is nonresistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. The Art of Peace is invincible because it contends with nothing.



It is necessary to develop a strategy that utilizes all the physical conditions and elements that are directly at hand. The best strategy relies upon an unlimited set of responses.

Techniques employ four qualities that reflect the nature of our world. Depending on the circumstance, you should be: hard as a diamond, flexible as a willow, smooth-flowing like water, or as empty as space.

If your opponent strikes with fire, counter with water, becoming completely fluid and free-flowing. Water, by its nature, never collides with or breaks against anything. On the contrary, it swallows up any attack harmlessly.

When an opponent comes forward, move in and greet him; if he wants to pull back, send him on his way.

The body should be triangular, the mind circular. The triangle represents the generation of energy and is the most stable physical posture. The circle symbolizes serenity and perfection, the source of unlimited techniques. The square stands for solidity, the basis of applied control.

In the Art of Peace we never attack. An attack is proof that one is out of control.



Never run away from any kind of challenge, but do not try to suppress or control an opponent unnaturally. Let attackers come any way they like and then blend with them. Never chase after opponents. Redirect each attack and get firmly behind it.

Opponents confront us continually, but actually there is no opponent there. Enter deeply into an attack and neutralize it as you draw that misdirected force into your own sphere.

Even the most powerful human being has a limited sphere of strength. Draw him outside of that sphere and into your own, and his strength will dissipate.

The essence of training is to bring your opponent completely into your sphere. Then you can stand where you like.

Whirl in circles around A stable center. Manifest yang In your right hand, Balance it with The yin of your left, And guide your partner.

The techniques of Peace Enable us to meet every challenge Seeing me before him, The enemy attacks, But by that time I am already standing Safely behind him.



Pretty cool huh? That’s how I want my Jiu Jitsu to be.



One last thing – proud dad moment. I took my 4 year old son to his first Judo class last week. Dartford Judo Club run a “Pre Judo” class for under 5′s which is great as most clubs and classes don’t start ’til after 5 years. Anyway, he got really stuck in and loved every second. He even won a couple of his fights! I’m so proud and his new Gi just arrived today – the smallest Gi you’ve ever seen! Cute.