Instructors Seph Smith and Jen Flannery received well-earned promotions from Felipe Costa following his seminar tonight. Both of them had to wrestle an absurdly huge gauntlet of their training partners to earn their belts. Details…

Seph Smith moved on to the brown belt after yet another strong performance this past weekend at Grapplers Quest. [...]

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our correspondent Matthew Kaplowitz of Fight Nerd Radio, a new mixed martial arts podcast.

With just its third episode in production, Matthew Kaplowitz is creating a formula for his show which combines interviews, fight reports and discussion, analysis of the broader scene in mixed martial arts, and, of course, steady doses of nerdy humor.

We had a chance to sit down to talk with him both for his show, which you will hear on Fight Nerd Radio, and our show.

On No Holds Barred, we focused the most on the rise of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which just completed their first season of 12 shows. Matthew covered two of their cards live, and gave his impression of how these shows came off in person, as well as discussing what Bellator needs to do to parlay the success of their first season into making their promotion even stronger than it is now.

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

Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.

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

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.

American Top Team. Whether you’re a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

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

Wrestling 411, providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions, whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.

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

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
EddieGoldman.com

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Wiki: North-South Armbar and Some Options

Sometimes we expect too much from ourselves, our performance or even from other people. Sometimes – it is the differential between the desired outcomes or behaviours and the actual outcomes or behaviours that causes us stress or concern.

In terms of our own performance, it is easy to ‘expect’ too much. On one hand, if we set the bar to low, we are cultivating with ourselves an acceptance of mediocrity – if we always set the bar too high, we are setting ourselves up for failure. My own view is that we should set the bar high, but not overly concern ourselves with the outcome – that way we move beyond mediocrity but don’t find ourselves always paying the emotional price for failing.

When it comes to what we expect from others, in terms of performance – or even just in terms of how we expect people to behave or to act – it is even easier to set ourselves up for disappointment. This is largely because we think others will think and behave like we do, have the moral standards as we do – and we tend to forget that people are, as the saying goes, ‘queer as folk’.

Other people will behave, perform and act in accordance with their own set of values and from within their own particular world-views. Oft times, those values and those world views do not match our own. This can cause problems, but only if we have unrealistic expectations of how people should perform, behave and act. But hey, sometimes, it may just be that they have ‘other stuff’ going on in their lives and their behaviour or performance, although hypocritical, sub-par or not in alignment with our own, may just be a temporary thing – fueled by an unfortunate series of events or feelings that they are experiencing. As a friend of mine used to say ‘They are who they are – don’t expect more and you won’t be disappointed’. Sage advice.

It is also important to note, both for the individual and for the professional coach – that everyone has ups and downs in their lives and in their training. The longer the relationship (and the stronger the relationship) between friends, or between coach and student, the more ‘friendship or relationship credits’ should be available to get over the ‘hump’.

I see people dealing with these issues all the time – in their personal lives and on the mat. Having unrealistic expectations about our own performance can send us spiraling into a state of unease; having unrealistic expectations of our we think others should behave and act can casue us heart-ache and sorrow.
My advice – cultivate tolerance – for ourselves and for others. People after all (including ourselves) are only human.
JBW

A nice, very short, interview with Marcelo Garcia from Gracie magazineDid you decide to stay out of the absolute for your lack of rhythm?I always try to make it into the absolute, and this time was no different… But it’s not my option, Fabio and Ro…

ATM two weeks in a row … it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to say that.Two things stood out in tonight’s training, which was a mix of instructional (crossover and scissor sweeps) and specific sparring (guard/pass guard and takedowns). One, my an…

Class few by today. We drilled a counter to the open half guard (z-guard) pass. It’s been several hours since class (I had to do some work as soon as I got home tonight), so I likely won’t get all the steps right:

Nothing much.
Nothing really new to post either.
Busy teaching. Exercising my legs. Stretching them out too. Watching DVDs. Watching Japanese game shows. Studying Japanese by means of these lovely magazines (my friend Matt’s site btw, if you’re in the UK pick one of these bad boys up). Did I mention that I was watching DVDs?
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Grappledunk tagged me… and I’m slow to respond. Call me a dork.

What is your current obsession? Jits, but of course.

What is your weirdest obsession? Okay, so picture this: in 108 degree weather and no AC, instead of hanging out in my pool wearing as little as possible and sipping a frosty beverage, I’m putting on layers after layers (not just a gi, but rashie and athletic bra and bike shorts!) of hot, heavy, thick fabric which hasn’t been updated with modern textile technology, then running in circles, picking up and putting down and pushing and pulling heavy things, then squirming around on a mat with other similarly-dressed people who often outweigh me by 20, 40, 60, 80 pounds, while they try their best to make me pass out… either by choking me out or suffocating me or with the manmonia of their not-washed-frequently-enough gis…. for three, sometimes five, sometimes eight hours a day, seven days a week.

What is the weirdest sub-obsession of the weird obsession you just described? Collecting instructionals and trading them with friends across the country, yet not taking/making the time to watch 99.99999% of them. Dork!

Coffee or tea? Tea (Earl Grey or Irish Breakfast) very strong, very sweet (love you splenda) with cream or at least half-and-half.

What was the last really exiting thing you bought and the next exciting thing you plan to buy? It’s a tie: got a Lucky gi on Ebay for $67, and I’m still in awe of the fabulous induction cooktop in our kitchen island (though we’ve had it nearly two years, it is every cook’s dream… ask me about it… magnetic energy cooks faster, uses less energy, produces less ambient heat, and was a perfect excuse to “have to” buy All-Clad) Next exciting thing? A car. That’s a long way off though.

What are you listening to right now? Husband is watching Merlin episodes on Hulu, sitting next to me on the couch.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Butter pecan with TONS of caramel sauce.

What do you think of the person(s) who tagged you? I’ll copycat and proclaim that Grappledunk is creative, fun, intelligent, beautiful, and a certified aquabadass. But seriously folks– swimming that far, in open water?! WHOA! Way cool.

Which language do you want to learn? Italian or French, for the accent; Brazilian Portuguese, so I can talk with our resident Fadda blackbelt from Brasilia, Ronny Lis.

What is your favorite color? Green.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? A sarong.

What is your worst habit? Snacking.

If you had $1,000 now, what would you spend it on? Savings for a new car someday. Boring, sorry

Describe your personal style? Simple, casual, no ironing required.

What is your favorite fruit? Ranier cherries.

What inspires you? When sheer effort and determination overcome a lack of native talent.

Do you collect something? Gis. Fourteen at last count.

What are you most proud of? My parents– so cheesy but I owe everything I am and have accomplished to them.

Cats or dogs? Love ‘em both but allergic, so for the time being I don’t have either.

What’s your biggest fashion mistake? Knickers and a matching vest circa 1984. Gack.

It’s that gorgeous, hot, sunny weather that makes watermelon, fried chicken, potato salad and lemonade taste their absolute best… that makes the chlorine-smell of the pool something akin to perfume… that makes you purr as you come out of the freezing-cold movie theater… that simply screams for some Beach Boys or Peter Gabriel on the radio. It’s not even July yet but we’ve been seeing triple-digit temps for a while now and despite the lack of AC (got it, don’t use it) at the jits academy, I’m really enjoying the full bloom of an Austin summer.

Happily weight still moving in the right direction though I have a ways to go to reach my goal by August 14. Tonight a local news crew will be filming part of a story on alternative ways to exercise at the academy, so I’ll be trotting out my green gi in all its glory. (And as usual, within 5 minutes, the sweat soaking into my pants will make it look like I peed in them. Nice.)