Nigh at The Fights: Absolute Chaos 3

Saturday September 8th was Absolute Chaos’ third show. There were 12 total fights lined up, 4 MMA fights, 6 kickboxing fights, and 2 muay thai kickboxing matches. Most of the fights went to decision, but there were a few standout matches, and with all shows, a few unexpected hiccups. Everything from fighters coming late, not having their physicals, to an pretty severe injury. By far though the fight of the night, was the heavyweight title fight.

1. Sunny McNeely (Independent) vs. James Davis (Ivan Salaverry)180 lbs. MMA fight.  James controlled all three round of the fight. In all three rounds he was able to take Sunny down almost every time he tried. Whenever the guys were standing they tended to clinch, and work from inside the clinch or from the ground. Sunny did have an armbar attempt in the first round, and during the second round he was able to upa and escape to guard. Both fighters worked hard, in the end James Davis won by unanimous decision.

2. Bo Reedus (MABJJ/ Team Srisuk, Jones Jr.  Muay thai) vs. Matt Foster (West Coast Fight Team)210 kickboxing. This match was an exhibition kickboxing match. Although there was not a winner, both fighters put their energy into the match. They worked hard setting up combinations, blocking, and moving. Bo and Matt both went all three rounds without slowing, or stalling. Matt did accidentally catch Bo in the groin during round 2, and Bo returned the favor in round three. Both guys returned to the round and came back clean. Great job to Bo and Matt!

3. Chris Hogan (GUMMA) vs. Tyler Maples (Ivan Salaverry MMA) 160 lb. MMA This was a quick and explosive fight, in the first round Chris got the takedown, and controlled Tyler on the ground. Chris got back mount, and was looking to short choke. The referee ended up having to stand them up and Chris got another takedown as the round ended. In round two Chris again went for a takedown Tyler tried to stuff it and guillotine Chris. Chris went to finish the takedown, Tyler stuck out his arm, and broke it when he was taken down on top of it. Chris won by T.K.O.

4. Ian Smith (MKG Martial Arts) vs. Armando Diez (Element 5 Fitness) 165 lb. Muay Thai. Ian and Armando did a great job of  showing their understanding of Muay Thai. Ian though did a phenomenal job of using the clinch, kicks, and striking combos. In the second round Ian cornered Armando, and Armando went down. Armando was given a standing count, but was not able to answer the referee. Ian Smith won by T.K.O.

5. Ally Renante (MABJJ/ Team Srisuk, Jones Jr. Muay Thai) vs. Wanda Binett (Element 5 Fitness) 135 lb. Kickboxing. These two ladies were the only two to fight on this card. It was an exhibition kickboxing match.There were a few little last minute issues getting these ladies to the ring but once they were there they were ready. Both women went out a little tentative, but once they got comfortable they both worked hard to put on a good show. Both Ally and Wanda kept moving and kept trying to use what they had learned. At the end of the third round both ladies were visibly tired at the effort they had put into the fight. No winner was announced because it was an exhibition match.

6. Sergio Ulloa (MABJJ/ Team Srisuk, Jones Jr. Muay Thai) vs. Robbie Larson (Ivan Salaverry MMA) 170 lb. MMA. Sergio started out strong in round one by getting the first hit in. Both traded before Sergio took Robbie down. The ref stood them up and they ended the round trading strikes. In round two it was much of the same thing, both came out trading strikes, Sergio again took down Robbie, but this time Sergio advanced the  position. Robbie escaped at the end of the round. Round three Sergio controlled the entire round one more time. It paid off Both men fought the entire time and in the end Sergio won by Unanimous Decision.

7. Dustin Taylor (Brian Johnsons Fight Team) vs. Paul Hage (Scott Schaffer’s Kickboxing Team) 145 lb kickboxing. Both Dustin and Paul put on a good fight. They worked hard through all three rounds. Dustin had quite a few good strikes, and Paul had a few good kicks. Neither looked like they were going to back down and gave the judges a very hard decision. Dustin Taylor came out on top winning by Split Decision.

8. Jimmy Williams (MABJJ/ Team Srisuk, Jones Jr. Muay Thai) vs. Tim Lewis (West Coast Fight Team) 165 lbs. Kickboxing. So I have a horrible feeling that I mixed up my notes on this fight so instead of attempting to figure out where I went wrong, what I have written down is Jimmy Williams won by Unanimous Decision. Please if I have this wrong someone let me know and I will fix the error.

9. Luis Barriga (MABJJ/PMA) vs. Mohammad Mustafa (independent) 185 lb MMA.  Both come out and trade a few punches before Luis knocked Mohammad to the ground. Although it did not look like Mohammad was knocked out, the referee jumped in and stopped the match. Luis Barriga won by KO :24 seconds into round 1.

10. Taki Uluilakaepa (MABJJ/ Team Srisuk, Jones Jr. Muay Thai) vs. Joe Briggs (SSMA/ Ruse Awakening) 170 lb Muay Thai Title Fight This fight was an awesome show of Muay Thai. Although elbows were not allowed both Taki and Joe did an amazing job of using the clinch.The first three rounds both Taki and Joe kept the fight rolling and looked like they could last all five rounds. But in round four and five, both were starting to look weary. During round four Taki started pulling away, getting a few more strikes in, a few more knees. Finally in round five Taki knocked down Joe, Joe was able to regain composure and finish out the fight, but in the long run the fight had to do with conditioning, who had the better stamina. Taki Uluilakaepa won by Unanimous Decision.

11. Jared Teer (Brian Johnsons Fight Team) vs. CJ Phillips (Trevor Prangley’s AKA) 145 lb Kickboxing Superfight. In round one both CJ and Jared traded a few good kicks to the body. Jared kept the pressure on CJ the first round. During rounds two and three Jared not only kept the pressure but worked to keep advancing. CJ had a few missed spinning back kicks, and a few missed teeps that gave Jared the openings he needed. In the final round CJ was tired and Jared capitalized on it. He kept pressing CJ and it paid off. Jared Teer won by unanimous decision.

12 Felipe “Two Angels Rivera (MABJJ/ Team Srisuk, Jones Jr. Muay Thai) vs. David Alexander (Cell Jitsu) Heavyweight Title Fight. This fight had a heated beginning with one fighter saying a little more than he probably should have. It was a wild fight. David came out a little crazy. He had some very wild punches, and it seemed like the excitement got to him. Felipe on the other hand kept a calm demeanor and kept moving, looking for openings and taking is time. in the second round David came out again not guarding himself, throwing some wild punches, and ended up kicking Felipe in the groin. Felipe recovered and again looks for an opening. Felipe got David into a dorner and kept him there until the end of the round. During round three both start trading. David telegraphed a big punch, Felipa slipped it and caught David perfectly, David fell back and was unconscious. Felipe Rivera won by Knock Out in Round Three.

Getting to Train with Jeff Monson

We’ve had a visiting black belt at practice this past week. Jeff Monson has been visiting to get some practice in. It’s pretty fun to watch him grapple. He’s not too tall of a guy but if you’ve never seen him, he’s pretty strong. Ok he’s really freaking strong. So anyway I normally don’t get to spar with him, because honestly, the weight difference is pretty big. But last week I got  to jump in on Monday and Wednesday. Each time was pretty intense. Robert told us to keep moving and not stop so that’s exactly what I tried to do, keep  moving keep ducking and trying to find a way around him, or a way to escape. All of that is easier said than done. Jeff is such a fluid guy. He is a 2 time Abu Dhabi champion, and a No gi World Champion. It was a lot of fun going with Jeff, Each time my goal is to last the whole time without getting submitted, and to pass, and hold side control at least long enough to score points. Surprisingly? I never got submitted! There were a few times I almost held side control, it was pretty awesome!

Returning to competition

Saturday August 11, 2012 I returned to competing. I don't know how to say it much better than that. The last time I ha competed was at pan ams in 2011, and not long after that I tore my ACL in my left knee had to have surgery, physical therapy and wait a very long time to get back into Bjj. It sucked. I had been looking at possibly competing again but honestly had been afraid and psyched myself out, what of I wasn't really ready, what if I re injured my knee, what If I had just lost it? Finally I gave in and decided to try the UGF tournament here in Washington. I got ready, found out there weren't any female purple belts competing (later I found out one had signed up after I inquired about it) so I decided to try no gi. 3 days before the tournament, I found out there was only one other person in my division, a female named Cindy Hales. Cindy is a black belt, who has competed numerous times in Bjj, and mma. To put it into perspective, she got her black belt in 2006, the year I started training Bjj. I won't lie, i panicked. I seriously debated pulling from the tournament and waiting another few months to compete. Why put myself through that as a first match back? I calmed down said eff it what do I have to lose, stressed for the remaining days leading up to the tournament and prepped the best I could.

Saturday I was again a nervous wreck, I had no clue why I was doing this and could only think about re injuring my knee. So I worked at the tournament trying to keep myself relaxed. I found out there had been another girl in my division, but she decided not to compete. When it got time to compete Cindy shook my hand, and I said thank you for the opportunity, I don't think she understood why until after the match that it wasn't just think you for letting me compete with her, but for the opportunity to learn from an outstanding grappler. The match started and all I did what I had been told to do. Circle, make contact back out, and treat until I found a way to pull guard. Robert my coach, who hates jumping guard, told me to do it. So I did, after that a lot of it is fuzzy, I remember trying to set up an armbar/ sweep, but not being able to get the angle I wanted. I also remember trying to pass her guard and thinking my hips were too high. A lot of the match is still a blur. I escaped a toe hold and guillotine, also in some awesome moment of muscle memory I pulled deep half. Going against Cindy was A new experience. I had never had an opponent move like her and move with that kind of purpose. I didn't win, in the end she got my back and I couldn't escape. She went for the short choke caught it, and that was it. I don't mind. It was a humbling experience and I'm extremely grateful I got to compete with her. I talked some to Cindy after she overheard something I said about my knee and I told her what had happened. She told me that it was her first time competing in 5 years due to a major amount of injuries (2 ACL tears, herniated discs, and fusing 2 discs in her neck). But when she rolled, at least to me, it felt like to her none of those thing mattered or were present in her mind. I again thanked her and told her I appreciated getting my butt kicked by her. Cindy let me know if I Was ever up in Seattle and wanted to roll to let her know.

For me, getting on the mat was the battle. Win or lose the anxiety I had before the tournament was intense and I'm not sure I had ever felt anything like it. But now, I'm not so worried about injury, and actually I look forward to my next competition and seeing how I do. Thank you to my teammates, my friends, and my family who have been so supportive. I love you all and hopefully I can work hard to make all of you proud.

Yes there is video, Cindy's team put them up, and here are the two they posted. I'm in the purple rash guard and braids of course.

from above

 

from normal eye level

Night at the Fights: CageQuest II

Saturday July 7th was CageQuests’ second MMA fight production. The night consisted of 13 fights, with four of the fights being title fights. This was the first CageQuest I had ever been to and I really enjoyed the fights. They took place at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood, WA. There was plenty of seating and space for the fights, a beer garden for the adults, multiple vendors for people to check out. The fights went smoothly and the only time there was a break in action was the intermission, and a small break when the EMT needed to escort another MMA fighter out. The fights went off without a hitch and it was an awesomely put together card.

Fight #1 Terran Mace (Eatonville MMA) vs. Woo Johnson (Evolution MMA) 150lbs Woo started out controlling the first round. Woo got the first hit and didn’t stop. He took Terran down, to mount ground and pounded until Terran could escape, proceeded to take him down again and keep control until the end of the round. In the second round Woo came out strong again and Terran fell to the ground. When Woo pounced Terran tried to triangle woo, and then attempted an armbar. Woo escaped go mount and kept hitting until  the referee stopped the match. Woo Johnson won by TKO 1:24 into round 2.

Fight #2 Daniel Luthala JR (Pinnacle Martial Arts) vs. Drew McKellips (Northwest Elite) 170 lbs Daniel started out with a couple of misplaced punches but recovered by taking Drew down. Drew swept to mount but lost it to Daniel. Daniel looked for a submission but Drew covered and defended well. Daniel got up out of frustration and Drew followed. Daniel caught Drew against the cage and took him down again as round one ended. During round 2 Daniel got in a few good hits before taking Drew down. Daniel mounted Drew, and when Drew bellied down, Daniel took the opportunity and got a rear naked choke. Daniel Luthala won 1:56 seconds into the second round.

Fight #3 Clinton Jenkins (AKA) vs. Tony Gonzales (Damage MMA) 125 lbs. Tony got the first kick in to start the fight but Clinton took control of the fight and kept it. Clinton took down Tony twice. The second time Tony reversed to the top of guard but Clinton secured an armbar. Clinton Jenkins won by armbar 2:55 into round 1.

Fight #4 James Pollard (House of Stone) vs. Bobby Grady (GUMMA) 145 lbs. James tried a few kicks that missed to start but Bobby took his time picked out a few good punches before he took James down. James tried to guillotine but Bobby avoided it and got back mount. Bobby caught a Rear Naked Choke 1:32 min into round 1. 

Fight #5 Gary Winslow (American Combat Academy) vs. Aaron Goedhart (Damage MMA) 155 lbs. Gary and Aaron had the first fight to go all three rounds. Round one was close with Gary taking down Aaron, but Aaron attempting to triangle Gary. Gary escaped and controlled the position until round one ended. Again in rounds two and three Gary took down Aaron  slowly picked apart Aaron and kept control. Gary moved from position to position, looking for smart strikes, or submissions, and Aaron wasn’t ever able to play his game or escape. After all three rounds Gary Winslow won by unanimous decision.

Fight #6 Antonio Fuentes (House of Stone) vs. Adam Loredo (Bad Company) 185 lbs. Antonio and Adam had the fastest fight of the night. Both guys came out trying their hardest. Adam took down Antonio but Antonio grabbed the guillotine. Antonio kept ahold of the guillotine and Adam went unconscious. Antonio won by TKO due to Guillotine :36 into Round 1.

Fight #7 Zack Conn (American Combat Academy) vs. Taki Uluilakepa (MABJJ) 170 lbs. Although Zack got the first hit, Taki controlled round one.Taki took down Zack and looked for the submission. Zack escaped, stood back up, but Taki took him down again after landing a solid right to Zacks head. Zack came out stronger in the second round. He landed a good punch and Taki went down. Taki regained his composure and caught Zack in a guillotine. Taki won by guillotine 1:52 into round 2.

Fight #8 Kevin Butler (AKA) vs. Jacob Solis (Damage MMA) 155lbs. Kevin and Jacob went all three rounds. Jacob controlled the first round with a good stand up and clinch game. He even took Kevin down and attempted a guillotine from the top of half guard. During round two Kevin rebounded and came out to win. He took Jacob down, worked hard on the ground looking for submissions and openings to strike. Round three opened with both guys trying hard to finish the round.Jacob took down Kevin but Kevin swept Jacob and stayed in control. Jacob couldn’t shake Kevin off and Kevin worked hard to keep his position. At the end of three rounds Kevin Butler won by Unanimous Decision.

Fight #9 Chelsie Bailey (Yakima MMA) vs. Amy Cadwell (Charlie’s Cobat Club) Women’s 115 lbs. The ladies by far had the fight of the night. Both put all of their heart into their three rounds. Every second of each round had something going on and both ladies gave a very impressive show of both standing and ground technique. Round one started with Chelsie and Amy trading a few punches before Chelsie took Amy down. Chelsie kept control for a while before Amy succeeded in getting a sweep. Both ladies stood and Chelsie got another takedown as the round ended. Round two was a trade of techniques and fighting Chelsie again got the takedown but Amy attempted a good triangle. Chelsie escaped ended in mount where she tried to armbar Amy. Amy escaped and the second round ended. Round three and both came out for more. Chelsie took down Amy but Amy got back mount. Chelsie escaped to guard, and when Amy tried to sweep Chelsie ended up in mount. Chelsie again looked for a submission but wasn’t able to find one. After three rounds Chelsie Bailey won by Unanimous Decision.

Fight #10 Nick Coughran (Battleground MMA) vs. Omar Petty (Northwest Elite) Title Fight 170 lbs. Both Nick and Omar started by feeling each other out. Omar took down Nick to guard where Nick tried to triangle Omar. Omar picked up Nick and slammed him back on the mat. After a quick scramble on the ground Nick pulls an armbar on Omar. Nick won via submission 2:14 into round .  

Fight #11 Jordan Stern (AKA) vs. Jordan Harrington (Bad Company MMA) Title Fight 155lbs. This title fight only went into the third of 5 rounds. In the first two rounds Jordan H. repeatedly took down Jordan S. Jordan S. kept Jordan H.  away, and although Jordan H was able to get in some good hits, he wasn’t able to get past Jordan S.’s guard. During round three Jordan H. again got the takedown, as he tried to pass to side control Jordan S. turtled and Jordan H. got back mount. Jordan H. then succeeded in sinking a Rear Naked Choke. Jordan Harrington won by RNC 1:44 into round three.

Fight#12 Grady Duncan (Battleground MMA) vs. Alfonso Gonzales (GUMMA) Title fight 185 lbs. Grady immediately set the pace for the fight. He started with superman punch and did not stop looking for openings. Grady caught Alfonso with a good series and Alfonso went out. Grady won via knockout 1:18 into round one.

Fight#13 David Ahto (White Swan Warriors) vs. Kamm Freudensten (Evolution MMA) Title fight 125 lbs. David and Kamm had the longest fight of the night. They went all five rounds for the CageQuest title. David tried to get the first strike every round but Kamm was good at judging how close he was and blocking the strikes that came his way. Kamm consistently took down David every round and controlled the ground. Kamm was set on looking for submissions and took his time picking apart David. David looked lost on the ground and by round four David was just covering and not actively trying to defend. During round 5 Kamm again took down David and looked to finish the fight.  After five rounds Kamm won by unanimous decision.

Thank you to Alphight.com for giving me the opportunity to write and review another local MMA fight. I had a blast and can’t wait until the next opportunity to write comes around!

NW Fight Challenge XIV “Night of Champions”

After a few years off of writing up reviews of the local MMA fights, I’m going to try and get back into it. In Indiana at any  given week there was probably a fight company trying to put on a local fight. Some legitimate productions, others not so much. In  my area of Washington one of the larger productions that has really made a name for itself is the Northwest Fight Challenge. From the past few fights I have gotten to see the promoter, Brian Johnson works very hard to put on a good show with good matches. Local UFC fighter Demetrius Johnson was there to judge and sign autographs/ take pictures during the intermission. There were 12 amateur fights for  the night,1 kickboxing match , 11 MMA fights, with 6of them being title fights.

Fight #1 Brandon Wall (Strong Center MMA) vs. Zack Stanley (Brian Johnson Fight Team) 185lbs Zack started out controlling the fight and did not let up. He took down Brandon and the fight remained on the ground. Brandon did have an attempt at a choke but Zack escaped, and ended up on top of Brandon’s turtle. Zack succeeded in getting back mount and finished the fight with a Rear naked choke, at 2:26.

Fight #2 Kyle Fromm (Strong Center MMA) vs. Steve Nguyen (Brian Johnson Fight Team) Heavy Weight This fight was the only kickboxing match of the night. It was a Class A Heavy weight match. Kyle started out strong landing the first couple of punches. Steven retaliated immediately, and put Kyle into the side of the cage. Kyle dropped due to Steve’s punches. Kyle failed to respond to the Referee. Steve won the match due to knockout,  51 seconds into the first round.

Fight #3 Trevor Severn (Martial Sports) vs. Talon Hammons (Elite Martial Arts) 145 lbs.  Both Trevor and Talon put on a good fight. It went all three rounds and was a close match. Talon controlled the first round by taking down Trevor and trading a few punches.  Trevor did have a few guillotine attempts but didn’t have the technique right, and talon was able to escape. In round two Trevor controlled the round. He got the takedown and did a landed a few punches before they were stood back up. Round three Talon again controlled the round. He took down Trevor, controlled him on the ground he attempted a choke, and americana and an arm bar. Trevor defended well but in the end the split decision went to Talon Hammons.

Fight #4 Sefo Nansen (Clan Jacobs System) vs. Ian Jarman (N.W. Elite)185 lbs. This fight was another that went all three rounds. Round one stayed mostly on the ground Ian took Sefo down and maintained control the entire round. Sefo was unable to escape and Ian continued to advance position and land good shots to the body and head. Sefo came out in the second round with the first hit. He stuffed Ians first takedown attempt but wasn’t able to keep him off. Ian got the take down and continued to control the fight. Ian attempted a choke from back mount but it gave Sefo the chance to escape. In round three Ian kept control and dominated the fight Sefo pulled guard to avoid the take down but Ian passed got mount and kept mount the rest of the fight. Ian won by unanimous decision.

Fight #5 Blake Casey (Premier MA) vs. A.J. Edmison (Lenderman’s Academy) 150 lbs. A.J. got the first hit of the round, and started off with a quick attack against Blake. Blake fought back but got  pushed up against the side of the cage by A.J. Blake tried a standing guillotine but A.J. took him down and controlled Blake on the ground for most of the first round. Blake escaped to standing but wasn’t able to gain control of the round. Blake started off the second round with a kick to A.J. After the first strike A.J. held control of the rest of the fight with 2 takedowns, and control on the ground. Round three started with both coming out strong. Both Blake and A.J. traded in their stand up until A.J. took Blake down. Blake did get cut but kept fighting hard, and both end up standing A.J. got the final take down, while Blake tried to defend from the bottom of mount. Blake almost swept but time ran out. Both fighters put on a great fight and showed they both had outstanding conditioning. A.J. Edmison won by unanimous decision.

Fight #6 David Alexander (Cell Jitsu) vs. JD Cullins (Brian Johnsons Fight Team) Heavy Weight. David got the first strike but JD clinched and retaliated quickly landing a few good knees and trying a takedown. David stopped the take down and attempted an awkward standing armlock. JD escaped and both started to trade punches. JD caught David and the referee stopped the match. JD won by Knockout 1:48 into round one.

Fight #7 Ryan Johns (Olympia BJJ) vs. Damion Martindale (503 West Coast BJJ) Heavy Weight Title fight. Surprisingly even though both of these men come from BJJ schools the fight stayed standing for almost the whole fight. The fight was almost ended  early twice by Ryan. During round one near the middle of the round Ryan caught Damion with a good jab and Damion dropped, but recovered before the referee stopped the fight. Somewhere between the second and third round the referee had the doctor check out Damion. Damion was pronounced ok to continue and the fight went all five rounds. Ryan continuously picked apart Damion with his stand up and continuous kicks to Damion’s legs. Damion did get in a few good strikes, succeeded in a takedown, and tried to rally in the final round but it wasn’t enough. Ryan won by unanimous decision.

Fight #8 Ricky Satterwhite (West Coast Fight Team) vs. John Keay (Cody Houston Fight Team) Super Fight Title, 155lbs. Unfortunately I did not see this fight. My teammate Ryan had just won his match and I got lost in getting pictures and high fives. Ricky Satterwhite won the fight and gained the belt.

Fight #9 Nick Coughrin (Battleground MMA) vs. Aaron Martin (MABJJ & Brian Johnsons) Super Fight Title 160lbs. Nick and Aaron started of trading a few punches. Nick shot in for the takedown but Aaron caught a standing guillotine. Aaron won by standing guillotine 1:20 into Round one.

Fight #10 Nathan Stolen (Twin Dragons) vs. Zack Mukai (AMC) Title Fight 145. Nathan and Zack came into the fight wanting to win. Nathan and Zack traded their fair share of strikes. Zack did get a few takedowns and worked to keep control of Nathan. In the third round Nathan did have a good Rear Naked Choke attempt, but Zack was saved by the bell. The fight was cut short unfortunately in the fourth round. Although both fighters put their all into the fight, Nathan broke Zack’s jaw and the doctor would not allow Zack to finish the fight. Nathan won the fight due to doctor’s stoppage.

Fight #11 Cody Kidder (Battleground MMA) vs. John Daigneault (MABJJ) Super Fight 155lbs. John quickly took control of the fight. He landed the first hit and even when Cody came back trying to trade, John clearly had the upper hand. Cody dropped to the mat and when John hit again the referee jumped in and stopped the match. John won by knockout 1:28 into round one.

Fight#12 Robert Burgess (Team Un-Tamed) vs. Grady Duncan (Battleground MMA) Title fight 185 lbs.  Grady immediately tried to take down Robert but Robert reversed it and took him down. Robert got 3 takedowns in the first round but as Robert was in Grady’s guard the final time Grady caught an arm and pulled off a solid arm bar. Robert was unable to defend and tapped. Grady won via arm bar 2:13 into round one.

All in all the fights were really well put together. The fighters put their all into their fights, and worked hard to show off their skills. One other bright point in the night was meeting the team from Alphight. They are a new website that will be launching July 21. Their goal is to give local fights, fighters, tournaments etc, the boost they need.  They were at the show taking pictures, and let me borrow a few, thank you by the way Alphight! Maybe I can get an interview with the owner so I can give a better explanation of what they do, how they do it, and why.

Something to Brighten your day.

So I have been looking on Youtube WAY too much recently, and found a hilarious channel called Enter the Dojo. It is probably one of the funniest shows I’ve seen online. It’s like The Office meets a McDojo. The best part of it is there is one student who is slowly realizing how much BS it is but keeps going just to see what crazy things happen next. Master Ken owns a Dojo and trains Ameri- do – te. He is the founder and the ONLY Black belt. Here are a few of the different videos. There are 10 total episodes so far, I’d definitely suggest going and checking it out!

The first Episode

Stop ninjitsu

Why MMA is BS

 

Sadly some people may actually agree with this guy… That being said thank God its fake!!

My Fun Attempt at Acting and MMA

A few months ago my friend Joe Riley who was a personal trainer at my gym approached me about helping him shoot a music video for his friends band. The idea was an underground girls mma tournament…. Basically a bunch of females kicking butt iron man style, whoever wins stays. Of course I said yes, it seemed like something fun and hey why not? I got to help teach a bunch of females how to do some basic stuff and hopefully drum up some interest in what I do.. So only one other female out of the group of girls had any form of experience. She was an amateur mma fighter and had stand up but not much ground work. The other ladies had no idea,  what they were getting into. So it was a full day shoot of just the females fighting. It was really interesting to try and create the fight scenes, decide how to ‘finish’ each fight, and then what else went in to each fight. I’ve never had someone shout at me to stop what I was doing and lose for a minute, or stop that choke and go for something else. I’ve always just gone into a match as ok this is what I’m going to do and this is how I am going to finish it. We did multiple takes of every fight from different angles, different moves etc. By far the most fun I had was getting picked up by my neck and then being thrown. Bet you cant tell I was standing on a chair the whole time… or that I got to do a flying cartwheel off of it! Anyway here is the video. It was a blast and I’m pretty sure all of the other ladies will agree it was definitely something new.

*Disclaimer, I have never done an MMA fight, I know some of the techniques aren’t perfect, and lord knows my standup probably looks hilarious, but everything is a little more exaggerated on a music video.

Here’s the video, enjoy!!

Promotion

Practices have been steadily getting better since going back into training. I’m able to go through pretty much a full practice without too much difficulty. I’m still working on things like sitting on my  feet in guard, but other than small things that will get better with stretching I’m getting closer and closer.

I’ve had a few really good practices recently, I’m hitting more and more moves that I haven’t done since last June before I got injured. This morning I pulled off a few good submissions and even an X guard sweep that I have been avoiding since it is a weird spot for my knee. It feels really nice that I am getting closer and closer to good movement again.

I got a little bit of a surprise at the end of class today. My coach Robert asked me to grab the tape he had torn into stripes at the end of class because he needed to promote a few people. After he got through the people he wanted to promote he grabbed the remaining two and promoted me. I was honestly really shocked. I had been hoping that I was improving but wasn’t confident that I was getting back to what I had been before. Granted I wasn’t in the best state when I came to Roberts school, so it was a huge surprise.

This past year and a half has been by far one of the hardest for me. I moved across country for a job, leaving behind pretty much everything. I was training at a school 45 mins. away, teaching kids’ classes, and trying to balance 50+ hours a week. When things started changing at the place I was training at and I realized it wasn’t a good environment for me. I changed schools, about a month before Pan Am’s. It wasn’t the best situation leaving that close to a big tournament, but Robert and BJJ Olympia took me in, worked to help me get ready however they could, and even sent me to the tournament with a card and food, hey food is a big deal for after a tournament. After getting injured in June, my teammates have been awesome. One of the guys, Chris, tore his ACL in soccer and we have gotten to pretty much go through rehab and getting back into BJJ together. Thank you Chris my fellow gimp! To the rest of my team, Irene, Ehren, Turbo, both Ryans, Joel, Bobby, Charlie, George,  and the many others who have had to train with me and work around my knee, thank you. Thank you so much for taking it easy on me while I worked my way back into practice. Thank you for letting me run techniques on you when that was all I could do. Thank you for helping when I started to have melt downs because I was so frustrated with my own limitations, and wanting to push myself too far. Finally, thank you all for pushing me when I was afraid or unsure to push myself. I can think of a few times with Ryan, Ehren, Turbo, George, and Bobby, where they decided I needed to work harder than I was and pushed me to do more. I may have been sore the next day, but it was the good sore, not the oh crap I cant use my knee, sore.

And to my Coach Robert. Thank you so much for everything this past year. I am forever grateful for all of the help and insight you have given me.

So what’s next? Well Saturday I will be refereeing at the Revolution. I am very excited to get the chance to be on the mats at a tournament, even though this time it will be as a referee. Robert asked me when I was going to compete again. At this point the only thing that is really stopping me is my knee, I need a little more flexibility in it before I am comfortable on competition. It’s definitely catching up on strength and my technique has gone way up, I just need to find #1 a tournament to train for, and #2 have that confidence in my knee. So we will see how it goes, as I’m constantly working to make my knee better!

Pushing the boundaries on my knee

It’s been a while since I have talked about my knee. Last June I ended up in the emergency room after a freak accident at practice I ended up tearing my meniscus, part of my ACL, and fractured part of the bone in my knee. I had 2 months of physical therapy, and then in August, I ended up having the surgery on my knee. The good news was the bone had healed and so had the meniscus. I got part of a cadaver woven into what was left of my ACL. I have had about 6 months of  working back to everything. Rehab, slow techniques, flow rolling, and now full class. I've been back to doing full classes for two weeks, and I’m excited because things are steadily improving. When I first started back, I couldn’t sit in guard, now I can sit and me butt touches my heels with very little discomfort. The range of motion, amount of working out I am able to do is astonishing compared to 9 months ago. It is a relief to do things like attempt takedowns, sit in guard, being able to even pull guard. I feel like I have taken everything for granted.

My knee has held up surprisingly well, I am working on lifting in the morning, with cardio, and then bjj at night. The knee is holding up well, it occasionally swells up, gets sore, just like anything that has been injured, or not used as much as it should have been. I’m slowly adjusting. The biggest example of this was when I took the physical fitness test to become a police officer. The push ups and sit ups were easy. I could do that no problem. My 300 meter dash wasn’t so much of a dash, but for my first run outside, I was happy. The hardest thing by far was a mile and a half run. It was cold, rainy and windy, and also my first run that far on ground. I did it in 13 min and 49 seconds. It was within the time they wanted from the candidates, and actually right in the middle. I was so excited to actually be able to do it. The days after though I noticed how much weaker my left leg still was…  My right calf and thigh were way more sore/ atrophied than my right leg.

Tonight was good though, I lasted through almost the whole practice, the one thing that caught me off guard was trying to positional spar from turtle. It was a little too difficult of a position for my knee. The constant bend and pressure from someone else’s weight , it is definitely sore.

So the good news again, is the swelling isn’t as bad, I’ve downgraded my knee brace and finally, I can train! I’m excited and cant wait to keep working hard at everything! just generally happy.

Basic First Aid for BJJ

After a slightly gross accident at jiu jitsu tonight I decided it would be a good idea to write a basic first aid post on how to fix some of the most common injuries and accidents. This will in no way give you any form of first aid, CPR, or AED training/ certification. It will hopefully help prevent, nasty spills, and if you can start to gauge how bad an injury is, then you can take the proper precautions and not do something to injure someone more than they already are. I have worked in the aquatics field for about 10 years. I started out as a lifeguard and have worked up to a management position. I have dealt with all kinds of minor and major medical emergencies. Even though I have training and certifications, I’m not an EMT nor doctor. I’m just going to go over frequent injuries we see in our sport and how to respond to them. Oh and the picture to the right is what happened at jiu jitsu practice. Someone was bleeding and obviously wasn’t able to get it to stop.

Side notes and Warnings

1. If you are going to be helping someone with an injury, always wear gloves, no offense to your friends and teammates but you don’t know what they have and you don’t want to catch anything.
2. Gauze is the normal thing to use to catch blood, it’s clean sterile and it’s made to specifically for first aid. If there isn’t gauze that’s fine. Paper towel, toilet paper, whatever, can be used as a substitute, but make sure you catch all the small pieces of debris it may leave.
3. I will be using sample pictures. Which means some may be gross, this is your warning, do not be mad at me if you stumble on something that you didn’t want to see.
4. When in doubt err on the safe side, if it look bad call 9-1-1, or get ahold of someone that can take them to the hospital.

1. Nose Bleed

We all know it happens, accidental elbows, falling face first into the ground. Nose bleeds are fairly common, but people seem to try and care for them differently. A quick and simple way to control a nose bleed when it happens is to sit up, lean slightly forward and pinch the nose at the bridge. Have gauze under the nose to catch any extra blood. If the blood does not slow you can also put ice on the back of the neck. If the blood does not stop or slow after 15 min. seek medical attention.

A few things to not do:

1. Do not lean your head back, swallowing blood isn’t ideal.
2. Do not force anything up into the nostril to catch blood. The blood may slow but when you go to remove the tissue, it can aggravate the nose and cause it to bleed again

2. Soft tissue injuries

These can be anything from bruises, blisters, cuts, etc. If it appears to be a shallow cut, use gauze to cover the bleeding, apply direct pressure, cover with a band aid and you are good to go!
If it is deep and seems to be gaping, or if it is spurting medical attention may be needed. The deeper or more severe the laceration (cut) seems to be the more important it is to control the bleeding by direct pressure, or pressure at a major pressure point (not the Japanees jiu jitsu thing but the major points that control bleeding). Keep the person looking at you and not at the blood, someone going into shock is not fun.
If there is an imbedded object do not pull it out, try to stabilize the object and take them to the doctor. You don’t know how deep it is, if there is more left behind, or what it is stopping from bleeding.

3. Unconsciousness

Going on unconscious at jiu jitsu is tricky. I am going to only talk about unconsciousness when it happens because of not tapping in time. Simply roll the person on their back, lift their feet about a foot off the ground and wait. The circulation of blood to the brain will return but the person will most likely be dazed and confused. Some people jolt, or make weird noises when they come to, it is normal, just weird the first time it happens.
Any other time someone goes unconscious, call 911. If you’re not trained in what to do, be safe call 911, if they wake up before 911 gets there EMS will at least check them out and make sure they are okay before leaving.

4. Concussions/ Head Injuries.

Concussions can range from mild to severe. A good hit can definitely do some damage. Symptoms of head injuries include headache, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light or sound, weakness, hematoma (fluid filled bump) at sight of impact, difficulty focusing eyes, difficulty standing, and eyes not dilating/ constricting to changes in light. Because head injuries can cause many underlying problems, if someone gets a head injury and their symptoms worsen, or they go unconscious seeing a doctor is highly recommended.

If someone gets a head injury, do not move them, let them decide when to move. If there is any bump or bruise forming ice as quickly as possible. Ask simple questions to see if they can remember/ understand. If the person starts vomiting, goes unconscious, or is unable to stand and walk on their own they need to seek immediate medical attention.

My own concussion during a tournament, go to 2:05 to see it happen.

5. Heat Related Emergencies

Heat related emergencies can be anything from dehydration due to training, up to heat stroke. Not all schools have air conditioning, or not all practices are cool. If you’re not protecting yourself properly something small can easily escalate to something life threatening. Symptoms for heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, extreme thirst, nausea, vomiting, weak, and or dizzy. If it progresses through to heat stroke, the symptoms are altered mental status, hot skin, seizures, and unconsciousness.  The best way to treat heat emergencies is to get them into a cool shaded area, remove loose clothing (gi’s), give them preferably a cool sports drink, if there is not a sports drink cool water, apply cold compresses to back of neck, armpits and groin. If the person is showing symptoms of heat stroke, call 911.

6. Broken bones,  Dislocations, etc.

Broken bones, dislocations, fully torn muscles, anything that has to do with majorly injuring the skeletal system  has relatively similar care and symptoms. Symptoms will be discoloration, swelling, limbs or joints pointing in the wrong direction, severe pain, deformity, and protruding bones. The care for broken or dislocated anything is pretty simple. Touch it as little as possible, and move it as little as possible. If they have it in a position that hurts the least, leave it that way, and either call 911 or help them get transported to the hospital to get it taken care of. Too much moving will cause lots of pain. Do not try to  ‘pop it back in’ If you’re not trained to re position or realign it, don’t do it! If the person does have a protruding bone, cover the area lightly with gauze and have them keep their focus on anything other than the injury.

Clean up

Finally clean up for any form of bodily fluid make sure to glove up, use disinfectant, and disposable paper towels. Wrap everything in a trash bag  Tie the trash bag closed and dispose of it safely. If you get blood on your clothing make sure to remove clothing if possible and clean them as quickly as possible. Do not leave messes for others to try and clean, you never know what you may have swimming in your body that can be transferred to others. Finally, after you’re done with cleaning, make sure to wash your hands, and anywhere you may have gotten blood on yourself.
So there you go! 6 injuries that happen in our sport. The first three are the most common but in the off chance something a little more severe does happen these basic things can greatly help. Remember whenever in doubt get someone else over there who may have more experience with injuries and have them help.
I hope this helped even a little bit, if you have more exact questions you want answered about basic first aid I would love to answer any questions!!!

A great practice back

Tonight was my second no gi class back after being cleared to train. My first class back was killer. I'm not use to the training and I'm feeling it both legs. We've worked a lot in the past to classes I've gone to on positional sparring. We do 6x2 min. rounds of positional sparring from guard, the second time was 6x2 min. rounds of positional sparring from side control. After that we did 30% takedown drills. Finally we started standing up and after the takedown. We had 1 min sparring on the ground (iron man style).

I'm really excited that I actually was able to do the whole practice and I'm not feeling any pain. I even did the 30% takedown drill without too much stress on my knee. When we went live starting from standing though I was a little more cautious. I didn't fight takedowns, and I didn't really go for any either. Honestly I'm just so nervous right now about takedowns... I know it will take me a while to get back into everything but some things are just going to take longer for me to get accustomed to again.

Tomorrow is gi class. I can't wait to get back in a gi and see how I am progressing in gi. I always preferred it to no gi but it is a completely different beast.

I'm also getting closer and closer to sitting in a proper guard.... I still can't fully sit back on my heels but I'm getting so close!!!! Wish me luck! Stretching that ligament slowly is difficult..

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A list of Previous Posts pertaining to Women Training BJJ

While I get back into BJJ, blogging, and training up again, I wanted to post a list with links to past posts to topics of women training BJJ as the main topic. Each link will have the original post date, and a quick blurb on what it’s about. Enjoy! I loved writing all of them and hopefully they help in some way!

 

Women’s Training in BJJ

7/19/11- 3 different ways women’s training is changing and evolving. A look at women’s only classes, open mats, and women’s only seminars (Girls in Gis)

Why Training with a Female can Help your Game

6/28/11- Written mostly for fun with the reasons compiled by comments other females and I have gotten while training with guys.

Women in BJJ

6/3/11- Women in BJJ, some of the difficulties women face and how it can seem intimidating.

The Blue Belt Triangle (Part 1)

11/9/10- On getting your blue belt, the slump of females at blue belt, and getting through it to a purple belt.

The new Obstacle for Jiu Jitsu Women

6/3/10- Pregnancy and jiu jitsu. Training BJJ, getting pregnant and trying to train while pregnant.

 

Alright I am off to practice!! wish me luck on teaching munchkins and then no gi class tonight! I cant wait to train and see how I feel!!

Returning to Bjj and blogging

After 6 months of trying to be good and not push it too much with light training I'm excited to be able to start training again on Wednesday! My knee has regained muscle, even though it still has a little bit to go to be the same as my right leg. It doesn't hurt, but the muscles are sore, which I can handle.

I am excited for the next few weeks... I'm hoping I can find that fire again just by being on the mats, not having to baby it every time.

Las Vegas has been kind of a cool vacation for me. I got my first real vacation in over a year. I went to see where they hold the UFC at Mandalay bay, and went to the tattoo shop inside the hard rock hotel. The interesting part was 2 of the tattoo artists at Hart and Huntington did Brazilian jiu jitsu at Lloyd Irvin's school in Vegas. one was a purple belt, riddled with injuries but he has always gone back to training.

One other pretty cool thing happened, women representing Brazilian jiu jitsu actually went hunting through my blog and pulled out a old post I had written about the slump for most women in Bjj. Because there was such an interest in it I will be putting links to some of the old ones in my next post just to bring them to the forefront and make them a little more accessible.


My goal for this year in Bjj? Stripes on my purple belt.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone