Gracie Jiu Jitsu
I Really Hope Thiago Alves ….
… gets well and everything works out for him.
Just in case you don’t know what and who I’m talking about:
Thiago Alves is the 26 year old Brazilian MMA fighter who was supposed to fight tonight in UFC 111 against fellow welterweight fighter, Jon Fitch.
Both fighters are considered among the very best this weight class has to offer.
And just today I heard the shocking announcement that Thiago Alves was taken off the fight card because of a so-called brain irregularity found in a CAT scan.
Tonight’s UFC 111 events take place in New Jersey and from what I learned their State Athletic Commission did not give their O.K. to Dana White’s team to let Thiago fight and show off his superb Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills in The Octagon.
Of course, Thiago will undergo further tests next week to determine what the next steps will be. This is a real bummer.
I really hope Thiago Alves gets well and everything works out for him whatever a successful future has in store for him.
In the meantime, check out Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves’ story:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCDkfvEEVBI[/youtube]
What A Week In Review At The MartialArtsReporter.com!
St. Patrick’s Day was awesome and the rest of the week wasn’t too shabby either.
If you are a single mom or know someone who is, please take note of this Personal Safety Alert For Single Moms.
We all know that Bruce Lee could punch and kick, but he also knew something about the art of fighting without fighting.
Surprise – surprise! What you didn’t know about pro golfer Phil Mickelson.
Going Green: Happy St. Patrick’s Day And Irish Stick (Shillelagh) Fighting!
This guy blows me and his opponents away: The Best Pound-For-Pound Fighter, Also The Best Ever Fighter In The World?
Amazing: Ultimate Fighting has become a household name, but what did the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC 1, Look Like?
Talk soon, my friends.
The Best Pound-For-Pound Fighter, Also The Best Ever Fighter In The World?
Without further ado, we’re talking about Brazilian Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
Silva is UFC’s Middleweight Champion of the world with 10 consecutive wins and many say he has made his weight division so boring through his seemingly invincible fighting style that the calls are getting louder for him to either lose weight to fight against GSP or gain weight to fight against Lyoto “Dragon” Machida.
Silva’s MMA record is pretty amazing: 25 wins vs. 4 losses!
His last loss was over 4 years ago via disqualification by illegal side-up kick against Japanese Yushin Okami.
Silva’s fighting arsenal is more than just impressive in my book. It’s overwhelming and at times overbearing for any opponent.
Besides being a long-time Black Belt in Taekwondo, Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, “The Spider” is a highly trained Muay Thai fighter and Western boxer.
He turns 35 in April and has expressed plans to retire fairly soon, whatever soon means. His UFC contract still calls for at least 3 more fights. We will have to wait and see.
In the meantime, check out some of Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s career highlights and be impressed:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U030eKQp2Lc[/youtube]
What Did The First Ever Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC 1, Look Like?
It’s amazing that more than 15 years have passed since the very first Ultimate Fighting Championship event UFC 1.
In only two weeks from now we are looking at UFC 111!
The original event took place on November 12, 1993 in Denver and was more of a tournament than just individual fights in various weight divisions.
There were 8 fighters and no weight classes and no rules! well, there were some rules such as no biting and no eye-gouging.
One of the basic ideas that the creators had was to get fighters/martial artists from different styles to determine the most effective style.
When everything was said and done the winner was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Royce Gracie, who was by far the lightest fighter beating a number of way heavier opponents.
He won the final match against Gerard Gordeau via rear naked choke and he put BJJ on the map especially here in the U.S.
And fighting would never be the same!
Today, I just wanted to reminisce and look at how it all started:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVCCVfQvUIE[/youtube]
Nip Tuck And Martial Arts
How do the two go together?
Well, if you’re Roberto Miguel Rey Júnior, not a problem.
Some of you might be asking yourselves, whom I’m talking about.
You’re probably more familiar with his aliases such as Dr. Robert Rey or simply Dr. Rey.
I saw him the first time on E! about 3 years ago on the reality show Dr. 90210.
Again, if you’re not familiar with all these U.S. American intricacies, that’s the zip code for Beverly Hills, California.
In my humble opinion, Dr. Rey is quite an interesting guy and here’s why.
Born in th U.S. in 1961, the naturalized Brazilian lived in Sao Paulo until he was about 12, when he was brought to Utah along with his siblings by Mormon missionaries.
Four years later his mother reunited and lived with them in Prescott, Arizona.
So, what happened to his father?
Well, let’s put it this way:
It just didn’t work out and yet it did a lot better in many ways for Dr. Rey, who went on to study medicine at Tuft University School of Medicine, where he got his M.D. in 1990.
He advanced to acquire the knowledge and skills to become a very accomplished cosmetic surgeon licensed in California and Massachusetts.
And believe it or not, Dr. Rey has performed over 10,000 surgeries!
He has been featured on too many TV shows to even list here and it is safe to say that he is somewhat of a household name through the reality show, simply known as Dr. 90210.
What I find admirable is the fact that the married father of 2 children donates a lot of his time and skills to humanitarian missions to operate of children with physical deformaties.
Even with the craziness of a heavy workload and countless other obligations, Dr. Rey still has the drive and enthusiasm to pursue his commitment to martial arts which include Tae Kwon Do (black belt) and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (blue belt).
I found the following clip of Dr. Rey starting his BJJ training with Rener Gracie. Very cool!
[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1542083985294472959 [/googlevideo]
Valentine’s Day And The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all!
I don’t understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine’s Day.
When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.
Anyway …
Let’s get back to what really makes the world turn and that would be martial arts, right?! Just kidding around here.
Check out The Week In Review that took us from Russia (with love) to Japan to Brooklyn, New York to Hong Kong to Houston, Texas.
Russian Systema Or Just When You Think You’ve Seen It All
Masahiko Kimura, The Best Judoka Ever?
Martial Artist Wesley Snipes Co-Starring In “Brooklyn’s Finest”
Teenager Tried To Kick Bruce Lee In The Face
Linda Denley, Karate Superwoman From Houston, Texas
Have a great Valentine’s Day wherever you are!
I will talk to you tomorrow.
Masahiko Kimura, The Best Judoka Ever?
Can you believe this?
Even though I trained in judo for a brief period quite a long time ago, it wasn’t until I started doing research on Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and even rolling around on the mat for a short while that I became familiar with the term ‘Kimura’. And even then I thought it was just some technique that could really hurt you or your opponent, depending on who’s on the receiving end of it.
Well, after digging a bit deeper, I too finally saw the light! Man, I must have been living under a rock or something.
Masahiko Kimura (1917-1993) is considered by many the greatest Judoka to ever live. He stood 5’6″ (170 cm) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84kg).
Kimura became the youngest ever 5th-degree black belt when he was just 18 and by the time he reached the age of 29 he was a 7th dan.
In 1937, Kimura did something very remarkable: He won the All-Japan Championship and remained undefeated for the next 13 years in matches held throughout Japan.
But what he accomplished later in life on the international stage really cemented the legend of Kimura.
In 1951, he defeated Brazil’s Helio Gracie, a legend in his own right, who publicly said that he thought nobody in the world could defeat Kimura.
At age 42, Kimura faced a much bigger and younger opponent by the name of Waldemar Santana, who he even battled to a draw.
Kimura’s prime came before judo was an Olympic event, but in his senior years he trained a number of notable Olympian judokas, including Canada’s Doug Rogers, who won silver in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games.
As far as I could find out, Kimura was never awarded beyond 7th dan and based on so many reports I am left to believe that Japanese judo officials were not quite amused with Kimura’s career moves from judo into professional wrestling.
What I find intriguing is how a guy like him standing at 5’6″ (170 cm) and weighing 185 pounds (84kg) could beat countless taller, heavier and at times way younger and faster opponents.
Kimura’s success is based on San Bai Ro Rioku. On this premise, Kimura did 300 pushups everyday in High School. While attending university he increased that number to 500.
After his first victory, Kimura decided to start doing 1,000 non-stop pushups to ensure future victories. As you can assume, doing pushups was just a small part of Kimura’s regimen. During his prime, he practiced 4 times a day, at least 6 hours every day. He trained at Taku-Shoku University, Local Clubs, Kodokan, and Police Academies.
Quite often he would practice against a tree, always at midnight. During one instance, Wushi-Zima, a two time champion, heard a commotion in the nearby woods. When he checked out the noise it turned out to be Kimura doing uchikomi against a tree. For better understanding of uchikomi: You actually practice a throw, where you take your opponent to the point just before he is thrown.
And coming full circle: So, what actually is a ‘Kimura’?
The Kimura lock is one of the most important submission holds in Jiu-Jitsu and other grappling styles. At times it referred to as hammerlock, chicken wing or ude-garami. Whatever you prefer, it is a very powerful and versatile attack. And wherever you see grapplers competing, you can be sure to see the Kimura lock used to submit opponents and win fights.
Le me know if you think that Masahiko Kimura is the best judoka ever.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkDBflFtPIw[/youtube]
Wow! Another Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Thank you so much for following me here at TheMartialArtsReporter.com
If you’re interested in a specific topic relating to martial arts that we haven’t covered yet or if you’re keen on reading more about something we have talked about here, please feel free to let me know. I welcome your comments. Thanks.
So here it is: Another Week In Review At The MartialArtsReporter.com
Almost 70 years ago, James Cagney, First Martial Artist To Star In A Movie
And it all started in 1946: Robert Trias, Founder Of The First U.S. Karate School
I really mean it: Every Month Should Be Women’s Self-Defense Awareness Month
Reporting from Beverly Hills: Emil Farkas, “Sensei To The Stars” And A Lot More
Just kidding: “Is UFC’s Dana White Rooting For Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell Or Tito “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz? “
And to end the week on a thoughtful note: The Five Virtues Of The Fighting Arts
Have a great Sunday!
Talk to you tomorrow.
The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
“Time keeps on moving into the future.”
But that shouldn’t stop us from having a look at this past Week In Review. Enjoy!
This has to be my personal favorite technique ever. Don’t miss “Back To Basics: Karate Middle Punch (Chudan Zuki)“
“Chewing on” an injury myself, I thought you might benefit from “Should Injured Martial Artists Still Work Out?”
At times underrated and underestimated “Judo: No Kicking And Punching, But It Can Still Hurt Like Hell!“
Do you know who ‘The Greatest Sports Figure Of The State of Iowa’ Is? Dan Gable, Olympic Wrestling Icon From The U.S. American Heartland
Yeah, it’s that time of the year again: “Jack Bauer/Kiefer Sutherland Of “24″ And The Art Of Fighting“
Congratulations To Fellow Martial Artist, Robert Downey Jr.! Wing Chun Practitioner Wins A Golden Globe Award for Sherlock Holmes!
Take it from the Little Dragon, Bruce Lee And The Power Of Goal Setting
Enjoy your Sunday!
I’ll be back here tomorrow. You, too?
Judo: No Kicking And Punching, But It Can Still Hurt Like Hell!
The Japanese martial art of Judo, means ‘the gentle way’ in English. I still haven’t figured out the gentleness of it all.
I took some Judo classes way back when and I gotta tell ya that some of those techniques sure can hurt like hell.
Those guys would grab you and throw you around like a rag-doll.
Slam you down on the mat and then apply a lock or a bar or something else that created the feeling of “OUCH! *#%!* YOU WIN! CAN I PLEASE GO HOME NOW?”.
There was a lot of tapping going on. Not the Sammy Davis Jr. or Geogory Hines-kind of tapping.
More slapping the mat like a fish caught on board a trawler gasping and knowing that it’s going to end up in a grocery shopping aisle real soon.
I think you get my drift by now.
Judo doesn’t offer or better doesn’t allow flashy kicks that would make it so much more appealing to the masses.
But let’s face it:
Judo in all its subtle and gentle way is still an extremely effective martial art that was the base for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu developed by the Gracie family. That’s gotta tell ya somethin’!
I thought you might enjoy a video with two guys who are constantly getting out of their comfort zone by trying a different martial art on a regular base in a foreign country.
Today, they dive right into Judo in Tokyo, Japan, the birthplace of this Olympic martial art introduced by Jigoro Kano over a hundred years ago.
Very cool!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhHOKKIsVfs[/youtube]
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