Ugh... busy. But if anyone wants a brand new Nintendo DSi for cheap...

Well, @#$%. I've been busy as hell.

Fluid Mechanics midterm for the summer session at UCLA, working on construction of the new restaurant in downtown LA that my parents are opening (You can see pictures here), and other issues that have been just bogging me down these last few days.

Most readers who have been around for a while and know my track record know that I don't post very often during times when I'm busy as shit, or if I'm going through some issues that are pretty important. If you saw me posting during those times, the steps I would write about would likely go something like: "Well, after you put your foot on his hip and trap his arm, go fuck yourself." And so, QED, I don't post during those times.

Also, at UCLA, they have this neat little arcade game called the "Barber Cut Lite" and they hang up brand-spanking new Nintendo DSi and Sony PSP handheld systems to attempt to win. And guess what? Yours truly got one of these damn things! But since I have a DS Lite already, I'd rather just sell it, so I put it up on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160352028213

These things retail for around $170, and you can bid on mine for much cheaper- so go bid on it. It's Matte Blue, and the thing has a camera on it. I have no idea why, but it has a camera on it. Must be another one of those things the geniuses at Nintendo thought would be a necessary accessory to their gaming systems.

Hey did I mention? If anyone wants to show off their awesome writing skills, I'd be more than willing to post it up: just shoot me an email at ysc87@hotmail.com telling me what you intend to write about, and after you do write it, if it's not a complete pile of crap, I'll put it up, with a link back to your own website, if you have one.

Watch Fight Quest: Muay Thai - Discovery Channel (online video)

A bit busy today, so here's the first episode of the new season of Fight Quest: Muay Thai streaming online.

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLwzuemZPrE
Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsPLTY3vtsI
Part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxualy5iruw
Part 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRANp1MFW4w
Part 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLGVWFwh3sA

I got inspired by the neck training with the weights that Doug did in part 3, so I did the same. My neck is in so much pain right now. On fire. I am so stupid.

That being said, this was another great Fight Quest episode. This episode, if nothing else, showed me that I have a lot to work on in terms of the Muay Thai Clinch.

BJ Penn can Jump OUT of a Pool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXoqfIU0C6Y&feature=player_embedded

That's a hell of a combination of strength, timing, and flexibility.
Holy christ, I'm seriously considering going to the pool right now to try this.

[Insert joke about BJ cardio and work ethic.]

-y

Shutting Down the Half Guard - Stephen Kesting

I'm not sure if you guys subscribe to the grapplearts.com newsletter (subtle hint to go sign up), but Stephen Kesting put up a video on how Brock Lesnar shut down Frank Mir's half guard, and what we can learn from it.

Here is the video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIDmNMisXQc&feature=player_embedded

And the commentary:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brock Lesnar probably wouldn't be on my list of people to invite to a book club or an evening of wine tasting. But love him or hate him, you have to admit that he's a hell of a fighter and force to be reckoned with.

What I found most interesting about Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir at UFC 100 was that it was a case study of how to shut down the half guard.

Frank spent most of the match in the half guard, and I have no doubt that he has a TON of highly effective sweeps and attacks from there.

But that night none of his techniques worked on Brock...

Of course it's partially that Brock Lesnar is a very large human being. I mean he actually cuts weight to make it down to the upper limit for heavyweights (265 lbs)!

He's also explosive, incredibly agile and has great endurance.

Let's start by taking a look at two strategies that form the foundation of most successful half guard attacks:

1. Being on your side, facing your opponent, and
2. Getting your body under his center of gravity

Now in the fight Frank Mir was basically never able to apply either strategy, and it wasn't only Brock's physical attributes that shut down Frank Mir's half guard game. There was a lot of deliberate technique there too!

Brock deliberately kept Frank on his back and/or facing away from him, and also didn't let him get under his center of gravity.

How did he do this? At various times in the fight Brock used the following techniques and tactics:

* He stiff armed his neck (keeping Frank away),
* He pinned the head and moved his body back
* He turned the head away with his forearm
* He secured the far underhook and applied chest pressure
* He used his head to grind into Frank's jaw, and drive into the chest and armpit
* He grabbed the far armpit to turn Frank's face away and place it directly in the line of fire

Finally, when Frank tried again to turn in at the very end of the fight, Brock let him turn, and secured the far wrist. The brutal flurry of unanswered blows that ended the fight came right after that.

The thing is that there are counters and preventive measures to all these half guard top position techniques and tactics. And I'm sure that Frank knows them and practiced them.

It's just that when the size difference is that large then your timing has to be razor sharp in order to apply your game. And a bit of luck helps too...

A rematch between these two fighters is inevitable. Maybe the next time Frank will be sharp enough or lucky enough to impose his half guard game on Brock!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'd like to add that Mir was holding on to the Lockdown, preventing Brock from passing, but also locked his hips to Lesnar's. When the Lockdown isn't working, you have to let it go to be able to attack a little more freely.

Leg Locks from Half Guard - Sambo

http://www.youtube.com/v/p6uK2Wl0RWI

Ever see a MMA fight where you see the fighter who is pulling half guard suddenly turn into the opponent and shoot his hand under the non-trapped leg? It's because that person is either working a sweep, or looking for a kneebar. While initially, if you're not experienced, it looks impossible to pull off a kneebar from such a position, watch the video above. This setup is becoming more and more popular as Sambo grows.

Since I'm short on time, I'll just explain the first technique shown, as it is the base for the variations shown after.

1. You're in half guard, and you managed to squeeze the outside knee in to prop your opponent up on it.

2. Shoot your arm under the non-trapped leg of your opponent and pull, while pushing off the body of your opponent with your knee, which should create enough leverage to knock him over.

3. Throw your outside leg over the body, while bringing the inside leg deeper and up to lock up the legs and finish the kneebar.

UFC100 Results and Thoughts

Results:

Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty
Winner Gugerty 1st round Guillotine

CB Dollaway vs. Tom Lawlor
Winner Lawlor 1st round Guillotine

Dong Hyun Kim vs. T.J. Grant
Winner Kim Unanimous decision.

Jon Jones vs. Jake O'Brien
Winner Jones 2nd round guillotine.

Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller
Winner Miller Unanimous decision.

Mark Coleman vs. Stephan Bonnar
Winner Coleman Unanimous decision.

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher
Winner Akiyama split decision

Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
Winner Henderson 2nd round KO

Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago
Winner Fitch unanimous decision.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves
Winner GSP Unanimous decision.

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir
Winner Lesner TKO 2nd round.


My Notes:

Mir shows some pretty good striking, but off balanced himself in the process- probably shouldn't have gone the counter-punching route. Not that it really matters against someone walking around at 290 pounds, but still. Lesnar did the appropriate thing: Sit on the guy, make sure you don't get submitted, and just pound at the guy's face. Dickchest still forgets that he's no longer in the WWE and needs some PR lessons goddammit, he's frustrating to watch.

Henderson made Bisping look like a week-old corpse with that shot: http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/2340/1247367977823.gif
Holy hell that was awesome. Then he dropped what looked like the Rock's "The People's Elbow" right afterwards, which is also awesome. Bisping was circling to the wrong side most of the fight, which ultimately led to that brilliant KO.

GSP showed pure grappling dominance- 10 takedowns against a guy that was apparantly stronger and harder to take down than any of St. Pierre's previous opponents. Also, his reach made for a good equalizer on the stand-up. "Hit him with your groin!"

The takedowns definitely gave Akiyama the win (Judo FTW). Belcher was not really robbed, although it was damn close, and I thought Belcher had the better stand up.

Bonnar, what the fuck is wrong with you? As much as I hate to say it, but being beaten by Coleman alone deserves being cut.

Good job by Fitch, Jones, and Miller. The Kim fight turned out as expected. And holy hell, a good night for guillotines.

UFC 100 Predictions

Here are my predictions for tonight's fight:

Brock Lesnar Vs. Frank Mir
Brock Lesnar is most likely going to steamroll Mir, but a blogger can dream.

Georges St-Pierre Vs. Thiago Alves
The only thing that worries me is Alves's 6" reach advantage and his uncanny ability to connect power shots.

Jon Fitch Vs. Paulo Thiago

Dan Henderson Vs. Michael Bisping
As much as I want Henderson to win, I think Bisping is going to somehow manage to TKO Hendo.

Yoshihiro Akiyama Vs. Alan Belcher
I hope he doesn't disappoint in his UFC debut and gets a rematch with Denis Kang.

Mark Coleman Vs. Stephan Bonnar
If Coleman wins, I'll go ahead and commit ritualistic suicide. And by ritualistic suicide, I mean drink heavily.

Mac Danzig Vs. Jim Miller
He may be a vegetarian, but he's still a very good fighter.

Jon Jones Vs. Jake O'Brien
Expect KO by some ridiculous feat of athleticism.

CB Dollaway Vs. Tom Lawlor
I'd like to see another Peruvian Necktie.

Matt Grice Vs. Shannon Gugerty
Flip a coin.


If you don't like my picks, tough.

Join the Punch Kick Choke Facebook Group

*edit* - fixed the link.Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/PunchKickChoke-the-MMA-and-BJJ-Resource/131559126912

Join or else you'll get herpes. If you have herpes already, you'll get syphilis. If you have both of those, I feel bad for you, and wouldn't wish anything worse on you. Also, give me a "thumbs up" on your stumbleupon toolbars while you're at it. And send me flowers, poetry, and candy.

But seriously- I don't know what these 'Facebook Page' things are for. Someone please explain it to me.

And since I don't like my posts to be under a certain length, here's a funny cartoon: (click to enlarge)

Setting Up the Big Punch by Attacking the Lead Hand (Fedor/Sylvia)

I'd like to briefly go over a simple but often overlooked punching technique used to set up a big hook or straight- Watch the old Fedor vs. Tim Sylvia footage:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWCaqbvYTP8

Watch at 18 seconds- Fedor hits the front hand of Sylvia right before blitzkrieging his ass into the ground. It's not a one-off move that he does: you can see him do it quite visibly against Big Nog a few years back, and Lyoto Machida does it all the time.

So, how does it work? It's just a really, really simple way to distract an experienced opponent. An inexperienced guy would have a hard time stopping a barrage of punches coming straight at him, but at a pro and even amateur level, people can protect themselves from direct blows most of the time. So, a good way to close the gap and KO the other guy is to distract him, and this technique does it quite well.

1. Check your stances, because this will determine how you attack.

2. If your lead hand is on the same side (southpaw vs orthodox), hit the back of the hand. If your lead hand is on opposing sides (same stances), hit the inside of the wrist.

3. As your hand moves out to punch, lunge forward. A big component of this move is the fact that it distracts your opponent momentarily from seeing that you're closing in.

4. Start swinging for the fences. If you can't get it within a couple of shots, jump back out.

Simple and effective- try it out.

Rolling Kneebar from Turtle

Attacking the turtle to get into back mount for the choke has become so common that plenty of creative and effective counters have been developed, and one of my favorites to watch is the Rolling Kneebar from the Turtle.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27u3OylXY38

It's a simple move, and one you can always look for while your opponent looks to stabilize his position in terms of controlling your turtle.

1. You are turtled, and your opponent is behind you, controlling you

2. You feel that his near leg is in between yours

3. Use your near side foot to trap that leg

4. Forward dive roll with your near side arm, and look to grab that trapped leg

5. As you roll, kick up with that trap foot into him

6. Once the roll is complete, look to finish the kneebar submission

Fun little move, and one worth investing time on, especially for no-gi.

That being said, vote on your favorite submission on the right side of the page if you haven't done so already!

Clarifying my views on Ari Bolden (Submissions101)

I've gotten more than a fair share of emails regarding Ari Bolden, the young man who you know as the face of Submissions101, and now a 10thPlanet Affiliate, asking how I could defend such a fraud and whatnot by using his videos, and I'd like to just explain myself and explain to those of you who don't know what the issue was.

Now, why is Bolden hated by a good number of those in the Jiu Jitsu community? I'll go ahead and just bullet point the main issues:

• He's a JJJ Black Belt (unsure of lineage) teaching BJJ.
• Well, actually, when you press him, he doesn't say BJJ. He teaches "10thPlanetJJ."
• His videos don't cover a lot of crucial details, and relatively often show techniques that will get you countered to hell and back.

Probably the funniest thing I've heard about Submissions101 before 10th Planet Victoria is this:
"They have no rank in BJJ, but presume to teach grappling because:
a) They put in a hell of a lot of time on JJJ knife-defence and
b) they once shared a joint with Eddie Bravo." -PointyShinBurn, Bullshido Forums

Now, why do I not hate on the guy, despite being generally committed to taking out the trash when it comes to frauds? Well, because while I think he misrepresents himself, I do believe he knows the 10th Planet stuff fairly well, has pretty good students and people to learn from currently, he's fairly dedicated to learning it, and while his videos aren't top notch, it's still pretty good stuff to show to get the general gist of the techniques I'm trying to explain. I believe that for free, he's done a pretty good thing.

Read Eddie Bravo's thoughts on the whole thing:
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f12/eddie-bravo-ari-bolden-1004647/

Would Eddie have been so supportive if Ari hadn't brought throngs of 10th Planet supporters together online? Probably not, but he has, and I am confident that he'll be just fine of a Jits teacher in the future once he puts his game together and patches the holes that are there.

So, hate him if you must, but don't expect me to blast him online. If you're a fan of his videos, just make sure you take some of them with a grain of salt, and review them with a proper instructor. If you're a hater, just don't watch his videos, and inform the ignorant so that they can make a decision for themselves.