Martial Arts Action Stars

It is very difficult for me to be entertained by today's martial arts action movies. There is too much special affects and instead of using martial artists, they train actors to do some moves and give them stunt doubles. I have to watch old school martial arts movies (Enter the Dragon, Drunken Master, 18 Bronze Men, etc.). But there are a few martial arts actors out there today that bring some excitement to the screen. My picks are:

Michael Jai White
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoy4r-6V1ao

Donnie Yen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLbA5FtWzac

Scott Adkins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYkeifxLk-I

The Brazilian Kick

The roundhouse kicks is the most utilized kick in martial arts. This is a version of the kick where the kicker folds the kick over an opponents guard. In modern times it is known as the Brazilian Kick. Brazilian Kyokushin Karate fighters Ademir DeCosta, Francisco Filho and Glaube Feitosa are known for this technique. Here Glaube demonstrating it for us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cNUkGhV2q4&feature=related

The Front Kick

The Front Kick is a basic but effective Karate technique (the basics are the most important). The knee is chamber and the ball of the foot is extended into the target and then the knee is recoiled. The kick can be snapped or the hip can be thrusted forward. The snap creates force from the snap and the thrust is used to drive through and knock an opponent away. Look at the clips below.

Anderson Silva's Front Snap Kick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72C8UJlkTKk

Lyoto Machida's Jump Front Kick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7uezGfzz4

Larry Jarrett

I was talking to my friend Marshall Davis (owner of KBX gym in Alpharetta GA) and we talked about former Kickboxing champions. He mentioned Larry Jarrett, a tough fighter from Florida that I fought several years ago. Come to find out he passed away earlier this year. Larry came up in Karate and boxed and kickboxed. He was none for being one of the most durable fighters of his time. He became a World Champion, a fireman, husband and father. Here's the video of our match. This was for the ISKA Full Contact Rules U.S. Light Middleweight title in Doraville GA, 1997. I knocked him down twice in round 1 and he recovered and managed to finish the fight strong. He was truly a tough one because he's the only guy that I didn't finish after knocking them down. This was a nine round brawl. After the 4th round, I knew I wasn't going to get the KO, so I had to win on points. Larry came out harder each round. Tough dude folks. He fought champs like Dave Marinoble, Paul Biafore, and more on his way to becoming a world champion. Rest in peace, Champ.

IKF write up on Larry
http://www.ikfkickboxing.com/LarryJarrett.htm
Me and Larry fighting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxcYF_w1GdQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAi934LpRqY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tDncUXnYAE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qkXo55qhqs&feature=related

How To Be A Champion E-Book Available on Amazon

Hello Friends,

A few months ago, I told you that my 1st book, "How To Be A Champion" would be available. Well, now the E-book is here for you. We are still working on making the hard copies available (which will have a really cool cover). But, for now you can get an inexpensive electronic copy from Amazon. There will be a bio section, I will talk about my first Shidokan experience, I will discuss a little of the mental and physical preparation, and a good section on techniques for full contact karate, kickboxing, and grappling. Thanks to Phil Sehenuk and Jaral Bowman for helping to demonstrate techniques. You will also see fight photos from Shidokan shows (some that I promoted and some promoted by U.S. Shidokan). I would also like to thank Noel Plaugher for making this happen. Enough talk for now, get you E-book! Go to www.amazon.com and look it up (How To Be A Champion by Richard Trammell). Thanks for you support.

A History of Boxing Video

Here's a pretty cool boxing video showing fighters from the the past to present. I like it up to the present. I think that there are a lot of good boxers past the 90s era (in the clip, current guys get dissed). I will agree with a lot of people that there are not a lot of good Heavyweight fighters (United States) right now that we see. Today, I do see a steady rise in boxing of lighter weights. Bernard Hopkins shook up the boxing world by winning a fight recently at the age of 46 against a strong Pascal. Anyway, you will still enjoy this clip as it will give some history to this amazing sport.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hmu_iUkv2Q

Scared to lose?

When I was coming up in the martial arts as a competitor, I would take every chance I could to compete. I trained everyday, so, if asked to fight on a week or 2 day notice, I did it. Today, a lot of young fighters aren't so quick to do that. I see amateurs turning down fights because there opponent has a couple of more fights than them. I've promoted events where a fighter looking to make her debut wouldn't take a fight against a girl who only had one fight. Professional fighters avoid ranked fighters because they don't feel they are ready. My fourth professional kickboxing match was against a 2x World Champion. My 4th boxing match was against an Olympic Bronze Medalist who had over 200 amateur fights (to my 3). I say fight the best opposition and test yourself to see if you have what it takes (assuming your goal is to be champion).