Game Planning Opponents?

It seems that a lot of fighters are hesitant to take a fight against an opponent that they can't find footage on. The search through google, youtube, etc. to fight some videos that they can study to come up with a plan. Well, I say "Baloney". You can look at a video from 2 years ago and expect to have a plan for your opponent when you fight him. First of all, whatever he did was applied to the opponent at hand. Secondly, you have to adapt to what's going on in your matches. Sure there are certain habits that one carries from match to match. But, you should be able to pick up on what he is doing good or bad within the first minute of a fight. You must learn to read what's going on and make adjustments during the fight. Do plan to do a specific thing based on a clip you watched from last year because you might end up looking for something that never comes.

Enshin Karate Demonstration by Kancho Ninomiya

I came across a great demonstration by Kancho Joko Ninomiya, head of Enshin Karate and promoter of the Sabaki Challenge. Enshin Karate is a full contact style (one of many branches of the Kyokushin tree) that uses the principle of Sabaki (circular motion) where the practitioner uses the energy of the attacker against him, utilizing the "blind spot". Here's a clip of the master in action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySNtIZtUL3A&feature=related

Elena Vorobyeva, Kyokushin Fighter

Here's a couple of clips of Russian Kyokushin figher Elena Vorobyeva. Great Kata and Kumite. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pZP51yS7Vk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY7PN1dgnCw

Muay Thai Sweeps and Throws

Came across a cool clip of throws and sweeps used in the sport of Muay Thai. Check this out, as these are unique to this sport. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqCPn4-eB5A&feature=g-all-u

World Oyama Karate Tournament May 5, 2012

This past weekend me and some of my students drove to Birmingham Al for the Annual World Oyama Karate Championships. It was good to see some no nonsense full contact karate. The semi-knockdown fights were good and the kids and adults did a great job. The knockdown (no pads) had a smaller number of competitors than usual but the fighters didn't disappoint the spectators as there was some knockouts. If you've never seen this style of competition, you will be impressed. Great job and thanks for putting on another great tournament World Oyama Karate. OSU!

What happens during a joint lock?

Here a clip from Sports Science featuring Frank Mir about the force required to execute joint locks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ1cfJAEk3k&feature=g-vrec

Fighting Is Never Personal

I see a lot of guys hesitant to fight fighters in their weight class. This is usually the case for heavy and lightweights. Middleweights aren't the problem usually because that's most of the general population. Matching fighters for promoters can be a headache when local guys turn down fights when the fighter pool is small. Years ago in Atlanta, there were a few boxing gyms. Fighters would go around from gym to gym to get sparring sessions with different fighters in their weight class. They would become friends with their new training partners. When fights came up and they were matched against each other they fought. This was never personal. They would fight and shake hands afterwards. In other martial arts competitions, guys are sometimes reluctant to do this. A year ago, I got back into judo competition and my first match was against one of my coaches. I attacked as hard as I could and was happy to last the 30 seconds I did (yeah, I lost). Remember that if you ever have to fight a friend, it's never personal. Believe it or not, you get to know each other much better and your respect for each other will be even greater. I have one friend from the age of 10 to present. We met through fighting and became pals.