In Memory Mike Bernardo

For those of you familiar with K-1, you will remember a hard hitting brawler from South Africa, Mike Bernardo. Even though he never won the grand prix, he defeated all of the top guys at some point and time, showing that he was as capable. Here is a couple videos in memory of Mike. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw5UtD4kTn8&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59CfJOuZ8Sc&feature=related

Judo Slams

Here's some cool slams and throws from Judo. Known as the gentle art, this ain't so gentle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCo-VymBfkk&feature=related

Training Tips

In getting ready for a tournament or match, there are no shortcuts. You have to train. You have to get your cardio (run, bike, rope, bag, etc.). You have to do your conditioning exercises (resistance, stretching, etc.). You have to eat and sleep well. On top of all of this, you have to study what you do and do it consistently. You have to focus your mind on success. So many fighters look to training methods outside of what they are actually doing. It's OK to experiment with different approaches, but remember that the training you do must be focused on what you are going to do. When I was training for a fight, I got in the gym, did my floor work (bags, rope, shadow boxing, conditioning exercises, cardio, etc.) I did my sparring and pad work. After these things, I added whatever supplement work I had time for. The key thing was keeping the training specific to what I was going to do. I've coached myself to winning 3 world titles. I'm not saying that I didn't have instructors and training partners. But I will tell you that I used self motivation and my own strategy to accomplish things. I remember years ago while in Chicago for a Shidokan tournament, someone asked me if I train with some top martial artists in my home town of Atlanta. I said no, I just workout with my students at the gym. I'm a strong believer you can accomplish a lot without a lot of resources. Sure, you may have to travel somewhere to expose yourself to things. But the key to winning is to stay focused and disciplined and believe in yourself.

Kickboxing In U.S.

Kickboxing was the biggest combat sport for martial arts back in the 80s and 90s. Full Contact Karate became American Kickboxing, add in International Rules (low kicks), Oriental Rules, K-1, San Shou, and Muay Thai. Kickboxing's popularity has declined as it used to be televised on ESPN (and it did appear on Showtime), but the sport still lives. All MMA fighters train in kickboxing and you will see a lot of matches in the sport decided by hands and feet, especially when you have to good grapplers. As far as pure kickboxing goes, I don't see that the skill level has greatly improved. The reason I say that is there are a lot of coaches with little to no real experience teaching. Now this goes for martial arts in general, not just kickboxing. Look at most guys who box or wrestle. They usually have coaches with experience. As I've mentioned in previous threads, today you got all of these stand up coaches who happen to be a little older than their fighters, if not the same age. It's like white belts teaching white belts. The good thing about my ancient years in kickboxing is that you had to go to a boxing gym to learn the hands and most of us got very experience trainers to coach us. Because of those experiences I was able to transfer that background to kickboxing, muay thai, shidokan, etc. and I felt that my kickboxing skills could compete with any other form of kickboxing (I started out as an American above the waist kickboxer). K-1 is starting up again and I'm waiting to see some American kickboxing stars develop. We haven't had any in long time. So, you young guys get to work and represent.

Russian President Putin and Judo

Besides being the President of Russia, Vladamir Putin as also a life long martial artists. For those of you who watched Judo in the London Games, you saw Putin there cheering on and gradulating the Russian Judoka. Here's a clip of him training. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=DSIkIvK6qCU

Real Hand To Hand Combat Experience

Here's a clip of a WWII veteran talking about hand to hand combat in war. Even as an older man, you can see how strong this image of his youth has stayed with him. Imagine his story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV2udWIlqWg

Winner Takes All

I posting this clip because it is a Muay Thai match where the winner takes all! Can you dig it. This is a fight where fighters come out for the sake of fighting, not money. They fight because they enjoy their sport. This is a great lesson for a lot of guys out there who call themselves fighters. Schilling Vs Marcus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiwvzaVmoBo&feature=related