Champions Think They Can Beat Anyone

I once heard a trainer say that if a young fighter comes into his gym and doesn't believe that he will be a champion, then he never will be. I agree with that. If you decide to become a champion, not just a competitor you have to have that mindset. This doesn't mean be unrealistic either. A lot of guys say that want to be a pro and they want to be a champion, but it's mostly talk. As an aspiring champion, you have to study champions. You have to watch their work ethic and see what they do. I have seem so many naturally gifted athletes who never become champions becaue when their physical attributes fail them, they give up. The physical is important, but the heart and desire to win is more so. You have to refuse to lose to be a champion and put in the time to hone your skills. You have to compete against the best and test yourself to know where you are.

The Technique of Mike Tyson

Here's a video clip analyzing Iron Mike's technique. The peek a boo style of Cus D'mato. In his prime, Mike was a master KO artist because of his defense. He would make opponents miss and make them pay. The discipline that he had would deminish over time but for a moment in boxing history, Mike was the man. Watch and learn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plxlf9vRzkY

Deaths Caused by Choke Holds

In many countries, law enforcement officers are required to train in martial arts. Choking techniques are used as a way of subduing violent criminals without weapons. Here's an interested article about choking techniques in the sport of Judo and case studies of deaths caused by chokes from policeman. http://judoinfo.com/new/techniques/grappling-techniques/314-deaths-allegedly-caused-by-the-use-of-choke-holds-by-ek-koiwai-md-

Lucia Rijkers

Some call Lucia Rijkers the greatest female boxer of all time. She is the first woman to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame. From a martial arts background she entered into professional boxing and became a champion. Kickboxing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X26cnAUi7fI

More Karate Techniques In The UFC

This past weekend, Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort, defeated Luke Rockhold with a spinning heel kick. He through one at the beginning of round 1 and finished Luke towards the end of the round with the same kick. Rockhold through a spin back during their fight and he always mixes spin and jump kicks in his fights. Belfort has trained in traditional Shotokan and has been training with Kyokushin Greats, Glaube Feitosa and Franciso Filho. MMA is a sport that mixes different martial arts. You will see techniques from the most proven combat systems. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOI3fssdeBw

Old School Martial Arts Schools

Here's an old clip of a Tae Kwon Do Master. What's cool is that this is a time when martial arts where new to the general public and the instructors taught authentic martial arts with a passion. Look at the dojo, the training, and the men and women. During these times there was no kids only class. Everybody trained together and the criteria for black belt was the same for everybody. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb0tGNX4YaQ

Good Old Hard Work

As an old dawg in the arts, I've been able to see a lot of fighters train. Now a days, people assume that they have better information on nutrition, training methods, equipment, etc. People are more knowledgeabe in a lot of these areas. But, as I always say, nothing beats gold old fashion, hard work. When I was coming up in the sport of kickboxing, there weren't a lot of gyms. So, I had the opportunity to be surrounded by a lot of aspiring fighters. Most of them worked out hard. No one had to stand over them and make sure they did their rounds of bag, pads, sparring, etc. The coaches could simply give a suggestion and tweak things here and there. Now a days, there are a lot of gyms, but I don't see the same quality of training. The facilities are prettier and the equipment is newer, but the same old hard work ethic is smaller. I'm not saying that it doesn't exist. I'm just saying it's less. Train hard.