(above, Brad Daddis of MixedMartialArtsTips.com demonstrates one of his free weekly MMA techniques)

I’ll keep this short and sweet.  Here are some FREE, high-level, and helpful resources for martial artists across a broad spectrum of topics.

http://jeffjoslinmma.com/

Joslin offers a number of free resources (a very nice report on the proper “KO punch,” videos on how to hit the various bags properly, etc.) and ultimately promotes his premium dvds and seminars.  Good stuff.  Joslin has been in the game for a long time and knows what he’s talking about.

http://muaythaitips.com/

Run by my coach, Brad Daddis, this is a site that will send you free weekly striking tips.  Sometimes it’s basic stuff like how to properly throw a knee, and sometime’s it’s more advanced stuff like how to control the ring, how to chain together effective combos, etc.  Again, all free, very useful.

http://mmatips.vipersitebuilder.com/

Same as the above, but covering topics specifically for MMA (i.e. different submission setups that take into account the ability to strike, etc.).

http://www.youtube.com/user/Submissions101

These guys come under criticism for various reasons, and a number of the techniques are pretty lame (i.e. wouldn’t really work).  But this is a great, free resource regardless.

https://www.mginaction.com/Default.aspx

A Premium, subscription based service.  But they share free videos every Monday from the man, Marcelo Garcia, himself.

http://thegrapplingblueprint.com/

Lloyd Irvin’s newsletter.  Ultimately motivated by the sale of various DVDs or eBooks, this newsletter nonetheless offers some cool free videos and documents.  Lloyd gets some flak for his marketing but, ultimately, provides premium products.

http://www.rosstraining.com/blog/

Ross Enamit offers a no-frills, stripped down approach to fitness.  Lots of great stuff here.

Enjoy!

-J

http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/coke-zero-addict/xvbwquu

Essentially, an Australian woman claims to be addicted to Coke Zero and drinks at least five 2-liter bottles of the stuff every day.  She claims to have not drank a glass of water in over 2 years.

Call me old fashioned, insensitive, or narrow minded, but the line between gluttony and addiction isn’t that fine.  It’s sad that we live in a society sympathetic to such pathetic people.

Her risk of diabetes, osteoperosis, and a variety of other ailments and diseases is ridiculously high.  I mean.. 10 liters of coke a day?  How do you still have a stomach lining?

And we wonder why health insurance premiums are so high.  We are subsidizing the costs of treating these people.

The worst argument I hear is that society doesn’t “properly educate” people to make healthy lifestyle decisions.  Which is BS.  If you put some Cheetos in a bowl, some broccoli in another bowl, and ask anybody to choose the healthier meal, everyone will choose the broccoli.  This lady doesn’t even drink water, and takes no responsibility for her health or lifestyle.  Sad.

Thoughts??

I think the most important point to take away from this brief discussion is the use of the actual clinch drill (for example) not only as a source of skill development, but as a legitimate form of resistance training superior to isolated neck exercises in the context of sports performance.  I think too often we dichotomize our training into “strength and conditioning” and “technique,” when for the most part, they are all one and the same.  Remember: you’re training for a fight, not a pushup contest.  Spend more time practicing fighting, less time doing pushups, and you will not only perform better, but your body will be more adapted to the stresses of fighting.

Also, if something hurts, fix it.  If your neck hurts, your body is telling you that something is wrong.  We all know what happens when we ignore the check engine light on our car.. don’t make that same mistake with your body.  Sports science and physical therapy have come a long way, and we now have a variety of resources to help build back what we have broken down in training and competition.

For more information on Todd Fluck and his services, please visit www.IMTCare.com.  Todd operates out of Body Solutions in Voorhees, NJ, a full-service rehabilitation and sports training facility (www.BodySolutionsInc.com).

Tomorrow (10-17-09), I will be heading to Wall Township, NJ for a submission grappling tournament.  I am constantly surprised at how nearly every competitor at these events neglects to warm up for their bouts.  More often than not, grapplers step onto the mats “cold” and go from a state of rest to a state of extreme physical demand in an instant.  Common among the inexperienced athlete is this idea of “saving” one’s energy for the bout (suggesting, of course, that properly warming up the body will somehow rob them of necessary energy for the match).

Without going into specific detail as to why (as I’m not an educated Strength and Conditioning coach or kinesiologist), this is nearly always a BAD idea.  Not only will the muscles not operate at maximum efficiency, but there is a much increased risk of muscle pulls and tears.  Plus, an improperly warmed up nervous system will slow down an athlete’s ability to react and “think” during the match.  For novice competitors one of the most common things I hear is “everything just happened so fast.”  This is typical of an improperly warmed-up athlete.

I will have certified professionals go into the technical importance of warming up in future posts, but for now I will share my own personal pre-match routine to give you an idea of a workable warm up.  Keep in mind that warming up the body, as well as the mind, is paramount. 

I start with 5-10 minutes of light rope work.  This allows me to break a light sweat, find my “rhythm,” and begin to visualize the matches before me.  I add a few short sprint intervals in with the rope work to mimic the spastic pace of the matches.   I also perform most of my workout while listening to a good song mix that helps me make my mental shift.

During the rope work I mentally work through a series of scenarios and focus on getting into the proper mindstate.  I imagine my opponent as an obstacle that I need to work around, not a threat, and focus on the strengths and abilities that I personally bring to the table.  I believe that if you focus too much on reacting to your opponent’s game, then you will set yourself up to be always a step behind.  Be proactive, not reactive, when competing.  It’s important to make the mental shift from “normal” mode to “competition” mode.  In “competition” mode, fear cannot exist.  I know it sounds corny (think The Karate Kid–“Fear does not exist in this dojo!”), but having fear about the upcoming challenge will only hold you back and make you overly concerned with surviving the match, not winning it.  Training yourself to make this mental shift takes a lot of practice, so competing regularly is extremely important. 

It’s crucial to make the distinction between fear and anxiety.  Anxiety is normal, and the body and mind perform best under an optimal level of stress.  Fear is the tail-between-your-legs reaction to a situation and does not help you achieve what you’re setting out to do. 

After my rope work, I perform a few light sets of pushups, squats, lunges, and then go into a short joint mobility routine.  The light calisthenics prime my muscles for the heavy loads they will endure in the bout, while the joint mobility routine affords me a dynamic stretch.  Flexibility is key for grappling, and I want to make sure I’m as limber as possible when I step onto the mats.  I perform these flexibility drills only after I’ve warmed up the muscles, as cold stretching can actually lead to increased injury during competition.

From here, I will continue with a few movement drills–elbow escapes, shots, sprawls, hip-heists, etc., to coordinate my mind and body. 

I will then continue with light rope work until it’s about time to compete.  I want my body to feel like it’s already gone through a very light grappling match before I step on the mat.  If my heart rate isn’t slightly elevated and I don’t have a light sweat, then I don’t feel that I can operate at maximum efficiency.

I do also drink a small amount (no more than half a can) of a sugar-free energy drink about 15-20 minutes before the first match. 

Much of this warmup routine has been developed through a number of years of competition, so it’s highly specific to what makes me personally most comfortable and ready for competition.  Consistency in your warmup, in my opinion, is extremely important as well, as it allows you to enter the “competition” mindstate more easily (your body recognizes the movements and the patterns, and elicits a conditioned response to the actions).  This has been my experience, anyway.

Hope that helps some of you!  Just remember.. warming up is essential!

The ultimate fighter at 25 has a body with a good temperament for training. He can take repeated abuse and repair himself. He can fight four times a year — or five, or seven — if he wishes. If he suffers a significant dent (broken bones, damaged eyes, muscles torn from their adhesive) he’ll be ambulatory before long.

And he gets attention. Lots of attention. From sponsors, from fans who admire his abilities and from women. He can close a nightclub the week of a fight and not suffer the consequences. He makes a decent wage, gets his training subsidized by sponsor money and splurges when bonuses crop up. He’s not a champion, so he can’t afford to buy the Escalade outright, but he can make the lease payments.

The ultimate fighter at 35 has recurring injuries. He’s slower to get out of bed, favors aching knees in the gym and makes frequent apologies after fights for his performances — often mediocre, often the result of a body that won’t do what it’s told to do. The title shot was a squash match. His head is scraping the ceiling.

The ultimate fighter at 40 doesn’t know what else to do for a living. He takes fights in regional shows for a flimsy check, but he collects a lot of them, and they add up. So do the concussions. So do the pain medications.

At 45, your knees are gone, so you can’t shoot your way out of a fistfight. Your hands are arthritic and you beg the corner to wrap them carefully. You traded your body out for some bonuses and some women and some cheering. And when that hits — whenever that hits — you’re going to burst.

On Oct. 6, Junie Allen Browning — a mid-tier fighter who realized he could turn his media-savvy obnoxiousness into a handful of paydays — reportedly took 16 pills of anti-anxiety medication Klonopin in a bid to either kill himself or get the wrong kind of attention. He was taken to a hospital where he threatened staff. That same week, he was released by the UFC. His last fight, six months ago, was a loss to Cole Miller.

Earlier in the year, Josh Neer was arrested for drunken driving and eluding police. Last summer, Quinton Jackson endangered himself and others by driving erratically. Jon Koppenhaver assaulted a man outside a nightclub in 2007, choking him unconscious. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic declared he wished to hang himself after his most recent loss. Mike Guymon’s wife took a gun from him; his intention had been to kill himself. Justin Levens succeeded, taking his wife’s life before his own. Jeremy Williams shot himself in his car. Evan Tanner walked into the desert and was never seen alive again.

Like a lot of sports that marry serious physical trauma with modest wages, mixed martial arts is finding itself with a mortality rate, but not in the way its critics expected.

J.R. Minkel, a Scientific American contributor, recently wrote an article for Real Fighter exploring the brain matter of combat athletes — not the abuse suffered, but the neural pathways created or damaged by both their choice of profession and daily intake of it. He quoted a sports psychologist from the University of Florida as having taken an informal poll of prizefighters and grapplers. Out of the 400 who responded to his petition to take an online questionnaire, nearly a quarter exhibited symptoms of depression.

Is this surprising to anyone? Think about the odds of performing to parity on the 15 or 25 minutes when it counts the most. Does anyone’s income ever normally come down to less than a half-hour two or three times a year? Even jobs that require some kind of stellar public presentation or faultless performance often forgive a misstep. But in fighting, you need to trip only once.

The emotional pressure is overwhelming; physical punishment piles it on. Concussions have been inexorably linked to depression — as many as 40 percent of head injuries could result in neurological disruption leading to behavioral changes or mood suffocation, according to a study at Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University. Count concussions suffered in training and you’re smart to buy stock in Pfizer.

There are real troubles on the horizon for the majority of athletes in this sport who lose as often as they win, who hobble their way through their 30s and who never experience the lucrative financial or emotional rewards of being a champion. They’re already hurting themselves, and others — and the sport has barely gotten started. Boxing, home to a longer legacy of punishing the people that love it, can point you to 60 suicides committed by its participants in the past decades.

Jackson’s behavior last summer was unnerving — wild and full of half-baked excuses involving energy drinks and fasting and wide-eyed religious talk. For a man who is so often the energetic focal point of a room, all it took was one loss to cut his cord to sanity.

So what are we going to do about it? Like any affliction, preventative measures go ignored. More attention must be paid to a fighter’s brain health — not only in logging baseline MRIs to compare against scans later, but enlisting a mental health professional to evaluate athletes throughout their careers. Businesses often employ crisis counseling psychologists to help employees cope with traumatic events. In mixed martial arts, every fight is a traumatic event.

No one seems overly concerned with repeated concussions, a charming trait shared by the NFL and the growing number of athletes who are living post-career lives in misery as a result. Athletes who have suffered head injury on multiple occasions don’t need to have their tantrums to compete indulged: They need to talk to someone about how to adapt to a life without an audience.

My pride in observing this sport comes from its near-spotless safety record. It’s often a viscerally disgusting event — hematomas, blood, screaming — but it’s not taking lives, a fact I’ve been happy to spew whenever debate crops up. Now I realize that’s wrong: it’s happening, but in a way so subversive that it’s going unnoticed.

The ultimate fighter at 50 isn’t depressing. It’s optimism.

Thoughts?  Are Mixed Martial Artists and Combat Athletes drawn to the sport because of a specific brain chemistry also correlated to depression and other fugues?  Or are these mental and emotional disorders the result of the training in the first place?

Just a short vid for you all to enjoy--what do you think?

I can relate to everything he's saying.. fighting is nuts.  There's always that voice in the back of your head when you walk willingly into the ring or cage.  But with experience, you realize that the reward is greater than the risk, and that, ultimately, this is exactly what you want to be doing.

A little bit of background info on 2009 for yours truly: between early March and now, I’ve suffered a strained LCL in my right knee, strained/partially torn tendons and possible fracture in my right foot, possible hairline fractures in my shins, pretty nasty thigh trauma, and 6 stitches over my right eye.  And these are just the significant injuries–I’m constantly dealing with tendonitis, soreness, a boxer’s fracture in my right hand, etc.  This was the first year I ever dealt with anything significant so I consider myself lucky, all things considered.

A fighter’s approach to injuries will be different from an enthusiast’s approach–basically, if you are under contract to fight, then you will have to train through light to moderate injuries.  This is just part of the game.  In my experience, you can never expect to compete at 100%.  There will typically always be some sorts of injury or ailments that have accrued through the course of your training camp.  Therefore, it’s important to get comfortable being uncomfortable.  An athlete cannot let their injuries or other ailments affect their confidence so you kind of just have to shrug it off and just aim to do your best under the circumstances. 

I always say that if you’re not injured going into a fight, then you’re probably not training hard enough.  While we follow all the safety guidelines and do our best to prevent injury, the nature of the sport is that it’s likely something will happen. 

Now, as an enthusiast (or a fighter on the off-seaon–same thing, really), the approach to injuries should be much different.  I use my “off-season” time to train smart and keep the risks low.  Let’s imagine our bodies like some sort of machine–a car, for example.  If your tire were to blow on your car, would you just “push through” and ignore the problem (ultimately leading to damage to your wheel, and then your axle and other parts of your front end)?  Of course not.. the car goes into the shop, you get a new tire, and continue on as normal.

There is too much of a machismo attitude in the combat sports community–this sort of “rub some dirt on it and walk it off” mentality.  As a fighter under contract, sometimes you just have to do that.  But as somebody who wants to enjoy a bit of longevity in their martial arts career, it’s absolutely paramount to seek out and receive the proper rehabilitation.  Sadly, progress in the martial arts is too often two steps forward, and one step back.  So taking a broader approach to personal improvement (i.e. expecting to have to take time off here and there, and not letting it surprise you and affect your ambition) is probably the best as to avoid burnout and frustration.

My brief advice when it comes to injury prevention and rehabilitation: first, stretch consistently after training.  This will help relax muscles and relieve tension (which may accrue and cause all sorts of nasty problems).  Immediately attend to minor injuries (shin splits, etc) as these can become exacerbated and lead to major problems.  If doing something causes pain, don’t do it, and find out what the problem is and get it fixed.  When lifting weights, learn and exercise proper form.  Do not lift more weight than you can handle with perfect form (never, ever be “that guy” in the gym).  Maintain a good diet, get as much sleep as possible, and treat your body very, very well.   That should do it.

In the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey area, I have personally had a lot of success and relief working with the staff at Body Solutions and Integrative Manual Therapies in Voorhees, New Jersey.  For more information on their services, check out their web sites at www.BodySolutionsInc.com and www.IMTCare.com.

 “Step 1: Make the Transition from Life to Sports
The warm up or pregame routine is a time to begin focusing on your sport. Think of your routine as a transition from the office, school, or normal activities to competing in sports. Some athletes contemplate about life issues when they play sports, and this affects their focus and performance. Use the pregame routine to let go of daily hassles, deadlines and chores – to become fully engaged in your sport.

Your mental game strategy is to “park” any troubles that are occupying your mind for the duration of your competition (this strategy can be applied to practice as well). Make a written list (or mental note) of the life issues on your mind, and make a commitment not to think about them while you’re engaged in sports. You can’t possibly change your life while you’re on the field for three hours, so the best option is to temporarily shelve those problems.

Step 2: Review and Commit to a Game Plan or Strategy
You should set a game plan before entering competition, because athletes don’t always make the best decisions under pressure. Ideally, you should decide on a game plan prior to your pregame warm up. (In team sports, your coach will have a strategy prepared before the game for you.) For example, you should study the course or track, and decide on the best plan of action, given the conditions.

Step 3: Be Responsible for Your Self-Confidence
Confidence is a long-term project, and develops from years of practice and play. Most athletes should have a good foundation of confidence – one based on past successes and practice. However, some athletes doubt themselves at the worst possible time – during the pregame warm up. Others wait for something good to happen before they feel confident. Use positive self-talk and use this to help you feel deserving – that you have paid the dues. Be aware of any last-minute doubts and shoot these down quickly.

Task 4: Gear Your Mind to Focus on Execution
A priority for your mental game is to prepare to focus on the process – and on the here and now – instead of outcomes or results. Focusing on results only serves to place expectations on your performance. In your warm up routine, spend a few minutes to set simple objectives for the game, round or match. Make sure these objectives focus your attention on what your want to accomplish and on your execution.

In addition, keep your mind focused on the warm up and preparing yourself for competition. This is not the time to dwell on outcomes, compare your game to the opposition, or wonder who will be watching the game. Bring focus and intensity to your pregame routine, so you’ll be dialed in when the whistle blows.

Task 5: Rehearse Your Performance
Your warm up routine is a good time to rehearse your performance and gain confidence in your game. The nature of the rehearsal will depend on your particular sport and learning preference (visual, kinesthetic, auditory). For example, a golfer can review his game plan for playing the golf course, including targets and clubs to use from the tee and into greens. A baseball player can rehearse pitches he will see and how he will get a hit. A gymnast can rehearse her beam routine, and feel or see successful execution.

The pregame warm up or routine is not the appropriate time to continue working on technique or mechanics! The purpose of practice is to improve your game for the future. The warm up is about preparing to perform your best. You have already put in the practice, trust what you have trained, and now it is time to perform! Prepare to play well with the game you have that day!”

Visit http://www.peaksports.com/sports_insights_archives/mar_2007.htm to read the full article.

(Image above courtesy of www.FuryMagazine.com)