Class was Shrimptastic!!

I missed last Friday’s class due to a trip out of town and will miss this Friday as well, so I was a little less prepared for warm-ups this Monday. We often begin our warm-ups wth a lot shrimping, but this class it felt like it lasted an eternity. Although toward the end I believed [...]

“Damn Good Rollin!”

Yesterday (Monday) we worked on three sweeps and an omoplata all from the spider guard. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as that goes. However, as I explained in earlier posts I am picking up a lot of technical information pretty quickly.
At the end of class I rolled with Big K (blue belt) again and this time [...]

Protect Your Mouth at all Times…

Class went well on Friday. We worked on re-establishing the guard after a person passes your guard. I’ve seen people do the 360 degree roll to regain guard, but this is the first time that I have practiced it. One of the good things about Smiley’s MMA (Combat Athletix) is that the moves are broken [...]

Gi Madness!!!!

I wore the gi for the first time this Wednesday. I hadn’t worn one since December of last year and that was for one day at Jax BJJ. I wasn’t ready for the increase in temperature (at least 10 to 15 degrees) and felt sluggish the entire session after the warm-up. However, I’ve experienced it [...]

Friday’s Class: 4th Session Overall: X-guard

I have had a total of four sessions since I started attenting Smiley’s MMA (Combat Athletix). For the first time in a while I feel a real sense of progression. Being able to train more than twice a week makes me feel as if I can achieve a lot more. I think it has been [...]

Day Session: Number Two

Wednesday/June 11, 2008

I figured I better start posting now before I forget the details. 
 
This week I have been taking the morning class at 11 AM. About 6 to 10 people have shown up for these morning classes this week. It is held just after the boxing class so some of them stay after to participate. Also [...]

Jacksonville at Last….

I arrived in Jacksonville last Tuesday. I was scheduled to be here last Saturday but one delay after the other kept that from happening. Anyway, after a busy week we are finally getting settled.
I was able to squeeze in one practice session at Smiley’s MMA last week. I had a good time and there were at [...]

UFC 84 Predictions: I think I nailed this one!

BJ Penn vs. Sean SherK:  BJ Penn of course!
Sherk had trouble with GSP and Matt Hughes because he had a shorter reach than these guys and because he couldn’t handle their strength. I believe BJ Penn has more core strength than Sherk (although they use it differently) and he has better hands than the “Muscle Shark.”
Wanderlei [...]

MMA Live on ESPN

JiuJitsu365: I watched a pretty interesting show called “MMA Live” on ESPN.com. It was pretty interesting after you get past the first three minutes where the host says “MMA Live” about a hundred times. The co-hosts were Kenny Florian and Franklin McNeil (a sports writer). Both Florian and McNeil were a little awkward at first, but [...]

Block with your hands and not your face…

When I used to box (many years ago) sometimes I would play around with the lead hand down defense.  I would use a lean and a shoulder to block or avoid incoming blows (e.g., Pernell Whitaker). I usually did this when the head trainer, Frank, would turn away for a moment. However, I would never use it [...]