The Technique Geek and The Brawler

In order for the sport of MMA to grow, especially here in the UK, we need to establish a common spirit in this fighting sport. To do this we must at least come to terms with the term cagefighter.

In my opinion calling Mixed Martial Artists Cagefighters is almost derogatory. These no brain idiots who simply want to fight in a cage to be able to brag about it on sturday night in town are not what the sport is about.

I have an almost similar objection to Alex Reid and his highly publisized BAMMA 4 fight with Tom Watson. Both of these men showed how poor and limited their technique was and that they were both simply bar room brawlers. Now this had a reasonably large audience in the UK due to Alex Reid's marraige to a certain celebrity. The damage done to the image of MMA amongst the average MMA hater was significant, adding more fuel to the argument that it is merely going back to the old fashioned illegal prizefighting.

On the other hand however, the technique geeks must not get too critical of the guys who come into the sport only wanting to fight. All the technique in the world will not win you an MMA match unless you have that fighting spirit and sole.

We must watch ourselves for swaying too far to either end of this spectrum and as is always the case the middle ground is the best place to be. This will enable you to be the best Mixed Martial Artist possible and the most well rounded fighter.

Remember fight hard, fight smart.

Yak

The Wrestler's Dominance

In current MMA many people wouldn't argue with the fact that the sport can be split into two main areas these being ground fighting and stand up.  I believe this is wrong.  There is a third area that links these two together which is often referred to as the world of take downs.

Wrestling is massive within MMA this dominance is due to two quite obvious reasons.  Firstly, the UFC is an American company and wrestling is simply huge in the states.  Almost all high schools and the equivalent to our secondary schools teach and compete in wrestling.  The UFC has therefore become simply the best way other than the almost theatrical WWE for wrestlers to make a living.  Secondly and most importantly to ourselves as British MMA practitioners is that there is a gaping hole in martial arts that involve "simply taking an opponent down".  The Muay Thai clinch work is probably the next closest thing but is far from a complete art.

Now how do we, here in the UK with virtually no wrestlers of any note deal with this counteract good wrestlers.  The Americans were incredibly quick to unfairly mock Dan Hardy's lack of wrestling after his courageous battle with GSP.  The answer lies in one of Britain's best kept martial arts secrets. Judo.

Judo is simply the perfect way of combating a wrestler and "lay and pray" fighters. Judo teaches an aggressive no- nonsense ground game linked with probably the most advanced system of take downs and defence of any martial art.  If you need evidence of this just watch some of Karo Parysian's earlier fights in the UFC and the outstanding ease of which he takes down all-american wrestlers. 

So why, why do we in the UK, not learn Judo?  To be honest I do not know. It may be the fact that Judo clubs are rightly proud of their sport and feel no need to jump on the MMA bandwagon and in my own experience can be intolerant of "cage fighters". 

However this should not put us off.  In the UK we have a booming and quality Judo association.  It is often cheap to participate and very effectively run.  The training is fantastic for fitness with the focus on using Judo to fight.  It is one of the few martial arts where you actually have to fight for your belts.  For any aspiring MMA fighters or even just for people looking to improve their game Judo should be a must.  It also complements perfectly Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the two together are probably the perfect partners.

So remember fight hard, fight smart.

www.britishjudo.org.uk

Yak 

Jaco Resurgence UK Fight Shorts Review

Hey All

You might be interested in the product review of the new Jaco MMA Fight Shorts, available through the links on this site.

Jaco may not be yet as popular as some of the more established short brands such as Warrior Wear or Tapout but these shorts and the Jaco make in particular are making a big stir.  The intuition and level of design on these shorts is simply revolutionary.  Resurgence fight shorts have the patented Jaco "no scrunch" waste tightening system which is effective and simple to use. The look is also simple yet striking offering a less pretentious look than a lot of other shorts on the market.  The look of a fighter who is here to do business and nothing else.

The shorts only downfall is that they can be difficult to pull up and take off due to the locking system only allowing so much play in the waist.  This is not a major issue as the lack of play ensures that the fit when on is once gain superior to other fight shorts on the market.

The material is one of the best mixes that I have seen yet and although looks flimsy in working tests has proved anything but.  The material also is one of the lightest and most breathable available to date.

Rating

Style 8/10
Durability 8/10
Cost 7/10
Ease of use 6/10

Search Amazon.com for jaco fight shorts uk
Fight hard, fight smart.

Yak

The Need to Fight with a Style

It is vitally important in today's competitive world of MMA to plan and think through your fighting style.  Fighting styles are often predominantly determined simply by the martial art or sport we take up first.  For example if you "got into" MMA through boxing your style will likely be that of the typical MMA boxer.  Now whilst this may suit some people the best fighters will have taken some thought over how they should approach they're training.

Good examples of fighting styles can be seen in these modern MMA fighters:-

• Jake Shields, Frank Mir and BJ Penn (Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu)
• Karo Parysian (Judo)
• Frakie Edgar (Boxer)
• Gray Maynard and Ryan Bader (Wrestler)

However some interesting fighters have made it their style to be prolific in multiple areas, some further examples of these are:-

• Georges St Pierre
• Anderson Silva

It is no coincidence that these two examples are probably the most dominant fighters in their respective weight categories of the modern era.  The only fighters to come anywhere near this level of dominance were Liddell, Hughes, Couture and Penn.

So we can see that the pro's all have their own fighting styles.  New MMA fighters should carefully consider what they wish their style to be, which particular martial art suits their body type and shape, whether the training available in a specific area is of a significantly high standard or simply which art they enjoy practising.  In order to do this we should look at the main martial arts that are driving forward modern MMA in the next upcoming blog.

Remember fight hard but fight smart.

Yak

The Beginning of The Code

Hello All,

Welcome to The Warrior Code - MMA's Main Event.  We are looking to bring you the best of MMA action, commentary and advice.  Whether you are an experienced practitioner or an absolute beginner The Warrior Code is for you!

We aim to provide stimulating commentary that provokes discussion on the sport, so please feel free to comment as much as possible on any of these blogs.  The more people we get interacting the better we will understand what actually works in this sport.

We also aim to provide a discipline to the fledgling sport of MMA and discuss some of the sports main issues.

So sit back and enjoy and remember fight hard but fight smart!

Yak