For the athlete or martial artist, one of the most frustrating situations one can face is when one is slightly injured or sick.  Unlike a severe injury, the athlete often faces increased self-doubt about his own toughness.  For example, at my Baltimore MMA gym, one of my top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitors, had to undergo major shoulder surgery.  There was absolutely no possible way he could practice.  On the other hand, when my athletes are sick with the flu or a simple cold, they often try to come in and work out.Reputation is important in the gym and they do not want to be seen as not tough enough to train when sick.

**********************************************************************************************

The Ultimate Mma Strength And Conditioning Program.

Underground Strength System

**********************************************************************************************

But is this really a good idea?

The first issue to consider is the benefit to the athlete himself.In the athlete’s weakened physical condition, will another practice actually be beneficial?In addition, will the athlete’s return to health be delayed by the additional training?Recovery and healing might be slowed by the additional training.

The second issue pertains to the effect of the illness / injury to the other athletes.To avoid spreading the illness, quarantine is the safest way to protect the other athletes.  When the athlete is suffering from an acute injury, one must consider the effect of the injured athlete on the training of the other team members – will the quality of the practice of the healthy athletes be negatively affected by having an injured athlete present?

A real-life instance of this would be in the case mentioned above of the Martial Artist who was suffering from a shoulder injury.  He would often train in the Baltimore Kickboxing classes because he could kick and knee.Unfortunately, when it was his turn to hold the pads for his partner, he was unable to.The athlete’s injury negatively affected his partner’s practice more than it did his.

At the end of the day, each injury or illness must be considered on a case-by-case basis by the coach or medical staff simply due to the large amount of variables that come into play.  However, any decision must take into account the two issues listed above – namely, the effect of the illness/injury on the athlete herself and the effect of the illness/injury on the team.

Baltimore Mixed Martial Arts

**********************************************************************************************

Underground Strength System

Technorati Tags: bjj, illness, injury, jiu jitsu, jujutsu, kickboxing, maa strength, Martial arts, Mixed martial arts, mma, muay thai, recovery, underground strength

The intense physical demands of Mixed Martial Arts fighting has led to a variety of different strength and conditioning routines.  This article is not going to compare and contrast different routines in order to determine which is “the best.”  Rather it will focus on what are some of the most popular programs and some of the different philosophies behind them.

***************************************************************************************

“A middleweight fighter went from being scared to go the distance to applying pressure in the 3rd round to win a unanimous decision against a much more experienced opponent, then knock his next opponent out in 10 seconds”

*************************************************************************************

Probably the most common conditioning routines are what I call the “home made” routines.  Most amateur fighters, without proper guidance, have concocted a unique combination of routines from the internet, movies, and their friends.  This is the type of routine I see a lot of college students come in with at my Baltimore Mixed Martial Arts gym.This guy might run 5 miles once a week and also follow a bodybuilding weightlifting routine.100 pushups, 100 situps, and 100 squats every morning and night might be the conditioning routine of another guy.

Another popular fitness form is Crossfit.  Crossfit focuses on generalized fitness and generally has shorter, higher-intensity workouts than what most people are used to.  There is a lot of variability in their workouts – everything from rowing 10k to maximum weight squats.  Their philosophy is that a truly “fit” individual should be able to be handle a wide variety of physical demands, whether the demands be a marathon or bench-pressing.  This style of conditioning has exploded in popularity in recent years and can be found in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts schools across the United States.

The other form of conditioning is very sports-specific.  Much like the NFL coaches work on making their players better football players (and all other sports be damned), some MMA coaches use routines that make their players better MMA fighters.This type of conditioning routine is intended to produce an athlete that is optimized for 3 5-minute rounds or 5 5-minute rounds, whatever the event requires.  These types of workouts will often mix isometric exercises with explosive ones to imitate the grappling and striking demands of UFC-style fighting.

It will be interesting to see where the MMA industry heads in the future.  Will it head towards more of a sports-specific routine like most professional sports?  Or are the demands of Mixed Martial Arts so variable that no routine can accurately mimic it?  Until then, MMA fighters should experiment with different workout regimens and find one that they can maintain and that produces good results.

Columbia Maryland Martial Arts

Technorati Tags: bjj, brazilian jiu jitsu, conditioning, crossfit, jiu jitsu, kickboxing, Mixed martial arts, mma, muay thai, strength, UFC

The United States has experienced an explosion in the popularity of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Submission Grappling. These are two grappling sports that allow submission holds – movements that force one’s opponent to ‘tap out’ or give up. Unlike wrestling which is a single-season sport, the competitions for BJJ and Grappling are year round. Because of this, many serious wrestling parents consider placing their child into another grappling sport during the off-season but they have concerns…

Not surprisingly, safety is on the minds of the parents. It sounds dangerous to have a child do techniques that require tapping out to signal defeat. However, most injuries in these types of competitions occur from takedowns, an aspect of grappling that occurs in wrestling as well. Any legitimate school or event will have the appropriate safety procedures, medical staff, and insurance to limit sports injuries.

Another issue facing parents is how much overlap there would be between the two sports. Wrestling parents generally like the hard-nosed approach of wrestling and are skeptical of martial arts programs. However, a good MMA program or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school will quickly put those fears to rest as they classes will be very realistic and include drills such as holding top position (or pin position in wrestling), takedowns, throws (albeit maybe with judo terminology) and live grappling.

Here in the Baltimore area, we have many good Kids Martial Arts programs that do just that – combine the best of martial arts with wrestling. Winter time is for wrestling and the other three seasons are for Grappling and MMA training.

My recommendation would be for each parent to go and take a look at the BJJ schools to see if their child will like it. Experience with Judo, BJJ, Sambo, or any other grappling style can only your child's wrestling ability in the long run.

Adam Delbrugge

Columbia, MD MMA

Technorati Tags: bjj, brazilian jiu jitsu, folkstyle, freestyle, grappling, jiu jitsu, Mixed martial arts, mma, mma training, scholastic, ufc training, wrestling

All combat sports competitions deal with the issue of weight-loss. Most combat sports including amateur wrestling, mma, boxing, or kickboxing require their competitors to be at a certain weight limit. Depending on the regulations of each sport, the amount and methods of weight cutting can differ greatly.

*****************************************************************************************

Can Never-Ending Cardio and Explosive
Knockout Power Finally Be Yours?

*****************************************************************************************

The term weight-cutting is often used broadly by athletes to refer to both the long-term process which includes dieting and the short-term process which focuses primarily on shedding water weight shortly prior to the weigh-in.

Mixed Martial Arts events often hold public weigh-ins (much like boxing) up to 24 hours prior to the athletic events. In these cases, it not uncommon to find athletes losing and gaining back in excess of 10% of their body weight. These massive short-term weight cuts often involve trips to the sauna, sweat suits, and low-intensity cardio exercises intended to cause sweating with minimal exertion. Cycling is the preferable cardiovascular exercise method of choice due to its low impact. Because the event is the following day, athletes who fail to meet the necessary weight limit are given additional opportunities to lose the extra poundage.

In contrast, international Brazilian Jiu Jitsu events run by the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) requires mat-side weigh-ins. Because the weigh check takes place immediately before the match, athletes have only one chance to make weight. Because of the rigidity of the IBJJF system, athletes are unable to lose excessive amounts of weight and compete effectively. A positive consequence of mat-side weigh-ins is the lack of weight-loss induced deaths and illnesses. Any martial artist that wants to meet the weight requirement for a Jiu Jitsu event needs to compete very close to their normal weight or begin a slower (and safer) weight loss program well in advance of the competition.

Julius Park

Baltimore Mixed Martial Arts

Technorati Tags: bjj, Boxing, brazilian jiu jitsu, jiu jitsu, Mixed martial arts, mma, UFC, weight cutting, weight issues, weight loss

The explosion in popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events has shined a light on one of America’s most popular and yet ignored sports, folkstyle wrestling. Any realistic Martial Arts system includes wrestling as proven by fighters such as Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, and Matt Lindland. But what about wrestling has led so many wrestlers to MMA success?

**********************************************************************************************

Submission Wrestling and Grappling: click HERE for the best material in Techniques and Training!

**********************************************************************************************

One of the most important reasons is that lack of financial opportunities for wrestlers post-college. The United States is the only country in the world that actually teaches a different style of wrestling than the two types featured in the Olympics: Freestyle and Greco-roman. The folkstyle or scholastic style taught from youth all the way to the end of college is not an international style and so barring a bid at the Olympic Games, an event that occurs every four years, most wrestlers can not depend on wrestling to make a living. A single low-level MMA fight can pay $1000, a very tempting prospect to an amateur athlete.

Secondly, the skills developed through wrestling have direct applications toward Mixed Martial Arts. Takedowns, Greco-roman clinchwork, and the ability to scramble are all key elements of wrestling and MMA. Once the wrestler undergoes true MMA training which includes boxing, muay thai kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he will become even more dangerous.

Finally, the work ethic of wrestlers is legendary. Pain and hard workouts are both parts of the sport of wrestling, both of which also are part of MMA. Furthermore, they are used to short-term weight loss… an aspect of professional MMA competition that is oft-ignored. Fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin routinely cut 20 lbs from one day to the next which gives them a huge advantage. Being used to such a physical ordeal from their grappling days, wrestlers can adapt more easily to it.

Any aspiring fighter should be training in wrestling especially since the United States is so good at it.

Technorati Tags: bjj, folkstyle, freestyle, grappling, greco roman, jiu jitsu, Mixed martial arts, mma, UFC, wrestling