You're walking down the street, someone bumps you, words are exchanged, you get pushed to the ground, and now some big gorilla is trying to knock your teeth down your throat. No matter how focused you are on the sportive aspects of grappling you've still GOTTA know how to defend strikes on the ground!!! It doesn't matter if your goal is casual recreation or if you wanna be the next UFC … [Read more...]
Does MMA Make You Stupid? Impact, Concussions and Brain Damage in Mixed Martial Arts
MMA has been my guilty pleasure for a long time. On the one hand, I'm a huge fan. I've been watching the UFC since its inauguration in 1993, and have enjoyed fights in Pride FC, Shooto, WEC, Strikeforce, Bellator, and many other organisations. I have good friends who are professional fighters, and have helped them prepare for their fights. And I have nothing but respect for the skill, … [Read more...]
Anderson Silva Screws Up (Video Proof)
Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva in his prime was probably the most talented striker the UFC ever had. This man could do it all: insanely high striking accuracy, pinpoint punches, devastating knees, unreal timing, an amazing ability to bob and weave. When he was on fire he didn’t just beat opponents: he broke them and systematically dismantled them, and left them slumped unconscious on the … [Read more...]
Podcast EP27: Roxanne Modafferi about MMA Training, Continuing to Improve, Tryouts for The Ultimate Fighter, and More
In this podcast episode I talk with Roxanne Modafferi, MMA fighter and TUF standout, about The differences between MMA training in Japan and the USA, Continuing to improve after 12 years in the sport, Training tweaks that finally snapped a 6 fight losing streak, What tryouts forThe Ultimate Fighter were really like, And much more... To hear this podcast episode in full, you … [Read more...]
9 Rules for BJJ Self Defense
I recently worked with a female friend to teach her a little bit about jiu-jitsu for self defense. Obviously I believe that jiu-jitsu is super important for self defense in general, but when it comes to women who want to defend themselves, well, it's completely indispensable. We can argue all day about what percentage of real fights end up on the ground (like the Gracies I believe it's very … [Read more...]
Podcast EP22: Adam Singer on Modern MMA Training and Competition
Stephan: I’m here today with my friend, Adam Singer, who runs The HardCore Gym in Athens, Georgia. He is probably best known for being Forrest Griffin’s MMA coach during the formative years of Forrest’s career. He’s also a jiu-jitsu black belt and has trained tons of fighters. I’m really looking forward to picking his brain about MMA and jiu-jitsu and the relationship between these things. … [Read more...]
A Dirty Boxing Breakdown
This is a video from the archives that I shot with my friend and training partner at Infighting MMA in downtown Vancouver. Infighting has since moved into a much nicer, larger facility, but the information in this video is still 100% valid. It's all about the 'dirty boxing' techniques that are technically illegal in boxing but still end up deciding fights all the time. … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Close the Distance in a Streetfight
BJJ is a great fitness activity and a wonderful sport. But at it's core Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is still a martial art. The word 'martial' is defined as "being related to fighting or war". And that means you have to be ready throw down should the s**t hit the fan out there in the cold, cruel world. Sometimes in a street confrontation you should run away, sometimes you should look for improvised … [Read more...]
Five Reasons to Grapple in a Streetfight
A lot of self proclaimed self defence experts will emphatically and categorically tell you to "never, ever go to the ground in a streetfight." But no single strategy works in every situation, and anyone telling you to always do something, or never do something, is automatically wrong. The truth is that you may well be forced to use your grappling skills in a self defense context. I've added … [Read more...]
Podcast EP15: Burton Richardson on Training and Performing under Pressure
Stephan's note: today I interview Burton Richardson who has spent decades researching the training methods that make martial arts techniques practical, reliable, and functional. His approach is very applicable to street self defence, but is equally valid for anyone wanting to compete. To hear this podcast episode in full, you have a couple of options. The first one is to just press play on … [Read more...]
Why Martial Artist (and Grapplers in Particular) Should Do Yoga
There are a lot of reasons why martial artists should do Yoga. And that goes DOUBLE for the grappling kind of martial artists, including BJJ'ers, submission grapplers, Judoka, Sambo practioners, and people training in MMA. Yoga brings a lot to the table. … [Read more...]
How to Improve Your Hip and Leg Flexibility
Hip and leg flexibility is a huge asset in grappling, especially when it comes to not letting your opponent pass your guard, for launching sneaky sweeps and submissions from the guard position, and for weaseling your way out of tight pins. Plus if you're training in MMA, Muay Thai, Karate, Kickboxing, or any other martial art that involves kicking then flexibility will obviously help you out … [Read more...]
Takedown and Neck Crank vs. Thai Kick
Photos and explanation that show the transition from Blocked Thai Kick to a takedown and neck crank. … [Read more...]
Clinch to Inside Trip to Heel Hook vs. Punching
Closing the gap in MMA can be the most dangerous part of the fight. Sometimes throwing fake strikes allows you to get in close enough to take your opponent down... White and Black are in punching range. White throws and overhand right - Black blocks at the bicep and rushes in... ...achieving the 'over and under' clinch position, a very common clinch in NHB and MMA … [Read more...]
Sprawl Counter vs. Double Leg Tackle
If you try a sloppy takedown in MMA you could end up paying a hefty price. Here's how your takedown gone wrong might go down... … [Read more...]
Double Leg Shoot vs. Right Cross
A lot of MMA fights have been won by someone shooting a double leg takedown just as their opponent throws a big right cross... … [Read more...]
The MMA Formula: Striking + Takedowns + Groundwork
Mixed martial art (MMA) competition has come a long way from the early UFCs, where Karateka faced off against streetfighters, and Jiujitsu practitioners battled Kung Fu stylists. … [Read more...]
Podcast EP3: Erik Paulson; an MMA Master Coach Shares His Secrets
Erik Paulson is an MMA Master Coach. He's trained tons of fighters competing at the highest levels of Mixed Martial Arts. And he held the Shooto light-heavyweight title in Japan for 5 years. He's also my friend and a mentor. Recently I asked my newsletter readers if there was something in particular you wanted to ask Erik. (Hey, if you were signed up for the FREE Grappling Tips newsletter … [Read more...]
Training MMA Skills Under Pressure
It's easy to train an activity when you're calm, relaxed and not tired. But being able to execute those same movements correctly when you're fatigued and gasping for breath is something entirely different. … [Read more...]
MMA Ground and Pound
Here's a short MMA video I recently shot with my friend Denis Kang. He's a very knowledgeable fighter, and I wanted him to share some insights on the ground and pound aspect of MMA. … [Read more...]