Martial Artists Past & Present and MMA Fans UNITE!

I am a past student of Shorin Ryu karate and current student of Krav Maga, Kick-Boxing, and have just started in No Gi BJJ. This is a place for those in recovery to share their mutual love of the martial arts, the positive impacts that it has on their recovery, and maybe plant a few seeds for those considering taking up a style, as we all know how positive it is. Tagging @DarrenUK , @Forged please tag/invite any members who you know who train as well.

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My love for Martial Arts started when I was in my late teens.

I started watching the UFC with Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz etc…

Started getting into the other MMA organisations nowadays Bellator, Invicta, Cage Warriors etc…

Ive been training BJJ for two years and currently a blue belt under Steve Campbell- Stealth BJJ, 3rd degree black belt

I’ve been practicing MMA since UNI so around 10 years. Always knew I could fight as always got into street fights when under the influence and still won (bad I know) use a range of styles boxing, Muay Thai and kickboxing predominantly- although not graded

I prefer stand up as my weaknesses are wrestling and grappling- but I’m not American so figures

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My aim was to go and train at Tiger Muay Thai in Phucket (Thailand) after University and combine with travelling around Asia but never materialised due to money :moneybag: Muay Thai style has got to be my favourite Art although the style is so easily beat by Wrestling - as shown by Woodley / Till

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Just to jump in here and may be a bit of a surprise, I do kickboxing but the club also do MMA and boxing, I’m not aiming for any kind of belt but it is a family affair, both my boys train and have orange belts and they take part in sparring too, my husband trains as well and spars with team xtream, I have stopped training since getting sober and my coach has no idea about the drinking, he just thinks its depression I’m dealing with, he wants me back Monday but I know I’m not in peak condition

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All the reason to get back to it! Improve your fitness gradually

Your boys will have black belts within a couple of years in kickboxing :+1:

In BJJ it takes 10 years plus to get a black belt- and that’s if you meet all the disciplines, it’s so hard. The first two weight world champ in the UFC(top MMA organisation in the world) is still only a brown belt- it’s mad- and only just moved up from purple not long back

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I’m hoping that the boys do well, they are pretty good little fighters, bit annoyed that they have been held back from the last two gradings, we have paid a significant sum for a three year contract with the club. They are ready for it I wouldn’t mind if they weren’t

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It took Jocko Willink 20 years of BJJ training (and he’s insanely focused) to get his black belt. Dean Lister is who he studied under. He was one of Dean’s MMA coaches. Have you listened to the Jocko Podcast? I swear, half of whatever he’s talking about seems to work it’s way to BJJ.

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I firmly believe, with everything going on in my life, there is no way I could have maintained my sobriety, without martial arts. Where I used to watch the clock to get to “Cocktail-thirty” I now count down to that welcome moment when I close my laptop, change into my uniform, grab my bag-o-stuff, and head to class. I come out of there feeling great. Wanting to get better, I get up early and work out in my garage dojo.

Wished I would have done this years ago.

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Here’s one of my favorite Martial Arts podcasts. It’s all about the application of Martial Arts principles to all aspects of life.

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Yes Ronda has done well going to WWE!

She was the pioneer and the first MMA world female Champ!

Absolutely excellent at Judo and Arm bars but once all the other women came through competent in the other Arts she got exposed! No way would she even keep up with the female divisions nowadays

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No I will have a look now. Sounds interesting

Luckily my boys are not bothered by the belt colour and love the participating more than anything else, it’s more me and the husband who like to see them progress through the belts, obviously at a reasonable rate, wouldn’t want them to get it if they haven’t worked for it

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Her mistake was Mark Henry :joy:

And trying to strike with Holm and Nunes- lets be honest though all these women would kill us

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I go all the way back to the single-digit UFC days. Back when you rented them on VHS. Back then “Mixed Martial Arts” meant two fighters of pure style striking or grappling, against each other. TKD vs. Wrestler. Judoko vs. Kick-boxer. Muay Thai vs. Western Kick-boxer, Karate vs. Capoeira. I’ve watched how the sport was influenced by Pancrase and Shoot-fighting.

Huge Bas Rutten fan from way back (working on my power-slaps now). As far as MMA goes, I’m with @Forged in that I enjoy women’s MMA. Not that I like watching women beat each other up. It’s just that those on top are always challenged by a hungry up-and-comer. I think it’s because it’s still relatively new, and the pool so much smaller, a champ may only have a couple more pro fights than the challenger. There’s yet to be a Gracie, Shamrock, or Liddell on the women’s side, IMHO. Rousey came close, but Holm knocked her off, and then Holm got knocked off just as quick. by Tate, and Tate fell to Nunes.

Going to KMG in Israel to train is on my bucket list. 55th birthday I think. We shall see.

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A high kick from Holm. I’d be like “what? Where did that foot come from, and why is it stuck to my head” Or an axe-kick from Michelle Waterson.

Was a huge Gina Carano fan.

Funny thing. Was sparring with a Green Belt not long ago. She’s like 4’ 11", maybe 100lbs. She wears full-size boxing gloves that cover her from eyes to sternum and with elbows, there’s not a lot to target. She’s fast. Good footwork. Good kicks. Still, I was holding back a bit…till she axe-kicked me. Screw it. Had to give her a physics lesson. I can hit her guard, and she’s gonna feel it. Threw a right cross right on her gloves, and down she went. She popped up, and went for another axe-kick. I stuffed it and hit her with a shovel-hook. I call her “dynamite”. Little stick. Big Boom.

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I am kinda glad that MMA has evolved. BJJ, while supremely effective, really slowed the tempo of fights down, but I loved watching Gracie choke out Severn. The whole fight Severn was in control, and then boom…triangle choke.

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Great thread. This is a passion for me. I have studied different martial arts over the years. I am currently in process of opening my own Tae Kwon Do school in Illinois. Should be by the end of the year. One of my specialties is teaching those with special needs.

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Love it! Welcome to the TS Mats!

I get a lot of work outs and coaching tips from Youtube. The guy that runs Precisionstriking.com has an audio shadow-boxing routine I do at least once a week. Also like Fran Sands at myboxingcoach.com, and fighttips.com. Most of the stuff I work on in the garage dojo, I get from these sites, and/or their youtube channels. Idea is to work on the fundamentals at home, so I can work the techniques in class. Footwork, punch and kick combos, strength and endurance. I don’t think I could ever go back to a traditional exercise gym. If I’m gonna sweat and deal with pain, it’s got to have a bigger purpose than just general overall health.

“Bro, I benched 350!”

What good is that if some thug with a knife wants to hurt you, or some asshole decides his bad day is now your bad day?

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The day is done. Off to Krav class. Reviewing defense against sticks, bats and clubs which will be part of the test tomorrow. Had planned to take the night off, but last class the instructor asked the class, “have we done the defense against a baseball bat?” Class answered “no”. He says, OK, we’ll learn that on Thursday, since it will be on the test".

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