This was from the Joslin’s 2008 Canadian Open Grappling/BJJ tourney…
Why do I call it a ‘lowlight‘ reel instead of a highlight reel?
I’ll be sharing it in my next post, but watch the video and Maybe YOU can tell me:
QUESTION: Why do you think I’m calling this a lowlight reel?
[I’ll give you a hint – it’s not because I came in 4th instead of 1st]
* Leave your guess in the Comments section below *
Next post I’ll be sharing the (embarassing) truth in as well as the immediate actions I took to fix this problem PLUS a new exercise most of you have never seen before.
I was going to hit up the boxing gym on Tuesday night but the all-day grey sky and rain sapped my motivation to make the 30 minute streetcar ride over.
Rain, rain. Go away…
So I decided to stop in to Toronto Kickboxing and Muay Thai (TKMT) for a drop-in class instead, which is a quick 7 minute walk from my place.
I’ve never been there before but it turned out to be a good call. I had a great workout, met a dude who’s on my email list (what’s up Mark), ran into a friend from Uni (hey Lisa) and gave my body something different, as I haven’t kicked or thrown a knee in a long-time since I’ve been focusing on being a pugilist.
In fact, I’ve shied away from Kickboxing/MT because my hips *were* in really rough shape and kicking irritated the hell out of them.
But I got some deep myofascial work done that ended in February this year (about $1600 worth… ouch) and now they’re feeling a heck of a lot better and the kicking didn’t irritate them like it used to.
So it looks like I may have to start training Kickboxing/MT more now. Yeeee-haw!
Over this past week, I’ve noticed some terrible things happening in the gym…
Rocci Williams first started training using my programs in 2009. I did an interview with him on this site over a year ago. He’s still going strong and has been fighting regularly.
Here’s an email he sent me on May 3, 2011 about his most recent fight that has some interesting MENTAL TRAINING tidbits in it:
“I won my fight how I said I would, I wrote it down – it went like this. he threw a couple of jabs of course I moved then I think as he threw the rear kick I tagged him a little from then he wiped his nose, i knew then he didnt like to get hit (wrong sport gumbo) I knew what was comming – he shot I stuffed it and put him on his back from here I got the crucifix landed one elbow, he said to me that he had enough (sorry dude, your in the wrong sport) so i proceeded with some more elbows and knocked him out – 64 seconds in the first ohhh yeah!! my celebration was longer lol.
Not once did I question my fitness, and I really really trained my arse off for this one, again I have to thank you for that, but also to say thanks for recommending theRenegade Mindset on your site cos these guys have given me that killer confidence, I now actually love to fight. every opportunity I was putting the ear phones in and just taking all that mindset in.
next fight is set for September, sort my niggles out and do a little strength training thanks again
Rocci”
Eric: Awesome, thanks for sharing Rocci. Lots of golden lessons shared on how to mentally prepare for a fight.
If you want to develop the KILLER CONFIDENCE too, I suggest you check out the Renegade Mindset for Fighters program that Rocci swears by.
It’ll help minimize your pre-fight nerves and allow you to show your skills. Highly recommended for any fighters who want to have their best performances in the cage:
I recently got a Kobo ebook reader from this classifieds site called Kijiji. It’s the basic original version, not the one with Wi-Fi, which I actually wanted, because it won’t fry my nuts and kill all my little soldiers if I fall asleep with it on my lap.
Certified Nuts-Friendly. 🙂
The other reason I forsook (is that a word?) Wi-Fi for the communication-impaired version is because I don’t want to be distracted when I’m reading.
When I read, I read. That’s why people are shocked when I tell them I read 80-100 books each year.
When most people read, they’re eating, texting, checking email or even watching TV.
How the hell can you concentrate on your book if the anchorman is telling you how 2 people who live near you just got shot to death, Lady Rihanna is telling you how much of a hoe she is, and your buddy is texting you about how he banged some random drunk girl from the club last night?
Eric’sFar-From Authoritative‘Best Martial Arts Movies’ of All Time List
[If you have something important to do, don’t waste your time with this post. But if you’re looking to kill some time or procrastinate, dig right in!]
Let’s get one thing straight – I don’t claim to have good taste, be a movie critic, or even a movie buff. Hell I don’t even watch a lot of movies. But I knows what I likes so I’m going to share some of my favourite martial arts movies with you. Selfishly, I’m hoping you can share some of your fave flicks with me so I can better pass these rainy spring days.
So feel free to get all bent outta shape and rip into my choices if you want, “How dare you even CONSIDER The Matrix? That isn’t a martial arts movie – less than 10% of the actors are Oriental!? You’re a disgrace to the Chinese people.”
Or…
“Eric, How come Karate Kid 2010 isn’t on your best martial arts movies list? I thought you knew your shit?!? You are so st00pid. I hate you.”
Say whatever you want, I won’t take it personally. It’ll entertain me. Like I said, I knows what I likes.
"In West Philadelphia, born and raised, in the DOJO is where I spent most of my days"
So without further adieu, let’s get to my Best Martial Arts Movies of all time…
Best Martial Arts Movies – #5 – Rumble in the Bronx
Yes, Jackie Chan makes it on my list due to his combination of equal parts martial arts skills, creativity, humour and stunts. (I know I’ll get some flack for this one, but bring it on – Jackie is awesome). You can’t beat Jackie when he’s in a room full of furniture and he’s fighting 10+ enemies. His use of chairs, tables, belts, jackets, and whatever other object is in close proximity is unparalleled. But what really impresses me about him is his stunts. He directs all of his stunts and does many of them. In Rumble in the Bronx, he busted up his ankle and finished the film with a cast. Here are some outtakes of his stunts:
Best Martial Arts Movies – #4 – The Matrix Trilogy
I can’t remember which one of these is my favourite, but one of them stood out above the rest (maybe you can remind me?). Sure, Keanu Reeves isn’t a true martial artist, sure there are a lot of special effects, but that’s the whole point. If you want real martial arts, watch MMA. Movies are meant for fantasy and that’s where the Matrix shines.
Best Martial Arts Movies – #3 – Bloodsport
Of course Jean-Claude Van Damme made it on this list. I think this is what I watched at my first sleepover party at my best friend’s house in Grade 4. It blew me away. The splits, on CHAIRS?!? WTF? And Bolo – he inspired me to be able to learn to bounce my pecs.But I think my favourite character was the Monkey man. Oh how I wanted him to win. Alas, it was not meant to be:
Best Martial Arts Movies – #2 – Ong Bak
Tony Jaa is a bad motherf*&#*$. And the opening scene hyped me up like no other opening scene from a movie, except I kind of remember the opening scene from Apocalypto was pretty crazy, I’ll have to check it out again. Anyway Ong Bak was the first movie I saw showcasing Muay Thai and I loved the flying knees and elbows… although the Double Elbow from Kneeling Mount on a Standing Opponent (at 1:29) was a bit much.
The #1 Movie on Eric’s “Best Martial
Arts Movies of All Time” List
FIST OF LEGNED starring JET LI
Have you seen this one? By far my favourite on the list. Tons of quality fight scenes, the beginning of Matrix style flying around, the epic battle between Karate and Kung-Fu, Japan and China, and a Boss-General modeled after Street Fighter’s Bison that you loved seeing get beat up. If you haven’t seen it, you have to watch it ASAP. Just thinking about it has me pumped. I might have to watch it tonight. Here’s one of many, many good scenes that even showcases some Bruce Lee style fighting:
So that’s my list. What do you think? Am I an idiot?
Have I wasted your time? [If so – read this training post and feel better that you’ve educated yourself at least a bit today.]
The first cycle of the program has been awesome. I was skeptical at first because of how short the explosive strength days were, but I put complete focus on the exercises and have seen great results. I feel alot stronger and have gained a bit of muscle. I am 5’9″ 173 lbs and around 12% bf. My numbers are now at 280 bench, 350 squat, 350 deadlift, and 70 lb chinup. I really enjoy the weighted chinups they have really improved my pulling strength.
I have been busy with school this month so have not been able to train MMA yet in april but I will be starting backup this summer and will be throwing guys around left and right with my new strength. My core is also stronger than ever, and after the Ultimate MMA Strength and Conditioning Program I felt a large improvement in my stability during grappling, when I get full mount, I dont have to worry about them rolling me. As an exercise science major about to graduate and get my CSCS, I have learned so much from doing your programs…
The piece you wrote about a ripped physique as a side effect REALLY spoke alot to me as a professional and is something that I will use throughout my career. People spend endless hours in the gym with the goal of “looking good.” I spent 2 days a week in the gym with the goal of getting stronger and improving endurance as well as other aspects of performance, and putting on a bit of muscle and getting ripped as been a side effect and now it all makes sense to me. For example, the day that I started training core strength rather than doing “abs”, was the day that my midsection really saw a change. I will be graduating soon and getting out into the strength and conditioning world and have you to thank for a lot of knowledge of the MMA strength and conditioning game that I intend to get into. Also I hope to get my first fight this year and plan on complete domination and my strength and conditioning will not be a problem, so thanks.
-Trevor Ratzky University of Central Missouri”
Eric: Awesome job Trevor – because you’ve gone through the program, any athletes you train in the future are sure to benefit from your knowledge AND experience.
UFC 129 just went down in Toronto and it was a crazy night. I was there with my man Claude Patrick and he won his fight vs. Daniel Roberts via UD. Here’s the team in the locker room after his big W:
Claude Patrick with his team after his dominant UFC 129 victory vs. Daniel Roberts
After Claude’s fight I joined my fiancee, bro, sister and 6 friends in the stands to watch the rest of the card. The experience was unlike any UFC I’ve been to before, as a coach or a fan. 55,000 people can make a lot of noise!
My favourite moment of the night, second to Claude’s win, was Machida’s jumping front kick KO of Couture. I hate to see Couture end his career like that, but Machida’s kick was pure mastery, very reminscient of Anderson Silva’s front kick KO of Vitor Belfort.A lot of people have been hating on Steven Seagal since he’s been in the MMA spotlight, but there’s a reason guys like Silva and Machida have him around and it’s definitely not for his looks.
Steven Seagal giving Lyoto Machida pointers before his UFC 129 fight vs. Randy Couture
Now, onto today’s article…
Power is your ability to rapidly generate force.
The stronger you are, the greater your potential for power. Once you’ve got a good base level of strength, then you can focus on learning how to rapidly explode.
The Push Press is a great exercise for learning how to do this because if you’re slow, it turns into a Shoulder Press or Military Press, so you get a clear idea of how powerful you are.
Check the video for full details on how to execute this important technique for training MMA Power:
Learning to generate force with the lower body and transfer it through your arms is the key to developing explosive punches. While this exercise trains the vertical push pattern which isn’t as specific to punching, the neuromuscular timing is similar in terms of what muscles activate and in what sequence to properly execute this exercise.
Give it a shot and let me know what you think below!
Nutrition knowledge wasn’t very widespread in the 80’s and my mom was busy taking care of 5 kids, so I learned how to cook on my own.
Unfortunately, I cooked a lot of Mr. Noodles, Kraft Dinner, hot dogs, and for snacks, I’d always love getting my dirty little paws on some WAGON WHEELS.
Ever have ’em?
From what I remember, they were da bomb.
Well now that I’m grown up (in age, not necessarily actions), I’ve learned to forsake the wheels for something healthier…
You can never have too many weapons in your nutritional arsenal. That’s why I’m always looking out for and testing new recipes.
One of my latest tests has been for Mocha Snack Bites. They put wagon wheels to absolute shame.
Make these bad boys and you’ll want to eat the whole pan!
