Recently it was posted that Pakistani fighter Shah “No Pain” Hussain lost a decision in his recent Oct. 24th bout in the UK. After getting a chance to discuss the details of the fight in turns out that on Oct.24th along with a controversial Machida-Rua decision Hussain also suffered a controversial loss although it was quite different in detail from the Machida-Rua situation.

Turns out that Hussain lost on a technicality. The fight was ended during round two when Hussain was poked in the eye requiring medics to make an examination whereupon they deemed him unfit to fight because he could not see anymore.

Oddly enough despite being not able to continue, the judges scored the bout based on only one round. Because his opponent was ahead on points during the one completed round the fight was awarded to Hussain’s opponent.

Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan got a chance to talk to Hussain and got a blow by blow summary of the fight.

Round 1- “I attacked first with some heavy and snappy inside low kicks, Hamdan was looking to attack by constantly making out he was going for the shoot, but I knew he was doing so, so I would drop the hands and he could catch me with strikes. both of us were sizing each other out, and Hamdan caught me with a good left hook which immediately made my nose bleed, ref stopped fight to get the cut on my nose checked out by the medics, medics cleaned it up and gave the ok to carry on. strikes are landed from both of us and Hamdan goes down to an inside low kick, he claims to have been caught in the groin area, but I know it wasn’t that far deep, he falls to the floor claiming I have caught him in the groin area and gets some breathing time. He looked like he was gassed at that stage.”

Round 2- “Both of us are again sizing each other up at the start and again I go in with a round house kick followed by a high kick to which Hamdan blocks, I go for the shoot and take Hamdan down, in side control I control him well and keep a good strong base and punish him with strikes and hammer fists from side control. He reverses me, and from top headbutts me twice, my corner goes crazy and I look for the ref to make a statement, but the ref hasn’t seen it. I reverse him back and again strike from above. We both manage to scramble back stood up from the floor and I shoot and take him down once again but land with him on top, Hamdan throws elbows from above, (Ultimate Challenge UK- bar elbows from being used on the floor, due to fights getting stopped too early from the damage they cause) again ref doesn’t see as he is at different angle and I’m back in side control. From beneath me he tries to strike, but to no avail, as there is no power in his punches. He threw a few strikes and one of the strikes he came thumb first and then clinch a fist, too late as it caught me straight in the eye. I pull away in pain holding my eye and ref calls medics in, I cant keep my eye open and fight is stopped.

Obviously upset with the outcome Hussain summed up his feelings regarding the match

“I can deal with a loss no problem, but to have a loss like that, I just cant get over. As soon as I was back in my corner room, I demanded a re-match. I wont rest until I have that re-match. But for now i’m taking a week off as my left foot is swollen and I have swelling around the nose and eye area. Its back to training from next week onwards, and I cant wait for the next one…..
Just want to thank you all (Pakistani fans) and best wishes messages to Pak MMA – you guys are doing a great job!”

Tags: Amir Khan, Cage rage, Mixed martial arts karachi, Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan, MMA conditioning, MMA fighters UK, MMA Karachi, MMA Pakistan, MMA training, MMA Virginia, MMA workouts, Muay Thai camps in Thailand, Muay Thai training, NOVA MMA, Paddys Gym, pakistan, Pakistan Martial Arts, Pakistan Mixed Martial Arts, pakistan MMA Gyms, Pakistan Muay Thai, Pakistani Fighters, pakistani mma fighter, Shah "No, Shah Hussain MMA, Thailand, Thailand MMA camps, Thailand MMA Gyms, true bee gym, Ultimate Challenge UK, Ultimate Challenge UK Oct 24th

Capoeira is a striking art with origins as an Afro-Brazilian art form which combines elements of martial arts, music and dance. In the martial arts aspect of Capoeira, it focuses on striking particularly kicks accompanied by acrobatic movement. Similar to Muay-Thai and Indonesian Silat, Capoeira is accompanied by its traditional Afro-Brazilian music and is demonstrated in coordinance with the tempo of the music. Although almost non-existent in MMA, Capoeira has made its way in becoming a fully fledged sport.

There have been many theories about the styles that make up Capoeira, however one theory has been considered by many Capoeiristas that Capoeira may have been influenced by a ritual fight-dance called N’golo (the zebra dance) from Southern Angola, which was performed by people of southern Angola. Since the 1960s, the N’golo theory has become popular amongst some practitioners of Capoeira Angola, although it is not universally accepted.

Created by slaves brought to Brazil from Africa, during the colonial period, Capoeira is a martial art that grew from survival. People were brought from Angola, Congo and Mozambique, and with them, they brought their cultural traditions. They hid their martial art and traditions into a form of dance. The African people developed Capoeira not only to resist oppression, but also for the survival of their culture and the lifting of their spirits. After slavery, they continued to play Capoeira.

Capoeira was against the law for 20 years until 1918. The first Capoeira School ever to exist was that of Mestre Bimba. He was given permission to do so in 1937, after he demonstrated the art in front of President Getúlio Varga. Capoeira was finally recognized as a national sport.

The Jogo (game/match) in Capoeira is played in a Roda (the circle of people around the Capoeiristas), its circular shape is maintained to keep focus on the players and musicians and retain the energy created by the Capoeira game.

Capoeira does not focus on injuring the opponent. Rather, it emphasizes skill. Capoeiristas often prefer to show the movement without completing it, enforcing their superiority in the roda. If an opponent cannot dodge a slow attack, there is no reason to use a faster one. Each attack that comes in gives players a chance to practice an evasive technique.

There are two main styles of Capoeira that are clearly distinct. One is called Angola, which is characterized by slow, low play with particular attention to the rituals and tradition of Capoeira. The other style is Regional, known for its fluid acrobatic play, where technique and strategy are the key points. Both styles are marked by the use of feints and subterfuge, and use groundwork extensively, as well as sweeps, kicks, and head butts

The actual object of the game is different according to what style of Capoeira you are playing.

In Capoeira Regional the object is to try and floor your opponent. But still you do not actually floor him or her. You just show how you might be able to the moment you find an opening.

For Capoeira Angola the object is to try and hit your opponent in the face. That is why in general the arms are held up higher in Capoeira Angola to protect the face. Again, the object is not to actually hit your opponent but to show where you might be able to. Angola is played mostly close to the ground.

Yet having very little to do with MMA, Capoeiristas have managed to involve Capoeira in MMA competitions yet some have succeeded and some have not but still it proved that Capoeira is not useless in MMA and one can benefit from it with the right combination of styles.

Notable Capoeira practitioners in MMA:

* Elvis Sinosic
* Marcus Aurélio
* Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons
* André Machado Gusmão

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Aikido is a Japanese martial art which primary focuses on grappling. Aikido is performed by blending the motion of the attacker and re-addressing the force exerted by him rather than defending it head-on. The defender uses the momentum of the attacker against him by entering and turning movements and finishes with throws or joint locks. It is ranked among one of the best Japanese grappling arts.

Basically Aikido is a combination of throws, joint locks and some striking. Although being a defensive martial art, most of the striking moves of Aikido are used only to prepare students to defend them and are not particularly a part of the normal training regime.

Aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba, who primarily developed it in the 1920’s through the 1930’s by blending the elements of the traditional martial arts he had learned. The core styles from which Aikido derived from are Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu, Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū and Judo. All these styles were studied and mastered by Ueshiba from 1901 to 1911. A major influence on the development of Aikido was the religious influence of Ōmoto-kyō, a religion whose philosophy of extending love and compassion especially to those who seek to harm others made Aikido what it is today. Aikido demonstrates this philosophy in its emphasis on mastering martial arts so that one may receive an attack and harmlessly redirect it. In an ideal resolution, not only is the receiver unharmed, but so is the attacker.

Since it was just developed as a means of defence and originated from styles which did not have formal competitions, thus Aikido never made its way to competition status and was just used as a means of self defence or part of combinations in combat sport. However some forms of Aikido do carry out competitions but these are just conducted for the sole purpose of testing the students and studying their weaknesses and nothing else.

Like most Japanese martial arts, Aikido involves both mental and physical training. The physical training of Aikido is quite distinct as it covers both the physical fitness and the conditioning of the practitioner. The students are taught to execute and absorb rolls and throws safely as a large portion of the training consists of throws and take-downs, after that the student is allowed to spar freely against different opponents; sometimes more than one and even accompanied by weapons. In addition to that, the physical exercise also involves stretching and weight lifting as it helps the student’s flexibility and helps in the movements of all muscles.

The katas (forms) of Aikido involve two practitioners in which the receiver, who initiates an attack against the person who applies technique to reverse and neutralises the attack by Aikido technique.

Whereas most schools of martial arts take either the side of largely defensive or mostly offensive, aikido straddles a fine line in between these two schools. This form of martial art actually considers the protection of both the defender and the attacker, following under the general guidelines of conflict resolution as opposed to dominance. It more closely resembles a transfer of control than an affirmation or exercise in power. Because of this, this art deserves a closer look as its fundamentals hold the potential for far reaching applications.

Aikido may not involve brutal force, but it still necessitates a great deal of training and preparation in order to reach a mastery level; and to avoid injuring oneself in the process. And even at these senior levels, older students may argue the legitimacy of certain levels of mastery as different influences have created several different corollary methods. However, the overall principle remains true to the core.

Although it has been found that Aikido has a very low significance in MMA but some Mixed Martial Artists have applied Aikido as one of their styles and have succeeded in doing so, namely

* Sumin Yune
* Greg Jackson (Notable MMA trainer)
* Jason DeLucia
* Jacky Steele

Aikido is quite popular in Pakistan and authentic Aikido dojos can be found all over the country. For information about Aikido dojos in the country visit:

http://www.aikido-world.com/dir-dojos/pakistan.htm

Kickboxing, obvious by its name refers to the sport of combining the skills of old-school boxing with kicking. The rules of kickboxing matches are similar to those of boxing and Muay Thai. Kickboxing is one of the most successful styles in MMA as far as striking is concerned, along with Muay Thai, Karate, Kenpo etc.

In December 1959, a Muay Thai was held at a town hall in Japan. Tatsuo Yamada who established “Nihon Kempo Karate-do” was interested in learning Muay Thai because he one day hoped to perform full contact Karate matches, which was prohibited at that time in Karate competitions. He already had plans to establish and industrialize a new sport which would be based on full contact combat and had thus initially named the sport “Karate-Boxing”. Yamada invited a Thai fighter who was also a Muay Thai champion and started learning and studying Muay Thai, at this time a prominent boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi (who was also interested in Muay Thai) also took the fighter. There were “Karate Vs Muay Thai fights” in 1963 and three Karate fighters from the Oyama Dojo, Japan went to the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand and faught against three Muay Thai fighters, Japan won by 2-1.

Noguchi studied Muay Thai and later developed a hybrid martial art which was later named “Kick-Boxing”. Initially throwing and head butting were allowed to distinguish it from Muay Thai, however this was later repealed.

Kickboxing boomed and became popular in Japan and started to be broadcast on TV, Tadashi Sawamura was an early kick boxer who became very popular and is considered to be the first kick boxer in the world.

Different forms/styles of Kickboxing include:

* Adithada (Indian boxing) – A form of kickboxing that uses knee, elbow and forehead strikes.
* Lethwei (Burmese boxing) – Traditional Burmese martial arts of which has now grown into a popular kickboxing event with strong emphasis on knee, elbow strikes and headbutt. Any part of the body may be used to strike and be struck. It is also known as Bando kickboxing.
* Pradal Serey (Khmer “Cambodian” kickboxing) – Possible predecessor of Muay Thai with an emphasis on elbow techniques.
* Gwon-gyokdo (Korean kickboxing) – That is a mix between Muay Thai and Tae Kwon Do.
* Muay Thai (Thai boxing) – Traditional Thai martial art of which has now grown into a popular kickboxing event with strong emphasis on knee and elbow strikes.
* Muay Boran (Ancient boxing) – Predecessor of Muay Thai, allows the use of headbutts.
* Japanese kickboxing – Similar to Muay Thai, but different point system is taken. The first fighting style to adopt the name of “Kickboxing”.
* American kickboxing – Similar to Japanese kickboxing but not allowed to kick below the waist.
* Savate (French boxing) – Allows the use of shoes.
* Sanshou/Sanda (Chinese boxing) – The applicable component of wushu/kung fu of which takedowns and throws are legal in competition as well as all other sorts of striking (use of arms and legs).
* Shoot boxing – A Japanese form of kickboxing which allows throwing and submission while standing, similar to Sanshou.
* Yaw-Yan (Filipino kickboxing) – Sayaw ng Kamatayan (Dance of Death) is the proper name for Yaw-Yan, a Filipino martial art developed by Napoleon Fernandez. The art resembles Muay Thai in a sense, but differs in the hip torquing motion as well as downward-cutting of its kicks.
* Draka (Russian kickboxing) – Similar to shootboxing, using kickboxing techniques with sambo throws and takedowns.
* Zen Do Kai Kickboxing Singapore – Founded by Peter A. Robertson, developed from Australian Soke Bob Jones Zen Do Kai Freestyle Martial Arts, a combination of Goju Ryu, Shotokan Karate and Muay Thai.

There are many additional derivatives of these forms, as well as combined styles which have been used in specific competitions.

In 1993 Kazuyoshi Ishii produced K-1 under special kickboxing rules (no elbow and neck wrestling), due to K-1 kickboxing becam famous all over the world and so far as spread all over through Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Noteable Kickboxers in MMA:

o Chuck Liddell
o Mirko Filipović
o Jess Liaudin
o Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
o Cheick Kongo
o Scott Lighty
o Bob Sapp
o Bas Rutten

Boxing is a striking art. Boxing, along with wrestling is the oldest form of combat sport in history. There are Egyptian paintings depicting boxing scenes and boxing was introduced into the Greek Olympics in 688 B.C.

Boxing is typically used to describe a combat sport where two participants fight each other with their fists. Strikes below the waist are not allowed. A fight can be ended by knocking the opponent unconscious (KO), injuring an opponent to the point where he cannot continue anymore as deemed by his corner, referee or himself (TKO) and via judges decision based on points accumulated.

Professional boxers, like other combat sport athletes are known for their tough training regimen. Road work, or long distance running along with shadow boxing and bag work are what a boxer spends most of his time on. Pad work with a trainer and full contact sparring are also hallmarks of boxing. Other conditioning exercises used by boxers are known at floor work and consist of sit ups, medicine ball exercises and push ups. A strong core is heavily stressed by boxing trainers to absorb blows to the body and because the rotational power required in punches is generated from the core.

The first part of this video shows how boxing ranks next to other more traditional Martial Arts.

Boxing is often referred to as the “sweet science” due to the importance of technique in throwing punches and moving defensively. Boxes are recorded to have the strongest strike of any martial art or combat sport. This is due to the fact that boxers are taught to punch using their body and not their arms, the physics behind a boxers punch is to summon the maximum amount of ones bodyweight into each strike. In regards to defensive techniques boxing footwork and head movement requires years of practice to master. Bruce Lee incorporated many aspects of boxing into his Jeet Kune Do system.

To understand both punching power and perfect defensive movement watch this video of Mike Tyson training.

Most MMA fighters nowadays focus on boxing as their striking skill set. Although kicks can pay dividends in an MMA fight, the act of kicking leaves one vulnerable to getting taken down and so most strikes seen in MMA are fist strikes. Also, because of the small gloves used in MMA knockouts are far easier to achieve than in boxing fights where there is far more padding on gloves, so it is in the MMA fighters interest to utilize punches.

Some MMA fighters known for their pure boxing skills are Andre Arlovski and Marcus Davis. Andre Arlovski trains with hall of fame boxing instructor Freddie Roach and Marcus Davis was a pro boxer before competing in MMA.

Although boxing is considered a sport it must be remembered that it is a martial sport and should be viewed in the same category as other arts and sports such as Judo, Sambo and Muay Thai to name a few.

Pakistan has a growing boxing scene and is currently going up in the ranks in world competitions. A famous boxer of Pakistani origin is Amir Khan who won the silver medal in the olympics. He is also coached by Freddie Roach and is currently a world champion.

Tags: Boxers in MMA, Boxing for MMA, Lahore karate, Mike Tyson MMA, Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan, MMA clubs Pakistan, MMA conditioning, MMA fighters UK, MMA Karachi, MMA Lahore, MMA Pakistan, MMA training, MMA Virginia, MMA workouts, Muay Thai, Muay Thai camps in Thailand, NOVA MMA, Paki, Pakistan Martial Arts, Pakistan Mixed Martial Arts, pakistan MMA Gyms, Pakistan Muay Thai, Pakistani Fighters, Pakistani MMA, Thailand MMA Gyms, Thailand training journal, Training Muay Thai in Thailand, Ultimate Challenge UK

Pakistani fighter Shah “No Pain” Hussain loses a decision to Abdullah Hamden at Ultimate Challenge UK on October 24th.

Pakistani fans show your support to this warrior who gets in the cage with his heritage in his heart!

Support Pakistani Mixed Martial Arts and support its fighters!

Sometimes known as Indian Wrestling or Pehlwani this form of wrestling dates from the 5th century B.C. Although indigenous to South Asia this form of grappling is thought to be originally influenced by Persian wrestling styles. In Pakistan, Kushti teachers are known as Ustads and in India (specifically amongst the Hindus) they are known as Guru’s.

The focus of Kushti as is common in other forms of wrestling is to pin both of your opponents shoulders to the ground. In practical terms, this pinning of your opponent exhibits positional dominance. So if one were to view Kushti training in terms of self defense or MMA competition, Kushti teaches the player take away your opponents striking weapons by closing the distance and bring him to the ground where he can be helplessly pinned and vulnerable to strikes from a dominant top position whereupon the only option for the pinned opponent is to escape from the bottom or be knocked unconscious.

Strength exercises are very important in Kushti. traditional exercises involve the use of large stones stone rings and clubs known as “joris.” Body weight exercises are also commonly used the two most important being the push up and the squat known as the Dand and Baitak respectively. These two exercises are done for hundreds of repetitions and form the foundation of the Kushti wrestlers training regime. Another popular strength building exercise is rope climbing which is essential in building the pulling strength required in Kushti wrestling.

Here is a short video showing some of the particular training methods to Kushti wrestling.

The training area in kushti is known as an Akhara and training sessions in traditional camps are typically 4-6 hours per day. Traditional wrestlers typically live and eat at the camp. A very strict diet is emphasized with certain foods being encouraged for their strength building properties, namely, milk, almonds and ghee. Spiced food as well as tobacco and alcohol is highly discouraged.

Kushti wrestlers have had a history of success competing in the Olympics and and in commercial bouts in the west. Many modern wrestling experts inclduing the renowned Karl Gotch have traveled to South Asia to learn Kushti techniques and train methods. Indeed many modern forms of wrestling such as shoot fighting and catch wrestling borrow throws and submissions from Kushti.

Here is a video with Kushti in action. As is common the use of a dhol (south asian drum) accompaniment is used similar to the use of music during Muay Thai bouts.

Here is another short documentary about life in a Kushti camp. Other than Muay Thai, Kushti is the only martial art with extremely rigorous workloads and gritty surroundings where fighters lives revolve around their sport.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcXUwGE2je8

And to finish off with on a lighter note, a somewhat humorous video of a Englishman in Lahore trying out Kushti.

Tags: Akhara, Cage rage, Indian wrestling, Kushti, Lahore karate, Mixed martial arts karachi, Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan, MMA clubs Pakistan, MMA conditioning, MMA fighters UK, MMA Karachi, MMA Lahore, MMA Pakistan, MMA training, Pakistan Mixed Martial Arts, Pakistan MMA, pakistan MMA Gyms, Pakistan Muay Thai, Pakistani MMA, Pehlwan, Pehlwani, Thailand MMA, Thailand MMA camps, Thailand MMA Gyms, Thailand Muay Thai, Wrestling lahore

Every few days we get emails from individuals asking “what can I do?” or posts on our face page asking if there is a training center in such and such city. So for everyone who is interested in bringing MMA into the sport scene I have made a list of what you can do to help out.

1. Hold a fight night

UFC events air live on Show Sports 4. Invite your friends, have snacks and just sit back and enjoy the fights. Simple easy and fun. If you don’t want to get up at 8 am, then download the fights burn them and watch them later that night.

2. Promote the website

Spread the word about the website through internet forums and word of mouth. For those with even a bit of knowledge about MMA, knowing that there is something going on to bring it to Pakistan may set the convert them from casual to die hard fans. For those already training at a school tell your instructor about the website. Remember we are here to promote ALL martial arts. Tell your instructor what a great business move it would be to be profiled on the most viewed site regarding Martial Arts in Pakistan.

3. Bug your local Martial Artists

Call up or visit your local Martial Arts school and ask them if they offer MMA classes. Ask your friends to do the same. Hopefully after seeing that there exists a demand, local martial artists will start looking into what MMA is and offer classes.

The problem of course will lie in the quality of classes, but we all have to start somewhere and because MMA is a competitive sport, charlatans claiming to teach MMA but have no idea what they are doing will be exposed. MMA by its very nature will provide an evolution.

This being said remember ALL arts can provide the tools needed to fight in MMA competition. Remember, MMA IS NOT A STYLE, it is a competitive format but in order to be successful in MMA competition you must master all ranges of combat. Once Pakistani Martial Artists get that part then the Judo instructor will also add in some strikes to make his Judo more effective and the TKD instructor will start teaching take down defense to make his TKD more effective etc etc.

4. Write for the website

The more articles that the Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan website has the more often it will turn up in search results and hence the more exposure the site will get.

We are accepting articles on a whole range of topics. here are some ideas.

- You can go to a local Martial Arts club or boxing gym and do a review

- You can write about a style your interested in

- You can write about some aspect of Martial Philosophy

- You can write about a current event or tournament relevant to Martial Arts or boxing in Pakistan.

- You can write about a certain aspect of physical fitness or diet or include a workout program

The topics are endless. The only criteria being that any entry submitted should be at a certain standard. Articles written as if they are a text message are a no go. Send any articles to info@pak-mma.com.

5. Give DVD’s to your local DVD shop or demand MMA DVD’s

Go to your local DVD shop and ask if they have the latest UFC. When they say they don’t, ask them why the heck not, it’s one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Hopefully the DVD owner will look into stocking MMA DVD’s.

You can also burn them a copy and give it to them so they understand what your talking about.

6. Start your own club

This is probably the best thing you can do to promote MMA in Pakistan. As long as you have an internet connection and a love for the sport of MMA this is possible. You do not have to have a black belt to get some friends together and practice techniques that you get from this website (we’ll be including many of them soon) or off of the thousands of instructional clips available on youtube.

Even better, get videos and pics of you training along with an address of where you train at with times and you can become affiliated with MMA Pakistan. What that means is that your local club (even if it is 2-3 friends) will get listed on the website, get mentioned regularly on the fan page and will receive promo items from MMA Pakistan.

As the website and organization further develops we will have instructor courses available where you can come get certified.

This is not only a chance to do something you love, promote MMA in Pakistan but opens the possibility of having an extra source of income if you start getting a large enough class to warrant a proper school.

7. Send us your training pics and videos

If you are already a member of a club send us videos and pictures of you training. If you want to give back to the clubs that have taught you martial arts what better way then putting them out there and getting recognized.

These are just 7 ideas. There is plenty more you can do. it’s up to all us to work together to get MMA Pakistan off the ground. With some patience and teamwork there is no end to the success MMA Pakistan can have.

Tags: Lahore karate, Mixed martial arts karachi, Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan, MMA clubs Pakistan, MMA conditioning, MMA fighters UK, MMA Karachi, MMA Lahore, MMA Pakistan, MMA training, MMA Virginia, MMA workouts, Muay Thai, Muay Thai camps in Thailand, Muay Thai training, NOVA MMA, Paddys Gym, pakistan, Pakistan Martial Arts, Pakistan Mixed Martial Arts, Pakistan MMA, pakistan MMA Gyms, Pakistan Muay Thai, Pakistani Fighters, Thailand, Thailand MMA camps, Thailand MMA Gyms, true bee gym, Ultimate Challenge UK

Judo (meaning “gentle way” or “gentleness”) is a modern martial arts form originated in Japan by Jigoro Kano. It all started when Kano, as a teenager started Japanese Jujutsu but due to lack of teachers he found little success in it and later went on to learn Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū but a few years later after he started his master grew ill and died, after that Kano went on to learn Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū from another master. However both of his experiences were different from each other as his first master emphasized on free practice and formal exercises, whereas his second master emphasized on pre-arranged forms or (katas). Through dedication Kano soon received the status of master instructor. Unfortunately his second master took ill and Kano feeling that he still had very much to learn started Kitō-ryū which emphasizes on throwing techniques.

By this time Kano had developed many new techniques by combining all the forms he knew and started teaching them to 9 students from his master’s school at a Buddhist temple. This marked the birthplace of Judo and thus it started to grow and evolve. Judo was originally known as Kano Jiu-Jitsu or Kano Jiu-Do, and later as Kodokan Jiu-Do or simply Jiu-Do or Judo. In the early days, it was also still referred to generically simply as Jiu-Jitsu.

Much like modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Sambo, Judo also focuses on grappling, in fact both of the aforementioned styles are derivatives of Judo. While Judo includes a variety of throws, rolls, falls, throw downs, locks, chokes and strikes but it mainly focuses on groundwork and throwing. All techniques of Judo are divided in categories, for example Standing techniques are divided into two main categories Standing techniques and Sacrifice Techniques both these categories are divided into 4 more subcategories and so does each other technique of Judo.

In Judo sparring (randori) half of the time is spent sparring standing up (tachi-waza) and half the time on the ground (ne-waza).In sparring both the opponents may attack each other with Judo throws and/or grappling techniques. Striking techniques along with weapon techniques are reserved in the form but are prohibited from normal sparring. Sparring (randori) is considered much more effective than just regular practice of specific techniques as it develops strategies and reaction time and helps the practitioner get mentally prepared to face a resisting opponent. There are many different styles of randoris but the two styles most commonly and widely used are

• ju renshu (both judoka attack in a very gentle way where no resistance is applied)
• kakari geiko (only one judoka attacks while the other one relies solely on defensive and evasive techniques, but without the use of sheer strength.)

A common saying among judoka (judo practitioner) is:

“The best training for judo is judo.”

Kano Jigoro’s Kodokan Judo is the most popular and well-known style of judo, but is not the only one. The terms judo and jujutsu were quite interchangeable in the early years, so some of these forms of judo are still known as jujutsu or jiu-jitsu either for that reason, or simply to differentiate them from mainstream judo. From Kano’s original style of judo, several related forms have evolved—some now widely considered to be distinct arts:

Olympic Judo: This is the predominant form of Kodokan judo.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Mitsuyo Maeda introduced judo to Brazil in 1914. Maeda taught judo to Carlos Gracie (1902–1994) and others in Brazil. Gracie named their development of Judo ‘Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’ in honor of the fact that in Japan and Brazil at that time, Judo was also known as ‘Kano Jiu-Jitsu’. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, considering itself independent of Judo, did not follow later changes in international Judo rules that were added to emphasize the standing phase of the fight, nor those rules that were introduced to ban the more dangerous techniques.

Judo-do: In Austria, Julius Fleck and others developed a system of throwing intended to extend Judo that they called “judo-do”.

Kawaishi-ryū jujutsu: Teaching in France, Mikonosuke Kawaishi developed Kawaishi-ryū jujutsu as an alternative approach to instruction that continued to teach many techniques banned in modern Olympic/Kodokan Judo competition.

Kosen Judo: As a sub-style of Kodokan Judo that became popularised in early 20th century Japanese inter-scholastic competition, Kosen style has the same range of techniques but greater latitude is permitted for ground technique. This style of Judo—arguably, like BJJ—is closer to the original early 1900s Judo than current Olympic Judo is.

Russian Judo: This distinctive style of Judo was influenced by Sambo. It is represented by well-known coaches such as Alexander Retuinskih and Igor Yakimov, and mixed martial arts fighters such as Igor Zinoviev, Fedor Emelianenko and Karo Parisyan. In turn, Russian Judo has influenced mainstream judo, with techniques such as the flying armbar being accepted into Kodokan Judo.

Sambo (especially Sport Sambo): Vasili Oshchepkov was the first European judo black belt under Kano. Oshchepkov went on to create Sambo partly from judo’s influence, integrating native Russian wrestling and other combative techniques into his new system. Oshchepkov died during the political purges of 1937 for refusing to deny his education and dan-rank in Japanese Judo under Kano.[citation needed] In their History of Sambo, Brett Jacques and Scott Anderson wrote that in Russia “judo and SOMBO were considered to be the same thing”—albeit with a different uniform and some differences in the rules

Notable Judo Practitioners:

• Fedor Emelianenko (Strikeforce)
• Karo Parisyan (UFC)
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By Ali Naseer

Tags: Best UK MMA, Brock Lesnar, Cage rage, Judo, Judo club Pakistan, Judo for fighting, Judo for MMA, Judo in pakistan, Judo lahore, Judo London, Judo pakistan, Judo UK, Karachi Judo, Karachi MMA, Lahore karate, Mixed martial arts karachi, Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan, MMA training, MMA workouts, Muay Thai camps in Thailand, No gi Judo, NOVA MMA, Pakistan MMA, Thailand MMA camps

Today I was lucky enough to spend 3 hours getting taught by some very high level BJJ players at a seminar at Synergy MMA in Dulles Virginia.

Leading the seminar was Tony Passos and Vicente Jr. both black belts under Ricardo De La Riva, De La Riva being considered one of the most technical Jiu Jitsu players in the games young history. It is he who (obviously) invented what is known as the De la Riva guard, which is an open guard style where one leg is wrapped around the opponents thigh with the foot hooking the leg.  Also instructing the seminar was Jake Mackenzie a brown belt under Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu. Jake is Canadian but spends half of his year training in Brazil where he is an instructor and sparring partner for Professional MMA fighters.

It was the one year anniversary of Synergy MMA academy and so the seminar was more like a day long party. Not that the quality of instruction was lacking but because there was food and a general celebratory atmosphere going on with lots of picture taking etc. The seminar itself which was 3 hours long was all business and and two sweeps which I really liked and intend to add to my jiu jitsu game were taught as well a collar choke from the guard.

The last hour of class consisted to “rolling” as free sparring is known in BJJ circles. Despite the mat being crowded due to there being close to 50 students attended the seminar, I had some good rolls where I tried to use the techniques I learned from the seminar only to face the realization that learning moves in BJJ takes some time .

After the BJJ seminar the Muay Thai class led by Instructor Matt Nielsen, a 14 year veteran of martial arts and regular visitor to Thailand put on a demo for those attending the open house. The demo was informal and showcased the students skills with a 45 minute sparring session.

Ranger wrestling, a youth wrestling program and Tony Quinn a boxing coach from Georgetown University with over 20 years experience also held class demos in which anyone was free to participate. I was worn out from the Muay Thai so I took a break and missed the wrestling class which was mostly teens and kids but did attend the boxing demo. I am very keen on learning pure traditional boxing. I have some experience from Muay Thai but it is not the same or as in depth as you would get from a pure western boxing coach. The instructor Tony Quinn was very knowledgeable and also quite a showman and the hour long class went by very quickly. Half of those attending came from the Muay Thai class, and I tihnk every one of them really enjoyed the demo and learned some great fundamentals from them.

Alongside the demos, former Redskin Eddie Mason conducted private sessions and also had an open house. Eddie Mason runs his MASE training i conjunction with Synergy MMA and does private coaching, group lessons along with specialized training for professional athletes. Highly technical fitness equipment (the kind you see on UFC All Access) is crammed into all corners. Luckily there was enough room for BBQ .

Synergy MMA is located in Dulles Virginia. It’s relatively young (obviously because today was the year anniversary) and the focus is on quality instruction. I have gone to some gyms in the NOVA area where the school will put in a mediocre instructor just to pull in the students with no requirement on setting a standard but Synergy MMA shows that steady progress and quality instructors are gonna lead this academy to top of the NOVA MMA food chain.

Tags: BJJ NOVA, BJJ Virginia, De La Riva, De La Riva Guard, MMA gyms in NOVA, MMA Virginia, NOVA MMA, Open Guard, Ricardo De La Riva, Synergy MMA, Tony Passos