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MARTIAL POWER - How to Get it! |
 In a quest to find answers to questions that most people will come across during the course of their study of the martial arts, I am always on the lookout for people that have both the experience and the ability to give others GOOD advice. Knowledge and experience combined are always in short supply, especially when it comes to martial arts as most people that take up martial arts generally tend to stop any other sporting hobby once they discover the many benefits that martial arts has to offer. However, I recently received a totally unsolicited e-mail (from Gavin & Phil) that offered to submit an article on the subject of gaining strength and power without taking any supplements. Intrigued, I replied asking to see a sample of their work, which they duly submitted. Before reading the piece they sent in, here's a little background on the two guys concerned;
Gavin has been a practicing martial artist for nearly 20 years, a Dan grade, puncher, kicker and grappler. Phil has nearly 25 years of experience in lifting weights, many of these years have been unproductive and injury filled. He is currently training to compete in drug free power lifting.
Gavin will tell you he is not a gifted martial artist and Phil will tell you he is not a gifted weightlifter. Both men work full time and have busy family lives but decided to undertake an experiment in basic barbell weight training to make Gavin better on the mat and Phil better under the bar.. Within weeks they had both gained significant strength and improved the weight they were lifting. Gavin was amazed at his increase in power and how easily it could be applied to his martial arts, which dispelled many preconceptions he had about lifting weights and getting stronger. Phil was amazed that something so simple, that he learned so long ago, was as effective as it was and he continues to lift more weight than ever before each month...
Read more in Combat magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
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TYSON & LIDDELL - Differing but inevitable endings |
 3:00am 19th April: I settle down with a glass of red wine and prepare to watch Chuck Liddell get knocked out. I'm not being clever after the event or pretending that I can predict sporting occasions with extreme accuracy. I just knew that this was how Chuck's final hours were going to play out.
There is a sad inevitability to the endings of great fighters' careers. More than with any other sport, fighters seem incapable of recognising the signs of their own decay.
Past glories are mentally relived and defeats conveniently banished from their mind. Slowing reflexes and knockout defeats are blamed upon poor training camps or previously unmentioned 'injuries' and trainers are replaced with increasing regularity, as the fighter seeks to explain away - to himself, perhaps? - the erosion of his once-formidable skills.
Chuck retained the services of his long-time coach and mentor John Hackleman but he added the boxing savvy of Howard Davis, in an effort to correct 'his hands dropping too low' when he punched and leaving himself vulnerable to the counter. He should simply have spent longer watching the video of his recent decline and seen what most of us had already accepted: The feared 'Iceman' had long departed. In his place stood Charles Liddell.
Setanta's been pretty consistent in providing me with the demises of my favourite combatants. In June 2005 - long before it had purchased the rights to air the UFC - Setanta had shown Mike Tyson's last contest; the embarrassing surrender against the journeyman Kevin McBride.
At least Liddell had gone down against a quality foe in Mauricio Rua. 'Iron' Mike sat on the floor, looking forlornly upwards at a man who wouldn't have been considered as a sparring partner in Tyson's previous incarnation as 'Kid Dynamite' and simply refused to continue.
As with Liddell though, it had been a long time since 'Iron' Mike had pulled on the gloves. It was the bankrupt Michael Gerard Tyson who reluctantly ducked between the ropes one final time. But here, at least, we have the main difference between Tyson and Liddell.
Chuck's fire still burned fiercely within his enormous frame. He still trained with fearsome intensity and believed that his crunching power would still be able to knock dangerous men senseless. He was still a fighter. Tyson had long ago lost the desire to train. A succession of 'name' trainers had shouted, pleaded, prodded and cajoled but with no more success than their predecessors. Mike simply didn't enjoy the process of putting his body through extremes of pain and exhaustion anymore. He skipped sessions rather than rope; hit the bars and strip-clubs more than the punch bags; ducked his responsibilities to his fans more than he ducked sparring partners' punches.
I knew Mike was finished when I saw his humbling at the hands of Lennox Lewis. I knew Chuck was finished when I saw Rampage Jackson handle him with ease...
Read more in Combat magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
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FIGHT QUEST - What's All The Fuss About! |
 What follows is the transcript of a conference call with Jim & Doug who will be hosting the new TV series Fight Quest. I believe they were roomed into yet another hotel in Singapore and although tired from their epic journey were very upbeat and an absolute pleasure to talk to. The show promises to be a fascinating insight into what it's like to travel around the globe studying the multiplicity of techniques and ideas that lie behind the term 'The Martial Arts'
At the end of each episode both Doug and Jim must test themselves in competition against a student. The training is tough and uncompromising and Doug and Jim gain insights into not just the physical aspects of the arts but also a greater understanding of the more esoteric and spiritual face of their Fight Quest.
Although the conversation was moving between the two presenters and my self, (as it does on a conference call,) I have kept the narrative loose and free flowing. Many of the topics discussed were directed towards specific martial arts and we will list them accordingly as the questions were asked.
PHILIPPINES - KALI
In this episode Jim was sent to a downtown Dojo for training whilst Doug was, quite literally, sent into the wilderness. "It was very obvious that the Philippinos trained in Kali in a very pragmatic way." says Doug. "After all, it is true to say that they use it in both the Police and the Armed Forces. The Teacher that I was training with was over 73 years old and in his lifetime had decapitated a man! He was training Police, Soldiers and Marines and for them the system had to work! They were after all fighting terrorists and serious criminals every day. In fact I would say it was quite intimidating being up against a guy, in training, knowing that he had probably used what he was teaching in a real, "life or death" situation. There really is no compromise with these guys! They really don't think about Kali as a Game... it's real!"
Doug was sent off into the mountains to train in an idyllic setting. "I was training up in the mountains" Doug says, " yeah Jimmy was stuck in the heart of one of the grimiest cities I have ever seen and I was well away from that. It was serene, that's the word to describe it. I was stationed in a normal military training camp in the midst of the jungle. I would wake in the mornings to the sound of the jungle. Birdsong, animal sounds and a waterfall in the distance. Beautiful but that doesn't mean the training was not hard though... it was!
When I arrived at the camp I was told I was going to be involved in some kind of initiation ceremony. So I thought... great! Some type of training drill... We went up to the top of this hill to perform it. Imagine my surprise when the guys said I had to sacrifice a chicken! I'm from New Jersey! The only chicken I've seen is in a supermarket. I've Never ever had to kill one! They then placed me on a table and... well watch the programme to find out what happened next!..."
Read more in Combat magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
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