UFC 104 - Machida vs. Rua

ADAMS CURRENT PICKS: 50% Correct

Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua - MACHIDA

Have you ever seen Invincible with Bruce Willis? Great movie. There’s a villain known as “Mr. Glass” that has really week bones. Shogun is the Mr. Glass of MMA. He’s blown out his knee twice and snapped his arm once. That’s a lot of injury and I think it’s messed with his training and career.

This is an interesting matchup and not a ‘runaway’, but I’m definitely going with Machida on this one.

The one thing that worries me about Machida’s technique is that often, when he’s in tight, in his allusiveness he looks away or down, away from the punches and that’s when a fighter can get surprised.

Everyone’s seen what odd angles can do to a fighter with Machida and Shogun actually brings a lot of this to the game as well. Whenever I’ve watched him (or his brother Ninja) I’ve always found them to be very sloppy, though a great kickboxers. Even when I watched the Chute Box instructional with Shogun and Ninja I was surprised that, even while throwing combos in slow motion to illustrate their techniques, that they didn’t have good balance and looked sloppy. All of this smack talk about the ‘slop’ isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Often when someone new to fighting spars against me, they often catch me with some stuff because there kicks and punches don’t look like everyone else and that can surprise you. Their lack of technique also results in a lack of power but the Chute Boxe guys have power.

Shogun has also appears to have finally turned back into a top fighter since the demise of the Japanese PRIDE promotion. When almost all (particularly the Brazilians) came back from fighting in Japan where “vitamins” (that’s code for steroids) are a way of life their abilities mysteriously dropped off a cliff. These “vitamins” are tested over here and you could see a change immediately when they came over to compete in America.

Notable fighters that showed this include: Shogun Rua, Ninja Rua, Wanderlie Silva, Big Nog, and Cro-Cop to name a few.

I remember being so impressed with the Rua brothers back in the day in particular because they would just punch, punch, punch, punch and keep punching for the whole fight and never got tired. They would strike on their feet, strike in the clinch, strike in the guard and they were relentless. When they first crossed over from PRIDE they gassed out immediately and haven’t been the same fighters since.

SO! Long story short, Rua could surprise everyone but I think he doesn’t have the skills to pull off a win. Machida is not only un-orthodox in his striking (as is Rua) but he is VERY illusive which is something Rua lacks. Rua’s chance is if something happens early but all advantages go to Machida, including the 5 round fight.

(Was he in the Goonies? It looks like he's doing the truffle-shuffle)

Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell - ROTHWELL

This is a tough one. I was really impressed when Cain took a giant shot from Kongo and, after letting his back-bone slide, attacked and got a take-down and took the win.

I also really like Rothwell. When Andrei Arlovski was let go from the UFC and went to fight for Affliction everyone saw the best Andrei fight against Ben and Ben took the fight to Andrie until he got TKO`d in the third round. It was a great fight and Andrei’s performance was so good that he was given a huge standing ovation after his fight with Ben, which surprised the hell out of me. Ben’s also defeated a fat Ricco Rodriguez (former UFC Champion) and I think he’ll take this fight.

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs. Spencer “The King” Fisher - FISHER

I’ve found Joe Daddy to be a hot and cold fighter. He was definitely on the ball with his latest fight against Nate Diaz. I’m going with Fisher on this one though. I like Fisher and think he’s got great heart and always bring his game and fights hard. There’s a chance of Joe’s wrestling pulling off a decision win based on control and takedowns but Fisher will control the stand up and I think will stay out of any submissions.

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Eat Out and Stay Fit

10 Tips on eating out without compromising progress

I love to eat and I love to eat out but it is VERY difficult to stick to a diet when you’re eating out. You don’t know what they’re putting into what you order and the portion sizes are always HUGE. When you go to a restaurant you’re almost guaranteed to have the fattiest and most sugar packed version of whatever you’re ordering. Restaurants do this because they obviously want their food to taste good so they use Heavy butter, heavy crème instead of skim milk and anything else that packs as much flavour (and calories) as possible.

It is possible to do all of these tips but I hope that at least a couple of them help you out!

1) Don’t accept the complimentary bread. When they bring it, tell them no thank you. You don’t want this at the table at all because if it’s there, you’re going to start to pick away at it and eat it. That’s some heavy carbs.

2) If you’re with friends that would like the bread, ask for a salad right away so that while they’re eating bread, you have something to munch on.

3) A common mistake is thinking a salad is healthy. Caesars are the worst because they’re drenched in a cream sauce and come with croutons, bacon bits and cheese. You’d be better off eating the burger meal.

4) If you’re a big salad fan it’s sometimes even a good idea to pack your own fat-free dressing with you because most places don’t have fat-free.

5) Ask for all sauces and dressings on the side and then use them sparingly.

6) Order nothing fried; food should be steamed or grilled only.

7) This should go without saying, but, AVOID restaurants that are “all you can eat” or known for their portion size

8) Know the restaurant you’re going to so you can plan what you will eat. Don’t let what other people are ordering sway you or change your plans. Go there with a plan and don’t waiver. If you waver on your choices, you’ll be more likely to pick things that are tempting and fattening. Don’t pick your food on a whim.

9) If you have to order a big hunk of something (lasagne, etc) then just order it. When it arrives, cut it in half, and put the other half in a to-go box. If they have a kids size, order that and you can eat the whole thing. Restaurant portion sizes are far larger than what anyone should eat so often taking half home is a good idea.

10) When having coffee drinks, be sure to request fat-free milk and no whipped cream. This will drastically cut fat and calories. Also, some coffee bars make hot beverages in smaller sizes than what’s listed on the menu. Ask for an 8-ounce size, which is sometimes called “Short”.

In a future post we'll put up a list of more tips for eating out.

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Life is not a Montage

PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT AND TAKES TIME

· Please enjoy these pictures of some classic montages throughout the article.

To start out, this popped into my head because I started a new Woman’s Self-Defense class and a couple of the girls tried the techniques on some guy friends and told me that they didn’t work. I asked them to show me what they did and they clumsily tried to wrap my arm up into something that didn’t resemble anything we did the class before; so of course it didn’t work. These girls have ability and seem interested but after seeing the technique and practicing a couple of times they usually stop and wait.

It can get boring drilling something over and over again but the payoff is that when you need to do it, you can do it and if you practice perfectly OVER AND OVER AND OVER, many times over, you do it perfectly each time.

Life is not a montage and although every movie makes it look like a skill can be mastered in 5 minutes.

The techniques involved in combat sports or self-defense need to be practiced much more than most sports. These techniques and moves need to be applied while someone is punching and fighting against you and you can never expect to pull off something that you’ve trained twice and stopped.

Don’t waste your time while you’re in class, you might as well get the most out of it while you’re there not matter how ‘boring’ training is. The best athlete are always the ones that are hitting the bags after class and finding a training partner to work drills outside of class time. Take Wayne Gretzky for example, his skills weren’t built in the ice time that his local leagues allowed. His dad would train him hard every day and when he was on the ice he made the most of his time there. Every great athlete is the same and they’re great because they go above and beyond.

I see the same thing at every gym I teach at, even competitive gyms. I’ll show a technique or a drill and a student will try it once and assume that they’ve got it. When I see students standing around while others are drilling techniques I usually try various ways to show them that they don’t know the technique as well as they think they do. Usually every class, the same people are spending almost no time learning the techniques while the one’s that drill consistently are getting better every day and dominating in sparring sessions.

I’ve spent hours only throwing a jab. Jabbing at different angles, throwing multiple jabs, changing levels and just going until it felt like my arm was going to fall off. Each time after, trying to go longer and harder so that could make my jab the best it could be

Gyms in Thailand are notorious for doing the same. Throwing only swing kicks for an hour straight and training clinch work twice a day for an hour each. Anyone who’s rolled in Submission Wrestling or BJJ knows the difference between someone who’s done a triangle choke thousands of times and the guy who’s trained it 50 times.

Often, mostly with grappling, students fly threw techniques in a sloppy mess, gumming everything up but assuming that they have it down. Slow everything down! Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Start out nice and slow making sure each movement is exactly right and once you get comfortable with everything then add some speed. If you don’t understand something, you think you have a part wrong or just have any questions ask the instructor and start over drilling consistently until you know that technique inside and out; perfectly.

You know why a black belt in BJJ is good and could choke out a white belt in less than a minute? He’s drilled his techniques a million times.

In an attempt to drive home a point: life is not a montage, take advantage of the time you have to train and skill takes hard work and practice.

So like Ralph Macchio from Karate Kid, PRACTICE PERFECT!

Super Post Workout Salad

This isn't a choice between the "Soup or Salad" on your next restaurant visit, it's all about the SUPER SALAD!

This salad has everything you need after training to give your body what it needs to build muscle and recover. I'll be sure to take a picture next time I make this thing and put a picture up with this post.

1) TINNED TUNA:
a. How much? 100gm, mashed.
b. Why? “Besides an excellent source of muscle-building protein (22gm in 100gm), that’s almost half of your RDA – recommended dietary allowance), tuna has bone strengthening vitamin D,” says New Delhi-based nutritionist Dr. Sonia Kakar.
2) YELLOW PEPPER:
a. How much? One, sliced
b. Why? “It gives you 100 per cent of your vitamin C RDA, which strengthens blood vessels and improves blood flow. It destroys harmful free radicals generated by the immune system to remove the tissue damaged during exercise,” says Dr. Kakar.
3) BABY SPINACH:
a. How much? 2 handfuls.
b. Why? “It contains vitamin A, reducing muscle soreness,” says dietician Dr. Rupali Datta Fortis, New Delhi. It also contains Photosystem I, a chemical that Rutgers University researchers found increased the body’s ability to convert protein into muscle. Popeye was right all along.
4) BLACK OLIVES:
a. How much? 10
b. Why? Olives contain heart healthy vitamin E and monosaturated oils. They also have anti-inflammatory properties, speeding recovery, says Dr. Kakar.
5) ONION:
a. How much? Half, sliced
b. Why? “They contain high levels of antioxidants which mop up free radicals, lowers cholesterol and thin the blood,” says Dr. Datta.
6) PARSELY LEAVES:
a. How much? 2 tbsp, chopped.
b. Why? These are rich in muscle-boosting iron (2tbsp provides 25 per cent of your RDA), to charge your red blood cells with oxygen. They freshen the breath too, so you can safely add that onion.
7) CHERRY TOMATOES:
a. How much? 6, halved.
b. Why? Full of vitamin C for post-exercise recovery, they keep your immune system in good shape, and are a cancer-bashing antioxidant. Roasted they aid absorption of cancer-fighter lycopene.

THE DRESSING:
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp mustard
• ½ garlic clove, crushed

THE METHOD:
Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Combine the peppers, parsley, onion, olives, tomatoes and tuna in a medium-size bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Pile the spinach leaves into your box. Top with the tuna mixture. Enjoy, safe in the knowledge that you’re protecting your gym-time investment.

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