Once again, the home team cleaned up. Sor Thanikul's Thai Boxing squad went unbeaten with Mick Cortos scoring a 2nd round TKO, Mick Terrel a first round KO, and Gary Rowley winning via decision.
Unfortunately things didn't go right on the night for Big Sid, but we're all proud, well done for getting that first one out the way, next time you'll have it.
Mark Platts showed his technique and fitness again with a unanimous decision win over Shamsul 'Black Magic' Haque, with some excellent transitions, going for subs and sweeps right throughout the fight. Excellent technical match.
Rob Mills stormed to another 1st rd. KO, dropping Mac McCaughey of Shotai Kai with the first flurry, inviting him back to his feet only to knock him back to the canvas. The ref stepped in, to Rob's disappointment, once again giving his cornermen nothing to do. I might not even bother going next time.
Simon Gould took apart CCA's Martin Mckie with a combination of heavy handed boxing and aggressive Judo to land him an impressive knockout in the 2nd Round.
Well done guys, once again we showed the fact, we are the North-East's number 1 for Muay Thai and MMA.

Fight Superstore

If any of you fight fashion victims are planning on getting stuff over t'internet, go to fightsuperstore.co.uk
Thanks for the excellent gear.

We are the champions

Newcastle's no.1 for Muay Thai and MMA. Best team, best trainer. You can't argue with the results.

Left to right : Abdul Mohammed, Bryan Moore, Peter Irving, Richie Knox, Hassan Muradi

Geordie Top Team

Double whammy! I stopped Kevin Reed in the second with the Mata Leao, the only sub I know, making me S+S British Champ. Rob 'Robocop' Mills TKO'd the previously undefeated Dan Kennedy in the first to take fight of the night.
The support was massive from the Sor Thanikul/Knuckledraggers team, my colleagues, friends, family, everybody. Thanks very much to everybody who showed up to support, and called, texted or e-mailed to wish me luck and congratulate me. There was too many to answer, so please take this as a blanket thankyou, I appreciate every one. You don't get many times in your life like that, I'm thankful for it.
Thanks to everyone who kept the faith throughout the injury layoff and kept my spirits high with their own efforts in the gym and in the ring.
Well done Rob, now do you believe?

Grease me up woman!

Mark Platts, AKA Groundskeeper Willie, and AKA British Kickboxing champion for that matter, made his MMA debut last Sunday at Cage Gladiators - Gladiator School feeder show. He took on the hometown kid Jay McGuinness, one of Jason Tan's next generation jiu-jitsu fighters. Mark took it all the way to the score cards, fending of stacks of attacks from McGuinness guard to come out with a majority decision for McGuinness. One of the judges and many others marked the bout a draw, and Craig, myself and Yves who were in attendance, considered the fight as resounding success in terms of Mark's transition from kickboxing to MMA, and proved once again that he's a true Sor Thanikul fighter - quit is not in his vocabulary. Awesome work Mark, you're Coca-Cola, the real thing.

Irving vs. Doski - 28th October

I'm fighting Lee Doski for his S+S 77kg British Title at the Fed in Gateshead on Sunday 28th October. Don't miss it. Call me for a ticket.

Craig Jose is fighting the thai at POS 3 on the same day, so it'll be a massive weekend for the gym.

Sorry guys, after long running negligence on the part of Orange, I've finally been reconnected to the modern world by our saviours, British Telecom. So, normal service will resume shortly. I just play catch up with a couple of fights you may have missed.

Strike or Submit 3

Richie Knox battled it out with Doncaster lad Aiden Pulver. After knocking him down with the first jab thrown , Richie chased him to the mat looking to guillotine against the fence. After a good takedown and good ground control Richie got over zealous with his bodyshots and started to throw to the head. After both fighters threw some telling punches and leg kicks, Richie took him down but once again went to the head and was DQ'd. Next time he'll be fighting pro.

War in Workington

Bryan Moore represented the Knuckledraggers against a very hard, very big Lithuanian international. Bryan executed the gameplan perfectly in the first, putting on a clinic of G'N'P and cage control, shutting his opponent out of the fight completely. Unfortunately the second didn't go quite the same and after the lithuanian escaped from the mat after Bryan's first takedown of rd.2, he was caught in the range of exchanges, unable to effectively trade with the bigger, rangier man, and was felled by some huge powerful punches. Bad result, but a masterful performance from the North-East's Randy Couture, Bryan Moore.

Viddy well my brothers, Ultraviolence!

British Champion Craig Jose @ Power of Scotland Muay Thai 8-man tournament -

We are No.1! All others are No.2....or lower!

#define KILL_HUMAN(h) (free(h); (h) = NULL;)
#define KILL_ALL_HUMANS(list_of_humans) \ { \ list *p, *next = NULL; \ \ for(p = list_of_all_humans; p; p = next) { \ next = p->next; \ KILL_HUMAN(p); \ }


Get this peoples, no losses so far in '07, from both the Knuckledraggers in Vale Tudo, or the Sor Thanikul Muay Thai team. 2 Draws and 3 wins in M.M.A. and 3 draws and 9 wins in Muay Thai.
Rock on.

Double whammy!

The Knuckledraggers went 2 for 2 today at Willie Scott's Cage Kombat.

Rob Mills took on a very strong Enzo Parente, and wasted no time taking the Italian/Scotsman to the mat, persisting with the double, passing, mounting and switching off for his trademark Robocana armlock.

Photos courtesy of Peter Falkous/Fighters only mag

Desperate Dan went to war with another Alba Dornadair representative, Liam Holborn. After a to and fro battle of takedowns, mounts, reversals, leglocks, slams and armbars, Dan locked up a guillotine and got the tap close to the end of the first. Dan had a real test from a very well matched opponent, and proved his mettle, showing the only quality that is demanded from the Byker lads - heart.

Photos courtesy of Peter Falkous/Fighters only mag

Two first round submissions, two entertaining and technical performances, we couldn't have asked for more from you. You done yourselves and the gym proud, well done lads. You're now both Bona Fide, purely rock cage fighters. Use these credentials to impress birds.

Pain and Glory

For those of you that couldn't be arsed to go and see Craig in the biggest British event of the year, here's how it went down. Mahy 'Hardhand' Cruz lived up to his name, catching Craig cold with some big, big shots. Just when it looked like it might go completely South, Craig switched into Terminator mode and dished out a classic beating for the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Just when I thought it impossible for Craig to exceed his previous efforts, he goes and puts in this performance. 'Quit' is not in the mans vocabulary, I don't think he would even know how if he wanted to. Amazing, inspirational stuff.
Unfortunately the early digs from Cruz took their toll, and the Doctor refused to let Craig go through to the semi-final. Obviously disappointing, but hardly a disaster, as Craig remains on a long run of victories and can only have got more people excited about seeing him fight next time.
Being there, with the whole arena filled with chants of 'Jose!, Jose!, Jose!' for the duration of the fight, was another priceless experience that was such an honour to be part of. If your voice was not among them then hang your head in shame, because Craig is the one thats always there when anyone of us fights.

Fightzone

Keon fought his heart out in his Semi-Pro debut, that wound up being an absolute war against a much improved Afsul Miah of Fighting Fit. Keon shot countless takedowns, and when the fight did make it to the floor his ground skills dominated, but thanks to slack ropes and unfavourable reffing he was never really able to use his jiu-jitsu. Several of his shots speared Afsul through the ropes, or were restarted on the feet as the sprawl sent them under the bottom rope. The fight went the distance and was declared a draw. Keon showed loads of skill, tenacity and heart; that one hard fought draw is a result to be proud of, worth way more than ten easy wins.
You really proved yourself, I'm really proud of you young man.

Big Weekend - Sunday

In the Year of Darkness, 2007, the Sor Thanikul gym devised the ultimate plan. They would reshape the Future by busting some heads. The plan required something that felt no pity. No pain. No fear. Something unstoppable. They created 'THE JOSENATOR'

Sunday is the big one - the K1 8 man. Craigs first opponent is Spaniard Mahy Cruz - Hasta la vista, baby!

Big weekend - Friday

First up on Friday we got Special K, the Iranian sensation, Mr. Loverman - it's Keon!
He's fighting against Fighting Fit gym's Afsul Miah on the inaugural edition of Fightzone in Jarrow. Gan on Shabanzadeh!

Take notes people

Who'd you rather see? Shaolin or James Thompson? I fucking despair.

Don't fuck with 'the look'

Photo by Norm

Barry, Matt, Craig

Photo by Norm

Irving vs. Jose

Photo by Peter Falkous

This is rumour control, here are the facts -

Photo of Inman vs. Cahill courtesy of Hywel Teague

Sor Thanikul Muay Thai team went 4 for six today at Master Sken's show in Manchester. Amateur combatants Marlena, Mick and Dan all won in great style, the other two lost decisions on a coin toss after putting in really good performances.

The star of todays show was Matt Inmann though, and in honour of Matt's superb demonstration of skill in his professional bout, I have decided to refrain from flogging the dead horse that is the Zoolander joke any further. Matt dominated every second of each one of 5 rounds, stalking his opponent, picking him off with punches and kicks and dominating the clinch. Matt once again looked every bit of the polished Muay Thai pro that he always promised to be. Great stuff Matty, no doubt you'll be hanging some heavy duty jewellery round your waist before the year is out. Bring on a title fight for 'the look'.

Spartan workout

Remind you of your own training? It ought to.

Cage Kombat, Cage Kombat, Cage Kombat.....3

D-Day!

Dan Blenkharn's M.M.A. debut went exactly according to plan, with a blistering 24 second submission victory.
Even though this was his debut, Dan looked like a veteran fighter, bringing intensity whilst keeping his composure all the way. He made it look easy, but it was all down to the hard work he'd done in preparation. We're really proud of you Danny, well done bonny lad.

He's got the look

Hywel Teague photo from Mater A's show

Is this the most handsome Thai boxer you've ever seen in your life or what? Notice how he's struggling to turn left though, he has to wheel around in a wide arc, the boy just isn't an ambi-turner.

For a relaxing time, make it Satori time

Satori Jutsu

Satori Jutsu is a martial art that is an Art Form, not a sport. The art of Satori Jutsu is totally non-competitive, providing an alternative and fresh approach to martial art practice. The art of Satori Jutsu both emphasises and nurtures the attainment of complete Artistic skill in technique and application, with absolutely no Competitive or Sport connotations. Training takes place in a safe, non-hostile, constructive environment. Satori Jutsu is particularly suited to those individuals who have no interest in Freestyle or Competitive sparring (which by nature, is found in the majority of the martial arts that are practiced today). It goes without saying that those who favour Kihon, Kata, and Kobudo practice are more suited to the Satori Jutsu training ideals that are found within the art.

All Satori Jutsu classes are both creative and educational, where the approach to training means that students train with each other not against each other. Aside from this, there are many other aspects within Satori Jutsu that make the art different from mainstream or more regularly accepted martial art systems. In Satori Jutsu there is also a mutual respect between all students ~ regardless of grade or experience ~ where everyone helps one another to achieve their very best potential.

Satori Jutsu was founded in July 1992 by Shihan Steve Bell (Black Belt 5th Dan). When it was originally conceived it was known as 'Satori Jutsu Karate-Do' but in July 2005 the direct connection with Karate was dropped, as Shihan thought it was time for Satori Jutsu to stand out on it's own and become known as an independent martial art rather than a 'style' of another.

This change was brought about by the natural evolution of Satori Jutsu. Due to the nature of the training over the years, the style had inevitably moved further and further away from what is generally perceived as 'Karate'. This, alongside the ever growing media popularity for 'Full Contact' and other aggressive Karate/Martial Art approaches (which is definitely not what Satori Jutsu is about), helped in the decision by Shihan, to take Satori Jutsu out on it’s own and away from those connections. As a consequence of this, a change in the Satori Jutsu Shirushi (Emblem) was also undertaken. Both the 'on-coming fist' and the 'animal representation' were removed, as these two points of reference are often used in mainstream 'Karate/Martial Art' Shirushi.

Classes are held on a regular weekly basis in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom.

I'm getting sick of seeing this guys advertising, especially as it continues to get more and more cult like. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against people who don't like fighting, that's perfectly reasonable. Take up squash or something, that's fine. If you really dislike competitive sport, no problem, maybe Yoga is for you, fuck, even go and arrange some flowers. Fine by me.
What is not alright is these insecure pricks that get a superiority complex about their martial art being an art, not a sport. They spout this misleading bullshit as if sport somehow lowers the quality of any given art being practiced in a sporting context; as opposed to driving the arts practitioners to greater and greater heights of athletic excellence, and evolving and expanding the art far beyond the scope of it's founders abilities. That is the universal truth in all fighting arts, take a look at Boxing, BJJ, Judo, Olympic wrestling, Muay Thai, any fighting sport, and compare footage from today and the earliest examples you can find on film.
But the real problem isn't the lie they expound, but the reason for it. These dicks that go so far as to found their own schools, and socially manipulate other sorry, insecure individuals into buying their illusion of invincibility, and giving them the promise of some secret martial arts super powers, it's on their hands when their student gets his jumper pulled over his head then gets hockey punched into a pulp because he never got to spar.
Let me tell it how it is, fighting is about winning and losing. Generally speaking, %50 of people in fights lose, %50 win. Aside from the odd draw, and a very few crazy double kayo's, ,you win or you lose. This idea that'The only person to strive to be better than is yourself' is absolute bullshit. It might wash if you're doing Pilates once a week, but if you're doing anything involving fighting, you sure as fuck better strive to be better than the bastard opposite you that wants to smash your face in. Strive to be better than yourself? Easy, just start out as a total piece of shit, then just never try all that hard to get too much better.
If you don't like it then you don't like fighting and should fuck off out of it all together. All this art of fighting without fighting, merciful wisdom, nothing to prove attitude - that's for guys that got in there and did it when they were young, and feel no need in their hearts to show anyone how good they are anymore. You can't bypass the hard part and then sell that line to your students, that martial arts are good but fighting is bad. One is no good without the other, yin and yang baby. Don't go being to much of a pussy to fight, then tell people it makes you superior, and don't fucking disprespect people like us who have the courage to put our names and bodies on the line, and actually fight. I don't know who I feel sorry for more, the saps that pay out their hard earned to get taught bullshit and have their training retarded by these dickheads, or the arrogant dicks that know deep down in their heart of hearts that they'll never, ever have what it takes. Rant over, normal service will resume shortly.

Good Friday kettlebells

What are you doing on Friday? Comrade! if you were a real man you'd be coming to Tynemouth to work out with the 'bells. Leon is gonna give us some tuition and put us through our paces. Meet at the gym at 12. Be there or be dishonoured.

Danimal debuts at Sportfight Scotland

He's big, he's bad, he's the master of slammage with intent to damage. Dan Blenkharn is making his M.M.A. debut at Sportfight Scotland on Sunday 15th. Get behind him, get a ticket paid for before the Dinky Ninjas show sells out, or he might get angry....and you wouldn't like him when he's angry.

guerillafitness.blogspot.com

No machines, no split routines, no focus on pecs and biceps!

Kettlebells, Barbells, Dumbbells,Medicine Balls, Rings, Parallettes, Sleds, Indian Clubs, Shot, Rocks, Rope, Sandbags, Sledgehammers.........

We're gonna be using all of the above!!

Pics, vids, articles, blood, sweat & tears!

Coming soon.....

Hey Petie, wanna get some vids of you on there with the ring HSPUs and some other ill sh*t

Kettlebell pressing part 2

Ok, I must apologise! SORRY! it's been a while in coming but here's the second part of the Kettlebell Pressing article.

We have looked at how to improve your press by swinging "heavy bells", Deadlifting barbells, grinding and we touched on tension techniques. There will be a few more helpful tips and many more in the future, all we want now is 1 full repetition with the bell just out of your pressing ability.

As KBs go up in rather large increments we have to be as creative as possible when aiming for that big press. Take a bell that you can press comfortably, warm yourself up and press it, make a mental note of the press and then make any corrections.

(1. are feet pushed firmly into the ground?, 2.are the knees and hips locked out (if pressing with one arm is the hip kicked out to the side?, are the glutes and abs tight?, have you applied power breathing?, have you applied a crush grip? )

go through the list and mentally tick them off one by one. Applying these techniques will automatically give you a strong press, the next step is progression and perfection. Practice, practice, practice! Or grease that groove baby!

Using press variations is a good way to make the press more difficult. A really good one is the SOTS press (google if you don't know) or full squat press, if you can press a bell comfortably then use this press to smoke the shoulders and the benefits outweigh the pain. The seated press ( no no no ) not a seated press a la bodybuilding community, but a floor seated press (no actual seat) when sitting on the floor and pressing we have to ensure that the full body remains tight so that we don't injure the back or any other muscles for that matter, be creative and listen to your body.

Stay fresh, tight and press frequently so as to train the CNS and not burn out, practice is the key.

I was going to include a routine for getting to that next press but guess what? I'm going to leave that to you.

You want to press heavy, then press heavy and press a lot, use Turkish get ups a couple of times a week, this will strengthen your shoulders and ensure they are more durable for the pressing ahead. Apply the tips in this and the first article, make sure your technique is perfect and enjoy.

One last super tip - rack the bell, take a wider than shoulder stance, press feet into ground and try to spread the ground beneath you <-------------> deep breath into abdomen tighten up expand the lats and obliques and press away. ( you should be shaking with tension and have maximum irradiation.)

More than one look

I believe this one is known as 'Le Tigre'

The Gaffa

A great portrait of Barry from Hywel.

The only knees that's guaranteed to please

Hywel teague captures a great moment from Inman vs. Cahill

Good shot from Leon- good shot by Hywel

Leon sends some power to the body, captured by the lens of Hywel Teague of F.O. mag

Results from A's

Matt put on a superb display of Muay Thai technique against a much improved James Cahill. Cahill used his long front kick very well, but Matt was very measured, thinking his way through the fight, staying aggressive, and by the third round had figured Cahill out completely. He worked his attacks relentlessly, forcing him on to the back foot and leaving no doubt in the Judges minds - Unanimous decision for Inman.

Leon was very unlucky, in my opinion, to have the decision go against him. I was convinced he had done enough to take the win, having pressed the action and delivered some bombs that even made me wince. After slipping a couple of big, big right hands that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas with his own momentum, I had Leon up on style points as well as damage done. Unfortunately the Judges saw something that I missed and the decision went the other way.
Leon, to his credit, never uttered a word of complaint and just took it in his stride. Well done mate, a performance to be proud of.

Howay the lads!

It's Master A's show tomorrow, and as you already ought to know, Leon and Matty are fighting.
I thought 'The professional' was a decent nickname for Leon, assuming you are familiar with the Luc Besson movie. However, on Master A's site he's listed just as 'Leon'. Apparently he has risen to a level of superstardom where nicknames and even surnames are redundant, just like Madonna, or Cher.
Just when I got sick of making Zoolander references about Matty he went and showed up in a bin bag home-made sweatsuit. You know what that means, right? It's fabulous, it's 'Derelicte'!

Coming soon - New T-shirt design

Whaddy'all reckon?

Crezio De Souza vs. Dan Henderson

Here's a little clip from Crezio's fight with Pride Champion Dan Henderson. Historically interesting in that this was Hendersons first Vale Tudo fight, and Crezio's last, the fight ended controversially when the kickboxing referee waved the match off after Henderson threw down a flurry of punches at Crezio from inside the guard. Few of the punches actually connected, but in spite of much protest from Crezio and the jiu-jitsu supporters the fight was called. Crezio never got the rematch he so desperately wanted, as he was blinded in one eye during training and forced into retirement. Bear in mind that Crezio is a lightweight, so this double leg on U.S.A. Olympic wrestling team member Henderson is no mean feat.

Here come the pain!

Josenator inspired workout. Dig deep, work hard

The Josenator

3 fights for time.

50 Swings (24 or 25 kg) or for kb novice (16kg kb or 15kg db)
30 Pull-ups
100 Squats
60 Tuck jumps

rest 1 min

100 Press-ups
30 Dips
50 Sit-ups
1minute double time (knees high and fast)

rest 1 min

20kg on a bar

30 Push Press
30 Front Squat
30 Sumo Deadlift High Pull
30 Burpees

Record time and beat it next time round.

Enjoy!!!!

Way to go!

Toe to toe

Congratulations Craig Jose!

Craig was absolutely phenomenal last night. He had the hardest draw, facing Micheal Dicks in the first round they went toe to toe in what was universally acknowledged as the fight of the night. The whole arena was applauding as they slugged it out, the atmosphere was unbelievable.
He took Tim 'TNT' Thomas apart in the semi final, and went on to beat Belarussian Denis Versaxa in the final, after Versaxa had sailed through his earlier bouts.

Craig's performance was a total inspiration, he just dug a little deeper, then deeper again. It was a real honour to be part of the team.

Power Of Scotland 2 - 67kg eight man tournament

In case anyone doesn't already know, this Sunday is the Power of Scotland tournament. The way Craig has trained has been an example and an inspiration, and nobody in this tournament is more capable of, or more deserving to win this thing. They are only men Craig, but you Dragon!

Power of Scotland - 4th March 2007

Featured Fighters

• Lloyd Cochran (Nai Khanom Tom - Scotland)
• Craig Jose (Sor Thanikul - England)
• Denis Varaxa (Belarus)
• Thongchailek (Thailand)
• Rudolf Durica (Slovakia)
• Tim Thomas (England)
• Stevie Meikle (Caledonian - Scotland)
• Michael Dicks (Darlington - England)

Want to train with Crezio?

Crezio De Souza - Jiu-Jitsu legend

So, airfares have gone crazy, and the planned trip to Rio De Janeiro has been postponed indefinitely. I spoke to Crezio, told him I couldn't come for a while, but he's happy to come over here for a couple of weeks. I miss Brazil, but if the mountain can come to Mohammed then that's the next best thing. It also means everyone could train with him.

In case I haven't told you about the guy - he was one of the original Carlson Black belts from the glory days of the Carlson Gracie team. He had over 250 jiu-jitsu matches in his career, wrestled for Brazil in the Pan-American games and fought some amazing Vale-Tudo matches against the likes of Johil de Oliveira and Dan Henderson, back in the day when it was bareknuckle, headbutts and all. The guy is an amazing technician, and he practically wrote the book on modern M.M.A. jiu-jitsu.

If you're interested in doing a couple of seminars and going for private classes with Crezio then we could all put together to finance it. Let me know what you think, e-mail me at peteirving@gmail.com if you're interested.

Thanks Hywel

Hywel Teague, check the Flickr account.

Thanks go out again to H.T. for another top notch session yesterday. Hope you can come back up again soon.

K.D. in F.O.

Check out the training zone this month, me and Craig are showing stand ups from guard and tie-ups for G'n'P defence, plus a whole load of other good stuff. Why don't you try buying it this time instead of twocing the one from the magazine shelf.



Issue 24 out today!

---

The World's Leading Mixed Martial Arts and Lifestyle magazine is out today, March 1st 2007

Still the industry leader, we've got another top issue for you with exclusive content and ground breaking features.



Inside this issue:

* Bad Boys and Babes! Why Hot Chicks Love Fighters...
* A Day in the Life of: Michael Bisping
* Razor Rob McCullough tattoo profile
* UFC 67 review - Cro Cop, Jackson, Silva!
* Cage Rage 20 review - Butterbean, Thompson, Kerr
* The Trojan Army, England's top fight team
* MMA Babe: Cindy Bertinato
* Leading Figures of MMA: Ken Pavia, Jeff Sherwood, Loretta Hunt
* 11 page of cutting edge training tips
* and much much more!



www.fightersonlymag.com

Jose vs. Woodham - Wai Kru

Muscle-ups

Check the strap

Has Craig developed a taste for extremely ostentatious belt buckles? Why no! That's the British title belt around his waist.

Don't sweat the technique

Witness the fitness

Thanks to my exclusive diet of Bulls testicles and Guiness I have already smashed my previous record of 7 Handstand ring pushups to 9. The Crossfit challenge is gonna be mine.

Who'd be a fighter?, it's a hard life.

Photo by Hywel Teague

Double whammy!

For those of you who didn't manage to make it to Manchester this weekend, this is how it went down -

Craig Jose put in a first rate performance on Saturday night against Jay Woodham, pouring on the pressure all the way. Craig stoppped Woodham in the 4th making him the new British Muay Thai champion at -70kg. Jose is No.1 - Rock&Roll!

Lucasz Lehmann remains the Pole on a roll, taking his record to an unblemished 4-0 - all by way of knockout. In a Goliath vs. even Goliather clash, Lucasz sparked out the biggest man I have ever seen in my life.

If anyone has any photos please e-mail them over.

CrossFit Newcastle

Handstand pushups on the rings

Check out Ian Malones site www.crossfitnewcastle.com
Why not get in touch with Ian and get along to one of his sessions for some sick and twisted fitness.

Irving vs. Jenkins 2

Hywel teague/Fighters Only mag photo - IrvingVJenkins 1 @ Pride and Glory

It was a long time coming, after nearly a year since our first fight I took on Jenkins again yesterday at Cage Kombat 3. It wound up a draw, with one Judge giving it to me, one to Paul and one saw every round as even. It was a fair call.

I got a cut fairly early in the fight, the Doctor was going to stop the match and Jenkins came in on my side, asking to let the match continue! What a legend.

I've been struggling to train up for this one, and injuries and illness had a serious negative impact during the fight so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and take a couple of months away from the cage to heal everything properly. On the plus side I'll be able to put %100 into bringing everyones game on.

Thanks alot to the Toon Army that came to support, The Dinkys and the assorted Scottish fight fans that forgave my Englishness in return for some blood, much appreciated.

Kettlebell pressing.

Who struggles with pressing bells? especially when moving up in weight! I certainly do and there are hundreds of people out there who have the same problem. We will cover a couple of things that will assist in getting that heavier bell above the head and into the lockout. From personal experience I know that pressing kettlebells requires quite a high level of skill strength also. Take a 16kg bell and a man with 20in biceps and he will press that 1pood like it was nothing, give that same man a 32,40 or even a 45kg bell and that same man will both struggle to get the bell above the head and risk injury also. The main reason behind this is that he has not acquired the skill strength to move the bell through the correct planes, with or without leverage points.

With Kettlebells the progression to heavier weight can be a long one, unless you train smart. The tips and tricks that are about to follow should be used when trying to improve the numbers and certain techniques can be applied to many aspects of training.

Just recently I have had some time off the bells and have really struggled with the heavier weights which to me is very frustrating. What follows is a list of things I tend to do in order for me to get up to heavier weights in no particular order.

1. Swing. Swinging a heavier bell than the one you intend to press good, if you do not have one then use two if you do not have two then use you imagination and improvise (sandbags etc are cheap and effective - use them). This works the whole body but has great emphasis on the back and legs which will be used as the base for you to press from (full body tension.)

2. Deadlifting. Using a barbell we can even at the lightest body weights get up to some respectful numbers pulling strength and leg and back strength have a positive affect when pressing so use it and note the results for future reference.

3. Grind. Take a bell which you can press and go up in steps until you reach full lockout and then come down in steps. up 6in return to start up 12in return to start etc. This is an example of ramping up the volume or intensity to reach a goal. It is useful but make sure you don't go to failure or it will be detrimental to progress.

4. Tension techniques. Learn how to create tension throughout the body be tensing different body parts at a time and then learning how to create a full body of high tension. It is extremely important that we learn to engage the lats and bring them up to optimal tension you can practice this by squeezing a tennis ball between the lat and the upper biceps on the outer line of the armpit if you don't have a tennis ball use a towel. This is a really good technique for overcoming the sticking point and is sure to assist in blasting through any pressing plateau.

These are just a few things to help, look out for part two in which I will present some more tips and techniques and plan a routine to get to that next step.

Hope this helps.

F.O. training zone, more secrets of Irving's Punk-Jitsu revealed

If Betty Page didn't spell it all out for you, you can get more photo info on how to strike from the bottom in this month's F.O. training zone, featuring myself (I'm the one that's going bald) and Hywel Teague (the one that's already bald). We got the legal elbows, bicycle kicks and H.T. kicking me upside my head with the Capoeira. If it's not on the racks then ask for it.

How to fight

Takedown

Ground'n'Pound

Submission

Result

Lucasz - the calm after the storm

Lucasz took his record to 3-0 today with a T.K.O. early in the second. The Eagle has landed.

Craig reprised his last performance in great style, and looked sharp and fit throughout every second of the fight. Although Lex took home the decision, Craig can still feel victorious tonight.
Not a bad days work from Barrys boys.

This Sunday - Jose vs. Easdon 2

Craig is fighting World Champion Lex Easdon again this Sunday on Lex's home show. Who's going to go and give some support? Roll call!

Remember Craig - "You Dragon! He only man, but you Dragon!"

South Shields Samurai

Pete Tiarks e-mailed this story to me, it wasn't me, so does anyone else want to take credit for it?

From tv3.com

Mysterious samurai saves Police in UK Tue 10:50pm

A samurai sword wielding vigilante has come to the rescue of two Police officers when they were attacked by an armed gang in South Shields, England.

A group of men had forced their way into a house and were ransacking the place when passing plain-clothes officers were alerted by a woman inside screaming.

The criminals outnumbered them and were armed with a hammer, knives and chains and attacked the Police officers.

As one of them stabbed at a Policeman with his knife, a mysterious do-gooder appeared from nowhere and attacked him with a samurai sword.

One of the burglars began running away but was stopped by the stranger who struck him on the arm with the sword.

Two of the criminals were arrested, but in true hero style the samurai disappeared before police could speak to him.

A third man was arrested later and two more are still being hunted.

Police are especially keen to trace the man with the sword who came to the aid of their officers, and have asked for anyone with information to call them.

Muscled-up

Add 2 more names to the roll of honour, on Monday night Leon and Big Danny both successfully completed the fitness landmark that is the muscle-up.

Fear does not exist in this Dojo, does it?.....

Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it? Defeat does not exist in this Dojo, does it?

We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, in the streets, in competition. A man confronts you he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy.

If you're too young to know what I'm on about then you've missed a critical part of your education. Here's a brief synopsis of the movie, the Karate kid -

Badly proportioned Ralph Maccio arrives in California, he bullshits everyone that he knows Karate and gets exposed when he meets the local Karate champ. To compound matters Daniel san slys in on the Karate champs lass. Basically he's a little wanker, but he redeems himself when he exposes how poor 1980's McDojo Karate was by training for a couple of weeks then winning a state tournament at black belt level in spite of his obvious physical disability. This film was responsible for an enormous boom in Karate gi style pyjamas for children during the 80's.
5 stars.

It's a pirates life for me!

H.T. of S.B.G. @ K.D.

H.T. in action against Andy Roberts @ Cagewarriors

Hywel Teague, M.M.A. photographer, fighter and journalist extroardinaire made a welcome appearance tonight at the K.D. survival school to give us some Straight Blast gym style technique training. Those of you who missed it - you missed out. Those of you who made it - you can thank him by buying his magazine, Fighters Only, instead of half-inching a copy from the gym.

Irving vs. Sinclair- Cagewarriors Showdown 2

Team, Team, Team, Team, Team

Damn it!!


There is no I in TEAM. Ive tried damn hard to find this I in team and i'm yet to find it. Seeing as I am part of the Sorthanikul/knuckledraggers team I would like to offer my services for group sessions free of charge to anyone who is interested in very intense kettlebell fitness training. I have 2 years experience with the 'bells and have been trained by the UKs master coach Mr Stan Pike.

When I say FREE i don't really mean free, the price of admission is ......... wait for it

5 pullups
10 pressups
15 squats

x5


If anyone is interested in this let me know, once I have atleast 5 people interested and the admission has been paid my services will be on offer.

This is fantastic guys, so just take advantage.

I understand that there will be people of all skill sets so we will bring everyone up to speed with the basics before attempting any kind of intensity.

Hope to hear from you all soon.