June

Another fight cancelled due to illness!

I was scheduled to fight on a show in Newcastle, less than 7 days out my opponent withdrew due to illness. This is extremely frustrating a week out from a fight all the hard training and weight management is all but complete. With no opponent, all the hard work cannot be put to the test and you are left with contemplating all the sacrifices you have made for nothing. Cancellations through injury are an unfortunate feature of MMA. With two fighters pushing themselves to hit peak performance for a fight in such a tough contact sport injuries are common. I have been particularly unlucky with three cancellations in a row. Ironically I personally am enjoying my longest injury free period.

I attended the event and acted as a judge. It was good to see the fights from a different perspective.
 
It is very easy to lose motivation in these circumstances. My answer has been to get another fight or tournament booked as soon as possible to keep that focus and reason to train. Motivation to train, diet and sacrifice is so much easier when you have a good reason to do so. Knowing I will be stepping into a cage to fight in front of an expectant crowd is all the focus and motivation I need! Watch this space……
 
Junior Deaf Athletics Championships
Also this month I represented ‘Hi Pro Sport’ at the junior Deaf Athletics Championships. I have a keen interest in many sports and try to support events where ever possible. This was a great opportunity for kids to compete in a large stadium in front of a crowd. I may even have witnessed some stars of the future.
 

Brazilian Jiujitsu
My response to a cancelled fight was to enter the Manchester Open Brazilian Jiujitsu Championships. This was a first for me. I have entered no ‘Gi’submission grappling events previously but competing BJJ in a Gi is a very different prospect. Specialists in this field use the Gi to devastating effect to control and choke an opponent. I arrived early with my brand new ‘Hi Pro Sport’ black Gi. The number of entrants in my weight category meant I would have four fights in the day.
 
The first thing I noticed fighting in a Gi was the extra stress it places on your forearms from holding the cloth. By the end of the first fight my forearms were stiff with lactic acid. This may have been down to inexperience, poor technique and gripping too hard. I won the first fight 9-0 on points. Fight two was a short fight winning by triangle choke. I scraped through the semi final and then faced a very skilful opponent in the final. I struck first with a takedown from the start. I made a mistake and got caught in a very tight triangle choke. I found escaping submissions in a Gi so much more difficult. This is due to the extra control you have over an opponent by holding the Gi. On several occasions I felt very close to blacking out the choke was on so tight.  I knew I was ahead on points and just had to hang on until the end. In the dying seconds I broke free from the choke and secured myself a gold medal in my first BJJ competition.
 
Life unfolds in the strangest ways, a cancelled MMA fight directed me to a new sport, I now train regularly in a Gi with some great BJJ practitioners. I recently had the pleasure of training with Victor Estima. I will definitely be competing in more BJJ tournaments.
 
July
The training starts today for my next fight on August 15th in Newcastle. Time to lay off the cake and kick start my morning runs!
 
My first session today involved circuits outside in the sunshine. Timed rounds of pull ups, tractor tyre flips, deadlifts and polymetric jumps, sledgehammers strikes, sprints and kettlebell swings.
 
I finished off with rounds of boxing focusing on form and technique.
 
My opponent is unbeaten and from a striking background, it should be a great fight.