Sunday, January 31, 2010

Pic of the Week

A very nice seoi nage, this guy really had to use his body to forward flip in order to finish the technique

Grapplingstore.com

If you ever need anything to do with Judo, BJJ or MMA then grapplingstore.com is the place to go. They have everything from gis, rash vests, cages, mats and dvds.
Make sure you check them out online

Cool stuff on Youtube

Here are a few clips ive seen on youtube that are great to watch







Enjoy

My training videos









Saturday, January 30, 2010

Osoto Gari

Osoto Gari or, major outer reaping throw, is usually the first technique taught to beginner judo players, and thus people tend to believe its a 'beginners throw.' Many greats including Kimura, Yamashita, Geesink and Yoshida all had very devastating Osoto garis that won very large international tournaments.

Osoto gari in action
(look out for the first throw which was performed by kimura on Helio Gracie)


My instructional (mind the unkempt gi)


A combination when the osoto gari is blocked by your opponent

Friday, January 29, 2010

Driving to Adelaide

after another late session last night at dominance we finally had a day off (if you could call it that.) Although we didn't train today the drive to Adelaide from Melbourne has really taken it out of me.
Ivo, Rioske (Japanese guy) and I did about 2 hours driving each with ivo doing 2 stints. I'm in an interesting situation for this weekend.
The first one is my weight. I arrived here after lunch and a stack of diet coke vanilla at 64.3kg. So i am 1.7kg underweight for the -66kg cut off.

So you could say that i should just eat a stack of food and get a bit heavier. But I'm still dieting for the ACT open on in 2 weeks time. So although usually i would eat up and get up to weight, i took it easy only ate what i needed to eat and didn't over indulge, (especially when Maccas is across the road.)


Its getting to the end of my trip now and i am keen to go home and have a rest for a while, sleep in my bed, hang in my lounge room, look at my fish in my fish tank swimming around.

Tonight I'm just gonna hang out, read my new book (the Andromeda strain by Michael Crichton) and get a good sleep and fight hard tomorrow night at bash for cash

i thought i would leave you with another picture and quote

"It's not enough to win....you have to make the other guy lose."


above Joe steveron vs bj penn

The Painted Man - Book Review


I decided that everytime i read a novel i would make a little review of it here on my blog. Just because having a blog will help me in my writing style as well as giving me something else to write about that im interested in.

A few weeks ago i bought "The Painted Man," by Peter V Brett at a second hand book store. This is Peter Bretts first published novel and his writing style is similar to the late David Gemmell.

The Painted Man is set in a world where at dusk, a mist arises from the ground bringing wood, fire, stone and sand demons with it. These demons pray on anything they can catch but love to feast on humans. These demons are covered in heavy armor that no human weapon can penetrate. The only protection humans have is to hide in houses covered in ancient magical symbols that repel the demons from entering.

The story is set around 3 characters who, each in their own lives have suffered not only from the demon attacks, but also from the imprisonment that humans undergo in order to stay alive.

Until the main character, Arlen, stumbles upon an ancient ruin that contains ancient symbols and wards not seen in the modern world.
From here Arlen begins his fight against the demons and in doing so gives the land new hope,strength and courage not seen in 300 years.

And the fight against the demons begins.


This is one of the best books i have ever read. The sequel comes out in april this year and the author has already sold the rights to make all 3 movies.
I serisouly cant wait to read the next one

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Tapering and off to fight

This weekend i am competing in Australia's first ever judo prize money competition. 2008 Olympian Steve Brown is running the event in the hope of making judo more spectator friendly and more exciting.
there are 3 weight divisions -66kg -73kg and over 81kg. There are a max of eight per weight division so there should be some exciting fights.
This week has been another awesome week of training down here in Melbourne. On Sunday my wife came down and we went and watched the tennis at the Australia Open, it was pretty fun but a little bit too hot for my liking. On Tuesday i attended the Dominance Open mat and was a bit disappointed not many bjj guys turned up, there were more judo players, which is ok as that is what i am here to do.

I did have the pleasure of fighting gym owner Cameron Rowe who is a bjj black belt who tapped me left right and centre. It was a good biff (very one sided) but his guard passing technique and control was spot on and i felt like a guy at his first training session.
This week was good at Ivos club in moonee ponds and then back to dominance for some more good fights and working on a few techniques.

Link to Ivos club
http://fightgymdirectory.com.au/western-judo-academy/
I am very greatful for all the guys who atytend and visited WJA in order to help ivo and i prepare for the upcoming competitions.

Today we were lucky enough to go and train at Essendon football club. Stewart, a guy from Western judo Acadmey is Essendons strength and conditioning coach so we were allowed access to go in there and do some judo with him. It was such an awesome expeirnce to see the facility and professionalism that goes into a sport as elite as AFL. I took some photos to show people who are interested.
Tomorrow we are off driving to Adelaide, should be pretty hot down there. My weight is good as i am dieting for the ACT open in a few weeks time so i will make weight pretty comfortably.
Due to the fact t there is no -60kgs weight division i will be fighting up a weight at -66kg, it will be tough with a Japanese, a Frenchman,a German as well as a few highly ranked Aussies.
Fights are 3 minutes long with walk out music and all. Mine is Superman theme song..haha pretty cool
Now I'm off to bed
have an awesome day
Matt

Thought id leave you with a quote and a picture to go with it.

"You will miss 100% of the shots you didn't take."

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Awesome MMA Submissions

Featuring an awesome heel hook of Anderson silva, an awesome triangle choke from the standing position, and an awesome gogoplata from aoki and an amazing gogoplata from the mounted position by a crazy flexible guy.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Submission of the week

Another great example of the speed and aggresivness needed to submit your opponent in judo competition.

Oma Plata setups

Oma plata or Sankaku Garami (triangular entanglement) in Judo is a great submission of your opponents front deltoid. The main difference between an oma plata and an ude garami is the fact that you are using your legs as the machanism to apply the submission as opposed to your arms.

Below are a few of my setups i use to finish my opponent with oma plata.
Oma plata from turtle


Oma plata from a failed juji gatame attempt


A Fantastic setup into Omaplata

Pic of the Week - Koga

Toshihiko Koga Olympic Gold medallist and ippon seoi nage specialist is this weeks, pic of the week. The pic below shows how much power koga uses in his legs in order to help lift and off balance his opponents and throw them on their backs. The video afterwards is a highlight reel of his amazing techniques in international competition.




Saturday, January 23, 2010

The meaning of Judo

Judo: "The way of gentleness".

The word "judo" shares the same root ideogram as "jujutsu": "jū" (柔?), which may mean "gentleness", "softness", "suppleness", and even "easy", depending on its context. Such attempts to translate jū are deceptive, however. The use of jū in each of these words is an explicit reference to the martial arts principle of the "soft method" (柔法, jūhō?).

The soft method is characterized by the indirect application of force to defeat an opponent. More specifically, it is the principle of using one's opponent's strength against him and adapting well to changing circumstances. For example, if the attacker was to push against his opponent he would find his opponent stepping to the side and allowing his momentum (often with the aid of a foot to trip him up) to throw him forwards (the inverse being true for pulling).
Kano saw jujutsu as a disconnected bag of tricks, and sought to unify it according to a principle, which he found in the notion of "maximum efficiency".
Jujutsu techniques that relied solely on superior strength were discarded or adapted in favour of those that involved redirecting the opponent's force, off-balancing the opponent, or making use of superior leverage.

The second characters of judo and jujutsu differ. Where jujutsu (柔術, jūjutsu?) means the "art", "science", or "techniques" of softness, judo (柔道, jūdō?) means the "way" of softness. The use of "dō" (道?), meaning way, road or path (and is the same character as the Chinese word "tao"), has philosophical overtones. This is the same distinction as is made between Budō and Bujutsu.

Use of this word is a deliberate departure from ancient martial arts, whose sole purpose was for killing. Kano saw judo as a means for governing and improving oneself physically, mentally, emotionally and morally. He even extended the physical principle of maximum efficiency into daily life, evolving it into "mutual prosperity". In this respect, judo is seen as a holistic approach to life extending well beyond the confines of the dojo.



Kano and mifune


Extract taken from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judo

Vladimir Putin doing judo

I knew Putin did Judo and that he likes it alot. I didnt know that he had an instructional dvd out, his technique looked ok but i was surprised at a few things on the videos below.
The first one was that although its judo in russia all i saw was uchimatas, harais and tomoe nages. No pickups kata gurumas leg grabs etc.
The second i found interesting was the cleanliness of the dojo and the awesome facilities they had
and lastly i noticed they all wore the same colour gi, there was no mismatched colours which is so often said to be russian.

I did find it funny how in the background there was Gadanov, Makarov, Tmenov and Isaev and all the kids were getting Putin autograph. I know he is still quite popular but it was funny because im only intesrested in judo.


Fight Gym Directory.com.au

If anyone in Australia wants to register their club on the highest ranked Martial Arts directory in Australia. You should visit www.fightgymdirectory.com.au




My listing is here
http://fightgymdirectory.com.au/beyond-grappling/

Matt

Training in Melbourne

Ive been down in Melbourne for a week now and its been fantastic training.
I am staying at Ivos house and we have been training like crazy people. Feels like we are in japan, but not there cos its hotter here.
We have been switching between his judo club Western judo Academy and Dominance MMA which is run by Daniel Kelly (3 X Olympian) and his partner Maria Pekli (5 X Olympian and 3rd in Sydney Olympics) The training has been awesome.
So I'm pretty wrecked now and am looking forward to our session tomorrow morning before going to the pool for some recovery.

We are preparing for the BAsh for Cash in Adelaide and then 2 weeks afterwards is the first big Aussie comp of the year the ACT Open.
My weight is managing well and i have begun being more stricter on my diet (although my slushie craving is still occuring.)

Im looking forward to once again an action packed year of judo, training, wrestling and hopefully i can squeeze in some bjj comps (maybe even try for abu dhabi in the next few years.) Ive also got school as well as hanging out with my wife and helping out with the youth at church. Hopefully i can help pass on the good message of the bible to the younger generations being raised in the church.

I was unlucky enough not to be able to particpate in a seminar/session with 3 X Abu dhabi champ Robert Drysdale. Who is probably more famous for being Frank Mir and Forrets griffins grappling coach.
Im looking forward to the open mat this Australia Day at Dominance because there are many high level bjj guys who train there. One great aspect of Dominance is the fact that all the compeitors there compete in compeitions. so they are guys who can actually apply their technqiues in compeition.

Anyway im off to bed and looking forward to tomorrow.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Shinya Aoki



Highlight Reel

Pic of the week- Priscus




This weeks photo of the week is my mate priscus win over Gordon Graff at CFC 5.
Priscus unfortunatley lost his next fight to ex pride fighter Te huna.
We hope to see Priscus in the cage soon

Video of the week

I feature in this video. Im Ippon number 6 get poleaxed by the Uzbekistani

Flavio Canto Vid and article

Flavio Canto is a judo guy who came 3rd at the Athens Olympics, He helps out underprivleged kids to do judo and jiu jitsu.
Here is an article on what he does for the kids

The story
Flavio Canto spent most of his teenage years training in judo, in hopes he would achieve Olympic gold. But today, the Brazilian athlete considers his defeat at the 2000 Olympic trials one of his greatest victories.

The loss led Canto -- who later won bronze at the 2004 Olympic Games -- back to his native Rio de Janeiro. Since then, he has helped thousands of young people from the city's toughest shanty towns find hope in the midst of hardship.

"I've never seen any place as beautiful as Rio de Janeiro, but it does have its dark side," said Canto, 34. "There is violence all over."

To read the full article go here.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/07/16/cnnheroes.flavio.canto/

As well asa video done by CNN on him helping the children of brazil
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/07/16/cnnheroes.flavio.canto/#cnnSTCVideo



highlight reel of Canto

Friday, January 15, 2010

Article - Recovery after a session

Recovery After a Training Session
Matt D'Aquino

Do you ever wake up the next day after a grappling or weights session with sore muscles?

Many people wake up sore and uncomfortable after a session of judo, weights, running or any other intense exercise. A great deal of people surprisingly donÕt have much idea about how to recover from a session, or even where to begin.

This article is going to give you brief explanation of what steps you should take to help your body with recovery. There are many different means of recovery from massage, nutrition, hydration, compression, sleep and cryotherapy.

But many of these forms of recovery are expensive or not readily available to athletes no training at a sporting complex. Therefore we must use other means in order to recover in between sessions, especially at training camps where there are 2 or more sessions in one day.
First step: Hydration

The first step in recovery is hydration. If you are dehydrated you cannot perform at your optimum level so make sure you are hydrated throughout the training session. A good way to know if you are hydrated at during a session is to weigh yourself before and after to see if you are the same, if you are lighter it means you are less hydrated than the start.

During vigorous training try to drink at least 200ml of water every fifteen minutes.

For general knowledge sake room temperature water (although is not as nice) is more easily absorbed than cold water.

Please also be aware that the best fluid to re-hydrate from is water. Many sports drinks have a lot of sugar with little or no re-hydration value, despite what the label may say.
Second step: Cool down and stretching

After your session it is very important to cool down and stretch. A cool down should consist of low impact exercise (eg walking around the mat) and stretching all muscles worked. Hold each stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds each.
Third step: Nutrition

Immediately after your session try to ingest some sort of simple sugars, eg piece of fruit, sports drink (not for the hydration value but of sugar) muesli bar or some lollies. This is especially important at training camps where you have multiple sessions in one day. You must recover as quickly as possible between sessions.

You have a window of approximately 1 hour after a session when your body is craving nutrients. So as soon as possible eat a meal high in complex carbohydrates (to replenish energy stores) and plenty of protein (to repair muscles) as well as a glass of water to re-hydrate.

Many body building companies make supplements that are to be taken purely after a training session. These protein supplements are full of fast acting proteins (for quick absorption) as well as simple and complex carbohydrates to give your body more energy.

Bear in mind that when dieting for competition recovery after a session becomes very important but also tricky due to the fact that many athletes donÕt ingest carbohydrates at night time. Therefore these athletes must get a protein meal as soon as possible.
Fourth step: Shower

The shower is the best place to complete hot and cold periods. 1 minute cold and 1 minute hot is the best way to remove lactic acid and other waste products from your body.
Fifth step: After shower

After your shower (because your muscles are nice and warm) you may like to stretch again. Place emphasis on the muscles that really are still stiff and sore.
Sixth step: Before bed

Before bed if you have many bumps and bruises it might be wise to take 1 or 2 anti-inflamatories, e.g. Nurofen to help relax your muscles and joints. Please be sure to follow the instructions on the packet.

As well as taking anti-inflamatories I highly recommended taking a multi-vitamin especially for those dieting for competition or on a low carb diet.

Make sure you also get a good night sleep, everyone is different but studies suggest a minimum of eight hours sleep a night is recommended due to the fact that your body does all of its recovery while you are asleep.
Seventh step: Following day

If you are still sore the next day then make sure you start the day with a protein and carbohydrate rich meal of some sort. This may include eggs, bread, cereal, oats, milk, yoghurt etc. If your muscles are still sore have anther stretch after your morning shower or on your lunch break at work.

These guidelines are what I believe will aid recovery between training session and this is very important during regular training, but espeicaly at training camps.

Please note that these guidelines are something that I follow and are in no way meant to replace that of a medical professional. If you need more info talk to your coach as well as some of the older athletes at your club and get some ideas about what they did in order to recover from training.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Cool Old Picture

I wonder if it is real

Real life Noahs Ark

This guy has built a life size noahs ark same size as the measurements in the bible.
The massive central door in the side of Noah’s Ark was opened the first crowd of curious townsfolk to behold the wonder. Of course, it’s only a replica of the Biblical Ark , built by Dutch Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible

The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.

Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.

A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine. Biblical Scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.

Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005. On the uncovered top – deck not quite ready in time for the opening – will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats, and one camel

Visitors on the first day were stunned. “It’s past comprehension”, said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape.

“I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big.” There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark. Huibers, a Christian man, said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands , where church going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.









Video

Submission of the week

A fantastic display of great control on the ground

New Rules - New throws

i believe with the new IJF judo rules being implemented as of 1st Jan this year we will start seeing many variations of techniques. We will begin to see various fors of pickups, counters and firemans carries that are just as european as the throws of today.


Friday, January 8, 2010

2 Double leg takedowns

Morote Gari


Double leg takedown

2 Pics of the week

The awesome hard to take action shots of judo.


Video of the week

"Its not the most talented that succeed. Its the most determined."

This video says it all

Back into training

I have had a pretty busy last week and a half. With Christmas New years and catching up with my best Mate alex and Hazel up in Brisbane its time to come back and bust my but for some hard training.
My main training partner Oren is back from his overseas trip so today we are off to do some throwing and get our repetitions up with the new techniques we both have been working on.
Im a bit heavy at the moment, i have been doing alot of those battle ropes at the gym and although they are great for upper body conditioning for judo i think that they have really bulked up my biceps and shoulders. So its time to start the more explosive short lifts and the diet begins. I never really look forward to dieting but at the start you go to the shops and you buy all these really healthy stuff and your like yeah this time dieting is going to be easy. Then 1 week later your completely over it, vegetables only taste so good for a short while.

Its going to be a very big year this year, and the first few months are going to be tough. Have bash 4 cash, ACT open, wrestling nationals and hopefully abu dhabi trials asd well as starting second year of uni and travelling up to Sydney to see the UFC (woo hoo.)

I'm really looking forward to competing again and i have already had many people mention to me that with these new rules im up the creek without a paddle. I am also quick to remind them that i ha vent throw someone with kata guruma in competition for nearly 2 years now, so how am i stuffed with this new rule?

Im looking forward to the year. im looking forward to training hard and reaping the benefits. When i was running the Underground gym i made a poster that i have put below


Work Hard and become a leader, be lazy and never succeed. Proverbs 12:24

2 Athletes per country per weight at WC

The IJF have just past a motion stating the each nation may send 2 athletes per weight division to the world championships.
It is an interesting situation and one i don't know if i'm happy about. For one point. At the moment there is already around 60 guys in the category and in order to win you must win a maximum of around 5 or 6 fights. Now if there are double that number that means more fights throughout the day leading to a very very very long day.
Secondly with these new rules japan have a big advantage and in many divisions they will come first and second or at least place in the top 5. Its going to look a bit stupid.
In saying that though the world champs are the best in the world competing, and in many countries like japan Korea France Germany china the top 2 or even 3 could win the worlds and it is unfair that only one of the players gets to go while the others don't. But this will only affect the countries that have alot of depth.

In the end we will just have to see how all these new rules work out because in the end you just have to fight the guy in front of you and beat them, make them lose and you win. Simple.

Here is the article below


International Judo Union
The International Judo Federation Technical Committee meeting held in Tokyo in the last days of December 2009 decided that starting in 2010, two athletes per weight category are allowed to represent a nation.
The suggestion was made by the IJF President, Mr. Marius Vizer. The decision is valid for World Championships Senior, Junior and Cadets.

“We noticed that many good athletes had to stay at home. There were full generations not allowed to compete in the World Championships. Take alone the case of -48kg in Japan, with Rioko Tani reigning for such a long time and also what can happen to the heavy weights in France with Tedy Rinner supremacy”, says IJF Head Sports Director Mr. Vladimir Barta.

Mr. Barta also gave examples of top athletes struggling inside their countries to qualify like the case of Alexander Mikhailin and Tamerlan Tmenov, in Russia.

“Both are top judoka but only one could perform in the World Championships”, Mr. Barta adds.

Since the new Olympic qualification system based in the World Ranking says that the athlete owns its place (not the country as before), the fact that two judoka can go to the World Championships provide a more fair environment for them to fight for their qualification.
Manoela Penna, IJF Media Director

Kosei Inoue DVD Boxset

This year i was given a Christmas present from my sponsor pat from Grapplingstore.com.
He sent me up the new kosei Inoue DVD. i must say out of all the DVDs out there it is not one i would have bought. This is because 1 Inoue is a heavyweight and 2 he does uchimatas and harai goshis and i don't do any of those sorts of throws.
But after receiving these DVDs and watching them over a few days they are really incredible.
Inoue was world champion 3 times as well as winning the Sydney Olympics all fights by ippon. And the winning throw he performed in the final is one of the best throws in history, a perfect uchimata against a fantastic opponent in Nicholas Gill.
The DVDs come in a pack of three and are made by fighting films. It has 3 DVDs titled Uchimata, Judoka and Samurai.
Inoue talks about his life his ups and downs as well as winning and losing and about how hard it was to move to +100kg etc.
His other DVDs are about his different entries for uchimata as well as harai ososot ouchi, seoi nage and the clock choke. He runs through each technique with Neil Adams commentating and then shows a few competition examples as well. The only bad thing is at times you think the only people he is fighting is Lemere and Lepre 2 top guys he ran into at almost every tournament. The techniques are broken down into sections, upper body, hips and footwork and Inmoue really does leave nothing out.

Each dvd goes for 80minutes so all up its 4 hours of footage (hence why i took 3 days to watch them all fully.)
If anyone has some spare money and doesn't know what to buy i definitely recommend the Inoue dvds.
You can get it here
http://www.grapplingstore.com/contents/en-uk/p680_Inoue_Box_Set_DVD.html








Video of Comp examples of Inoue

Friday, January 1, 2010

Video of the week

Sean sherk is the muscle shark and has some really good ideas in this video


Enjoy
Matt