Ippon of the Week - Harai Tsuri komi ashi

A huge throw - perfect timing and awesome judo

Fighter Dies in South Carolina After First Pro Bout

Fighter Dies in South Carolina After First Pro Bout

Beyond Grappling Blog

Recently i have been thinking about different things to put up on this blog.
When people visit this blog i want them to be able to get information about judo and bjj rather easily and i want them to visit this site and be interested in what i have on here.
I have always been putting up pics of the week, ippons of the week as well as a motivational quote here or there as well as what i have been doing in terms of judo training and competitions etc.
I am going to start putting up various features such as athlete profile training centre profiles and competition rundowns.
Here are a few athlete profile i have done in the past that you may have missed

Tamerlon Tmenov
http://matt-daquino.blogspot.com/2010/04/tamerlan-tmenov.html

Ryoko Tani
http://matt-daquino.blogspot.com/2010/03/ryoko-tani.html

Marcelo Garcia
http://matt-daquino.blogspot.com/2010/03/mareclo-garcia.html

Tadahiro Nomura
http://matt-daquino.blogspot.com/2010/03/tadahiro-nomura.html

Pic of the Week - Ippon!

An Ippon is to land your opponent flat on their back with force and control

Congrats Kylie & Janelle

Congratulations to kylie (Far right) who won a bronze medal this weekend in San Salvadore, she had 4 fights and ended up winning three to claim the bronze in the -63kg division.

Janelle Shepard of Australia also claimed a silver medal in the over 78kg weight divsion. Congratulations to them both, it is a fantastic achievement and hopefully with more world cups under their belt they continue to win medals in the future.

Congratulations once again.

Werdum beats Fedor

The moment has finally come – ‘The Last Emperor’s’ reign of terror over the world of MMA has come to an end in just 69 seconds of his bout with Fabricio Werdum.

Fedor had went 10 years unbeaten and started strongly, knocking down Werdum with punches in the early stages of the fight.

In the blink of an eye the tables turned though as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert showed that the Russian is human after all by catching him in a tight triangle choke, and further turned up the heat further by simultaneously locking in an armbar leaving him with no option but to tap.

The defeat marks only the second loss of Fedor’s career and the first time he’s been submitted, but it’s a huge blow to the fighter, his management M-1 Global who have built their brand around him, and Strikeforce who had been poised to set-up a huge fight between Fedor and Alistair Overeem before this massive upset.

“I feel very, very happy,” Werdum said afterward. “I feel so happy. … Fedor is the best in the world. Tonight I beat Fedor, but Fedor is the best.”

Taken from
http://www.fightofthenight.com/news/fedor-emelianenko-loses-as-fabricio-werdum-shocks-the-world/

Fight footage

Explore

`A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." - John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic, 1928

Recent blog changes

At the moment i am in Japan and will be here for another 5 weeks. Due to the fact that i have alot of time on my hands i have been thinking a little bit about my blog. I have been playing around with a few things mostly the layout as well as the content.

Before i had the black background (and although this looked really cool) it made my blog look dark and menacing and a bit depressing to be honest. So i have decided to change it to this one which i will probably stick with.

I like the white, i think, it looks happy and nice and open.
I have also added a labels thing down on the right. If you click on them the posts i have added those labels to will come up in a big list.

For example if you click on on the pic of the week label. All posts that i have labelled ippon of the week will come up.
Also a search function etc.

I have been in Japan for a week now and training is going really well. the japanese of course are very good technically and due to the weather here, training is very very hot.

My days is spent in the morning either doing interval training on the exercise bike or my weights program (alternative days) and then judo in the afternoons.
One great aspect of Tsukuba University is the training isn't the same day in day out. It varies every session which is great because alot of other unis i have been to have been very monotonous.

Training usually consists of the same warm up everyday followed by a few rounds of speed uchikomi and then 50 moving attacks. Randori is always 6 minute rounds 3 or 4 times and then 3 sets of that.
So 3 X 6 minuntes 3 times.

Luckily for us the place we are staying has a great place where we can hot and cold bath which makes it really good and helps that little bit extra in the reovery process.

Anyway i hope you have liked the new look blog i have and hopefully learn something along the way
Talk soon
Matt

Family tree of fighting

Athlete Profile - Flavio Canto

Flávio Vianna de Ulhôa Canto (born April 16, 1975 in Oxford, England) is a male judoka and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt from Brazil, who won the bronze medal in the half middleweight (– 81 kg) division at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
He previously competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Canto won three medals in a row at the Pan American Games: 1995, 1999 and 2003.

Besides his judo successes Canto is also well known in Brazil for is work in aiding underprivelegd children in the shanty towns of Rio de Janeiro.

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.

More than 1,000 students are enrolled in judo athlete Flavio Canto's Reaction Institute.
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."

Millions of poor families populate Brazil's favelas, or shanty towns, and roughly 60 percent of the country's homicides happen there, according to Brazil's Institute of Applied Economic Research.

The favelas' vulnerable youth face two constant challenges, Canto said: falling victim to the violence or choosing to become a young perpetrator of it.

"It's the kids who have it toughest," said Canto. "They are told every day, 'You're not going to advance. If you are born in the favela, you're going to die in the favela.' And that's an idea that we try to break

Read the full stroy at
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/07/16/cnnheroes.flavio.canto/



Olympic Games
Bronze 2004 Athens -81 kg

Pan American Games
Gold 2003 Santo Domingo -81 kg
Silver 1999 Winnipeg -81 kg
Bronze 1995 Mar del Plata -78 kg

South American Games
Gold 2002 Rio de Janeiro -81 kg

Pan American Judo Championships
Gold 2010 San Salvador

Encourage

`Encourement is the oxygen of the soul` Pastor Phil Pringle

Everyday make sure you encourage those around you to become the best they can be. Encourage people and watch them grow and achieve more than even they think is possible.

Recovery

As i am in Japan training and recovery is very important between sessions i thought i would re-post my recovery artcile. You can find other article i have written on the pages section on the right.


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 r any other intense exercise. A great deal of people surprisingly don’t 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 or an electrolyte sports drink 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 anything that contains alot of salt (electrolytes.) These electrolytes will `soak up` all the water in the drink and hold onto it, thus rehydrating u faster.

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 don’t 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: Before bed
Before bed if you have many bumps and bruises it might be wise to take 1 or 2 anti inflames eg Nurofen to help relax your muscles and joints. Please be sure to follow the instructions on the packet.
As well as taking anti inflames 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.

Sixth 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.

Pic of the Week - Rear naked Choke

This weeks Pic of the week is a young judo player from victoria, Jake Bensted. This picture is Jake applying a rear naked choke (hadaka Jime) in this years national titles. It is not very often you see a rear naked choke in judo due to the fact that judo players a usually good at defending their necks as well as the case of the thick lapel getting in the way.

Off to Japan

This Sunday i am off to Japan for the 11th time. I will be training at Tsukuba University 6 days a week and resting on Sundays. So i may not have much posting over the next few weeks. This is the 3rd time i will be training at Tsukuba uni and it is a great place to train and stay if your are ever in the mood for hard training in Japan
The reason why i am going is so that i can concentrate purely on Judo for the lead up to our OJU Continental in August.
It is also summer there and winter here in Australia so at least i get away from the freezing cold.

Judo & BJJ Training videos

Gripmaster from Grapplingstore.com

I recently received a new product that Pat from Grapplingstore.com now has in stock. It is called prohands and it is designed to strengthen not just your grip but each individual finger. It is a fantastic invention.

For hard grip fighting and grip breaking in Judo, and solid gi chokes in BJJ you must have a strong grip. If you dont have a strong grip you will find you wont have the edge in gripping your opponent in throws and takedowns or that little bit extra in order to finish that gi choke in BJJ.

Everyone has seen the devices that your squeeze really hard to strengthen your forearms (eg Captains of crush). But in Judo and BJJ you need the forearm strength of a power lifter as well as the finger strength of a rock climber. That's why the prohands is really useful.

I have found that exercises you can do with the prohands gripmaster strengthen both your forearms as well as each finger individually or in a combination.

The exercises for the gripmaster can be found at
http://www.prohands.net/exercise

I especially like the finger tip pinch, trigger grip and the flat fist.
To make sure i don't forget to use it i actually leave it in the drivers side door of my car and use it while i am at the traffic lights or when my wife is driving the car.

I highly recommended that grapplers at all ability levels buy and use the gripmaster on a regular basis to help strengthen each finger as well as your forearms muscles, it will really help your ability to hold your opponents gi whether they are trying to break your grip or not.

If you are interested in purchasing a gripmaster head too..
http://www.grapplingstore.com/contents/en-uk/d268.html

The Judoka

"The judoka does not perfect himself to fight, he fights to perfect himself."

Ippon of the Week- Kouchi

finger injuries in winter

I haven't really been doing much today as I am just relaxing the last few days before the nationals this weekend. I am really looking forward to competing as I have had really good training and preparation due to the fact of me being in brazil recently,

it is now coming into winter in australia and this is the season where your fingers really cop a beating. Winter here is rather cold and due to the amount of grip fighting in judo it is crucial to make sure your fingers are warm before training.

I thought I would post some strategies I employ to make sure my fingers don't get injured in the winter time.

It is always important to make sure your fingernails are short, this is to protect them from getting ripped of during grip fighting as well as preventing you from accidently scratching your fellow competitors.

On the way to training I make sure I put on a nice warm pair of gloves. Then by the time I get to training my fingers are pretty warm.

Lastly I always tape my fingers and in some cases I buddy tape them to stop them getting stuck in my opponents gi while grip fighting.

I'm a firm believer in scheduling randori (fighting) early in a session and then complete a technical session afterwards, but in winter I always schedule randori to be later on in the session to make sure everyone's fingers are warm.

another good strategy to employ in winter time is to encourage less grip fighting. I try to get the younger students to adopt one of jigoro kanos fundamental ideas of using your opponents grip against them opposed to breaking grips.

Brazil Highlight reel

Here is a highlight reel i made of the Rio Grand Slam and Sau paulo world cup. I just filmed that are real throwers
Enjoy

"Spirit"

"The five S's of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit."
Ken Doherty

Ear Torn off in MMA

Shigeyuki Uchiyama was en route to a win over Masaya "J-Taro" Takita, bloodying his opponent with punches and knees and controlling the pace comfortably. Thingswere looking good for the Grabaka fighter until somehow, during a double leg takedown that fell through the ropes, the top of his ear was torn off.

It was not clear how the cauliflowered ear was torn but blood could be seen on the top and bottom ropes. Most likely, Uchiyama's ear was caught in the vertical ropes that keep the horizontal ropes even, although no blood could be seen on them.

ShareAs soon as Pancrase officials identified what the bloody lump on the canvas was a doctor check was called and the bout was stopped at 2:57 of Round 2.

Uchiyama was taken to hospital along with his severed ear immediately following the bout. It is not yet known if his ear can be reattached. Alarmingly, no adjustment or check was done to the ropes following the accident and bouts continued as normal. Masaya Takita was awarded the win by TKO.



For more info check out:
http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/06/05/shigeyuki-uchiyamas-ear-torn-off-in-pancrase/?sms_ss=facebook

Pic of the Week - Drop seoi nage

Judo Compilation

Good fights in Brazil

just a collection of good fights and throws i saw in Brazil


66kg final