Another MMA Fighter Shot and Killed This Year

Hey guys just wanted to give you all the heads up, sadly another MMA fighter was killed this year.

His name was Justin Eilers, he was shot and died shortly after on Friday morning, the day after Christmas.

In an apparent domestic disturbance at an acquaintance's home in Canyon County, Idaho.

The cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the chest, the bullet punctured his lung before exiting his body.

Justin Eilers was 30 years old.

The shooter James Robert Malec, 48, was arrested and charged with second degree murder in relation to the shooting.

Justin was a heavyweight fighter who fought for the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Andrea Arloski at UFC 53 in June 2005.

He also fought for Elite XC in 2008 for a title shot against Antonio Silva.

What I wanted to point out was his killer wasn't a big heavyweight MMA Fighter or a tough thug, but a 48 year old man who wasn't a fighter but someone who became deadly due to the use of a firearm.

This tragic death could have been avoided but unfortunately wasn't, what started out as an argument ended deadly.

For all you MMA Fighters or Martial Artists out there you need to be careful what you do outside the gym, that secret stand up combo or new jiu jitsu move won't work against a committed individual willing to kill you with a weapon.

When real violence enters your life you may not be able to make it tap out or be able to knock it out!

What you really need to know doesn't involve strength or sweat, a punch or a kick.

What you need to learn is awareness and deescalation skills and tactics to deal with this type of situation, no amount of kicks or punches will help when the bullets start flying.

Also if you're not training in how to deal with weapons of any kind then you're training is incomplete and needs to be reevaluated.

So take off the gloves and get up off the ground and start learning how to protect yourself from this type of violence, at the very least you'll have some options that may save your life and those of your love ones.

Take care and be safe.


Daniel Sambrano
"Keep It Simple and Savage"
www.SuperHeroSystems.com

Your defense is always offensive in muay boran

Just because my arms aren't wrapped up in hemp and I'm not wearing long shorts doesn't mean it ain't muay oran. Here's a few things to consider about muay thai in general, but more specifically the older styles(muay boran, muay chao churd, mae mai, even lerdrit):

1. Even your defense is offensive, be ultra aggressive
2. Face the weapon
3. You rarely move back, more often you move in as your opponent strikes
4. Like in bando, you're always looking to take your enemy's territory (drive him back)
5. Strike hard, use your elbows often, and aim for soft tissue.
6. Blogspot's content editor doesn't auto format numbering...annoying.

I really don't recommend going under and hooking a kick in any street fight scenario. You leave yourself way too open, but in the ring when you're sparring, now that's another story.

Punch Your Way to Fat Loss!

Hey guys here is a great article by a friend and student of mine by the name of Aaron Briscoe, check it out and learn some new twists for fat loss using punching and fighting drills, enjoy.

And don't forget to check out his website to see some samples of his training via video clips and to read more interesting articles.

PUNCH YOUR WAY TO FAT LOSS!

Ever wonder why you hardly ever see a boxer, muay thai fighter, or any other combat athlete with a soft mid-section or soft anything else? Well, aside from the intense conditioning they must go through, prior to a fight or competition, they are on a strict diet, but in reality, these people BURN CALORIES!

Making weight can be difficult for anyone, but when you consider their profession, it's no wonder the vast majority of pugilists are lean.

For the rest of us, boxing can provide an unreal calorie burning workout that few can rival. The average boxing session can burn up to 600 calories per 60 minutes. Now, in this sense, when I refer to boxing, I'm referring to bag and focus mit work. Not actually sparring. If we talk about sparring the rate of caloric expenditure goes up much higher.

In order to get the absolute most out of our boxing sessions, what I like to do is incorporate movement drills with the boxing. For instance, there's one drill we do often--"Running to Battle".

Basically, the client throws 20 punches, then has to run a pre-determined distance, and then back to me for another round of punching. Try doing that for 5 straight rounds and see if the sweat doesn't pour down. Once comfortable with the coordination of the movements, I also incorporate Thai knees into the equation, making the body work just that much harder.

Also, boxing offers amazing core work. The constant rotation of the hips and upper body creates tension throughout the entire abdominal complex, in particular, the obliques. Your obliques are your shrink wrap. Work them well, and they help pull the rectus abdominis in creating a leaner mid-section. You will also develop a strong, defined back. Look at the back of any combat athlete and see if you can't point to each specific muscle.

For stress relief, aside from maybe meditation, I don't know of a better exercise. If a client comes in and says they've had a bad day, we go straight for the gloves. If their mind is distracted, even in the least, clean and presses will have to wait!

Now, for safety considerations, I highly recommend taking a few lessons, buying some large gloves and hand wraps. Some contraindications to boxing are if a client has any shoulder, elbow, or wrist conditions.

When I teach clients to punch, I prefer to teach them the old bareknuckle style which is to NOT turn the hand over as you see in boxing today. The reason is simple, it protects the wrist. As you turn your wrists over during a punch, it is easy to "snake", or bend, the wrist and upon impact if your wrist is not straight, it will hurt....bad. Having done this before, I can assure you, this is something you do not want to do.

Also, when first beginning, I never advise punching hard. Most people don't spend time punching anything, and to, all of the sudden, start slamming your fist into bags or pads will result in bad cramps in the hand. Go easy and focus on speed and movement. After all, this is to burn fat and not to train to fight.

Boxing offers a change up to the traditional workout. It makes things fun and exciting, and at the same time, helping to burn fat at a high rate. I have yet to see a client not have fun with this while working extraordinarily hard at the same time.

Again, make sure you always focus on what you are doing to protect yourself from injury. Just like any other exercise in the gym, one lapse in concentration can result in you getting hurt and that's not point of any workout plan.

Now, get out there and punch your way to fat loss!

By Aaron Briscoe

Aaron Briscoe is a Martial Artist and Personal Trainer specializing in unique and funtional

training programs for fat loss. For more information and video exercise clips... Go To =>

http://www.mindbodypersonalperformance.com/

Spread 'em! Simple street combat entry technique

On my November 22nd post I went over the flower technique to gain entry past an opponent's guard. The flower technique is a muay chao churd (older combat form of muay thai) method that's very effective getting to the center line. Tonight, I go over a ledrit entry technique that splays out your adversary.

Some call it a punter's, kick, a splay kick, a football kick - it's actually an inside bando drive kick aimed at the shin instead of the inner thigh. It's a very aggressive move, meant to drive through the attacker's shin, and it's only a set up strike (however, extremely painful for unconditioned shin).

Drive against your opponent, driving your shin through his, This will cause him to lose his balance. As his off set leg is splayed outward, he buckles at the waist and his head drops forward. He's spreading himself out in effort to maintain his balance. Setting him off like this gives you the opportunity to follow up with strikes to the inner thigh, legs, his head is exposed, and most importantly he opens up his lower back to you.

It works well in multiple opponent sitations as it allows you strike and move to the outside of the group, soften up a target, give you an opening to control an individual, who becomes your asset/shield. I'll save multiple opponent strategies for another post.

Holiday gift ideas for the muay thai enthusiast

Two years ago I set out to find some training gear as Christmas gifts for some of the other instructors at my school and I was hit by the harsh reality that finding good muay thai gear locally, at a fair price, is nearly impossible. If I, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, a martial arts hot bed, can't get good quality gear in town, how does the guy in Kansas, or in Erie, PA get a hold of decent thai pads for less than $180? Seriously, if you're paying more than $150 for a pair of Twins or Windy full sized thai pads, you're paying too much.

I've done the research to find some of the best online deals for good quality muay thai training equipment at the best prices. Pass this post on to friends & family to help them get you want you want this year. Happy shopping!

Thai liniment: MuayThaiEquipment, an eBay store has the lowest prices thai liniment out there, starting at $3.50 for a 120ml bottle.

Focus Mitts: Some of the best quality boxing equipment comes from the folks at Everlast. Right now they're having a sale on professional focus mitts for $29.99.

Thai Pads: Another eBay store, BlackEye Athletics offers Twins leather thai pads for $106.99 a pair (XL).

Shin Guards: BlackEye Athletics also carries Twins shin guards, all priced around $55. MuayThai-Fighting.com carries ThaiSmai leather shin guards for $44.94, but shipping takes about 6 weeks.

I also shop at MuayThaiStuff.com, they have great close out sales. They recently launched a 50% everything sale, but be warned, it appears that the retail prices have been artificially inflated. You're not getting 50% off of anything. I suggest that you wait it out before shopping at that site. Let them figure that shoppers aren't stupid.

If you have any great equipment vendors, let us know! Happy holidays!