Capoeira in MMA? It IS Possible...

Jon (one of my esteemed martial arts colleagues) and I were recently debating the effectiveness of Capoeira (a Brazilian martial arts with African connections) as a fighting style. He had mentioned that he had heard that it was being used effectively as a contact fighting style on a martial arts documentary he'd seen. Given what I had seen of Capoeira, mostly from my experiences in the stunt industry, I found it hard to believe that it would be all that useful in real fighting context. Capoeira, for the most part, is taught as a demonstration style martial art with fancy kicks and gymnastic tricks.

Here is an example of how Capoeira the way it is typically practiced:



After my inconclusive discussion with Jon, I turned to YouTube to find examples of how it was being used in the ring. The first fight I found was pretty much what I was expecting... though apparently it's from the movie 'Never Back Down.' Check it out:



While I found this example amusing, a Capoeira fighter would pretty much have to be an idiot, to show off like that mid-fight. This next fight, a real one, happened only a few days ago. It features a Capoeira fighter from my local Vancouver, BC, using it far more effectively.



Any martial art has the potential to be effective in the ring or on the street... as long as you fully understand its weaknesses and limitations in addition to its strengths. In my opinion, it is true that some arts may lend themselves better to certain contexts and therefore can be learned to a usable level of skill more quickly in those contexts. That being said, if you devote years or decades to learning a martial art, even one that may appear less practical for those contexts, it can have the potential to be equally effective, despite their limitations. People like Lyoto Machida have founded impressive MMA careers based on this kind of devotion.

Special Spring Offer: Free Uniform

With the economy being so bad right now, I know that many people are trying to be careful with money. As a result, people are delaying coming in to take up Jiu-jitsu since it does require a bit of a financial commitment to start training with us. To make it easier, I've decided to offer to give a free uniform to new students until May 15.

I don't usually go for these types of offers since they smack of the tactics used by McDojos. Many dojos offer 4 months training for only $99 to start or offer a free uniform with your first month of training or something like this. A lot of people are willing to try it out because of the low-start up cost, but then the dojos jack up the price once the offer is finished. And of course, they don't necessarily tell you up front what the costs will be after the offer is over.

Despite the association with the McDojo sales strategy, I understand that we're in a recession right now and I do want to make it easier for new people to sign up.

And by the way, the free uniforms offered for these deals are usually cheaply made and paper thin. They wear down fast and soon need to be replaced. The free uniform I'll be giving to new students this spring is a good quality medium thickness uniform that retails at $65.

Anyway, if you know anyone who is looking to learn self-defense and is looking to take up a martial art (like Jiu-jitsu) in the Vancouver area this spring. Let them know about our offer.

The Importance of Contact for Developing Strike Targeting

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/the-importance-of-contact-for-developing-strike-targeting

Louis Sargeant Retires from Professional Boxing

After his recent re-match against Ralph "Junior" Moar, Louis "Chocolate Thunder" Sargeant has announced his retirement from the professional boxing world. The match took place on Friday, Mar. 27, 2009.

Here is a video of the first two rounds of the fight:



I am glad to have been there for his last fight. It was long and exciting (it went the full 7 rounds) and Louis was clearly the favourite. Alas, the decision went to Moar. Having watched the fight, I believe that Moar was the stronger "boxer" in this particular fight, but Louis was a better "fighter".

Moar was taller by at least half a foot, 10 years younger and boxed for points quite successfully. Louis, on the other hand, fought to land hard hits rather than lots of lighter shots for points (as he always does). Moreover, he took some solid shots and stayed standing, not once going to an eight-count.

After the fight, the crowd roared its appreciation. It was the fight of the night. People cheered on Moar, the victor, but they cheered just as much for Louis, if not more when he took his bow.

Louis told me at his post-fight celebration that he was happy with the fight. Of course he would have preferred the win, but he felt that he fought the good fight. He took the hard hits to the head, he bled, and his face got marred (a first in his career he told me), but he went the distance and put on a good show. He said that he was happy to step down and now focus on my fight career.

Louis Sargeant is a great man with a big heart and a passion for what he does. I'm proud to have the opportunity to train under him.

West Coast Jiu-jitsu Weclomes Guest from Blog

Earlier this week, our dojo had a guest come for a drop-in. This was a first. It is very exciting to know that my blog is making enough of an impact that someone visiting from out of town wanted to come visit and train at my dojo.

I had never met Dave before, but he has been following my blog for awhile. He trains in a variant of Can-ryu back in Ottawa. Many of the fundamentals are alike, but of course, there are a number of differences. That being said, the differences weren't so pronounced that he was a fish out of water. In fact, he trained with very good intensity and control and with an excellent attitude. He fit in well, both on and off the mats. Because it was our weekly Wednesday wing night, he even came out to join us for a bite to eat after class.

It was great meeting Dave and training with him. Everyone enjoyed having him and we would very much welcome him on the mats again should he ever come back to Vancouver.

This goes for anyone else reading my blog. If you ever come out to the Vancouver area for a visit for whatever reason, please feel free to contact me about coming in for a drop-in if you're up for some training. :)

Getting Ready for My Orange Belt in Shorinji Kan

As most of you know, I've been training in another style of Jiu-jitsu on the side called Shorinji Kan. At the launch party it was made public knowledge that I wouldn't be testing for yellow belt at this April's grading, but that I would be testing for orange belt.

At first I was a bit nervous about being given a month's notice for an extra level of curriculum. Fortunately, I had a look at the curriculum and there is sufficient cross-over between our two styles that I'm okay with it.

You may think I am being a bit silly about being nervous at all considering that I have nearly 16 years of experience with Jiu-jitsu under my belt. But if anything, there is more pressure on me to be not just good enough to pass the grading, but to be exceptionally good. The expectation is greater, not just from the grading panel (presumably) but from myself. It doesn't matter that I'm already operating at a level that is beyond what is usually expected for someone of my level in Shorinji Kan. I don't want to be anything less than what I'm capable of. Otherwise I will have failed the grading in my own eyes, no matter what belt I'm awarded.

In my mind, a person's progress in a martial art isn't based on how much better they are than other people, but on how much better they are than themselves. It's about constantly developing your skills in pursuit of an unattainable mastery. It's this mentality toward training that makes martial arts training so great.

Women's Rights in Egypt Gets an Extra Kick

Due to a recent rise in sexual harassment cases in Egypt, it is becoming socially acceptable for women to train in martial arts for the purposes of self-defense, as reported on the BBC News website. At the dojo featured in the article, women of all ages train wearing gis or track pants along with their traditional headscarves. The women train with each other and also with men.



In a survey of 2,000 women conducted by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights, it was found that 83% of them had experienced some form of sexual harassment. Even more disturbing, nearly two thirds of the men surveyed freely admitted they had abused a woman at one time or another.

The author of the report, Nihad Aboul-Qumsan, says too often the woman is blamed for dressing provocatively.

"Most of the people we questioned said there wouldn't be such harassment if women dressed in a modest way. But when we questioned women on what they were wearing when they were abused more than 70% said they were wearing a headscarf.

Egyptian women rarely report these attacks fearing public embarrassment and the resulting "dishonour" to their family. Plus, the police aren't usually very sympathetic when they do make reports.

According to the BBC News piece though, there was a landmark case last year in which a judge handed down a 3-year sentence to a man who had repeatedly groped a woman pedestrian as he drove alongside her in Cairo. The victim initially held on to her assailant's vehicle and eventually succeeded in dragging him to a police station.

Since that case, the topic has been more openly discussed in the media. The government belatedly has recognized they have a problem. A new legislation is passing through parliament that would define sexual harassment as a crime and make it easier for women to report it.

This is a great start, but of course this legislation will need solid support from Egyptian society as a whole before real change emerges. In the meantime, it's nice to hear that women are learning that they have the strength to fight back.