ADCC ROMANIA 2012 - AD UNUM BATTLES!

TEODOR CHIRICA - AD UNUM JJB (match 1)

DAVID TIBERIU-AD UNUM JJB (final)

TEODOR CHIRICA-AD UNUM JJB (match 2)

DAVID TIBERIU -AD UNUM JJB (semifinal)

CLAUDIU PATRU-AD UNUM JJB (final)

AD UNUM LA ADCC ROMANIA CHAMPIONSHIP 2012!

EVOLUŢIE MERITORIE A TEAM-ULUI AD UNUM LA ADCC ROMANIA CHAMPIONSHIP 2012!

     Cu o echipă formată din 4 competitori, între care şi un junior, echipa AD UNUM a participat sâmbătă la concursul zonal, pe ţară, al deja cunoscutei promoţii competiţionale ADCC, concurs care a adunat la start peste 90 de competitori din mai mult de 20 de cluburi din ţară şi de peste hotare.

     Deşi aflaţi la prima competiţie de anvergură, elevii instructorilor Florin Ionescu şi Cătălin Vlad au trecut rapid peste emoţiile debutului, iar atmosfera bună din cadrul clubului condus de Sensei Ilie Pătru şi eforturile depuse la antrenamente şi-au arătat roadele.

      Primul intrat în concurs, la juniori, a fost Claudiu Pătru care şi-a învins rapid adversarul prin submisie, un oponent mai puternic, şi cu 2 ani mai vârstnic. Trebuie menţionat că elevul nostru şi-a făcut înscrierea în cadrul categoriei, cu taxa şi cântarul aferent, iar meciul ar fi contat în cadrul categoriei juniori, atâta vreme cât s-au prezentat doi oponenţi, ca şi regulă abordată şi în concursurile internaţionale. Organizatorii au prezentat meciul ca un superfight de juniori, la final, deoarece probabil nu luaseră în calcul prezenţa unor competitori într-o asemenea categorie şi au avut o altă opinie cu privire la numărul minim de competitori per categorie.Până la urmă, indiferent de păreri pro sau contra pe acest subiect, contează podiumul de final şi medalia de aur obţinută pe merit de Claudiu Pătru.

     La categoria -65,9 kg (începători) o evoluţie entuziasmantă a avut Teodor Chirică, care în primul meci a submis un adversar experimentat, cu back-ground în lupte libere, dar care nu a avut ce face la triunghiul "agăţat" pe cap de elevul nostru.Următorul meci, Teo a câştigat rapid printr-o kimura atât de bine setată, încât adversarului său i-a cedat mâna, care s-a rupt.Vizibil emoţionat de eveniment, Teo a cedat atât semifinala, cât şi finala mică. deşi în opinia multora ar fi câştigat fără probleme categoria.

    La categoria -75,9 kg (începători), campionul a fost de la noi, David Tiberiu învingând fără drept de apel în cele 4 meciuri avute, meciuri dominate de la un capăt la altul, cu dăruire şi îndârjire.O prestaţie agresivă, în sensul bun al cuvântului, cu elemente tehnice de excepţie, pentru care merită aplauze!

   Ultimul, dar nu cel din urmă a fost Olaru Marian, care după doar trei săptămâni de grappling a luptat admirabil, a reuşit să-şi proiecteze adversarul, să ia puncte, pierzând doar datorită lipsei de experienţă şi lipsei de antrenamente specifice.

    Aşadar, un bilanţ remarcabil, cu 2 medalii de aur, o finală mică, 10 meciuri, 7 victorii (trei prin submisie) şi doar trei înfrângeri, pentru 4 participanţi din cadrul clubului, la o primă competiţie de o asemenea importanţă!Şi asta doar după ceva mai mult de două luni de când s-a trecut la programul integrat de antrenamente în Gracie Jiu-Jitsu şi Submission Grappling..

Bravo băieţi! Îi aşteptăm şi pe ceilalţi la viitoarele competiţii! Pentru că avem toate condiţiile şi dorinţa de a continua performanţele şi evoluţiile de excepţie!

FELICITĂRI!

NUDDA M.A.X.TRAINING Seminar highlights - July 2012

ADCC.WORLD PRO JIU-JITSU.DIFERENŢE.

What’s the Difference Between ADCC and World Professional Jiu-Jitsu?

by Caleb on March 6, 2011 (http://thefightworkspodcast.com)

ADCC

What is commonly referred to as the ADCC Championship is a submission grappling event that happens every two years and began in 1998, probably way before you ever stepped on the mats. A Gracie Barra instructor here in San Diego named Nelson Monteiro had a student who turned out to be a member of the royal family in the United Arab Emirates, a country with a total population of just under 5 million people. That student’s name is Sheik Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nayan, and these days he probably does not spend too much time dealing directly with learning new submissions as he has some pretty important responsibilities back in the UAE. In any case he is still a patron of submission grappling and the events continue to run every two years.

The name ADCC represents “Abu Dhabi Combat Club” which is a physical training center in – you guessed it – Abu Dhabi, one of two major cities in the UAE. (The other is Dubai).

In the earliest years of the ADCC, you had to receive an invitation to compete. Nowadays you can still receive an invite which usually includes an offer of travel and accommodation but the ADCC holds qualifiers around the world so anyone should have the opportunity to compete in the event. There is even one such qualifier scheduled to take place here in San Diego next weekend.

The prizes for winning the ADCC are the largest I am aware of in the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission grappling. For example, the winner of the male absolute division (no weight restrictions there) earns $40,000! While the women’s divisions are not equally rewarded, it’s safe to say that in this respect the ADCC has done much to motivate and compensate submission grapplers around the world.

The last edition of the ADCC World Championships were held in Barcelona, Spain in 2009 and the finals of the 2011 edition is said to be in Nottingham, England. This is, perhaps not coincidentally, virtually home territory for the 2009 ADCC absolute champion Braulio Estima and his brother Victor.

You can learn more about the beginnings of the ADCC here in our audio interview with Nelson Monteiro.

World Professional Jiu-Jitsu

World Professional Jiu-Jitsu is a separate organization than the one responsible for ADCC. World Professional Jiu-Jitsu’s benefactor is a different member of the Emirate royal family Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan.

World Professional Jiu-Jitsu has only been around two or three years. Originally it began as a competition where you had to wear the gi, but this year it has begun offering no-gi divisions as well.

One term you may have heard in the last couple of years is Abu Dhabi Pro. What’s that you ask? Abu Dhabi Pro is a company ran by Fernando Paradeda that is responsible for carrying out some of the World Professional Jiu-Jitsu trials around the world. You can hear him discuss the effort in an earlier conversation with us here on The FightWorks Podcast earlier this year.

In Closing…

	ADCC	World Professional Jiu-Jitsu
Geographic Origin	Abu Dhabi, UAE	Abu Dhabi, UAE
Patron	Sheik Tahnoon	Sheik Mohammed
Gi? No-gi?	Just No-gi	Gi and no-gi
Frequency	Every two years	Annually
Big Prize Money?	Yes	Yes
Rules Used	Special ADCC rules	IBJJF rules
Equal Prize Money / Opportunity for Women?	Significant room for improvement	Significant room for improvement
How Lucky Are We to Have the Sheik’s Patronage?	Extremely	Extremely
Representative Audio Interview	#182 with Braulio Estima from October 2009	#208 with Hillary Williams from April 2010

7 Essential Kickboxing Techniques

Legendary BJJ instructor in Europe: Roberto Atalla

By BJJ Heroes on July 13th, 2010

Roberto Atalla (Rio Grappling Club)

Roberto Atalla

Roberto Atalla is one of the finest Jiu Jitsu black belts teaching in Europe today. This legendary BJJ instructor and former World Champion is one of the founders of the Rio Grappling Club, an academy that has been producing some of the best European grapplers for the passed few years.

Roberto Atalla in Detail

Full name: Roberto de Moraes Atalla

Nickname: “Risada” was a name given to him by Helio Moreira “Soneca” when he was still a white belt. The name stands for “laughter” and Helio called him that because he thought Atalla was always laughing when training.

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlson Gracie> Sergio Souza > Roberto Atalla

Main Achievements in Grappling:

• 3x World Champion (1996 – Weight and Open Weight as a purple belt, 1997 – brown belt);
• World Silver Medallist (1999 – black belt);
• Pan American Silver Medallist (2000 – black belt);
• Brazilian National Silver Medallist (1999 – black belt);
• Rio de Janeiro State Champion (1998 – brown belt);
• British Grappling Champion (2003)

Roberto Atalla Team/Association: Rio Grappling Club.

Roberto Atalla’s Biography

Roberto Atalla was born in the burgh of Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro, a neighbourhood with strong ties to the Botafogo soccer (football) team, though Atalla turned out to be a feverous Flamengo enthusiast. He started training martial arts as a way to defend himself at school and while surfing as he was not a big individual. He had always admired Bruce Lee, but Kung Fu was unavailable where “Risada” lived and he believed Karate to be very rigid and stylised form of combat, so he chose to start training Capoeira.

In 1990 Roberto Atalla started looking at Jiu Jitsu academies, he believed the Brazillian Grappling art was more realistic then the kicking of Capoeira, so he began training in Tijuca (a famous spot for surfers) under Jean Jacques Machado. This was a historical period for jiu jitsu and this academy in particular as many world class jiu jitsu fighters came out of this amazing camp, fighters like Renzo Gracie, Roberto Correa, Helio “Soneca”, Vinicius Magalhaes, Roberto Atalla and many others.

In 1992 Atalla moved to the US for a short while and he took the opportunity to train in California with Rickson Gracie. He came back to Brazil in 1993 a changed fighter, awarding this change to the short exchange with the legendary Gracie. Atalla received his blue belt from the former ADCC champion, Jean Jacques, but the Machado then moved to the USA so “Risada” spent the next few years training in different Gracie academies, spots like Renzo Gracie at “Lagoa” or the “Gracie Ipanema” academy, receiving his purple and brown belts during this period.

After an argument with the head coach of Gracie Barra, Carlos Gracie Jr., Roberto felt the need to change academies, and so he moved to the Rio Jiu Jitsu Club, a club that would later become BTT (Brazilian Top Team), there he met another pair of historical Jiu Jitsu figures, Murilo Bustamante and Sergio “Bolao” who would become Atalla’s instructors. He received his black belt in 1998 from Sergio “Bolao” Souza.

His first fight as a black belt was against the famous “Nino” Schembri, an established fighter that had been running through his division for some years. Atalla managed to break the submission streak of the Jiu Jitsu ace and almost got a submission of his own with a tight leg lock. In the end Nino ended winning the fight by 3 points (guard pass), though he was unable to continue the tournament because of an injury inflicted by Atalla.

Roberto moved to Europe shortly after, a bold choice at the time as he had no contacts in the Old Continent. He stayed in England first where he earned a living giving seminars, later he moved to the Netherlands for a short period before settling in Poland. Atalla’s first plan when he arrived was to stay in London as he knew the language, but the close contact with the polish people opened his heart to the Eastern European nation and so he moved there. The Rio Grappling Club was founded by Roberto Atalla as a homage to the place where he trained before (Rio Jiu Jitsu Club). Atalla wanted to escape the internal politics of the big Jiu Jitsu teams and instead decided to form his own. Today Rio Grappling Club is a strong well established European team with fighters all over the continent – Website: riograpplingclub.wordpress.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRErDoPya9Y&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiE-JM-_YRQ&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIT1QgIgbhs&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMPU_3JBSOs&feature=player_embedded

Using achilles lock as counter!Great!

Kings of The Ring (Rare Documentary)

Filipino Martial Arts Festival 1st Edition- Romania 2012

ARTE MARŢIALE FILIPINEZE

Interviu cu Cătălin Gheorghe, leader-ul Pinoro Training Group Linz-Austria

Publicat în 24 September 2011 pe site-ul: www.fight.ro
 

Cătălin Gheorghe este un alt român stabilit în afara ţării şi împătimit de arte marţiale filipineze. În toamna anului 2011, el a venit în vizită în ţară şi a ţinut un seminar în Bucureşti în care a prezentat un stil de luptă filipinez ceva mai puţin cunoscut, de distanţă scurtă, Kalye Todo.Cătălin Vlad, cel care i-a făcut invitaţia de a ţine primul său seminar în România, a consemnat şi interviul, publicat ulterior pe Fight.ro

1.Salut! În primul rând mulţumesc că ai acceptat invitaţia de a ţine un seminar de FMA în Bucureşti şi pentru ocazia de a ne cunoaşte şi altfel decât în mediul virtual…Spune-ne te rog cine este Cătălin Gheorghe aka  Siracuza?

R.: Eu iti multumesc, placerea a fost de partea mea!

Catalin Gheorghe este un buzoian de 32 de ani, stabilit de 7 ani in Linz (Austria), care pe langa familie si serviciu are o pasiune adanca pentru artele martiale – in speta cele chinezesti si filipineze. Studiez Wing Chun Kung Fu de prin 2002, iar Filipino Arnis-Eskrima din 2005. Pentru perioade relativ scurte am practicat si Shotokan Karate, Kickboxing si  Jeet Kune Do.

Siracuza este pseudonimul pe youtube si pe Fight.ro.

2. Când s-a format Pinoro Training Grup, al cărui lider eşti?

R: Dupa 4 ani de studiu/antrenament in diverse grupuri si scoli din Buzau, Bucuresti si Linz, am facut pasul spre ceea ce personal mi se pare cea mai optima cale de invatare si anume antrenamentul privat (1 la 1).

   In 2006 am inceput sa studiez WCKF sub Sifu Adrian Tautan (Cluj-Napoca) si B.I.F.F. Serrada Escrima sub Instructor Catalin Necula aka Kali (Londra).

   Pinoro Training Group a aparut strict din necesitatea de a exersa si consolida ceea ce invatam. In primul an m-am rezumat la un singur partener/elev, ulterior am inceput sa lucrez si cu alti doritori. In prezent grupul numara 7 membri si pentru o perioada cred ca va ramane asa. Scopul meu a fost si va ramane transformarea intr-un timp cat mai scurt a elevului incepator intr-un partener “valabil’’ de antrenament, de aceea alternez antrenamentul de grup cu cel privat.

   Apropo, PINORO vine dela  Pinoy-Romanian(pinoy  inseamna “filipinez“ in tagalog, limba oficiala din Filipine). Habar nu aveam cand am botezat asa grupul cat de adanci vor deveni legaturile mele cu aceasta tara si cultura ei! Asa cum stii, sotia mea este din Filipine.

3. FMA…Ce ne poţi spune despre acest concept?

R: FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) este un nume generic pentru artele martiale provenind direct sau indirect din Filipine. Spun si indirect fiindca multe din aceste stiluri au ca fondatori fie filipinezi din afara tarii (din SUA in principal), fie “tisoy“(albi sau non-filipinezi).

    Trasatura comuna a deja sutelor de stiluri este axarea preponderenta pe lupta cu arme de diverse tipuri si dimensiuni, iar numele folosite pentru aceste stiluri sunt Arnis (in Nord), Eskrima (Centru si Sud) si Kali (un termen usor controversat, creeat in afara tarii si “importat“, cuvantul neregasindu-se in nici un dialect filipinez).

   Ca oriunde altundeva, exista stiluri compacte si combative (usor de recunoscut prin simplitate si curriculum restrans), stiluri axate pe aspectul sportiv si stiluri “estetice’’(ca sa nu spun altfel). Si fiecare om este liber sa aleaga categoria in care vrea sa intre.

   In tara de origine latura sportiva ese acum in plin avant, in special de cand Arnis a fost declarat sport national si a inceput sa fie introdus in scoli elementare, licee si universitati .

4.Reprezinţi o anumită ramură sau un anume maestru în domeniul FMA?

R: Asa cum am mentionat, unul din mentorii mei in FMA este Instr. Catalin Necula din Londra, sub indrumarea caruia in prezent studiez De Campo 1-2-3 Original (un sistem de lupta cu batul in distanta medie si mare) si Igmat Baraw Knife Fighting System. Recent, Catalin m-a desemnat ca reprezentant în Austria pentru aceste doua stiluri, fapt care ma onoreaza si ma motiveaza in acelasi timp.

    In martie 2008 am intreprins prima calatorie in Filipine, unde am inceput studiul stilului Kalye Todo Arnis direct de la fondatorul  acestuia, Bobby Dela Rosa (Batangas). A fost o experienta impresionanta – 7-8 ore de antrenament zilnic intens, la 30-35 de grade. Am revenit in Filipine in octombrie 2008, mai 2009 si ianuarie 2011, cand am devenit full-instructor si reprezentant european pe Kalye Todo Arnis.

 Acesta este stilul pe care l-am prezentat in mini-seminarul sustinut in Bucuresti. Este axat pe lupta cu un bat scurt intr-o distanta foarte mica, atributele necesare de baza fiind viteza, senzitivitatea vizuala si capacitatea de a genera forta de lovire in scurt.

Ma consider foarte norocos ca am putut intalni 3 oameni deosebiti, pe care ii respect profund si pe care ii pot numi in acelasi timp instructori, mentori si prieteni.

5.Primul seminar în România? Impresii? Există oameni interesaţi de FMA sau este doar o idee cu care se cochetează şi atât?

R: Da, primul seminar in Romania si oriunde altundeva! Datorita particularitatilor stilului, care-l fac dificil de predat unui grup mare de oameni, am preferat varianta cu numar redus de participanti. Tin sa multumesc inca o data organizatorilor si participantilor pentru interesul aratat!

    Acest interes exista cu siguranta – poate chiar mai mult decat in alte parti! Exista bineinteles si simpla curiozitate de “ceva nou“ si poate un pic exotic, insa exista si interes de studiu intens si specializare, dovada fiind gruprile de FMA existente deja in Bucuresti, Cluj-Napoca, Bacau etc.

6.Cum vezi tu  aliveness-ul în zona FMA?Foarte mulţi pun prima întrebare în ceea ce priveşte utilitatea tehnicilor în abordarea supravieţuirii  urbane, să zicem..sau pe scurt …în street fight…

R: Si mi se pare o intrebare nu doar indreptatita, ci chiar obligatorie daca interesul persoanei respective este se indreapta spre autoaparare si realism.

          Aliveness in zona FMA exista…asa cum exista si destula “industrie cinematografica“ (lucruri care arata bine in demonstratii si in filme)..

          La origine, stilurile filipineze aveau un curriculum foarte  compact, principii si strategii clare si simple, avand ca scop numai lupta. Pe masura ce societatea a devenit mai pasnica si confruntarile violente s-au redus, unele din aceste stiluri au devenit mai “artistice“, altele au facut pasul spre sport si fitness – asa cum s-a intamplat si in China, Indonezia, Japonia etc.

        Sunt insa destule sisteme care au ramas loiale vechilor valori si si-au pastrat combativitatea si aliveness-ul. E o chestiune de noroc sa le gasesti si de “ochi“ sa le recunosti.

        Pentru mine lucrurile sunt simple: fiecare lucru pe care il invat, exersez si predau trebuie sa aiba finalitate si aplicabilitate in sparring si in portiunile de antrenament in care cooperarea dintre parteneri se reduce la minim. Daca in aceste doua conditii functioneaza, atunci sunt ceva sanse sa functioneze si intr-o situatie reala. Daca nu, vorbim de timp pierdut si energie irosita.

       Cred ca in special cand vine vorba de arme trebuie sa facem ochii mari si sa fim foarte critici cu ceea ce innvatam si practicam, pericolul fiind mult mai mare decat la maini goale.

       Partea de lupta fara arme din FMA nu am aprofundat-o inca, asa ca nu pot spune prea multe despre ea…In general consta in box modificat, combinat cu elemente de trapping, imobilizari, grappling etc. Doua aspecte cu care personal nu sunt de acord si care sunt intalnite in multe sisteme sunt: translarea miscarilor de la arme la maini goale si folosirea excesiva a principiului GUNTING (“foarfeca“ – atacul si incapacitarea membrelor).

7.Bun. Şi atunci nu pot să nu te întreb de principiile de antrenament şi luptă cu cuţitul..Pentru că e un subiect sensibil şi există o grămadă de teorii, păreri pe tema asta…Care ar fi abordarea din punctul tău de vedere?

R: Cutitul si in general obiectele taioase sau intepatoare constituie subiectul CEL MAI SENSIBILsi trebuie abordat cu cea mai mare seriozitate si realism. Aici chiar ca nu e loc de wellness, de atitudine “feel good about myself“, de experti in lame care invart balisong pe degete, privesc fioros la camera si poarta 27 de cutite de antrenament la brau…Nu e loc de tehnici complicate si care arata frumos. “Frumos“ este sa ramai in viata sau putin vatamat daca ai ghinionul sa intri intr-o confruntare de acest fel. Fiindca diferenta e enorma: cu mainile goale sau cu obiecte contondente nu orice miscare reprezinta un pericol letal, insa cu un cutit DA!

     Asa cum am spus si la seminar, am preferat sa nu lucrez nimic la capitolul cutit, decat sa fac ceva nerealist si – automat – periculos pentru mine si elevii mei. Asteptarea mi-a fost rasplatita dupa initierea facuta in stilul Igmat Baraw chiar de catre fondatorul acestuia, Catalin Necula.

      Abordarea este foarte simpla si directa, iar Catalin a detaliat-o in interviul de anul trecut.

8.Există posibilitatea vizitelor periodice în România şi formării unui grup de antrenament în genul celui din Austria? Dar a unui seminar extins de FMA ţinut în Romania împreună cu prietenul tău Catalin Necula şi eventual cu specialistul în box filipinez, Antonio Faedda (NUDDA)? Ce s-ar putea face pe viitor?

R: Eu vin in RO cel putin o data pe an si sunt deschis oricarei colaborari; formarea unui grup depinde doar de cat de mult acest lucru se doreste. Atat eu cat si Catalin Necula sprijinim orice initiativa de introducere si raspandire in Romania a sistemelor pe care le practicam, atata timp cat exista dorinta de invatare si seriozitate. Iar daca-l putem coopta si pe Antonio pentru un seminar, cu atat mai bine!

     Pe viitor cred ca ar fi benefica aparitia mai multor grupuri/nuclee de antrenament care sa aprofundeze studiul catorva sisteme de FMA si colaborarea deschisa si altruista intre aceste grupuri, fara orgolii si politici.

Multe mulţumiri şi sperăm să ne revedem curând.Vom ţine la curent comunitatea FMA din România în legătură cu vizitele tale şi eventualele seminarii.

Si eu iti multumesc, iti urez spor la antrenamente si tinem legatura!

A consemnat: Cătălin Vlad

Kurt Osiander's Move of the Week - Finger Taping

Top 5 Mixed Martial Arts Clubs in the World!

by MMA Staff Writer Geoff Mackay

www.fighting-mma.com


Mixed martial arts has come a long way from the days where everyone wanted to see what was the best martial arts discipline in fighting.  I think that Brazilian Jit-Jitsu won that argument but after people began seeing the merits of BJJ, people wanted to combine that with their martial arts training.
Soon the term mixed martial arts (MMA) became popular and MMA schools began popping up all over the place. MMA clubs began combining the best part of different martial arts into on discipline to become a better fighter.
Now that we are just a little over a decade into MMA what are the best MMA clubs to train at.


Below is my top 5 MMA clubs in the world.

5 – Minnesota Martial Arts Academy (MMAA)

Minnesota Martial Arts Academy (MMAA) is a martial arts training center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota that was founded in 1992 by Greg Nelson, a former NCAA Division 1 wrestler at the University of Minnesota. The academy's fight team has a winning percentage of 80%

Greg Nelson combined his background in wrestling, from college; with the Thai-boxing training he began in 1983 to form the basis of MMA.
He starting MMAA in 1992 to incorporated shoot wrestling and submission fighting to form the basis of its mixed martial arts training.
Nelson is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Pedro Sauer.
Nelson takes big strong wrestlers and refines their raw power and strength into well roiunded mixed martial arts fighters. 

Prominent fighters include:

Sean Sherk- Former UFC Lightweight World Champion
Brock Lesnar - UFC Heavyweight World Champion 
Brock Larson - UFC, WEC Title Contender
Jacob Volkmann - UFC, Former VFC Welterweight Champion
Nick Thompson - Former BodogFIGHT Welterweight World Champion, UFC Veteran, Strikeforce, Sengoku

4 - American Kickboxing Academy (AKA)

American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is a martial arts gym located in San Jose, California. The club was founded in the mid 80’s by Javier Mendez. Mendez brought in Dave Camarillo, Bob Cook, Derek Yuen, Lynn Schultz, and Ted Lucio.

Dave Camarillo is a black belt in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and got his black belt from the famous Ralph Gracie along training alongside BJ Penn. He has started his own form of grappling called Guerilla Jiu-jitsu that mixed Judo with BJJ techniques. 

AKA has taken very high level wrestlers and refined and adapted their wrestling ability into mixed martial arts.
AKA has become a major MMA club in the world and their list of fighters are improving every day.

Prominent fighters include:

• Jon Fitch
• Josh Koscheck
• Paul Buentello
• Mike Swick
• Cung Le
• Cain Velasquez
• Josh Thomson
• Billy Evangelista
• Herschel Walker
• Daniel Cormier
• Bobby Lashley

3 - Black House

The only top club outside of the US is Black House. Black House is a mixed martial arts fighting team and gym based out of Brazil.
Opened on November 27, 2006, Black House was started by former Brazilian Top Team members and black belts Carlos Barreto, Jorge Guimaraes and Rogerio Camoes. Guimaraes acted as the team's manager and Camoes was in charge of the team's training.

Members of Black House were former Brazilian Top Team members who were former Carlson Gracie fighters.

Brazilian Top Team had a bitter rivalry with Chute Boxe and in the end recruited former Chute Boxe Academy fighter Anderson Silva.
The gym offers classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Savate, Muay Thai, Boxing and American Wrestling but is largely based on the aggressive top fighting mentality of the Carlson Gracie style.

Like many of the offshoots before Black House, there have been disputes over money and the club is rumored to split from Carlson Gracie to BTT to Black House to the next incarnation.

Prominent fighters include:

• Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (Former Pride FC heavyweight champion and former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion)
• Antônio Rogério Nogueira
• Anderson Silva (Current UFC Middleweight Champion)
• Lyoto Machida (Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
• Junior dos Santos
• Jose Aldo (Current WEC Featherweight Champion)
• Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (Current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion)
• Paulo Filho (Former WEC Middleweight Champion)
• Nino "Elvis" Schembri
• Pedro Rizzo
• Andre Galvao
• Mark Muñoz
• Wagnney Fabiano
• Chase Gormley
• Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza (Current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion)

2 – American Top Team (ATT)

The second best MMA club is American Top Team in Coconut Creek Florida. ATT was founded by former members of Brazilian Top Team, Ricardo Liborio, Marcus Silveira and Marcelo Silveira but there is no formal affiliation between the two teams. ATT's main academy is in Coconut Creek, Florida but has 20 franchises throughout the United States.

ATT is an off shoot of Brazilian Top Team who was founded in April 2000 by Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Libório, Mário Sperry and Luis Roberto Duarte, former-members of the Carlson Gracie Academy who were expelled by Carlson Gracie to develop and create new training techniques for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, submission wrestling and mixed martial arts.

In 2003, Liborio left Brazilian Top Team to start ATT with hotel executive Dan Lambert as a partner and he took Marcus Silveira and Marcelo Silveira with him.
ATT uses the Carlson Gracie philosophy of aggressive fighting and fighting form the top. His brand of aggressive jiu-jitsu is the best for MMA fighting since they use their BJJ to fight form the top.

ATT also works on aggressive striking and has brought in Howard Davis Jr. who works as boxing director at American Top Team where he trains both amateur and professional boxers and MMA fighters.
ATT is a clear #2 for best MMA club in the world due to the aggressive jiu-jitsu style and striking.

Prominent fighters include:

• Jorge Santiago SENGOKU Middleweight Champion
• Hector Lombard Bellator Middleweight Champion
• Mike Thomas Brown WEC Featherweight Champion (2008-'09) 
• Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti Middleweight Grand Prix champion (K-1 HERO's 2006, 2007)
• Antonio Silva Heavyweight (Elite XC 2008)
• Jeff Monson Heavyweight  (Cage Warriors Heavyweight Champion 2004)
• Marcus Aurelio Lightweight Grand Prix Champion (ZST - Japan 2004)
• Denis Kang Middleweight  (Spirit MC 2004)
• Marcelo Garcia (DREAM)
• Ben Saunders (UFC)
• Thiago Silva (UFC)
• Din Thomas (UFC)
• Luigi Fioravanti (UFC, MFC)
• Thiago Alves (UFC)
• Gleison Tibau (UFC)
• Wilson Gouveia (UFC)
• Roan Carneiro (UFC)
• Cole Miller, (UFC)
• Rafael Dias (IFL, BodogFIGHT)
  

1 - Greg Jackson Fighting Submission

Greg Jackson is a mixed martial arts trainer, who operates the Jackson's Submission Fighting and MMA training camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Greg Jackson fighters from Jackson's camp have a win percentage of 81%.

Greg Jackson’s MMA club is by far the best mixed martial club in the world. Combining basic Judo locks with his wrestling Greg started to formulate his own style and style and system of martial arts and self defense called Gaidojutsu.

In 1993 Greg saw the first Ultimate Fighting Championship and realized that the Gracie family (which are well known for their very effective style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) was much more advanced than his current ideas.

He then developed his art by adding techniques from other styles such as Wrestling, Grappling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing. His school officially turned into an MMA school in 2000.

Greg is constantly looking for new ways to make his brand of mixed martial arts more efficient. The Jackson fighting system has been proven in both self defense and in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. To this day Greg Jackson has developed 10 world champions.
His team has won such prestigious awards such as Grapplers Quest, the Pan American games and others. Jackson's fight team is also ranked number 1 in the highest winning percentage by Sherdog.com.

So why is Greg Jackson such a great coach? He has never been a world champion nor has an NCAA wrestling pedigree or a black belt in most martial arts.

So what makes Jackson so good? In the world of MMA, Jackson is a master strategist. Not only does he provide the proper training but he goes beyond the workouts and technique training.

Jackson uses a holistic approach to training. He works on mental images and how to meditate and mental prepare for the fight with proper breathing techniques to mentally prepare for the fight.

Jackson also prepares his fighters for a game plan. Most clubs just train their fighters but Jackson comes up with a game plan on how they should fight their particular opponent. That is the difference between him and every other trainer in the world.
His fighters might not be the most talented but when they go into a fight they have a game plan and are the better fighter that night. Maybe not on paper but on preparedness and mentality they are.

Greg Jackson won two World MMA Awards for "Best Coach" and "Best Gym" in 2009 Greg Jackson was named the 9th most powerful man in MMA by Fight! magazine in 2009. Greg has competitors in Pride, UFC, Abu Dhabi, and many other prestigious events.

Notable fighters include:

• Georges St-Pierre  – UFC Welterweight champion
• Rashad Evans  – former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, The Ultimate Fighter heavyweight winner
• Nate Marquardt  – former 7-time King of Pancrase; UFC veteran
• Diego Sanchez  - The Ultimate Fighter middleweight winner
• Kenny Florian  - The Ultimate Fighter middleweight runner-up
• Shane Carwin  – former UFC Interim Heavyweight champion
• Keith Jardine  – The Ultimate Fighter 2 contestant
• Joey Villasenor  – PRIDE, Elite XC veteran
• Jon Jones  – UFC
• Roger Huerta  – UFC veteran, Bellator Fighting Championships
• Donald Cerrone – WEC veteran
• Leonard Garcia  – WEC, UFC
• Joe Stevenson  – UFC veteran,The Ultimate Fighter 2 welterweight winner
• Brian Stann  – former WEC Light Heavyweight champion, UFC
• David Loiseau  – UFC veteran, TKO, Elite XC veteran
• Kyle Noke – Elite XC, Warriors Real, cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 11
• Jason MacDonald  – UFC, TKO veteran
• Yoshihiro Akiyama  – UFC, HERO'S
• Carlos Condit  – former WEC Welterweight champion, UFC
• Melvin Guillard  – UFC Veteran
• Damacio Page  – WEC Veteran
• Cub Swanson  - WEC Veteran
• Andrei Arlovski  – Strikeforce, former UFC Heavyweight Champion
• Brendan Schaub  – runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights |
• James McSweeney  – cast member on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights

Other notable MMA clubs include Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Brazilian Top Team, Chute Boxe, Arizona Combat Sports and Xtreme Couture

Ancient Styles of Muay Thai

The History behind Muay Thai 

source: http://www.muaysangha.com

We all know about the ring sport called "Muay Thai" or "Thai Boxing", its explosive and devastating techniques have thrilled audiences worldwide and ensured its popularity, but where did this sport come from, where are its origins?

It is believed that the Siamese people had their own styles of fighting, in each Kingdom a different style. These fighting systems have clearly been evolving for many hundreds of years and have been known under many different names such as; "Arwut Thai" (meaning Thai Weapons), "Pahuyut" (armed, unarmed combat).

Much later, at the end of the Ayuthaya Period, or around the beginning of the Thonburi Period after a long history of fighting against the Burmese, King Phra Thaksin "The Great" finally pushed all invaders from the Kingdoms of Siam and with this the Chakri dynasty began. The Chakri dynasty with King Rama I on the throne, marked a period when nearly all of the separate Kingdoms of Siam joined together to become the country we now know as Thailand.

At the end of the 1700's, with wars against invaders over,fighters began to compete locally, and often in front of the King to see who had the best style. Most people recognize this period in the history of Muay Thai as fighters used to wrap their hands in cotton twine. Today, people refer to this style of fighting (during this period) as "Muay Kaad Chuak" although at the time, this isn't the term people used. "Muay Kaad Chuak" began to decline around the 1920's, finally ending in 1929 with a death in the ring.

Although the government of the time prohibited this style of fighting (with wrapped hands) people still continued to practice the arts and fight underground. Eventually, by introducing rules, and providing fighters with better protection, competition became safer, and the sport of Muay Thai was born.

Here we provide a list of the most popular styles of "Muay Kaad Chuak". This section will attempt to explain the defining characteristics of each style along with additional background information.

Paak Tai - Southern Styles

Muay Chaiya

Muay Chaiya is the style of the South, created in Chaiya city in the province of Surathani in the South of Thailand. The style was created by a soldier named Por Tan Mar from Bangkok who eventually became a monk in the temple of Wat Tung Jab Chang in Chaiya city, where he remained until his death.

It was during his monkhood that Ajarn Por Tan Mar developed the Muay Chaiya style. He taught the style to the governor of Chaiya ("Praya Vajisata Ya Rat") named "Kam Sriyaphai". The governor had a son called "Kiet Sriyaphai" who learnt Muay Chaiya from his father. Kiet Sriyaphai also learnt other styles from 12 different Ajarn's. He was to become the Master of Muay Chaiya. The last Ajarn of Kiet Sriyaphai was the famous Ajarn Kimsaing who was master of the Paak Klang style.

One of the best students of Ajarn Kiet Sriyaphai, Kruu Tong, has taught many Thai people who are still living today.

It is believed that the style of Muay Chaiya is more than 250 years old. The Muay Chaiya stance is very low and compact, with the center of gravity between the legs. Both knees are bent and all the joints are facing forward, ready to be used as a shield against any incoming attack. In Muay Chaiya, the fists are placed one higher than the other, facing upwards. Proponents of the style usually lead with the right side of the body but can use both sides very well.

Muay Chaiya specializes in blocking with the elbows and knees. Every leg or arm is bent, even when the boxer attacks. Limbs are never extended completely. Some people call it the "Durian Style", named after a fruit covered in very sharp spikes.

The footwork is fast and smooth, and sometimes the body weight is placed entirely on one leg. The Muay Chaiya boxer often moves in a springing motion. The attacks are very quick and come as a series of machine-gun like blows coming from all angles. Muay Chaiya is considered by some teachers to be a hybrid style. This is because the person who developed the style, Ajarn Por Tan Mar, brought the style from Bangkok.

The Muay Chaiya style was developed by a monk, so the style carries many Buddhist concepts amongst its teachings. The Muay Chaiya boxers were trained in meditation and the Thamma (teachings of the Buddha).

The Muay Chaiya boxers wrap only their hands as they want make their primary weapon, the elbow, as effective as possible.

Muay Maa Yang

Muay Maa Yang is another less well known southern style of Muay Thai. The name "Maa Yang" translated from Thai means "The Horse's Walk". The master of this style was called Kruu Tankee.

The classic stance of this style has the boxer with one leg raised up in a guard position, with the same hand held close to the hip, the other hand in front of the face also in a guard position.

Kruu Tankee was well known for his cruelty whilst fighting, so was not a well liked teacher. One story has Kruu Tankee removing the eye of his opponent Kruu Noree (Muay Chaiya Style) who broke Kruu Tankee's forehead with a jumping kick. Kruu Noree continued to fight after losing his eye, but later died of a hemorrhage related to his injuries.

Paak Eesaan (The eastern style of Muay Thai, also known as Muay Korat)

Muay Korat is named after the place where the style originated; Na Khorat Rachasima which is located in the center of Thailand towards the east. The style of Muay Korat appears to the public around the time of King Rama IV (date needed), but perhaps the Korat people have had this style for more than a thousand years.

The governor of the city of Na Khorat Rachasima, Phra Hemsamahan was since we know the transmitter of Muay Korat. Phra Hensamahan teach the style to Deng Thaiprasert who became the first fighter to represent the Korat style fighting in front of the King, and winning the competition acquiring the title of "Muan Changat Cherng Chok", meaning "The King's Champion".

Another student of the art, taught by Phra Hemsamahan, was Kruu Bua Wathim. This is considered the real master of the Muay Korat system. Kruu Bua became a soldier and taught cadets in the Army all his life. His real name was Kruu Bua Ninarcha, meaning "The Black Horse".

Muay Korat is considered to be the Muay Thai of the East.

The stance in Muay Korat is quite different from other styles. The stance is quite long and very narrow with both feet almost in one line, both pointing forward. The hands are placed one in front of the other, lined up together in front of the nose. The front, or lead leg is straight and the knee is locked. The back leg is also straight, tensed and ready to kick upwards, or to use footwork to change the angle against the opponent. The back leg heel is also up off the floor. The body's center of gravity is close to the front leg with the head positioned over the front foot, body leaning forward.

Muay Korat kicks and punches are completely straight. The kick travels in an upwards arc, twisting a little bit to reach your opponents head or neck.

This style of Muay Thai prefers to intercept an attack by simultaneous block and strike, or to choose to evade an attack by moving out of range. Rarely does the Korat style teach students to block and then attack. The kind of footwork used is "Suua Yang", which means "Tiger Walk". These techniques are closely guarded. The most powerful weapon in Muay Korat is called "Viang Kwai", means "Swing of the Buffalo". This technique is executed after a kick and uses the knuckles to strike the opponent behind the ear. Another famous attack is called "Taa Krut" which is used as a counter-attack, launching two strikes simultaneously.

In ancient times, the boxers of Muay Korat followed a Buddhist Code known as "Sin Haa", the five precepts. Meditation was a very important part of their training, followed by a strong respect for seniors and the golden rule of not to fight in the ring with other Muay Korat boxers.

Paak Klang (The central style of Muay Thai, also known as Bangkok Style)

Muay Paak Klang is the Bangkok or central style. Perhaps Muay Lopburi was part of Muay Paak Klang.

The master of this famous style was "Ajarn Kimsaing" who was from Ayuthaya. Ajarn Kimsaing learned Muay Ayuthaya from Kruu Kiao. He then moved to Bangkok to study international boxing and Muay Paak Klang with "Luang Vitsam Darunkon".

The stance in Muay Paak Klang is not so wide. The arms are held low and the fists are clenched facing upwards. Both arms are placed at the same height, parallel to each other pointing forward, with the left hand held forward slightly.

Sometimes the front foot is held off the ground, extended outwards, but pointing down towards the opponent. The footwork in this style is very interesting; when the Muay Paak Klang boxer steps, his feet come together with his hands held in front of his face in a high guard position, then the boxer steps outward again, feet separating and the guard lowering again.

The style is sometimes known as the "Ghost steps" as Muay Paak Klang boxers move so quickly and smoothly with little effort, seemingly covering ground in many places at the same time.

The master of this style, Ajarn Kimsaing was the last Ajarn of the very famous teacher of the Muay Chaiya style; Ajarn Kiet Sriyaphai.

Muay Paak Klang boxers wrap their hands down to the middle of the forearm.

Paak Klang - Muay Lopburi

This style born in the Ayuthaya Period when King Narai was on the throne. At this time a lot of foreigners were working with the King, so it is believed that Ajarn Muun Men Mat learned deadly skills from them.

The typical stance of Muay Lopburi looks almost identical to that of a western boxer around the 1900's, the classic upright stance with both arms extended outwards, both forearms pointing forwards. This style is based in very accurate and deadly punches. The most dangerous weapons of Muay Lopburi were the upper cuts to the opponents adam's apple and the thumb strikes to the eyes. This style was nominated as one of the most clever and tricky styles of the era. Sometimes the boxers would fake an injury waiting for an opportunity to attack. Some say that this style was part of another style called "Muay Paak Klang" or the central style.

Muay Lopburi wrapped the arm only halfway in cotton twine, and sometimes no wraps were used.

Sadly, this style has been lost completely. The premier Ajarn (teacher) of this dangerous style was called "Muun Men Mat", meaning "Ten Thousand Accurate Punches". Legend has it that Ajarn Muun Men Mat didn't teach Thai people his art because in one of his last fights he killed a man with a fatal blow. After this he decided to stop teaching and lived in a Buddhist Temple helping Monks. This was in the Ayuthaya Period.

Paak Klang - Muay Ayuthaya

The master of the Muay Ayuthaya style is called "Kruu Kiao", which means "the green teacher". He was from Ayuthaya and was the teacher of Ajarn Kinsaing who later became the master of Muay Paak Klang.

One of the characteristics of this style is the stance of the boxer, who has the left shoulder raised up, close to the chin, protecting the face. Muay Ayuthaya used to attack with two weapons at the same time in order to counter other styles effectively. One of the most common counters against Muay Chaiya was left-roundkick and a short chopping downward right-cross.

This style was not very famous but became well known because the master of Muay Paak Klang learned Muay Ayuthaya before going to Bangkok.

Paak Nuua (The northern style of Muay Thai)

Paak Nuua Muay Lampang

In the era of King Rama V when the Lanna Kingdom (the northern most provinces) was united with, and became part of the Kingdom of Siam (later to become Thailand), legislation prohibited the practise of martial arts in the north. While people in Bangkok were permitted to train with weapons, people in the north (Lanna) could not, and so with time these skills dissapeared from the area.

Muay Paak Nuua boxers were famous for having extensive knowledge about vital points in the body. Muay Lampang boxers would often strike using the hands in a pincer-like action, grabbing and exerting pressure on vulnerable parts of the body.

Paak Nuua - Muay Uttaradit

Muay Ta Sao is an style of Muay with witch Phraya Pichai Daab Haak defeat many opponents.
The guard in the Muay Ta Sao is long and the weight it goes in the back, so the front foot is barely touching the floor. It is a fast and quick style were the long range is preferred when fighting. The front hand is far from the face and the front shoulder is elevated, the rear hand is lower resting on the side of the mandible. The stance is almost sideways and the feet are positioned one in front of the other.

The main philosophy in the Muay Ta Sao style is to finished the opponent as soon as possible; His attacks are extremely explosive and effective.

In the city of Uttaradit this style is still alive today. Some low profile schools are hidden in the outskirts but practice goes everyday. They don’t teach foreigners except under special circumstances. And it is almost impossible to find them. Don’t try without invitation. They are very strict about their knowledge. I can understand why….

New Styles of Muay Thai

In Thailand today, newer styles have been developed from these ancient styles mentioned above. Muay Chaiyut, Muay Nawarat and Muay Sangha are some of them.

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