I’m Back With An Awesome Ajarn Greg Nelson Interview Pt 1

Hello All,

It has been a while since I have posted. July was a really busy month for me but I am back and have an awesome 4 part Ajarn Greg Nelson (http://www.mmaacombatzone.com) interview that Dick Harrell (http://www.dick-harrell.com) did in July 2010. For those of you who have not visited our site before Ajarn Greg Nelson has had a huge impact on us here at Synergy Martial Arts. So enough of my rambling here is the first part of the interview.

Should I Train in More Than 1 Martial Art?

Hello All,

Recently I was having a conversation with another Martial Artist about training in more than 1 Martial Arts style and they made a remark about training in a bunch of styles and not being really good at any of them. Well for those of you who have trained with us you know that I have had 3 different Jeet Kune Do (JKD) and Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) Instructors on top of training in Wing Chun, Filipino and Indonesian Silat, Muay Thai, Savate, Brazilian Ju Jitsu, Combat Submission Wrestling, Capoeira and Karate.

To some people the above training may seem like throwing paint on a wall to see what sticks but in my experience I believe that training in multiple styles has made me a better Martial Artist. It has given me the ability to look at things from multiple points of reference.

When I am learning something new often I will relate it to another movement that I have already learned. Quite often I have seen that Wing Chun and Kali have very similar movement patterns and if I am having a problem understanding one Art my knowledge of the other helps me understand the material quicker.

I have watched two of my Instructors Guro Dan Inosanto (www.inosanto.com) and Sifu Dave Hatch (www.attributivemaritalarts.com) begin training in new styles. Guro Dan began formal BJJ training in the 1990’s and has received his Black Belt. Since I met Sifu Dave Hatch 1995 he has earned Instructorships in Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Mande Muda Pentjak Silat, Balintawak Eskrima along with earning his Purple Belt in BJJ and his Full Instructorship under Guro Dan Inosanto in JKD and FMA.

I know that both of them in each individual Art are fantastic Instructors and I really feel that because of this cross training it has made them better all around Instructors. This cross training not only adds to their skill sets but allows them to understand the hows and whys of the Arts, this enables them to relate to new students who come to them for Instruction.

In closing I believe that you should cross train and you should explore as many Arts that you can. Beware of what we call technique collecting though it will get you lost and very confused instead look for what all the Arts have in common.

Shawn

How Kettlebell Can Help Your Clinch Game

Hello All,

Since 2005 I have been really exploring the Clinch and ways to improve my Clinch game and my ability to teach my students to have an effective Clinch. We @ Synergy Martial Arts have found that the Kettlebell has really helped our Clinch game a lot.

Here is what you can expect to get from this video.

• How your stance can make you very vulnerable to throws and a simple way to fix it
• A little trick with your elbow that will allow you to control your opponent regardless of size
• The 3 critical Kettlebell movements that will change your Clinch game
• And much more

Enjoy,

Shawn

Guro Dan Inosanto Seminar Reminder & Stick Grappling

Hello All,

Have you registered for Guro Dan Inosanto’s Seminar here in Michigan on May 15th and 16th? If not watch this video of Guro Dan then contact Sifu Dave Hatch (www.attributivemartialarts.com) ASAP it is only 5 weeks away!!!

On this video Guro Dan shows more stick grappling and some really cool clinching variations some of these we are going to implement into our clinch game next week.

Inspired? Excited? Then contact Sifu Dave and get registered!!! Here is all the important info for the Seminar.

Attributive Martial Arts, Inc.
Is proud to bring back Sifu / Guro Dan Inosanto

Saturday (May 15, 2010)
10:00 am -12:30 pm = Filipino Martial Arts
Lunch
1:30 pm – 4:00 pm = Filipino Martial Arts

Sunday (May 16, 2010)
10:00 am – 12:30 pm = Jun Fan Gung Fu
Lunch
1:30 pm – 4:00 pm = Mixed Silat

2 Days = $175 $195 At the door
1 day = $100
1/2 Day = $70
(No personal checks)

Location: 1060 West 14 Mile
Clawson, Michigan

Contact person: David Hatch
Phone:               734-981-1774         734-981-1774
E-mail: amarts@sbcglobal.net
Website: http://www.attributivemartialarts.com

Why train stick and dagger? Watch and find out.

Hello All,

This morning as I was searching thru YouTube I ran across this video with Guro Rick Faye (www.mnkali.com) teaching Stick and Dagger 4,5 & 6 count. Along with the technique Guro Rick also talks about why you would want to train Stick and Dagger material and I think his answer is awesome. It also caused me to think about why I believe that people should train Martial Arts.

Besides the obvious Self-Defense reason I believe that when you train Martial Arts like Kali, Brazilian Ju Jitsu/Grappling, Muay Thai etc you are forced to develope relationships with your training partners. Because you are dependant on your partner to perform the drills. Yes, you can improve some by yourself but you really need a good training partner to get your reps in.

Also Guro Rick mentions learning the history about Stick and Dagger training, I believe that this is one of the greatest benefits to training Martial Arts that people usually don’t think of when training Martial Arts. Guro Dan Inosanto (www.inosanto.com) often mentions that you can tell alot about a culture based on their indegious Martial Arts styles.

And lastly Guro Rick talks about coordination, I believe that training Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) will greatly improve your coordination and timing. While training FMA you will learn how to use both of your hands and also learn the footwork that goes along with the drills. I have found that training FMA has really improved my striking, clinching and grappling because of the above.

Watch this video and enjoy,

Shawn

Want to improve your Sparring/Self-Defense? Try this.

Hello All,

While searching through YouTube this morning I found this video of Sensei Erik Paulson (www.erikpaulson.com) coaching his kickboxing class. While watching it I noticed a couple of times guys that would get trapped in their sparring partners preferred striking range and be dominated. This is a very dangerous place to be in sparring and especially in self-defense when training with Sifu Paul Vunak (www.fighting.net) he would often talk about not letting your attacker be in their comfort zone.

There are a few times where I think that sparring strategy will also carry over to self-defense and this is one of them. Sensei Erik talks about when your opponent is punching you kick, if he is kicking you punch bottom line is that you do not want to stay in his comfort zone for any longer than possible.

For me I know that if I am in with a guy who is good @ kicking I don’t want to stay there I need to close the distance and be able to punch and clinch. I am far more comfortable punching and clinching and I can begin to control the pace and action there better. If I am in a self-defense situation if possible I want to stay outside of all striking ranges so and draw the attacker to commit from there I want to intercept him & enter with forward pressure to get him going backward so that I can clinch to end the attack.

When you watch this video clip keep the above in mind and listen to Sensei Erik coach his guys he brings up a lot of great points that can/will help you in both sparring and in a self-defense situation.

Enjoy,

Shawn

Do you practice your Clinch like this?

Hello All,

During my Youtube search this morning I came across this video from Sensei Erik Paulson (www.erikpaulson.com) on clinching and it made me think about the way that we clinch @ Synergy Martial Arts. Sensei Erik’s school Combat Submission Wrestling is a very high level MMA and Marial Arts School and they way that they clinch is AWESOME!!!

Whenever I teach clinch to a new student I have to work on their level of resistance so they are not trying to rip each others heads off. On this video you will watch guys that train at a MMA school and they are going nice and easy with their clinch even with contested takedowns.

I have a couple questions for you.

1. Does your Clinch look like this?
2.  Are you and your training partners able to train the clinch and not have to visit the Chiropractor the next day?
3. When you are striking and throwing are you able to maintain a low-level of resistance?

If you answered no to any of the above questions show this video to your training partners and students and really evaluate how you are training. Clinching can be very fun to play it can also be very rough and aggressive I believe that there is a need for both but you should really limit the rough grinding clinch as it can lead to bad habits.

So in closing watch this video and I hope that it inspires you to grow your clinching game and it begins to look more like this.

Shawn

Respect and Martial Arts

Hello All,

In this video Sensei Erik Paulson (www.erikpaulson.com) talks about respect and tradition in Martial Arts and MMA. I have trained in Martial Arts since 1992 and even though I trained in a style (Jeet Kune Do) that is very non traditional we placed a large emphasis on respect not only for Sijo Bruce Lee but for our fellow students as well.

One of the major knocks on MMA is that the fighters lack the respect and discipline that Martial Artists develope. I have personally seen this when training fighters and also in seminars. The reason for this I feel is the competitiveness of MMA and if you fight you need to establish your dominance right away. Trainers like Sensei Erik Paulson and Kru Greg Nelson teach this due to their Martial Arts backgrounds, also fighters like Lyoto Machida, Georges St Pierre show a high level of respect to their opponents.

Kru Greg Nelson has a saying that we use @ Synergy Martial Arts ” Practice with your partner not on your partner”. Being a good training partner is very important to the developement of your school, this is both for the Instructor and the student. If there is a high level of respect for one another this causes to seek to help out fellow students. When this happens the skill level of the school increases it is a win/win situation for everyone.

Watch this video and ask yourself how can you be a better training partner.

Shawn

Filipino Martial Arts for MMA

Hello All,

I have a couple of sites that I visit on a regular basis and one of the sites I visit most often is Sensei Erik Paulson’s site (www.erikpaulson.com). I know me visiting Sensei Erik’s site is a big surprise huh??? lol

Today while visiting his site I ran across this video and had to laugh. One of my struggles while training Martial Arts has been to find the application for Self-Defense while still preserving the essence of the Art that I pulled it from. In 2002 I went out to California and trained with Sifu Paul Vunak (www.fighting.net) and he showed the kick destruction to us. It was so simple yet effective and it kept the essence of the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA).

So to see Sensei Erik showing it for MMA was awesome because I have often felt that it could be and should be used by MMA fighters. Also he brings up a great point in that you have to be careful when using the kick destruction because if you miss your opponent is close and if the kick is the entry for a combination you can be caught by the rest of the combo.

Also I feel that Sensei Erik probably teaches set ups and the hows and whys of combinations better than anyone else that I have come across. Really study this video there is A LOT of information in here that you can use for a long time!!!

Enjoy,

Shawn

Muay Thai kick and punch counters

Hello All,

This is sadly the last of the video series that Ajarn Chai (www.thaiboxing.com) did in the early 80’s. One thing that I would like to point out is that this video is not only a great training video but it is also is a historical piece as well. Ajarn Chai and Guro Dan (www.inosanto.com) put this video out in the early 80’s making it way ahead of the Muay Thai craze that MMA has lead to.

In my conversations with other Martial Artists that are not familiar with Muay Thai don’t realize that Ajarn Chai has worked tirelessly in his efforts to spread Muay Thai around the world. So if you are training Muay Thai please recognize Ajarn Chai as someone who has made it possible.

In this video Ajarn Chai shows kick and punch counters and focus mitt drills that are vital to not only Muay Thai but Martial Arts as well. I have attended many Ajarn Chai and in my opinion Ajarn Chai is one of the best focus mitt trainers out there!!! Watch his speed and accuracy while punching and kicking.

Enjoy this video it is a rare treat.

Shawn