P90X Workout System

Some time ago, I was contacted by a representative of Beachbody.com (the makers of the very popular P90x workout system) and asked if I would say something about P90X^®  and possibly some of their other products.

So here goes:

First of all, let me say this: no workout program will work unless practiced energetically and consistently over a period of time. It is my guess that most persons who have purchased these videos have them piled on a shelf somewhere gathering dust.

Let me also mention that I have never done the workout. These are just perceptions that I have gathered from the television commercials and a whole buncha web links and videos.

Okay, that being said, lets get to it.

"Muscle Confusion"
This is a trademarked term on the P90X^®  web site. Basically, it means that the workout will be changed up every 30 days or so. This is a workout philosophy that I completely agree with, since your body and its muscles will adapt to a repetitive workout and progress will slow to a crawl. I've been doing a form of this for years, changing my workout every month or two. It doesn't have to be a big change, but you do need to mix it up in order to keep your workout effective. This has been well-proven in several studies.

The Exercises
There are four basic categories of exercises in the system: resistance training utilizing elastic bands and dumbbells; plyometrics (explosive exercises that quickly load and contract the muscles in a rapid sequence); cardio; and Yoga. This also fits into my workout philosophy that every exercise program, in order to effectively improve every aspect the body's musculature, has to include these three elements: strength training, cardio and stretching.

Martial Arts and P90x
The system includes a martial arts workout in the cardio section called "Kenpo X." Tony Horton (the creator of P90X^® ) is not a martial artist but he did consult with a 5th degree Kenpo black belt, Wesley Idol, in order to incorporate real martial arts moves into the system. Here is a clip of Horton working with Idol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCkynLlw3GU

Idol received his black belt from Mike Pick, who was a student of the legendary late Ed Parker. I have met Mike Pick and I've attended several Ed Parker seminars back in the day. Both of these men are pillars in the martial arts community and I'm a BIG fan of Parker's art, American Kenpo Karate. So, some pretty good credentials there.


Wesley Idol


Here is a link to a video of Wesley Idol in action: http://www.ikenpo.com/wes_idol.wmv

Of course, I'm a firm believer of martial arts being incorporated in an any exercise system. It works the entire body, improves coordination and balance, and, of course, it just amps up the cool factor of your workout. Not to mention that you can easily burn over 300 calories in 30 minutes.

This is turning into a long blog so let me just wrap it up: While I don't think the workout is for everyone--it's pretty intense and requires that you perform some explosive movements that may be difficult for older people and those that are terribly out of shape, and it's not inexpensive--I don't think you can go wrong with the P90X^® system. All of the check-boxes are ticked for an extremely effective workout program. One problem I might have is the idea of popping in a video to do a workout and having to watch the same old stuff time after time, but that's just me and applies to every workout video.

Other than that, a good, well-balanced workout is what you're gonna get if you stick with this routine. As I said before though, for it to be truly effective, one has to actually do it consistently over a period of time.

Some time In the future, if I can find the time, I'll take a look at some of the other Beachbody exercise systems.

Here is another link to the P90x site:
http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do

UFC 144: Go Tae Kwon Do!

UFC 144 was a blast! One of the best ever, in my oh so humble opinion. Check out the poster above--Quentin "Rampage" Jackson towering over Tokyo like Godzilla. Way cool.

First Japan UFC in over a decade
The venue was inspiring: Tokyo, in Japan, where many martial arts were born and, with it's samurai history and "way of the warrior" philosophy, should hold a special place in the heart of most martial artists.

Tae Kwon Do fighters
And the fights, from the prelims to the main event, were extremely entertaining, including some highlights that were simply astounding, including standout performances from two Tae Kwon Do black belts: Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson. Tae Kwon do was my original art and I have long believed that a good Tae Kwon Do artist has a great foundation from which to build into high-level UFC fighters.

Japanese fighters showcased
It was refreshing to see so many great Japanese fighters on the card. There has been talk of why Japanese fighters don't usually perform well at UFC bouts held in the USA. The theory has even been put forth that this is because the trip from Japan to the USA is harder to recover from than vice versa. Having taken a few trips to China for my job, I tend to agree: I am always more exhausted after the return trip and it takes me days to get back to normal.

The prelims were all good. Some highlights:
Kid Yamamoto is one of my favorite Japanese fighters but he was expertly dominated by British fighter Vaughan Lee when the fight went to the ground, with Lee smoothly transitioning from triangle. Lee is definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Takanomi Gomi (another of my Japanese favorites) was getting his butt handed to him at the end of the forst round by Eiji Mitsuoka. But in the second round he came out on fire, throwing a storm of lightning-fast punches and winning the fight with a TKO.

Pay-per-view highlights
The PPV started with with a stunning first round knockout: Anthony "Showtime" Pettis clocked Joe Lauzon with a picture-perfect roundhouse kick to the head. Head kicks used to be a rarity in the UFC but now knockouts and knockdowns with kicks are a common occurrance. Being a striker with a Tae Kwon Do background,  I love it!

Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski: Hioki's standup was good (nice work with the jab) but his ground game was masterful and the's what won the decision for him.

Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch: Wow! Huge comeback for Boetsch. After taking a beating and being dominated on every level for two rounds, he came back hard in the third and knocked Okami out with some viscious uppercuts thrown from an odd angle--holding the left side of Okami's face with his left hand while twisting into powerful uppercuts with his right. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it. Massively effective though.

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields: This was easily the least entertaining fight of the night, prelims included. I'm not a Jake Shields fan. He can't strike for s**t and his grappling fighting style is boring. I enjoy watching a good, active grappler but Shields just bores the hell out of me. Akiyami, probably the most decorated Judoka in the UFC, could have won this fight easily if he would have been busier. He did very little in the fight but he did land a couple of spectacular judo takedowns. Nothing like a good Judo throw in a UFC fight! Shields won. Booorrrrrriiiing.

Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo: Most UFC fans are probably not familiar with Mark Hunt, but I'm a big K1 fan (K1 is the world's premier kickboxing organization) I've watched Hunt fight many times, and here is the simple fact: if he gets a solid hit, his opponent is going down. Period. I thought Hunt's last UFC fight was a sloppy affair but he's lost a little belly fat and seems to be taking his MMA fights more seriously. If his grappling improves he may be a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division. Big knockout of Cheick Kongo by Hunt. I liked Hunt's post-fight interview also. A man of few words.

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson vs. Ryan Bader: I like Rampage and he has a HUGE following in Japan, but, lets face it: he's just not the same fighter he used to be back in the Pride days. It was great though to see a vintage Jackson slam and I honestly don't know how Bader survived getting his head rammed into the canvas. But he did, and then proceeded to ground out a win by taking Quentin down and mostly just holding him there.

Jackson came in over weight for the fight at 211 and claimed afterward that it was due to a knee injury. It is not like him to be over weight and he's not one to make excuses so I think it''s probably true. I hope he can regroup and come back strong. We'll see.

Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Benson Henderson: A terrific championship match. While the edge went to Henderson, I believe it was a very close fight. The biggest moment was an upward kick by Henderson, while on his back, to Frankie's face, that did some real damage. But Frankie was in the fight for the entire match and had some moments of his own. There was a lot of talk about Frankie dropping down to flyweight and maybe that's a good idea, Henderson looked much, much bigger than he did. And a Frankie Edgar/Jose Also match is intrigueing.

Henderson is a total package, skilled in every area. His punches and kicks are some of the best in MMA (due to his Tae Kwon Do background, no doubt). Looking forward to a Pettis/Henderson rematch. Tae Kwon Do vs Tae Kwon Do!

One of the best UFCs
Another great night of fights for me, one of the best. However, I had recorded the whole affair and started watching at about 5:30 PM and, with dinner, snacks and bathroom breaks, we were watching fights until 12:30 AM. This might have been a bit much for my wondeful wife, Kim, who endures my UFC addiction and usually enjoys the fights, but spending an entire precious Saturday evening on nothing but UFC may have been pushing it a little.

Fight bonuses
Anthony Pettis, Vaughan Lee, Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar each earned $65,000 fight-night bonuses for their performances.

Pettis earned "Knockout of the Night", Lee won the "Submission of the Night" bonus, and Henderson and Edgar rightfully earned "Fight of the Night" honors.

You can check out the round-by-round descriptions here: http://msn.foxsports.com/ufc/story/UFC-144-Round-by-round-022512

Gotta go now, the Academy Awards are on!

Yikes, I'm 59! Martial Arts and Aging

Time flies when you're getting old

So I just turned 59. I'm not sure what to think about that. I mean, it seems like just a short while ago I was writing in this blog: "Holy crap I'm 58!" Really, wasn't that just a couple of months ago?

It seems unfair that as we get older the passage of time feels as though it speeds up and we can't get a handle on it. What's up with that, anyway? We reach a time when we want life to slow down so that we can finally take a breath and enjoy it and here it is roaring down a track like a freight train! And toward what? Well, that's the big question isn't it? Not gonna get into that now.

I used to do awesome stuff. No Kidding!

It seems like just yesterday that I was running my martial arts class, competing in tournaments, camping with my kids, going out dancing, you know, doing young stuff.

Hell, I was an athlete! I could do some pretty incredible things, like a jump side kick to the head of a six-foot tall man, taking only one step; break boards held by guys standing on chairs with a jumping, spinning back kick; perform a flawless forward roll after leaping over eight or ten people lined up in their hands and knees.

Erosion of skills = depression. (Is that why fighters keep fighting past their prime? Is it denial?)

And that's just stuff off the top of my head. If I thought about it, I could easily come up with a bunch more stuff that would amaze most of you (and even me!) and now here I am: creaky joints and brittle muscles, struggling to keep a measure of athleticism despite my rapidly advancing years. How did that happen, anyway? I'd be lying if said it didn't depress me at times. I sometimes think it would be easier if I never had any athletic ability in the past. Less to miss, you know?

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty happy with what I can still do at my age. Check out my side split stretch:

Fighting for my skills

But it doesn't come easy any more, that's for sure. For one reason or another, I've missed working out for five days in a row this week and I'll pay dearly for that. I feel a loss of strength and flexibility in a matter of days now when I don't exercise. If I don't stay on top of it, if I don't stay consistent, if I don't work my ass off, I will lose all the skills that I've worked so hard for. They will continue to erode, slowly but surely, I know that, but the idea of losing my skills is devastating to me. Devastating.

Why do I care?

It gets more difficult every year, not just the actual working out, which is tough enough, but the motivation. If It gets harder and harder and more painful to try to maintain my martial arts skills, why do I do it? Well, there are the obvious benefits, longer, healthier life, etc. but I could gain that with far simpler workouts than hard-style martial arts. Why else then? One of my former students said he was doing it for his legacy. But I could cement a legacy by just showing up, blowing my own horn, promoting myself and kissing a lot of ass...not my style.

Do I do it to be a badass old man? Hmm, maybe, and make no mistake I'm still pretty badass, take a look:

Bottom Line: I'm a real martial artist

But that's not it, not really. I believe I do it for no other reason than because I am a martial artist. It has been my life since I was 21 years old. More than any other single thing, it has defined the person I am for my entire adult life.

A journeyman and a master?

That's all there is to it. I'm just a martial artist and that's all I've ever been. I've often called myself a journeyman martial artist and that is no insult to either myself or the term. I use the word "journeyman" in the context of a hard-working, middle class man who gets up and goes to work every day, not for glory or accolades, but only to perform his trade. That's what I have done and still do.

Does that mean that I don't consider myself a master level martial artist? Not at all. I have been training non-stop for nearly forty years. I owned and operated a martial arts organization for nearly 25 years and ran a very succesful martial arts tournament for fifteen years in a row. I have competed at and placed in national level martial arts tournaments and, on a regional level, was considered one of the best.

By any definition of the word, I consider myself a master level martial artist...I just approach it like a journeyman. Not to mention that the word has a nice ring to it--a journey man, a man on a journey. I still consider myself to be on the Journey.

What is a legacy?

I don't need or crave glory or anyone's approval. I know my self worth and I am perfectly comfortable with what I have done and who I am. I'm a damn good martial artist and still valid and relevant even at my age. And while acknowledgement is nice, I don't need a "legacy" to prove my worth as a martial artist. I've already proven that, time and again. I may end up leaving a legacy behind but if I do, it will have been a by-product of my life and not the goal of it.

What I will leave behind

While I no longer teach, I have a vast knowledge and skillset to pass on. I have distilled a variety of arts down into a relatively simple package. I may eventually choose someone, or a group of someones to pass it on to. If that is the case, that person (or persons) will be privliged to have knowledge of one the most effective fighting arts that exists, in my not-so-humble opinion.

But, then again, I may just leak it out in a series of articles or write a book or make videos. That's one of the reasons I started this blog, because I have a lifetime of some pretty awesome knowledge to share...and time is roaring by like a freight train.

And, yikes, I'm 59!

The New Shanghai Circus

My wonderful wife, Kim, treated me to to a terrific weekend out of town for my birthday. She surprised me with hotel reservations in one of our favorite cities, Spokane.

We had some good meals, did some shopping, went on a couple of little adventures (discovering new areas, as we love to do) and generally had a freakin' great time!

The highlight of the weekend was the New Shanghai Circus, who performed at the INB Performing Arts Center in downtown Spokane and that's what this blog is about.



The women performers of the New Shanghai Circus



The New Shanghai Circus is actually based out of Branson, Missouri, but don't let that give you any pre-concieved notions that this is some kind of second-tier act. While a relatively simple producion--no big set-pieces or elaborate stage designs or live musical acompaniment--the acts themselves were top notch and, in some cases, simply astounding.

With nothing more than simple props--plates spinning on sticks, soccer balls, chinese yo yos, bowls, hoops, incredibly tall unicycles--the acrobats performed incredible feats of balance, strength, flexibilty and gymnastics. Several times throughout the show, collective gasps of amazement drifted across the rapt audience.



The girls insisted that I pose with them!

 It all seemed to be very authentic. As I was watching,I had the feeling that these skills may have been demonstrated in similar fashion hundreds of years ago before the royal courts of China.

Some of the standout performances: women on eight-feet-tall unicycles peddling with one foot while tossing bowls on their heads and heads of the other cyclists with the other; a woman balancing on one hand while going a series of amazing poses for what seemed like an eternity; male acrobats jumping (in a variety of ways) through a series of hoops that were raised higher and higher; and, of course, the prerequisie tightrope walker.

Here is a link to a preview of the show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2PvjRt_AH4

We absolutely loved every minute of the show. If the New Shanghau Circus is ever nearby, I heartily recommend it!

Nick Diaz Tests Positive For Marijuana After Condit Fight (UFC 143)

And the controversy begins...

People are already coming out with strong opinions about this. MMA female fighting star, Rhonda Rousey, is outraged and says "there's no real reason that they should be able to test [for marijuana] and make the athletes conform to their political ideas..." Read her interview here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/women-star-rousey-thinks-commission-testing-marijuana-flat-153747504.html

Many others, of course, agree with the testing. Here's my take...

I believe that professional athletes should be held to a higher standard. These people are role models, whether they want to be or not, whether it's fair or not, they have tremendous influence over people. It's not their choice, they ARE role models, certain people will always look up the them.

These person's, gifted with athletic ability and a bright public spotlight, don't get to choose to be a role model, they are chosen. It's out of their hands. Their only choice is to be a good role model or a bad one.

It's common knowledge that I think Nick Diaz is a punk. I hate the very thought that somebody might actually look up to him. But someone does. Probably a lot of someones. And now he's tested positive for marijuana in a sport that has struggled to gain respect after the John McCain "human cockighting" days. This isn't the first time eithe, he also tested positive for pot after a fight back in 2007.

Look, I'm certainly no saint. I won't even describe some of the stuff I used to do before tournament competitions back in the high-flyin' 70s and 80s but I certainly wasn't on the world stage and later in life I took my role seriously. My point here is that marijuana is an illegal drug and I don't want any young person, practicing a sport that I love, reading about Diaz testing positive and thinking, "hey, if Nick smokes this stuff and can reach the highest level of his sport, why shouldn't I?"

Testing for illegal drugs is fine by me and so are the penalties for getting caught.

Whats next for Nick Diaz? He'll face a the Nevada State Athletic Commission in April and they will hand down some form of punishment most likely. The typical suspension for marijuana is 6 months but this is his second offense, so who knows, a year?

But, oh yeah, I forgot--it doesn't make any difference anyway because Diaz retired after he lost the Condit fight and he said "I think I'm done with this MMA. I don't need this s***."


Well, Nick, apparently you need some other kind of s***.

The Jab: Elements of an Effective Strike

The Jab is a near-perfect weapon for a striker: It's quick. it's hard to defend, defensively it doesn't open you up very much and it sets up a variety of other attacks. A very large variety.

Elements of a good jab:

• Use the lead hand. The hand closest to your opponent.
•  Proper distance.
• You need to know how long your arm is. You don't want to flail at empty air. You want to make contact but not try to go too deep, that will only jam the jab, decreasing its effectiveness. The jab should make contact right at the end of snap when you throw it.
• Make it snap.
• The Jab should snap out like a whip and return just as quickly to the starting position.
• The fist should turn at the end of the strike, adding to the snapping effect. I only turn my fist about a quarter rather than a full turn, maybe it's my imagination but it just feels quicker to me. By that I mean I turn it from a vertical starting position to just a slight turn at the end of the punch, as illustrated below.

Beginning of jab

End of jab



• Throw your lead shoulder with the punch. Your shoulders should end up somewhat perpendicular to your opponent.
• Put your weight into it.
• Shift your weight onto your front foot with the impact of the punch.
• Typically, you move your front foot toward your target. I'll describe in more detail in later blogs but here are a couple of ways to do this:
• Move your front foot forward, toward the target. I call it "splitting the middle". Draw a line from your opponent's nose or chin straight down to the floor and step forward onto that line as you jab.
• Step out as you jab coordinating front and back feet as they move to the side, in order to reposition yourself and avoid a counter. 
• Snap your hip into the jab, same hip as the jab.
• On impact, your front foot, shoulder and hip should have shifted sharply toward the target.
• Hit with the big knuckles.
• As always, keep your chin down and tucked and stay loose.

This video shows how I do a jab:

That's enough for now. I'll talk more about the jab and footwork that goes along with it in future posts.  

The Jab: A Lesson From a Street Fight

The pure effectiveness of the jab

An atypical street fight
I saw a street fight many years ago, back in the day when I was inclined to hang out in places where such things happened and with people who they happened to, and I have recounted this fight several times to many of my martial arts students and other likewise interested persons.

Now, I have seen a number of street fights, bar fights, etc. (and have even been in a couple or three myself) but this was different: one of the fighters had true skill and a dynamite jab.


Jab master!
After the prerequisite shouting and pushing, one of the antagonists, a heavier, solid-built guy, charged the other, obviously going for a take down (he had been a state-level high school champ wrestler). The other man, tall and lanky and a few weight divisions smaller, stepped away and threw a picture-perfect, solid jab to the nose. Bam! Instant blood.

Stick and move
This went on for a bit--the big guy charging, trying to grab his opponent for a takedown or sometimes throwing wild, swinging punches, the skinnier guy jabbing accurately and moving away--until the bigger man began to stagger with each blow. Finally, the skinny guy followed the left jab with a hard right cross. This resulted in a spray of blood that splattered my shirt, and I was several feet away from the action. It only took a couple of these to lay the big man out, his face a mask of blood. As he struggled back to his feet, which took awhile, since his legs had been transformed into rubber, the skinny guy gave me a nod and took off (it was my job to keep the big guys friends from jumping him from behind).

Lesson learned.
So here was a huge lesson learned--not by the big guy, he didn't learn a thing, I saw him get in another fight a couple of weeks later, broken nose and all. But I learned how effective the jab could be. It became a foundation of my arsenal from that day on.

I also learned a bit about "fighting backwards." The bigger guy was, by any account, the more aggressive of the two combatants, always moving forward, always attacking. The other man backed away, sidestepped, and moved aside, even as he was landing ever-more-punishing blows.  In spite of the aggression of the bigger man, there was absolutely no doubt as to who won that fight. I laugh at amateur fight-watchers when they say "but he was more aggressive, he should have won." Aggression without effectiveness means nothing. "Fighting backwards" is a combat skill that is difficult to master, but perhaps one of the most effective.

In future posts I will be talking more about the jab--how you use footwork
to make it more effective, how you use it to set up other strikes, how to adapt it to self defense.


The jab is a near-perfect weapon. Every martial artist should work to perfect it.

"Shaolin" - the movie

Saw a great move over the weekend--"Shaolin". It had all of the elements that I love in an epic Chinese film: beautiful cinematography, incredible fight scenes and stunts, intrigue, high drama and even a bit of humor...and Jackie Chan.

Jackie Chan produced the film and played a part in it also, but it was only a supporting part which was just fine. He is turning into a pretty terrific character actor but can still pull off the action scenes even at age 57 (which I greatly admire, being nearly 59 myself and working hard to keep my skills as long as I can, struggling against the erosion of age and the ever-encroaching tide of time).

The movie hit notes that resonated with whole range of emotions, touching on themes of betrayal, redemption, honor, discipline, courage, dedication.

And the martial arts...inspiring! Made me want to go down to my workout room in the basement and run through my forms right then and there, and I haven't even practiced them for years! But I stayed up too late to watch the movie and all I could manage was to get up, make a drink, and plop back down on the couch. The burn is in my system though and I'll use it to fire up my next several workouts.

If you like a good Chinese martial arts epic, don't miss this one. I rate it five out of five super duper high kicks.

You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYV9thH5RhE

UFC 143: Nick Diaz is a punk-ass bitch

That's right, he's a punk-ass bitch, not quite sharp enough to understand that just walking forward, talking sh*t does NOT mean you won the fight.

Crybaby
And Diaz is a whiney-ass bitch too. Can't take a loss like a man. I hope he does retire from MMA and we don't have to ever look at this thug face again.

Condit won. Period.
If you have any doubt, watch the fight again and count up the number of effective strikes. It's not even close as shown here: http://mobile.mmamania.com/2012/2/5/2772471/ufc-143-results-nick-diaz-vs-carlos-condit-fight-metric-report-shows

Masterful game plan
Condit had a great strategy and stuck to it. It worked and worked well. No point in standing toe-to-to with arguably the best boxer in MMA. The stick-and-move strategy was very effective and a perfect fighting plan against an aggressive opponent. This is not a Tough Guy contest but the art and science of fighting. Sorry, Nick, but "walking him down" doesn't really qualify as a valid fighting strategy. Condit beat Diaz by outsmarting him and outplaying him. 'Nuff said.

The other fights:

Werdum vs. Nelson
Roy Nelson is one of the toughest sumbitches on the planet and that's all there is to it. But he can't keep taking beatings like this. Werdum used some excellent Muay Thai strking to just plain outfight him. Nelson's only game plan appeared to be stalking forward and trying to land a big right hand. Nothing else. Nelson needs to change things up in a big way or his career is as good as over. Werdum versus Dos Santos looks like a pretty good match to me.

Koscheck vs. Pierce
These guys looke pretty much alike fighting style-wise. A close fight that could have gone either way. Koschek won on the basis of a couple of takedowns. Could have gone either way. Koschek is an ass though and between him and Diaz, the event could have been titled "UFC 143: Night of the Dickheads."

Jorgensen vs. Barao
Good fight! Just what I thought it would be. Jorgensen coming forward and Barao getting the better of it with superior kicking ability and speed. Beautiful kicks by Barao. I love that the kicking game in MMA has evolved to what his is now. The very best fighters nowadays are throwing head kicks and spinning kicks. This adds artfulness to the MMA fight game and shows what some of us more traditional guys have always said: head kicks and spinning kicks are some of the most effective strikes. I love it!

Herman vs. Starks
Herman looked great. Nice trip takedown a rear naked choke. Keep an eye on him.

Prelim hightlights:

Steven Thompson
This talented young man comes from a traditional karate background and his fighting style completely displayed that. Reminded me of my old karate tournament competition days. Really, his style looks just like that. And it worked. Highlight reel roundhouse kick to the head knockout. Awesome.

Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway
Holloway is the youngest active fighter in the UFC and looks to have a great future. That being said, once it got to the ground Porier looked spectacular, transitioning easily from armbar to mounted triangle/armbar. Very cool

Caceres vs. Figueroa
Caceres (Bruce Leroy) landed two very effective kicks...to Figueroa's groin. Sloppy and inaccurate, Caceres has some skills that may end up being exciting one day, but that day is a ways off. He had plenty of opportunities to finish Figueroa on the ground and couldn't pull that off either. As far as Figueroa's skill, there is no way to judge for sure since he was fighting most of the fight with his groin kicked up into his lower intestine. Speaking from personal experience, it's hard to give your best performance after getting your boys hammered into oblivion.

Good fight night
All-in-all, a pretty damn good night of fights. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The UfC does it again!

UFC 143 Tonight

Just a quick thought on the upcoming fights:

He Ain't No Bruce Lee
It looks like a great card. I'm pretty excited about some of the matches--and the return of Bruce Leroy on the prelims!

Kidding. I was never very impressed with Bruce Leroy and thought it was was a desecration of the famed yellow and black track suit when he wore it on The Ultimate Fighter. If you  are going to pattern yourself after one of the greatest legends of martial arts, you damn well better back it up! Bruce Leroy (Alex Caceres) hasn't.

Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum
Will he be a new improved Ro,y even slimmer, with more endurance than his last fight? Or just a guy who can take a lot of punishment and hang in there? Really, I think this is a make or break fight for Roy. If he wants to stay relevant in the heavyweight division, he needs to make a statement here against Werdum, who is a pretty terrific fighter. Don't get me wrong, I like Roy, he's a real character, tough as nails and a pretty good fighter in his own right, butI think for him to be a real contender he needs to lose the belly and show some real conditioning.

Josh Koschek vs. Mike Pierce
Don't know much about Mike Pierce but, hey, he's fighting Josh Koschek, so kick some ass Mike Pierce!

Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen
This could be an awesome fight! Barao is a very talented young fighter and Jorgensen is just relentless. Potential fight of the night.

Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit
This really could be fight of the night, maybe fight of the year. I can't stand Diaz, to me he's just a disrespectful thug who can barely string an entire sentence together. Maybe a role model for gang-bangers but not for a potential martial artist. However, he is a great fighter, and, while I have no respect for him as a human being, I do respect his fighting ability.

I've always liked Condit and now that he's a family man, I like his backstory also. He's a man, not a punk.

I expect a great fight, and, if there is any justice, the good guy will win. Condit all the way!

Those are the fights I'm most interested in. Should be a pretty good night. I'm all atwitter. (I just wanted to say "atwitter")

The Spinning Hook Kick

Dramatic UFC Knockout
A few weeks ago at UFC 142 the first spinning hook kick knockout in UFC history was landed by Edson Barboza against Terry Etim. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfa5hoacoPs

It wasn't the first spinning hook kick thrown in the UFC, I've seen a few and a couple have been semi-effective, but mostly they don't work and look like crap.

Complicated Technique
Not that the hook kick itself is ineffective. If it's thrown properly, it's one of the most powerful kicks a martial artist can have in his (or her) arsenal. The torque of winding up your body and then rapidly unwinding, swinging your leg and foot at full speed, like a rope with a rock tied to the end of it, leads to a devastating impact...but only if you can put it on target.

But there's the rub--since it's one of the most complicated kicks in martial arts, it takes a long time to perfect and I believe most practitioners in the UFC nowadays, unless they have a background in a kicking art, just don't take the time to make it a decent weapon.

The Beauty of the Art of Kicking 
Flexibility (in your torso as well as legs) is key to spinning kicks, as well as leg strength, core strength and, of course proper technique. It takes time and effort. I came from a Tae Kwon Do background so kicking was our thing and I loved the beauty of the art of kicking. I still do.

The argument against spinning kicks is that they weren't effective, just a flashy move meant more for showing off than actual fighting. I knew better, having fought in full contact Tae Kwon Do tournaments where guys were trying to take my head off with a spinning kick. And I've whacked more than a few fighters with a well-timed spin kick that took them off their feet.

UFC 142, for me, was a vindication of the effectiveness of well-timed, well-executed spinning kick in a real fighting situation.

To all those who thought differently: told ya so.

I'll be 59 years old in a few weeks but I still love and practice the art of kicking. The video below is a movie I made a couple days ago of me practicing one of my favorite kicks. Yep, that's right, the spinning hook kick!