Thoughts on training, watching, and living Martial arts

Journey to Hilo Part !

2011-02-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.bjpenn.com/video/vlog-13

Selected

2011-02-15T19:15:00.001-08:00

I've been selected for the Just Scrap Event. I'll let the video do the rest!

http://www.bjpenn.com/video/thank-you-reaction-to

New Direction and The Contest

2011-02-12T09:53:00.000-08:00

NEW DIRECTION

On January 3rd, 2011 I gave my notice that I was leaving my full-time job in finance to pursue martial arts full-time. I started working on making this move after September 2010 when I returned from a trip to Tokyo. I was there to train and to help corner my coach Darren Uyenoyama when he fought (and defeated) Shooto Champion Shuichiro Katsumura. During that trip I met so many incredible people and started to believe in myself more as a competitor I trained with and met many of my heroes (including the incredible Rumina Sato and wise Hiroyuki Abe).

This has allowed me to focus on training as well as any other martial arts endeavors. In order to support myself I instruct martial arts, do office temp work, and tutor highschool students (so its not all fun) but I very much enjoy teaching! Also the flexibility of my new schedule allows me to adjust very quickly when I need rest and also ensures that I maximize my time by getting the best quality training (partners, time of day, etc). Also the ability to make my primary focus of the day MMA just makes a huge difference in mental performance.

Its only been the first month and I've been able to get in much better condition (thanks to strength and conditioning coach Chris Shah at Ground Up Fitness and the diet and supplement regimen I follow through Dr. Melissa Ponce). I have also been able to really improve my technical game by being able to train with a wider variety of sparring partners. Finally it also allows me more time to communicate more frequently with my mentors Darren Uyenoyama and Edge Brown which is a huge benefit in addressing my strengths and weaknesses.

I cant wait to see how I perform in this next fight and the next few months, I feel stronger than ever and the best part is I know I have so much more to improve!

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN FIGHT

At the start of 2011 joined a video blogging contest called "so you think you can fight" on bj penn.com. The prize for the winner? A chance to train for two weeks in Hilo Hawaii and then to fight on March 5th at bj penn's jut scrap event. The contest requires participants to upload a series of video blogs twice a week over a six week period. These vlogs were then viewed on Bjpenn.com and revolve around the topic of training to train for two weeks and the fight. In the final two weeks of vloging Bjpenn.com posted a survey monkey poll where viewers voted on their favorite fighters.

I decided to have a theme for each of my vlogs (conditioning, working and fighting, diet, etc). They can be found here. We shot at multiple gyms, home, the office, my car and even the grocery (where we were told not to video tape!). We even had Dream fighters Wicky Akiyo and Takufumi come train with us at FTCC for two weeks during the shoot!

I received a huge amount of help from my teammates, my girlfriend Jenny, coworkers, and most of all from my training partner and resident FTCC Pro MMA Fighter/Purple Belt/Video Guru Taylor McCorriston who helped me put together the shots and edit the videos (THANK YOU T). The process of filming the videos was actually helpul as I started thinking a lot about each component of my training and how they all fit together.

Promoting myself and getting votes was a whole other process in itself. I posted on several online forums in addition to the bjpenn website. I sent out mass emails promoting my videos and the voting process. Of course I used facebook events, messages, and wall posts. My girlfriend even sent daily reminder emails to her friends to vote for me. I am sure I was very annoying to many people during this time! It made me extremely thankful for being blessed with great friends, teammates, and mentors.

Awaiting the Decision

Voting ended on February 11, 2011 and the results are announced tomorrow. My team has put in a ton of work in the gym, on the computer, behind the video camera and now we just have to wait. I am anxious, hopeful, and very thankful. This is a huge opportunity for me to fight and learn from one of the best in the sport. If chosen, I know I will make the best of it and put on a great show!

boxing

2011-02-10T23:10:00.000-08:00

of all the combat sports i have done i have to say the least likely sport i thought i would like would be boxing as it seemed so limited. but over the last year I have come to respect the sweet science more and more and not just in video games. i truly believe knowing how to box can help in any ring sport.

one of my goals in the next two years aside from winning fights and a better grappler is to be a SOLID boxer. Technical and calculating. ah more and more work to be done.

Fight Night

2009-09-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

This was nothing like I had thought it would be...but man it was fun.

The morning of the fight I felt good. My nose had cleared up a bit and was now just consistently running so I felt this was a good sign. The weight cut had not really been too bad so by Friday morning I felt good and ready to go.

I ate bacon eggs and toast at Moulin Rouge Cafe in the Tenderloin with Steph (which is awesome if you've never been). I stopped by the gym to fit some headgear on (As this was my first fight head gear was mandatory). Then drove with my Buddy Steve Kuo to the event.

Steve had driven up for LA to watch me fight and to hang out. He is a 179lb fighter fighting out of The Yard in LA and is 3-0 in his amateur muay thai career thus far. A former accountant at Deloitte and an aspiring firefighter, he is one of my closest friends and an old training partner from my Claremont Jiujitsu days. Having him around calmed me down a lot.

We arrived promptly at 1:15pm and waited for the commission. At this time I had my mug shot taken. The photographer commented that for fighters we all looked pretty chunky. I guess this meant I re hydrated well! or maybe I should drop to another weight class :(

340pm and the commission still had not shown up. We sat around talking crap and admiring Calstate hayward's various random athletic pictures and trophies. We also sat and talked to Adam's opponent who was a really nice guy. We also met the ring announcer who had some colorful things to say including that Edge could teach a grasshopper to kill a spider. i think that was pretty accurate.

5pm comes around and the doors open. Finally we are shown to the back locker room for pre-fight physicals. Bebe and Edge arrived to corner us and wrap our hands and I felt that much more confident.

The entire process of physicals, waiting felt a lot like being back wrestling in Highschool. We did a walkout pre-fight ceremony and the fights began. I blew my nose and started to worry if it would affect me. I started to worry if I had done enough and if I would be able to perform. I looked at my teammates and I worried if I would disappoint them. I was a mess.

I was the fourth fight on the card and I was butterflies all the way as each fight finished. I put on my shorts and warmed up for less than a round with BeBe. As usual I had a sweat going...fast. I stayed warm and walked out to the wrong music...but I didn't really care.

At this point I did not feel very nervous or scared but anxious. I looked away from the crowd and walked slow into the ring. I thought that this walk would last a long time as many had told me but it felt actually good to finally get in. I was far from relaxed though but kept this to myself mostly. My nose felt clogged. My opponent walked in. The ref told me to follow his commands and the fight was on.

I honestly don't remember much from the fight in detail. Things came in flashes:

I remember landing my first jab and feeling good about it. I remember eating the first right from my opponent and not worrying about my nose anymore. I remember the first leg check and how much it hurt my shin. I remember kicking back and not feeling a thing. I remember how great it felt to feel my leg kicks dig into his thigh. I remember how great it felt to land my right hand. I remember how weird it felt to get rocked by a flurry but feel no pain. I remember getting muscled in the clinch. I remembered landing some knees to his body and feeling his ribs. I remember reverting to double underhooks and thinking about throwing him or taking his back (thank god I didn't do this). I remember eating a late punch and thinking wtf. I remembered hearing edges British accent telling me to kick, punch, kick, 1-2s, low kick, again, low kick again. I remember the rounds becoming shorter and shorter.

And like that it was over. I looked at edge and asked if I won. He said I did and i raised my hands up and i flexed. Bebe told me to stop flexing as i had no biceps. I stopped :). they called out my name And that was it. I won a split decision. It was great.

Jen beat her opponent up and showed some great head movement. She won as well after a little mess up on the score cards (I felt bad for her opponent but Jen deserved the win!)

Adam dominated his opponent who was much taller with his pressure and won easily. He looked on point!

It was an awesome night for the gym and it felt great.

I thanked Kru Edge and Bebe. I thanked all my friends and family. All my training partners who showed up.

I spoke to my Dad on the phone who couldnt wait to call me. He asked how it went, congratulated me, and then told me to stop fighting. I told him Id just begun but that I would take care of myself.

That night I ate some pinoy food at Geris grill and enjoyed some Ice Cold San Miguel Beer and felt relieved. Then went to the old faithful blackthorn to celebrate with some jameson shots, margaritas ($4!), and stellas.

I cant wait to do it again. A few days off and back to the gym :) I have a lot to work on including circling off, keeping my chin down, and accuracy on lowkicks.

Thank you to all who supported me.

Weigh Ins

2009-09-07T07:43:00.001-07:00

Weigh ins-

The diet really paid off in the last week and i had stopped fluid intake only on that day. I had the half day from work, picked up Andrew and Adam and met Darren at FTCC. Darren is not a trainer at Gym 445 but typical of his nature was kind enough to help us all make weight. Rodney generously offered the facilities at his home for our cut.

The weight cut was relatively easy for all of us with minimal sauna time. I learned some new tips about squeegeeing off sweat in sauna and when to take on and off my sauna suit from Darren. This helped a lot.

Driving to weighins took us 2.5 hours! With Darren sharing colorful insights (including tyson impressions and japan stories) behind the wheel (if you train at FTCC or know him at all you know how entertaining this can be), we made it without too much discomfort.

We all were well under our weight limits. While Adam's opponent had long since weighed in. Jen and my opponent had not. In fact Jen's opponent was not coming until Saturday. After some talking with the commission and with Darren's convincing nature jen was able to weigh in that day thankfully. My opponent showed up and weighed in at 153lbs...six lbs above our agreed weight. I questioned this. And Darren immediately said just do it anyway. I hesitated for a second but I wanted, needed to fight. I thought about the three weeks I had just put in and agreed.

We finished up with some pedialyte, and some well deserved japanese food. My feelings fluctuated between nervous and excited the entire night. I couldnt wait.

Good friends and family were critical at this time. While my parents dont really like the fact that I want to fight they have been very supportive. This helped me a lot mentally. I slept not wanting to let anyone down.

Week 3

2009-09-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

Week 3- making weight and tapering off

Darren U had given me a diet to follow the week of weigh last year and I decided to implement it much earlier in the week this time. see my post on weight cuts for more info on this...

On Monday I felt rested but developed some phlegm in my throat. I ignored this for the most part and ran some sprints in the am and hit the pads with edge in the evening, 6 rds on the bag, finishing with the cardio class, and doing 100m wind sprints.

On Tuesday did a good session in the Am with Edge. At night did the stanyan run and 5 block sprints right into sparring 5x3 in a row. Again sparring revealed a lot. I felt good landing mostly low kicks jabs, one-twos, and counter hooks. This was pretty much the way i felt I was going to fight. the fifth round I felt like absolute jello, and andrew really pushed me. This was the last sparring session till the fight.

On Wednesday I felt really weak and started to develop a head cold. I rested this day and only did 5 rounds of shadow and stretched. Drank lots of fluids, loaded up on vitamin c, cold-eeze and rested. To end the night I took theraflu. I did not want to be sick.

On Thursday I felt much better, but developed a sore throat. I started to worry and kept a steady regimen of fluids, cold-eeze, and vitamins. Under the eyes of Edge that night I did 7 rounds of rounds of fast shadow and 5 rounds really really light and fast on the bag. He said that was all and I was done till the fight. After training that night, i ate a builder bar and headed to FTCC to drop some tickets. I spoke with Darren about the fight and weigh ins the next day. Went home, drank some thera flu and fell deep asleep.

Week 2

2009-09-07T06:37:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the late update. My twitter account will help alot as I can see what I did each day for the most part.

If you want to follow me its www.twitter.com/dkcuenca

Week 2

The second week of training was intense. I took the day off on Monday to do some fighters training at FTCC. Since I work full time I usually do FTCC group classes at night. The classes are great for techniques and developing my grappling/mma knowledge but its just not the same as fighters training as far as partners and cardio demands. So I wanted to get a session in.

I did a few rounds of shadow and jab straight drills. Then Rod worked with me on the micromits. Man was my accuracy bad and I really need more time to work with Rod. Rodney Mirasol is not my main standup trainer but a key person who has been helping me alot with my standup game since I decided I wanted to do muay thai last year. Ronnie Carillo, an upcoming amateur, friend and training partner also gave me some tips as well. This helped me a ton in the next few days. I then did 5-7 rounds of mma grappling with the other FTCC guys as well as Chris Cariaso, Evan Esguerra, and Neungsiam who were visiting from Fight and Fitness. Finished with a run up a hill near the gym and into nice park a good way to end the workout. Later that day did evening pads with Edge at 445 and a set of sprints.

The rest of the week I followed pretty much my routine, making it into grappling twice but trying to avoid the FTCC bug that surfaced on Tuesday following the morning training. I woke up at 530 am each day to either go to kezar, do hill runs, or work with Edge and my main training partner for this fight adam rutland who was fighting at 179 on the same card.

Sparring gave me some indicators on where I was. I felt great on Tuesday but on FridayI sparred with Adam and my eyes were opened.

Bebe Etzler and Bret Bergmark were cornering a sparring session between us and we really pushed it. And I never felt so exhausted before in my life. To be honest, I got my ass kicked and being the emotional guy that I am I felt frustrated. Had I done enough? Was I ready? i whined and asked questions. i even called up a good friend and trainer Andrew Moy to ask what I could do. The answer was...keep working, or as Bret said...stop thinking about it and kick his ass.
I had a good nights sleep, put the night behind me.

That saturday as a team we really pushed it hard. I started it with a good stanyan run with jenny followed by 6 sprints. I did the 10 round bag work out. Then we sparred for a few rounds. We ended with intervals at Kezar. I felt like I wanted to die.

That night I watched the UFC at coach Darren Uyenoyama's house. It was good to see nog win his fight with couture that night. Watching the pros I thought of how much more I wanted to accomplish in martial arts. I shared some thoughts on the upcoming fight with Darren and he showed me some of the cool Ryan Hall concepts he learned during his VA trip and was going to teach. It was a nice way to end the hard week and to be honest it really made me miss grappling but knew I had to focus on standing up until the fight was over.

thoughts on first week of training and plan for next week

2009-08-23T09:30:00.001-07:00

This first week went well. I did take friday off which was cause i was so damn exhausted made up for it with some box and kickspar on saturday which was very good. Did fifteen minutes of hell to end the day.

Also got some time to relax with some friends at the FTCC one-year anniv at kyoto sushi on Friday. I cant believe its been a year. Some new faces and the return of some old ones. Our gym is growing strong and we are doing well. Weve got good people :)

Also found out that my friend/training partner taylor is actually the matchmaker for the card im fighting on. Which is good.

A few things to work on for next week:

Need to boxspar more to get used to hard exchanges especially if i give up reach
need to kneespar more
clean up jabs to the body
need to get my runs in harder (sprint, sprint, sprint)
clean up left kicks
start to practice everything in combinations
Be more agressive and practice closing the distance and staying busy

Still going to fit in grappling monday, weds, and friday and saturday.

short edit to the below post

2009-08-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

After yesterdays workout I realized that I am in good shape but not where I want to be come fight time. Will write more tonight before going to bed. So the below statements about me being in great shape. disregard.

Muay Thai Debut 9.5.09- Hayward

2009-08-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

On Friday I just got word that I will be competing against another 0-0 muay thai fighter from Cung Le's USH at 150lbs on 9/5/09. I would like to fight at 145-147 but in grappling ive been comfortable up to 160 and I dont think size or strength will be an issue at all. After sustaining a massive ankle injury early this year I cant wait to get back to competition. And after tough losses in grapplers quest I am really hungry for a win.

Ive been working a ton on my standup primarily with Kru Edge Brown and also Andrew Moy at GYm 445. In addition have been getting lots of help from both Rodney Mirasol and Darren Uyenoyama at FTCC. In the next three weeks I am going to try to fine tune all my weakspots. Its funny after a year of starting real standup training I have a ton of really glaring errors. These will be remedied.

Ive been pushing myself conditioning wise but have not been extremely dilligent about eating clean. though weight wont be an issue I must insure that I stay away from any vices avoid as much sugar as possible and eat clean as possible. My conditioning will now focus primarily on endurance and explosiveness translating to, 15 minutes of hell drills and of course Sprints in the form of Takus at Kezar and the 445 stanyan run to6 windsprints up a sunset block routine.

Ill be sparring 4x a week for the next two weeks at least and doing pads or contact drills daily with partners or edge, andy, or rodney. I will still be grappling 3x a week at the group classes MWSaturday at FTCC and drilling with the chen chens on Sundays. Im planning on competing at the No-Gi Mundials this year as well so ill be working hard on that.

I'm taking care of this guy from USH. No disrespect to him but hes going to have to come close to killing me in order to stop me in september. and im looking to knock his head off.

as Kru Edge told me last year when I started at the gym... if your going to be a bear you might as well be a grizzly... (wonder if he was thinking of that luda song that just came out).

Im nervous, excited, and ready to work. While I am confident in myself, im getting ready for nothing less than a war. After watching many friends and training partners experience this I cant wait to finally do the same!

Follow me on www.twitter.com/dkcuenca for daily training and life updates. ill approve you as long as you are not a spammer!

Cutting Weight- Guidelines (do not try without supervision or consulting medical professional/coach)

2009-06-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

My friend was asking me some questions on weight cutting recently. I normally get questions on cutting weight or tournament preparation experience a few times a year. What many may not realize is I am still changing things around when I cut weight though there are certain principles that work really well for me.

First my philosophy is if I am weighing the day of I dont cut weight. Unless its like 1-2lbs. But still on the side of caution dont cut weight day of. This guide is not for that.

(note take this advice as caution as some of these measures are extreme. Consult your coach or medical professional before taking any of these strategies)

1. Eating clean up until the weight cut (at least three-four days before)- If you are in combat sports most likely you've been eating great up till this point. It becomes even more important during this time. Darren Uyenoyama helped me a lot with my last few weight cuts by suggesting getting rid of anything that would stick in my digestive system. During this period do not eat meat, wheat carbs (including whole wheat etc), sugars, and decrease sodium intakes and very little fat intake. Focus on eating green vegetables, non-wheat carbs such as quinoa, and eat vegetable based protein sources (tofu, hummus (though hummus does have a ton of sodium so eat sparingly).
Super Hydration (2 days before weighin)- Note this is not overhydration. You basically sip approx 2 gal of water through the day (dont guzzle it). Pee as much as needed and workout normally (though you should be tapering off). This gets your body used to expelling water freely and also gives you a realistic figure of where you are cutting from as you are more than well hydrated.
Stop meals night before weigh in (dinner). This will ensure any residual calories in your system from food will either be excreted or used as fuel. Your body should be clean and ready for your weight cut.
Prepare post-weight cut meals and all logistics, find a good weight cutting partner. Good post weight cut immediate foods: Pedialyte (32oz at least), banana, zone bar, water (at least 32 oz)(have this ready). Find a place that has a treadmill, shower, and sauna that is NEAR the weigh in location (the less time you spend dehyrdated the better). A good weight cutting partner is someone who has cut weight before, and is a positive person who cares a lot about you and can call for help if things go wrong. (he also must be willing to go into the sauna with you etc. and pick ur naked body up if needed). Pack clothes for after the weight cut, during the weight cut, and a scale if there is none near the weight cutting area (hav eyour partner carry this). good postweight cut clothes are comfortable sweats, flip flops etc. good during weight cut clothes: old t-shirts, sweats, long sleeve thermals, and if you can get a good vinyl suit (title boxing has great pair)- sneakers. It seems overkill but the more you can bundle yourself up the less your body has to do to generate heat to create sweat. IF you can get some sweet sweat (available on titleboxing) or albolene makeup remover, you will need this beofre cutting weight
Once all of these things are prepared you can begin to make your cut. I like to have about 1hr per 2lbs I have to cut before I can weigh in (weight day of weigh in). Although Id say the first fourlbs come off in the next 20 mins or 30mins if you do the cut right. First strip down to your boxer briefs and apply the sweet sweat/albolene onto your body. Put on each later of clothes and make sure you tighten all drawstrings/straps. Put on your sneakers and do short warmup on treadmill followed by 3 30sec windsprints you should be sweating, finish with 3 minute constant pace. Your sweat should be going strong. Now go immediately into the sauna. You will feel all the sweat drip down like crazy. Stay in the sauna for only 10-15minutes! dont stay longer than this. Take off your weight cut clothes and jump into a short cold shower (do not drink any of the water), you will actually sweat more during this cool down. Weigh yourself. If still not on target put oin your clothes and jump in the sauna again. Repeat until you are on target (i like to use the most conservative scale you can find)
You may be extremely dehydrated now so head immediately tot he weigh in location and make weight. Once you make weight begin to rehydrate by sipping on pedialyte (u can use the cap to better measure off small amounts). SIP DO NOT GUZZLE! after clearing the first bottle of pedialytle put either a zone bar or banana in your system. Eat slowly. Clear the next bottle of pedialyte by sipping and then finally the water. Keep sipping water till you are fully hydrated, now if you can get some good sleep/rest.
Wake up for your next meal and eat clean but now its okay to eat carbs and meat. Id say a good sushi/sashimi dinner works well. Lots of green vegetables and also eat as much sodium as you want dont go crazy but you need to restore whats in your body. Keep drinking water and replenishing yourself slowly.
Sleep early, watch a movie or something to get your mind off fighting, and get some great rest for the battle tomorrow.

I hope this helps whoever reads this.

King Mo

2008-09-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

Who is this guy. And how does quest get him to make his debut in Sengoku so quick??

Trigg and Couture Offer Interesting Points of View on Kimbo, Golden Boy in MMA.

2008-09-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Couture and Trigg offer a fairly clear and competent evaluation on boxing, mma, de la hoya, and kimbo slice.

Xande to Sengoku

2008-09-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

With the success of Jacare, Maia, and other top level Jiujitsu guys in MMA its only fitting that the Mundial Champ join in the fun!

http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/sengoku-another-jiu-jitsu-king-tries-mma-14554

Still one of my favorite highlights ever:

Semtex vs. Shields (coach edge cameo)

2008-09-25T23:16:00.000-07:00

Check out Edge/445 cameo at the 14 mark beating that boy with the thai pad.

Hahah should be a good one...

Upcoming Tournaments/Fights

2008-09-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

October 19th- US Open at Santa Cruz (167- IBJJF Weigh in Rules)

US OPEN XIII BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU 2008 from Nomad Productions on Vimeo.

November 22- Amateur Thaiboxing Debut at the Santa Clara Convention Center

December 6- Grapplers Quest Las Vegas Championships (Gi-Blue Belt, Intermediate (Featherweight and advanced)

Alcohol MMA Article

2008-09-21T17:09:00.001-07:00

http://fightpassport.com/2008/08/drinking-fighting-the-effects-of-alcohol/

interesting article... but damn i love scotch

Training in a Time Starved World

2008-09-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Fitting in both physical conditioning and technical training into an already time-starved schedule is pretty difficult. However by following a few rules, it does become possible to reach your physical and mental goals as a martial artist by doing a few key things. This entry is not for the full-time martial artist, or for the aspiring MMA champion/contender (in those cases I would honestly just look for a way to train full-time period as soon as possible). This is for the career man/student looking for consistent gains in their journey to maintain and improve on their other life as a mixed martial artist

Have goals: People will often say they train just to train. Which is a great attitude, I appreciate all the gifts that the martial arts give to people just by being on the mat/in the gym (fitness, mental challenge). However I find it is those who set goals for themselves that really excel in the sport. This goal could be a belt, a win in a competition, or even just mastering a particular position, move, or concept. By setting benchmarks and meeting them you are able to easily track, pursue, and achieve much more as a mixed martial artist.
Have fun: Train to train, MMA is fun, its why we do it, if you dont enjoy what you are doing then theres no point in putting all this effort.
Be realistic: If you work longer than a 40 hour week, or you are in the middle of finals season this may not be the best time to be the next MMA champion. This is not to say that people have not been able to do this but you should realize that time spent outside of training has to be factored in. Time at work, time to rest, time to see friends and family, to read/watch tv etc, should all be scheduled. After factoring all this in, do you have any time to train at all? That’s when you have to look at the next item…
Sacrifice: The truth is, training MMA means you will have less time to do many other things. You may find yourself having to sacrifice many other activities in your life. Again, you are only limited by your ability to schedule, and the goals you have as an mma enthusiast. It is rare however, for me to find that a martial artist does not have to sacrifice other interests to pursue their goals (unless their only interest really is fighting, in that case it maybe a lot easier). Prioritize your various interests in your life (career, mma, etc) and build a schedule based on those priorities.
Building a Schedule: This is a living document and will change with the circumstances in your life, the limits you may hit in the gym (taking more time to reach a goal,), and your aspirations in the gym and outside. It is often helpful then to use a program such as an excel or outlook to map this out, however a simple notebook will do. The truth is most people already have a schedule mapped out., you should use this and your prioritized goals to begin to map out your game plan, which needs to include time for the following:

Technical Training: By far the most important part of your schedule. Without technique all the conditioning in the world will not help you as a martial artist. The majority of your time as a martial artist should be spent learning, practicing, and applying your techniques in the gym. If possible separate these aspects out (ex: Monday, Wednesday jiujitsu class, Saturday, drill techniques from jiujitsu classes, etc), in this way you are sure to cross the ts and dot the is. One thing people forget is the importance of positional training and drilling, this will be covered in another entry, but for purposes of building a schedule just make sure that these are put into your schedule at least once a week, these are very important.
Conditioning: This should be your second priority after technical training. Most people may start to feel conditioned by just doing technical training, however if you would like to compete or just be able to do more technical training you need to factor in conditioning. I once heard a St. Pierre interview where he puts this into perspective, in that your body and conditioning are the foundation on which you are able to train. With this in mind, if you find yourself limited in the gym by your lack of cardio or strength, etc this can be eased by conditioning. While people differ and priorities may change I believe when it comes to conditioning you need to prioritize: cardio and muscle endurance before anything else. Without these two you will not be able to last in the gym or in a fight. Matches are often won on these two factors alone holding all else equal. Once you are comfortable with your level of cardio (the most important) and your ability. On a final note, conditioning should be kept as a second priority to techniques. You will always run into people who are stronger, faster, and in better shape, it is your technical prowess that often sets you apart.
Rest. Perhaps the most ignored portion of the MMA enthusiast’s schedule. Getting adequate rest and listening to your body is just as important as the training itself.

I hope this helps anyone who is either getting into the sport or trying to stay active in it. If you don’t agree with anything in this article and have any questions of what I’ve gone over feel free to comment =) I always love to hear new ideas.

This weekend's run and training

2008-09-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

FrontRunners Ocean: Golden Gate Park
Find more Runs in San Francisco, California

Have decided to end my week and saturday training sessions with a good run or alternative activity while preparing for my thaiboxing fight. ill probably try and work this in with drilling sessions every other week.

We were going to do this run this weekend but ended up just running for time throught the park clocking in about 50mins at a decent pace. Will run this course probably in the next two weeks.

Plan for this week:

Monday 2x50min run for time
Tuesday 1hr thaiboxing int he am 2hr thaiboxing at night
Wednesday- 50min run in the Am and JP Morgan Corporate Challenge Run with work friends
Thursday 1 hr thaiboxing in the am 2hr thaiboxing at night
Friday- 50min run in the Am 1hr sparring at night
Saturday- 2 hours thaiboxing in the am. 1hour grappling. 30mins bagwork/pads in the pm

FTCC Grand Opening

2008-08-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

Shooto Legend Hiroyuki Abe will be conducting a 3 hour seminar at FTCC from 1pm-4pm on Saturday, August 16th. He will be teaching both his dynamic MMA and Grappling techniques. The cost will be $100 at the door, and $80 if you pre-register by emailing d_uyenoyama@yahoo.com. Space is limited and you won't see these skills anywhere else in the U.S, so pre-registration is advised.His students and training partners include many of todays top MMA Fighters such as...Joachim Hansen - Dream Lightweight GP ChampionMegumi Fuji - Smack Girl, and Shooto FighterJosh Barrnett - Sengoku, and Affliction Fighter.Former UFC ChampAntonio Carvalho - Shooto FighterMelvin Manhoef - Dream FighterZelg Galesic - Dream FighterSayaka Shinoda - 2007 ADCC Women's World Championetc...Please Repost!Thanks,Darren "BC" Uyenoyama