Thursday 13 November 2008

Eddie Bravo

The dude is just a straight up stud!! Complete visionary...
this guy totally makes me wanna keep doing jiu jitsu!

Tuesday 11 November 2008

My first Submission and UFC predictions

So I got my very first submission last night. May have only been 1 submission but it was sweet all the same. I was in top position in a guillotine choke. Luckily he didn't have his legs wrapped around me so I could stand up and ease the pressure. Managed to get my head out - take the full mount and then went from an arm triangle to a Kimora - those 3 light pats on the mat have never sounded sweeter. OK - I got submitted about 300 times after that but the fact still remains...there is a bit of progress there I think :)

Anyways, Couture vs Lesnar this weekend and I can't wait!! I'm totally routing for Randy...the dude is one of my Heroes and just a complete gentleman. He don't walk shit about people...give it large or bring on attitude...he is a true champ in every sense of the word. Integrity and Honour. Brock on the other hand...a complete beast and a total prat in my opinion. OK, so he beat Heath Herring and I respect the dude for that totally, but as I've said before, I'd respect him more if he was a bit more humble. I know that in the MMA World you need confidence, but there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance and Brock has opted for the latter. He was talking shit about Randy even before this fight was on the cards so I think I'll get satisfaction out of watching Randy beat him (if that turns out to be the case).

OK - Predictions for this weekend and the tournament are 2 fold. My first set will contain what I would like to happen, the second will contain what I think will happen.

What I would like to see:

Couture vs Lesnar : Couture wins
Noguiera vs Mir : Noguiera wins
Couture vs Noguiera : Couture wins

What I think I will see:

Couture vs Lesnar : Lesnar wins (I want Randy to win more than anything but I have a very bad feeling about this entire thing!!)
Noguira vs Mir : Noguira wins
Lesnar vs Noguiera : Lesnar wins

OK - so my prediction for this weekend, on the record...Couture wins by submission (RNC) in the fourth round (I know this is a contradiction...but I'm a big fan of Randy and so I intend to predict with bias).

I think Demian Maia will win by submission IF he can take Quarry to the ground without being caught by a hay maker. We'll see...but I'm gonna go for Maia coming out of this with a clean record.

Check out the fight card and extras at the official UFC 91 web site.

Thursday 6 November 2008

Dizzy Rascal what are you doing?

So I was watching TV last night, surfing for information relating to the recent election of Barack Obama. I'm waiting for Heroes to come on so I go to BBC2 and what do you know, they have a Newsnight special relating to everything that has been going on. At one stage Paxman decides to get the point of view of 2 people that the BBC must have thought correctly reflected the different spectrums of the black community.

So you have former Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Valerie Amos in one corner and Dylan Mills (aka Dizzy Rascal - no...you have not read that incorrectly) in the other!

Valerie Amos gave a clear, thorough and well presented view of where she felt everything was going and what needs to be done next etc. Dizzy Rascal on the other hand did nothing but fulfil what in my view is an extremely negative stereotype. The hand gestures, the obvious lack of understanding relating to some of the questions and his blatant inability to clearly communicate his patterns of thought in a concise manner were an extremely sad sight to see.

Barrack Obamas achievement is a proud moment in humanity and shows that the Human race is moving forward and transcending racial differences and divides. Many of those divides do still exist and I agree with Malcolm X who said that before we as a human race can unify we as black people need to unify. I feel that if we are going to have people that represent our community, the younger black community, it should be someone with a bit more effluence than Dizzy Rascal!

I couldn't even watch the entire thing for fear that he was gonna start shouting "Brap! Brap!" at the camera...idiot!!

Here we have, another point of view.
And another...

Wednesday 5 November 2008

First Black President, pinging on Paul and a change of scenery.



Well, I am still in a state of shock after reading the news on the BBC web site to find that Barrack Obama has been elected as President of the USA. Now this suprise is not derived from my not knowing obviously but more the fact that this is not something I ever expected to see in my lifetime. Even when the Polls had him as front runner all the way up until yesterday I couldn't help but cast my mind (as I am doing now) to when Senator Bush stole (in that he took something that blatantly was not his) the presidency. Al Gore had more votes, but who cares?? We have innocent people to kill, business that does not concern us to involve ourselves in, an economy that needs fucking up and some weapons of mass destruction to find (like looking in your neighbours house for your keys!). Either way, I think it a good thing that this change has introduced itself to the people of the world and it's a sight to see knowing that if you had even suggested the idea of such a thing 60 years ago, you would have been linched, laughed at or
both.

Anyways, I've left the martial arts school I was going to. A few reasons but the most important being that I really wanna concentrate on Brazillian Jiu Jitsu. Lucky for me there's a place within walking distance! Like...5 minutes away!! Had my 1st class on Monday and it was great! You spend 10 minutes warming up and stretching, the remainder of the hour practicing drills and then the remainder of the time you spend on the mat trying to submit each other. Awesome! Got submitted around 50 times which I don't actually mind in one sense being as that won't be the case forever.

Anywho, being as I want or rather, need to work on my standup, I currently spend about an hour a week now doing some pad drills with my good friend Paul. Paul and I met when we worked at Interactive Solutions together, we got on like a house on fire and were always
ribbing each other. The amount of dead arms that guy used to give me (back in my skinny days) was a joke! Anyways, just before I start the timer, Paul reminded me of what I used to say after one of these dead arms..."one of these days I'm gonna be bigger, find you and then kick the shit out of you". This comment was usually followed by copious amounts of laughter in my direction and another dead arm. 6 years on...my how the tables have turned! I was using the MMA gloves so I could only do open handed strikes but it was so much fun. Them gangly arms helped me again. Think I need to get in all the hits I can now though, a few more weeks and it'll be "one of these days I'm gonna be bigger..."