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Hey Fight Fans!

There is a new girl in town- she came over from boxing and is poised to paint the town red, with her competitor’s blood, that is. Oh, dark humour, thou art my friend.

Seriously, Stephanie “Snowflake” Eggink is making her pro MMA debut in Grand Forks, ND (amateur record 3 and 1 – her loss was to the #1 ranked 125 pounder, quite respectable.) She has an amateur boxing record of 12 and 1 and her pro boxing record is one win and one draw. She boxed for Army and was on the 2007 Olympic team.

Skills? She’s got them.

This kid has a strong will to win, a great support team at Gracie Tampa (one of the grappling HQ’s here in Tampa), and I think she will be famous in less than a year. I tell you this because she is looking for sponsors. If you or anyone you know would like to sponsor a fantastic fighter and very good person, let me know. I will email to you the details.

Thanks for reading!

Martial Arts and Combat Sports Update

Hey Fight Fans,

There has been so much going on in the great state of  FL; I don’t even know where to begin. So, let’s start off with a little bragging. I have the best job in the world. I know, some of you might disagree- but you would be wrong. I get to go to all types of events, meet all kinds of interesting and accomplished people, and watch some of the best competitions.

Let’s move into Karate, shall we? All of the tournaments we attended had some excellent forms, weapons, and sparring competitions. And most of them included grappling, either exhibition or competition. I see a definite trend – many of the schools are teaching multiple forms of the arts and tournaments are responding and adding more variety. I love it, but the only downside is that you can’t be in 4 places at once- and one has a tendency to miss most of what is occurring in the tourney.

B.L.I.T.Z. Karate tournaments is new to the scene and from what I hear from the competitors and coaches, the first year has been a success. Everyone I spoke to says they plan to continue with the organization, especially if they can find venues with good A/C systems. We attended the competition in Brandon FL -hosted by Earl Harris Karate Academy- the place was packed. And warm. You can see some of the videos here: http://bit.ly/iS1D9t – more will be loaded as my editor gets to it.  The next event is June 11 in Kissimmee, FL – go to http://www.blitz-ma.com/ for more information.

We saw Wolfpack Martial Arts Supply selling their wares -unlike other supply houses- Wolfpack actually DISCOUNTS their already low-priced goods at the events- so you are assured of getting a great deal when you see them at events. They only do a few events per year so if you need something, just stop by their store on Busch Blvd in Tampa.

Then there was the Terra Cotta Challenge put on by James Sang Lee of Fortress Hill. The prize is a very unusual trophy- in fact, it’s been called “one of the most unique prizes in all of sport martial arts”. A replica of the famous Terra Cotta warriors from the Shaanxi province which were found by farmers in 1974. The venue was spacious, welcoming, and perfect for the tournament- but a little hard to find. They should consider signage if they use the space in the future. A couple of competitors almost didn’t make it because they couldn’t find it- I wonder who else just gave up? If I had to pick a favorite match- Jeromy Roque of Blitz and Team Velocityand Joe Fife (please correct if you know him) in points sparring was epic. There was also some very good grappling matches. Again, some of the videos are up- but we still have more to add- keep checking back at http://bit.ly/iS1D9t. James will be hosting another huge tournament in Orlando in December at Central Florida Jeep Dodge Chrysler – will it be the first sports martial arts event to be held in a 4 story parking garage?

Gator Nationals in Daytona Beach was huge. The Lane family – Charlie, Ellen, and Alex throw a big party and do it right.  Over 1,000 competitors vying for cash prizes, door prizes, and the honor of defeating some of the best in the US. Team Paul Mitchell, Team Velocity, Team Macho, and so many more came to compete. I spoke to folks from Canada, New York, DC, Texas, and California.  Being female, I made sure to catch as many of their matches and sparring as possible- Destiney Colon of Team Macho was in an all-out war with someone (I am a bad budding journalist- my notes were lost). Unfortunately, the ref thought both girls were hitting too hard and warned them both repeatedly. Destiney tried to comply- but was DQ’d. I have to say I think the guys were hitting harder and the ref could have let the girls continue- they were both disappointed about the outcome.  Some of the images from the tournament are here: http://bit.ly/kcQXbE  and most of them are up on our camera guy’s Facebook page here: http://on.fb.me/jHAcp4   and here: http://on.fb.me/kFoM06. The grappling was run by James Sang Lee- unfortunately- both my cameraman and I missed all of it. I would love to know how that went! If you have images or news about that, please share.

I could go into more detail about each of the events- if I had my missing notes, and if there is demand for it. So, your feedback is requested- would you prefer highlights or more details? What details are important to you?

Decided to Switch

I lead a very lucky life- everything always seems to work out, and I may have been hungry, but have never gone hungry. Blessings abound – of course I have hardships, but I don’t have it as rough as I could- or sometimes probably should.

That being said, I asked for feedback and got way more than I expected. From one person in particular- Coach Jig of Jig Jaw- he is partly responsible for one of the most effective and high tech mouth guards available. He and his partner have come up with a way to help minimize concussions by helping to hold the jaw in a certain way – check it out here http://www.jig-jaw.com/ - All contact sport athletes should look into it. Anyway, he is also a life coach, motivator, marketer extraordinaire- and he offered some advice and help.

All that was said to let you know that the reviews and interviews and main part of this blog will be moving to amber’s fight fix - and this one will remain to offer more coverage from events that Martial Arts 411 attends. I intend to keep this one kind of dry and journalistic and the other will be more of my personality, my take, and unofficial views.

Thanks for following, thanks for the feedback, and I hope you enjoy the posts!

GSP Rushfit

So, my plan was to begin with training at a martial arts school, but the opportunity to train with GSP was just too tempting. I get to begin with one of the world’s most perfect males. Georges “Rush” St. Pierre – and his DVD Rushfit. (Now I just need Johnny Depp and Cristiano Ronaldo to come over and I will have the trifecta!)

Day 1: I am not very good at the electronics side of things. The DVD player was disconnected to make room for one of the video game players. FAIL ! Did complete a 30 minute pilates style workout and some yoga moves.

Day 2: I can’t imagine that GSP hears this from anyone very often, “Not today, Georges, I have a headache”. I didn’t sleep well and had a raging headache all day. FAIL.

Day 3: Success! DVD player works, head feels great – and the Strength & Conditioning workout is in the books. Fact: English is a second language for GSP, so there are some awesome quotes like when Georges was explaining how important pacing is, “You go in like a lion and then go out… very slowly”. The workout is guided by GSP’s trainer, Erik Owings. Erik is a no nonsense type of guy; I like his warm-up routines, his way of explaining the positions, and the reason for them. He seems to enjoy giving GSP a hard time and I like how GSP admits that isometric resistance and flexibility are not his strengths but that he will work on them.

The warm-up is 10 minutes, the cool down is about 10 minutes and the training is 25. Some of the exercises require dumbbells, but since I haven’t done any strength training in years, I was able to get good burn even without the extra weight. It’s a great workout for beginners while at the same time intermediates and advanced folks will be able to push themselves and get more from the routine than I did.

Things to watch out for: If you live above someone, they may not appreciate some of the jumping and explosive routines; your dogs, however, will love it and try to join you. It’s difficult to make sure that you are in the right position to get the maximum results – if you could do the routine in front of a mirror or with a friend you may get more from it.

In the 80′s my mom taught aerobics and also owned quite a few workout VHS tapes- I hated working out with them, “one more, ten more”. This is motivating without being perky- it’s challenging without eliminating beginners, and I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow.

Goals and Stuff

So, I have been thinking about starting a blog for about a year. And I have been thinking about training in the martial arts for about 2 years. And I have been wanting to get back in shape for about sherfeoifdns years. And now, I will combine them all, muahahahahahaha.

Here is the plan, I sell advertising in a martial arts magazine and am going to train at a variety of gyms, in a variety of styles, and blog about it. That will be the main focus, but I reserve the right to discuss anything and almost everything here, too. As should you, gentle reader. As should you.

Dreams are goals that aren’t written down, so it’s time to make some goals. First, I will educate myself on the many different styles of martial arts, from their histories to best practices. Second, I am going to get into the best shape of my life. Third, I shall experiment with the written word. And finally, I wish to expand my network of friends both in and out of the martial arts community.