Sunday, 26 May 2013 03:06

Second time sparring this week, and I’ve quickly become obsessed with this side of training. Working on technique is enjoyable, vital, and very helpful, but obviously not quite as satisfying as giving a test to what you’ve learned against an opponent – even if it is just sparring.

For my 2nd time through, I’ve noticed a few things about my burgeoning “style,” if you can even call it that. For one, I’m much more reliant on kicks than on punches. I think this comes from two things. For one, I just like fighters who kick more, and so that’s what I am more used to seeing. And two, for these light sparring sessions we don’t wear headgear. As a result, I’m not entirely comfortable throwing a punch at my partner just yet. Because my punching technique is still developing, I am not yet confident at both executing the punch properly, but at the same time pulling it a bit so that I don’t hit my partner fully. Seems like that’s a tricky line that I’m still trying to find. No worries though, as in the meantime, I’m improving my kicking speed, technique, and defense, and managed to land a number of clean leg kicks and push kicks this time, while also blocking kicks much more effectively.

Speaking of defense, this continues to be an area in need of work, especially where punches are concerned. When punches start coming in, I find it tough to keep my composure and cover up, and instead end up trying to block each individual punch – which only leaves my head exposed and gets me tagged. Been watching a lot of Remy Bonjasky, which helps. He’s very skilled at dropping his head, bringing his gloves in, and tucking in his elbows when the punches come in, while still firing back with kicks when there’s an opening. That’s what I’m aiming for. I also used this little Rob Kamen combo I found online, which worked for me as well.

Last thought for the day is a sort of philosophical training question I’ve been contemplating – what constitutes being a good training partner, particularly when drilling techniques? Is it helpful to just keep quiet and let your partner throw the combo? To give words of encouragement? If there’s something they could improve, do you speak up? How about movement, should I circle, so that they are working different angles? Of course, different people respond to different things, but it’s a good question to ask – not only in how you can best help your partner, but how they can best help you.

Any thoughts?

Training Diary is a weekly series documenting my journey starting Muay Thai training. For more on this series, read the first entry here. I train at Conviction Fitness & Martial Arts, 4430 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL www.convictionfitness.com.

Sunday, 26 May 2013 03:06

Yet another of the kickboxing/muay thai world is dipping his toes into the water of the MMA world, this time in the way of Cosmo Alexandre. As we've seen with Cosmo, he is immensely talented, hits hard and has incredible skill. If he learned how to sprawl and escape submissions he could be a force to be reckoned with in MMA, but of course, that takes years of preparation.

If you've been following Cosmo's exploits online, you've seen the mentions of him training for MMA, but here is the photographic proof of him training with some of the best (or at least posing with them). [source]

Cosmo with Jon Jones	Cosmo with GSP

Sunday, 26 May 2013 03:06

The next big European fight card is only a few short weeks away, taking place on May 1st in Budapest, Hungary. The card will be promoted by dynamo fight promotion Fight Code, who much like It's Showtime and Ultimate GLORY have stepped up in 2011 as serious contenders in the realm of high-end kickboxing.

This is a continuation of Fight Code's "Dragon Series." The Dragon Series is Fight Code's 72.5kg tournament (primarily 70kg/MAX fighters), where we've seen such fighters as Yoshihiro Sato, Armen Petrosyan, Dzabar Askerov, Giorgio Petrosyan and Cosmo Alexandre participate.

Fight Code released the card for the event earlier in the week, and it is shaping up to look like a strong event.

Sunday, 26 May 2013 03:06

Japan's Krush organization has been planning a big 2011, with the culmination of four separate tournaments to crown the company's first ever champions.  Like everyone based out of Japan, their plans were greatly delayed by the tragedy there, but now, one month later, Krush is getting ready for their return.

The next Krush show will be the April 30 event, featuring the 55, 60, and 63kg finals.  That show was originally scheduled for March, but pushed back for obvious reasons.  Now, they've announced a fan fest to be held this Saturday in anticipation of the show.  These kind of fan fests are pretty common in Japan, and typically not much to take not of, but this one stands out for a few reasons.

At the fan fest, Krush will announce the first 6 fighters to compete in the 70kg tournament, which will begin on May 29.  Originally I had pegged this to be the weakest of the 4 Krush tournaments, with Yuya Yamamoto likely being the lone big name.  But considering K-1 MAX's lack of shows, it's entirely possible we'll see more ranked names taking part here.  I anticipate Yamamoto and Nashiro are locks, and would love to see Jienotsu and Sato in there as well.

Also taking place at the event will be quite a weird exhibition fight - in some form of tag team competition, it will be Kyotaro and Keiji Ozaki vs. Fire Harada and an opponent who will be announced that day.  Will this be kickboxing?  MMA?  Pro-wrestling?  Who knows, but with Fire Harada in there, it should be fun.  Bizarre, but fun.  And, if you ask me, these are the kind of things you have to love about the Japan combat sports scene - you're just not going to get that sort of thing anywhere else.

Finally, one more exhibition fight was announced between Naoki Ishikawa and Kensaku Maeda.  While Maeda's name may be unfamiliar, anyone who has watched much Japanese kickboxing in the last year will surely recognize him.  Maeda is the head of Team Dragon, and is the man always in the corner of Kyotaro, the Urabes, and the rest of the Dragon fighters.  Maeda has been retired from competition since 2002, but was a decorated fighter back in his day.  The exhibition will be just one 3 minute round.  Cool to hear that Maeda is getting back in there, although I wouldn't bet on getting to see any footage of the fight.

Sunday, 26 May 2013 03:06

Kickboxing megapromotion It's Showtime has been a freight train in 2011, booking show after show and adding more and more big fights to these cards. So it comes almost as a shock to hear that one of their shows has been called off, and that the show was the one with an expected 8-man 70kg MAX tournament, featuring the biggest names in the world of kickboxing at that division.

According to It's Showtime management the show will go on, with the tournament pushed to a different location and possibly a different date. Knowing It's Showtime, they will find a suitable place for this mega-tournament.

The reason given for the show's cancellation is "political reasons." They also stated that they will book an event in Sochi, Russia in 2012, so it seems like there could be some unseen forces at play here. Political reasons could mean local licensing situations or television and sponsorship issues.

The card being pushed back and into a different location could mean there is a better location for the tournament as well. As this is complete conjecture at this point, there is a strong rumor that It's Showtime will push forward with their Amsterdam ArenA show in October or November. I, for one, couldn't think of a better place to put on a huge one-night tournament between some of the biggest stars in the sport than a giant arena.