The Mad American Wrote:Curious here T4 and Law Dawg. Either of you ever fought beyond your training in organized MA? I know Law Dawg uses a lot of this training as a LEO but really just curious here as a former fighter who still trains a bit. And specifically what MA do you train in? (you may have said but I probably missed it).
In my experience I have some different takes on some of the points discussed here but not too extremely different. Like there are those very very rare people who are just genetic freaks who without weight training or really any MA training are some of the toughest people you will ever meet. I have been in MA for years upon years, spent some time kick boxing as a professional and grew up rough on the streets. ( I think Matt Hughes is a freak of nature, yeah the guy trains harder then most people can even imagine and lifts and trains and so on...but holy hell he is strong beyond anyone I have ever seen and does some amazing thing just on strength alone)
I once got into a fight with a guy who cheap shotted a friend of mine. This was a big guy (I am 6'4" 210lbs,this guy dwarfed me). He was obviuosly just someone who was a great big brute. After he came at me and I had hit him with about 10 clean shots that didn't even get his attention I started resorting to fight enders. I hit him with all that I have at my disposal and nada. He finally connected with me on the side of my head and I have to say it was the hardest I have ever been hit by anything. Flash knockdown, big ass guy ground and pounding me...not a pretty site. Guess the point I was trying to make was I have been in the ring with guys who are hard core cross trainers and very highly trained MA'ist who hit like teenage boys and been in street fights with brutes who have zero training and no MA skil and hit like freaking freight trains.
I do agree 100% that training will make all the difference in the world but there is an exception to every rule.
(sorry for joining in the hijacking of the thread... )
My grandfather had the most impressive knockout I've ever seen . A guy grabbed my Aunt's wrist at a square dance (don't laugh this was 20 years ago in The South) and tried to get her to leave with him. My grandfather, or pawpaw, as we called him, just walked up to the guy, with his hands at his side. He threw a right hand that went in a straight line from his hip to the guys' jaw. The first part of the guys body to hit the ground was the back of his head, his feet were pointing toward the ceiling for a split second.
My pawpaw never trained to fight. He never lifted a weight. He was a laborer for years and years. He was naturally strong, but even stronger due to heavy lifting (tossing 100 pound sacks, at a plant my dad says, 1 in each hand).
Some guys are just tough. You can't go to a teacher and learn how to be tough.
Matt Hughes is a freak of nature. He's one of my favorite fighters. I wish he'd learn a little more about submission (he's been easilly submitted twice that I've seen). Training with Pat Militech has done wonders for the pure Wrestling athlete. Don't kid though, Matt Hughes trains harder than anyone. The thing about him is a lifetime of Wrestling at a high level. Lifelong Wrestlers are usually the strongest fighters anywhere, that's a big part of their success.
I spend the majority of my time training in grappling. At The Welcome Mat Judo Club, in Kansas City, we train in Judo, Jujitsu, Sambo, and Wrestling. I train, a little, in boxing, on my own, but don't have any really good trainers. I've tried Kung-Fu and Tae Kwon Do. I don't like them at all. I'm interested in Kempo and Mui Thai, but don't know any good coaches locally. To me, the most important part of striking is punching. Punching is the safest, quickest and most effective way of putting someone down. Kicks, while they have their place, often leave you vulnerable to takedowns and counterpunches. Knees, from a Mui Thai clinch are great (they too, leave you vulnerable to takedowns) and don't need a whole lot of practice. I really want to develope my bread and butter, which is my mat game before I try to go on to a competitive level. At that time, I'd spend serious time on striking.
Current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Andre Arlovski started in the UFC as a champion Sambo player (grappling, speciallizing in arm and leg locks, choking and striking is illegal). He had zero experience in MMA. He won his first fight, via Juji-Gatami (straight arm bar), in less than a minute. Over time he became the most powerful heavyweight knockout artist in MMA history. He knocks out everyone. He's now a true smasher. It's funny to think that 5 years ago he was a true submission grappler, a Sambo player.
On the street, I avoid trouble. I don't have a profession that puts me in the line of fire. I've been in some bad areas regularly, but have just been lucky never to have been a target. I stay away from bars and drunks. That's where most trouble comes. I don't want trouble. I never want to injure someone and I definitely don't want to be injured.
As a kid I got in a lot of fights. That's where I started grappling. If a kid would start getting the best of me, I'd grab him, wrestle him to the ground and bang away. I always thought of my trechnique as cheating, but better than getting beaten up. I was a big Pro Wrestling fan, and would always roll around on the floor, or in the yard, with my friends trying to be the "Champion Wrestler". We even had a Weight belt that a kid wrot, with a sharpie, "World Heavyweight Champion". I never really realized that was a true fighting style until the UFC came along. I said "Holy Shit!! I used to do that stuf just to stop from getting beaten up. Those guys try to do that from the start!"