The Ultimate BJJ playlist

As promised to Matt, here is the track list. For what it’s worth, I NEVER train without music. It’s just weird.

1. Ian Brown, Golden Gaze
2. Brazilian Girls, Don’t Stop
3. Herbaliser, Eight Point Agenda
4. G. Love and Special Sauce, Honour and Harmony
5. UNKLE (feat Josh Homme), Restless
6. Mos Def, Ghetto Rock
7. Kasabian, Doberman
8. The Desert Sessions, I Wanna Make It Wit Chu
9. Hot Chip, Boy from School
10. Massive Attack, Risingson
11. Johnny Cash, Personal Jesus
12. Madvillian, Rhinestone Cowboy
13. Smoke City, Underwater Love
14. Dilated Peoples, Back Again
15. UNKLE, Unreal
16. Brazilian Girls, Dance Till The Morning Sun
17. Mylo, Sunworshipper

As you can see from some of the artists, this is by no means a hardcore workout CD - instead it’s a great mix of grooves, ‘coming up’ tunes, laid back vibes and stuff that helps you flow.

Maybe I’ll post a stand-up training playlist some time soon as well, although that one needs tweaking because people complain about some of my more bizarre choices!

Readers: Know your blogger

Rolling, rolling, rolling

I learned something from one of Ross Enamait’s recent blogs: Don’t assume anything about your readers. If you think they read your blog and as such know everything about you / are part of the training community / know what you’re talking about, then you could be setting yourself up for a fall.

With that thought in mind, it’s probably a good time to set something straight.

Power Player

Ed Soares, flanked by Asseurio Silva (left) and Lyoto Machida (right)

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He’s quiet, modest and unassuming, but he is also one of the major power players in MMA. Ed Soares is one of those guys whose achievements go widely unnoticed. Those with a keen eye will have spotted him as the translator for fighters such as Anderson Silva, side-by-side on camera with the marauding middleweight pre and post-fight. Cage Potato have just done an excellent interview with Ed Soares, which will hopefully highlight what a great job this guy does.

Ed’s role is far greater than that of a simple handler and translator. As he explains in the interview, he is a former nightclub promoter-turned-manager who moved from looking after hip hop artists to fighters. Ed also set up Sinister Clothing, one of my personal favourite MMA brands. Yeah yeah, I’m not supposed to have favourites. Well when it comes to MMA clothing I don’t, because I can’t decide between Triumph United and Sinister. They both rock.

Anyway, Soares is one seriously hard-working individual. He is another of the characters in MMA I keep seeing (and writing about every month in the magazine), the self-created businessman who carved out a spot for himself with nothing more than a love for the sport and a shitload of determination. Kudos to him.

Inspiration, big hits and odd-shaped balls

Rugby tackle? Double leg takedown? Take your pick.

I was browsing YouTube the other day watching clips of tackles and big hits from rugby. Though never a team sport lover, rugby is something I grew up with. Being born and bred in the Welsh valleys, it’s kind of impossible not to be exposed to it at some point. As far as contact sports go, rugby is one hell of a game. MMA fighters put themselves through fifteen or twenty-five minutes of on-off pressure, sometimes coming out banged up, sometimes coming out unscathed. Rugby players step onto the pitch and get roughed up by fifteen guys wearing boots with metal spikes for an hour and a half (with pretty much zero padding). And whereas top fighters maybe step into the cage or ring a maximum of three or four times a year, rugby players do it every single weekend for six months of the year. That is a lot of knocks.

A Hidden Love

I’m not supposed to have a favourite fighter. Being a journalist means you’re meant to adhere to a certain code of ethics. You’re supposed to be objective at all times. It’s these traits that set you apart from being ‘just’ another fan.

Photog Blog - Muay Thai (part two)

Looking through my archives I discovered I had more Muay Thai shots than I first thought. And if you will allow me a moment to blow my own trumpet, some of them are actually quite good. With Muay Thai I’m under no pressure to deliver shots that are printable as I don’t use them in my magazine, so I allowed myself a little freedom by shooting some in the traditional manner and some in a more abstract way.

Check them out after the jump.

Photog Blog - Muay Thai

I’ll admit it outright. I’m not a huge Muay Thai fan. The music drives me crazy, I dislike how kicking is favoured over punching by the judges, and my inner MMA geek screams “takedown!” every 20 seconds or so. But MuayThai is one of the most entertaining (not to mention devastating) combat sports out there. I don’t follow Thai so much as have a passing interest in it purely on a visual level. I prefer watching K-1 MAX as I love the speed, kickboxing skill and athleticism. But I love taking photos of Muay Thai. Here are a few from local shows here in Manchester.

Highs and Lows

One of those days…

Everyone knows you can’t always be 100%.

But when you’ve been riding the wave for a couple of weeks, slaying people on the mat left right and centre, it’s hard not to feel like you’re pretty invincible. But it’s never permanent. Every high is balanced out with an equal or greater low. Peaks and troughs. That’s life, baby. Jiu-Jitsu is full of metaphors.

Amateur Hour

They’re not getting paid, but they’re by no means amateurs

Back when I first started going to live MMA events in this country, I was not much more than a fan. I had the eye of someone familiar but not intimate with the techniques and moves, but a few years of UFC videos had given me an idea of how fights should play out.

Who does Kimbo beat up now?

“God-fucking-damnit”

No prizes for guessing what’s on Gary Shaw’s mind after Ken got KO’d. The rumours were that Kenny was going to square off with Kimbo in the next few months, not that anyone would admit it before the fight. When Buzz planted one square on Shamrock’s shoulder and the ageing wrestler went down, you could feel the question being silently asked. Who the hell does Kimbo beat up now?