For the first time ever, the UFC will head over to Portland, Oregon where the famed Rose Garden arena will play host to the UFC’s 102nd event featuring a main event that will blow you away! It will be a clash of two heavyweight legends when former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture meets former PRIDE and UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira!

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Randy “The Natural” Couture is a name usually associated with mixed martial arts as he has carved a legacy that has made him one of the most well-respected fighters in the world of MMA. A fighter with a very strong background in Greco-Roman Wrestling, Couture is the first man to have held two UFC Titles in two different weight classes. What made this accomplishment interesting is that Couture is a late bloomer having only started competing as a professional MMA fighter at the age of 34! Throughout his storied career, Couture has battled against many famous names in the world of MMA in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions of the UFC. This includes such names as Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Pedro Rizzo, Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodriguez, Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz and of course, there was that memorable trilogy against Chuck Liddell over the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. After the third fight against Liddell where he lost to the feared striker, Couture announced his retirement from the sport, but it didn’t last long as he came out of retirement in March 2007 to capture the UFC Heavyweight Title from Tim Sylvia! As Couture himself said during the post-fight interview, “Not bad for an old man!” After defending the title against Gabriel Gonzaga, Couture was embroiled in a highly publicized legal battle with the UFC which saw him leaving the UFC to concentrate on other obligations, including his acting career, but after burying the hatchet with UFC President Dana White sometime last year, Couture announced his return to the UFC where he would defend and lose the UFC Heavyweight Title to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91.

Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira is the fighter on the opposite side of the Octagon. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert, Nogueira is a true warrior and survivor with a huge heart and willingness to never give up in a fight. After all, for a man who survived a horrific accident as a child and went on to live his life as a professional MMA fighter, that truly says a lot about Nogueira, doesn’t it? Much like Couture, Nogueira has also fought a list of who’s who in MMA. Men like Bob Sapp, Dan Henderson, Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Kiyoshi Tamura, Heath Herring, Volk Han, Mirko Filipovic, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum and even the legendary Fedor Emelianenko had been his opponents during his time fighting in Rings and PRIDE in Japan. When he signed up with the UFC, he competed against the likes of Heath Herring (for the third time) and Tim Sylvia, where he won the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title and became the very first fighter to hold a PRIDE and UFC Heavyweight Title in his career. Unfortunately, Nogueira encountered a huge roadblock in his career. After coaching the winning team in The Ultimate Fighter Season 8, Nogueira fought the opposing team’s coach, Frank Mir at UFC 92. Nogueira had been battling a staph infection and a knee injury prior to the fight and came into the fight in terrible shape. That ultimately led him to being stopped for the very first time in his career after a series of strikes by Mir, thus losing the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title.

The Natural vs. Minotauro: Finally they meet!

Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are two of the greatest heavyweights in the UFC today and throughout their careers, both men have never crossed each others’ paths before. They were close to facing each other for the UFC Heavyweight Title at UFC 81 until Couture decided to leave the UFC due to the aforementioned legal battle between Couture and the UFC.

However, things have changed. Brock Lesnar is now the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion after defeating Frank Mir at UFC 100 and many fighters and fans have been against the former WWE Superstar currently wearing MMA’s top heavyweight title. With Shane Carwin getting a shot at Lesnar’s title at UFC 106, this would mean that either Couture or Nogueira will be second in line for a shot at Lesnar’s UFC Heavyweight Title. This is a perfect motivation for both legendary heavyweights as they will have to beat one another in order to rule the UFC’s heavyweight division once again. While Couture currently makes Las Vegas his home, Portland was where he spent most of his life growing up, so the pressure is on him when he faces Nogueira in front of his hometown crowd.

Having fought many top names in MMA, it’s strange that Couture and Nogueira have never faced each other before until now. With UFC 102 emanating from the Rose Garden this weekend, it will be a question fans around the world will ask. Who will walk out of Portland as the winner and possible contender for the UFC Heavyweight Champion? Will it be Couture or will it be Nogueira? In just a few days, all the questions regarding this fight will finally be answered with one man taking a step closer to heavyweight immortality.

Team Evolve to Fight in Art of War 14 in Macau!

BJJ Black Belt Super Heavyweight World Champion Antonio Braga Neto will be fighting dangerous striker Rodney Glunder on the main fight card at 90 kilos at Art of War 14 in Macau on September 26, 2009. Braga Neto fights out of Evolve Mixed Martial Arts and is a member of the official Evolve Fight Team. He will be training his BJJ under the legendary brothers, Roberto “Gordo” Correa and Rafael “Gordinho” Correa. His Muay Thai training will be under the elite Sityodtong Team at Evolve by Nuengpichit Sityodtong and Chatri Sityodtong.

Evolve Mixed Martial Arts is hiring for all positions. If you are interested, please submit your resume to jobs@evolve-mma.com

Never in my wildest dreams did i ever imagine that i’ll be training in MMA much less Muay Thai and Submission Grappling. My love affair with Submission Grappling was talked about in my second article for SG Pro and of course my recent addiction with the adrenaline rush that Muay Thai offers me was the topic for my third article. For my fourth article i am going to talk bout my foray into the sport of Mixed Martial Arts also know as MMA and how joining Evolve and training in MMA had actually changed my life.

You are into MMA? Why MMA? It is so violent, so primitive, two men locked inside a cage! It is a bloodsport!

I get questions and remarks like this alot from my peers and friends when they came to know that i am a MMA practitioner. Basically why am i into MMA? Different people got into MMA for different reasons. Some people got into MMA cause they see it as an outlet to earn money. Others got into MMA cause they love to fight. Me? I got into MMA cause i love the sport, the physicality of the art of fighting. I adore the adrenaline rush everything my fist touches the pads and the feeling of perspiration trickling down my forehead as i jam my knee for the 40th time into the heavy bag. Why MMA? Why not soccer or basketball or table tennis? That is something which i find hard to explain, i guess it is just the appeal of MMA to me. Luckily for me, my family and friends have been really supportive of my love for MMA.

What is MMA to be exact? There’s been alot of discussions on what is actually MMA. To put it real simply, MMA is simply what it is; Mixed Martial Arts. A combination of martial arts fighting styles like Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Boxing and many others. These are further separated into the striking and grappling techniques. I used to think that one only have to be well verse in either the striking or grappling techniques to be able to come out victorious in a fight. That mentality changed when i joined Evolve MMA, the instructors constantly drilled into us that to be a complete MMA fighter, we have to be well versed in both the striking and grappling techniques and that training in the two techniques will enable one to work on his or her cardio. Muay Thai for instance is a great way to work on cardio. For someone who dreads kicking or punching someone, i was like “hmmm.. but i am not going to be a pro fighter anyway, so that will not affect me.” With that kind of mentality in tow, i focus on just the grappling aspect of fighting (Submission Grappling). Little did i know that due to my poor cardio, i ended up gassing out on several occasions, tapping out to a simple close guard grip! That’s right, i tap out as my opponent simply kept me in his guard and squeezes his legs! That was how weak i am.

At that very moment i realize that i am getting nowhere unless i start working on my cardio, but i am still hesistant to join the Muay Thai classes despite constant encouragement from Chatri, one of my instructor. I keep telling myself the reason is due to the fact that i can’t kick to save my life and i got no coordination whatsoever! Then on a particular Friday, my good friend, Marc wanted to try out Muay Thai, i tagged along and ended up loving Muay Thai! In fact i realise that it is not as bad as i think it is. The instructors, Nuengpichit Sityodtong, Chatri Sityodtong, Daorung Sityodtong, and Yoddecha Sityodtong taught us the basics of Muay Thai; the stance, the walking, the defensive position, correct warm ups, etc.. What warmed my heart was the fact that they treat everyone as equals, “Papa” Daorung for one come across as a very warm fatherly figure, its hard not to try to give it your all when training with “Papa”. Nueng, a Muay Thai champion, often tries to make the lesson as interesting and fun as possible with jokes, i can’t skip rope at all but instead of laughing at me, Nueng simply tell me, “Relax, focus and just don’t bend your knees.” and now i finally manage to skip rope (to the chargin of some of my friends who felt that skipping rope is something really simple!). Some other instructors might have just laughed at me or ignored me, after all whether i can skip rope or not have does not affect his livelihood, but Nueng makes the effort to help the students out. Yoddecha, another Muay Thai champion, with all his seriousness is actually a very warm person as well, during training he’ll walk around and guide us on the posture and techniques (Check out the motivating interview with Kru Yoddecha!). And then there is Chatri, the man who plays a huge part in me getting into Muay Thai, Chatri is very good at motivating the students and is a great fighter in his own right. I always say that i am blessed to be training under some of the best instructors from the Sityodtong Camp. At this point of my training, i would really want to focus building up my cardio and one way to achieve that is to continue going for Muay Thai training.

Then there is Submission Grappling, at Evolve we trained under the best Submission Grappling coaches in Asia. There’s Setsuma Takeda, Singapore’s number one MMA fighter who fought in the Art Of War promotion in China. Setsuma is the reason why i joined Evolve MMA to begin with. I came to know of Evolve MMA through a friend and joined their facebook account, then i watched one of Setsuma’s fight and feel in love with the guy! (Not in a gay way though!) Setsuma is hugely underrated, watching him roll with the guys during BJJ lessons, i came to realise that here is a man who has dedicated his life to fighting. I’ll remember rolling with Marc in the cage during an open gym session and Setsuma came by and taught us some proper techniques. He don’t have to do so but he did. Setsuma came across to me as a guy who genuinely love the art of fighting and hopes to share what he knows with the students. I used to think; “Why does Setsuma keep asking us do these rolls on the mat, it like almost 20 minutes of forward rolls, shoulder rolls, back rolls, etc..” Eventually i came to understand that these rolls are to faciliate movement and after doing the rolls, you somewhat have a better chance of rolling out from an armbar or kneebar.

The other Submission Grappling instructor whom i trained under and simply adore (again.. not in a gay way! I am married dammit!) is Ben Iams. Ben hails from the AMC, training under the legendary Matt Humes and has rolled and train with a who’s who of MMA including Josh Barnett and Chris Leben. With crendentials like these, you would expect Ben to be somewhat stingy but nope. Every lesson, Ben shared with us techniques and holds and he is always open to suggestions. With Ben, it is never a “I teach, you learn” kinda situation. It was always like an open concept lesson. Ben would teach us a technique and if we have questions or feels that the move can be improvise, we bring it up and Ben will advise us on why it can or cannot be done. I would say that Ben never did see himself as an instructor but as a fellow practitioner of the art of Submission Grappling.

Last but not least, Mixed Martial Arts. My first MMA instructor in Evolve MMA was Setsuma, the second instructor was a World Champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Antonio Braga Neto. I remember taking Braga’s lessons and it was really intense, the warm up was crazy but superb. Braga taught us the Americana and Kimura and since then i’ve been trying it on my wife! Not that she’s a fan of MMA but i got no brothers to try it on to begin with! I’ll always remember Braga as a big hulking man with a twinkling smile. Brodinho is the third MMA instructor that i trained under, even though i only took two lessons under Brodinho, i came to enjoy talking to him, Brodinho displays a level of maturity and respect to everyone, this is a World Champion who can potential kick our asses and there he is, sitting at the Muay Thai ring, joking along with us. Brodinho always like to mocking punch me and i’ll always play along by falling dramatically down to the mat!

Then there is Mike Thompson, a Gracie Barra Brown Belt from Canada. Mike is a candid guy who loves the art of fighting. In fact, i often wonder why isn’t Mike a pro fighter? Mike’s my unofficial mentor, teaching me the basics of submission grappling after every lesson. I remember Mike teaching me takedowns in the cage, he stood there and told me to take him down. Me being the slow witted twit that i am, simply dive in and Mike sprawls on me. After that, he told me how to do a takedown and proceed to take a series of takedowns from me. He didn’t have to do that but that’s Mike. Always so generous with his time and knowledge.

My other unofficial mentor is Zin. Zin is the man who is responsible for me taking up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Even though i still struggle with the gi, Zin always makes an effort to partner me during BJJ lessons despite our size difference. Zin is a big man with a big heart and has taught me quite a few tricks during our rolling sessions. His constant egging makes me want to take up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu full time but for the time being, i really hope to concentrate in Muay Thai.

The instructors team at Evolve is an example of how the common love for MMA can pull people of different nationality together. We got two instructors from Korea, Tommy Yang and Brian Choi and they are really great people. Very soft spoken but when it comes to pad work… ooooiiiiiiiii….. Tommy and Brian are very motivative when it comes to pad work. Recently i was in a Muay Thai session and Brian was holding pad and he told me, “you and me, we going 10 minutes!” Now Brian knows my level of cardio as this was not the first time we did pad work but somehow i guess he wanted me to go for it and we started off. I don’t know how did i fare but i sure as hell felt good after the session! I felt motivated to train hard. Without instructors like these, i probably won’t even make the effort to turn up for classes but these instructors, they make you want to turn up and when you don’t. You feel guilty about it.

Then there’s The Professor, Gordinho. A Mundials BJJ Black Belt World Champion, this man brings over 25 years of experience in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Gordinho grew up in Brazil next to the Gracies and has been a close friend of Renzo Gracie for over 30 years. The level of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this man brings to the gym is undescribable. The fact that The Professor makes a mean Brazilian BBQ doesn’t hurt! Did anyone ever thought 2 years back that the man who trained Renzo Gracie, Georges St Pierre, Roger Gracie, Rolles Gracie, Igor Gracie, Gregor Gracie, Renato Babalu Sobral, Ricardo Almeida, Matt Serra and many others great fighters will actually be in Singapore teaching the locals Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? No one ever thought that this will happen but it did.

Joining Evolve MMA has definitely changed my life. I made a couple of new friends through training at Evolve, guys and gals like Zin, Mike, Zak, Nizam, Wahid, Oliver, Neelan, Jack, Sharon, Linette and the list just goes on and on..  My discussions with my good friend, Joe no longer hinges on just Profession Wrestling and best of all, i felt compelled to write about my experiences training in MMA, Muay Thai, Submission Grappling and hopefully in the near future, BJJ. I am not a journalist like Joe and often my columns might sound more like a diary than an actual piece of journalism but hey, its all heartfelt words.

To end this column, i would like to thank my instructors, Setsuma, Ben, Braga, Brodinho, Gordinho, Brian, Tommy, Nueng, Yoddecha, “Papa” Daorung for training me, teaching me, guiding me through the world of Mixed Martial Arts. To Chatri for constantly telling me that with training i will achieve greatness from within. My unofficial mentors, Zin & Mike for teaching me the basics and moves outside of lessons. My bud, Marc for going through the training with me. My good friend, Johan for being a listening ear. My wife, my brother and his wife for being supportive of my love for MMA. Even though i will never fight pro but it has been a wild ride through the world of Mixed Martial Arts and i foresee more adventures to come!

Somehow this sounds like an appreciation speech doesn’t it? It isn’t. Some might feel that this article is Pro Evolve. It is not, this article is simply a thought about my foray into the world of Mixed Martial Arts, it just happens that i trained with Evolve and i want to share my thoughts about training in this gym, which in my opinion is the best around. I do invite all MMA practitioners to send in THEIR thoughts about their own foray into the world of Mixed Martial Arts. It doesn’t matter what gym you trained in, FightG, FightWorksAsia, Evolve.  What matters is this question which i pose to you; why do we do what we do? Why do we train in MMA? The answer is very simple. Cause we all love the fight game. We are in this cos we love it not because we love bitching and yanking about how the politics of the local scene. I hope to change that and  I look forward to hearing from you, the MMA practitioner, the MMA trainer, the MMA lover, the MMA fan. SG Pro wants your views, we want your thoughts on the local MMA scene. So email us at admin@sg-pro.com

Till then, adios!

For decades, sports has always been dominated by men and while women have often competed in sports, few manage to achieve the success their male counterparts have been able to achieve. Over the years, things have changed. Women have now made their mark in many different competitive sports and some have achieved success that sometimes exceed their male counterparts. Golf has Annika Sorenstam while tennis has athletes such as Maria Sharapova and the Williams Sisters. Datuk Nicol David dominates the world of squash while Laila Ali paved way for a new generation of female boxers to make way into the sport of boxing.

This weekend, a new breed of female athletes will take center stage when Strikeforce presents Carano vs. Cyborg live at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. While a Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Title fight and a huge Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title fight will take place on the same evening, all eyes will be on the main event to crown the first-ever Strikeforce Women’s Champion as the top two female fighters in the world collide to create history. It will be a dream match as Gina Carano takes on Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos for the Strikeforce Women’s Title!

Strikeforce Women’s Title: Gina Carano vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos

There’s no denying that people would immediately point out to Gina Carano as the face of women’s MMA. Combining beauty with her solid Muay Thai skills and improved wrestling with the help of Randy Couture, Carano is quickly becoming one of the top female athletes in the world and a huge influence to women around the world each time she steps into the cage. She is currently undefeated in MMA with a perfect 7-0 record. This wouldn’t be the first time Carano ever competed in Strikeforce as she was last seen at Strikeforce: Triple Threat back in December 2006 where she picked up a victory against Elaina Maxwell. Her big break came in February 2007 when she defeated Julie Kedzie in an exciting bout at EliteXC: Destiny in a match that many touted as the best of the night. It was an important night for women’s MMA to be shown on a much larger scale with the fight being televised on Showtime. She continued to pick up key victories against Tonya Evinger and Kaitlin Young, then at EliteXC’s final event before the promotion closed doors, Carano fended off a very tough challenge from Kelly Kobold.

Much like her opponent, Cristiane Santos also has seven straight wins under her belt. However, her only blemish came from her very first MMA fight where she was submitted by Erica Paes in the first round. Santos fought a majority of her MMA fights in Curitiba, Brazil, home of the current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, but it wasn’t until last year when she decided to make her mark on American soil. Like Carano, Santos was also signed under EliteXC and fought twice during her time in the ill-fated promotion. At EliteXC: Unfinished Business, Santos TKOed Shayna Baszler, then in one of the night’s preliminary bouts at EliteXC’s final event, EliteXC: Heat, Santos was able to defeat Japanese fighter Yoko Takahashi. After EliteXC folded, Santos quickly signed up under Strikeforce where she participated in Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz and defeated another highly touted Japanese fighter, Hitomi Akano. Combining a fearless presence with dangerous strikes, Santos would provide Carano with a very tough challenge come fight time.

Conviction vs. Cyborg! History in the making!

If there is any doubt that women’s MMA isn’t as big as it should be, then this fight would silence the doubters once and for all. Gina Carano and Cristiane Santos are both a part of history as both women will headline an MMA event, a rare feat considering the other two title fights on the card. No other promotion has ever done anything quite like what Strikeforce did when they announce the fight as it would be a fight which would showcase the power and the rise of women’s MMA in the world. For a fight of this magnitude, Strikeforce couldn’t have picked two perfect fighters to compete for their Strikeforce Women’s Title.

Both Carano and Santos are ranked as the top two female fighters in the world and both have their own respective fanbase. Many MMA fans around the world can tell you how much they would love to see a fight between these two women take place as it would finally determine who truly is the top female fighter in the world today. Many debates and opinions over the MMA message boards have taken place with fans going back and forth as to why either woman would win or lose, but this weekend, all the questions will finally be answered and it will truly be an unforgettable night in the world of MMA.

Carano and Santos will finally collide after many months of anticipation and the world will finally get their questions answered when Strikeforce presents Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg!

I have always been an enthusiast of mixed martial arts. Even though I started getting really serious about following the sport in 2006, but I’ve always found something uniquely intriguing about two fighters going into a ring or a cage and doing what they do best: Putting on a great fight and entertaining the fans that throng arenas and stadiums around the world for MMA events.

Coming from a journalism background, I also love writing my opinions in regards to the state of MMA today and the fighters that live and breathe this beautiful sport. However, I realize that there is more to MMA than two men slugging out in the ring, throwing punches, kicks, knees and submissions on the ground. There’s a whole lot of processes involved in just winning a fight and that’s the beauty of it. Every fight begins standing up and this is where the fighter starts thinking, “What do I do? Pull out my kickboxing skills? My karate strikes? Work my boxing on this guy?” Then when he starts clinching, the fighter will start thinking again, “Okay. I’m in a clinch. Should I try to work a Muay Thai clinch? How about if I use my wrestling background to take him down?” Then when the fight goes to the ground, the fighter asks himself, “Okay. We’re on the ground now. Let me see if my wrestling could work on this guy. Or how about my judo skills? Better yet, I did some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and this would work wonders. What if I put those skills to good use then?” Of course watching the fights maybe exciting, but what about going through these ordeals? That was when I realized that I had to start training in MMA. Before you ask, no, I don’t intend on becoming a pro fighter. I wanna get the feel of MMA fighting and go through what every fighter goes through when they spar or compete in a match.

Having done a little bit of shootfighting over at The Academy of Mixed Martial Arts Western Australia, my thirst for MMA training kept on coming and back then while I was studying in Perth, I didn’t have a car and getting to Mirrabooka from my university located in Murdoch is not an enjoyable thing considering how far away the gym was. So I started looking for MMA gyms in Malaysia and by typing out “MMA”, “mixed martial arts” and “Malaysia” on Google, I stumbled upon a humble gym located in the Bangsar Puteri condominium near Bangsar Shopping Center.

The gym was called KDT Academy and it featured FizFit, Kettlebell and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes. More importantly, it also featured Crazy Monkey Defense, which until then was something I’ve never heard of. Having viewed videos of the classes on YouTube, I soon realized that this was what I wanted to do. So I saved up money and finally, about a few weeks before my birthday, I headed to KDT and signed up for their Crazy Monkey Defense Programme. I had a light chat with the owner of the gym, Vince Choo, who is a BJJ purple belt and the CMD pro trainer and from that chat, somehow we immediately clicked and I told myself, “I definitely came to the right place cause this is probably the one guy I’d definitely love to train under.”

I signed up for the programme’s beginners classes and there were a lot of people also taking it up, aside from some of the more advanced students who also joined in on the beginners sessions. During the first few months of doing CMD, we did a lot of boxing and of course, my level of cardio has never been up to par, so I constantly gassed out everytime we work the gloves. In recent times however, I haven’t been able to gas out as much as I used to in the past and that made things look up for me. I guess all the boxing really did wonders to my cardio level.

What I also learned from this is that CMD is more than just a form of MMA. In fact, it’s a martial art of its own. There were so many technical aspects of it with terms that sounded Greek to me when I first started (the Fight Compass and MMA Matrix to name a few) and techniques which made CMD what it is. In fact, this isn’t just any martial art. It is very modern and it does keep up with the times, especially when mixed martial arts has become the fastest rising sport in today’s world.

While majority of the stuff I learned during my time was boxing, there were also times when we did Monkey Jits, which is BJJ incorporated into CMD to turn us CM Monkeys into well-rounded fighters. There have also been kicks and clinches taught to us by Vince himself and recently, he started teaching us the ground game aspects of the programme. As I continued learning, I realize just how hard it is to fight on the ground. Professional MMA fighters make it look like a piece of cake, but it really is that tough. I’m so used to fighting on my feet that it became a whole new ordeal fighting on the ground. Learning how to make transitions, apply submissions and defending in guards are strenuous and took a lot of my energy away, but it was great fun and a great learning process.

Which also brings me to something which I find almost after every CMD class I intend. Perhaps it’s due to the stressful and hectic nature of my work, but I always have this sense of satisfaction and absolute bliss after each and every CMD class. Those on my Facebook and those who follow me on Twitter would realize that I would update my status by saying something really positive about the night’s class, whether it was something new I learned or the fun atmosphere on a whole of the class. And that of course brings me to my fellow CM Monkeys who are an awesome bunch to train with. These guys are very helpful and they would always look out for each other, helping everyone out by polishing techniques and strikes and generally making the classes (and also open mats sessions every Saturday afternoon) a fun experience. They’re also people I’m very proud to consider not just sparring and training partners, but friends as well.

Last weekend, the man who started CMD, Rodney King, came over to the gym for a three-day seminar consisting of Monkey Jits, CIA (Combat Intelligent Athlete) techniques and of course, a full-on MMA seminar at the end. Rodney taught us a lot about CMD, especially to newbies like myself. His techniques were fun to learn and he was very helpful as well. Most inspiring were the talks he gave during the seminars where he told us about his life as a martial artist, his times spent as a bouncer back in his hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa and many more. Those three days spent at the seminar was one of the most fondest times I’ve ever gone through in my life and if anything, it was something I’d love to go through all over again. Of course I’ll have to wait till next year when Rodney comes down to KL again for another action-packed seminar.

It’s been about four months or so since I took up CMD as a hobby and since then, I never look back. Aside from performing on stage whether as a singer, actor or even a dancer, practicing a modern form of martial art like Crazy Monkey Defense has been a healthy addiction for me and a fun one as well at that. It shed me a lot of light as to how hard and intense it is just to practice MMA and it made me strongly believe that yes, like a friend of mine said, mixed martial arts is a beautiful game.