Nogueira has lost four professional mixed martial arts fights. Two have been by controversial split decision, and the other two have been to Fedor. That said, there’s a reason why Fedor beat Nogueira twice, and there’s an opponent who can give Nogueira a serious problem in the same department as Fedor.

Nogueira follows a classic dictum that stands among a lot of grapplers and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters who have made their way into mixed martial arts, and his dependence on this dictum is, at least in my mind, what has caused him the most serious problems.

Most analysts are quick to point out that when two top grapplers are fighting, the matchup almost always comes down to who is the better striker. Nogueira has taken this seriously and his boxing has improved a great deal. His standup led him to wins over grapplers like Josh Barnett, who he could control on the ground and beat standing up, which the judges generally acknowledge in their decisions.

The problem is that Nogueira can’t deal with a grappler who doesn’t follow that same ideology. That’s the problem that Fedor has presented to many grapplers, not just Minotauro, and it’s a problem that, even more than Fedor himself, I think is Nogueira’s greatest downfall.

Nogueira’s jiu-jitsu is great when you look at it next to opponents who don’t have jiu-jitsu. He got his reputation as a submission fighter beating guys like Bob Sapp and Semmy Schilt, who, realistically speaking, don’t have fantastic ground games. While Nogueira’s jiu-jitsu is enough to beat guys who don’t have training in the art, he’s never submitted a top grappler and couldn’t finish middle of the pack MMA fighters like Pawel Nastula (a judoka with a shaky MMA record, despite having fought very good competition) on the ground.

If we put Nogueira in the cage with a fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt like Gabriel Gonzaga or Fabricio Werdum, there’s a very good chance Nogueira would win the fight, but there’s almost no chance that win would be by a submission. It’s not realistic to expect Nogueira to submit someone who has as good a submission game as he does, perhaps better, when we consider that Gonzaga and, especially, Werdum have very notable records in the jiu-jitsu world.

Nogueira, in my opinion, would beat those two fighters the same way that he beats everybody who presents him a problem in the grappling world: by forcing them to obey the dictum that when grapplers meet they showcase their striking.

Fedor, as I mentioned, doesn’t follow that dictum. He’s willing to grapple with anybody, and he’s done so with top tier wrestlers and pretty much anybody else he’s stepped in the ring with. Still, for the sake of making a point about the general concern over Nogueira’s problem, I want to present the one other fighter, besides Fedor, who can beat Nogueira in the grappling, and explain why.

My pick as the best man to beat the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion: Jeff Monson

First I want to clarify why I don’t think (and didn’t think, in picking for their fight) that Monson’s poor matchup with Barnett has any impact on how the Snowman matches up with Nogueira, and why Monson is a better matchup than Barnett.

Monson lost to Barnett because he couldn’t get the fight where he wanted it to be. Part of that is from the obvious fact that Monson isn’t very tall, but mostly it’s because Barnett is a very powerful wrestler and can keep the fight standing against Monson, who’s skills matter most once the fight hits the mat, while he sometimes has trouble getting it there.

Nogueira doesn’t have Barnett’s wrestling ability, and if Monson did close the distance, it’s doubtful that Nogueira could keep the fight standing.

Both Barnett and Monson have the wrestling skills to take Nogueira to the ground, the difference is that Barnett adheres to that same dictum as Gonzaga and Werdum, he would allow Nogueira to showcase his striking, and he would lose because of it. Monson does not follow that dictum, and so he would have no reservations about taking down Nogueira and working from the top.

Everyone will say that I am underestimating Nogueira and that Nogueira is as good a grappler as Monson. That’s not true.

Monson is one of the best grapplers in the world and, in fact, many consider him the top heavyweight grappler on the planet. The only arguable alternative is Roger Gracie, and even that is hard to argue, because of Monson’s experience and career of dominance in no-gi competitions, namely the Abu Dhabi Combat Club.

Monson’s grappling is a world ahead of Nogueira’s old school Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the straight, double-wrist-control guard. The Snowman would not necessarily pass the guard easily, but he would pass it, because he, like Fedor, knows how to control an opponent. (the difference, of course is, that Fedor’s methodology is strike based and so he doesn’t compete at ADCC)

If Nogueira is forced to fight off of his back against an opponent who knows more about grappling than he does, Nogueira may not get submitted, but he will be sufficiently controlled.

The bout is, like all of the fights with champions, certainly a matter of matchups. Monson is hardly a better fighter than Noguiera, because he lacks the capacity to beat anyone who can force him to fight standing up. However, Nogueira is not on of the fighters with that capacity, and if the UFC made this matchup happen, Monson would pull this fight to the ground, utilize one of his go-to guard passes (like the can opener) and get into a dominant position where he would punish Nogueira.

Next time, the second hardest champion to pick apart: UFC welterweight phenomenon Georges St. Pierre.

Every fighter in the sport is willing to admit that if you’re in the mount, you’re in about the best shape you can be. There’s no way that the judges are going to look the other way about a position like that, and the chances that the fight is even going to go to the judges are slim to none.

Fighters look for the mount to finish, but there’s a way that they finish way more than any other, and it’s something that’s strange, given the number of grapplers in MMA.

The viceral nature of the sport makes everyone feel like strikes are the be all and the end all, especially from a position where you have some much control over them. That’s why even the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters don’t finish with submissions from the mount, even when an opponent throws their arms up to protect them from strikes.

The sport has come a long way from Rickson Gracie, and it seems that the sport has left behind that go to submission from the mount.

What you should watch for in the next few years is for that game to evolve, not because of the number Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu based fighters who have been taught to attack that way, but because of the only real exception to the rule, and the only situations where BJJ guys have resorted to it: fighting opponents with freakish strength.

It’s not that we’re going to see fighters start getting unmounted constantly by opponents with freakish strength. In fact, because of weight classes, that’ll probably never happen (though, there are bizarre exceptions like Sean Sherk where that might be possible). Still, it won’t become a staple in the game for that reason.

There’s been a long hard failure to adopt on the great dictums in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, in terms of mainstream MMA. Most fighters can’t escape from positions and, honestly, that’s going to be the next big change in MMA, out of necessity.

As soon as fighters start figuring out how to escape an opponent with a crazy, strike-based mount, you’re gonna start seeing that mount get more solid, get heavier and not behave so vicerally. Realistically, that’s where the armbars and keylocks off of that position come in. There’ll be strikes used to set it up, but that’s what they’ll be for, setups, just as they were when Rickson was fighting.

Using those strikes to create openings will be a serious development in the ground game, and while the grapplers in MMA are still behind the guys in submission grapping and BJJ, in terms of their actual ground game, that change will have a serious effect on the way that they play the game, and the respect they get from pure grapplers.

Whether you care about the respect MMA fighters get in the grappling world or not, the development is something you’ll see on every UFC card, and it’ll seep in smaller venues as those developments usually do, and it’ll change the way the position is played.

The problem for alot of guys with great grappling skills was that their opponents could wait through a few rounds and win on the judges scorecards. While the layngay attack was often booed, it became a popular style for wrestlers who cared more about winning than about pulling out the big finish.

That said, there was a development within alot of submission grappling circles that revolutionized all of this, that helped guys beat their opponents without breaking down their posture and without their opponents forcing their head into their opponents chest.

While the game has not become quite as popular in MMA (because of the way that the broken down guard has become popular among heavyweights and the way the rubber guard has gained popularity among lightweights) the intermediary between the two has found its way into alot of ground games and enables both of these other fighting styles.

Basically, the opponent postures up and, instead of trying to break them down, you follow them up and proceed for a hip-sweep, kimura or guillotine. These finishes have alot of power purely in the basis that they either force the opponent to drop their shoulder, breaking their posture for you, or that they put you in a top position or a finishing position.

The intermediary, sitting up position has been challenged by those who don’t think that it works, because it doesn’t seem to stand on its own. That, though, is why it appeals to so many grapplers, and has worked so effectively as a way to set up the well controlled guard or the rubber guard.

The reason it hasn’t become as prevalent in MMA is because, realistically speaking, the quality of jiu-jitsu is lower amongst MMA fighters than amongst guys who strictly train BJJ. Still, we’ve seen BJ Penn and Shinya Aoki sit up and threaten with the kimura to set up their rubber guard games, we’ve seen Fabricio Werdum use it to finish fights against Aleks Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem. It’s a game that works for guys who have the patience to make it work, and while it is not the final evolution of the guard, it is certainly a development that we are starting to see among the upper echelong of jiu-jitsu guys in MMA.

This is part 3 in a four part series. Here are links to parts one and two.

The common dictum in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is that an opponent without posture is not going to pass your guard, he’s not in a position to attack. He’s more or less forced into the defensive, because his arms are easy to control, his hips have no power and his head is buried in your chest, greatly limiting his ability to see what you’re doing.

Historically speaking, the strategy appears in part at UFC 4, but Royce Gracie didn’t really break down Kimo Leopoldo’s posture, he just spent alot of time trying.

The fact is, you can’t performa triangle choke on a postured opponent. You can’t pull a guillotine or a kimura off the bottom against an opponent who’s got his balance, so the fact that this development is really only used by BJJ blackbelts like Gabriel Gonzaga (see his fight with Carmello Marrero) and Fabricio Werdum during his Pride career. It’s a standard procedure in the Royler Gracie lineage of BJJ, and most purple belts can pull it off, but the advent of the can opener and other neck cranks out of the guard position has made the game extremely uncomfortable for anyone fighting a strong wrestler.

Still, expect to see the game more and more in the coming years, especially from the UFC lightweight and heavyweight divisions, where there are plenty of blackbelts comfortable fighting off of their backs.

This is the second in a four part series. Here’s the link to part one.

Noah Inhofer: This spectacled fighter seemed like he had a chance to shine as a TUF 3 contestant back in 2005, but things quickly changed after he received a message from his girlfriend stating that there were some problems back home. Inhofer decided he wanted to leave immediately and end his stint as an Ultimate Fighter to be with his friends and family. This is where the famous Dana White “do you wanna be a fighter” speech comes back to the show after the first season. Although White was able to paint a very sharp picture of a possible career-ending decision to Inhofer, this didn’t stop him from leaving and the now ex-UFC fighter went on the record after departing the show to defend his actions.

“People say that they would give up everything for the ones they love. I feel honored that I actually got to do that, not that she was the lone reason,” Inhofer said in an interview Thursday afternoon. “The point is, I knew she was hurting, and I’m not the kind of person that could let that go. It would have been selfish of me to know she was going through these hard times without me being by her side.”

It wasn’t just all about leaving the show either. Inhofer claims that the producers added some drama to the situation as well.

“All of the things on there happened, but they’re taken out of context,” he said. “Also the producers can find things in order to push you in a certain direction.

“If you had a TV show where everyone got along, people wouldn’t watch it.”

Back on the show, Dana White was heard telling viewers that he hopes Inhofer ends up marrying his girlfriend because she is the reason why he isn’t in the UFC anymore. Once we look at the bigger picture, was it worth it for the light-heavyweight’s fighting career? Well, according to his post-TUF fighting record, probably not. In his two recent bouts, Inhofer went 1-1 in two smaller organizations. On his MySpace page, the South Dakota native says he is in college and also still in a relationship. Is it the same girl? But then again, does it really matter to Noah Inhofer?

Matt Hamill: You couldn’t a blind UFC fighter, but you could be the next worst thing; deaf. Matt Hamill has proven that physical handicaps can be overcome with just a little perseverance. As a contestant in The Ultimate Fighter 3, Hamill enjoyed the attention he received from coach and Team Punishment leader, Tito Ortiz. Along with this attention came the hatred from fellow TUF 3 teammate, Michael Bisping. Unfortunately, Hamill eliminated himself before he could fight Bisping and their recent fight left viewers wanting more. He talks more about it here.

The show had some interesting twists and turns but it was a great experience for me and I wouldn’t give it up for anything else. I made it to the semi-finals and won. But I wasn’t allowed to move on to the finals because yes, I got injured during a practice session where I hurt my elbow but still fought in the semi-finals. I fell into “unconciousness” at some point during the fight and don’t remember it at all, not even winning. I arrived to the hospital after the fight where I was in a “semi-coma” for 13 hours. They didn’t say that on the show. When I was released from the hospital, I still had no idea what had happened and I didn’t know I had been eliminated until I came back to the practice session. It was a big upset for me. I was ready and willing to fight in the finals. I was injured and I did win the semi-finals, even with my injury. If the doctor had okayed me to fight in the finals I believe I would be holding the contract in my hands right now instead of Mike Bisping.

Bisping went on to win the Ultimate Fighter with a win against Josh Haynes while Hamill fought Jesse Forbes on the undercard. The Bisping vs. Hamill fight finally emerged at UFC 74. While Bisping edged Hamill due to a controversial split decision, Hamill says he is ready to avenge his loss and come back as a contender in the light heavyweight class after he recovers from his current injuries.

Stay tuned for Part 2 with more dropouts from two recent seasons and a deeper look into the power of Dana White.

If the UFC and Dana White want the best guys who are quickly moving up through the ranks, they should have paid more attention to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, a young and dangerous Judo and Muay Thai fighter. Why Sokoudjou? Well, any fighter who comes off of two knockout wins against Brazilian Top Team light-heavyweight fighters Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Noguiera, while up against 16-1 odds, should be given a chance to showcase more of their skills in the largest MMA Organization in the world.

The 23 year old “African Assassin” from Cameroon trains in California with Team Quest alongside Dan Henderson, his mentor and the Pride heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion. It was only six years ago that the teenage Sokoudjou left his African homeland as a formidable Judo fighter with the country’s national team to train in the United States. At the age of 17, he won the U.S. Open Judo Championships open-weight class and took the bronze medal in the same class only two years later. With visa issues making it difficult to return to his homeland, Sokoudjou began his focus on Mixed Martial Arts in the United States in 2004 and became friends with his soon-to-be training partner with Team Quest, Dan Henderson. Sokoudjou went on to win his first two MMA fights only to fall to a 2-1 record during his loss to Glover Teixera during WEC 24. Sokoudjou didn’t take the loss easily and came back to beat Noguiera within 23 seconds and Arona in less than two minutes.

Sokoudjou was recently offered a contract to fight in the UFC, but the money wasn’t right and now his team says that a four-fight deal with EliteXC has been finalized although papers have yet to be signed. Dana White may have time to step in and throw some money around before he loses another talented fighter in his attempt to low-ball an ex-Pride fighter and set up the same fighters to continue fighting each other in the octagon.

If you are looking for an exciting bigger fighter to watch, keep your eyes open for Sokoudjou’s next fight, whether it be with EliteXC or UFC. Either way, it’s sure to be a great match.

Week 5 consisted of a Saturday class with a different instructor and an entirely different, albeit extremely useful, format.

Our instructors wanted us to maintain the mindset that excelling in a few different methods of take-downs, submissions, sweeps, and counters was more valuable than barely knowing and understanding many different moves. With this in mind, we spent most of the morning refining multiple arm bar techniques, triangle chokes, and guard sweeps. As we paired up, we went over the simple submission techniques in slow motion just to make sure that we were all on the same page. It’s actually more difficult to set up an arm bar slowly than it is to just lock the arm from the full mount and spin off the chest while throwing your leg up and out. I wasn’t the only one who was being nice and we were all told to place all of our weight down even while we were working slowly. Luckily I was paired up with someone slightly bigger so I didn’t have to feel too badly afterwards. After we went through the arm bar, the triangle choke, and the sweeps in slow motion, we were moved onto the timed drills.

Timed submission drills are actually pretty tiring even when you are on the offensive. All the drills had to be committed cleanly and then repeated without releasing your opponent’s arm. While the arm bar, at least in our drill, was attempted from a dominant full mount position, the triangle choke was attempted while you trapped your opponent in your guard. The sweep forces you, in the defensive guard position, to use one arm to reach up and over their shoulder while restraining the opposite wrist and rolling into the dominant full mount position. This sweep can easily lead into the arm bar or many other submissions from the full mount. We had 30 seconds to attempt and complete as many submissions or sweeps while focusing on consistency and completion.

When it became time to roll, we started off competing for a dominant position for a timed minute and then started from whatever position we landed. This became a challenge for me as I spent a lot of time fighting off bigger and better opponents. I did, however, learn as I rolled with some guidance from the experienced wrestlers and grapplers. It was another day of a learning even though most of the learning was done while I was losing. I’m still making progress and enjoying the workout.

I’ll be back soon with another week of learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu firsthand. It really is a lot different in person than it is on television or the web. I don’t plan on giving up anytime soon though.

This article combines the second half of Week 2 and Week 3 into one large article. Keep reading to keep updated with my progress with learning the Jiu-Jitsu fighting style.

Preparation: I’ll be honest, I worked out less during the end of the second week. My body was starting to feel better and I actually had the urge to go for a run, but I didn’t want to be sore while learning in class.

Arrival: Week 2.5 began with a different trainer and a whole new training style. It certainly wasn’t a bad thing as there were fewer people and more interaction between us and the trainers throughout the night. My muscles were starting to get used to the strain of Jiu-Jitsu style grappling and my stamina is starting to improve as well. I can feel that I am making progress and this is helping me to continue with the classes.

Drills: We skipped warm-up activities and started the class with the Kimura. This submission move will basically feel like you are trying to rip your opponent’s arm out of their shoulder. We learned how to apply body weight to keep your opponent on the ground as you apply the Kimura and how to force their hand to “paint” the floor as you twist. We practiced learning how to apply the Kimura and then how to escape. Similar to an arm-bar or Triangle, escaping the Kimura doesn’t require the use of brute force, it requires using your body weight to maneuver yourself away from the submission before your opponent can lock it up.

We attempted to use of our new moves at 30% (no standing) to apply some of our moves against each other. I felt confident with the Kimura as it doesn’t require any quick shifts with body weight and I was able to effectively use it on the floor. Then we took turns grappling in the guard position to see who could escape or submit the other person. This gave everyone a chance to work with everyone else, even if the weight different was 100+ pounds between the two grapplers. Even when I was up against someone who was almost twice my weight, I could see how effective Jiu-Jitsu could be…apparently my handicap was gone considering he knew Jiu-Jitsu and had a weight advantage. After these drills, we went up against the trainer who also had a pretty significant weight advantage up against my friend and I. We still learned what not to do when grappling and that helped us transition into the 3rd week.

After the Class: I was a little more beat up than normal. It was obvious that going up against those who are much bigger than me left my body hurting. I still felt better than I did earlier in the week and that was the only thing that mattered.

Week 3

Preparation: Similar to the end of Week 2, my preparation for the class was become easier. Throughout the week I would still eat well and exercise, but not as much as the first two weeks and prior to the class.

Arrival: We started to feel a little more normal about showing up to the classes as regulars by the 3rd week. We knew the drill once we arrived; get the shoes, socks, and ring off and get rid of the keys, wallet, and cell phone for the next hour and a half. Stretching is the normal for the first 5 to 10 minutes.

Drills: With the same trainer as Week 2.5, we skipped the warm-ups and jumped right into drills. The drill for the night was the Guillotine. As a French method of public execution, the Guillotine is not a fun way to go. In MMA, the Guillotine hurts. We learned how to apply a standing Guillotine which can be applied when facing your opponent. It’s an easy maneuver and can be quickly tightened around the neck, but it is also easy to escape if you catch it early enough. Once we learned how to apply and escape the Guillotine, we tested it out on each other. Getting choked out in a standing position is not fun at all.

Progression: Once we started our 30% grappling, we decided to heed the advice of the trainer and go slower so that we could make sense of what we were attempting to do. Squaring up against my friend allowed me to pause the action to determine what I was doing wrong. Luckily it was another small class and we had the help of an experienced wrestler to assist when we questioned what we were doing on the ground. We both wanted to understand sweeps and how to effective get out of the guard position and into the dominant position without giving up our back to the opponent. We learnd how to flip ourselves off of our backs and into a half-guard or full-mount position. From there we could use some of the earlier techniques to submit our opponent. For once, my friend and I felt like we made a lot of progression as grapplers. We were able to submit and make each other tap through the use of legitimate Jiu-Jitsu techniques. In the past it seemed that it was just a test of strength, but now it felt like a test of intelligence.

Group and One on One Instruction: It was obvious how much was learned when we had someone who was able to stop us and instruct us throughout the day. If a mistake was made, it could be immediately corrected. I thoroughly enjoyed the smaller classes even though it was somewhat embarrassing to not know exactly what to do at all times. I still knew that I was a beginner and the one on one instruction would be vital to my success in Jiu-Jitsu.

After the Class: I had never worked up this much of a sweat. I was soaked through my shirt and my shorts with sweat and my eyes burned. It was definitely a great cardio workout.

Conclusion: I can’t wait to get back up to the training center to learn more. I’m starting to feel more confident in my actions and I’m building decent strength through the warm-ups and the drills. Stay tuned for Week 4 of White Collar Submission!

Preparation: Once I completed the first class, I needed to continue working my arms. After being sore for nearly 3 days, I wanted to keep my triceps in shape for the next class. It’s a good thing I did too.

Arrival: I’m sure many people who try the initial free class at a martial arts facility are never seen again so I could understand why the instructors greeted us with some handshakes and high fives. Again I was accompanied by my friend who would be my training partner for most of the night. There were some familiar faces and quite a few new faces in the crowd. It seems that everyone has their own weekly schedule for the Jiu-Jitsu class. I know mine will be changing often as well.

Warm-ups: Our warm-up routine was slightly modified for Week 2. Although we started off with the same 50 jumping jacks and the same 55 push ups, our next exercise easily left our arms aching. We started off with forward and reverse wheelbarrows. This, if you remember your days of gym glass, was also an entertaining game of “who will fall and smash their face on the gym mat first?!” These were easy compared to what was next. Once the wheelbarrow exercise was completed, we then were held at the knees while we used our arms to propel ourselves up in the air as our partner continued to push us along. Remember those clapping push ups you had to do? Try those while you are moving. Even after the exercises, I felt better than last week and that made me feel like I was already making progress.

Drills: Although learning take-downs during the first week was a lot of fun, I wanted to jump right into joint-locks, chokes, and submissions. Week 2 offered just that. We began with the arm-bar from the guard position. While it looks simple in the ring, the arm-bar can be deceivingly difficult when you are in the defensive position on the mat. I was able to administer a few effective joint-locks, but it really is a maneuver that takes a little time to master.After learning how to apply an arm-bar, we learned how to get out. This is where I nearly injured my friend for the second time in two consecutive weeks. Getting out of his arm-bar required me to stand up, push down to release any pressure, and then pull up. While pulling up, he decided to hold on to whatever grip he had left and as my arm came free, his neck was the sole cushion of his fall back to the mat. Luckily I didn’t pull a Rampage Jackson and body slam him through the mat again. I probably would have broken both of our backs.

Breathing is Optional: The arm-bar is certainly an effective grappling maneuver, but the triangle choke; that’s when the fun begins. Similar to the arm-bar, the triangle choke drill began in a full-guard position. While in control of one arm in the bottom defensive position, you bring your body off to the side of the offensive attacker so that their arm is being pulled from the bottom of your stomach and up to the opposite side and diagonally across your chest. While bringing your legs up and lock around the neck with your knee draped over your ankle, you pull down on their head and choke them instantly. This is a great move to use when someone to trying to obtain side-mount position from a full guard. Their body moves easily into place and you can lock down and choke them in seconds.

(Triangle)

Next, we began to use our new abilities against each other at 30%. This meant that we could not stand up, but instead we were to begin from our knees to take each other down into a guard position. After taking each other down a few times, it was now time to put some of my new skills to the test against someone else. I matched up with another student who was approximately my height/weight to give myself a fair chance of applying some moves and basically told him to show off so I could learn from him. We started at 50% where we could keep one leg extended and one knee down. This helped me learn some movement as I watched my challenger try to take me down and out. As we went back and forth, I learned how to apply an arm-bar from a full mount position as I quickly became a willing victim. I was attempting to get his back while grappling to apply a rear-naked choke and I was once nearly successful. My challenger reacted with praise and I felt pretty good considering it was only my second day on the mat.

Group and One on One Instruction: Week 2 was similar to the first week with regards to instruction. We could watch each maneuver as a group and begin to apply them with one on one instruction. If we needed help applying something, we had no problem getting immediate help. This helped us become comfortable with asking questions and getting feedback from the instructors as we learned.

After the Class: I felt much better after the second week compared to Week 1. I was tired, sore, and my ankle was throbbing, but I had another good night. I look forward to going back for the second time this week.

Conclusion: Like any other environment, once you start showing up and seeing similar faces, you become more comfortable with everything around you. I’m looking forward to going back and learning more. I definitely feel that this class is something I would like to continue for a while. Stay tuned for another Week 2 Update of White Collar Submission.

About Me: I’m in my mid-twenties and I am married with two young children. I stand 5′8″ and weigh 147. I have never been in a fight where more than two punches were thrown.

Background Info: As a Mixed Martial Arts admirer for years (mainly UFC), I was interested in learning more about the sport, but never got involved enough to actually want to learn how to fight. Recently, a friend of mine helped introduce the world of MMA to me for the second time. This world not only included UFC, but also Pride (pre-UFC buyout), IFL, K1, and Abu Dhabi. I began to search out more information and watched The Ultimate Fighter 5 every Thursday night while beginning to get back into shape. I bought a medicine ball and some weights to build some muscle and trim some of the fat. I ran my first mile since high-school and began to eat food that was actually good for me. No more soda, candy, ice cream, or any other junk food. Breakfast includes oatmeal or a muffin and coffee. Lunch typically includes a salad and chicken. Dinner may vary, but I try to eat as much chicken and tuna without making myself sick. I’ll eat fruits throughout the day and drink wine instead of beer. The entire transition was not difficult. I look much better after a month of simply regulating my diet and exercising. The entire process took about a month.

Fast forward to now. I took my first Jiu-Jitsu class at a MMA/Karate training facility not far from my home. I simply searched the web for MMA classes in PA and found one that was nearby. I called the center and confirmed that it was OK to take an introductory class along with my friend while my 6 year old son took the Kids Jiu-Jitsu class at the same time.

What to Wear: It’s similar to gym class so wear cotton shorts or basketball shorts and a t-shirt. Women can wear a sports bra and a t-shirt or other gym apparel. Men can wear a protective cup if they want, but you most likely will not be doing anything dangerous on the first day. A mouth guard is also optional at this time. You will need gloves, better shorts, and protective gear if you decide to continue training. You can get everything for around 50$ to $80.

Arrival: Don’t show up exactly on time, be early. You will most likely need to sign a waiver to release the center from any injuries. You may also want to meet the instructor(s) and talk a little about what you want to get out of the class. Most recreational centers understand that not everyone is there to become a world championship MMA fighter. Some are there to learn self-defense or to just stay in shape.

Hygiene: You will be on the gym mat or in the ring in socks or even barefoot. Be clean and keep it all inside the clothes you are wearing.

Behavior: Keep in mind that you are in someone else’s gym. Don’t pretend to be something that you are not and be courteous to everyone there. Let the instructors show you what to do and make the best effort that you can. The instructor will understand if you are unable to do 50 push ups on the first night. Do what you can and don’t overwork yourself. Everyone will help you learn what they have already learned in the past. It helps them maintain and improve while introducing you to skills you will need to learn.

No Turning Back Now: Once we arrived at the training center, we were greeted by one of the instructors and we introduced ourselves. I had called earlier to confirm availability and to ensure that my son was old enough for the children’s classes. We met the instructors and were told to start stretching out on the mat. Socks were optional and I decided to take mine off just to maintain better grip on the mat. We spent about 15 minutes stretching before we began warm-ups.

Warm-Ups: We started out with 50 jumping jacks which nearly everyone should be able to complete. Our next task was a little more difficult; 10 push ups following by 9 push ups followed by 8 push ups until we reached 1 push up. To make it a little more difficult, the last 4 sets of push ups were done with a diamond hand placement. This is where you place both hands as close together as possible on the mat underneath yourself. You will form a diamond shape out of your forefingers and thumbs.

Drills: Our first drill dealt with learning how to flip and fall while using your hand to slap the mat and break the fall. We broke up into four lines and somersaulted across the gym floor while using one hand to slap the mat and break the fall. We did this drill twice; once for each hand.

Our next drill focused on take-downs and learning how to bring someone safely down to the mat. We started with a single leg take down in which the instructor first explained the take down, performed the take down in front of the class from different angles, and then broke us up into pairs to practice. This is where a partner comes in handy. Having my MMA-savvy friend with me helped me practice on someone who on the same level as me. I would recommend going to your first few classes with a friend who shares a similar height and weight. I was at a slight disadvantage considering my friend a few inches taller and about 15 pounds heaver, but I felt more comfortable performing take downs during my first class with someone that I personally knew. As we performed the drills, we were to make it more difficult for whoever was performing the take down by providing increased resistance with each take down. This helped build some defense and transitioned into learning some maneuvers to move someone from a defensive position into an offensive position within seconds. During the drills, the instructors would watch us and coach us if we made mistakes. There was a lot of positive instruction and I began to ease up have fun almost immediately.

During the drills, the instructors would also jump into the pair and challenge someone to show off their skills on them. It was a great quick one on one session that helped me improve my take down skills. I was invited into the ring to practice single and double leg take downs while he attempted to box at my face with a pair of gloves. It quickly turned into me getting taken down and tapping out thanks to a couple of arm-bars. I couldn’t complain though, it was my first night and I was outweighed by probably 40 pounds. I learned how to administer my first arm-bar from the half-guard position. By this time, I was exhausted, but feeling really well about the first night of Jiu-Jitsu.

The final task for my friend and I was to learn some of the guard positioning and how to either maintain the half, side, or full guard or escape from the guard. From the top, I was in a bad position with a near arm-bar, but I managed to pick up my friend in a pathetic attempt to slam him back on the mat, Rampage-style. We finished the night with some more guard drills.

Group and One on One Instruction: A combination of group and one-on-one instruction really helped ease the class from one drill to another. Group instruction helped us gain an overall feel of the drill before we attempted to use our new skills on our partner-turned-opponent. As we were going through each drill, we were given individual instruction with verbal cues to either continue or make subtle changes. If we had questions about hand placement or post-take down maneuvers, they were answered with a visual representation of the movement.

After the Class: I was bruised, but tired more than anything. My arms were extremely sore for a couple of days, but it had been quite a long period of time before the class since I have actively used all of the muscles in my arm for an extended period of time. Expect to be sore, but continue stretching and be ready for the next class.

Conclusion: It was the best workout of my life and I’ll be going back at least twice next week. Keep watching MMAOpinion.com for the next installment of White Collar Submission.