Attention Andreh

[Shimora]

Andreh how are you my friend? I am writing to you regarding a post you made at the U/G titled "My opinion of arts other than BJJ!! ". I was very impressed with the post and hope that you also post it here so people here can respond. As you know im not officially allowed to post at the UG. The last time I tried some moderator on a power trip went crazy with the delete button. Therefore I am responding here.

I was very interested in reading about some of the martial artists you have seen. Did the guy beat you with a Yell? Were the 65 year old mans hands really weapons or was he wasting his time? Does a sport BJJ guy need to have thrown a punch to be a good fighter on the street?

When you started learning BJJ was what you learnt in Sambo an advantage? Did you trick the BJJ guys with Leglocks?

You mentioned Bas doing TKD, Kerr Sambo and Vitor Aikido and still kicking ass. Did you mean they would still kick ass because of who they are and their determination to win or did you mean they would kick ass on the street because any Martial Art works if you train at it hard enough?

Once again it was a great post which raised a lot of questions for me as you can see.

I hope you dont mind me responding on this forum.

[Oberleutnant]

wtf? wrong thread [edited]

[Edited by Oberleutnant on 10-17-2000 at 12:56 PM]

[andreh anderson]

Shimora! Thanks for the compliment!

Here is what I wrote:

"Subject:
From: andre
Date: 17-Oct-00 | 06:43 AM

Ive always loved the martial arts. I think love is too mild a word. I should say, "I've always been obsessed with martial arts."

In the 20 years that I have been doing this crazy stuff, I've seen some pretty dangerous people and some pretty insane wannabees.

I've had people tell me that they could beat me with only a yell. I've also seen a 65 year old man who pounds wooden beams with his hands 1000 times a day to build up these humongous callouses and calcium deposits in order to make his hand a dangerous weapon. Ive seen sport BJJers, who've never thown a punch in their lives, walk around like tough bull dogs ready to bare their teeth. Ive watched mild mannered aikido guys really take it to their sparring partners in realistic training drills.

Ive gone through phases where I've felt that the art I was studying had all the answers. I was always ready to defend kali as the most deadly art when I trained in it. When I started in with sambo I thought we had some tricks for the BJJers because we knew leg locks...Even as a kid, I thought my Okinawa-te meant Id have to register my hands with the local Police Department!

So, Ive learned something. All of the arts have something worth learning. Train Bas in only Tae Kwon Do and you'll still see him kicking ass on the street. Put Mark Kerr in a Sambo kurtka and let him train hard like he always has for several years and you'll see guys limp away with twisted limbs. Had Vitor only trained in aikido since he was a kid Id still put my money on him in a streetfight.

Its alllllllll good. Every art has its place, and that place may not be the cage or ring. Doesnt take away from what it has to offer, it just means that you need to find if it meets YOUR needs and CHARACTERISTICS. I dont have the agility for capoeira so I dont think Ill ever pursue it. I think my body and mind are more suited for boxing and grappling so I think Ive found my niche. But as much as I love and believe in what I'm doing, I hope you'll never hear me slam people who train in other styles. "

The guy with the yell never "used" it on me. He told me about it and showed me some pressure point techniques that didnt seem to work.

The 65 year old guy is amazing. He's a hapkido guy from Korea who pounds his hands and forearms every day. He plans on challenging all of the hapkido instructors (at 65!) to prove that what they are doing is real hapkido. The guy seems tough and his hands are like steel. Id hate to find out if he could really use them like the weapons they seem to be. I dont think there would be a safe way to spar with him. A greco roman wrestler who was once 5th in the country said that he has tried to take the 65 year old down but only ended up getting hurt every time.

Sambo gave me some locks that would allow me to occassionally catch guys who were much better than me. What it didnt give me was positioning skills and an overall ground game. I think they compliment each other very well.

My point with bringing up Bas, Kerr, and Vitor is that it is the fighter and not the art that has the greatest impact on the result of the fight. I think that some arts are very specifically oriented for MMA and others are more street applicable. Some guys take one or two strikes from a kicking art like tae kwon do and hone them into reliable attacks for a streetfight. I wouldnt want to be surprised by one of these guys in a fight.

Again, for MMA I think we are seeing a new art evolve and it is best suited for this type of competition. To me, Sakuraba represents this style best. Its an attacking ground game, good submission and takedown defense, and effective stand up skills.

Hope this is clear. Im at a friends house watching Magnolia while typing this...









[Edited by andreh anderson on 10-18-2000 at 05:58 AM]

[SweepEm]

cool post.

So what is her name?
that must be the reason you didn't come to class

[SweepEm]

Isn't Magnolia a chick movie?

HA!