Congrats to Erik, Mike, Johnny and Big Drew on their wins at the AMA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament
Read coach Brian’s article about tournament BJJ vs self defense training HERE
Jul 082013
Jul 012013
Precision Mixed Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley: Compliments and Expands Upon Karate Training
Hudson Valley Martial Arts
Every martial artist in the world starts with a base or “core-style” which they must then build off of. Few who become passionate about the martial arts will train in one style alone throughout their life; most will branch out and experiment with other arts. While the Hudson Valley area of New York does offer a variety of different styles in which to train, like most parts of the United States and perhaps even the world, Karate and its multiple sub-styles is generally the most common. I myself got started in Kenpo, Karate at age eight and continued with it up until I attained my second degree Brown Belt at age fourteen. Like many, I wanted to try out other arts and went on to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and later other styles. Though Karate certainly has its strong points, in general many of its sub-styles neglect ground grappling as well as takedowns and the key elements of boxing head movement and footwork, as well as others. Precision Mixed Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley teaches a number of styles which can compliment and expand upon the Karate background of many students who walk through our doors.
Hudson Valley Martial Arts
As a young martial artist growing up outside the Hudson Valley area I trained daily in Karate. For whatever reason, this style has gained perhaps more notoriety over time than any other and tends to be most frequently the style which young martial artists start off with. While I enjoyed this training and found that it greatly aided my flexibility and kicking ability, I also had certain gripes with it. For example, even as a kid I innately realized that the lack of full contact sparring inhibited my reaction time to attacks. We did include sparring, but the only legal target was the body, and this sadly was not enough for me to learn to apply my techniques in real time. I wanted a martial art like boxing or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which would stress full body awareness and reaction time so I would be prepared for attack. After attaining my second degree Brown Belt in Kenpo, Karate at age 14, I stopped and within the next few years became involved in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after seeing the great Royce Gracie use it to win the first Ultimate Fighting Championship. I quickly realized how many areas my former style of Karate training had neglected. I had no idea how to defend myself on the ground, nor did I know how to defend myself against takedowns. After a year or two of BJJ I began to grasp these elements for the first time. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is, of course, one of the main arts which Precision MMA in the Hudson Valley focuses on. This is quite fortunate for any Karate stylist who decides to train with us. Even the most effective Karate Black Belt will be helpless against a trained Jiu-Jitsuka, or for that matter even an entirely untrained attacker, once the fight hits the ground. The grappling techniques which Precision MMA teaches its students will enable all former Karatekas to expand upon their core striking style so they can defend themselves either standing or on the ground.
Hudson Valley Martial Arts
Now, if you happen to be a Karate practitioner you may be saying to yourself “if I am ever attacked I want to be able to use my core martial art to defend myself, and would rather stay on my feet than go to the ground.” This is a reasonable stance, and Precision MMA in the Hudson Valley can accommodate this mode of thinking as well. The last range of standing combat, which occurs before the fight must conclude on the ground, is the takedown range, and in order for any Karate practitioner or striker to use their art they must be able to defend the takedown. The two best martial arts for defending against takedowns are wrestling and Judo, and both of these are taught at Precision MMA in the Hudson Valley. We have division one wrestlers who help with our no-gi Jiu-Jitsu classes as well as a world class Judo black belt who aids us in our Gi classes who can show you all the necessary methods for defending different types of takedowns and keeping the fight standing. Indeed, this strategy is quite well known in the world of Mixed Martial Arts today and is often referred to as “sprawl and brawl”. We at Precision of course also teach all around Mixed Martial Arts classes which combine striking with wrestling and Judo, so we can show you how to mix up your striking attacks with your takedown defense and offense in these classes in ways which will expand upon our wrestling and Judo classes as well. However, any Karate stylist who attends Precision in the Hudson Valley will want to be sure to make it to our wrestling and Judo classes so that they can acquire the takedown defense necessary to utilize their prior training. A Karate expert with top notch wrestling and Judo would be a very dangerous opponent for anyone as they would have the tools to keep the fight standing against nearly anyone and use their Karate background, and if they should find themselves on the ground they would also have our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques to fall back on.
Hudson Valley Martial Arts
Still, Karate as a martial art does not have all of the answers for self defense against standing attacks either and the person who’s entire background consists of what they learned at their local Hudson Valley Karate studio will be lacking when it comes to certain fundamentals common to boxing. Boxing is just one of several martial arts taught at the Hudson Valley’s Precision MMA, but our instructors know how to teach this art in such a way that it will compliment all other styles the student might know. One of our boxing coaches, Jon Russo, has himself also trained in styles such as Taekwondo and Jeet Kune Do, which have quite a few similarities to Karate. As such, he is especially adept at combining his knowledge of these styles with his boxing technique and helping Karate practitioners to add boxing fundamentals to their game. Karate tends to focus on parries and moving blocks as opposed to head movement and footwork to get out of the way of punches like boxing does. While Karate’s defenses can work at times, they are limited when facing a skilled striker and knowing boxing’s methods for defense is very important. Not only this, but as mentioned before, boxing is an art which is almost exclusively done in “real-time” and honed in serious sparring sessions. Therefore, the concern of many former Karate stylists like myself that we may not have developed the proper reaction time to defend strikes is addressed in boxing training and perfectly compliments a Karate background. Likewise, though Hudson Valley Karate schools are likely to teach a number of interesting hand strikes, such as back fists and reverse punches, they are not likely to train their students in the useful punches taught in boxing such as the jab, hook, cross, lead and back hand uppercuts. All of these are addressed at Precision Mixed Martial Arts in our boxing classes and add to the former Karate stylists’ repertoire. Essentially, the boxing classes allow a Karate student to sharpen a weapon they already posses.
Hudson Valley Martial Arts
Finally, the martial art of Muay Thai Kickboxing as it is taught at Precision Mixed Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley by undefeated 7-0 AKBF champion Karl Nemeth, is the perfect style to compliment a Karate background. I should know as I have found my former Karate training to give me a bit of learning curve when it comes to learning the kicks unique to the Muay Thai style of striking. Though Muay Thai’s kicks are unique from Karate’s, especially in the fact that the striking surface is usually the shin bone rather than the foot, many of the kicks are similar in their motions, particularly the round house and front kicks. As such, former Karate students like myself will not feel completely lost when learning these moves and will simply have to make small adjustments for these kicks to work for them. Also, much like Muay Thai, Karate training tends to greatly stress stretching and leg mobility in order to be able to throw head kicks with ease. My prior Karate training is the reason that I can now achieve a full split, and this has greatly aided me in my ability to fluidly perform the Muay Thai kicks I have learned at Precision MMA in the Hudson Valley. Of course, Muay Thai greatly expands upon Karate training and helps the martial artist to go beyond what his capabilities would have been with the former art alone. For one, Muay Thai training has a very heavy emphasis on clinching techniques which includes both offense and defense against knees and elbows from close quarters, as well as trips. None of these movements are taught in Karate and would make a Karate practitioner very vulnerable in this scenario if fighting a Muay Thai stylist. Also, the Muay Thai clinch is the range of fighting which comes between the punching range and the takedown range, and as such, any former Karate student who wants to learn to defend the takedown and keep the fight standing to use his martial art will need to learn these tactics. Even with the takedown defense acquired from our wrestling and Judo classes and the boxing techniques we teach, a Karateka could be taken down or out struck if he is unable to defend himself in this intermediary range. With Muay Thai clinch training, along with all these other areas we at Precision MMA offer, the former Karate student should have all the tools necessary to compliment his core art. Muay Thai also teaches devastating leg kicks and defense against them, including shin conditioning, which is not taught in Karate. However, anyone who attends Karl’s Muay Thai classes will learn these skills, and a Karate background should make them easier to pick up on. Finally, we put the techniques of all our styles together in our Mixed Martial Arts classes, so if the former Karate student also attends those he will become a truly complete fighter.
Hudson Valley martial arts
Karate practitioners find a home at Precision Mixed Martial Arts in LaGrangeville, New York. Training at Precision MMA not only compliments existing Karate training techniques, but also adds new martial arts dimensions. With all this in mind, Hudson Valley Karate students who transition over to training at Precision MMA need not fear that they have set themselves back by studying a different martial art. To the contrary, Karate has many benefits and can give the Precision student a learning curve when it comes to learning new skills, especially those from Muay Thai. What is paramount is that the new student be open minded and realize that Karate as a style is limited in comparison to the multitude of styles offered at the Hudson Valley’s Precision. If the Karate student recognizes this, he can then move ahead in his training and become a dangerous and multi-dimensional fighter in no time.
To get started with your 30 FREE Days of Hudson Valley martial arts classes visit http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com or call 845-392-8495
About the Author:
Jamey Bazes is a lifelong Hudson Valley martial artist. Jamey holds a brown belts in both traditional Karate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. A regular competitor, Jamey is one of the Hudson Valley’s most decorated martial arts athletes including world titles in the North American Grappling Championship. In addition to his martial arts training Jamey is a graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz holding a master’s degree in English. To train with Jamey be sure to check out Precision Mixed Martial Arts!
Jun 292013
Dutchess County Martial Arts: Precision MMA Throws Opponents Off-Guard with Numerous Striking Attacks
Hudson Valley Martial arts
By Jamey Bazes
Dutchess County, New York has a multitude of Martial Arts’ schools. However, for the most part they are fairly “cookie-cutter” in their approach and do not teach a wide variety of striking techniques. “Striking” is a general term for attacks such as punches, kicks, knees and elbows which forcefully impact an opponent. Precision MMA in Dutchess County teaches a wide array of strikes which often catch our opponent’s off-guard in competition, leaving our students victorious.
Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess County New York teaches both Boxing and Muay Thai Kickboxing as its core striking arts. However, the assortment of strikes which our opponents see coming at them would probably lead them to assume that we teach many other styles such as Karate, Taekwondo and even Capoeira. The reality is that they would be correct, because our Muay Thai classes in particular, taught by 7-0 AKBF Muay Thai Champion Karl Nemeth, include strikes from so many different styles that it is very hard to pin down our method of striking to any one specific approach. For a striker to be successful in competition he must never be predictable, otherwise his opponent will see his attacks coming and avoid them. Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess County is quite unorthodox in its arsenal, much to the frustration of anyone who decides to get into the ring with our fighters. When it comes to kicking, many styles of kickboxing and other martial arts teach mainly front kicks and roundhouse kicks. Fighters from these schools are usually unprepared to defend themselves against kicks coming from more unusual angles and many of these are taught by our head Muay Thai instructor Karl Nemeth in his classes.
Dutchess County Martial arts
One type of kick we teach which would throw many more conventional martial artists off guard is the spinning hook kick. This kick has recently been used very successfully in the Ultimate Fighting Championship by both former Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos in knocking out veteran Mark Hunt and Vitor Belfort in knocking out former Strikeforce MW champion Luke Rockhold. It was also used effectively on the last season of “The Ultimate Fighter” by Uriah Hall. Even despite this kick’s recent success, due to its nature as a high velocity spinning strike and the numerous set ups we show for it, it is still rarely seen coming by our competition. To perform this kick properly the practitioner must step his front foot out so that it is positioned at about a fifteen degree angle from the back foot. This is quite a misleading stance because it momentarily exposes the student’s back to attack, as well as the back of his front leg for a leg kick. However, this deception is exactly what makes this kick so deadly. Done quickly and without hesitation, the back leg is then spun behind the kicker and as he turns around to face his opponent he lands the heel of his back foot directly on the jaw of the opponent. The amount of force which can be generated by this kick is tremendous, as can be seen from the fact that all the aforementioned examples in the UFC have led to devastating knockouts. And yet, most martial arts schools neglect this kick entirely. Another unorthodox kick that we teach is the “question-mark kick”. This kick is often used in styles of Karate and Taekwondo but throws many conventional Muay Thai fighters off guard. It can be done with either the lead or back leg and consists of a starting motion where the kickers’ leg comes forward as if to throw a low front kick. However, the kick changes direction at the last moment and lands at slightly downward angles across the opponents’ face. This misdirection leads the opponent to drop his hands, expecting a kick to the body or legs, which results in his leaving himself open for the head kick. We have had success with this kick in many Dutchess County Kickboxing fights and our opponents rarely see it coming.
Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess County also teaches many other sorts of strikes such elbows, knees and many different types of punches. We show how knees can be used while in the clinch for great effect, as well as from a further distance, and we even show flying knee attacks which most opponents do not see coming. We show a variety of elbow techniques coming from sideways, diagonal and other angles, and finally, even the punching techniques taught in our boxing classes are often not seen in your typical boxing match. One of these is a “side fist” taught by one of our boxing coaches and experienced AKBF competitors John Joy. It is thrown instead of a jab with the fist held with the thumb pointed towards the ceiling in a sideways’ fashion. This provides the attack with a more narrow surface area which allows it to slip between the opponent’s guard most easily to connect with his head. We also focus a good deal on lead hand upper cuts and “long hooks” which have less of an arc than the conventional boxing hook. These techniques have also helped our boxers and kickboxers to have significant success in the ring because they are not usually taught by schools in the Dutchess County area and catch our opponents by surprise.
It’s the strike that you don’t see coming which hurts you. This adage rings true in Mixed Martial Arts, Kickboxing and Boxing, and it is just one of many reasons why Precision MMA in Dutchess County produces effective strikers. Our students always have a full toolbox and our instructors are always adding more weapons to their arsenal to teach in our classes. Come strike with us for a free 30 days trial and feel empowered.
Get your Dutchess County Martial Arts at Precision MMA call 845-392-8495 or visit http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com to get started
Jun 252013
Hudson Valley Martial Arts
Precision Mixed Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley area of New York is an all-around Mixed Martial Arts’ school. Many dojos advertise themselves this way but few actually follow through with their claims of offering top notch instruction in more than one style. One popular type of dojo which has popped up in recent years is the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school which falsely claims to teach mixed martial arts. This phenomenon started after the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993. When Royce Gracie and other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu experts found they could have great success in Mixed Martial Arts competition BJJ schools started to pop up around the country like wildfire. With them came a number of schools claiming that not only could they teach authentic BJJ, but that they could teach people how to effectively use it in mixed martial arts. This claim is often false and most of the instructors who state that they can teach students this application have in fact never fought in any form of Mixed Martial Arts’ competition. At Precision Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley, our head instructor Brian McLaughlin is not only a BJJ black belt who offers excellent instruction in both Gi and No-gi Jiu-Jitsu classes, he also holds a Professional Martial Arts record of 6-2 and has used BJJ to win all his matches by submission. Because of these credentials, we know that our school is qualified not only to teach BJJ, but also to coach students who aspire to fight in Mixed Martial Arts competition, and we offer separate classes for Mixed Martial Arts tactics in particular. Don’t be fooled by schools who say they can offer this instruction when their teachers have never stepped into the ring or cage.
Precision Mixed Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley also teaches a number of other styles, such as Boxing, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Wrestling and Judo. Our boxing classes taught by 3 time Golden Gloves champion Derrick Ohlhoff are particularly popular and we have produced quite a few successful boxers in the Hudson Valley area.
Likewise, our head Muay Thai instructor Karl Nemeth is himself an AKBF Kickboxing champion with an undefeated record of 7-0, and he has also produced a number of excellent Muay Thai competitors.
Our wrestling and Judo programs are particularly unique in that they are offered as a part of our Gi and No-gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes. For example, our advanced No-Gi BJJ classes have dual instructors in head coach Brian McLaughlin and D-1 wrestlers Rich McHale and Ian Lindars who switch off with teaching the wrestling portion of the class. This is a feature which most Jiu-Jitsu schools do not offer, and which gives us an edge on our competition.
We have a similar practice in our Hudson Valley martial arts Gi-BJJ classes, which are taught by both head coach McLaughlin and expert black belt Judo instructor Jerry Fokas. This makes our Gi Jiu-Jitsu competitors a double threat in sport BJJ since we know how to perform standing trips and throws as well as Newaza.
Hudson Valley Martial arts
Don’t be fooled by Hudson Valley martial arts schools that make false advertisements concerning Mixed Martial Arts and multiple styles. Most schools would be better off focusing on offering quality instruction in one area before jumping on the MMA bandwagon. Our claims are legit, and you can come to Precision to train in any and all styles which pique your interest for a free 30 day trial period.
Jun 202013
Hudson Valley Martial arts
Finding success in the Hudson Valley martial arts world is not always easy. It is certainly true that people might define “success” differently. Many dojos are content to hand out black belts as if they were representative of nothing more than the fabric which they are made out of, but there is one marker of success which never lies, and that is competition. Whether a martial artist chooses to test himself in Amateur or Professional Mixed Martial Arts, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or some other competitive format, in all cases one’s opponent is not going to be interested in placating one’s ego and is going to do his utmost to prevent his adversary from being successful against him. It is for this reason that Hudson Valley martial arts practitioners at Precision MMA are so proud of our ability to turn novices into successful competitors and fighters. Many people have come through the doors of Precision with no martial arts’ training whatsoever, only to find themselves having success in the ring in record time. The results speak for themselves and show that we know what we are doing when it comes to teaching effective Hudson Valley martial arts.
When a dedicated but entirely inexperienced student first enters Precision Mixed Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley area of New York, we might liken them to a piece of clay, and our instructors to master sculptors. As long as the student is willing to learn and do whatever is necessary to be successful our instructors can turn them into a living, breathing work of art. People are transformed by the practice of martial arts every day. Their physiques are molded from plain or overweight to toned and conditioned. Their self-image often improves with this. But most of all, the practice of martial arts can make a formidable opponent with a wide range of combat skills out of just about anyone. Precision MMA has taken Hudson Valley martial arts students with no prior experience and turned them into successful fighters of different kinds and this is always very exciting to see for the instructors and also for the fellow students who are just starting off themselves and looking to these fighters as an example to follow. And not only do we at Precision sculpt novices into fighters, but we can also teach them to become effective martial arts’ instructors as well.
Hudson Valley martial arts
One example of a Hudson Valley martial arts success story at Precision MMA where a novice quickly became a veteran is that of John Joy. Only a few years ago Joy began his training at Precision having never done any sort of martial art in his life. The arts which Joy chose to focus on were mainly Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Boxing, particularly the latter. Within a short time Joy gained his blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu and became a tough roll for anyone in the studio, but his most pronounced progress was in Boxing. Within just a couple years, Joy became a serious threat to all competitors on the Hudson Valley circuit and has had numerous victories in local AKBF fights. He is himself now a boxing instructor at Precision and teaches others how to do exactly what he did. In this way, the student becomes the teacher and so on until everyone at Precision is learning from each other and thriving. Iron sharpens iron as they say.
Joe Carbone is another example of someone who recently had no martial arts’ training and became a quite successful Amateur Muay Thai fighter. When Joe first came to Precision he had never had a competitive fight, yet he took to Muay Thai like a fish to water and has now had several AKBF victories. Much like Joy, he is now also an instructor at Precision and helps beginners as well as advanced Hudson Valley martial arts students to learn the subtleties of Muay Thai in both our regular Kickboxing and circuit Kickboxing classes.
One of Precision MMA’s biggest success stories is that of Mike Piekarski. “Pantene”, as we affectionately call him, had never trained in the martial arts before he came to Precision about eight or nine years back, and in fact had stated early on that he had never been very interested in sports in general. However, over time Mike became extremely skilled in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai Kickboxing, and Mixed Martial Arts. Eventually Mike earned his Purple Belt in BJJ and went on to win several expert BJJ competitions. He then began to focus on MMA and Muay Thai and began competing on the Amateur MMA circuits in the Northeastern United States. Before going Pro in 2011, Mike recorded an impressive 3-2 record in Amateur MMA, with wins by way of guillotine choke, brabo choke and unanimous decision, while none of his opponents were able to finish him within the time limit. He also won an AKBF Muay Thai bout, proving his skill in striking and showing those in the Hudson Valley that Precision’ martial artists are not to be reckoned with in the Muay Thai ring either. Eventually Mike had his first Professional Mixed Martial Arts fight in 2011, which he won by decision. We at Precision MMA were all very proud to see one of our own do so well under so many different competition formats.
Hudson Valley martial arts
One student who we at Precision Mixed Martial Arts are particularly proud of is Karl Nemeth. At about 6’0 and around 150lbs, Karl might not strike your average person as looking particularly intimidating, and yet he is one of the finest Hudson Valley martial artists that Precision has, and quite possibly our most feared competitor. When Karl first came to us several years back he had no martial arts’ training and would probably not have considered himself a natural athlete. However, he took his training extremely seriously from day one, especially in the arts of Muay Thai Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and today is one of only three BJJ brown belts training at Precision. Karl has won a few Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, however, his most impressive accomplishments have been in the Kickboxing ring. Karl is himself an undefeated AKBF Muay Thai champion, with seven wins in total, three of them which he has won by spectacular head kick knockouts. In fact, Karl has acquired quite a name for himself in the Hudson Valley and has begun to have a bit of trouble getting opponents to agree to fight him because of his reputation as a dangerous opponent. Like Joy and Carbone, he also teaches at Precision and is our head Muay Thai instructor and has coached many of our other students in their fights as well. He is an excellent example of the kind of competitor that the instructors at Precision MMA are capable of producing.
For our instructors, producing capable martial artists from scratch is much like a science experiment: if positive results can be repeated successfully under different competition formats and different environments then we at Precision in the Hudson Valley know we have an effective formula. Students with no prior experience have been able to walk into Precision one day and walk out a couple years later with wins in boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, Amateur and Professional Mixed Martial Arts, as well as championship belts in Muay Thai Kickboxing. This has given us the confidence to stand by our product at all times when under scrutiny.
We at Precision MMA know we can make you a successful Hudson Valley martial arts competitor as well. Just leave your ego at the door and come train with us for a free 30-day trial, and tomorrow you could be sharing your success story with your friends and family. To get started call 845-392-8495 or visit http://www.bjjfighter.com
Jamey Bazes is a lifelong martial artist holding a brown belt in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpo Karate. He also holds a master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz. Originally a Tampa Gracie member, he is a student of Precision Mixed Martial Arts in LaGrange, NY (in the Dutchess County) and a decorated competitor including a Delaware Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu State Championship and a NAGA World Title. To train kickboxing with Jamey in Dutchess County NY check out Precision MMA http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com
Jun 192013
Hudson Valley Martial Arts expert and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Brian McLaughlin shows off one of his best techniques – the flower sweep.
Train Hudson Valley Martial Arts FREE for 30 Days call 845-392-8495 or visit http://www.bjjfighter.com
Hudson Valley Martial arts
Jun 182013
Hudson Valley Martial Arts
Many martial arts schools in the Hudson Valley area of New York claim to teach techniques which are effective in high level Mixed Martial Arts promotions. However, most of these dojos are stretching the truth and are in fact passing off illegitimate moves as authentic. At Precision Mixed Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley we teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submissions which are routinely used in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is the premier MMA event in the world. In fact, many of the submissions taught at Precision were used this past weekend on Saturday, June 8th in Brazil at UFC 160. This just goes to show that our Hudson Valley Martial Arts program is top-tier!
UFC 160 this past Saturday had a stacked card full of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu experts whose mastery of the gentle art was on display. Multiple different types of martial arts submission holds were utilized to win bouts, ranging from various different types of chokes, to armlocks to leglocks. This was exciting to see since it proves that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is alive and well at the highest level of Mixed Martial Arts competition and especially because all of these martial arts’ techniques are currently taught at Precision Mixed Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley. Of the twelve fights on the card, nine of them ended by way of submission, making the event all the more entertaining for us Jiu-Jitsukas at Precision. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu there are three main types of submission holds used to get the opponent to surrender by way of “tapping out”. These three varieties of submissions are choke holds which cut off the blood to the brain and can render an opponent unconscious; arm locks which can hyper extend the elbow or shoulder joints, and leg locks which can disable an opponent’s knees or ankles. We at Precision Mixed Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley teach all of these martial arts techniques, but many schools do not, or else if they do, they do not teach them properly. Our head instructor Brian McLaughlin is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt whose lineage can be traced to the great Royce Gracie and who is himself a Mixed Martial Artist with a record of 6-2 who has used some of the same techniques on display at this past UFC, so we at Precision know that what we are teaching is legit.
On the undercard at UFC 160 one of the best submissions utilized was a knee bar which Antonio Braga Neto used to disable fellow Mixed Martial Artist Anthony Smith. Many martial arts’ schools neglect to teach leg locks because they think they are too dangerous, but Precision in the Hudson Valley teaches them frequently and in great detail. Another great submission used to attain victory was a rear naked choke used by Caio Maghalaes to put Karlos Vemola out of commission. We also teach this submission at the Hudson Valley’s best martial arts gym – Precision Mixed Martial Arts and it has been used by our instructor Brian McLaughlin to win two of his Mixed Martial Arts fights. In another exciting match up, mixed martial artist Raphael Assuncao utilized an arm lock to defeat Vaughan Lee, and this is also a martial arts’ technique which has been used by our head instructor to attain victory in MMA and which he teaches to all our students frequently. Furthermore, Rony Mariano Bezera made use of the famous triangle choke to finish off his opponent Mike Wilkinson in only 1:24 of the first round, and this move has also been used by McLaughlin to win three of his fights and is possibly the most popular submission taught at Precision. Daniel Sarafian used a different variety of strangle hold, known as an arm triangle choke, to put formidable fighter Eddie Mendez to sleep, and this technique was used once again later on the card by Leonardo Santos to take out his opponent William Macario. The submission of the night award was won by Erick Silva who caught his adversary Jason High in a reverse triangle arm bar, a very unique technique not often seen in Mixed Martial Arts which is also taught at Precision Martial Arts in the Hudson Valley. Finally, in the main event between two excellent martial artists Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum, Werdum hyper extended Nogueira’s elbow with a belly down arm lock to cap off the night.
Hudson Valley Martial Arts
Many people who don’t train in Hudson Valley martial arts do not realize that not all dojos or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools teach such a wide variety of submission holds, or that they work in high level MMA events like the UFC. If you are interested in learning these effective holds, come train at Precision MMA in the Hudson Valley for 30 free days and you will soon find yourself performing these moves instead of simply watching them on TV.
Jamey Bazes is a lifelong martial artist holding a brown belt in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpo Karate. He also holds a master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz. He is a student of Precision Mixed Martial Arts in LaGrange, NY (in the Dutchess County) and a decorated competitor including a Delaware Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu State Championship and a NAGA World Title. To train kickboxing with Jamey in Dutchess County NY check out Precision MMA http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com
Jun 112013
Hudson Valley Martial Arts Expert Brian McLaughlin has launched a new grappling website so that he can share his martial arts techniques with the greater jiu-jitsu world at http://www.learntograpple.com
The goal of the website is two fold – first to make jiu-jitsu techniques available to people who do not have an academy in their area thereby allowing them to learn and enjoy grappling from the comfort of their own home.
The second reason was to give Precision MMA students the chance to review techniques taught in class. The site breaks down each technique and covers common mistakes to help the student avoid common pitfalls.
Check out this technique – one of the most effective sweeps in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a favorite amongst the Hudson Valley martial arts practitioners of Precision MMA
Like what you see and want to learn more? If you live in the Hudson Valley and would like to train martial arts visit http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com
May 202013
Dutchess County MMA Gym
Not all Mixed Martial Arts gyms in Dutchess County, or anywhere for that matter, are created equal. Aside from all the skills necessary to successfully teach martial arts classes, knowing what equipment is necessary for a good facility and having an eye for presentation are entirely different matters. Many Mixed Martial Arts instructors tend to believe that teaching is everything and entirely neglect the training space in which they teach, feeling that the lessons are the only important thing. Many a world class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has been known to teach out of their garage or in their basement. While it is true that the die-hard Mixed Martial Artists and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners will train just about anywhere so long as the instruction is quality, we must remember that they only comprise maybe 5-10% max of those who seek out instruction. In fact, of those serious mixed martial artists, most of them started off casually and may have been turned off by an uncleanly, unkempt and cramped facility if they had been looking for a top notch school. In addition to this, many future mixed martial artists start as children needing their parents’ consent, and so it is important that a facility not only looking good to the trainee, but also his or her legal guardians, as well as the passers-by in the street who may be put off by an unattractive training space. Precision MMA in Dutchess County, New York has recently made renovations to make it even more use-friendly and attractive to the general public, as well as more useful to its long time students. In this blog we will cover some of the changes made and aspects which make Precision MMA the premier training facility in Dutchess County.
Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess County, New York is a total of 5,000 square feet including the waiting area, the mat, the ring, the bathroom and changing room. This is already a much larger facility than most martial arts gyms. We had previously had only 3,400 square feet of training space, in terms of the training mats and boxing gym, but recent renovations have added 600 square feet of mat space to our facility, giving us a whopping 4,000 square feet of training space. The fact that even decided to make any renovations at all, given that the amount of training space we had previously had was already twice that of the total space of many gyms, shows our students and potential students that we are always striving for improvement. Some of the renovations, like the repositioning of our 20 by 20 foot boxing ring, something else most gyms do not offer, had to do with the fact that we felt the ring itself sometimes got in the way of the kids classes. Children would sometimes stray towards the ring area, making the class a bit more chaotic. For this reason, in addition to our desire to offer more mat space, we decided to move the ring to the corner of the gym and knock down one wall. The result has been nothing less than astounding. The ring is no longer a hindrance during the kid’s classes and all of our students have been raving about the extra mat space which also makes us a safer facility because students are less likely to collide into each other while practicing takedowns. This an important point to make because many other Mixed Martial Arts schools in Dutchess County do not even include takedowns in their curriculum because of lack of space.
Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess County offers just about every sort of training equipment a student could want. Along with our extensive mat space and 20 by 20 foot boxing ring, we have an assortment of bags which can be used for striking, including heavy bags, slip bags, long Thai bags, double end bags, uppercut bags and a human shaped training dummy we affectionately call “Bob”. We also have multiple other types of training equipment, such as pull up bars, resistance bands, a crash pad, zebra mats and medicine balls. Most other Mixed Martial Arts schools in Dutchess County do not have this wide assortment of training equipment. We also have an assortment of hand-held pads for our Muay Thai and Boxing classes, including kicking pads, Thai pads and punching mitts, all which have their own antimicrobial bio-shields to insure that none of our students who use them contract any sort of skin conditions. In addition, we have multiple jump ropes, foam rollers which can be used for any cramps developed during training and a very useful timer we use to keep track of the length of our Mixed Martial Arts, boxing and Muay Thai rounds for our aspiring fighters. We even have padded walls which are very useful for Mixed Martial Arts training for simulating the surface of a cage and which prevent injury. Again, most mixed martial arts gyms do not offer all this equipment, in fact, many necessaries are ignorant to the many uses these training tools have, and it is their students who lose out in the end.
In addition to training equipment, Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess County has many other features which make its’ facility accommodating to students, aspiring students, parents and visitors in general. Because we have so much mat space we are able to teach two classes at a time, which is very convenient for both our students and instructors. To accommodate this we include two large dividing curtains which can be placed between separate classes so that the training spaces are kept separate. We also have a good sized changing room for our mixed martial arts students, something which many gyms do not have, forcing their students to have no option other than to change in the bathroom. Of course, we also have a sanitary bathroom including a shower, another feature most schools do not have, and which helps many of our students who drive longer distances from contracting contagious skin diseases by rapid washing after class. We also have large leather couches for parents of students and visitors, benches for our students to sit on, so they don’t get the couches sweaty, a cabinet where students’ shoes can be kept, as well as a fridge a flat screen TV and dvd player, and a desk and computer for our employees. We are also keep our gym sanitary at all times, mop all mats and the ring at least once or more a day, and spray down all equipment, which are measures that many schools do not take and which result in the spreading of infectious skin diseases.
As can be seen, the new and improved Precision Mixed Martial Arts in Dutchess, county New York has all its bases covered as a facility. Come by and check us out for 30 free days and you will not be disappointed.
Dutchess County MMA
Precision MMA is currently offering a 30-Day FREE trial for new members. If you’re interested in learning self-defense, getting into shape, and training with the best in the area, then stop in at 1097 Route 55, Lagrangeville, NY or call us at 845-392-8495. Don’t forget to ask about our free trial and intro lesson!
Jamey Bazes is a lifelong martial artist holding a brown belt in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpo Karate. He also holds a master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz. He is a student of Precision Mixed Martial Arts in LaGrange, NY (near Poughkeepsie) and a decorated competitor including a Delaware Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu State Championship and a NAGA World Title. To train with Jamey in Poughkeepsie NY check out Precision MMA http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com
May 092013
On Saturday, April 20th, martial arts’ students at Precision MMA in Poughkeepsie, New York were lucky enough to have veteran Professional MMA fighter and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Javier Vasquez in the house for a 2 hour no-gi seminar. Having fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and amassing a number of victories, all by submission, Vazquez was one of the best martial arts that Precision has had teach for us to date. For this seminar, Vazquez focused on attacks from back mount and rear naked chokes in particular. His attention to detail was magnificent, and his tips for maintain the back and getting the choke finish, unique and innovative. In this article I will explain some of the details outlined by Vazquez in his seminar, and why we hope he will someday come back to give another class.
One of the main details that Vazquez focused on was not riding too high on the opponent’s back while in back mount. This is a position that Jiu-Jitsukas and Mixed Martial Artists often lose control of at critical moments in a match or fight. This should not happen, seeing as back mount is perhaps the most dominant position in all of Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts. Students in Poughkeepsie were first shown how to keep an opponent who arches up on all fours from shucking them off by gaining a kimura grip on one of the arms. This grip is then used to torque the opponent’s arm, disrupting his balance and causing him to lose his posture so that the attacking martial artist can begin working on a choke.
Following this, martial arts’ students in Poughkeepsie were taught specific methods for maintaining the hooks on an opponent who tries to hip out and also how to get under the chin of an opponent who tries to block a choke with his jaw.
Another technique which wowed the Poughkeepsie Martial Artists in attendance was a grip fighting pattern which allowed the attacker to always be one step ahead of the defender in achieving the rear naked choke. Some commented that the hand pattern looked almost like a Wing-Chun technique, another martial art which has become popular in the Poughkeepsie area, but which generally tends to have less effectiveness than Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which is offered on the Precision syllabus.
Vazquez also taught proper usage of a single leg ride known as “the mulligan” which can be almost as dominant as any double hook back mount, and showed a number of methods for trapping the opponent’s arms, such as the “mission control trap”. This is technique where the martial artist in back mount uses one of his legs to trap one of the opponent’s arm, taking it out of the equation and making the choke much more difficult to defend. The attending students in Poughkeepsie were particularly impressed with this one.
The Mixed Martial Artists at Precision in Poughkeepsie, as well as some visiting students from AMA fight club in New Jersey, were very lucky to have Vazquez stay afterwards to watch them work and share some tips from his long fighting career. For many BJJ students like myself, this was the first time we had ever had an actual former UFC fighter critique our movements.
Vazquez focused in particular on the importance of not being hit, especially while on bottom, even if it leads to a lull in the action. He stated that he felt MMA is a sport where too often fighters take risks resulting in their own injury when simple self defense could lead to a better outcome, with them still winning the fight and taking less damage in the process. In particular, when he watched me work to escape bottom mount by trying to simply elbow escape as quickly as possible, taking a number of blows in the process, he stated that I was trying to escape too quickly without focusing on taking fewer punches. He showed me how to escape more slowly, taking fewer shots in the process, and for this I was very grateful.
He also showed a move for defending strikes while an opponent stands up in one’s guard which he himself had created, which he referred to as “master control”. The move was similar to what we Poughkeepsie martial artists and Jiu-Jitsukas refer to as the “de la Riva” guard, where the outside leg is laced on the inside of the standing opponent’s knee. The other foot is then placed in the hip of the same leg of the standing opponents, and his near wrist is controlled with both hands of the opponent on the bottom. I had never seen this move before and was amazed to see how hard he was able to make it for the opponent on top to hit him, and how he was easily able to strike back, submit and take the back, as well as sweep and get back to the feet whenever he wanted.
Though these were only a few of the moves showed by Javier at his seminar at Precision MMA in Poughkeepsie, had he shown no more than these few movements it would have been enough to make the price of the class worth it for the martial artists in attendance. His attention to detail and focus on maintaining back mount, fighting the hands for the choke, and avoidance of taking strikes while on the bottom were revolutionary. His teaching style was very patient, his demeanor affable, and his style seemed as though it would work equally well for no-gi, gi and mixed martial arts competitions. All the martial artists at Precision MMA in Poughkeepsie hope that Vazquez will come back soon to share more amazing techniques in the near future.
Dutchess County Boxing
Precision MMA is currently offering a 30-Day FREE trial for new members. If you’re interested in learning self-defense, getting into shape, and training with the best in the area, then stop in at 1097 Route 55, Lagrangeville, NY or call us at 845-392-8495. Don’t forget to ask about our free trial and intro lesson!
Jamey Bazes is a lifelong martial artist holding a brown belt in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpo Karate. He also holds a master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz. He is a student of Precision Mixed Martial Arts in LaGrange, NY (near Poughkeepsie) and a decorated competitor including a Delaware Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu State Championship and a NAGA World Title. To train with Jamey in Poughkeepsie NY check out Precision MMA http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com