- Joined
- Dec 15, 2022
- Messages
- 31
- Reaction score
- 25
Long-time lurker, sorry this is so long but I hope it's worth the read...
This post is more intended to get eyes on this style of MMA than it is to focus on me starting my MMA journey, but either way my basics- I'm 39 and have no intention of fighting in the ring but will grind reasonably hard. Aside from self-defense, it would be nice to know the overall gist of fighting. I'm 5'11, 220 (guesstimate 20% bf tops), decent mobility, good endurance from years of hours of extreme drumming, DL 415, oly squat about 320 when I refresh it with a few workouts, OHP 175, weighted dip with a 30lb dumbell for sets of 8-10, can do about 7 strict pullups in a set (10 on a good day). Tried cleans after years and still got 225 with good form (full clean) and was able to push press it so I'd say I've maintained reasonable strength and power.
Onto Judokickbox: I stumbled on this style and it looks very legit and well-rounded. There's not a whole ton of info on it and most is in Spanish, but there's a fair amount of videos on the Youtube channel of one of the 2 founders of the style- Carlos Finales (the other is Eric "El Tigre" Castaños, first Cuban world Muay Thai champ)- enough to get a general sense of what the style covers, lots of fighting footage of Judokickbox competitions as well as some guys doing well in pro MMA.
I think Judo gets a bit underrated for MMA since there aren't as many guys coming from a Judo base. But that seems more due to the politics of mainstream Judo than any lack of ability in the style itself IF allowed to be practiced in a way that keeps what's effective and applies it in a modern fighting context, which this style very much does. I think this is exactly what Judo needs to be marketable to a US MMA-oriented audience without the drawbacks of a governing body discouraging its participants from doing anything but practice it in an insular fashion. No IJF affiliation here since it's not EXACTLY Judo, just mma with Judo as the grappling base.
When looking for Judo and/or MMA places that wouldn't bankrupt me, I was intrigued to find a style with this name existed and even more so by its history- started by the aforementioned guys in Miami, then it spread to Cuba and many countries then around the world though not to a mainstream level. I hope this style proves itself and takes off (perhaps becoming as much a household name as BJJ) because there is a lot to explore here.
For $80 a month where I am going, I love what I have learned in 2 weeks. Mainly been ground stuff so far since the first few white belt techniques are these, but I'm told there are 20 techniques per belt and white belt is actually designed to be the hardest to get through since it covers the most essential fighting basics. There will be throws and striking techniques coming up in the next few classes. As of now I've learned and been working on:
1. Side Control
2. Americana (from side control so far)
3. Trap and roll escape from mount
4. Juji gatame (first learned a standing one with opponent on ground with the option to sit back with it)
5. Kimura (from guard)
6. An escape from kesa gatame (involving grabbing your own hands around the opponent and bridging to the side)
I've done surprisingly well rolling without knowing shit (though there's no one real advanced in the classes I've been able to make it to). The few 25-30 year olds who seemed my size and build didn't have my strength or explosiveness, and I didn't gas till the VERY end of class the first time which is better than I expected. I can see how my strength both automatically helps a lot but also how it will definitely be negated by the real skilled guys.
It's been awesome so far. I really believe in this approach to MMA and will see it through as far as I can go with it. If there's enough interest here I'll update as I go learning more and more. Thanks for reading if you did
This post is more intended to get eyes on this style of MMA than it is to focus on me starting my MMA journey, but either way my basics- I'm 39 and have no intention of fighting in the ring but will grind reasonably hard. Aside from self-defense, it would be nice to know the overall gist of fighting. I'm 5'11, 220 (guesstimate 20% bf tops), decent mobility, good endurance from years of hours of extreme drumming, DL 415, oly squat about 320 when I refresh it with a few workouts, OHP 175, weighted dip with a 30lb dumbell for sets of 8-10, can do about 7 strict pullups in a set (10 on a good day). Tried cleans after years and still got 225 with good form (full clean) and was able to push press it so I'd say I've maintained reasonable strength and power.
Onto Judokickbox: I stumbled on this style and it looks very legit and well-rounded. There's not a whole ton of info on it and most is in Spanish, but there's a fair amount of videos on the Youtube channel of one of the 2 founders of the style- Carlos Finales (the other is Eric "El Tigre" Castaños, first Cuban world Muay Thai champ)- enough to get a general sense of what the style covers, lots of fighting footage of Judokickbox competitions as well as some guys doing well in pro MMA.
I think Judo gets a bit underrated for MMA since there aren't as many guys coming from a Judo base. But that seems more due to the politics of mainstream Judo than any lack of ability in the style itself IF allowed to be practiced in a way that keeps what's effective and applies it in a modern fighting context, which this style very much does. I think this is exactly what Judo needs to be marketable to a US MMA-oriented audience without the drawbacks of a governing body discouraging its participants from doing anything but practice it in an insular fashion. No IJF affiliation here since it's not EXACTLY Judo, just mma with Judo as the grappling base.
When looking for Judo and/or MMA places that wouldn't bankrupt me, I was intrigued to find a style with this name existed and even more so by its history- started by the aforementioned guys in Miami, then it spread to Cuba and many countries then around the world though not to a mainstream level. I hope this style proves itself and takes off (perhaps becoming as much a household name as BJJ) because there is a lot to explore here.
For $80 a month where I am going, I love what I have learned in 2 weeks. Mainly been ground stuff so far since the first few white belt techniques are these, but I'm told there are 20 techniques per belt and white belt is actually designed to be the hardest to get through since it covers the most essential fighting basics. There will be throws and striking techniques coming up in the next few classes. As of now I've learned and been working on:
1. Side Control
2. Americana (from side control so far)
3. Trap and roll escape from mount
4. Juji gatame (first learned a standing one with opponent on ground with the option to sit back with it)
5. Kimura (from guard)
6. An escape from kesa gatame (involving grabbing your own hands around the opponent and bridging to the side)
I've done surprisingly well rolling without knowing shit (though there's no one real advanced in the classes I've been able to make it to). The few 25-30 year olds who seemed my size and build didn't have my strength or explosiveness, and I didn't gas till the VERY end of class the first time which is better than I expected. I can see how my strength both automatically helps a lot but also how it will definitely be negated by the real skilled guys.
It's been awesome so far. I really believe in this approach to MMA and will see it through as far as I can go with it. If there's enough interest here I'll update as I go learning more and more. Thanks for reading if you did
