If you could go to any country and train any combat sport, where would you go?

Your experience in Cuba sounds a lot like the Romanza boxing gym in Mexico City - I only trained there for a week but was a very cool experience - decrepit old equipment and ring but with pics of the Marquez brothers, de la Hoya and others they had trained on the wall. Nacho Beristain actually walked in while I was training and asked his assistant who the "schmuck in the corner hitting the heavy bag" was. They also had fighters from Japan training there that week.

I learned to box in the U.S. but the Mexican style is different - they stand with a wide stance completely sideways to the opponent. The assistant kept correcting my stance when he was holding pads for me but I wasn't there long enough to get used to it. But it's clearly worked for Mexican boxers.

Does the Cuban boxing style have any major differences to U.S. boxing? I know they're right up there with Mexico and the U.S. in terms of international success.

Yea I did about 10-days there but I would go every day and spend the 4-5hrs there morning till afternoon. My legs were not happy going from training on mats to long sessions on concrete. Im an avid road runner and the abuse of those sessions were grueling on my legs.

Theres only two places to train boxing in Cuba, one is where I was, which the public can have a very hard time going as the government would stop by time to time and check who was there. And then there was the gym the actual National Team trains at and NOBODY from the outside can train there. The gym I went to had the famous coach there that went by “Nardo”, and during my time there I seen dudes from the National team would actually show up and train and seek instruction from Nardo after training at the National gym.

My dad still goes to Cuba and had been going by the gym on every visit since to thank coach Nardo for letting me train there and covering for me when the gym got check by bringing gifts of jumpropes, handwraps, and Mohamed Ali dvd’s. Sadly my dad just went by this last spring and Nardo is not at the at the gym any longer and the gentleman running the gym told my pops Nardo is actually in Mexico training boxers, for National team or not I do not know.

As far as style differences. The big one was throwing the cross. It was important to be in the sideways “fighting stance” like you said above but when you throw the back-hand instead of just pivoting onto the ball of your rear foot and rotating your hips through and even rotating shoulders full extent like I was shown here in the states, they would want you to not rotate your shoulder too much but bring your back foot up square with your shoulders, so you would end up really square when you are extended with your cross out. So you slide your rear foot up square as the cross makes its way to the target, the moment of contact the foot should stop sliding and be square with your shoulders square to your opponent if tjat makes sense.

His defining of the lead hook, he said the front hand hook is the only punch that has all 3-ranges, short, medium, far. Straight punches are only used medium to far. And uppercuts are short to medium. And never to use any punch outside of any of these ranges.

Oh they pivot on the front foot to 45*s like a mofo in all our drills and like to block the body with the lead-hand a lot (philly shell?)...and using the shoulder and shoulder roll to compensate the lead hand being low when it is low.


I was a iska regional kickboxing champion 160lbs back in the day and I couldnt land a single punch on the national champs when Id spar them......movement sicckkkkkk
 
Stiking : France because they have Savate ,and Savate is the most underatted Striking science ever ,and it would improve a lot MMA Striking if guys stop only learn flat footed stiff muay thaï that it not suit for MMA.
They also have high level kickboxing

Wrestling : USA or Russia

Boxing : Cuba

Grappling : USA to learn catch Wrestling ,wich is more effective in MMA than BJJ

meh Savate is a beautiful art but it is very similar to shiny pants kickboxing from the 80's.
 
Yea I did about 10-days there but I would go every day and spend the 4-5hrs there morning till afternoon. My legs were not happy going from training on mats to long sessions on concrete. Im an avid road runner and the abuse of those sessions were grueling on my legs.

Theres only two places to train boxing in Cuba, one is where I was, which the public can have a very hard time going as the government would stop by time to time and check who was there. And then there was the gym the actual National Team trains at and NOBODY from the outside can train there. The gym I went to had the famous coach there that went by “Nardo”, and during my time there I seen dudes from the National team would actually show up and train and seek instruction from Nardo after training at the National gym.

My dad still goes to Cuba and had been going by the gym on every visit since to thank coach Nardo for letting me train there and covering for me when the gym got check by bringing gifts of jumpropes, handwraps, and Mohamed Ali dvd’s. Sadly my dad just went by this last spring and Nardo is not at the at the gym any longer and the gentleman running the gym told my pops Nardo is actually in Mexico training boxers, for National team or not I do not know.

As far as style differences. The big one was throwing the cross. It was important to be in the sideways “fighting stance” like you said above but when you throw the back-hand instead of just pivoting onto the ball of your rear foot and rotating your hips through and even rotating shoulders full extent like I was shown here in the states, they would want you to not rotate your shoulder too much but bring your back foot up square with your shoulders, so you would end up really square when you are extended with your cross out. So you slide your rear foot up square as the cross makes its way to the target, the moment of contact the foot should stop sliding and be square with your shoulders square to your opponent if tjat makes sense.

His defining of the lead hook, he said the front hand hook is the only punch that has all 3-ranges, short, medium, far. Straight punches are only used medium to far. And uppercuts are short to medium. And never to use any punch outside of any of these ranges.

Oh they pivot on the front foot to 45*s like a mofo in all our drills and like to block the body with the lead-hand a lot (philly shell?)...and using the shoulder and shoulder roll to compensate the lead hand being low when it is low.


I was a iska regional kickboxing champion 160lbs back in the day and I couldnt land a single punch on the national champs when Id spar them......movement sicckkkkkk

Very cool - I didn't realize the Cubans also did the wide sideways stance like the Mexicans. I never did TKD or KB (other than cross-training basic Muay Thai) but the sideways stance to me looks like a TKD stance, which I know good point fighters use to great effect in a floaty kind of way. For me, I'm not able to get off any right crosses or hooks from that stance because I'm too used to a standard American boxing stance while circling away from opponent's power hand.
 
Yea I did about 10-days there but I would go every day and spend the 4-5hrs there morning till afternoon. My legs were not happy going from training on mats to long sessions on concrete. Im an avid road runner and the abuse of those sessions were grueling on my legs.

Theres only two places to train boxing in Cuba, one is where I was, which the public can have a very hard time going as the government would stop by time to time and check who was there. And then there was the gym the actual National Team trains at and NOBODY from the outside can train there. The gym I went to had the famous coach there that went by “Nardo”, and during my time there I seen dudes from the National team would actually show up and train and seek instruction from Nardo after training at the National gym.

My dad still goes to Cuba and had been going by the gym on every visit since to thank coach Nardo for letting me train there and covering for me when the gym got check by bringing gifts of jumpropes, handwraps, and Mohamed Ali dvd’s. Sadly my dad just went by this last spring and Nardo is not at the at the gym any longer and the gentleman running the gym told my pops Nardo is actually in Mexico training boxers, for National team or not I do not know.

As far as style differences. The big one was throwing the cross. It was important to be in the sideways “fighting stance” like you said above but when you throw the back-hand instead of just pivoting onto the ball of your rear foot and rotating your hips through and even rotating shoulders full extent like I was shown here in the states, they would want you to not rotate your shoulder too much but bring your back foot up square with your shoulders, so you would end up really square when you are extended with your cross out. So you slide your rear foot up square as the cross makes its way to the target, the moment of contact the foot should stop sliding and be square with your shoulders square to your opponent if tjat makes sense.

His defining of the lead hook, he said the front hand hook is the only punch that has all 3-ranges, short, medium, far. Straight punches are only used medium to far. And uppercuts are short to medium. And never to use any punch outside of any of these ranges.

Oh they pivot on the front foot to 45*s like a mofo in all our drills and like to block the body with the lead-hand a lot (philly shell?)...and using the shoulder and shoulder roll to compensate the lead hand being low when it is low.


I was a iska regional kickboxing champion 160lbs back in the day and I couldnt land a single punch on the national champs when Id spar them......movement sicckkkkkk
Thanks for the story mate! Did you need to speak Spanish when you were there?
 
If you could go to any country, any gym in that country and train any combat sport in the world for free all expenses included,
Where would you go?

Thailand?
Brazil?
Russia?
Cuba?
Japan?
China?
South Korea?
Iran?
Stay in good ol' U.S of A?

Why?

I'd go to Cuba and train with all the dope ass ammy boxers there and have Yoel show me around the city later at night.

<RomeroSalute>

Thailand muay thai
Japan ( real jiujitsu and judo and Kendo)
USA boxing

Im from canada
 
I'd go to the Hidden Stone to learn Earth Style.
 
Thanks for the story mate! Did you need to speak Spanish when you were there?

Im not gonna lie, it will help. I cant speak too well but understand Cuban quite a bit. It helped me learn the drills faster than those that were there and couldnt understand.

And I imagine upon arrival on your first day youre gonna have to talk to them and get permission. It may help to at least have a translator come to the gym with you day one to get you in the door. They didnt charge me anything, I donated my pretty much new Rival headgear/glove set my last day there as a thank you.

Its in “Old Havana” on Calle Cuba
 
Im not gonna lie, it will help. I cant speak too well but understand Cuban quite a bit. It helped me learn the drills faster than those that were there and couldnt understand.

And I imagine upon arrival on your first day youre gonna have to talk to them and get permission. It may help to at least have a translator come to the gym with you day one to get you in the door. They didnt charge me anything, I donated my pretty much new Rival headgear/glove set my last day there as a thank you.

Its in “Old Havana” on Calle Cuba
Nice! Got any videos? If I went to Cuba I don't think thats what I would be doing there tbh, plus I'm not a pro. Still sounds like an experience.
 
TS must live in a 3rd world country. I could literally train anywhere. Too bad Reebok doesn't pay enough. Still amazes me these wannabe A-level athletes expect to get rich being prize cage fighters.
 
If I were a rich young blood looking to get into MMA I would go to Dagestan and learn whatever the fuck it is they do there. Can't deny their effectiveness. If you're talking just for fun then probably Judo in Japan.
 
Nice! Got any videos? If I went to Cuba I don't think thats what I would be doing there tbh, plus I'm not a pro. Still sounds like an experience.

Like I said Ive been twice, ‘03 i was actively competing and no family there could take me as they didnt know where the hell it was and why the hell Id want to go. I went clubbin’ that time and drank and spearfished the whole time.

I went last in ‘12 and already did the research and had the gyms address before even flying out. Now the family HAD to get me there LoL. No vids, but I got some good pics from my dads camera he took the first day I was there, I used his Spanish to talk them day 1. Let me see if can post any of them...
 
If I had unlimited resources. I would probably go to somewhere in the US but I would rent a place right next to the gym.
 
Nice! Got any videos? If I went to Cuba I don't think thats what I would be doing there tbh, plus I'm not a pro. Still sounds like an experience.


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The old guy in red is coach “Nardo”
The gentleman in the red jersey in a member of the Olympic team coming here after his regular team training.

I have sparring pics with me in them but I dont need lazy Sherdoggers getting all critical on my good looks LoL
 
Sherdoggers fantasy talk of training with elite athletes in exotic parts of the world like it's real

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Anyway I'd love to train with Bork at Deathclutch
 
I dont need to leave the country.

I can go to the bar and learn Drunken Master style. At least the most important part of it.
 
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The old guy in red is coach “Nardo”
The gentleman in the red jersey in a member of the Olympic team coming here after his regular team training.

I have sparring pics with me in them but I dont need lazy Sherdoggers getting all critical on my good looks LoL
Thats super cool bro! Thanks for sharing mate
 
If I were a rich young blood looking to get into MMA I would go to Dagestan and learn whatever the fuck it is they do there. Can't deny their effectiveness. If you're talking just for fun then probably Judo in Japan.
Just started watching this today
 
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