Article - BJJ Belts: What's the Point?

Article #10, by Can Sönmez [FAQ Entry]

As far as I'm aware, the idea of using belts to reflect rank was first popularised by Jigoro Kano, who is easily among the most important figures in modern martial arts. According to JudoInfo, Kano's senior students began wearing black belts in 1886, signifying their higher status. It took until 1930 to bring in another colour, an alternating red-and-white belt. BJJ was once similarly sparse on rank, as Royce Gracie explained in a recent interview:

In my father's old days, in the beginning, the history of jiu jitsu let's say, there was a white belt, a blue belt, and a navy blue belt for the instructors. That was very hard to get, it wasn't just anybody could get it. There were no stripes, just plain blue belt. That's what my father used to use for the longest time, until about 1970s, when people create the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation. Under pressure, my father kinda give in, and told the people, "Go ahead, do the Federation." That's when they came up with all kinds of different belt colours, and they award him red belt, ten stripes.

The JudoInfo article goes on to state that in 1935, Mikonosuke Kawaishi introduced a more extensive system in Europe, ten years after Carlos Gracie opened his Rio academy. The reason is telling: "[Kawaishi] felt that western students would show greater progress if they had a visible system of many coloured belts recognizing achievement and providing regular incentives."

This continues to be a major factor in why people like to get new belts. It is human to crave praise, from your mother smiling at some abstract scribble you produced at the nursery, right through to your boss congratulating you on a job well done. In BJJ, belts are supposed to be a direct reflection of ability, meaning that in a legitimate school, promotion can be a cause for great pride. You've accomplished something, and are now being recognised.

The purpose of a belt is to mark your progress. That makes it easier for the instructor, if they're looking for an uke, or if they want to match people up during sparring. It also grants you greater access to competition: if you've spent the past year or two smashing your way through all the white belt tournaments, then you're going to get a lot more out of competing at a higher level against challenging opposition.

Yet many people feel undeserving upon promotion. What if you haven't been dominating at competition? What about that one girl in class who always manages to pass your guard? Or the big white belt who tapped you with an Americana yesterday: why isn't he getting promoted?

The only absolute is your instructor's faith in your ability. BJJ leaves you in no doubt about your failings, as the mat is a harsh critic. There are always areas to work on and people who can painfully expose those mistakes. In BJJ's highly subjective ranking system, it is essential you feel able to trust your instructor's opinion.

If the instructor is worthy of a student's trust, due to their honestly earned rank, then BJJ's meritocratic grading process falls into place. This is why it is so important to maintain the direct link between ability and status in BJJ belts: any frauds who seek to debase rank must be exposed. Many other martial arts have lost all credibility due to compliant belt examinations, where the candidate is never truly tested. If performance against full resistance is not a central part of promotion, the belt becomes meaningless.

At the same time, obsessing over a piece of cloth instead of concentrating on your actual ability is detrimental. After all, Hélio eventually gave up his impressive red belt with ten stripes, preferring instead to wear one of those old blue belts. He didn't need a belt to demonstrate his skills: he already had incontrovertible proof, in the ring and on the mat.

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28/01/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #281

RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Matty Burn, High Wycombe, UK - 28/01/2010

Kev is away competing at the European Championships this weekend. I've seen that tournament getting a fair bit of criticism on forums, but nevertheless, it is still the most prestigious BJJ event easily reachable from the UK. Then again, the arguments about organisational problems and price seem fair enough, from what I've read.

Anyway, one of Kev's blue belts from Aylesbury took the class, Matt Burn (which come to think of it is a pretty cool name for a BJJ instructor). I'm not sure if Kev advised what he should teach, but Matt continued the side control theme from Tuesday, running through some important basics.

He kicked off with the usual way to transition from side control to mount, followed by the two fundamental escapes, to the knees and back to guard. I am used to swimming the arm through when going to the knees (though I still don't automatically go for that, much preferring guard recovery), but interestingly Matt also used that swim when recovering guard.

Sparring was naturally from side control, and again I had the chance to go with a white belt, though I'm not sure on his size. Either way, he was pretty new, so on top I was looking to try out some of the techniques from Tuesday, like the choke with the lapel. However, he grabbed my far arm, which stymied that particular technique. So instead, I went for scarf hold, and eventually moved into the step-over triangle.

When I went to attack the arm, it had already gone limp. For a moment I thought maybe I'd accidentally choked him out, but looking back, he was fine. What actually happened was that he gave up as soon as I got the triangle position. Shortly afterwards he tapped, saying there was nothing he could do. I was so surprised I didn't think to make the obvious response, which was "you should still try and escape, as you might be able to get free."

Then again, I can understand it would be annoying to be put into some random position by a blue belt when you haven't been training very long. The triangle wasn't an option with the other blue belt who was training, as I couldn't even keep him under control. I tried to switch to north-south, but he already had his knee in place and recovered guard.

Underneath the white belt, I wanted to see if I could play with armbars and triangles again, but he was a bit more savvy with his defence than the last white belt I rolled with. So instead, I just practiced escaping as normal. Again, no such luck with the blue belt, who was able to work through to mount after a bit of a struggle. He's a bit bigger, but that should serve to encourage me to be less passive: I'm still too complacent under side control, as I've gradually grown comfortable with just lying there and waiting for the opportunity to sneak my knee in. I keep saying it, but must bridge more!

I've got loads of books in the pipeline to review, as I received about five of them at Christmas. I normally send a list to my mum, so she can pick something from it, but this year, she got everything on the list. Which is kinda cool, so I'm certainly not complaining. Couple of DVDs to cover as well: about halfway through reviewing one of them. :)

26/01/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #280



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 26/01/2010

Not content with being one of the greatest bloggers to ever sit behind a keyboard, Matt from Martial Farts has now set his sights on mastering the video camera too. He's been doing his Grappling Dummies series for a while, but the latest edition reached even higher levels of awesome than normal. Documentaries, humour, sparring, even techniques (and as this is Japan, crazy spinning is of course involved).

Kev continued with side control, adding in some interesting submission options. First, the arm triangle. You start in side control, then move round to north-south. As you do, catch under their elbow with your own, prying the arm free. You can then use your continuing motion to push their arm over their neck, trapping it with your body weight.

Keep going until you end up directly opposite where you started. They should now have their arm right over their neck, closing off one side. Bring your arm under their head to close off the other side, lock your hands and squeeze. If that doesn't get them to tap, slide your knee over to move into a tight mount.

Retaining your arm's position under their head, your can now bring your other arm over their neck and squeeze, in a sort of reverse RNC. Alternatively, you could reach that other arm to grip behind your own head and squeeze. Finally, if none of that is working, step off mount to the other side. Their arm should now be very tight around their neck, which will hopefully get you that tap.

The second was a simpler, and rather sneakier, lapel choke. You're in side control, with a cross-face: this is important, as the technique won't work without it. Pull out one side of your gi, then feed the lapel to your cross-facing hand. Pull that tight against their neck. You now move round as if you were going to north south, but instead you're going to stay alongside them, facing their legs. Straighten your cross-facing arm against their head, then keep moving until they tap. If for some reason they aren't tapping, you can flip over to increase the pressure, your feet on the other side of your partner.

Sparring was quite fun, as I was with a white belt around my size. Unusually, Kev did extra-long specific sparring from side control, with ten minute rounds. On top, I got to try out various techniques, including my favourite attacking position from side control: the step over triangle (or at least that's how I refer to it).

If you don't know what the hell that is, then Matt to the rescue, as his awesome video features Ishikawa Yuki teaching that very technique (in surprisingly good English, around the 18:33 mark). I first learned it from Felipe, though the kimura on the triangled arm Ishikawa adds here is something I haven't seen before.

I also attempted to do something I saw on the Mundials 2009 DVD set, where the idea is to use your knee to push them on their side, then thread your arm through their legs before stepping over to mount. Looking again at the video, I can see what I did wrong: Shawn Williams leaves his arm threaded, then moves his knee to their back. From there, he can slide the knee over, keeping their legs trapped with his arm. I was trying to step over with my body by the legs, which was silly.

Underneath side control, I played around with the armbar, but left way too much space. There was then a single five minute round of free sparring at the end, sticking with the same partner. That meant I could continue trying things out, beginning with a sit-up sweep to mount, then finally landing the Ezequiel choke from there. However, I think I may have been raising up too much, so someone with more experience may well have escaped at that point (not to mention all the blue belts see this choke coming a mile off, so I still need to disguise it better).

26/01/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #279



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 26/01/2010

My old instructor, who is also the guy who gave me my blue belt, Jude Samuel, has recently started up his own gym. Jude is an awesome teacher, so if you're near Bethnal Green and want to learn from one of the best black belts in the country, check out Legacy BJJ: conveniently, very near the train station.

I wasn't able to train last Thursday, because I was off visiting my girlfriend in Bristol. Still, I don't mind too much about missing Thursdays, because I know I can get two classes in back-to-back on Tuesdays.

No lift today, as I was at a meeting earlier today. That meant I could just walk from High Wycombe train station to Kev's place, which according to Google Maps was only a twenty minute walk. With my non-existent sense of direction, it actually took me

Kev's focus was on side control today, beginning with the basic escape to guard, followed by an Americana. Kev's set-up was slightly different from the one I've got in my summary, as it started from your partner pressing up into your neck.

As soon as they do, lean your weight forward, being careful to stay tight, and also not lean so far that they can roll you over (post on your head if necessary). The idea is to press their arm to the floor, whereupon you can peel it from your throat (easier said than done), lock in the figure four, then go for the submission. Pressing your head into their arm may also help.

Kev taught the thumbless grip, giving the reason that if you use your thumb, that can act as a lever for your partner's escape. If they do somehow manage to get free, all is not lost, as the far side armbar is still there. Scoop their arm up and trap it against your shoulder.

Pull them onto their side, then push on their head, providing you with the space to step over, your foot close to their back. Swivel around the trapped arm, then drop back for the armbar. You can also grip their leg, which will help block off their escape options.

Side control is easily my favourite top position, because it feels the most secure. Sparring from there, I was trying to stay tight, and see if I could either gradually move round, or slip through to side control. That tends to be difficult with fellow blue belts, however, so I had my hands full just staying in the dominant position. With Callum, I was attempting to stay mobile, but also suck up any space. That sort of worked, but he would eventually squirm free, such as spinning into an inverted guard as I tried to maintain north-south.

Underneath, I did the same thing to him. In my case, it was due to my north-south escape attempt. I had Gustavo Machado's technique in mind, from his Great Escapes DVD. You're supposed to wriggle out to make enough space, then swing your legs over their shoulder, going for the back.

However, that is normally too simple for them to defend, as they can just posture up. Then again, as Kev said when I asked him later, that's good enough, as you can use that to spin into guard. Momentum is the key to make the initial space, then you need only threaten the back-take to open up space. I had fully intended to take the back, but ended up swivelling to guard: if I had that as my goal from that start, as in Kev's escape, probably would have been less of a scramble.

Article - BJJ Teams: Loyalty and Reason

Article #9, by Can Sönmez

When the average person looks for a place to hit the treadmill, they probably choose somewhere nearby that's affordable. Should another gym open up, offering cheaper monthly fees to use their exercise equipment, that average person would most likely take their business there instead.

Rationally, you would expect the same to be true at a BJJ gym. You are a paying customer, and therefore you want the best possible return on your investment. Should you find someone willing to offer you a similar product for less money, then rationally, it would make sense to move.

However, signing up at a BJJ club isn't just an exchange of cash for goods. When you join a team, you're entering into a relationship that is more than financial. In the vast majority of schools, what it takes to earn a belt rank is the subjective opinion of an instructor. Therefore, as soon as your teacher awards you a belt, you become their representative. The instructor is putting their faith in your ability to uphold their reputation, to demonstrate that belts from their team are worth something. That means that along with your performance on the mat, you normally also need to prove a certain amount of dedication.

Loyalty isn’t only about the instructor, because that belt doesn't just represent what you have learned from your teacher. It pays tribute to all those hours spent with your team mates. Every roll, you've been tested, and if you're lucky enough to have good training partners, you've also benefitted from their advice. They've pushed you physically, challenged you mentally, broken you down and built you up technically. Every new belt is an individual accomplishment, but it is also a team effort.

Competition is another important factor in the unusually 'team' focused mentality of BJJ. Unlike judo, where you compete for your country, in BJJ you compete for your team. It is comparable to football: a player for Real Madrid would receive a very hostile reception should he ever transfer to Barcelona and later face his old club. Similarly, there is absolutely no way either Real or Barcelona would allow a player to train at both clubs simultaneously. He would be dubbed a traitor, or to use the BJJ term, 'creonte'.

Then again, that same footballer would be well paid for his services. In BJJ, the players are the ones who pay in order to be part of a team. This is why it can seem bizarre to outsiders: moving home is about the only situation I've heard of where switching teams isn't an issue (unless there happens to be an affiliate in that new city).

Arguably, that attitude hinders the growth of BJJ, isolating everyone in their particular schools, unable to benefit from a broad range of instruction. On top of that, obsessing over your 'team' can lead to the 'gentleman's agreement'. This happened recently when Sergio Moraes and Marcelo Garcia, both Alliance, did not contest their middleweight final at the 2009 Mundials. Instead, they had a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide the victor.

Personally, I didn't put much thought into why I decided to walk into the Roger Gracie Academy in 2006 rather than, say, Carlson Gracie London. Nevertheless, I now find myself looking for either RGA or Gracie Barra when I move house. Stepping through that door appears to have been a more momentous decision than I realised at the time.

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19/01/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #278



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 19/01/2010

Last week, I watched an interesting BBC 4 documentary on women in MMA on iPlayer, linked from Rosi Sexton's blog. It makes for a revealing insight into what it takes to step up to the cage, with plenty of sacrifice and emotional hardship.

Still on the topic of women, my 'Treatment of Women In BJJ' article brought up a number of comments, which in turn led to this wonderfully academic follow-up by Meg.

As a random note of interest, I was recently updating my BJJ History Index, and by trying various spellings of BJJ on Google Books, I eventually came up with this 1972 piece on judo in Brazil. In there, it mentions that:

In a match with the Brazilian ju-jitsu champion George Gracio, in 1936, Naoichi used his judo techniques and won

Hélio's losses to Kimura and Santana are well known, but I haven't heard much about this one before (though Googling it, I see someone did actually mention Naoichi and his brother in one of the comments to my history post).

As to class tonight, Kev returned to what is clearly one of his favourites, Shawn Williams guard. I wasn't sure if it was quite the same thing last time, but given Kev started off in an identical position to Williams this time (with both arms on one side of the head), looks like Shawn Williams guard is the right term to use.

Like last time, Kev kicked off with the armbar to triangle combination. Pull their sleeve across and secure the armbar, then switch to a triangle if they pull their arm out. Alternately, you can drive your knee into their arm and work your way past, in order to go for the triangle.

I also found that I liked Kev's method for adjusting the angle on a triangle. Kev gets his leg over their neck, then secures that by gripping his shin with his hand. He can then open his legs and swivel around their head, which is made easier by the added mobility of that position. That's especially handy given small guys like me tend to get stacked a lot: I had thought my major error was not scooting back enough, but rotating for the angle may well help too.

Kev then moved on to an omoplata from the Shawn Williams Guard. This is perhaps the most logical attack from the position, as you already have their arm locked up with your leg raise. Bring the leg in front of their face, shifting the arm with which you were previously gripping their collar to their belt.

Your other hand needs to clamp their arm around your leg, so they can't pull it out to escape the submission. You can now sit up, triangling your legs over the arm, shifting out to the side in order to knock them flat onto the floor. To finish, lean forward, as if you're going to whisper in their ear.

Kev also suggested yanking their near leg backwards in order to knock them flat. I can't remember if you have to release the grip on their arm first: I presume you do, which would mean it has to be firmly trapped by your legs. Kev also ran through a number of 'what if' situations, such as moving into a footlock if they try to roll through, or moving into an omoplata sweep, but I think I'd need to see them again to describe it properly (he did about four, IIRC).

Sparring was all about escapes for me, except when I sparred with a white belt. Howard spent most of our roll trying to cinch in some kind of choke involving my own gi, but I was able to wedge a hand in the way. I wasn't sure if that would be enough, as I've been choked through my hand before, but this time it proved sufficient. I was able to eventually slip free, making enough space to clear my head, but it was close. Trying to get some kind of purchase on his legs helped too, as once I got to half guard he wasn't able to move around to tighten the choke.

Similarly with Callum, he had a loop choke, I think. I thought he had the submission several times, but quickly spinning seemed to be enough to stop it completely closing off the sides of my neck, although I had to do it several times before I could work free. I also tried to shift into butterfly guard, as Callum has a habit of clamping down in guard leaving no space. However, he also has a habit of passing soon after I try to go to butterfly: something to work on, especially moving him back and then sitting up.

19/01/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #277



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 19/01/2010

Seymour over at Meerkatsu.com wrote a great piece on BJJ blogging. If for some unfathomable reason he isn't already in your RSS reader, check it out here. This was originally intended for a magazine, but that is currently on hold: hopefully it will resurface at some point, as I'd love to see more articles like this.

I also wanted to mention a new blog by an old training partner of mine, Ben. Check it out here: he trains over at the RGA affiliate in Farringdon, but used to train with me at RGA HQ. He's also the guy at least partially responsible for getting me to RGA in the first place, thanks to his encouragement on Bullshido.

There was a minor revelation tonight, which makes for an interesting reflection on the current state of jiu jitsu. I had thought that the thirty minutes extra in the beginner class was for working takedowns. However, this has now changed. Instead, each beginner class is now to begin with work on the Gracie Barra fundamentals (so I'm guessing like the DVD), which means some 'self defence' stuff. Apparently, this is being brought in across Gracie Barra (its been at other GB schools for a long time, but I guess not all of them). I sometimes forget that the Roger Gracie Academy network is technically part of that family: after all, Roger always competes for GB.

I'm not a fan of training 'self defence', as that tends to mean repetitive, compliant drills largely divorced from reality: this is exactly the kind of thing a focus on 'aliveness' is supposed to prevent. However, like Kev said, there are occasionally useful aspects, like working on hip mobility and the like. The drill today was to push your partner on the floor, who will then do a technical stand-up. Their free foot is used to press against the front leg (if the other person has a foot forward), with your arm raised as normal to block strikes. That was followed by stepping in to get a clinch, then a basic hip throw.

Getting back to the ground, this week Kev is sticking with the guard. He began with what is probably the most basic submission available from the guard, a cross choke. However, while its basic, that doesn't mean it is easy to get: everyone is expecting it, and lots of people don't apply properly anyway, including me.

I find that even in drilling, I struggle to turn my hands inwards properly, normally only managing a slight turn. That could be because I gripping too deep, I'm not using my legs enough to pull them in, or something else. Kev suggested that I concentrate on bringing my thumbs together, and watching Kev, I should also be bringing my hands down slightly as I secure the submission. This kind of thing is exactly why I'll always try to attend fundamentals/basics/beginners classes, no matter what belt I reach.

After that, Kev moved on to two techniques which are also quite familiar, but I hardly ever try in sparring these days. It used to be that the scissor sweep was a go-to move for me, but I've fallen out of the habit. Having secured a grip on their same side sleeve and collar, Kev demonstrated it from when they put one leg up in preparation to pass, whereupon you shrimp and drop your now raised leg across their stomach. Press in with your shin and hook round their side with your instep.

Your other leg drops to their same side leg, which should still be kneeling on the floor. You want to chop this leg, but it is important you don't go too low: otherwise, they can just step over that leg and pass. So, you want to be chopping slightly above the floor, possibly even hooking behind their leg.

To finish the sweep, you want to lift them forward and up onto your raised knee, which will disrupt their base. You can now simultaneously chop at their leg and move across with your hook, 'scissoring' your legs, then roll through into mount.

If they don't step up with a leg, Kev showed how you could instead go for the closely related push sweep. Shrimp out to make space to get that shin into their stomach, setting up the technique as before. However, instead of chopping out their leg, you're going to put your same side foot on the inside of their same side knee. Push that out and back, breaking their base, then roll them with your other leg into mount.

Kev also had a point to make about your knee position. If you have your knee lower, underneath their arm, that gives you great leverage for the sweep. On the downside, it also means your partner could potentially bring their weight down on your legs, then initiate a pass.

The alternative is to put your knee high, towards their chest or even shoulder. This isn't such good leverage, but it is a lot more secure. As Kev put it, if you're going to be in that position for a while, this is safer, because your partner will find it tougher to get their weight in place to crush your legs to the mat.

With sparring, usual story on top. I think I'm focusing a bit too much on keeping their torso down, which means that I'll end up standing with crappy posture, which is all too easy to break. I'm also relying far too much on my arms. Instead of grabbing and shoving with a weak part of my body, I should be driving with my hips, using my legs, and trying to put them under pressure with my weight. Easier said than done, of course, but something I want to keep in mind for next time.

I had a play with wrapping the gi around a white belt's arms, though I'm not sure there is any point to doing so on top. I was thinking I could perhaps isolate an arm, making it easier to pass on the that side, but didn't help me much. Still, fun to occasionally try something random.

I also wasn't really going anywhere from the bottom, though I did make a concerted effort to open up and try to attack. That generally just meant I got passed repeatedly, but its the only way to practice offence. I'd like to go for the arm more, especially as almost everyone staggers the arms, so it makes sense to work out how to attack it, and/or break the grip.

My legs come into it much more on the bottom, especially as I've been using them to knock people off-balance as they attempt to stand. That works, but it also uses lots of energy, so it would be better if I could shift into some kind of attack rather than just returning them to where they were before.

Book Review - Total MMA (Jonathan Snowden)

Short Review: If No Holds Barred was the story of MMA's birth, then Total MMA charts its growth to adolescence. Snowden brings Gentry's story up to 2008, in a book double the size of its predecessor. Total MMA spans the takeover by Zuffa, the rise and fall of PRIDE, and the entrance of MMA into the mainstream, thanks to The Ultimate Fighter and Elite XC. As with Gentry, there are plenty of anecdotes and first hand sources: if you liked No Holds Barred, then you're definitely going to like this. Available to buy here (or in the US, here).

Full Review: MMA is still a young sport, but given its recent rise to prominence and colourful beginnings, it makes for an interesting historical study. The first book to tackle that in any depth was Clyde Gentry's No Holds Barred, and for a long time that and The Gracie Way were the only real sources. A few years later, that market has expanded: the number of serious attempts at historical dissection remain limited, but they're beginning to appear more frequently. The most extensive is Total MMA, clocking in at four hundred and eight pages (at least in the large format paperback edition I own). Best of all, Snowden makes sure to footnote everything, a big point in his favour (part of the reason I started my long BJJ history post was frustration with a lack of clearly referenced sources).

Rorion's version of Gracie history initially wins out, such as the long-standing myth Snowden repeats on page 16, when he says Hélio's "brothers George and Carlos were excellent athletes and good-sized men." On the contrary, Carlos was around 135lbs: looking at pictures of them side-by-side, there appears to be little difference between the Gracie patriarchs. This is why the story that Hélio allegedly had to modify Carlos' techniques, due to his size, makes little sense (not to mention that Jigoro Kano wasn't exactly large himself).

Still, Snowden generally doesn't swallow the propaganda, as can be seen from his discussion of the Kimura fight, noting the shifting accounts by Gracie family members over the years. He also makes plenty of subjective judgments, to the detriment of the Gracie legend. This is one of the immediate differences from Gentry's earlier work: Snowden is not shy about sharing his personal opinion on figures within the history of MMA. His depiction of the Gracie family on page ten kicks off that trend:

The tape would be edited to make it appear Rickson dominated the fight: Duarte’s knees to Rickson’s body were removed, and the times he had the advantage on the ground. Then the tape was used to sell the Gracie brand of “self-defense.” Welcome to the world of the Gracie family and Gracie jiu-jitsu, where unprovoked thuggery is commendable and promoting the family name paramount.

That continues later, on page 142, where Snowden claims that Ryan Gracie's trouble with the law was perfectly in keeping with family tradition (for the full story, and various other unpleasant sides to Hélio's character, check out the startling Playboy interview with Hélio, which Snowden references):

The Gracies had a history of lawlessness, starting with Hélio Gracie himself. Hélio considered himself above the law, and with good reason. When he almost killed luta livre champion Manoel Rufini dos Santos in a street brawl, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. But he was a Gracie.

Like Gentry, Snowden also delves into the 'inside story' of MMA, thanks to interviews with first hand sources. For example, on page 69, Mikey Burnett describes what it was like going drinking with fellow members of the Lion's Den after several months of hard training:

“We went to a bar in some fucking Podunk town and Ken made me strip on stage. The bouncers were going, ‘Get down.’ And I wasn’t getting down. Everybody else was sitting there making me dance. I don’t know what the guy who owned the bar was thinking. It was all of us, Maurice Smith, and I think Mark Coleman was with us. I went behind the bar and grabbed a fucking bottle of Jack Daniels, a big chocolate birthday cake they had back there for some reason and just helped myself. We were retarded. One of Ken’s brothers got arrested and I was supposed to be watching him. Then Frank beat up one of Tank [Abbott]’s guys. He threw a pickle or something at Frank when we were coming out of the hotel and getting into a cab, and Frank beat the fuck out of him. Later that night we were on the top of the hotel throwing full beer bottles out of the window. Out of our fucking minds.”

This is part of Snowden's focus on specific fighters and camps, in contrast to Gentry's event-based approach. For example, Snowden has chapters on the Lion's Den, Frank Shamrock's 'Alliance' (with Maurice Smith and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka) and Miletich Fighting Systems, led by 'Croatian Sensation' Pat Miletich. He also concentrates on individuals within more broadly based chapters, like Snowden's discussion of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko in 'The Growth of Pride' section.

Taking personalities as his anchor is a good strategy, and makes the narrative even more compelling. Japan's integral importance to MMA is also investigated in greater depth, with a whole chapter on Pancrase, several on PRIDE, and even one on the bizarre (but impressively lucrative) Bob Sapp phenomenon.

The biggest difference, however, is a simple matter of publication date. Gentry is relatively thorough up until UFC Japan, after which he starts to summarise heavily, finishing up his story with the announcement of a new TV series, The Ultimate Fighter. By contrast, when Snowden begins his exploration of TUF, it is around half-way through the book. As Snowden explains, before TUF, the UFC was struggling, but after TUF, it began its emergence into the mainstream. He spends several chapters dissecting its impact.

Interviews with the participants demonstrate that despite the success it would later bring to the UFC, actually being on the show was often very unpleasant. Snowden quotes original TUF alumni Bobby Southworth, who told him on page 217:

"They put us in a house with a septic system designed for four people. There were 16 people living in the house. So two times raw sewage flooded both of the downstairs bathrooms and was left there for up to three days,” Southworth said. “Several of the fighters got pretty sick. Stephan Bonnar had some kind of mutated impetigo, and Sam Hoger got a flesh-eating virus. I got some kind of weird respiratory infection that caused me to cough up blood.”

That success led Zuffa to the kind of positive media coverage unthinkable during the reign of Meyrowitz and SEG. However, it also led to the unfortunate development of what has since become known as 'the Zuffa Myth'. Snowden gives this bit of historical revisionism its own section, starting on page 266:

The official story goes like this: Zuffa bought the UFC from SEG in 2001 and had a lot of work to do. SEG had run from sanctioning and didn’t want to work with state regulators. Zuffa took the opposite approach and brought in many innovations. They added rules, created weight classes, added rounds, and allowed the referee to stop the fights. These innovative changes allowed the company to finally get sanctioned and get the sport back on pay-per-view.

This tale was repeated in a newspaper or magazine article practically every week in late 2006 and through 2007. The UFC was hot, and this was its spin. The problem? This tall tale is almost entirely untrue. The UFC had always had rules. The referee was able to stop the fight from UFC 3 onwards. The first weight classes were created at UFC 12. UFC 15 saw SEG ban head butts, kicks to a downed opponent, and strikes to the back of the head. Five-minute rounds, actually in effect at UFC 1 but never enforced because no fight lasted five minutes, were implemented again at UFC 21. By the time the UFC had its first show in New Jersey in November 2000, almost every one of the UFC’s current rules was already in place. The sport Zuffa promotes is pretty much exactly the same sport SEG had been promoting for years. But that just makes the UFC story too complicated for a mainstream reporter looking for a quick and easy story about the next big thing.

The UFC was synonymous with MMA, thanks to TUF. The media didn't know any better, and Dana White certainly had no intention of letting them think otherwise. Nevertheless, at the time Snowden was writing, it seemed as if there were potential challengers to that monopoly. He begins by discussing Elite XC, and the man who was responsible for both its rise and fall, Kimbo Slice. The IFL is also explored, along with Affliction and HDNet. Unfortunately for Snowden, Total MMA was published before the collapse of almost all of them, though he could at least make predictions.

In many ways, Total MMA acts as a sequel to Gentry's No Holds Barred, if a little more subjective and a good bit longer. More stories, more fights, but most importantly, more personalities. There is still much to be said about MMA's history, such as the fascinating story of women's MMA, but for now, Total MMA should quell your appetite. Available to buy here (or in the US, here).

14/01/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #276



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 14/01/2010

The weather has finally decided to let up a bit, with rain rather than snow today. That meant no problems getting to class, which tonight focused on the butterfly guard. This is something I've been told is good for short legs, so I'm keen to work it more, especially as I'm always trying to hook inside people's legs anyway.

Kev started with a method of moving into butterfly from closed guard, which is pretty much just shrimp out to a scissor sweep position, then get your feet inside their legs. From here, you have two main options in terms of grip. In the gi, you can hold their collar and grab their same side sleeve, then push it under their leg (the idea is to sweep them in the other direction, so they can't post.) Without the gi (although it still works with the gi too: it's the one I prefer, though that isn't saying much given my butterfly guard is very underdeveloped), you secure an underhook, then pull the other arm in towards you.

Having got into position, Kev could now show us a basic sweep from butterfly guard. Securing your preferred grip, drop back, shifting towards one side. Lift their opposite leg with your hook at the same time: it is important you use the momentum, rather than dropping back, then attempting to lift while flat on the floor. If you need extra power, push off with your other foot, ending up in either mount or side control.

Passing butterfly was slightly more complicated, though it's a technique I've seen Kev show before. Flatten them out, drive your head into their chest, putting your hands into their biceps and keeping your elbows tight. Next, you need to trap a leg against your stomach, accomplished by stepping back one leg, bringing it past their foot, then reinserting your knee under their shin. To further isolate that leg, reach under their outside knee and grab hold of their foot.

From here, shift your head slightly to the side, pinning their upper body by raising your hips and driving your weight through your shoulder. Push the leg you've isolated to the floor with your same side arm, then walk your toes around to side control, maintaining pressure with your shoulder and head all the way.

I was fortunate during specific sparring from butterfly, as I got paired up with people close to my own weight, which doesn't happen often. The first guy is slightly heavier, but quite new, so I was able to work some submissions. I was able to lock my legs in position for the triangle, but struggled to bring the shin back. I think that was because I made the error of not scooting back, so was too bunched up. I also failed to switch to the armbar properly, which is something I'd like to work on: very rare that I even make it to a vague set-up, so combinations are still a way off.

My passing was pretty sloppy, but I didn't get punished for it in the same way as normal because my partners weren't big, and they were also white belts. I kept flailing with my arms, and wasn't using my weight properly to trap their legs. I also had trouble flattening them out, as their arms tended to get in the way.

The second guy was even smaller than me, surprisingly, so I got a chance to see what it's like from the other side. I think I was occasionally using strength too much, getting past his butterfly guard by crushing his legs down, but in a manner that likely would have completely failed against somebody bigger. Still, I was pleased that I managed to get a nice back-step to pass in the other direction at one point, and even better it felt quite natural and instinctive.

Oh, and if the guy who offered me a lift (as his route takes him near my house) is reading this, yes, you've reached the right page. Click on the 'contact me' bit at the top. ;)

12/01/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #275



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 12/01/2010

At the Aylesbury Open Mat, Kev mentioned two options from the guard he thought would work well for a guy my size (and he's a good person to ask, as he's a comparable weight). First, the overhook from guard, which I've been playing with for a while. The second I've never tried: I think it is called the Shawn Williams guard, also known as the London position, which Eddie Bravo removed from his system because he felt there was a real danger of them spinning out and passing.

Bravo's criticisms aside, since Kev recommended it, I've been wanting to see it taught. Conveniently, that is just what Kev did for the advanced class, where he referred to it as 'London' (I'm sure he called it Shawn Williams guard last year, but my memory must be playing tricks on me).

For Kev's version of the guard, you wrap your same side arm behind your knee, reaching through to grab their collar. That knee should be driving across, while your leg stays heavy on their back. Make certain that your elbow is locked tight to your side, leaving them no room to free their arm. Your other foot is by their other hip: naturally you want to make sure they can't push that leg to the ground and try to pass.

The Shawn Williams guard, as per Stephan Kesting's excellent guard glossary, looks a little different, but that's probably because it is no-gi. Rather than grabbing the collar, Williams locks his hands together, on the same side of their neck. Kev mentioned that you could also just hold the shoulder. Kev's variation is therefore probably closer to what Kesting calls the 'leghook guard', as the hands are locked behind the neck.

From here, you have several attacks, two of which Kev covered today in combination (the omoplata is another good option). To get there, the set-up we worked today was off a kimura attempt. You sit up and go for the kimura, then they defend by clasping their hands round your torso.

That means you can shift to the other side and hook behind your leg, moving into Shawn Williams/Leghook guard (I'm not sure which one is closer, due to the collar grip Kev uses). Make sure that your knee is high enough for you to reach through for their collar. Alternatively, you can walk your hand up their gi until you make it to the collar, and transition into a submission.

The armbar is relatively simple. Pull their non trapped sleeve across, push off their hip with your free leg in order to swivel, then bring that leg over their head. You're now in place for a tight armbar, which is difficult for them to defend as you already have total control over their other arm.

If they manage to pull their arm free before you can finish the armbar, then just like the normal armbar, you can shift into a triangle. Their arm is out of the way, leaving you free to bring your leg to their neck, then cross your ankles. Remove your hand from behind your knee, then lift your hips to move their arm across, pull your shin down towards you and secure the triangle.

My sparring was defensive as usual, so again I need to be threatening from the guard. I did sort of get into an omoplata against a big white belt (though I should note, I spent the rest of the round getting mangled), but couldn't flatten him out. I was attempting to sit up, but he managed to move round and gradually crush his way free: I should have secured better control by reaching over his back faster, as opposed to dangling off his arm with my legs.

I was looking to go for the twisting guard break with Callum, but never got further than stepping my leg up to his hip. He'd either derail the effort by getting one of my arms or a deep grip on the collar. Still, its great I at least feel I have something to go for now, rather than sitting there staring at people, waiting to be submitted or swept.

Thursday training may or may not happen, as the snow is refusing to let up. It is due to snow all day on Wednesday, which is likely to ice up the roads. Still, I bashed up my eye during the beginner session, as during the no-hands open guard I ended up rolling on my face. I wouldn't mind giving that a chance to heal up.

12/01/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #274



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 12/01/2010

Grr. That is now three sessions in a row I've been unable to make at Wycombe due to crappy weather. Buckinghamshire has been buried in snow since late December, in the coldest winter since 1981 (IIRC). Most annoying. On the plus side, the guy who made that awesome Functional Half Guard video a few years back has just started a blog. Check out Indrek's site here (which I noticed thanks to Aesopian: if you haven't subscribed to either his Twitter or Facebook, do so now.)

There has been a change to the beginner classes for 2010, which is that they'll now (unfortunately for me, but good for any less wimpy, sensible BJJer who wants to improve their throwing) include takedowns at the start. Previously, the throwing was in the advanced class, so it isn't too much of a shift.

I don't normally bother commenting on throws, but this one was interesting in that it moved into an Achilles lock. Foot locks and white belts aren't something I like to see together, but they are allowed to use a straight footlock like this (so be warned if you thought you were safe from lower body submissions at a white belt tournament!)

First technique after that was a simple cross-guard sweep. Cross-guard is basically straightforward open guard: you have a cross-grip on their sleeve (cross-grip is grabbing the opposite sleeve). On the cross-gripped side, you also have your same side foot into that hip, and you're holding their ankle with your same side hand. Your other foot hooks behind their other knee.

From here, the sweep isn't complex. Clamp the foot you're holding with your hand to your hip, pushing them a little backwards with your foot to make that easier. Note that you don't want to lift their foot any higher than your hip: it only needs to be slightly off the ground. You can now keep pushing on their hip and slightly on their arm, moving them a little sideways to create some torsion.

Remember to keep your other hook tense, as you don't want them to free that leg and step around, because that will enable them to regain their balance. Once you knock them down, because you have that grip on their sleeve, you can pull yourself up as they go back, moving through into side control. Should you lose your sleeve grip, the sweep is still there, but it will be harder to sit up and move through to side control.

Kev then moved on to an open guard pass, known as the 'toreador' (sometimes misspelled as 'toreandor') or 'bull fighter' pass. Begin by securing a firm grip on the inside of their knees, bringing your elbows in (you don’t want to leave them space to get spider guard). Step your outside foot to the side, swinging your other leg back (to stop them catching it in half guard), pushing their nearest leg backwards at the same time. Maintain your grips on their knees throughout, before moving forward into knee on belly.

Of course, that is a lot easier said than done, especially when you're absolutely terrible at passing guard like me. From what I can tell, you don't want to step too far with that outside leg, as otherwise they might be able to get a leg in the way. However, like I said, my guard passing is really bad, so definitely possible I misunderstood.

There is then a variation, where instead of moving into knee on belly, you drop your shoulder onto their stomach, keeping your legs back so you end up on your toes. This is a bit more dynamic, and you're moving further to the side. If you're drilling this, be careful you don't knock all the wind out of your partner.

The last twenty five minutes of the lesson was tough, as Kev had us do the open guard drill again. That starts with both hands tucked into your belt, then just one, then both hands free. It makes for an intensive cardio workout for both people, as you're constantly spinning on the floor (hard on the abs) or running around in a circle (hard on the legs).

My passing was completely useless, even with both my hands. Fortunately I was with Kev, so he could immediately diagnose the central problem: I fail to drive my hips forward and put my training partner under pressure. I was being super-cautious as usual, so tended to stay back, then when I did tentatively make my move, it was easy for Kev to set up a sweep and roll me.

I was being similarly passive on the bottom, though I always feel much more comfortable in guard. Still, I have to threaten with something, rather than just trying to hold them there. As with most of my long-running problems, this is nothing new. I need to really focus on making some kind of offensive move from guard, so that the initiative isn't completely with my training partner.

Article - Kyra Gracie and the Treatment of Women in BJJ

Article #8, by Can Sönmez [FAQ Entry]


One of the threads you're almost guaranteed to see on a BJJ forum, along with "what gi should I buy" and "when should I compete", is a series of photographs like the one on the left, featuring Kyra Gracie. That will be accompanied by a succession of posts along the lines of "man, I'd like to be in her triangle!" Essentially, it's akin to a bunch of drooling frat boys in a locker room, crowded around a dirty magazine, giving each other macho slaps on the back after every lewd comment. Kyra's looks are discussed far more often than her technique.

It is a sad reflection on our society that female athletes are often objectified, their abilities ignored in favour of their appearance (women's tennis is a well-known example). Women who do not pander to that trend may find their achievements fail to get the recognition they rightly deserve. For example, I think everyone can agree that winning two gold medals at the Mundials is an incredible accomplishment, especially if you do so with humility and skill. Yet I rarely hear people talk about Lana Stefanac, the first American woman to win both her weight category and the absolute at the highest levels of BJJ, while still a brown belt. I suspect it is because she is large and powerful, a very different body type to the petite Kyra Gracie.

Emily Kwok did a great interview on Kombat Clinic back in December last year, which fits with this topic. I felt the following quote stood out:

[...] some men still believe that this is a man’s sport and a man’s world. And those types of men could care less about the fact that I managed to achieve anything at all, because they feel that there really is no room for women to be taken seriously. At most, they will say that you are good at what you do ‘for a girl’. They believe that your Jiu Jitsu is not the same as a man’s Jiu Jitsu, they feel that your technique and understanding of the sport is inferior [...]

I think we struggle greatly to be appreciated on the same level as our male counterparts. Women have been doing a phenomenal job representing the sport, providing some of the most exciting matches at elite level tournaments. But we still don’t get much press coverage; we are never talked about as much as the men, and I feel that we still have a long way to go. I think we are still sometimes seen as a novelty, and not seen as serious athletes.

Stefanac herself related a particularly relevant experience in regards to MMA, a sport in which she both competes and trains others. She spoke to Psychology Today about managing female fighters:

You've got this whole Barbie-doll thing, where a promoter will call me and be like, "Do you have a girl at 125 pounds I can use?" Yeah, I sure do. Then they say, "But what does she look like?" How does her appearance affect her fighting?

There are some good signs, however. Shawn Williams made a point of emphasising the excellence of female BJJ during his commentary for the 2009 Mundials. In the US, several senior female belts run a Women's Grappling Camp, an idea which is set to come to the UK soon. Open Mats for women are also available on both sides of the Atlantic. Meg Smitley organises regular events at Dartford MMA, while in the US, there are frequent opportunities in Richmond, VA.

Hopefully with the continuing growth of female BJJ, a woman's ability on the mat will become a more prevalent point of discussion than the way she looks.

[Update: See Meg's excellent follow-up piece here.]

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Book Review - No Holds Barred (Clyde Gentry)

Short Review: Gentry was the first author to make a concerted effort to research and document the early years of mixed martial arts. After some rather less assured forays into the misty depths of jujitsu's origins, Gentry does a fine job of detailing the struggles of MMA's difficult birth.

More entertainingly, he provides a platform for the personalities of the time to reminisce, presenting their own versions of what happened. Rorion Gracie, Art Davie, Tank Abbott, Relson Gracie and Don Frye all weigh in, amongst many others. To a large degree, No Holds Barred is the story of MMA's painful beginning, in the words of those who were not only there, but intimately involved. For fans of MMA, this is essential reading. Available to buy here (or here, in the US).

Full Review: If I recall correctly, I first heard about MMA in 2002, back when I initially began checking internet message boards. As someone who has been in university for the past decade, I tend to start researching anything that interests me, and MMA was no exception: I searched around the net for sources, along with newspaper databases. There had also been talk of a book called No Holds Barred, but for some reason, I must have been unable to get hold of it until the UK paperback edition came out in 2005.

Gentry's work proved to be an engaging read, with the various victories and defeats forming a narrative: I didn't want to spoil the story by knowing the results in advance. It therefore took me years to read the book cover-to-cover. I got into a cycle of asking for a UFC DVD for my birthday and Christmas, reading up to that event in No Holds Barred, then putting it back on the shelf until I picked up my next DVD.

That process finally finished in May 2008, after I'd collected all the MMA DVDs I wanted. I'd expanded my interests to include Pride and Extreme Fighting by that point, along with the seminal 2002 Hook n Shoot: Revolution event, featuring the first all-female card in the US. I lost interest in the UFC after the tournament format went out the window, and the commentary team shifted towards sensationalism rather than calm analysis (i.e., once Jeff Blatnick left).

The early UFC was full of entertaining characters: Ken Shamrock, Don Frye, Tank Abbott and many others. It was also fascinating from a technical perspective. Fighters had not yet realised that they needed to gain competency in all the ranges of combat, then somehow combine that knowledge into an effective strategy. Watching the first few years of MMA, you can watch that evolution gradually take place, until truly 'mixed' martial artists came on the scene (arguably the first was Frank Shamrock, building on the foundations laid by men like Don Frye, Marco Ruas and Maurice Smith).

This is exactly the period Clyde Gentry explores. I've re-read Gentry's book plenty of times (I'd check back over all the chapters up until my latest UFC DVD), and it's also been one of the main sources for an extensive history post I wrote on Brazilian jiu-jitsu, along with my UFC summaries.

After an interesting opening discussion on the development of kickboxing, Gentry confused me by referring to a part of Chinese history as the 'Choon Chu Era' (772-481 BC) on page 24. If you type that into Google, you'll get a whole load of TMA club pages attempting to describe the origins of jujitsu, so that is perhaps where he got it from. I'm no expert on Chinese history, but checking my little History of China (which served me very well on my trip out there back in 2004), it makes no mention of 'Choon Chu'.

There is a label that closely matches Gentry's range: the much more familiar Spring and Autumn Period (771-481 BC). Chu appears as a state active within that time, but I'm not sure where the 'Choon' might come from. However, like I said, I'm not a professional historian, so perhaps 'Choon Chu' is a well known label I'm just not familiar with.

Gentry then repeats the myth about Alexander the Great bringing pankration to India, after which it was supposedly brought by Da Mo (a figure also referred to as Bodhidharma, to whom much is attributed, but little factually verified) to China. Again, this is something you'll commonly see in histories of jujitsu written up on the internet, as opposed to serious academic studies. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact origins of many martial arts, due to the obfuscation frequently caused by a desire to be seen as 'ancient' and 'mystical'. Gentry's statement here could therefore have benefitted from a healthy dose of scepticism.

Anyway, that is a minor point (I'm talking about a single page). The meat of the book begins shortly afterwards, delving into the early vale tudo challenge matches, Rorion's move to the US and the ensuing genesis of the UFC. This is much easier to document (though certain points remain contentious), as you can read contemporary newspaper reports, watch video footage, and interview people from the time. The biggest attraction of No Holds Barred is that Gentry interviewed a significant chunk of the individuals he discusses, along with their peers.

That results in plenty of marvellous anecdotes, including a man who has an unlimited supply: Relson Gracie. His recollections of life as a young Gracie in Brazil appear on pages thirty to thirty-one:

"The equivalent to the SWAT team came to my dad's school and the whole team was there," said Relson. "They got fifteen of us to walk with them through the beach. When the cops walk through the beach, the bad guys would hide drugs and weapons in the sand. When we walk through the beach, we were like normal people with shorts; this was to surprise the guys."

Relson walked in front, Royler 30 feet behind and they had plenty of reinforcements. "I approached a group of the troublemakers and talked to them about coming along quietly to talk with the police," said Relson. "They didn't want to go. One guy stood up and pushed me and then punched me so I choked him out. The other guy tried to kick me so I took him down and choked him too. The third one ran into the water and then I jumped on his back and choked him too in the water. The fourth one also got into the water and started to swim away. I swam behind him and choked him out."

This look behind the scenes is the greatest strength of Gentry's book, and it fits with his stated aim in the introduction. Having previously written a book on Jackie Chan, Gentry was frustrated with an inability to "get inside the man," as he puts it. For No Holds Barred, Gentry writes, "I was determined that if I was to tell the story of this renegade sport, it would be the inside story, the straight dope."

Relson's story is just one of many. Gentry accomplishes his goal by drawing upon an impressive number of interviews with first-hand sources. The reader is left with a sense that this is indeed the 'straight dope'. Memories like the following, from pp54-55, make it seem as if Gentry was somehow present backstage at the time:

As Jimmerson entered the changing area, Kevin Rosier was popping his jaw back into place. It was clearly broken. Zane Frazier was on a stretcher heading for a nearby hospital; unbeknown to everyone, he had suffered a severe asthma attack during his fight and couldn't breathe unaided after returning to the dressing room. What Jimmerson saw next was truly hard to believe. Doctors were trying to remove two of Tuli's teeth that were embedded in Gerard Gordeau's foot. They decided it would be better to leave the teeth in for the rest of the night for fear of exposing the wound anymore. On top of that, Gordeau's hand was broken in several places. Yet the savate champion, cigarette dangling from his mouth, showed no signs of quitting and had blocked the pain out of his mind

Seeing all four men injured to various degrees was more than Jimmerson could handle. "Finally my managers came over to me and said, 'This is what we're going to do: go in there, and at the first sign of trouble, we're throwing in the towel,'" he later recalled. After all, Jimmerson's payday was locked in no matter what, so why should he risk injury?

Gentry discusses the claims that certain fights in the UFC were fixed (most notably Oleg Taktarov against stablemate Anthony Macias and Don Frye versus Mark Hall), asking the people involved. He explores the circumstances of the proposed challenge match between Rorion Gracie and Benny 'the Jet' Urquidez, as well as the heated exchanges between Rickson and his relatives, due to their decision to pick Royce ahead of the acknowledged family champion.

Gentry also looks beyond the UFC. Despite what Dana White would like you to believe, MMA has never been limited to one promotion. Up until recently (and some might argue this is still the case, with the absence of top flight competitors like Fedor), the best fights were to be found outside the Octagon, first in Extreme Fighting, then in Japan's PRIDE. Gentry provides enlightening details about both the Battlecade promotion and the beginnings of Japanese MMA, which predate the UFC by a few months (thanks to the inaugural Pancrase event on 21st September 1993). In addition to the fascinating story of the similarly named IFC, Gentry also discusses some of the lesser known promotions, like the ill-fated MARS (short-lived, but memorable for Renzo Gracie's supine KO of Oleg Taktarov) and WCC.

UFC events are covered in detailed up until around Ultimate Japan, taking two hundred pages to reach 1998. After that, Gentry summarises more frequently, which is unsurprising given that I'm reading several editions down the line. The entrance of Zuffa also marks the point where No Holds Barred veers away from 'the straight dope.' There are many criticisms that could be laid at Zuffa's door, which Gentry avoids making. The following quote from page 208 is especially amusing, given Zuffa's reputation:

Unlike SEG, Zuffa's UFC seemed open to working with other promotions and exchanging ideas. "The problem has been that everyone has traditionally played in their own sandbox," said Fertitta. "That's like saying, 'I'm the UFC and I'm not going to recognize anyone else.' It's important for all the promoters to communicate so that we can all move in the same direction rather than fight each other."

On the other hand, at the time Gentry was writing, Zuffa was still an unknown quantity. Dana White had not yet become a familiar caricature, repeatedly throwing f-bombs at all his competitors. Gentry didn't have much to work with after the first edition of No Holds Barred in 2002, so it is perhaps unsurprising that the discussion of Zuffa remains a brief, almost entirely positive summary.

The sport has grown a great deal since Gentry wrote his book, even taking into account that the version I own is an updated paperback edition from 2005. The most significant event was The Ultimate Fighter, which pushed MMA into the mainstream, followed by disastrous later efforts, like the Kimbo Slice debacle on Elite XC. Due to that much greater visibility, Gentry's pioneering efforts have now been taken up by other authors, like Jonathan Snowden.

Nevertheless, if you want a thorough, entertaining account of the early years of MMA – which in my view remain by far the most interesting – No Holds Barred is the gold standard. Available to buy here (or here, in the US).