LOSING SUCKS BUT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO GROW

By Sean Fagan

It’s fight night. You feel more ready than ever to step into the ring and you feel confident about coming away with another hard-earned win. How could you not feel that way after all the hard work and sacrifices you’ve made, right?

You’ve put rigorous hours in the gym banging the heavy bag, hitting pads, and sparring tough, experienced guys.

You’ve obsessively watched your diet for weeks making sure you were simultaneously losing weight, eating healthy and getting enough nutrients into your body to train hard.

You’ve visualized the fight over and over and over and over again replaying what felt like every possible scenario that could happen in the context of a fight.

You just finished warm-ups. You take the walk down the hallway towards the ring. You start to feel the energy of the crowd and you hear the music blasting it’s bass...

How To Knock Your Opponent Out With Elbows Inside The Clinch

We’ve all got blades on our arms, some are sharper than others, but they slice and dice all the same. These blades I’m referring to are elbows.

Elbows, like knees, are made to be utilized within close range. Though you may be within the range they’re designed for, that does not always mean you’ll be able to use them properly. Positioning is key. 

What type of position will we be looking at today?

We’ll look, as one always should, at the position of maximal leverage; in this particular instance, the clinch. This is an important point to consider if you’re facing an opponent more physically able than you are. 

It would be silly to fight on an equal playing field, therefore you must be able to maneuver to positions advantageous to you and disadvantageous to him. 

The clinch will be such a position for you. Here are the tricks:

4 Deadly Elbow Techniques In The Clinch

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The Two Main Philosophies To Dealing With Challenges At Your Gym

We all have either heard or seen it happen before.

A guy walks into the gym, says he’s a street fighter, and wants to challenge someone to a fight to prove how badass he is. The next thing you know, he finds himself crying in the corner of the ring in a fetal position due to the brutal body shots or massive head kicks (like in this video) he was bound to get hit with.

Although it’s the most common outcome we hear when a “street fighter” challenges someone at the gym, there have been other endings that will make you think twice before accepting a challenge from an outside fighter.

For example, I had a first hand experience where I saw a self proclaimed “street fighter” knock someone out cold with a telegraphed head kick… and that sh!@ came out of nowhere.

The guy walked in (probably around 160-170lbs) and wanted to challenge the pro MMA fighters (both over 200lbs)....

IF SET UP PROPERLY, THE QUESTION MARK KICK, ALSO KNOWN AS THE BRAZILIAN KICK OR DOWNWARD ROUNDHOUSE, IS ALMOST ALWAYS GUARANTEED TO LAND.

MASTERING THE QUESTION MARK KICK

Popularized by especially bendy fighters like Saenchai, the question mark kick is one of the most deceptive kicks in fighting

Its deception comes from its potential to be set up by the low kick and the teep – the two most common kicks you’ll ever see in fighting. It can use the exact same chamber as both.

This means that every single low kick or teep that comes could end up being turned into a knockout blow.

That’s a scary thought.

Here’s more detail on how to execute the technique, presented by Evolve MMA:

DECEIVING YOUR OPPONENT WITH THE TEEP

If you notice in the video above, there’s a slight difference in the low kick’s chamber and the question mark kick’s. The knee from the kicking leg is clearly moving in a different...