At long last I return, now I'm getting into MMA events

[Michael J Pierce]

Most of you probably don't know me at all, and some of you from the Provo, Ut group may still remember me as "Crazy Mike"

Its been over two years since I've been on, but in that amount of time I've been doing quite a bit in my life.

I was in the military for two years (medically: honorably discharged after service in Operation Iraqi Freedom) (It was actually a deal. A first sergeant choked me out trying to provoke me to hit him, when caught by another unit's medics in the act and when IG was mentioned, he offered me a deal. I accepted)

GFT was my hobby and I challenged all comers. Often times using holds I learned while training with Arma!

Now I'm back in fresno and back in fighting shape. I'm in talks with some MMA event reps to get into an amateur event. I have some old print outs of Fiore de Liberi's Flos Duellatrum wrestling section.

Send some insight my way guys. I'm hoping to add all I can to my fighting knowledge arsenal before getting into an official match.

If I do well I'll be plugging Arma as my influence. if i don't i'll keep quite about it until I strengthen my abilities. ;)

Stats:
5'7"
168 lbs welter to middle (i don't know where the cut off is in this new league. If middle I'll be putting some weight on)

[Mike Cartier]

ground fighting, study your groundfighting

learn at least a little jiujitsu or catch or something to give you a tight ground game, whether its for submissions or ground and pound.
definatly work on submission defense and the sprawl if you are going to be striking to win.

i also work on an ancient MMA interpretation from time to time
http://www.historical-pankration.com which maye have a few insights.

i would take a look at a book called mastering Jiujitsu by Renzo Gracie
the audio tapes and book made by Bass Rutten are top notch as well (especially the striking audio tapes for solo training)

You might want to speak to Martin Wallgren a former ARMA member from sweden who placed runner up in a amatuer MMA event there using his ARMA skills.

most of all good luck and keep us posted

[Brent Lambell]

Good luck to you! I hope ringen serves you well with MMA, some part of me wants to believe that ringen can hold its own against a more modern grappling system; although I it might be wishful thinking. All the same, show them how its done and let us know if you find yourself using any sixteenth century German arm locks or fifteenth century Italian throws.

As a note of encouragement, one of the members here in Portland has been doing MMA for a few years now and in one of his training sessions he found himself using a Fiore (I think) grappling play and counter. He said it happened instinctively and he didnt really realize what happened until it was over. I thought it was pretty cool....

[Jeff Hansen]

Good luck Mike, we'll be rooting for you.
I had a couple of amateur fights, and I agree with Mike C. And I would add that you should feel reasonably comfortable in all three phases of the fight before you get in the cage/ring. While I have my doubts about ringen's applicability to mma without some other form of goundfighting and stand up training, I would love to be proven wrong. And, as with any type of fighting it is the fighter and not the system that wins or loses. When I was fighting I trained 2hrs three days/wk fighting (not including ARMA), at least 1hr 6days/wk cardio, plus weights three days/wk. Assume you are going to be fighting someone at least as dedicated as me. My trainer who was a pro fighter advocated 2 hrs/day cardio, at least 30 min. at a time. I've seen a guy dominate for 2 rounds and lose 20 seconds into the 3rd because he was so gassed he couldn't lift his arms. If you don't put in the time you might get lucky and win a couple fights but you'll never be consistently dominant.

By the way I do remember you from Provo, you might remember me as the big, tattooed, bald guy.

[Mike Cartier]

yes jeff brought up a very important aspect of the MMA game i forgot to mention. Cardio.

Your form and technique is only as good as your cardio
i htink the general rule is to train for twice the actual length of the fight.
5 round fight = 10 rounds of preparation etc. That way the gas tank is full for any eventualities.

[Stewart Sackett]

As a note of encouragement, one of the members here in Portland has been doing MMA for a few years now and in one of his training sessions he found himself using a Fiore (I think) grappling play and counter. He said it happened instinctively and he didnt really realize what happened until it was over. I thought it was pretty cool....

I just read this. Brent is talking about me so I thought I should clarify some things.

First of all: I train & compete in BJJ & Sub grappling. I take MMA classes at my gym for fun but I do not compete in MMA.

I have used fightbook techniques at my gym. I had mixed success with it but the same can be said of any techniques that are applied against resisting opponents.

There was a point where, in a grappling class (no strikes), I found myself flow instictually through a series of movements &, while executing them, realized that they where plays from the Codex Wallerstein. Specifically I began the movement from Plate 68, felt my opponent start to slip out of my grip, transitioned to Plate 86 & when he tried to counter that he left himself vulnerable to a standing "figure 4 lock" (something that's everywhere in the fightbooks) & once I'd secured the lock he submitted.

There's nothing extraordinary about that story but I was interested to see how naturally the techniques fit together; so that once I'd started one it was easier to use another historical technique then to transition to something I'd learned from a more modern source.

To the OP: I second those who say work your strikes & your ground game & develop your cardio. Also, good luck!