I.S.K.A MMA title

After watching all my friends kill it on UCMMA contenders in Brighton I was feeling some what sulky that I didn't get to fight.
Despite contenders not happening I had been keeping up my training, even though it wasn't looking likely I would have anyone to fight on our next fight night either.

My new found love of twitter (I know took me long enough) meant I was even more restless and psyched up to fight after following the uproar that Ronda Rousey caused by calling out Miesha Tate for a shot at the 135lb title.
"Sigh" it seems life isn't as interesting when you don't have a fight or competition to focus training around.

Randomly my friend Tanya who I fought way back in March asked me if I wanted to step in last minute for a title fight at Battle arena in Northampton.
I was in London doing my exercise to music training day and in the middle of making a "just because we can" chocolate cake with my cousins.

I text my coaches to see what they had to say and both Paul and Tolly seemed up for it if I put in the hard work.
I would like to say that I didn't scoff a huge slice of chocolate cake inducing a sugar high of excitement that was followed by a series of rocky style pose downs in mirror but yeah that totally happened.

We killed it in training for 5 days working everything, Tolly is particularly ruthless when it comes to being fight ready.
Sunday came around really quickly, I weighed in at 3pm at around 60.5kg my opponent was around 2kg heavier but we had been expecting that. Had the standard pre-fight meal of nando's quarter chicken medium, chips and garlic bread, coconut water, then a smoothie and some fruit and a couple lucozade sports.

As it was a title my fight was 19th so there was a long wait in the changing rooms, I had my book "the night watch" to keep me distracted, but overall I was feeling pretty good about the fight.
It was three 4 minute rounds, and my first time doing head shots on the ground. I think from the crowds reactions that they enjoyed the fight, and it was stopped in the third round via ground and pound.

All the excitement has meant I am now back on nocturnal time, as we got back really late and then I pretty much slept all day got up had an espresso and went to training hence writing this at 4am. Sleep is an important part of recovery so its back to a caffeine ban again from tomorrow, well today!


Thanks to my coaches Paul and Tolly and all the guys at 1st gen that helped me get ready especially joe, mikey and lee, and the crossface guys for nurturing some extra aggression in my game. Cheers to my sponsors Punchtown who hooked me up with some really nice sparing gear that made me feel extra bad ass in training.
Last fight of the year will be 11th December on KAYO MMA show in Watford then its time to focus on Jiujitsu again to be ready to rock the Euro's at the end of January.
Saying that I can't believe this year has gone so quickly but I'll save those thoughts for another post and leave you with some pictures of my new bling.

Nogi British Open

Its good to start doing competitions again especially as my time as a blue belt was spent mostly overseas or busy and broke in London, which meant I could only enter a select few comps.
It was also the first time I have entered a nogi competition.
Before I started training to fight in MMA I really used to hate nogi but I have since started to enjoy it and felt a lot more comfortable with the standing or wrestling element.
I recently got my purple belt and as I have been training for about 3 years now I entered the intermediate category.
There were 3 other girls in my group but I only got one fight against Aisling Daly which ended in a RNC.
I was pretty gutted but it was a good fight and I will feel a bit better about competing at a higher level.
I didn't really post about getting my purple belt with the same enthusiasm that surrounded getting my blue belt, as my training had felt quite hit and miss the last year.
But now I'm thinking of it more as a positive as it will push me to get better and compete at a higher level.
Time to start extra gi training for the English open at the end of November, hopefully will get a team from 1st gen to go compete.
Its looking unlikely I will have someone to fight in 2 weeks at contenders so my next MMA fight will be in December.

SFC Fight Night "The Grappling match"

I am happy to announce that I won my third MMA fight on Friday night against Kirsty Davis with both rounds scored 10,9.
The fight went exactly how I had planned, and I was able to get the take down from the clinch and against the cage and remain in a dominant position. I worked for the submissions for both rounds, which essentially prevented my opponent from using any of their "stand up" technique.
This resulted in my opponent commenting that they were disappointed they had not got to fight properly, they didn't realize they had signed up for a grappling match and also that it was the easiest fight they had ever had. They also threw in that as I was a blue belt I should have been able to submit a white belt.

Lets look at this from a different perspective, say my opponent had spent the 2 rounds hammering me with punches and kicks and I had just moved around and covered up, essentially avoiding them from knocking me out.
I couldn't say this would be something I would be particularly proud of or use as bragging rights to help soften the blow of defeat.I also wouldn't make claims like, "I didn't know this was a kickboxing match" If it was my lack of ability to keep the match where I wanted that resulted in me not getting to show off any of my grappling skills.

I was also surprised that the fight was mainly fought on grappling terms, as I expected my opponent to perhaps try to punch or kick me throw a knee in the clinch?
Oh well you live and learn and I took away lots of positive things from the fight.
As I have always said grappling with girls is a lot different as they have a much better range of motion and are good at escaping as they are often on the receiving end when training with bigger stronger guys.I will keep travelling to train with other girls to work on that aspect of my game but I am happy with how I am progressing.

I am sorry if this seems like a bitchy post and I hate getting drawn into petty arguments but I think as a fighter its important to be able accent and learn as much from defeat as from victory.
I have respect for anyone that gets into the cage to fight as its no laughing matter and takes lots of guts but don't do it if your not prepared for what another fighter is going to bring to the table!

Helen Currie Seminar

Ego

I recently read Sam Sheridans books 'A fighters heart' and 'A fighters mind' and really enjoyed them both.
A common theme that arose with regards to progressing in jiu jitsu and fighting in general was ego.
More specifically that as you progress through the belt ranks it is important to keep an open mind and be able to learn from everyone.
I think female jiu jitsu practitioners are at particular risk of being affected by ego and its something I've always felt but never been able to place my finger on or explain very coherently.
I am sure other females often get comments like 'I didn't expect you to be so strong' or 'you would kill other girls.' from their male training partners, who are often impressed enough that we are there training let alone pulling off submissions and holding our own against all the big tough guys.
I think our egos are nicely protected as we often don't have to put ourselves on the line or in a position of fighting someone of a similar size, strength or ability.
It is too easy to make excuses when fighting men who are bigger or stronger and play a safe game based purely on escapes and avoiding submissions.
Its similar to an observation one of my coaches once made when he noticed that sometimes before sparing people would ask how much their opponent weighed or how long they have been training so as to have an excuse to provide if they got into bad situations.
Can this type of thinking or excuse making hinder us from progressing?
One of the reasons I enjoy situations such as female open mat sessions and seminars and competitions is that they allow me to test my skills against other girls. I usually approach these situations with a different mindset, I'm more sharp and focused and move in for the kill more than I ever would when training with the bigger guys in terms of ego there is a lot more at stake losing to another girl than a bigger stronger guy.
Maybe it was just a personal problem I had as opposed to something that bugs all female grapples, I have come across girls that are a lot more aggressive than me and better at imposing their game on anyone regardless.
They are the ones that inspire me to make less excuses and impose my game on people of all sizes or abilities even if it means risking being put in less favorable positions if my attempts are unsuccessful, and I'm hoping this will help to improve my BJJ and general mindset to training.

Helen Currie Seminar
In other news last weekend I attended a female only no-go seminar featuring Helen Currie at Leicester MMA academy.
It was a detailed technical session that started with a quick warm up that involved lots of different squats (that I really need to do more of to improve my mobility).
We drilled breaking our opponents posture from guard and trying to stay out of closed guard which was challenging and surprisingly tiring. Helen stated the importance of avoiding being put in someone’s closed guard at all costs.

The bulk of the seminar was based around the 3 ways to pass guard- over under or around - Working off the sitting guard pass where you position your knee to open your opponents guard.
Helen went over the importance of posture in the guard position as a way to keep your self safe from attack and to pass guard when the opportunity arose

I'm thinking about me, I'm keeping myself safe

It was a great day and despite the fact that I was a bit tired from training all week and getting up so early I still managed to get a bit of rolling in at the end with Caz Teedy, who organised the event and is a great no-gi grappler.
She also runs a monthly female MMA class and circuit training class which I will try to attend in the future.

MMA

I have an interesting experience to write about today, last night I had an amateur MMA fight at the ZT fight night in Eastbourne.
Amazingly I won by decision after two 4 minute rounds, I can honestly say it was the most intense feeling I have ever experienced.
The girl I was fighting was amazing at stand up but I managed to stick to my game plan and take it to the ground.
I would have loved to win by submission but I still need to get used to the different dynamics of mma its a lot different from bjj or even no gi.
All in all it was a great night Sophie and Laura both won their fights and lots of partying was done after perhaps too much ;) I have a sore head inside and out today.
Back to training BJJ hard for the next few competitions coming up, I think fighting mma will help me to be more confident and aggressive with my bjj.
I fought in my tatami fight shorts and rashguard so I will post a review of them soon as its hard to find good quality female mma fight ware in the UK the girls both had fightergirl shorts which looked really good gotta get me some of those :)

First generation at ZT fight school Eastbourne

Its a great thing to see hard work and dedication result in something as amazing as the new ZT Fight school where my bjj coach Tolly is now located.
Those of you who have followed my blog for a while can track how much bjj in Eastbourne has progressed in such a short space of time.

Tolly started teaching BJJ at canton martial arts when I returned from a months training at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, it was there I got bitten by the grappling bug and had made up my mind that I had to master BJJ.
I didn’t realise at the time what a bold statement that was or how many hours of intense training were ahead of me, it was just a feeling I had at that moment in time and I felt driven to achieve it.

I kind of think of it as fate looking back as low and behold our school had managed to acquire a bjj coach, I wondered where they had spirited him from as Eastbourne is a small place. The class attracted a range of students, some who had a basic knowledge of grappling but for the majority a pack of uncoordinated and unconditioned novices who Tolly had the challenge of teaching the complicated art of bjj to.

Class was only 3 times a week but it developed a cult following with Tolly's friendly and expert coaching style and personality proving the key behind the groups quick progression. It was not too long before some of us became regulars on the competition scene going up against some of the bigger longer established clubs and often bringing back medals for our efforts.

I had a great introduction to BJJ and I can attribute all my initial success to having this great group of people to train with, we didn't have the best facilities or training available on tap like some of the bigger gyms but it just shows that quality of training can often prove more effective than quantity and having a good coach can make all the difference to your experience and confidence when learning a new skill.

After about a year of training every ones efforts were rewarded when we had our first grading with many students that had been there from day one receiving their blue belts. It was at this point that I left the UK and went to stay with my dad for a year in Bahrain

While I was away efforts continued back in Eastbourne with Tolly always having the ultimate goal of having a permanent location that would be a solid base for everyone and allow more regular training.
He continued to train hard in BJJ and developed an interest in MMA training at Zt fight school in Brighton and his profile was raised after a number of victories at well established ZT fight nights.
Not only focusing on his success he continued to help his students to achieve their goals with many having had victories in MMA.

This success helped to push things to the next level and saw Tolly move to a part time location at fitness first where the second grading was hosted with a huge turn out of students and continued support from Brazilian top team Black belt Ze Marcello.
His hard work was also rewarded when he received his brown belt from Ze Marcello and became afficliated with Icon BJJ. All the while the final pieces were being put into place. First generation BJJ was born and ZT fightschool opened their doors in Eastbourne.

When I saw the new club for the first time I was blown away not only by the amazing facilities but by what Tolly had actually managed to achieve in terms of taking a sleepy town like Eastbourne and putting it on the map as a hotspot for up and coming talent in all areas of combat. There are so many good fighters at the school but it also attracts people who just want to improve their fitness and enjoy martial arts. Due to the positive attitudes and the way in which the club developed this is something that can coexist with everyone feeling they are part of the club regardless of age gender or ability and its an atmosphere that is often missing from some clubs.

T thanks Sol Gilbert and all the guys at Zt, Ze, students friends and sponsers that have made everything a possibility

So if you are ever down south check it out
Address
84 hammonds drive
Eastbourne

Facilites include cage, boxing ring, large matted area and strength and condidioning equiptemnt
Classes in BJJ MMA submission wrestling Kick boxing, taekwondo, boxing with more to be being added all the time. Ladies only and kids/youth and gym membership also available.
For more information about classes and membership you can call Tolly on 07707541535

Or if you want to check of some of the talent at the next fight night you can grab tickets on the ZT website
http://www.ztfightskool.com/hove/

VO2 max and Metabolism

Wow my brain in super charged with exercise physiology today after another fun day of training. I did 2 sub maximal VO2 max tests today. A sub maximal exercise test is useful to find out how fit you are and make sure your body has a normal response to exercise i.e the heart, lungs and metabolism are functioning as they should.

My VO2max is 31.9 ml/kg/min, When you exercise the body requires more oxygen in order to turn ATP into energy which allows muscles to contract and work to continue. VO2 max is the maximum volume of oxygen that can be utilized by the body during whole body exercise.
My VO2 max value is moderate for my age around the 50th percentile, this is after a few months of being despicably inactive, I wonder how much VO2 would improve after a few months of getting back to training bjj regularly.

How important is VO2 max to those of us training BJJ?
As I mentioned VO2 is a good estimate of how fit you are, I went back to class for the first time in ages and it kicked my ass big time. Physiologically speaking I had lost a lot of muscle mass and my heart wasn't as efficient at getting oxygen to my working muscles. My body's ability to oxidise fat as an energy source was therefore reduced and could explain why I was felt so drained by the end of class.

When training at such an intense level my body had to start using up all my blood sugar and then all the stored muscle glycogen too. Based on my metabolism anything that causes my heart rate to beat at 165bpm (85% of my estimated HRmax) and my body favours carbohydrates as a fuel.
The efficiency of my heart at delivering oxygen to the muscles was pretty bad too which means I need to get my lazy butt to the gym for some cardio!

Knowing your VO2 max can help you if you are going to do additional sessions in the gym in an effort to increase fitness and can provide some interesting information regarding your metabolic function. Increasing metabolism can help to maintain or lose weight which seems to be an eternal battle for some of us.

Diet
It is important to remember that a good nutritional plan is even more important when you start training after a period of inactivity. As failing to get a good intake of carbohydrate post training can mean recovery is slow.
Often people will not eat a good meal after training (this can be due to appetite suppression that can occur up to 1h post exercise and training finishing late at night) and if you are trying to lose weight this can be ok as long as you are getting a good intake of carbohydrate through out the day, or don't have another training session in the next 24h.

Certain foods can actually slightly increase your metabolism and include spicy foods like chilli, and green teas. 60% of the calories you burn each day are a result of your basal metabolic rate which is the calories required to maintain normal body function. On top of that you will require differing amount of calories to provide the energy for daily tasks and exercise. You can use rmr or bmr calculators online to get an estimate of this value. Make sure you are sensitive to your body's needs as the equations used by these calculators assume that metabolism is the same for everyone of a certain age.



Exercise
If you have been out of training and want to improve your fitness quickly the best thing to do is 15-30 minutes high intensity interval training daily and some light or body weight exercises and stretches to help reduce risk of injury. HIIT has been shown to improve VO2 max in as little as 2 weeks and also maybe more effective at fat burning particularly around the abdomen. To make it more bjj specific mix cardio and weights together and do 5-7 minute intervals with a 1-5 minute rest in between to mimic sparing.
Here are a couple videos for some exercise ideas both videos are a bit random but the exercises seemed well balanced and specific to bjj





When ever I have to take a break from training I really dread coming back when I know my fitness will not be so good it was interesting to have it scientifically confirmed but it will be useful to test my VO2 max again after a few months of training to see if it improves any.
So if your coming back to training after time off here are some recommendations.

1) Make sure you eat well increased carbohydrate/calorie intake after training might be necessary at first to replenish depleted muscle glycogen stores until fitness picks up and the body becomes more efficient. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water
2) Do regular stretching and solo drills
3) Do some interval training using a mix of cardio and weights
4) Don't push your self too hard in sparing get back into things slowly avoid sparing with overly competitive people or anyone who's likely to take advantage of your less than peak physical condition (sounds bad but it happens)
5) Tape fingers (this might just be me playing too much guard but protect any areas you know are prone to injury)
6) Drill all the basics particularly escapes to get your mind focused again