Am I ready ???

"It doesn't have to be fun to look fun" coach Buck Grants says... The techniques, the endurance, the hard trainings, the pain, the dieting. This all takes away the pleasure from training and fighting. My favorite days of the week were the sparring days. Now, I realize, it was because I was sparring either with the beginners, or with fighters taking it really easy on me. Now, sparring for a fight is extremely different. It's tough, painful, and not fun.

I sparred the other day with Kellen Ray, an MMA professional fighter, and it was like a wake up call to reality. Even worse than sparring uncomfortably with him and getting beat up, the round ended with a high kick in the back of my head, and lights out. For a split second (and this was the first time I ever got knocked out from a blow to the head) I lost control, my legs gave up, and I was down. The funny thing is that "there was absolutely no pain". I got up right away ready to engage, but coach Buck didn't let me because I had a fight coming and couldn't risk another hit. I took a round off then went back again. Later on when I was done training, I felt like I was going to puke. Yeah, that is a minor concussion and I shouldn't be taking many of those... My confidence took a huge hit, but again, it's better than discovering that later in the ring/cage.

So, more about the fight, it's on the 25th of September, Modern Gladiators XII, probably it's going to be in a cage but fighting under the Muay Thai rules. Everything is allowed as far as elbows, knees (to the head and body), clinch, etc. My opponent is Eric Russo, I tried to look him up but found nothing. He is also doing his debut with a (0-0) record just like me (or at least 0-0 recorded record). It would have been definitely beneficial to know at least his size (as far as height and reach).


Team Hybrid


How do you feel? is a question that almost everyone asked me. Honestly, I am feeling good. Am I ready? I don't think you can ever be ready for such a thing. You just go there and do your best. This is what I'm going to do. Am I confident? yes I am! I am training with the best...
In the recent weeks, I discovered main flaws in my techniques. When I get tired, and especially since it's my first fight, the flaws are going to hunt me, I know that for a fact. So, in other words, I could have been way more ready than how I am now. My techniques could have been improved. I also realized that throughout all this year, I worked on two things: My defense which I did improve a lot; and improving my accuracy. In the last weeks, I realized that I have been missing 3 main arts:

1- The art of hitting fast - throwing the punches with absolutely no power (but all speed) and clenching the fist right at the end. This gives it more speed and saves you a lot of energy.

2- The art of kicking hard - my background in freestyle Kickboxing definitely gave me a good inventory of "cool kicks", but how hard and effective they were, not so much. The fully locked Muay Thai kick is definitely much more effective.

3- Combining the first two arts in order to become an effective striker, at least in my opinion.

Good news is that I have no major injuries before the fight, more like minor. I hurt my wrist during Cross-fit the other week, swollen fingers, and sprained toes, nothing major. When I spar I totally forget about them. After the shower, that's when the pain starts.

Last Friday, I sparred with John Scamordella, an amateur fighter who fought an epic fight on his Muay Thai debut. After getting knocked out twice in the first minute of the fight, he came back really hard, dominated the fight, and near the end of the 3rd round, knocked out his opponent so hard that he couldn't get up on his feet. The only advice John and many other fighters gave me is, watch out for what I like to call "The Adrenaline Wall" (known for everyone as the adrenaline dump). Basically, while fighting, the adrenaline and the intensity KILLS your energy. You end up reaching a wall where you slow down dramatically and be barely able to breathe. What makes a fighter better conditioned than the other is at the end of the round, when both opponents are worn up, the 1 minute break will be enough for the better conditioned fighter to refuel and get back in the game. That's exactly what happened with John. After surviving his first round, he came back hard while his opponent was exhausted.

The dieting is certainly the worst. I love cooking and eating and definitely drinking; my whole lifestyle has recently changed. I haven't had a drink or smoke for more than a month now. Doing some research (yes, I am doing my Ph.D. after all), drinking alcohol while training for a fight is like giving up the fight already to your opponent. Strength, speed, power, and agility are all dependent on the efficiency of our central nervous system. Alcohol has a depressant effect on the central nervous system, thus affecting all our "winning necessities". Even more alcohol dehydrates you, which relatively affects your performance. As many recommend stopping drinking at least 72 hrs before the fight to completely take the alcohol out of the system, I have stopped drinking for the whole month. I am training everyday around 2-3 hours; I cannot be dehydrated in any of those days or I will be risking the safety of my immune system and body (getting dehydrated, pancreatitis, etc). Alcohol consumption also effects your hormone levels especially your Testosterone hormones. Testosterone, the male sex hormone that plays a major role when it comes to strength and aggression, will be decreased. Also, alcohol consumption increases Cortisol levels (Cortisol is a feminine hormone - you really don't want that while fighting!)

The fight is next Saturday, less than 6 days away. The weigh-ins are on Friday one night before the fight (thank god!) allowing me enough time to rehydrate, and of course treat myself with a nice non fatty meal.

On the 25th, all I want to do after the fight is to go to Red Dog, get a big fatty Greek Pizza (with extra cheese) with a pitcher of Bud Light. Go out, get drunk on pure Grey Goose Vodka on the rocks (my favorite). After that, sober up at the Dinner Dinnette next to my house with a nice breakfast and sleep and recover the whole next day - yes, I am dreaming about that already...