Fighters Magazine - November 2011 by Martial Arts Publications Ltd

BRINGING MARTIAL ARTS TO LIFE

MARTIALARTSSHOW the

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 12th & 13th MAY 2012

www.fightersmag.co.uk NOVEMBER 2011 £3.95

WHAT SUPPLEMENTS SHOULD YOU TAKE? The Deciding Factor in Meeting Your Nutritional Needs Explained

MUSCLE STRENGTH TRAINING FOR MMA Without Losing Cardio Performance

THE FIGHTERS MENTAL GAME

How to Conquer the Mind

Plus all the Latest from... The UFC, Strikeforce, Dream, UCMMA, BAMMA & MORE!

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KICKBOXING - MUAY THAI - MMA - K-1 - BOXING

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CONTENTS 6

Newsline Domestic & International

Neil Adams Submission Clinic

Muscle Strength Gains for MMA By Glenn Shelford

The UFC arrives back in town this month with another huge line up at the N.I.A. in Birmingham. The night is headlined by the original ultimate fighter Chris Leben as he attempts to extend his recent run of impressive results against one of the middleweight divisions brightest prospects Mark Munoz. On the night there will be plenty of home grown talent on show with the likes of Brad Pickett, John Hathaway, Terry Etim, John Maguire, Jason Young (see our October issue available online at www.fightersmag.co.uk for an interview with him), Phil De Fries, Oli Thompson, Che Mills and the Midlands very own Paul Taylor all showcasing their skills.

Psychologically Speaking With Doctor John O’Connor

Why Take Supplements By Lee Jenks

Wrestling News By Teddy G

Chris Leben The Ultimate Fighter?

We had our USA writer, Bryan Levick, catch up with both Chris Leben and Paul Taylor before the big night on November 5th. We also catch up with UFC fighters Charlie Brenneman on his extraordinary rise up the welterweight ranks, Diego Sanchez on his new outlook on life and fighting and one of the sports genuine ‘nice guy’s’ Ross Pearson as we take a look and dissect his day to day training and how he prepares for a fight.

Julie Kitchen Inspirational

The Kitchen girls Rising stars on the British Muay Thai scene

The Deadlift Strength & Conditioning Fundamentals

Paul Taylor Enjoying Life in The UFC Fast Lane

Master Youn-Suk Kang Putting The Fight Back Into Korean Martial Arts

DVD Review Tactical Force

Ross Pearson Fit to Fight

Babak Aghavali The Rise of Superior Challenge

Charlie Brenneman Living The Dream

The Truth Behind The Mask Elevate Yourself

Louis The K-1 King By Simon R. Augustus

WWE Punkd’ The End of The McMahon Era

Diego Sanchez I Have Total Trust in God!

Pride of The Nations @ TMAS Live 2011

WRSA Assassin Defeats Panther

Editorial

This month we welcome on board a few new names to our own stable in the form of Doctor John O’Connor, Glenn Shelford and Lee Jenks. You will be hearing more from them in future issues but this month they introduce themselves with articles looking at how you can gain muscle and strength without losing your cardio, how to get yourself mentally prepared for your next fight and why you should be taking supplements. Julie Kitchen is a name familiar to readers of Fighters magazine but the names Amber and Allaya Kitchen probably won’t be. Well Julie is not just a phenomenal fighter but also an inspirational mother and her talent is obviously rubbing off on her two young daughters as they are already becoming forces to be reckoned with on the British Muay Thai scene as you will see from the article within this issue. We’ve got our usual mix of different disciplines; it’s not all mma you know! We have our usual catch up of the World of Wrestling and for those of you who can remember watching boxing in the early nineties, the name Tommy Morrison may conjure a few memories. We caught up with Tommy to see what he’s been up to since he fell off the radar, what plans he has for the future and how there is more to the story of what you may have heard about his fall from grace! So read on and enjoy this month’s edition of the UK’s number 1 Full Contact Martial Arts magazine.

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fightersmag.co.uk pictures copyright

Page 38 PAUL TAYLOR enjoying life in the ufc

PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Paul S. Clifton paul@martialartsinprint.com SENIOR DESIGNER Kevin Thompson WEBMASTER Nick Harley ADVERTISING/SALES EXECUTIVE Jan Harley 0121-351-6930 fighters@btconnect.com PHOTOGRAPHY Carrie Austin 07716266854 IRISH MMA SUB EDITOR Thomas McCullough UK THAI SUB EDITOR Dan Green UK MMA SUB EDITOR Rob Nutley UK BJJ SUB EDITOR Carl Fisher UK KICKBOXING SUB EDITOR Cris Janson-Piers UK BOXING SUB EDITORS Luke Calvert, Mark Wilson Smith THAI / KICKBOXING Tony Myers, Shaun Boland, Paul Hennessy, Bob Spour, Neil Holden, Dean Sugden, Carl Emery CONTRIBUTORS Steve Dileo, Bryan Levick, Fergus Dullaghan, Ben Cartlidge, Teddy Galbally, Craig Bush, Rocki Sondhi, Tommy Thompson COVER PICTURE Coutesy Zuffa LLC HOW TO GET WORK PUBLISHED Drop us an email at fighters@martialartsinprint.com or give the editorial team a call on 0121 351 6930 NEWS ITEMS For all news related items, simply mark your envelope “FIGHTERS NEWSLINE” and together with a photograph (if required) and a covering letter, send it to: FIGHTERS, Head Office or E-Mail: fighters.news@btconnect.com HEAD OFFICE: Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. Tel: 0121 351 6930 E-Mail: fighters.magazine@btconnect.com ADVERTISING DETAILS If you would like to advertise in FIGHTERS email us at fighters@martialartsinprint.com to obtain details, deadline dates and costs. DISCLAIMER FIGHTERS is published by M.A. Publications Ltd, Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. The publishers reserve the right to reject editorial and/or advertising material as they see fit. The Publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material. However, the Publishers will endeavour to return such matter providing that it is accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. Any material accepted by the Publishers shall be revised or altered should the Publisher deem it necessary to do so. The act of submitting manuscripts and/or materials shall be considered an express warranty that such material is original and in no way infringes upon the rights of others. It is expressly forbidden for any part of the magazine to be reported whatsoever without the permission of Editor / Publishers. The views or comments expressed in these pages are not necessarily those of the editor or Publisher. Distribution by COMAG. No part of this magazine may be produced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior permission. Fighters, may not be sold at more than the recomended retail price shown on the cover. SUBSCRIPTION RATES To take out a subscription to Fighters, just send your cheque for the correct amount made payable to M.A. Publications ltd. to: Subscription Dept. Unit 20, Maybrook Business Park, Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1BE. or telephone: 0121-351 6930 12 issues = UK @ £44.95 EUROPE @ £75 (Airmail) REST OF WORLD @ £90 (Airmail)

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MUSCLE STRENGTH GAINS

For MMA

Without Losing Cardio!

My personal reason for choosing this subject to write about is because i dropped around 1 1/4 stone in 6 weeks for my first fight and noticed a considerable lack in my strength. This, in hindsight was the wrong way to cut weight and the lack in strength was the reason i lost! There are certain ways to supplement your technical/ sparring sessions with gym workouts to really make the most of the training time you have. Bear in mind there is no secret fix all workout for MMA, and getting out of this mind set is something most fighters will need to deal with at some point. The mindset you need to win is developed through hard work... starting here!

Lean Muscle Tissue Gains The smart fighter’s muscle type! All movement drains the muscle being used, and inhibits the muscles ability to contract. For five minute rounds this is a seriously long amount of time for a muscle to be used at such a high pace. The more lean muscle you have in your body, the better cardiac output for the muscle. You need to be able to work between anaerobic and aerobic equally to perform both the explosive movements and keep repeating them for a longer time. The movement itself, such as a punch, has to be performed at maximum exertion for the full round time.

ANY exercise should be aimed at using the most amount of muscles possible at any one time. These is going far away from classical body building training as this type of muscle (TYPE 2) will last only for a short amount of time and have a slow recovery period. NOT SOMETHING WE WANT IN MMA A typical sledgehammer swing for example will engage - abdominals, shoulders, arms, lower back, and legs. These all working in tandem with each other, will enable to build strength but also get the same effects as lifting opponent (lots of muscles working together)...

MUSCLE STRENGTH TRAINING FOR MMA Page

The modern mma fighter needs a combination of all aspects of fitness to perform at their peak. By neglecting one of these, it usually means your opponent will have an advantage somewhere, and believe that they will exploit this and make you pay for it!

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Psychologically Speaking with Dr. John O.Connor

In the MMA, like any other action sport, one needs to be able to control thought patterns in order to have complete focus on the game. Obtaining elite athletic performance takes more than dedication to the sport, hours of training, and study of the craft of fighting. It takes the ability to clear one’s mind of all negative thought patterns that would interfere with performance, the ability to react, and the ability to control the outcome of the emotional, physical, and mental aspects of the fight. Every sport has an emotional and mental aspect to performance because we are all part of the human race. We think and feel every moment of the day, even during those key moments when the game is on. The key is to be able to make everything work in synergy in order to be able to rise to the moment when it counts the most. This is the mental game of all sports. There are many people who claim they have the key to the mental game of any sport. Usually, their programs involve the repeating of positive statements. They claim that constantly repeating these statements to oneself will enable one to achieve their desired outcome. This is ineffective because it is taking a onedimensional solution and applying it to multidimensional issues. It is akin to painting only the front side of a house when the entire house needs a coat of paint. We are all a collection of emotions, thoughts, and past experiences. Ideally, we all have mostly positive life experiences and parents or guardians who have the capability

to teach us how to constructively and productively sort through life and cope with negative experience. However, this isn’t usually the case. Athletes are no less vulnerable to the lessons life has to offer or the negative experiences one can live through. Moreover, these experiences can interfere with athletic performance and in many cases, prevent athletes from fully realizing their dream of achieving athletic greatness. In my professional experience, the one thing that usually hampers athletic performance is the Gemini Mind. The Gemini Mind is my concept, one that I have developed over the last 25 years of working with athletes from all different sports and watching their mental game break down at the wrong moment. This concept is my way of describing when the inner workings of a person’s thought patterns, the conscious and subconscious, work against each other and create anxiety, mental conflict, and a host of other problems, hampering an athlete’s individual performance, inner

peace, and happiness in life in general. Each person mentally has a conversation going on inside one’s head every day. The athletes who achieve greatness over and over, the ones who are most focused, the ones who are able to perform consistently with each fight are the ones who have both components of the mind, the conscious and subconscious, working together as a united team. I have spent the last 25 years successfully helping athletes resolve the mental chatter and anxiety occurring with mental conflict, negative thought patterns, negative emotions and attitudes, unhappiness and lack of fulfillment, and self-defeating behaviors, resultant of the negative affects of the Gemini Mind. A fighter can train for months and be in peak physical shape, but not many fighters realize that they can still enter the ring and still be weak in one of the most important aspects of their fight, the mental game. All the training on moves and counter moves, speed, agility, boxing, and kicks can all unravel in a split second if the wrong mindset is in place...

PSYCHOLOGICALLY SPEAKING Page

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Why take I WIll Tell You Why...

By Lee Jenks

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WHTY TAKE SUPPLEMENTS? Page

supplements Whether you’re an athlete, martial artist, body builder, gym goer, or just lead a busy, active lifestyle, chances are you daily diet is not fulfilling your bodies’ needs. This is where nutritional supplementation, along with your daily diet can be the deciding factor in meeting your nutritional needs. Supplements are exactly that, dietary supplements that are taken in between, or with meals to help you achieve your goals. New supplements are constantly being released on to the evergrowing market, and now there is a product that promises to do exactly what you need. If you are looking to increase lean muscle mass, loss body fat or just tone up, there is something for everyone. The categories of supplements cover everything from All-in-ones - ZMA . If, like me, your aim is to increase your lean muscle mass while staying slim, you’re going to need to increase your protein intake, this is where the protein shakes help. With the extra nutrition your body needs in the convenience of a shake to drink between meals, you can easily and effortlessly recover and build muscle. Weight gainers contain a high amount of protein as well as a high amount of carbohydrates and may also contain creatine, which helps in the process of delivering nutrients to your muscles. People taking a cheap weight gainer often increase muscle mass but may find they also increase their body fat percentage putting weight on mainly around the waist area. Using a premium weight gainer (like Olimp’s Gainerator) should see less of the body fat increase and more of the muscle mass. Fat burners are available to do just that! Most are designed to raise your metabolic rate which in turn increases your core temperature and releases more energy, combined with a healthy diet and exercise you could loose more body fat than you thought possible. Fat burners such as Spirodex by Gaspari nutrition also enhance your mood, giving

you that ‘feel good’ factor. CLA on the other hand changes the way your body stores and utilises your bodies’ fat reserves and promotes fat loss. CLA capsules are also great as during dieting you may find your hair becomes dry and brittle, your skin may become pimply and you may not look or feel as good as you would like due to a lack of calories. CLA promotes healthy hair and skin, is a potent antioxidant and can help maintain overall health. Pre workout drinks are seen by most as a must. Using stimulants like caffeine along with amino acids, creatine and tyrosine or nitric oxide boosters, these powder drink mixes are responsible for getting you in ‘the zone’, allowing you to train harder for longer, popular pre workouts include Hemorage, Novem and N.O. xplode. During periods of physical activity, your energy levels may drop, and muscle cramps may appear! Intra workouts drink uses ingredients that help keep you hydrated and feed your working muscles so you get the most from your workout. As you exercise your body produces lactic acid as a waste product. This is what makes your muscle feel heavy and become tired. Creatine comes in two main forms, Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE), and Creatine Monohydrate. These are available to take as stand alone supplements and they are also in many pre workout drinks and more recently in some weight gainers and protein shakes. Creatine helps by buffering the lactic acid, keeping it at bay to allow you to train a little longer, but it also helps your body deliver nutrients to the exercising muscles, helping them work but also helping them recover and grow.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and along with taking a protein shake, you can also take amino acids with meals, before and after training, so you can keep muscle recovery and growth at optimum levels. You can take amino acids in either powder form, capsule or in a liquid form which is often flavoured. All-in-one shakes are popular because in one scoop of powder from the tub, you have everything your body needs, protein, Carbohydrates, creatine, amino acids and glutamine. The only real down side s you do not tend to get as many servings from a tub of all in one compared to other individual supplements. If you able to, it is often more cost effective to but a tub of each kind of supplement you want as for example, a 2.27kg of Scivation Whey protein contains 80 serves of high quality protein for roughly the same price as an all in one with just 30 serves. The previously mentioned supplements are the most commonly taken; however, these are just the tip of the iceberg! Other supplements include Glutamine, responsible for recovery and growth, HMB, designed to increase size and strength, vitamins to ensure you get your recommended daily amounts, recovery drinks to quickly re stock muscle glycogen levels and help begin the recovery and repair process, the list goes on and on! The important thing as a consumer is to recognise your goals and to then use the supplements most suited to those goals. If you’re unsure on what supplements best suit your needs, help and advice is always on hand, contact Protein Shack either via email: proteinshack@yahoo.co.uk or simply call 07929 454431

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Wrestling N We start this month with all the goings on in the WWE. The wrestling world was set alight and the internet buzzing, when in early July, CM Punk appeared to break protocol on WWE Raw and went into business for himself by cutting a shoot style promo and launching a broadside at the WWE. There are full details of this elsewhere in this issue, but suffice to say they did a great job of fooling the fans and the internet boys alike as the whole thing was one giant con. The upshot of the storyline is that we now have two WWE Champions (John Cena and CM Punk) which should lead to a unification match at Summer Slam. The long term bigger news though is that WWE CEO Vince McMahon is now no longer in charge of the day to day running of the company. That job now falls to his son in law, Triple H. On screen he was ousted by the board of directors, but in reality this has been planned for at least 12 months as the infamously long hours he worked where beginning to take their toll on his health. Will Triple H take the new role seriously or just use it a vehicle to put himself over at the rest of the rosters expense? Only time will tell.

Christian

“Good Ol’ JR” Jim Ross is now officially back on Raw as the play by play commentator. It’s great to see him back and being treated with the respect his rightly deserves by the WWE. The poor guy has been through “Hell, Fire, and Brimstone!” (To quote the man himself) for long enough. Christian is again WWE World Heavyweight Champion having won the title from Randy Orton after goading him into getting disqualified in a match where the title could change hands that way. The interaction between these two has been fantastic and has been a reason to tune in each Friday night.

Money in the Bank saw Alberto Del Rio win the RAW title shot and Daniel Bryan win the Smackdown one. Bryan has already declared that he intends to cash in his guaranteed title shot at Wrestlemania next year, but Del Rio is anyone’s guess as he has picked up yet another injury. For Bryan it’s an amazing change of fortunes from 12 months ago when he was sacked from WWE for going to far in an on screen angle. It’s a welcome reward for someone that has spent so many years on the indie circuit and then working his way up through ROH and then TNA before finally making it as a legit main event player. I wouldn’t bet against him winning the gold. An interesting side note to Smackdown for UK fans is the babyface turn for Sheamus. Mark Henry is being pushed to the hilt as a monster heel and has destroyed and ‘injured’ both Big Show and Kane in recent weeks (both of whom are due to take some time off anyway) in a bid to have Sheamus come and conquer him and turn himself into one of Smackdown’s top faces in the process. I have high hopes of this as its playing to his strengths and I’m sure he will relish the chance to be cheered with the upcoming European Tour only a couple of months away. Meanwhile, over in the world of TNA Impact Wrestling, things have been spicing up nicely too...

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WRESTLING NEWS Page 11

CM Punk

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By Bryan Levick

UFC Middleweight Chris Leben has come along way since his days as a hard-partying, heavy drinking, out of control contestant on season one of The Ultimate Fighter way back in 2005.

CHRIS LEBEN - THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER? Page 13

“The Crippler” has grown up as a man and a Mixed Martial Artist right before our very eyes. That’s not to say he hasn’t had his ups and downs, but how many of us haven’t gone through our own peaks and valleys? Most of us are allowed to mature without the pressure of having our every moved ridiculed by members of an ever growing media and a boss who does not like to see the sport or the organization embarrassed in any way. Leben has stepped his game up in a big way over the past 18 months. He is now preparing to headline UFC 138 against surging contender Mark Munoz on November 5 in Birmingham, England. The last time Leben fought in the U.K. he lost a unanimous decision to Michael Bisping at UFC 89 back in October of 2008. After the bout Leben tested positive for steroids and received a nine month suspension. He returned at UFC 101 where he was choked out by Jake Rosholt. Something must have happened when Leben woke up after the fight with Rosholt because since then he has gone 4-1 with wins over Jay Silva, Wanderlei Silva, Aaron Simpson & Yoshihiro Akiyama. The UFC is so happy with Leben that they have chosen him to be part of the first non-main event fight that is scheduled for five rounds when he faces Munoz. “I think it’s awesome to be part of this fight,” Leben told Bleacher Report. “It’s a good thing allaround, not just for the fighters, but for the fans as well. I’m prepared

to go five rounds. This is going to be a huge point of separation for the main event guys in headline bouts.”

the drop to middleweight back in August of 2009, he has amassed a 6-1 record.

Leben is taking this opportunity extremely serious and is working as hard as ever. Leben only knows one speed and that’s straight ahead as witnessed in his wars, especially his Fight of the Night against Akiyama at UFC 116. He will need to pace himself better against Munoz or risk losing steam in the championship rounds.

“We are going to bring in some guys in from outside of our camp, fighters like Ed Herman who I used to train with at Team Quest,” Leben admitted. “Most likely I will bring in some of my coaches from Oregon, like Greg Thompson. The key is having guys here who are familiar with me and can help me prepare for Munoz’s style of fighting. I know we are going to bring a few wrestlers in as well.”

“We’ve been training for a few weeks now, but we are really starting to pick up some steam,” Leben said. “Everything is going really good so far and now is the time where we can start to formulate a game plan.”

The only loss Munoz has had since he began fighting at 185 came against former divisional number one contender Yushin Okami. His growth and maturity have come through in wins against Kendall Grove, C.B. Dolloway and most recently, Demian Maia...

Munoz is about as tough as they come. He has power in both hands and uses his amateur wrestling To read the rest of this background to try and take his article why not order a opponents down where he can beat them with his savage ground back issue, visit www. and pound. Ever since making fightersmag.co.uk/backissue

vs Akiyama @ UFC 116

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Julie Kitchen Julie Kitchen is an inspirational athlete, her record breaking achievements are immense and her determination, skill and drive are infectious. Julie is the current ranked number one women’s World Muaythai Boxing Champion, born, raised and residing in Cornwall, UK. Julie Kitchen is the 1st British woman to bring a WBC World Title home to the UK. Julie Kitchen’s fight record : 51 fights - 43 wins - 8 losses, 13 x World Champion and 23 Belts Height : 5ft 11”” Weight : 59kg--67kg Julie fights in 5 different weight categories under Muay Thai, Kickboxing and K1 style oriental rules. Julie has fought and is renowned in Thailand, Jamaica, New York, Holland and the UK. She has also fought number 1 opponents from Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Finland, Portugal, Turkey, Holland and America and has beaten them all.

Julie is recognised as ‘the most successful female fighter ever to hail from the United Kingdom’ and has won numerous awards including ‘ISKA fighter of the year’ for the 2nd year running and ‘2009 female fighter of the year’ in Japan to name just a couple. Apart from being a skillful fighter Julie is a trainer for private and group tuition, charity supporter, school talks motivator for kids being active in sport, and mother of twin girls. She is an ambassador for sports in general, especially encouraging women to get involved and achieve their goals even when facing adversity, as well as being involved in anti-bullying campaigns and weight loss programmes.

Julie is an amazing tribute to what can be achieved through dedication, hard work and a passion to inspire others through sport. Julies’s sponsors include : Touchgloves Gym RealFitReview.com Breathe Unity Athlete Management

Julie’s titles held:

WBC WELTERWEIGHT WORLD TITLE BACKSTREET BRAWLER TOP KING WORLD TITLE @63.5KG WORLD I.S.K.A MUAYTHAI TITLE@67KG WORLD I.S.K.A MUAYTHAI TITLE @64KG WORLD I.S.K.A MUAYTHAI TITLE @67KG WORLD WMC MUAYTHAI TITLE @63KG+ (successful defence) WORLD WPMF MUAYTHAI TITLE @67KG WORLD WPMF MUAYTHAI TITLE@65KG WIKBA WORLD ORIENTAL RULES TITLE,(plus successful defence)@63.5KG WORLD CAPITAL PUNISHMENT MUAYTHAI TITLE@63.5KG WORLD NMF MUAYTHAI TITLE @65KG WORLD ITMF MUAYTHAI TITLE@65KG WIKBA INTERCONTINENTAL MUAYTHAI TITLE@63KG IMKO EUROPEAN MUAYTHAI TITLE @63KG GOLDEN BELT EUROPEAN MUAYTHAI TITLE @61.5KG IKF BRITISH MUAYTHAI TITLE @63KG WKA BRITISH KICKBOXING TITLE FIST BRITISH MUAYTHAI TITLE (plus successful defence) BKK BRITISH MUAYTHAI TITLE WPKL BRITISH X2 MUAYTHAI TITLE (welterweight & featherweight) BMBC ENGLISH MUAYTHAI TITLE.

JULIE KITCHEN Page 15

To read MORE ARTICLES MAKE SURE YOU THIS ForLIKE all press and sponsorship E OF enquiries if you needISSU any high NEXT THE GET or resFIGH images of Julie please contact TERS AVAILABLE FROM Rebecca on 01273 568 GOOD or email ALL WH SMITH &467 info@breatheunity.com NEWSAGENTS Julieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Social Media Platforms Website: www.juliekitchen.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ JulieKitchenUK

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Kitchen girls rising stars on the British Muay Thai scene Allaya and Amber Kitchen, twin daughters of 13x times Muay Thai World Champion Julie Kitchen, are continuing to firmly put their marks on the British Muay Thai scene and have proved again that they are the ones to watch. They chose to fight in different weight categories at the British Open Junior Championships in Solihull, West Midlands, last weekend after ending up having to fight each other in the final at the championships last year. Allaya Kitchen fought in the Girls 12-14 under 40 kg category, beating Gabbie Naughton from Mr M’s Fight Factory. Amber Kitchen, fighting in the Girls 12-14 under 45kg category, defeated Tia Ruegg from House of Pain, both adding British Champion titles to their list of achievements so far.

Allaya

Both Allaya and Amber, who turned 12 just 3 months ago, are trained by their father ‘Trainer of Champions’ Nathan Kitchen at the family-owned Touchgloves gym in Penzance, Cornwall. Having been training with champions since the age of 3 and being inspired by their Mum Julie Kitchen, who recently was the first British woman to bring the prestigious WBC belt back to the UK, the girls follow a strict but varied training schedule combined with regular trips to training camps in Thailand. Allaya and Amber have got ambitious plans for the

future and look set to follow in their mother’s footsteps. When not at school or in the gym they enjoy running, biking, climbing and the great outdoors and are making a name for themselves as all-round action girls. Allaya and Amber Kitchen are both proudly sponsored by Touchgloves Gym and Breathe Unity Athlete Management. Go to www.breatheunity. com/athletemanagement for more information or email info@ breatheunity.com if you are interested in sponsoring the girls and supporting them in their future careers.

Allaya Kitchen: Fight record: 6 fights with 4 wins and 2 losses. Titles held: BRITISH JUNIOR CHAMPION @ UNDER 40KG, 2011 ANGLO WELSH TIBC THAIBOXING CHAMPION, 2010 Sponsors: Touchgloves Gym Breathe Unity Athlete Management

KITCHEN GIRLS - RISING STARS Page 17

Amber Kitchen: Fight record: 5 fights with 4 wins and 1 loss. Titles held by Amber Kitchen : BRITISH JUNIOR CHAMPION @ UNDER 45KG, 2011 JBCT JUNIOR BRITISH CONTACT TITLE, 2010 WKA BRITISH THAIBOXING CHAMPION, 2010 Sponsors : Touchgloves Gym Breathe Unity Athlete Management

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Amber

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Deadlift Strenth and Conditioning Fundamentals

The deadlift is often referred to as the king of the strength exercises. It is a total body movement which emphasises development of strong legs, hips, back and trunk which Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll agree are the key muscles for the martial arts and are the characteristics of powerfull, explosive fighters. The deadlift along with the squat is generally the main exercise that I use with my athletes for developing high levels of maximal strength and I like to build strength in this movement up to at least 2x bodyweight, so a 100kg athlete would be able to pull 200kg from the floor with good technique. Depending on the individual there are two main styles of deadlift that can be employed, the conventional deadlift and

the sumo deadlift. The techincal elements of each lift will be explored in more detail below however in general different bodies will be suited more to the different lifts. This should be decided by your coach according to how your posture and start position looks. It is a good thing to vary the style of lift as they place emphasis on different muscle groups but for maximal efforts it is good to revert to the style that you pull which better posture and technique.

What is it exactly? The lift essentially consists of 3 phases which are the start position and first pull, the pulling phase and the lock-out. The start position: This is obviosuly the most important part of the lift, start as you mean to go on as they say!

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DEADLIFT - STRENGTH & CONDITIONING Page 19

For conventional stance: - Approach the bar positioning your feet directly beneath your hips, slightly turned out to maximise the hip involvement in the movement. - Your Hands should grip the bar in a straight line from your shoulders, no wider, no narrower this is the most efficient position for your body to pull from. - Drop your hips to a comfortable position above your knees and push your chest out. This will flatten your back to the neutral position that is important for the lift. - Look directly forward or slightly downwards maintaining a neutral neck alignment. - Take a deep breath and hold this tightening and pushing out your core. - Your weight should be all through your heels at this point. - Correct Conventional foot and hand position can be seen in photo 3? - You can see an example of a bad back position in photo 1 which shows extreme flexion in the lumbar spine. You would not want to lift from this position. I need to drop my hips and stick my chest out to correct my postion or ill get a very sore back!

Photo 1 Footwear: Deadlifting is best done with no footwear or low heeled shoes. The goal is to maximise hip involvement in the movement. Lifting in an elevated heel like most trainers have places the load Grip: With lower loads a traditional overhand grip can be used. When the load on the bar increases it is preferable to switch to an alternate grip as shown below. This allows

For the sumo: - Approach the bar and position your feet as shown in picture 3. The feet need to be more turned out in this stance than conventional. - Your hand position should be directly in line with your shoulders as in the conventional stance. - Everything else is as conventional. Your hips may be slighly lower in relation to the conventional style of pulling which stresses the legs more than the back.

more load to be handled. You can alternate hands if you are concerned about developing asymetries. Straps can also be used to allow more weight to be handled. You want to train your body to produce force, there is no point your grip being the weak link and straps allow for this.

Photo 3

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Paul Tay Paul Taylor insists he is living the dream as he continues to make waves within the world of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The former carpenter from Walsall has enjoyed a remarkable rise since making his UFC debut in 2007, starring in big fight nights in Las Vegas and taking on some of the sport’s biggest names. A former kick-boxer, Taylor won a contract to fight with UFC having sent the company a DVD of one of his bouts. Based in Cannock, Staffordshire, the 31-year-old had been involved in MMA and kickboxing for years, but was offered the chance to shine on the UFC stage. Since then, he has hardly looked back, and is now a familiar face on the UFC circuit, and couldn’t be happier. He said: “I would say I am living the dream, definitely. I started the sport as a hobby, and found that the more I did it, the better I got. One year, UFC started hiring British fighters, and I trained hard to get to the top of the tree. I went to the organisation to prove that. I had so many idols in UFC, people like Randy Couture, people at the top level, who were on top when I first started.” Taylor will never forget his UFC debut, a third round stoppage of previously undefeated Brazilian veteran Edilberto de Oliveira. The shock win catapulted Taylor into the spotlight, and he has enjoyed a rapid rise within the sport.

He added: “I remember being daunted by the crowd. I was used to fighting in front of 1,000 people and I was suddenly in front of close to 20,000, so it was very different! I trained hard, quit my day job, and trained non-stop for four months before the fight, so I was ready. In my first fight, no one thought I was going to win. Oliveira was 100 and was a good grappler, and I was making a big leap in terms of ability. I’d given up work, and I was training all the time – I did a year’s worth of training in three-and-a-half months, instead of three sessions a week. I was training twice a day, there’s a big difference.” Taylor has since gone on to make headlines in UFC, claiming three Fight of the Night titles – one of the sport’s highest honours – and taking part in one of the most memorable fights in recent history, a defeat via a unanimous decision to Chris Lytle at UFC 89 after an action-packed bout. He added: “Winning Fight of the Night three times was a highlight, and I just missed out on it twice. But the big live show I did when I fought Chris Lytle was the highlight of my career. That was special. Fighting in Las Vegas was also always a goal of mine, it’s where I wanted to be, a career goal. To fight in Vegas and do a show out there is something I’ve always wanted to do, and so I have ticked that one off. It has become the home of the sport. They just do everything bigger and better out there.”

Taylor’s future plans are very simple, and do not involve covering himself in glory. Instead, he simply intends to continue living his dream. He added: “My plan is just to get out there and win – that has always been my plan. I do the sport, and I enjoy the lifestyle. I like getting up and going to the gym and training. I like the idea of having a goal every three or four months, and training for a fight and then having a couple of weeks off and enjoying myself, then getting back in the gym. I love it. So I’ll just keep on going, and keep training. Even when I was kickboxing, I never aspired to hold titles; everything just fell into place, and the next thing I knew I was fighting for a title. I’ve had losses, but I keep going. I’m doing what I love, and there is a lot to be said for that.”

Paul Taylor’s supplement diet: USN Muscle Fuel: Muscle Fuel is a meal replacement shake, full of carbs and protein. When I’m getting close to a fight, it brings my fat levels down. It is also easily digestible. USN L-Glutamine: It is good for my joints and recovery, and prevents muscle breakdown. USN Pure Protein: This is for my recovery and helps repair my body and build new muscle, which is imperative. I have one in the morning with breakfast, one straight

PAUL TAYLOR - ENJOYING LIFE IN THE UFC Page 21

lor after training and one straight before I go to bed. It’s hard to substitute food, but this helps. USN Recover Xcell: I drink this during training. It is an endurance drink and is designed for endurance sports. During my training sessions, I’ve got twoand-a-half hours of hard work, and this keeps me fuelled...

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Master Youn-Suk Page 22 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Putting the Fight Back Into Korean Martial Arts

Or... A Better Choice for Expats in the Land of the Morning Calm Finding a quality instructor has always been nothing short of a proverbial nightmare no matter what country you reside in. When you do find him or her you want to let the world know. After 11 years in Korea, I’ve met several instructors to say the least. The market for martial art instruction has become far beyond the saturation point to say the least. To make matters worse the recent trend is towards “fun” exercise and no stress. So even though the number of teachers to choose from may be high, the actual number of quality instructors is minimal. In this article and those that follow, I will try to shed some light on those who refuse to sell out and are the best bet for foreigners visiting or living in South Korea. First I would like to introduce my friend and combat martial arts instructor, Youn-Suk Kang. He was born on July 5th, 1975 in Kang Lung. His upbringing was nothing unusual for a healthy, physically active young man. He was accomplished in football and inline skating from a young age. As many other young

men at that time, he wanted to get into martial arts to become a good fighter. He did Taekwondo for a time in Elementary school but never got to that high of a level. But he wanted to experience what real combat felt like. So at 16 years old, he started Judo (Yudo) with the famous KwonNam Kim (who is still teaching at the Gangnam Yudo Kwon in Seoul). He was ranked 3rd in his youth. He went on to Yong-In University in the city of Yong-In and majored in Judo. He also restarted Taekwondo and began studies in Kendo (in Korean, Kumdo). In fact during his mandatory military service, he was assigned the task of teaching martial arts. After he felt the pull to the West to develop his English and see the rest of the world, at least in part. So in the year 2000 he took a job at the Black Belt USA Taekwondo Studio in Moor Park (USA) where he taught Judo and Taekwondo until 2002.

He finally opened his first school and his association, the KORBBC (Korea Black Belt Centre) on October 1st, 2003. He also began serious studies in Boxing and Tuk Kong Mu Sool (Special Forces martial arts) to round out his skills. To test his slowly developing system he took it the slowly emerging MMA industry in Korea in the Spirit MC competitions. He won all 6 times he competed by tap out. As word of his victories grew his student base grew to over 500 students in three locations (impressive in such an insanely competitive industry). Now that he already experienced combat in a number of forms, the martial arts became much more than conflict; it became his life, his philosophy. He felt the need to leave a legacy. In his case, his techniques and strategies. Between his locations in Seongnam (city) and Seokcho (city) he is insanely busy, especially with him training to fight again. Many of his students remain several years to eventually compete and major in either Taekwondo or Judo at university. His advice? “If you want to do something start right now! Don’t think too much. There are no shortcuts. Just a lot of practice.” To contact Master Kang go to www.korbbc.com or e-mail him at blackbeltcenter@live.co.kr. He is by far one of the most easy going and practical instructors in this part of the country.

Kang

MASTER YOUN - SUK KANG Page 23

By Guy Edward Larke Master Guy Edward Larke has dedicated his life from a young age to the pursuit of the martial arts, Asian culture and hopology. It led him to Korea in 2000 and has lived there since then. He lives in Seongnam city with his wife Gi-Ryung and son Alexander. He holds black belts in Taekwondo, Hapkido, Taekkyon, Bon Kuk Kumdo, Korean kickboxing, Karate-do, Wushu, Cheonji-muye-do, and various other arts. Currently he teaches Taekwondo, Karate and Cheonji-muye-do full time in addition to writing for various magazines and running Kisa-Do Muye & Marketing. He can be contacted at kisa_do_muye@yahoo.ca.

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TACTICAL FORCE - DVD REVIEW Page 25

TACTICAL FORCE

Join the LAPD SWAT team on a brutal mission when TACTICAL FORCE is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 31 October 2011 from Entertainment One. Starring WWE star STEVE AUSTIN (The Expendables), MICHAEL SHANKS (Arctic Blast) and MICHAEL JAI WHITE (The Dark Knight), TACTICAL FORCE is a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish when a training exercise for the LAPD SWAT team goes horribly wrong. After a disastrous attempt to rescue real hostages, the team are sent to a desolate location to improve their mission tactics. Stumbling across an illegal secret operation, they are plunged head first into an all-too-real battle. Pitted against two rival gangs whilst trapped in an abandoned hangar armed with nothing but blanks, the team must prepare to put their new skills to the test and lay down the law in this action-packed crime thriller. This drill just got real... Steve ‘Stone Cold’ Austin ranked among the 100 greatest wrestlers of the twentieth century and was 1996 WWF King of the Ring. Also starring martial arts expert Michael Jai White, TACTICAL FORCE will be throwing all the punches when released on DVD and Blu-ray on 31 October 2011.

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Page 26 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

Ros Fit to FIGHT: Under The Microscope

To read the rest of this article why not order a back issue, visit www. fightersmag.co.uk/ backissue

ROSS PEARSON - UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Page 27

s Pearson As Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Winner Ross Pearson prepared for his UFC® 134 fight with undefeated Brazilian Edson Barboza on the 27 of August in Rio, Brazil, we put his training and diet under the microscope to see exactly how the UFC® lightweight fighter is preparing for what he believes to be the toughest fight of his career to date.

Training and Conditioning

Firstly Ross’s renowned striking ability and supreme conditioning is the result of hours spent in the gym and meticulous preparation with his diet. In fact leading up to a fight Ross may train two or three times a day. Whether he works on striking at Salford Muay Thai, wrestling at Spartans Gym or training with his Rough House team mates in Nottingham or is talking with his Sports Nutrition sponsor Myprotein.com in Manchester, the dedication of ‘The Real Deal’ is unquestionable. As Ross says himself “I sometimes feel like I spend half my life on the motorway.” Fortunately, Grapplefit where Ross works on conditioning with Barry Gibson is closer to his home in the North East. Due to his already demanding schedule, sessions with Barry are limited to two or three times a week. The training is intense and completely centred on performance, Barry’s mantra being, “Beach muscles won’t make you a better fighter.” Ross lives by the ‘Train hard, fight easy’ slogan and when these two iron minds come together the result is some blisteringly tough training. The sessions at GrappleFit will either focus on strength, power or metabolic conditioning depending on how close the next fight is. Each phase lasts around six weeks and when Ross hasn’t got a fight lined up, the focus is usually on strength and power, which allows Ross to physically control his opponents and land those knock out strikes. However leading up to the Barboza fight, Ross will switch to vomit

inducing metabolic conditioning, which ensures he can go the five round distance with the Muay Thai specialist should he need to.

Strength Phase

It’s important the strength phase of conditioning doesn’t add unnecessary bulk to Ross due to his weight class restriction. Reps are kept low, poundage high and movements big, powerful and compound to ensure that pure strength is all Ross gains. Plus Ross meticulously analyses his diet, only eating nutrient dense food low in calories and fat. Even the protein shakes he drinks have been tailored specific to him. Using Impact Whey Isolate from Myprotein.com, since it’s been micro-filtered to ensure it contains less calories and saturated fat than any other protein.

Strength Exercises:

Ring Dips – Ross performs bodyweight dips using gymnastic

rings since they make the body work much harder to stabilise and control the movement of the body. Strong stabiliser muscles are essential for an MMA athlete since they are key to functional strength. Weighted Chins – Ross performs chins with a weight vest since bodyweight exercises like chin ups since studies show bodyweight exercises are far better compared to static machine exercises for strength, endurance and flexibility (key attributes for an MMA athlete) Zercher Squats – Ross performs Squats with the barbell positioned on the chest, far harder than the conventional squat, the Zercher squat places greater emphasis on the core muscles since these are key muscles used in kicks, punches and throws...

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Babak Aghava The Rise of Superior Challenge

There can be few doubts that the European mma scene is gathering momentum at an ever increasing pace. A lot of European events have, over the past months, gathered a much larger and more vocal fan base outside of their native territories. Events like Fight Festival, KSW and Superior Challenge have all made a much bigger ripple in 2011 and have effectively penetrated the fabric of the mainstream consciousness. KSW, thanks in part to the super human Mariusz Pudzianowski, have garnered much Transatlantic interest but this past May saw the HD Net debut of another European promotion. Superior Challenge 7: Rise of Champions took place on April 30th from Hovet in Sweden and was headlined by a middleweight title encounter between Jeremy Horn and Thales Leites and also featured the likes of Urijah Faber, Ryo Chonan and Pedro Rizzo in attendance.

I caught up with Superior Challenge mastermind Babak Aghavali as he spoke about his long term plans and the global expansion of the organization. Babek, thanks very much for taking the time out to chat. Congratulations on Superior Challenge 7 which was truly a step up for your promotion in a lot of respects. Thank you. We always try to increase the quality of Superior Challenge after each show and the first step towards a major upgrade started with the Superior Challenge 6 main event featuring Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen and also the first appearance of Thales Leites in the organization. Joachim is my absolute favorite fighter because of his aggressive fighting style and his humble

Babak with Thales Leites

personality. It was fantastic to see him fight at Superior Challenge in Sweden. He won that fight against the two times Olympic Wrestler Sami “Uzi” Aziz which made him a natural challenger for the title that Sami lost to Jameel “The Real Deal” Massouh back on Superior Challenge 5. As a natural step towards the organization’s vision we raised the level as usual for Superior Challenge 7. That show had the best overall fight card in Superior Challenge’s history with three title fights that gave birth to two new champions. Daniel Acacio defended his welterweight title for the first time and Thales Leites defeated the experienced Jeremy Horn, which made him the first Superior Challenge Middleweight Champion. The fight of the night was between the always popular Reza “Mad Dog” Madadi and Rich “No Love” Clementi. After three rounds of nonstop action Reza was announced the winner after a close decision and became the first Superior Challenge Lightweight Champion. That fight was one of the best fights ever in the history of the promotion. Let’s talk about that fight for a second because it seems that there was some degree of controversy surrounding the result. What are your recollections of Reza Madadi vs. Rich Clementi? To be honest, I didn’t have the slightest idea of which fighter would be announced as the winner...

BABAK AGHAVALI - SUPERIOR CHALLENGE Page 29

By Ben Cartlidge To read the rest of this article why not TAKE OUT A SUBSCRIPTION, visit www.fightersmag.co.uk/ SUBSCRIBE

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Living the Dream the road to the UFC

By Steve Dileo

“Live your dream!” How many times have you heard that or have said it to a young person preparing for their career? Enough times to make it a familiar cliché. Perhaps Scarface’s Tony Montana said it best: “You don’t have the guts to be what you wanna be!” In fact most people, for whatever reason, fail to chase their dream. Some get married or some land the “perfect” job; but often it is simply fear that paralyses even the most passionate of dreams. However, every once in a while, a person comes along that defines what it means to never give up or give in; to not settle for a comfortable, secure life. They demand more of themselves and have the courage to put it all on the line, risking failure and all of the “I told you so’s!” Charlie Brenneman is one such person. Charlie is a UFC success story from my sleepy little home town in central Pennsylvania. Charlie grew up in a rural community where sports were part of his life from a very early age. His family of 2 brothers and one sister, along with his parents remain his biggest fans. He began his wrestling career when he was eight and pursued a number of other sports through high school which included: football, baseball, and cross country. As a state two-time silver medalist and a U.S. Free-Style All-American, it was not long until Charlie concentrated on the mat, continuing his winning

vs Story @ UFC Versus 4

ways as a Division I wrestler at Lock Haven University, otherwise known as “Mat-Town, USA.” He was listed as a Division I, top 12 wrestler across the country and in 2004 he was named an Academic AllAmerican. It was here that he was dubbed “The Spaniard” from the Lock Haven head coach at that time, Rocky Bonomo, who thought Charlie looked like the famous Spanish actor, Antonio Banderas. A few years ago, Charlie was your typical college grad looking for

that first job, and the proverbial “American Dream.” Charlie landed a teaching job at his high school alma mater, along with an assistant position coaching what he loves - wrestling. What more could a guy ask for, right? Wrong! After a while (and a reality Television show), something else kept knocking at the door, keeping him up at nights, a constant discontent that would not go away. That is, until he faced the fact that he could no longer resist the urge to get back into the game, get back to competing. He knew it was a choice most would not understand because it meant giving up what many would describe as the perfect situation. The decision he made was by no means easy or painless; in fact, it probably took more courage than stepping into the octagon!

Pros vs. Joes

During his tenure as an assistant wresting coach, Charlie received a random flyer as a cold call request for competitors in the reality Television show, “Pros vs. Joes.” The series attempted to have amateur athletes (representing the Joes) square off in various physical challenges with professional athletes representing their own...

LIVING THE DREAM - THE ROAD TO THE UFC Page 31

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Page 32 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

The truth beh the mask? Sub edited by Cris Janson-Piers. Main photography by Janson-Piers Imaging

Recently I purchased an Elevation mask for my partner and fighter KerryLouise as I had read a lot about them and heard that they were really good. However on speaking to some endurance athletes including keen road and mountain cyclists plus a very good distance runner, I have heard differing opinions in relation to martial artist’s requirements. This intrigues me and I am now on a mission and keen to record all Kerry-Louise’s results over the next few months to see if I have wasted my money or not. I also am hoping it generates general discussion and feedback off others in the magazine in time to come. I certainly will return in a few months a display clearly my findings along with any results whether positive or negative. We also plan to have Kerry-Louise’s VO2 max recorded. Firstly let’s look at what the benefits of “actual” high altitude training are in the passage below of which one of the athletes I was speaking to prepared. Haemoglobin is the body’s oxygen transportation system. The higher our haemoglobin levels, the more oxygen we can supply our muscles with, which in turn puts less strain on our heart and lungs allowing us to work harder for longer! At high altitude (above 2,400m), there is considerably less oxygen in the air. When training in this kind of environment, the body adapts, producing more red blood cells and haemoglobin to cope with the harsh conditions. Even after

returning to sea level, the increased levels of haemoglobin in your body will remain for around 10 – 14 days. You now have a greater VO2 max… make the most of it!

non-oxidative & oxidative muscle tissues. Some martial arts fall into this category, but such as mat sports or the shorter 3 x 2 or 5 x 2 minute rounds are primarily non-oxidative.

This type of training is not for everyone! High altitude training suits athletes performing in aerobic activity best (cyclists, marathon runners, etc…) it has been shown that athletes performing primarily anaerobic activity (explosive sports such as sprinting, power lifting, etc…) do not benefit from altitude training as they do not rely on oxygen to fuel their performances. I asked “So do you consider the martial artist will benefit from the mask training and if so at what regularity and should its use be changed nearer to a big fight?”

So I further asked “So even though the fighter may not need the direct effects of high altitude training being over what is considered “short distance”, doesn’t the athlete still gain benefit in that their training (as a pro) at mainly 6 days a week for 3-4 hours a day, which does include some short range work and sprints but further may include some longer distance runs, swims, distance cycles, etc. Kerry-Louise may also go on the heavy bag for anything up to 10-15 rounds of 3 minute activity with 30 seconds rest. That’s a lung burner on its own and not forgetting she is also an asthmatic.

Most competitive martial arts events do not last long enough to warrant this much attention on your VO2 max. Obviously, it wouldn’t do any harm to increase it, but maintaining it would be hard work. There is a cross over in sports though, Take rugby players for example... probably the most explosive sport yet requires players to keep going for 80min, this using both

The basic answer I got here and a great comment to start was: The mask certainly will do what it says in relation to cardiovascular activity and could be beneficial in that because of its restriction it will actually allow the athlete to “Free up time”. Basically they will work harder over shorter periods, thus meaning they could effectively spend less time training on specific

ind exercise such as running, elliptical / cross training, or cycling, whether that be physical or on a gym bike. The mask wouldn’t be favoured for sprints or short burst exercise. I certainly believe that the mask will benefit the training of the fighter up to the fight in that they will become very fit and strong during their continual training in the build-up to the big day. This will allow them then to compete at the highest level of fitness, but I agree that at the time of the fight and shortly before the mask may be put to rest. So that’s the initial technical part of this short article, so how does it hold up as a consumer unit and how do people see it? I have used 16 Year old Sean Morgan of Coventry (permission sought) and 30 year old Kerry-Louise of Notts who have both been using the mask and I ask them some varied questions.

How does the mask fit? Is it adjustable? KERRY-LOUISE: The mask fits with adjustable straps that are easy to tighten once the mask is on. You don’t need anyone else to do it for you it’s easy to do yourself...

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THE TRUTH BEHIND THE MASK Page 33

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Louis The K1 Louis King has been a professional kick boxer and K1 fighter since 2009 and in only two years of professional ring fighting, he has proven himself to be a formidable opponent. His indomitable fighting style has seen a swift end to the likes of Dave Rintall and Shaun Lomas. Keeping to his record of no losses or knockout blows, Louis toppled Colin Wilby with a devastating knockout blow within 1 minute 23 seconds of the first round. Louis has quickly established himself in the full contact arena and looks set to become one of the fiercest competitors the K1 ring has ever known. He currently holds an amateur light-heavy weight title for Extreme Brawl UK.

a club near my house opened up. Soon after that I had my first amateur fight and I was hooked.

How did you become interested in Kick Boxing?

LOUIS KING: I’ve had five amateur fights. I lost the first one, because I was just taking my training for granted. But soon after that I drew in a fight but decided I was going to keep with it. After that it was just win after win. That’s when I decided to go professional. I fought Shaun Lomas, that was my second pro-fight, and I won that one half ways through the third round, TKO.

LOUIS KING: I grew up in Haslemere, where we were one of only a few black families in the area, so with that came a whole lot of abuse. It made me want to find a way to protect myself. I looked into Karate initially, mainly due to the fact that there weren’t many schools in my area and my family wasn’t that well off, so we couldn’t afford to just go off and train somewhere. I forgot about training for a solid chunk of my life. I just took it for granted, but I got back into it when

How did you make the transition from amateur to professional fighter?

How was it fighting Colin Wilby? LOUIS KING: I had two weeks’ notice, but it was the chance to jump into the UCMMA and I wasn’t

going to turn it down. I won in 1 minute 23 seconds, which is really something when you consider Wilby has had over sixty boxing fights and is an unlicensed whitecollar and bare-knuckle fighter.

Where are you aiming to be with your fighting career? LOUIS KING: I’ve had five pro fights, unbeaten, and I want a chance at the top. All through my career I’ve seen guys with records nowhere near as good as mine. I feel like I keep winning these fights, but staying at the same level, it feels like I’m not progressing in my fighting career. But now things are looking up, I have the right people behind me. I’ve got my next title fight with Mark Weir on December 3rd. I’ll tell you now; I’m going for the knock out, mate! But my ultimate goal is UFC, and getting out to Miami and Holland to do a bit of fighting out there.

You have a unique style of fighting, how would you describe it? LOUIS KING: There are better technical fighters than me; those who can kick higher and look nicer. But the brute force… no one can handle it.

In your bouts, it looks as though you always have your opponents pinned and they are just fighting to keep you off them.

LOUIS THE K-1 KING Page 35

King! By Simon R. Augustus

LOUIS KING: That’s my aim, to keep them fighting for survival. I want them to think, “I’ve just got to survive this round.” My best position is when they start protecting themselves, then there’s no surviving.

Have you found people contrasting your In-ring persona to your normal personality? LOUIS KING: (Laughs) Yeah, I’m a nice feller, don’t be fooled! They all take the mick; before the fight I’m easy going and ready, the bell rings and you watch me destroy them, then I step off the ring and I’m laughing again.

What kind of training do you do? LOUIS KING: I still practise a really aggressive style of street Karate with Matt Powell, the owner of Colosseum Gym. Everything you learn is quick, instantaneous thinking. What you would actually do on the street; any way or means, anything you can do, grab them, poke them in the eyes, anything like that we teach. You do learn a lot from it, and you learn not to hesitate. I find it helps with my K1 and my reaction timing, but I try not to confuse the two. I’ve walked out of one of my Karate sessions more damaged than one of my K1 fights!

Your next big fight is on the 3rd of December, can you run me through your training regime for that?

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Page 36 WWW.FIGHTERSMAG.CO.UK

DIEGO SANCHEZ - BY BRYAN LEVICK Page 37

Diego Sanchez I Have Total Trust In GOD! No one has ever doubted the talent or the heart that UFC Welterweight Contender Diego Sanchez possesses. He burst on to the UFC scene as the eccentric undersized middleweight on season one of The Ultimate Fighter. It was very apparent back then that the only thing that could hold Sanchez back was Sanchez himself. To say he was a little off would be putting it mildly, but upon closer inspection fans began to see a deeply religious man who had a true passion for the sport and he quickly wowed us with his talent as he stormed through the tournament before defeating Kenny Florian in The Ultimate Fighter Finale 1 and earning the six figure contract.

wasn’t all bad as he defeated Joey Stevenson and Clay Guida to earn a shot at B.J. Penn’s lightweight title at UFC 107. Sanchez was beaten to a pulp until the bout was halted in the fifth round due to a huge cut on his forehead. Sanchez once again decided to change weight classes, this time moving back up to welterweight.

He had a perfect 11-0 record before trying out for The Ultimate Fighter and had just defeated Jorge Santiago for the King of the Cage Welterweight Championship in his last bout outside of the UFC. The sky was the limit for the Greg Jackson trained fighter who immediately made the drop to a more natural 170lbs shortly after defeating Florian.

The Diego Sanchez that fights today is not very similar to the Diego Sanchez who first came to the UFC in 2005. He has begun to make the right decisions based upon what is best for his career rather than decisions based on his emotions. For one he has found his way back to the Jackson camp and he has changed his nickname from the “Nightmare” to the Dream,” at 29-years-old, he is in his physical prime and knows what he has to do to make the climb towards welterweight supremacy.

He would go on to run his record to a perfect 17-0 before suffering back-to-back losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch. In actuality the trouble began after defeating Joe Riggs in December of 2006 as he tested positive for marijuana and was suspended for three months. He also had a huge scare when it was thought that he had contracted Hepatitis C before his bout with Koscheck. Thankfully it was only a severe staph infection, but it certainly hindered his performance against his former housemate. He then made the move to lightweight and to San Diego where he would train with Saulo and Xande Ribeiro. He left the Jackson camp due to the arrival of welterweight stalwart Georges St. Pierre. The drop down to 155lbs

“It’s been a long road for me, with a lot of ups and downs,” Sanchez told Bleacher Report. “Thankfully there have been more ups than there have been downs. For me, what brings me down has only made me stronger because of it.” Sanchez has never tried to hide the fact that he had a deep faith in God and displays that during his entrance to the Octagon as well in his post-fight interviews. People who are that strong spiritually truly believe that all their blessings are due to their belief in God. That is a powerful ally to have on your side and Sanchez is truly grateful for being able to live out his dream...

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the

THE NEC BIR MINGHAM 22ND & 23R D MAY 201 0

SSHHOOWTS W THE NEC BIRMIN GHAM 22ND & 23R D MAY 2010

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 22ND & 23RD MAY 2010 THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 22ND & 23RD MAY 2010

SHOW

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM 22ND & 23RD MAY 2010

THE NEC BIRMINGHA M 22ND & 23RD MAY 2010

Live

THE NEC BIR MINGHAM 12 TH & 13TH M AY 2012

& THIS TIME IT’S

BIGGER at the NATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM, UK

Saturday the 12th & Sunday 13th May 2012 www.themartialartsshowlive.com