Update

Well I hope everybody is enjoying the Holidays. I've begun working on some lesson plans but am stuck when it comes to writting a proposal. I have had confirmation from Ajani and Ms. Spires as membes on my pannel but am still waiting on the other two. Well what I have down so far is:

Handwraps
Equipment
Stance
Jabs
Crosses
Hooks
Elbows
Low Kick
Body Kick
Push Kick
Clinching


I need to work on some some submissions and takedowns however. I also need to figure out how to propose starting some sort of class at school. Well I hope everyone's projects are going well...see you all after the break.

Christmas Break

Okay, so this break I'm planning on sitting down and breaking down what I know how to do in regards to fighting bit by bit by bit. I also need to sit down and write a serious proposal if I'm even thinking of having an intro class to martial arts in the spring. Along with that proposal I need to see what I might do and what I will need in order to do it. The school has mats, but we might need more depending in how many people would be interested.

Pads would also be a good idea, and though the good ones are kind of expensive I saw a starters kit at the mall this weekend that cost about 25 dollars and includes mitts, gloves, and a jump rope. The quality might not be that great but it is economical and it would allow for each pair of people to share equipment and not have to pay much.

Tomorrow is our final for Senior Seminar and I still haven't solidifies a panel. As of the moment, I am going to write to Eric Williams, the head Jiu-Jitsu coach at Elite and to Vince ( A trainer at Elite) to see if they would be willing to be on my panel. I had mentioned it to them a while back, but I haven't had much contact with them since. As far as the faculty member goes, I am thinking of asking Ajani Thorton, who did Muay Thai some year back, I feel as if he would be able to help me on campus. My mentor, Mary Ann Spires, who was looking for a martial art in which to enroll one of her sons in might be on my panel I also think that this would make our connection stronger since we haven't really talked much since the Ice cream social.

This break is something that I've really needed just to get my head straight and I'm looking forward to working on my project.

My Sentence

My sentence would be as follows:

I have allowed students at Chinquapin to see for themselves if they would really enjoy martial arts and convinced them to train on their own by organizing an introductory class to martial arts and improved my own skill level in the process.

Jiu-Jitsu

Hey well, it's been a while since I posted something but I wanted to inform you all of a great website that I recently found: submissions 101. This site offers a lot instructional videos on not only submissions but escapes, take-downs, and counters as well. Take a look at it, it has a lot of valuable information that can come in handy. Hope you enjoy.

I will be working a lot during the Christmas break. I have done some research but I think that I need to sit down during the break and set a concrete plan for what I want. I have to set a clear goal in mind in order to reach it because right now I have an idea but I don't know how to make it come reality. I feel that if I can refine my idea during the break then I'll be able to hit the ground running come January. I also want to see if perhaps I can shoot a few videos during the break as well.

Bring Home the Championship

Friday night's fights proved to be awesome. All of the fights were great though there was one that I though was stopped too early and caused a great uproar towards the referee who called a TKO when the fighter was still standing and fighting back. I encourage peopel to go see a fight when they can, the experience is like nothing you've probably felt before, the lights, the music, the action. For those of you who enjoy going to clubs, an arena has a greater feel and the after party at the club is better than any regular night at any club. Especially if your teamate won. To see more results go to the Cage Door.

So let me tell you that Elite is now home to the Legacy Fighting Lightweight Champion, Ray Blodgett, one of my instructors, who continues to be undefeated in his profesional career. His fight was great, it lasted all five rounds and Ray won by unanimous decision for dominating most of the fight, with a broken nose! If that's not tough then I don't know what is. After suffering a broken nose, Ray kept on fighting and won the title, thoguh I haven't been able to talk to him since, maybe this weekend.

My tournament on the other hand didn't go so hot, I did fine against other teenagers, getting eliminated in the quarter finals, but was whipped by the adults. My compliments to Richard Tran though who ended up winning against all the white belts, teens and adults.

Back In the Cage

There will be a friendly tournament at my gym on Saturday, and I'm thinking of participating. It isn't anything too serious and it's being done in order to help put an after school program that keeps troubled kids off the streets and provides tutoring and educational aid to needy kids in the Houston area. This is just one of many ways in which Elite helps improve the lives of the surrounding community.

Fight this Friday

There is going to be a fight this Friday at the Houston Arena Theater. It's being promoted by legacy fights and one of my instructors will be fighting that night for the 155 lbs. title. He's currently undefeated so I'm looking forward to see him fight. I just wanted to let you guys know of the upcoming event to see if you would like to attend. The event starts at 8pm and tickets start at forty dollars. Just click on the link.

Current Standings

Ok, well I spoke to Eric yesterday and am thinking of having a documentation on what it feels to practice jui-jitsu and have like a cardio kickboxing class at school if at all possible.

As far as research goes, well I'm making some progress and will start putting information on the E-Portfolio site soon.

Research

There are many websites that already do what I plan on doing. The most helpful one that I've found is Fight Authority, a website that post videos by professional fighters that give their advice and techniques for defensive as well as offensive moves. Though my main focus is on the training that I receive on the weekend.
Asides from the actual fighting, the research that I plan on doing involves more of the history of Muay Thai and Jui Jitsu.

Learning

Tim Ferris talks about what it takes to learn to do something. I agree with what he says, in order to learn something, we have to overcome challenges. With him, it was swimming, with me it is fighting. I can't say that I was scared to try and begin fighting but I was indecisive for a long time because of what one man said a long time ago. Well after watching this video, I do feel like the Incredible Hulk, though not about swimming, language, or dancing, but about my senior project.

The way Tim goes into the mechanics of swimming gives me some idea as to how I might create my own TEDtalk for our project. This is something that I was finding difficult to do at first. I want to say that as far as my project goes, I am making some advancement in deciding what it is that I hope to teach, I'm beggining to wonder if maybe I could teach a PE class ( just on technique) so there won't be any injuries and so that students at our school might decide if this is something they too might wish to pursue.

The Beginning

For my Senior Project I decided to write my own book on Mixed Martial Arts and a set of Instructional videos to accompany it. So far, I have made contact with Eric Williams, a 3 time Brazilian Jui-Jitsu Champion, and the first BJJ black belt in Houston.
I am currently training with him and working on improving my skills. I can't claim to be an expert but the purpose of this project is to achieve mastery in an area of interest, for me that area is martial arts.
Through out the course of the year, I will continue working on my personal development but I will also work on passing some of that knowledge to others who might be interested as well. I look forward to begin my web portfolio online and posting my own website.