Being technical versus being rugged.

Hey folks,

I am back and in good spirits! Not only is it Friday, but I have been watching the classic kid's show "Electric Company." If you havent seen it, check it out. I mean seeing Morgan Freeman with the mother of all afros is worth the time, trust me. Anyhow, this is about martial arts, and I am going to keep it that way.

What came to me recently was a contrast in combat ideology. The idea of being highly technical as opposed to being rugged. Technical proficiency is something that is necessary for any serious martial arts practitioner. I really believe that. We have heard our entire lives that "size doesnt matter in a fight." I dont personally believe that to be true. But what I do believe is that technical proficiency should be the foundation of all martial arts training. After all, frightening physicality is useless if you cannot strike or seize your opponent. Bob Sapp, Vladomir Klitchko, and Brock Lesnar are just a few examples of frightening physical specimens who could put a real whoopin on you, even if their technical game needs a little polish.

Being rugged is something a little different. I am NOT implying that rugged individuals cannot be technically proficient. More often than not, being rugged is more of a mindset than an actual, tangible quality. A rugged person is a person does not seem to rely solely on their technical proficiency so much as wearing you down with persistence and physicality. Anyone who has seen Takanori Gomi or Rich Franklin or Wanderlei Silva in action knows what rugged looks like.

Now here is the rub, we have to choose what our natural tendencies lean toward. I mean, we would love to have the boxing skills of Sugar Ray Robinson, and the wrestling skills of Alexander Karelin. It would be nice if we could flavor all of that with Antonio Nogueira's transitions and Kosei Inoue's Judo.

Oddly enough, nobody has all of those qualities. I know, I cant figure out why not either :) But honestly, I think that it would behoove all of us in the combative arts to decide what fits out natural tendencies. I am not saying that one is better than the other. Both kinds of combatants have proven themselves time and time again. I mean in boxing you can name as many Joe Fraziers as Robinsons. In MMA you can name as many Jon Fitches as Lyoto Machidas.

While it would be nice to be able to seamlessly go back and forth between the two, the fact is that 95% of us cannot. So here is what I propose: Tape your training and sparring sessions. It is often hard to be objective about your skills and tendencies without live footage to support your claims. You may find that you are doing something totally different from what you thought your were doing. Once you find what your tendencies are, you can feel free to develop the things that will help improve your style of fighting.

If it turns out that you are a slugger who like to punch, you might want to look into some footage of Joe Frazier, or Mike Tyson, Marvin Hagler or Roberto Duran. If you like to pick apart your opponents with your hands you can research Pernell Whitaker, or Floyd Mayweather jr. or Sugar Ray Leonard. If you like to stand and bang mostly with punches kicks knees and elbows, you may want to check out some K-1 competitions or some Muay Thai smokers. If you fancy yourself more a well-rounded technician, you can look into some Sabaki Challenges or maybe the Shidokan.

For you grapplers out there, I have some advice for you as well. If you find yourself wanting to improve your double leg takedown, or single legs, you can check out Mark Schultz or Dan Gable footage. If you like to impose yourself physically on someone, there is a lot of video on Alexander Karelin or Rulon Gardner.

If you are a fan of explosive throws and leg sweeps you may want to look into Judo and Sambo. While not extremely versed in the big names of Sambo, Judo has tons of people that you can research. Try Kosei Inoue, or Ryoko Tani. You can research Rhadi Ferguson or just about any world champion from the Eastern European countries.

If you like weapons training, there are not a lot of folks more technical than the Cepeda brothers. They have given out more whoopins than that one mean auntie that we have all had :) If rough and tumble is your thing, The Dog Brothers are the ticket. They have long been pioneering the American push toward realistic weapons training. There is also Paul Vunak. Between those two, I think that your weapons needs will be rather full.

If the mixed martial arts are your thing, there are PLENTY of rugged combatants. You can WOW yourself at any time by watching the gutsy performances by Jon Fitch. He is tougher than a 3 dollar steak ( Thanks Mr. Ross for the example) He has put on some performances that epitomize toughness. I could also put some guys like Daijiro Matsui and Akira Shoji in that department. You could spice it up with Takanori Gomi, Sean Sherk,Wanderlei Silva and Keith Jardine. For you technicians out there, you have a lot to look forward to also. You can study the grace and skill of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Georges St. Pierre,Urijah Faber, BJ Penn and Fedor Emelianenko. Mirko Crop Cop, though on a bit of a slide recently, has shown us what upper level striking can do for you. He has brought the phrase" left high kick" into popular MMA lexicon.

At any rate, whatever it is that you do, do it to your best. Make a plan, and work it. We are looking to be the best martial artists we can be. Get out there, put in the time, and make it happen!!!!