Moai Martial Arts

Upset Alert!

Posted on July 18, 2013 by ALar

Which UFC Champ has the biggest chance to lose their belt in 2013?

Now that calmer heads have prevailed and the allegations of throwing fights and tanking have moved on to Internet forum oblivion, we can all be at rest with the fact that Anderson Silva is no longer the UFC Middleweight Champion. Chris Weidman went out there and knocked the snot out of the showboating Silva and rightfully earned the strap (and a New Year’s Eve rematch!). Moving on to the rest of 2013, the latter half of the year is absolutely loaded with high quality UFC cards. If you had trouble wading through the TUF Finales and Brazilian flavored cards of the last few months, I hope you saved up some of your allowance to shell out some dough for the Pay Per Views headed our way. Leading up the Silva/Weidman rematch on December 28th, every UFC belt is on the line at least once, and my question is, which Champion has the biggest chance of losing their title in the Octagon in 2013. Keep reading and I’ll tell you!

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Posted in Commentary, MMA, Opinion | Tagged GSP Hendricks prediction, mma, Top MMA upsets, UFC | 1 Comment

The Old Ways of New Masters: Interview with Jay Bell

Posted on July 18, 2013 by moaimartialarts

Marcus Aurelio, Jay Bell, and Marco DeLima (left to right).

This week’s interview is with my jiu-jitsu coach and owner of Gracie Farmington Valley, Jay Bell. He has been training in “the gentle art” for over eleven years and is a black belt under Rob Khan. Jay is a talented and generous teacher, and, as you’ll read in this interview, he has some great insight into the martial arts. Also take a look at his You Tube channel to see what I mean!

What made you want to start training? What was your inspiration?

When I was a little kid, it was all of those kung fu and Chuck Norris movies. That, and my dad was a cop and took some form of Tae Kwon Do which I thought was cool. As an adult, I watched Royce Gracie fight in the UFC and then saw my friend compete in vale tudo–where all the BJJ guys won. I signed up for BJJ less than a week later. Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Jiu-jitsu, MMA | Tagged bjj, Gracie Farmington Valley, jay bell, jiu-jitsu, Marco DeLima, Marcus Aurelio | Leave a comment

The Old Ways of New Masters: Interview with Michael Bacon

Posted on July 12, 2013 by moaimartialarts

Mike’s not only a great martial artist, but he is a great friend!

My interview with Michael Bacon is a perfect example of what The Old Ways of New Masters series is all about. A godan (5th degree black belt) in Shohei-Ryu Karate, Michael has been training steadily since childhood. After joining Ed DeCosta’s school more than ten years ago, he proved himself an exceptional scholar of the art and an invaluable training partner. Here is our conversation about his experience in growing up with the martial arts. Enjoy!

What made you want to start training? What was your inspiration?

I was 6 and was so uncoordinated I couldn’t run in a straight line; even then, I fell down.

What do you think of the unique experience of growing up as a martial artist. How was your life different than your peers?

I always had something bigger than just me and my friends that I was involved with, not to mention that I dealt a lot with adults which really helped my maturity and confidence. Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Karate | Tagged karate, michael bacon, shohei-ryu, Uechi-Ryu | 5 Comments

The Case for Chris Weidman

Posted on July 4, 2013 by ALar

Can the underdog really defeat the Spider on Saturday night?

Nowadays, along with drinking PBR, wearing ironically large framed glasses, and smoking cloves, it seems like the cool thing to do is to pick Chris Weidman to upset UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva this Saturday. Now let’s remember this is the same Anderson Silva that is widely regarded as the greatest and most prolific combatant to ever enter the UFC Octagon. The same guy that rudely introduced his foot to Vitor Belfort’s face and made Forrest Griffin look like a stumbling newborn fawn. The same guy that has more title defenses than anyone else ever in the history of the promotion and has been the Middleweight Champion for the last SEVEN years.

With that said, I do believe that Chris Weidman has a hell of a shot to dethrone Silva at UFC 162 in Vegas. I don’t want to seem like I am hopping on the suddenly burgeoning Weidman bandwagon, but it is hard to overlook the kid’s skills.

Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, MMA, Opinion | Tagged Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman, Mark Munoz weight, UFC 162 predictions | 4 Comments

The Old Ways of New Masters: Interview with Ross Enamait

Posted on July 2, 2013 by moaimartialarts

Ross (second from left) doing what he loves best.

The second installment of The Old Ways of New Masters may seem to turn off course a little bit. Here is an interview with pro boxing coach and fitness pioneer Ross Enamait. While Ross is focused on the sport aspects of teaching and training, the workouts and nutritional advice he shares on his website are excellent for martial artists. He also provides a lot of inspiration not only to anyone hoping to improve their fitness, but also to all of us learning to live well. His books Infinite Intensity and Never Gymless taught me the importance of strength and conditioning and how martial artists ignore them at their peril. Here are his answers to my interview questions. Enjoy! Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged boxing, Boxing training, Bruce Lee, martial arts, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Ross Enamait, rosstraining, Thomas Hearns | 2 Comments

The Old Ways of New Masters: Interview with Matthew Apsokardu

Posted on June 24, 2013 by moaimartialarts

Matt (on left) pictured with Jody Paul Sensei

As promised, here is our first interview in a series about those who’ve grown up with the martial arts in America. Matthew Apsokardu is a writer and martial artist who hosts the Ikigai Way blog and has always been supportive of this site. He was gracious enough to answer a bunch of my questions via e-mail, and then a booster set of questions just a few days later. Here is our interview and his informative and insightful answers to my questions. For more information about Matt, his karate and kobado, and his teaching, check out his website!

What made you want to start training? What was your inspiration?

I got my start at a young age when my uncle decided to open a karate school. It was based out of an old, spacious farm home. My Dad frequently went over to assist in the home’s reconstruction, and I with him (although I was only useful a small portion of the time). Once the school was done, my uncle needed a few students and it seemed like a “cool” thing to do, so I jumped in. I was about 11 at the time. Continue reading →

Posted in Affiliates, Interviews, Karate | Tagged ikigaiway, jody paul, Matthew Apsokardu, okinawan kenpo | 1 Comment

The Old Ways of New Masters

Posted on June 21, 2013 by moaimartialarts

Once upon a time, before taking up teaching karate and starting a family, I began a book proposal about martial arts and their effects on the lives of Americans. The working title was The Old Ways of New Masters, and I decided to focus on people from the generation born in the 70’s and 80’s, as we’re pretty much the first to have continued training from childhood through adulthood.

Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Karate | Tagged karate, martial arts, Ultimate Fighting Championship, United States | 2 Comments

UFC 161: The Legend Returns

Posted on June 13, 2013 by ALar

ALar takes a look at UFC 161 and the Light Heavyweight title picture

No, no, no… I’m not talking about Roy Nelson’s mullet or Shawn Jordan’s tongue ring, I am talking about the man, the myth, the legend Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson. If you have ever read this blog before you know that the guy is my favorite fighter (Sorry Rampage, your whining demoted you in the rankings…) and I would sell a kidney for him to fight for the Light Heavyweight title. After that last “fight” against Lyoto Machida, I was crushed.

In the lauded ‘Number One Contender’ matchup, Hendo’s shot at the gold was again within reach. But that title shot wasn’t in the cards for the former PRIDE and Strikeforce king. It wasn’t that I disagreed with the decision; I was simply disappointed with the fact that the great American wrestler never got an actual chance to engage and fight the Dragon. All credit is due to Machida and his style, his evasiveness allowed him to stay away from the patented H-Bomb of Henderson and pick his shots to earn a decision on the judge’s scorecards. With the breaking news that Jon Jones will fight Alexander Gustaffson next for the Light Heavyweight title some time this winter, it is clear that fans and the UFC alike were not giddy about another Bones/Dragon matchup. Dana White made it clear today that the loser of Saturday’s Main Event between Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans will likely never see a shot at the title in the 205 lb. division. With Father Time creeping up on Henderson’s career he needs an impressive showing to put himself back in to the title picture.

This card may not be strong on name power, but competitive scraps are booked from top to bottom. Should be a great night of fights in The ‘Peg. On to the preview!

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Posted in Commentary, MMA, Opinion | Tagged Dan Henderson, Dan Henderson is awesome, Hendo, mma, Roy Nelson, UFC, UFC 161 | Leave a comment

Quick Picks: UFC on Fuel TV 10

Posted on June 6, 2013 by ALar

Are the UFC’s global events becoming too localized for the American fans?

On this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast, Ben Fowlkes and Chad Dundas had an intriguing discussion about this Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 10 card going down in Fortaleza, Brazil. As they started up with their typical irreverent preview of the event, they divulged into the topic of the Brazilian localization of the fighters on the card. This event is clearly Brazilian heavy and obviously has a strong appeal to the rabid Brazilian fan base. Though there is little to draw the ‘casual’ American fan on a summer Saturday night. With bigger cards on the horizon, I personally doubt that I will tune in to this card in full on Saturday and I even had to reach to the depths of my blogging willpower to throw this preview together for my loyal readers.

Sure, Big Nog v. Fabricio Werdum is a big time fight in the Heavyweight division, but as for the rest of the card? There is little appeal to me and with the NBA Finals being underway, I do not expect this card to be a major hit ratings wise for the promotion. Back to the Fowlkes and Dundas discussion, as MMA fans are we supposed to care about this Brazilian flavored card, or is the event’s main audience the Brazilian faithful? As journalists, the duo shared their feelings about covering an event that is happening a continent away with fighters that the average American fan doesn’t really know or care about. As the UFC continues on its quest for global domination, we will surely see the role of these localized cards become clearer, but in the meantime here is a preview of the only two fights on the card that I feel that I can competently talk about. On to the (quick) preview!

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Posted in Commentary, MMA, Opinion, Uncategorized | Tagged Big Nog Werdum, Thiago Silva Urine, UFC Brazil, UFC on Fuel TV 10 | Leave a comment

Forrest Griffin: The True Ultimate Fighter

Posted on May 31, 2013 by ALar

ALar takes a look at the career and legacy of the original ‘Ultimate Fighter’

After a rousing evening at the bossman’s crib watching UFC 160, I proceeded to head back to my humble abode and boot up my MacBook to check out the event’s post fight press conference. As the event stream began, Dana White began to laud the superlatives of a fighter whose retirement he was about to announce. I assumed that this fighter was Matt Serra, as the one time Welterweight champ had announced his retirement earlier in the week. Without naming the said retiree, White segued to a video package. As the camera panned, the Dropkick Murphy’s “Shipping up to Boston” blared and Forrest Griffin filled the screen. I was shocked. Saddened, even. Will I really never have the opportunity to watch this guy in the Octagon again? Griffin’s career has spanned the entire time period that I have followed MMA. I knew him as the original Ultimate Fighter winner; somehow, some way, he represented my association with the sport. He was an easy guy to root for and a pure entertainer inside and outside of the cage. With Forrest’s career coming to an end, it seems as though the MMA blogosphere is relatively quiet about one of the foundations of the current iteration of the sport hanging up his gloves for good. Why is this? The lackluster run of fights he had at the end? The Silva debacle? Who knows, but would the sport be where it is today without Forrest Griffin? Possibly, but there is no doubt in my mind that the gregarious Griffin certainly helped the UFC reach the unprecedented heights that it is experiencing today.