Listen to the coach; you might end up in the UFC too.

Our mission is to solve the riddle of why students can’t grasp that when we are training grappling there is no need to pretend or show the class you have an opening to strike your partner.

It seems the guy that has something to prove is acting up because he was dominated for the past two minutes and fifty seconds of the round. It makes no difference to this wanna-be, we’ll call him “Joe,” that the guy he is rolling with didn’t pretend to strike him when they were in dominate position, or that anyone else in class pretended to strike their training partners.

Nor does it matter to Joe that he has never fought before or that the guy he just threw the fake punches at has over 10 fights and would murder him.

We all see openings for strikes when we roll, but we are just grappling. During Muay Thai class you never see a guy pretend to take you down and submit you so why do you have to do this during a grappling class?

If you want to grapple and punch, come to an MMA class and take a fight.

These are the same guys that make statements like, “I would pick him up and slam him if he tried to armbar me.” Really?

Usually Joe is dressed head to toe in Tapout or Warrior Wear gear. Joe also has excuses for every time he is tapped. Joe always talks about how close he was to tapping out this guy or that guy in class. Joe never taps his partner and in turn gets tapped out 8 times in a three-minute round.

Please stop. Nobody likes or wants to hear it. During class shut up, listen, and train. Come in early and stay after class if you want to talk. People pay to train and want to train. Go to Hooters during a UFC if you want to hang out with other guys in Tapout shirts and shoot the shit.

Speaking of which, I actually had a guy wear an Ed Hardy shirt to class and he told me how he has had six fights and trained for three years at some other school. I watched him drill the techniques we were teaching but he spent most of the time telling his partner how great he was; I could see that his technique was junk.

When the class began rolling I matched him up to a mid-level guy, where he proceeded to be tapped and dominated like crazy. After class he tells me how he was controlling his partner and how great he is and how he’s ready to fight. WTF, seriously, WTF?

I would appreciate it if when you step in my gym you have a modicum of respect for MMA, grappling, all martial arts for that matter. Making an ass out of yourself at the expense of MMA is annoying to say the least. It’s guys like this that hurt the sport and embarrass those of us that truly love and respect it.

By: Ron Dayley

Ron Dayley is a trainer, manager, promoter, and owner of SSF Submission Academy.

3 thoughts on “Coach’s blog – gym date 9-14-09”
  1. That is funny and at the same time so true. I cant tell you how many times I have seen this over the years and it never gets old to see “Joe” get his just desserts in the end!

Leave a Reply