KnowYard Sports

the cult-like loyalty thing is dying but slowly. the younger generation of black belts mostly dont care. its the old school coral belt generation that treats gym switches like divorces

scoring that co-main was impossible. i had it for the other guy but honestly it was a coin flip in round 3. both fighters should be proud. that was a genuine fight of the year candidate

unpopular opinion: most seminars are not worth the money unless the instructor teaches a system you are specifically trying to learn. going to a random seminar because the name is big is a waste. be strategic about which ones you attend

This hits home for a lot of us. Literally.

if you are an adult who wants to learn wrestling, your best bet in DFW is an MMA gym with a dedicated wrestling coach. pure wrestling clubs are almost exclusively youth-focused. the MMA gyms fill the adult wrestling gap

This is exactly why I love this platform. Real DFW conversations.

the clinch is the biggest tell. real muay thai spends significant time in the clinch because thats where fights are won in thailand. if your gym never clinches its not teaching you muay thai

the boxing judge problem is REAL. ive talked to a texas athletic commission judge at a local event who admitted he had never trained any martial art and scored grappling exchanges based on "who looked like they were working harder"

Sharing this with my neighbors. They need to see this.

Not something I expected to read today but glad I did.

Been thinking about this all week. Good timing on the post.

the blue belt blues are the most well-documented phenomenon in BJJ and literally every serious practitioner goes through it. the fact that you are aware of it means you can push through it. the people who quit are the ones who think something is wrong with THEM when really its just the natural learning curve

muay thai clinch is the most underappreciated skill in all of striking. in a real self defense situation the fight is going to end up in a clinch and the muay thai fighter has knees, elbows, trips, and sweeps from there. nobody else trains that consistently

the grip fatigue thing is so true. after a tough wrestling match i literally cannot make a fist. my forearms feel like theyve been filled with concrete. nothing else does this

Twin Peaks on belt-fight weekends is absolute chaos and i love it. the entire bar erupts on KOs. its not sophisticated but its FUN

DFW coaches and fighters: what does the local scene look like for weight cutting? are gyms here educating fighters on safer approaches or is it still the old school sauna and trash bag era?

anyone doing a DFW watch party for this card? last time we had like 15 people at Buffalo Wild Wings in Plano and it was a vibe

unpopular opinion but i train through most minor stuff. tape your fingers, take ibuprofen, and modify. the only things i fully rest for are joint injuries and anything involving my neck. everything else i just work around

the real answer that nobody wants to hear is REST. take 2-3 weeks completely off. your jiu jitsu will not disappear. i promise you will not forget how to shrimp. but you WILL make the injury worse if you keep training on it

one thing ill add: some gyms charge a drop in fee for open mat ($10-20) and some are free. always ask ahead of time so youre not surprised

Gordon Ryan training nogi doesnt mean gi is dead. Roger Gracie was the GOAT before Gordon and he was a gi specialist. different eras different metas. both are jiu jitsu

hard disagree. i train both and my gi game makes my nogi better. when i go to nogi class i have collar tie and wrist control instincts that pure nogi guys dont have because i learned them in the gi first

former D1 football player here. started BJJ at 35. the humbling is REAL but its the best thing that ever happened to me. welcome to the mat brother. see you in 10 years when youre a purple belt who submits college athletes and calmly explains what youre doing

purple belt here. blue belt blues lasted about a year for me. what helped: i changed my training partners. started rolling with higher belts exclusively for a month. getting smashed by purple and brown belts reminded me how much there is to learn which paradoxically made me more motivated

Shared this with my neighborhood group chat. People need to know.

Real talk right here. No sugarcoating.