Greetings students.  Today is the first day of MMA 101.  I hope you are well rested and ready to learn.  I will be your instructor.  You can call me, King, Robert, Mr. Menn, or in Hyped's case, Arlovski.  I don't really care what you call me, but in the end you will call me Master.

Now, I know there are a few of you out there who are "new" to this sport, and so I will start out with a few definitions so you don't get lost when others are conversing about MMA.

Q: So what do I need to do to learn the Moves/Submissions?

A: Only way I learned was by watching the fights- I mean I had never heard of a Peruvian neck tie 6 months ago until I saw someone use it.  If not, you can Google it or You Tube it. I have even seen You Tube videos on how the move is applied. Or, go get a trainer.  Or you can read these simple definitions.

Q: What are these moves?

SUBMISSIONS

Triangle?

A: This choke is created by encircling the opponents head and one of his arms with your legs. The legs are then squeezed together, at the same time the opponents head is pulled down. The legs, when in this position, will form a triangle. When applied to the opponent, this submission hold constricts the carotid arteries, which reduces blood flow to the brain. This will cause the opponent to tap out. If he chooses not to tap, he will pass out within a few seconds.

A rear-naked choke?
A: To apply the technique, the back mount, also known as the rear mount, must be achieved. From that position of back control, which can be secured even more by hooking the insteps of the feet into the inside of the opponent's thighs, the choke can be effectively applied. The technique involves wrapping one arm around the opponent's neck so that the inside of your elbow is placed against his throat. From there you hug your arms together and push out with your chest.

Guillotine choke?

A: The guillotine is a choke hold that can cause the tap by being either a blood choke or air choke depending on how it is performed. If the pressure from the forearm is placed against the wind pipe then of course you are going to get an air choke but if the pressure is on the arteries of the neck then you will get a blood choke.  There are two primary positions that it can be applied from. Standing and on the ground. When applying it in the most commonly seen way, on the ground from the guard, you should try to get the opponent into your full guard. If not it will be very hard to finish the choke and get him to tap.

Armbar?
A: An armbar is a joint lock that hyper-extends the elbow joint. It is typically applied by placing the opponent's extended arm at the elbow over a fulcrum such as an arm, leg or hip, and controlling the opponent's body while leveraging the arm over the fulcrum.

Kneebar?
A: A kneebar (technically known as a straight legbar) is a leglock which hyperextends the knee. The basic kneebar is performed similarly to an armbar by holding the opponents leg in between the legs and arms so the opponent's kneecap points towards the body. By pushing the hips forward, the opponent's leg is straightened, and further leveraging hyperextends the knee.

Ankle lock?

A: The straight ankle lock (depending on how it is performed also known as an achilles lock) is what is usually thought of as an ankle lock. It is typically performed using the legs to isolate one of the opponents legs, and placing the opponents foot in the armpit, while holding the foot with the forearm at the lower part of the opponent's calf, usually at the achilles tendon. By leveraging the hips forward, the foot becomes forcefully plantar flexed, hence creating a potent joint lock on the ankle. The forearm serves as a fulcrum in the leveraging, and may cause severe pressure on the achilles tendon, especially when the bony parts of the forearm are used. Such a straight ankle lock is sometimes referred to as an "achilles lock".

Kimura?

A: The application is similar to the Keylock, except that it is reversed. It needs some space behind the opponent to be effective, and can be applied from the side control or guard. Contrary to the americana, the opponent's wrist is grabbed with the hand on the same side, and the opposite arm is put on the back side the opponent's arm, and again grabbing the attacker's wrist and forming a figure-four. By controlling the opponent's body and cranking the arm away from the attacker, pressure is put on the shoulder joint, and depending on the angle, also the elbow joint

Keylock?

A: A keylock (also known as a bent armlock, figure-four armlock or ude-garami) involves holding the forearm and using it to twist the upper arm laterally or medially, similarly to turning a key in a keyhole. It is usually considered to be a shoulder lock since the primary pressure is often on the shoulder, but depending on how it is performed, significant pressure can also be applied to the elbow.

Hammerlock?

A: Is a shoulder lock similar to the kimura lock where the opponent's arm is held bent against their back, and their hand forced upwards towards the neck, thereby applying pressure to the shoulder joint.

STRIKES

Hammerfist?

A: A strike with the bottom of a clenched fist, using an action like swinging a hammer, but can also be used horizontally like a backfist strike using the bottom fist.

Side Kick?

A: The Side Kick refers to a kick that is delivered sideways in relation to the body of the person kicking. There are two general ways in which a side kick can be delivered. The first involves chambering the kick by bending it and cocking it back (recoiling it, in other words) before you kick. The second involves shooting the leg forward as you would in a front kick and then pivoting and turning so that you actually deliver a side kick.

Back Kick?

A: Also called a donkey kick, spin kick, mule kick, or turning back kick. This kick is directed backward keeping the kicking leg close to the standing leg and using the heel as a striking surface. Most often, this kick is delivered with a spinning motion in tournaments. It can be highly damaging due to its power.

Reverse Side Kick?

A: Uses more of a spin in its delivery than the back kick, allowing the hips to turn over more. The kick begins from a high chamber as opposed to the straight through motion of a back kick.

Axe Kick?

A: An axe kick is characterized by the straightened leg coming down on an opponent, like the blade of an axe. The starting phase involves the foot being moved in an arc up and forward, like a crescent kick. The arc motion is stopped, and the attacking foot is brought down to strike the target from above, in imitation of an axe.

Butterfly Kick?

A: The butterfly kick is done by doing a large circular motion with both feet in succession, making the combatant airborne. There are many variations of this kick. The kick may look like a slanted no handed cartwheel, and at the same time, the body spins horizontally in a circle. You would have to jump with one leg while kicking with the other, then move the kicking leg down and the jumping leg up into a kick, landing with the first kicking leg, all while spinning. It may also resemble a jumping spin roundhouse kick into a spinning hook kick, all in one jump and one spin. Note***Very difficult to perform during a MMA bout.  I have yet to see one attempted.

Calf Kick?

A: This kick strikes the backside of the calf.

Leg Kick?

A: This kick strikes the leg of an opponent.  Usually the thighs.

Roundhouse Kick?

A: Also called a round kick, snap kick, or turning kick. The attacker swings his/her leg sideways in a circular motion, kicking the opponent's side with the front of the leg, usually with the top of the foot (called the instep), ball of the foot, toe (if careful), or shin. Also performable is a 360 degree kick in which the attacker performs a full circle with his/her leg. The striking surface is generally either the instep, shin or ball of the foot.

Knee strike?

A: The straight knee (also known as a front knee) is a typical knee strike, and involves thrusting the front of the knee into the head or body of an opponent. The straight knee can be applied from a stand-up position both, when the combatants are separated, or when they are clinching. A particularly effective clinching position for throwing front knee is the double collar tie, where the head of the opponent is controlled. On the ground, front knees can be effective from a few top positions such as the Side control and north-south position. Typical targets for the front knee include the head, hips, ribs, solar plexus, stomach and thighs.

Well, there you have it.  Class out.  I hope you absorbed as much of that as possible.  Next class is on Wednesday, October 1st.  Don't be late.  If you have any questions/suggestions, leave them in the comment section or FanMail me.