Sep 15 Developing MMA in the Martimes: Part 1

If you are like me, and you think of martial arts instructors who have spent decades of their lives devoted to learning all the techniques associated to it, and spending time passing on their knowledge to others, would be respectful of different opinions. I would have thought them having enough confidence in their training methods without resorting to verbal abuse towards who respectfully disagreed with their approach. So it came very much as a surprise to me that when engaging a Sensei in the Maritimes towards issues I have observed with the quality and development of MMA fighters in the area, that I be responded to with statements to describe my character  with derogatory words like, “retarded”, and “mentally challenged”. What caused him to react like that? Frankly, I stopped caring once I realized I was being verbally abused by a man whose family I have supported for over 2 years.

The offending comments that I made was in reference to his assertion that his group of MMA fighters were the best team out there, that the current group of Sensei’s were all their fighters needed to become the best fighters, and no outside person or persons could add to their skills.

Really?

Not sure Georges St-Pierre would agree to that. Not only does GSP train with the best fighters in every discipline that Montreal has to offer, and not only does his head trainer Firas Zahabi bring in some of the best MMA fighters in North America to train with St-Pierre, but Georges will travel across North America, Brazil, and Thailand to train with other fighters and coaches. He has become a role model for both professional MMA fighters and amateur fighters alike, the latter of which do what they can to fit in the same concept of learning between their day jobs and family responsibilities.

Why?

Because in this fast growing sport of MMA, no one person can keep up with every aspect of striking, wrestling, ground fighting, cage control, strength and conditioning, diet and nutrition, and so on that is required to keep pushing fighters to the next level. Sensei’s, coaches and trainers may have decades of experience in a variety of techniques that can be used in a MMA match, but there is also something to be said about the expression of being a “jack of all trades, but master of none”.

You cannot just pick and choose certain techniques and evolve your martial arts school into a MMA gym that can produce fighters who can compete at a national level. However, the fact that some schools are including MMA to their class list is not what has me concerned. My issue comes from closed minded instructors who think they have nothing more to learn from anyone and in doing so, could potentially be stunting the growth of the next St-Pierre or TJ Grant.

Benoit Lelievre recently put together what I considered to be a great series targeted towards individuals who were thinking about having a career as a professional MMA fighter. The 5 part TOP MMA NEWS series was titled, "So You Want to be a F@*&in' Fighter"?, and it really helped put into context the reality what a person can expect to go through on their journey down the path of combat sports. But what if you feel (or are starting to suspect that) the gym you belong to does not have the skills required to help bring you to the next level? This has been one of my biggest concerns when it comes to the quality of MMA I have been seeing coming out of the Maritimes, however, the points I will discuss could apply to any MMA gym across Canada.

Issue 1 - What is the track record of the gym in question?

Gyms and coaches can say what they want about the quality of their training, yet in order to judge the ability of the “tree”, one has to look first at the quality of the “fruit”. Which fighters have trained at the gym the longest, and what have they accomplished in their careers? One of the issues facing MMA in the Maritimes is that promotions are offering titles to fighters with either very few pro fights, or to fighters who have losing records. So just because the gym can boast that it has champions on their roster, that does not make them able to produce champion calibre fighters. It's really about developing the ability to be competitive against anyone. Fighters from your gyms would not only need to be able to compete against local talent from other gyms, but from other provinces as well. Pro MMA fighter Guillaume de Lorenzi once told me in an interview that he had to refuse requests by promotions to fight for a belt. The reason was simple. He was on a path towards the UFC, but if he was a champion, he would have to be ready to face anyone of any experience who wanted to take that belt, and he still needed to grow and develop as a fighter. How many gyms in the Maritimes can say that they have a fighter (who spent a significant amount of time at a pro level training from their gym and) who can compete on a national level? Off the top of my head, there is TJ Grant, Ryan Jimmo (now out West), Roger Hollett, Jason Rorison and Jason MacKay.

Bottom Line: If they have been around long enough, they should have produced fighters who can fight, and win, in any organization in Canada. If not, they should have a clear plan that will help that fighter make it to that level.

Issue 2 - Are the coaches/trainers willing to bring in talent?

Just about every single high calibre MMA fighter trains with different coaches, and different fighters. Any coach worth his weight also knows that you just can't train with the same people each and every day. You become familiar with their moves, their tendencies, as they become familiar with yours, and your development as a fighter suffers. Even before MMA, Martial Arts itself evolved, and continues to evolve, as its masters learn different disciplines in order to incorporate certain techniques into their style. Part of the disagreement I had with this Sensei, was his other assertion that sparring “only make(s) you better at sparring”. Really? According to the Pro fighters I have interviewed, sparring allows you to execute the moves you have learned in a pro fight situation. Perhaps the sparring sessions at some gyms are not adequate? I can tell you that in many sessions I have witnessed in Montreal, at times the only difference between them and a real fight is the limited space and the restraint to not force a tap out.

Bottom Line: If the gym you belong to believe that they are the be all and end all for your needs as a MMA fighter, then you may want to consider expanding your horizons. There is nothing wrong with staying rooted at the gym you feel most comfortable in, but there is equally nothing wrong with finding out of other gyms can work better with you at different aspects of your game.

It is imperative that for MMA to continue to grow in the Maritimes, the level of talent needs to continue to improve. That can only happen if the people in whom the fighters train for, bleed for, and struggle to balance their job, family and gym for, put the needs of their fighters ahead of their own egos, and get their fighters the quality coaching they need to take the next step. I was accused by this individual of believing that I think of myself as the voice of MMA, whose opinion is biased on some sort of personal agenda   That is simply not true. I have used my voice to help promote the great work of fighters who compete in a sport I love. I have seen TJ Grant before and after his trip to Thailand to work on his striking, and watched him develop into the kind of fighter who makes Canadiens proud to hold the flag. I have seen fighters like Jason Rorison get their 6 fight undefeated streak snapped in Quebec, only to come back stronger each and every time. He may have lost his 3 fights against Quebec based fighters, but he improved his skills to where neither of the 3 fighters who beat him would want to face him again. And I have recently met a great story in Ricky Goodall, who had an impressive 5-1 record before coming to Montreal and getting smashed by Alex Garcia. It was a reality check for Ricky, who I am sure will put into place the kind of training that he did in losing a tremendous amount of weight into his development as a MMA fighter that will make him a major contender in the near future.

How can fighters and gyms alike start adding qualified experts at various disciplines to their roster, and how can these fighters go and train with different people at their level when resources available to both the fighters and the gyms may be scarce? That is something that I believe should be discussed openly and will be the topic of my next article on the subject. I’d love to know your opinions on this, so feel free to comment below, or send me an email. I gave this individual the opportunity to discuss this openly and publicly, but was instead threatened with a lawsuit if what I published was slander or defamation of character.

Tags: Maritimes \ MMA