Pound for Pound Champ!!

BONZAI!! Its Sunday, May 1, 2011, I'm sore and tired in a good way, and this is The Side. We had a workout at Sandbridge beach yesterday with folks from three different dojo's coming out to have fun and participate. I test three of my students out there. Two kids going for brown belt. One's kinda goofy and like to play around a bit. The other is kinda reserved and a pretty nice kid. Another student is just entering the horrendous years of being a teenager and is a funny guy. All three of them fought out there on the sand like a bunch of absolute studs. I couldn't be any prouder of them.

The workout was good. Lunch at Red Robin afterward was great. Then came last night. That's right. Its was FIGHT NIGHT!!

BEATIN'S!!!

UFC 129 was last night. Very stacked card. There were two title fights both with game challengers, but both defending champions, Georges St. Pierre and Jose Aldo, retained their titles. There was a third match of interest. UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture was fighting former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Couture is a hero to the sport and bases his fighting style off of Greco-Roman Wrestling. Machida is a very humble and respectable man who uses his family's style of Shotokan Karate as his base style. I'm a life long Karate man, but still I had to root for Randy.

There was trouble on the horizon because while Machida was heading to the ring we spotted Steven Seagal with him. I even yelled to my cousin, "Scott! Randy's doomed! Machida's got Steven Seagal with him! There's no hope now!" Yes, this is the same man who started in OUT FOR JUSTICE, ABOVE THE LAW, and UNDER SIEGE. The same guy who recently was featured as a deputy in a reality TV show. The Aikido stylist very noted for his pony tail. That guy.

But he's been to these evens before. He was in the corner of Anderson Silva when he fought the very dangerous Vitor Blfort. Silva stopped Belfort in round one was a front kick right to the face that knocked the challenger out. Silva credited Seagal with helping him work on stuff like that kick. This had us fight fans all scratching out heads asking ourselves, "Really?"

But there we were last night, watching Machida be very elusive and striking while Couture was looking to get a hold of his opponent. It was still anybody's fight when out of freaking nowhere Machida hits Couture with the Crane Technique and knocked him right out! Yes, that Crane Technique! Right out of THE KARATE KID "If done right, no can defend" Crane Technique! Hands went out to the side for a split second, and Machida went airborne and delivered a kick right to Randy's face.

OSCAR MIKE GOLF! WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT!!

And in the post fight interview, Machida was incredibly gracious to Couture referring to him as a "hero". Very classy as always. Then he credits Seagal for helping him work on that kick.

What the hell is going on here? Is Jean-Claude Van Damme going to come out with Frankie Edgar next month having taught him special techniques to let him finally defeat his nemesis, Gray Maynard? I know Seagal is a legitimate Aikido stylist and instructor but I'm stunned when I'm seeing him getting the credit for adding dynamic and devastating new elements to fighters game plans.

My world is rocked.

EATIN'S!!

I have a new eating disorder: Adult Selective Eating. Due to this horrible affliction I can only eat cheeseburgers and pizza forever and ever. That's right. Being a picky eater is now an eating disorder. I've seen quite a few kids with this. You've seen them. The ones that will only eat chicken nuggets and french fries even under the threat of no Nintendo. It seems like some people haven't grown out of that.

I'm a picky eater. I know what I like and what I don't. I don't like a lot of vegetables. Its the texture. Those things just feel weird in my mouth. I also don't eat seafood, be cause its freakin' seafood. I ain't eatin' anything that came out of the ocean. Screw that.

Yeah, I've got my dietary hang-ups. Fortunately I'm active and love things like fruit that're pretty healthy. However, I've been known to overcome my picky eating when push comes to shove. If I'm in serious need of calories and I don't have many options, like at training camps and the like, I go into survival mode and the foods that I do like become a luxury and I eat because I have to. According to the studies some people can't overcome it. If there's nothing on their "personal menu" they won't eat.

I get that some people have a serious problem with this. I'm not one of them. What I really don't want to see is people eating like morons and blaming it on this eating disorder. Kinda like how some people act like complete asshats and say they have Aspergers.

"I can't help but eat nothing but cheesecake! I am Adult Selective Eating Disorder!"

Yeesh. Hopefully, things won't come to that. I always raise an eyebrow whenever there's some new disorder. Its like we can't rest until everyone has something wrong with them.

And then no one will be normal like me.

MUSIC!!!

Hate to say it, but Randy should have swept the leg.



That's it for me today. Got some more training to do. See y'all Wednesday.

Heroes (not the TV show)

I've always been a superhero fan. I can't remember a time when I wasn't. Everyone has a hero, whether they run around in spandex or not. One of my heroes had a pretty tough weekend.

At UFC 91 Randy Couture lost his heavyweight championship to Brock Lesnar. It was a hell of a fight. I'm saddened by the outcome, after all Couture even as the champ was coming into this as an underdog and like most folks I love seeing an underdog come out on top. My friends and I have said it all before. "Man, he's getting kinda old." "Wow, that other guy is so big and strong." Over and over we've seen Couture defy the odds. It didn't happen this time.

It wasn't for lack of trying. Despite being 14 years older than his opponent and being 45 pounds lighter, Couture gave Lesnar a hell of a fight. Clearly Lesnar's greatest test since entering mixed martial arts. Lesnar deserves all the credit for passing the test. It wasn't luck, or a fluke. It was a solid combination and good follow up.

It would be so easy to vilify Lesnar. With his size advantage, he could easily fit the role of 'big bully'. But it's not the case. He was gracious with his victory, just as Couture was gracious in his defeat. Couture doesn't fight villains like the characters I usually write about. He fights the odds. He faces opponents in the ring and puts his skills and hard work to the test. He doesn't ramble on about kicking people's asses. He talks about 'imposing his will' upon them. He's a sportsman.

Athletes are easy to see as heroes. They inspire us with their feats and victories. They often don't ask for the title of 'hero', but the onslaught of fandom gives it to them.

So, Randy Couture is one of my heroes. I'd love to be as tough and skilled as he is, even though that'll likely never happen, it's good to try. They call him 'Captain America' which honestly if I was going to equate him to any comic book character I can't think of one better. I admire many of the the same attribute in Couture as I do in Cap: perseverance, skill, graciousness. My favorite super-heroes, like my favorite fighters all have something going for them besides their powers or fighting skills. They have heart.

So, Couture right now is going to figure out which direction he wants to go in after losing the belt. Honestly, if he retired from the game and went of to run his gym and train fighters, I wouldn't blame him. He's done plenty for the sport and for the fans, and I'd be happy with whatever he decides. But would I like to see a re-match?

Hell yes.

Not because of anything against the new champ, but because I'd like to see my hero beat the odds and inspire us all one more time.