Legendary take on all comers carnival wrestler and our good friend Billy "Pops" Wicks recently pointed something out to us. Mr Wicks states "Interesting bit of history here that seldom gets heard. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu had its roots in the circus and on AT (athletic shows) shows as they were known...
The ACA had a great weekend in Western North Carolina as ACA President Matt Granahan and Kamal Shalorus were guests of Blackeye Fight Promotions for their Concussion Event in Fletcher, NC. Kamal and Matt began Saturday morning with a visit to the ACA's close friend Billy Wicks at his home in the m...
SplitLip MMA, the ACA's apparel partner, will be introducing the new Kamal Shalorus Signature Shirt Line at Blackeye Fights Friday April 22 in Fletcher, NC (right outside of Asheville). Kamal and ACA President Matt Granahan will be special guests at the event and will be interviewed in the cag...
The Shalorus Integrated Combat System was featured in Carroll County Maryland's Sunday paper. The article highlighted our certified school Shaddock MMA and was the lead story in the sports section. Read the article here http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/sports/local/shaddock-teaches-a-un...
The ACA Thanks Legendary catch wrestler and police tactical combat trainer with the Memphis PD Billy "Pops" Wicks for his friendship. Mr Wicks is close friends with ACA President Matt Granahan and Kamal Shalorus and has provided guidance assisting in the development of SICS and assoc...
Kamal Shalorus and ACA President Matt Granahan will be guests on the NO HOLDS BARRED satellite radio show on Sirius 125; the #1 mma radio show in America. The live broadcast will be this Sunday 9pm estime. If you don't have Sirius listen live at thenhbshow.com or thenhbshow.com
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Introducing American Grappler Authentic, a NEW brand of apparel for western combat enthusiats. Finally there exists a brand who's purpose is to honor Catch Wrestling, Bare Knuckle Boxing, and Physical Culture. American Grappler is not another "me too" clothing line. It's different, and it starts f...
SICS, Shalorus Integrated Combat System and the American Combat Association have been doing a media blitz as of late. Kamal Shalorus and Matt Granahan have recurring guests on the MMA Meltdown Radio program in addition to an appearance on Dan Gable's On The Mat Radio Show. Kamal and Matt were both guests of "The Outlaw" on OUTLAW SPORTS RADIO this Sunday and will be guests this Tuesday at 1:40 PM on Sports Talk 1570 WNST Baltimore-Home of the Baltimore Ravens. "It is very important that we get the word out there regarding the SICS fighting system as the system provides a great value to mixed martial arts schools" says American Combat Association President Matt Granahan. "Hybrid systems are the future of mma and becoming SICS certified helps schools and individuals take their game to the next level." To listen to Kamal and Matt's recent meeting with the Outlaw click the link below
Thank you for allowing me to write a blog for your ACA site. First of all I read your Rough and Tumble Book with Erik Paulson. I liked the book but there is something important that I think should have been included. I have attended Erik's seminars and I met you here at our school in Florida...
Stylistically, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be broken down into two categories: Self-Defense and Sport Based Jiu-Jitsu. And, usually, the difference in each style isn't obvious to an untrained practitioner. If deciding to cross-train, it’s important you know the differences in each style and whether your goals as a martial artist fit the model of your school.
Self Defense: The Self-Defense based Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu model was developed for street altercations. Techniques are designed to neutralize opponent attacks and put the practitioner in a position to end the confrontation peacefully. Drilling of moves is similar to the traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu self-defense styles, which emphasizes drilling of specific situations on the street. Tactics include the neutralization of clothing grabs, keeping an awareness of dirty street tactics (eye gouging, sucker punching, biting, etc) and understanding how to maintain composure in different street situations. Defenses are designed for use against strong momentum; and, therefore, like most jiu-jitsu based arts, partners must act according to the situation for maneuvers to work most effectively.
Self-Defense based Jiu-Jitsu places a heavy emphasis on leverage and using minimum amount of energy at all times. Understanding that street fights do not have a time limit, this style depends on the value of patience in a fight and uses this philosophy to tactically maneuver their opponent into defeat. This strategy became the centerpiece of the classical style, whose entire philosophy is based upon these principles. The emphasis placed on the study of theory in the development of this game is also notable. Ground sparring is done realistically, with strike defense in place from both the feet and ground. Philosophically, in order to develop the best style possible, it is better to correctly give up working on a technique, than to incorrectly force a technique to work.
Today, the practice of this classical style is most notable on Helio Gracie's side of the family (i.e. Torrence Academy), though the classic technical style and philosophy can be seen and is used by some members of Carlos Gracie’s side of the family as well. Specific examples of self-defense practice can be seen in the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckl8-Rqk-QQ
Sport Based Jiu-Jitsu: As the popularity of Jiu-Jitsu grew in Brazil, so did the competitive nature of practitioners developing the art. Challenge matches, both between different martial arts in Brazil and between different Jiu-Jitsu styles provided an important catalyst for the development of the technique over the course of the 20th century. Different styles eventually evolved out of the sportive elements which Sport Jiu-Jitsu would provide.
Sports based Jiu-Jitsu, like traditional Catch As Catch Can wrestling, is based on a set of rules which typically define the practitioner’s approach to Jiu-Jitsu. Victory is achieved by finishing the fight by submission, gaining points for position or having more submission attempts. Contests have a time limit, with penalties given for stalling, ensuring progressive movement. Weight, age and skill limits are in place to ensure fairness among competitors. Brackets are organized tournament style, with winners being decided through elimination.
Because of the limited number of major championships, practitioners keep in top physical condition and compete throughout the year. Like their wrestling counterparts, competitors cut weight to ensure a strength advantage against their opponents. Stylistically, practitioners develop an attacking style to finish their opponent within the time limit. The guard, a hallmark of the self-defense style, has become an offensive position, with constant attacks, sweeps and turnovers becoming necessary to victory. To effectively attack competitors who ‘know the ropes’, practitioners require perfect technique, timing and athleticism. Sparring mirrors competition, with live drills and conditioning being central to success. ‘Putting-it-all-together’ is based upon an athlete developing the art around their own particular body type and personality. No limits are placed on using new techniques or approaches to the style; everything is fair game.
Many Gracie family members and their lineages have their roots in the sport style, creating a clear distinction from the original art. Styles, both among the clan and throughout Brazil, are usually based upon the beliefs of the teachers themselves. Sport Jiu-Jitsu is very common across the world today. Different competition teams have formed, to much success, and are rapidly developing new competition techniques every year. The Sport Jiu-Jitsu style is now typically seen as mutually exclusive from its traditional counterpart, though there are schools who attempt to keep a balance between both styles.
It’s How You Drill When deciding on a specific style, keep your goals in mind. Decide if you would like to compete and what type of competition you would like to pursue. Non-competitive practitioners should shape development around their peers, letting their partner know what goals they’d like to pursue before sparring.
Naturally, if you’d like to compete in tournament style Jiu-Jitsu, competition Jiu-Jitsu will develop the submission and attack based mentality to fit in that environment. If you’d like practice for a street situation, Self-Defense based Jiu-Jitsu is your best bet.
But, keep in mind, you will react the way you drill in class. In tournaments, remember that all techniques are open to you. Develop a strategy and try to use techniques which require the least amount of effort to attain dominate position. If training for MMA, remember to train for a striking opponent. Drill your strategy and develop your game around this mentality, always remembering to keep your roll in the context of a real fight.
There are obvious benefits to each style, but remember to choose a school which fits your overall goals.
Everyone make sure to tune in tomorrow night to the Versus network to watch Kamal battle Bartimus Palaszewski. The show airs live starting at 9pm EST tomorrow Thursday December 16.
This past weekend's Ultimate Fighter Finale Live on Spike was no doubt full of action packed fights. Nam Phan's octagon debut and the first 145lb fight in UFC History was tainted by a blatantly poor judge's decision. It appeared clear that Phan had won all three rounds over Leonard Garcia. Whe...
Kamal Shalorus' new Arete Training Center is now open. The center will host classes in youth wrestling, catch wrestling, bjj, judo, boxing, stickfighting and muay thai kickboxing. In addition the center will also have classes in noncombat sports such as aerobics, yoga, water aerobics, spinning and strength and conditioning training. Arete will be home to the SICS and trainers at our certified schools will visity Aerte to train. In addition Arete will be building a team of elite fighters and grapplers. We are planning on making Arete into one of the top mma training camps in the world! Arete is the symbol of exceptionalism in ancient greek and persian societies and Arete Training Center is committed to honoring the past and creating the champions of the future.
This past weekend's UFC event was packed with exciting action. The action was nonstop from the first free fight on Spike featuring NCAA national wrestling champion Marc Munoz vs All American wrestler Aaron Simpson to the nailbiting main event between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto "The Dragon...
Thanks to the guys on MMA meltdown for having us on to discuss SICS and Kamal's new Shalorus Supreme Sports Center. Listen this Wed and Fri at noon eastern at http://www.live365.com/stations/c365radio
MMA Times did a feature article on the ACA, SICS and the Rough and Tumble Book. To view the feature go to http://carrollcountytimes.com/blogs/sports/mma_times/article_647225b8-e0a2-11df-b5e0-001cc4c03286.html We encourage you to join MMA Times on Facebook....
I will say I was surprised to see Brock Lesnar lose the UFC heavyweight title to Cain Valasquez. I was rooting for Brock as I am close friends with one of his coaches Erik Paulson. The reality of that fight was that Cain had the ideal skill set to unseat Brock's throne at the top of the mma univ...
The Beautiful J Brook is a close friend of the ACA. She was a Miss Hooter's International swimsuit contestant and is a model in this year's Hooter's Calendar. To check out J Brook's ACA photo shoot visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/photo.php?fbid=156145774424112...
SplitLip MMA Apparel will be selling the Rough and Tumble Book as well as ACA dvds starting this Saturday and every weekend for the rest of the fall at live MMA Events throughout the Southeast. SplitLip is the official sponsor of FightZone the mma fights that are seen throughout the Southeas...
UFC 118 is a stacked card from top to bottom. The fight everybody's talking about is no doubt James Toney vs Randy "The Natural" Couture. You can't doubt that Toney has a puncher's chance but given that this is his debut mma fight and he's going up against a UFC legend and hall of famer this fig...
The American Combat Association is getting ready for a big weekend in Maryland. Kamal Shalorus will be conducting 2 seminars at Shaddock MMA on Saturday one at 10am and another at 2pm. For those that have already purchased their tickets thank you and for those that haven't you can purcha...
Follow this link to listen to the Granimal and Erik Paulson's appearance last week on the number one wrestling radio program in America On the Mat from last week. http://www.wrestlingmuseum.org/...
Erik Paulson and ACA President Matt Granahan were recently guests on the On the Mat Radio show which aired live yesterday on The Fan, the number one Sports Radio station in Iowa. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be ...
I was extremely impressed with Jon Jones long before last night's total domination of Vladimir Matyushenko. Jones entered the UFC with a 7-0 record. In his first fight in the UFC he dominated Stephan Bonnar with a unanimous decision victory. What was so impressive about this victory was the ea...
Review: Rough And Tumble The History Of American Submission Wrestling/Erik Paulson, Matt Granahan and JD Dwyer This recently published book is a fast-paced and fact-filled chronological account of the history of North American “rough-and-tumble” fighting and catch-as-catch-can w...
Kamal Shalorus arrives in Las Vegas today to train with Randy Couture, Grey Maynard and Randy's grappling instructor Neil Melanson. "I am very excited to train with these guy. They are legends in the sport." Kamal told us. Neil Melanson is also excited to have Kamal at his camp. "Randy and...
ACA President Matt Granahan and Kamal Shalorus will be guests on the MMA Meltdown radio show tonight on C365 Radio out of Baltimore Maryland. Topics of discussion will include the new book Rough and Tumble, Kamal's upcoming seminar at Shaddock MMA and current events in combat sports. To ...
The landmark book Rough and Tumble: The History of American Submission wrestling is finally our and available for sale! The book traces the history of catch wrestling throughout the world and explores the overwhelming influence the style has had on No Holds Barred Fighting and Mixed Mart...
American Combat Association President and Co-Founder Matt "The Granimal" Granahan has been featured alongside Rapper's MobDeep on the new Blogstortion website which teaches business people how to become "blogstortionists." The ACA thanks the creators of Blogstortion for rec...
We are only 4 days away from what will be the biggest weekend in history for the American Combat Association as ACA's partner/owner and official grappling instructor Kamal Shalorus steps in the WEC cage to face former WEC world champion Jamie Varner. The fight will be the main event of a WEC c...
Today the American Combat Association started a Facebook page. The page outlined our mission to grow the ACA brand and continue to promote seminars and certifications with ACA co-owner Kamal Shalorus. We would encourage visitors of the site to click "Like" when visiting the Facebook page so you can join our Facebook group. Here is a like to the official ACA page on Facebook:
The ACA was very sad to hear of the passing of Pedro Lacerda. Pedro proudly served our country in the military an was one of the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors in the southeast with Barra Brothers in Columbus Georgia.
The American Combat Association is proud to announce that we have entered into an arrangement with Modern Gladiator Fight Gear to promote and sell their gear.
Strikeforce will be broadcasting a live event this Saturday from Nashville and the California based organization is really stepping it up this time around. Dan Henderson is one of the hottest free agents in the mma game and Hendo will be making his Strikeforce debut against middleweight champion Jake Sheilds.
UFC 112 is set to be an incredible night of mixed martial arts action. Perhaps not since UFC 100 has such a stacked card been presented by Zuffa Inc. Both BJ Penn and Anderson Silva will defend their titles this Saturday and in addition two legends will be meeting in the octagon in what could conceivably be the last fight of their careers.
American Combat Association's parter/owner and official grappling instructor Kamal Shalorus was the featured guest Monday on The Voice of America's Persian Network.
On the heels of Randy Couture's victory over Mark Coleman, Randy Couture's catch wrestling coach Neil Melanson and Erik Toughill did an outstanding interview highlighting Couture's grappling evolution.
Army McGuire, who we were introduced to through Billy Wicks, is a lifelong carny. In fact Army actually speaks carny (yes they have their own language). Army is an elephant trainer and strongman.
While doing footnotes for the book he is writing with Erik Paulson ACA President Matthew Granahan discovered something pretty cool. On the homepage of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Hall of Fame, pictured next to the legendary Frank Gotch, is ACA's official grappling instructor, partner and co-founder Kamal "Prince of Persia" Shalorus.
Randy "The Natural" Couture is "moving away from a jiu jitsu mentality" and says ""I'm working on my ground fighting with Neil Melanson, doing a lot of catch wrestling,"
The new year has been very busy for the American Combat Association. Kamal Shalorus continued his winning ways for World Extreme Cagefighting with a dominating win over the previously undefeated Dave Jansen. Dave Jansen was 15-0 prior to stepping in the cage with ACA's official grappling instructor. "He thought he could take me down. He had taken all of his other opponents down but he never met a true international wrestler before" the Prince of Persia and ACA co-founder Kamal Shalorus told us after his victory. Kamal and ACA President Matt Granahan are currently planning a trip to California to train with Erik Paulson at his Combat Submission Wrestling school in southern California where they will be filming ACA's new DVD COMBAT STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING SECRETS.
The American Combat Association's official grappling instructor and owner/partner Kamal Shalorus made a huge impact in his debut for World Extreme Cagefighting.
The Granimal, Erik Paulson and JD Dwyer have finally competed Rough and Tumble: The History of American Submission wrestling. "This project was a huge undertaking but it was also alot of fun.
Joe Rogan has looked on in amazement as Randy "The Natural" Couture dominated his opponents and commented that combat sports are not supposed to be ruled by men in their 40's. At 46 years of age the Natural continues to be a force to be reckoned with.
Many in the mixed martial arts community feel that Lyoto Machida's unanimous decision victory over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is the most controversial decision in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. "Shogun won every round.
SICS, Shalorus Integrated Combat System and the American Combat Association have been doing a media blitz as of late. Kamal Shalorus and Matt Granahan have recurring guests on the MMA Meltdown Radio program in addition to an appearance on Dan Gable's On The Mat Radio Show. Kamal and Matt were both guests of "The Outlaw" on OUTLAW SPORTS RADIO this Sunday and will be guests this Tuesday at 1:40 PM on Sports Talk 1570 WNST Baltimore-Home of the Baltimore Ravens. "It is very important that we get the word out there regarding the SICS fighting system as the system provides a great value to mixed martial arts schools" says American Combat Association President Matt Granahan. "Hybrid systems are the future of mma and becoming SICS certified helps schools and individuals take their game to the next level." To listen to Kamal and Matt's recent meeting with the Outlaw click the link below
