The Glowing Edge » MMA

Fighting Burnout

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:01:20 +0000

The following post was written by my good friend June Elliot. June and I both train at the same home gym and have watched each other cycle through the inevitable physical and mental ups and downs in our respective sports. June has studied Okinowan karate, taekwondo, hapkido, Wing-Chun, Chin-Na, Mauy Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She’s also a great sparring partner to have in the boxing ring.

We want to believe we are invincible.

As fighters, regardless of style(s), skill, or rank we work incredibly hard toward correcting bad habits and perfecting our skills. At some points during our training the hours of conditioning and drilling techniques wear us down emotionally. Occasionally, the ego is deflated quickly through interactions with others more gifted and skilled, or we succumb to the misguided practitioner who abuses a weight or strength advantage.

I recently admitted to several training partners and coaches that I was essentially worn down. I was feeling pressure to “make water from wine” each training session. I know when people expect good things from me it’s a compliment. But what I do to myself is essentially excessive self-examination.

The good news is that I’m not the only one. I’m not the only one who walks away from training emotionally beaten down, or heading into it as if it’s a job. I’m not the only one who forgets the reasons I train in martial arts. This same process occurs in other areas of life. Nor is the pressure issue unique to women like myself. Often boys and men try to prove their worth to others in an effort to improve their self-esteem as well.

Martial arts is both an individual and communal endeavor. As a mixed martial artist I put hours into strength training, cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, takedown techniques, footwork and striking, agility, and submissions. I coach myself and I am coached by others. When in the right frame of mind it’s a fun escape from the day-to-day world. Students sweat, punch, pout, complain, choke, and bleed together, hence forming very close bonds. To some degree we get to know our training partners and trainers better than our own families.

But sometimes we take it too seriously. We think too much and judge too much. This is the dawn of dread. This is where the fun ends.

The irony is that when we can laugh at ourselves, when we let go a little and admit that perfection is an ideal and not an immediate possibility, we actually excel! I’ve seen this in my own performance as well as in children and adults I have coached in various athletics, including martial arts. I believe that when any type of performer (athlete, actor, musician) adopts a balanced attitude, one of steadfast effort with humor, they get into a zone. They are in the moment. They are not in conflict internally or with the grand order. Progress often happens when you’re not looking for it. When you least expect it, a new level of skill or a new ability arrives as a pleasant surprise.

Don’t risk ending up in the vast wasteland of those who have burned out. Keep connected with your training community, maintain your sense of humor, and press onward.

Image credit: Mike Bitton

Cyborg Defeats Coenen

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:06:18 +0000

This was one of Cris Cyborg’s best fights yet. The savage beauty of her power-hand hammers dropping from standing and partially in-guard positions is undeniable. These are the blows that ended the Cyborg-Carano fight so quickly last summer. I am impressed that Strikeforce challenger Marloes Coenen withstood so many of them before the fight was called.

The few serious blows Coenen was able to score did not even seem to phase Cyborg; it was as if they didn’t exist and never connected. Cyborg was a moving mountain, a force of nature. The forums are already bursting with misogynistic comments about Cris Santos’s gender; but when I look at her I see an powerful and irrefutable woman. Nobody ignores Cris Cyborg Santos.

The conversation now should begin to revolve around Erin Toughill as the next contender; Toughill’s background as a pro boxer should bring to a Cyborg-Toughill match a stand-and-strike game to relish.

Cris Cyborg to Fight Marloes Coenen on Strikeforce Miami This Saturday

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:01:39 +0000

Christiane “Cyborg” Santos is on an eight-fight winning streak and plans to take down Marloes Coenen in Miami this weekend just as quickly as she took down Gina Carano in San Jose last August. Cyborg has an incredible strike game (look for one-hit knockout power) and you can expect her to dominate on the ground. Coenen is no slouch on the mat either; her armbar on Roxanne Modafferi in November (see video below) was no fluke.

This is going to be an awesome match-up, and I plan to be glued to Strikeforce’s Showtime stream this weekend making sure I get to see every second. I’ll be tuning in this Saturday, January 30th at 10 pm ET on sports.sho.com or EASportsMMA.com or wherever I can get the channel for the livestream.

Currently I’m favoring Marloes Coenen (17-3) over Cyborg (8-1), but this is going to be such a good match that I’m hesitant to declare loyalty one way or the other. But I will anyway; I like to cheer for the underdog.

Here’s the broadcast card:

Championship: Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis
Championship: Cristiane Santos vs. Marloes Coenen
Melvin Manhoef vs. Robbie Lawler
Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy
Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims

Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos Might Pose for Playboy

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:54:43 +0000

Cris Cyborg Santos is an incredible MMA fighter who replaced Gina Carano as the top woman in the cage in ’09. Now she will defend her title against the very skilled Marloes Coenen in a Strikeforce fight scheduled for January 30th. This fight is expected to once again catapult women’s fight sports — and MMA in particular — to the forefront of the nation’s attention.

And now Sherdog reports that Cyborg is considering posing for Playboy.

Ugh, I hate this.

Women’s fight sports have had an uphill battle on their hands to gain any kind of serious and official attention in the past 20 years. Women boxers have only had official sanction since the 90′s (and just this year gained admittance to the 2012 Olympics and celebrated the first woman ever inducted to the Boxing Hall of Fame), and female MMA fighters as well as boxers have struggled mightily against the sexist, misogynistic influence of fight sport leaders like Dana White.

While posing naked for Playboy will certainly bring media attention to women’s fight sports, it brings the wrong kind of attention.

We don’t need for the top women fighters in the world to be thought of primarily as objects of sexual fantasy; this makes it just that much easier to dismiss them as minor players — trivial creatures rather than real women who have spent years of hard work and discipline on their sport.

What would be better is more promoters ready to put women on their fight cards, more media outlets ready and willing to cover and broadcast women’s fights (thank you, Showtime), and more event hosts who enable fans to create and share their own media (I HATE the no photos, no video policies at so many fights).

Cyborg: For the sake of women fighters everywhere, please, please say “No” to Playboy. And keep kicking ass in the cage. You are an incredible fighter, and that’s how the world should know and remember you.

Female Grandmasters and MMA Fighters: Dana White Channels Pat Robertson

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:14:46 +0000

Skip straight to 4:25 on this video to hear the shocking part.

Dana White is lighting up a tiny bit of press (why not a helluva lot more??) with his recent answer to the question: “Do you think you’ll do a female season of Ultimate Fighter?”

“Here’s the thing,” Dana says, and we all wait expectantly. “The problem is there’s not enough good girls to fight in the division, okay?”

At this point I have a WTF kind of look on my face. It’s easy to imagine if you try.

“It’s probably gonna be a while before that happens,” he says, and then he drops an even bigger bomb. “It’s the same thing with boxing. Even when women’s boxing was big you had three or four girls who were really good and a lot of girls that weren’t.”

Go ahead and set your phasers on stun, and let’s put him out of our misery.

“I sound like I’m sexist or something,” he comments, and I think, No. You sound like you’re dumber than a rock.

Dana went on to day that he’d actually seen a “girl fight” once (Wow, really, Dana? You mean you’re not just making wild guesses about the lack of women in fight sports?) between a “really pretty, beautiful girl” and one “who looked exactly like Randy Couture.” And it was a beatdown, and he “doesn’t like even thinking about it.”

Golly, we all feel sorry for you now. Having to think about that scary bad fight.

“So that’s my story,” he finishes lamely, “on women’s MMA.”

What an ass.

Do you remember (November 1989) when Pat Robertson made this comment: “The key in terms of mental ability is chess. There’s never been a woman Grand Master chess player. Once you get one, then I’ll buy some of the feminism.”

Yeah. At the time there were two female Grand Masters in chess, and since then there’ve been several more.

So, in order to assist Dana White with his…problem, Savage Science helpfully published a list of 32 top women MMA fighters in the 145 weight category (candidates to fight Gina Carano).

Now this is only a handful of the women in that one weight category, but guess what, Dana? There are other weight categories in women’s MMA. Amazing news for you, I know.

Do you need someone to determine which ones are “really pretty” too, or can you handle that part?

Cris Cyborg Santos vs Marloes Coenen: January 2010

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:39:51 +0000

This week Strikeforce finally announced the title bout women’s MMA fans have been waiting for: champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (8-1) will follow up on her August 2009 TKO of Gina Carano with a match on January 30, 2010, according to MMA Junkie.

It’s expected that her opponent will be Marloes Coenen (17-3), who recently defeated Roxanne Modafferi (13-5) in the first 63 seconds of a match on the Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers card in early November.

Brazilian fighter Cyborg has been out of the cage since the Carano match, recovering from a shoulder injury.

I’m still annoyed that CBS didn’t give airtime to the Coenen – Modafferi fight, but I’m hopeful that we’ll get to see the January match. C’mon, Strikeforce, affirm Coenen and let us watch it!

Modafferi vs. Coenen Pre-Fight Interviews

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:18:38 +0000

Assuming the main card runs short and CBS airs it, we’ll get to watch Roxanne Modafferi fight Marloes Coenen live at 9 pm on the East coast (delayed for the Pacific coast, who will probably see it sooner on YouTube) on CBS.com.

Roxanne Modafferi is my favorite to win, although a little part of that simply has to do with her incredible charm and geeky affability. But I’ve watched her fight and anyone who underestimates her is in for a shock. Despite a long-ago win by decision against tonight’s opponent Marloes Coenen, Modafferi is somewhat the underdog here, having been invited to replace Erin Toughill for this match with only a week to spare.

She will certainly have a serious job to do tonight, and it’s really too soon for her even to think about the possiblity of a December Strikeforce match against world champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos if she wins. (I’m free to consider it, though, and I’d almost prefer to see Coenen matched against Santos… I know, conflicted.)

Clearly, Coenen wants Cyborg and I want her to. While Roxanne seems to be running on skill topped with the excitement of the opportunity, Marloes Coenen comes across as a woman of serious ability and quiet, deadly confidence. I would still favor Cyborg in a matchup with Coenen, but more than anything I want to see the fight.

Prepare for fireworks.

Cristiane Cyborg Santos Gets Strikeforce Fight for December 19th

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:33:54 +0000

Strikeforce is making some more headway in showcasing women’s MMA by scheduling Cris “Cyborg” Santos’s next fight for December 19th. The date is not yet confirmed, but Five Ounces of Pain reports that Cyborg’s husband Evangelista will also be making his 17o lb debut on the same card.

Cris’s opponent won’t be Erin Toughill (who defeated Santos by TKO the last time they fought), since she’s out due to an undisclosed medical situation, so presumably Santos will face the winner of the November 7th Marloes Coenen v. Roxanne Modafferi match in Chicago. Coenen, who is 28, has 16 career wins and Modafferi, age 27, has a six fight winning streak going in a career that boasts 13 wins so far.

I couldn’t find a way to catch the Coenen/Modafferi fight anywhere, guess we’ll have to wait for the news reports.

Strikeforce has been smart so far in recognizing that giving Santos airtime is a moneymaker; the Gina Carano – Cris Santos fight proved that without a doubt. I hope they will broadcast the December 19th fight and give us the chance to show our support again.

Grandma Wants a Fight

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:01:47 +0000

This is fantastic. I can’t wait to hear how this powerful 49-year-old from Walla Walla, Washington does in the cage. Her name is DeEtta Peterson, and she’s been training in jiu jitsu and MMA for four years and is an instructor at her home gym, Calhoon’s.

She narrowly missed out on a debut in the cage last week when her scheduled opponent couldn’t make it, but she expects to get a fight before she turns 50.

She’s gorgeous and comes across well on camera, which I hope will translate into some added attention for women in the sport. I hate that the comment stream where this story is posted on Yahoo is mostly garbage, but at least she got a television station to air her story and a couple of websites are picking it up.

I say ignore the idiots and kick ass, Peterson! Good for you.

Roy Nelson Defeats Kimbo Slice

Lisa Creech Bledsoe — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:19:46 +0000

I’m new to MMA, and to look at these two fighters, I immediately picked Kimbo Slice — in all his big, cut, scary glory — as the potentially superior fighter to fat-bellied Roy Nelson. Nelson has skinny arms, less reach, more gut, and he just screams “redneck.” Of course Slice (whose real name is Kevin Ferguson) screams “thug,” especially in light of his backyard brawling history.

But Roy — an IFL Heavyweight Champion — showed himself to be not only the better fighter, he also demonstrated something far more impressive: he knows how to completely control a fight. He used just enough power to win the fight and no more. It seemed clear to me that Roy could have wreaked serious damage on Kimbo but he didn’t do it; he was already winning by a clear margin. In a sport often filled with blood and damage, Nelson showed skill, respect, and even (after the fight was over) a little humor at his own expense. “Can you get me a double whopper with cheese?” he asked the guys ringside. He knows how people think of him, but he’s pretty secure in his own ability, as well he should be.

The fight looked like it might be mostly a stand-up game at first, with both men circling slowly, throwing only a very few lightning-quick strikes to the head before backing off, seemingly unready to engage. They looked patient and deadly, Slice even more so than Nelson. Toward the end of the first 5-minute round Roy was able to force the drop, pinning Kimbo in a crucifix position while he spent the final 45 seconds of the round pummelling Slice’s head until the bell rang. Dana White later criticized Nelson’s punches, saying his own little girls drop harder punches. I didn’t, however, hear White volunteer to be pinned in the crucifix by Nelson’s considerable weight so that he could actually test that theory out.

The second round ended in a TKO as Nelson got Slice in the same exact position and began his rain of punches to the head with no defense possible from Slice. This loss supposedly eliminates Slice from the competition, but the fight was hardly even over before Dana White was on camera hinting that Kimbo would be back. Smart marketing, in my opinion. Slice is a great fighter, possibly one of the top three in this season’s group, and the watching world (me included!) would love to see him go again.