Words With A MAD Coach

Under a high-volume, low-impact approach, both fighters can explore more situations because neither person is constantly trying to shut the other down or “win” the round. Sometimes you sprawl. Sometimes you scramble. And sometimes you accept the position and solve what comes next.
That gives the athlete something competition-style sparring can easily remove: looks. More positions. More reactions. More mistakes. More recoveries. More opportunities to experience the worst-case scenario before it happens in an actual fight.
The training partner isn't the enemy. The situation is the problem you're solving together.

Martial arts are often passed down through memory, tradition, and repetition—but memory changes, stories become folklore, and the reasons behind techniques can disappear. Document the Journey is about recording not only what we practice, but why we practice it, what problems it solves, and how it changes over time.
Techniques do not develop in a vacuum. Rules, equipment, clothing, environments, opponents, and even cultural circumstances influence how people fight. Understanding that context allows us to see martial arts as something living rather than a collection of movements that must remain unchanged.
The same principle applies to our individual development. Record what you attempted, what succeeded, what failed, what you changed, and what happened afterward. Over time, those observations become evidence of your evolution.
Study the past. Document the present. Give the future something to build upon.

What if plan A does not work out?

It can be difficult to gauge your level in the fight game, mainly because it's a very small pool of high-performance athletes. Another reason is that the ecosystem you want to be in is so far away. So what can you do to prepare yourself for the moment when it arrives?

Let's try to understand what makes every martial art system important and why the name of the system does not matter.

Who should work your corner for your next fight?  What are the qualities that you want from a good corner team?

Why are some martial art ecosystems bigger than others?  The MAD Coach offers a few ideas as to why some arts thrive and others seem to fade out of existence.

Everything is happening so fast at the speed of digital.  What can you, athletes, do to keep up in the game? One thing is for sure: change is going to happen with or without you.

This past weekend, we saw Islam Makhachev defend the welterweight title and break the record for the most consecutive wins in the UFC.  The MAD Coach talks about what is next for the champion and how he should move forward.  How was the production and the overall card?  OK? Good? Or great?  The MAD Coach breaks it all down.

The MAD Coach takes a look at the PFL Charlotte card and gives his impressions of how the Carolina competitors should do in their PFL debuts.