I've been thinking about reviewing instructionals for a while now. I've amassed a thriving library over the years. I have books, VHS, DVD's and nowadays access to a number of digital products. I wish there were still more books coming out but I digress. 

One of the newest and most exciting gems out there is the new instructional: Hybrid Approach to Wrestling for MMA by Darryl Christian. 

Back when I was wrestling at the OTC in Colorado Springs Darryl Christian was one of the top guys there. He was already on the National Team and knocking on the doors of making World and Olympic teams. While I was there he won the US Nationals. 

Darryl was constantly in contention against TC Dantzler who was also a National Champion and multiple time world team member. It was one of the premier rivalries of the early 2000's. 

Since then Darryl Christian has contributed greatly to a number of MMA competitors, including BJ Penn. When BJ won his UFC title against Matt Hughes he had come out to Colorado to prepare. We all watched at coach Momir Petkovic's home (a regular thing for both UFC and Pride events). After the fight BJ quoted Momir and we all had a great time watching his biggest win. 

After Darryl's Olympic run he did a lot of MMA coaching. As I understand it he also spent some time helping Kyle Dake with some upper body maneuvers. I also remember watching Dake become more and more impressive as he added in more upper body throws and lifts from the mat, which in Freestyle aren't as common but highly effective. I can't help but think that is due in large part to Darryl's influence. 

The second I saw this add come up in my Facebook feed and saw the video intro highlights I knew it was going to be a good one. I saw that he took a similar approach to against the cage situations as I do. Naturally I just had to see what other pieces of the puzzle he had figured out. Within the first few minutes I was completely hooked. 

One of the early foundational techniques that he shares is the Underhook - Lockdown which I've seen a lot of guys do but now I know who they learned it from. It is a very effective positional attack. 

Darryl also provides a lot of Greco-esque techniques to control and attack opponents against the cage. I really appreciated his step-by-step approach and the overall effectiveness and simplicity. I found myself thinking "Why didn't I think of that?" for many of the finer details. 

My favorite move of this instructional has to be Getting Back to Your Feet - Option #1 this specifically deals with someone wrapping your legs with his legs in Khabib style. It was another one of those moments where I thought "Can it really be that easy?" and sure enough, it is that easy!

These were just two of the main highlights but for me this entire 2-part video series is LOADED with little gems throughout. For an old Greco-Roman Wrestling guy like me they made perfect sense and reaffirmed the quote from Dan Severn that says; 
"If you don't know how to wrestle you don't know how to fight." 

I can't say enough good things about this DVD (okay its not a DVD but that's what I call all of the 'instructionals' because its shorter to say and shorter to write...plus saying instructional all the time just sounds dumb to me). Right now it's on sale for a greatly reduced price so grab it while you can but at even full retail it would be a steal because of the quality of information that is shown.

If you missed the premier and the low-low price deal, don't worry, www.fanaticwrestling.com and/or www.bjjfanatics.com are always offering deals and discounts and if you miss one you'll most likely catch the next one but I counsel you to get this one as quickly as you can so you don't get left behind.

Again this is an amazing DVD. I highly recommend it and I look forward to making some of the adjustments into my own game. 

Hybrid Approach to Wrestling for MMA by Darryl Christian

I had the great fortune to meet the founders of Gunfighter Design, Robert Ziarnick and Eric Moser. They are both retired military and former snipers and have joined forces to create some really outstanding knives. 

I spent some time talking with Eric about their company and their vision. They have big plans and a bright future is ahead of them. 

Their designs are meant for the heavy duty user whether they be active military in combat situations or civilians in high stress scenarios with a need for high performance. 

A big part of their mission and inspiration came from real life combat where they had to use their blades defensively. As one of them recounted their personal encounter with an adversary I learned that their combat knife was used but broke in the heat of battle. While still able to dispatch the threat this experience was a sobering reminder of the absolute need for quality tools in life-and-death encounters. 

Due to this and other deficits encountered with many of today's production knives Robert and Eric decided they had been called to create products that would truly perform when the chips are down and lives are on the line. 

While they are a young up and coming company I believe their enthusiasm will carry them as far as they want to go. I'm showing one of their most popular designs the POPS MK2 Production knife. 

This particular knife is made with CPM 3v steel and shows some great lines and unique gripping options with their creative use of gimping along the spine and their contoured handle scales. With a 3.5" blade and nice rounded belly this knife makes for a great EDC fixed blade that can cover a variety of tasks. 

They also have bigger blades like The Greenside which is suitable for larger tasks more in line with hunting and combat usages. Gunfighter Design also offers custom knife options for those who want to see their own one-of-a-kind designs come to life. 

If you're looking for a great knife that is American made by a company that is Veteran owned and operated then look no further. Gunfighter Design

August 20, 2022 at Deep Half Jiu Jitsu in Spanish Fork Utah, Team Machado Utah had a seminar with Grand-Master Rigan Machado and a belt rank ceremony in which several practitioners ascended to the black belt rank and a few of us were elevated to advanced black belt ranks. 

Here are those who received rank advancements for the black belt and above: 
Cory Mince - Black Belt
Justin Ruiz - Black Belt
Nick Rossborough - Black Belt
Dave Johnson - 4th Degree Black Belt
Gerald Harris - 4th Degree Black Belt
Brandon Ruiz - 4th Degree Black Belt
Jeff Kunze - 5th Degree Black Belt

It was a great day for all who attended. I was excited to receive my 4th degree and put a stamp on my 30 years in the grappling arts. 

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