Dog Brothers Public Forum

I question whether Malone has ever even attended one of the many New England MMA events. The wrestling event that the kid died at was closer to some odd unsanctioned WWF event than any kind of sanctioned, ruled and judged professional (or even amateur) MMA event.

The funny part is they have had quite a few MMA events known as 'Mass Destruction' at Avalon. Avalon is a club within the city of Boston, just a few minute drive away from the Roxy where the canceled fight was to be held. If it was that big a deal, why were those fights not shut down? Why now all of a sudden?

The biggest problem in Massachusettes in my view is that they have not yet seperated the sport of MMA from WWF style wrestling events. On one hand it is looked at as a WWF type of event. On the other handthe events are forced to follow lightly modified boxing commision rules. They can't make up their mind yet if this is sport or entertainment. It's sport folks. Sport fighting. Plain and simple. Some folks invovled in MMA (like Mike Varner mentioned in the article) have already been in discussion with the Massachusettes Boxing Commission and other state officials to have a specific MMA rule set like other states. That will be a good first step to avoiding this type of situation. See here for more info on that:
http://www.massmma.com/state_house.html

The fact of the matter is that in sanctioned and professional MMA fights in New England, no one has ever been seriously injured. See here for more info on that:
http://www.massmma.com/fighter_band.html

I have personally been to a few events at Avalon and at the Matrix which is the facility in Taunton where the event will be moved to. Sure, everyone gets up and excited when the fight gets moving. Just like when a boxing match gets good, or the home team hits a homer in a ballgame, or the quaterback throws that perfect touchdown pass. But it is not like they like to phrase it for purposes of sensationalizing the article by saying "The fighting is "extremely dangerous" and "incites the crowd. It's definitely a public safety issue," she said." There's no public safety issue here.

What MMA fight that you've ever seen allows the fighters to jump out of the ring at each other resulting in situations like this where the guy cracked his head off the floor and died as a result of it? Hmmm...  now what type of events do we normally see that at? Maybe WWF copies like these guys, and the morons in those backyard wrestling videos?

The problem with most of the cheap insulation around a stick solutions is that they just don't last. They are not made to stand up to real full contact sparring which is the intended use.

I use both the ActionFLEX and the Smak-Sticks in sparring and both are solid and well made. So far they stand up to the abuse very well and were well worth the money.

Also, don't think they don't give enough of a feel. You know when you've been hit by one. No mistaking that.

Think of it like this:
If you are going to be sparring on any kind of a regular basis, what is your $ and time worth? Are you OK with having to remake the home-made sticks every couple of sessions constantly taping them up and replacing the foam? Or is it worth it to have a reliable set of soft sticks to use all the time without worry knowing you won't have to go to Home Depot all the time for new foam and tape? If you are OK with a few bucks here and there every couple of sparring sessions spent at Home Depot to keep the home-made versions useable, so be it. Add those few bucks up though and how much do either of the soft sticks sold commercially really cost in the end over the long term?

Heck, if you have a few sparring buddies you regularly get together with, amortize the cost and have everyone chip in a few bucks to buy four sticks total. That covers single and double stick sparring for the whole group.

Another thought is if you are doing this through a school, see if the school will buy them for use. Similar investment as focus mits and school gloves.

My .02 cents...

I'll third Dog Corey's sentiments since Argyll beat me to seconding them.

What a fun weekend. Met a bunch of great people and got to learn a bunch of great new stuff.

As a current FMA/DBMA practitioner, and soon to be fighter when I can get out to a gathering for some fun, I definetly agree Argyll. A weekend that fun should be illegal (i think it is in some states... ). Guro Crafty you certainly do bring a great energy and vibe to the training. It really makes the material more fun to learn than it already is on it's own. Makes for a great weekend and atmosphere.

So hard to figure out what I'll remember most. Was it learning STFOM? Learning to "send the last few inches home" or how to make Kalani let loose a little (those who were there know what I mean!!   ). Though standing at the desk at the R1 gym and signing a release only to realize it's Frank Trigg standing there was fun to.

Looking forward to the next camp and to see everyone again at a gathering.