VERTX sponsored TOP COP video
August 26th, 2010Our sponsor from our Chicago show sponsored a cool police challenge event….check out the video
Lets talk grappling
August 12th, 2010SInce introducing the grappling divisions into the SUPERCOP, I have been getting asked by a ton of cops if they would do well in the event if they only have a wrestling backround. The answer is YES. But you will also need to learn submissions to finish those fights, and your ability to takedown and control people with your wrestling is unmatched.
The following article is from the Bleacher report.
Wrestling Is The Future Of MMA and That Is Not Neccesarily a Good Thing
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Dominant wrestlers are nothing new to the sport of MMA.
Two of the highest profile fighters MMA has known in Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz are world class wrestlers.
Before Randy and Tito, came the first high level wrestler MMA had seen in Dan Severn. Known as the beast, Severn dominated his opponents physically, and dished out brutal ground and pound (before anyone really knew what G n’ P was) on his way to winning UFC 5.
While this was the first example of superior wrestling on display in MMA, it was not until the arrival of Don Frye and Mark Coleman that fans started to understand just how dominant a top notch wrestler can be.
From UFC 8 through UFC 11, Frye and Coleman reigned supreme, and while Frye was considered one of the first fighters to cross train in other disciplines, Mark “The Hammer” Coleman was a pure wrestler whose style was so brutal that he earned the unofficial title as “The godfather of ground and pound.”
While monsters like Coleman and Severn were the first practitioners of ground and pound type tactics, it was Randy “The Natural” Couture who took things to another level.
With an impressive resume in both Greco Roman and Catch Wrestling, and underrated boxing ability, the natural was a perfect fit for MMA.
In his debut at UFC 13, Couture made short work of two far larger opponents on his way to winning the heavyweight tournament. In his next appearance at UFC 15, Couture produced a massive upset with a master display of G n’ P against the 19-year-old “Phenom” Vitor Belfort.
At the same tournament Couture made his debut, another superstar wrestler and potential Hall of Famer in Tito Ortiz, arrived with a bang.
Ortiz won his MMA debut at UFC 13, in an undercard fight against Wes Albritton in 30 seconds. While he would go on to lose (as a replacement for the injured Enson Inoue) in the LHW final against Guy Mezger; Tito instantly made a name for himself with fans, due to his brash nature and aggressive attitude.
It was these pioneers of the sport who proved how successful wrestling can be in MMA, especially when combined with high level striking ability.
Since the dawn of MMA as an organized sport, the battle for supremacy has raged between Brazilians and Americans. Originally it was the Brazilians who were known as the master grapplers with their slick BJJ submissions, and the American Boxers and Kickboxers who were usually known as the superior strikers.
These days we have had something of an about-face, with most of the elite Brazilian fighters specializing in Boxing and/or Muay Thai and their American counterparts being mostly world class wrestlers.
While there are still many expert Brazilian grapplers (Almeida, Maia) and devastating American strikers (Velasquez, Carwin), clearly there has been a fundamental shift in the evolution of the sport.
Lately the wrestlers of MMA have been particularly dominant, and whether or not this is a good thing for the sport depends on your point of view.
There are two major schools of thought when watching a champion wrestler dominating a fight and keeping it on the ground.
The first school of thought is that of the casual fan, action junkie, and those in the nosebleed section who can’t see what’s going on inside the cage. This fan wants action, and action means stand up striking wars. They abhor fighters who practice “lay and pray” in an attempt to grind out a win.
The second school of thought is that of the MMA purist, including older MMA fans and fighters and wrestlers themselves. This type of fan does not believe in the concept of “lay and pray” and is more likely to appreciate the subtleties as a world class wrestler works to transition from half guard to side control or perhaps full mount.
There are also two basic types of MMA fighters.
Regardless of the amount of cross training in various striking and grappling disciplines; most fighters are either looking to keep the fight on their feet (strikers) or take it to the ground (grapplers).
While a dominant striker with solid takedown defence will always enjoy some level of success; a dominant wrestler with better takedowns will inevitably win the fight, barring the KO threat that a fighter wearing 4oz gloves always threatens.
The best current example of wrestling excellence in MMA comes from the bulldozing Brock Lesnar.
According to Joe Rogan, Lesnar is a descendant from Viking warriors. He is so big, so strong, and most importantly, so fast, that if Brock decides he wants to get his hands on you, it’s happening.
In his most recent fight against heavy handed Shane Carwin, Lesnar absorbed four minutes of punishment before he forced his way back to his feet and ground out the remainder of the first round.
Once the second round began, Lesnar easily took Carwin down, worked some G n’ P in the half guard, then quickly transitioned into full mount, before locking in an arm triangle choke to end the fight.
What makes this so impressive is that Carwin’s wrestling pedigree is unquestioned, yet once Lesnar took him down it was obvious Carwin was in big trouble.
On the recent UFC 117 card, four of the five Americans fighters on the main card were noted wrestlers; while four of the five Brazilians on the main card were noted strikers. In every one of the American wrestler vs. Brazilian striker bouts, the wrestler won.
That is except for the Silva-Sonnen fight, and although Silva won this fight, he was beaten down badly for four and a half rounds, and had no answer for Sonnen’s wrestling ability.
This is the supposed pound for pound king we are talking about who was manhandled by a lowly wrestler for the entire fight?
On the same card, Jon Fitch ground out a boring, yet utterly convincing win over the violent striker Thiago Alves, by completely controlling him on the ground for all three rounds.
Despite Alves losing in their only previous encounter, he entered this fight as a considerable favorite, yet Fitch took him down and controlled him with ease.
If an excellent wrestler can develop the skill and timing to evade a dangerous striker’s hitting zone, while closing the gap to execute a takedown, he can more often than not win the fight. Whether or not this is good for MMA as a sport, depends on the method in which the fight was actually won after the wrestler has taken his opponent down.
If all wrestlers bought the enthusiasm of a Clay Guida or a Chael Sonnen to their ground game, even the action junkies would probably appreciate these fights.
Sadly, too many high level wrestlers are adept at taking their opponents down, and then employing the conservative and low risk strategy of simply controlling them from the guard, in an effort to grind out a decision victory.
While this enrages many fans who shell out top dollar to witness these fights, at the end of the day it is about winning, and most wrestlers care not about the means, but simply about the result itself.
With the plethora of high level wrestlers currently plying their trade in MMA, there is every chance more and more fights will spend a lot of time on the ground, and depending on whom you ask this is not necessarily a good thing.
Crossfit and USAW combine forces
August 4th, 2010Register tomorrow for the inaugural CrossFit - USAW Open
Registration opens at 12:00 MDT Wednesday, August 4th
Register for the inaugural CrossFit/USAW Open on October 1-3, 2010! This is the first event of its kind: a sanctioned USAW meet combined with a third CrossFit event. Competitors are ranked based on their total kgs in the snatch and clean and jerk plus total reps in the CrossFit Triplet.
Standard international rules apply to the snatch and clean and jerk, which will be judged by USAW officials. The Triplet will be:
As many rounds and reps as possible in ten minutes of:
6 Squat cleans (55/30kg)
12 Pull-ups
24 Double-unders
Compete against some of CrossFit’s best (or just come watch them compete)! Chris Spealler, Rob Orlando, Kristan Clever, Miranda Oldroyd, Lindsey Smith, Russell Berger, Matt Chan, and James Hobart are all scheduled to compete. Josh Everett and Dave Lipson will compete not just in the Open, but will do a demo Isabel race, since they both have reported sub-1min Isabels.
There will also be tours of the US Olympic Training Center, chances to watch the US Weightlifting team train, and a reception with Olympians and Olympic coaches. More details tomorrow.
Check in here at 12:00 Mountain Time on Weds, August 4th for the Registration link!
(taken from www.crossfit.com )
Thor Soderberg….You will be missed Brother
July 8th, 2010Chicago cop killed with own gun outside police facility
Scene of fatal shooting near 61st Street and Racine this afternoon. (Terrence Antonio James/ Chicago Tribune) MORE PHOTOS
A Chicago police officer working a detail dedicated to addressing youth violence was shot and killed when a man grabbed the officer’s gun and shot him outside a police building in the Englewood neighborhood.
Thor Soderberg, 43, was leaving the facility at 61st Street and Racine Avenue after work about 3:45 p.m. and was walking to a parking lot when he got into a struggle with a 24-year-old man who disarmed the officer and shot him, Assistant Supt. James Jackson said.
The man then tried to rob someone at gunpoint a short distance away, Jackson said. Officers from the facility heard shots and exchanged gunfire with the suspect and shot him, Jackson said.
Preliminary reports say Soderberg, who was in uniform, was shot in the head.
The suspect was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where a group of uniformed and plainclothes officers stood outside the entrance of the emergency room this evening.
Calvin Jefferson, 28, said the suspect is his brother and was in critical but stable condition after being shot in the chest. “I’m still shocked,” said Jefferson, adding that his brother has always been a bit of a loner who is secretive and didn’t talk much to others.
Jefferson’s girlfriend, Theresa Jones, said she believed the suspect has mental issues.
Jefferson said despite his brother’s withdrawn behavior, his family never looked into the possibility of mental illness.
Soderberg was an 11-year veteran, according to Jackson. Friends said he was married but had no children.
Soderberg was typically an instructor at the training academy, but was operating out of 61st and Racine as part of Operation Protect Youth.
“If your son or daughter came on the job, he’s the guy you’d want to train them,” said Assistant Deputy Supt. Matthew Tobias, who used to run the academy. “He understood what the oath meant. He understood what a priviledge it was to wear the uniform of a Chicago police officer.”
Tobias said Soderberg had served as a combat engineer in the Army and described him as “a solid, tough copper willing to go out there. He understood the job.”
The class he teaches at the training academy is set to graduate next week. Officials said Soderberg dropped in to check on his class earlier Wednesday on his lunch break.
The shooting left those who knew the officer stunned by the sudden loss.
Chicago Police Officer Thor Soderberg (left) and Mazen Istanbouli (right) during a 2007 triathlon in Chicago. (Photo provided by Istanbouli)
“I want people to know that he’s a great man and gave the Chicago Police a great name,” said Mazen Istanbouli, a DePaul professor and close friend of the officer. “He was a giver, he never thought of himself and always thought of others.”
Istanbouli, who is blind, said Soderberg helped him train and competed by his side in triathlons.
Istanbouli said the two had known each other for about three years. Istanbouli said Soderberg accompanied him to the New York City and Chicago triathalons, running and biking and swimming alongside him and serving as his guide.
The two most recently ran together at a run for fallen police officers in Chicago this spring. Just today, Istanbouli said, he brought up Soderberg’s name because he wanted the officer to accompany him at an upcoming bicycle race.
Istanbouli recalled Soderberg’s humility, particularly after they ran a race and Istanbouli tried to thank him: “He said, ‘I’m doing this for you not for me, I don’t need the medal, I’m doing it for you.’ He helped me out with training and he helped me out throughout the process with swimming and running and biking, the whole thing we did everything.”
He said his friend is always in his mind when he hears about police tragedies because “police officers’ lives are always out there. It’s just shocking.”
Soderberg wrote on a Web site that acting as Istanbouli’s guide “is a gift for me. To be able to help someone else enjoy the sport I have been able to participate in since the mid-nineties is truly a blessing.”
Soderberg added that “sports, and triathlons specifically, are a great way to get in touch with yourself and to learn about what you thought limits were. … That is what brought me to triathlons and keeps me doing them into this decade, and hopefully, for many decades to come.”
Police officers and family gathered outside the slain officer’s home on the South Side this evening. Police guarding the door to the family’s home said relatives would have no comment.
Soderberg’s body was taken to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, where an autopsy is scheduled Thursday. An office spokesman would not provide any other details of the officer.
Around 8:30 p.m., officers held blue and white umbrellas over Soderberg’s family as they pulled up to their home and walked through the rain to their front door.
Dennis Nyers, who lives across the street from the officer, said he often saw him on his way to work and that the officer would always wave and say “hi.”
“He was a nice, good person,” said Nyers. “He didn’t bother nobody, he minded his own business.”
Valerie Carroll said that while she didn’t know Soderberg personally he always smiled and waved at her and her three children. She said she often saw him running in the neighborhood.
“He was friendly. He made us feel safe,” said Carroll, 45, who lives across the street from the officer. “He was one of the good ones.”
The mayor’s office released a statement Wednesday night.
“On behalf of the City of Chicago, I extend my condolences to the family of our fallen officer, who died today after being shot in the line of duty,” Daley said in the release. “It is a sad day for all Chicagoans when a law enforcement officer is killed carrying out his responsibility to protect us. I ask everyone to keep the officer’s family in their thoughts and prayers.”
Mark Donahue, president of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, said: “It’s quite apparent that not only have we lost a brother-in-arms, but the entire population of this city has lost someone that, had you known him, you’d be very proud to call him one of your own as well.”
“I don’t know what to say,” said Ald. JoAnn Thompson (16th), whose ward covers the area around the station. “It just makes me sad.”
“That one individual does not speak for this whole ward,” Thompson said of the man who shot Soderberg. “And I know there’s a lot of crime, but there’s still a lot of good people here, too.”
Cheri Ricardo, 41, said she lives across the street from the police building and heard about 10 gunshots, but didn’t think too much about it because the neighborhood has been growing more violent despite the police presence.
Ricardo, who has six children, said there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood. She has lived across from the police building for about two years, and she said the police building, along with another police facility, hasn’t helped reduce violence.
“This neighborhood is exactly what it is, it’s wild,” said Ricardo. “That police station in my opinion did not stop any immediate crime in this neighborhood. … It’s not doing any good.”
She said gang members in the area are “bad and bold, they do not care and have no respect or anything. They still shoot up and down the street when they want to.”
Ricardo said she felt bad for the officer, who she believed was doing his job to protect people in the neighborhood.
“The police officer’s family has to bury that man, but he was just doing his job,” Ricardo said. “If they shoot a police officer right there in their backyard, what do you think they would do to me and my kids? It’s sad.”
The Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates shootings involving Chicago police officers, were gathering evidence on the scene this evening, said IPRA spokesman Mark Smith.
Police said the suspect has an extensive criminal history. Cook County court records show he has been arrested more than a dozen times over the years, mainly for possession of cannabis.
Most of those cases were dismissed, except for a 2006 case when he pleaded guilty to possession and received two years probation. In May of 2009, he pleaded guilty to marijuana possession and received one year of conditional discharge, which he completed satisfactorily on May 21.
Rex W. Huppke, Cynthia Dizikes, Serena Maria Daniels, William Lee and Brian Cox contributed.