BTG 131 - Don't be a distraction

[Music] hello and welcome to another episode of Breaking the guard I just finished watching a UFC Fight Night with Shan Brady and uh oh man the name just slipped out Leon Edwards there we go uh and that was a very good fight it started off pretty even uh it looked like yeah obviously I'm spoiling it so if you don't want to hear a spoiler then obviously tune out but uh it started pretty even Shan being very aggressive but uh Edwards was able to manage to keep distance Shan didn't really go for any serious takedowns he did set up a couple of clinches with an underhook and uh Edwards was able to break apart throw an elbow on the exit not Landing it but threatening it and uh looked pretty good at the very end of the round Sean was able to get a little nice foot sweep put Edwards on his back and finished the around on top uh I felt that Sean probably edged round out with the taked down but it was close uh but good showing for him going into that first round second round was interesting because he just bum rushed uh this guy pretty quickly and took him down immediately and had him on the ground the whole round and was doing a good job of dominating from top position and was able to work uh a bunch of different positions from back Mound control Mound not able to really score any big shots or get any submission bites really but enough to impose his will and to dominate most of the round uh Edwards did get up at the end of the round after a little scramble and he was doing good defense mind you he's a little bit outgunned in the ground work sha Brady is legit on the ground and he's you know short and stocky compared to Leon was much taller so like the frame definitely helps for his style but uh Liam was moving and escaping position so he he was doing his best but uh he did get up and if no no he it wasn't that wrong he did get up he fired a few shots ended the round on his feet uh obviously Shawn won that round as well moving into the third round now the bum rush wasn't going to work so they kind of uh stand you know striking at a distance and Edwards actually catches him with two very clean shots that looked like they they really got Brady's attention uh he got into a little bit but he shot in kind of like a desperation shot from my view uh was stuffed so it was starting to look like oh the tables are going to turn and then something really confusing happened which is uh Leon takes a shot you know which very unexpected because he was he just land the two best strikes of the fight and then shoots in gets stuck into a front headlock and ends up getting stuck on the ground and is grounded for the rest of the round uh with that's basically with 3 minutes and 30 seconds left in the clock he took a really really really big gamble and that was a huge uh strategic error I I can understand sometimes like oh you know when you're you're totally dominating somebody in one area and they're so afraid of that you switch into something else and catch them off guard but not into their strongest part of the game and arguably the weakest part of your game right that is not a great position to put it in Shan was really quick on the spraw immediately into the front headlock and it was a really bad uh decision for him to do that and on this round he definitely focused more on the ground on pound and did a lot more damage uh and even had some better submission bites I think there was an armed triangle attempt at one point I know I might have that wrong fight that might have been another fight but in any case there was a lot more ground and pound that was effective here so he ended up winning those first three rounds so now Leon's kind of entering like Usman one fight territory where he he's going to have to get a knockout to win this fight they go into round four and Shan's able to march him down into the fence snatch a double leg pull him down get on top of him and work into I think he had mounted at one point this guy escaped into side control Sean got uh into half guard locked up a one-arm guillotine Advanced to the Mount finished with a mounted Guillotine it was just a a beautiful grappling performance by Shan Brady and um he is looking very legit you know his striking is pretty solid uh he was outlanding at least by the punch stats if I recall correctly Leon although I thought Leon probably landed the cleaner and the more effective strikes on the feet but he's still good enough on the feet where uh he's dangerous to like trade shots with and he's a major uh ground threat as well good takedowns uh so it'll be interesting to see cuz now Leon was the number one ranked uh Contender and he was number five so they're probably going to swap places a bit and this sets up the rematch between him and balal and if you haven't watched that fight that was a good fight also that was all on the feet the there were no takedowns in that fight and uh a little bit of controversy there in my opinion the first round pretty even uh I forget who they were calling it for I think balal might have won it or maybe Sean I don't know but it was it was pretty close second round was going about the same but within the last like 30 seconds uh balock caught him with a clean combo that you can see made him lose a step and then he was pinned against the cage and getting uh pieced up he was still defending himself he wasn't firing back but he was moving he was blocking was he eating damage yes but Bal also uh wasn't really throwing super heavy it looked like he landed all the big punches early on and Shawn had kind of you know worn that damage and now he was just trying to you know find holes to uh finish him off but there's like maybe 10 seconds left on the clock and known that the damage none of the punches that bal's throwing seem to be having any more effect on Sha right like he's just wobbled but he's still moving and the ref comes in to stop a fight H to me early stoppage right like unless I see him collapse you know or like he is hands down just like being carried by the fence eating shots if a guy is moving his head around you know blocking and taking shots it's a fight yeah that's what happens like you're going to get hit and you're going to get rocked and sometimes you're going to have to Shell up a little bit and you'll eat some damage on your arms but like you're not eating full power and idea is that you're going to recover as your opponent starts to wear out from like you know trying to empty the tank to finish you so I felt it was a bad call I know there the ref is not supposed to be looking the time or use that as a consideration but I'm just judging it from the standpoint that the damage wasn't getting worse it was was arguably getting better right like he wasn't Landing the heavier shots now because I I felt like he had spent most of his team so anyhow some controversy there uh so the rematch would be interesting they both have a somewhat similar style although I think balal probably is a better Striker uh so it would be interesting to see how they would match up again because I think Brady probably shine better on the ground particularly if he gets on top versus if it's another standup fight Bal is shown to be pretty crafty on his feet even though a lot of people don't like him and you know his style personality whatever but he is a very effective fighter so that that's a interesting uh matchup to see there with two guys who are strong Grapplers right so uh you know it's funny how in MMA it kind of goes in and out sometimes like oh jiujitsu is dead and and grappling ground fighting is dead in MMA it's all striking and then all of a sudden it's kind of coming back a little bit now ground fighting is actually working and being very effective uh is it's just people finding those new balances and I think also the weight classes are important this was like the a weight class where it does seem to translate pretty well if you can get people to the ground right um so there was that fight we also had Jan bovic with Carlos olberg that I saw which was another interesting fight on this card a huge age gap between this guy I I didn't realize Jan's uh my age pretty much he's 42 I'm 43 so like he's up there man and he's fighting heavy weights and like this guy he's fighting is in his 20s I believe so like a really huge age Gap obviously a big speed Gap but the fight technically pretty close all stand up uh but Jan was able to at least win one of the rounds I I think it went to a decision uh and again spoiler it went Carlos's way he ended up winning and I think that was probably the right decision but he didn't W run away with it it was a very close fight uh and a lot of Point fighting if you will uh not a lot of heavy shots landed I mean there were some of course or heavy weights but uh none of the fighters ever really got rocked you know it was more just uh in my opinion more like a technical sparring kind of situation I think they both respected each other's power uh of course they're both Heavy Hitters uh but not the most uh exciting fight it definitely open up a little bit in the third round it looked like um Jan realized he was behind on the scorecards and try to pressure in a little bit more and uh that created a lot more opportunities but I think they both fought it a little too conservative to make it an interesting fight but it's impressive that Jan's still able to compete at that level and he was been in a long layoff apparently he had shoulder surgery on both shoulders uh so even more oppressive right cuz it's harder to recover the older you get so the double shoulder surgery to step in to fight one of the guys that they're getting ready to set up on that title run uh man props to to Jan for pulling that off uh because again did have a good performance uh I I just think strategically was a difficult fight to win the last fight I got to see gunar Nelson um with big mouth and my my name recall is really suffering right now it come to me but you guys know because I I usually critique this gentle Kevin Holland there we go uh I critique him quite a bit because I always criticize him for not fighting smart uh he dropped down a weight class and I can tell you that looked like that really helped him out uh had a good competitive uh fight with gunar and was able to win rounds off his back which you normally don't see that happening I mean he's a one guy who's knocked uh people out from his back most famously uh he got jaade with that with a backhand Hammer fist that from his guard that knocked him out so you can't dismiss him and people forget he's got a really long reach 100 81 Ines that's huge right especially for like I I believe the weight class is 70 that they're fighting at that's a really long reach right uh but he was able to win fights off his back the the rounds off his back because he would just double wrist control from his guard and uh Gunner really couldn't fire anything and he kept uh trying to free his arms the one thing I'm not sure what he didn't go for normally because I know because I love grabbing people's wrists but I know in MMA the one thing you really got to watch out for is elbows because they can come over the top and elbow you but Gunner never really seemed to like use that I don't know if there was something that was preventing him from doing it or he just maybe do train elowes enough but that seems like that should have been a weapon that he used because he was letting Kevin just control him and like reverse ground and pound him because he was just hitting him with hammer fists and uh he was trying to set up triangle chokes and stuff but I didn't see any really close submission catches and Kevin's in but he's he was able to do damage off his back whereas uh Gunner landed maybe a handful of punches of any significance and and when they got on their feet he did drop them at one point towards the end of the round if that round would have had like 15 more seconds probably could have been a TKO so um Kevin did a good job ended up winning the decision there um looked like he was fighting a little bit smarter uh I say a little bit because he he's still allowed himself to be on his back quite a bit but then again I guess I worked in this fight but um against someone like Gunnar Nelson typically you want to be top position but I don't know like like I said he worked reverse ground and pound like he was controlling one wrist Hammer fisting with the back and you know doing some up kcks and chopping and whatnot so uh he was making it work so I can't criticize that too much and uh I think being in a lighter weight class is probably going to help him because he's not this uh like muscle bound guy he's a long lankier guy so I imagine 185 you got guys that are coming down from like 220 something uh 230 in some cases so if you're underpowered it's going to be hard to play your your game especially if you're going more on grappling but uh in 170 now he's probably you know on the bigger side you know so that is going to favor him a little bit better so maybe the the new weight class will really help him uh Advanced his career there now uh another thing I wanted to talk about I saw this clip uh just before I started this podcast that uh really got my attention was how to be a good spectator or coach for an athlete right so if you have someone that's competing in an event doesn't matter what type of event it is you have to understand that you want to be a positive for your athlete if you are negatively influencing them you're doing a disservice by being there right and I say this because I saw this one match it was a kids ADCC I commented in and um very good competitive match uh between these two teenagers just going back and forth dog fight uh like just absolute Savages but I'm guessing it's a parent or maybe a a loved one I'm imagining it's a woman or maybe a small child but they're just screeching like a horror movie like you would think like someone was getting stabbed to death by a monster the whole time I almost turned away from it but it was so over the top I'm like I have to see the conclusion of this but that you can barely hear anything besides a screeching and uh rest in peace to her throat cuz my God like so loud and you know over the top just out of control right um and I get it I I don't have children but I understand if you're very invested I mean imagining this to a mother or you know maybe a girlfriend or something I don't know I'm imagining a mom uh I could be totally wrong if I am sorry but that's the impression I'm getting because it's just total fear and panic in the screeching which is not a great thing to pass in especially if you're close to that competitor and they sense your fear and your uh Panic that's normally not a motivating force right it's a at best it's distracting you at worst it's spreading panic and fear into you right that's not a that's not encouraging and the last thing I need if I'm an adult fight is somebody who's freaking out right that's only going to make me want to freak out uh so my comment here and I I say this constructively because I can I can sympathize I can I can I can appreciate how if it's your child and they're losing and you're very invested how you might be a freaking out yourself but like compose yourself you're an adult right you're supposed to uh lead by example and you being there you should be able to compose yourself understand that this you know you're you're a child your loved one or even if maybe it's another kid your best friend whatever it is is in a tough battle and they don't need to sense your fear or your Panic what they need is your love your encouragement your positivity to help fuel them in their in their competition so I would say if you can't compose yourself stay quiet right or and if you can't do that maybe don't watch the fight right maybe you know stay outside until it's over right because I feel like if you're in that state it's very distracting and not only that like this person was so loud that you couldn't hear anything else so if I was a coach I would be getting drowned out by the screeching like I'm telling you it's totally out of I've never seen screeching like this crazy before right uh and plus for that person man the stress level you must be going through is so high you're gonna have an adrenaline dump after that and that's not good for you either right so like if you know that you're going to be an emotional wreck and you're not able to handle it and uh in that way that's going to be useful just stay out outside the competition area until it's over and you can come right back in and be able to you know uh celebrate or console uh your friend or you know child or whatnot after the match is over cuz at least for me personally that would be a distraction if I knew it was my mom that was screeching or you know my girlfriend or something like that that that would bother me right like I would not want that and you know maybe I'm off base here maybe you know the competitor said I want you screeching at the top of your lungs and I could be totally wrong right but I I would doubt that right I I don't think most people want that right I mean it's great to know that the person's that invested in you right obviously they're very emotional and they care about it but I I just don't think that's a constructive way of doing it right like if you're not able to provide words of encouragement or something that is like a positive motivating force or technical knowledge that can help the comparator win then just be quiet right um I don't think you're you're doing your friend any favors right now I I say this because obviously in a sports event nobody pays attention to this type of rule and everybody's just screaming at the top of lungs and that's kind of what you would expect and I get that and as a comparator I have to be able to drown out that noise and make it into like a white noise or Channel it in a way way that I can use it to my advantage right but if you're a friend or you're an acquaintance or somebody that you're you're there to support this person I believe there's better ways to supporting them than just screeching right especially like in this person it was like when they were getting in a bad position they're about to lose and they started you know screeching and you know crying it was it was crazy so um I would say again like have some self-restraint control I know for example my mom would not watch my matches she wouldn't even watch my wrestling matches uh for her it was too stressful and I think the one that she went to watch she just had her hands over her face the whole time and she just waited for the match to be over for someone to tell them what happened right or to tell her what happened and you know to me that's totally fine like uh I don't need my mom yelling at the top of her lungs to to support me you know if she's there or if she's not doesn't really matter that much to me um I I should know you know obviously that my parents support me or my loved ones or whatever the case may be they don't need to be physically there to make the difference uh but if they do at at least communicate to your supporters what would be the best thing they can do for you right and this is something that as an athlete you also need to communicate to your coach and a good coach should be asking you this as well right like what are the cues like what things I need to say to you to get you going right like what's going to Rally you up what's going to like calm you down what technical instruction can I give like how detailed does it need to be or if it can it just be a signal or award so that I say one thing and you know exactly what I'm talking about these type of things help to make the coaching process a lot easier and likewise for supporters if you know you're bringing in a contingent of people to root for you uh in these like type of competitions especially like nagas and gra Quest and ACC where you know everybody can get up close to the mat you would definitely want something that was useful like I know that one got my attention because as a coach I would be upset with that situation because I wouldn't be able to get anything across cuz nothing was getting past that Screech right that was just maybe the the way it was recorded magnified it I don't know but like the the number one comment was like what the hell is going on with the screeching you know that out of control this and that like it was just it drowned out of everything maybe the whoever the the audio person was the Lady or the person that was screeching was right next to it you know but but uh it sounded completely obnoxious over the top and as a coach I would be talking to that parent to the side Hey listen you got to calm down that's not helping your child compete like I would be having the same type of talk with them right so uh I I think one if you are that parent you know check yourself right uh make sure that you can come proper and be an asset to that environment uh versus being a distraction or at worst like an impairment right uh and two as a competitor you should be understanding which type of people you want around you or watching you compete that will benefit you like some people do want a loved one there like it feels like that's their they believe that's their reason for competing that's their motivation right so like they want to see that person there or that's their biggest supporter and that's totally fine but then set the stage so they know how to behave and they know how to help you best right uh if you know that certain person wants to be there but it's going to be a very bad influence for you you should ask that person not to go simple as that right uh I know some people don't like their girlfriends watching right because they feel like it's too distracting for them uh and if that's the case that's totally fine just let them know they shouldn't take it personally right it's it's about you doing your performance you're doing a job right uh so whatever is going to help you do that best you need to be able to set up that uh environment as best you can and finally as a coach uh if your athletes not proactive in doing these things you need to be doing them as well right and in particular understanding what type like of cues I'm going to be giving my athlete doing a match um like my my we watched the the UFC Fight Pass number 10 and my wife is commenting uh on the coaching particularly with u danah her because he barely says anything if anything at all and he's just sitting there watching for the most part not a lot a lot of coaching going on and she's like why is he even saying anything and I'm like well his philosophy is very different than most he believes that he's only there to give technical instruction and if there is no obvious thing that he needs to fix he's not going to say anything he doesn't believe in in emotional uh support or positive motivation or anything like that so unless it's technical in nature he's not going to say anything and I I think for the most part since his you know athletes and competitors are so Technical and skilled he really doesn't have to say anything right it's very rare for him to have to say something and you can see there's matches where he just almost says nothing so uh and when he does speak he is very calm it's never yelled the Frantic uh he normally just says it in a conversational tone uh so that's a style that's unique to him right you could see in fights there's people who are super emotional they're yelling and stuff and again there's different philosophies on this right some people feel that by conveying forceful energy you are going to pass that type of energy into the athlete right and I believe that is true of certain people right uh sometimes you need to get smacked around a little bit you know perhaps even verbally to get yourself going right uh other people respond better with just calm assertive uh messaging it just depends the psychology for every uh competitor is very different but uh in my opinion emotional support is very useful right if you are just being robotic you might not be impairing them but you might also not be helping them to the utmost right I think there's a balance I believe that some yelling or shouting or some emotional support does have effects right uh I know I have felt the positive effects of it I've also felt negative effects of it right I've had times where I remember once that was my very last wrestling match of my high school career I was down I think it was like 5 to2 maybe like 30 seconds left I just went out of bounds and I was panicking right because I'm like how I'm going to make up these points and then I looked while I went out of balance as I'm coming back in I looked over to my coach and I go what I'm going to uh what do I do and I think it was the assistant coach just goes do something Dave and I was like I remember at the moment like oh thanks that that's very useful I know I have to do something but what am I going to do right you know I was just a ball of energy just going crazy but I didn't have any guided direction right and I think obviously by my the coach or assistant coach I forget who it was that said that they were also panicky right they didn't have some something to think of to tell me what to do and that kind of fueled me even more because I just went Spazzy right I ended up losing that match right uh so that wasn't a constructive use of coaching right he should have just told me some specific instruction even it was wrong at least I would have focused my energy in a in a way that was conducive right uh so the the coach doesn't want to be compromised by em his emotions but he has to know what emotions will get the fighter going right uh again some Fighters need lots of positive reinforcement right some Fighters need some negative reinforcement right they need to be put you know you know at the bottom so that they rise up right um so that's why like I said it's it's different so it's hard to I can't tell you one recipe that's going to work for everybody it's different for everybody because psychologically we're all very different and I know that's one of I well I don't know but I believe that's one of John's arguments which is like everybody's very different psychologically I'm not going to try to learn them all I'm just going to focus on what I know how to do which is great technical instruction so I can't fault them for that logic that makes that sound I'm just saying that there is something being missed if because there is an I believe the optimal pattern is both having great technical instruction and also having some emotional motivational support based that's specific to that that athlete and you're only going to learn that by how seeing them in the in the training room doing mock matches watching them in lower grade competitions and seeing how they respond to certain things and them communicating with you so then you understand okay I know you know this guy needs to be slapped around this guy just needs to be left alone let let him be Zen right like everybody's a little bit different and if I can cater to each one of these guys I'm I'll be a coach that's optimal for them that's my take out it anyways I know like me personally I'm pretty Zen but I do need to be riled up sometimes right um especially if I feel like I'm waning a little bit in energy I I need to get revved up again right and be reminded of things and that's something that happens sometimes when you're you're fighting you know you can forget the motivations the reasons why you were in there and having someone boom be able to spark that back into you by saying the right words can get you riled up and ready to go right so uh and I know felt my brother was very good at doing that um we we both knew how to get get each other ready and primed or back into the fight so to speak right uh so there is value in what I would say is emotional or motivational coaching right I don't believe it is uh a waste of energy it it it could be impairing like I said there there are drawbacks to it if you're not doing the right things right uh so this is why you need to understand your athlete right uh and that's why to me the coaching relationship is very special because you're forming an emotional bond and that's deep because you have to know everything about this guy to be able to really speak to him on a level that will be able to effectively communicate success their desires you know and fulfill their dreams