The Caribbean is getting a MMA fight scene, and its called CUFF – Caribbean Ultimate Fist Fighting.

Some fight action from from the budding MMA fight scene in the Caribbean.

4th round Kimura means you went long and held it through and found a way. Well done Tija Stanley!!!!

Here are a couple of real warriors going at it! Came across this on YouTube and it has to be reblogged.

Text from the YouTube post at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsPIzRsUtlE

Prior to the departure of 31 Canadian Brigade Group (31 CBG) personnel from Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Canadian soldiers observed US National Guard soldiers playing an interesting version of the game Tug of War. 31 CBG soldiers were fascinated by the spectacle and cheered on the competitors. Finally, one young Canadian soldier dared to challenge the hometown crowd, and put national pride on the line. In this video, Master Corporal John Celestino of the Windsor Regiment, participates in a game of Tug of War with a US National Guard soldier. This version of the game builds esprit de corps and really works the leg muscles…just ask Master Corporal Celestino!

Go Canada! But seriously, any way this matchup went down, this looks like a super tough conditioning exercise. Those legs are going to hurt tomorrow! OSU!

On a recent trip to Kamloops, and needing a place to roll, I came upon MMA fighter Matt Baker’s new gym, Mata-Leao MMA. For a measure of how much mixed martial arts is making inroads to our way of life, the new martial arts gyms are a far better example of how relevant it has become, rather than UFC on Fox. How nice it is to see the new generation of MMA fighters like Matt Baker already giving back to the sport they love by opening gyms, bringing the fundamental components of mixed martial arts to a new generation of young athletes who want to learn it and train it. I took mat away from his busy schedule to tell me a bit more about his fight background and his new gym.

Matt Baker is a Canadian MMA fighter with a 10-0 amateur and a 7-3 pro record, currently fighting for Battlefield Fight League. Matt is the only Canadian on Team Nogueira, out of Rio De Janeiro Brazil. His own martial arts education has given him the opportunity to roll and train with some heavy hitters like Minotaur Noguiera, Minotauro, Anderson Silva, Tony Mariano, the #1 ranked fighter in the world outside of UFC, Bigfoot Silva, ex Strikeforce champ, Rafael Cavalcante… Matt says the gym is amazing for fighting at 185, lots of light heavyweights and 185s. No doubt!

Matt explained that the name for the gym, Mata-Leao MMA, is from the Portuguese for ‘lion kills’, which is another name for the rear naked choke. The expression also comes from the legend of Hercules. In one of Hercules’ 10 quests, he defeated the Nemean Lion with its impenetrable skin by applying a rear naked choke.

Mata-Leao naturally has a kickboxing program, and a gi and no gi program. The Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gi program is run by Andre Taniguiti. Originally from Brazil, Taniguiti trained at Axis Jiu-jitsu in Japan. Matt says Andrey is a very good brown belt. Matt runs the mma and no gi side of things, as well as personal training sessions.

I asked Matt what was his personal approach to training and the kind of gym he was hoping to run. He said, “I like working with kids, I just get lost training in classes with kids, I have a gym in my home town because it takes me away from training at my fight camps, I relax, I do it for the fun, I don’t do it for the money… The gym is open since January 2012. It’s the first year in business and I already have over 30 students. I am taking down about 8 of my students to Tiger Balm 2012 this weekend. For 90% of them it’s their first tournament. Hopefully from there the gym is going to grow, the school is going to grow, and there will be more tournaments to come. If I can’t one day be a champion myself, I would like to coach a champion. That would be my ultimate goal. Hopefully one day, I’ll make it to the Kamloops Sports Hall of fame like Tom Laroche, my first sifu.

BJJ practitioners in Los Angeles for a tournament just happen to walk into the hotel lobby as an armed robber is on his way out with the cash. A Takedown ensues and its game over for the robber.

Link to full story: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8420209

Tija Stanley in St. Kitts is a fighter looking for a fight. Having recently tried his hand at MMA, he now holds a 2-0 record and is the holder of the belt title for the CKGSF Amateur MMA Heavyweight Championship. Stanley is looking for more MMA and kickboxing matches to build upon his reputation and says he is willing to work hard and ready to go where the fighting is. Stanley says he will not disappoint while in the pursuit of his dreams. Stanley is 5’11” in height and walks around at about 208lbs.

The fight scene in St. Kitts is still at its fledgling stage. That is why he is looking for fight contacts, sponsors, promoters, and people who can help him get his career in fighting to the next level. With more experience in the cage, he is hoping to start a top-level fight gym for fighters in St. Kitts. He also says that The Caribbean has a whirlpool of good talent and the world just needs a chance to see it.

You can contact Tija Stanley directly through this web form:

cforms contact form by delicious:days

I spotted a post tonight from theatlantic.com about a California fight club created by geeks working at the big names in tech that we all know like Google and Apple, among others.  The urge to stand and bang is finding its way deeper into society, where people are taking their stress of their work and lives and turning it into power. They do bare knuckles, stick fighting, and then have fun with toys like a dustbuster battle, chairs, and computer keyboards.

Hmm, I wonder if they have any room down there? I am a PHP coder, I wonder if I could get down there and kick some dev butt. In tech, I have noticed that people’s lifestyles gravitate to one of two poles: they are either  vegan bike riders, or they are Jabba the Hut. Good to see these people considering the choices to make in their lives, and contemplating the meaning of the fight.