Pop-Up Store Now Open!!!

Everyone in Melbourne, we have a pop-up store now open. Location is 109 Greville Street, Prahran, and we’ll be here for the next month. Some great deals to take advantage of. We’ve got $70 hoodies, $40 tees, $40 short sleeve rash guards, and long sleeve rash-guards and shorts at $50. Get down, say hello, and grab a bargain…

Hydrostatic Shock

Hi Everyone, here’s the latest blog from writer Haydn Ellis.  Enjoy…

Hydrostatic Shock

By Haydn Ellis

In a interview alongside Urijah Faber, Conner McGregor made reference to his style of kicking being more akin to a whip rather than powering through. This, he determined, allowed fighters to now kick wrestlers rather than avoid this due to threat of being taken down.

According to Master Raoul, powering through is to be reserved for specific parts of the body. It is also used to create different effects on the opponent. A kick powered into the body can be used to move the opponent as well as delivering damage. It’s primary application however, is to break bones and shatter joints such as knees, jaw bones and collar bones.

Most of the body’s main target areas, particularly in sport fighting are full of fluid. According to Raoul, powering through is not the most effective way to strike these areas. From ‘A Life of Mastery’,

“You don’t power through. What you have to use is hydrostatic shock in the body. You want every cell that’s in there that’s filled with fluid to go (shake) like jelly. And those cells rupture. So when you strike, it’s in and out fast. You want your strike to go in. To every action there’s an opposite and equal reaction. The body tries to react. But you’re not there when it reacts. The cells vibrate violently. Then they turn to mush. When you hit someone in the front it should feel like it’s come out the back because of the ripple of shock going through the body.”

At Kentokan, front and round kicks were delivered with the ball of the foot. Powering through with the instep or shin was only for head kicks in sparring since hydrostatic shock when delivered with the ball of the foot could kill a sparring partner. Kicking to the legs and body was all performed with the ball of the foot and with the use of hydrostatic shock. Whether punching or kicking, the use of hydrostatic shock not only did much more damage it also resulted in your opponent falling directly to the floor. For Raoul, having to chase opponents that he struck was inefficient. He wanted them to fall where they were hit. This would allow him to fight multiple opponents in the most efficient manner possible.

“Raoul was proud of the fact that by using hydrostatic shock he could put an opponent down with a strike and there would be no sign of any impact. No bruising at all in most cases. ‘That way’, he said with a smile, ‘You can kill someone and there’s no evidence of you having touched them.’

The key to master hydrostatic shock is in the speed of the retraction. When striking a heavy bag the bag should not swing when practicing. The sound should be of a loud crack with a visible indentation in the bag but no movement. Raoul didn’t like us practising on a heavy bag anyway. To build the skill a piece of string was hung from the ceiling, weighted at the end. The objective was to hit the string and retract quickly enough to have it vibrate but not move. Tape was placed on the string to mark targets and for a repetition to count toward the total, often 100 or more, the string had to be struck, the target hit and the string left humming but not moving. Other drills such as putting out a candle with the retraction speed of a punch are famous amongst martial art circles and were used regularly at Kentokan.

Conor McGregor takes UFC Featherweight Title

Congratulations to Ireland’s Conor McGregor, who yesterday beat Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Title. Aldo, who has been undefeated in the last decade, got knocked out just 13 seconds in to the first round.

In the co-main event Luke Rockhold Beat Chris Weidman to take over the Middleweight Championship. Rockhold won via TKO in the fourth round.

Introducing Guest Blogger Haydn Ellis…

Haydn Ellis will be a guest blogger on our Blog Section. He will relate stories from his martial arts experiences, as well as providing pieces on training and the mental side of martial arts. He is the trainer of elite athletes, adapting and using philosophies learned within the martial arts. He previously wrote for the popular website Brutal Training and is the author of the book Raoul Kent: A Life of Mastery. Enjoy…

Master Raoul

Back from the Dead

One night, not long after my first grading, I found myself sparring a black belt I hadn’t met before. As a low ranked fighter I had mostly sparred in a light to medium contact environment since my skills were raw and my defence poor.

My shorter opponent was fearsome to behold. Tattoos marked his huge forearms and he had done the fastest push ups I had ever seen during the warm up. I began the bout in my usual fashion, with a flurry of kicks that, for the first time, were very easily evaded and in some cases blocked away. My opponent seemed annoyed at my brashness and stepped in throwing a single punch to my sternum. My pathetic attempt at a block was knocked away and I was hit the hardest I have ever been.

From the book, Raoul Kent: A Life of Mastery,

I was unconscious from the blow even before I had hit the ground. Not only was I KO’d, but I had had the wind knocked out of me as well. There I was, unconscious and not breathing from a punch to the mid section. I remember coming to with Raoul’s knee in my back and his hands on my shoulders. “You have to be very careful with that resuscitation technique,” he said. “It can kill you if applied to a conscious person.”

Raoul had a vast knowledge of resuscitation techniques. With the Kentokan school being a no padding, largely full contact environment with few rules, these techniques were often required. There were two instances where Raoul even brought students back from the brink of death.

In the first instance, during judo sparring, Raoul noticed one student underneath another but not moving. Raoul threw the active student aside, who had been applying a strangle. The unconscious student had failed to tap out and had gone to sleep without his adversary realising he was no longer struggling. The strangle had been applied for so long that the unconscious student’s face was now blue and he wasn’t breathing.

With only a minute or two remaining before the student died Raoul quickly set to work. With a cough, a huge intake of breath and bewildered look on his face the student returned to the land of the living. “You only had seconds remaining,” Raoul said as he smiled.

In the only other instance where Raoul resuscitated a dying student the circumstances were somewhat different. A group of young men had been attending class for a short time. Much to Raoul’s displeasure they were disrespectful, lazy and disruptive. One night, Raoul had had enough. Targeting the ring leader, Raoul grabbed a sleeve and pulled him over. “Come here you,” he hissed.

Raoul then delivered a lightening fast strike to the young man’s chest, stopping his heart from beating. He collapsed to the ground unconscious. His friends looked on in horror. “He’s not breathing,” yelled one. “Help him,” he cried, with tears beginning to roll down his cheeks.

“Why?” replied Raoul. “He was disrupting the class.”

Raoul knew exactly how long he had before the man’s death would be irreversible. With only moments left he knelt down and used techniques to restart the heart beating again. The group of young men never returned and Raoul’s terrified students never stepped out of line.  

Paul Cheng vs Brendon Vera

We wish Paul all the best in his Heavyweight Title Fight against Brandon Vera. Tune in this weekend and see Paul do his thing…

Brandon Vera has a new opponent for Friday’s title fight at ONE Championship 35.

Company president Victor Cui today announced Paul Cheng (5-1) has replaced Chi Lewis Parry (6-0), and he now fights former UFC fighter Vera (13-7) for the organization’s inaugural heavyweight title.

“ONE Championship 35: Spirit of Champions” takes place Dec. 11 in the Philippines at Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena. It streams as an online pay-per-view in North America.

According to Cui, Lewis Parry “failed to submit his medical results and his drug tests” and “decided not to board the plane departing from London to Manila.”

Paul Cheng Fighting For One FC Heavyweight Title

Court/ Schumann at Beach Volleyball World Champs

ML at Beach Volleyball World Champs.

Mata Leao’s beach volleyball ambassadors Josh Court and Damien Schumann recently competed at the World Championships in the Netherlands. The boys managed one win for two losses and only narrowly missed out on moving further through the tournament.

Their tournament started with a very close loss against Alison / Bruno from Brazil, the eventual tournament winners. A disappointing loss to world no. 8 Austria left the team somewhat deflated. However, the confidence derived from playing so well against the eventual world champions saw the boys refocus and prepare well for their match against Qatar.

Qatar had beaten Austria and ended up 5th for the tournament, a mighty achievement. Patience was key in delivering the team strategy of a slow strangulation. Final score saw Josh and Damo victorious 21-19, 26-24 in a brutally close game requiring total concentration.

Haydn Ellis, the team’s coach had this to say; “It was great training in the Mata Leao gear. The Brazilian teams sure took notice. And to play so well against the winning Brazilians was a huge psychological boost for the team.”

The boys head back to Australia now for an intensive period of training and preparation before heading over to Turkey to continue their World Tour campaign.

Paul Cheng onboard with Mata Leao

Mata Leao are proud to announce that they are now on-board as a sponsor with Paul Cheng, a heavyweight in One FC. He’s an exciting fighter with a 5-1 record. Paul is an ex Canadian Football League player, formerly with the BC Lions. He has had a relatively late start in MMA, only fighting the last two years, but is quickly making up for lost time, notching up some impressive wins. Paul has had a diverse and colourful past. As well as playing professional football he has also had success in acting. You may recognise him from the film The Night At the Museum. We wish Paul luck with his training and upcoming fights. Expect him to take One FC and the MMA world by storm in 2015.

Damian and Josh in Switzerland

Here’s a couple of pic of Damian Schumann wearing Mata Leao while in Lucerne, Switzerland. Volleyballers Damian and Josh Court are currently training and playing in Switzerland as part their World Tour. We wish them luck in their games there.

Stephen Langdown in Warriors Quest

Mata Leao are proud to announce that they are now associated with One FC fighter Stephen Langdown. One FC is Asia’s premier MMA promotion. Stephen will be fighting on May 22nd in Singapore as part of the Warrior’s Quest fight card. His opponent will be Heili Alateng. Stephen is an up-and-coming fighter who has been making waves in the flyweight division. We wish him well on the 22nd and are behind him 100%.

Rites of Passage Festival

Mata Leao will be selling apparel at Rites of Passage Festival this weekend in Melbourne. Drop in if you get the chance…

Hex Fight Series – Share and Win

Mata Leao is proud to be sponsoring Hex Fight Series this Saturday the 6th December in Melbourne, Australia. We will have a shop at the event, hope to see you there. For your chance to win 2 x tickets to the event, plus a t shirt of your choosing at the event, either like, share, or comment on Mata Leao Fightwear FB page. The winner will be drawn at 11pm Melbourne time Friday the 5th and posted on the FB page, so be in quick. Please do no enter in to any direct correspondence in relation to giveaway.

Rumble in the Jungle 30

Anyone in Melbourne next Friday the 28th November be sure to go along and check out the Rumble in the Jungle show. Mata Leao sponsored fighters Maseh, Simon, Timmy, and Kenny are all fighting on the night. Go along and show your support, it’s gonna be a great night! Stay tuned for results.

Timmy & Kenny Tse

Mata Leao are proud to have hooked up with two young up-and-coming fighters out of Melbourne. They are Timmy Tse and Kenny Tse, fighting out of James Roeslar UltimateKickboxing. We will keep you posted on their progress as they rise up through the ranks. Timmy fights Chris Nguyen (8 Blade Warriors) on the 10th October on Powerplay’s event. It’s going to be an exciting fight and a great event, anyone who has the chance come check it out…