This week, Stephan's newsletter is probably one of the most important and interesting ones I have ever read. He talks about fighter depression and injuries which is something I knew nothing about.

This newsletter begins on how to build your fight game up and then transitions to getting injured and the results of depression and lack of motivation once some one gets injured. Having never been injured seriously, I did not know to the extent of which some people will fall into depression. Stephan finishes off with a question from a viewer about the amount of training a person needs to improve.

Also if any of you have any great photos of yourself rolling please forward them over to Stephan at:

www.grapplearts.com/picofweek.php

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Mixed Martial Arts Photos

Thanks to all those readers who submitted their favorite action grappling photos last week! I encourage other readers to send in their own favorites and sharing them with the grappling world by going to the bottom of the page at: www.grapplearts.com/picofweek.php


This weeks photo of the week is The Overhook Triangle as Anis Abdelli works the triangle with an overhooking arm on Aimé Henripin at the UGC 4 Grand Prix http://combatultime.com/

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Builiding a Martial Arts Game

I recently came across a very interesting webpage, put together by Leo Kirby, a purple belt under Marcelo Garcia.: www.combatsport.co.uk/Leos%20Page.html

Don't be distracted by the lack of flash on this page - it's well worth reading and is all about building a coherent game (or 'strategy', or 'system'). Leo obviously bases a lot of his game around Marcelo's specific strategies, but even if you never intend to armdrag an opponent or use the sitting butterfly guard then you can still read this page and get a sense of the thought process that goes into finding ways to impose your game on your opponent.

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A Dangerious Time In a Martial Artist's Career

We've been discussing injuries a lot recently, and it seems to have hit a chord with the Grapplearts readership. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I wanted to discuss one more thing before we leave this topic.

One of the most dangerous times in a martial artist's career is AFTER a serious injury, especially if it involves a lengthy break from training. Far too often I've seen a hard-training competitor get injured and start to gain weight, sometimes a lot of weight. I've known fighters who originally fought at 185 shoot up to almost 250 pounds. Some of them eventually get back to pre-injury bodyweight, but it's always a long and tough road. Others never competed again: they blamed the injury of course, but I think that the specter of getting back in shape had more to do with their decision than they would like to admit.

Of course not all hard-training martial artists are going to react to injury in this way, but it is fairly common. In some ways, the more serious the martial artist, the more likely it is that this weight gain is going to happen.

Maybe this weight gain comes about because hard training requires a lot of calories, and injury stops the training but not the daily caloric intake. Maybe it's because fighters have to stay within 10 to 20 pounds of fighting weight and react to their unintentional layoff by saying "screw it, KFC and cold beer here I come" . Or maybe it is that many martial artists rely on regular hard training to stay on an even keel emotionally, and when they suddenly can't train they can become depressed, and thus prone to weight gain or loss.

If you do have a major injury, keeping an eye on your bodyweight, and doing whatever you can to maintain some level of physical conditioning, is definitely a good idea. Doing something, anything, will help keep you in shape and make your return to the mats a lot easier.

In addition to your physical well-being, keep an eye on your state of mind post injury. I am NOT a psychologist, and I DON'T know what all the answers are, but just because you used to win all the local tournaments doesn't mean that you're psychologically invulnerable. Do whatever it takes to keep your mindset as positive as possible while you heal from your injury. If you want a more full discussion of fighters and depression check out the article on fighter depression.

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Three Times a Week?

Q: I am a beginner training only three days a week. I find it very difficult to juggle work, training and family, but I'd like to know if three days a week is sufficient to make progress?

A: I discussed this very issue in a previous newsletter but the short story is that you're in luck: three days a week is enough to make HUGE progress when you're a beginner.

If you ever end up fighting in the UFC or competing at the black belt finals at the Mundials you'll have to reduce your life to eating, sleeping and training, but for every one person who does this there are thousands of recreational grapplers who are making good progress on two or three training sessions a week

Stephan Kesting
www.grapplearts.com

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