A couple weeks ago one of the guys I train with, Kevyn Meredith stated he was going to compete in the upcoming 2008 Pankration National Championships, title holders take home belts just like a cage fight.
Now this would not be odd but Kevyn trains in Kung fu San Soo, basically a very aggressive street fighting martial art. It's not BJJ or MMA and most of his nervous system strikes are out side the rules. He is a neophyte in BJJ, so I figured it was going to be a quick tournament experience for him.
Boy!!! Was I wrong!!!!
Here's the story and his final match that ended in 30 seconds by Triangle choke:
This past weekend I witnessed what heart, focus and a simple high percentage plan can do for the right competitor. As you may not be aware I teach Kung Fu San Soo to children weekly (www.kungfusansooriverside.com). One of my fellow adult instructors is a very young black belt named Kevyn Meredith (age 19). Now Kevyn knows his way around a fight in the street but he knows little to nothing about BJJ and MMA. In fact he has received less than 30 days training in BJJ informally. So when he came to me and stated he was competing in the Pankration National Championships this past Sunday at 185's I thought he was crazy as a loon. But I told him I would teach him what I could given his goal and timeframe. BTW: the kids tall, thin, flexible and loves to hit hard. He's got steel fists.
Given we had less than two weeks to prepare him for his fights we knew he had to focus on a simple striking plan that focused mainly on points for contact to the ribs and chest with kicks and punches and he had to do his best to stay out of a ground fight and away from submissions and takedowns.
Now Kevyn has good flexibility and a natural desire to compete. His heart is 100% focused on winning. Knowing this I set out to teach him very rudimentary basics of BJJ given his extremely limited timeframe. We also had access to a good friend, Jeff Frater (Millenia Jiu Jitsu) who referees and runs a Pankration fight team locally so we knew the rules and the goal of the game up front. This was an advantage but something amazing happened once we took to the mat.
Kevyn's First Win Ever in Competition!
Kevyn's Third Match - turned out to be his last... 30 second Triangle!
Kevyn has been interested in grappling for a while now but never received formal training so he's very rough. I took his desire to learn and focused his game specifically on his striking (point accumulation - get out ahead and stay out ahead), foot work (I wanted him to circle, stick and move and take the angle) and finally triangle attack if he gets taken down and always reset to his closed guard if he's caught in side control or mount. I specifically took training I read from Lloyd Irvin and spoon fed it to him, here's what I pounded into his head:
Order of operations for Triangle Attack:
(Posture Control - we really focused on posture control) No rush or urgency just this process as follows:
1. Threaten
2. Lock - legs locked together for structural integrity and difficult to escape
3. Perpendicular Angle - rotate away from trapped arm. Provides reduced effort and closes the choke down it cinches shut. Acquisition of this angle is paramount.
4. Finish - hang the head, squeeze the knees, finish your choke to submission.
Kevyn also got special training with Master Jeff Frater who runs a Pankration fight team and coaches tons of great kids and adults to compete in this sport. So Kevyn had an edge and understanding of this game coming in.
With this basic knowledge and a focus on winning Kevyn took to the mat. His nerves got the best of him (he suffered a first round loss to a long term grappler) but after a loss, a bye, and two submissions via triangle choke and a final match that never happended due to his competition dropping out of the tournament he came out of his first ever tournament with a third place medal, in the National Championships of Pankration! And all this with less than 30 days of BJJ training. The kid literally didn't know spit about BJJ or grappling when he stated he wanted to fight in this tournament less than two weeks ago. All toll'ed he had four days (two hours each day) of real training to prepare his game plan, focus and technique. I think he did an excellent job of sticking to his simple plan. Kevyn did well in his first National Championship in Pankration (www.fightleague.org).
I could not be more proud of Kevyn and his first accomplishment. Special thanks to Master Jeff Frater for helping and inspiring Kevyn on to victory.
Best Regards,
Kenneth Knapp
Black Belt - Children's Instructor
Kurt Bellman's Riverside Kung Fu San Soo
Blue Belt - two stripes
John Kvenbo Munoz, 2nd Degree Black Belt under Joe Moreira
Pinnacle Jiu Jitsu (AKA: Team U.S.A. BJJ - United Fighting Systems)
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