F’d Up Fight Camp!

Hello again!  This is Luda.  And yea, it’s been a while since I wrote my last blog. And today, March 16, 2012, I was supposed to weigh in for my fight today, but no… I am sitting here writing this blog for you.  Now, allow me to explain what happened that forced me to withdraw from the fight.

I started fight camp in January 2012 and all was going well .  I felt good, strong and rearing to go.  My wife and I were very excited that I was returning to the cage after yet another long hiatus. I could not wait for March to get here.  I wished I could just skip all of February and get to the fight.  The day before the Super Bowl, after training, I noticed a small cut on my arm.  No problem. Sometimes that happens in the gym. I thought, I’ll clean it when I get home and move on.   

After a few days, I noticed that the cut was not going away.  I figured that if I just bandage it and put some ointment on it, it will heal.  A couple days later, I’m feeling a little more tired than usual and my cut became rounder as the days went by.  Then it starts itching.  After multiple discussions with my wife, we decided that if my cut doesn’t heal in a couple days, then I will go to the doctor. A couple days later, I made a doctor’s appointment   That same day, I returned to the gym and talked to my coaches about this situation.  I showed the wound to some of my teammates as well.  The general consensus from my team was that I got a STAPH infection.  

 

The nurse confirmed it on February 10.  Sure enough, it is STAPH.  My wife and I noticed more bumps around my left armpit.  It had spread.   They prescribe me with Antibiotics and tell me to keep the wound cleaned and covered.   I am home, no training for the next week and my wife is bandaging and treating the wounds.

On February 14, I decided to take the day off training to take my wife out to dinner for Valentine’s Day.  We had a great time enjoying our night out without worrying about my upcoming fight or our business.  …It was an awesome night. 

The morning after Valentine’s Day, about 4 AM, my wife wakes up and notices I am extremely hot.   Like with fever, not like sexy as I normally am.  F*ck!!!!  So, my wife starts placing frozen vegetables and ice packs on my body to break the fever.  That feeling is worse than any fight I have ever been in.  She calls my clinic’s emergency hotline and they advised her to keep the frozen ice packs and veggies on me until the fever breaks and my temperature decreases to at least 99 degrees F.  I was bitching and complaining until the fever finally broke around 7 AM the next morning.  I called my boss about an hour later and called out sick.  I slept half the day away.  I woke up a few times that day to take the antibiotics and forced myself to stay hydrate and eat some food.  How in the hell am I suppose to train for a fight when these new issues?

Around 7pm, my wife woke me up so I could my medication.  Pound Cake noticed I had a rash all over my body and face is swollen.  I didn’t believe her at first until I saw my face in the mirror.  My wife calls the clinic again and informed the nurse my symptoms.  She informed me that I was having an allergic reaction to the bactrim.  New instructions: Discontinue taking the antibiotics, drink lots of fluid, eat… and of course, back to the doctors…urgh!  I met with my physician and she confirmed that I was truly allergic to the medication. 

 

I met with my physician and she confirmed that I was truly allergic to the medication.  So, I was prescribed the antibiotics that gave me those crappy side effects the last time I took them. She looked at all of my wounds and confirmed only one wound to be infected with staph.  And what about the other 10 wounds?  Based on the distribution of those other wounds, the physician said I had shingles! They gave me a different set of antibiotics, which finally cleared up the infection.   I do get through this and  get back to training! 

                      

 

You would think would be the end of it.  I was wrong.

On February 29 during training, I was choked unconscious by a guillotine.  I was informed by my teammates that I was out for a few seconds.  It was by accident of course and happened too quickly for me to tap out.  On Tuesday, March 6^th, I started to feel a little off.  I felt like I was there, but living in a haze.  On my last day of training, I start to feel dizzy.  It was as if the world was spinning around me.  I thought this was probably dehydration or the result of lack of nutrients in my diet.  Plus it was a tough training session.   I also noticed seeing a black line over my left eye, which was never there before.  I went to the eye doctor and after lots of vision tests, they found a small scratch in a layer behind my eye but not a serious issue.  For the next few days, I drank lots of water and increased my caloric intake.  The dizzy spells still persisted when I was standing, sitting, driving… etc. 

I discussed this with my wife.  As you can imagine, she was worried.  Pound Cake could have been a typical wife and begged me to stop.  She would have every right to feel that to do that.  Pound Cake was always there for me whenever I had my medical issues.  But, fighting is my passion.  And a significant other of a fighter is fully aware of this.  She recommended getting the advice from my trainers before making an informed decision.  On March 10, I asked my coaches for their opinions on if I should still fight.  Everyone at my gym was very concerned.  General consensus…  "Luda you need your brain" and “head injuries are no joke." 

On March 11, I went to the urgent care clinic for their opinion.  Since I passed out during my training session, they feared that I may have had a brain bleed, concussion or other serious issues.  They said I could either go straight to the ER for the CT Scans or make an appointment for those tests later on in the week.

We opted to go to the ER instead of waiting it out during the week.  We went and spent six hours in the E.R.  While we were waiting for the results, a patient in the ER was complaining about his d*ck bleeding whenever he had an erection… it happened earlier that day while he was soliciting a pro…. Yea, story for another day.

After multiple blood and urine tests and 2 CT scans, all the physicians ruled out a  concussion, brain bleeds, brain tumor and damaged arteries in the neck.  Yes!  Nothing serious.  Maybe I could still fight…

But the neurologist came in and asked me some questions.  Then, he performed the Dix-Hallpike Manuever on me.  And I felt the world spinning around me again.

I was diagnosed with Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) exactly seven days before my scheduled fight on March 17^th, 2012.   I relayed this to my coaches and they pulled me from the fight. 

Words could not describe  my emotions throughout that week.  Anger.. Denial...  "Hey maybe I can still fight…"  Disappointment… Shame in the fact that I had to pull out of the fight.  This has never happened to me before and did not want to be known as the guy who pulls out of fights last minute. 

Many people in my life do not support my passion in MMA.  And for the first time in my fighting career, I had at least 20 people coming to watch me fight, not including Team Sityodtong.  My friends and family from NYC already booked their hotel rooms and were ready to see me fight in the ring.  I felt that I let them down.

I even felt bad for my opponent, Soap Am, for having to pull out so soon before the fight.    I apologized to my family, friends, Team Sityodtong, co-workers, my fans and TPS and everyone seemed to understand.  But, I was still angry as hell and frustrated that I couldn’t train until my symptoms went away.

Pound Cake finally had to snap me out of this with her words “John, you are acting like this was a championship fight with a $100K purse…Get over it!!!”.   I didn’t that second but I did eventually. 

But fighters, please don’t be stubborn like me.  If you see a strange cut on your skin, get it checked out immediately.  Or with any medical issue, research it and make a doctor’s appointment.  It’s better to be proactive about your health instead of ignoring it and making it a worse situation.

Update:  The vertigo is gone... but now I have horrible migraines! URGH!

The Sultan’s Back! Eddie Saldana’s Return to the Cage.

Written by the fabulous Shelley Devine from www.thewmma.com!

 

 

For his first fight back in the cage in four years, Eddie “The Sultan” Saldana faced middleweight contender Dwight Grant at Reality Fighting’s show Saturday, February 25,2012 at The Mohegan Sun Arena. 

 

The fight was a three round brawl with Grant taking the win via TKO. 

 

To the surprise of many fight fans, Saldana can definitely take a punch and knee to the head! He never went down. 

 

Saldana said of Grant- “He was the toughest guy I ever fought. He was just a lil too big and a lil too strong. He had much better stand up than I thought. The kid was legit tho. Props to him.”

Saldana said of the fight- “ I’m not down about it at all. I’m motivated to come back stronger as a Welterweight. I need to fight at 170. I’m focusing on adding more strength. ”

Look for Grant fighting for Reality Fighting’s Middleweight title.

The fight starts at about 4min into the video.

 

 

Stall Tactics and MMA

I have attended a number of local Amateur and Professional MMA events throughout the years.  Some of these fights have disappointed me as a fighter and a paying customer.  If I am paying at least $20 or more to see some fights, then I want to see the fighters do one thing: FIGHT! 

I am fairly certain that other spectators want to see the same thing as well.  Who would want to see two punches thrown in order for one combatant to press the other against the cage for the majority of the match. Or even worse- a fighter takes the other guy down and does nothing while in the dominant position.  He lays on the other guy for 3 rounds and pulls out a decision win.  Typically after a less than stellar performance, you would hear the crowd ‘booing’ and obnoxious chanting to express their thoughts about that fight. I cannot blame them for acting this way.  They paid good money to see fighters put their skills that they have worked on to the test.  I have to say seeing this, which I call “stall tactics” pisses me off as a fighter and I am sure it pisses off the fighter that loses. 

As a Muay Thai practitioner, I appreciate and love watching a great stand-up match where the two guys slug it out.  It may appear as if I am downplaying other disciplines such as wrestling or even BJJ, which I have grown to love. I am not implying that. A fighter will stick to his strengths.  A wrestler will do what he knows best.  He will take his opponent down, position himself in a dominant position and may follow up with either a “ground and pound” or a submission. 

I am not knocking that at all.  I just hate seeing fighters work so hard in their training just be taken down or press the guy into the cage and be complacent with just staying there. Or a Jiu-jitsu practitioner, who may fight well off his back, be complacent with pulling guard and controlling the other fighter.  While controlling the fighter is good he does not go for the dominant position or attack with any submissions.  As a fighter, I always want to advance to the dominant position and from there look to finish the fight!   There is too much at stake if you do not finish a fight, especially if you are presented with opportunities to win.

The fault does not always lie with the fighter. The referees have a hand in this too.  It appears at times that some of these referees are inexperienced because they do not know when to stand fighters up or break them apart.  This is done in the boxing world.  So how come it is not done in these local MMA events?

Stalemates happen in a fight. However, a fighter shouldn’t work towards a stalemate. The fighter should work to advance.  Even though a fighter may have a phenomenal record, they may not progress because promoters lose money on boring fights.   Sometimes a stalemate occurs because of their training style.  If the fighter is not versatile with their training, then they will use only one method to win.  That fighter will continue to use that method, regardless of its effectiveness, because it’s all that they know. 

During a striker vs grappler match, the grappler typically spends the majority of the fight trying to take down the striker. The grappler is applying what he knows best.  But if the striker has trained takedown defense during his fight prep, then he will not go down so easily. The grappler will continually attempt another takedown but ends up pressing the striker into the cage glued against their opponent.  I have seen this first hand in a professional MMA fight.  

Instead of trying the same technique, the grappler should utilize their skills and switch to a different takedown tactic.  Or, they should strike their opponent first and then attempt a takedown. This small change can change the pace dramatically in a fight.  It will throw the opponents game off and the wrestler will probably get the takedown. 

But then again, stall tactics are often used in the UFC.  So, how can we not expect to see it occur so often in the local scene?

Can You Have a Career, Spouse and be a Professional MMA Fighter?

Is it ever possible to be an amateur MMA fighter, have a full time job and a wife? 

In my years training, I have seen lots of people come and go through my gym.  Some students leave the gym because they either find new jobs, get married, have children and other responsibilities.  I have noticed that the students who have attended the gym on a more consistent basis do so because they have less responsibilities on their plate. 

Most fighters that I know are either single, full-time students or work jobs that don’t require mandatory overtime.  Full-time students have all the time in the world to train. 

I was once in that position years ago while in college. 

I am envious of the fighters who do not work the 9-5 job.  Don’t get me wrong- I am thankful to be employed.  However, I would love to work a job that gives me the time and flexibility to train.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that most of these fighters were single.  At first, I didn’t understand why this was the case.  Most women I have encountered over the years gawk over fighters because of their physique or their ability to knock someone out.  And my wife has always been on the sidelines cheering me on since my first fight back in 2005.

I asked my wife why you hardly hear fighters thanking their girlfriends or wives after winning a fight.  And she broke it down to me.  Yea, some fighters are assholes.  But some fighters are actually nice guys.  And there are some girlfriends who enjoy watching their boyfriends dominate their opponents. 

However, some women can’t deal with the time commitment needed for one to train effectively and safely.   Some significant others cannot handle seeing their loved ones being punched in the face over and over again.  Or some may feel that they are second place to the fighter’s career.  Even some significant others feel that it’s just a hobby, not their significant other’s true passion.    

Whatever the reasons, I am lucky to marry a woman who is supportive of my mixed martial arts career.

I have often wondered how professional MMA fighters train 8-10 hours a day while maintaining a healthy relationship with their partner.  It is a delicate balance to maintain these different yet equally important aspects in a fighter’s life.

How much attention do you really need give your craft, work and family in order for everything to fall into place?  It is so easy to let things slip and as a result, things fall apart.  In my case, I have three options:

1)      Work full time during the day and train Monday-Friday at night.  Having a schedule like this will guarantee money to pay the bills and improve my fighting skills.  However, this schedule will definitely have a negative impact on my marriage.  I learned that the hard way through many arguments with my wife even before she became my fiancée. Looking back, I don’t blame her at all for being frustrated.  For months at a time, I had that schedule and it was tough just spending time with her on the weekends. 

Or...

2)  Spend all my free time at home with my wife, family and friends.  Although my loved ones will be happy, my skills will become rusty.  As a result of this, I am more prone to injuries in a training session or suffering a loss in an amateur fight.  I become restless and very intolerable because I become restless and easily frustrated if I do not train.  This makes it difficult for others, especially loved ones, to be around me. 

Or…

3)      Allocate my time to have quality time with my wife, work and still improve in my training sessions.  I strive for this scenario everyday. It is very difficult at times.  This scenario would help me build a stronger bond to my wife AND improve on my skills so I can advance in jiu-jitsu and muay thai.  This scenario takes the three roles: The Engineer…  The Husband… and The Fighter.  

Yet, no one can tell you what truly works because it all depends on your individual situation.  However, communication is the key to success in any relationship. If you are clear with the other person about your intentions, most times they will listen and take it to heart. 

My wife and I talked to our long time friend a few weeks ago.  This man is also my training partner and a professional Muay Thai/MMA fighter.  He said something that struck me: “You know Luda, we are not ordinary people... you two being married and living with each other is as ordinary as you are gonna get.”

I have always thought this was true but I am glad to hear somebody else say it.  It takes someone very special to stick with a fighter through thick and thin.  All wins and losses… The times of broken bones, black eyes and many stitches. 

And I know there are not many people that are willing to make that sacrifice. 

Tai Chi Experience @ Sacred Sounds Yoga

My wife and I decided to visit her parents in New York City for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We also decided to maintain our fitness level during this time.  This is a difficult task to do, especially with having lots of food to our disposal. 

My wife and I ran on Black Friday in the city. A good 4.5 miler in hometown neighborhood.  Nothing eventual during our run.   

Saturday morning, my wife and I went to work out Manhattan.  I went to Renzo Gracie NYC while my wife went to Sacred Sounds Yoga. My wife asked if I could meet her at the studio and join her for one the classes after my session.

Well… I had an interesting experience at this yoga studio.  The owner of the studio, very good friends of ours, offered a Tai Chi class that day called “Push Hands.”  The theory behind this technique, as was explained to me, is to use your opponent’s strength against them to render them off balance.  Your opponent will lose a point in this exchange if this individual loses their footing or is pushed off balance first.

“Push Hands” was explained to me by Calum Douglas-Reid, the instructor, as “Sumo wrestling for the little guys”.  The instructor seemed interested in me since I informed him about my Muay Thai and MMA background.  He had worked with fighters in the past and enjoyed teaching other martial artists different ways in which Tai Chi can be applied to other disciplines.  

The class started with a form that focused on shifting your body weight from one leg to the other and various circular movements with your arms and hands.  Calum then split us up into pairs so that we could start to “play” and get the feel of the “push hands” game.  As we played the game, the instructor would teach us different techniques.

One technique he taught was that if you want to push or throw someone, your power comes from your feet, into your legs, and you turn your hips into the motion and push the person depending on where there momentum the person’s momentum is going. Calum also mentioned that you need to be aware of your own body stance with every movement you make.  This point made a lot of sense.  The objective of “push hands is to maintain your balance while forcing your opponent to lose their balance.  

This is definitely a new and different way of thinking for me.  By following this theory, a smaller person can generate a lot more force without generate much muscle strength.  Very similar to Judo or jiu-jitsu (right?).  The instructor also explained how this can work well in a clench situation.  From a different perspective, if an opponent tries to throw you, you will feel your feet coming off the ground first.  If you are in a squatted position, your opponent will find it harder to throw you because your center of gravity is much lower than when you are standing. This is a concept that I’ve done many times but never really thought about it. 

This was definitely a fun experience but somewhat frustrating because I am not used to being pushed around… literally. Lol. It is good to keep an open mind and learn different ideas. 

Some of the techniques that I learned at “Push Hands” may not apply to Muay Thai or MMA.  However, I did take something away from the experience that I could use to improve my skills.

It would be interesting to see how these Tai Chi practitioners would perform in an MMA fight.  Because being “pushed” around is a different experience than getting punched in the face!

Training: Grappling... for a Muay Thai fighter (Originally posted on Nov 15, 2011 at 7:49 AM)

I like to think that everyone has their good and bad training sessions.  I had a bad training session the other day which pissedme off until the next day.  I kept thinking- Ok, I should be better than this because the only bad training session is one you don’t learn from.  I did learn a lot.  But, making rookie mistakes and getting caught in stupid submissions is not acceptable for me. 

 

If you have a bad day, week, or even a year, it is too easy for anyone to accept it and make excuses to justify their actions.  This will keep you stuck in a “rut."   In fighting, just like in life, when you get knocked down, or submitted a few times in my case, you have to keep moving forward.  If you stop and dwell on mistakes you made in the past, you will get stuck in that mind set.  If you learn from those mistakes, then you are overcoming those challenges.  In striking, a fighter takes a clean hit.  If he stops moving, defending himself or firing back, the opponent will see that and finish the fight.  If he keeps calm, thinks about his mistake, he will NOT make that same mistake twice.  The opponent may become flustered and think “I hit him clean… Why did it not phase him?”  Then, the opponent will most likely make a mistake that you can take advantage of and win the fight.

 

On the ground, it’s the same thing.  The difference is that you are dealing with positioning and submissions.  For example, if a guy gets caught in a guillotine, and panics, he will tap out or lose consciousness.  Not learning the proper techniques to escape properly, he will continue to make that mistake, keep getting tapped and become frustrated.  However, if he remains calm, learns how to escape the guillotine, or exhaust his opponent, he will escape.  He is now learning and moving forward in becoming a better grappler.

 

Life is not easy, I know.  It can hit you harder than any punch or kick without leaving any physical scars.  But, if you find a way to move forward, even just a little, you are “winning!!!” lol

  

It is easier to say this, but it is not all easy to do.

I am getting the itch to fight again.  I have been working hard to beef up my jiu-jitsu game. The transition between striking on the ground, finding openings, timing and keeping the right technique without leaving openings for your opponent very difficult to master.  But I will get it.  I will keep moving forward. 

Luda's 1st Blog (Originally Posted on Oct 21, 2011 at 9:21 PM)

This is my first time blogging, so bear with me.  I have been thinking a lot about life lately. 


Trying to figure out what I was cut out to be and what really makes me happy.


After much soul searching, I realized that Muay Thai, BJJ and MMA play a serious role in my life.  After much encouragement and support from my wife and friends, I decided to create this website.  

My initial goal was to increase my web presence in order to fight at more events within the New England area. If you ask anyone, that is all I want to do all the time!!! 

Recently, I had an epiphany that leaving a mark in the world of mixed martial arts can become a reality. 

It’s funny because I believe everything in life can be compared to fighting.  Even politics, is just a “verbal fight” to see who is the most powerful.  The backstabbing, debates, mudslinging, are just different tactics or techniques utilized to achieve that goal.  No different than using my skills in Muay Thai to dominate an opponent. 

I find it very amusing.  Especially when people say what I do is barbaric.  Even though what these people say and do is 10 times worse.  But I digress.  

I don’t say much, but, I do think a lot.  This site will show who I am as a fighter.  And this blog will be used to express my thoughts about how life is hard… but fighting is easy.

Look out for the next blog coming soon!!!!!