Ice, Ice, Crazy: The pseudoscience of cryotherapy.

It’s happening again, we see it all the time, particularly in our sport. Guys filling up giant trashcans and filling them with bags of ice. They swear by it. And who can blame them? Every guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast does too. You can’t blame them either. At the elite level of any sport everyone is doing everything they can do maximize their recovery. But let’s not forget about Michael Phelps’ imprints of concentric circles at the last olympics where he had been “cupping” before his events (as was the fad for entire swim team).

But in a world where the worlds strongest men and the best big wave surfers insist on immersing yourselves in ice cold water to maximize sport recovery, what does the actual science have to say?

Apocalypse now! How hobby warriors fetishize the end of the world.

You’re headed home on Friday from work listening to another story of how political unrest is spreading throughout the country. This might be the weekend you think. You’re ready.

 

Scenario 1: You’re resting calmly in your bed in the center of your million dollar compound. You hear your perimeter alarms going off. You engage your security system. You check the camera feeds on your phone. Your weapons are stockpiled. You’ve got food for months. A solar powered generator. A collection of antibiotics. “Let’s do this.” you think to yourself.

Scenario 2: You’re sitting on your toilet scrolling through your newsfeed and you hear something falling down in your kitchen. “What was that?” you wonder. “Maybe the dog.” you think. Suddenly a guy with a revolver comes walking in. You’re stunned. “Where’s my gun?” is your last thought as you take a bullet to the head.

Scenario 3: You wake up hearing some loud noise coming from the other end of the house. You’re in a fog but you’re freaked out enough to reach for the Glock in your dresser drawer. A large masked figure walks into your room with level IV armor. Your pull the trigger. Damn, it jammed. Your wife looks over at you in horror. Bullet to the head.

Policing Jiu Jitsu: An Insiders Perspective of the Use and Misuse of the Rear Naked Choke

Given the history of grappling, the rear naked choke (RNC) has likely been the most effective grappling technique of all time. Greek statues have even depicted the movement in sculpture. Modernly, it is the most effective submission in all of mixed martial arts. In the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is called the Mata Leao or Lion Killer. This name embodies its effectiveness. This effectiveness however, and people’s general lack of understanding regarding the technique, can make it a dangerous move to implement. Before we investigate this danger it’s important to understand the basics regarding how to execute the technique properly, the goal in its execution, and most importantly how to defend it.

A brief and ridiculously biased review of Metamoris 4.

Metamoris: Ralek gracie claims the name came from a native American story that unites tribes of different backgrounds. Using Latin one could infer that “latin/ancient greek for “beyond ethos”.
“meta” means “beyond” (metaphysics, metareferential and so on), “moris” could be “customs”, “habits”, in that sense.”(Bubblun from Sherdog) Thus, the competition Metamoris seeks to show the effectiveness of a number of different grappling styles from around the world. It addresses the oldest question in grappling: Which one is the best? Folk style wrestling? Catch-as-catch-can? Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? Sambo?

The Evolution of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

 

(Photo Credit: Bjjee)

Is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu dead? What’s going on out there on those mats? I’m starting to feel more and more guilty when I defend it against people who call it karate. “No no no!” I say. “It’s more like fighting.” I say.