The biggest problem with scoring in MMA is not the nearly universal use of the 10-point must system. There are really only two MAJOR problems: #1 Officials who either refuse to use an MMA focused standard or are completely ignorant that there is a standard #2 Officials who have no more experience with the base arts of MMA than the average guy you pass on your drive to work.

Fighters need to train, and so do judges. Simply showing up just isn't good enough. Judges, and other officials, need to train.

Jiu-Jitsu is not a paint by numbers martial art and you can't learn Jiu-Jitsu through a mail order course. Jiu-Jitsu is a skill focused system of fighting not a technique focused martial art. It takes a considerable amount of time and dedication to become a skilled Jiu-Jitsu stylist; however, The articles in the Your Best Jiu-Jitsu series will help you lay the foundation for learning and help you structure your study of Jiu-Jitsu in a way that will accelerate your growth in Jiu-Jitsu and hopefully help you find Your Best Jiu-Jitsu.

Upcoming articles will cover topics that include how to build a training roadmap for competition and everyday training, how to develop your own Jiu-Jitsu "game", specific drills to support your growth in Jiu-Jitsu, and much more.

While some speculate it began in Ireland, the precise beginnings of catch-as-catch-can wrestling ('catch wrestling' for short) are not known. The first recorded matches contested under its rules (i.e., submission or pin wins the match, best two of three falls, no points, and win, lose, or draw format) began appearing in a small county in England known as Lancashire.

The men were tough and often wrestled each other for fun and side-bets on the gravel after a long day spent in the coal mines. Eventually some of these men earned enough money from these side bets to make a living from just wrestling and the modern professional wrestler was born.

Too often, I think people look at sparring as a competition, or as a way to "test their skills" against an opponent. It can be those things, but it should also be a way to develop new skills. I remember one or two forum members calling into question my statements that a person can train to think under pressure. Well, I decided that it's time to illustrate some of the drills that make it possible. In this thread, I'd like to look at sparring as a tool for developing skills that would otherwise be neglected. To get us started, I'll need some guinea pigs. Anyone who does this program for the next six weeks, I will make you the following guarantee:

You will, if you do the things I describe here, see a marked improvement in your fighting and boxing skills. You will be a better fighter than you have ever been, and I will give you my word on that. This will not be a small growth measured in increments, but a growth spurt like the ones you felt when you were just starting out.

Knowing what is useful starts with defining what you need. Too many people these days preach the Bruce Lee axiom of use [take] what is useful, disregard what is useless, and add what is specifically your own without ever putting much thought into what that really means.

Here are a few tips that will help you EAT, HAVE ENERGY, and STILL BE ABLE TO SWEAT OFF the last few the day of weigh-ins. There are different ways to get the weight off for different situations so this article will contain a couple different ones.

We have accumultated books, videos, and DVDs featuring Rigan Machado, Erik Paulson, Mario Sperry, Rodney King, Bas Rutten, Brandon Ruiz, Matt Thornton, and several others that we will utilize to build our review library.

Our latest reviews include Renzo and John Danaher's book Mastering Jiu-Jitsu and Luiz Luiz Palhares's Closed Guard Attack DVD instructional.

Our technique library isn't exactly HUGE right now, but it will grow.