Ronda Rousey shows her face again! | Long Island MMA

Ronda Rousey shows her face again!

Since Ronda Rousey lost her UFC Woman’s Bantamweight Championship to Holly Holm at UFC 193 this past November it seems she has been in hiding, leaving everyone guessing when and if she will come back and what her next move will be.  It seems she thought it was a good idea to make her first appearance just a few days ago on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, but many fans of Ronda and SNL do not share her enthusiasm over it. First, this was an important show because it was the first time we got to hear from the former champ since her loss to the current champion Holly Holm.  Ronda congratulated Holly Holm on her victory and said it “was a fight Holly deserved to win.”  It did take a few months for Rousey to show Holm the respect she deserves, but it is refreshing to hear that a humbled Ronda Rousey is growing past her loss. Now that she accepts and respects what happened in that fight with Holm she can move forward and potentially work her way back to the top. Not only was Ronda’s appearance on SNL important for her and her fans, but it was important for MMA as a sport because this was the first time an MMA athlete hosted SNL.  It’s great to see that the sport has become more widespread throughout the country and the world, UFC moves the world of MMA forward in a great way.  The only problem was that people were not impressed by the episode at all. Most opinions were very critical of Rousey’s performance; the harshest ones were comparing it to her performance in the Octagon against Holly Holm.  The nicer reviews complemented Ronda on her acting ability, but criticized the SNL writers for not being able to write a good script as of late. Say what you will of Ronda Rousey’s acting abilities, or the SNL writer’s creative abilities, Ronda needed to make a move back into the public’s eye.  Losing a big fight and then disappearing off the face of the earth raises question to a champion’s character, the best thing she can do is show the perseverance to push through and learn from the experience.  A strong character is what separates the good from the great, and solidifies the true champions as legends.

Watch her opening monologue here:
https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/ronda-rousey-monologue/2973576

Marine subdues gunman using Jiu Jitsu | Long Island MMA

Original Article

For some time the martial arts community has scrutinized the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for being an art that is “street ineffective”. However, there have been several instances to date which have proven otherwise, these instances range from sexual assault cases to robberies etc. This is something that the martial artists at Long Island MMA believe in whole heartedly. In recent events possibly the most eye opening instance of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s effectiveness on the street took place on a train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris. During that trip, as the train was passing through Belgium an armed terrorist began to attack passengers. He was heavily armed with firearms such as an AK-47 assault rifle for which he also carried nine magazines of ammunition (that alone should be indicative of the type of evil that he had planned) a 9mm handgun as well as a box cutter to use as a melee weapon.

     Two of the three heroes that took down the assailant that day were military men; Spencer Stone of the US Air Force, Alek Skarlatos of the Army National Guard and Anthony Sadler whom is a college student. Spencer Stone is stationed with the Air Force in Portugal where he trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the Gracie Lisbon branch. He was the first of the three to reach the assailant and was able to grapple his way into a tight rear naked choke.  As his friends disarmed the twenty six year old El-Khazanni of his firearms he began to attack stone with his box cutter and was able to sever his thumb as well as cause lacerations on his neck, Stone briefly lost the choke but was able to re-apply it and eventually choke the terrorist unconscious. As the attack unfolded several other passengers came to their aid in subduing the man by bludgeoning him with his own weapons.

     There are several things to take note of when analyzing what happened on this train. While Spencer Stone’s Jiu Jitsu training undoubtedly played a huge role in bringing down the attacker it may be more than just the techniques that did him in. As is stated quite well by Rener Gracie in his “Gracie Breakdown” of the incident “in Spencer’s case it was to their advantage especially when he said I am going to rush this guy, he has an AK-47 but that’s only good if we stay back, if we rush him it has no value and they were right”. The advantage that he is referencing is to the lack of space in the train car. However, to Spencer and all others that train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the lack of space that other passengers on the train were intimidated by is a welcome opportunity to put to use that which he as well as other Jiu Jitsu fighters are trained to do.

     Another point that is made in this Gracie Breakdown is that it is also fair to note that Jiu Jitsu as well as other combat sports fosters a mentality of “going down fighting”. Every day on the mat as they are placed in dangerous and uncomfortable positions martial artists believe that there is always a way to achieve victory. Even coming back from the deepest depths in a losing battle, that battle may yet be won. And it is this “I will not bow down” mentality that possibly saved all of those lives that day. The fact that Spencer Stone and others that day refused to accept their fate, they fought back. The natural and unwavering instinct to fight back is something that is ingrained in a martial artist through their hard training, and in this case Spencer Stones instinct may be attributed to the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.