A new series that introduces the charm of MMA through two highly-curious women. No set cutoff date.
Do the Muscle: An empty gong has sounded on the ups and downs they'll experience in a world full of muscle-bound beasts.
My name is Momoko Otsuka. I'm 19 years old, and I work as a model while also going to school.
I'm Kana Inamura. I'm 22 years old. I'm an editor at VICE.
MMA is the combination you get when you put lots of martial arts together.
Pull.
This is what works best.
My old man's obsessed with wrestling.
It's the #1 thing in his life.
Like this. Yeah.
When they go out, scoop in their legs.
The higher up you get, the more it's assumed you can do all three: striking, grappling, and submissions.
Encouragement of MMA
Episode 3: Grappling
Last time, we practiced striking.
But this time... --We're doing grappling, my weakest point.
We're starting today by going to Kid Yamamoto and Ikuei Yamamoto.
We'll be learning wrestling from them at their Krazy Bee gym.
After that, we'll go to AACC and learn from Ayaka Hamasaki, who recently became an MMA champion.
Her background is in judo, so she'll be teaching us that and jiu-jitsu.
Grappling is a broad category in MMA.
There's wrestling techniques used to ground an opponent, such as judo throws and wrestling tackles.
From there, you learn how to move on the ground. You take an opponent down, control them from the top...
...Then attack them from there.
To do this, you need skills in disciplines like judo, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and catch wrestling.
There are many genres, but the term "grappling" covers them all.
These are techniques you need to learn.
Ground, grappling, and standing techniques are all linked with one another.
It's important to realize that they're connected.
They'll be focusing on wrestling and jiu-jitsu today.
MMA begins on the feet, where you have both striking and takedowns.
You can't attempt a ground submission until after there's a takedown.
This is why learning takedowns is so important.
Whether you end up on top or on bottom is also important.
Without wrestling skills, it's hard to control that.
The strengths of judo and jiu-jitsu are that they're both strong standing, and they have good takedowns.
Plus, they can submit opponents once they're on the ground.
It's important to learn these styles so that you know how everything flows together.
Hello!
Nice to meet you.
Wrestling makes a good base for MMA because you're always going to get tied up in a fight.
That's how it is as a sport. It also makes you very physically fit.
My old man...
...He's obsessed with wrestling.
It's the #1 thing in his life.
What's good about wrestling is that you don't have anything to grab on to.
It's style versus style.
That's why it contains the full range of human abilities.
You're bare when you battle.
In judo, you can do all sorts of tricks with a gi.
But you have nothing in wrestling. That's why you'll always be able to apply what you learn in wrestling to anything else you do.
Start by moving in under their armpit.
Then pull.
Get double underhooks...
This works best.
You pull out and down from here. It's called sabaori.
That's one technique.
Move in under one armpit.
Go from here, then come in like this.
From here...
Go in.
There's a trick to this, too.
Right here, and you put your head on them.
Right up against the joint.
Okay... Keep going... That's it!
Yes!
Now come over to the side.
Move over here, then go like this.
If your hips are out, it's hard to put power into it.
So put your pelvis to your opponent.
That's it. You're holding on pretty strong.
I'm sorry!
She really put a lot into that.
This is what you call Greco-Roman style.
It's a battle of upper-body strength.
Freestyle wrestling allows you to attack the entire body.
You can take people down too. In Greco-Roman, you can only use your upper body.
Go straight to the clutch.
That's it.
Like this or this.
Not like this.
Your goal is to take her down.
More to the side. Yes, like that.
Clutch! And take her down.
When you take her down, use your lower body to push her.
You can't take someone down from their upper body with a clutch like this.
But if you bring them down...
When Pride and K1 were popular, I didn't know anything about them. All I did was wrestle.
I wasn't interested in other martial arts whatsoever.
I figured I could win any fight by tackling someone and smashing them to the ground.
But when I saw MMA, and how everything was mixed together...
...like how the fight continues after a takedown, I was amazed.
As soon as I saw that, I thought, "There's my path to fame."
I thought I'd be all over TV and make a ton of money.
I think that's what got me started.
You want to take them down diagonally.
So you grab them here and here...
Like you're rescuing them. Down here.
One, two...
Like you're taking this down here.
If you do...
The reason you pull them back...
Of course, it's in part to move them.
But if you're back here...
...it's easier to create power.
If you're here, you won't have any power.
You take your opponent like this.
Like a prince.
Smooch!
Get her neck...
And spin around.
Quick, over this way!
That's it! Okay, take her down with a tackle and go over to her side!
You're good at this.
I think they had a knack for grappling.
If they did this for a year...
...they'd be great at it.
But...
They should be sure to protect their faces.
Hold your body to hers.
Then use your legs. That's it, stay on her!
Create pressure here, and move your legs like this.
We asked the two to spar.
And as soon as they started...
...most girls tend to hold up their arms and fight like this.
But those two went at it with their bodies.
It was good to see that.
They didn't end up like this.
Bring her down from that clutch.
That's it.
That's it, good!
Take her down! Good!
Good. Most girls end up doing this.
But you did this.
That's great.
They were able to do all of that after such a short amount of time.
They just need to keep repeating it over and over. But they did good.
They gave specific advice, like about how hip placement affects the pressure on your opponent.
They made it easy to understand how power works.
To be honest, I'm not a very smart person.
It's hard for me to learn a lot of things at once.
Kid taught us one or two specific things today, instead of trying to cram everything in.
Being able to learn by doing and repeating is just the right style for me.
That might have been the most different part about today.
Nice to see you again!
My background is in judo.
The MMA style now assumes that you can strike, grapple, and submit.
You can't win unless you have all of those. You have to wrestle, box...
...and throw your opponents, or else you'll lose these days.
And the higher up you get, the more it's assumed you can do that.
I'm going to teach you an armlock that I like to use.
After you get a takedown...
You go out to your opponent's side.
You want to get this arm from this position.
But if you just go for it, they'll resist and keep you from getting it.
So I give my opponent a little space to move.
They move like this, and I want them to move toward me.
When they're here...
...I grab my opponent's wrist.
With my thumb on the outside, if possible.
It gives you more space to work with.
Put the other hand through like this.
Try keep your thumb on the outside here, too.
Then straddle your opponent...
It's hard to hit this if their arm is far from their body.
So guide it along their back.
This is called an ude-garami.
It's a move in judo as well, so I've been using it for as long as I've fought.
Hold their arm, then use your right arm... Yes, that's it.
I'm particularly good at the kosoto gari.
You use your outside foot...
...and just trip their leg up like this. It's a simple move.
But it's more complicated than it looks. This is the lifting hand, and this is the pulling hand.
Move them like you would on a steering wheel.
And just put their body weight onto your foot.
Turn the steering wheel...
..and trip them up like this.
Yes, that's it. You're good!
Get it?
Seriously, you're good at placing your foot.
You follow them as you trip them up.
That's it.
From there, you try for something like the armlock I just showed you.
You need to be able to do more than throw your opponent.
It's the same with wrestling tackles. Plus, you have to be able to submit your opponent from there.
And when you're prepared for a submission, they might hit you instead. MMA requires you to bring everything together.
MMA is about using the best parts from each discipline.
That's it. You're good.
Yes, very good.
Okay, time for some hard sparring.
She really got the kosoto gari!
Momo, escape to the left!
Toward her!
She's good.
Momo, now's your chance to escape. Don't let her.
You're good!
When she has you pinned, Momo...
...her gi will stretch if you grab on to it.
So grab something that won't move, like her shoulder or her hip.
And then face her like this...
I was surprised that they were immediately able to use the moves I taught them.
Both of them had gotten visibly better. I think they have potential if they keep at it.
Resist, resist! Yeah, good!
That's good!
That was a leg feint.
I had no idea who these two women were when they showed up.
I was a little worried for them.
But they keep getting better.
I'd even like to see them in a match.
Hop, hop. Don't let her get up.
Don't put your arm too far out there. She'll grab an armbar.
Ah, your hands are reversed.
We learned detailed, practical lessons from Ayaka, who uses judo and jiu-jitsu all the time.
I want to try to use those when we spar in the future.
It was a good experience.
I'm also a fan of Ayaka's, so I was happy to be taught by her.
Grappling is a weak point of mine, but I feel a little more confident now.
Ikuei had a very broad-minded approach. He encouraged us to focus on what we felt was best.
He was also very passionate about wrestling.
He really seemed like a man's man.
Go around... Yes, just like that!
He is scary, right?
Scary?
They showed K1 on TV on New Year's Eve when I was in elementary and middle school.
So he was a hero to my older brothers.
Today was really surprising because of that.
Yes, I was very happy.
Next episode, I'd like to show the girls what training looks like before a match.
We're going to follow an MMA legend to see the hell they go through.