Here are two promos I did fro the Long Is;land Grappling Challenge I, which I competed in last week:
I'll have video of my performance in the competition soon!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Kick-Ass: the latest movie I wish I'd seen first.
On Monday night I was fortunate enough to have obtained a pass to the advance premiere of “Kick-Ass,” the new movie based on the comic book written by Mark Millar and drawn by John Romita, Jr. Of all the movies I wish I had seen before making my latest movie, this is the one that fit’s the category best.
The story is a Campbellian hero’s journey that takes the concept of “what if a real person tried to be a superhero” to the dirtiest, most violent, foul-mouthed, and glorious degree.
For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, it goes sorta like this: A high school student comic book geek wonders why no one has ever really tried to be a superhero. Of course this kid and his friends are regularly pushed around and ignored by girls, and muggers don’t even have to threaten them with violence. One day he buys a scuba suit and tries to be a superhero. It doesn’t work out, but he doesn’t give up. His example inspires others, and he winds up in a deadly, violent confrontation with an organized crime boss. People die, and he finds the hero within himself and becomes a man.
“Comic book movies,” that is, movies based on comic books or comic book characters, come in two varieties these days. There are those that are based on a character, usually with a long publishing history, and try to build a movie around the concept (with varying degrees of seriousness and success), ie: Superman, Bat Man, Spider-Man, etc. Then there are those that are based on specific comic book stories or graphic novels; A History of Violence, Sin City, Watchmen, Etc. Those of the latter kind seem to have a higher rate of success, both as movies and as adaptations, and this movie, fortunately, fits that pattern.
The casting of the movie is excellent; combining perfect talent (Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz) and some inspired “gimmick casting” (Nicholas Cage, Christoher Mintz-Plasse). As the hero, Johnson’s face echoes Toby Maguire’s “gee, something good actually happened to me” cockeyed half-smile, combining cultural reference with endearing honesty. Cage, as the ultimate badass superhero, does some of his best work as a mild-mannered father, and hits all the right notes imitating the delivery of a noted 1960’s TV actor. Mintz-Plasse brings a surprising darkness to a role that seems like a development of his character in “Role Models.”
There are differences between the movie and the book. Some of them are simply matters of the necessary structural difference between a movie and an 8-issue comic series. As Mark Millar stated in the Q&A after the screening, the miniseries was an eight-act structure, while a movie has a three-act structure. Some of the differences, though, were blatantly involving the difference between what you can do in a comic book and what you need to do to sell a movie. Millar pointed out that one change (and a very drastic one, I thought) was instituted because they simply needed to have some sex in the movie.
Another change was a bit more of a trade-off than a pander to the masses. There is a moment in the comic book where the hero makes a moment of immense personal sacrifice, paying off a setup from very early in the story and showing the character take control of a situation unlike he had ever done before in his life. That scene was eliminated in the movie, allowing for a touching moment between a father and daughter. This gave more of the movie to another character, and made it less about the titular hero. The hero did get to have his hero moment later, but it was not as strong and significant as the one in the book.
The audience, packed with fans of comics in general and the original comic in particular, ate this movie up with a spoon. They cheered and laughed at all the right moments. I happened to be sitting between two women who were not fans, and they seemed a little shocked at some of the violence, though at they end they admitted it was a good movie. I agree that the gun violence does get a little gratuitous at times, but this is not a movie for the weak of heart. Life and death can be an ugly, unforgiving business, and by not skimping on the blood and violence, they show how far you have to go if you really want to be a hero.
And that’s what heroism is about. It’s about taking your lumps for something you believe in. The hero, Kick-Ass, believes in fighting for decency, protecting the weak, saving lives, and helping people. Even in the face of death, he keeps true to his beliefs, and takes his lumps.
In my movie, “Redemption,” the main character proves that he is willing to take his lumps to be the best that he can be. This movie is the grittiest, gutsiest, most literal expression of that I have ever seen.
The story is a Campbellian hero’s journey that takes the concept of “what if a real person tried to be a superhero” to the dirtiest, most violent, foul-mouthed, and glorious degree.
For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, it goes sorta like this: A high school student comic book geek wonders why no one has ever really tried to be a superhero. Of course this kid and his friends are regularly pushed around and ignored by girls, and muggers don’t even have to threaten them with violence. One day he buys a scuba suit and tries to be a superhero. It doesn’t work out, but he doesn’t give up. His example inspires others, and he winds up in a deadly, violent confrontation with an organized crime boss. People die, and he finds the hero within himself and becomes a man.
“Comic book movies,” that is, movies based on comic books or comic book characters, come in two varieties these days. There are those that are based on a character, usually with a long publishing history, and try to build a movie around the concept (with varying degrees of seriousness and success), ie: Superman, Bat Man, Spider-Man, etc. Then there are those that are based on specific comic book stories or graphic novels; A History of Violence, Sin City, Watchmen, Etc. Those of the latter kind seem to have a higher rate of success, both as movies and as adaptations, and this movie, fortunately, fits that pattern.
The casting of the movie is excellent; combining perfect talent (Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz) and some inspired “gimmick casting” (Nicholas Cage, Christoher Mintz-Plasse). As the hero, Johnson’s face echoes Toby Maguire’s “gee, something good actually happened to me” cockeyed half-smile, combining cultural reference with endearing honesty. Cage, as the ultimate badass superhero, does some of his best work as a mild-mannered father, and hits all the right notes imitating the delivery of a noted 1960’s TV actor. Mintz-Plasse brings a surprising darkness to a role that seems like a development of his character in “Role Models.”
There are differences between the movie and the book. Some of them are simply matters of the necessary structural difference between a movie and an 8-issue comic series. As Mark Millar stated in the Q&A after the screening, the miniseries was an eight-act structure, while a movie has a three-act structure. Some of the differences, though, were blatantly involving the difference between what you can do in a comic book and what you need to do to sell a movie. Millar pointed out that one change (and a very drastic one, I thought) was instituted because they simply needed to have some sex in the movie.
Another change was a bit more of a trade-off than a pander to the masses. There is a moment in the comic book where the hero makes a moment of immense personal sacrifice, paying off a setup from very early in the story and showing the character take control of a situation unlike he had ever done before in his life. That scene was eliminated in the movie, allowing for a touching moment between a father and daughter. This gave more of the movie to another character, and made it less about the titular hero. The hero did get to have his hero moment later, but it was not as strong and significant as the one in the book.
The audience, packed with fans of comics in general and the original comic in particular, ate this movie up with a spoon. They cheered and laughed at all the right moments. I happened to be sitting between two women who were not fans, and they seemed a little shocked at some of the violence, though at they end they admitted it was a good movie. I agree that the gun violence does get a little gratuitous at times, but this is not a movie for the weak of heart. Life and death can be an ugly, unforgiving business, and by not skimping on the blood and violence, they show how far you have to go if you really want to be a hero.
And that’s what heroism is about. It’s about taking your lumps for something you believe in. The hero, Kick-Ass, believes in fighting for decency, protecting the weak, saving lives, and helping people. Even in the face of death, he keeps true to his beliefs, and takes his lumps.
In my movie, “Redemption,” the main character proves that he is willing to take his lumps to be the best that he can be. This movie is the grittiest, gutsiest, most literal expression of that I have ever seen.
Monday, March 1, 2010
My first win!
I finally scored a victory in a grappling tournament match! And I am not going to feel bad about it! Here’s how it happened…
I had signed up for the Long Island Submission Tournament in Port Jefferson, NY some weeks ago, and had done what I could to train and prepare for it while editing my movie and working for the NY Comic Book Marketplace event. I had been watching instructional videos, drilling moves with the Twin Towers Wrestling Club, and reading up on Musashi’s “Book of 5 Rings. I had also competed in the Renegade Grappling League’s first tournament. I fought well there, but still failed to secure my first victory.
A friend of mine from Twin Towers was supposed to go with me, but when I called him early in the morning to catch the LIRR, he bailed, so I was there on my own. Several people recognized me from other tournaments that I had been at, though, such as NAGA and the NY Submission Shootout.
The event was held in a gymnastics school, and there was a pit filled with foam blocks. I swore that I if won a match, I would do a flip into the foam pit. In fact, I had been envisioning what I would do if I won all week, and this seemed just too outrageously perfect.
I realized once I was there, though, that I had forgotten my protective cup. This tournament did not have any dealrs set up other than the refreshment stand, and the nearest sporting goods store was miles away. There was, however, and Karate/MMA school right across the street, the United Martial Arts Center. Their Shihan, Andrew Stigliano, was kind enough to help me out. They had a small store of martial arts and training supplies, and he gave me a brand new cup.
At this tournament I weighed in at 177.5 lbs, about what I weighed at the last one, and about what I’d expected. Due to the number of competitors and the structure of he tournament I was placed in a division defined as “middleweight, 168 – 177 lbs.” I signed up as a “beginner” (more than a novice, less than intermediate).
My record going in stood at 0-19-2.
There turned out to be four people in this division, and I had the first match. Not surprisingly, my opponent was short and stockier than me. I went into the match with the intention of “treading him down,” like Musashi says. We engaged standing, and I fought to push his head down, looking for a guillotine (something I had worked on). After a few moments of that, all I accomplished was being able to control the rate of descent after he got underhooks, and establish half guard with him on top of me. He passed the half-guard and moved into north-shout, going fo a choke which I blocked with my arm, but he crushed my shoulder into my chest, forcing me to tap.
I lost. My record now stood at 0-20-2
I do believe that is where an injury occurred. As I am typing this there is a pain in my chest that remains after the general soreness of the tournament has gone away. I will look into it later. But at the time my adrenaline was still up, and I was still ready to play.
The way the bracket was set up, they guy who beat me would fight the winner of the next match, and I would fight the loser. The match went on for the full five minutes and into overtime. Of course both competitors were totally gassed, so they held an “exhibition” bout between two teenagers to let them recover. I suggested that I could fight a bye or a gauntlet to match my opponent’s fatigue, but nothing came of it.
So my next match would decide the third-place finisher of the division. I was faced up with a fellow who must have been the smaller person in the bracket, meaning I outweighed him by almost 10 pounds. He was also about a foot shorter than me, but he appeared to have some cauliflowering on his ear and carried himself klike an experienced fighter, so I did not have any reason to expect, going in, that this match would turn out any differently than any other match I had ever been in.
Again I went for pushing down his head, treading him down, and again he achieved the top position in the takedown.
Sadly the guy holding my camera only got the first two seconds of the match, and a lot happened, so I’ll try my best to reconstruct it here.
I found myself on my knees defending the neck from a guillotine choke. I couldn’t feel any slack to get our either side, but he spun around to take my back faster than I could spin with him. I kept a tight hold on at least on of his arms the whole time, and looked to dump him over my shoulder (one of the first tricks I learned, but I recognized that the grip he had on my left arm would put him in a great place for an arm-bar, so I was being very cautious about it. He got leg hooks in. I tried clearing one leg out, and he tried flattening me out. Neither of those things worked. He pulled me back, and was working on the rear naked choke, when the referee called time out.
Apparently there was blood coming out of a cut on my head. While they were getting something to staunch it with, I asked the guys at ringside how it looked, and they said it looked pretty horrendous, so I chanted “ECW! ECW!”
We restarted in the same position. He was able to get his right arm around my neck and was in the process of locking his left arm over my head, when I remembered the defense for that (something they taught at Renzo Gracie’s the month I was there). I pulled his left arm down over my shoulder and attempted to get a submission lock on his elbow.
I didn’t get the lock in, but the distraction gave me a chance to adjust my position in his leg hooks. I forced myself around to face hi, and thought that I would then me in his guard, but he didn’t close his legs around me, allowing me to attack him from something side-mount-ish. I grabbed one arm, his friends warned him to watch out for the arm-bar. I switched to the other side, and as I tried to put knee on belly to take mound, he grabbed my left leg with the intention of an ankle submission.
Something switched on at that moment in my brain. I don’t like leg submissions. They are fast, painful, dangerous, and at my skill level, not used often. From my limited experience with them I knew that I had to get moving, quickly, in order to save my leg, and that’s when I realized, this is a fight. This is not a show, an exhibition, a practice roll, or a cooperative exercise, this person is trying to do things to my that could break me, and the only way to make him stop, is to do it right back to him. Suddenly the time lag between thinking of a move and doing it disappeared, and each move was done with more strength than before.
I extracted my leg and found myself over him as he turtled. I spun to take his back. He semi-blocked me but I was able to get my left arm around his neck. I stuck my right leg into his leg (gaining a hook) and pulled him back. As I fought for the other leg hook, I remembered a training video that showed rear naked choke technique. Rather than grabbing my bicep and swinging my forearm down behind his head (easy to block), I slid my right hand over my left as I snaked it behind his neck until my right bicep reached my left had. That was probably the best rear naked choke I have ever applied.
I realized then that I actually had a chance to with this thing. This was a realization, and a sensation, I had never had before. All I had to do was keep on squeezing tighter…and tighter…and then I felt that gentle tapping on my left shoulder.
I won! My record now stands at 1-20-2! The streak is over!
I jumped up, raised my hands in the air and shouted “First win ever!” I turned to give my opponent a hug, and he had turned away. I felt kind of bad about that, but the ref turned him around and I hugged him and shook his had.
Then, as I promised, I ran to the foam pit and did a Geronimo flip in. High-fives and congratulations all around. I recorded a little piece for my YouTube channel and looked for the guy I defeated so I could shake his had again and tell him how much this victory, first after 22 tries, meant to me. I couldn’t find him. I kind of felt bad about that.
But wait a minute here. Yes, I was a foot taller than him. I outweighed him by almost ten pounds. I’d had a short match and a long rest; he’d had a long match and a short rest. These were all advantages for me.
But I am certain that he trains more often than me, fights more often than me, and has less bodyfat. The order and matching of the bouts was essentially random. Having the endurance to do multiple matches in short order against different sized opponents is part of the game.
So dammit, I am not going to feel bad about winning!
One final thought: Earlier in the day there were kids’ matches, and some of the kids took losing pretty hard. I was speaking with the fellow next to me and he said there is no reason to get upset about losing, because you always learn something from losing, you never learn anything from winning. I told him I’d have to get back to him on that. Well, here’s what I say: I did learn some things from winning. I learned that I knew how to execute a rear naked choke. I learned that I have a fighter’s mentality when I want to. I learned what it felt like to win, and that is what a successful redemption is about. You take everything that you have, that you are, that is inside of you, and you cash it in and find out what you are worth. It feels good to know that you have what it takes to get what you want.
Now I have another tournament next week, the Long Island Grappling Challenge. Let’s see if I can get that second win, and get it on camera this time!
I had signed up for the Long Island Submission Tournament in Port Jefferson, NY some weeks ago, and had done what I could to train and prepare for it while editing my movie and working for the NY Comic Book Marketplace event. I had been watching instructional videos, drilling moves with the Twin Towers Wrestling Club, and reading up on Musashi’s “Book of 5 Rings. I had also competed in the Renegade Grappling League’s first tournament. I fought well there, but still failed to secure my first victory.
A friend of mine from Twin Towers was supposed to go with me, but when I called him early in the morning to catch the LIRR, he bailed, so I was there on my own. Several people recognized me from other tournaments that I had been at, though, such as NAGA and the NY Submission Shootout.
The event was held in a gymnastics school, and there was a pit filled with foam blocks. I swore that I if won a match, I would do a flip into the foam pit. In fact, I had been envisioning what I would do if I won all week, and this seemed just too outrageously perfect.
I realized once I was there, though, that I had forgotten my protective cup. This tournament did not have any dealrs set up other than the refreshment stand, and the nearest sporting goods store was miles away. There was, however, and Karate/MMA school right across the street, the United Martial Arts Center. Their Shihan, Andrew Stigliano, was kind enough to help me out. They had a small store of martial arts and training supplies, and he gave me a brand new cup.
At this tournament I weighed in at 177.5 lbs, about what I weighed at the last one, and about what I’d expected. Due to the number of competitors and the structure of he tournament I was placed in a division defined as “middleweight, 168 – 177 lbs.” I signed up as a “beginner” (more than a novice, less than intermediate).
My record going in stood at 0-19-2.
There turned out to be four people in this division, and I had the first match. Not surprisingly, my opponent was short and stockier than me. I went into the match with the intention of “treading him down,” like Musashi says. We engaged standing, and I fought to push his head down, looking for a guillotine (something I had worked on). After a few moments of that, all I accomplished was being able to control the rate of descent after he got underhooks, and establish half guard with him on top of me. He passed the half-guard and moved into north-shout, going fo a choke which I blocked with my arm, but he crushed my shoulder into my chest, forcing me to tap.
I lost. My record now stood at 0-20-2
I do believe that is where an injury occurred. As I am typing this there is a pain in my chest that remains after the general soreness of the tournament has gone away. I will look into it later. But at the time my adrenaline was still up, and I was still ready to play.
The way the bracket was set up, they guy who beat me would fight the winner of the next match, and I would fight the loser. The match went on for the full five minutes and into overtime. Of course both competitors were totally gassed, so they held an “exhibition” bout between two teenagers to let them recover. I suggested that I could fight a bye or a gauntlet to match my opponent’s fatigue, but nothing came of it.
So my next match would decide the third-place finisher of the division. I was faced up with a fellow who must have been the smaller person in the bracket, meaning I outweighed him by almost 10 pounds. He was also about a foot shorter than me, but he appeared to have some cauliflowering on his ear and carried himself klike an experienced fighter, so I did not have any reason to expect, going in, that this match would turn out any differently than any other match I had ever been in.
Again I went for pushing down his head, treading him down, and again he achieved the top position in the takedown.
Sadly the guy holding my camera only got the first two seconds of the match, and a lot happened, so I’ll try my best to reconstruct it here.
I found myself on my knees defending the neck from a guillotine choke. I couldn’t feel any slack to get our either side, but he spun around to take my back faster than I could spin with him. I kept a tight hold on at least on of his arms the whole time, and looked to dump him over my shoulder (one of the first tricks I learned, but I recognized that the grip he had on my left arm would put him in a great place for an arm-bar, so I was being very cautious about it. He got leg hooks in. I tried clearing one leg out, and he tried flattening me out. Neither of those things worked. He pulled me back, and was working on the rear naked choke, when the referee called time out.
Apparently there was blood coming out of a cut on my head. While they were getting something to staunch it with, I asked the guys at ringside how it looked, and they said it looked pretty horrendous, so I chanted “ECW! ECW!”
We restarted in the same position. He was able to get his right arm around my neck and was in the process of locking his left arm over my head, when I remembered the defense for that (something they taught at Renzo Gracie’s the month I was there). I pulled his left arm down over my shoulder and attempted to get a submission lock on his elbow.
I didn’t get the lock in, but the distraction gave me a chance to adjust my position in his leg hooks. I forced myself around to face hi, and thought that I would then me in his guard, but he didn’t close his legs around me, allowing me to attack him from something side-mount-ish. I grabbed one arm, his friends warned him to watch out for the arm-bar. I switched to the other side, and as I tried to put knee on belly to take mound, he grabbed my left leg with the intention of an ankle submission.
Something switched on at that moment in my brain. I don’t like leg submissions. They are fast, painful, dangerous, and at my skill level, not used often. From my limited experience with them I knew that I had to get moving, quickly, in order to save my leg, and that’s when I realized, this is a fight. This is not a show, an exhibition, a practice roll, or a cooperative exercise, this person is trying to do things to my that could break me, and the only way to make him stop, is to do it right back to him. Suddenly the time lag between thinking of a move and doing it disappeared, and each move was done with more strength than before.
I extracted my leg and found myself over him as he turtled. I spun to take his back. He semi-blocked me but I was able to get my left arm around his neck. I stuck my right leg into his leg (gaining a hook) and pulled him back. As I fought for the other leg hook, I remembered a training video that showed rear naked choke technique. Rather than grabbing my bicep and swinging my forearm down behind his head (easy to block), I slid my right hand over my left as I snaked it behind his neck until my right bicep reached my left had. That was probably the best rear naked choke I have ever applied.
I realized then that I actually had a chance to with this thing. This was a realization, and a sensation, I had never had before. All I had to do was keep on squeezing tighter…and tighter…and then I felt that gentle tapping on my left shoulder.
I won! My record now stands at 1-20-2! The streak is over!
I jumped up, raised my hands in the air and shouted “First win ever!” I turned to give my opponent a hug, and he had turned away. I felt kind of bad about that, but the ref turned him around and I hugged him and shook his had.
Then, as I promised, I ran to the foam pit and did a Geronimo flip in. High-fives and congratulations all around. I recorded a little piece for my YouTube channel and looked for the guy I defeated so I could shake his had again and tell him how much this victory, first after 22 tries, meant to me. I couldn’t find him. I kind of felt bad about that.
But wait a minute here. Yes, I was a foot taller than him. I outweighed him by almost ten pounds. I’d had a short match and a long rest; he’d had a long match and a short rest. These were all advantages for me.
But I am certain that he trains more often than me, fights more often than me, and has less bodyfat. The order and matching of the bouts was essentially random. Having the endurance to do multiple matches in short order against different sized opponents is part of the game.
So dammit, I am not going to feel bad about winning!
One final thought: Earlier in the day there were kids’ matches, and some of the kids took losing pretty hard. I was speaking with the fellow next to me and he said there is no reason to get upset about losing, because you always learn something from losing, you never learn anything from winning. I told him I’d have to get back to him on that. Well, here’s what I say: I did learn some things from winning. I learned that I knew how to execute a rear naked choke. I learned that I have a fighter’s mentality when I want to. I learned what it felt like to win, and that is what a successful redemption is about. You take everything that you have, that you are, that is inside of you, and you cash it in and find out what you are worth. It feels good to know that you have what it takes to get what you want.
Now I have another tournament next week, the Long Island Grappling Challenge. Let’s see if I can get that second win, and get it on camera this time!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Report from the Wicked Faire
As part of the promotions for my grappling movie, "Redemption," in the interest in spreading the fun of submission grappling, and for the sheer fun of it, I hosted a "Warriors of Doom Wrestling Room" and a local quasi-fetish ren faire/fantasy/steampunk convention in New Jersey, the Wicked Faire, this past weekend.
This is something I have done before when I worked with a team of female wrestlers who did wrestling sessions with men for pay. The idea is that there are people who, for whatever reason (some reasons I don't care, some you wouldn't want to know) there are people who love to wrestle and grapple, especially with people of their preferred gender. Providing a safe, structured, and entertaining venue for this is an appreciated thing at events like these.
We held a few brief demonstrations of basic BJJ moves with the emphasis on safety and fun. We talked about the importance of tapping out before you get hurt, the progression from position to submission, and then had some exhibitions between our "warriors." Afterwards we "took on all challengers" in 10-minute matches.
The challengers were a mixed back of types, styles, and skill levels. There was one guy who was highly skilled at BJJ, and our man June found it was all he could do to avoid being tapped out. There was one guy who wore a black gi and jeans (evoking the style of Patrick Swayze in "Roadhouse") who claimed ninja training, on whom I was able to get the submission several times, and who never made me tap. There was a girl who fought June to a standstill. Our female fighter, Jasmine, got in a pretty good match against a fellow with more enthusiasm than skill. The best action of the weekend, though, was a big girl we called "Thunder Bunny" against June. Though he was able to take her back on the ground a couple of times, for the most part the match involved her denying every attempt at takedown and simply falling on top of June.
Personally, I found it useful to fight guys who were not as skilled in grappling as I for a change (in addition to the ninja, I also fought a guy about my size who had very little training). Most of the time, in tournaments and at Twin Towers Wrestling Club, I find myself up against guys stronger, faster, more skilled, more experienced, better conditioned, and more aggressive than me. This means much of my game is about defending, protecting, and denying the other guy's attempts at submitting me. This time I was able to actually try out moves that I had been training, and finding what parts of them worked and what didn't. It also helped increase my confidence in terms of "oh yeah, I can do this!" I can't wait 'till Tuesday now to go back to Twin Towers and challenge up, in preparation for the tournaments coming up over the next two weekends!
The screening of "Redemption" was not perfect. There were some delays at the tech was being set up, and with so much else going on at the event, not much of an audience came to see it. From the cast, GE West, Nicole, and Eric were there, along with June, and a few random people came in and out. Towards the end of the movie, two drunken guys wandered in and spent the rest of the movie talking loudly about MMA instead of watching the movie. There were also moments when folks would come in to check on the tech in preparation for other screenings, and be standing in the room, talking in full voice during the movie about the tech, and I had to ask them to talk outside.
In this version, the movie has some very good things in it. The opening is strong, and the use of titles and music worked. However, some of the scenes seem to be dragging, a little self-indulgent. I also need to fix yup the ending a bit, and I would like to re-shoot one or two moments. There is a match int he tournament that I would like to change the ending of, and I need more reaction shots in a couple of scenes.
Next uyp, two grappling tournaments in Long Island in two days!
This is something I have done before when I worked with a team of female wrestlers who did wrestling sessions with men for pay. The idea is that there are people who, for whatever reason (some reasons I don't care, some you wouldn't want to know) there are people who love to wrestle and grapple, especially with people of their preferred gender. Providing a safe, structured, and entertaining venue for this is an appreciated thing at events like these.
We held a few brief demonstrations of basic BJJ moves with the emphasis on safety and fun. We talked about the importance of tapping out before you get hurt, the progression from position to submission, and then had some exhibitions between our "warriors." Afterwards we "took on all challengers" in 10-minute matches.
The challengers were a mixed back of types, styles, and skill levels. There was one guy who was highly skilled at BJJ, and our man June found it was all he could do to avoid being tapped out. There was one guy who wore a black gi and jeans (evoking the style of Patrick Swayze in "Roadhouse") who claimed ninja training, on whom I was able to get the submission several times, and who never made me tap. There was a girl who fought June to a standstill. Our female fighter, Jasmine, got in a pretty good match against a fellow with more enthusiasm than skill. The best action of the weekend, though, was a big girl we called "Thunder Bunny" against June. Though he was able to take her back on the ground a couple of times, for the most part the match involved her denying every attempt at takedown and simply falling on top of June.
Personally, I found it useful to fight guys who were not as skilled in grappling as I for a change (in addition to the ninja, I also fought a guy about my size who had very little training). Most of the time, in tournaments and at Twin Towers Wrestling Club, I find myself up against guys stronger, faster, more skilled, more experienced, better conditioned, and more aggressive than me. This means much of my game is about defending, protecting, and denying the other guy's attempts at submitting me. This time I was able to actually try out moves that I had been training, and finding what parts of them worked and what didn't. It also helped increase my confidence in terms of "oh yeah, I can do this!" I can't wait 'till Tuesday now to go back to Twin Towers and challenge up, in preparation for the tournaments coming up over the next two weekends!
The screening of "Redemption" was not perfect. There were some delays at the tech was being set up, and with so much else going on at the event, not much of an audience came to see it. From the cast, GE West, Nicole, and Eric were there, along with June, and a few random people came in and out. Towards the end of the movie, two drunken guys wandered in and spent the rest of the movie talking loudly about MMA instead of watching the movie. There were also moments when folks would come in to check on the tech in preparation for other screenings, and be standing in the room, talking in full voice during the movie about the tech, and I had to ask them to talk outside.
In this version, the movie has some very good things in it. The opening is strong, and the use of titles and music worked. However, some of the scenes seem to be dragging, a little self-indulgent. I also need to fix yup the ending a bit, and I would like to re-shoot one or two moments. There is a match int he tournament that I would like to change the ending of, and I need more reaction shots in a couple of scenes.
Next uyp, two grappling tournaments in Long Island in two days!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Sneak Preview of fulll movie this weekend!
That's right, at the Wicked Faire this weekend, "Redemption" will have it's first screening in full-length form! I am very excited!
I would say more, but I have to get back to editing it together. Go to http://www.wickedfaire.com for more details of the event!
I would say more, but I have to get back to editing it together. Go to http://www.wickedfaire.com for more details of the event!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Report from the Renegade Grappling League tournament
As part of the overall process of this movie, I am training with the Twin Towers Wrestling Club and competing in tournaments. Here is a report on the one I competed in last Sunday:
On Saturday I was not sure that I would go to the Renegade Grappling League tournament the next day, but then I saw Avatar (read my review of Avatar here), and that inspired me to go, and I am glad it did.
Avatar is about a man who finds something he had lost in learning the skills and lifestyle of an alien tribe. Without going into all the details (that’s for another time) let’s just say that his adventure mirrors my own in the world of submission grappling.
Specifically, the joy the hero, Jake, felt when experiencing the physicality of his alien avatar body felt much like the way I feel when experiencing the physicality of a properly executed grappling move, and I knew that the more I practiced and competed, the more I would get to feel that thrill.
Also the more Jake did with the tribe, the more he was accepted by them, and who doesn’t want to feel that acceptance?
So I trekked up to Johns Boxing Gym in the Bronx for the inaugural tournament of the Renegade Grappling League. It was a modestly-sized affair, with about a dozen or so competitors of various weights. It was set us as a round-robin tournament, with fighters getting multiple matches against other fighters in their weight bracket.
It was run by the good folks from Sadistic Athletics, who definitely allowed a sense of fun to pervade the afternoon. Most everyone there was more experienced, stronger, better conditioned, and shorter than me, which is pretty much par for the course wherever I go, but I was determined that no one would have more fun than me!
We fought in a boxing ring, so of course I had to mount the ropes and make like I was going to dive off before my first match. I was paired up against a short, stocky, quick wrestler guy who had fought one or two hard bouts already. He was not very aggressive in the opening, so I got to establish the clinch, but then he got a headlock on me and took me down into side control with an arm triangle. I pushed out of the triangle, and while I was bringing my leg in front of his face to go for the armbar, he stuck my arm between his legs and put pressure on the elbow, forcing me to tap pretty quickly.
Well, I generally get at least one short match like that in every tournament, so I guess it was just as well to get that out of the way quickly, so I would be fresh for my next bout.
I was paired with a guy about my height and about 10 lbs lighter than me for whom this was only his second competition. This match lasted the distance. In this event each match was three rounds of three minutes. Again I mounted the ropes, and by then I was beginning to win over the crowd. I had been chatting with the Sadistic Athletics people earlier about possible work involving my grappling movie “Redemption,” and a fellow who had been involved in the rehearsals of that movie was also there, and they all were shouting advice to me during the match. I followed the advice as best as I could.
In the match, I was able to control the takedowns so that my opponent wound up in a guillotine hold, though I was unable to complete the choke. I avoided several submission attempts, and escaped a rear-naked choke that almost got locked in. I almost got a toe hold/leg lock locked in, but not enough to make him tap. I escaped from under his half guard once or twice. I may have been “saved by the bell” at one moment (and in between rounds I almost spit water on someone accidentally), but when the last round came I laid it all out. I leaped off the second rope, the crowd was cheering, and rather than a handshake, my opponent and I high-fived.
I almost got the guy in an upside-down leg triangle and kimura, but he grabbed my shorts and pulled his head out. I wound up in his guard but stayed on top of him till the end of the fight. He almost arm-triangled me there, but I held out, then fought out, and was working on a kimura when the match ended.
The judges were not scoring by “points,” during the match, but did make decisions when no submission was scored. They said it was close, and in a split decision, gave the victory to the other guy. I have to agree with them, as it felt like he was on top of me, one way or another, through most of the match.
After the regular matches were concluded and the prizes awarded, there was an open-weight tournament. I was paired against the shortest, lightest guy in the tournament, a 135 lb. guy who can’t have been more that 5’3” tall. But he was a strong, , trained, ninjitsu fighter with great endurance and used to fighting folks bigger than him. I made the joke that it would be like Rey Mysterio fighting Kendall Grove. He fought in gi pants with no shirt, so I took my shirt off as well.
The match was scheduled for three minutes. My feet slipped on the mat at the first clinch, and after a brief struggle, he pulled guard. He attempted an armbar on me, which I stacked him out of. He was able to pull back to guard, and eventually went for another armbar. I had it defended, but he fell over and my elbow got pushed painfully sideways, so I tapped out at about 2:30.
So now my grappling competition record stands at 0-17-2. But I had fun, and I definitely won the crowd over. The Sadistic Athletic boys had, in fact, asked me to continue bringing the entertainment, which I did every time I entered the ring by standing on the ropes like a pro wrestler. I was appreciated for who and what I am, an entertainer who is learning skill as a grappler. I was, in fact, complimented on how well I did and how well I was taking instruction during the match. And that was the payoff I was looking for, and why I am glad I went to see Avatar the night before.
On Saturday I was not sure that I would go to the Renegade Grappling League tournament the next day, but then I saw Avatar (read my review of Avatar here), and that inspired me to go, and I am glad it did.
Avatar is about a man who finds something he had lost in learning the skills and lifestyle of an alien tribe. Without going into all the details (that’s for another time) let’s just say that his adventure mirrors my own in the world of submission grappling.
Specifically, the joy the hero, Jake, felt when experiencing the physicality of his alien avatar body felt much like the way I feel when experiencing the physicality of a properly executed grappling move, and I knew that the more I practiced and competed, the more I would get to feel that thrill.
Also the more Jake did with the tribe, the more he was accepted by them, and who doesn’t want to feel that acceptance?
So I trekked up to Johns Boxing Gym in the Bronx for the inaugural tournament of the Renegade Grappling League. It was a modestly-sized affair, with about a dozen or so competitors of various weights. It was set us as a round-robin tournament, with fighters getting multiple matches against other fighters in their weight bracket.
It was run by the good folks from Sadistic Athletics, who definitely allowed a sense of fun to pervade the afternoon. Most everyone there was more experienced, stronger, better conditioned, and shorter than me, which is pretty much par for the course wherever I go, but I was determined that no one would have more fun than me!
We fought in a boxing ring, so of course I had to mount the ropes and make like I was going to dive off before my first match. I was paired up against a short, stocky, quick wrestler guy who had fought one or two hard bouts already. He was not very aggressive in the opening, so I got to establish the clinch, but then he got a headlock on me and took me down into side control with an arm triangle. I pushed out of the triangle, and while I was bringing my leg in front of his face to go for the armbar, he stuck my arm between his legs and put pressure on the elbow, forcing me to tap pretty quickly.
Well, I generally get at least one short match like that in every tournament, so I guess it was just as well to get that out of the way quickly, so I would be fresh for my next bout.
I was paired with a guy about my height and about 10 lbs lighter than me for whom this was only his second competition. This match lasted the distance. In this event each match was three rounds of three minutes. Again I mounted the ropes, and by then I was beginning to win over the crowd. I had been chatting with the Sadistic Athletics people earlier about possible work involving my grappling movie “Redemption,” and a fellow who had been involved in the rehearsals of that movie was also there, and they all were shouting advice to me during the match. I followed the advice as best as I could.
In the match, I was able to control the takedowns so that my opponent wound up in a guillotine hold, though I was unable to complete the choke. I avoided several submission attempts, and escaped a rear-naked choke that almost got locked in. I almost got a toe hold/leg lock locked in, but not enough to make him tap. I escaped from under his half guard once or twice. I may have been “saved by the bell” at one moment (and in between rounds I almost spit water on someone accidentally), but when the last round came I laid it all out. I leaped off the second rope, the crowd was cheering, and rather than a handshake, my opponent and I high-fived.
I almost got the guy in an upside-down leg triangle and kimura, but he grabbed my shorts and pulled his head out. I wound up in his guard but stayed on top of him till the end of the fight. He almost arm-triangled me there, but I held out, then fought out, and was working on a kimura when the match ended.
The judges were not scoring by “points,” during the match, but did make decisions when no submission was scored. They said it was close, and in a split decision, gave the victory to the other guy. I have to agree with them, as it felt like he was on top of me, one way or another, through most of the match.
After the regular matches were concluded and the prizes awarded, there was an open-weight tournament. I was paired against the shortest, lightest guy in the tournament, a 135 lb. guy who can’t have been more that 5’3” tall. But he was a strong, , trained, ninjitsu fighter with great endurance and used to fighting folks bigger than him. I made the joke that it would be like Rey Mysterio fighting Kendall Grove. He fought in gi pants with no shirt, so I took my shirt off as well.
The match was scheduled for three minutes. My feet slipped on the mat at the first clinch, and after a brief struggle, he pulled guard. He attempted an armbar on me, which I stacked him out of. He was able to pull back to guard, and eventually went for another armbar. I had it defended, but he fell over and my elbow got pushed painfully sideways, so I tapped out at about 2:30.
So now my grappling competition record stands at 0-17-2. But I had fun, and I definitely won the crowd over. The Sadistic Athletic boys had, in fact, asked me to continue bringing the entertainment, which I did every time I entered the ring by standing on the ropes like a pro wrestler. I was appreciated for who and what I am, an entertainer who is learning skill as a grappler. I was, in fact, complimented on how well I did and how well I was taking instruction during the match. And that was the payoff I was looking for, and why I am glad I went to see Avatar the night before.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Week 11: Final rehearsal and audition, Part 3: Referee audition
So after we put the auditioners through their paces, we lined up three of the matches we had planned for the movie and assigned the auditioners to improvise refereeing them.
The matches were:
Willis vs. Bundy, the heavyweights!
Dan vs. Kirkland, Wushu vs wrestling
G.A. vs. Big Vince, an Underground party match
So what do you think? Who were your favorites? Post yoru thoughts in the comments section!
The matches were:
Willis vs. Bundy, the heavyweights!
Dan vs. Kirkland, Wushu vs wrestling
G.A. vs. Big Vince, an Underground party match
So what do you think? Who were your favorites? Post yoru thoughts in the comments section!
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