Thanks, Sifu, for hosting the Machida vs. Shogun match! The night was awesome! I enjoyed the usual course of beer, hospitality, and friendship.

For those who follow this forum, the night was great as expected. There were several ol' friends present and some new faces. I had an opportunity to meet Blaise's family and a new training partner.

I'm recovering from an injury but like a true coach, Blaise used the opportunity to focus in on technical details. We began with a light martial arts appetizer as warm up - don chi sau. This helped get us in the correct mind frame and gave Blaise a chance to check form and body mechanics. We then trained the 12 fundamental Capuan boxing defenses as well as basic targeting. Grappling was the main course, which included dumog, Judo, wrestling, silat, and ground fighting. Blaise's arm locks and transitions are crazy, so I was grateful for his control (a testament to his skill) and the fact that we were training relatively "light". For dessert was weapons training. And in between we watched a great evening of fights.

For those of you who haven't seen the match I won't ruin it for you by giving away the details. Suffice it to say that the Machida vs. Shogun match was good, but like many in the audience, I was a bit disappointed with the final decision. The preliminary fights were entertaining. Lots of skill.

All in all, it was a great evening!

Thanks again!

Kronikler