Combat Connection, 7741 Highway 70 S, Nashville, TN (2026)

03/25/2022

Hi Everyone. It's Masa! One of my friends reached out to me all excited about this cool gadget meant to "hack" your metabolism. As an ACE Certified Personal Trainer I'm supposed to be in the know about these products. I sent to the product page and it sounded like BS. I saw they had a research paper so I read it. Firstly the demographic they used isn't likely the target audience. The age of the demographic they choose were at an age where their metabolism naturally changes regardless of what device they would or wouldn't use. They started with 55 people, which is already too small a sample size and by the end of the experiment they only about had around 30. Those other people didn't leave of their own volition, they were "disqualified."
And even if that sample size and demographic was fine with you, the paper didn't even support their claim.
On the website it says when you wake up you breathe into this device and it will tell you if you are burning fat or carbs (which already has me in a fit of laughter) then it says it will create a nutrition plan based on that information. Nothing about nutrition was mentioned in the research paper at all.
It completely ignores the fact that most people burn carbs AND fats (and sometimes, but hopefully not, protein). We generally just talk about where MOST of that energy is coming from. Not that it exclusively uses one type of energy at a time. The body is efficient, it (usually) has a backup plan. Could you imagine our species surviving for so long if the body had to take a moment to start metabolizing a new energy source when it ran out of the one it was currently using?
We also change the percentage of fat versus carb burning throughout the day. When you're sleeping and right when you wake up, your body isn't going to be tapping immediately into high gear and burning carbs.
Don't avoid high intensity exercise just because a majority of that energy will come from carbs. You're still going to burn more calories than stay in that low intensity zone and so even if the percentage of fat burned is lower at HIIT the overall number will be greater.
Okay. I'm done with my rant.
Be skeptical and don't trust anything at face value

03/21/2022

Happy belated birthday to the founder of American Kempo, Senior Grandmaster Ed K. Parker.
This has has so much history from opening the first commercial martial arts school in the US to popularizing Kempo karate (he taught Elvis Presley) Sr. GM also started the Long Beach International Karate Championships (which are still going on today), where some familiar names have competed: Bruce Lee, Benny the Jet, Chuck Norris, to name just a few. There really is so much that can't fit here so check out the story on the blog (and find out what the K. stands for)
https://combatconnection.org/2022/03/21/senior-grandmaster-edmund-kealoha-parker/

03/12/2022

Lo & I (Masa) are heading to Hock Hochheim's combatives seminar this weekend at The Royal Range in Nashville, Tennessee. Should be a fun one for sure. We will get some footage for you guys, if not some snippets of the seminar then probably some other cool martial arts stuff.

03/11/2022

US Muay Thai World Qualifiers are happening in Denver, Colorado. Hopefully you guys are able to watch it. Several of us will be at a combatives seminar in Nashville, Tennessee with Hoch Hochheim.

Definitely hope to catch highlights. If you can afford it you should absolutely watch it. This is an awesome feat for Muay Thai in the US.

https://bxngtv.com/muaythaitournament/

03/09/2022

Happy Birthday Cynthia Rothrock! Makes sense that her birthday and International Women's Day would be on the same day! If you haven't heard of Cynthia Rothrock, then you must be living under a rock. She is a glass ceiling breaker, stubborn to point she's a danger to herself, and continuing full speed ahead!

It would be impossible to write down all of her achievements here (or really in general, she truly is amazing) but you can get a sample of this astounding woman on the website: https://combatconnection.org/2022/03/09/happy-birthday-cynthia-rothrock-march-8th/

03/07/2022

Born March 7, 1944.
Dubbed "Muhammad Ali" of Sport Karate + Kickboxing
Joined Marines. Studied shorin-ryu Karate when stationed in Okinawa. Studied under: Eizo Shimabukuro, Seiyu Ogata, Chisaku Kinjo, and John Korab; receiving a black belt in 7 months. Later in life he would study under Bruce Lee and Sugar Ray Robinson. Joe Lewis was the first to hold the World Professional Full-Contact Karate Championship title. Joe was also the United State's Heavyweight kickboxing champion.
Other accomplishments include:
• 2012 Recipient of MAIA’s Lifetime Achieve Award
• US National Blackbelt Champion
• " Greatest Karate Fighter of All Time," - Karate Illustrated (1983)
• Black Belt Hall fame for
o Fighter of the year
o instructor of the year
o Player of the year
• Recognition as Father of American Kickboxing
o 1st world champion to be awarded a 10th Degree Grand Master ranking
• In 4 Movies
o Jaguar Lives!
o Force Five
o Death Cage
o Mr. X
• Taught hand to hand combat in Vietnam to an American Combat unit
o One of the first people to do this
• Released 25 Instructional Videos and several books
• Created his own fighting System Called," Joe lewis' Fight Strategies and Combat Sequences
o Joe lewis later handed over the torch to his two longest Standing Students: John and Jim Graden
 Jim Graden Carries lewis' System in his dojo in Florida. His school's website blog still men tions experiences with Joe lewis as well as words of wisdom from Joe. (school is called World Champion Martial Arts"
• Street Fighter's Ken was based on Joe lewis' story they are both americans who Trained in Japan and returned to the U.S. to win the U.S. Championship
Joe won $1 in the First world Professional Karate Championship at Jim Harrison's dojo in Kansas City.
He also fought in Ed Parker's 1972 International Karate Championships. Joe trained with Bruce lee in 1967 and with Joe Orbillo, a former heavy weight boxing contender. Joe lewis was considered fast and Powerful, known for his side kick and hook in full- contact Karate and his lead side, Side kick and fast back fist in Point Karate. He was known for his low kicks in kickboxing.
Joe Lewis was known to grab an opponent's dogi and punch his opponent's face until the fight was stopped. (Personally I find that sort of behavior unsportsman like and disgusting and that's my opinion and you don't have to agree with it - Masa)

Joe Lewis has studied:
• Shorin-ryu Karate
• sho bayashi
• Matsubayashi
• Okinawan Kenpo
• Judo
• Jeet Kune Do
• Boxing
• Taichi

Joe lewis has also been inducted to Black Belt's Hall of Fame as Player of the year.

03/01/2022

Another great one gone.

"The Kodokan, the head temple of judo, announced on the 28th that Ichiro Abe, who was recognized as the highest 10th dan, died at 0:10 am on the 27th at the Long-Term Care Health Facility in Tokyo due to senility. He was 99 years old. His wake-up and farewell ceremony will be held at his family funeral, and a farewell party will be held at the Kodokan in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo from noon on March 26th. Yoshimi Osawa (95) was the only 10th dan in his life.

Originally from Akita Prefecture, Mr. Abe went from Gunma Maebashi Naka (currently Maebashi High School) to Tokyo Higher Normal School (currently Tsukuba University), and after working as a teacher and police officer, worked for a long time to popularize judo under the guidance of France and Belgium. After returning to Japan, he served as the director of the International Department of the Kodokan, as well as a director and chairman of the International Committee of the All Japan Judo Federation."

02/25/2022

Whoops. Got a little post happy there. His birthday is tomorrow on the 26th. Sorry about that! Might as well celebrate early.

02/25/2022

Happy Birthday Mark Dacascos.
Mark was born to Grandmaster Al Dacascos, founder of Wun Hop Kuen Do (based off of Kajukenbo), and to forms champion and 7th degree blackbelt in Xiang Dai Kung Fu, Malia Bernal. Both parents have many more accolades in the martial arts.
Mark was training from a very young age in his father’s style of Wun Hop Kuen Do. Mark experimented with martial arts movements around 4 and started his formal training at 6. Mark started competing in tournaments at age 7 and won his first international tournament at age 9. He participated in semi-contact tournaments from 6-18.

He has trained in various martial arts styles:
Wun Hop Kuen Do - 8th Degree Black Belt
Tiger Northern Shaolin in Taiwan - 6 months
Capoeira under Mestre Amen Santo - 7 months
Muay Thai under Kru Puk Surapuk Jamjuntr (opened the first Muay Thai gym in the US)

Mark was walking down the street when two people gave Mark their business cards, hoping he would audition for a movie. Mark’s mother encouraged him to call them saying, “Life is a big adventure,” and, “you don’t know if you don’t try.”

Mark Dacascos found similarities between acting and martial arts, such as:
Focusing
Deep, full, proper breathing
Feeling physically grounded
Needing to be fully present
Releasing any unnecessary tension

First acting role was a Capoeira Mestre in 1993 “Only the Strong”

More recent movies include:
Kai Kahale in One Night in Bangkok (2020)
Recurring Monk in Netflix’s Wu Assassins
Voice Acting for the character Richard Dragon (2021) in Batman’s Soul of the Dragon
Played Zero in John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum (2019)

02/21/2022

Antonio Inoki was born February 20, 1943 as Kanji Inoki.

His ring name of Antonio is an homage to fellow professional wrestler Antonino Rocca (A top superstar in Captiol Wrestling, now called WWE).

Antonio started his professional wrestling career in the Japanese Wrestling Association in the 1960s. Antonio studied under Rikidozen, sometimes called the Father of Puroresu (a style of Japanese Professional Wrestling).

Antonio Inoki's career includes: 12 time Professional Wrestling World Champion, 1st IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and 1st Asian WWF Heavyweight Champion.
He also found Muhammad Ali in June 26, 1976 with a special rule set that was negotiated shortly before the fight. The fight took place in Tokyo, Japan, at Nippon Budokan Arena. It ended in a Draw.

Antonio Inoki's last fight was against Don Frye on April 4, 1998.

He was inducted into the WWE Hall of fame in 2010.

Antonio Inoki & North Korea
Antonio Inoki was taught by Rikidozen, as mentioned earlier. Rikidozen was born in North Korea and Rikidozen's fame had North Korea determined to have him be a symbol of North Korea's supremacy. Rikidozen did not want this association. When Rikidozen died, he was buried in Japan. Despite this North Korea had created an empty tomb for him.

So when North Korea put on an international professional wrestling event called "Collision in Korea" in 1995, they want Rikidozen's most famous protege to come and pay homage to the empty Rikidozen tomb. Antonio Inoki obliged and participated in the Collision event along with other professional wrestlers (including Americans).

For the record the full name of the event was Pyongyang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace, Collision in Korea.

02/18/2022

I get what coach is saying, but it's still like... Not sure that's how relaxing works, but okay.

My coach is awesome and I know he isn't the only one who does this. It just amuses me.

02/10/2022

Hey Everyone! It's Masa. There are some pretty cool uniforms found in martial arts. Not going into too much detail about this unless people would like us to in the future. Obviously not a comprehensive list and some of these are more commonly worn than others.

Taekwondo's dobok. I feel like this is a pretty familiar style for Korean arts. This is for regular training

Silat's baju melayu with the kain samping (the kain samping makes it more formal that the normal training uniform) the kain smaping in the little skirt/arpon looking thing. I'm sure the hat is optional in the normal uniform as well.

Judo, the judogi is definitely required for training, you need those lapels for throwing

Sambo, the Kurtka is the jacket and I would assume required for normal training (please correct me any Sambo practioners). (also, anyone else think it's weird to wear a gi top with shorts?)

Capoeira's abadas refers to the white pants that Capoeira is known for. for cordao is what their belts are called

Muay Thai is known for their colorful and awesome shorts. That's really the only uniform (other than the usual protective equipment)

Kendo's kendogu refers to the armor that kendo practioners wear so they don't die.

Shorinji Kempo's hoi is definitely not casual training wear. The hoi is for special occasions and generally for black belts (though not a solid rule)

Hapikido's dobok for black belts...at least that's what I remember being told...

Combat Connection

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