NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Brian Smith, head wrestling coach for the University of Missouri Tigers.

This past Sunday, Missouri closed out its regular season in stunning fashion by topping the previously-unbeaten Iowa Hawkeyes in the finals of the National Duals team tournament in Iowa City, Iowa. The score was 18-12, thus not only giving Missouri the 2015 National Duals Finals championship, but also capping off an undefeated 24-0 regular season and earning the team the number one ranking in the college wrestling polls.

Closing out the season for Mizzou are the 2015 MAC conference championships on March 7-8 in Columbia, Missouri, and the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, March 19-21, in St. Louis.

We spoke with Coach Smith, who has been head wrestling coach at Missouri since 1998, by phone Wednesday.

"We sat down together as a team in April, right after the NCAAs," he said, "and said, 'What are our team goals?' They truly believe they have a chance to win the national title. And I said, 'Well, let's do that.'"

Two major goals were winning their regular season MAC dual meets and winning the National Duals, along with the post-season MAC and NCAA tournaments.

"We're halfway there. We got two of our goals accomplished," he said.

"I'm really impressed with our team and with the consistency they've shown all through the season."

We also discussed what he calls the team's philosophy, known as Tiger Style, which is a lifestyle emphasizing positive values.

In addition, we discussed the finals of the National Duals; how his wrestlers performed; the Mizzou wrestlers who are individually ranked number one and will likely be favorites to win national titles, including returning champion J'den Cox at 197 pounds and Alan Waters at 125 pounds; the need for more young people in nearby communities to have the opportunity to be involved in wrestling programs; how MMA has been a "great transition" for wrestlers; the effect of the O'Bannon decision on college athletics and wrestling; Mizzou being a school in the SEC which wrestles in the MAC conference; the need to make dual meets more important than they are now; and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Alan Waters, Brian Smith, college, Eddie Goldman, J'den Cox, Missouri Wrestling, Mizzou, National Duals, NCAA, No Holds Barred, Tigers

My latest blog for the Defense Soap site, "Catch Wrestling on New York TV and Online", is up at http://blog.defensesoap.com/news/catch-wrestling-on-new-york-tv-and-online.

Labels: catch wrestling, David Elias, Defense Soap, Eddie Goldman, Kristal Hart, No Holds Barred, Sherwin Severin, Thomas Doyle

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents Friday's conference call featuring Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Showtime Sports, and Ken Hershman, President, HBO Sports.

It was just announced Friday evening that what will easily be the biggest fight in decades, Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, has been signed and will take place May 2. Similar to the 2002 Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson fight, this will be a joint pay-per-view by Showtime and HBO.

Many more details need to be announced and in fact settled, but this fight, a welterweight title fight, has now been signed and is official. On this hastily-announced conference call, both Showtime's Espinoza and HBO's Hershman discussed some of what has been agreed upon and what remains to be done, including announcements of who will be the commentators for the joint telecast.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, HBO, Ken Hershman, Manny Pacquiao, No Holds Barred, Showtime, Stephen Espinoza

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with grappler and catch wrestler Adam Roman.

With a varied background in wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, and Hayastan grappling under Gene LeBell and Gokor Chivichyan, Adam Roman is currently an instructor at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Costa Mesa's locations in Buena Park and Orange, California, and the Reign Training Center in Lake Forest, California.

He has also joined the many grapplers and wrestlers who are competing in catch wrestling.

On January 11, 2015, he was victorious in the middleweight division of the West Coast King of Catch Wrestling Tournament held in San Diego, California.

We spoke with Adam Roman by phone Sunday.

He explained how he had decided to compete in this tournament, while accompanying his friend, Travis Newaza, who won the absolute division at it, to this event.

What he saw, he liked.

He said that catch wrestling, where you win by pin or submission, has "an interesting ruleset" because "it brings several unique challenges to it that you don't necessarily get in a jiu-jitsu match. Specifically, the ability to be pinned for a fall, really changes the game."

"I like the idea of it, because I feel like it's very applicable to a certain mentality that you may need in like a street situation," he said.

"It's good to be able to submit people from more than just your back, which is probably the most common way in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It gives you just an interesting dynamic and challenge."

We also discussed more on his experience at the West Coast King of Catch Wrestling Tournament, his ongoing participation in competitions in numerous grappling styles, his plans to continue competing in catch wrestling, the need for all these styles to encourage action and discourage stalling, the potential of catch wrestling to grow as a spectator sport, the need for smart promoters, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Adam Roman, BJJ, Eddie Goldman, grappling, jiu-jitsu, King of Catch Wrestling, No Holds Barred

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Can "Slideyfoot" Sönmez, co-founder and instructor at Artemis BJJ.

Based in Bristol, U.K., he is involved in organizing the International Women's Day GrappleThon for Equality Now.

Equality Now is an international charitable organization which works to end violence against women around the world. It aims to protect and promote the human rights of women and girls around the world through legal advocacy and mobilization of public pressure, and to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world.

The International Women's Day GrappleThon for Equality Now will raise money by having 24 hours of continuous grappling starting at 1400/2 PM UTC Saturday, March 7, and going to 1400/2 PM UTC Sunday, March 8, which is International Women's Day.

The location is Artemis BJJ, Unit4B, Dean St., Bristol, BS2 8SF Bristol, United Kingdom.

We spoke with Can "Slideyfoot" Sönmez by Skype Wednesday.

"This will be the fourth event like this I've run," he said. While there is no set format for GrappleThons, and many people have organized them differently, the basics are, "You just have at least two people grappling at any one time, and it's over a pre-determined time period."

He continued, "The idea is basically to get some grapplers together, so it doesn't matter what team you're on or what experience level you have. Come down, roll, and hope you raise some money for a good cause."

There are also many different ways to raise funds, but in this event, "The way I do it, you set up a fundraising page, get your friends to sponsor you."

And he stressed, "The bottom line is you're looking to raise some money for a good cause."

We discussed more of the details of this event, how people around the world can participate in it, the growth of women's grappling, how other people can organize similar events, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Artemis BJJ, Can Sönmez, Eddie Goldman, Equality Now, GrappleThon, grappling, International Women's Day, No Holds Barred, Slideyfoot, wrestling

My latest blog for the Defense Soap site, "Reclaiming the Glory of Catch Wrestling", is up at http://blog.defensesoap.com/news/reclaiming-the-glory-of-catch-wrestling.

Labels: catch wrestling, Defense Soap, Eddie Goldman, ISWA, Kris Iatskevich, No Holds Barred, North American Championship

(Picture of Kris Iatskevich drawn by Ivaylo Ivanov)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Kris Iatskevich, head coach of the International Submission Wrestling Alliance (ISWA).

On Saturday, July 18, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the ISWA will be hosting, along with the American Sambo Assocation, the 11th Annual ASA North American Freestyle Sambo Championships and the ISWA Catch Wrestling North American Championship.

Both competitions will take place at the Riverdale High School, 5060 Boulevard des Sources, Pierrefonds, QC H8Y 3E4, Canada.

Of particular significance is that the event is co-promoted by most of the major catch wrestling organizations, including Let's Shoot, the North American Catch Wrestling Association, Snake Pit USA, and Scientific Wrestling.

We spoke with Kris Iatskevich by phone Tuesday.

"We're really, really excited about this one, because we've got pretty much everybody on board supporting us in this event," he said.

"I'm just really happy that for once we're having an event where everybody's collaborating and pitching in."

We also discussed how the catch wrestling tournament is open to competitors from all styles and groups; how the rules have been tweaked from traditional catch rules to include points, penalties for stalling, and two three-minute rounds with an extra round if necessary in tournament matches; how the absolute matches can be won by pin or submission only with no time limits; the parallel growth of combat wrestling, whose ruleset is "brilliant"; and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, ISWA, Kris Iatskevich, No Holds Barred, North American Championship

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with lifelong martial artist, former UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting matchmaker, TV commentator, and our senior correspondent, John Perretti.

Our main subject was a sad one, the passing of one of the true pioneers in the sport once known as no-holds-barred fighting (NHB) and now known as mixed martial arts, Phyllis Lee. But we also used this occasion to celebrate her remarkable life.

Coming from a background as a pro wrestler, Phyllis Lee was one of the first fight managers in the earliest days of MMA. All over the world, she was known as the First Lady of NHB. Besides getting fighters in North American organizations such as UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting, she had a particularly close relationship for many years with the Pancrase organization of Japan.

After a bout with pneumonia, Phyllis Lee passed away January 18, 2015, at age 76, while in her sleep and hospitalized. A memorial service was held January 31, at her church in West Unity, Ohio.

We spoke with John Perretti, who is now in Japan, by phone Monday (Sunday New York time).

He decried what he called attempts for the history of MMA to be "backfilled" by people who were "not there" in the 1990s and early 2000s when Phyllis Lee was particularly prominent in the sport. Calling Phyllis Lee "a great human being", he said she "has to be remembered for her devotion to, whatever, one almost-sport and two, three real sports. She did incredible things as a woman, and she did incredible things as an individual, and she was usually a joy to be with. And I'll miss her tremendously."

We discussed some of the highlights of her life, but also how some fighters whom she represented were accused of breaking their contracts with her. He said, "I don't understand why people did what they did to her."

We also discussed what he called a "unique time" in the formative days of modern MMA, why "the time was about camaraderie", some of our experiences involving the April 1996 arrests of eight participants at Battlecade Extreme Fighting 2 (including John Perretti) in Montreal, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: Battlecade Extreme Fighting, Eddie Goldman, First Lady of NHB, John Perretti, MMA, No Holds Barred, Pancrase, Phyllis Lee, UFC, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with catch wrestler and wrestling coach Luis Ojeda.

Since winning the American heavyweight catch wrestling championship on August 30, 2014, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and becoming the first holder of this title in real catch wrestling since the early 1900s, Luis Ojeda has stayed quite busy in catch and other styles of wrestling. But he also is still learning, and will be at the winter 2015 edition of Scientific Wrestling's Certified Catch Wrestler Training Camp in San Diego, California, from Friday, February 6, to Sunday, February 8.

We spoke with Luis Ojeda by phone Monday.

"We have Wade Schalles coming down, the head coach of Scientific Wrestling -- Jake Shannon. I know there's some people coming down from Kentucky -- Jay Grooms. I've never met these guys, and I know that they're good," he said. He added that he is "excited to be around and see what I'm going to learn from Wade Schalles and all these people."

We also discussed the results of the West Coast King of Catch Wrestling Tournament and No Gi Submission Only Grappling Tournament, which took place January 11, 2015, at San Ysidro High School in San Diego, where he also serves as wrestling coach, and which he helped run, and had Travis Newaza as the big winner; his plans to compete in the annual Schwingfest, a competition in the Swiss folkstyle wrestling known as Schwingen and hosted by the Imperial Valley Swiss Club; the challenge made by Curran Jacobs to have a catch wrestling match with Travis Newaza; his own challenge of Raul Ramirez also to have a catch wrestling match; his training in many grappling styles including jiu-jitsu and judo; his coaching and plans to compete in catch wrestling this year; and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: challenges, Eddie Goldman, grappling, King of Catch Wrestling, Luis Ojeda, No Holds Barred, Schwingen, Swiss

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Rose Gracie.

Our main topic was the latest edition of the Gracie Nationals.

This submission-only grappling event will take place Saturday, February 7, and Sunday, February 8, as part of TheFitExpo. The location is the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California 90015.

A gi tournament will be held Saturday while a no-gi tournament will be held Sunday. Men, women, teens, and kids are all welcome to participate.

Besides various seminars including one by Renzo Gracie, there will be two no-time-limit, submission-only superfights. In these, Javier Vazquez will face Garry Tonon, and Denny Prokopos will face Eddie Cummings.

The event will also pay homage to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and MMA fighter Joe Camacho, who passed away in December 2013 at the age of 41.

We spoke with Rose Gracie by phone Sunday.

"I'm excited for one more time to be leading the way for the submission-only movement. That's what we call it now, where matches are ended by a submission only," she said.

In the tournaments, before the finals, and because of the large number of competitors, 15-minute time limits have been put in place. If there is no submission when time expires, both competitors are eliminated from the tournament. Thus, she said, "It works as a qualifier for the actual final match."

The finals of each tournament have no time limits.

"The two competitors go against each other with no time limit, no points, no advantages, until somebody actually submits," she said. "So we have matches that go very quickly, because their mentality once that is going on is very different, but we have matches that go on a very, very long time. So it's just a fun and more exciting way to watching these matches."

The only exceptions are the kids' tournaments, where no winners are declared, the competitors are sometimes restarted in positions to try to make the matches more competitive, and all kids receive first-place medals.

The idea is that they "cater to the whole family."

Plans are also being made to post live streams of the superfights and black belt matches, with details to be finalized shortly.

We discussed the thinking behind these submission-only events, which she emphasized is carrying on the legacy of her late grandfather, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu co-founder Helio Gracie.

Besides being passionate about continuing in the traditions of her family by putting on these submission-only events, Rose Gracie is passionate about fighting to reverse the wretched state of the American educational system and its failure to teach students how to think. We discussed that at length, including her own experiences dealing with the bureaucracies in her daughters' schools.

In addition, she is also passionate about the health dangers created by the dangerously high amounts of added sugar in so many common foods and beverages in the typical American diet. Diseases such as obesity and diabetes are rampant in America, including among the youth. Many of these problems can be dealt with simply by changing one's eating habits. Thus, she is engaged in a battle to eliminate junk and sugary foods and beverages from what is served to children in many schools.

And we discussed the plans for holding several more of these tournaments this year, the background of many competitors in them, getting the word out on these events, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.

Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.

Labels: BJJ, Eddie Goldman, education, grappling, jiu-jitsu, Nationals, No Holds Barred, Rose Gracie, submission, sugar