NO HOLDS BARRED

My latest blog for the Defense Soap site, "A Challenge in Catch Wrestling", is up at http://blog.defensesoap.com/news/a-challenge-in-catch-wrestling.

Labels: Catch Wrestling Alliance, combat wrestling, Curran Jacobs, Defense Soap, Eddie Goldman, Ivaylo Ivanov, No Holds Barred, Travis Newaza

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with wrestler and former Michigan State Spartans' team captain Curran Jacobs.

After a victory by pin over Christopher Crossan of the Snake Pit Wigan on June 7, 2014, in the main event of the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth, at UCLA in Los Angeles, California, and thus winning the Frank Gotch Award, he is planning to return to action this year.

Towards this end, he is issuing a challenge to Travis Newaza, who was victorious at the West Coast King of Catch Wrestling Tournament held January 11, 2015, in San Diego, California.

We spoke with Curran Jacobs by phone Monday.

"I would like to actually call out that gentleman who won that tournament, Travis Newaza, I believe his name is," he said.

"He is being claimed the King of the West Coast, and I'm on the West Coast." He added that he was unaware of the January 11 event.

He went on to criticize his performance in that event.

"He's a good jiu-jitsu guy, but I saw no catch wrestling happening at all."

We discussed his continuing training at Catch Wrestling Los Angeles, why he considers there to be "fake titles" being handed out in catch wrestling today, why he believes that many of the matches at these tournaments are "not a good display of catch wrestling", why he calls the Catch Wrestling Alliance "the leader of the pack", and much, much more.

We also comment on the passing of an MMA pioneer, Phyllis Lee, who was known as the "First Lady of NHB".

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 Alliance, Curran Jacobs, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Travis Newaza

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.

He is currently in Wigan, England, for the third annual International Week organized by the legendary home of catch-as-catch-can wrestling, the Snake Pit Wigan. There will be several days of training, capped off by the annual catch wrestling invitational tournament involving wrestlers from around the world, which will take place this year on Saturday, November 8, in Bolton, England.

We spoke with Raul Ramirez by phone Saturday before he left for the U.K.

"This year is going to be a little bit different from all the other years," he said. While there still will be several days of training and the event on Saturday, this year the people from the Snake Pit Wigan decided to have American catch wrestler "Jon Strickland teach a few of the training sessions."

We also discussed some of the differences between American-style and British-style catch wrestling, how the wrestlers who will compete in the catch tournament on Saturday will be selected by Snake Pit Coach Roy Wood, Raul's own plans to wrestle at this event for the third year in a row, the book on Snake Pit founder Billy Riley by Stephen Greenfield and Mark De Courcy which is due out this week, the need to raise the quality of wrestling and focus on fundamentals more in catch wrestling training and events, plans for the future, 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.

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 Alliance, Eddie Goldman, International Week, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, Snake Pit Wigan

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with martial artist, catch wrestler, freestyle wrestler, and our correspondent, Qin Yunquan.

She is an instructor for women's and children's self-defense at the Kapap Academy Singapore. She is also helping to build Catch Wrestling Singapore.

At present, she is preparing to wrestle on the card of the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth.

This event will take place Saturday, June 7, in Collins Court in the John Wooden Center on the campus of UCLA, at 221 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1612.

This invitational event will be held under catch wrestling rules, where you can only win by pin or submission. Her opponent will be named shortly.

We spoke with Qin Yunquan by Skype Friday.

While she is currently recovering from a knee injury, which she said is "not too bad", she expects to resume training shortly and be ready for her June 7 match. Her preparation also included a trip to the two-day Certified Catch Wrestler Training Camp in San Diego, California, February 7-8, with catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon of ScientificWrestling.com. This camp turned out to be the last one for Billy Robinson, who passed away February 27 at age 75.

Discussing some of the submission techniques which she learned from Billy Robinson, she said, "Billy Robinson taught me a lot of the submissions that uses a lot of deception." She went on, "A lot of people when they grapple, they go on with brute force, and it's almost predictable what they're going to do next."

Billy Robinson, she noted, taught many different setups. "So you think he's doing something, and yet you're really going for the arm or the leg, and you're not protecting against it."

And that deception is something that is very useful against many opponents. "They're going to know all the predictable moves of, for example, BJJ or even wrestling."

We also discussed her continuing work in providing self-defense training; the use of technology, social media, and apps in popularizing catch wrestling; how combat sports in general and various styles of grappling and wrestling are growing in Singapore; 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:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

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 http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Billy Robinson, Catch Wrestling Alliance, Eddie Goldman, grappling, International Invitational Rebirth, Kapap, No Holds Barred, Qin Yunquan, Singapore, submission

On this edition of No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance and host Eddie Goldman were interviewed by Scott Casber, the host of Takedown Wrestling Radio.

This discussion took place on Takedown Wrestling Radio and was recorded Monday.

The main topic of our discussion was the revival of catch wrestling and the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth. This event will be held Saturday, June 7, in Collins Court in the John Wooden Center on the campus of UCLA, at 221 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1612.

Our discussion also included consideration of what structure and models catch wrestling should and should not use as it develops and strives to have good, clean governance.

Here is the press release announcing the June 7 event:

CWA Holds First International Invitational Catch Wrestling Event, June 7, in Los Angeles

Witness the rebirth of the sport of Catch Wrestling

Los Angeles, February 5, 2014: On Saturday, June 7, the Catch Wrestling Alliance will be holding their first catch wrestling event, an international invitational entitled "Rebirth." It will take place in Collins Court in the John Wooden Center on the UCLA campus, 221 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095.

This event will be held under traditional catch wrestling rules, where you can win by submission or pin. There are no points, no politics, and no sandbagging. A team of American Catch Wrestlers will take on a team of international Catch Wrestlers in USA vs the World matches.

Catch wrestlers with extensive wrestling and grappling backgrounds from around the world, including Europe, North America, and Asia, are confirmed to compete. Men's and women's matches will be held.

"I am looking forward to showing the world high level catch wrestling," said Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance. "It is every catch wrestler’s dream to see catch wrestling in the spotlight again. We can achieve this goal if we work together."

Currently eight matches are planned for this event. Two women's matches and six men's matches are currently scheduled. No points will be scored, as matches are based on a win-lose format. All kinds of submissions are allowed, except groin attacks, fish hooking, spitting, biting, hair grabbing, intentional striking, and kicking. The winner of each match will win an award in honor of an important person in wrestling history.

Tickets will go on sale soon.

About CWA and Catch Wrestling:The CWA (Catch Wrestling Alliance) is an American organization that promotes and hosts international catch-as-catch-can wrestling events. The Catch Wrestling Alliance was started by Raul Ramirez in association with catch wrestling schools around the world with a goal of reinstating legitimate catch wrestling competition globally.

Catch wrestling is a classical, hybrid grappling type of wrestling developed in 1870. It was later popularized by carnival wrestlers who refined new submission holds and hooks to be more effective against opponents.

Web: http://www.catchwrestlingalliance.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/catchwrestlingalliance

Twitter: @CatchAlliance

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:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

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 http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Catch Wrestling Alliance, Eddie Goldman, International Invitational, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, Rebirth, Scott Casber, Takedown Radio, UCLA

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with our correspondent Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.

The date and place are now set for their first event, the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth. It will be held Saturday, June 7, in Collins Court in the John Wooden Center on the campus of UCLA, at 221 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1612.

This invitational event will feature catch wrestling, where you can only win by pin or submission.

Among the athletes who have so far been confirmed to compete in the Catch Wrestling Alliance International Invitational: The Rebirth, are:

Christopher Crossan of the U.K. He won a gold medal at the 2004 European BJJ tournament in Lisbon, gold at the 2005 Gracie European tournament, and was the Alan Woos and Ernie Riley Trophy Winner at the 2013 International Catch Tournament in Wigan, England.

Ian Jones of the U.K. He is a professional MMA fighter with 20 years of competitive martial arts experience. He holds a BJJ brown belt, is a three-time British Thai boxing champion, and has 13 years of grappling experience. He is also a catch wrestler and has wrestled out of the Snake Pit Wigan.

Luis Ojeda of the U.S. He is a Level 3 Scientific Wrestling Certified Catch Wrestler under Billy Robinson, a two-time King of Catch heavyweight champion, and has competed and trained in numerous disciplines including judo.

Jon Strickland of the U.S. A longtime catch wrestler, coach, and martial artist, he is now also building the Billy Wicks Foundation, named for the catch wrestling legend under whom he has trained.

Qin Yunquan of Singapore. She is a martial artist, catch wrestler, and freestyle wrestler, as well as an instructor for women's and children's self-defense at the Kapap Academy Singapore.

Many more athletes will be confirmed shortly.

We spoke with Raul Ramirez by phone Monday.

"Within the past few years, people have been really training hard in catch wrestling, all around the world. So this is basically going to be a big showcase for some of the people who have doing some higher level catch wrestling," he said.

"They're going to be coming from all around the world, straight here to the Wooden Center at UCLA. We're basically going to put on a really, really great show for people to see what higher level catch wrestling is."

We discussed the rules of this event, the difference between catch wrestling and other styles of grappling and wrestling, how catch wrestling was once a major and legitimate professional sport, how this event is open to all styles and all groups, and much more.

"We've got to get the politics out of it," he said. Otherwise, referencing what had happened to catch wrestling a century ago, it will become "extinct."

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:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

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 http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: BJJ, Catch Wrestling Alliance, Eddie Goldman, grappling, International Invitational, judo, MMA, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, Rebirth, Snake Pit Wigan, submission, UCLA

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with our correspondent Raul Ramirez of the Catch Wrestling Alliance.

Based in the Los Angeles, California, area, and working with the Snake Pit Wigan in the U.K., which is the home of catch-as-catch-can wrestling, he has set his sights on hosting a major international catch wrestling event this year in Los Angeles.

We spoke with Raul Ramirez by phone Wednesday, New Year's Day.

"Everyone who's involved with catch wrestling, it's their dream to really help revive it as a real, maybe even professional sport, hearken back to the glory days of catch wrestling," he said.

"So basically this past year I've been working hard with the Snake Pit Wigan and reaching out to other people in the United States who have been involved with catch wrestling for a long time. A lot of them want to work together to try to provide wrestlers for a big event that we plan on having, most likely June of this year."

Many of the details of this event are yet to be finalized, but the basic rules of catch wrestling will be in place: you can only win by pin or submission.

Among the many issues facing catch wrestling as it is being revived is governance. The building of regional, national, and international infrastructures is already taking place, with the hopes of holding events to determine credible national and world champions "who earned" these titles. At the same time, he also stressed the need to guard against corruption. This is what killed real professional catch wrestling a century ago, when it completely degenerated and left the realm of sport.

At this point, this Catch Wrestling Alliance event is planned to be held on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, where many sumo wrestling and jiu-jitsu events have taken place. Wrestlers will be invited from several countries, including some of those who have competed at the Snake Pit Wigan's annual International Catch Wrestling Tournaments.

The aim, he said, is "a real international event."

We also discussed why catch wrestling has as its basics the fundamentals of wrestling; possible different rule sets which include or exclude chokeholds; other catch wrestling events already planned for 2014, including the Virginia Shooter's Challenge, which is the North American Catch Wrestling Association's regional qualifier, on April 5 in Amherst, Virginia; the eventual need for an international federation to govern catch wrestling; 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:

ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.

GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, a http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic.

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 http://defensesoap.com.

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 http://americantopteam.com/.

Labels: Catch Wrestling Alliance, Eddie Goldman, Los Angeles, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, Snake Pit Wigan