NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with catch wrestler Luis Ciraiz.

Based in Guatemala, he has been visiting North America the past few weeks on a catch wrestling and grappling tour. He won a championship in the master's division at the NAGA U.S. Open Championship on July 4 in Winter Park, Florida, USA. Then he traveled to Mike Martelle's Grizzly Gym in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, to hold a seminar on July 11 as well as a small catch wrestling tournament.

We spoke with Luis Ciraiz by phone Saturday night after the seminar and tournament.

"It was really cool," he said. "I got to meet many people. It was really awesome to have the opportunity to teach in Grizzly Gym. Actually that is the headquarters of our whole organization around the world."

For the seminar and tournament, "We had even the Grizzly Gym people from Philadelphia coming over, Professor Allen Chambers and one of his guys," he said. "We just had a lot of fun."

We discussed the importance of catch wrestlers entering grappling tournaments like NAGA's and "doing catch wrestling" to show its effectiveness even under rules where there are no pins and some submissions are not allowed. Many of the people in these tournaments have jiu-jitsu backgrounds, he noted, and are not used to the takedowns and leglocks of the catch wrestlers, as well as the physicality many wrestlers have.

While he will not be competing in this year's ADCC World Submission Fighting Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 29-30, he noted that this is the "best level of competition" in grappling in the world, and he would like to qualify for this event in the future.

We also discussed how the victories of catch wrestlers like Josh Barnett in martial arts tournaments have helped raise awareness of the value of this sport; how there have been tournaments for the past eight years in Guatemala, including this year's Let's Shoot catch wrestling tournament with over 100 competitors; how catch wrestling is actually bigger than jiu-jitsu in Guatemala; his experiences as an undefeated MMA fighter mainly using his grappling techniques, which some promoters don't like; the need to develop a more standard set of rules for catch wrestling; and much, much more.

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

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

You can also listen to No Holds Barred via Stitcher through iOS or Android devices or on the web, at http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/no-holds-barred-with-eddie-goldman.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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.

Labels: BJJ, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, grappling, Grizzly Gym, jiu-jitsu, Luis Ciraiz, Mike Martelle, MMA, No Holds Barred

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Mike Martelle, the owner and head instructor of the Grizzly Gym.

We spoke with him by phone Wednesday.

At the end of June, Mike Martelle will once again be traveling to Guatemala City, Guatemala, to host the annual Let's Shoot catch wrestling tournament and conduct a seminar. The tournament will take place Sunday, June 28, at the Salon Municipal (Municipal Auditorium) in the San Lucas neighborhood in Guatemala City.

"You might recall that last year's catch wrestling tournament in Guatemala City, we did the math afterward and realized that it had actually had the largest turnout of any catch wrestling event of the modern era, which was something we're very proud of and we're continuing to build up," he said.

"This year we're hoping to be even bigger than the last."

This year's event, Let's Shoot 2015, also features a catch wrestling rules tournament, and with a very special name.

"We're calling it the Mayan World Championships, given that it's located deep in the heart of what used to be the Mayan world," he said.

The event is also "subtitled" the Billy Two Rivers International Championship, in honor of the 80th birthday of Billy Two Rivers, the retired pro wrestler, catch wrestler, and actor, who was also a leader of the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, just outside Montreal.

We discussed more on the format of the tournament, which is an open event where victory is attained by pin or submission in two out of three falls, and all submissions are legal.

In addition, we discussed the need for more catch wrestling tournaments, the importance of events like the July 18 North American Catch Wrestling Championships in Montreal, the positive steps of more and more catch wrestling organizations around the world working together, 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 PodOmatic Podcast Player for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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.

Labels: Billy Two Rivers, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, Grizzly Gym, Guatemala, Let's Shoot, Mayan World Championships, Mike Martelle, No Holds Barred

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with Mike Martelle, the owner and head instructor of the Grizzly Gym.

A martial artist who has mastered numerous disciplines and styles of both grappling and striking, he will be traveling from Kingston, Ontario, Canada, this coming week to Dakar, Senegal, in Africa, to train and compete in the traditional style of wrestling known as Laamb. There he will train with Kairé Deux at the Soumbédioune Training Center (l'écurie Soumbédioune), as well as conduct seminars in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA.

He is working on this project with the Lion Heart Initiative.

We spoke with Mike Martelle by phone Thursday.

"Ever since I was a little kid when I started martial arts decades ago, it was always my lifelong dream to compete on every continent," he said. "This trip to Africa will complete that goal. This will be the last of the six viable continents that I will be traveling to and competing upon."

He continued, "We'll be competing in a traditional form of wrestling, the national sport of Senegal, called Laamb."

There are two versions of Laamb: amateur and professional.

"Essentially you're looking to win via taking your opponent down, or putting him out-of-bounds. And in the professional version, you can also use closed-fist punches to, shall we say, encourage the takedown," he said.

"So I'm very excited about it. It's going to be fantastic."

We discussed more about the Lion Heart Initiative, the potential for Laamb (also called Senegalese Wrestling) to become a popular sport worldwide, why this is "sport at its purest, at its most primal", upcoming plans for catch wrestling and combat wrestling events this year, and much, 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: Africa, catch, combat, Eddie Goldman, Grizzly Gym, Grizzly's Quest, Laamb, Lion Heart Initiative, Mike Martelle, No Holds Barred, Senegal, wrestling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with Mike Martelle, the owner and head instructor of the Grizzly Gym.

Located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, the gym offers instruction and training in numerous martial arts and combat sports, reflecting Mike Martelle's extensive and varied background and experience.

For the last several years, Mike has also been involved in the revival of catch wrestling. He has been running the biannual Let's Shoot catch wrestling tournaments in Canada since 2008.

This year, Grizzly Gym, along with Fight Club Guatemala and Grizzly Gym Central America, brought this event to Guatemala, the first time it took place outside North America.

On August 17, Let's Shoot 2014 - the Mesoamerican Catch Wrestling Championships was held at the Parque de la Industria in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

We spoke with Mike Martelle by phone Thursday.

"As far as I can tell, and of course I mean this with no disrespect to any of the other events -- the events have been great and I'm glad to see more of them -- but as far as we can tell," he said, "it appears as though Let's Shoot 2014 in Guatemala City was the largest attended, participated catch wrestling tournament possibly not only of this year, but possibly of the entire modern era of catch wrestling."

Mentioning the many other catch wrestling events held recently around the world, he noted that Let's Shoot 2014 had more than 70 competitors.

"With all due modesty, and I'm very proud that it appears as though we've produced the largest one yet."

A short video highlight of this event can be seen here.

We thus discussed the significance of Let's Shoot 2014, how it has moved catch wrestling forward internationally, the rules of the event, and the backgrounds of the wrestlers.

He stated that one wrestler, Luis Ciraiz, should be viewed as a "pioneer" of catch wrestling and other grappling styles in Central America. His father, Luis Ciraiz Sr., had trained at the legendary Lion's Den. Now Luis Ciraiz, with a background in amateur wrestling, is regarded as among the best in Central America in catch wrestling, grappling, and MMA.

We also discussed the need to grow catch wrestling on the grassroots level, plans for a Let's Shoot World Championships in 2015, how all those in catch wrestling need to form a "united front" to pool resources and move the sport to the next level, 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: Canada, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, Grizzly Gym, Guatemala, Let's Shoot, Mike Martelle, No Holds Barred