NO HOLDS BARRED

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

We spoke with him by phone Tuesday.

This week he will be traveling to Singapore to conduct seminars on the takedowns and submissions of catch wrestling, and also sanda. The submission series seminar is scheduled for Saturday, September 16, and the takedown series seminar for Saturday, September 23. Details can be gotten from the Kapap Academy Singapore.

Organizing such seminars in Singapore recognizes its importance as one of the world capitals of martial arts and combat sports.

"Singapore is the epicenter of martial arts in Asia nowadays," he said, where the headquarters of One Championship, Evolve MMA, and the Kapap Academy Singapore are located. One Championship, he added, has been called "potentially the biggest martial arts promotion in the world"

Siingapore, thus, is "really the place to be for catch wrestling for it to grow in the future."

We discussed more on what he plans to teach during his week long stay in Singapore, the importance of teaching and learning self-defense, the potential for the growth of catch wrestling throughout Asia, plans for catch wrestling competition in Singapore, using the latest video technology, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link does not work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is available at Google Play Music.

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 here.

The PodOmatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS 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 sponsored by:

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, resurrecting and promoting the sport of authentic catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance provides tournaments, seminars, and training as well as education about catch wrestling. Join the movement and keep real wrestling alive. For more information, go to CatchWrestlingAlliance.com.

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Labels: Asia, catch wrestling, China, Eddie Goldman, India, Kapap Academy, No Holds Barred, Raul Ramirez, Sanda, self-defense, Singapore

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with fighter manager Bill Eng.

Bill was born in New York but has lived in China for many years, and was visiting New York this week. We spoke with him Sunday in New York's Chinatown.

The MMA and combat sports scenes are booming in China today, but not a lot about them is known by many people in the West.

"There are a lot of organizers, organizations local in each province, in each major capital city itself," he said, running fight events.

"There is a disconnect between the Western world and them, because they don't Facbook it, they don't Twitter it, but in Chinese media, they are there."

Many shows feature both MMA and Sanda fights on the same card. Sanda is a standup style of fighting which also allows throws, but no grappling.

"There's a lot of top Chinese talent that are in the Sanda circle and also in the MMA circle," he said.

"Just alone I have 100-something fighters. We have events almost every week. That's how busy we are."

One of the most popular shows in China is Chinese Kung Fu, or CKF. It features both MMA and Sanda fights in a Sanda ring. CKF airs on Tuesday nights on CCTV-5, China's national sports channel, and has a huge audience.

"We've got top talent there," he said. "You fight on that show, and you win a title, basically everybody is going to know you. You walk down the street and people are going to know you. Because that's what everybody is watching. That's what the middle class, that's what the proletariat, everybody."

CKF is "a main Chinese show because it's on CCTV. It reaches all across China. It's on public TV. It's in the public newspapers and media."

There are also many other popular shows. King of Combat, or Bojiwang, also features a hybrid of MMA and Sanda. Beijing Fight Night is on CCTV as well, featuring four MMA fights and four Sanda fights on its shows. Wulingfeng (The Martial Path) is, he said, the most popular show in China, featuring mostly Sanda and also some MMA fights. It airs on Hunan Cable.

With the use of the Internet, Wi-Fi, set-top boxes, and smartphones, many fights can be seen all throughout China.

We also discussed how Sanda is still far more popular in China than MMA, how many fighters in China are relatively well-paid, the rules used in MMA events in China, how non-Chinese MMA companies are not well-known in China and have had mixed success at best, how grappling is still not that big but is growing in China, 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:

MMA World Expo. The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City December 12 and 13, 2015, for the sixth annual MMA World Expo, featuring two days of the Renzo Gracie Open 2015 no-gi and gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, MMA fighters, seminars with world-class trainers, vendors, panel discussions, catch wrestling competition, and much more. The MMA World Expo takes place Saturday, December 12, and Sunday, December 13, 2015, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

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Gracie Tournaments, featuring regional, national, and world competitions in submission-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For more information, go to GracieWorlds.com.

The National Registry for Wrestling, whose mission is to increase wrestling's fanbase, to build a registry of all wrestling fans, to serve as a connecting point for all wrestling fans, and to provide TV and Internet listings for wrestling. For more information, go to NR4W.com.

Labels: Bill Eng, CCTV, China, CKF, Eddie Goldman, kung fu, MMA, No Holds Barred, Sanda