NO HOLDS BARRED

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

She is an instructor for women's and children's self-defense at the Kapap Academy Singapore.

Her next travel destination is the U.K., specifically the historic home of catch wrestling, the Snake Pit Wigan, for their annual International Week events. While she is still recovering from knee surgery and may not be able to wrestle in their tournament, she will attend the training sessions with several goals in mind.

We spoke with Qin Yunquan by Skype Friday.

"Our goal is actually to start a catch wrestling tournament in Singapore, probably next year, probably the second half of next year," she said.

"One of the key reasons why I'm going to Snake Pit Wigan is so, because I understand at the end of the camp, there would be a competition, a catch wrestling competition, and I'm actually there to find out how a catch wrestling competition is organized, and things as such."

While rehabbing her knee, she has also been going to watch both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and no-gi grappling in Singapore. She noted that the level of grappling in Singapore has risen in recent years, but it also has been influenced by catch wrestling.

We discussed how catch wrestling is different from jiu-jitsu and should not look like it, how wrestling has not grown as much as other combat sports in Singapore have, the self-defense training (especially for women) she provides, her plans to compete much more next 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.

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, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, grappling, Kapap Academy, No Holds Barred, Qin Yunquan, Singapore, Snake Pit, Wigan

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with catch wrestlers Nick Caggia, Jamie Driver, and Phil Caracappa.

They all were crowned champions at the 2014 Catch Wrestling World Championship, presented by the Snake Pit U.S.A., which took place Sunday, July 27, at the MMA World Expo at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.

In these best two-out-of-three-falls matches, and competing in the absolute division, Nick Caggia took home the championship belt after defeating four opponents without surrendering a fall.

The finals, however, saw the 314-pound Caggia face the tournament's flyweight champion, Phil Caracappa, who weighed just 148 pounds. The weight advantage: 166 pounds, with Nick Caggia being more than double Phil Caracappa's weight.

There were no pins or submissions scored in the three five-minute periods of this match, so it went to overtime. Finally, at 4:41 of the overtime period, Nick Caggia was able to wear down Phil Caracappa, score a pin, and win the championship. Before that, Phil Caracappa had won five matches, including three in the absolute division, winning every fall by pin or submission while losing none.

The Nick Caggia-Phil Caracappa match, with its comparisons to the David vs. Goliath story, its marathon progression, and its dramatic overtime finish, will no doubt go down as an epic and historic battle, a match of the year candidate, and one of the most important and remarkable in the current history of the newly-revived sport of catch wrestling.

Jamie Driver did not go into the women's absolute tournament as the favorite or the best-known wrestler of the four women competing in it. However, she clearly dominated her two opponents and won all four falls of her two matches, to win the championship belt.

We spoke with Nick Caggia, Jamie Driver, and Phil Caracappa right after this tournament.

Speaking about wrestling Phil Caracappa in the finals, Nick Caggia said, "He was like a maniac. He kept coming forward all the time and he gave me a run for my money, no doubt about it. Hats off to Phil. He was a great wrestler, and he gave me a hell of a match."

Phil Caracappa said, "Because I knew I was faster, a lot lighter than him, I was just trying to get angles on him, maybe slip, get a duckunder or something." He thought he had secured a face crank in the third period, but Nick Caggia was able to escape, and the match went to overtime. Finally, the weight advantage became decisive. "That was the big difference," he said.

Jamie Driver, who like many grapplers is new to this latest incarnation of catch wrestling, said, "It was definitely a little bit different than what I'm used to. I learned the rules just a couple of weeks ago, but I really liked it. I'm been working my ground a lot, so I wanted to see what I could do, and I took the belt home."

We also spoke with them about how they got involved in catch wrestling, their wrestling and martial arts backgrounds, what other competitions they have been in and plan to enter, and much more.

A photo gallery of the 2014 Catch Wrestling World Championship can be seen here.

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 http://americantopteam.com/.

The Liberty Bell Classic / King of Catch Wrestling Tournament, presented by the North American Catch Wrestling Association and Scientific Wrestling. In this tournament, you can only win by pin or submission, with no points. It all takes place Saturday, August 30, at Primal Gym, 231 Bakers Basin Road, Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648. For more information, go to kingofcatchwrestling.com.

Snake Pit U.S.A., whose primary mission is to breathe new life into real catch-as-catch-can wrestling and help lead the catch wrestling revolution for martial artists and those pursuing recreational training and fitness alike. For more information, go to SnakePitUSA.com.

The Catch Wrestling Alliance, a catch wrestling promotion that works with the highest level catch wrestlers from around the world with the goal of reviving the great sport of catch-as-catch-can wrestling. The Catch Wrestling Alliance organizes catch wrestling sporting events, and its primary organizer is Dr. Raul Ramirez. For more information, go to catchwrestlingalliance.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 http://takedownradio.com.

Labels: catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, Jamie Driver, MMA World Expo, Nick Caggia, No Holds Barred, Phil Caracappa, Snake Pit

Here are some photos from the 2014 Catch Wrestling World Championship, presented by the Snake Pit U.S.A., which took place Sunday, July 27, at the MMA World Expo at the Jacob Javits Center in New York. I took them all, except the last two of me conducting interviews, which were taken by Keisha Morrisey. Interviews from the catch wrestling will be up soon on No Holds Barred. - Eddie Goldman

Rules meeting:

Jamie Driver def. Liz Welch in women's absolute finals:

Sherwin Severin def. David Elias in light heavyweight finals:

Pat Stano def. Joe Caola in heavyweight finals:

Nick Caggia def. Ronny Roose in men's absolute semifinals:

Nick Caggia def. Phil Carracapa in epic men's absolute finals in overtime:

Nick Caggia with belt:

Jamie Driver with belt:

Eddie Goldman interviewing women's absolute catch wrestling champion Jamie Driver:

Eddie Goldman interviewing flyweight champion and men's absolute catch wrestling runner-up Phil Caracappa:

Labels: catch wrestling, David Elias, Eddie Goldman, Jamie Driver, Joe Caola, Liz Welch, MMA World Expo, Nick Caggia, No Holds Barred, Pat Stano, Phil Caracappa, Ronny Roose, Sherwin Severin, Snake Pit

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon of Scientific Wrestling.

They were the lead instructors at the East Coast Certified Catch Wrestler Training Camp 2013, which was held June 15-16 in Englishtown, New Jersey.

We spoke with both Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon right at the conclusion of this camp on Sunday.

"I'm trying to open the minds of people about how good catch-as-catch-can wrestling is," said Billy Robinson in this interview.

"It's superior to all other forms of grappling arts."

But their methods were not simply to show people the moves and holds of catch wrestling.

"My coach, Billy Riley from Wigan, and myself and Billy Joyce and all the old great timers, they tried to teach you how to learn how to learn. We want to teach people to learn how to learn catch."

We also discussed with both Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon why catch died out, why it is now being revived, what it is doing and must continue to do to become popular again, upcoming catch wrestling events, and much, much more.

Some photos from this camp can be seen on the No Holds Barred blog here.

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.

Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.

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, catch-as-catch-can, Dan Kanagie, Eddie Goldman, Garry Davis, Gillian Silver, grappling, Jake Shannon, Joel Bane, John Potenza, Modern Martial Arts, No Holds Barred, Snake Pit

The East Coast Certified Catch Wrestler Training Camp 2013 took place June 15-16 in Englishtown, New Jersey, at the headquarters of Modern Martial Arts. I came at the very end of the second day to do some interviews and take a few photos. The interviews with catch legend Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon of Scientific Wrestling will be up shortly on No Holds Barred. Here are some of the better photos I managed to take.












 

Labels: Billy Robinson, catch wrestling, catch-as-catch-can, Dan Kanagie, Eddie Goldman, Garry Davis, Gillian Silver, grappling, Jake Shannon, Joel Bane, John Potenza, Modern Martial Arts, No Holds Barred, Snake Pit

Labels: catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, Fedor, Margarito, Monson, No Holds Barred, Roy Wood, sambo, Snake Pit, Wigan

Labels: Andrea, catch wrestling, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Roy, Snake Pit, Wigan, Wood

Labels: Eddie Goldman, Iowa State, Kevin Jackson, No Holds Barred, Snake Pit, wrestling