The Silver Fern

Hey all,

Long time reader of this part of the forum, first time poster.

About this time last year, after several years of following the UFC, I signed up at a local MMA gym to do a couple of training sessions a week. I signed up with a mate (who has since left the gym) because we always used to sit there drinking piss and watching the fights saying that it looked like it'd be a cool sport to learn. He then went and signed up to a gym so I followed. At the time I figured there are worse places to have a midlife crisis, and it's cheaper and less weird than buying an MX5 roadster.

I've never been a brawler or fighter, and had done no training in any other combat sports prior to this outside of a few boxing and self-defence sessions when I was at Police college. I'm 38, so was one of the older guys in the class, with most being 18 - 25, and having had several years of experience in the sport, or things such as kickboxing or BJJ prior to joining. After a few months of feeling like a fish out of water, things started clicking, and I was able to progress from the wider class (there's a variety of ages and skill levels) to full contact sparring with some of the more experienced, but smaller, guys. I also graded to a yellow belt (karate belt system, but somewhat tailored to including all aspects of MMA). My next belt grading will be later this year.

Fast-forward to the start of this year, and my trainer asked me if I wanted to enter a proper MMA fight this year. It hadn't really ever crossed my mind, I was happy enough just doing the training, but I was really enjoying the full contact sparring, more than I ever thought I would. I had a couple of crises in my personal life last year, so sparring at the gym was a fantastic way to let out stress. I also found there's also something quite therapeutic about being punched in the face or kicked in the ribs.

I'm 6 foot 5, and currently weighing in at 110kg, but my trainer has been unable to match a fight for me despite trying at several grass roots events. Apparently it's hard to find like for like matches in amateur heavyweight MMA, because it's effectively an open weight class. I spoke to him last week about it, and he suggested I try to cut weight to light-heavyweight division, where finding a comparable match would be a lot easier because there are more fighters. Light heavyweight is circa 95kg, so it'll involve a 15kg weight loss to get there. I've definitely got 10kg of weight I could lose, so as much as anything, it just feels like a goal to try and get there.

I figured I'd chuck something up on here for a bit of a time capsule and to promote accountability to myself, plus sharing any milestones. I'm not really very active around the boards these days, and unsure if anyone actually follows this part of the forum very much, but the end goal of this will be to post a video of me fighting (and hopefully not getting the shit beat out of me) at some point in the next six months.

Feel free to chip in with words of wisdom, advice or just random MMA chat. I find the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu aspect of the training fascinating. It's probably the weakest part of my current skillset, but it's the one which interests me the most. So if there's any BJJ practitioners in here, I'd love to hear from you.

@mooshld said in ALI IN TROUBLE - DRUG ARREST!:

The problem with a famous guy saying he was buying it for a mate is that if they are really your mate they should come forward and take the heat off of you. If they don't then they're not really that good a mate are they, so you can probably just go ahead and name them.

Yup, and if he was indeed buying it for a "mate" who wasn't present, it would indicate that he obviously has a good working relationship with the coke dealer, otherwise why would he be brokering the deal on behalf, given how much he has to lose...

If I had a dollar for every person I locked up who blamed whatever illegal thing they had in their possession or action they'd just done on a mate, I'd almost be able to afford an All Blacks supporters jersey.

I dont understand how Foster got the job in the first place.

Has everyone forgotten his prior history of poor coaching calls spanning back to the mid-2000's when, as well as ignoring other Steamers players, he snubbed Glen Jackson for David Hill?

The BoP Mafia haven't forgotten, that's for sure.

I liked the walker brothers for the very reason that they were an unknown quantity. The reality is that bar a handful of players, the current Warriors squad is a dumpster fire made up of guys past their use-by, guys who probably wouldn't make many other squads, and other mediocre players. Even under someone like Bellamy I doubt this squad could be top 4. At least taking a chance on the brothers would give them a chance to prove their mettle with a team who sadly won't do much without a complete overhaul.

Im a loyal as hell fan, but the Blake Green saga summed up the current Warriors outfit for me - publicly tell him he's not wanted, give him the option of immediate release and then publicly complain when he leaves that his heart wasn't in it. What did they expect was going to happen?

Cheers for the support team. It's actually really fun training. I used to dread it to start with because I was overweight and unfit - I've dropped 13kg since August last year, but now I look forward to it each week.

I train a couple of days a week in the gym, and am doing a lot of running, skipping and punching/kicking bag work at home.

Despite its brutality, it's been really good for my flexibility and general body conditioning. I'm constantly covered in bruises on my torso and limbs, have had a couple of black eyes, tore my MCL in my elbow (didn't tap out in time on an armbar) and I think I've got a broken toe at the moment (rib kick which hit an elbow). Other than that, I feel probably in better shape than I've been for a good decade.

I've been a diehard Warriors supporter since the beginning but it's hard to think of a worse time for the club than right now.

The owner seems like a real ballbag - why is he even in the pub arguing with the players? Then we hamstring the club's salary cap by releasing our best prop.

We fired Kearney, who was faring okay, given the situation he found himself in and took on a bum of a coach with a 20 something percent win record who, unsurprisingly, turned out to be a bum and ended up with a similar win percentage.

Jazz Tevaga is hearty as hell, and arguably tries the hardest week in, week out. But he's 98kg and is our starting prop. I'm picking there isn't a lighter prop in the comp this year, or in recent years. How are our forwards meant to dominate when they're 15 - 20kg light?

Stacey Jones is a club legend, but that doesn't translate to being a good coach. I'd prefer we cleaned the current regime out and got the Walker brothers in. We need to take a chance, because what we've been doing hasn't worked in the past.

Even more frustrating from an NRL-wide perspective is that contracts don't appear to be worth the paper they're written on. Guys signing with a New Zealand club and then saying that they're not willing to relocate to NZ and being granted immediate releases. Payne Haas being signed on potential by the Broncos for less than he's currently worth and now trying to renegotiate his contract halfway through because he thinks he's being underpaid. The contract/agent system is well and truly broken.

Two thoughts:

I'm genuinely surprised the TAB had the BoP at -24.5 favourites in this one. Southland were decent last week.

The commentators said they're surprised Selby-Rickit missed the All Blacks team. Personally it's hard to see the ABs selecting someone who has a recent conviction involving kicking someone in the head resulting in a fractured jaw.

@voodoo said in AWL's octagon-shaped midlife crisis:

Mate, if you go from 123kgs to 95kgs, you'll feel like a completely new man!

Yeah 6 foot 5 and being quite solid I've always hidden weight quite easily, but even at 13kg down I notice a lot more energy and stamina and I've got a lot more definition in my arms and shoulders from the grappling aspects of it.

I got named in the tournament team at a masters sporting event i went to recently, so its already paying dividends in other sporting endeavors too.

I can't quite believe Payton was the best of those choices but it kinda sums up the Warriors attitude of not changing anything thats broke.

I'd like to see them take a chance on those two brothers for a couple of years. They sound forward thinking and driven. Whats the worst that can happen? Another disappointing season?

While I agree with the sentiment, I'm happy with those players. Always put in an honest effort, will tackle themselves to a standstill and aren't prone to brain explosions. Thompson scored a few tries last season and always seems to run good lines. He's not gonna set the world on fire like Ali Lauititi might have in his prime, but also unlikely to do something stupid to cost them a game. The same goes for Mannering and Hoffman. They're reliable and hardworking.

Too often in the past the Warriors have relied on those X-factor players, who can do as much harm as they can good, which kills them at crucial moments.

If Matulino can get back to his best, I feel like he may end up the attacking weapon of the forward pack. With that spine we've got, I don't necessarily think it's a deal breaker to not have a weapon in the back row.

It beggars belief that he would buy the stuff just for JOC. Both are likely to be household names to those who love rugby in France. It's not like JOC got some guy who played reserve grade club rugby to do it for him so no one would recognise him.

It would seem to me that they're both on a bender, JOC has already had some coke and AW is looking to get amongst it as well. Either that, or AW is the worlds best friend, to take one for the team like that...

I don't even know that the bro culture is endemic to NZ rugby league players as such, but more a Warriors-specific thing. There are plenty of kiwi league players in other NRL clubs who graft away, are accountable for performances and perform accordingly. Part of me thinks its just a club culture that has formed over the past 25 years.

The plight of Daniel Anderson would suggest that whenever they have a coach who tries to crush it, the players collectively revolt, and the coach goes.

I wonder if its because many of the senior players spend so long toiling overseas that when they come back to NZ they see it as a bit of a step down in gear being back around their family, back in familiar surroundings etc. One only has to look at the number of kiwi players who left the warriors and almost immediately thrived elsewhere to think its a club-specific culture that just can't be eradicated

@Donsteppa - remember when the Mafia had Ian "Ferret" Foster at the top of our "know your enemy" list - circa 2004, for continual disservice to BOP players during chiefs selection?

We were well ahead of our time...

@mariner4life said in NRL 2021:

Warriors were a couple of fumbled tries from blowing them away, but it was a good win, albeit against easily the worst team in the comp

I'm just gonna come out and say what we're all thinking - 2021 is our year!

@bovidae said in MLB thread:

This game was such a good advertisement for the sport. I happened upon it by chance - I loosely follow MLB but don't watch many games in their entirety but this was compelling. Not to mention it coming down to the bottom of the 9th as well. I imagine the MLB spent a pretty penny building the stadium, but what a great spectacle.

Some thoughts from the weekend of footy:

Was that Warriors game the most Warriors game you've ever seen? They start at $2.70 underdogs, race out to a huge lead looking untouchable and then don't show up for the final 45 minutes to lose? The only thing that could have made it more Warriors-esque was if we needed the W to make the playoffs.

I'm just never confident in our ability now when it comes to close games or when it gets to golden point. Even though Friday's game didn't get there, I'd hate to see the stats, but we'd have to be league leaders by far in the golden point era for teams who lose by 1 point? I actually can't remember the last game we won in extra time.

That Latrell shot was the worst I've seen in quite a while. Yes, he probably didn't set out to injure, and Manu was falling slightly, but it was incredibly reckless. Given his previous judiciary record, 6 weeks seems on the light side, given how badly damaged Manu's face was. Given how farcical the red card system was earlier in the season, it's even more disgraceful that he wasn't sent for that.

The Cowboys v Dragons game was quite a decent one in terms of massive momentum swings as well. I had a 6 leg same game multi hinging on Dragons +8.5 points, so the length of the field Cowboys try with nothing left on the clock screwed it for me.

Also, looks like the Storm are under new ownership as of yesterday...

In Evans' defence, if you're gonna go to the bin for punching, may as well wind up on it

@Bovidae said in NRL 2022:

@aucklandwarlord said in NRL 2022:

The owner seems like a real ballbag - why is he even in the pub arguing with the players? Then we hamstring the club's salary cap by releasing our best prop.

I still can't believe Robinson (and George) did this. Robinson is supposedly a successful businessman but why didn't they call Lodge's bluff. He has been vocal in not wanting to move to NZ, so would likely have not taken up his option for 2023. Let's see who really was the alpha male and had the balls.

I am assuming if the player asks for a release the conditions for the salary cap are different.

Given they had to pay him out his full contract, they should have absolutely called his bluff. Tell him he's moving back to NZ and will be playing for the Mount Albert Lions if his attitude is shit. Either that, or he walks away without a payout and is free to play where he wants.

@nzzp said in Blues vs Moana Pasifika 2022:

Great argument for a twenty minute red

I'm a fairly casual observer of super rugby these days, never been a huge fan of the blues, but definitely not a fan of that decision.

Disclaimer: I also don't know the finer nuances of the new red card rules, so I'm more than happy to be told my opinion is stupid.

Surely Clark is the more vulnerable player in the air, and the ref using the justification that "he was reckless and mistimed it because he moved from the chargedown action to trying to protect himself mid air". I'd have thought that when he realised there was going to be a collision, it's natural reflex to protect oneself and that's not hugely indicative of anything more than a guy not wanting to land on his head.

Surely at some point in contact sport, you have to accept that unfortunate contact does happen. Much like a head clash. Penalty at best and move on.

@canefan said in Nadene Lomu:

Could have been worse, could have been a $200K Porsche. But it does not look good. The shenanigans with Jonah's company and copyrights looks even worse, it appears that the apple did not fall far from her father's tree

I don't actually know what's worse. The fact she has the porsche, or the fact she justifies it by saying that it's been purchased on finance so that's okay.

So she's crying poor and saying she needs money for her kids schooling, but she can afford monthly repayments on a 75k porsche. Ridiculous. Some people have zero self awareness