Looking Back on 2018 and Forward to 2019

Looking Back on 2018 and Forward to 2019

I am not one for New Year’s resolutions. I think the idea is certainly noble. I think any kind of resolution to become better than your former self is a noble effort. I commend it. However, the faddish and sometimes commercial nature of New Year’s resolution is not something I can get into. What I can get into is self-reflection for the past year and the next one. For 2018, this was my first full…

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What is PAKMMA?

What is PAKMMA?

I sit down at the laptop and write my opinion about Pakistani MMA for the first time in years. I feel like I am back to where I started – writing about Pakistani MMA, the collective Pakistani martial arts journey of Pakistan and my journey within it. I started the mission of PAKMMA with nothing more than a facebook page, a blog and a couple of years of training under my belt. I had no…

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The State of Martial Arts in Pakistan Today – 6 years later

The State of Martial Arts in Pakistan Today – 6 years later

It’s crazy. I made a post like this about 6 years ago. I was thinking about how much things have changed since then and now and I decided I had to make another post, more than 5 years later. Here is what I can say now. MMA is going to continue its juggernaut march forward. Despite being less than 10 years old, I firmly believe that MMA is now the premiere combat sport in the…

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I will encounter defeats, but I will never be defeated

I will encounter defeats, but I will never be defeated

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” ― Maya Angelou I remember being in the locker room – inconsolable and in shock. “No….no….no,” I cried over and over again, my head in my hands, running from one place to another. It…

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Breaking through to the new level with Team Quest Thailand

Breaking through to the new level with Team Quest Thailand

This post has been written by Bashir Ahmad, President of PAK MMA in which he tells about his recent training expereince at Team Quest Thailand Thailand is like a second (or third) home for me. I come to train Muay Thai and MMA but in reality I enjoy myself because of the good standard of living and the friendly and fun nature of Thai people. I have come to Thailand maybe a dozen or more times since…

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How I went from 74 kg to 66 kg in 24 hours

How I went from 74 kg to 66 kg in 24 hours

For my fight against “The Lanna Warrior” at ONEFC 21 on October 17th in Kuala Lumpur, I cut the largest amount of weight I have cut in my professional career. I cut about 8-9 kg over the course of 24 hours. Now, before I continue and tell you what my techniques were, I need make this disclaimer. I AM EXPLAINING HOW I “CUT WEIGHT.” “CUTTING WEIGHT” AND “WEIGHT LOSS” ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. “CUTTING WEIGHT”…

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Ramadan Training Guide

Ramadan Training Guide

This is not going to be your usual guide to training. It’s not only about training during the month of Ramadan, but also about the integration of martial arts principles in Ramadan. Every year when Ramadan comes around, people who workout become confused as to what to do about their training, while others view it as as an opportunity for weight loss. Some worry about getting weaker and taking a break from exercise, some are…

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Use the techniques!

Use the techniques!

“Use the techniques!” I would often say that as a joke when I first started BJJ. I was watching one of the earlier UFC’s with Jim Brown, and the way he would refer to the Gracie’s use of jiu jitsu, I thought was hilarious – “Use the techniques…” He would say it in a way that made you think that a) only ground fighting used “techniques” and b) that the use of “techniques” was being…

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Rock’s BJJ Grand Opening

Rock’s BJJ Grand Opening

I am certainly not new to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). I was first introduced to the sport in the fall of 2005 at my university in Fairfax, VA where I took it as a one credit course. Six months after that one credit class I started training properly (2-3 times per week) under Toni Passos. I trained with Toni for 2 years, earning my blue belt in that time before graduating from George Mason and…

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The Heat

The Heat

For the past three years that I have been back in Pakistan, there is one period each year that I dread but am equally fascinated with. This period is hell on earth, also known as the Pakistani summer. With temperatures reaching past 50 centigrade (122 F), doing anything, let alone training in a sport like MMA, becomes very difficult. Compounding this misery is the fact that Pakistan has been going through a major power crisis…

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