Building to a peak: A critical part of contest success is the notion of progression to a peak performance on given date of competition. This of course, is the basis behind the idea of a camp in preparation for a bout. Often a very valuable part of this notion of peaking is the use of preparatory bouts before the main event to help prepare you for what you consider may be problematic elements in the main upcoming event. Outstanding kohai student Oliver Taza is making his EBI debut on March 5th. As one of the smaller welterweights he wanted to prepare himself for the physical intensity of top level grappling – a part of the game that often surprises debutants. Accordingly he entered a superfight this weekend against bigger and stronger UFC Middle weight Caio Magalhaes (if Mr Taza did MMA it would be at lightweight). Mr Magalhaes is a blackbelt in jiu jitsu from the great Nova Uniao team and grappling was his MMA foundation. In a very tough physical match, fought inside a cage, Mr Taza worked his way to an excellent submission win via heel hook variation after twelve minutes of hard fought action. An excellent result in itself – but all the more so as preparation for the main event and the physicality to be expected there.
