Here's a link to a very interesting, informative interview with Gracie Barra black belt and MMA fighter, Cindy "Sleeper" Hales. Courtesy of the good folks at On the Mat.
Interview with Cindy “Sleeper” Hales
A lot of interesting things. You can definitely see the wrestling start to emerge even more in Cindy's grappling (she's teaching the no-gi class Thursday nights at Gracie Barra Seattle). Last night, she showed us a very nice "duck under" like move off the basic no-gi tie up that I am definitely going to make a staple of my stand up: gi or no gi.
I've always loved the duck-under, but too often the technique seems to have called for too much level-changing. Cindy's version emphasizes neck control and changing the grip to the inside of the guy's upper arm rather than the outside as in the usual tie up, which I think make it possible to do the duck-under with a shorter, quicker level change. Pull that neck like you are doing an armdrag and the results are impressive.
What's also nice about the interview is that it ties together the women's MMA world a bit, putting Cindy in context with some of the other women in the sport - from Megumi (who Cindy has competed against) to La Rosa to Carano. I can only see more opportunities opening up for women's MMA and increasingly it looks Cindy will be a big part of it.
