Onyx MMA Blog

We all had different starting points in the journey of martial arts, but there is no doubt we all have the same goals in mind; to be the very best at what we do, defining who we are, and making a difference to our lives. Without a question, most of us will lose sight of our goal and start to question ourselves: Why did I even pick this sport up in the first place. If you were someone like me, who was once extremely committed to training, turning up at the gym at least 5 times a week, up to the extent that the friendly coaches at Onyx start to holler at you: 'GO HOME! YOU NEED TO REST MAN!'

That daily ritual of packing your gear, getting to the gym, grind, and head home becomes a part of your life. You'll be telling yourself, Yeah, I can do this forever, I can juggle it with my work/studies/life commitments. The following week, you start your job/internship at a prestigious company, your baby steps towards the top of the corporate level.

Weeks go past and you start to realize, you haven't been to the gym in weeks or months. You try to kickstart that fiery momentum of a beast you've had while preparing for your fight. Then you'll realize, you start to give yourself an excuse to just save the training for another day. This is the one way ticket to exiting the sport and failing to achieve your goal, quitting the sport for good. Here's a blogpost on what you can do to prevent falling into the slippery slope of failure.

  1.) Set realistic training schedules

 As you grow older or have more and more commitments, it's not easy to juggle work/success/sports. To do this, you have to start managing your expectations, you either have to be super disciplined to train everyday after work (We all know that's tough given Singapore's hectic work culture), or start to taper down your training sessions, instead of planning to come 5 times a week like you used to while you were a single, hormone-raging teenager, a 5 day training schedule is probably going to intimidate you and you're probably going to start skipping sessions. Instead, Plan a more realistic schedule just like how a responsible contributing good citizen of our motherland would. 1-2 days a week. Make the training count, make it matter, train as hard as you can. It's not the number of days, it's the quality of training that matters.

2.) Have supportive friends

Personally, I feel that this is an important aspect. One of the motivating factors for me during school days was because I had a clique of kick-ass 'Avengers' like friends who would be hyped up before trainings. We fed off each others' positive energy. As time passes. Some of your friends might have found other interest, some might be like you, having internal struggles of their own. Don't rely and hope that your friend suddenly finds the fire again and motivate you to start again. Instead, be the positive influence. Take the initiative, drop him a text: " Hey F**ker, we've been away from the gym for too long! It's time to go back for some kick-ass glory days!" Don't wait for the change, be the change. Be that spark that kick starts everything again.

3.) Go overseas and experience training there

If you haven't been to Thailand to train, you should. It's definitely an eye-opener and a potential resuscitator to your dead martial arts career. After witnessing how committed and intense these thais are with their training. Hopefully it will wake you up and motivated you after you witnessed being a good martial artist looks like. Giving you a concrete visible and tangible goal to work towards might be that secret recipe.

4.) Look or try to recall your  past experiences

This takes a little mental work and nostalgia right here. Recall the time when you first learnt how to throw the perfect kick, remember the feeling when you won your last fight. All this positive thoughts and memories will make you feel good mentally and physically. As you start to feel good, your body craves for that sensation again. How do you get that feeling again? That's right, TRAIN.

With all that being said, there are much more ways to get it starting again. As I'm writing this post, the fire is slowly starting to build up, and hell, i have time to make it for the 3PM class. Time to get my ass moving again, Signing off.

Hi All, it's been a while since I last wrote. Today we are going to do an interview with Onyx MMA's BJJ coach, Shinya KAKITA. With the recent collaboration of Synergy BJJ MMA Bali and Onyx MMA Singapore, Shinya is our newest addition to the Onyx family. We are going to get to know this awesome instructor a little better.


Onyx: Hi Shinya, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ community at Onyx MMA?

Shinya: Hi, My name is Shinya KAKITA. I'm from Tokyo, Japan. I am a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Niko Han. I began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on the 4th July 2008 at Synergy MMA BJJ in Bali, Indonesia. I received myTo blue belt from Niko Han on June 30th 2009. In October 2010, I started Boxing under Ahmad Mandan at Mirah Boxing Camp in Bali, Indonesia. I moved to Singapore in February of 2012. I received my purple belt from Niko Han on October 5th, 2012


Onyx: What is your BJJ story?

Shinya: I started BJJ while I was posted not Indonesia,. Bali to be exact. I was browsing through the internet and found Synergy MMA BJJ. So, I called up the instructor on his cell phone and visited his class, immediately I knew what I was looking for and I joined the next day.

So far, I have participated in Djarum Super Java Submission Championship 2009 (Silver), Djarum Super Indonesia Submission Championship 2010 (Silver), ADCC Philippines Championship 2013 (Bronze), South East Asian Grappling Challenge 2014 (Bronze) and South East Asian Grappling Challenge 2014 (Gold)

Onyx: Please tell us about the academy that you started BJJ in Bali.


Shinya: I started BJJ in Bali under Nikon Han of Synergy MMA BJJ. Synergy MMA BJJ (Synergy Jiu-Jitsu Academy®)is the first academy in Indonesia that offers world class trainings in the Arts. Synergy has produced notable fighters in MMA/One FC scene such as Francino Tirta, Max Metino, Casey Suire, Leo Krishna, Steger Rahardian, Vincent Majid and Yohan Mulia Legowo.

Head Instructor Niko Han is a black belt under Dickson Gracie who received his black belt from Mark Limon. Niko Han is a certified BJJ Black Belt under Rickson Gracie  and the Jiu-Jitsu Global Federation and the founder of Synergy Jiu-Jitsu Academy® in Indonesia. He started his training under Rickson Gracie in Los Angeles, which inspired him to open and expand his teachings of Rickson Gracie and Mixed Martial Arts in Indonesia. Niko established Synergy Jiu-Jitsu Academy® on July 2003 and later founded the Indonesian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation and the Indonesian Grappling Federation. He has been organising BJJ, Submission Grappling and MMA events and seminars throughput the nation since 2005. He is a wonderful instructor to train under and also a friend. Niko often hang out with the boys. He treats every student as his good friend and shares his knowledge of the Art with every student equally.

Onyx: Do you have any advise or pointers for our BJJ newbie here at Onyx MMA?

Shinya:  It's all about baby steps... and it's never too late bro, it's just the beginning! This applies to all levels.

Whenever you get tapped out, identify what you did wrong and work on it so it won't happen again. Every time I get tapped out, of course I'll be a bit upset with myself but I always get excited to fix it and ask the guy who tapped me and instructors how they did it and how to prevent it.

Then I keep training with the guy until he can't tap me with the same move anymore. Problem solved. :)

Remember, training at the Dojo (Onyx MMA) is not a competition, it's time to experiment and try new things out, strengthen your weaknesses so they become your strengths.


If you every roll as if it's a competition , you will never progress because you never try new things out and only  rely on your 'money' moves that you are already good at.

If I get taped, it makes me hungry to fix it so I don't make the same mistakes again. This is exactly what I was taught by my master, Niko Han.

Onyx: Alright Shinya, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. We will meet on the mats soon.

Shinya: Thank you Onyx. See you soon on the mats. Remember that BJJ is actually all about self-defense and that is how it should be taught, all based on 'street ' no-rules mentality  situations as no one is technically prepared for it but it can easily be tested in a sport-environment with rules and regulations. BJJ is designed for smaller and those who are not gifted with superior physical traits to  defeat larger band stronger opponents in real life

I think practioners of the art should realise that competition is an good place to test those skills in a safe, non-lethal environment.

So if you are looking at learning a new art or maybe or maybe learning a bit of self-defense, come join us every Monday to Friday at 630pm at Onyx MMA or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Shinya KAKITA

See ya!!!

The Left that ended the night early.

Hesitating to sign up for Muay Thai because you feel that you aren’t athletic enough to take on this ‘hardcore’ sport? Or are you hesitating because you feel that you can’t have the time commitment?



Leading a hectic lifestyle today, we conveniently state a few excuses to brush off the idea of exercising. Just 2 years back, I was one of those who refused to accept the idea of working out as a lifestyle routine. Simply because of a multitude of reasons, I was never athletic since young; Muay Thai looks too ‘hardcore’ for me; and I’m afraid I’d make a fool out of myself and of course, by far the most common excuse– I have no time for Muay Thai.

Before and after. A stark transformation.

I didn't deliberately chose to start Muay Thai. It all started on this very fine Sunday late morning in September 2012 when I had to make my way to a Muay Thai gym where a friend of mine was training. No, I wasn’t there for a class. And no, I wasn’t there for a trial. I was just purely there to wait for a friend. So as I was early, I sat at the side of the ring, watching the trainees all geared up in shin pads and gloves, ready for a sparring session. It then struck my mind that, “Hey! That doesn’t look as ‘hardcore’ as I thought it would be. I mean, if these girls could manage going through the whole session of training and sparring, I’m sure I can do it as well right?”

However, that thought wasn’t strong enough to purge me out of my comfort zone to take the first step in signing up for a trial. The feeling then was probably common amongst everybody. It was like "huh, don't want lah." It was only after months of mental struggle and persuasion, that I finally took up my first Muay Thai trial in January 2013, simply because New Year calls for a New Year resolution. I wasn’t having any expectations out of the trial; all I could hope for with my fingers crossed was that I don’t make a fool out of myself in front of the other trainees.

Fast forward to 2015, I have been practicing Muay Thai for 2 years and throughout these years, Muay Thai hasn’t been just a hobby but it has been my lifestyle routine. From the usual 1.5hrs of training to the full 3hrs fight prep training session, this sport has brought my mental and physical limits to a whole new level. Yes, I do compete. And if you are admiring that I have the luxury of time to commit to the training routine, don’t be. Like many of you, I’m a full time working executive, and besides that, I’m a full time undergraduate student as well. My career, given its competitive nature, requires me to be consistently on the ball, and these three aspects of my life - career, studies and Muay Thai definitely each requires a reasonable amount of time commitment. It definitely wasn’t the easiest thing to manage, especially, when I was preparing for my fight. That points back to the most common excuse of “ I have no time for....”. Isn’t that the lousiest excuse as well?

Progression.

Well, if I had the chance to go back in time and change one thing that I regret, I would take up this sport much earlier! But ladies, it’s never too late! Despite my hectic schedule, training after work has always been a great joy to me; it’s this family that adds a pleasant note to end my day well without fail each time. Looking forward, I believe this family will just continue to enrich my Muay Thai journey and bring it up to a whole new level.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. In the world of martial arts, like any other hobbies or passion you might have. That fire is bound to burn out at certain points in life. Work catches up to you, endless project deadlines and meetings. You find that 24 hours a day isn't enough at all.

Here, we provide some videos that have reignited our passion in the time of darkness. It worked for us, we couldn't wait to step back into the once dreaded gym after watching these videos. So if you feel sluggish today, just watch these videos, get fired up, and kick some ass.





The previous UFC welterweight champ, Johny Hendricks, is known to balloon outta proportions during off-season. So if you're like him. Take a look at how hard he trains during competition season.





Who says strength and conditioning sessions are boring. in this video, it's anything but boring. Watch this and it might just get you fired up enough to attend Arab's S&C session (which is no joke.)





A compilation of all the beasts in MMA, coupled with a kickass music, This is one of our favorite videos as it perfectly encapsulates how a daily grinding session in the gym is like. We just cant get enough of videos like these








ARE YOU MOTIVATED AND PUMPED UP NOW? ITS TIME TO HIT THE GYM, go destroy some bags and padwork.

We've all been there, and done that. Our virgin sparring experience, just like how we took our first baby steps when we were learning to walk. Everything is a brand new experience, a sensory overload, So many things happening at once. You're trying to get a grasp of reality, trying to figure out what's going on, Punches coming from the left from the right, And this being your first sparring session. The only skill you'll master here is the Iron Head Technique. That is, to do nothing but absorb punches.

In your journey towards being a better fighter or just the quest for perfection. You'll meet numerous sparring partners everyday. They'll help you vastly in improving, sharing and imparting of knowledge, or they'll just downright annoy the crap outta you. With that, we proudly present..