How my Neck Won a Fight

I was never that great when it came to the jacket arts of grappling, Jiu-Jitsu was not my thing but I did try, even winning some very early grappling tournaments back in the nineties under Kip Kollar first promotions. In 1997, I discovered Judo and found some success winning the 1998 Connecticut State Judo Championships. I was training under Serge Bouyssou and The MAYO QUANCHI JUDO CLUB. Having personally been caught in many rear naked chokes I want to address a common question— Can a stronger neck help prevent blackout when caught in a rear naked choke?

When caught in a choke is it more in keeping the chin down/tucked so the choke could not be sunk in? If your opponent is able to get the choke locked in, is your neck strength able to outlast his arm strength long enough for you to get the escape? My answer is simple and going to shock you.

Answer is NO!

If a man can simply escape from being choked out by having a huge/strong neck why are so many still being choked/tapped out? The reason why is because most of it is a state of mind and individual character. I am not claiming to be an expert on the mental side of the game. I can share what my mentality was when I was able to overcome and win. There were many matches I had where I faced adversity and was able to come back and claim victory.

Two matches stand out in my mind because I should have lost.

My opponents could not have asked for a better scenario, they had the perfect hold, both chokes were sunk in and deep.

Lets take a look:

The first match is from 1997 and was the 2nd North American Grappling Association tournament ever held by Kip Kollar. It was held at Elite Martial Arts Center in Pawtucket Rhode Island and was owned by the classy Manny Neves RIP. NAGA as it became know is one of the most famous grappling organizations today. I was a beginner and entered the open weight division. I weighed in at 230 pounds, was in great condition, very strong and really green (meaning inexperienced). My opponent was a Black belt and good Jiu-Jitsu player. His technique was crisp and quick and he was very good at controlling my head with the lapel of the jacket. It was really annoying me. Thankfully I was able to counter most of his attacks simply by being so much stronger than him. I constantly overpowered him until……he got my back and sunk in the great choke you saw above. I started to get light headed, my throat felt like I was swallowing my tongue. My vision became pixilated and I started to see double. I remember gasping for breath and thinking to myself crap I am done. I tried to remain calm and take short breaths through my nose and out my mouth. I continually worked one of my fingers into the side of the jacket to create space to get more air. My head was pounding like you get with a severe headache, the room was spinning and everything seemed foggy. I heard the referee ask me 3 different times are you ok? I thought about tapping out, my family was there, friends drove far to watch me compete, but I didn’t want to quit. The deeper I got my finger in between the jacket and my neck the more air I got. I had quit on myself many times in the past but not this time. I wanted to be a champion.

Right then and there in a split second I made the choice! Do yo understand I used my brain and made a decision to not quit. I was determined to win. The lights started to become brighter…… the pressure in my head was letting up…….. I was tired but I felt better. I was able to swallow and noticed my opponent was losing his grip. I was in top shape and knew this is my chance….. I waited and took as much air in through my nose as I could. When I felt my opponent re-grip his sleeve I made my move and escaped.

As seen HERE:

I ended up taking 1st place that day and winning my first amateur championship.

The next fight that stands out to me took place at the Wonderland Ballroom/Dog track in Revere Ma year 1999.

I can’t imagine a better set up as a grappler than the one my opponent had me in. This would have been a dream come true for any grappler and most likely would have led to a victory. I had other plans.

Here I was, the match just started and I made a costly mistake. I over shot my strike and my opponent was able to take my back and put me on the floor. He was able to hook in both his legs and sink a full rear naked choke. This gent was very strong and I was all about finished. I remember lying there and thinking to myself dang! I don’t want to tap out. Guess I’m going to sleep. The lights became dark as my eyes began to water. Pressure built in my head what felt like to the beat of my heart. My tongue felt like it had swollen and my throat became very sore. The yells from the crowd and the instructions from my corner became very distant like an echo. All the sudden the pressure stopped, the pounding in my head was almost gone. I felt faint and very relaxed. I think I was close to going to sleep……when all of the sudden my opponent adjusted his arms giving me more space to get my hand inside his wrist! The lights began to brighten, the screams from the crowd became louder then I heard my corner yell “Mike grab his foot!” Easier said than done since I was so out of it I didn’t know where I was and I couldn’t see his legs or his feet. Controlling one of his wrists I let go with my other hand and reached down till I found a foot. As you see in the video HERE I grabbed the wrong foot LOL.

My goal was to grab the foot and ram my elbow down into the same shin bone of the foot I was holding. This would put pressure on the shin bone enough to get him to loosen his grip around my neck thus allowing me to make my move to escape. It worked. I was able to escape, recover and move forward winning the Western Ma Submission Wrestling Championship. Did I win because of my neck strength or was it because on that day I was mentally strong and determined not to lose? Maybe it was a combination of both mental toughness and a strong neck?

In my opinion it is a combination of both.

You can have the biggest, powerfully yoked neck on the mat but if you are not mentally tough you will only go so far.

Old newspaper clipping about my strength and work ethic from High school for the wrestling team.

Training our neck in all 4 ranges of motion will definitely help our grappling game. It helps us be harder to control in the clinch and gives us the ability to defend better against chokes and neck cranks. The most important trait a man can have when stepping on the mat is a strong character.

A strong character, strong mindset and a strong desire to succeed will far outlast a strong neck.

Own your day,

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The Road to Parris Island

Everyone makes decisions in their lives that can pave the way to how their adulthood plays out. Some choose to go to college, others choose to go into the family business.

Then you have the ones that join the School of Hard Knocks, the United State Military.

Have you ever wondered why or how someone came to that decision? Well let me tell you, if I hadn’t joined the United States Marine Corps I wouldn’t be who I am today.

My road to Parris Island was pretty much a given. Meaning that I was 100% sure since the age of 14 that I would join the Few, the Proud, the U.S. Marines. My father is a former Marine and I wanted to be just like him. Everywhere he walked, he just had an aura to him, a certain presence that he gave off, and a leaned back swagger to his step that I just couldn’t get as a 14 or even 17 year old kid.

Joining the Marine Corps was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I didn’t realize this at the time, but I needed the Corps more than the Corps needed me. The reason for this statement was that in my head I was bigger than the Corps. My attitude was so bad that I thought I was the best thing going.

And no matter how hard my parents tried to knock me down a couple pegs to keep me grounded, it just didn’t work.

It all began as a freshman in high school. I was the stud wrestler of my class, I was one of the only kids in school with muscles. And if that wasn’t bad enough I had all the attention of the Senior Girls. So you can imagine my ego was so inflated it could have filled the auditorium.

Thank God I never drank or smoked. I don’t know what my poor parents would have done then. No matter what they tried, my attitude just stunk. I thought I was the man and no one could tell me different.

So the road to Parris Island began on June 3rd, 1994. I was in great shape and not worried at all about what awaited me on the island.

Once the bus pulled in to the island I was welcomed by some big, seemingly psychotic, deep voiced drill instructor.

This guy had the personality of a rattlesnake and spit fire from his mouth.

Once he brought us to our squad bay we were introduced to his brothers.

These were 4 more drill instructors who took turns surrounding us and verbally degrading every man in the squad bay.

All of us men were told that we were now known as recruits and that no one is to call each other by their first name.

I was signaled out rather quickly because I was not afraid of the DIs, I stood my ground and challenged their authority.

This was a very stupid thing to do, but probably the best thing that could have happened to me.

After I stood up to the DIs I was a marked man. I was constantly being punished by being put on my face in a giant sandbox called The Pit.

I was finally shown that I am not the best, that the world does not revolve around me, and I was taught how to be a gentleman. All of these things equaled one word…humility. I was humbled.

See the thing to understand is by me standing my ground that first week of the Indoctrination of Boot Camp, I made myself standout, I didn’t do anything disrespectfully, but unbeknownst to me, I made things harder for myself.

I made myself the center of attention.

Wrong thing to do.

Believe me you get enough attention by just being there.

When you stand out, that’s a challenge. And the Marines love challenges, so they tried to challenge me constantly.

The Marine Corps breaks you down from the punk, mamas boy or tough guy you were and brings you back up to a Marine.

Instead of me getting put in the pit all the time, the Drill Instructors challenged me by putting me in charge of the Platoon.

I was given the Honor of Platoon Leader. The Corps likes a leader, not a follower.

Once I was given that title I never lost it. I went on to graduate Parris Island as the Honor Graduate for Hotel Company, Platoon 2170.

I was actually rewarded for standing my ground. The DI’s wanted to test my character and see if they could break me.

Could I handle the pressure?

Could I achieve the mission under stress?

This one little reward changed me for life.

Being humbled, learning pride, honor and commitment and becoming a Marine made me who I am today. I thank God for that. Everyday in my life I try to be a gentleman and be a good man. For even though I am no longer in the Marine Corps I still represent the title that I earned….I am a Marine.

Sunday Funday Workout

I’m used to training to a set schedule, meaning that I have my weekly workouts all laid out ahead of time.

However, lately I have been straying from my planned approach to training by how I feel.

This has been great for me.

I have had many personal bests by going in to my gym and training by how I feel instead of training what I had scheduled.

An example of this would be:

Monday: I usually Deadlift, but what happens if your body has a different plan? Maybe you don’t feel as strong that day, maybe you mentally want to do something else. If so then go for ti.

I may walk in the gym and plan on doing a certain body-part but then after I warm up I decide to do a full body day (like today)

I find this way of working out to be fun to me, training is fun to me anyways but this way of training has reignited the flame in this old, seasoned body.

Give it a try and see how it works for you.

You might just have a better training session than you had planned.

This workout is from Sunday September 20, 2026:

• Sunday workout:

• Squat 2×8

• BB bench press 2×8

• BB shrug 2×8

• Chin ups 4×5 with weight

• Side Laterals high volume 4 different styles

• Dips on the dip bars 1×20 with weight, then 1×8 with weight

• Band curls high volume 50 reps.

• Weighted ab work on the floor.

This workout took me 45:00 and I felt awesome.

Also bent a nasty piece of steel. Will continue to bend this piece 1 x everyday until it becomes very easy and I can bend it multiple times per day.

Machine out.

Can You Spot Reduce?

Many people seem to think that they can perform countless reps of crunches and that will enable them to burn off belly fat and see that 6-pack of abs.

I’m here to tell you that theory is a myth.

In my opinion the only way to lose body fat and see that elusive 6-pack is through a strict diet.

Period.

It is very simple to understand:

If you are eating lots of carbohydrates, dairy, junk food and then expect to lose fat through high repetition training you’re soundly mistaken.

Eating is the whole key here. If you eat clean and train then you will drop the unwanted fat and see the hard earned muscle. Here is an exact excerpt from my personal journal on my body (I take notes on how I feel/look on days of different eating plans and training).

• Off days: Breakfast- 16oz ribeye/4 eggs/4 pieces of bacon. Lunch- 16oz ribeye/4 eggs/ 12 shrimp.

• Work days: Breakfast- 2 8oz burger patties/ 4 eggs/ 4 pieces of bacon. Lunch- 4 4oz burger patties/cheese and bacon.

• Redman's seasalt on everything. Only water w/lemon and black coffee as black as a witches crotch to drink.

I know my body better than anyone else so I can manipulate it to respond the way I want it to.

Eating is the key and with a proper eating plan then the muscles will show. If you have a huge layer of fat surrounding your body then you will not see the muscle. Granted you will look huge in a shirt but when the shirt comes off you will look soft, smooth & fluffy.

Don’t listen to all these “new breed” trainers and coaches who preach this junk. The only way to target a stubborn area and burn off that fat is through a leaning out eating plan and hard training.

It does not have to be done through cardio training in the vein of elipticals and treads. You can simply amp up the training with the weights such as Man-Makers, Devil Presses, Sprawls with weights, Push-ups/Pull-ups among other exercises.

Have you ever seen a fat person that does 100 body weight squats, 100 push-ups and 100 bicycle crunches daily?

Hell no you don't!

That type of training with a leaning out plan like I listed above will give you the best chance for success of reducing your body fat and seeing that all elusive 6-pack.

Need proof?

Here you go.

The Machine: age 51, 190 lbs, 31 inch waist, 19 inch neck.

What's your excuse?

I'll wait.

Machine out.