Combatzone Interview with Joe Maffei

CZ: When did you start your MMA training?
JM: Well, I would say it was in 1980.

CZ: I didn�t think there was MMA back then?
JM: Well if you are talking about the name MMA, there wasn�t. But if you are talking about the way people fought, there was. At the beginning it was called No Holds Barred NHB, or cage fighting. In Brazil it was Vele Tudo, now it�s MMA. When I started, I studied Jeet Kune Do JKD, which I really think is the father to MMA as people see it today.

CZ: Why is that?
JM: If you watch video�s of us fighting back in 1989, you would see, Thai boxing, jabbing, crossing and kicking the legs. Then clinching up the body like Greeco wrestlers and using the Thai neck clinch with head-butts, knees, and elbows, then going to the ground and doing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. That�s what it was called back then before the lawsuits.

CZ: Wow! That�s what MMA looks like now.
JM: Yeah, MMA today is like, 18 years behind the curve as far as technical knowledge.

CZ: So you are not impressed with today�s MMA fighters?
JM: I am really impressed with the fighters today. Not with their techniques, that�s old hat. But with their athleticism, skill level, pain tolerance, and training methods, that is where these fighters shine. There are some really tough guys out there.

CZ: Who do you think is the best?
JM: Pound for pound it�s BJ, best all around athlete it�s GSP, most durable with leadership it�s Randy. But there are so many great fighters, it�s like who�s better, Larry Bird or magic Johnson.

CZ:Who was your Jeet kune Do teacher?
JM: My Sifu or primary instructor was Paul Vunak, but my other teachers or influences were Dan Inosanto, and Larry Hartsell. Vunak trained S.E.A.L team Six, Dan was Bruce Lee�s training partner, and Larry was the grappler and the representative or fighter.

CZ: So how did you get involved with BJJ?
JM: In 1988 I got a call at midnight from Vunak, he said, �Joey, I just trained with this Brazilian guy, Rickson Gracie. It was like nothing I ever experienced. I was like a baby in the arms of a gorilla. No one has ever done that to me before. I want him to be your new teacher. Here�s his number, he�s waiting for you to call.�  So I called, talked to Rickson and brought him out to Boston in 88. This was the first seminar Rickson did after he split from his brothers.
CZ: That�s awesome, a little history in the making. People must have flipped?
JM: No! We got 9 guys who came. Back then, no one ever heard of Gracie Jiu- Jitsu. For the next 5 years, Rickson would visit and stay at my home and taught seminars and no matter how many flyers I sent out, no matter how much I tried to promote Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, people just didn�t want to hear it, until the first UFC. That was the spring board for Jit�s. Most people are close minded when it comes to new training and are conditioned to only believe what the media tells them. That is why there are few leaders and many followers.

CZ: So you were the first BJJ School in the East coast?
JM.: I don�t want to take credit for that. I was probably the first guy training BJJ around here and introducing it to make folks know of the power it brings to your game. But the first guy to actually teach it in the East, as far as I know, was Craig Kukuk. He was the first American Black belt.

CZ:Did you train with him?
JM: Yup, for a couple of years once a month I would fly to Red Bank, New Jersey and stay at Craig�s house. In two days I would take 4 privates, and 5 group classes. Then fly home.

CZ: Did you train with Renzo as well?
JM: Sure, Renzo and Craig became partners in the New York school. And come to think of it, I was the first guy to bring Renzo to Boston as well. Later Renzo hooked up his cousin Roberto Maia and around 1997 Roberto started the official BJJ School around here.

CZ: Do you know Matt Serra?
JM:Absolutely, Matt and his brother Nick and myself, were blue belts together in the day.

CZ:Wow! Was Matt good back then?
JM: He was awesome. Matt and Nick were determined to be great BJJ guys. And yes Matt and Nick both kicked my ass.

CZ: Accuse me for asking but, you have been training BJJ for so long, how come you are not a Black Belt by now?
JM:That�s a good question. Rickson and Renzo both wanted me to become their reps and go all the way to Black Belt. But I had a different agenda. When I met Rickson, I already had a Brown Belt in judo, a Black Sash in praying mantis kung- fu, and was a full instructor in JKD and the Filipino martial arts. I just didn�t care about getting another Black Belt. I just wanted to learn their art, so I never went to the testing. I probably should have because most people don�t give you the respect and credit unless you are a black belt. But oh well, I still don�t care, as long as I have jiu-jitsu when I need it.

CZ: How did you get involved with the UFC?
JM: Through Rickson, they knew I was tight with him so it was easy to get my fighter in.

CZ:Who was that?
JM: A kid by the name of Dave Hood. Dave was a very gifted athlete and he fought a guy from the Lion�s Den.

CZ:How did he do?
JM: I thought he did well, he lost by guillotine. But back then the UFC had no weight class. Dave was 5�9, 180lbs and his opponent was 6�3, 265lbs. that�s an 80 pound swing, that�s not heard of these days but that�s how we fought back then.

CZ: You also worked for the UFC didn�t you?
JM: I was a consultant for a while but when Senator McCain squashed their PPV rights they died out and the guys from Station cuisine bought them out. I really haven�t done much with them.

CZ: I remember you were also running grappling tournaments.
JM: Yeah, I was doing everything I could to promote Jiu-jitsu. I can remember Kipp Koller coming and asking how I ran them and now Kipp is doing pretty good with his NAGA stuff.

CZ: Then you started Hardcore Fighting Championship, the MMA competition.
JM: Yeah I learned a lot from working with the UFC but once the MA boxing commission pulled out I didn�t want to be stuck with the liabilities for running a show, so I stopped doing them.

CZ: Do you think MMA is good for self defense in a real street fight?
JM: I think if you train MMA you have a better chance of winning then if you don�t train MMA. But it is really about the person fighting. Mike Tyson is not an MMA guy and I think he has a better chance of winning a street fight then most.

CZ: So it�s not the style it�s the person?
JM: It�s both. But people have to remember MMA is a contact sport and a street fight is a criminal act and a cluster fuck with many uncertainties. The MMA fighter and the street criminal are two completely different animals, but both, are carnivores with sharp teeth. You can be attacked by a pit bull that runs up to you and tries to rip your arm off in broad daylight. Or you can be attack by a jaguar, who hides in the darkness and in silence rips you to shreds. The cat is more dangerous because you don�t know he is there.

CZ: I get your point. You will be teaching a seminar up at Premier Martial Arts in Derry New Hampshire April 5th, what can the guys expect?
JM: The guys can expect to be enlightened. They can expect to hear that what they are training is exactly what they need to be training. But we will add a few things to their MMA and subtract a few things from their MMA that will give them a tremendous edge if they are attacked outside the ring. Like when they are going to dinner with their girlfriend or they are with their wife and kids coming out of the mall, or fixing a flat on the side of the road. The MMA fighter already has a huge advantage. I�m going to give them options they can kick into if it really comes down to them having to defend their family.

CZ:Is this the material that you teach Law Enforcement, Government and Military?
JM: Yup this is exactly what I teach them. Things are definitely changing in this country. Believe me when I tell you that things are going to get bad out there. And civilians really have to change their mind set. I don�t think most fighters have a clue of the potential danger that is on our streets. I have seen first hand fighters acting up. I was with a retired guy from the SEAL teams at a local fight. And a few fighters with their school shirts on were being real punks. The guy they were screwing with has seen and done more damage to human beings than anyone would ever want to know. And if you consider Blackwater security co has over 15,000 contractors who have to take leave and are dangerous men walking the streets, not to mention all the other security co. plus gangs like MS13, the Kings, Angels, Outlaws and the isolated street criminals, and you are out there partying and acting the fool, you are going to be in for a world of hurt. Check out how the enemy is training their upcoming fighters. ttp://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-02-05-camps-usat_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip


There is a reason the Marine Corps are being trained as correction officers on bases all around this country. Someone is expecting something to happen. So people need to be ready and get their family protection program together. And that is what I am going to help them do at this seminar.

CZ: This sounds like it is going to be an awesome seminar. Thank you, this was enlightening just talking with you. I wish you the best of luck.
JM:you bet.