The Great Billy Robinson

Posted by Sam Kressin in Catch Wrestling

, ,

Yesterday last year after the news broke of Billy’s passing I spent 3 days tied to the computer. Just reading everything that was posted about Billy. Reading all the articles and news that broke out around the world about his passing. It seemed like that was all I could to to mourn his loss and deal with his going away. I broke down and cried once and had to coach a kid the next day how to stand up the Billy Robinson way the way Billy taught me to stand up. At that time (and still currently) I was teaching 2-3 martial arts classes and or private lessons a day. For the next week after that every time I showed someone something Billy had taught me my mind would go back to the exact moment in time I had learned it. I could hear Billy’s voice in my mind and remembered how it felt to finally discover the position or movement he was trying to explain to me. For several weeks something would come up in training and I’d say in my mind I’ve got to ask Billy that and then I would be reminded that I can’t. I’ve been a martial artist my entire life. I never identified myself as a Jiu-Jitsu guy I never did just that exclusively I was always working on my Boxing, Karate Kicks, Wrestling and everything else I felt had value that I could pull off in an actual fight or a match. Billy’s stuff was gold to me. If anyone could master Billy’s techniques to the level of perfection he wanted them performed that person would be unstoppable. Billy was the most knowledgeable martial artist I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t say he forgot more than most people ever learn because Billy remembered everything! He knew more about wrestling than anyone else on the planet. He knew about bare knuckled fighting, boxing, street fights, European History, Wrestling History, he’d talk to me about what it was like to Wrestle the highest level Judoka’s in Japan, taking on olympic wrestlers who didn’t believe Catch Wrestling would work. He told me about Viking stories his father read to him as a child containing “beautiful depictions of Saltos and Suplexes” We discussed things such as Battle Axes and Strong Holds, Japanese Comic Books and Cartoons of which he was the subject of, even talked once about how to draw anatomy, the things Billy knew about never ended and everything was some how always brought back to wrestling. I wasn’t just sad that the training was gone but that the person was gone, the conversations and stories the jokes and now even the yelling and swearing.

ME AND BANE!

Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books

, ,

Me and my boy Mike right before the costume compeition at the Long Beach Comic Book Expo this past weekend. Although Mike didn’t win the competition he definatlely brought it. Make sure you check out the short Vlog I made at this years Expo here.

 

I’m Proud of this Footage…

Posted by Sam Kressin in Boxing

, ,


This is a behind the scenes look at a promotional video I was in with Brian Cowell of SwiftKick Martial Arts and Scott Walker Make sure you check it out! I’m proud of this footage because I feel it displays a lot of the martial arts and martial arts techniques I have worked very hard on over a number of years.

Rich Salamone Clinic Excerpt

Posted by Sam Kressin in Catch Wrestling

, , , , ,


Here is a short exceprt from the the excellent Clinic I hosted last month featuring 7X National Freestyle Wrestling Champion and World Cup Silver Medalist Rich Salamone. We had a great time and Rich really went into wrestling from the clinch, wrestling with your entire body, pummbling, overhooks, underhooks along with several throws and take downs. If you missed out on this clinic don’t worry we will be bringing Rich back! Until then stay tuned and don’t forget to check in from time to time so that you don’t miss out on the next one.

 

Billy Robinson Catch Wrestling Knee Bar

Posted by Sam Kressin in Catch Wrestling

, , , ,


Recently found this video in my archives. It was shot several years (I still have my blue Asics RIP) to help a friend of mine who was having trouble with this technique. A lot of people have been commenting on the internet that this is a Sambo technique or a Russian move. While it may be true they have this or something similar in those systems I learned this technique directly from Billy Robinson.

Wrestling Clinic with Rich Salamone

Posted by Sam Kressin in Catch Wrestling

, , ,

Rich SalamoneI’ll be hosting the following Clinic Next Month; Wrestling for Martial Arts with Rich Salamone.

Train with 7x National Freestyle Wrestling Champion (USA Wrestling and USWF) Rich Salamone at Swift-Kick Martial Arts in Rancho Bernardo. Cost is $40, Pre-Registration only. Attendance limited. No Video Taping. This will be a no gi Clinic, Wrestling Shoes optional. Date and time; Friday January 9th 2015 technique training from 6pm – 8pm followed by open mat Q&A from 8-9 pm for Rich to give you specific feedback and critique on your grappling.

This clinic will cover Wrestling technique specifically applicable to Martial Arts and Catch as Catch Can Wrestling. This, our first, clinic with Rich will focus on solid fundamentals, wrestling from the clinch and several throws and takedowns that can be used effectively in Martial Arts, Submission Grappling, Catch Wrestling and MMA.

As a 105 pounder Rich Salamone always had to wrestle up in weight throughout his college career forcing him to become extremely technical. In addition to Rich’s extensive Wrestling background (which includes 7 National Titles, a Pan American Silver Medal, World Cup Silver Medal and Canada Cup Champion) Rich is also a Brown Belt with 16 years of experience in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Currently he is the Wrestling Instructor at Absolute Jiu-Jitsu in Bristol, Tennessee. The application of wrestling to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other martial art styles is something Rich has been doing for well over a decade. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to learn from such a highly accomplished expert Rich Salamone.

Posted by Sam Kressin in Opinion

, , ,

Garbage Pail Kids were awesome in 1985-88 but brining it back in 2015 doesn’t work because it’s lost all it’s authenticity and relevance. Remember GBK was a parody against Cabbage Patch Kids. And it’s been decades since we’ve seen folks literally beat each other down to get one of those dolls. The creators of this comic are not the disgruntled artists of old lashing back at mainstream popular culture but merely modern day fan boys paying homage to their Rosebud of years past funded by executives trying to cash in on the same sentiment. Similar to how Beavis and Butthead was awesome in 1993 but when they brought it back in 2011 it didn’t work.

Posted by Sam Kressin in Opinion

, , , , , ,

Here’s what I think about this before I even start to think about criticizing what this guy did. I asked myself honestly if I could do the same thing? Could I read one thousand Archie comic books and then write a one hundred chapter book on the subject? At this point, I would say the answer is no. Although I’ve tried several times, I have actually never read an entire Archie Comic book from cover to cover, therefore I don’t see how I would ever be able to read a thousand of them and we haven’t even got to the part about writing an entire book on it.

Continue

First Batman

Posted by Sam Kressin in Personal Journal

, , ,

Batman #402


The first Batman comic book I ever bought. I remember reading the captions and thinking this is the most bad ass thing I’ve ever seen. I went home and tried to draw the cover but couldn’t get it right so I traced it a bunch of times I still own the comic to this day it’s completely worn and beat to hell as I had read it over and over again and tried to draw from it all the time…