A scuffle breaks out in the streets of NYC in front of the Letterman studio. Nice takedown by the taxi driver! Somebody’s been watching a little youeffesee.

Thanks Mai

They say the best technique to have is cardio. Conversely, your worst technique is to lack cardio. Well, the good news is that AdapTx Labs has put out the first and only supplement designed to improve it.

The company was started by David Nader, M.S., MBA in 2007. Their medical advisor is Dr. J.P. Saleeby, and his expertise in what they call adaptogens seems to be the key behind how CardioFactor works. Adaptogens are natural substances that cause the body to better resist stress and fatigue. Despite its scientific-sounding name, adaptogens are more the domain of herbalists than scientists but Dr. Saleeby has done extensive modern study on them. The herbs have been in use for centuries in other countries as qi tonics or restoratives.

To be honest, I was very skeptical about this at first. There are a lot of scary products in the wild west of sports supplements. I began digging into their site and looking into the science behind the product. By comparison, AdapTx Labs’ technical documentation and background is miles beyond most other supplement companies – even big companies like Cytosport. So I decided to give it a whirl for a couple of weeks.

As I’m transitioning to full time BJJ to a little bit of MMA, I’m realizing that my instinct to flop onto my back is now a liability especially when going against wrestlers. When striking is in the picture, the guard game is risky. Good wrestlers can make you feel like this:

A mental note has been made to aggressively try to maintain top control and try and reprogram myself not to pull guard. This realization has also made me think about what I would do in a street situation. Would I automatically play guard if someone tried to go for a takedown? I’d rather not find out.

Here’s some security camera footage of Stephen, a Korean American attorney, using MMA/BJJ to subdue a drunk attacker in the lobby of his building on Wall Street.

From angryasianman.com

am a Korean-American attorney who lives on Wall Street in the Financial District of NY. I was out getting some icecream late at night at the corner store when I was approached by a big drunk guy who asked me if I was Korean. He went on to tell me that his wife is Korean so he “knows all about Koreans”. I tried to humor him and nod but he started getting offensive saying that Koreans get pushed around all the time but never fight back. Then he started telling me all Korean parents are insane.

At that point, I told him I didn’t want to continue talking to him and left the store. He followed me out onto a dark street off of Wall Street and started getting in my face. I told him to take a step back and he socked me in the face. I used to box in college so I responded with a pretty brutal set of punches that put him on the ground and told him the fight was over.

As I walked away, he got up and followed me into my apartment building at 63 Wall Street. I tried to get the doorman to call the police but he refused because apparently the guy lives in the building. The drunk guy then came at me again and hit me in the mouth, breaking one of my front teeth off, and called me a chink. We ended up fighting on the ground where I subdued him using Brazilian Jiujutsu and MMA. I held him in a chokehold and told him I’d kill him before the police arrive if he didn’t stop struggling and clawing at my eyes.

Pulling guard in a street fight is risky in most street fight situations, but proved effective for Stephen against a drunk, unarmed assailant. Additionally, this altercation ended with Stephen suing the building as well as the attacker. The security guard refused to call the cops initially, which resulted in the scene in that video. He won settlements from both.

Had Stephen gone for a takedown and proceeded with a ground and pound assault, I can see this going the other way in the courthouse. Either Stephen is really smart, or just really lucky.