Craig Jose

There’s always talk about being tough up north and in parts that can be true. One man helping to keep the fighting rep strong up north is Craig Jose. Craig is a tough as nails come forward, pressure fighter, but is also technical with it. That’s a good mix! He has a reputation for toughness and killer instinct. This 27-year-old born and bred Geordie loves nothing more that a battle in the ring. This has made him a big fan favourite. He knows how to get the crowds going, either loving him, or in the case of the opposition crowds; hating him with provocative grave digging in the traditional Sor Thanikul Wai-Kru.

Sor Thanikul is a tough no nonsense’s gym run by Kru. Barry Norman, from which Craig is released from time to time to get in the ring! It is a very well established club, with over 25 years of experience and a gym based in Newcastle upon Tyne. They provide the highest quality training.

Craig has been busy in the ring of late with his last 4 fights, he beat opponents who all where holding world titles! His record is now 26 Wins – 1 Draw - Losses- 5.

Current Titles:
Titles- POS2 8to1 Tournament Champion
Current B.T.B.C British Title - 70kg
Current I.T.B.F English Title - 70kg
Former I.T.B.F British Title - 68kg

Pete Irving a fellow knuckledragger got Craig to stop training for a few minutes to talk to MAI

P.I Let's get started by talking about your background in Martial
Arts. What got you into fighting in the first place?

C.J Why did I get into fighting? Probably because of watching too many
Bruce Lee movies as a kid, and to be honest, a few Van Damme ones too! (laughs)I started training when I was 14, I did some Chinese kickboxing and I trained in amateur boxing for about a year, but I didn't get really serious about training until I was about 18. I saw some tapes of early U.F.C's, and I particularly liked the
striking side of it, the stand-up. I sought out a place to train Vale Tudo first, and after about a year I found Muay Thai at Barry's (Kru. Barry Norman) gym. I’ve been at the Sor Thanikul gym ever since.

P.I So you're fan of M.M.A. too, where do you stand on the M.M.A. vs.
Muay Thai debate, good or bad for each other?

C.J Obviously I prefer Muay Thai, but I've fought under M.M.A. rules a
couple of times, and it's something I'd like to do more of in the future. I'd like to do both simultaneously, but it's just finding the time for more fights. I need an extra month in the year! (laughs) M.M.A. is the big thing now, it's better promoted, there's more money in it, you have to move with the times. Thai boxing could learn a lot from M.M.A., ironically Muay Thai is a better sport for the average member of the public. To really appreciate an M.M.A. fight you need a pretty good knowledge of the ground positions, the submission game. Even if the average Joe doesn't really see the subtleties of Muay Thai, you know if a kick or a punch lands or not, it's what people really want to see. M.M.A. stole a march on Muay Thai here by publicising there
sport the right way, getting people excited about it. That's what Muay Thai needs to do.

P.I You've recently made some waves by winning the Power of Scotland 8
Man tournament, and then appearing in the k-1 8-man at the seni. How does training for an 8-man tournament differ from training for superfights?

C.J The preparation just has to be more intense. You have to be as fit as you possibly can get to be a success in an eliminator tournament. The key is bringing your
recovery time right down, with only three rounds to secure your place in the next round, faster recovery is the only way to have the work rate to win. At this level though, everybody will put the work in at the gym and come in in great shape. Ultimately, mental strength is the factor that separates the field. I'd go so far as to say that the formula to win is about %70 in the mental game, and only %30 down to physical factors. Mental preparation is important, but a lot of it just happens on the day
itself.

P.I Recently we've seen your game step up a notch, to what do you attribute this?

C.J Yeah, 2007 has been a good year so far, I'm happy with the way things are going. At the back end of last year I'd just returned from a couple of months in Thailand, at
Ole Laursen's Legacy Gym. I just decided to get in as much ring time as possible, I fought Muay Thai, M.M.A., Kickboxing, you name it. At Different weights, different rules, it didn't matter; I just went to fight as much as I could, and it paid off. I think the turning point was winning the British title in February (Craig stopped Jay Woodham in rd.4, winning the B.M.T.C. British Title), and I took the momentum from that with me into the Power of Scotland. Winning that raised my profile a little,
and started opening some more opportunities up.

P.I Looking back over your career, what fights stand out? What were
the highs and lows?

C.J Obviously the Power of Scotland is a big favourite, I really enjoyed those fights, fighting Michael Dicks was great fun. But before that, I'd have to say fighting
Barnhill was one I really liked. It was a turning point for me, that was when I realised that I belonged at the top end of the British scene. I thought the Wakeling fight was a good one, he was the better man on the night, but I'd like to do that one again, I
think a rematch would be good.

P.I What does the future hold for Craig Jose?

C.J Right now I'm having a little time away from the ring, just a few weeks to explore a few aspects of Muay Thai that I hadn't looked at before, learn a little more about M.M.A., and come back to the ring fresh, and continue the roll. I'm changing my job so that I can be a full time fighter, and dedicate all my energy toward fighting.
I've got another 8-man in London in October, and hopefully a big fight
on Power of Scotland 3. I'd love to go to K-1, to Japan, but I love full Thai rules too, I'll never stop doing that. Basically, I just love fighting, full stop. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity, the better.

Here is a sample of Craig’s workout routine in the run up to an 8 man –

Craig works on a programme of 6 days on 1 day off, then 7 days on. He varies the
intensity from week to week to accommodate for recovery by doing 4 or 5 days at high intensity, the easing off on the remainder. Craig says " You can always take a day off if you feel you have over trained a little, but you can't go back and have again a day were you just got lazy and slacked off."

Monday
a.m. Run for weight control and interval sprints.

p.m. Boxing padwork and sparring, 8-12 rounds with at least 3 sparring partners, alternating each round.

Tuesday
a.m. running

p.m. Crossfit or kettlebell workout with Leon Robotham then Muay Thai with Kru Barry Norman - 1-1/2 hrs. Padwork, bagwork and sparring.

Wednesday
a.m. Run and 100m hill sprints

p.m. Boxing sparring 8-12 rounds. M.M.A. Padworking and clinch work/grappling
sparring.

Thursday
a.m. distance run for weight loss
p.m. Crossfit or kettlebells with Leon - Muay Thai with Kru Barry. 1-1/2 hrs. padwork and sparring

Friday
a.m run and sprints

Saturday
a.m Crossfit workout. Muay Thai, 12 rounds of sparring with a minimum of 3 sparring partners to alternate rounds. Padwork to imitate the time of rounds and time between each of the 3 fights. p.m. A different sport- maybe climbing, swimming or football.

Sunday
Muay Thai - Padwork for fitness and a few rounds of sparring.

Craig incorporates an abdominal and core routine into every training
session, every day of the week.

P.I How do you get adequate recovery with a 6 or 7 day schedule?

C.J "Friday nights and Saturday nights are for me to relax and do whatever I want. If I'm feeling the strain too much I'll take the whole Sunday for myself too. Doing something different like swimming, climbing, or playing football helps me to rest mentally from fighting while still keeping my body working. Once the fight is over I always take a whole week to recuperate both mentally and physically, and also to eat whatever I want!"

P.I A whole week off, after all that. You know how to live it up! (laughs). Good luck Craig with your future in the sport.

Keep up with Craig at www.sorthanikul.co.uk and www.theknuckledraggers.blogspot.com

Alan Orr is a disciple of Robert Chu Sifu and the European representative of the Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun system.

Teacher of Tui Na Chinese Massage Therapy

He is also the UK representative for Guro Mark Wiley in the Filipino martial arts and Sensei Eddy Millis of Shark Tank in NHB/Grappling.

Web:
www.alanorr.com
www.thechinesemedicineacademy.co.uk
www.warriorfunctionaltraining.com

For further information Tel: 07958 908 196 or email: info@alanorr.co.uk