M-1 Challenge Pt 2 – The Videos

So I may have lost a bunch of my audience with this one, but I have promised some people that I would post pictures and videos from the M-1 event. So you have seen our pictures (with more on our Picasa site  http://picasaweb.google.com/SCinEurope/August2009#). So here are some good videos. If you don't care, please move on to our next blog entry, we wont be upset… Here are the videos!

Great Kick to the Head, watch the replay... Nice shoot in and take down by Japan Dont Give up your Back! And here are the rest of the videos:

M-1 Fight Video 4   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f3jtl2rsxU

M-1 Fight Video 5   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DknrKHj8h2Q

M-1 Fight Video 6   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Jd-SeGppU

M-1 Fight Video 7   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ9668y9ISo

M-1 Fight Video 8   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2uHs5Ot2Yk

M-1 Fight Video 9   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXd3QlYhoro

M-1 Fight Video 10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-2rL6hCrOA

M-1 Fight Video 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOa9lRwPUzs

M-1 Fight Video 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or1cySBu9ZY

M-1 Fight Video 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYXYPk3Z_-M

That's it for the fights for now, back to regular programming! -Colin

M-1 Challenge – 50 Fights in 2 Days!!!! Pt 1

So as you all probably know, we are big fight fans. We watch every UFC together since UFC which we saw in person in Las Vegas back in 2006. We went to Cologne Germany in June for UFC 99 and to Manchester UK for UFC105. We have gone to local events and regional events such as Strikeforce at the Tacoma Dome with the ‘great’ Bob Sapp. But when I heard that M-1 Challenge was coming to town, I was pretty excited. Details came out that two previous events had been ‘postponed’ for the M-1 challenge in previous months, an those would be combined into a ‘Mega-Event’ in Hillversum, Netherlands. Hilversum is on south side of Amsterdam, just 15 minutes on the train from our apartment.

This event would be filmed for HDNet Fights in the US, and other shows around the globe. M-1 Global is partially owned by the greatest Russian fighter ever, and one of the best Mixed Martial Arts fighters pound for pound currently in the World - Fedor Emelianenko. M-1 would have 50 fights over a 2 day period for 40 Euro per person for the whole weekend. We had no other information than that. There was poor directions to the event, Studio 22 in the Media Park. For example, the wonderful signs they hung up to point us the right direction once we were on the main studio grounds

Day 1 we took food and drink not knowing what our options would be. But they had hot dogs and other garbage, and beer and soda, some chips and chocolate..the basics for a fight fan. Maybe 200 of us were there, which is mind boggling that they didn't do better to promote the event. But all the better for us. We took our seats on the bleachers, probably 4th row, dead center.

Here is Studio 22 with the giant M1 blow up logo out front…later there would be 190 out of the 200 fans out smoking around this monster..

This event is a team event. Japan vs US, England Vs Turkey, etc. Each city these teams fight 5 fights and which ever country wins the majority of the fights would move up the ladder. Amsterdam would server as the final eliminations before the quarterfinals. So they took time at the start of each day to introduce each team and fighter and got them all in the ring at once.

Out of the 50 fights, there were some duds, some ‘lay and pray’, but and equal number of KO’s and submissions. I would say at least 10 fights were two well matched fighters that put on a spectacle. It was for sure worth the money. Here are just a few shots of the fights, such a small venue making for some decent action shots.

So both days were a lot of fun. There was however horrible, absolutely mind bogglingly bad refereeing. One of the three refs had a clue of the sport they were officiating, the other two were tragic. And the three judges were even worse. So to do well this weekend you had to fight clean, win on your own, and not leave it up to the judges or refs, which is my favorite type!

The Master of Ceremonies for the weekend event was the great Ian Freeman. One of the pioneers of MMA, fought in the UFC and every great event in the 90’s.

All in all a great time, and a good way to spend 2 days with each other after two weeks apart!

-Colin

August 14, 2009 The Flight Home

So we have been saving our pennies to afford travel and other luxuries in Europe since the Dollar has swung far from our favor. In July I had not yet found a flight I could afford, and last minute decided to use up all of my mileage that I had accrued over the last couple of years. Coach seats were all booked so I had to get first class. This was my very first flight in business or first class (I had business class on the way there, first class home to Amsterdam).

I couldn't even stretch my legs to touch the seat in front of me!!!!!!!!!!…and my Pod relaxed all the way to a sleeping position…ahh life is grand…If only all flying was like this!

So as we approach Holland, I look out and see rows and rows of ships awaiting inspection and approval to come into port. Very interesting site.

Here the Dutch coastline maybe 20 miles north of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

 

And some pictures of some Dutch city on approach, but I don't know what it was…looked cool though.

And look at this amazing forest sitting along a river. Anyone know what this is? Looked fantastic!

So here we are on final approach. This is Holland. Flat, green, wet!

And Schiphol Airport is 27 feet below sea level when you land!

So it was an amazing whirlwind of a trip home.  A week of work and a few days off and back to my new home away from home. Been missing Saviya terribly..so from plane to train to tram to 100 steps up to the apartment….US trip complete!

August 12/13 2009 Visit Sebastian and Home to Amsterdam

So I stopped by our house in Seattle to visit our dog Sebastian. We have been missing him so much but know he is in good hands with Adrienne. He also has a new buddy to hang with all day name Ivan. So I took a bunch of pictures and videos so we could watch them when we are feeling forlorn and need to see our cute little critter.

Here he is in bed sleeping. He was so nervous around me. I think he didn't know if he was coming or going, or why I was there. But still gave me love.

Here is Ivan!

A few outside…and yes he really is that small…

Here Adrienne is feeding both dogs in our kitchen.  And she gets him to eat hard food somehow as well as soft…we could barely get him to!

Adrienne is our dog groomer, so she is keeping Sebastian looking sharp…

Ultimately I had to say goodbye again to Sebastian. I wont see him again until May 2010….miss him so much, as does Saviya. More than ranch dressing and American dollars by 10 fold minimum!!!!

So we have posted up a bunch of videos of Sebastian on our YouTube channel that you can view at

http://www.youtube.com/user/SCinEurope

Saviya’s trip to Leiden

While Colin was back in the States I took a small day trip with Karen to Leiden.

We get off the train and were smacked in the face with a very large windmill. We decide to actually go up inside of it. Much smaller inside than I was expecting. Cute kitchen though!

Cute little models of windmills on the very top floor of the big windmill.

This is my friend Karen in the top of the windmill.

After leaving the windmill we decide to get some lunch and sit next to the canal and watch the summer pass us by.

This next pic is of a bridge entering the city center. I just thought it looked amazing.

The day is nearing the end and we stumble across this out door market and I loved how they set up the books at one stand. The books are in apple bins.

I did find one book in there! The blue highways……

~Saviya

August 9-11 Vacation to California

So Trent and I are experienced road warriors. We left the Gorge, drove south 3 hours to Portland, Oregon. We filled up on gas than drove 5 or so hours to southwest Oregon to the Redwood forests. Just down the road we begin to see the giant trees poke out here and there, but soon you are surrounded with the most amazing goliaths trees out of a sci-fi movie. We arrive to our friends house in the dark. I wake up to find the following view.

You can click on any of those pictures to see the blown up original. Really, truly stunning. Three days there was way to short, but I had a very short vacation to fit in a lot of stuff. We left the afternoon of the third day and drove the 12 hours back to Seattle. Glad I spent some time looking at this view, as it may not be where my friend is in the future, and it was epic. The road trip itself was fun, something Trent and I both had done for so many years, but not recently and for concerts and friends for a change. Back to our real lives we go.

August 7/8 2009 Phish!!!

So for anyone who knows me, you probably know that I followed Phish around the country for more than a decade and 120 shows. They broke up in 2004 for what seemed like the final time. But alas, they got their act back together and on the road. We left the wine tour, and basically went into the show. We had been given a few tickets to sell, and they were marked VIP, so we sold our tickets and took them VIP tix! We reused them the next day (not to get in the venue, but to get back to the VIP grass section…ahh…rule breakers…)

So The Gorge Amphitheater has won awards for its beautiful location. 20,000+ people drive hours into the desert to enjoy the sunset over the Columbia River. The venue is only open Memorial day through late September and basically gives most Washingtonian something warm the bones and put some tint on the skin before winter returns.

So Phish comes out just around 8 to greet the fans before sunset. The music begins and the whole place erupts. Five years of waiting to see them again made this crowd very hungry for Phish.  

So the band completes the first set around 80 mins later and take a short intermission. They return to darkness, where their light system takes its place in the sensory explosion they create.

So I chose to have pictures instead of comments. Describing a Phish show isn't done with words, nor can pictures tell the full story. So I also am uploading videos to our YouTube site which you can get to at this link

http://www.youtube.com/user/SCinEurope

I don't think the videos capture it much better, so you will have to go do the live experience yourself!

So I took the following picture of a Port-O-Potty toilet in the camping area at the Gorge. Let me just say the warning was self explanatory and I was not tempted to open the door.

So we pack our gear, head our separate ways. We take this one last photo at a rest stop near the Gorge before saying goodbye to Rick. Trent and I would continue on our adventure south to California. We drove 12 hours this day to visit our friend in Northern California on the coast.