Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 34

Thread: Demi Lovato

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Luke

    I just copied this off the Conor-McGregor-being-compared-to-Bruce-Lee thread. There are a few more references to Luke here. I still haven't met him, and his brother has left the job where I associated with him, so I've somewhat lost contact. I just wanted to post this because...well, I don't know why really.

    DEMI LOVATO
    DATING UFC'S LUKE ROCKHOLD ...

    We're Cool for the Summer
    8/26/2016 1:00 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
    EXCLUSIVE


    Secret's out ... Demi Lovato is dating UFC superstar Luke Rockhold -- and TMZ Sports has learned it's a romance that's been blooming for a couple months.
    Our sources tell us ... the 24-year-old singer hit it off with the 31-year-old former UFC middleweight champ earlier this year while training at Unbreakable gym in Los Angeles.
    Long story short ... we're told the two clicked right away -- and have even sent some secret inside messages to each other on social media ... including a back and forth with smiley face art on their fingers.
    Congrats!




    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Demi Lovato et.al.

    Discovered by this post on the Luke Rockhold thread.

    Hot Female Celebrities Who Practice Martial Arts The Fighter Lifestyle
    2 Months Ago

    1) Demi Lovato



    Disney girl turned pop star Demi Lovato trains with Team Blackzilians with UFC stars like Rashad Evans. Lovato is an avid fan of the MMA sport, even incorporating it in her songs.

    Check out Demi’s pro-like MMA training:



    2) Jennifer Aniston



    We have been crushing on Jennifer Aniston ever since her ‘Friends’ days. Now, more than a decade later, she keeps her oh so toned body by practicing Budokon, which combines karate and yoga. She was introduced to it by one of her former co-stars from Friends, Courtney Cox.

    3) Jessica Biel



    Jessical Biel played the sporty and boyish eldest daughter in the TV series “7th Heaven.” In real life, she is also very much into sports. Right now she’s having tons of fun training martial arts.

    “I’m really into martial arts now, it’s the most amazing workout ever! And since I’ve been working with a partner, I’ve learned some awesome self-defense moves and most importantly, how to redirect someone’s energy. It gives me a real sense of empowerment.”

    4) Gisele Bundchen



    Former Victoria Secret queen bee Gisele Bundchen trains kung fu and tai chi under Yao Li, of the Boston Kung Fu Tai Chi Institute. What a way to keep that body in top shape!

    5) Sarah Michelle Geller



    The Buffy The Vampire Slayer star took her role very seriously so she became a 1st Dan black belt in taekwondo. She’s also trained kickboxing, boxing and street-fighting. Geller can kick ass!
    continued next post
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Continued from previous post

    6) Lucy Liu



    Kill Bill star Lucy Liu, practices the martial art of Kali-Eskrima-Silat (knife-and-stick fighting.

    7) Adrianna Lima



    A self confessed boxing fan, this Victoria’s Secret veteran keeps her body runway ready by playing several sports. She takes mixed martial arts classes and Capoeira which is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines martial arts, games, music, and dance.

    8) Scarlett Johansson



    “Civil War” actress Scarlett Johansson is proud that she does her series of action sequence in her films without a body double. “Black Widow” alternates her circuit and resistance training with martial arts. No wonder she looks so good!

    9) Angelina Jolie



    Jolie is into several forms of martial arts which prepared her for several action films like “Tomb Raider” and “Salt.”
    According to reports, she is currently into Krav Maga is an Israeli system of self defence and is a highly-demanding form of unarmed combat burning hundreds of calories with each session.

    10) Jessica Alba




    Fresh faced Jessica Alba looks sweet, but she can probably kick your ass. She practices Taekwondo for various movie roles and to stay in shape.
    I think we've accounted for most of the rest of these ladies here already.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    OK now, Demi needs her own thread here now.

    DEMI LOVATO WANTS A REAL MMA FIGHT
    Says Jay Glazer
    10/10/2016 12:30 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
    EXCLUSIVE

    DON'T MESS WITH HER TMZSports.com

    Demi Lovato ain't just getting a cardio workout during her MMA training, she can REALLY SCRAP -- and has inquired about taking a real fight ... so says Jay Glazer.
    "She's brought it up to us a million times," Glazer says.
    Of course, Jay owns the Unbreakable gym where Demi has been training over the past year (alongside fighters like Chuck Liddell and Cung Le) and says she's the "real deal."
    "She throws elbows better than most of the UFC guys that come in there," Jay says ... "She's definitely one of our fighters without a doubt."
    Will we ever see her in the Octagon? Maybe, maybe not ... but Jay says one thing's certain, "She's a bad little lioness. Don't mess with her."



    The posts above were poached from other threads.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Demi's working it

    Go get it Gurl!

    click for vid

    ddlovato
    Follow


    Click video for sound

    1.3m views
    4h
    ddlovatoAlways finish with a bang 👊🏼 #unbreakable @unbreakableperformance @jayglazer
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Guilherme Vasconcelos

    Demi Lovato Is Dating MMA Fighter Guilherme Vasconcelos
    BY MELODY CHIU•@CHIUMELO AND DAVE QUINN•@NINEDAVES
    POSTED ON JANUARY 6, 2017 AT 4:15PM EST


    GUILHERME VASCONCELOS/INSTAGRAM
    Demi Lovato has a knock-out new romance in the new year.

    The “Body Say” singer is dating MMA pro fighter Guilherme “Bomba” Vasconcelos, a source tells PEOPLE. The budding relationship comes after she and UFC fighter Luke Rockhold split in December.

    “Demi and Luke broke up before Christmas. It wasn’t anything dramatic. The relationship just wasn’t heading where she wanted it to go. Luke was really cool about it, and they were on the same page,” the source says. “She’s started seeing Bomba again. She’s really physically attracted to him.”

    The pop star and new flame Vasconcelos were first linked back in July, when an insider told PEOPLE they “had a quick fling” that ended shortly after. But Lovato, 24, and Vasconcelos, 30, have recently rekindled their romance, appearing to ring in the New Year together, as seen in a smiley selfie shared to Vasconcelos’ Instagram.

    The athlete also shared a sweet snap with his girlfriend on Tuesday in which Vasconcelos and Lovato have their arms around each other; the 6-foot fighter captioned the post with a simple heart emoji.

    Instagram is where much of Lovato and Vasconcelos’ romance rumors first sparked. In a photo of the two he shared on June 8, the Brazilian star implied they might have been locking lips. “After I sparred with a legend @xcnatch.. The one who hit my lip and made me bleed was @ddlovato,” he wrote. “Hehehe…”

    Later in June he shared a video of himself celebrating with Lovato after one of his matches. “You did it, you did it,” Lovato told Vasconcelos in the clip, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek.

    Lovato and ex Wilmer Valderrama broke up after nearly six years of dating, posting the same statement about the mutual decision to their social media accounts in June.

    “This was an incredibly difficult decision for both of us, but we have realized more than anything that we are better as best friends,” the statement read. “We will always be supportive of one another. Thank you to everyone who has offered us kindness and support over the years.”
    After Fez, Demi is going for MMA fighters. Yeah, that makes sense, I guess.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Demi & Bomba

    Demi Lovato Supports Rumored Boyfriend Guilherme ''Bomba'' Vasconcelos at MMA Fight: All the Exclusive Details!
    by MCKENNA AIELLO & HOLLY PASSALAQUA | Sat, Jan 21, 2017 7:47 PM



    The "Confident" songstress was on hand to support rumored boyfriend Guilherme ''Bomba'' Vasconcelos during the Bellator 170 at The Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, and from the looks of their PDA, these two are most definitely an item.

    E! News has all the exclusive details about the MMA champ's game-winning fight, including just how Lovato pumped up the crowd and celebrated Bomba's win with a sweet kiss.

    A source tells E! News, Demi, looking gorgeous in tight black pants and a "Team Bomba" T-shirt paired with chunky heeled booties, was escorted to her ringside seat where she watched at least four fights before Bomba's match.

    Lovato then chatted up MMA superstar Randy Couture and his girlfriend, actress Mindy Robinson, telling them, "Everything's good! I'm excited!" The pop sensation also shared that although she had seen Bomba fight before, this was her first fight as his girlfriend.

    "I'm freaking out!" she told the couple.



    Our eyewitness also shares that when it came time for Bomba's fight, Lovato appeared nervous, but as soon as the announcer introduced him into the ring, she started cheering alongside his fans, "Let's go, Bomba! Let's go!"

    Throughout the rounds, Demi was seen squirming in her seat and flinching when Bomba was hit. At one point, Demi yelled, "Don't let him up!" when Bomba was on top of his opponent. She then started leading a chant in support of her might-be beau.

    As soon as Bomba was declared the winner, our source reveals that Demi began jumping up and down with her hand in the air and hugging everyone around her, including members of Bomba's team.

    Lovato, 24, beamed with pride as Bomba made eye contact and pointed at her from the ring. Swoon!



    Joined by his team, she then made her way backstage to congratulate Bomba. "I'm still shaking," Demi was overheard telling the group as they all celebrated the big win.

    As Bomba made his way down the hall to greet his friends and family, Demi smiled from ear to ear. After shaking a few hands, Bomba went straight to Demi where our source tells us they kissed and shared a long embrace. "I'm so proud of you! I'm so proud of you," she told him.

    She stood against the wall as he chatted, hugged and celebrated with his friends, before Bomba returned to smooch his potential love interest and whisper in her ear.

    Demi officially just put any and all date nights to complete shame.

    The main card fights aired live tonight on Spike TV.
    Will she stay with him when he loses?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Congrats to Demi!

    Why hasn't anyone cast Demi in an action film yet? She'd make a great female assassin, and that's been trending lately.

    Demi Lovato Celebrates Getting Her Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in a Makeup-Free Selfie
    BY JULIE MAZZIOTTA•@JULIETMAZZ
    POSTED ON AUGUST 28, 2017 AT 5:23PM EDT


    Demi Lovato
    DEMI LOVATO/INSTAGRAM
    Way to go, Demi!

    The singer proudly shared the news that she’s now a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the second of seven levels.

    “I’m so beyond excited because I just received my blue belt in #brazilianjiujitsu!!!! I fell in love with #BJJ over a year ago and have been training several times a week ever since,” Lovato, 25, posted on Instagram.

    One of her trainers, Jay Glazer, who runs Lovato’s favorite gym, Unbreakable Performance Center, posted about her achievement.

    “I’m more proud of the work @ddlovato puts in with nobody watching than I am what she does with the world watching. Congrats on achieving your blue belt today in #bjj, YOU put the grind in!” Glazer wrote.


    jayglazer
    Verified
    Unbreakable Performance
    Follow
    I'm more proud of the work @ddlovato puts in with nobody watching than i am what she does with the world watching. Congrats on achieving your blue belt today in #bjj, YOU put the grind in!. Thank you @trueboundaries for your time and commitment for our team! @xcnatch @unbreakableperformance #mma #sheisunbreakable
    Like
    Comment
    3,313 likes
    jayglazerI'm more proud of the work @ddlovato puts in with nobody watching than i am what she does with the world watching. Congrats on achieving your blue belt today in #bjj, YOU put the grind in!. Thank you @trueboundaries for your time and commitment for our team! @xcnatch @unbreakableperformance #mma #sheisunbreakable
    Lovato trains in several different types of fighting, from boxing to Muay Thai. But she previously said that she loves the specific style that comes with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

    “I first got into jiu-jitsu because I loved watching people grapple,” Lovato told SELF. “I think it’s really cool to learn something that helps you with self-defense.”

    Lovato got her blue belt just two days after singing the National Anthem at the Floyd Mayweather-Connor McGregor MMA fight, which also happens to be her other favorite style of fighting.

    She said that MMA appeals to her because it’s always changing.

    “Sometimes I get really bored when I do just an hour of cardio, so sometimes I struggle with boredom,” she explained. “But that’s why I like to train MMA, because it keeps it exciting.”
    Get your blue belts here (sorry, couldn't resist no disrespect intended, just gotta pay to keep the lights on around here.)
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    22,250
    Doesn't she suffer from a mental disorder? bipolar or something?
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Knuckles out and the guard in my mouth / When you’re hungry for the next round...

    Quote Originally Posted by sanjuro_ronin View Post
    Doesn't she suffer from a mental disorder? bipolar or something?
    Yep. She was a Disney starlet and that messes up anyone.

    
    Demi Lovato Is Still Fighting
    The former Disney star has battled personal demons throughout her entire career. And while nobody was looking, she suddenly became one of the great torch singers in contemporary pop.
    by Lindsay Zoladz Sep 29, 2017, 8:30am EDT


    Getty Images/Ringer illustration

    On the last Saturday night in August, Demi Lovato sang the national anthem at a major sporting event. This was—until recently, anyway—a benignly honorable thing for a pop star to do, a chance to step out from behind the Auto-Tune and requisite choreography and remind the world, Yes, when I want to, I can really ****ing belt it out. This, though, was no ordinary Major Sporting Event. It was the Floyd Mayweather–Conor McGregor fight, one of the more depressing collisions of capitalism and unchecked machismo in recent history, not exactly the ring o’er which our flag has most proudly waved. What Lovato seemed to be reminding the world that night was more along the lines of, Yes, I do have an album coming out soon, and there is very little I won’t do to promote it.

    And yet, as is often the case with Demi Lovato, there was more to the story. Though boxing and UFC fans will be forgiven—THIS TIME—for not knowing the biography of a former Disney Channel star, Lovato trains at Jay Glazer’s famed Unbreakable Performance Center, alongside fighters Chuck Liddell and Cung Le. She boxes, has expressed interest in cage-fighting, and, just days after the Mayweather-McGregor fight, she earned a blue belt in jiu-jitsu. Last spring UFC middleweight contender “Suga” Rashad Evans saw Lovato at the gym and Instagrammed a selfie with her, marveling, “She trains crazy hard! Hell, I thought she was training for a fight but they say that’s just how she rolls.”

    This fighting spirit was all over her last album, Confident—perhaps to a fault. Demi Lovato has little interest in subtlety, and she sometimes feels like the pop star equivalent of a jammed caps-lock button. “I’D DO ANYTHING FOR YOU!” she wailed on one of Confident’s better songs. “NAIL MY HEART TO THE CEILING! PUT MY FIST THROUGH A WALL!” It made the demolition described in Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” seem comparably tame. Elsewhere, she name-checked Ronda Rousey (who was, the fighter tweeted, “really honored”) and on an entirely different song, sang, “Knuckles out and the guard in my mouth / When you’re hungry for the next round, I’ll be waiting for you.” Confident seemed like an album reverse engineered not so much to replicate the success of Katy Perry’s “Roar,” but to hop in the ring and kick its candy-ass.

    I am relieved to report that Lovato’s new album, Tell Me You Love Me, is better, more relaxed, and a lot less eager to punch you in the mouth. It’s also a reason to take her seriously as a pop vocalist and a reminder that more people should have been doing so all along.

    If you ever have 42 minutes to spare and wish to spend them cultivating respect for Demi Lovato, might I suggest watching Stay Strong, a 2012 documentary about her that aired on MTV. Though she was only 19 at the time it was filmed, she speaks with a wisdom and a candor that transcends the clichés we expect from young celebrities. “There’s days where I don’t think I can make it,” she admits. “And now I’m healthy, but that’s the thing. An addiction is an addiction … and this is a daily battle that I will face for the rest of my life.” The title of the documentary, she reveals halfway through, comes from the cursive tattoos she got on her wrists, partially to cover up her old cutting scars.

    Like many child stars, Lovato grew up in dizzying fast-motion. She was a Dallas-raised pageant girl who began acting professionally when she was 7 years old on Barney & Friends alongside another future star, Selena Gomez. (Do yourself a favor and fall down that YouTube hole.) Lovato entered the all-powerful Disney Channel orbit a few years later, and in 2008 her life became a tween dream come true when she was cast as the lead in one of the network’s original movies, Camp Rock, alongside the Jonas Brothers. It became one of the most successful Disney Channel movies in the franchise’s history: Nearly 9 million people watched its premiere, which is more than a million more than watched the youth-cultural phenomenon High School Musical. Camp Rock’s tremendous success rippled beyond the Disney universe when its soundtrack debuted at no. 3 on the Billboard albums chart and the song that Lovato sings in the climactic moment of the film, “This Is Me,” hit no. 9 on the Hot 100. Her life changed overnight, accelerating into a cycle that she remembers as, “Tour, TV show, movie, album. Tour, TV show, movie, album.” In Stay Strong, Lovato sighs, “I was exhausted. I had so many issues underneath that needed to be taken care of, and we just kept putting Band-Aids over it.”

    The final Camp Rock tour did not exactly have a Disney-approved ending: After the last stop, Lovato checked herself into rehab. She was only 18, but she was seeking treatment for issues she’d already spent more than a decade dealing with. “I battled depression at a really young age, which started when I was 7 years old,” she said. She has a memory of being 4 years old, touching her stomach in the mirror “and thinking I was fat.” Struggles with bulimia, cutting, and drug use later followed. It took several trips to rehab for her treatment plan to stick and, during her last visit, Lovato was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. (She has since become an advocate for mental health issues and spoke about her experience last year at the Democratic National Convention. A clip of this speech is, for now, the only Demi Lovato video you can access through C-SPAN’s website.)
    continued next post
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    continued from previous

    Contemporary pop music—and especially the kind performed by young women—often traffics in themes of triumph over vaguely defined adversity. (“Do you know what it’s like to feel so in the dark, to dream about a life where you’re the shining star?” Lovato asked on her Camp Rock hit.) When Lovato first checked into rehab, the scandal surrounding a “fallen Disney star” might have seemed like a career death sentence; instead, her honesty in talking about these experiences bound her more intimately to her fan base, who were themselves aging into problems too complicated to be resolved in 22-minute Disney Channel plotlines. The most striking scene in Stay Strong is when Lovato allows a camera crew to film her first Thanksgiving since leaving an eating-disorder treatment center. In moments like these, there’s something poignant, and even symbiotic, about her relationship to her fans. “I didn’t go into treatment thinking, OK, now I’m going to be an inspiration,” she said recently. “At times, I was resentful for having that kind of responsibility, but now, it’s really become a part of my life. It holds me accountable.”

    She has, in recent years, returned the favor. She now co-owns an eating-disorder treatment center and brings the center’s CEO on tour with her, as a resource for her fans.

    Lovato is one of those omnipresent artists who seems to pop up and perform at every awards show (indeed, the day after Mayweather-McGregor, she joined the VMAs via satellite from Vegas to perform her current hit “Sorry Not Sorry”). But when you know her history, her ubiquity in the music industry feels like a defiant show of will. She is sober in a pop world currently obsessed with party-girl personas, she is a famous person recovering from an eating disorder at a time when internet trolls can snark on her every ounce of body fat. You’d worry about Demi Lovato if she seemed anything less than strong as all hell.

    Something else is striking about revisiting Stay Strong: Lovato has become a much better singer since then. Her tone was once a little nasal, her control a little wobbly—not great crimes for a singer of spunky tween-pop songs, but things that would sooner or later have to progress if she was going to successfully transition into a more adult pop singer. It’s happened. Tell Me You Love Me is further proof. Sure, “Sorry Not Sorry” is undeniably fun, and there is a glorious, ridiculous song on this album called “Daddy Issues” that I, too, eagerly await its performance one day on RuPaul’s Drag Race. But the most promising thing about this new album is how Lovato leans into what she does best: high-drama, theater-kid-worthy ballads.

    While nobody was looking, Demi Lovato suddenly became one of the great torch singers in contemporary pop. Sure, plenty of fans have known this since her wrenching 2011 hit “Skyscraper,” but her voice has only become more muscular in the past few years. Perhaps the most stunning moment on the new album is the flickering torch song “You Don’t Do It for Me Anymore,” an Adele-grade tearjerker that Demi pulls off with flair. Another highlight is “Crybaby,” a swinging cabaret number that she gives a modern kind of sass. And then there’s the sultry, DJ Mustard–produced “Lonely,” which—like Solange’s “Mad” before it—continues the recent trend of Lil Wayne appearing on female singers’ albums to show a different side of himself on incredibly emo verses (“I can’t see the forest from the tree, the water from the sea and I was starting to believe but it’s a forest full of dreams”).



    Nearly two years later, though, I remain haunted by Demi Lovato’s finest moment, when she performed the stripped-down Confident ballad “Stone Cold” on Saturday Night Live. Ever the fighter, Lovato shows up to every TV performance like she’s got something to prove, but this one was something else. “If happy is hurt,” she sang, her voice breaking under the weight of feeling, “I’m happy for you.” She seemed, at one point in the song, to be crying, and you almost thought she wasn’t going to make it through. But her voice gathered strength as she went on, as if drawing electricity from dark clouds and finally raining down on her with sweet relief. She was channeling pain from her past and emerging cleansed. Demi Lovato’s music, at its best, is a reminder that vulnerability isn’t weakness. It’s the kind of strong you don’t want to mess with, in or out of the ring.
    Demi's on promo tour so she's doing a lot of interviews now. I like her message and hope to work her show if she comes through on tour. A pop diva that can fight? Oh yeah, that's just awesome.

    I just wish she'd do Kung Fu.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    CA, USA
    Posts
    4,900
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Yep. She was a Disney starlet and that messes up anyone.
    It gives good reason to wonder if all the weird and disturbing stories about what goes on behind the scenes with young Disney actors/actresses is true.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    22,250
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    It gives good reason to wonder if all the weird and disturbing stories about what goes on behind the scenes with young Disney actors/actresses is true.
    Children should not be exposed to any of this type of "success".
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Well, of all the Disney child actresses, Demi is now my favorite.


    Celebrity trainer: Demi Lovato’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu trainer says the sport is life changing
    Vanessa Chalmers
    Food & Multimedia Journalist

    Posted October 04, 2017

    Demi Lovato has just released her new album, but behind the scenes she is keeping fit with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Her trainer, World Champion Tarsis Humphreys, explains how the sport can change your life

    Demi Lovato has just released her sixth album, Tell Me You Love Me, and has been dominating the world with chart topping singles since her Disney star days. Her latest single is already number one in 40 countries with her fanbase stretching over 145 million on social media. The 25-year-old American Grammy nominated songwriter is known not only for having a powerful voice on stage but also for her mental health struggles. Demi has spoken about her depression, eating disorders, self-harm, bullying, bipolar disorder and drug and alcohol addictions.

    But she continues to bounce back and prove she can not only kick ass in the charts but also in the ring. Demi has recently earned a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Posing for a makeup-free selfie, Demi thanked her team, including World Champions in the sport, who she trains with several times a week. ‘I fell in love with BJJ’, she wrote.

    ddlovato Verified
    Follow

    929.3k likes
    7,429 comments
    I'm so beyond excited because I just received my blue belt in #brazilianjiujitsu!!!! I fell in love with #BJJ over a year ago and have been training several times a week ever since.. thank you so much to @chilcote.dunn @captainHarlan_ @tarsisbjj for giving me my belt along with one of the most important and special women in my life today @officialdaniellemartin/@trueboundaries - I love you so much and couldn't be more grateful for you 💙💙💙💙 also special shoutout to @jayglazer for flying in to give me my belt as well!!! Love you jay!!!
    Alongside Muay Thai, boxing, MMA fighting, functional training and her own fitness fashion line with Kate Hudson’s activewear brand Fabletics, the pop singer took up BJJ over a year ago. She received her belt two days after singing the national anthem at the Mayweather vs McGregor fight in August. Lovato is a huge fan of the male-dominated sport and isn’t afraid to get stuck in with it.


    Demi meets boxer Floyd Mayweather. Instagram: @ddlovato


    Demi meets MMA fighter Conor McGregor. Instagram: @ddlovato

    What is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

    Part of the martial arts family, Brazilian jiu-jitsu teaches a smaller person how to defend themselves against a larger person using a set of techniques based on grappling and joint locks and is an adaptation of traditional Japanese Jujutsu. 90 per cent of jiu-jitsu fights end up on the ground, and so the method focuses more on sophisticated ground fighting and submission techniques, using joint-locks and chokeholds, as opposed to takedowns and throws used in the Japanese method.

    BJJ is often seen as not just a martial art, but a form of character building
    BJJ is often seen as not just a martial art, but a form of character building, as founder Carlos Gracie found that when he started as a 15 year old boy, he became more confident, tolerant and always looking to improve.

    That’s an oversimplification of the sport, so what other way to explain than a ‘Jiu Jitsu for dummies’ YouTube video below:



    When Demi fell in love with BJJ

    Demi has spoken before about the importance of working out for her mental health, advising people with depression, anxiety or stress to do the same. ‘I work out personally because of the way it makes me feel and the release of serotonin [happy chemical in the brain]. It’s important to take care of yourself physically but also mentally as well,’ she told SELF Magazine.

    What Demi loves about jiu-jitsu and MMA is that it never gets boring. ‘When you’re rolling with somebody, you’re constantly thinking of defending or attacking moves, so it’s kind of meditative in a way, but it’s also a great workout when you’re training — when you’re really moving around with somebody’, she told POPSUGAR about her workout routines.


    Demi likes to box too. Instagram: @ddlovato

    Rooting for her all the way are Demi’s team of trainers, including Jay Glazer, Danielle Martin and Tarsis Humphreys. Tarsis is a black belt three times World Champion in BJJ, smashing titles since his career started 21 years ago. He talks exclusively to Healthista about why women like Demi are falling in love with the sport.

    Tarsis Humphreys on Demi’s training routine

    ‘I have a friend who is a BJJ black belt and teaches self-defence and jiu-jitsu for women, Danielle Martin,’ says Demi’s trainer Tarsis Humphreys, who healthista spoketo exclusively for this piece. ‘She started to teach Demi and is the main teacher for her. As Demi became more interested in the sport, Danielle asked me to teach Demi in a class as I am a professional athlete and have been doing it for 21 years. Demi enjoyed my class so I started to teach her.

    ‘Demi is still a beginner after one year. You need years to be good, but she’s doing a great job. She is a smart and learns super fast. If she wants to compete, I don’t know if that’s her goal yet, she will be an amazing competitor.

    ‘She trains almost every day during the week for at least two hours,’ says Humphreys. ‘Most people train one hour a day three times a week, but she’s intense. She does Muay Thai, boxing, cardio, functional training – a lot! She trains MMA sometimes with professional fighters, but I don’t believe she competes. MMA is tough. You can simulate some moves, but to be a fighter is another level. I try to see her at least once a week when she is in town (LA).

    tarsisbjj
    Follow
    Click video for sound
    Video
    4,748 views
    30 comments
    Great day with toughest white belt that I know, @ddlovato. Watch out guys and girls, not just a sick singer but also super talented in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. @trueboundaries
    Demi Lovato and Tarsis Humphreys

    ‘During a session you always need to warm up the body. Then you work on new movements with a partner. You can do it by yourself by drilling or shadowing but you don’t feel it as much. There is a lot to learn – the take down, the top game the bottom game, the defensive part, offensive part, so we always try to learn a new sequence. We always have answers depending on how the other person is going to react. I try and give as much information as possible so there is more than one option to take. It’s not like a sport that you learn ten techniques and continue to get faster and stronger. BJJ has thousands of techniques and its still evolving now.’
    continued next post
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    continued from previous post

    How the belts work

    ‘You start on the white belt, then you go to blue, which is what Demi is on, then purple, brown and black. To get to the black belt you need to be very complete. Demi has just moved up which means she now knows the minimal requirement to get to the blue belt. She knows how to play on bottom, on top, take down, defend and attack. But there are a lot of techniques she needs to absorb to move to the purple.’

    ‘In our confederation system there is a minimal time requirement for each belt so you don’t move too fast and it also depends on the teacher to analyse whether you are ready to move onto the next belt. It takes a minimum of about 6-7 years to get to the black belt but usually takes much longer. You need to reach the maximum knowledge of the techniques as well as how to respect others and be a better person – it’s not just about technique.’

    Why Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will change your body

    ‘You don’t need any type of body shape to do BJJ. If you want to play basketball you need to be tall or soccer players need to be fast with big legs. Anyone can do BJJ – a tall guy, a skinny guy, an overweight guy, a woman or a child. Everyone feels comfortable with BJJ because of that. They have a chance.
    Sports helps us to continue being human beings
    ‘You can definitely keep fit with BJJ. It burns a lot of calories and it is a complete sport using every body part from your hands to your forearms to your thighs and even the toes. You are always using the whole body, never just one par t so it builds muscles and strength while also helping the body to stretch too

    Demi Lovato uses other training such as functional training, too

    Jiu jitsu helps in everyday life

    ‘I don’t know why but BJJ is addicting. You either love it or hate it and it stays interesting because as a martial art you never stop learning.

    Jiu jitsu like life, sometimes you are on top and feeling good and then all of a sudden you have a lot of pressure on you and you need to deal with it
    ‘Martial arts and BJJ are like chess. You always have to be many steps ahead of your opponent in your own mind and need to think on your feet and be technical, predicting the next move of your partner and having a game plan every time. I think people like Demi love that because every one has their jobs and no matter how much you love it, it’s good to have something else to entertain you and destress you.

    ‘When you practise BJJ you start to understand your body, how it moves and how you can improve it. You learn how to deal with situations with a strategy. At one point you will be on top of someone, smashing them and in control. The next second it’s the reverse, and you are on the ground and you need to deal with that. It’s just like life, sometimes you are on top and feeling good and then all of a sudden you have a lot of pressure on you, feeling uncomfortable, and you need to deal with it.

    Demi training despite a fractured foot

    Jiu jitsu pros eat clean

    I avoid processed foods and things that contain a lot of chemicals, eating as raw as possible, no condiments, just a little salt, with all fresh foods, organic without pesticides and other nasties. I’m not saying I don’t ever eat processed foods such as milkshake or fries, I do once in a while. You need that balance. But you really need to know when is balance and when it is not.
    In the long term you feel the difference in your energy, body and even your taste.
    ‘I do sometimes have supplements as well as vitamins, because sometimes I don’t have enough time or can’t eat the amount of meat or carbs I need, but only things my nutrionist recommends to me with scientific evidence and no faddy trends. Sometimes I use resistant starch which comes from potatoes [and helps fullness and to balance blood sugar] which is natural and easy for me. I need to train, teach and pay my bills so things need to be practical!’

    Is there a rise in interest in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

    ‘Yes definitely. Especially now as Demi is involved and she is a big public figure and a lot of girls love her. I think this will be a really great help to make girls start BJJ. I believe everyone should learn Jiu-jitsu because it’s important to know how to defend yourself in any situation where you need to protect yourself without feeling scared.’

    Give the sport a chance

    ‘You have to give things a little time to see if you like it. Try to find a good gym that has positive feedback, that is a good influence for other people and that loves the sport and dedicates a lot of time to learn the pure technique. My advice is to just try. I guarantee it will change your life’.

    Where you can try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

    Think you’ve got what it takes to learn the skill? You’ll be surprised at how many locations are offering martial arts. Check out the following three places where you can get trained up.

    Roger Gracie Jiu Jitsu – all over the UK
    Recommended by Tarsis Humphreys himself, Roger Gracie is the grandson of the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Carlos Gracie. The 10 time world champion has put together a team of the highest quality instructors to teach the Gracie’s method in various locations across the UK, including Farringdon Gymbox, Wimbledon, Richmond and Brighton. You can try a class for free, and thereafter their timetable is packed with classes of varying degrees and styles, and they even have a women’s own class. Find out more on the website.

    2. Wave BJJ – around London

    Wave BJJ have schools in West London in Chiswick and South East London in Elephant and Castle. The founder, who’s name is just given as Lorenzo, first tried BJJ at Roger Gracie Academy in 2005, unaware he would soon be teaching in his own school. The school have classes, one to one sessions and rehab classes such as Pilates across London and like to stay social with trips abroad for competition, making it a real sports team. Find out more on the website.

    3. Fight Zone – London

    Fight Zone London’s timetable offers over 70 classes per week (one of the largest training schedules in Europe) in a variety of fighting disciplines – boxing, Muay Thai, MMA, BJJ, wrestling, judo and strength and conditioning. The brand name Fight Zone originated in Brazil, an academy that was started by 9x BJJ World champion Ricardo Vieira. Now in East London, Fight Zone London was founded by one of Vieira’s prime students – Marco Canha, who is the head instructor. With some of the best coaches in the business, you’ll be in good hands. Find out more on the website.
    I hope I can work her next tour.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •