Class notes: striking combinations and side control work

So tonight was my first at Promai in 18 months. I had felt nervous all day in anticipation. Would the leg hold out? Would I be able to keep up with everyone? Hopefully at the end of the class the answer to both of these questions was yes. It is now the morning after and everything feels ok in the leg so thumbs up.

MMA fundamentals class.

Warm up: Variety of motions and athletics linked to MMA to get the blood and muscles ready for what was to come. Lee did some funky balance and jumping drills on the focus mitt
- single leg balancing, single leg standing extensions, jumping up and down knees high, jump with quarter, half and full turns. Press uo to forward fold and back again, slow and fast press ups, side planks.

Striking combinations with big gloves
Moving in, striking, moving out from the rear leg, aim for the chin not the hands, hands in the correct position when not striking.
1-1-2

2-1-2

2-1-1-2

1-2 round kick

On the pads

1-1-2

2-round kick-1-2-3

The head in the round kick needs to move. So if I am throwing a right round kick then the head will need to move to the left.

Pinning drill form the knees - start from the knees, takedown and wrestle for position. There was no submissions just trying to keep the partner pinned. They could try to reverse the position and pin you.

Grappling class:

Wrestling against the cage, no grip flow. Not being static and keeping the hips away and concave spine. I felt having when with my back against the cage I could use soft arms to feel and direct my partner's head without too much energy expended. I was just flowing with his movement, something that we have been working on in the other martial arts class I go to (Workman Martial Arts https://www.facebook.com/workmanmartialarts)

Side back control, with a leg on the inside Phil Davis domination from UFC 179 over Glover Texeria

We worked the basic position but we had a leg through his leg and we then hooked it behind the knee for a figure 4 control. We then looked at breaking the arm down, applying shoulder pressure, staying no more then in the centre of his back to avoid being rolled. The key was the shoulder pressure which had to be felt. It was something Georges St Pierre dominated Nick Diaz with. It was a small but vital detail that I had noticed before but will be something to watch out for in the future.

Side control far arm manipulation: getting the head up, inverted triangle, hips over the shoulder, you can face plant, go for the elbow extension, downward shoulder rotation. Tight with the inverted triangle is key.

Free form sparring with Craig and Lee. With Craig i went for a head and arm but he cheekily turned it into some type of knarly neck crank. I then managed to secure a triangle from my back which he rolled to his back and I finished from top position.

Lee got me three times with a triangle, arm extension and then a downward shoulder rotation (DWL) with me face down.

Was great to be welcomed back.

Combat Company competition 2014

Week 80: Bye bye toe nail ripping matts

Level 1 syllabus work:

Knee wrap takedown

Hand trip takedown

From the wrestling perspective
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cupxfAoNhwA

And from the MMA perspective
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5waObMhn9-E

Cycle between the 2

I sat out the above due to a right knee made from honey.

Side control arm manipulation.

Side control battle.

Inver back control submission; inner forearm and bicep suppression, forearm choke, elbow
Extension:

Hands only sparring

Hands v feet sparring

Knock down ground and pound with Darren. Amazing how quick fatigue starts to set in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTP1WQickPo

After the above drill on this video is some freeform ground fighting.

Conditioning drills interspersed between drills tonight were all done for as many reps as possible inside the 2 minutes.

Back support ups – back support into table

Boat to butterfly pulses – sitting leaning back, straight back with legs extended tat a 45 degree angle. Pull the knees to the chest then extend the legs straight again.

Superman pulses – lying on the front, knees off the floor and legs extended, arms out to the side and pulse up and down without touching the floor until the time is up.

For me this was my last session at Feltham Community College. Next week we move to the new facility. Exciting times ahead.

Week 79: Tabata protocol

No grip stand up clinch fighting.

Tabata round 1 = press ups

2 minute rounds of 4 takedown set ups without breaking contact; single and double hip, single and double leg. At this point I was very tired from the Tabata and only a consistent pace and keeping the breath under control did I manage not only to survive but to keep up a good pace and receive some positive noises from Joe.

Tabate round 2 = body weight squats

2 minute rounds of getting to the knee when as an escape from top control. Again I was working with Joe and we had a very good pace going.

Tabate round 3 = lateral straight leg window wipers

Tabate round 4 = mountain climbers

Rear hand defensive drill. Joe gave me some good tips but I was proper knackered so ineffectively made improvements. But for the historical record they were:

stay out of range and move in on the end of his attack
evasive lateral motion
punch with the elbow in line with the wrist so the elbow is driving behind the punch.

Tabate round 5 = elbow plank to high plank

Hunting for the clinch against a skilled striker. I was working with

Tabate round 6 = sprawls

MMA rounds. I worked with Will and then Darren for double rounds. My knee gave out at the end of the grapple; a simple compression of the lower leg and bang.

A great video of Charlie and Ptas in action

http://youtu.be/vH6Xp6t1tKA

More info about Tabata with a few video examples

http://tabatatraining.org

Week 78: MMA basics

Primary grip clinch fighting

Takedown from knee to back pin

Side control escape and reversal

Hand position defence against slaps and using counters

Striking tactics:

Stare down in striking

Grappling freeform

Week77: throws

Week 77: throws

Front hip lift: as with the naming convention it simply refers to the part of the body being used and on occasion a direction. Start in standard shoulder control clinch and the secondary grip on the tricep. Transfer to side body clinch with head on shoulder blade, squeeze the elbow together, thrust with the hips as you look up and lift onto your arching chest. To complete the throw relax the shoulder and dump him on the floor with you in a dominant position to continue.

Back hip throw: first looking at using shoulder control and tricep grip then and underhook and overhook clinch grip as this secures their shoulders. Anyway the first one we looked at was concerning the feet. Initial step is in front of his foot, not past, get your hips lower than his then attack with your chasing foot. That one steps a little deeper between his legs and triggers a fast insert of your hips into his hip space. Lift and throw.

Double leg takedown into calf trip: starting front body clinch, drop and change the level to go for the double leg takedown. Importantly shift the stance back a little to enable you to get the front knee to the floor. From here wrap the outside leg around their front calf and drive forward, keep the calf wrapped and thus controlled when they are on their back, you then move into your next positional transition.

Sitting takedown from side body clinch: step behind his knee so that you are square in your stance. Simply, sit your arse down whilst maintaining your body clinch grip. He should go down with you. Do not turn or rotate him as you go down, trust the motion.

Here is a great video of Rhonda Rousey in an open workout. She pulls off a few of the moves we trained tonight plus some we could never imagine!!!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jCZ9oUfI568

How to beat Rhonda Rousey? Lee talked about how fighters try to work on escapes from her lethal and Olympic level arm extension, the truth is, as Lee stated that the focus should be before she can get you into this position. Out wrestling her in the clinch appears to be the key. Time will tell. She is technically so superior it might be a while before we see her bested.

Headhunting in big gloves v tactical small gloves: the fighter in small gloves uses smart footwork and tactical striking against wild aggression. Interestingly smart footwork enables a calmer and more focused mind and thus more effective use of the strikes.

Free form striking: as it says on the tin.

Wes' injury: Wes suffered a horrible injury tonight to his knee. I did not see what happened but only heard him in pain and prone on the floor. I did see the effect of the injury which was a patella west of where it should be. I only hope he heals quick and gets back to training soon. Accidents happen in sport and our despite the chaotic nature is relatively bereft of bad injuries. Rugby and football is far more frequently seeing nasty injuries.

The rest of went to the new facility for a Crossfit taster session. Below is what we did 2 rounds of. Matt, the owner of Crossfit Ivy kindly guided us through.

Crossfit: bad day at the fight
Burpee get ups
Kettlebell double hand swings
Dumbbell push-ups
Box jumps
Medicine ball throws
Slam ball
Plank
Thrusters

If I was 20 years younger...

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ElHq13QiNA0

The new space upstairs is going to be the home of Pro Mai. Looks great and the future is very exciting.

Week 76: muscle compression submissions

Week 76: muscle compressions

Nice heat inducing warm up: cycling through the 4 main takedowns in a free form constant pressure format.

6 submissions: these are all high risk and low success rate submissions.

1: bicep compression from pre elbow extension in sitting side control: top arm under (through his elbow crease) and same leg crossing over into what looks like a triangle or figure four position. This is because you are better balanced here as we'll as the arm and leg tie up works better from here. Small part of the forearm near the wrist bone will be digging in nicely to the bicep.

2: bicep compression when opponent is in turtle position. Side back control and wrist control on his outer arm. Feed the other through as you dive over and elegantly face plant. Squeeze the knees together ( your shins will now be on his torso and neck respectively) making sure his arm angle is straight from the shoulder to the wrist (whilst folded) to complete the compression.

3: side control to leg attack, as if hunting for the knee extension. They cross their legs to prevent to submission so you manipulate the heel, lever the forearms. This causes his lower shin to be compress his lower calf, if fails then the knee extension is there.

4: calf choke from back control: pass the lower leg around the neck and secure with the other hand, fold the foot onto his shoulder to secure the position. Lean forward as if rolling over his head. This will cause tremendous strain on the front and back of the neck and when released coughing and gagging might occur. This for me was the grimmest of all the submissions this session. The most pain and panic. Horrible.

5: shin choke from centre control: pass the shin onto his neck, weight towards the foot or you will get rolled. This one finishes quickly. It looks like a simplified gogoplata from mount.

6: centre back control, ankles crossed into lower calf compression. This requires some manipulation of his legs to get them in the right position. Crossing the ankles is a no no anyway so hopefully of he is doing this then he won't be too aware of the attack coming his way. I made this very foolish mistake early on training in BJJ and the guy I was fighting with, in class and 4 days before a big competition, took advantage of my position and chose to put his leg over my top ankle. This resulted in my knee being messed up very badly after an audible crack followed by an involuntary howl from me. Point is be careful with the knees. They can go quick without any pain warnings.

For the drills part of the class we did the following rounds:

Stare down into striking sparring rounds - 10 second stare downs whilst going through our key words then 30 seconds of sparring applying our words. We did about 12 rounds.

Greco clinch to takedown. No lower body attacks allowed.

Clinch and takedown using legs such as trips and sweeps.

Clinch to full takedown into submission