Warm up: Grappling themed reminded me a lot of my time in BJJ. I prefer this type of warm up as it uses the whole body in a range of ways that prepare the body, especially the hips, for fighting. I find it softens the body as it has to work with the floor in a variety of ways: Front and back rolls, bear crawls, shrimping, shooting.
Main class:
• Side control battle. Player in side control was simply holding the position with relative strength and control. Player on their back had to escape to bottom control. For me this is all about movement and aliveness. If I am still on the ground then my opponent can keep me there all day long. If I am pressuring his head, exploding my hips continually and looking for and creating gaps, then I have a very good chance to escaping the side control. It is absolutely knackering but vital to keep moving. Simply put it makes life harder for the person attempting to control you.
• Inner leg with shoulder suppression detail. Lee went over it great detail and I will inevitably miss one or two. The ‘with’ part of the technique refers to using part of his body. In this case the shoulder under his chin. We worked from bottom control and opponent helped to drill the technique by looking to pass guard by under hooking one leg and thus giving the move up to you.
Suppression occurs on either side of the throat and not the side of the neck. It is a blood to brain inhibitor. Chokes inhibit oxygen and are on the front of the neck.
Capture own shin behind his head as soon as inner thigh on neck.
Have own lower leg across the back of his neck, perpendicular to your hips.
Ankle not foot under crease of knee – ensure a tighter control.
Heel of top leg at his side and not on his back.
Hip up to get his arm across, feed it necessary during the hip up.
Pull down on back of head to speed up the suppression.
To close even more, hook your arm around the opponent’s leg that is on the same side as your inner thigh on his neck. Most people perform the suppression square on to opponent. By turning to look down your leg that is over his neck it closes the suppression very quickly thus his chances of escape are dramatically reduced.
Whilst a converted admirer of the naming convention the next development of the suppression was most exciting both in terms of name and how it is applied. The development was called inner thigh and fist suppression. AKA the Ninja choke. It did, and now 24 hours on make me smile for the pure silliness that a move could be called the Ninja choke. How trained stealthy killa... This has been done to me a few times by more experienced people at the class and I never had the sight or sense to feel it. It crept up on me. Push the head to open the neck and insert the fist palm up. Aim to get the little finger just on the side of the windpipe and this should ensure the flat of the fist pressuring the arteries to stop blood to brain flow. It is a fast and painful way to close the submission. Lee expressed surprise at how infrequently this is seen in MMA. My own feelings are that people might not even know it. In 3 years of BJJ I never saw anyone use the fist in this way, gi or no gi. Now that I have been shown it, had it done to me and applied it in sparring it almost seems like one of the most obvious things to do.
• In addition to the inner thigh with shoulder suppression detail, Lee talked about setting it up by taking mind away by attacking other parts of the body. One example was attacking from bottom control with the inner forearm choke, they go to defend and you cheekily slide the leg over to begin their demise. To me these are grappling fakes and tonight was the first time that I understood what this meant. I knew such things existed as I fall for them all the time but could never spot them. Through drilling tonight then being more aware in sparring I managed to use and save myself from at least one submission as I knew I was being ‘faked’. Perhaps faked is an inappropriate term because if the set up attack is successful then a quicker end to the fight. For me the point of this part of the learning is that I can now play and discover what attacks will elicit what response in order to facilitate another attack rather than move 1, fails go to next move etc. Now it has become a game of chess and strategy more than a reactionary analogy of table tennis.
Sparring:
• Hold down and submit or get up and escape (with strikes). Managed to apply the inner thigh and fist suppression as well as chest trap from top position. Looked for the bicep compression from top control but Neil was way too smart to allow that to happen. Rolled with Lee as well. He reported that I did well defensively and used the head with improved effect. Still at times too tense. Softer, softer, softer.
Just posted a video of Marcelo Garcia on Facebook. he is my size -77kg and is a remarkable grappler. Several similes could be used to describe how he uses his body: Like a snake, a ball, a rucksack, a ghost and a wet blanket. Watch the linked video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY8JlJZBgCk
I know it is pure grappling and not MMA but his control and movement are phenomenal.
Several things made me shake my head in awe.
He makes the grappling look effortless against high level grapplers.
Like a snake in that he gives no space and punishes opponents for giving space.
When there is no space he creates it and captialises by sweeping and attacking.
Like a ball in that he seems compressed. Rarely do you see him long in the leg for more than a fraction of a second.
Like a rucksack as you are going to carry his weight and thus expend more energy.
Like a ghost because he seems to sweep with consummate ease and evades attacks with almost a contempt.
Like a wet blanket because he is always on you. All of him is on you.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Friday, 27 January 2012
Week 21: Striking plus strength and conditioning
Warm up: What stood out for me tonight were the 3 lots of 20 sprawls. Kept a good hard pace sprawling next to Ptas. Left hand is delicate after and dad and lad accident last weekend so was sprawling onto the knuckles instead of the palms.
Main class:
• Knee capture: Simply had to wrap the fingers around the knee of the opponent. I used it as an opportunity to work the shoot but also standing with short arms as if in a grappling match.
• Hitting the rear side and countering with 1-2: This drill lasted for several rounds. Attacker had to attack the rear side of the opponent and the defenders job was to counter attack with a 1 – 2. It was a good chance to work diagonal footwork but also looking and seeing when would be an opportune time to counter strike. As I tend to fight right hand forward I tried to match and mirror my partner’s stance so it is not as far to attack. In addition I looked to work the rear leg round kick as my kicking is nowhere near as good as my ego believes it to be. So much so I have decided at home to 10,000 round kicks as part of my own training. For reasons ranging from bizarrely tight hips and legs in kicking yet supple in grappling? I can use my legs much more effectively in grappling than striking so I need to start having more balance in my game. Plus it feels like a good way to train the core outside of my functional core training. It gives me a tangible target and goal. After 2 sessions I am up to 500.
• Footwork for evasion no head movement: One partner attacks with anything and the defender needs to simply evade by using footwork and keeping a disciplined guard. Head movement was also prohibited. This drill felt very alive. I need to find a way to move my feet smarter as they tend to blister quite quickly working on the hard floor.
• 3 for 3, 2 for 2, 1 for 1: As it says on the tin. Each throws said amount of strikes and the idea is to limit the time between defending and attacking. Try to throw first attack as they finish their final attack. The last drill (1 for 1) was essentially fighting in the proverbial phone booth, Later on this session we needed to work tight. In future when doing this drill I will endeavour to be tight, fluid and relaxed in defence and attack.
• Straight lead arm: One of the logical idiosyncrasies of the Promai stance is the long lead arm. Primarily to define your own range and to be the boss of your own range. This drill was a chance to put the lead in the opponent’s face after a brief combo then throwing a shot behind the long lead
Strength and conditioning:
• Bag striking and shadow boxing rounds. For this and the following drill Lee emphasised being tight. Not in the muscular sense but in the motion and movement sense. Stay relaxed and heavy in the shots but explosive and dynamic. Was a real test of the gas tank but also the psychological armour. It is hard to keep going when you feel empty. In subsequent drills Lee talked about lasting longer than the opponent as the round last 5 minutes so it makes sense to be as strong as possible throughout each round until the final bell.
• Bag striking whilst being grappled Tenacity drill In the fog of war I managed to damage the middle finger of the left hand thus compounding its lack of use even more. 24 hours later it is fat and bent. Think I have compressed the cartilage in the middle joint. Clearly not as bad as Tom’s cracked nose care of Alan last lesson.
The last 2 drills were also a test of the spirit. I tried to set a good pace and keep going. Did start to flag near the end of the round but this for me is when the most progress happens. You grow more when in hardship. Therefore we should seek this zone to become more self aware.
• Sit up and double side fist.
• Lateral bag jumps, sprawl and attack the bag.
24 hours on I am surprised by how sore I am not. I expected to be battered as usual. Perhaps it is waiting for me in the morning. Good tough, testing and fun session. Shame the time passes so quick.
Main class:
• Knee capture: Simply had to wrap the fingers around the knee of the opponent. I used it as an opportunity to work the shoot but also standing with short arms as if in a grappling match.
• Hitting the rear side and countering with 1-2: This drill lasted for several rounds. Attacker had to attack the rear side of the opponent and the defenders job was to counter attack with a 1 – 2. It was a good chance to work diagonal footwork but also looking and seeing when would be an opportune time to counter strike. As I tend to fight right hand forward I tried to match and mirror my partner’s stance so it is not as far to attack. In addition I looked to work the rear leg round kick as my kicking is nowhere near as good as my ego believes it to be. So much so I have decided at home to 10,000 round kicks as part of my own training. For reasons ranging from bizarrely tight hips and legs in kicking yet supple in grappling? I can use my legs much more effectively in grappling than striking so I need to start having more balance in my game. Plus it feels like a good way to train the core outside of my functional core training. It gives me a tangible target and goal. After 2 sessions I am up to 500.
• Footwork for evasion no head movement: One partner attacks with anything and the defender needs to simply evade by using footwork and keeping a disciplined guard. Head movement was also prohibited. This drill felt very alive. I need to find a way to move my feet smarter as they tend to blister quite quickly working on the hard floor.
• 3 for 3, 2 for 2, 1 for 1: As it says on the tin. Each throws said amount of strikes and the idea is to limit the time between defending and attacking. Try to throw first attack as they finish their final attack. The last drill (1 for 1) was essentially fighting in the proverbial phone booth, Later on this session we needed to work tight. In future when doing this drill I will endeavour to be tight, fluid and relaxed in defence and attack.
• Straight lead arm: One of the logical idiosyncrasies of the Promai stance is the long lead arm. Primarily to define your own range and to be the boss of your own range. This drill was a chance to put the lead in the opponent’s face after a brief combo then throwing a shot behind the long lead
Strength and conditioning:
• Bag striking and shadow boxing rounds. For this and the following drill Lee emphasised being tight. Not in the muscular sense but in the motion and movement sense. Stay relaxed and heavy in the shots but explosive and dynamic. Was a real test of the gas tank but also the psychological armour. It is hard to keep going when you feel empty. In subsequent drills Lee talked about lasting longer than the opponent as the round last 5 minutes so it makes sense to be as strong as possible throughout each round until the final bell.
• Bag striking whilst being grappled Tenacity drill In the fog of war I managed to damage the middle finger of the left hand thus compounding its lack of use even more. 24 hours later it is fat and bent. Think I have compressed the cartilage in the middle joint. Clearly not as bad as Tom’s cracked nose care of Alan last lesson.
The last 2 drills were also a test of the spirit. I tried to set a good pace and keep going. Did start to flag near the end of the round but this for me is when the most progress happens. You grow more when in hardship. Therefore we should seek this zone to become more self aware.
• Sit up and double side fist.
• Lateral bag jumps, sprawl and attack the bag.
24 hours on I am surprised by how sore I am not. I expected to be battered as usual. Perhaps it is waiting for me in the morning. Good tough, testing and fun session. Shame the time passes so quick.
Monday, 16 January 2012
Week 20: striking drills from stand up
Tonight was my pal Craig's first session so I spent most of the night working with him. Started with working the numbers in a one for one pattern: 1-1-2, 1-1-2 pause 2, 1-1-2-2-3.
Free form striking but each taking it in turns to look for the clinch by using one of the 3 primary methods - head movement and coming inside, forearm checks or wrapping the lead arm and swimming for an undertook.
Rounds of free form but with hands only moving in specific number strike patterns. Working from 3 to 2 to 1 but throwing attacks as soon as they finish their final attack combination. Nice drill for keeping the defence sharp, keeping the pace high and forcing movement.
The next progression from this was to toe to toe sparring with the focus on breaking their rhythms but maintaining your own tight defence and attack.
Groundwork: drilling the sweep from bottom control. Similar the first oneida Renzo Gracie's book. Control a forearm and pin the hand to the floor, same side leg pinned across his back, reach over and clasp the tricep of the arm on the floor. Post up onto your hand and hip up for the sweep into top control.
Ended with some ground free form sparring with Craig. Being a gymnast he has great balance and strength coupled with great determination. Top session as always
Free form striking but each taking it in turns to look for the clinch by using one of the 3 primary methods - head movement and coming inside, forearm checks or wrapping the lead arm and swimming for an undertook.
Rounds of free form but with hands only moving in specific number strike patterns. Working from 3 to 2 to 1 but throwing attacks as soon as they finish their final attack combination. Nice drill for keeping the defence sharp, keeping the pace high and forcing movement.
The next progression from this was to toe to toe sparring with the focus on breaking their rhythms but maintaining your own tight defence and attack.
Groundwork: drilling the sweep from bottom control. Similar the first oneida Renzo Gracie's book. Control a forearm and pin the hand to the floor, same side leg pinned across his back, reach over and clasp the tricep of the arm on the floor. Post up onto your hand and hip up for the sweep into top control.
Ended with some ground free form sparring with Craig. Being a gymnast he has great balance and strength coupled with great determination. Top session as always
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Week 19: Arm extension detail
Grappling warm up: lots of quick rounds. Had the pleasure of Ptas and his calf compression but I responded in kind with a successful leg suppression.
Main part of the class was taken up with lots of detail around the arm extension.
Lee spent a great deal of time going through a detailed set up. The basic sequence of details is as follows:
Top centre control - chest arm trap - hug the other arm under the shoulder-lean and sit over - knees tight together, feet down and head side foot hooked under other ankle - lift arm and wrap - keep his arm on your chest and lie back to complete the submission.
From the sitting part of the arm extension we also looked at variation from this position: wrist extension (which looked very similar to a goose neck and as unpleasant as one), downward and upward shoulder rotation. Each of these will work as subs alone but also they will more than likely try to extend the arm to escape thus giving you the arm extension.
Sparring: Ground with strikes. Biggest learning tonight was with Chris who was landing heavy shots as I was typically on my back. I managed to manipulate the head to create stretched tension in his side which became a good place to land strikes. He was also landing a good variety which kept me very alert and busy.
Main part of the class was taken up with lots of detail around the arm extension.
Lee spent a great deal of time going through a detailed set up. The basic sequence of details is as follows:
Top centre control - chest arm trap - hug the other arm under the shoulder-lean and sit over - knees tight together, feet down and head side foot hooked under other ankle - lift arm and wrap - keep his arm on your chest and lie back to complete the submission.
From the sitting part of the arm extension we also looked at variation from this position: wrist extension (which looked very similar to a goose neck and as unpleasant as one), downward and upward shoulder rotation. Each of these will work as subs alone but also they will more than likely try to extend the arm to escape thus giving you the arm extension.
Sparring: Ground with strikes. Biggest learning tonight was with Chris who was landing heavy shots as I was typically on my back. I managed to manipulate the head to create stretched tension in his side which became a good place to land strikes. He was also landing a good variety which kept me very alert and busy.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Week 18 Clinch and takedown
Single and double leg, single hip clinch drilling
Free form sparring looking for the single or double
Sparring from the clinch looking for the takedown
Primary grips (head, neck, shoulder and arm)
Primary and secondary looking to dominate and have balance taken
Free form standing sparring
Lee's video on preventing slam from leg and shoulder compression (triangle)
Free form sparring looking for the single or double
Sparring from the clinch looking for the takedown
Primary grips (head, neck, shoulder and arm)
Primary and secondary looking to dominate and have balance taken
Free form standing sparring
Lee's video on preventing slam from leg and shoulder compression (triangle)
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