Thankfully with a purpose and not in some drug induced metronome fashion. After a warm up from Milzy on a bloody cold night with got down to some clinch drills to increase body temperature in preparation for work to follow.
No grip clinch fighting.
Grip clinch fighting.
Fighting for the single leg. Seb was his usual relentless and effective. I got very tired very quick and managed bugger all. One day Seb, one day...
Fighting for the takedown from the clinch.
Main part of class was looking at using the body sway in striking range as a defensive manoeuvre to trigger an attack from it.
Sway (without moving the feet) out of the way of the head shot and use the returning body motion to attack with. The attacker uses any type of attack to the head.
This drill developed into the sway followed by:
3 hand strikes
Kick off the front leg then 3 strikes. Kick off the front leg as the weight is transferred to the rear leg as the sway happens meaning the leg can be lifted and used to strike with.
Movement now allowed but same idea: defend with body motion and minimal footwork then attack with a combination of up to 5 strikes using any of the 8 limbs.
Aggressive attack posture (always moving forward throwing constant attacks) v standard attack posture (lateral footwork and counter strikes). Did this for several long rounds which really taxed the stamina. Key points are stay relaxed in all motions be they defensive or attacking, control the breathing. First round I worked with Will and second round with Chris where the pressure and pace was more intense. This was the first time that I could move constantly forward and throw attacks. Chris was really good at moving and countering which meant visually my eyes kept squinting so it was good to get used to going forward and into a stream of punches
Ground and pound in bottom control: 2 very tough rounds with both fighters striking, constantly. No holding or submissions allowed.
The main. Class ended with a mad Milzy ab workout which was tremendous.
Post class I grappled with Mishel who is strong, has an excellent base and very aggressive. Then I grappled with Ptas which was nice and to and fro until something in the back of my right knee made a horrible loud pop. Thankfully not too much damage has been done. In addition it was nice to work with and old new face in Phil.
Tonight was a step forward for me to exercise some of the demons from last week. I needed to face some hardship tonight and gladly came out the other side feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Finally some exciting news on the future of promai was talked to us tonight by Lee. More to follow in a few weeks when the all gears are in motion.
PS. Thank you to all the training partners for their patience, guidance and pain
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Week 67: inverted side control
Lazily I made these notes last week after training and have not made the time to add the details to the sub headings. Below is what was covered in the main class plus from my perspective as usual.
Transition from side to inverted
Downward shoulder rotation with the leg
Own leg grab with head control
Elbow extension with pushing the shoulder down
Arm trap with leg for striking opportunities
Free form grappling with Craig. Big moment for Criag as he pulled off his first sub against me; a swift and nasty inner forearm choke that I defended poorly and he deserved to get.
Free form grappling with Will plus strikes
Standing free form
Boxing only
Body shots only
Kicks only
Clinch in to takedown
Freeform grappling with Mishel
Charlie's invented submission from a triangle defence.
The main point for me tonight was that this was the first striking class since the break and I have nicely gathered up all my old fears about striking (being loose with the attacks, being tense and defensive and fearful of punches to the face) so was quite disheartened. I felt that towards the end of 2012 I was doing well to conquer my demons but how quickly self doubt can creep back. Hopefully next week I get a chance to grow through hardship.
Transition from side to inverted
Downward shoulder rotation with the leg
Own leg grab with head control
Elbow extension with pushing the shoulder down
Arm trap with leg for striking opportunities
Free form grappling with Craig. Big moment for Criag as he pulled off his first sub against me; a swift and nasty inner forearm choke that I defended poorly and he deserved to get.
Free form grappling with Will plus strikes
Standing free form
Boxing only
Body shots only
Kicks only
Clinch in to takedown
Freeform grappling with Mishel
Charlie's invented submission from a triangle defence.
The main point for me tonight was that this was the first striking class since the break and I have nicely gathered up all my old fears about striking (being loose with the attacks, being tense and defensive and fearful of punches to the face) so was quite disheartened. I felt that towards the end of 2012 I was doing well to conquer my demons but how quickly self doubt can creep back. Hopefully next week I get a chance to grow through hardship.
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Week 66: session 1 of 2013
Tonight was a mix of drills primarily focussed on the ground. After a good strong warm up from Joe we moved into a 4 station carousel of partner drills.
1: using the wall to escape a ground position. Start in side control and fight to get to the wall and attempt to do what Bisping does best; wall climb and escape. I personally found this incredibly tough from a technical perspective as I had never done it before. I tried to remember and visualise what I have seen happen in the cage with varying degrees of terribleness. Thankfully I enjoyed the challenge.
2: prone heavy bag striking working from all the grounded positions possible.
3: eyes closed free form grappling with no striking but submissions. I really love the eyes closed grappling as it works on feel and helps me to relax more as one stimulus is taken away from me.
4: big gloves free form grappling, no submissions and striking only. Nice to hit in the face again after such a long break.
It was nice to spend lots of time working through these drills.
There was a brief interlude when Seb, who celebrates his birthday this weekend, got a group beating. Happy birthday mate!!
The next part of the session was free form grappling with only one person attempting submissions. When the sub is on we had to tap, the sub was then slightly loosened thus giving us a chance to work out an escape with pressure. I started off with Joe with was great as I had not yet had the pleasure of grappling with him and this is week 66!! Joe was nurturing yet tough so lots to take away from him. Secondly I got Milzy which is another great way to start the new year. Typically tough task master as usual but no so much that I needed to use the Farsi swear word he taught me last year. Finally I got Charlie but we only managed 10 seconds before time was called.
The class was then split. The main group work on stand up into knock down simulation into free form (I think). Me and a few others were asked to work with 4 new lads on takedowns from the knees. The aim being to get anywhere from arse to shoulder on the mat. I began with Pete who I believe has a background in Judo. Nice strong base, aggressive in the clinch and decent balance. Kept working hard too. Next we moved into free form grappling with submissions so I partnered with Dan who has a good centre of gravity and is strong. We rolled well, he had good positional awareness, used his weight well and was tenacious. Hopefully they will continue to come to class.
The final drill was stand up free form. When Lee called ground we then used striking from the knees. This was a fast paced drill in that the length of each round was short. I teamed up with Ivan who is efficient, precise and aggressive.
After class was finished did a few rounds of extra grappling free form with Craig. He is coming on really well. His base, control, positioning, defence and attack. I can no longer take it easy as he nearly caught me several time. Very proud of my mate indeed.
Great session tonight after what feels like the proverbial eternity. My ears are burning hot, my back is sore and my face feels like I have been in the sun all day. No sporting activity can compare.
1: using the wall to escape a ground position. Start in side control and fight to get to the wall and attempt to do what Bisping does best; wall climb and escape. I personally found this incredibly tough from a technical perspective as I had never done it before. I tried to remember and visualise what I have seen happen in the cage with varying degrees of terribleness. Thankfully I enjoyed the challenge.
2: prone heavy bag striking working from all the grounded positions possible.
3: eyes closed free form grappling with no striking but submissions. I really love the eyes closed grappling as it works on feel and helps me to relax more as one stimulus is taken away from me.
4: big gloves free form grappling, no submissions and striking only. Nice to hit in the face again after such a long break.
It was nice to spend lots of time working through these drills.
There was a brief interlude when Seb, who celebrates his birthday this weekend, got a group beating. Happy birthday mate!!
The next part of the session was free form grappling with only one person attempting submissions. When the sub is on we had to tap, the sub was then slightly loosened thus giving us a chance to work out an escape with pressure. I started off with Joe with was great as I had not yet had the pleasure of grappling with him and this is week 66!! Joe was nurturing yet tough so lots to take away from him. Secondly I got Milzy which is another great way to start the new year. Typically tough task master as usual but no so much that I needed to use the Farsi swear word he taught me last year. Finally I got Charlie but we only managed 10 seconds before time was called.
The class was then split. The main group work on stand up into knock down simulation into free form (I think). Me and a few others were asked to work with 4 new lads on takedowns from the knees. The aim being to get anywhere from arse to shoulder on the mat. I began with Pete who I believe has a background in Judo. Nice strong base, aggressive in the clinch and decent balance. Kept working hard too. Next we moved into free form grappling with submissions so I partnered with Dan who has a good centre of gravity and is strong. We rolled well, he had good positional awareness, used his weight well and was tenacious. Hopefully they will continue to come to class.
The final drill was stand up free form. When Lee called ground we then used striking from the knees. This was a fast paced drill in that the length of each round was short. I teamed up with Ivan who is efficient, precise and aggressive.
After class was finished did a few rounds of extra grappling free form with Craig. He is coming on really well. His base, control, positioning, defence and attack. I can no longer take it easy as he nearly caught me several time. Very proud of my mate indeed.
Great session tonight after what feels like the proverbial eternity. My ears are burning hot, my back is sore and my face feels like I have been in the sun all day. No sporting activity can compare.
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