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
Showing posts with label conditioning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conditioning. Show all posts
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Week 72: One small step for man, one giant leap for me...
4 basic takedown drilling: the single hip capture, double hip capture, single and double leg. When drilling it is important to keep the pressure always on them so they are being controlled by you. Pressure does not mean always forward.
Forearm and bicep suppression (the lion killer)details. We spent a few minutes getting the mechanics down on a kneeling partner:
at least the wrapping arm to get the elbow under the chin by driving the shoulder forward,
arms are relaxed,
other arm with back of hand on the head,
head to head,
turn the muscles on from relaxed and this should enable to technique to finish.
Circling footwork. This was a very specific drill to practise attacking when the partner stops circling away from your rear hand and almost squares up, you can then attack with a crisp flurry.
Freeform grappling: A good hard couple of rounds with Craig and a big fella who likes competitive shooting (sorry for not remembering your name). Worked with Craig on how to transition from bottom and half bottom control to the knees. We also looked at how to not slide over the head when in back control with the person the floor in the turtle position.
Big glove striking: Standing and on the ground. This is the giant leap for me where my fear of receiving and giving head shots began to diminish. Seems like such an odd fear or hang up to have in this sport but it is something that has been lingering deep inside for many years. As I trust Craig I thought I could be brave and perhaps a little bit stupid and not defend all of the head shots, to see them coming and to allow them to come. It was horrible but my mindset was simply what is the worst that could happen? A broken nose? A KO? And if they do happen then what? Well I simply carry on with life, maybe with a few less brain cells but stronger psychologically for overcoming some hardship.
I must thank my caring instructor for not allowing me to nurse my bleeding nose in lieu of the conditioning end to the class. "I don't care if you are bleeding Paul, get yourself over here!" So with my little red Hitler moustache I dragged myself through some proper tough conditioning whilst leaking DNA on the mats.
Forearm and bicep suppression (the lion killer)details. We spent a few minutes getting the mechanics down on a kneeling partner:
at least the wrapping arm to get the elbow under the chin by driving the shoulder forward,
arms are relaxed,
other arm with back of hand on the head,
head to head,
turn the muscles on from relaxed and this should enable to technique to finish.
Circling footwork. This was a very specific drill to practise attacking when the partner stops circling away from your rear hand and almost squares up, you can then attack with a crisp flurry.
Freeform grappling: A good hard couple of rounds with Craig and a big fella who likes competitive shooting (sorry for not remembering your name). Worked with Craig on how to transition from bottom and half bottom control to the knees. We also looked at how to not slide over the head when in back control with the person the floor in the turtle position.
Big glove striking: Standing and on the ground. This is the giant leap for me where my fear of receiving and giving head shots began to diminish. Seems like such an odd fear or hang up to have in this sport but it is something that has been lingering deep inside for many years. As I trust Craig I thought I could be brave and perhaps a little bit stupid and not defend all of the head shots, to see them coming and to allow them to come. It was horrible but my mindset was simply what is the worst that could happen? A broken nose? A KO? And if they do happen then what? Well I simply carry on with life, maybe with a few less brain cells but stronger psychologically for overcoming some hardship.
I must thank my caring instructor for not allowing me to nurse my bleeding nose in lieu of the conditioning end to the class. "I don't care if you are bleeding Paul, get yourself over here!" So with my little red Hitler moustache I dragged myself through some proper tough conditioning whilst leaking DNA on the mats.
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Week 61: GSP's front leg
Warm up: standing grappling looking for the single leg capture. Nice chance to get the neck and head warmed up by using them as another control limb. Had several rounds and fun with Sami who exchanged more faster paced and level changing work.
With the GSP v Conduit fight this weekend the theme was more off curriculum and a focus on the high quality foundational skills of GSP.
Elbow extension: GSP's first loss was this against Matt Hughes. GSP was looking for a downward shoulder rotation from half guard, Hughes put pressure on the torso, slid his leg out and spun around the head into elbow extension. This was our first drill tonight. This is one of the things I absolutely love about MMA. Everything has a counter and nothing is 100% certain to work. If only other martial arts could embrace this philosophy and honesty then there would be a ton less bullshit in the world.
I used to train with one instructor who when asked, "What happens when the fight goes to the ground?" He simply and arrogantly replied with "I have not taught you right". Clearly implying that his anti grapple-wrestle-rugby tackle methods were bullet proof. Shame he never put them to the test. In addition I used to train in Croydon on Wednesday mornings in the mid 90s (life at uni affords such time freedoms) and the space we used was owned by a huge karate teacher. Over the years his girth began to match his height. I had a casual martial arts chat with him and asked about ground fighting and also confidently said that none of his fights have ever gone there. Now either this guy is a Jedi or never been under pressure. I used to be a massive boxing fan in the 90s and in all boxing matches there is some rudimentary type of stand up grappling to punch from a better position whilst tying up your opponents hands. I guess my mini rant is the baffling nature of traditional martial artists who do not want to look out of their comfort zones yet seem to know better without practical experience.
We then looked using the jab to get in and out with sound footwork. Keep the rear arm tight and the front arm long, relaxed and moving. Feet move first followed by a fast jab then back out again either backwards or angling. As the drill round progressed the added bonus of throwing 2 punches after their jab was used to make sure they were moving their feet and thus torso back to safety. I found this simplest of actions quite hard as my legs were a little slow in retreating. However I did find that angling better suited my body/brain rather than straight back. Practise, practise, practise... This drill was also a good opportunity to be a punch bag and get hit by seeing the punch and trying not to react away or close the eyes.
Double leg takedown using jab footwork. And looked at the 3 types depending on what energy the opponent gives us.
1: the turning and lifting wheel type.
2: the straight drive type by pulling his leg between your legs as we drive with the shoulder. (This is where we spent our time practising).
3: the sweeping type.
Our target as fighters is to be aware of the angle and pressure and disrupt the base of our opponent using these attacks. Indeed there is a myriad of other attacks at this range but I think the point tonight was about what can happen in terms of fundamentals from the front leg.
A quick drill Lee had us then do was a chaining of numbers 1 and 2 in blocks of four. It helped to practise keeping the head in the right position and have them continually off balance. I was working with Ptas who gave excellent feedback; my left hand kept creeping up to the hip from the knee.
Finally we looked at the spinning side kick from the initial jab footwork. Plant and turn the heel to face the opponent and side kick! Turn to far to short then you will miss.
Ended with a really big ground free form with Craig.
Driving home Craig and I had our usual post match press conference. I came to the realisation about my fears on the feet as opposed to the ground. I am scared of stand up as I can't predict what will happen to me when hit; falling down, too much of my body to protect. I prefer fighting on the ground, with heavy contact, to the stand up as I have no where to fall and the targets are usually less. Yet when I watch the video above and see Milzy and Sami or even anyone in the class they all seem nice and relaxed, move fluidly in attack and defence. This is my target; to transfer the confidence on the ground to stand up phase fighting. And this is why I love learning because it is hard, it is a process and a journey. I hope I never get to the destination because what will I do then?
With the GSP v Conduit fight this weekend the theme was more off curriculum and a focus on the high quality foundational skills of GSP.
Elbow extension: GSP's first loss was this against Matt Hughes. GSP was looking for a downward shoulder rotation from half guard, Hughes put pressure on the torso, slid his leg out and spun around the head into elbow extension. This was our first drill tonight. This is one of the things I absolutely love about MMA. Everything has a counter and nothing is 100% certain to work. If only other martial arts could embrace this philosophy and honesty then there would be a ton less bullshit in the world.
I used to train with one instructor who when asked, "What happens when the fight goes to the ground?" He simply and arrogantly replied with "I have not taught you right". Clearly implying that his anti grapple-wrestle-rugby tackle methods were bullet proof. Shame he never put them to the test. In addition I used to train in Croydon on Wednesday mornings in the mid 90s (life at uni affords such time freedoms) and the space we used was owned by a huge karate teacher. Over the years his girth began to match his height. I had a casual martial arts chat with him and asked about ground fighting and also confidently said that none of his fights have ever gone there. Now either this guy is a Jedi or never been under pressure. I used to be a massive boxing fan in the 90s and in all boxing matches there is some rudimentary type of stand up grappling to punch from a better position whilst tying up your opponents hands. I guess my mini rant is the baffling nature of traditional martial artists who do not want to look out of their comfort zones yet seem to know better without practical experience.
We then looked using the jab to get in and out with sound footwork. Keep the rear arm tight and the front arm long, relaxed and moving. Feet move first followed by a fast jab then back out again either backwards or angling. As the drill round progressed the added bonus of throwing 2 punches after their jab was used to make sure they were moving their feet and thus torso back to safety. I found this simplest of actions quite hard as my legs were a little slow in retreating. However I did find that angling better suited my body/brain rather than straight back. Practise, practise, practise... This drill was also a good opportunity to be a punch bag and get hit by seeing the punch and trying not to react away or close the eyes.
Double leg takedown using jab footwork. And looked at the 3 types depending on what energy the opponent gives us.
1: the turning and lifting wheel type.
2: the straight drive type by pulling his leg between your legs as we drive with the shoulder. (This is where we spent our time practising).
3: the sweeping type.
Our target as fighters is to be aware of the angle and pressure and disrupt the base of our opponent using these attacks. Indeed there is a myriad of other attacks at this range but I think the point tonight was about what can happen in terms of fundamentals from the front leg.
A quick drill Lee had us then do was a chaining of numbers 1 and 2 in blocks of four. It helped to practise keeping the head in the right position and have them continually off balance. I was working with Ptas who gave excellent feedback; my left hand kept creeping up to the hip from the knee.
Finally we looked at the spinning side kick from the initial jab footwork. Plant and turn the heel to face the opponent and side kick! Turn to far to short then you will miss.
Ended with a really big ground free form with Craig.
Driving home Craig and I had our usual post match press conference. I came to the realisation about my fears on the feet as opposed to the ground. I am scared of stand up as I can't predict what will happen to me when hit; falling down, too much of my body to protect. I prefer fighting on the ground, with heavy contact, to the stand up as I have no where to fall and the targets are usually less. Yet when I watch the video above and see Milzy and Sami or even anyone in the class they all seem nice and relaxed, move fluidly in attack and defence. This is my target; to transfer the confidence on the ground to stand up phase fighting. And this is why I love learning because it is hard, it is a process and a journey. I hope I never get to the destination because what will I do then?
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Week 52: Long range striking defence and attack
Tonight saw the end of my first year training at Pro Mai MMA. Gone quick and as this blog show, much has been covered and learnt.
Started off with the Greco-Roman standing clinch drill. Following this we moved into any takedowns from clinch then striking in the clinch. I was a bit naughty in that I was using my head and posture to clinch meaning my arms were free to strike. I noticed that this allowed for more attacks putting my partner on the defence more. I got the idea from Randy's dirty boxing against the fence. Use positive posture to control coupled with a high tempo work rate.
Long range striking: Round kicks to the thigh.
We worked a sequence of drills building on the last to develop sound technique and ultimately creativity:
Checking round kicks;
If they continue to check then attack the rear standing leg;
Use footwork to evade out of range as well as to step into the kick. Both mean you don't get hit where the kick is at it's most effective and powerful;
Attacking with the rear hand when the kick comes in;
Faking the low kick (use the eyes to look down too) as you throw the rear hand to the head. Found this very hard as worked hard over the past year to keep my eyes up!!;
One body action with 2 attacks; the rear punch to the head and the round kick. Need to move the head out to the side for better delivery of technique.
Striking free form sparring rounds.
So here ends my first year at Pro Mai. Looking forward to the future learning with a supreme bunch of training partners under the quality observation and tutelage of fine teachers.
Started off with the Greco-Roman standing clinch drill. Following this we moved into any takedowns from clinch then striking in the clinch. I was a bit naughty in that I was using my head and posture to clinch meaning my arms were free to strike. I noticed that this allowed for more attacks putting my partner on the defence more. I got the idea from Randy's dirty boxing against the fence. Use positive posture to control coupled with a high tempo work rate.
Long range striking: Round kicks to the thigh.
We worked a sequence of drills building on the last to develop sound technique and ultimately creativity:
Checking round kicks;
If they continue to check then attack the rear standing leg;
Use footwork to evade out of range as well as to step into the kick. Both mean you don't get hit where the kick is at it's most effective and powerful;
Attacking with the rear hand when the kick comes in;
Faking the low kick (use the eyes to look down too) as you throw the rear hand to the head. Found this very hard as worked hard over the past year to keep my eyes up!!;
One body action with 2 attacks; the rear punch to the head and the round kick. Need to move the head out to the side for better delivery of technique.
Striking free form sparring rounds.
So here ends my first year at Pro Mai. Looking forward to the future learning with a supreme bunch of training partners under the quality observation and tutelage of fine teachers.
Week 51: Rich Cranny
Tonight we had the privilege to be taught by Lee and Rich Cranny who is the Head instructor for Pro Mai in Australia, PLatinum Extreme.
The focus was on groundwork and instead of my usual detailing of techniques and drills I will just include the learning tips I picked up.
1. Control the head control the body. Face bars are horrible.
2. Posture in grappling: concave spine to control his posture. Side control the pressure drives into the side of the rib cage not planted on top.
3. Pyramid concept of base.
4. Control with the body is much more effective than squeezing with the arms.
Really great session to have two high quality teachers complimenting each other in taking the class. Looking forward to seeing the vids going up on the MMA121 website soon...
The focus was on groundwork and instead of my usual detailing of techniques and drills I will just include the learning tips I picked up.
1. Control the head control the body. Face bars are horrible.
2. Posture in grappling: concave spine to control his posture. Side control the pressure drives into the side of the rib cage not planted on top.
3. Pyramid concept of base.
4. Control with the body is much more effective than squeezing with the arms.
Really great session to have two high quality teachers complimenting each other in taking the class. Looking forward to seeing the vids going up on the MMA121 website soon...
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Week 47: clinch attacks, body shots and leg kicks
Attacking from shoulder control. As he pummels under throw the elbow. Also throw the punch by giving a little more distance.
Neck control and using knees to thighs then the chest when he moves the legs.
Body shot from long range sparring. Looking to develop the timing and vision to find this attack.
Striking on the ground with big gloves. Limits the gripping potential so forces you to work positional striking.
Round kick then front kick drill. Only allowed to defend with footwork. Round kicks attacking the upper legs and front kicks at the torso.
Ended with conditioning: 10 count press ups, seal press ups, press up wrestling finishing with lying banana holds.
Neck control and using knees to thighs then the chest when he moves the legs.
Body shot from long range sparring. Looking to develop the timing and vision to find this attack.
Striking on the ground with big gloves. Limits the gripping potential so forces you to work positional striking.
Round kick then front kick drill. Only allowed to defend with footwork. Round kicks attacking the upper legs and front kicks at the torso.
Ended with conditioning: 10 count press ups, seal press ups, press up wrestling finishing with lying banana holds.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Week 42: inverted side control
No grip grappling warm up: great fun grappling this way as I found ways to use my legs and the back of my wrists to enable control without the use of the inner parts of the hands.
Main technical part of the class:
Inverted side control:
Key points: leg side leg sweeps under own hips, weight on his chest, tight bicep grip and elbow clamp, no gap between you and his armpit so he can't escape, hips off the floor and weight driving into his chest.
Knee extension: he goes to hook a leg in escaping from the inverted side control so dive for the foot and pull it into to the side of your neck. Feet on his arse, knees clamped together, one hand control his foot as the other wraps the lower leg to your chest. Extend and arch backwards with tight tight control for the sub.
Forearm with shoulder suppression: Let him escape by trying to push the face. As his arm straightens push past it and throw the head to the floor as you get your hips to the floor quickly too. Palm to palm grip and drive down with the shoulder hopefully closing the sub off.
I need much more time with both of these as I found them quite difficult to pull off swiftly and cleanly.
Reversal sweep: Keep him moving and disrupt his base, feel for the gap and roll him over (timing not strength).
Free form grappling with Neil and Milzy. Milzy was hell on earth and spent the eternity escaping and trying to prevent his numerous submissions. Thankfully he was kind and commented on my defensive grappling and improvements in addition to saying nice things about me as a teacher!!! Seriously hard work grappling him. Control and positional awareness is excellent as is his variety of attacks. In addition when he caught me in upward and downward shoulder rotation he knew how much pressure to apply to let me attempt to escape before finishing. Appreciated the consideration of his training partner's welfare.
Strength and conditioning: Range of press ups, v ups, more press ups ending with good old fashioned static mat holds.
Bizarre injury of the session is some pleasant purpling of my right big toe nail.
Main technical part of the class:
Inverted side control:
Key points: leg side leg sweeps under own hips, weight on his chest, tight bicep grip and elbow clamp, no gap between you and his armpit so he can't escape, hips off the floor and weight driving into his chest.
Knee extension: he goes to hook a leg in escaping from the inverted side control so dive for the foot and pull it into to the side of your neck. Feet on his arse, knees clamped together, one hand control his foot as the other wraps the lower leg to your chest. Extend and arch backwards with tight tight control for the sub.
Forearm with shoulder suppression: Let him escape by trying to push the face. As his arm straightens push past it and throw the head to the floor as you get your hips to the floor quickly too. Palm to palm grip and drive down with the shoulder hopefully closing the sub off.
I need much more time with both of these as I found them quite difficult to pull off swiftly and cleanly.
Reversal sweep: Keep him moving and disrupt his base, feel for the gap and roll him over (timing not strength).
Free form grappling with Neil and Milzy. Milzy was hell on earth and spent the eternity escaping and trying to prevent his numerous submissions. Thankfully he was kind and commented on my defensive grappling and improvements in addition to saying nice things about me as a teacher!!! Seriously hard work grappling him. Control and positional awareness is excellent as is his variety of attacks. In addition when he caught me in upward and downward shoulder rotation he knew how much pressure to apply to let me attempt to escape before finishing. Appreciated the consideration of his training partner's welfare.
Strength and conditioning: Range of press ups, v ups, more press ups ending with good old fashioned static mat holds.
Bizarre injury of the session is some pleasant purpling of my right big toe nail.
Week 41: striking
Bulldogs warm up. Lots of fun despite the high risk of toe nail tearing potential of our mats!!
Side control battle: pass the leg over or bottom player secure a leg
Ground offence and defence
• correct defensive posture and positioning: 2 points of contact – the hip and elbow same side of the body, soles of feet together knees splayed.
• round kick attack: grab the heel and straighten the leg to attack with round kick.
• downward heel kick: an axe kick to those who know this name. The kick that made Andy Hug famous in K-1 in the 90’s.
• knee to the hamstring.
• escape from single grab: turn the foot towards the thumb and the grip will break.
• escape from double grab on one leg: turn the foot to the outside of his forearm to apply pressure to his grip.
Free form striking rounds.
Fast hands on the lead hand: throwing 3 fast punches off one hand then the other with the aim of making each set faster, more relaxed and simply better than the last set.
Fast hand combo: body – body – head and same starting with other hand. Maintain the rhythm until an error and start again.
Phone box sparring: Toe to toe with Craig. This was a mix of covering and opening to get used to strikes coming into the face.
Side control battle: pass the leg over or bottom player secure a leg
Ground offence and defence
• correct defensive posture and positioning: 2 points of contact – the hip and elbow same side of the body, soles of feet together knees splayed.
• round kick attack: grab the heel and straighten the leg to attack with round kick.
• downward heel kick: an axe kick to those who know this name. The kick that made Andy Hug famous in K-1 in the 90’s.
• knee to the hamstring.
• escape from single grab: turn the foot towards the thumb and the grip will break.
• escape from double grab on one leg: turn the foot to the outside of his forearm to apply pressure to his grip.
Free form striking rounds.
Fast hands on the lead hand: throwing 3 fast punches off one hand then the other with the aim of making each set faster, more relaxed and simply better than the last set.
Fast hand combo: body – body – head and same starting with other hand. Maintain the rhythm until an error and start again.
Phone box sparring: Toe to toe with Craig. This was a mix of covering and opening to get used to strikes coming into the face.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Week 37: syllabus; double leg plus inner forearm choke detail
Started tonight with a some nice fast paced warm up drills. The first being the knee tap. If successful the opponent needs to sprawl as sanction. This progressed into a knee grab as if doing a single leg takedown.
Second warm up drill was working from Clinch to single leg free form movement. As always the head is key, no looking down, spine must be nice and positive.
Main part of the class in terms of learning and technique work was in two parts. Firstly we drilled Double leg detail.
Milsy and Charlie broke it all down very nicely into steps:
1. Squat down
2. Lead knee down
3. Capture the back of the knees as you press the ear against hhis lower rib cage, head on the outside, elbows in tight, eyes up, positive spine then step rear leg around his lead leg.
4. Stand and lift his lead leg and drive around with your head. Drive with the head keeping the eyes up as this will prevent the head from dropping. Ensure the drive is in a circular motion over his standing leg forcing him off balance and thus to hop to maintain balance. Worked both sides for ages which was great as it gave us time to simply drill well.
The second part of the class revolved around Inner forearm choke detail. Last weekend Nate Diaz finished Jim Miller with a variation of this. Joe Rogan called it a power guillotine. So the learning was around the inner forearm choke and transitioning into a forearm and bicep suppression. Lee started from knee level. Opponent was on all fours and the inner forearm detail was outlined. Key learning points: shoulder pressure, stack other forearm perpendicular over his trapezium, scrunch over to close tighter. If you want to roll to your back for the finish here is the extra key points: leg up on his back on opposite side to arm wrapping neck to prevent him escaping that side.
'Power guillotine' this is where the Promai naming conventions comes into its own coupled with being more observant watching MMA of what is happening. I should watch fights again with out commentary to establish what is going on in terms of body specifics. Lee said that Diaz simply dived deep on the neck which for us became a forearm and bicep suppression, Diaz also lay down perpendicular as to deepen the attack on the neck. Lee had us work this plus the arm in variation which went on very quickly.
After class I talked to Lee about the naming convention and how I find it really helpful. No more do I need to remember all the different labels for moves, now it more a case of being more self aware of the 5 types of submission and which part of my body is on his and how is it affecting him? At first the Promai naming convention was completely alien and struggled to get my head around it. Now I have a clear understanding intellectually as well as practically. A simple change of language has improved my performance in grappling.
Sparring conditioning. Small glove stand up long and clinch range,fast but light, free form grappling and striking. Big glove long distance sparring. Plus rounds of shadow fighting, sprawls and push ups. I ended the session having a most entertaining grapple with Ptas. Lots of positional change, sweeps, sub attempts. Nice and even. Physical chess.
Second warm up drill was working from Clinch to single leg free form movement. As always the head is key, no looking down, spine must be nice and positive.
Main part of the class in terms of learning and technique work was in two parts. Firstly we drilled Double leg detail.
Milsy and Charlie broke it all down very nicely into steps:
1. Squat down
2. Lead knee down
3. Capture the back of the knees as you press the ear against hhis lower rib cage, head on the outside, elbows in tight, eyes up, positive spine then step rear leg around his lead leg.
4. Stand and lift his lead leg and drive around with your head. Drive with the head keeping the eyes up as this will prevent the head from dropping. Ensure the drive is in a circular motion over his standing leg forcing him off balance and thus to hop to maintain balance. Worked both sides for ages which was great as it gave us time to simply drill well.
The second part of the class revolved around Inner forearm choke detail. Last weekend Nate Diaz finished Jim Miller with a variation of this. Joe Rogan called it a power guillotine. So the learning was around the inner forearm choke and transitioning into a forearm and bicep suppression. Lee started from knee level. Opponent was on all fours and the inner forearm detail was outlined. Key learning points: shoulder pressure, stack other forearm perpendicular over his trapezium, scrunch over to close tighter. If you want to roll to your back for the finish here is the extra key points: leg up on his back on opposite side to arm wrapping neck to prevent him escaping that side.
'Power guillotine' this is where the Promai naming conventions comes into its own coupled with being more observant watching MMA of what is happening. I should watch fights again with out commentary to establish what is going on in terms of body specifics. Lee said that Diaz simply dived deep on the neck which for us became a forearm and bicep suppression, Diaz also lay down perpendicular as to deepen the attack on the neck. Lee had us work this plus the arm in variation which went on very quickly.
After class I talked to Lee about the naming convention and how I find it really helpful. No more do I need to remember all the different labels for moves, now it more a case of being more self aware of the 5 types of submission and which part of my body is on his and how is it affecting him? At first the Promai naming convention was completely alien and struggled to get my head around it. Now I have a clear understanding intellectually as well as practically. A simple change of language has improved my performance in grappling.
Sparring conditioning. Small glove stand up long and clinch range,fast but light, free form grappling and striking. Big glove long distance sparring. Plus rounds of shadow fighting, sprawls and push ups. I ended the session having a most entertaining grapple with Ptas. Lots of positional change, sweeps, sub attempts. Nice and even. Physical chess.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Week 36: grappling and conditioning
Guard pass: Sitting back and sticking knee in the centre of his hips will open his guard.
Triangle from mount: sitting in a nice a high mount offering attack to the head. He should cover up this giving you the chance to gain wrist control, push it to his chest as you step over put the shin behind his neck. Fall to the side side as you close the triangle.
Knee bar from guard: As he stands to stack your guard, underhook an ankle and move your hips to allow taking him down by manipulating with your legs. As he goes down wrap his leg for the knee extension. Get the hips against his knee to act as the most powerful fulcrum.
Calf suppression from guard: Could be my new most favourite sub. From open guard, keep his mind active with your hands as your lower shin looks to 'rest' on the back of his knee. When the time is right swim under his arms, take your head towards the foot you are going for, this will help to give you more power and leverage in the compression. Put that foot back with your lower shin compressing nicely against his calf. A sweet, sweet submission.
Guillotine baiting inside guard to jumping pass into head and arm triangle. Does what it says on the tin. I was hoping for another 30 minutes to deepen the learning and understanding of these techniques. For some reason they seem still caught in my visual memory so will take the opportunity to get visualising them before bed tonight.
Free form striking round, free form clinch round, free form grappling round.
Heavy bag conditioning striking from mount, guard and clinch. 30 second rounds.
Mirror striking shadow boxing with specifics inserted: body shots, head shots, knees and elbows, sprawls, push ups, double knee whilst maintaining. Very tough towards the end as the floor became very greasy from sweaty feet and the mirrors became redundant from condensation. Great pace a nd variety to this drill.
Mat static hold rounds and talk of mental over physical strength. Lee reminded us that the body is stronger and has more stamina than the mind thinks. He used the analogy of £1000 on the floor to go for 10 more seconds. A pleasing sound was that of mats dropping to the floor before mine did, which it didn't and that most of those are bigger and stronger than me. Interestingly, my limited vision gave a me a view of Crag and Ptas both who remained strong through the mat lift also. It is the time of the smaller man!!!
Video link for the guillotine bait: http://www.mma121.com/videos/mma-submission-tip-guillotine-to-arm-triangle-choke/
Triangle from mount: sitting in a nice a high mount offering attack to the head. He should cover up this giving you the chance to gain wrist control, push it to his chest as you step over put the shin behind his neck. Fall to the side side as you close the triangle.
Knee bar from guard: As he stands to stack your guard, underhook an ankle and move your hips to allow taking him down by manipulating with your legs. As he goes down wrap his leg for the knee extension. Get the hips against his knee to act as the most powerful fulcrum.
Calf suppression from guard: Could be my new most favourite sub. From open guard, keep his mind active with your hands as your lower shin looks to 'rest' on the back of his knee. When the time is right swim under his arms, take your head towards the foot you are going for, this will help to give you more power and leverage in the compression. Put that foot back with your lower shin compressing nicely against his calf. A sweet, sweet submission.
Guillotine baiting inside guard to jumping pass into head and arm triangle. Does what it says on the tin. I was hoping for another 30 minutes to deepen the learning and understanding of these techniques. For some reason they seem still caught in my visual memory so will take the opportunity to get visualising them before bed tonight.
Free form striking round, free form clinch round, free form grappling round.
Heavy bag conditioning striking from mount, guard and clinch. 30 second rounds.
Mirror striking shadow boxing with specifics inserted: body shots, head shots, knees and elbows, sprawls, push ups, double knee whilst maintaining. Very tough towards the end as the floor became very greasy from sweaty feet and the mirrors became redundant from condensation. Great pace a nd variety to this drill.
Mat static hold rounds and talk of mental over physical strength. Lee reminded us that the body is stronger and has more stamina than the mind thinks. He used the analogy of £1000 on the floor to go for 10 more seconds. A pleasing sound was that of mats dropping to the floor before mine did, which it didn't and that most of those are bigger and stronger than me. Interestingly, my limited vision gave a me a view of Crag and Ptas both who remained strong through the mat lift also. It is the time of the smaller man!!!
Video link for the guillotine bait: http://www.mma121.com/videos/mma-submission-tip-guillotine-to-arm-triangle-choke/
Friday, 16 March 2012
Week 29: syllabus work
Footwork round kick drill: shin pads on and round kicking delight to our partners legs. No checking, blocking just evasive footwork combined with eyes up and tidy attack position hands. This started the night off nicely in terms of pain. I must have feet made of paper as even with swanky grappling socks on the balls of both feet became soft and felt as if containing small pockets of fluid. Gladly when I removed my socks at the end of the session there was no fluid neither clear nor red meeting my eyes.
I really enjoy this drill from the limited nature of it. I enjoy practising the opportunity to keep my eyes as as they tend to wander to the areas I am attacking. In addition pain is a great teacher and unless you want your legs smashed to bits you tend to move them quick quickly.
Free form stand up sparring
Lee then talked about strategy in the ring at the start of a fight. We looked at working on both intensity and relaxation opening rounds. We began with no engagement. Just getting our partners hopefully moving backwards from the wide range and frequency of our implied attacks and they to us. This progressed into starting in a similar fashion but when first contact was made it changed into free form sparring whilst maintaining same relaxation and intensity.
Chest spins with hooks in: keeping pressure just between their shoulder blades as spinning and thus transitioning from top to side to centre back control. Hands kept off the floor until in centre back control. Lee gave a great time to enable swifter and more secure control. By sitting up the hooks slide in easier than with the chest down. It does need to be swift as pressure needs to be applied to the back
Side back control ankle pick and hook in: this position was then tamed about Lee as a very advantageous position, in many ways more so than centre back control. From here with back pressure applied control the far side arm and pick up his far side ankle, nice and high. Step over whilst keeping hold you momentarily trap your own arm. Strip it out as the hook makes contact.
Side back control arm extension roll: a tricky sweep and submission needing a lot of commitment. Essentially you roll under his chest pulling him on top of you as you pass your leg over his head and he lands in a very deep arm extension. A tricky sub to pull of successfully but one that is most fun to practise.
Free form grappling with Ptas. Excuses time. He did a very good job tonight. Tight control and vicious submissions. Clearly I have spent too much time want to play as opposed to develop and learn. It is time that I worked to more advantageous positions than playing off my back. Whilst I enjoy it I am not developing. In addition I am spending too much time defending. Perhaps this means more time needs to be practising sweeping and reversing positions?
I really enjoy this drill from the limited nature of it. I enjoy practising the opportunity to keep my eyes as as they tend to wander to the areas I am attacking. In addition pain is a great teacher and unless you want your legs smashed to bits you tend to move them quick quickly.
Free form stand up sparring
Lee then talked about strategy in the ring at the start of a fight. We looked at working on both intensity and relaxation opening rounds. We began with no engagement. Just getting our partners hopefully moving backwards from the wide range and frequency of our implied attacks and they to us. This progressed into starting in a similar fashion but when first contact was made it changed into free form sparring whilst maintaining same relaxation and intensity.
Chest spins with hooks in: keeping pressure just between their shoulder blades as spinning and thus transitioning from top to side to centre back control. Hands kept off the floor until in centre back control. Lee gave a great time to enable swifter and more secure control. By sitting up the hooks slide in easier than with the chest down. It does need to be swift as pressure needs to be applied to the back
Side back control ankle pick and hook in: this position was then tamed about Lee as a very advantageous position, in many ways more so than centre back control. From here with back pressure applied control the far side arm and pick up his far side ankle, nice and high. Step over whilst keeping hold you momentarily trap your own arm. Strip it out as the hook makes contact.
Side back control arm extension roll: a tricky sweep and submission needing a lot of commitment. Essentially you roll under his chest pulling him on top of you as you pass your leg over his head and he lands in a very deep arm extension. A tricky sub to pull of successfully but one that is most fun to practise.
Free form grappling with Ptas. Excuses time. He did a very good job tonight. Tight control and vicious submissions. Clearly I have spent too much time want to play as opposed to develop and learn. It is time that I worked to more advantageous positions than playing off my back. Whilst I enjoy it I am not developing. In addition I am spending too much time defending. Perhaps this means more time needs to be practising sweeping and reversing positions?
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Week 25: striking plus strength and conditioning
started the session by studying combination striking. What follows are what I remember the combinations to be.
7 (lead hand hook punch) - 2 (head height rear hand punch)-round kick to the thigh
1 - 2 round kick to the thigh.
Superman punch - 2 lead round kick. Then changed the combo by altering the kick at the end of a front round kick
1 - 2 - knee then front kick, off both legs. More of a leaping front kick using the first knee to develop power and momentum in the front kick.
5 (straight lead punch to abdomen) - overhand right, clinch, round knee to the thigh followed by rising knee to the face.
Combination building:
Each partner taking it in turns to attack with a combination of shots. The following attacks were called out and they had to be used in your combination.
3 rounds using each: round kick to leg, elbow to body, outward punch.
Strength and conditioning
Leg kicking footwork drill with Milsy. Only allowed to use footwork to evade, no blocking or checking. Keep eyes up, hands disciplined, Got mashed to pieces. Picked up some movement tips from Milsy in terms of faking, twitching the hips, attacking after my attack.
6 attack drill: Again with Milsy. Round kick to each leg kick, round punch to each arm, left and right punch to the abdomen. This is a psychological drill. Lee emphasised no matter what pain we were feeling we must not show it on our face. Don't give anything away. I found this particularly tough with the legs kicks. Either my thighs are sensitive or I am a big tart when receiving leg kicks.
Press up x 8, j partner jumps over you as you press up, when done roll onto back to receive 8 belly punches. Did several rounds of this. About 9 sets.
Leg raises and belly punches as the partner pushes the legs down to hover height over the floor. Legs must be kept straight at all times. 3 set of 10.
Static holds. cross legged, back against the mirrors, elbows against the mirrors with upper arm parallel to the floor. Partner pushes for a count of 10 then pushes down hard for a count of 5. I was with Tom who is massive structurally compared to me so it was more of a workout for me than him. Did 3 sets of this.
Running laps as partner continuously jumps on safety mats. Switch on given call. This was the last conditioning exercise of the night, the jumping was particularly draining but great fun when finished. 3 sets.
Free form striking sparring. Worked with Pete. I focussed on the using the combinations taught at the start of the session. Pete commented on how predictable I was. Fair enough but I did tell him I was using the time to work. Pete then gave me some positive feedback about the progress my striking has made, more relaxed. This is all due to high quality teaching at Promai.
7 (lead hand hook punch) - 2 (head height rear hand punch)-round kick to the thigh
1 - 2 round kick to the thigh.
Superman punch - 2 lead round kick. Then changed the combo by altering the kick at the end of a front round kick
1 - 2 - knee then front kick, off both legs. More of a leaping front kick using the first knee to develop power and momentum in the front kick.
5 (straight lead punch to abdomen) - overhand right, clinch, round knee to the thigh followed by rising knee to the face.
Combination building:
Each partner taking it in turns to attack with a combination of shots. The following attacks were called out and they had to be used in your combination.
3 rounds using each: round kick to leg, elbow to body, outward punch.
Strength and conditioning
Leg kicking footwork drill with Milsy. Only allowed to use footwork to evade, no blocking or checking. Keep eyes up, hands disciplined, Got mashed to pieces. Picked up some movement tips from Milsy in terms of faking, twitching the hips, attacking after my attack.
6 attack drill: Again with Milsy. Round kick to each leg kick, round punch to each arm, left and right punch to the abdomen. This is a psychological drill. Lee emphasised no matter what pain we were feeling we must not show it on our face. Don't give anything away. I found this particularly tough with the legs kicks. Either my thighs are sensitive or I am a big tart when receiving leg kicks.
Press up x 8, j partner jumps over you as you press up, when done roll onto back to receive 8 belly punches. Did several rounds of this. About 9 sets.
Leg raises and belly punches as the partner pushes the legs down to hover height over the floor. Legs must be kept straight at all times. 3 set of 10.
Static holds. cross legged, back against the mirrors, elbows against the mirrors with upper arm parallel to the floor. Partner pushes for a count of 10 then pushes down hard for a count of 5. I was with Tom who is massive structurally compared to me so it was more of a workout for me than him. Did 3 sets of this.
Running laps as partner continuously jumps on safety mats. Switch on given call. This was the last conditioning exercise of the night, the jumping was particularly draining but great fun when finished. 3 sets.
Free form striking sparring. Worked with Pete. I focussed on the using the combinations taught at the start of the session. Pete commented on how predictable I was. Fair enough but I did tell him I was using the time to work. Pete then gave me some positive feedback about the progress my striking has made, more relaxed. This is all due to high quality teaching at Promai.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Week 24: ground and pound
After the usual exercise we got warmed up with a nice clinching drill. The aim was to secure double under hooks.
Then the real fun started, ground and pound training. One person in bottom control and both people are striking. Person on the top could not pass. Bottom controller was allowed to use legs in any way and set up submissions but not complete. This first several rounds were with big gloves. Was good hard training? Mishael almost managed to remove my face from my head with a left hand from hell to the right cheek bone.
We also did the same drill but with the small gloves and were more observant of contact.
Following this we looked at striker versus grappler in ground fighting. This really did limit the striker even though they had to continually strike from all angles. It did mean there had to be some creativity with parts of the body used to strike plus targets searched for. For the second time tonight I almost lost my face thanks to a meaty knee from Tom in transition of movement.
Final drill of the night was looking at options when going for the arm extension and they escape by pulling out and stacking. The end point was a the leg and shoulder suppression. The interesting details were how this transition was achieved. As the pull out and turn towards you squeeze the heels together and into his back, maintain wrist control too. This leg control is a powerful form of control. Keep the legs controlling his spine and posture, loosen the hand control a little so one can be pulled out and likely posted on the floor. As soon as posted attack with leg and shoulder suppression. With initial control you can apply an arm extension as squeezing his spine with your legs.
Strength and conditioning:
Neck: on belly with partner on your back. They push the head down for 10 as you lift it, then hands on the forehead and pull up for 10 as you look to put it back on the matt. Next they push against an ear for 10 then on the other side. Did 2 rounds of this.
Tricep burner: 10 cobra push ups with partner on your back and over the top of the head. First 9 went down with a 4 count, last one went down with a 10 count.
1 1/2 laps of hall 5 sprawls, 1 1/2 lap of hall a 10 strike combination. Did about 5 rounds of this.
Push ups
Sit ups with 2-6 punches at the apex.
Good hard and honest session as usual.
Then the real fun started, ground and pound training. One person in bottom control and both people are striking. Person on the top could not pass. Bottom controller was allowed to use legs in any way and set up submissions but not complete. This first several rounds were with big gloves. Was good hard training? Mishael almost managed to remove my face from my head with a left hand from hell to the right cheek bone.
We also did the same drill but with the small gloves and were more observant of contact.
Following this we looked at striker versus grappler in ground fighting. This really did limit the striker even though they had to continually strike from all angles. It did mean there had to be some creativity with parts of the body used to strike plus targets searched for. For the second time tonight I almost lost my face thanks to a meaty knee from Tom in transition of movement.
Final drill of the night was looking at options when going for the arm extension and they escape by pulling out and stacking. The end point was a the leg and shoulder suppression. The interesting details were how this transition was achieved. As the pull out and turn towards you squeeze the heels together and into his back, maintain wrist control too. This leg control is a powerful form of control. Keep the legs controlling his spine and posture, loosen the hand control a little so one can be pulled out and likely posted on the floor. As soon as posted attack with leg and shoulder suppression. With initial control you can apply an arm extension as squeezing his spine with your legs.
Strength and conditioning:
Neck: on belly with partner on your back. They push the head down for 10 as you lift it, then hands on the forehead and pull up for 10 as you look to put it back on the matt. Next they push against an ear for 10 then on the other side. Did 2 rounds of this.
Tricep burner: 10 cobra push ups with partner on your back and over the top of the head. First 9 went down with a 4 count, last one went down with a 10 count.
1 1/2 laps of hall 5 sprawls, 1 1/2 lap of hall a 10 strike combination. Did about 5 rounds of this.
Push ups
Sit ups with 2-6 punches at the apex.
Good hard and honest session as usual.
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Week 17: Fun and games
As this session was the last Monday of 2011 we 'played' lots of sparring games after some initial technical work.
The session began as always with warm up followed then by some striking combination work led by Pete.
1-2-1-2-6 (6 is right body hook)
1-2-low lead round kick-2
1-2-lead uppercut-2
1-spinning back fist-4-neck clinch to knee
We then had to string them all together in one long combo but taking out all the initial attacks except from the first one. Feels like a nice flowing attack phase.
Fun and games:
Free form sparring stand up in opposite stance to our natural one.
All against all free form stand up sparring.
Paired all against all free form stand up sparring.
Boxing sparring from the knees.
Boxing from the knees all against all.
All out (strike and grapple) free form sparring on the floor with eyes closed.
Free form kicking sparring.
Team line up sparring.
Tag team free form ground sparring.
So as the year ends it is time to reflect. I started the year happily training hard with at the Workman Wing Chun Academy. That closed and my path led me to the ProMai crowd. Martin is really pleased for me and knows how much I am growing training in MMA. If Martin ever starts teaching again he will open an MMA class and my heart will really be split as I feel as if I am learning and being challenged on a session by session basis with Lee and the lads.
It feels as if I have been with ProMai for longer than the Autumn term. Before each session I get the rugular dump of adrenaline in anticipation of what awaits. I enjoy working hard and learning new ways to use my body and refine those I already know.
There is no greater martial truth than MMA. You have to work against a multidimensional non compliant human. What other martial art system offers such an honest weekly challenge?
The session began as always with warm up followed then by some striking combination work led by Pete.
1-2-1-2-6 (6 is right body hook)
1-2-low lead round kick-2
1-2-lead uppercut-2
1-spinning back fist-4-neck clinch to knee
We then had to string them all together in one long combo but taking out all the initial attacks except from the first one. Feels like a nice flowing attack phase.
Fun and games:
Free form sparring stand up in opposite stance to our natural one.
All against all free form stand up sparring.
Paired all against all free form stand up sparring.
Boxing sparring from the knees.
Boxing from the knees all against all.
All out (strike and grapple) free form sparring on the floor with eyes closed.
Free form kicking sparring.
Team line up sparring.
Tag team free form ground sparring.
So as the year ends it is time to reflect. I started the year happily training hard with at the Workman Wing Chun Academy. That closed and my path led me to the ProMai crowd. Martin is really pleased for me and knows how much I am growing training in MMA. If Martin ever starts teaching again he will open an MMA class and my heart will really be split as I feel as if I am learning and being challenged on a session by session basis with Lee and the lads.
It feels as if I have been with ProMai for longer than the Autumn term. Before each session I get the rugular dump of adrenaline in anticipation of what awaits. I enjoy working hard and learning new ways to use my body and refine those I already know.
There is no greater martial truth than MMA. You have to work against a multidimensional non compliant human. What other martial art system offers such an honest weekly challenge?
Friday, 9 December 2011
Week 15: Compression submissions
Grappling night.
There are 5 types of submissions:
Suppression: Either side of neck stopping the blood. 10 seconds or less for a result
Choke: Front of neck on throat stopping air to lungs and brains. Harder to pull off as it is dependent on how long they can physically and mentally hold their breath for.
Extension: Looking to cause dislocation of elbow, knee and ankle joints.
Rotation: To ball and socket joints.
Compression: Using your bones against the soft tissue of their body causing lots of pain.
So tonight we looked a 3 compressions as they are the most advanced, hardest to be successful wife and simply the submission type that is least focussed on. From my perspective I have never done them before and not really done to me so they are not on my radar, until now.
Calf compression from top centre control: Heel to heel under their legs, feed one instep over their thigh, manipulate the arm to extend above their head to give them extra things to think about. Turn towards your feet and ensure your shin in tight in behind their knee and calf. Look to grab the foot and pull towards yourself. Your shin bone will compress the back quarter side of their calf causing plenty of distress. Key is keeping weight on them throughout the transition to the leg to avoid escape.
Bicep compression from top centre control: Feed an arm across his neck and put your weight on this. Already this is an unpleasant feeling from the bottom position. Secure your elbows on the floor either side of his head, palms on the mat too. Same side as arm across, feed your arm through the armpit on to the side of his face so that your palm is on his ear. Now move your elbow back onto his ribs to apply pressure to the bicep. Now grip palm to palm and turn the hands to the sky to finish the compression. If not working you can put the top hand on top of his forearm to cinch it in even tighter.
Calf suppression from sitting centre control: Sitting on his belly turn towards his legs and drive the forearm behind on of his knees. Then use your other side leg to trap your arm in position. Then use your other leg to complete the hold. It looks like a suppression (triangle) of your own arm and his leg. Fall to your shoulder and turn the forearm towards the soft tissue of the calf. Tight and nasty.
Free form grappling sparring: With Lee. His is very good at using his weight on the chest. I felt quite proud of myself tonight as I found myself in this position several times and never tapped from lung expiration. Tough times. Several times I went to turtle position to be defensive but hoping that a mistake or gap will appear for me to take advantage of. Of course non came. At one point Lee wrapped arms around my belly is suplexed me backwards. A damn horrible sensation. In the debrief he told me that it is OK to go to turtle but not for as long as I was. Instead look to explode up with positive posture, then in if need be and relax back into turtle. Then had a usually tough and fairly even grapple with Pitas.
24 hours later I am a wash with bruises and there is not a muscle that is not aching. It feels good to be alive.
There are 5 types of submissions:
Suppression: Either side of neck stopping the blood. 10 seconds or less for a result
Choke: Front of neck on throat stopping air to lungs and brains. Harder to pull off as it is dependent on how long they can physically and mentally hold their breath for.
Extension: Looking to cause dislocation of elbow, knee and ankle joints.
Rotation: To ball and socket joints.
Compression: Using your bones against the soft tissue of their body causing lots of pain.
So tonight we looked a 3 compressions as they are the most advanced, hardest to be successful wife and simply the submission type that is least focussed on. From my perspective I have never done them before and not really done to me so they are not on my radar, until now.
Calf compression from top centre control: Heel to heel under their legs, feed one instep over their thigh, manipulate the arm to extend above their head to give them extra things to think about. Turn towards your feet and ensure your shin in tight in behind their knee and calf. Look to grab the foot and pull towards yourself. Your shin bone will compress the back quarter side of their calf causing plenty of distress. Key is keeping weight on them throughout the transition to the leg to avoid escape.
Bicep compression from top centre control: Feed an arm across his neck and put your weight on this. Already this is an unpleasant feeling from the bottom position. Secure your elbows on the floor either side of his head, palms on the mat too. Same side as arm across, feed your arm through the armpit on to the side of his face so that your palm is on his ear. Now move your elbow back onto his ribs to apply pressure to the bicep. Now grip palm to palm and turn the hands to the sky to finish the compression. If not working you can put the top hand on top of his forearm to cinch it in even tighter.
Calf suppression from sitting centre control: Sitting on his belly turn towards his legs and drive the forearm behind on of his knees. Then use your other side leg to trap your arm in position. Then use your other leg to complete the hold. It looks like a suppression (triangle) of your own arm and his leg. Fall to your shoulder and turn the forearm towards the soft tissue of the calf. Tight and nasty.
Free form grappling sparring: With Lee. His is very good at using his weight on the chest. I felt quite proud of myself tonight as I found myself in this position several times and never tapped from lung expiration. Tough times. Several times I went to turtle position to be defensive but hoping that a mistake or gap will appear for me to take advantage of. Of course non came. At one point Lee wrapped arms around my belly is suplexed me backwards. A damn horrible sensation. In the debrief he told me that it is OK to go to turtle but not for as long as I was. Instead look to explode up with positive posture, then in if need be and relax back into turtle. Then had a usually tough and fairly even grapple with Pitas.
24 hours later I am a wash with bruises and there is not a muscle that is not aching. It feels good to be alive.
Week 14: Cardio grappling
As Lee was working with Milzy for his up and coming fight, Joe took the main class on the mats.
We began with big glove boxing looking for the clinch.
The mental age and psychological preparation: Lee gathered us in to talk about he prepares us mentally. The use of key words and visualisation. None of this yelling and psyching up as it does not do any good and will have short term uses and benefits.
4 corner takedown pressure drill: Groups of 4, each person in for several rounds of grappling. New partner every 30 seconds. First round was hold down. Second round was submit. Third round was prevent partner from getting up.
Take down pressure: Same round idea as above, one person in and 4 rotating every 30 seconds. The idea was to give the solo as much takedown pressure as possible. No striking from either side. Solo needs to stay on feet and sprawl and defend the takedown. Very tough on the heart and lungs. I managed use get butted very hard in ear by Sami. Still hurts now 8 days later as I type.
Hold down and submit v stand up and escape: Does exactly what it says on the tin. Start again when all contact has been lost.
Free form grappling: Again, a week after class so can't remember with whom I was rolling with. Guaranteed it was hard, fast and fun.
We began with big glove boxing looking for the clinch.
The mental age and psychological preparation: Lee gathered us in to talk about he prepares us mentally. The use of key words and visualisation. None of this yelling and psyching up as it does not do any good and will have short term uses and benefits.
4 corner takedown pressure drill: Groups of 4, each person in for several rounds of grappling. New partner every 30 seconds. First round was hold down. Second round was submit. Third round was prevent partner from getting up.
Take down pressure: Same round idea as above, one person in and 4 rotating every 30 seconds. The idea was to give the solo as much takedown pressure as possible. No striking from either side. Solo needs to stay on feet and sprawl and defend the takedown. Very tough on the heart and lungs. I managed use get butted very hard in ear by Sami. Still hurts now 8 days later as I type.
Hold down and submit v stand up and escape: Does exactly what it says on the tin. Start again when all contact has been lost.
Free form grappling: Again, a week after class so can't remember with whom I was rolling with. Guaranteed it was hard, fast and fun.
Week 13: Stand up drills
Tonight was focussed purely on the hands as a tool of attack.
Pete was taking teh class tonight so we began by working a number of hand combinations against a moving person. Using lots of speed in the hands but stopping the power short:
1. Jab – jab – uppercut
2. Jab – jab – uppercut – rear knee
3. Jab – jab – uppercut – rear knee – front elbow and out
Head movement from partner feeding straight punches. Simply getting used to integrate the torso. I found it tough to work this so need to get practising in the garden.
Head on belly from striking: A challenge of getting your face on their belly in boxing sparring. When done they need to sprawl as a punishment. Got me really thinking about the footwork, posture and when to go in. I found that trying to follow their punches in was best but in reality a lot of tension in my legs meant I was heavy and cumbersome. It also made me realise that those people who make this kind of motion look easy are true masters of timing and movement.
1 -2 double leg shoot cardio drill: Up and down the hall in linear rounds. Did exactly as it said on the tin. Main idea was changing levels and not bending over and driving in. Drop and shoot to drive the back with good structure.
Free form sparring with fav technique and stance restrictions: Horrible and awkward and forcing the brain to work hard. For me I had to fight with my left leg forward, no straight attacks and no round low kicks. Tried to focus on footwork in and out.
Freeform grappling practise: As always my favourite aspect as this is where I feel most comfortable. I am writing this 3 weeks after, foolishly can't remember any details.
Pete was taking teh class tonight so we began by working a number of hand combinations against a moving person. Using lots of speed in the hands but stopping the power short:
1. Jab – jab – uppercut
2. Jab – jab – uppercut – rear knee
3. Jab – jab – uppercut – rear knee – front elbow and out
Head movement from partner feeding straight punches. Simply getting used to integrate the torso. I found it tough to work this so need to get practising in the garden.
Head on belly from striking: A challenge of getting your face on their belly in boxing sparring. When done they need to sprawl as a punishment. Got me really thinking about the footwork, posture and when to go in. I found that trying to follow their punches in was best but in reality a lot of tension in my legs meant I was heavy and cumbersome. It also made me realise that those people who make this kind of motion look easy are true masters of timing and movement.
1 -2 double leg shoot cardio drill: Up and down the hall in linear rounds. Did exactly as it said on the tin. Main idea was changing levels and not bending over and driving in. Drop and shoot to drive the back with good structure.
Free form sparring with fav technique and stance restrictions: Horrible and awkward and forcing the brain to work hard. For me I had to fight with my left leg forward, no straight attacks and no round low kicks. Tried to focus on footwork in and out.
Freeform grappling practise: As always my favourite aspect as this is where I feel most comfortable. I am writing this 3 weeks after, foolishly can't remember any details.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Week 11: Standing fun
Warm up:
Milzy took it and went sprawl mad which was nice. Doing them in sets of 10 almost resulted in my tea making an appearance on the mat.
Head movement and angles:
The feeder gives single shots from either hand as the defender had to initially move the head back over the rear leg to evade followed by a combo, of own choice, to the head and body. Following this was moving inside the punch and countering. Found this a little tougher as you are heading into the chaos. In addition it was tough to let the same side hand punch over his head. Neil noted that my distancing was too close. When I gave more space there was less jamming of my punches.
Working the angles:
Feeder was like a robot in that he held his hands together at face level but extended. This was simply to give the puncher a chance to work against a moving target. The point was to enter and exit with good head movement which brackets a flurry punch combination.
Positive footwork:
Keeping the rear heel of the floor is a slightly more active type of footwork and also keeps you a little more ready to fire attacks as opposed to being passive. Both sides were attacking but OK to throw all types of striking attacks. Footwork was primarily used to evade and move then enter to attack and exit safely.
Ground and pound practise:
Hitting the prone heavy bag with heavy relaxed power. Maintain the weight through the bag and attempting to simulate attacking a human. Also always be thinking of your form - don't get sloppy with the non attacking hand, keep the defense tight.
Free form sparring:
Worked with Hani. Focussed on keeping the short arm tight to the body and face and the other arm long. Really enjoyed it.
Milzy took it and went sprawl mad which was nice. Doing them in sets of 10 almost resulted in my tea making an appearance on the mat.
Head movement and angles:
The feeder gives single shots from either hand as the defender had to initially move the head back over the rear leg to evade followed by a combo, of own choice, to the head and body. Following this was moving inside the punch and countering. Found this a little tougher as you are heading into the chaos. In addition it was tough to let the same side hand punch over his head. Neil noted that my distancing was too close. When I gave more space there was less jamming of my punches.
Working the angles:
Feeder was like a robot in that he held his hands together at face level but extended. This was simply to give the puncher a chance to work against a moving target. The point was to enter and exit with good head movement which brackets a flurry punch combination.
Positive footwork:
Keeping the rear heel of the floor is a slightly more active type of footwork and also keeps you a little more ready to fire attacks as opposed to being passive. Both sides were attacking but OK to throw all types of striking attacks. Footwork was primarily used to evade and move then enter to attack and exit safely.
Ground and pound practise:
Hitting the prone heavy bag with heavy relaxed power. Maintain the weight through the bag and attempting to simulate attacking a human. Also always be thinking of your form - don't get sloppy with the non attacking hand, keep the defense tight.
Free form sparring:
Worked with Hani. Focussed on keeping the short arm tight to the body and face and the other arm long. Really enjoyed it.
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