Speed grappling: constant movement and flow, looking for positions, sweeps, reversals, escapes and submissions but none being applied.
Single leg takedown clasping from shoulder control: level one work so basics being empathised through repetition. I was speaking to my father in law this morning about how skills are learned in terms of time. He has been coaching gymnastics most of his life as is up to date in terms of sports science research. Latests research suggests that you need to perform an action about 300 times before the neural pathways make the action automatic. In my experience that does not mean perfect or non spasmodic.
Lewis Smith, the Olympic silver medalist on pommel, in his training history it has been calculated that he has done 800,000 double circles on the horse. My point is that for me going through the basics repeatedly is key. It is no good having a poor foundation. So to practise clinch into single leg is something I can't do enough. Getting the knee hassle, the proper grip in primary and secondary right, head control then chest pressure when changing level, correct hand placement followed by correct lift technique is crucial. Just as in most physical endeavours, MMA requires complex motions. Unlike most other sports we have to learn then apply techniques under considerable pressure with another not wanting us to. I used to hate takedown training when I was doing BJJ as it was not broken down into component parts. Now I like it as I feel like I am learning and not bumbling through whilst getting smashed to bits.
Knee trip from shoulder control: sat this out as lateral knee pressure would cause me pain. Nice to watch though. They then worked this into knee trip nudge into bowling out.
Boxing with Lee: Lee was attacking with a range of strategies such as aggressive, regular (whatever we call it...), straight arm robot style, waving arms no structure style and all with lots of pressure. I tried to keep circling as learnt last week, range of attacks and not get knackered. Hard mentally and physically, violently nurturing.
Side control sweeping from underneath, working the arm in by turning both ways. The drill for the person caught in side control was looking at the different ways of moving to create space, to work an arm through for an undertook, to then either sweep, escape or take the back. As this was a continual rolling drill, when the undertook was achieved the top position player applied forward chest pressure giving the player underneath the chance to feel when to sweep.
Side control arm manipulation and wear out: using strikes and submission attempts to get the arm tired. 1 minute on each arm then swap over.
Moving and circling: in the standup phase we need to get used to circling away from the power hand, then deciding when to attack. It can be when the aggressor steps square and across and the combinations attacks can be done.
Lead hand only, rear hand only, rear leg only, front leg only. Using single tools or sides of the body in insolation to reduce the telegraphing. Feedback was given by the person on the end of the strikes. The strikes were thrown from movement and not in static stances.
Toe to toe with Craig: working in incremental percentages, not blocking too much as getting used to getting hit is an important part of the training as is throwing attacks when strikes are coming in.
Free form standing with Phil: technical and 20%. It was nice to have an opportunity to work lots of movement, timing and striking creativity.
Tonight was a fabulous session and I only wish that I videoed it. I would like to watch back the tear up that was Joe and Mischel and we only heard it.
Showing posts with label grappling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grappling. Show all posts
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Week 73: Outward arm action
Clinch grappling warm up with Phil then Milzy. This is one of the best ways to warmed up quickly, especially if you do it with someone who has a major size and strength advantage. It is a great way to build some resilience and tenacity.
Takedown from shoulder control: You are deep in their space, your knee is behind theirs, your torso pressure is on them so there are no gaps when you bump the knee and pull the shoulder down to collapse their structure. This works when you have opposite legs forward.
Knee trip and shoulder take down: I sat out of this one as my knee is still sensitive to the slightest lateral pressure but sometimes it is good to watch and see how other people move and apply themselves. The trip is simply a barring action (the hand on the side of the knee) so that the leg has nowhere to go. The arm in shoulder control straightens from the bicep and the ‘bowls’ as the trip happens acting as a fulcrum. This technique works when you have the same leg forward as the partner.
The two above techniques can then be used in combination when pressuring the opponent and can be chained or switched between each other meaning if he changes legs then either can be attacked.
Boxing rounds with Milzy and my Josh Barnett nose.: Whilst the above was happening I was doing boxing rounds with Milzy and realised my nose is like that of Josh Barnett. If you hit it, it bleeds. It is still sore 3 days on! Either my nose is made is brittle china or Milzy does not know his own strength. On a deeper level and if looking at it from an out of body experience this highlighted my still reluctance to firstly be an attacking fighter as I primarily rely on counter attacking. Secondly is the double jeopardy habit of going backwards when under attack and covering up. Going back and watching the videos of the higher level lads in the class they all do what I know I should do; circling and footwork to evade.
Outward arm manipulation from side control: Worked on securing the arm by wrapping as well as looking for it without losing control of his base and simply fighting to gain control of his arm.
Upward shoulder rotation from side control: From control we can start to look for submissions. The worst case scenario is that you don’t get the sub but his arm is now depleted and thus a less effective tool for him. Best case is a submission. If you have control of his arm then take your time with this, rushing will create gaps and errors. When you have wrist control, use the head high knee against his head and same side elbow
This image shows the correct arm position but he appears to be in top control. Now you drag the back of his hand along the mat towards his hip which will put considerable pressure on the elbow and the shoulder. No need to rip it off as he could escape, keep it tight, controlled and precise.
Elbow extension from side control: As he fights to escape by straightening the arm you can now look at the elbow extension. Make sure his elbow is off the floor as this adds to the pressure and the sub will come on a lot quicker.
Switching between the two above: Similarly to the takedowns at the start of the class, these two submissions depend on the energy he is giving you, plus you can switch between the two. Again if they don’t come off, he has a very tired arm.
Striking whilst controlling in side control: To compound his misery you can attack the arm with elbow strikes to do nothing other than cause pain and frustration to him. You can dig the tip of the elbow into the head of the deltoid muscle which will be tense and thus cause lots of pain. Joe and I endeavoured to take the pain but it felt like a reflex reaction to it. Horrible.
Clinch grappling with no grip and eyes closed with Seb and Charlie: Apart from being rag dolled around at will by both Seb and Charlie it showed me the potential of what can be and how devastating the clinch position is when you are in control. Mostly I was defending and defending and trying to keep to their tempo. Both are excellent at changing levels, consistent pressure and constant movement making you second guess and not take the lead.
3 for 3 then 2 for 2 striking with Ivan: Trading movements and strikes, making sure the strikes were linked mechanically and not in isolation susch as 3 jabes.
Free form grappling with Chris: All others did freeform from standing but don’t trust my knee to hold out against the takedowns so started on the ground with Chris.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIGzEs3Mfuw
As you will see there is lots of great stand up going on plus ground work. High quality work from all.
Takedown from shoulder control: You are deep in their space, your knee is behind theirs, your torso pressure is on them so there are no gaps when you bump the knee and pull the shoulder down to collapse their structure. This works when you have opposite legs forward.
Knee trip and shoulder take down: I sat out of this one as my knee is still sensitive to the slightest lateral pressure but sometimes it is good to watch and see how other people move and apply themselves. The trip is simply a barring action (the hand on the side of the knee) so that the leg has nowhere to go. The arm in shoulder control straightens from the bicep and the ‘bowls’ as the trip happens acting as a fulcrum. This technique works when you have the same leg forward as the partner.
The two above techniques can then be used in combination when pressuring the opponent and can be chained or switched between each other meaning if he changes legs then either can be attacked.
Boxing rounds with Milzy and my Josh Barnett nose.: Whilst the above was happening I was doing boxing rounds with Milzy and realised my nose is like that of Josh Barnett. If you hit it, it bleeds. It is still sore 3 days on! Either my nose is made is brittle china or Milzy does not know his own strength. On a deeper level and if looking at it from an out of body experience this highlighted my still reluctance to firstly be an attacking fighter as I primarily rely on counter attacking. Secondly is the double jeopardy habit of going backwards when under attack and covering up. Going back and watching the videos of the higher level lads in the class they all do what I know I should do; circling and footwork to evade.
Outward arm manipulation from side control: Worked on securing the arm by wrapping as well as looking for it without losing control of his base and simply fighting to gain control of his arm.
Upward shoulder rotation from side control: From control we can start to look for submissions. The worst case scenario is that you don’t get the sub but his arm is now depleted and thus a less effective tool for him. Best case is a submission. If you have control of his arm then take your time with this, rushing will create gaps and errors. When you have wrist control, use the head high knee against his head and same side elbow
This image shows the correct arm position but he appears to be in top control. Now you drag the back of his hand along the mat towards his hip which will put considerable pressure on the elbow and the shoulder. No need to rip it off as he could escape, keep it tight, controlled and precise.
Elbow extension from side control: As he fights to escape by straightening the arm you can now look at the elbow extension. Make sure his elbow is off the floor as this adds to the pressure and the sub will come on a lot quicker.
Switching between the two above: Similarly to the takedowns at the start of the class, these two submissions depend on the energy he is giving you, plus you can switch between the two. Again if they don’t come off, he has a very tired arm.
Striking whilst controlling in side control: To compound his misery you can attack the arm with elbow strikes to do nothing other than cause pain and frustration to him. You can dig the tip of the elbow into the head of the deltoid muscle which will be tense and thus cause lots of pain. Joe and I endeavoured to take the pain but it felt like a reflex reaction to it. Horrible.
Clinch grappling with no grip and eyes closed with Seb and Charlie: Apart from being rag dolled around at will by both Seb and Charlie it showed me the potential of what can be and how devastating the clinch position is when you are in control. Mostly I was defending and defending and trying to keep to their tempo. Both are excellent at changing levels, consistent pressure and constant movement making you second guess and not take the lead.
3 for 3 then 2 for 2 striking with Ivan: Trading movements and strikes, making sure the strikes were linked mechanically and not in isolation susch as 3 jabes.
Free form grappling with Chris: All others did freeform from standing but don’t trust my knee to hold out against the takedowns so started on the ground with Chris.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIGzEs3Mfuw
As you will see there is lots of great stand up going on plus ground work. High quality work from all.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Week 71: Shoulder control from the ground
Single leg, single hip, double hip and double leg takedown chain grappling. Keep the pressure on be that movement in any direction, just make sure that the head stays in contact with the torso then the chest pressure on his legs. Gaps equal opportunities to escape so give him none. As this was the first session of the class it is surprisingly tough on the legs as the quads are always turned on. When the quads are working so is the heart.
Shoulder control takedown from knees: Secondary grip on tricep and pinch down with your elbow, step your knee in front of his knee to create a barrier and pull him over that as you follow into a high angle side control.
Shoulder control in side control: Use the shoulder to pin his shoulder or face to the mat, use the head to keep the gaps tiny so there is no room for him to work an arm in for underhooks.
Escaping side control by getting to the knees using lat control: Firstly you need to create space as if his side control tight there will be none. Push the head or angle your body away to create a gap between his shoulder pressing down and yours. When the gap appears work the arm in and through for the underhook and most importantly is to turn to your knees as quickly as you can. From here wrap the arm around and grab a hold of his lat muscle. This will enable you to pull on it for 2 effects.
Number 1, if he braces against the pull then you have a solid structure to work against to get the legs out from under him. Number 2 is that he pushes back into to you so you simply roll him back over you. Your forearm will be against his hip so you are pretty much effortlessly using his structure to sweep him. Very little power is needed, just his applying his momentum against him. Morihei Ueshiba would be very proud of his concepts being applied in the real world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98yRuBkUBGQ
Put this link in for no other reason than historical purposes
Bottom control escape with shoulder control: I think (cant quite remember) it being similar to the side control escape...
Bottom control super grip shoulder control: Over the trips so the shoulder is forced down and the elbow pins the head to prevent movement. Lee referred to the rubber guard and the relation to this movement in that you can isolate and pin the shoulder here and look for transitions and submissions too. This is something I am going to explore as I do enjoy the work of Mr Bravo but my hips struggle to fully express his ideas. Having the same concept but using different tools is a great eye opener for me.
Submission hunting grappling: I worked with Ivan and the drill was to get a submission in 2 minutes. One person looking for the subs and the other simply defending. Lovely drill
Shoulder control takedown from knees: Secondary grip on tricep and pinch down with your elbow, step your knee in front of his knee to create a barrier and pull him over that as you follow into a high angle side control.
Shoulder control in side control: Use the shoulder to pin his shoulder or face to the mat, use the head to keep the gaps tiny so there is no room for him to work an arm in for underhooks.
Escaping side control by getting to the knees using lat control: Firstly you need to create space as if his side control tight there will be none. Push the head or angle your body away to create a gap between his shoulder pressing down and yours. When the gap appears work the arm in and through for the underhook and most importantly is to turn to your knees as quickly as you can. From here wrap the arm around and grab a hold of his lat muscle. This will enable you to pull on it for 2 effects.
Number 1, if he braces against the pull then you have a solid structure to work against to get the legs out from under him. Number 2 is that he pushes back into to you so you simply roll him back over you. Your forearm will be against his hip so you are pretty much effortlessly using his structure to sweep him. Very little power is needed, just his applying his momentum against him. Morihei Ueshiba would be very proud of his concepts being applied in the real world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98yRuBkUBGQ
Put this link in for no other reason than historical purposes
Bottom control escape with shoulder control: I think (cant quite remember) it being similar to the side control escape...
Bottom control super grip shoulder control: Over the trips so the shoulder is forced down and the elbow pins the head to prevent movement. Lee referred to the rubber guard and the relation to this movement in that you can isolate and pin the shoulder here and look for transitions and submissions too. This is something I am going to explore as I do enjoy the work of Mr Bravo but my hips struggle to fully express his ideas. Having the same concept but using different tools is a great eye opener for me.
Submission hunting grappling: I worked with Ivan and the drill was to get a submission in 2 minutes. One person looking for the subs and the other simply defending. Lovely drill
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Week 68: body swaying
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
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, 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.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Week 63: MMA striking (away the fears)
The club website and thus calendar had been down for a week or two so I had no idea what was on the menu tonight until Craig turned up and sarcastically informed me that it was my favourite; stand up. Last week I talk about my fears and insecurities about the stand up and tonight was a real breakthrough for me.
Warm up on a chilly night from Milzy.
Drill 1 was 3 rounds of striking from bottom control, no submissions but submission set ups allowed. In top position I made it my duty to use the head as a third limb and felt this opened some opportunities to strike. Enjoyed the leather of Craig, Ivan and Ptas.
3 jabs and one kick, then with the kick as part of the final punch motion, Straight v circular striking techniques, free form striking rounds, strength and conditioning (matt punches from your back, matt spins, matt static holds - 3 rounds, extra grappling sparring with Ptas.
Edited highlights on the following link:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NTx4V5RfnI4
In the first sparring round I went with Craig who was characteristically aggressive and heavy handed and then at some point during this I had a realisation, a moment of clarity. That of it doesn't matter, whatever it is. I became more mentally relaxed and confident, less scared if you will. Not better at sparring but carrying less emotional baggage. So it only takes 63 lessons or roughly 140 hours of matt time to control the mental panic and woe. Before sparring with Mischel I got the usual dread as his techniques are circular, fast and accurate. Physically I was rubbish but mentally focused and calm therefore proud of my mental progress. I must also thank him for my limp and swollen quad for the knee he landed there. Been walking round school very street today with my limp. Rare for me to be injured on the meat of the muscle towards the inner part of the leg, normally the outside is banged up.
I have watched the video from last night several times already and am grateful to have the chance to see myself in action and give myself tips to improve. Tip one is the hands. The punches have to have more meaning in them, far to pitter patter and not enough depth. Good to see most others doing what i should be. Tip 2 get the kicks out, retract faster and tip 3 is more lateral movement in attack and defence. This is the beauty of video, you see things hat in the moment you are unaware off as it is you and him and nothing else matters. Cue Metallica circa 1992. Hopefully now that one obstacle has been overcome I can start to be more confident physically standing up. A real milestone for me tonight.
Postscript: this club is a team who nurture. Mishel commented after class at how every MMA club he has trained at it is always about the individual or, in my experience, the favourite students. No so at Promai. All are equal and there truly is no room, need or acceptance of ego. Long may it continue.
Warm up on a chilly night from Milzy.
Drill 1 was 3 rounds of striking from bottom control, no submissions but submission set ups allowed. In top position I made it my duty to use the head as a third limb and felt this opened some opportunities to strike. Enjoyed the leather of Craig, Ivan and Ptas.
3 jabs and one kick, then with the kick as part of the final punch motion, Straight v circular striking techniques, free form striking rounds, strength and conditioning (matt punches from your back, matt spins, matt static holds - 3 rounds, extra grappling sparring with Ptas.
Edited highlights on the following link:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NTx4V5RfnI4
In the first sparring round I went with Craig who was characteristically aggressive and heavy handed and then at some point during this I had a realisation, a moment of clarity. That of it doesn't matter, whatever it is. I became more mentally relaxed and confident, less scared if you will. Not better at sparring but carrying less emotional baggage. So it only takes 63 lessons or roughly 140 hours of matt time to control the mental panic and woe. Before sparring with Mischel I got the usual dread as his techniques are circular, fast and accurate. Physically I was rubbish but mentally focused and calm therefore proud of my mental progress. I must also thank him for my limp and swollen quad for the knee he landed there. Been walking round school very street today with my limp. Rare for me to be injured on the meat of the muscle towards the inner part of the leg, normally the outside is banged up.
I have watched the video from last night several times already and am grateful to have the chance to see myself in action and give myself tips to improve. Tip one is the hands. The punches have to have more meaning in them, far to pitter patter and not enough depth. Good to see most others doing what i should be. Tip 2 get the kicks out, retract faster and tip 3 is more lateral movement in attack and defence. This is the beauty of video, you see things hat in the moment you are unaware off as it is you and him and nothing else matters. Cue Metallica circa 1992. Hopefully now that one obstacle has been overcome I can start to be more confident physically standing up. A real milestone for me tonight.
Postscript: this club is a team who nurture. Mishel commented after class at how every MMA club he has trained at it is always about the individual or, in my experience, the favourite students. No so at Promai. All are equal and there truly is no room, need or acceptance of ego. Long may it continue.
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?
Saturday, 27 October 2012
Week 59: the last 10 seconds
Charlie has a fight coming up so the focus has changed slightly as he is more experienced in the fight game. The session tonight was looking at the last 10 seconds of the round with an eye to entertain the crowd and to try do something high risk in terms of success percentage rate. So tonight we look at lower leg submissions.
Ankle extension:
Starting from an open bottom control position, he has one foot one your hip so this is ankle you are going to attack. Wrap the forearm under the calf as you step up to have both feet close to his hips and as you sit your hips go close to your heels. As you lie back squeeze the knees together and allow the forearm to slide down his leg. You should feel the bridge of his foot against your lat or top of the shoulder. Make sure that forearm bone (radius) is nice and tight and the bottom of the calf muscle. Look behind and over yourself to complete the ankle extension.
We then looked at a defence to this and that is as soon as they start to lie back you need to relax the leg, shoot the foot behind him and sit up by pulling on his neck for anchorage. Maintaining the neck control you can pass to the side or either with a crushing knee on belly control.
Calf compression from side control:
Naturally they should have the cross leg defensive position to prevent your attempts to move to top control and then want to slide the knee into your centre to begin escaping from side control. This is the bait. Allow their knee to come inside, as it does insert your forearm around and behind the knee. An overhook rather than an underhook, a tight one. Now for the tough part. Step over and insert your foot between his legs and close to his hips. It is hard because it require swift dexterity. It also means his leg is tightly wrapped. From here use the forearm bone on the outside of his calf for the pain. 2 days later I still have a 50p coin sized bruise on my calf where Neil successfully closed off his submission attempts.
This is a high risk move because it is a pain only submission as not much will break or tear.
Scissor takedown into ankle extension:
From the standing clinch look to perform a hip throw. If he does not defend then complete the throw. However if he defends by straightening his posture attempt the entertaining. From the hip throw your backside should be against his thigh. Drop to the floor and scissor him down, top leg attacking high and front and the lower leg low and behind. Do not let your lower leg hit the floor. From here you can clasp his leg with your knees and perform the ankle extension as outlined earlier on.
Lots of free form rounds starting standing then to the ground if it went there. I worked with Neil, Edgar, Ptas, Ivan and Angel. Angel gave me the dead leg I still have. A rather juicy knee being the bearer of good news.
Ended the session with a few rounds of grappling with Ptas.
Ankle extension:
Starting from an open bottom control position, he has one foot one your hip so this is ankle you are going to attack. Wrap the forearm under the calf as you step up to have both feet close to his hips and as you sit your hips go close to your heels. As you lie back squeeze the knees together and allow the forearm to slide down his leg. You should feel the bridge of his foot against your lat or top of the shoulder. Make sure that forearm bone (radius) is nice and tight and the bottom of the calf muscle. Look behind and over yourself to complete the ankle extension.
We then looked at a defence to this and that is as soon as they start to lie back you need to relax the leg, shoot the foot behind him and sit up by pulling on his neck for anchorage. Maintaining the neck control you can pass to the side or either with a crushing knee on belly control.
Calf compression from side control:
Naturally they should have the cross leg defensive position to prevent your attempts to move to top control and then want to slide the knee into your centre to begin escaping from side control. This is the bait. Allow their knee to come inside, as it does insert your forearm around and behind the knee. An overhook rather than an underhook, a tight one. Now for the tough part. Step over and insert your foot between his legs and close to his hips. It is hard because it require swift dexterity. It also means his leg is tightly wrapped. From here use the forearm bone on the outside of his calf for the pain. 2 days later I still have a 50p coin sized bruise on my calf where Neil successfully closed off his submission attempts.
This is a high risk move because it is a pain only submission as not much will break or tear.
Scissor takedown into ankle extension:
From the standing clinch look to perform a hip throw. If he does not defend then complete the throw. However if he defends by straightening his posture attempt the entertaining. From the hip throw your backside should be against his thigh. Drop to the floor and scissor him down, top leg attacking high and front and the lower leg low and behind. Do not let your lower leg hit the floor. From here you can clasp his leg with your knees and perform the ankle extension as outlined earlier on.
Lots of free form rounds starting standing then to the ground if it went there. I worked with Neil, Edgar, Ptas, Ivan and Angel. Angel gave me the dead leg I still have. A rather juicy knee being the bearer of good news.
Ended the session with a few rounds of grappling with Ptas.
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Week 54: Circular movement
As Angel is in preparation for his first fight, all of our training is geared to getting him best sorted for his fight. So tonight was about movement on the feet.
Boxing: Milzy got us started with boxing rounds. Felt good to only focus on one range from a defensive point of view. That boxing lark is a piece of cake…
Kicking: We moved into kicking only and straight away the range becomes greater for obvious reasons. I tried to work the concept from last week of using the round kick to put the body in what the opponent should perceive a s a weak position then launch attacks from there.
Movement away using feet no hands: The point is Lee is showing us why moving back in straight lines is rubbish for so many reasons. When you are not allowed to defend with your hands the feet certainly work much, much harder. Apart from the clear advantages of moving to the closed side of the opponent’s stance, the learning tonight starkly reminded me about not having lazy movement in training. I guess I need to assume that I do not have my hands up protecting the range and that my first defensive movement comes from the feet not closing the arms to protect the head and torso. Obviously having rice paper instead of skin on the soles of my feet this presents some issues; every time we do stand up in class I come away with ripped toes and blistered feet. Perhaps I need to stop being a pedicurist’s nightmare and grow a pair?
Head movement = flat feet so go for the level change: At this point Lee made reference to the fact that if an opponent is moving lots, his head is still on his shoulders and if the head is bobbing and weaving continually then the feet will generally be more planted. Something to be aware of and begin attacking with this in mind too.
Low hands v walking down striker: Initially I thought this was a bonkers idea; to circle away from someone walking you down with quite wild punches and your hands are down. My mind flashed back to Prince Naseem in his glory days throwing punches from his knees. Actually having the hands down offers tremendous freedom and opportunity to attack at the end of their attack.
The following link show Michael Page who fights with great confidence in what appears to be a very dangerous to his health way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1j7gAE5Ic
On a side note rant, it bothers me greatly that the biggest MMA group in this country is being promoted to a lad audience. UCMMA (formerly Cage Rage) is all a bit too East End for my liking. Has a sleazy feel to it. Stop promoting your fights as if they are in nightclub and develop some class. Anyway, MP, whose Dad I used to train with in the mid-90s has quite incredible movement coupled with self-belief and obvious talent. I believe he has recently signed with Bellator so hope to see him in action stateside soon. It is quite rare to see a fighter use these tactics, is this because he is being creative or silly?
You decide:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0sgfp9KKUo&feature=related
Action starts at 6.50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4awSmJfuhbU&feature=relmfu
Fun and games here start at 3.00
Long step double leg shoot rounds v sprawl: This was tough as we were asked to use a long deep step to cover the distance for the double leg takedown without dropping the front knee down. First key point is changing the level; keep the spine positive, eyes on the opponent and explode.
Assessing opponents stance and tactic: By the end of the lesson my feet were a bloody, in both senses of the word, mess. I sat out whilst Lee took the troops through this drill. Too many fighters at the lower level come out fighting in a chaotic and blitzing manner. Conversely the seasoned pro will stalk, wait and observe when the fight starts. This is what the learning was on. Assess what he is doing. Yes it is a fight but it is not a street fight or a brawl. It is OK to work a strategy and to use your mind as opposed to your face.
Boxing: Milzy got us started with boxing rounds. Felt good to only focus on one range from a defensive point of view. That boxing lark is a piece of cake…
Kicking: We moved into kicking only and straight away the range becomes greater for obvious reasons. I tried to work the concept from last week of using the round kick to put the body in what the opponent should perceive a s a weak position then launch attacks from there.
Movement away using feet no hands: The point is Lee is showing us why moving back in straight lines is rubbish for so many reasons. When you are not allowed to defend with your hands the feet certainly work much, much harder. Apart from the clear advantages of moving to the closed side of the opponent’s stance, the learning tonight starkly reminded me about not having lazy movement in training. I guess I need to assume that I do not have my hands up protecting the range and that my first defensive movement comes from the feet not closing the arms to protect the head and torso. Obviously having rice paper instead of skin on the soles of my feet this presents some issues; every time we do stand up in class I come away with ripped toes and blistered feet. Perhaps I need to stop being a pedicurist’s nightmare and grow a pair?
Head movement = flat feet so go for the level change: At this point Lee made reference to the fact that if an opponent is moving lots, his head is still on his shoulders and if the head is bobbing and weaving continually then the feet will generally be more planted. Something to be aware of and begin attacking with this in mind too.
Low hands v walking down striker: Initially I thought this was a bonkers idea; to circle away from someone walking you down with quite wild punches and your hands are down. My mind flashed back to Prince Naseem in his glory days throwing punches from his knees. Actually having the hands down offers tremendous freedom and opportunity to attack at the end of their attack.
The following link show Michael Page who fights with great confidence in what appears to be a very dangerous to his health way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1j7gAE5Ic
On a side note rant, it bothers me greatly that the biggest MMA group in this country is being promoted to a lad audience. UCMMA (formerly Cage Rage) is all a bit too East End for my liking. Has a sleazy feel to it. Stop promoting your fights as if they are in nightclub and develop some class. Anyway, MP, whose Dad I used to train with in the mid-90s has quite incredible movement coupled with self-belief and obvious talent. I believe he has recently signed with Bellator so hope to see him in action stateside soon. It is quite rare to see a fighter use these tactics, is this because he is being creative or silly?
You decide:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0sgfp9KKUo&feature=related
Action starts at 6.50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4awSmJfuhbU&feature=relmfu
Fun and games here start at 3.00
Long step double leg shoot rounds v sprawl: This was tough as we were asked to use a long deep step to cover the distance for the double leg takedown without dropping the front knee down. First key point is changing the level; keep the spine positive, eyes on the opponent and explode.
Assessing opponents stance and tactic: By the end of the lesson my feet were a bloody, in both senses of the word, mess. I sat out whilst Lee took the troops through this drill. Too many fighters at the lower level come out fighting in a chaotic and blitzing manner. Conversely the seasoned pro will stalk, wait and observe when the fight starts. This is what the learning was on. Assess what he is doing. Yes it is a fight but it is not a street fight or a brawl. It is OK to work a strategy and to use your mind as opposed to your face.
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.
Thursday, 2 August 2012
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.
Friday, 29 June 2012
Week 43: centre control
3 escapes from side control.
1: elbow to knee to creat space and get to shin in ground control. Wrap other leg around their back and manipulate your hips to recover to full ground control.
2: lower hand drives and squeezes through his armpit gap and get double shoulder control. As you hip up and drive extend the scooped arm and roll him over.
3: pin his head high knee by placing your elbow on the floor and trying to squeeze it to your own hip. Manipulate your body so to elongate and narrow his base. Bridge and roll him over into side control.
Centre control detail:
soles of the feet touching right near his arse, spine long and slightly concave, head higher than his, arms out wide as if free falling and just off the floor. This will put tremendous pressure on his torso. Feet are in tight as this prevents him from really being able to use them to escape the position. Hands out wide to counter any bridging he attempts. Chest relaxed and pressing down on his face. The hands and forearms can be used to re-centre his head under you chest.
Having all this simple detail was something of another revelation tonight. 3 years of BJJ and never was this position and how to maintain it fully explained. It was a position I used to loose as quickly as I found it. With this new learning tonight I know that I will be much more aware of the key points of staying in this position longer with more control and more attacking options. Normally I a, not a fan of hyperbole but this learning tonight has had a significant effect on me. Should one person read this blog and come to training because of it then it must be due to the high quality teaching. Being a teacher myself I have trained in the past with many questionable teachers in martial arts. All were very good at their particular skills but none as capable as Lee at imparting said knowledge. This is why I am never bored, never plateauing or never not learning.
Next we practised simply riding in and maintaining this position. Person underneath gives plenty of pressure. Remarkable learning curve tonight.
Upward and downward shoulder rotation.
We looked at both these positions from centre control then transitioning into side control to complete the submission.
From centre control if his arms come high to the head then attack with upward shoulder rotation, if he looks to control your posture with under hooks then look for the downward shoulder rotation. The key point of learning for me tonight was the angle of the arm under. I discovered by practise and observation that it needs to be nearer the elbow than the shoulder for tight and effective results.
Small glove freedom sparring on the ground with strikes (eyes closed). First murdered by Milzy who opened with the joyful question "you have not an interview tomorrow?" meaning my face was in for a pounding. It was.
Big glove continual striking v grappling.
Big glove to keep constant pressure through striking and grappler can position. The drill is designed to give the grappler lots of pressure and opportunities for submissions. I was working with Craig and please so say ow well his ground game is coming along.
Top quality session tonight. The centre control detail has been a tremendous revelation.
1: elbow to knee to creat space and get to shin in ground control. Wrap other leg around their back and manipulate your hips to recover to full ground control.
2: lower hand drives and squeezes through his armpit gap and get double shoulder control. As you hip up and drive extend the scooped arm and roll him over.
3: pin his head high knee by placing your elbow on the floor and trying to squeeze it to your own hip. Manipulate your body so to elongate and narrow his base. Bridge and roll him over into side control.
Centre control detail:
soles of the feet touching right near his arse, spine long and slightly concave, head higher than his, arms out wide as if free falling and just off the floor. This will put tremendous pressure on his torso. Feet are in tight as this prevents him from really being able to use them to escape the position. Hands out wide to counter any bridging he attempts. Chest relaxed and pressing down on his face. The hands and forearms can be used to re-centre his head under you chest.
Having all this simple detail was something of another revelation tonight. 3 years of BJJ and never was this position and how to maintain it fully explained. It was a position I used to loose as quickly as I found it. With this new learning tonight I know that I will be much more aware of the key points of staying in this position longer with more control and more attacking options. Normally I a, not a fan of hyperbole but this learning tonight has had a significant effect on me. Should one person read this blog and come to training because of it then it must be due to the high quality teaching. Being a teacher myself I have trained in the past with many questionable teachers in martial arts. All were very good at their particular skills but none as capable as Lee at imparting said knowledge. This is why I am never bored, never plateauing or never not learning.
Next we practised simply riding in and maintaining this position. Person underneath gives plenty of pressure. Remarkable learning curve tonight.
Upward and downward shoulder rotation.
We looked at both these positions from centre control then transitioning into side control to complete the submission.
From centre control if his arms come high to the head then attack with upward shoulder rotation, if he looks to control your posture with under hooks then look for the downward shoulder rotation. The key point of learning for me tonight was the angle of the arm under. I discovered by practise and observation that it needs to be nearer the elbow than the shoulder for tight and effective results.
Small glove freedom sparring on the ground with strikes (eyes closed). First murdered by Milzy who opened with the joyful question "you have not an interview tomorrow?" meaning my face was in for a pounding. It was.
Big glove continual striking v grappling.
Big glove to keep constant pressure through striking and grappler can position. The drill is designed to give the grappler lots of pressure and opportunities for submissions. I was working with Craig and please so say ow well his ground game is coming along.
Top quality session tonight. The centre control detail has been a tremendous revelation.
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.
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