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.

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