26.11.20 Ahead of teaching my client’s martial arts class on Monday, I suggested that we have a teacher consultancy lesson covering the clinch. Monday’s lesson is all about anti-grappling in connection to my “When Parents Aren’t Around” webinar series. Through experience, I have learned that it is important for students to have an understanding of stand-up grappling if they are to use effective tools to extricate themselves from a grappling situation. This is also important for partner work. It seems […]
Tag Archives | double leg takedown
Arm Triangles and Snake Chokes (diary entry)
11.05.20 The ninth lesson of my client’s Mixed Martial Arts course saw her and her fellow self-isolated partner focus a lot on ground-work. We stayed in side-control, prompted some escapes and looked at set-ups for submissions. The lesson began with some simple callisthenics, movement exercises and dynamic stretching starting with the neck and ending with the calves. We then moved into some shadow boxing, drawing combinations and individuals techniques from stand-up and clinch ranges. Training then went to […]
Low Kicks, Double Legs and the Americana (diary entry)
04.05.20 The eighth hour of this client’s current course in Mixed Martial Arts training continued in lockdown. My client is self-isolated with a partner who has agreed to train with us. Tonight we spent time working on some low-kick combinations, two versions of the double leg takedown and Americana from side control. We began with our usual warm up of dynamic stretching and sport-specific callisthenics. My two clients then partnered off for some footwork. This was followed by […]
Video Training: Chaining MMA Techniques (diary entry)
30.03.20 My client began her third hour in Mixed Martial Arts training. This is her second live video link tutorial. We went back over details for the double-leg takedown, the sprawl and two break-falls. We also continued ground work positions and focused a lot on chaining and transitioning techniques. We warmed up through the usual callisthenics and dynamic stretching exercises. Then I began technical work with the simple high and low jab. The low jab involves changing levels […]
Wrestling combined with Submission Fighting (diary entry)
04.02.20 Tuesday night brought my client up to the ninth hour and penultimate lesson of his second Submission Grappling/Ground-Fighting Lesson. Tonight we looked to begin our journey to a Mixed Martial Arts Single Objective Path and combined stand-up grappling/Wrestling with Submission Grappling/Ground-Fighting. After a series of specific dynamic stretches and callisthenics – combining Wrestling and Ju Jutsu exercises – we began a double-leg/guillotine drill. This particular drill had been shadowed in the callisthenic exercise previously. The fighter sprawls […]
Firing High, Shooting Low (diary entry)
21.10.19 Monday night began my client’s new course on MMA. Having just come off a few stand-up striking orientated courses and we will be looking towards a submission grappling/ground-fighting course in the near future, these lessons will serve as a type of link. I will work a lot on the clinch as this is really the connecting range between stand-up and ground. Tonight we covered using strikes to set up for shoots. We began with a thorough warm-up […]
Breaking Grips and Combining Techniques (diary entry)
06.07.19 Saturday’s second lesson brought my two junior clients onto the sixth hour of their course on the clinch/stand-up grappling. We looked at linking techniques together and resistance-based training. The lesson began with a series of wrestling-based callisthenics. We then moved onto partner drills such as bulling (neck and elbow tie) and pummelling (over hook/under hook). Next we revised the two-on-one, which led us onto chaining techniques together as well as breaking grips. We did some grip sparring […]
Classic Double-Leg Take Down (diary entry)
29.06.19 Saturday’s second lesson brought my two junior clients up to the fifth hour of their clinch course. We went back over all three lines of attack and I introduced the double-leg take-down. We warmed up with dynamic stretches, Indian press-ups and Indian squats. Then we went straight into break-fall/rolling combinations from all directions. The lesson moved onto the collar and elbow tie-up, where both my client got a fluid exchanges of bulling. This moved them onto outer reap entries. […]
Progressive Grappling Sparring (diary entry)
28.05.19 Tuesday night saw my client reach the sixth hour of his basic course in stand-up grappling. We continued work linking up grips, sweeps and takedown entries. I was keen to involve more live, resistance-based work but not at the cost of poor fundamentals. Therefore, the lesson was as follows: Warm-up of Indian Press-ups and Squats, dynamic stretching and exercises geared towards the actions to be performed today. We then went back through all our break-fall/roll combinations at […]
Enter the Double-Leg Takedown (diary entry)
07.05.19 Tuesday night’s lesson was the third hour of my client’s my Basic Course on Clinch/Stand-up Grappling for Martial Arts Cross Training. In addition to revising previous material we moved onto low-level takedowns, spotlighting the double-leg takedown. We warmed up with Indian press-up and Indian squats. These are great callisthenics and forms of dynamic stretching that are heavily utilised in Indian wrestling. We then moved onto combined break falls and rolls. This was followed with bulling, working the collar and […]
Conditioning the Lead Side (diary entry)
22.02.19 The first lesson of the morning began my long-time client on his course of Combat Conditioning. We worked on improving speed and power as well as the underlying fitness needed to execute jabs, lead leg teeps and double-leg takedowns – all lead side techniques. The lesson began with a series of callisthenic/mobility exercises focusing on combative movement. We then looked at the jab from both stances. In order get maximum movement, flexibility and to keep the lead […]
The Blitz (diary entry)
05.12.18 Tonight I began a course on Kickboxing (Muay Thai) for my junior client and my veteran senior client focused on blitzing in MMA. The junior class introduced a change in guard from the peek-a-boo that we have been covering Western Boxing. My client now adopted a high Thai-style guard, but retained peek-a-boo’s more square-on stance. He also learnt a higher, narrower stance along with the unique rocking movement found in Muay Thai. From here we went back through […]
Submission versus Takedown (diary entry)
23.11.2018 My second lesson of the day continued my veteran client’s current theme on stand-up to ground grappling. We have been looking at takedowns, finishing in submissions. Linking directly to last week’s class, we looked at submission counters to takedowns. The lesson warmed up with partner work. Stand-up grappling warm-up included collar/elbow tie up bulling, over-hook/under-hook pummelling, takedown entries, arm-drag drilling and arm-drag/takedown counter drilling, whereas ground grappling warm-up included pin transitioning, guard transitioning, submission and sweep drilling. […]
Takedown set-ups in MMA (diary entry)
29.09.18 My client reached the two and a half hour point of his scheduled second 10 hour course in Mixed Martial Arts. Today’s lesson was a complete run-through of all ranges with less time concerned with the ground. We looked at mainly punching entries – but later added on kicks and defended kicks – into takedowns. We began with mirror foot-work. This progressed to changing levels, upper body movement (slips and rolling), range finding and cues to sprawl. […]
MMA at Kingham Hill
13.06.18 Today’s lesson at Kingham Hill School shifted our attention from self-defence to Mixed Martial Arts. It was time to look at this training in earnest and within the context of the mainstream sport. We warmed up with a series of aerobic specific training exercises – blitz running, reaction direction test, sprawl/knee burpees, snaking/shrimping and bear crawls. I then taught the jab from a Western Boxing perspective. This technique sets up a tremendous amount and its importance cannot […]