Tag Archives | Fitness

Muay Thai Cross Training Begins (diary entry)

Muay Thai Cross Training Begins (diary entry)

  14.09.16   This was my client’s third lesson in her second course with me, but rather than continuing with general cross training she requested that we begin a course on Muay Thai for Martial Arts Cross Training. Having already covered some basic concepts from Muay Thai in previous lessons we were able to cover a fair amount of ground in this introductory class.   We began with simple punch/kick combination work. Although it is good to use the hands […]

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Suplexing (diary entry)

Suplexing (diary entry)

14.09.16   Having previously covered anti-grappling for MMA last lesson with my client, I decided that we would start looking at tactics for engaging in grappling. We used wrestling/stand-up grappling as a base for tonight’s training. After warming up with some wrestling-based calisthenics we did some grip working, focusing on the upper/mid-line.   We began with wrist grip holds and breakaways, beginning as a drill and then as a form of specific sparring. This was then done with bulling/neck-wrestling and […]

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On the Inside (diary entry)

triangle choke

          31.08.16   My client’s twentieth lesson in Mixed Martial Arts for Martial Arts Cross Training worked on the theme of attacking inside the jab and inside attacks in general. I have always considered going inside the jab to be a more dangerous than than outside the jab due to the fighting immediately going into the line of fire and it requires far tighter movement.   Using the slip to get inside the jab, we began […]

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A Combination Structure for MMA (diary entry)

ground and pound

        24.08.16   The nineteenth lesson in my client’s second course on Mixed Martial Arts for Martial Arts Cross Training concerned devising combination structures for different ranges. Modern Western Boxing serves as a good basis for MMA combination work. This is largely due to the speed and accessibility of punching. Punches work well tactically to set-up other techniques when initiating an attack and also encourage faster movement from the other ranges. Obviously certain adaptations need to be […]

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Arm Triangle through the Arts (diary entry)

standing arm triangle

          21.08.1   We began my client’s second course on Personalised Martial Arts Cross Training looking at moving offline using the arm triangle structure. Having just covered rounded movement in the previous course we used the bobbing and weaving tactic from a collar and elbow clinch position. Here the fighter weaves under the necktie grip on the back of his head or neck and encircles the neck and shoulder with an arm triangle position. Muay Thai […]

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Sleeve Grips and X Guard (diary entry)

Sleeve Grips and X Guard (diary entry)

20.08.16   Today’s second double lesson focused on gi and no-gi grappling. We began with set-ups for lowline takedowns in the gi section. This started with the double leg takedown, where the double lapel or sleep upward grips preface the actual takedown. We discussed the similarity with the high to lowline jab or even the high jab to double leg takedown. Keeping on the theme of sleeve grips we looked at the downward sleeve grab used to obtain a single […]

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Rolling Choke and Other Animals (diary entry)

choke (informal)

18.08.16   Tonight’s private class was my client’s eighteenth lesson in his second course of Mixed Martial Arts for Martial Arts Cross Training. We continued with our theme of rolling attacks in grappling that we have been covering for the past three classes and also kick-catch counters that was introduced in the previous class.   We warmed up with some shadow boxing, focusing on targeting and stance-work. Then we moved onto the various rolls – standard forward and back rolls, […]

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Fourth Anniversary Lesson (diary entry)

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14.08.16   Today’s second private class was a two hour session focused on combat conditioning with a special request for work on kicking. The format was roughly divided into three sections: muscle memory drills for MMA, technical training for Muay Thai kicks and high intensity interval training.   Muscle Memory Drills for MMA   A feature of my coaching programmes is to prioritise actual martial arts techniques over most exercises. Although I have been a long-time opponent of just mimicking […]

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Time to Cover the Cover Part 2 (diary entry)

uppercut elbow

10.08.16   The second private class of tonight was my client’s seventh lesson in Personalised Martial Arts Cross Training. We are currently working on cover concepts. Last time we had a double lesson that mainly looked at self-defence methods for using the cover to regain the striking initiative. Tonight we looked at grappling options, where we trained three lines of attack: high, mid and low.   The grappling option is a back-up method if, for some reason, returning striking is […]

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Not Pulling your Leg (diary entry)

10.08.16   The first private class of tonight was my client’s seventeenth lesson from his second course on Mixed Martial Arts for Martial Arts Cross Training. We are currently focusing on rolling attacks and also looked at kick-catch counters. In short, we were more leg-grabbing focused than a frustrated Jack Russell or his embarrassed owner.   The class began with a series of mobility and muscle activation exercises. This began with reverse Indian press-ups, which place more pressure on the […]

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Restrictive and Transitional Training for Self-Defence and Combat Sports (diary entry)

knee-smaller

30.07.16   Today’s second lesson was this client’s fourth class in her Personalised Martial Arts Cross Training course. With our focus still on circular techniques, we brought everything back to self-defence techniques. The different dynamic between self-defence fighting and match fighting was discussed. Despite a tremendous amount of overlap and effective attribute development, the essential difference between these two fights is that one is an asymmetrical combative situation and the other is a symmetrical one. The first usually consists of […]

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Moving from Gi to No-Gi to MMA (diary entry)

gandalf

        23.07.16 Today’s second lesson saw the return of a long term client. With a strong background in Judo and Western Boxing, he adopts a more buffet-style approach to cross training with me, selecting certain specific areas he wishes to explore. After an initial discussion we decided to focus on gi ground work, no-gi ground work into no-gi clinch and then MMA clinch and MMA ground work. We warmed up with some solo specific exercises followed by […]

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Pivoting, Hooking, Throwing and Evading (diary entry)

Hook Punch (close) darker

23.07.16   Today’s first lesson was the second in my new client’s course on Personalised Martial Arts Cross Training. Having discovered my client’s natural inclination for throwing hooks or rounded hand strikes as a basic combative instinct, we have been building on this movement through different arts.   We began with a simple torso rotational exercise using wide spread arms. Torso rotations do come under a fair amount of controversy due the pressure placed on the spine. I advise that […]

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Sparring at all Ranges Part 2 (diary entry)

clinch strike

22.06.16 The thirteenth lesson in my client’s second course on Mixed Martial Arts for Martial Arts Cross Training continued the sparring theme. Tonight we focused on the clinch and specifically striking within the clinch. The lesson began with some focus mitt work. We started on the Western Boxing focus mitts and then went onto the Muay Thai focus mitts. We then did some clinch-positioning. This began with some simple entries and then moved onto “bulling”, where the upper-body gripping and […]

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Sparring at all Ranges Part 1 (diary entry)

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15.06.16 The twelfth lesson in my client’s second course of Mixed Martial Arts for Martial Arts Cross Training was live-training orientated. Previously we had been restricted by space and spent a lot of time looking at specific techniques with limited sparring. A change of training environment has allowed for a little more room in order to safely spar to a certain degree. Therefore, I thought it was high time we put a lot of what my client has covered under […]

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MMA & The Kimura Part 2 (diary entry)

08.06.16   The eleventh lesson in my client’s second course on Mixed Martial Arts for Martial Arts Cross-Training continued to look at the Kimura. See my report on the previous lesson for more details on this hold and videos on the two techniques outlined later.   We warmed up with simple linear punching and Western Boxing footwork. We switched between stances, cut off the ring and, in honour the recent late great Muhammad Ali, dropped our guard to draw an […]

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