26.06.2023 Hour nine of my couple client’s MMA course and time to review and test their styles. After our usual warm-up of muscle activation and mobility exercises, they sparred for 6 x 2 minute rounds before training with me for an intensive technique, speed and power workout. Round 1 – Boxing with MMA gloves Round 2 – Kickboxing with MMA gloves Round 3 – Shoot-Boxing Round 4 – Shoot-Kickboxing Round 5 – Ground ‘n Pound Round 6 – Ground ‘n […]
28.06.21 As my couple clients reached the final part of their last course on rhythm and flow combinations I set them a task to select three they wished to nail in this session. We are continuing and concluding the integration phase introduced in the previous lesson where the combinations would form part of their freestyle work. Next week we will be starting a new journey looking at switch-hitting and fight tactics and strategies. My clients had 12 rounds to spend […]
08.03.21 My second lesson of this course on Boxing for Athena School of Karate focused on the rear straight and the cross. We discussed the difference between throwing a rear straight, commonly referred to as a straight right, and a cross. Rear straights are thrown directly at the centre line of the opponent whereas the cross is thrown across the centre line. I decided to cover the following examples of these punches: Rear straights and crosses were best exemplified by […]
18.01.21 Athena School of Karate very kindly booked me back to continue my series of workshops on stand-up combinations. These half an hour sessions conducted – as all training sessions have been during the lockdown restrictions – via online live video streaming, teach and break down Dutch-inspired kickboxing combinations. Our objective is to promote better rhythm and flow in stand-up strikes. This week we covered combination number 3. This particular combination is noted for its particularly lengthy series of punches […]
16.11.20 The second hour of my clients’ current 10 hour course, continued more revision on the set Western Boxing combination began at the end of the last course. The two lockdown partners worked together for partner drills, then on the focus mitts and then I divided them up into restrictive training and kicking. The lesson started with a warm-up of callisthenics, dynamic stretching and line-work. Then we shadowed the complete boxing combinations: pendulum step/jab/cross/pendulum step back/parry/parry/slip/lead hook/roll/spleen shot/roll/liver shot/lead hook. […]
21.10.20 Wednesday night continued my client’s current work in footwork and fluidity. This is a regular theme at present amongst my stand-up fighting clients with some variations. After warming up, we looked at punching in isolation. The idea was to promote flow and check recovery. Straight punches, uppercuts and hooks were trained as two-punch combinations. First we isolated them as a constant flow then as sharp two-punch combinations and finally we transferred the sharp two-punch combination to my client’s heavy […]
06.10.20 Tonight’s Skype session had my client reach the fourth hour of his course on Western Boxing. We are continuing work with the Philly Shell guard. The lesson began with the step-jab and then the pendulum step footwork drills. This then progressed onto using the back-step for angling off, a movement that is particularly effective in Philly Shell attacks. We then combined them – move in and out with a combination, drawing the opponent forward from where we angled off […]
09.03.20 Monday night’s training completed my client’s third course in Muay Thai. Although the discipline has remained within Muay Thai its main focus has been on developing punching. We have cross-trained in Western Boxing, taken some inspiration from Dutch Kickboxing and integrated this into the main Muay Thai framework. We began with a warm up of basic mobility drills and then did 2 x 3 minute rounds of building up shadow boxing techniques. My client expressed a wish […]
02.03.20 Monday night was the penultimate lesson in my client’s third Muay Thai course. We have been mainly focusing on punching techniques. Tonight we looked at improving chaining and overall dexterity in punching combinations. The lesson began with a warm-up of dynamic stretching, shadow boxing and sport-specific callisthenics. We then went straight onto the focus mitts to go through various different combinations. These culminated in an 11 punch combination. We then brought in the belly pad to chain […]
24.02.20 My client reached the eighth hour of her third Muay Thai/Kickboxing course on Monday night. The course has been mainly focused on punching technique. Tonight we looked at the use of punches within the clinch. The lesson began with a light warm-up of shadow boxing, going through basic punching combinations and footwork patterns. We then moved onto the focus mitts used the teep to set up punching combinations. These combinations were then sandwiched in with kicks and […]
20.02.20 Thursday night’s lesson was my client’s sixth hour of her Junior Mixed Martial Arts course. Tonight we had a review of all ranges, seeking to both isolate areas and transition through them. This was achieved through three sets of rounds which added in cardiovascular endurance. We began with a warm-up of simple dynamic stretching and specific callisthenic exercises, targeting movement patterns and activating motor units for the tasks that lay ahead. This prepared us for the first […]
03.02.20 Monday night brought my client up to the fifth hour of her third Muay Thai course. We are focusing on punching specifically and tonight we looked at better chaining of all the punches with each other and then in combination. The lesson began with some a warm-up of line work, just looking at the individual punches. Four types of jab, the basic cross, four types of hook and two types of uppercut were covered as trained them […]
10.12.19 My client consultancy lesson continued with a more practical theme as we expanded upon the Dirty Boxing introduced last week. We warmed up with switching levels, getting used to moving a wrestler’s stance. I introduced the left, right and Japanese stances. We then clinched with the collar tie. Here I introduced bulling, an activity designed to control an opponent’s head whilst staying stable one’s own stance. We also regularly switched sides and looked at breaking an opponent’s balance. […]
15.11.18 My client reached the final hour of his second Mixed Martial Arts course today. He has decided to continue the training with a third course, exploring the use of the stand-up guard. Tonight we looked at the mid-level guard and the low guard. Again, as with the high guard, one of the immediate problems presented by MMA guard as opposed to Muay Thai or Western Boxing guards is the size of the gloves. We worked using footwork more […]
02.08.18 Tonight my new client began a 10 hour lesson in Western Boxing for Martial Arts Cross Training. We covered basic guard, stance, footwork, the jab and the cross. After some standard mobility exercises we moved onto footwork moving forwards, backwards, laterally and stepping off on angles. Guard retention, balance and the importance of lining up the body were carefully observed alongside mobility through the footwork. A vital area I emphasise early on and throughout my fight coaching is protecting […]
13.07.18 I write this diary entry an entire week since I took my annual holiday and in something of haze. Delayed flights meant that I haven’t had much sleep in the past 24 hours and I drove back in at just shy of 7 a.m. Therefore, you will have to forgive the somewhat delirium that is creeping into this post. I also have a lot of projects I want get started on and continuing now I am back, which are […]
