This class was one of those session where I should have filmed because that would explain in much clearer terms than what follows. I guess this is an unusual post in that if you were there it will hopefully act as a reminder. If you missed class then it will probably not make too much sense.
3 drill: recycling the hands for the initial chop. This was chopping with the 'wrong' hand in 3 drill.
Pak lap drill: Partner simply throws continuous punches and you control along the power lines using lap and pak to keep him at distance and under control.
Once the basic roll is sorted you can start to add the change. The change is a double up of either the pak or the lap to get you on the other side.
Once you have got the roll of the drill and the change then you can begin to insert punches. Start by punching on the lap attack. Get your rhythm, timing and distancing then start attacking off the pak. You will also need to add subtle hip rotation to the punches to give them extra body behind them.
Next when you feel comfortable with the above start inserting the inside gate lap. This happens by turning the hand over after the pak to guide that punch to the opposite shoulder. Punches can also be added to the inside gate lap.
Martin and Trist both demonstrated the whole drill fro punching on single attacks all the way up to attacking of the 3 control points. To me it looked like a blur and something that is a long way away from being good let alone competent at. Martin then took it one step further and showed the whole sequence from snatch to 3 drill to pak lap and back again.
Martin also gave a brief demo of practising solo in the air.
Pak lap drill becoming a snatch attack drill from long range - pre contact range in sparring or match fighting.
Applying the snatch attack to short lap the from arm of the guard then pak with the same hand to his rear hand then to insert your own choice of attack depending on angle and distance. Knees, head control, neck and wrist control,
Inserting the pak lap control into the 3 drill. To get it going, the person who wants to apply the technique needs to start with the lap and palm strike. This will give you his attacks then three of yours to get it going.
This as usual was one of the sessions whereby time went too quick and more time is needed to practise. I guess that is what the next 40 years are for!
Showing posts with label martial arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label martial arts. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 October 2014
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Class notes: a maximum of 2 moves
3 drill warm up: It still amazes me how 4 humans feel so different when doing this. The type of energy, the direction and the little nuances each person has. It was a chance to both warm up and revise the material from last week.
Heavy back fist from the elbow pulling back. Don't flick and roll or snap it over. Should have depth, length and forward pressure.
Change pressure: pull the lap and send the fist to his face, you should move him to enable your bastard change (the undefendable chop/right cross).
His centreline and punch pressure
Lap directions: vary it for different relations and gaps in his defence.
Forward pressure: all attacks and defences
Hunting for the revved wrist in the 3 drill: This was a new addition to the drill where instead of applying the lap to the wrist or forearm, you hunt for the base of the hand and apply more torque to the arm. This will better enable the DWL entry.
Defend the centre on the outside so he can lap and punch and then go for the arm drag.
4 variants of the arm drag from the inside and outside wrist control (with punch down the centre)
Arm drag to back shoulder and hip control:
When done to you this feels most unpleasant, firstly because you are spinning around with your head below heart height, secondly, they are not applying much force and so are riding your attempts to escape. Below are the 4 variants of the arm drag entry to get to their back and hip.
lap right and punch left starting position: arm drag - pull the hook, shoulder drives through their shoulder to where they are not, just in front of their foot. Break the footwork rule of feet together, ride the bull, torque the wrist.
- buh the arm, and slip the left hand to hook the upper arm for the AD and reach around and grab the hip with the right.
- roll over and pull the elbow back if the pressure is going across the centre
- pressure being pressed into you and he is not letting you have the arm, go over for the DWL
- same side arm drag
These can be applied on the inside and the outside of the arm from the initial position as well as left and right handed.
Arm drag to arm shear head control - extended arm, if they stand then go into the shoulder clinch with the underhook. You remain in a dominant position throughout.
Uppercut from wrist control and punch to his centre. He blocks the punch. Keep the pressure on with the punch and lean the shoulder slightly into him. Turn the hip and the shoulder for the uppercut (hand on his wrist) and go back to wrist control. It looks like a rotation of the spine, nothing is extended. Tight small movements are the key. Continue to hit off until you get the chance to uppercut under his forearm. From here your hand will appear trapped between his arm and his chest. However, this is the perfect set up for the DWL>
DWL out of MT clinch defence.
Boxing drills:
jab and jab counter
jab and jab, left hook counter
jab and jab, right cross counter
the Fedor entry - long range entry with the overhand right to get wrist control against a good striker who is making your day miserable
This is a great way to help you close the gap in a relatively safe fashion. Strikers seeing the big overhand right will want to defend, block or cover up. You are not trying to land, just trick their eyes and brain into that. The split second they cover them you are on them like a drunk on a kebab.
Heavy back fist from the elbow pulling back. Don't flick and roll or snap it over. Should have depth, length and forward pressure.
Change pressure: pull the lap and send the fist to his face, you should move him to enable your bastard change (the undefendable chop/right cross).
His centreline and punch pressure
Lap directions: vary it for different relations and gaps in his defence.
Forward pressure: all attacks and defences
Hunting for the revved wrist in the 3 drill: This was a new addition to the drill where instead of applying the lap to the wrist or forearm, you hunt for the base of the hand and apply more torque to the arm. This will better enable the DWL entry.
Defend the centre on the outside so he can lap and punch and then go for the arm drag.
4 variants of the arm drag from the inside and outside wrist control (with punch down the centre)
Arm drag to back shoulder and hip control:
When done to you this feels most unpleasant, firstly because you are spinning around with your head below heart height, secondly, they are not applying much force and so are riding your attempts to escape. Below are the 4 variants of the arm drag entry to get to their back and hip.
lap right and punch left starting position: arm drag - pull the hook, shoulder drives through their shoulder to where they are not, just in front of their foot. Break the footwork rule of feet together, ride the bull, torque the wrist.
- buh the arm, and slip the left hand to hook the upper arm for the AD and reach around and grab the hip with the right.
- roll over and pull the elbow back if the pressure is going across the centre
- pressure being pressed into you and he is not letting you have the arm, go over for the DWL
- same side arm drag
These can be applied on the inside and the outside of the arm from the initial position as well as left and right handed.
Arm drag to arm shear head control - extended arm, if they stand then go into the shoulder clinch with the underhook. You remain in a dominant position throughout.
Uppercut from wrist control and punch to his centre. He blocks the punch. Keep the pressure on with the punch and lean the shoulder slightly into him. Turn the hip and the shoulder for the uppercut (hand on his wrist) and go back to wrist control. It looks like a rotation of the spine, nothing is extended. Tight small movements are the key. Continue to hit off until you get the chance to uppercut under his forearm. From here your hand will appear trapped between his arm and his chest. However, this is the perfect set up for the DWL>
DWL out of MT clinch defence.
Boxing drills:
jab and jab counter
jab and jab, left hook counter
jab and jab, right cross counter
the Fedor entry - long range entry with the overhand right to get wrist control against a good striker who is making your day miserable
This is a great way to help you close the gap in a relatively safe fashion. Strikers seeing the big overhand right will want to defend, block or cover up. You are not trying to land, just trick their eyes and brain into that. The split second they cover them you are on them like a drunk on a kebab.
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Class notes: (guest instructor Andy Cross)
As Martin was away he arranged for his training partner to come and take the class. The class has more of a street feel to it and Andy's approach is a little more gritty than Martin's. He talked candidly about his own real life experiences and was thus teaching from practical experience. We did learn a sequence of techniques that followed an incremental progression but the main theme of the night was angles, leverage and structure. This was something that Andy was most insistent about us taking away from the lesson and looking to apply in future learning.
As I reflect back on the class there was also the idea of being in the best position at all times to ensure you are safe in the environment you are working in. Being aware of the threat and any other potential threats from the environment, from his friends. Be aware of the distance and range and aim to control that.
We started with our jab and counter jab drill and then using the pivot footwork to create the angle for the right cross and thus being off his power lines.
Next we looked at attacking his lead foot by stepping on it when he attacks with the jab. Thankfully I can moan on here about my sore toes from the session tonight as we did a lot of this initial attack. Thankfully because I am not Ayyaz who was politely tortured all night long as the crash test dummy for Andy.
From this the foot step we added a range of attacks depending on their range. As I have said before, in essence it did not matter what techniques we learned tonight, it was about what angles and leverage did we use.
- foot step - grab the jab and left hand to the back of the head, step up and in balance and stomp kick to his knee, sweep with the heel, control his fall and land with knees. Nice straight spine so the knees land heavy and you are in a safe structure position.
- Miss the foot and go deep and using the left to go high to protect you from his right, adding the knee to get him folding his structure.
- 'Come on then' posture: Crash in to control his left with your right, your left smashes into his collar bone taking the single Thai grip, sweep the foot then continue with knee stomps and takedowns. To get the sweep correct they must be on the back foot first then you lengthen and shorten your stride. By doing this you are dragging his base long to put you in a better position as his structure is now very weak.
- Headlock defence: strong positive spine posture, reach around and grab his shoulder and use this as a lever. Pull him around and not back on the shoulder. Your shoulder will also act as a brace point to pressure his shoulder. Turn towards him hip to hip (perpendicular) and affect his structure with a scissor action (forehead and base of his spine). From here we looked at several options to get the job done - elbows to the chest, neck crank and nasty fook sau guillotine. The new detail on the guillotine was using the thumb bone - folding to base knuckle - sitting flat on the hand and lifting into the centre if his throat. This was very painful and very fast yet it feels like nothing when you are doing it. The difference between a tight one and one you believe you can escape from is the elbow. The thumb arm is the same shape as a fook sau. Your elbow is against your torso and this small distance automatically gives you range to prevent him from taking the hips. When Trist had the thumb up it was horrible but when he had it all in the fook sau shape it was horrendous and I was tapping instantly.
In closing it was great of Andy to give his time to us tonight and show us his perspective on the martial arts. There was a real buzz in the class and a good turn out too. A huge thanks to Ayyaz for being a most excellent demo dude cos we were glad it was not us.
As I reflect back on the class there was also the idea of being in the best position at all times to ensure you are safe in the environment you are working in. Being aware of the threat and any other potential threats from the environment, from his friends. Be aware of the distance and range and aim to control that.
We started with our jab and counter jab drill and then using the pivot footwork to create the angle for the right cross and thus being off his power lines.
Next we looked at attacking his lead foot by stepping on it when he attacks with the jab. Thankfully I can moan on here about my sore toes from the session tonight as we did a lot of this initial attack. Thankfully because I am not Ayyaz who was politely tortured all night long as the crash test dummy for Andy.
From this the foot step we added a range of attacks depending on their range. As I have said before, in essence it did not matter what techniques we learned tonight, it was about what angles and leverage did we use.
- foot step - grab the jab and left hand to the back of the head, step up and in balance and stomp kick to his knee, sweep with the heel, control his fall and land with knees. Nice straight spine so the knees land heavy and you are in a safe structure position.
- Miss the foot and go deep and using the left to go high to protect you from his right, adding the knee to get him folding his structure.
- 'Come on then' posture: Crash in to control his left with your right, your left smashes into his collar bone taking the single Thai grip, sweep the foot then continue with knee stomps and takedowns. To get the sweep correct they must be on the back foot first then you lengthen and shorten your stride. By doing this you are dragging his base long to put you in a better position as his structure is now very weak.
- Headlock defence: strong positive spine posture, reach around and grab his shoulder and use this as a lever. Pull him around and not back on the shoulder. Your shoulder will also act as a brace point to pressure his shoulder. Turn towards him hip to hip (perpendicular) and affect his structure with a scissor action (forehead and base of his spine). From here we looked at several options to get the job done - elbows to the chest, neck crank and nasty fook sau guillotine. The new detail on the guillotine was using the thumb bone - folding to base knuckle - sitting flat on the hand and lifting into the centre if his throat. This was very painful and very fast yet it feels like nothing when you are doing it. The difference between a tight one and one you believe you can escape from is the elbow. The thumb arm is the same shape as a fook sau. Your elbow is against your torso and this small distance automatically gives you range to prevent him from taking the hips. When Trist had the thumb up it was horrible but when he had it all in the fook sau shape it was horrendous and I was tapping instantly.
In closing it was great of Andy to give his time to us tonight and show us his perspective on the martial arts. There was a real buzz in the class and a good turn out too. A huge thanks to Ayyaz for being a most excellent demo dude cos we were glad it was not us.
Saturday, 22 March 2014
Phantom KO?
http://mmashare.mma44.com/2014/03/koreshkov-vs-burrell.html
This fight was also on the recent Bellator 112 show. At first the ko looks like it came from a body shot. The fighter's reaction to the body shot as you will see is most peculiar; straight and stiff arms. But watch and enjoy how he really got stunned.
This fight was also on the recent Bellator 112 show. At first the ko looks like it came from a body shot. The fighter's reaction to the body shot as you will see is most peculiar; straight and stiff arms. But watch and enjoy how he really got stunned.
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Yin and Yang
My own path through martial arts and wellness maintenance has taken me down many avenues. Currently I do several things to stay healthy and develop character. The first is and has always been martial arts since 1993 coupled with my interst in sports and fitness. 21 years on I still have a range of things I do that is right for me now.
http://www.marklauren.com
This is the body weight training regime I follow. Presently I am am working my through his first class program which is his intermediate one, tomorrow I start week 7. I love body weight training as it is honest and great for self motivation as I can't ever rely on anyone else to maintain my health, only me. There are no short cuts and secrets as the women's' mags would have us believe. Only hard work and effort. Oh and it is free and I can use the kids climbing frame for my pull ups!!
http://sadienardini.com
Her style of power yoga is tough and bullshit free. 30 minutes of her YouTube videos will challenge most people
There is also the boxing workouts that I have posted on here which are great for cardio and having a focus if shadow fighting is not something you can easily spend time doing. He loves burpees so be prepared for some taxing work.
Perhaps the most yin aspect is I still do the tai chi form I learned many moons ago. Now I do it upon waking in the garden because it gets the body ready for the day and the movement is nice. I used to do lots of standing and sitting meditation but my preference has been moving meditation. I am going to put up some videos soon of me doing the form not because I am some kind of wizard but just to illustrate what it is. The style is called old Yang style and is said to pre date Yang style which is the most widely spread form of tai chi. It differs as it has several faster and jumping/leaping attacks. And I love it because it is my movement. Contrary to belief, no one owns movement, no one owns martial arts, so my form might look shite or different, but who cares?
Finally there is our style practise which generally includes me ponsing around in front of some reflective surface throwing slow punches to check my stance, structure, the chin to the shoulder, the weight, the extension, the rotation. I even try slow visualisation of the techniques and drills. I find this very mentally challenging.
I am really interested in what other people at the club do so be sure to add your comments to this. Indeed add your comments to any of the blog posts. It would be great to get some type of discussion going on any of the topics covered in class or even things outside of class, how people are getting on, what they enjoy, find tough etc. train hard, train safe.
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Arm drags
Billy Robinson Catch Wrestling legend teaching arm drags
Arm drag from everywhere!!
Arm drags in action in competition. Apologies for the funky tunes...
Arm drag from everywhere!!
Arm drags in action in competition. Apologies for the funky tunes...
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Class notes: footwork and hands
Footwork
Getting warmed up in the stance, light on the balls of the feet and deep leg bend. Moving forward and back on the count but making sure the protective shell is up and engaged.
Still finding this shell a tough position to get used to and comfortable in. I can turn the shoulders so that the chin is tucked but then my lead arm feels rather spasmodic. I guess I need to just put more time in being in the position, check it in window reflections.
The solo footwork then led into looking at using the lead leg to take a mini side step to get the motion going for the pivot away and the perpendicular (or 90 degree) evasion. In my own shadow work and visualization work I feel more fluid with perpendicular (my own label idea, not Martin’s) evasion, the pivot is still an immature motion. In order to help best understand my position and that of my invisible training partner I need to use the lines on the floor (or those in the paving stones in the garden). From here I have a reference point of the angle they are moving in from, I can then make sure my feet and then body move off those attacking power lines. I remember seeing videos of Silat and Filipino martial arts and them having all these geometric patterns on the floor of their gyms as a tool for teaching actual foot placement and evasion lines. I think I now see a purpose for people like me who need both a visual along with the verbal and kinesthetic input. Martin also talked about using the head to get the motion going for the perpendicular evasion. By dropping and turning the head slightly this forces the hips to follow allowing the body to now move in the direction it is facing.
This led into leading the partner by trying to get square on them to land the right hand. In addition we had to enter their space by coming forward at given intervals to which they then applied the 3 varieties of the off lining footwork: pivot away, perpendicular rush, going backwards. Going backwards but with balance and poise and not raising up.
Jab and counter jab drill.
Jab weight distribution analogy was butting forward with the lead shoulder, a slight turn in the hips and the weight more front than back foot. In defending the jab use the head movement along with catch the ball. This will hopefully prevent over reaching in the defence and showing the other person huge gaps in your motions.
Shoulder roll against the right hand
Left hook counter against the right hand
This was off the shoulder roll motion – not looking but feeling at where it lands and keep it flowing over his arm. Knuckles in and connecting with the jaw line.
Left uppercut counter to the right hand.
When they start to defend the hook by having a tight chin to shoulder the uppercut catches them nicely as they are expecting the counter looping left hook.
Both need bigger movements to the left and head movement as this is where they will throw the punch with the right hand. The uppercut felt slightly more technical as there was a slight side step with the lead foot, use a cross tan sau to cover the right hand as your drive the left punch from where is sits after your left jab counter. Bing.
Both of the counters are something I am looking forward to exploring in sparring as well as finding solutions to them also. I do feel as if the motion and aliveness of sparring will make these techniques settle into natural options.
Slipping the right hand in an anticipatory motion to set up the left hook.
This needs lots of work as head and body movement is something I am happily struggling with more than my understanding of it. This is one of the reasons why I am loving the new evolution of the system. Small precise alterations and details from previous learning actually make a massive difference. I am getting better at making mistakes and not expecting to be smooth at the motions first, second or third time.
Standing grappling work:
Drilling counters to hands on shoulders and hips plus the Thai clinch. Counters were arm drags (Make sure the elbow lifts and the path of the arm drag is circular. This makes the motion more efficient), head and arm trap, Thai clinch defence, double wristlock.
Extra arm drag detail: clinch from the side or three quarters never the back, inner wrist bone of top hand against their ribs. I did this with Ayyaz and was not getting it right until we had this extra detail and I could feel the difference in tissue and bone with my wrist. Also his head and arm trap is a cougher so don’t get caught in it.
Resisting the arm drag with a shoulder manipulation.
He is pulling his arm back so think about moving yourself and not moving around him. Punch the hips to get a quick and friggin painful control of his upper arm. This will flatten his feet as the pressure on there is all your brain want to go with. In fact this was bloody horrible for me as in the direction of this type of pressure, my shoulder are tremendously weak and have a poor range of motion. Then reach around and get hold of whatever you can, keep the pressure on the arm and pull it away to keep the weight on his front leg and limit of movement potential, then you can reach for a better handle on him for control.
Getting warmed up in the stance, light on the balls of the feet and deep leg bend. Moving forward and back on the count but making sure the protective shell is up and engaged.
Still finding this shell a tough position to get used to and comfortable in. I can turn the shoulders so that the chin is tucked but then my lead arm feels rather spasmodic. I guess I need to just put more time in being in the position, check it in window reflections.
The solo footwork then led into looking at using the lead leg to take a mini side step to get the motion going for the pivot away and the perpendicular (or 90 degree) evasion. In my own shadow work and visualization work I feel more fluid with perpendicular (my own label idea, not Martin’s) evasion, the pivot is still an immature motion. In order to help best understand my position and that of my invisible training partner I need to use the lines on the floor (or those in the paving stones in the garden). From here I have a reference point of the angle they are moving in from, I can then make sure my feet and then body move off those attacking power lines. I remember seeing videos of Silat and Filipino martial arts and them having all these geometric patterns on the floor of their gyms as a tool for teaching actual foot placement and evasion lines. I think I now see a purpose for people like me who need both a visual along with the verbal and kinesthetic input. Martin also talked about using the head to get the motion going for the perpendicular evasion. By dropping and turning the head slightly this forces the hips to follow allowing the body to now move in the direction it is facing.
This led into leading the partner by trying to get square on them to land the right hand. In addition we had to enter their space by coming forward at given intervals to which they then applied the 3 varieties of the off lining footwork: pivot away, perpendicular rush, going backwards. Going backwards but with balance and poise and not raising up.
Jab and counter jab drill.
Jab weight distribution analogy was butting forward with the lead shoulder, a slight turn in the hips and the weight more front than back foot. In defending the jab use the head movement along with catch the ball. This will hopefully prevent over reaching in the defence and showing the other person huge gaps in your motions.
Shoulder roll against the right hand
Left hook counter against the right hand
This was off the shoulder roll motion – not looking but feeling at where it lands and keep it flowing over his arm. Knuckles in and connecting with the jaw line.
Left uppercut counter to the right hand.
When they start to defend the hook by having a tight chin to shoulder the uppercut catches them nicely as they are expecting the counter looping left hook.
Both need bigger movements to the left and head movement as this is where they will throw the punch with the right hand. The uppercut felt slightly more technical as there was a slight side step with the lead foot, use a cross tan sau to cover the right hand as your drive the left punch from where is sits after your left jab counter. Bing.
Both of the counters are something I am looking forward to exploring in sparring as well as finding solutions to them also. I do feel as if the motion and aliveness of sparring will make these techniques settle into natural options.
Slipping the right hand in an anticipatory motion to set up the left hook.
This needs lots of work as head and body movement is something I am happily struggling with more than my understanding of it. This is one of the reasons why I am loving the new evolution of the system. Small precise alterations and details from previous learning actually make a massive difference. I am getting better at making mistakes and not expecting to be smooth at the motions first, second or third time.
Standing grappling work:
Drilling counters to hands on shoulders and hips plus the Thai clinch. Counters were arm drags (Make sure the elbow lifts and the path of the arm drag is circular. This makes the motion more efficient), head and arm trap, Thai clinch defence, double wristlock.
Extra arm drag detail: clinch from the side or three quarters never the back, inner wrist bone of top hand against their ribs. I did this with Ayyaz and was not getting it right until we had this extra detail and I could feel the difference in tissue and bone with my wrist. Also his head and arm trap is a cougher so don’t get caught in it.
Resisting the arm drag with a shoulder manipulation.
He is pulling his arm back so think about moving yourself and not moving around him. Punch the hips to get a quick and friggin painful control of his upper arm. This will flatten his feet as the pressure on there is all your brain want to go with. In fact this was bloody horrible for me as in the direction of this type of pressure, my shoulder are tremendously weak and have a poor range of motion. Then reach around and get hold of whatever you can, keep the pressure on the arm and pull it away to keep the weight on his front leg and limit of movement potential, then you can reach for a better handle on him for control.
Friday, 21 February 2014
MMA training videos
Here is the link to all the MMA footage I made when training with PROMAI MMA in Feltham, it is a martial arts playlist I have created on my YouTube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDbTeCppoNu5lAIFPnJOhnHM5W3-g5Rg_
There is a mega almost 7 hour compilation of all the videos
There is also lots of other videos ranging from stand up, clinch, grappling drills as well as free form sparring in all the ranges.
This is training not teaching footage.
Teaching of some specifics can be watched here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/promaiXman?feature=watch
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDbTeCppoNu5lAIFPnJOhnHM5W3-g5Rg_
There is a mega almost 7 hour compilation of all the videos
There is also lots of other videos ranging from stand up, clinch, grappling drills as well as free form sparring in all the ranges.
This is training not teaching footage.
Teaching of some specifics can be watched here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/promaiXman?feature=watch
Boxing home workouts
In the spirit of open mindedness and developing sound movement as well as having sounder hand, foot and eye co-ordination here are some workout videos from a boxing coach. I have started to integrate these into my own training at home and using them on days when I am not doing body weight training.
Workout 1: 25 minutes
Workout 2: 13 minutes
Workout 2 part 2: 6 minute conditioning blast
Workout 3: 16 minutes
Workout 1: 25 minutes
Workout 2: 13 minutes
Workout 2 part 2: 6 minute conditioning blast
Workout 3: 16 minutes
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Class notes: boxing basics
Tonight was the first time that I am starting to see something of a master plan in action. Martin is dropping in subtle details each week to build on those of the last week. He is also ensuring we get lots of time to deepen the learning experience in lessons. There is no rush to get through material and as I said new learning builds on previous learning. I am loving the quality over quantity approach. This is what a good teacher does. Not just regurgitates a syllabus or curriculum.
Footwork – bounce bounce.
Keeping the stance deep and flexed. The bounce bounce is much more horizontal than vertical or arching. I think it was about having a poised aliveness in the legs, ready to move and strike. This was a step on from last week as we were moving from a static position, this felt a lot more real. Especially combining this with the new protective shell
180 turns with backfist lead.
Use the rear arm to whip around to ensure full motion in rotation. This then evolved into a drill Footwork shadowing using 180 after partner encroaches into your space and range.
Getting off the rear hand powerline.
This was a most interesting footwork drill with lots f continuous movement. On leads the drill and it is their job to get the follower square on so that they have the chance to throw the right hand. I was working in this drill with Darren who have tight hands and constant motion; he has really good lateral motion so it was incredibly hard to get him square. This meant I had to be very active in my footwork to get the dominant position. When the roles were reversed it really started getting me thinking and observing the powerlines and where I need to be and not need to be.
Footwork against the southpaw:
This was about leg dominance and being outside their lead foot. When the jab comes in from the lefty you defend and attack with the same hand. Against orthodox you use the rear hand for the jab defence.
Again errors from us students was having the correct range. Martin keeps emphasizing the range for our jabs and what it isn’t. This is something we need to develop a better feel for: keeping the distance and the importance of the range and where it is and isn’t. It looks like a very subtle difference and one that most of us are at the moment too close with.
Footwork jab and counter jab
More practice working the range, footwork and jab.
Counter to right cross powerline –throw the shoulder forward.
As the left jab comes forward, do the usual small pak/head move counter, and this will start the motion for his right cross. To get off the powerline of this shot throw the right shoulder forward with some body rotation as this will then set up counter shots for you from a balanced and covered position. A mistake I was making was I was trying to go around the punch then in, I should have simply gone along the outside of the powerline. Have the confidence in the motion but make sure that the hands are protecting the shell and the chin is tucked.
Right hand pressure test, right cross roll defence.
To feel where the power is delivered to and from we did a little drill of pushing with the punch. The partner holds out a palm and we simply punch by pushing his palm. This will teach the correct lines of power as if you get it wrong you will come off balance. This drill taught me the correct feeling I need to have in my body for the right position and alignment for my right cross.
3 drill forward pressure (grip conditioning)
Slow pace but tight and purposeful motions. Controlling the centre and getting them moving with our attacks was the name of the game. We rotated through several partners, each time I had someone bigger and stronger than me so it was a real hard drill. I found though that taking the pace out it made having the centre an easier task despite the physical pressure.
Thai plum defence counter.
Keep the shoulder back!!!
Standing clinch against the wall reversal
Move the feet out and move him back against the wall. Simple body mechanics and motion.
HOMEWORK: keeping the shoulders back in all that we do.
Footwork – bounce bounce.
Keeping the stance deep and flexed. The bounce bounce is much more horizontal than vertical or arching. I think it was about having a poised aliveness in the legs, ready to move and strike. This was a step on from last week as we were moving from a static position, this felt a lot more real. Especially combining this with the new protective shell
180 turns with backfist lead.
Use the rear arm to whip around to ensure full motion in rotation. This then evolved into a drill Footwork shadowing using 180 after partner encroaches into your space and range.
Getting off the rear hand powerline.
This was a most interesting footwork drill with lots f continuous movement. On leads the drill and it is their job to get the follower square on so that they have the chance to throw the right hand. I was working in this drill with Darren who have tight hands and constant motion; he has really good lateral motion so it was incredibly hard to get him square. This meant I had to be very active in my footwork to get the dominant position. When the roles were reversed it really started getting me thinking and observing the powerlines and where I need to be and not need to be.
Footwork against the southpaw:
This was about leg dominance and being outside their lead foot. When the jab comes in from the lefty you defend and attack with the same hand. Against orthodox you use the rear hand for the jab defence.
Again errors from us students was having the correct range. Martin keeps emphasizing the range for our jabs and what it isn’t. This is something we need to develop a better feel for: keeping the distance and the importance of the range and where it is and isn’t. It looks like a very subtle difference and one that most of us are at the moment too close with.
Footwork jab and counter jab
More practice working the range, footwork and jab.
Counter to right cross powerline –throw the shoulder forward.
As the left jab comes forward, do the usual small pak/head move counter, and this will start the motion for his right cross. To get off the powerline of this shot throw the right shoulder forward with some body rotation as this will then set up counter shots for you from a balanced and covered position. A mistake I was making was I was trying to go around the punch then in, I should have simply gone along the outside of the powerline. Have the confidence in the motion but make sure that the hands are protecting the shell and the chin is tucked.
Right hand pressure test, right cross roll defence.
To feel where the power is delivered to and from we did a little drill of pushing with the punch. The partner holds out a palm and we simply punch by pushing his palm. This will teach the correct lines of power as if you get it wrong you will come off balance. This drill taught me the correct feeling I need to have in my body for the right position and alignment for my right cross.
3 drill forward pressure (grip conditioning)
Slow pace but tight and purposeful motions. Controlling the centre and getting them moving with our attacks was the name of the game. We rotated through several partners, each time I had someone bigger and stronger than me so it was a real hard drill. I found though that taking the pace out it made having the centre an easier task despite the physical pressure.
Thai plum defence counter.
Keep the shoulder back!!!
Standing clinch against the wall reversal
Move the feet out and move him back against the wall. Simple body mechanics and motion.
HOMEWORK: keeping the shoulders back in all that we do.
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Chin, punching and footwork refinement video analysis
I have been doing a lot of thinking recently about the refinements Martin has brought to the news system, particularly the tucking of the chin. It makes obvious sense the reasons for and I bet there are a million videos of people getting knocked out on YouTube. But I want to investigate it from a different perspective; that of what we are doing different and spotting this small difference in other martial arts. Tightly linked to the tucked chin observations is how other people/systems/styles throw their punches. As you will see, chins are not tucked and for me this presents a new target of opportunity to aim for in training as well as ensuring my own chin is tucked and I am protected behind my punches in my fighting shell.
I know that each of these arts have a different purpose and focus. I will avoid saying who is better or not, but I want to point out what is different about the system we train in.
Wing Chun Boxing – A case study of timing
This is an interesting clip as the man clearly has good hands and movement. That chin is just sitting there. In addition, the person ‘boxing’ and feeding the punches is always punching off target with his right cross!!
Tae Kwon Do world championships
Yes they are fast as crap of a shovel with their feet and are waiting to be KO’d by a foot or shin yet the chin is sitting pretty
Black belt level Karate sparring
Kung Fu ‘Masters’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQFuX7WpdkE&list=PLB3D58ADC958E8780
Grainy but frighteningly amateur skills from supposed masters of martial arts. I know it was a different time but the chin is still woefully exposed and as for the striking…
MMA
I even think my own chin was too high in this clip from my MMA training.
MMA part 2:
In this one my footwork needs fixing, too much going back and not near enough off lining.
However I am looking forward to applying the new footwork, chin, protective shell and punching refinements to this new system. I do find this type of self-analysis through video an incredibly powerful learning tool, hopefully this is something we can begin to use in our classes.
I know that each of these arts have a different purpose and focus. I will avoid saying who is better or not, but I want to point out what is different about the system we train in.
Wing Chun Boxing – A case study of timing
This is an interesting clip as the man clearly has good hands and movement. That chin is just sitting there. In addition, the person ‘boxing’ and feeding the punches is always punching off target with his right cross!!
Tae Kwon Do world championships
Yes they are fast as crap of a shovel with their feet and are waiting to be KO’d by a foot or shin yet the chin is sitting pretty
Black belt level Karate sparring
Kung Fu ‘Masters’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQFuX7WpdkE&list=PLB3D58ADC958E8780
Grainy but frighteningly amateur skills from supposed masters of martial arts. I know it was a different time but the chin is still woefully exposed and as for the striking…
MMA
I even think my own chin was too high in this clip from my MMA training.
MMA part 2:
In this one my footwork needs fixing, too much going back and not near enough off lining.
However I am looking forward to applying the new footwork, chin, protective shell and punching refinements to this new system. I do find this type of self-analysis through video an incredibly powerful learning tool, hopefully this is something we can begin to use in our classes.
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
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