As MMA grows the evolution of boxing in the sport has also evolved. With the rise of wrestlers in the sport and the chances of getting taken down as a stand-up fighter is very likely. A lot of kickboxer and muay Thai fighters games has been negated because of the strong likelihood of getting taken down. Because of this we have seen boxing become one of the most effective ways to end fights. With the size of the gloves it is easier than in a boxing match to knock someone out.
Wilson Pitts, Combat Trainer boxing expert, developed a great video on how to effectively use the jab in MMA. Before he shows us this great technique for the use of the jab, he gives a brief history lesson on how George Benton trained his boxers to use the jab. Having a love for history, I loved watching this short piece and I picked up a lot of pointers on using the jab in my training.
The technique Wilson shows will help you slow down an opponent that likes to shoot and help you keep your distance to prevent it. So check out this great tutorial by Wilson Pitts, one of the best boxing trainers.
Jon Fitch is in the main event at UFC 127 going against BJ Penn. Fitch is known for his outstanding wrestling and many have called him boring for his lay and pray style. This time around I don’t think laying on BJ Penn will be such a good idea.
But I am not here to critique anyone’s fighting style, I am here for some strength and conditioning and that is what I am going to give you. In this video just like the title says you are going to see Jon Fitch performing jump squats with the barbell. The string type thing that you see attached to the barbell is called a accelerometer and it measures the speed of the bar as you jump with it.
He then moves into jump squats without the barbell. Jump squats are great for becoming explosive using your own body. You need to be explosive however and once you hit the floor you need to be jumping, this is the way to build that explosiveness.
Train Hard! Train Smart!
At UFC 126 Vitor Belfort is attempting to win the Middleweight Championship from Anderson Silva. Belfort has some of the fastests hands in MMA and some of the most powerful punches. If Silva can stay on the outside and circle away and use that great footwork of his then I think he will be able to defeat Belfort.
However, I stink making fight picks so I will stick to what I know I am good at and that is strength and conditioning. In the video you will see below you will have the opportunity to look at some of Belfort’s training. This video is great because it shows many different aspects of one of his training sessions. They call it a physical therapy session but some of the training he does in the video could be someones regular training session.
In the video he works on what looks like running mechanics. The reason for this looks like to warmup the central nervous system. But working on running mechanics could have a transfer into footwork in a fight.
After that they move into a dynamic warm-up. Now I have not gone into much about warming up on my site but I will tell you I use a dynamic warm-up prior to all of my athletes training sessions. You will also see him work on some core work as well as his lower back. You will also see Vitor do one of my personal favorites Prowler pushes and heavy sled drags.
If you take a close look as this training session you will notice that he works a lot on his lower body. You want to know why Belfort is fast then just take a look at his training methods and you will see why.
Train Hard! Train Smart!
UFC 126 is this Saturday. In the main event Anderson Silva will be taking on Vitor Belfort for the Middleweight Championship of the world. That fight alone would sell tons of pay per views but the rest of the card is stacked as well.
The fight I am really looking forward to is between two of the most explosive athletes in the UFC today as Ryan Bader takes on Jon Jones. Since I began this website I have been talking about how the future of MMA champions will be determined by how athletic they are. I guess the future is hitting a little sooner. Both Bader and Jones show true athleticism when they are in the Octagon.
So in my hunt for training video of these two great fighters I was able to come up with some Jon Jones videos to show. In this segment I am going to show you two videos. The first is of Jones pushing a sled in almost like a bear crawl fashion. Now you have seen on my site before some of the sled work as well as plate pushes across the turf. The sled pushes that Jones is training in the video help with strengthening the legs. I will tell you his quads are filling up with blood and he is getting a nice burn as he performs this exercise. The sled pushes also help with explosive leg drive which in the sport of MMA is essential in not only takedowns but in punching and kicking power as well.
The second video is of Jon Jones working on explosive front raises using some kind of pulley system. This exercise works on Jones’ power as well as his muscle endurance in his shoulders, which can come in handy in later rounds of the fights. This can also be done with bands that give the right resistance. As you do them feel your shoulders burn.
So check out both videos and if you have not already done so get out there and buy yourself a sled and start pulling and pushing that thing around.
Train Hard! Train Smart!
Coming from a Muay Thai background. I was always taught to move forward. This has led to some not so fun combos to the face. As I have been working on my stand-up game I have begun to add some more footwork into my game. This has helped tremendously in my sparring. If you are a frequent visitor to the site you have noticed that I have some other trainers from specific disciplines posting tutorial on my site. One of those trainers is Wilson Pitts.
Wilson specializes in boxing. He is a great trainer of the sport and really knows his stuff. Wilson has been adapting the boxing style to MMA and it is worth your time to take a look at what he has to offer. I asked Wilson if he could do a tutorial on adapting footwork from boxing to MMA. Wilson came through and produced the video below. I am finding more and more as I watch MMA that footwork is becoming key in many fighters victories.
So check out the video below by Wilson Pitts. If you want to contact Wilson he can be reached vis email at wilsonpitts@yahoo.com and on Twitter @pluguglyboxing. Enjoy the video!
The UFC is brining a free card on Saturday night with the Fight for the Troops 2. One fighter I am looking forward to seeing is Cole Miller as he takes on Matt Wiman. Now the reason behind wanting to see Cole Miller is simple. I want to see how well his strength and conditioning holds up. To be really honest I know that his conditioning on Saturday night will be there. The reason I know is because I know that he trains at the Institute of Human Performance down in Florida with JC Santana.
When I first got involve in training combat athletes it was really because of Santana. I was reading an article in Grapplers Magazine and came across some his and his partner Rhadi Ferguson’s methods on training combat athletes.
I had the great opportunity to go and learn from both JC and Rhadi down at IHP in their Intocombat Mentorship Program. The week I was down there they taught me everything they knew about preparing a fighter for combat. It was a great learning experience and I use many of the things I learned with my fighters today. Both JC and Rhadi push the envelop on training combat athletes.
So Saturday night look for Cole Miller to showcase his hardwork. I would also like to thank JC Santana and Rhadi Ferguson for teaching me and taking me under their wing during the time I spent with them. So check out this video of Miller training at IHP.
By Wilson Pitts
You teach a youngster to box by teaching a set of principles and a set of fundamentals that support those principles. You give them the tools and you let them develop an instinct for fighting. They need to find their own way, hit and don’t get hit that is the game, give them the tools let them find their own process. Ultimately boxing is an art and each fighter must find a way to express himself in the course of a fight. No two fighters will do it in exactly same way.
You do not teach a cookie cutter offense and defense and have them “do ” them at each other. “Do a 1-2-3” no! A teacher shows them how to develop a flow, “don’t think feel!” The young fighter has to get out of their own way in order to enter into “boxing mode” flowing seamlessly from defense to offense and back.
A fight is like a symphony it has beginning, a middle section, and an ending. It is being written and played at the same time. A fighter must develop a sense of fight progression, have contingencies planned for each stage, and be able to change pace or tactics as the story unfolds. This requires mental focus, concentration, during the entire contest.
Inexperienced fighters don’t have this sense of the big picture, they can’t create on the fly, it is all happening too fast. It takes a lot of rounds to be able to write and conduct the symphony while it is happening and then change with the flow of the fight. This is called “ring generalship” and it really can’t be taught, it must be an instinct in a fighter. I recommend that you study early Sugar Ray Robinson fights to learn about dictating pace, rhythm, and control of the center of the ring against a skilled opponent.
An important part of ring generalship is an awareness of what the other fighter is experiencing, is he tired? Does the pace suit him? Is he hurt? Is he frustrated? Or is he in his comfort zone? What is his perception of how things are progressing? All of this must be taken into account in real time while the fight is ongoing. While this is where a good corner helps, the personal experience of the fighter is the key.
Trainers at Stillman’s Gym in NYC in the 30′s and 40′s developed the concept of the “defensive fighter” stressing balance, footwork, head movement, and angles as well as punching. The “dean” of those old trainers Ray Arcel said that the key to this idea of the defensive fighter was the coordination of head and foot movement that he called “slide and roll.” He taught fighters like Barney Ross to bend from the waist, roll under a punch, and slide over to a punching position where you cannot be readily hit while you get off with both hands. Reduce the amount you get hit, while increasing your offensive output, this was the defensive fighter.
Charlie Goldman had an entire chapter in the book, Boy’s Book of Boxing and Body Building, co-written with Rocky Marciano, on the defensive fighter. He even used some of the same terms that Arcel used.
In the book Goldman said,” A skilled defensive fighter is usually the product of long and intensive training. Too many of the offensive boxers you see today are green, untried youngsters who do little more than throw a barrage of reckless punches. The skilled, careful boy knows that slipping punches is also part of the skill of self-defense.”
In Chapter 6, “How to Begin”, after the section on how to make your own heavy bag, Rocky Marciano says;
“When everything that can be said about boxing has been said, one fact will stand out above all the rest: the best boxers hit more and get hit the least. This refers not only to the number of punches, but also to the strength behind them.”
It is this simple fact that a beginner needs to grasp first before going on to learn the art of self-defense.
The lightweight champion is back at UFC 125 on New Years Day, as Frankie Edgar looks to defend his title against the only man to beat him Gray Maynard. Yesterday we took a look at Maynard putting the Battle Ropes to the test. Like I said both of these fighters are always in great shape come fight time.
Today we will take a look at Edgar training for this fight. In this video you will see all the different types of training Edgar does in preparation for a fight. There are agility ladders to improve his footwork. As we saw in his last two fights against BJ Penn we saw that edgar had great footwork. Using the agility ladder in training has helped him improve in that aspect of his fight game. You will also see him using hurdles to develope lower body power. Having an explosive lower body helps in all aspects of the fight game from punching and kicking to takedowns. We also see him using a stabilty ball to help improve dynamic flexibilty and core strength. The sledge hammer also makes an appereance, just another tool that produces power as well as core strength. Kettlebells which many combat athletes have now incorporated into their strength and conditioning also make their way into his training. Turkish Getups with a kettlebell is a great movement to add strength to the entire body. Give them a try and let me know what you think.
Now remeber when looking at this video be aware that there is a plan or program for what he is doing. This could be one session where each of the exercises you see stand alone and is not a conditioning protocol. Many fighters out there see these things and just go out and try and perform them without knowing where it fits in their training. By looking at the date on the video this is more than likely a General Preparation Session, which is used to get the athlete ready for the work that is to come ahead in the training for the months ahead.
Happy New Year! If you are looking to take it to the next level I do offer online training at a discount for the New Year. Make the investment in your career and make 2011 your year.
As a New Year arrives so does another UFC card, UFC 125. This one will feature some interesting fights on the card. First off we have Frankie Edgar defending his lightweight title against the only guy to have beaten him, Gray Maynard. Also on the card Chris Leben takes on Brian Stann, Leben looks to continue his winning ways in the octagon with a victory. One matchup I am looking forward to is Brandon Vera going up against Thiago Silva. This may turn out to be a stand-up war and a very exciting bout.
A few months ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Bradon Vera’s strength and conditioning coach Doug Balzarini. He spoke about training Vera and how he goes about training fighters in general. If you have not heard the interview give it a listen, you could pick out some important training information for yourself. So knowing the Vera fight is this weekend I also wanted to give you a glimpse at some of the training Doug does with Brandon as they get ready for a fight.
You will notice the use of the agility ladder in the beginning of the video. Making a fighter more athletic is one of the keys to creating a championship fighter. The work on the ladder will improve Vera’s footwork. After the agility the video moves into some strongman training which will help develop Vera’s overall strength, power and conditioning. The type of work Balzarini puts Vera through pays dividends the night of the fight. You can visit Doug Balzarini’s site at http://dbstrength.com.
By Wilson Pitts
Boxing uses interval training. You do an exercise and raise the heart rate and then you stop or slow down and let it return to normal, then repeat. The trainer adjusts the number of intervals, the duration of each, and the intensity, and also the amount of recovery. It is a dieing art and science that has been applied to the training of race horses, greyhound dogs, and fighting dogs, as well as boxers and wrestlers.
Boxing training also uses rope skipping and shadow boxing in what today would be called plyo-metrics training. These exercises, often done on a sprung wooden floor, developed a light, bouncy step, and improved lateral movement and agility. They provide another type of interval at the same time they improve your fighter’s quickness and balance. The conditioning and the agility program work together. These basic training methods are used with the beginner along with core development through abdominal training and later bag punching.
Over training is a very real problem for fighters and the effects are just as bad as not training enough. The old trainers were able to adjust rest and recovery intervals to bring a fighter in at peak condition on a specific date. Many of today’s fighters “leave it in the gym” by over training. Overtraining is brought on by doing the same workout too many times, this is called “staleness.” The fighter does a high intensity interval and doesn’t even breath hard, he has done it too much. Make him do something he is not used to and he will gasp for breath like he didn’t train at all. When a fighter is stale he acts listless in sparring, bored in camp or the gym, and often does not sleep well. This is very similar to the effects of under training.
The old guys could detect overtraining by a change in the fighter’s body odor or by a lack of sweat when they were doing a workout. Today we look for elevated at rest heart rate, as well as irritability and the other signs, as an early warning sign of overtraining.
Not resting enough when undergoing heavy training is another cause of overtraining. Boxers need a lot of sleep, in bed by 9 at night and at least an hour nap during the day. Over eating can also bring on many of these symptoms because of too much stress put on the body from training and eating too much. The body does not get to rest between workouts because it is digesting. Often fighters try to compensate for feeling stale or bored by eating more. This is a mistake even in heavyweights who don’t have a weight limit and think they can eat anything they want. No snacking between meals, no meal replacements, and no eating after dinner. Charlie Goldman used to search Rocky Marciano’s room for food The Rock would stash and eat in the middle of the night.
