When someone swings a thunderous round kick at you in Muay Thai or MMA, what do you do?
You shield!
Raise your palms to your temples, this both guards your head and prevents you from being pulled into a clinch. Arms come out just to the outside of your leg, creating a roof like effect, so as to cause your opponents kick to roll off, like rain off a roof.
Your leg comes up on a 45-degree angle relative to your opponent, waist high in practice, shin facing straight out with the knee, toes point up. Your shin faces out as a barrier against the kick, pointing outward on a 45 because that’s the angle the kick is coming in from waist high because you should always practice high; if you can go high you can always go low!
Toes up. I know this has garnered much controversy, however it’s based on biology. If the toes are pointed down, then you are using a set of muscles that pull your defending leg toward your supporting leg; conversely, if you raise your toes you are using a set of muscles that pull your leg away from your supporting leg.
Last of all, Make sure you don’t bend over as you defend, or you are going to eat a knee followed by a second course of canvas for dessert!
Brought to you courtesy of Kru Juice of The Muayman Alliance!
Thursday I had the day off from work, now I knew I was going to go train jiu-jitsu and muay Thai at night but I really wanted to get a strength session going in the morning. I had been planning this session all week, and I knew exactly what I was going to do.
Now my backyard is not the biggest backyard you will ever see but it would work just fine for what I was attempting to do. A while back I was cleaning out the back of the garage so they could install a fence in my yard. There beside the pot of gold I found some pretty big rocks. I knew one day that these rocks would put me to the test in training I just did not know how.
Well I figured out a great way for one of these rocks to test me. So I headed behind the garage and rolled this bad boy out into the backyard. Now I am a really crappy judge on weight, I was thinking this rock weighed about 60-70 pounds but in fact when I brought out the scale and nearly broke it I found that it weighed in at about 125-130 pounds. The wife did not seem to happy when I told her I almost broke the scale.
After a brief warm-up this is what I did. I brought out my sled threw on a thirty-five pound plate and attached it me. I picked up the rock, which I thought weighed 70 pounds and did two laps around my backyard with it. I repeated this for six sets. After doing the first set, which was about 50 yards total, I felt as if I rolled with someone in a jiu-jitsu class. My heart rate was up and my muscles were fatigued. This was my first time doing this training session so next time I will add some more weight to the sled to increase the intensity.
After the rock carry I used the same weight on the sled, I attached these wide grip pull up handles to the sled and did 6 sets of explosive rows. As I pulled the weight across my backyard I used my entire body to assist in the pull. Squatting down slightly and then exploding backwards. I was feeling my legs burning but the rock carries had more to do with that than the explosive rows.
To finish off the session I grab the two 35 pound plates and did overhead carries for 15 yards then did 5 presses and walked back the other way with the plates overhead.
This concluded my training session in the yard. So why am I telling you this. Look around your yard find some heavy stuff and put together some type of training with it. Take what you have and go to the next level and stop making excuses that you can’t get it done. Train Hard! Train Smart!
The round kick, or Tdae as they say in Thai, is one of the more powerful moves in the martial arts. Most people liken the Tdae to a bat, being swung by a home run icon! However, it is often more like a mace, not quite as stiff as swinging a bat, a bit more flexible, being able to change direction midstream.
Never forget to pay attention to your footing, when you go to throw the kick, step out on a 45 degree angle, staying on the balls of your feet; don’t ever let your heel drag, it slows your momentum and can potentially cause injury to your knees.
If the kick is targeted above the waist: Throw the same arm back as the leg you are kicking with, opposite arm covers in front of the same shoulder as the arm you threw back, creating the first line of defense by guarding the face; staying high on the balls of your feet and straightening the supporting leg.If targeting below the waist: The arm that was being thrown back goes straight out in front of your face as you corkscrew down by bending at the knee, staying on the balls of your feet.
In Muay Thai and MMA, the round kick is an essential weapon, without which your arsenal is far from complete. If you don’t believe me watch any UFC, Pride, WEC or Bellator event and you will see it employed time and again, either devastatingly or sometimes even in a KO!!
Brought to you from Kru Juice of the Muayman Alliance! Godspeed!
I told you a few weeks ago that I was on the hunt for different trainers from all the different arts that make up MMA. You have seen for the last three weeks some post on muay Thai. Now I have found my boxing guy! Wilson Pitts. Wilson brings some quality information to the site. Here is an interview that Wilson did with Roberto Sharpe on Boxing for MMA.
Team Combat Trainer is still looking for a wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert so if you are one contact me on Twitter @combattrainer and let me know you are interested in writing about what you love! Enjoy the article and video below!
Roberto Sharpe interviews Wilson Pitts:
Robert-What modifications are you employing when teaching boxing for MMA. As I understand it MMA likes to enter from long range with leg attacks, then switch from leg kicks to punches to single leg takedowns.
Wilson- First I work with the fundamentals of stance, balance and hand positions. These basics are missing in a lot of MMA fighters. I won’t let them even spar if they drop their hands, flinch, or have not developed snap on their punches. They must master these basics in the gym for their own protection. Also, a lot of emphasis has to be put on speed of hands and feet from the beginning. A lot of grappling based MMA fighters are too slow in their stand up.
The boxing stance has to be modified for MMA, front foot kept light. We work on moving laterally, stepping over off of the jab and in response to the forward pressure of the opponent. Pass the elbow and let your hands go. See Wilson and Roberto discuss this below:
I’m teaching my students to use a jab and broken rhythm footwork to negate the straight leg shoot. We spend a fair amount of time with beginners in front of a mirror practicing feints and stepping to angles off of the jab. The jab stops the opponent’s forward momentum. It has to be delivered with snap and no telegraphing.
The jab is aimed at the chest so that as they drop down they move into it. I teach fighters to use timing and “meet the head.” Punch to where it is moving to, as opposed to punching at where it was. This is something I learned from Georgie Benton. Make contact with their chest and then you can find the range for their chin. It can be hard to find the range when they are throwing a lot of wild punches so you dip and punch straight to the chest.
When facing a fighter who constantly ducks down under your hook Eddie Fuch emphasized using the rear uppercut, normally a fighter’s most powerful punch. You do not lead with this punch, it follows your hook and “meets them” as they go down. The body is a much larger target and better for this punch, but it can be aimed at the chin as well. This is important for MMA.
Watch a MMA grappler and they walk forward and lunge to shoot for the single leg. In boxing parlance they would be termed a “two stepper” and the stutter step and the jab throw them off and set them up. They have to have that momentum to effectively shoot. When they shoot from a close gap and don’t get a step they are not nearly as effective. So they must not be allowed to waltz across the gap unmolested. When they are coming across the gap is when they can be timed with punches.
If you study Thai boxing, they counter the rear leg round kick with the straight right hand. They both are applied at about the same range with the kick having the reach at initiation but because of the rotation of their body they fall into the range of the right hand. Thai boxing is also very good at using simple footwork to make knees and kicks miss. They step over, away from the rotation of the opponent’s body, and it makes a lot of straight kicks and knees miss and it takes the power off of the rear leg round house. This lateral movement gives them angles for punching without eating the opponent’s power kick.
Wilson- OK I’m through giving away trade secrets for today!
Roberto- Now that is an answer! Thank you. Anderson Silva is a great example for use of the jab and broken rhythm. Machida also seems to know not to allow “waltzing” into his gap without pain being inflicted.
Like I always say “Stillness is death!”.
Well the antithesis of this would be movement, and move you must if you hope to survive in the ring or the cage. Essential footwork is as intrinsic to a fighter as flying should be to a bird.
Without it you may as well be a ship sinking on the high waves.
Now as far as the actual execution, follow this rule: K.I.S.S. or Keep It Simple Stupid !
When moving in the field of combat, and you have to move forward, move the front foot first, then allow the rear foot to follow. Same goes for the rest of the directions, right, right foot first; left, left foot first; rear, rear foot first; get the idea? What this pattern does is keep you from executing the #1 mistake in footwork, crossing one foot either in front of or behind the other one.
When this happens you no longer have the best balance and you leave yourself open for attack! When your opponent is circling you, you must pivot on your front foot, pushing off your rear foot; this allows for maximum efficiency of movement.
Muay Thai , MMA and combat sports in general rely on the use of foot work, and there have been many fighters and martial artists well known for there skill in it: Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, Bill “Super Foot” Wallace, and the list goes on.
Practice this and make it muscle memory!
Sawatdee my friends, Kru Juice of the Muayman Alliance!
Being a father, a husband, a teacher and a coach keeps me plenty busy throughout the day. If I am not with the most important family I am working with the other. Some people call this juggling I call it life. Add to the list all of the fun things that you like to do with your spare time and it can make for a pretty packed life.
This post is for those combat athletes that love to train MMA, Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing for fun, love to hit the weight room and have the family and job to attend to. I for one am one of those people that love to train for fun. My passion is in the weight room but I love to hit the mats and Thai box every week.
I am also a firm believer of spending as much time with your kids as you possibly can. I always hear people say, “They grow up so quick!” The last thing I want to do is miss anything when it comes to my lil warrior. So how do I manage the family life on top of the full time job, starting my business and training? Well here is how I have set up my schedule to get all this in:
Monday
5:30 am: Deadlift and conditioning
8am-2:40 pm: Work
3:10 pm-8:00 pm: Family time (Best time of the Day)
8:00 pm-12am: Work on the strength and conditioning coaching biz
Tuesday
8am-2:40: Work
3:10 pm-7:20 pm Family time (Best time of the day)
8pm-9pm: Muay Thai Kickboxing class
9pm-10 pm Travel time, shower, eat
10pm-12am Work on the strength and conditioning coaching biz
Wednesday
5:30am: Power Clean and conditioning
8am-2:40pm: Work
3:10pm-5:30pm: Family time
6pm-7pm: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class
7:30pm-830pm:Thai boxing class
9:30pm-12am: Work on the strength and conditioning coaching biz
Thursday
8am-2:40pm: Work
3:10pm-5:15pm Family time
6pm-7pm: Teach strength and conditioning class
7pm-8pm: No-gi grappling , couple of rds of rolling
8pm-9pm: Thai boxing class
10pm-12am: Work on the strength and conditioning coaching biz
Friday
5:30am-Front Squats and conditioning
8am-2:40pm: Work
3:10pm-8pm: Family time
8pm-whenever I decided to sleep:
Work on the strength and conditioning coaching biz
Saturday
Sleep in until the little human alarm clock wakes us
Strongman Training
Family time
Sunday
Family Time
So here is how I am working the training schedule in right now. Thought I would write this post for those of you who are combat athletes out there and are having a hard time managing everything in your life. As you can see the days that I wake up at 5:30am I am only doing one lift and some conditioning. I pick a compound movement like the deadlift, power clean and front squat and train for about a half-hour to forty-five minutes just doing that lift. Then I add a conditioning protocol at the end. Hopefully you can pick up some tips on how to organize your training schedule if you lead a similar lifestyle but still want to have all your training fun in there.
P.S. I love to take the family out to the field when I train outside and just have fun out there. Usually when I am shooting video for the site, I take along my wife, to shoot the video and my daughter who you sometime hear in the background yelling or crying for mommy and daddy. It also keeps her active as she runs around the field. Here is a video of my daughter playing with the mini-hurdles the last time out! Good times!
Here at Combat Trainer I strive to bring you quality strength and conditioning content to help you achieve your goals. That being said I am looking to add some even more exciting content to my site. If you have been on the site you know it is dedicated to the combat athlete.
This is the plan, I am going to not only bring quality strength and conditioning tips but I am going to bringing in different training from the different martial arts that make up MMA. I am currently on the search for different coaches from many different disciplines. I am looking for jiu-jitsu trainer, a wrestling coach, a boxing coach and Muay Thai trainer.
This is what I am looking for out of the individual trainers. Each trainer will share their knowledge of the discipline they teach. These trainers will get to show off their training philosophies to the world. Through interesting posts with video and pictures they will educate us all on the different arts. This will only enhance your training in mixed martial arts.
I am dedicated to bringing you the best training in combat sports. This will start by creating a great team of knowledgeable coaches to share what they know. A great team will enhance your fighting abilities and bring those of you that follow my site to new levels in your career.
So if you are a trainer in any discipline that would be found in mixed martial arts, or you know someone that is a trainer and would be interested, please contact me either through email at combattrainer@gmail.com or on Twitter at @combattrainer.
Combat Trainer is dedicated to brining you the best training information in the fighting world!
Ok ladies and gentlemen, I am excited for this Wednesday night, so excited that I am missing my striking class at Gracie Barra Long Island. What could I be so excited about? I had the honor of being asked by Scott Bird of Straight to the Bar to be the main guest for his TwitterChat 74. What’s the topic that we will be discussing? Conditioning!
Many of you know the importance of conditioning in sports and we all know how important it is to the sport of mixed martial arts. We will be going over several different aspects of conditioning, like when to do it, how often does conditioning need to be done, why conditioning is important in MMA and as well as other sports and what kind implements can be used for conditioning. You won’t want to miss this all important discussion. So if you are a fighter or just someone that love to train come join in on the discussion and give us your thoughts. We would love to hear what you have to say about conditioning and training. For more details on the chat just click here… http://straighttothebar.com/forums/showthread.php?9634-Twitterchat-74-ConditioningHope to see you there. As a little gift I will leave you with a little conditioning protocol that can be easily done in the gym using Farmers Walks, deadlifts and burpees. I used this with my fighter Jessica Richer and she loved it so give it a try.
One thing I love to do is research. Either, reading, listening or watching videos I love to do me some strength and conditioning research especially when it comes to the topic of MMA or any other combat sport. If you don’t know already combat athletes are some of the best-conditioned athletes on the planet. The amount of training that they do on and off the mat is incredible. As strength and conditioning coaches we must work closely with these athletes and make sure they are training the right way to prevent injury or as with many that fight, over-training.
Designing a solid strength and conditioning program is imperative to having your fighter come out on top. So in my travels of research I was looking at videos of some conditioning protocols that could be used with some of my fighters. I came across a video from Alter Center Combat Conditioning. The conditioning protocol features former Lumpini champion Neungsiam “the Rock” Samphusri, yeah say that again. This protocol is designed for MMA and Muay Thai fighters. Some of the exercises you have seen before others you may have not seen. If you are looking to change up your conditioning protocol this will definitely give you a little boost to your training sessions.
So check out the video below and don’t forget sign up for your FREE Bodyweight Training Manual for MMA in the top right hand side. In this manual you will get some great strength, power and conditioning with just the use of your bodyweight. So make sure you get your copy. Sorry bout the pop up ads on the video not my doing.
So yesterday I was supposed to go to the gym in the morning and getting a lifting session in but as my life has been lately things changed and I had to go to the Long Island Pride Jiu-Jitsu tournament earlier than expected. So heading there I was thinking of how to get a training session in later on in the day and I decided that I would hit the local high school for some sprint conditioning. Of course to my delight after getting home it finally began to rain after days and days of the weather forecast calling for showers. So I sat on my couch for a while and then said you know what “Screw it, I am going to sprint in the rain.” So I headed to the local track to get a good conditioning session using sprints.
During my conditioning session I noticed one very important thing, while I was sprinting I realized that I was able to train for a longer period of time. Now using sprinting, as a conditioning tool is very taxing on the body. Why was I able to train longer? My sprint mechanics or sprinting technique has been vastly improved. Using proper sprinting technique made me a more efficient runner, which in turn helped with my conditioning.
Let me relate this to MMA and other combat sports, which require good if not great technique. Let’s say for instance you are looking to take your opponent down. Most times the first shot is not a successful one, unless of course if you are GSP, after multiple shots your body begins to tire and you start to develop a lazier and lazier shot until you are totally gassed out. If your technique on takedowns is lacking then you will get tired much faster. The same goes when you use sprinting as a conditioning protocol, if you have poor technique your body will be taxed quicker and you will more than likely either slow down dramatically during conditioning or you will be to tired to continue.
In the book “Training for Speed, Agility and Quickness” by Lee Brown and Vance Ferrigno they speak about three elements that help with speed mechanics. First they speak about posture. If you have read my blog in the past you have seen speed drills that will help make you faster and also develop an explosive takedown. It was a two-part article titled, “Usain Bolt v.s. GSP” check them out http://bit.ly/anJ7dY and http://bit.ly/derl2w During a sprint you should have two different postures, at the beginning you should be in the acceleration phase, where your body is at a 45-degree angle. You can see some of the drills to help you out in the articles mentioned above. The other is coming upright during the sprint to about an 80-degree angle, this is known as max velocity. The second element is leg action. The extension of the knee, hip and ankles are key in this element and should be one coordinated motion. Stride frequency and stride length are also components of leg action. Finally arm action is important. I have heard some say that when you run you are only using your legs. Oh really? Well those people are dead wrong. Arm action is important in sprinting and I have found that help when you are getting tired. Here are some quick pointers on how to use your arms properly while sprinting. First keep your hands open, do not make fists. Then as you run pull your arm back at your shoulder do not just move your arm at the elbow. The arm should be kept at a 90-degree angle at the elbow. Second when you are running you want your hands to go cheek to cheek. That means your hands should swipe down by your butt cheek and come up to your face cheek.
These are some of the things that will help your sprinting out and when I train my fighters I teach them proper sprint technique. Now I don’t go over this with them to make them world-class sprinters but to help make them faster and more efficient athletes. As you see the world of MMA is turning out athletes that are taking the sport to the next level. Future articles will show some more drills to clean up your sprint technique. Train Hard! Train Smart!
