17/8/18: High volume Thai combos and takedowns into submissions.

Straight into it tonight, looking to up the intensity and repetitions.

Thai drill warm up: (lots of reps)

1) jab, rear round kick
2) lead hook rear round kick
3) lead uppercut rear round kick
4) jab cross round kick

In pairs, out of range so you can do a full 360 spin during round kick (starting low to help warm up!).

We do a lot of slow and smooth full body mechanics shadow boxing. Today we used this out of range partner drill to had some intensity to out mechanics, really whipping the kicks round (and coming round into a leg check stance at the end). Also when punching Steve suggested imaging you have a bag of marbles in each hand and that when you snap your punches out (with full rotation) you are trying to "shake/rattle the marbles" I found this analogy very helpful. Even through you were out of range and taking turns the target person can still visualise and practice defences and movement (just don't touch them!)

Rear round kick defence variations:

All off jab, rear round kick feed

1) Catch jab, Crush the kick into either teep or knee (with rear leg) into ABC

2) Catch jab, Cut kick, as they kick you step off in the direction the kick is going (e.g. right) and use lead leg to "cut" their standing leg, follow up with rear round kick.

3) Catch jab, Stop hit - step in and slightly off 45 (to jam their kick) and throw a cross before their kick lands

4) Catch jab, evade kick - shuffle step back then fwd following up with ABC. (as per boxing drills the other week.

We drilled these individually and then randomly in sets of 4 any order same feed (with intent)

Take downs:

1) Off Jab - parry and lead hand eye swipe, into lop and cross, dumog drag into figure 4 wrist lock take down. partner on side on floor with arm bend wedge arm against body cup wrist with both hands and pull straight up

2) Off Jab - split entry then immediate off set (push rear shoulder), skip step to side and simultaneous ear slap, hooking kick to back of knee with your rear leg. keep hold of an arm as they go down. to finish stamp on head, wedge arm between legs, sit down and fall back into arm bar

3) Off Cross -  Split entry into dumog drag takedown into arm bar as above

4) Off Cross - Cut punch into arm bar (lat on elbow), to take down gently for the drill switch hands holding the arm, come down to floor with lead knee and use your lead hand to brace on the floor, then slowly slide down. This one you can easily wrench your partner so go really slow to start and practice getting the lock on straight after the cut punch.

Lots to fine tune, mixing flowing and snappy shadow boxing, movement, applying combos and flowing form technique to techniques (e..g entries and locks/armbars) while making sure that they are tight and "on" as soon as you get hold of them

16/8/18: Clinch workshop and knife work

High repetitions working the basics, breaking it down step by step then getting more flow. Been a while since we worked clinch so some good reminders and an introduction for many others.

Clinch Drills:

Worked off of a jab entry.

1) Waslik (scoop) the jab, crash in with elbow towards head (cover your head as you do this and drive forward, their head is at the end of their arm you don't even have to look!)... don't get too caught up with "scooping" the jab most important part is to get it off line (like the long guard) so you can crash in , you can scoop the arm as you crash in closer... after the elbow crash use that arm to check your opponents rear hand while you other hand hits the neck while going for a single clinch (using blade of forearm..top half of arm closer to hand).. then go into double arm clinch.

2) Waslik (scoop) the jab, then crash in with hammerfist and pulse... then continue into the clinch as above.

Defender tips: Once you are in the clinch bend knees to drop low and get your lead leg touching their thigh so you are bringing your hips in and next to theirs. This starts to make it hard for you to be manipulated and jams up their arms to stall an elbow form hitting you (you can also get one of your arms over their clinching arms to help defend)... drill this so that you are trying to do this as soon as the clinch is on you.

Adding knees (break defence):

Either entry above, defender gets hips in close as described above. Clincher pushes one elbow forward, hard, and pulls hips away at same time creating space. Then do 3x skipping knees (straight forward.)

Round knees:

After a couple of straight knees add some round knees (aimed at ribs) to get this motion imagine standing with feet shoulder width apart. skip to the left (bring your right foot to you left foot, then swing you knee out to side and then forcibly back to the centre (lifting knee up over 90degrees and trying to bring it down as you bring your knee across, hitting with the inside of your knee) to skip right you bring your left foot to where your right foot is first.

Manipulating balance:

Entry into clinch as above, break defence and go straight into a round knee, make sure your kneeing leg lands forward, pivot on that leg and using your momentum and your arms like a steering wheel, slightly twist neck, and bring them around into follow up knees.

Clinch tips: never go for clinch with both hands, one at a time. Hand high up on back of head one hand on top of other, pinch your elbows in tight squeezing their head and driving elbows into clavical, use hand to roll head down. This will make neck sore quickly if not used to it or haven't done for a while, so put it on a couple of time but also lighten it up, once you have started to get the feel for it you can then add resistance etc. use the drills to develop sensitivity, to be able to get the clinch on, to stop the clinch and to quickly react if the clinch is on. Like all drills, these are only "moments" in a fight, extended for learning but will be over in seconds so worth taking the time enhance sensitivity and responses.

Pad round

felt like forever but maybe only 4 mins?

jab, cross, evade charging pad older by pivot left or right, then over hand uppercut.

Knife flow (a bit like numerada counter for counter:

In ice pick grip.

Isolating "defences"/movment then blending them adding another "defence" each time.

1) straight down middle feed - dagger pass (make sure you move whole body)
2) slight angles (e.g. A1) - shield cover (literally liting your other hand to block like a shield
3) off straight or angle feed - parry the hit and feed back a backhand horizontally (defender then paks the hit down and feeds back the same hit.
4) off straight down you do a shield block then roll over (wave and hack) pushing into body
5) add hubud (again better when its a tight narrow hit rather than a wide feed.)

mixing it all up adding each one to the mix as we practiced it till it became a little more "live" we all got stabbed we all smiled but we gradually got stabbed less!

9/8/18: 12 count stick flow, Backs to the Wall Defense drill, and knife sambrada

Tonight's session was focused on working body mechanics and flow patterns (which are useful was of helping you shadow box combinations and help to take the "thinking" out of what you are doing). We then moved onto some empty hand "boxing" style defences and finished with polishing 5 count Sambrada with a knife.


12 count stick flow: (in right lead)

This is pretty much identical to the knife flow we did a few weeks back:

Al
A4 (horizontal backhand)
A3 (horizontal forehand) (step back or fwd)
A2
Stab (step forward or back)
Upward diagonal backhand (low line)
Upward diagonal forehand (step back  or fwd)
Back hand stab to side of head
Fore hand stab to side of head (step forward or back)
Redondo motion slicing straight down the middle of head (hand ending outside your leg)
A1 low line (Step back or fwd)
A2 low line

We then added footwork (which I have added above) first stepping back... then  doing the flow again and stepping fwd

We then did this with left hand!!!!!

We then tried to do this with right and left hand and add any footwork to it (moving around)

The strikes here are all "basic" but ensuring correct body mechanics, starting to flow, adding movement and then building speed and power with the strikes is something that takes a lot of repetition.

The idea of these "flows" are so that you have a reference point to build from. They are not the end point, but the start. The idea is to express yourself with all the striking families moving in any direction and to keep it going and to use it as a type of active mediation or shadow boxing. but this gives you a frame work to start with and from here you can go where ever you want. If you feel yourself getting carried away or starting to lose structure and technique you can come back to the base flow.

Back to the Wall drill (working pure defence)

The idea of this drill is to isolate specific defence types and work them only for a short period. Starting slow so that the basic mechanics can be practiced and then gradually increasing speed and intent (but not necessarily power) to challenge that specific defence. You stand with you rear foot against a wall so there is nowhere to go- no escaping just defending.

No defence is 100% proof and you will get hit, this is looking at ways of minimising that (and don't forget, you should be fighting back not just taking it)

1) Half guard (Floyd mayweather style).- rear hand protecting head and ribs on one side of body, other arm guarding ribs and body - keep body thin at an angle so there is a small target for opponent. this is useful to defend body shots.

2) Double pillar (thai long guard/4D box - all have similar principles) - used to defend head shots mainly - keep arms slightly extended and both arms moving at same level (not like a steering wheel more like moving a box left and right - "fall onto" the straight punches and use blade of arm to "block" hooks, elbow in for uppercuts. Keep arms moving and move your head/upper torso off line/hide behind hand too.

3) Crazy monkey (over head with elbows aka limb destruction and movement made popular by KFM/Defense lab but has been around forever.. nothing is new!) - This is for flurries of fast heavy hits, the oh shit moment. cover head with arms and with a brushing hair motion keep moving your arms over your head. moving your body and defending the hits, hopefully many will land on the elbows! - you should not do this for long as it is the most defensive of the 3. All of these are only really supposed to be for a few moments before you launch your own counter attack.

At any point you can add a "cover/smother" which jams your opponent up and leads to a clinch.

We isolated and practiced each of these individually. We then added an element of the unknown with mixing high and low line and the speed of the attack, forcing the defender to choose which defence was most appropriate at the time (we all got hit)

Pad drill:

We then added pads to the above drill. The attacker hit high or low line (the unknown) forcing defender to choose most effective defence. At any time the attacker would pause and the defender would then need to capitalise on the moment to through a 5/6 hit combo on the pads (and look for escape) before defending again. A great drill for remaining focused under pressure and looking for a moment to "fight back"

Knife:

5 count sambrad with knife. Focus on keeping knife movements tight, keeping body at an angle, movement and ensuring the "parrying/passing/checking hand" is forcibly manipulating the attacker/feeder. (go slow and smooth before speeding up and if it goes to fast slow down again then speed up. Speed will come)

A note on drills: as we had been doing a lot of the palasut cycle recently I noticed hat during the sambrada drill I would often give the "wrong feed" which then brought the drill to a stop and having to start again. What I have realised from this is that, while drills are good for muscle memory and making techniques more live, you cannot stay there forever or for too long otherwise you get stuck and are not able to adapt. As with my comments about flow above, it is important to learn the flows and movements but to encourage "odd feeds" and to implement reactions/defences to those (much like we did with the random feeds of the palasut cycle). Essentially there is no wrong feed, only the ability of the partner to deal with that feed. So yes you practice a drill for a specific skills set, but you must be aware enough that at times someone is going to go "out of the drill" and it is up to you to keep it flowing until you can find your way back into it... or go a different way and combine drills techniques disarms etc. This can only be done though if you have build a base of solid core "techniques/skill" and more importantly the awareness and focus to adapt on the fly. So basically stay in the moment, breathe, and don't do the motions robotically!

This is the art and skill/attribute building section of the martial arts and is what keeps you coming back for more. The "reality stuff" will be enhanced by appropriate and challenging/intense skills/drill training, but will also need more individualised adrenaline/shit yourself random chaotic training to get your body at least somewhat used to the potential level of violence and you certainly won't get second chances, so avoid at ALL COSTS... and if you can't, hit as hard as you can as fast as you can on do not let go until they have stopped moving! (just a thought.. I'm rambling again I know!)

31/7/18: Foot work, Foot work, Foot work and a little stabby, stabby!

This session was fundamentally about footwork and as such incorporated elements of range and angles (from a boxing base)

Warm up:

Shadow boxing

Boxing drills:

The class was spilt into different groups, the lower grades working basic mechanics and movement. The higher grades focused on the following:

 Jab, Catch x 2 - jabber moving forward on each jab, catcher moving back on each jab to maintain distance (on each catch practice an immediate half beat jab reply)

Jab, Catch x3 split right -(as above) but on the 3rd jab split entry and step of 45 right. Keep on circling to the right (moving behind them) and hitting (ABC) after the split/45 step

Jab Cross, Catch x3 split left - (catch with the rear hand for jab and cross moving back as above)... on 3rd jab cross split entry and step 45 left. Keep on circling to the left (moving behind them) and hitting (ABC) after the split/45 step

Jab catch x3 shuffle step drill. - on the frst 2 jabs step back as normal (rear foot first) on the 3rd Jab shuffle step (bit like a pendulum, shuffle back -lead foot goes to back foot then back foot moves back... this gets you out of range.. you then shuffle fwd - rear foot goes to front foot and front foot goes forward) - the shuffle is explosive and does not give partner a chance to move as you are "on top of them" very quickly. after shuffle follow up with ABC (experiment with different lead hand hits as first hit after the shuffle.. a hook is quite effective from this, but any shot will work and you really are in their face and steam rollering them.

Basically by the end of this, whether partner jabbed or threw a cross we could move back, of to the side or shuffle step at any time which kept the attacker guessing and they never knew what we wree going to do next

Pads:

Jab catch x 2 then shuffle step and Any combo x3mins

Jab catch x2 then instead of a 3rd hit your partner charges you down... split entry and step off right or left and follow up with ABC


Knife flow:

Off of 5 count

A1 - block with blade of rear arm and simultaneous hit to throat, then hubud the knife arm over into wrist lock/strip
A2 - Block with blade of lead arm and  simultaneous hit to head, then hubud the knife arm over into wrist lock/strip (tricky on this side)
A3- block with blade of rear arm and simultaneous hit to throat, then scoop/parry with back of arm (pushing towards them) into wrist lock/strip
A4- block with blade of lead arm and simultaneous hit to throat, then scoop/parry with back of arm (pushing towards them) into wrist lock/strip
Stab - block with blade of rear arm and simultaneous hit to throat, then scoop/parry with back of arm (pushing towards them) into wrist lock/strip

Key points - FORWARD MOMENTUM, its important to be the hunter (yes I know I would be shitting it with a real knife but decisive action is key... if tentative or retreating you will most likely get caught off balance and cut to shreds.) The hit is put in to keep your focus on going forward and attacking the attacker. When we started to speed up the feed the hit never landed as we had to move too fast BUT the forward moment put the attacker off and the "block element" of the move slows the attack down a fraction for you to pass/get hold of the knife. If you think of the passing/hubud action like a roof block with a stick you also get that feeling of moving "forward"

A general note on training partners: I am really lucky to have such skilled and honest training partners at the club. A massively important element to your development is your training partner. It is important to look after them and to respect each others pace. You will only get better with a training partner who respects the drill and can challenge you appropriately. For a beginner it is all about body mechanics, how to hold pads how to move and being/hitting on target, not trying to take each others head off (to start off with). As you get more experienced it is about helping your partner get better, keeping technique tight, feeding back observations (e.g. your dropping your guard) and if need be reinforcing it with a tap... a LIGHT hit to emphasise a point. As you get more experienced you can then speed up, hit a little harder, add extra combinations and maintain accuracy, but never EVER forget the purpose of the drill, which is to acquire skills that you can gradually challenge so you have a frame of reference for options you can use when you go "live" in sparring or a conditioned all out scenario. Otherwise you might as well just hit a punch bag really hard. If you find yourself going to hard or doing something random just stop and think... what is the purpose of this drill (for now).... you can add it to chaos later.

A really good session with loads of practical applicable skills and principles that work with a variety of techniques. As always its about building skills not replying on techniques.

28/7/18 - visit to Richmond fitness martial arts training centre

Went with a mate to a specially designated martial arts training gym. classes range from gi and no gi BJJ, MMA, Boxing and Kickboxing.

www.richmondfitnessclub.co.uk

The club is run by pro and semi pro fighters and has a mixture of Pro/semi pro and amateur/hobbiests training at the centre.

I took part in the Boxing session.

Warm up:

3x rounds of: 2 min skimming follow by 10x press up, sit up, squats, burpees

movement drill - follow partner back forward left right trying to maintain the distance (like we do at the club)

Slipping drill:

Slip jab/cross then bob and weave lead and rear hook

Then do this drill while constantly moving forward and while constantly moving backwards (I liked this, was quite tricky but with a bit more drilling could be really useful!)

Focus mitts:

Body mechanics for jab, cross hook and uppercut - singles, doubles and following commands of the pad holder

Pad combos:

Jab
Cross, pad holder replies with a jab, slip, right reply with cross hook cross
Hook. pad holder replies with a cross. slip left and reply with hook cross hook
Uppercut, pad holder replies with jab, either lean back/rock back or slip right and reply with cross hook cross.

Pad holder would then call out any combo and they will feed a return off your last hit.. e.g jab cross hook so you would then do the evasion off of their reply to the hook (see above).

As always keep guard up, good technique and movement.

Body only light sparring:

focus on light conditioning and movement to create angles for body shots

Sparring: (light as I didn't have a gum shield)

using big gloves

did about 6x 3 min rounds with various partners. Some very experienced people there, lots of excellent movement and manipulation of range, and some really large guys (thank god they were going light!). I actually did ok, hit them as often as they hit me (at least) and surprised a few of them I think.

My general observations were that my range and distance was off, probably a little too far out (over cautious?) also I was finding it difficult to cut angles. This could be because of the range, starting the movement too far out, that I hadn't "sold them" on hits before the attempt to move off line, or that they were just very quick to react.

Timing was really important the "trickier" the partner was, and also spotting or making patterns... seeing how they block and move, forcing them to guard in a way which leave openings and being mindful of possible returns.

Sparring against people I don't know and have no idea what they will do or are capable of was really interesting, and certainly has allowed me to see how far I've come in being able to post patterns and implement strategy, as well as how far I still have to go (range/distancing is a must, plus angles so that when I land, even if light, I feel like a could land with power instead of just a tap)

All in all a fun time, good quality coaching and something I may sporadically attend (life schedule permitting) to "test out" things from the club.

25/7/18: Bascis are the key! body mechanics and lock flows

Tonight session was focused on the importance of basics. Every one wants the cool stuff, the advanced stuff... to collect techniques. When in reality all advanced stuff is just "perfect" implementation of basic techniques combined in a variety of ways.... which is why skills and attributes are more important that techniques.

Basics: isolating punches.

looking at full extension and rotation, elbows in, direct movements (no pulling back or up/down "tells")

10x each technique/combo

Jab (full rotation - keep thin, use the hip chin down behind shoulder)

Cross (full rotation -keep thin, use hip, screw in rear foot chin down behind shoulder)

Hook ( no wide swing ,move body weight back, turn body to side/pivot - slam door, lock elbow at right angle, back foot heel on floor front foot heel up)

Forward hook (weight forward on front leg, very little pivot -almost pushing up instead of turning, no wide swing - think cutting through a small gap in guard to hit chin)

Rear Upper cut (drive from hips/feet, elbow in drop body slightly try not to drop hand too low)

Lead Upper cut (as above)

combos:

jab cross
jab cross hook
jab lead hook cross
jab lead hook rear uppercut
jab cross lead uppercut
jab cross bob and weave cross hook
jab cross lead uppercut cross hook

we also did rear round kick but spent time practicing the pivot motion of the feel - body facing forward but both feet (especially lead foot) pivoting all the way to the left - really twisting your hips into hit. once we got the feel for this we then started to let go of the rear leg and use the momentum to swing a round kick - completing a full circle

Pads:

3/4mins any combo the pad holder calls out. punches only. Making sure you keep guard up to defend etc.

Disturb and lock flow cycle:

Start with wrist lock 1 (control thumb push on back of hand), partner disturbs lock by pushing the elbow. Reach UNDER your arm to grab the wrist, hammer fist/chop with free hand then move into figure 4 wrist lock inc dumog drag, partner disturbs by pushing shoulder, reach over and grab wrist, pulling them round and adjusting where you are in need be so that you are using your upper arm (or your ribs if you get jammed up) as a fulcum (putting them into an arm bar of sorts) they will start to spin around you, as they do snap on wrist lock 1 and start cycle again (when put into motion is very flowing and Aikido like - Tom would approve!)

I then worked on a slight variation of this:

Off lead hook - Drive in with elbow and cover rear hand, move into an over hook arm bar, which then moves into 2 on 1 arm bar, into cut the chicken (it has a proper name but don't know what it is!) then gab head in single arm clinch reaching round the head to try and grab ear and then twist head while lifting other arm (steering wheel motion)

We then split into pairs and worked individual syllabus work.

Darren and I went over out syllabus' to check what we weren't sure of. lightly drilling techniques to get them into our bodies... by no means perfecting them at this stage.

we looked at:

Grappling drill (wrist control, elbow control, bicep control, pummelling, clinch, hubud combination flow inc various locks arm bars chokes etc and low line "locks")
hubud (punching and standard, loap sau cycle and parry repost
double stick guntings, double stick sumbrada and disarms (must remembers the same side "shield to abiniqo" strip!)
Single stick disarm flow
Knife vs empty hand inc disarms and hammer and anvil drill (various feeds)
Rear round kick defences
And take downs off Jab and cross

Sounds like a lot (it was) but it was all light touch and very compliant... just to get us remembering variations and co-ordination... Thankfully it was mostly there (memory wise) now need to factionalise it!

19/7/18: Sweep the leg!

Tonight sessions was focused around Panatukan (Filipino boxing) and the blending of arts - specifically sweeps from Silat.

Essentially we looked at 4 sweeps and the application of this. During discussion we noted how sweeps (much like wrist locks etc) are accidental and incidental... following hits, when range has closed and "shapes" become available. Of course in order to take advantage of these you need to drill the techniques correctly with quality repetitions so that you brain does the unconscious noticing for you... if you try to find it/look for it, it won't work and your get hit in reply.

This session was very taxing on the brain - especially due to the co ordination required, the off balancing element and then getting the range correct in order to sweep.

It is also important to note that these are not true "sweeps"... you are basically smashing across the ankle after off balancing your partner to take them down without them being able to break fall.... and if the don't fall they are so off balance you can do pretty much what you want with them!

It I was to break the technique down to it's simplest form:

1) Off Jab - Parry the jab with rear hand, lead hand then pushes their punching arm at the elbow (palm up!) to twist their body as far away as possible. As you push slide forward so your lead leg is against /in the middle of their lead leg (jam the knee). Then take a slight step to the side and hack across with your lead leg at the ankle to off set.

2) Off the cross - Parry with lead hand and then push their punching arm at the elbow with your rear hand (twisting them as far away as possible) - as you do this step fwd with rear leg (switching leads) so that it is now outside their lead leg.. Then tak a slight step to the side and hack across with your leg at the ankle to off set.

3) Off jab (same entry as 1) except this time instead of sliding your leg between their legs do a slight shuffle slide so you go deep OUTside their lead leg (hip to hip), your pushing hand can then push through to their shoulder and you can sweep behind their leg.

4) Off cross (same entry as 2) except as you step fwd with rear leg your foot is now in the middle of the legs (you missed getting outside their leg)... from here go into a backsweep (pivot body to face same way as partner, uderhook to back of head and sweep)

We worked on many variations of these techniques form entries (e.g. split entry into hammerfist which leads to sweeps) but the technique was the same and I for one know I need lots of flight time on this in order to see it everywhere. But it's worth the effort as once it is there you can "get in" from anything...boxing thai etc

You can also do these techniques in EXACTLY the same way against a south paw (the inside sweeps become outside sweeps) and you can adapt on the fly if they step back and change leads etc

A key element to these sweeps (as with most throws) is to twist the opponents body.. to get the top half of the body moving one way and the lower half the other, that way posture balance and strength are all compromised making the sweep/throw "easier"

Pad round:

to get rid of the thousand yard stares

1x 3 min round (though it felt like 5!) any combo your partner called

followed by 10 second burst of:

jab cross
cross hook
hooks
uppercuts
over hand and uppercut
any hits you want

Knife:

Continued to refine Palasut Cycle from various feeds, adding 4 x disarms and tweaking body mechanics