MMA and me; day 78

Last day of tough training before my tournament, and I'm on weight, but tired. I showed up for the first hour, to work on some more cardio, and grappled for about with 45 minutes with a couple of guys both weighing over 300 pounds, it was a bit exhausting. I did get a good sweat going though, and that was what I wanted.

Boxing was more working the long combo we learned on Tuesday. Started with the 2-3-2-roll-2-3-2-catch-2-3-2-3-3-2. Then we added a roll-2-3-2-roll-2-3-2. Next we tacked on a catch-2-3-2. We finished with a block body hook-6-2-3-2. It's a long combo, and it feels like a lot to remember, but after you start to get it down, it turns into muscle memory, and feels almost automatic. It's important when practicing this combo, to not go too hard, and throw as little power as possible. First, it will tire you out early, and you'll lose any pop later on in the string. Second, it tenses your shoulders, and that will just gas you out even further. Just relax, and get into a good rhythm.

Grappling was all working from standing, specifically from the head and arm position, with one hand around your opponents neck, and the other grabbing their triceps. First we just worked holding the position, and controlling our opponent with a tight grip, and driving our head into their neck. Next we worked a snap down to a ten finger guillotine choke. You push into your opponent, making them push back, and as they do, pull down on their head, get your chest on their neck, and get an over under, or seatbelt grip. From there, swim the hand out from under their arm, and grab your hand that is positioned near their chin, keeping that hand as flat as possible, and try to bring your arms to your own chest, choking them out. Next was a D'Arce choke, where from the snap down position and seatbelt grip, you thread your arm that is under their armpit all the way under their body, until you can grab your own bicep on the other side. From here, cinch up your grip, and walk your hips towards theirs, maintaining chest pressure on their back and neck, until they tap. For both of these first two chokes, it is very important to keep their head centered in your stomach, and not off to the side. It keeps their chin down, and puts a lot of pressure on them. Lastly, we worked on a standard guillotine choke, with a little twist. From an attempted D'Arce, if they block it, slide the hand all the way under their neck, and make a fist on the far side, then simply push into the fist with your other hand, which ought to tighten the choke considerably, and it puts a lot of pressure on both sides, forcing them to tap. A lot of good stuff, and I am incredibly thankful for all my coaches help. Now I just have to get out there and put it all together. Time to bring it home, wish me luck tomorrow!

MMA and me; day 77

A paltry three hours at the gym yesterday (it's a miracle that my wife puts up with me still) and I'm feeling refreshed. MMA was more of what we worked on Monday. We started off jumping rope, and then doing some light jogging interspersed with push ups, sit ups, and squat jumps, finishing off with bear crawls. We then went to working on double leg take downs, and finishing in side control. You want to make sure you get in close, and drop your lead leg to the knee in between their legs, getting your head on their stomach and pressing. Wrapping both arms around their legs, drive them forward and pass to side control. The next drill we worked was tying up the arms when you are on the bottom, and preventing your opponent from pummeling you. The key is keeping your head off the mat, so you don't get your noggin squished between the mat and a fist, and to actively try to either get an over hook, or to tie up a forearm. We did that for three minutes, and then switched positions, and worked for ground and pound from the top. Next, we worked on escaping an opponents guard. First, tie them up, and as they try to pull out and lean back, explode back and shrimp out. Remember to keep your hand in their face, to block their vision, and keep your distance, and end in your fighting stance. We ended with bringing all of these drills together. Taking them down, trying for ground and pound, getting tied up, they'd escape, and then they would take a crack at it. A very exhausting class, but it felt good.

Kickboxing was all punch and kick combos. We started out jumping rope for ten minutes, and the shadowboxed for one round. The first combo we worked, was a 1-1-10, which surprisingly enough, I am doing okay at. I still need to lean back a bit more when I throw the mid kicks, but I'm getting some decent power and height on my kicks. Who knew? Next was a 1-2-9, and the 9 is a switch kick, which I really dig when throwing the 9 as part of a combo, because it helps keep it quick and surprising. The next two combos were the same as the first two, with an added kick to each. So they went 1-1-10-10, and 1-2-9-9. For both of these, it's a matter of balance as much as it is speed and power. We finished off with plank positions, and it was on to grappling.

Two words, Shark Tank. I was so looking forward to this after last week. It's such a brutal drill, but so satisfying. It went for a little over an hour, and I got to grapple with everyone. It kicked my behind, but I left the gym feeling way better than when I got there. Feeling good and confident for Saturday. Very excited for my first tournament, and can't wait to represent this amazing gym!

MMA and me; day 76

So I preface this all by saying I was at the gym for four hours yesterday, and I may not recall everything perfectly. I started off stretching, and then jumped in for some bump drills with one of the coaches, and that was simply no fun at all. I've rarely gone against someone who throws hooking heel kicks, and never with someone who throws them up to the shoulder. To say my legs are sore and bruised is an understatement. Next, I grappled for almost two hours straight, and quite a bit with a young man who has me outweighed by over 100 pounds. I finished off with bag hangs for an undisclosed amount of time, and then worked on my grip by squeezing a medicine ball against my chest for about ten minutes straight, then it was time for boxing.

We worked another very long combo, but broke it down into manageable bits. The first bit went 2-3-2-roll-2-3-2-catch-2-3-2-3-3-2. Twelve punches. Next we added a roll-2-3-2, and upped the total to 15. Then we added 2-3-2-roll-2-3-2-catch, making it a 21 punch combo. We rounded it out at 25 punches total, by adding a body block-6-2-3-2. This took up the entirety of class, and it took me a moment just now to try and remember the whole thing. By the end, it was feeling really good, and fluid. The key is not throwing hardly any power, and just tapping the focus mitts, so you can get the timing and combos down. Fun stuff.

So the fourth and final hour of class was grappling, but it was a grappling conditioning class, and I wont run you through the laundry list of exercises we did, but suffice to say, they kicked my behind proper. It felt sort of good, but at this point, I was so worn down, that I started to give up a little, and I need to get tougher mentally. That being said, I am finally recovered from it as I type (24 hours later) and I realize that I need those classes from time to time. Not only to test myself, but to make me realize I need to check my ego at the door. A very good day of class not only from a physical standpoint, but a mental one as well.

MMA and me; day 75

So today I am incredibly sore, and this is why! In MMA class we started off by jogging for ten minutes, breaking it up with push ups, sit ups, and squat jumps. We then worked on defending while having someone in our guard, and then working on escapes. We worked punches and passes, attempting subs if we could get them. We drilled all of this for about half an hour, and then finished class with flutter kicks and over unders from our back.

In kickboxing, after jumping rope for ten minutes, we went right into skip kick drills. One partner would throw ten mid 10s, then nine, then eight, etc, all the way down to one. Then the other partner would do it. Then we switched to mid 9s, and did the same. Next, we worked bump drills, throwing an outside 10-inside 9-inside 10-outside 9, then the partner would go, the switch back and forth for three minutes. Lastly, we did kick sparring, for five rounds, switching partners each time. Let me tell you, when the last two partners you spar with are the coach and a guy who is a step below a pro fighter, you're asking for sore legs the next day....which I have. We finished up with flutter kicks, to over unders, to leg raises, for five minutes, then it was on to grappling.

Grappling consisted of a lot of mental exercises in thinking several steps ahead in every submission, from multiple positions. We talked about concepts, chaining submissions together, and then just grappled for 45 minutes. To say I was tired afterward, would be an understatement. My technique is getting better, but I need to get better at staying calm when in an undesirable position, and not bailing on holds so soon. Well, until tomorrow's blog, which should be up in about 12 hours.

MMA and me; day 74

Gi jiu jitsu class was very interesting yesterday, for one reason in particular, but I'll get to that in a bit. We started off with our stretching, and then worked on some escape drills. First was called the "Curly" sweep. From your back, with your opponent in side control, you bring your heels all the way up to your butt, and bridge up while pushing their head down and away from you. From there, drop your butt back down to create enough space to slip your arm up by their head, and place your hand over your ear, with the back of your triceps covering their head. From here, bridge up again, turn away from their body, and start running away with your head pressed to the mat, until you get behind them and take their back. Next was from a similar position, but instead of slipping your arm up by their head, you slip it under their waist and around their back. From this position, use a combination of your arm pulling, your hips turning, and your legs running, to get out from under them, and on top in a chest to back position. Next, take either hand, and swim the back of that hand across to the opposite side of their neck, and use that to pull yourself around, and when you get behind them, use the other hand to lock in a cross face. Lastly, you pull them back towards you, sink in your hooks, and you've just taken their back. The final thing we worked was a loop choke using the gi, and it was a doozy. From the scarf, or high judo position, open the front of the gi jacket up, and grab a big hunk, so the front right corner is sticking out about 10-12 inches. From there, sneak your hand under their head, loosen your grip slightly, and bring your elbow from under their neck to over their throat. The next part was a bit tricky, bring your opposite side knee up to their stomach, and slip your other arm under your gi and bring that side hand to the bicep of the arm on their throat. From here, you want to flair out the arm grabbing your bicep, and then just shrug your arms forward. Your opponent will tap out immediately, and even if they do, it might be too late. I know, because our coach was demonstrating on me, and I went unconscious for about ten seconds, which was a very weird sensation. All in all, a very fun class though!

Boxing was essentially one big combo. To keep it less confusing, I'll break it down the way we did in class. We started with a one punch, multi defensive combo. With your right hand parry a jab, then roll your front shoulder around to catch a straight, bring your rear hand up and twist back to the front to catch a hook, throw a straight of your own, and then roll under a hook. Next, from the roll, you throw a straight-hook-straight. After this little combo, you pull, which is simply leaning back and straightening your front leg, to avoid a jab. So you pull, and then throw another straight. To finalize the combo, you drop your rear hand to catch a hook to the body, then throw a rear uppercut, straight punch, hook, straight. All together, it looks like this: parry 1-catch 2-catch 3-2-roll-2-3-2-pull-2-catch body 3-6-2-3-2. It felt a little weird with each individual combo, but by the time you start to flow it all together, it feels very natural. Ask me to show you some time, and I'm happy to oblige!

Grappling was all about shadow grappling, and establishing position. We practiced various ground positions on our own, and then got to the pummeling drills. The fun thing about these, is that while pummeling, coach would randomly shout GO, and you would have to fight for a double under hook. We did a couple rounds of that, and then moved on to pummeling while against the cage. If your back is against the cage or wall, you want to pummel under your opponents arms, and turn them into the cage. If they have double under hooks on you, simply bring an arm across their face, and cross face to create space, fight for that under hook, and get off the cage. Using your head is key as well, but the crown, not the side, not front, but the top, and keep pressure! Lastly, we worked on take downs from here. You have one arm under hooked, the other hand is pinning their other arm to the cage with a c-block, and your head has their head pinned to the cage. From here, drop down to their legs, and as soon as your hands reach the back of their knees, suck them in with your arms, and pull back with their legs, dropping their butt straight to the mat. Grappled for a bit afterward, and am quite sore today, but it's a good sore!

MMA and me; day 73

Three more hours in the bag, and they were a rough three hours. In MMA class, all we did was grapple, but there was a little more to it than that. We warmed up for the first ten minutes by jogging around the mat, and at random intervals doing push ups, sit ups, and squat jumps. We then all got in a circle for a drill called the shark tank. The first two people to our coaches left, then grappled for a minute. After the minute was up, the first person (in this case me) stayed in, and then the next person to the left jumped in and grappled with me for a minute. It went like this all around the circle, until I had grappled with everyone, a total of nine people. Then the guy to my left jumped in, and he grappled with everyone for a minute each. By the time I was done, I was exhausted, and had a new appreciation for endurance. So that's why MMA class kicked my ass so hard.

Kickboxing was the same as Monday. We covered front and rear leg push kicks, and then worked combos with those kicks as well. For the straight push kicks, I'm getting better at bringing my knee straight up and leaning back while popping my hips forward to get a lot of force out of the kick. The first combo was the lead leg push kick to mid 10. The key to this is to bring your lead leg down across the body of your opponent, so you don't have to reposition it to throw the mid 10. As you drop it down to the side, lean over your hip, and really whip the second kick around, with the intention of digging it into the ribcage. The second combo was a rear leg push kick to mid 10. This one feels a little more awkward, mostly because your instinct is to bring your rear leg back to your orthodox stance after you've thrown it, and what you really want to do is bring it straight down from the opening push kick, essentially switching your stance, and from there you almost run up to reset your stance and throw the mid 10. It felt very awkward at first, but you can get some really impressive power on the second kick once you get the motion down. We finished off with five minutes of alternating flutter kicks, over unders, and leg holds.

Grappling was all about sweeps. First was one from the guard. You open your guard, and get a butterfly hook on their left side. Next, slide the hook to mid thigh, and simultaneously pop their leg out with that hook and lift, while bringing your other leg down to block their right leg, and flip them onto their back, then kick your leg out and end up in high judo, making sure to grab a far side under hook. Next were a couple of sweeps from half guard. The first was if they have a really wide base, and have an over hook on your side that is off the mat. You want to grab a under hook on the same side as you have their leg wrapped up in your half guard, and post up on the other arm. From here, dive your arm you are posting on under their far side leg, get in tight, and from there all you have to do is roll them back across your body until you are in side control, with a far side under hook. The last sweep was also from half guard, but was for an opponent who was a very narrow base where you can't get that arm under their leg. So from the exact same position, instead of slipping your arm under their leg, simply lunge your outside leg behind you, and drive your shoulder into their ribcage, pushing them back over their butt, once again ending in side control with a far side under hook. Simple, but effective.

MMA and me; day 72

So I couldn't go to the gym yesterday, because this year is my high school wrestling coach's 30th year coaching, and there was a small gathering of wrestlers past to thank him and embarrass. It was pretty cool. I did go to the gym on Monday, but never got a chance to blog yesterday because I was too busy. So lets talk about Monday.

I went in for MMA class first, and we worked on a lot of Muy Thai clinch, and knees. We started off with pummeling drills, where all you're doing is trying to get an underhook on one side, and an overhook on the other, and swim your overhook to an underhook as your partner does the same. First was just a clinch drill, where your partner gets their hands around your neck, and tries to pull your head down. This is defended by trying to look at the ceiling, and walking your hips in towards theirs. We did that for a round, then worked on countering the clinch. From walking your hips in, you swim one of your hands under their arms, and slip it behind their neck. You then push them back and look away, then quickly pummel your other hand around their neck and gain your own Thai clinch. Lastly, we worked on throwing knees. Your partner has a kick shield, and you put them in the clinch. From there, you push them away, and then pull them to the side of your rear leg, and drive the point of your knee straight towards the midsection. We finished off with planks and it was on to kickboxing.

We worked on teeps, or push kicks, in kickboxing. This kick is usually used to control distance, or to drive back an opponent who likes to crowd you. First, the rear leg push kick, where you bring your knee straight up, and lean back as you pop your hips forward and really drive your leg to full extension. It's more of a shove than anything else, but it's with your leg, which is much stronger than an arm. Next was a front leg push kick, which feels a little odd. You bring your rear leg up near your front leg, then it's the exact same movement, knee up, lean back, extend hips and push. We then worked on a couple combos involving the push kick. First a lead leg push kick to high 10. As you push through with the front kick, instead of bringing the foot straight down, move it off to the side, lean over to that side, and bring the 10 up with mean intentions! The last one was odd, because it was two kicks thrown from the same side. You start with a lead leg push kick, but instead of bringing the leg back to a normal fighting stance, drop it straight down so you are in an opposite stance. From there, run your rear leg (formally your lead leg) over to the outside, and dig in a low 10. It's a lot like when we learned a switch stance to run up low 10. It felt pretty nasty! We finished with planks, and leg holds, then it was time to grapple.

No technique, just an hour of grappling. I rolled for probably 45-50 minutes, 10 of which was spent under a kid that weighs quite a bit more than me, but I am proud to say the only one who tapped me out was my coach. Yay me!

MMA and me; day 71

So each day this week I went in for an extra hour. Yesterday it was for the jiu jitsu class with gis. I don't have one (yet) but one of the coaches let me borrow his. Rolling with a gi is so much different. You have to slow down, because there is so much more you have to pay attention to. There are more holds from lapel grabs, sleeve grabs, grabbing anywhere on the gi! We grappled for a bit, and then the coach went over some technical instruction. First, was an armbar from mount. You slide your right hand up the inside of their right lapel, grabbing it firmly so the back of your hand is against the inside of their neck. Next, push their right arm across their body, and pin it in place with your chest, while you slide your left knee up to their head, and post up on your right foot, just inside their stomach. As you post up, it forces your opponent to turn to their left side, and as they do, you swim your left arm under their right arm, and grab your own lapel on the right side. Release your grip with your right hand, and reach out to post it on the mat, leaning way over so you can bring your left leg around over their face, and from there it just a matter of leaning back, pinching the knees, and pulling their right arm back for the submission. Next was a mount to rear naked choke. From the point where you have them on their side, with your left knee by the head, and right foot by their stomach, you swim your left arm around their head instead of under their arm, and grab their right lapel. Flick your left foot in towards their body, and roll to your butt, propping them up so you can slide your left leg around their waist and take their back, and releasing your grip with your right hand to grab their left lapel. With your left hand, reach across their neck, and grab your right shoulder (here's an example of grabbing your own gi) and turn your right shoulder slightly away. This is to create space so you can pull your right hand out, and slide it in behind their neck and over your left arm. Slip your left hand over your right bicep, slowly shrug your shoulders, and wait for the tap. All in all, I really enjoyed gi grappling, but until I get my own, I will only be doing it occasionally.

I sat out boxing class because my coach wanted to put me through some training exercises to help me get ready for my submission grappling tournament coming up. First, he had me run some sprints, and then I worked on some Turkish get ups, which involve holding a kettle bell over your head with one arm, dropping to your but, and then to your back, and then back to your feet all while your arm is kept straight with the weight. Three minutes each side, and then it was on to the swing presses. Knees bent, weight between your legs, swing it up, lower it under control, and repeat, also for three minutes per side. Next, was bridging drills with a medicine ball. First bridging straight up, and pressing the med ball up, then it was bridging to the shoulder and pressing the ball up, alternating shoulders. Three minutes of that, and then five minutes of shrimping in place. I ended with the class doing a round of plank position, and flutter kicks. A very tough hour to say the least.

Lastly, jiu jitsu started out with stretching, and then we got into more guard passing. First was the lunge pass, where you posture up, lean over with a locked out elbow on their hip, stick a knee in their butt, lunge the other leg straight out behind you, and turn towards that side until their guard has been passed. From there, it's a simple matter of pushing the leg down on the side you're facing, stepping over with the leg that is behind you, and then sitting back on their leg. If they try to sit up, push them down, and simultaneously slide your arm across their chest, and roll to your hip, pulling your leg that was in their backside over behind you, to end in high judo, and then quickly shift into side control. Lastly, we lined up everyone into two lines, with the first person on their back. For two minutes, everyone in the line would attempt to pass their guard, if they succeeded, or ended up in the guard, they'd be done, and the next person would go. This took up a majority of the rest of the time, as there were 12 people. It was exhausting, but fun!

A great day of classes, and now I'm sore and tired, but happy. Love this stuff.

MMA and me; day 70

Put in another three hours at the gym yesterday, and I definitely feel it today. The first class was MMA, and it felt mostly like a conditioning class. First, we did a round of skippies, which is just lining up against the wall, putting your forearms against it, and alternate throwing muy thai knees. This is exhausting, but it felt good to get it out of the way early. Next was a round of boxer squats, which are just squats with your hands up in your boxing stance. We did this for five minutes. Next we did a round of punch ups, and then moved on to more trying drills. The medicine ball punch out drill is rough if you don't have MMA gloves. You hold a medicine ball with one hand over it and one hand under, and your partner has three minutes to try and punch it out of your hands. If you drop it, you have to do 25 push ups, and then pick the ball back up, and try again. It was tough because I only have boxing gloves (for now) and holding on was dang tough. I only dropped it once, but that motivated me to hold on for the duration of the round. Another downside to boxing gloves is they absorb a lot of the impact, and are much bigger than MMA gloves, which makes hitting the ball very tough. My partner held on the entire round, booo! Lastly, we worked ground and pound transitions on a kick shield laid on the ground. For three minutes, then rest, then another three minutes. Despite my bandanna, I was dripping sweat, but we still had two more drills. Plank position for three minutes, and three minutes of leg raises. Now it was time for kick boxing.

It was more kick checking drills. First, the low 10/high 10/low 9/high 9, where your partner checks the kicks. Next was the outside 10/inside 9/inside 10/ outside 9, where you just eat the kicks, instead of checking them. We then worked on checking a low 9, and countering with a rear hand superman punch. As you bring the leg up to check the kick, cork your body to throw the punch, then drop the leg behind you as you throw your rear hand down the pipe. Last, we added a switch 9 to the superman punch counter, and I gotta say, I like that combo quite a bit! We ended with planks, and I had only one more class for the day.

Jiu jitsu! We began with our standard shrimping and rolling drills, and then went right into guard passing. First, we worked a drill where the opponent lays flat, and you post your arms on either side of their hips. Keeping your feet at their feet, slide your feet off to the side, and then slip your inside leg up their hip to end in high judo. Make sure to keep your hip on theirs, and keep that pressure. Walk your feet back to the starting position, and repeat on the other side. We did this for a round, and then switched. Next, was another drill we did a version of the day before. While standing, and your opponent is on their back, grab their ankles, and step your left leg up inside their right knee. Quickly step across, and slide across their left thigh, while leaning back, and sneak into high judo. Lastly, we worked the matador pass, which is similar to the previous pass, but outside, instead of inside. From holding the ankles, pretend to push the legs to the left, and shove them aggressively to the right. From there, pin their right hip down with your left knee, and slide to high judo. Remember to always grab a far side underhook when getting to high judo! That was that, and I went home to pass out.

MMA and me; day 69

Another grueling three hours of class yesterday, It started with an hour of just grappling. I went for about 30-45 minutes, taking short breaks in between, getting a couple of submissions here and there, and managing to avoid getting tapped too many times myself. It was nice to just roll and focus on somethings I know I need to work on.

Boxing was mostly about head movement, because the best defense for a punch, is to not be where the punch is headed. First we worked a simple 1-slip-2. The biggest thing about the slip is to not make too big of a movement when you slip. If the punch grazes your head, you are just fine. Next, we added a punch and made the combo a 1-2-slip-2. It's really important to keep your weight back and sit down on the 2. I'm still leaning forward when I throw it, and need to get better about forcing my back foot down, because that is where all the power is at. Lastly, we added an uppercut and another slip, to make the combo 1-2-slip-2-slip-6. A big part of making the slip effective, is keeping your lead hand up. I am good about keeping my rear hand high and on my cheek, but I keep dropping my lead hand, which is going to get me in trouble. Keep the lead hand high, and you can do a lot to avoid taking damage. We ended with a sit up circle, which is pretty much what it sounds like. Everyone sits in a circle, and starting with the first person, everyone does ten sit ups together, then on to the next, until you've done ten sit ups for everybody sitting in the circle. We had at least 15 people in boxing class. With three minutes left in class, we knocked out three minutes of planks, and then it was time to grapple.

By this point, it had started to snow heavily, and only two other people stuck around for jiu jitsu. After stretching out, we worked on more guard passing. First was posturing up and locking out your elbows as you plant your palms inside the opponents hips, from there, put a knee behind their butt, lunge the other leg straight back, and turn towards the lunging leg. If this doesn't break their guard, simply push down one of their legs, and that should pop their legs apart. From there, with either knee, slide it across their groin, and either slip into side control, or roll into a low judo position with their arm pinned under your hip. Next we worked on a guard pass from standing up. The first one was called the matador pass. You are standing with your opponent on their back, and have the underside of both ankles in your hands. Stepping to one side and faking like you are going to swing the legs to that side, quickly shove the legs to the opposite side you stepped to, cover their topside knee with your hand on that side, and slide to side control, underhooking their head, and C-blocking their legs. From here, you have lots of options, but my favorite was sitting their head up with the underhook, and then taking their back. The next standing pass, was for an opponent who's legs are too far apart to grab. Instead of trying to close their legs, drive your knee across their groin, and slide into side control. It has to be quick, and you can't hesitate. We lastly worked on all of these techniques, with one man down, and the others trying to pass his guard. As soon as the guard was passed, the next opponent would attempt it. Each of us had three minutes as the down man, and that was tiring. We finished off with grappling, and while I did pretty good, coach got me in his super guard, and squeezed the crap out of my ribcage, it did not feel good. All in all, a great day of class!

MMA and me; day 68

Yesterday was quite exhausting. I went early so I could get an extra hour of work in, and the MMA class was rough. We started out with a ten minute cardio warm up that included jogging, push ups, sit ups, squat jumps, bear crawls, and a combination of all the calisthenics mixed in with sideways and backwards jogging. We went right into working on passing the guard, but with a wrinkle, we put on gloves and added punches from all positions. It's much harder to grapple, or I should say, much different, when someone is attempting to pummel you about the head and body. We did that for about 25-30 minutes, and then grabbed kick shields and sat on them. We then proceeded to do two rounds of working ground and pound from all top positions, mount, high judo, side control, head mount, and knee in the stomach. We'd go from all those positions, and with 30 seconds left in the round, we'd switch back to mount, and try as hard as we could to land power shots. Two rounds of that left me a sweaty mess, and grinning like a fool!

In kickboxing, we did a round of back and forth kicks with our partners. First person would throw a low 10, high 10, low 9, and then a high 9. Then the partner would do the same. Next round , one person would throw a high 10, which the opponent would block, and then immediately throw a low 10. After one round, the roles were switched. We then learned how to counter a low 10 with a lead hand superman punch. As you bring the leg up to check the kick, and pull your lead hand around the back of your head to protect against a possible high kick, you drop your lead leg behind you and snap the lead hand out. It's not intended to be a knockout punch, but can definitely daze or stun your opponent, which can enable you to follow up with something more damaging. Lastly, we added a low 10 to the lead superman punch, which I liked quite a bit. As you throw the superman punch, bring your lead leg (which is now your rear leg) out across your opponents boy, and lean into the low 10. I'm still not quite opening my hips enough when I throw my kicks, but I'm getting better. We ended with three minutes of planks, and it was on to jiu jitsu.

Grappling was all about guard variations. Full guard, where you have your legs crossed behind your opponents waist. High guard, where your legs are up either behind, or over your opponents shoulders. Super guard, where you have your knees just at their ribcage, and then scissor squeeze your legs to crush the torso, this does not feel good. Butterfly guard, where your feet are hooked inside their hips, and you pull yourself in as close as you can. Lastly, half guard, where you only have your legs wrapped around one of your opponents legs. We worked on getting comfortable with all these positions, and then we just worked on passing drills. One person would be in the others full guard, and attempting to pass. The person on bottom would try to do everything they could, to keep their opponent from advancing to either side control, or mount. After one round, we'd switch positions, and go for another three minutes. We finished off with 10-15 minutes of free grappling, and I was thoroughly pooped, but still grinning.

MMA and me; day 67

So I finally have a chance to write about Thursday. Stupid work and real life getting in the way of me learning how to fight properly! Ah well, fun classes in any event, starting with boxing. We got things started with a simple 1-2-slip-2, and then went to the 1-2-slip-2-3. Both of these I like, because it really forces you to find your distance properly, and makes you get in tight, which I like. Next we did 1-2-slip-roll-3, which really tests your balance and ability to keep your head up while moving it. Finally, we worked the 1-2-slip-roll-3-5, which is simply following the hook with an uppercut. I really like hooks and uppercuts because I don't have particularly long arms, and getting in close for those punches like you need to benefits my stature quite a bit.

In jiu jitsu we worked a lot of stretching, and then worked on some guard passing. First we went over Tuesday's class, where while in the guard, you posture up, and lean back, lock out both elbows as you lean on their hips, and then simultaneously post one knee behind their tailbone, and lunge the other one straight back, while twisting your hips towards the side of the lunging leg. This simply widens the area their legs need to encircle for the guard, and pops it open. Next, we worked on a hook pass, which is if their guard is open. You swim one arm under their same side leg, then bringing that arm up and over them, and slamming it to the mat, dropping the opposite side hip into their midsection, then turn towards them, and get one arm under their head, and one in between their legs, setting yourself up for a number of submissions. Lastly, we worked a double underhook pass, which goes just like it sounds. From a postured up position, swim both hands under their legs, and push their hips up over their head, this is called stacking your opponent. From there, push their hips and legs to either side, and drop your hips onto their stomach so you are facing away, and then turn into side control, just like in the hook pass. So much fun!!!

MMA and me; day 66

So I had no time yesterday to write, and almost none today as well, so I'm doing Wednesday's blog now, and yesterday's blog later today. Wednesday I went to an extra class where we worked on take downs. First a bear hug, where you squeeze as you hip under them and force them to the mat. Next was a lateral drop, where from the over/under grip, you pull down with your overhook, and throw your underhook to the ceiling, flipping them to the mat. Last was a fireman's carry, where you drop to your knee on the side of your overhook, reach under their leg, and drop to your opposite leg, flipping them over you onto their back, and ending up in their side control. We also worked a single leg on both legs, and did a little free grappling starting from standing. All in all, a nice class.

In kickboxing, where we worked on 10s on Monday, we worked on 9s on Wednesday. First, a simple inside 9, to the thigh. Next (and rapidly becoming my favorite kick) was the mid 9. I'm right handed and right footed, but for some reason, I can throw the 9, which is a lead leg kick, and for me that means left leg, with a lot of power and accuracy. Lastly, we worked on checking a 10 with the lead leg, and immediately throwing a switch 9. This takes some timing, but once you get it down (like I think I am starting to), you can counter that 10 with impressive speed and force. We finished with a little light kick sparring, and that is something that can make you realize you still have a long way to go. :)

Grappling was back to working on rear-naked chokes. When someone has their hooks in, and has that choke nearly sunk, you tuck your chin, turn towards the arm trying to choke, pull the top hand off with your hands and pin it under your arm on that side and turn to the mat. Next, using both hands, pull the choking hand out from under your chin and move it to the other side of your head, and use your head to pin it there. From here, you can let go with your top side hand, so you can grab your opponents top side foot, and dig your elbow into the side of his calf so you can pull his leg up, and then you roll to that side, and you're out. Lastly, we worked a submission on that escape. When you roll out, let go of the foot, and reach up around the back of your opponents neck, then release their bottom side arm, and reach under the neck with your other hand. As you turn to a north/south position, make sure their arm that is between you and their body is pinned there, and not underneath you. Using a chopping motion, get your underside hand as far past their neck as possible, and get an over under grip, or monkey grip, with your hands, and then flatten out as much as possible. From there, simply bring the grip as close to your chest as possible, and then try and bring your elbows together until they tap.

MMA and me; day 65

Not too slacky today. Got my morning workout in, and last night's classes were great! In boxing we worked a lot of uppercut combos, so I'll get right into it. We started off throwing 5s and 6s. Making sure to "sit down" on the punches, and shift my weight to set them up. Next was a 1-2-slip-6. The key is not making too big a shift when you slip, which leaves you open to a big counter punch. Instead, a slight shift is plenty to avoid the jab, and also winds you up for the 6, which you throw by exploding your hips up, and your end position should be with your shoulder of the hand you threw the punch with, pointing towards your opponent. The following combo was a 1-2-3-roll-5. So after the 1-2-3, you roll back to the side the hook was thrown from, which sets your body up for the 5, and then just explode the hips up and finish. Last, we worked on a 1-2-shoulder roll-6. This is different from a slip, in that your shifting your weight but bringing your shoulder across, to block a the punch. Where in a slip, you're avoiding a jab, the shoulder roll blocks a straight. From the shoulder roll, you're in the same position as you are when you slip, so from there it's all about exploding the hips, and throwing that 6.

Grappling was all about stretching, getting our minds right, and then we got right in to it. We worked on pummeling drills in the Greco-Roman clinch, and also pummeling to an arm drag which results in taking your opponents back, enabling you to drag them to the ground. From the over under grip in the clinch, using your over hook arm, slide your hand down to their wrist, and push it down and away from you. Using your other arm, reach under and grab the elbow, and pull it towards you, and at the same time, slip behind them, trapping their arm as you lock your hands around them. From there, push forwards into them, until they push back, and trip them over one of your legs, landing in side control, where a plethora of submissions await. Next we worked on guard passing. From your opponents guard, posture up, and sit back. Locking out your elbows, place your hands on the inside of their hips, and lean over, putting a lot of pressure on their abdomen. Placing one knee behind their butt, and lunging the other leg out behind you, simply twist and lean back, until the guard is broken, and you can start looking to pass. So simple, but effective!

MMA and me; day 64

Wow, almost forgot to post today! Sorry for so late (mostly apologizing to myself), but I just kinda spaced. Anyways, kickboxing was pretty basic yesterday, until the end. First, a simple low 10. Nothing simple, just stepping to the outside, getting the knee up, and turning the hips over to drive the shin into the kick shield. Next was a mid 10, which is also bringing the knee up, but instead of leaning over and driving the shin down, you lean back, and whip the leg across. Lastly, we had a little fun. From the regular stance, you switch stances to make it look like you're going to throw a switch 9, but instead, you move your rear leg back across to the front, and throw a very hard low 10. I like this variation a lot because it keeps your opponent guessing, and can make an already solid leg kick, that much harder. We finished up with a round of flutter kicks, and that was that for striking.

Grappling was all about fighting out of the rear naked choke. First, pry the top hand off, and tuck it under your arm as you roll to that side. Next, using both hands, pull the arm under your chin, and move it to the other side of your head. Holding it there with your arm that is on the ground, use your other hand to grab the top of their top side leg, and while driving your elbow into the shin, pull it off, and turn into side control. The next thing we learned, was why you don't cross your legs if you have your hooks in during side control. If someone does this, all you do is throw one of your legs across their ankles, wrap your other leg around in a figure four position, and then squeeze and arch your back. Simple compression lock, and it hurts like hell. Finally, we learned a choke from the roll out position of defending the RNC (rear naked choke). While turning into side control, use your top side arm to reach back around the neck. From there, release their hand with your bottom side hand, and swim it under their head and roll to the side. Slip your hips out to a north south position, and slowly work your arm that is under their head towards the shoulder, eventually getting both hands together for a monkey grip (over under with the fingers gripping each other like an S clamp). From there, flatten out as much as possible, bring your grip as close to your chest as possible, and slowly try to bring your elbows together until they tap out. Very wordy, I know, but a very effective choke. If not described all that well.