Class this week and Training

A bit of an announcement:

This Sunday, Chris will not be at class. Thus, I will be running the show.

What this means for you:
Prepare to drill! There will be very little technique demonstration. I will be working people on stuff we have done before and drilling out the imperfections. What we will be doing will have quite a bit of light sparing. For those of you who have put in the extra time after class to work with me on my drills, it will be very similar to that stuff. It will be fairly open, but I have a few specifics I want to touch on.

Circular Striking-
Level Changing-
Ground fighting Vocabulary-
Surviving a ground and pound-
Mobility-

I am very excited to have some time to work some drills and move people closer and closer to "sparing". Everyone last week was very safe even though I gave them open reign to punch me in the face. Trist, Victoria, and Jason were all very controlled and safe. The outcome was more reps, more fun, and more learning!

Jack Depsey once said about sparing: "Although some exercises help condition and others speed improvement, there’s one all-important activity that assists both. That activity is sparring.  There is no substitute for sparring. You must spar regularly and often to become a well-rounded scrapper, regardless of what other exercises you may take.  Sparring not only improves your skill, but it also conditions your body for fighting by forcing your muscles to become accustomed to the violent, broken movements that distinguish fighting from any other activity."

In the dark catacombs of the Survival Academy Vault, I found a video of a real fighter training.

Rocky Marciano.

When you are watching this keep in mind: Fighters of his day fought WAY MORE than they do now a days. They couldn't dedicate 20 hours a day to heavy cardio and lifting because they were getting to close to fight night and wouldn't recover.

Put that into your mind for a second: Too Much Exercise can actually prevent you from being an effective fighter.

Where we fight, we must consider that. If you go to our class (or any other) trying to learn self defense, you must balance your exercise and fitness so that you are always in fighting condition. Becoming a sloth, or over doing it, could spell disaster to you if you had to defend yourself. The last thing you want to be when a guy tries to hurt you is sore, tired, or wounded.

So how did Rocky train when fights happend multiple times a year? You might be surprised!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fsGIq0t6YY&feature=player_embedded

New discovery!

Hey everyone!

I don't have a ton to say about this particular article, but I needed to share.

We are not only a Survival group, but we are a Historical group.

That is why this article is so damn neat!

100 Survival Points to anyone who can get me a copy of the TRANSLATION!

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/World-8217-s-oldest-sports-manual-found-covers?urn=oly-wp818

One more reason to level change...

I know I sometimes beat a dead horse with "Level Changing". I talk about it non-stop. I find it to be one of the best martial moves you can do in ANY martial activity. Even thing's like football and hockey get dominated by good level changes!

Most street fights stay up high. Head grabs, head punches, hay-makers, ETC.

I think this is why in "Martial Sports" these days, ignore a good level change.

When most people think of "Cool Knockouts" the last thing they think about is body shots. This is another reason why people ignore level changes.

But I am here to tell you that while you level change, throw those shots!

Body shots seem to be less common in modern fighting arts, but I assure you they kick ass!

I found a video that shows this pretty well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNNJjfx-Ojc&feature=player_embedded#!

The liver shots are vicious. I have never been K.O.ed by a liver shot, but I have been given HORRIBLE pains from liver shots before.

When Bas Rutten himself says "I'm going for the liver, because it's the most painful knockout there is" you know body shots do serious damage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBUJa7ndYL0

Don't like liver shots? The Spleen works too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2JhhzYqaB8&feature=related

Listen carefully at about 2:30... He explains a type of punch that you may have heard of...

So work those drills! Bob, weave, squat, shoot, level change! Practice moving from high to low, low to high, and develop explosive movement. Not only is a great martial move to learn, but it's great exercise!

For any bears fans out there, you also might like Bas Vs. Urlacher...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGDFr-BXp0I&feature=related

See you at class!

Shadow Training

 "As you shadow-box, go through the same offensive and defensive movements you use in sparring. To be most valuable, your imaginary fighting should be done at top speed. Too many scrappers loaf at this work."


This quote should be branded on the chests of all of our students. 


There is value in slow movements. Yoga style exercises are very valuable. I also would advise against doing sprints with a 100lb bag over your shoulder. Safety first!


However, we all often neglect speed and agility. Speed can  only be really cultivated by fast movements. Do something fast, now do it faster. Over and over again. 


Out of all the drills and exercises that I have done, by far the most helpful is shadow boxing. But I take it a step further...


"Shadow Training" is what I call it. 


Basically, it's the art of using imagery and full speed drills without a real threat. So


So when you get homework assignments from me, class, or the blog to sit at a coffee shop and watch people and imagine that someone tries to rob the joint in front of you, I'm trying to get you into "Shadow Training". Do this with your ground drills too. Don't flop around on the ground like a fish! 


Imagine that you are shrimping to save your life! Imagine a hailstorm of blows coming down as your trying to roll out of an attack. Imagine that there is a shadow-fighter on top of you and if you don't get to guard soon, you will die!


I'm not sure who said the quote first, but always keep in mind:


"Your body cannot do what your mind has not already thought of".


So really use visualization in your training. Imagine shadows moving around you, attacking, surrounding, shooting, or whatever. 


You never know when you might be in a hair salon...


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1013-seal-beach-shooting-20111013,0,4309220.story


By the way, the quote above is from Jack Dempsey. So Don't think I am creative or anything. He is a master and we could all learn more from him.


See you at class!

Martial Behavior

We had a truly great class on Sunday. I think everyone will agree with me on that.

We covered good old fashion footwork, training drills, and of course pugilism. Our students made some very true strides and gained much from our new perspective on teaching pugilism and footwork. I think everyone took something home of value.

One of the concepts we talked about was being "A Martial Person".

Let's start with some dictionary, work shall we?

Martial:
Disposed to war or war like.

The definition goes on to say:
 Latin Mārtiālis  of, belonging to Mars,equivalent to Mārti-  (stem of Mārs ) + -ālis -al¹

Arts:
1.

the quality, production, expression, or realm, according toaesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or ofmore than ordinary significance.

When you combine the two, the basic definition is:

The Production or Expression belonging to the Roman God of War.

I assure you, that when "Mars" was standing around, he didn't look like this guy:


I want you to imagine yourself in a bar. You are watching patrons move around, eat, buy drinks, dance, pick up chicks, whatever... Now imagine Mars walks in. What would he look like?  How would he stand? What would he look like buying a drink? Hitting on a girl? Dancing?

The difference between "being Martial" and "Martial arts" is simple:
If you can turn the "Martial behavior" on and off, you are a Martial Artist. If you have the behavior of a shark about to feed, you have "Martial Behavior". If you are behaving Martially all the time, you are a Martial Person.

Side Note: Martial People never get jumped. Predators know the difference.

Let me give you an example.

Here are some Martial Artists: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=176SLdBhj_A
When they talk about, "Finishing it", they are talking about a tapout or a choke to black out.

Here is a truly Martial person: Fast forward to about 4 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po3Cl8uCHvs

When someone like this describes violence, it's not a hobby to him. As the interviewer explains, "to him it was just another day at the office".

I recommend that everyone watch all 6 full youtube videos that that last video links to. They are very good and you will learn about real world violence and Martial Behavior. Not just Martial Arts.

He describes with a grin: "I was righteously worshiped".

Keep training!

Power Transfer

Perhaps the most important part of the physical portion of martial arts is the power transfer. I honestly think that a unskilled fighter will beat a skilled fighter as long as he can transfer power better.

No matter if you are punching, kicking, throwing, grappling or using weapons, Power Transfer is the key. A kick without proper power is not effective. A punch without proper power is meaningless. A throw without a good transfer is an accident.

What are the keys of a proper Power Transfer?

1. Explosiveness.
2. Rooting to the earth/footwork
3. Hip Rotation
4. Focus

We will get into these more later in this article, but let's take a look at Power Transfer in sports:

Baseball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aBKr9NoyXk
The video lacks proper explanation in explosiveness. I think this is largely due to the fact that it's something to be assumed rather than taught. The creator of the video also fails to explain proper hip rotation. But did you notice that he does proper hip rotation? I assume this omission is more of an accident than anything else. The focus part comes up in his videos later. Highlight: He mentions that you should have your REAR FOOT on stable ground. This goes with the Rooting To the Earth.

Football: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bET91RpahoQ
We talk about football in class a lot. This is because we have seen high level football players K.O. Blackbelts and other martial artists. Something about adapting your body to soak a 200-300 lb meat missile teaches you good footwork. This video explains a bunch of techniques and goes into the importance of proper footwork. I find it amazing that football players understand this stuff better than fighters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qkw_QWmt8w&feature=related
I like this one a ton. It's very simple, but says just about everything you can in under a minute. If all you did was practice two step drills, you would probably be a better fighter than most of your "fighters" out there. I wanted to point out the foot that's in the direction of travel moves first. Also, notice how they are off their heels?

Boxing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqqo9KzOaao
This video isn't flawless, but it makes it's points well. Light/powerful footwork is the thing to get from this video. He has good posture, mobility, and foot placement. Although he blades his body a bit much, he makes it clear why.

Muay Thai: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzqVUnbkAM8
Very similar to the other stuff, but hopefully your getting the point: Good athletes are built on the foundation of footwork.

Breakdown of the Keys:
1. Explosiveness cannot be learned any other way than practice. You can watch people in class who practice this a ton, and those who don't. Micro movements and small muscle movements are really what cause this to be effective. Shadowboxing/Jump rope/explosive body weight exercises are what develops this. Hit the bag, watch in the mirror and EXPLODE!

2. Rooting to the Earth is a term I learned in Shotokan Karate. The concept basically comes down to the ability to use the terrain as a springboard to launch your explosiveness. If you are caught on bad footwork, your fighting just doesn't work. Additionally, if you have no grasp of the earth, you are likely to be knocked out or thrown much easier. Judoka practice "Un-rooting" their opponents all the time. It's why their throws are so effective. There are many ways to learn to do this, but proper foot work is where you should start. No mater where you are, what your doing, or who's around, just think: "Are my feet properly rooted to launch significant power?" The football video mentions curling your toes. In football this is commonly referred to as "Grabbing for Grass". Launching off your feet is where Jack Dempsey's "Drop Step" really comes from. Make sure you are properly rooted before you try it though!

3. Hip rotation is essential to knock out punches. The baseball video show's this best, but good kicking tutorials are good to watch too. Opening your hips adds so much power to your shot's that it's tough to put into words. Hip Heists, windmill's, and "Elvis drills" are some great way's to develop power with this. Hip rotation is covered in Jack Dempsey's system as a "Shift" masterfully.

4. Once you have the above skills down, it's time to focus it. The ability to focus on your hip movement (or anything else) while placing a shot against a guy's jaw is a important skill. Once your body has developed all this energy, it's time to Transfer your Power into a target. Keep in mind: If your hand isn't strong enough to bear, you will likely damage yourself more than the opponent. Make sure you focus your damage properly! There is no way that I know of to knock someone out without landing your technique.

On the Lookout

Just saw this news article today:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-Serial-Butt-Slash-Suspect-Identified-129371533.html?dr

We often imagine the kinds of attacks we might have to deal with as we train. As we exit our training hall, hopefully we are more mindful of potential threats around us. We envision a street person or thug approaching us with ill intentions in some bad part of town, and that is enough to get us in a mood to throw some smack down. What about people who do not look very threatening?

Do you keep your awareness up in peaceful places, such as a shopping mall in broad daylight? How about the situation mentioned in the previous post: your own living room with your cousin?

As much as I hate using anecdotal evidence to justify paranoia or worse, hysteria, having even one guy doing minor knife ambushes in a shopping mall gives good cause to never assume you are in a safe place.

It is probably not happy living to be on constant lookout for a potential attack at every turn or from every person within ten feet of you, but this news piece gives reason to be a little more careful.

How many victims become victims because they just don't believe it would happen: 1) To them, 2) In that place, 3) At all, or 4) From that particular person.

So what to do about it and how careful to be? That is up to you. Should you be acting like Inspector Clouseau on guard for Kato's ambush attack at any moment? Probably not. Personally, I think one should be aware as one can reasonably be (and this can be improved upon all the time) and be ready go at a moment's notice. It will come when you least expect it.