Martial Arts Combat Training — Combat Sports & Conditioning, Reality-Based Martial Arts

Weathering the Storm

by Tim Anderson on December 10, 2009

in Battling Ropes, Combat-Fitness & Conditioning, General Fitness

A Tsunami is a series of waves that carry large volumes of water and energy. Tsunami’s are know for the devastation they cause in coastal regions. A Tsunami is also a Battling Ropes exercise created by John Brookfield; also known for the devastation it unleashes on it’s victims.

If you’ve never experienced it, in the Tsunami, you take a 50 ft, 2 inch rope and your goal is to create a series of waves through the entire length of the rope, at first glance you might not think this would be too difficult. This is where looks can be deceiving. The Tsunami can not be truly appreciated until you actually try to perform the drill. In less than 10 seconds you will feel the wrath of the Tsunami and have a whole new respect for the awesome, effective simplicity of the Battling Ropes system. I can not think of a more demanding exercise.

The Tsunami requires an enormous amount of energy and power from it. It is a total body exercise; head to toe, heart and lungs. In order to get the rope to travel 50 feet, you have to explode your body upwards and then perform a powerful slam downwards.

To create a series of waves, you have to powerfully and efficiently transition from extension to flexion like a jack hammer. This is a phenomenal drill for developing and sustaining explosive power.

To implement the Tsunami into your training, keep it simple. Try to incorporate it into your routine twice a week. You can try to sustain the waves for intervals of time, or try to reach a certain number of waves for “sets.” However you choose to train the Tsunami, you can progressively increase your duration, or waves, a little each week. Once you can perform the Tsunami for a whole minute, you will have just survived a Class 3 hurricane!

A word of caution: Because the Tsunami is so demanding, if you are going to incorporate it into your strength training days, you may want to perform it last. The Tsunami may leave you too wiped out to safely perform strength training after you have weathered the storm.

For more ideas of how to infuse the Tsunami into your training check out John Brookfield’s new DVD: Hurricane Ingrid: The Workout.

Popularity: 11%

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Tim Anderson is a professional fire fighter living in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. He also doubles as an ACE C.P.T., an RKC II instructor, Z-health Level IV instructor and a Battling Ropes Level II Coach. Tim has a passion for all things fitness and loves to teach others. You can check Tim out at www.optfitness.net or e mail him at tasfitness@earthlink.net.

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Becoming a “Domesticated Predator”

by Grant Bacon on December 2, 2009

in Reality-Based Martial Arts, Self Protection

Combatives/combat tactics, most authors commonly warn the readers of their articles and books that no matter how well-trained and well-prepared someone may be for combat and protecting oneself, they will never be more prepared than the predators committing these terrible acts of violence.

I wish to espouse a different theory. Man in today’s society and throughout time has constantly and consistently worked to become a more and more civilized and sophisticated being. Effectively man has worked to make himself more and more “domesticated”.

As a result the common citizen, and often even law enforcement and military In reading and researching the literature and material available on “self-defense”, and/or personnel, are ill-prepared to face and defeat these violent animals in human clothing and to deal with the extreme levels of violence these animals are willing to exact on their prey.

Predators whether man or animal are extremely violent opportunists. They look and wait for their prey to be caught unaware and unprepared, and to therefore be easy targets for whatever the predator wishes to do to them, and by no means do they play fair, by any stretch of the imagination. Human predators are even more dangerous, because their minds are socio- and even psychopathic.

Meaning that not only are these predators capable of conscious thought to plan out and perfect their assault on their prey, but they often take pleasure in the violent acts they perpetrate, and in the pain and sometimes death and destruction they cause. Anyone seeking to defeat the plans and desires of these human predators must themselves become human predators.

First, please understand that by no means am I advocating becoming as socio and/or psychopathic as those who commit these heinous crimes. I am not saying in any way whatsoever that to defeat these human monsters, that we must become monsters ourselves. What I am saying is that in order to defeat these people, we must understand how they think, and how we make ourselves a target for them.

This means that as a common course of our daily lives, we should be running mental profiles of ourselves, and our daily activities. During the course of these internal profiles, we should be able to find all the lapses in our personal and family security and lax thinking that a human predator could take advantage of.

After discovering these holes, we then need to figure out ways to close these holes, and thereby prevent ourselves from becoming easy targets and hopefully not targets at all. We should be able to identify if we’re leaving home and car doors unlocked, or not visually (and sometimes carefully physically) checking areas where we could be ambushed before entering and exiting our homes and cars, and the homes and vehicles of others.

We should realize if we have made assessments of all individuals, and identified all immediately verifiable and easily accessible exits, when we enter any building from bank to bar. In our assessments of individuals, we should be asking what does their body language say, are they carrying a weapon (whether openly or concealed), are they in a group, or using signals, signs, and body language to covertly communicate with another person? It is these kinds of assessments that will prevent us from becoming prey.

However, in order to be able to outthink a predator we have to become a predator (in mind), though since we wish to not hurt others and we wish to remain a part of civilized society, we must become a “domesticated predator”.

We must think like those who would do us harm, in order to out think those who would do us harm. Further, even if we do not present ourselves as easy targets, some predators may still try to hurt (or worse) us or our loved ones, and in those times, we must be as fierce and aggressive (within reasonable lawful limits) as those who would take advantage of and assault us. Therefore we must also be willing to become somewhat predatory in our defensive/protective tactics, thereby turning those who would hunt and hurt us, into the hunted and hurt themselves.

This is how we can always stay one step ahead of the human predator…the socio/psychopath that will not be reasoned with or talked out of the destructive crimes they desire to commit. This is how we become the lawful victor, the civilized survivor, the “domesticated predator”. This is the truth in combat.

Popularity: 11%

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Grant Bacon is Head Instructor and Co-Founder of The Truth in Combat Method and Delaware Combat University. He is a Certified Level II PFS Jeet Kune Do Concepts and Filipino Kali Instructor. Grant has many years of grappling, weapons & amature MMA fighting experience.

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Fast Martial Arts Training Improvements

by Bruce Pahl on November 30, 2009

in Combat-Fitness & Conditioning, Training Techniques

If you’re looking for some fast results in your martial arts training try the following quick tips.

Work on your explosive power by adding low to mid rep strength training.
- 5-10 reps of 3 sets of the basic strength exercises, such as Dead lift, Bench, Dips, Standing overhead press, Squat, Pull-Ups, Barbell or Dumbbell rows.
- Rest 1-3 minutes between sets. Increase weight with each set. Use proper form and perform this workout 2-3 times a week with a day or two rest between workouts.
Work on your accuracy. It won’t matter how hard you can hit if you keep missing the target. Focus mitts, Kick shields, double end bags, and heavy bags will greatly help you with your target accuracy. Hitting a stationary target or standing in front of a heavy bag and wailing away at it will not help your accuracy or footwork. You must move your body while training if it is going to be effective and reality based. Have a training partner hold some mitts and have them move after each striking combination.
Work on your balance. To quote Mr. Miyagi; “If balance no good, Karate no good!” You don’t have to be a high kicker or grappler to need good balance. All martial artists should work on learning how to maintain their balance while upsetting their opponents.
Improve and maintain your flexibility. A loose muscle is faster and stronger. Muscle tension will come whether we strength train or not. Over use injuries happen due to imbalances in the body. Muscle relaxation and looseness is the opposite of muscle tension. Keep your hips, spine and joints mobile and you will be a better martial arts athlete, have less pain and will maintain your youthfulness as you get older. Ask any young child to do a split or to touch the floor with their palms and knees locked and the majority can do it. Ask most teens and adults and the majority cannot. We are all born with flexibility and mobility but if we don’t maintain it and work at it we will lose it, like any good relationship or job.

Popularity: 10%

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Bruce Pahl is the owner of Immortal Martial Arts & co-founder of The Truth in Combat Method and Delaware Combat University. He is a certified Full instructor in Jeet Kune Do & Filipino martial arts under Paul Vunak of (PFS). He has a basic instructor cert. in Combat Ju-Jitsu under GM Michael DePasquale Jr. He earned his Black belt in 1997 in Chinese Kenpo Karate and was inducted into the Action Martial Arts Hall of Fame for excellence in teaching in 2007. He is a certified Battling Ropes® coach under founder John Brookfield, was certified in Circular Strength Training (Clubbells®) under Scott Sonnon, and is a certified instructor in FlexBands & Ultimate SandBag L.I.F.T,2010.

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REAL Women’s Self-Protection and Awareness

by Grant Bacon on November 27, 2009

in Self Protection

REAL Women’s Self-Protection and Awareness

One rape or sexual assault occurs every two minutes.
One violent crime occurs every five seconds in the U.S.
172 Women are physically and/or sexually assaulted every hour
261,000 rapes and sexual assaults occurred in the U.S. in 2000.
90,186 forcible rapes in 2000 as reported to police.
In the year 2000, 2.8 % of college women experienced rape in a six month U.S. Department of Justice study.
17% of rape or sexual assault victims were victimized by someone they knew!
One murder occurs every 34 minutes.

Statistics from: National Center for Victims of Crime – Year 2000

The proceeding statistics bring light to a very serious issue that exists in all societies, and specifically in the United States. Please look again at the alarming statistics presented here, because I don’t know about you the reader, but as a husband and father of two girls, the fact that a rape occurs every two minutes, and that 172 women an hour are assaulted in some manner is unimaginably frightening.

Further as a self-protection specialist and reality and combatives martial arts instructor, the fact that a violent crime occurs every five seconds, and a murder occurs every 34 seconds is also quite jarring to consider. It amazes me how many people still ask me if the manner of “hardcore” martial arts that I teach is even necessary in today’s society. Obviously they are even more in need now than ever before.

Society may appear more civilized in some areas of this great Nation, but in far too many places that go forgotten about and unseen, violence is still a normal and regular part of life. Quite honestly in my own neighborhood, which is less violent than where I grew up and lived as an adult for many years, I still see/hear at least 3 violent altercations a week. Usually it’s heated arguing and pushing and shoving. However, I still see fights frequently and honestly hear gunshots at least 4 times per month (I can’t say it happens once every week, but it averages out to be about that).

All this brings me to the point of this article. I must honestly say that I am shocked and saddened by what I see being taught as “self-defense” and more specifically “women’s self-defense” programs. Often these programs involve either instruction in fine motor martial skills (which CAN be used effectively after YEARS of regular instruction and regular adrenal stress training and sparring; and training that causes intense and spontaneous adrenal dumps), or techniques instruction in attacking vital points and organs of a would-be assailant.

The problem is that this is techniques-based instruction, and these techniques are taught VERY specifically, with no room for adjustment or alternating based on potential attacks/attack variations. Further, in the heat of an assault most people, even supposedly high-level martial artists revert back to their base instincts, and their supposed skills deteriorate exponentially based on the intensity/severity of the assault.

This is because while they are used to pulling off their high-level techniques, under non-stressful conditions, in friendly confines with cooperative teammates/classmates; a real-world assault involves none of these variables. Additionally, the immediate adrenal dump that most people (especially those inexperienced in adrenal stress response training) experience, totally shuts down the part of the brain that allows them to control and execute these high-level, fine motor skills.

The programs we teach at Delaware Combat University (www.delawarecombatuniversity.com) are first of all principle-based. This means that while specific techniques are taught, it’s the principles that allow the techniques to actually work. This allows the practitioner to compensate for unplanned/unexpected variables in conditions and attacks. Students are taught in a high-intensity environment (at times with variable conditions) essentially wearing “street” clothing (anyone who’s ever experienced an adrenal dump will tell you that even the clothes you wear, certain smells, and other environmental cues can actually impact the way you perform when you need to protect yourself or your loved ones).

while training begins with moderate cooperation so that skill-sets can be ingrained into muscle memory, soon training involves increasing levels of REAL resistance, and students learn to MAKE their skills work both in ideal conditions AND when things go wrong, and how to immediately improvise without “hitches” or “hick-ups”. This is reality, and this type of training and combative sparring is what leads to real-time, real combat effectiveness and success.

This is what teaches students to fight through surprise, shock, and pain. This is where they learn to not shut-down, to never give up, and to persevere until they escape or prevail. This is where they condition and harden themselves for the rigors of real world combat.

Finally to more specifically address the type of training women receive, I again, am saddened. Women are taught to box/kick-box with a male assailant; to try to place rear-legged power kicks on a man’s groin with no instructions in setting this technique up; to attack an assailant’s pressure points, again with no set-up, or striking instruction so that they learn how to open and activate these pressure-points, to apply very fine joint locks/manipulations, and other basically ridiculous tactics that will get them killed.

Before I go any further, I must be clear that I truly mean no disrespect, and I applaud both the women who realize that they need to acquire adequate self-protection skills and have a willingness to do so, and the instructors who are honestly trying to teach the skills they feel will help these women. Also, some instruction and training is absolutely better than nothing.

Now here’s my issue: no matter how strong or skilled a women is, any male assailant truly bent on completing his assault is at least wired on natural adrenaline, and usually other things, and he WILL overpower you, so grappling or fighting/striking with him is a blueprint for pain and failure, and potentially much worse. Also, being totally honest about what a women can and should expect from a male assailant needs to be made clear from the beginning of the program. THIS IS REALITY.

With all that being said, it is entirely possible and plausible for a woman to defend herself against a male assailant; and fending off a male assailant is an entirely winnable scenario. However, the right attitude, principles, and techniques must be taught to female class participants.

These techniques must begin with gross-motor skills, and be taught in adrenal stress response type, and scenario-based training. This does not mean teaching “kick him in the groin!” Examples of actual gross-motor skills that work very effectively are palm heel strikes, ear/eye slaps, eye rakes/gouges, vital point bites, skin tearing, ear tearing (takes very little pressure to tear an ear off of someone’s head), stomps to feet (ankles and knees), close quarter (and therefore disguised) groin strikes, properly set-up and executed groin kicks (this is actually a bit of a higher level technique as men learn from birth, essentially, to protect themselves from direct hits to the groin, and really, only direct hits work).

The use of tactical flashlights and kubotans, chemical weapons (mace, pepper-spray), improvised weapons, and even knives if necessary. I teach my fiance’ Filipino kali, and I believe this system (both empty-hand and knife techniques; though it would be higher level training, after someone has already shown proficiency in utilization of base gross-motor skills and techniques), along with Filipino kino-mutai, and a mixed bag of truly (high stress situation) applicable jujutsu techniques, as well as the aforementioned specific gross-motor techniques from a variety of other systems, are tailor made for women to effectively and decisively, and TRULY protect themselves from any assault, but only when combined with proper, principle-based instruction.

This is real self-protection training. THIS IS THE TRUTH IN COMBAT!

Popularity: 17%

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Kettlebells and Ropes

by Tim Anderson on November 23, 2009

in Battling Ropes, Kettlebell Training

I love kettlebells. To me, they are the perfect tool for conditioning the body. The swing alone offers benefits not matched by many other exercises; endurance, strength, power, flexibility and the ability to pump large amounts of blood throughout the body. I used to think the kettlebell was perfect all on its own. That is however, until I met John Brookfield. John quickly convinced me that there is a perfect partner for the kettlebell: the rope.

John Brookfield’s Battling Rope Velocity training is a great compliment to kettlebell training. In Velocity training with ropes, the object is to move and sustain waves from one end of the rope to the other. Much like the swing, velocity training yields strength, endurance, and power.

Unlike the swing, in velocity training, there is no momentum. No gravity to help you. No rest between waves. Just 100% output generated by you, the victim. The intensity is unreal. The results are cardio-conditioning and stamina that can propel your athletic efforts to new levels. Even kettlebell swings and snatches can be taken to new levels when integrated with rope training.

Try this: Just grab a kettlebell and swing it for 30 seconds. Then, (rest if needed) grab a rope and whip it for 30 seconds. Just one round will make you a believer. Work your way up to several rounds and/or longer durations. Try this for a couple of weeks and you’ll be amazed at the results: More stamina, more power and new PR’s in your training.

Popularity: 17%

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Combat Muay Thai (Muay Boron) Part II

by Grant Bacon on November 10, 2009

in Combative Sports, Muay Thai

4. DEFENSE – A) Blocking/covering (both traditional boxing covers, and a modified Thai covering which allows the defensive cover to be used very effectively as an offensive maneuver). B) Parrying/“hand-tapping” C) Slipping/“head movement” D) Ducking E) Bobbing and Weaving F) Static “Thai”/Shin-check G) Moving/Dynamic “Thai”/Shin-check H) Knee destruction (“Thai” Leg-Shielding, but instead of using the shin to block and parry, the knee is used to destroy the incoming attack/kick, and to totally shut down your opponent.

5. CLINCH– Traditional “Thai/Plum clinch”, and a modified “Dirty Thai clinch” to deal with wrestlers and other grapplers, and to not only defend and take away their preferred methods of generating offense and getting takedowns, but to use their methods against them and capitalize on their attacks which will open up lines of attack and striking for the modified (prepared) Muay Thai fighter.

Proper clinching techniques, when and where to clinch, using the clinch to throw and lock, and takedown, and striking from within the clinch will be taught. Further, students will learn to strike when entering and exiting the clinch, a crucial and often overlooked skill in both Thai boxing and MMA. Students will also learn kick catching, which is not an accident as many people assume, but an actual skill, with technique and proper applications.

This will be taught as part of the basic curriculum clinching skill-set. As with the traditional Thai clinch, kick catching is a traditional Thai technique based on good, explosive footwork and timing, which can be used to set up nasty and devastating strikes and takedowns (and takedowns into strikes/ground and pound; this will be taught in advanced classes)

These are the basic techniques for Combat Muay Thai. In the basic instruction, students will build the foundation for becoming high level strikers/fighters. They are also going to be taught how to control the distance and spacing in any fight, depending on their individual range, ability, likes, and dislikes. Muay Thai is a nearly complete fighting system which encompasses striking, clinching/grappling, and throwing/takedown skills, and with proper modification, ground fighting/striking skills can just as easily be added in.

Therefore if students already have a proficiency/background in another art, they don’t have to lose, forget, or ignore that skill set to ingrain this Muay Thai skill-set (the way we teach it) into their fighting style. What they learn in this system will allow all of their skills and abilities to compliment and improve upon each other. So, even if students like to grapple or have some sort of grappling background, or whatever background they may already have coming in to their training they can use their newly acquired Thai boxing skills to enhance and supplement their original skill set.

Our combative philosophy is to only learn, and then teach skills that are functional for any and all combative encounters, and to impart an aggressive mentality that will allow those skills to be utilized as effectively and efficiently as possible. Our students will gain skills, attitude, and confidence to be able to survive, thrive, and succeed in any combative encounter (street or ring) in which they may find themselves.

At the advanced level, students will learn to seamlessly blend in and flow through all the techniques of all fighting ranges (kicking, punching, grappling, and ground-fighting) in their arsenal; they will move from one technique to the next without any “hitches” or “hick-ups”. The advanced training program involves further reinforcing the basic level curriculum lessons.

Further the advanced level techniques are taught, and worked in with the previously acquired techniques, to enhance fighters various combat attributes (speed, power, accuracy/precision, balance, timing, etc.), and give them a more diversified and unorthodox array of attacking techniques.

Fighters will be taught advanced fight strategy, how to launch unorthodox attacks and counter-attacks, and how to deal with and re-direct unorthodox attacks and counter-attacks. Students in this program will never remain on the defensive. An aggressive attacking mentality is taught, and students will learn that remaining defensive will get you beaten and potentially hurt in any combative encounter, but attacking without strategy or intelligence (just brawling) will also get you beaten and potentially hurt.

Students will learn to be aggressive, but simultaneously controlled, and focused with pinpoint accuracy on what they need to do in any combative encounter to turn the tide of battle in their favor, and end the fight as quickly (and potentially as brutally) as possible (I call this “Controlled Focused Fury”). Further, students involved in an actual fight training program (Muay Thai, Boxing, and MMA), will learn how to absorb and re-direct attacks within the confines of the ring/cage.

Fighters will be taught how to use the ropes/cage as an obstacle that can be used to trap opponents, and set up devastating fight ending techniques and combinations, and how to avoid and get off of the cage/ropes so that they are not in turn set up for such techniques. Advanced, and blended clinch work and strategy will also be taught, as well as nuances of clinch fighting that basic/beginner level students simply won’t be able to understand until they reach a more advanced level.

At the advanced level fighters should have most of the techniques not necessarily mastered, but be very comfortable using their techniques without having to think very much; the techniques should be ingrained and instinctual. Therefore, instead of focusing on techniques and proper technique application, advanced level students can now focus on actual fight strategy, and setting up techniques and their opponents. Good, high level, striking instructors will tell you that a fight involving high level strikers, is just as technique oriented, and just as much of a “chess match” as any BJJ/Jiu-Jitsu fight.

Stand-up fighting is just as beautiful and artistic as ground fighting has come to be recognized. Throughout their training under students will learn this fact, and emphasis will be made that good striking is nothing at all like the brawling, simplistic, all-out mere kicking and punching (without much strategy) evidenced in most matches seen on television today.

Popularity: 8%

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Stone Warrior Hand & Arm Conditioning

by Bruce Pahl on November 9, 2009

in Combat-Fitness & Conditioning, Combative Sports, Reality-Based Martial Arts, Training Techniques

Stone Warrior hand and arm conditioning is a necessary foundation for all martial arts training and conditioning programs. We’ve all heard the story, or seen the Kung Fu movie of the Iron Palm Master who with one palm strike could inflict internal damage or even death on their unsuspecting victims.

While this may be true or just legend, it does not change the fact that iron fist and iron palm training is valid and a necessary but often overlooked preparation for all martial arts styles and even combat sports. It is a fact that multiple professional boxers and MMA fighters have broken their wrapped and gloved hands while fighting in mixed martial arts events. Recently Urijah Faber from World Extreme Cage fighting (WEC) broke both his hands while fighting. He did extremely well by using his elbows and kicks, but was unable to punch or grapple without the use of his hands. There has also been at least two or more reported cases where professional boxers have broken their hands while street fighting.

Developing fast and powerful punches through strength conditioning, plyometric training, technique training and speed drills are another foundational training protocol that all martial artists with any type of real skill practice. The more muscle, power and speed that we develop in our bodies the more bone density, joint & tendon strength, skin elasticity and resistance to impact we need. The harder you hit the more damage you can do to yourself. But also the harder you can hit with a rock hard fist, palm or forearm the more damage you can inflict on your attacker.

Doing Damage

In a reality based situation it is not only easy but highly probable that you will hit something hard whether that be the other persons skull, elbow, teeth, the wall or the even the ground. This is why open hand striking techniques are preferred by the military in combative situations. If you break your hand by punching then you will not be able to deploy a weapon if the need arises or grab and hold something if necessary. A police officer once told me that three officers broke their hands with fist punching in altercations just in one week alone.

There are four main reasons why this happens:

Most cops, civilians and many martial arts styles do not know how to punch properly by using a vertical flat fist and punching in a straight line.
They don’t know where to punch (proper target acquisition).
They don’t know how to use open handed striking and how to generate power using proper body mechanics.
Finally, according to this article, most people do not do proper hand conditioning.

What are best methods and most effective ways to condition the hands, arms and limbs?

Specialized training equipment, tools and training partners are the best way to accomplish this. The least expensive way is the single section or three section canvas striking bag. Also known as the Makiwara bag or wall mounted iron palm bag. These heavy duty canvas bags were designed to hold a varity of filling materials such as sand, steel bb’s, smooth rocks or corn. By using a special Chinese herbal liniment (Dit Da Jow) your practice and conditioning can be progressive and safe. These bags will help you to learn how to punch using the proper fist & punching angles, will strengthen your wrists, help develop short range punching power, combination punching, forearm and elbow striking & impact conditioning.

You can also use a Makiwara board that is made with firm foam and wrapped in canvas. This board is good for hand conditioning and short range power.

Heavy bag training is a standard method for most people for hand and elbow conditioning. Four or five foot bags are great for boxing and high kicking but for shin, foot conditioning and low kicking practice the Muay Thai bag is the best choice. We recommend that most people should use bag gloves with wrist wraps and training shoes while learning proper techniques or when using maximum power during training, but periodic sessions of using no gear can be beneficial. Caution must be taken because a sprained wrist or broken toe will put a delay in your training progress. Muay Thai fighters don’t wear gloves and shoes but they also start conditioning at a very young age while the body is still developing and their careers usually end in their 20’s for that very reason.

Wooden Dummy Training

Wing Chun/JKD wooden training dummies are my personal favorite training tool. Immortal Martial Arts was started because of the training dummies. The versatility and real life application makes the wooden training dummy second only to a training partner. In one way it is much better, because you can’t hit a partner with full power or with sticks and hard training knives, but with the dummy you can. The dummy will not only give you hands of stone and forearms of steel but will give you the ability to stick to your opponent and use highly effective footwork.

Focus Mitt Training

By hitting focus mitts with no gloves you will not only toughen your fists, palms and elbows but you will learn target accuracy and footwork. Mitt training will also teach you how to evade and defend against offensive attacks. You can also use mitts for kicking practice which will develop flexibility and balance.

Dit Da Jow (bruise liniment) – No proper hand or limb conditioning should be done without using a quality herbal liniment. Here are a few benefits for using Jow.

Makes skin more elastic
Decreases swelling
Protects against tissue and bone bruising
Increases circulation
Speeds recovery time so you can train more often
Protects against blood clots

Popularity: 27%

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Combat Muay Thai (Muay Boron) Part I

by Grant Bacon on November 4, 2009

in Muay Thai, Reality-Based Martial Arts

It is often very evident that people forget that the meaning of the word “martial” is military or combative. This Means that many martial arts were taught for the purpose of allowing practitioners to excel and succeed in combative endeavors (though not all “martial arts” that exist today were in fact historically “martial” in nature). It is understood that some people, in joining a martial arts school/gym, are just looking for something to do; a potential belt to gain; or a club; gym or group to belong to; or they have some other non-combative purpose for enrolling in and participating in martial arts programs.

However, the vast majority of the people, looking to enroll, in any true Muay Thai class are more likely to be interested in acquiring true combative skills for self-protection, and competition/fighting, and it would be a disservice to them to merely learn traditional techniques, that have no modern-day efficacy (especially in today’s landscape of MMA gym’s and in some cases “traditional” martial arts school’s now cross-training in other complimentary styles), that won’t lead them to being successful in competition, or especially on the street.

The other thing to remember, especially when talking about Muay Thai is that it’s not an art based on showy techniques, or belt promotion. Muay Thai is, historically, primarily a combative art; where your progress, skills, and success are solely measured by your ability to fight. Success in Muay Thai is based on learning to have an aggressive, dominant, destructive, fighting mentality; and the willingness to damage and dominate/“destroy” another living being.

In Thailand, traditional Muay Thai stylists began training anywhere from ages 7-10, and spend years banging and beating on each other for no other purpose than conditioning their bodies to withstand the pain and punishment that can potentially be dished out by another human being. That’s the mentality of Muay Thai, not just sport, but combat; destructive painful combat.

I have therefore set about to create a Muay Thai system non-traditional in nature but still able to impart all the necessary skills and mentality to be combat successful. In America, it would be nearly impossible to teach “traditional” Muay Thai, because we all know that Americans don’t want to learn (or voluntarily agree to subject their children to the kind of long-term abuse described above) this way, and don’t have the mentality to allow this much punishment to be inflicted upon them.

They’d never again show up to train if this was the manner in which they were being instructed. And, because the vast majority of the beginning Muay Thai students I’ve encountered don’t have much, if any combat or martial arts experience at all, they’re really not ready to have their bodies “conditioned” in this manner. So how do you get around this “traditional” Muay Thai teaching mentality, without cheating my students out of body conditioning, and technique training? And how do we bring our students to proficiency in the techniques we teach, and get the light to go on for our students so that they will understand when and where to apply these techniques. That’s where good curriculum modification comes in. Here are some key areas where Combat Muay Thai differs from traditional Muay Thai.

1. STANCE – Blended Stance which is mostly traditional Muay Thai, but the body is more bladed than squared – head, hands, and shoulders squared/semi-squared to opponent, and standing on the balls of the feet, lead hand a little further away from the body, than the rear hand – this stance has a lower/more squat center of gravity (which will help in takedown defense…i.e. the Muay Boran Stance), and footwork borrowed from western boxing to allow for more mobility. The toes are turned 45 degrees, instead of facing the opponent (compared to traditional Muay Thai). The turned in toes allows for easier and faster defense of leg (inner and outer) kicks, and for better takedown defense.

2. FOOTWORK – A) “Step and Glide” (front and back, side to side, and diagonal). B) Circular stepping; both types of footwork are borrowed from Western boxing. C) Pivot stepping. D) “V” stepping. E) Pendulum Stepping. F) “Switch” stepping. Constant, consistent footwork drilling is an absolute necessity. Consider that in “traditional Muay Thai there is not a lot of footwork or movement. Fighters, due to their supreme body conditioning and hardening, often stand directly in front of one another, and strike (mostly the more devastating techniques of roundhouse kicks, knees and elbows) until one fighter is unconscious or otherwise unable to continue fighting.

Thai fighters train for this type of conditioning for decades, but the downside is that they are forced to retire, nearly crippled and have a very poor quality of life (often by around age 35), due to this extreme body conditioning. In recent years, some of the more progressive Muay Thai schools in Thailand have been brining in western boxing coaches to teach their fighters better footwork, to improve movement in the ring, to cut down the beatings their fighters take over the course of their training and fighting careers, and thereby hopefully improve their quality of life after fighting.

3. PUNCHING – Jab (quick, and lead straight/power jab), Cross, Lead Hook, Rear Hook, uppercut, overhand, and shovel punch. Students learn strikes in singles, and in combinations (traditional and random/non-traditional combinations). This sounds more like western boxing techniques, but not only have many traditional karate schools started incorporating these techniques(and been doing so for many years), but also the most highly rated Muay Thai school in Thailand and most highly regarded around the world has been bringing western boxing coaches for past few years.

This is the Fairtex Academy, and they as well as most good Thai schools realized years ago, that Thai Boxers would lose to western boxers, because the other primary weakness of “traditional” Thai boxing has always been the arts hand skills, or lack thereof. Despite Muay Thai being the art of the eight limbs/appendages, the hands are weak in the traditional art. Therefore most good schools have brought in the hands of western boxing, and modified the skill-set as necessary for their combative sport. This is also what I’ve done in Combat Muay Thai. Punching with precision, speed, and power will be emphasized as well as fighting “in the pocket”, and throwing multi-punch, multi-level combinations.

Continued with part II

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Making a Change

by Betsy Collie on November 4, 2009

in General Fitness, Personal Development

Let’s talk about how our brains and bodies respond to change.
In order to understand how Change affects us we must define the concept of the SAID Principle — the body always gets better at exactly what it does. While we generally talk about this idea in relation to movement and performance, the brain works the same way with regards to everything we do (or don’t do).

Habits are easy. Our morning ritual is our morning ritual because we don’t have to think about it. We frequent the same stores, take the same routes, buy the same brands, and return to the same restaurants because it’s the path of least resistance. This is precisely why habits are so hard to break.

We are hard-wired for survival as opposed to performance, which means that we want to conserve energy as much as possible. And, making any sort of change requires additional energy — the brain literally burns more glucose when we have to do something out of the ordinary.

So, when you decide to “go for broke” and make several changes at the same time, any unplanned events in your life can easily derail the change you want to make. Your body literally runs out of energy to manage all of the changes, and falls back to what it already knows in order to make it through the day. While it may be frustrating to make changes gradually, it is a much more realistic approach for guaranteeing success because both emotionally and physically it requires less energy and won’t place unrealistic demands on the body.

Remember, success breeds success, so it is much better to have many small successes that add up, than to take on TOO much at once, fail and have to start all over at square one.Let’s look at a few examples of places where people often struggle to make changes, and some ways to ease in to change.

Get More Sleep
Americans are notoriously sleep-deprived. Accidents related to sleep deprivation have been estimated to have an annual economic impact of $43 to $56 billion, and recent studies even indicate a link between chronic sleep deprivation and obesity.
• Create a nighttime ritual. 30 minutes prior to bedtime, unplug.
• Work to standardize your hours of sleep to a consistent amount 7 days a week.
• Shift your schedule in 15-minute intervals to work up to 7-8 hours/night.

Eating Behaviors
Make just one change a week.
• Cut out a snack.
• Add one vegetable.
• Throw out one trigger food.
• If weight loss is your goal, count your calories for one week. The next week, reduce caloric intake by just 100 calories per day.

Fitness Training
85-90% of individuals who start a training program quit within the first 90 days, and 85% of that group quits due to injury. Given the large number of adults who claim to be on a training program, that is an awful lot of false starts. So, how do you start a training program you can stick with?

• If your problem is you just don’t feel like training, then my first recommendation is to choose something that you enjoy. Research shows your rate of success is much higher if you choose something you like.
• If time is a problem, realize you don’t have to spend an hour a day in the gym to get or stay in shape. Look for 10, 15, or 30 minutes to exercise.

• If you are one of those 85% who quit due to injury, a mobility warm-up will aid against future injuries. That, combined with starting the first week at no more than 50% of what you think you are capable of and remembering never to push into pain, will go a long way towards injury-free training.
To summarize,

1) Pick something you like to do, not something you feel like you have to do. 2) It doesn’t have to be an hour, make it short fast and realize it is effective. 3) Ensure that your body is prepped for success by being prepared for movement.

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Betsy Collie is the Owner, and Head Kettlebell Instructor at Rapid Results Fitness, specializing in group kettlebell training, yoga, joint mobility, ropes, and personal training located in Durham, NC. She is an RKC II instructor, Battling Ropes Coach, Z Health Level I Trainer, AFAA certified, ( PT, Group Fitness, Pilates). She instructs at the National RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) certification courses. Recently appointed by Pavel Tsatsouline, she trained the Navy SEALs in Kettlebell training. Contact: 919-403-8651, rapidresultsfitness@gmail.com , www.rapidresultsfitness.net.

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Six Key Strategies Every Martial Artist Should Know (But Most Don’t)

by Bruce Pahl on October 26, 2009

in Combative Sports, MMA/Mixed Martial Arts

This article is an overview of the Free eBook entitled Six Key Strategies Every Martial Artist Should Know (But Most Don’t) that I recently wrote on how a martial artist can greatly improve his or her performance in any martial arts style or method by adding these techniques and focusing their training around these six key strategies.

The six strategies are:

1. Principles: A principle is a primary or general law and fundamental truth

In this chapter we focus on how to generate maximum force and power for your techniques. How to use an attackers force against them, how to intercept an attack, how to destroy the attacking weapon and how to defuse an attacker.

2. Attributes: The body mechanics (movement) and mindset skills that make techniques work effectively.

This chapter explains why certain fighters and athletes dominate in their chosen sport and battlefield. If you don’t master this one key area then your martial ability and skill will always be average.

3. Sparring: Without combative practice you are only learning an art NOT a martial art. Martial means To War and your skills and techniques must be tested and proven in real time against a resisting opponent. Forms and Kata, point fighting, and one step sparring won’t prepare you for the real thing.

4. Conditioning & Nutrition: Combat athletes put conditioning and health at the top of their training list. Techniques and strategies are crucial but if you don’t have the strength, cardio and mental fortitude your techniques won’t work for very long.

5. Training Equipment & Tools: Body weight exercises, calisthenics and running can only take you so far for combat conditioning. All great champions and warriors use equipment and training tools to take their physical conditioning, sparring ability and body toughening to the ultimate level.

6. Weapons Training: This one area is the difference between training for sports, art or real combat. All great past and present masters trained in the use and defense of weapons. This is one of the keys to developing blinding speed and agility.

Reviews & comments: After reading the six key strategies eBook please post your comments at the end of this article and tell us what you thought of this eBook and how you liked it. We would also like to hear what other information you would like to read about.

Download this FREE e-Book here!