Why We Not Hit Hard?

Kampmann vs. Volkmann at UFC 108

2010-01-02T22:52:00.004-06:00

Not to spoil the fight, Martin Kampmann vs. Jacob Volkmann at UFC 108 ended with a guillotine that looked suspiciously like the the Improved Guillotine Choke we described previously.

The choke was modified due to the position they found themselves in, but the essence was the same. Congratulations to Kampmann for quick thinking and a sick submission!

The Mighty Foam Roller

2009-11-24T20:29:00.000-06:00

by Mike

As wonderful as the TheraCane is, I've found that the foam roller does a much better job on the lower body. Especially the quads, hamstrings and IT band.

Just about everything you need to know about how to use it is over at T-Nation in their article: Feel Better for 10 Bucks.

A couple other things I feel worth mentioning:

Make sure your floor is clean. the roller has a tendency to pick up whatever's on the floor and embed it into your back/legs/etc. Not necessarily painful, but can be embarrassing if you plan on wearing that shirt or pants out later.
The foam roller does wear down, becoming softer and less effective. Both through normal use and especially if you leave things resting on it for awhile. You'll need to figure out for yourself when the roller needs to be replaced - basically when it feels like "it just doesn't work like it used to." Don't use the roller as a pillow - even a few minutes will give you a goofy dent in it that likely will affect performance.
While I don't use the roller for a full-body massage and expect it to hit everything that's bothering me, I have found it useful to do a thorough once-over on everything:

1. Right after a hot bath - when you're both relaxed and your muscles are warm and pliable

2. Right before bed. It's surprisingly relaxing.

CC-licensed photo by Pass the Chips.

You don't need as much protein as you thought you did

2009-11-15T21:12:00.000-06:00

Fitness Spotlight goes through a couple recent studies and tells you that you don't really need as much protein as you thought you did - for most of us the 1g/lb-day seems to be largely wasted.

To be sure, I read about the first study mentioned in their post on a supplement company's site and they went to no small length to say, "well, we know what this study says, but we'd like to point out that they were using egg whites and there's no evidence that [our products] have less efficacy...blah, blah, blah."

Quick Guide to Skin Infections and Not Rolling While Sick

2009-11-09T19:24:00.003-06:00

by Mike

Missing class tonight due to an illness, I figured I'd take the opportunity to remind people that training while sick is not a good idea. Especially as we get into flu season, some people unfortunately need to be reminded that they have a lot of classmates who would rather not get sick if they can help it, not the least of which is having a sick classmate show up to ruin their week.

But even beyond simple stay home if you're sick, there are the Pig Pens of the world who go a step further and show up with something a little more troubling than the sniffles. Check out the following links for a refresher/reference guide to awful things you don't really want to see pictures of, let alone see on people at your school:

The makers of Defense soap have a fairly comprehensive section on skin diseases with causes, treatments and disgusting pictures. See the right sidebar for the links (but there are some unfortunate broken pages mixed in). While you of course have impeccable hygiene, it might be worth forwarding their guide to hygiene for combat athletes to your classmates who don't.*

Skin Infections and the Wrestler is a short pdf detailing a couple common conditions that you encounter in the dojo and what to do about them. I'd like to point out that it does give one bit of advice that the other guides didn't: "Do not wrestle with someone who has [whatever]. Alert your coach or an official."

While it hopefully isn't necessary to snitch on Pig Pen, pointing out that they're not fooling anyone with their, "oh, I didn't notice that" does need to be reiterated. Someone didn't notice the big rash/fact that it's painful to open their mouth/bleeding? Of course they didn't. If they won't act responsibly, perhaps they'll react to varying degrees of shame.

A couple other articles that you might find interesting:

Doc Dill talks Itchy Noses and MRSA scares
Mike hates nerds that bleed all over him and try to play it off

* Before you complain, it is a site to sell their product. I tried a sample awhile back and the best I can say about it is: I didn't develop any infections while using the soap (not that I normally do otherwise) and it smells nice.

Review: TheraCane

2009-10-27T18:38:00.012-05:00

TheraCane

One Liner: Persistent sore muscles/trigger points and no one at home to work with them? Get a TheraCane.

Overview:

The TheraCane is one of the best pieces of gear that I own. Not so much for training purposes but rather for helping out with recovery.

This oddly shaped device effectively allows you to reach and work out trigger points and sore muscles all over your body, in effect letting you be your own massage therapist. It's a relatively simple matter to get home from class and spend 5-10 minutes going over any sore spots with this thing while you're waiting for dinner to cook.

The design of the TheraCane is such that you can choose from a couple different methods of working on a given spot each with different pressures and degree of control. The nubs in the center, for example, can be used to put a lot more pressure on your lower back than the ball at the end of the curve, which is easier to change angles of pressure with.

There is a bit of a learning curve to this thing, though. I've met some people who only use the one point at the curve, which is helpful, but missing out on some of the more useful parts of the product. If you do pick one up, spend some time with the manual to figure it out properly.

As cool as the TheraCane is, I do have to say that I've found the good ol' tennis ball and foam roller combination much more effective for working my feet and legs. However, nothing beats the TheraCane for the upper body. I even prefer it to most of the massage therapists I've been to.

The Good:

More convenient and the hell of a lot cheaper than a trip to the massage therapist*
Hits just about any upper-body spot that I've had trouble with.

Quite a conversation starter.

The Bad:

Ideal for upper body, not so great for lower body. Despite the manual saying that it can work on my feet, calves and thighs, I've gotten better results using either a foam roller or tennis ball on those bits.

Recommendation: I've saved myself a lot of hassle and pain by using the TheraCane on my back and neck. Despite the learning curve, it's been well worth the money, especially if you've been throwing money at a chiropractor.*

* This is not to say that the TheraCane can replace competent/trained help in all situations. But once you learn the difference between what requires a trip to the massage therapist and what the TheraCane can handle, a little diligence and less than the cost of a typical half-hour massage session will save you many half-hour sessions' worth of $$$.

Addition to Seminar Checklist

2009-10-18T07:23:00.003-05:00

Added the following wisdom to the Seminar Checklist:

Careful with lunch. If your seminar is long enough that it has a lunch break, be careful with what you do. You certainly want to avoid the stitch and you definitely don't want to go out and eat something that's going to result in you farting on your partners for the entire afternoon.

You'd think it didn't need to be said, but seriously....

Glossary: Applied Pressure, Cranking a Submission, Hooking and Instructor Privilege

2009-09-09T20:53:00.001-05:00

Today, we're going to look at a few terms related to the ground game:

Applied Pressure refers to a submission being performed such that the opponent has time to tap out before any injury or damage is incurred. That is, the submission is locked in (whereby the proper position for the sub is held with no pressure applied) and then force is slowly increased until the opponent taps. Etiquette and often tournament rules specify that applied pressure is to be used in training and competition.

Cranking a submission is the opposite of using applied pressure. Cranking refers to purposefully using too much pressure on your opponent, either to inflict damage or sometimes as part of a tune up.

Hooks are what old-school catch wrestlers called their submission techniques. While many traditional catch holds look similar to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Judo submissions, there are often subtle differences that are designed to inflict severe damage on your opponent, past dislocating or popping joints.

Instructor Privilege is a term often used in BJJ to describe the courtesy shown to an instructor when he is rolling with students and is allowed to tap before a submission has been fully applied. The reasoning goes that the instructor is allowing you the submission in order to help teach you and as such shouldn't be put into undue danger of injury by having submissions accidentally pushed too far.

A better way to give instruction

2009-09-02T08:39:00.005-05:00

by Mike

Whether coaching a friend in class or cornering a fighter during a bout, the ability to give simple, effective instruction/command is necessary. If your instructions are too vague, nothing happens. If your instructions are too complex, the fighter can get confused and the last thing you want is a confused fighter.

We're going to look at how to give better, more effective commands to a fighter who is sparring or otherwise in a bout. When you're explaining something for the first time or dissecting a performance after the fact, you've got all the time in the world to explain things however you want but during a bout or drill, you've got precious little time to issue your command.

Here's the secret: state what you want, not what you don't want.

Think about it this way, what happens when you tell someone "don't drop your hands?"

They drop their hands even further, right?

What happens when you tell them, "hands up?"

They bring their hands up.*

Another way to look at it: state your command as a positive.

The reason we want to do this is that while we're sparring we're in a trance. Not necessarily the stiff-armed, "yes master" trance, but a state where your conscious mind shuts down and lets the sub-/unconscious mind handle things.** As Neuro-Linguistic Programming types like to say, the unconscious mind can't handle negatives. Richard Bandler states in Richard Bandler's Guide to Trance-formation:

"words such as "don't," "can't," "mustn't," "shouldn't," -- exist in language, but not in the way the brain works. Linguistically, we are putting forward and idea [...] and then negating it with words like "stop" or "don't." As far as the brain is concerned, the command has already been given." (p. 220)

Your conscious mind reads "don't drop your hands" as "here are my hands and they are dropped and I need to not drop them, which means do the opposite, which is to raise them," your conscious mind isn't (or shouldn't!) be active while you're sparring. Your sub-/unconscious mind, processes the statement like this:

"Don't drop your hands." Uh, what's 'don't?' Let's ignore that for now, "-Don't- drop your hands...DROP YOUR HANDS."

You can see why this is a problem.

There is, of course, the possibility that our fighter will be able to puzzle out the negative command, but to do that will require the conscious mind to kick in, effectively pulling him out of the trance for a few seconds, which can result in a sort of confusion or "loss of momentum" and can prove disastrous.

Also note, that we're issuing one command for one thing and one thing only. Too many directions in one statement can cause confusion, especially if they are to be performed in a certain order. In other words, one command for one response.

Perform an experiment the next time you find yourself watching a classmate spar. Spend one round only giving negative commands and spend another round giving the same commands but phrased in a short, positive manner. If you're a real sadist, you could try coaching both fighters - one with negative commands and one with positive commands. Just make sure no one's gonna get hurt.

In a future article, we're going to mash up our NLP techniques with Eddie Bravo to learn out how to give complex, multi-part instruction with a single commands.

* It gets a little more complex than that of course - fighters who keep their hands low as a matter of course will drop them again in time, but that's a problem with their training and not your command.

** If you have a problem with the word "trance," replace it with "being in the zone/in the mode/training kicks in/etc."

CC-licensed photo by underground bastard.

Helpful boxing tips from Nerdcore Boxing

2009-08-19T11:09:00.002-05:00

Nerdcore Boxing has a compendium of interesting posts that he's written over the years regarding boxing. Worth a look, especially for beginners.

Everything from finding a school to showing up to work with bruises and worse.

Make sure your gi pants work properly

2009-06-27T17:26:00.004-05:00

Frantic posted this on the Underground and the video is too funny to pass up.

This video should help you if you've ever had the string in your gi pants get pulled out.

Remember to maintain control of the brother.

Post-Seminar Checklist

2009-05-18T09:05:00.005-05:00

by Mike

This article is a companion to Seminar Checklist.

* Do your notes make sense?

You did take notes, didn't you? Depending on your familiarity with the material, taking notes can be either simple or trying to describe something entirely new to you. With time, you'll figure out a shorthand system that works for you, but for most people, the closer you get to the end of the seminar (especially if it's a multi-day seminar), the less sense your notes tend to make.

If you can't make heads or tails of them (or just can't read a word somewhere inside) go to the next item:

* Do you have any questions?

This should actually go into the "Just before the seminar's over checklist" but...you're paying the presenter for their expertise and they're accepting your money in order to teach you. To make sure you get your money's worth, make sure you get any areas of confusion cleared up. Most seminars that I've been to will have a Q&A session at the very end where you can get the finer points of the techniques ironed out. If you have any questions, be sure to speak up so you don't end up with some new moves that you can't use because you forgot a step in the middle.

Also, don't be an idiot and write in your notes, "not sure about this, remember to ask Robson" and then forget what technique that question went with. Not saying that I've done that because I forgot my notebook and ended up writing a day's notes on the back of random scratch paper then lost the scratch paper....

* Do you have someone you can compare notes with?

I've yet to meet someone who can take perfect notes. But I have met groups of three or four that can go over even the most complex lockflows and work them out with a high degree of accuracy. Make sure you find someone to help you. Guaranteed that even if you don't have questions at the end of the seminar, you will a week later when you review your notes.

* Have you set up a time to review and practice the material?

This is completely unscientific, but I like to tell people that you'll remember some stuff if you pay attention to the seminar and practice the techniques diligently. You'll remember 10x more if you take [good] notes. You'll remember 100x more if you take notes and review them. You'll actually assimilate the material if you take good notes, review them and practice the techniques.

* Do you have all your gear?

You'd be surprised what people leave behind. Be careful that you leave with everything you came with, especially if the seminar is at a faraway school.

* Did you thank the instructor (and the host)?

It's only good manners.

* Did you have fun?

If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.

Photo from Degerberg Academy

BJJ for Wrestlers, Part I

2009-04-06T20:00:00.004-05:00

by Mike

Flipper's series on Beginning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu got some more interesting comments.

This time we got a question that asked:

Well, im 15, and have wanted to do BJJ for a long time since I watch UFC 1 about 5 years ago. finally saved up and felt it was time to start. hopefully gonna start soon. conditioning was what I was worrying about. I did wrestling for 2 years. Is the conditioning similar to wrestling? Also how well will the wrestling transition to BJJ?

Interesting question and I think that there's an article hiding in the answer....

The short version goes something like this:

The conditioning will be similar but not the same. BJJ can be fast or slow, technique or strength (but hopefully more technique than strength!), etc. Especially in a gi game, you'll need to temper the all-out explosiveness for a more patient gripping game (where you can expect to roll for 1/2 hour rather than 3 two-minute periods). Just remember to be patient and take advantage of openings when they present themselves and you'll be well on your way to getting through the first couple classes without gassing.

But keep in mind that gis get very hot very fast, be prepared to deal with this aspect of things.

To be sure, conditioning will turn out to be the least of your worries as a new student. You'll pick it up as you go along, just like all the other tips and techniques that find out any time you start studying something new. I've found that the thing people have the hardest time with after starting BJJ is not boring their friends by talking about nothing else.

As for the transition, one of the wonderful things about BJJ is the variety of styles that can work within it - there's a 'big guy' game a 'little guy' game, an 'athletic' game, an 'acrobatic' game and so on. You'll be able to build a game that fits you and what you do best. If you're a better wrestler than your classmates, you'll probably develop a much stronger top game than they have. Nothing wrong with that as long as you remember to train the other parts of the art as well.

Most likely, the biggest difference will be that being on your back is not necessarily a bad thing in BJJ. New wrestlers often go to great lengths to not go to their back and end up in bad positions because of it.

But you'll figure that out soon enough. Good luck and have fun!

Anyone got any other comments for our friend?

How to clean your mouthguard

2009-03-31T20:44:00.004-05:00

by Mike, with an assist from Doc Dill

Since you already know how to properly fit a mouthguard, you've presumably been wearing it when appropriate (both for sparring and to make workouts more difficult), you've probably gotten some good use out of the thing (while maintaining good mouthguard etiquette). Now all that's left is to figure out what to do when it gunks up on you.

And gunk up it will, even if you take good care of it - but here's some guidelines to taking care of this most important piece of equipment:

Wash your mouthguard after use
Put it away in something clean - NOT the bottom of your bag
When you get home, take it out and let it dry
If it starts to get disgusting, let it sit in Listerine for ten minutes or so, take it out, scrub it with a toothbrush and wash it. Be careful, because you're gonna be tasting the Listerine for a few days afterwards. Air dry and get ready to use it again.

Some people prefer to eschew the Listerine and go straight for toothpaste or some of that fizzy denture cleaner. Your choice.

This should take care of 99% of your mouthguard problems. If you run into something that this won't help...you either need to get creative or just get a new mouthguard.

Let us know if you have any tricks in the comments.

CC-licensed photo by nycgeoff.

First Aid For Fighters: Returning to Training After a Torn Labrum

2009-03-24T09:13:00.002-05:00

Over in an older article (Stupid Shoulder Injury), Mark asks the following:

Doc Dill,

I suffered a bad fall while training for jujitsu and had to have surgery for a torn labrum.

I've sense been thru about a year's worth of physical therapy training and my shoulder doesn't always feel like it used to but at least it's not slipping out anymore.

I'd like to get back into grappling but I'd like to do so safely. Do you think a shoulder support product while grappling could help?

[...]

Thanks,
Mark

Doc Dill responds:

Well Mark, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but no external support will protect your shoulder well enough for me to tell you to return to grappling. Torn labrums are career enders for most sports that involve throwing or forceful arm movements like boxing or wrestling. I think you can train and drill but go live and I betcha you'll f*** it up again. That being said when you return to grappling you need to do something to limit the "At risk" position. that would be the position of arm out at horizontal with hand up, like when you hand signal a right turn in a vehicle.

Good luck and consider embroidery as your new hobby.
Doc Dill

--

There is some discussion in the original post, so comments have been disabled here. If you want to comment, please go to the original post.

Why bother with 25 count combos?

2009-03-01T21:17:00.004-06:00

by Mike

One of my favorite things to do in class was the long-count combos. That is, combos stringing together anywhere up to 25 individual techniques.* At first, I couldn't stand these drills - they always went something like, "jab, cross, hook, bob and weave, cross, sway, wait, no, bob, no, smack right into the trainer's mitts." The utility to me was always obvious, I spent a lot of time watching the pro boxers prepare for their fights and they made judicious use of these long-ass combos. Watching them and even the senior students spar was something to be hold - the students had nothing for the boxers, everything they threw at the boxers had an answer and then some.

Then we'd get to class and having a pro boxer teach, she'd give us a long combo. Some of the studets would groan and say, "what's the point? Like anyone's going to be standing around for you to hit them 25 times!" The rest of us, those who watched the boxers training and sparring, not only saw the utility of the drills, but also saw the results. Bring it on!

To be sure, if you have to hit someone 25 times, you're probably doing something wrong. All the same, here are

Six reasons why you should love long combo drills:

Long combos train you to keep punching. It seems counter-intuitive - if you get someone into a spot where you've got the opportunity to punch them, you will. And then keep punching them, right? However, if you train "stepping jab, cross, hook, angle out," nine times out of ten, that's what you'll do even if your opponent gives you an opening for something else. If you train staying in the pocket and throwing, you're much more likely to take advantage of those openings when they do pop up.

Considering that most of the people you're likely to find train 1, 1-2, 1-2-3 combos, adding that fourth or fifth punch into the combo is more than enough to throw them off their game.
Long combos teach you to punch properly. If you don't throw your punches properly, you'll never get to the end of that rep. You'll need to use your best technique - shifting weight, snapping your punches, breathing and staying relaxed to make sure you get the drill correct. The value here isn't on the first couple punches, it's the ones in the middle, the ones that are going to come in the middle when your opponent has moved or otherwise broken the set.
Long combos teach you to keep cool. Yeah, you might miss a beat in there, or slipped when you should have weaved, but you can pick yourself up and keep going where you left off. This is valuable training for when you start sparring and get clocked. Keeping your cool and getting right back into things takes opportunities away from your opponent.
Long combos teach you to anticipate other people's combos and timing. If your coach is doing a good job with the pads (and doubly when you're holding the pads for someone), you'll be getting some good ideas of ooks and other things to give you clues as to what they're going to do. And if you have an idea of what the opponent is going to do, you'll be well on your way to being able to counter into their combos. Which, as we've seen, is a very valuable skill to have.
Long combos will mix offense and defense, and remind you to keep one in mind when you're doing the other. Especially in light of the previous point, always being aware of what openings you are presenting your opponent has is just as important as what openings they are presenting you. A well-designed long combo will have you defending in unusual places - those places you haven't necessarily learned to defend from before and where your opponent will likely attack you while sparring.
Long combos teach you to let your hands go. One of the hardest things for beginning students to do is to let their hands go and press their advantage. These long combos help string many 'mini-combos' together (ones you've probably learned individually) and will allow you to throw them 'at will' without thinking about them.

That is, you should be able to finish a long combo without thinking about it or remembering the steps individually. If you've gotten all the above points, you'll be ready to anticipate openings and stay ready to take advantage of them when they present themselves. This will translate to your training where you see an opening and instead of going, "awesome, I'm gonna throw a hoo...crap he moved," you'll be throwing the combo and scoring points.

The above points should show you how long combos are of use to the boxer or martial artist. If you're not using them, I hope you'll start and you'll find that they pay dividends in your training.

* Could you run a combo that has more than 25 individual bits? I suppose you could, but I suspect you'll very quickly go into diminishing returns as doing 25 techniques in the space of a few seconds is quite a bit of work and you'll be inviting sloppiness at the expense of fewer reps (which also means it's more difficult to internalize the combo) and entraining the sloppiness that follows.

CC-licensed photo by H.A.P.

Glossary: How do you pronounce "Muay Thai?"

2009-02-22T12:20:00.003-06:00

All, right. This is one of those things that always gets me. You'll get a bunch of martial artists in a room and sooner or later one of them will say, "you people been saying it wrong all this time. It's not Muy Thai like you're ordering lots of it a Mexican restaurant, it's mwai thai like you're...you know...mwaing."

Then some other nerd will say, "but I once took a seminar with Master Chai and I swear he said..."

And on and on. And this will go on for hours. And be continued at the next party. And despite the hours of training they each put in, perfecting their technique, getting the advice of their training partners and coaches, these nerds will go on for years arguing over the pronunciation. Yet they will never think to call and ask the local Thai restaurant.

For those of you who are too scared to call up the local Thai ("tie" not "thigh") restaurant: here's what Thai-language.com has to say about Muy Thai...er, Mwai, uh, Mooye, I mean มวยไทย.

Fancy writing pic courtesy of Wikipedia.

An Improved Guillotine Choke

2009-02-15T13:53:00.001-06:00

by Mike

It's been awhile since we promised to show this technique, but here we go: a modification to the guillotine that should increase the effectiveness of that technique.

A couple things to keep in mind before we start:

This choke can easily turn from a blood choke to an air choke. As such it may be disallowed from use in competition or your school - check with your instructor before trying to use it.
This choke comes on very quickly - do not crank this choke. If you do get in position to use this choke, be very aware of your partner's position - it's entirely likely that they will be in a position that makes tapping difficult and you should be aware of this. If you put the choke on and they do not tap, switch to something else.

The Setup:

To properly perform a guillotine choke, you need to make sure that you have your hand up by your sternum:

Nice!

If your hand is too low, you'll never get the choke and trying to muscle your arm up is going to waste too much energy.

Crap! Hand too low!

Instead of holding on like an idiot, there must be a way to transition to another submission without giving up your dominant position.

There is, and it's simple. We're still going to put our hand up by our sternum, but we're going to move it, not muscle it. How to do that?

0. Make sure you are at a standstill. Transitioning into this technique will require you to be off balance for a split-second. If your opponent is still moving forward, or capable of moving forward, he'll knock you over and likely break the hold.

1. Shoot your hips out to the side. Obviously, we're going to go the opposite direction of where the opponent is. This will put you in an awkward position, so make the movement small. This will give your shoulder room to move.

2. Drop your shoulder and shoot your hand to your sternum. When you're done, you should have your opponent cradled in the "v" if your arm. Regain your posture.

3. Grab your tricep with your other hand. That "v" is a fairly weak position and you're not going to be able to hold it long against someone who doesn't want to be there. Your ulna should be on the back of your opponent's neck.

4. Complete the choke by stretching your back and scissoring down with your forearm. This is how a typical guillotine would work with the addition of the scissoring making the space in the crook of your arm that much smaller.

As we stated before, this submission comes on fast. Be very careful with it and like all submissions, it's best to have it applied to you as well so you know how it feels (and can therefore have an idea of how your opponent will react as well as a little sympathy).

It is also possible to complete this technique from the guard as well - the motions are going to be similar to the standing version.

How do you defend against this?

I'll leave that for you to discover - but as with any hold, "when done right, no can defend." Keep your chin tucked and don't let them wrap their arms around your neck.

As always, have fun experimenting with this submission and let us know how it works for you.

Glossary: Blood Choke and Air Choke

2009-02-14T17:10:00.004-06:00

The difference between a blood choke and an air choke is a very important one:

Blood chokes are chokes that cut off circulation to the brain. This is done by compressing the carotid arteries and therefore cutting off the supply of oxygen to your noggin (aka cerebral ischemia). Unconsciousness can occur in as little as three seconds.

The two most common blood chokes are the read naked choke and the triangle choke.

Air chokes are chokes that cut off air flow down the trachea. Air chokes typically rely on strength rather than technique for their effectiveness, as such they are typically not as efficient or effective in martial arts as blood chokes. Air chokes are also freakin' dangerous, as they can cause damage to your opponent. As such, many schools or competitions restrict the use of air chokes or ban them all together.

The most famous example of an air choke is the Homer Simpson choke (sadly, more commonly and tastelessly known as the "rape choke").

It's important to note that while the reaction to a blood choke might be relatively innocuous ("OK, I've been here before, work my defense. Get out or tap....") the reaction to and air choke is typically much more violent and unpredictable ("holy shit, someone's trying to kill me...panic!").

Given that 1) air chokes tend to take longer to apply than blood chokes 2) air chokes require strength rather than technique and 3) air chokes are more likely to damage your partner it should be obvious that blood chokes are superior.

One should also note that depending on a variety of factors, it's possible that a hastily applied blood choke could be an air choke. This most commonly occurs when you haven't put the choke on properly (say in a RNC) and your forearm is across your opponent's adam's apple rather than the side of his neck.

If you find yourself in that situation, don't continue with the choke and risk hurting someone - give it up and try for another submission.

The difference between "stop" and "break"

2009-02-08T07:05:00.000-06:00

by Mike

"Stop" and "break" might seem to be similar commands on the surface, but they are actually separate and distinct things and need to be treated as such. The problem arises when they're used interchangeably.

Break is a command given by a referee that action is to halt and fighters to disengage and prepare to be restarted from a neutral position. Break could be used to signal the end of the round or to allow the referee to restart non-action (stalling, clinch, etc.). When a referee declares "break" the fighters are to disengage and distance themselves from their opponent while awaiting the referee's instructions - whether he's sending a fighter to a neutral corner, calling a doctor to the ring or merely breaking a clinch.

Remember, even while breaking, keep your guard up - you can be sure that you heard the referee's command, you can't be sure that your opponent has. Your opponent may not have heard the referee but did see an opening and he attacks you while you're not defending. This isn't necessarily cheating, especially at the end of a round where someone tries to beat the bell, but instead hears it an launches the attach - which, depending on their reaction speed, might actually come after the bell. You've seen this in matches before. It's not intentional, but definitely illegal and a huge disadvantage for the fighter struck with his hands down, chin up and mouth open. Times like this are what the referee means when he says, "defend yourself at all times."

Another point about "break" to keep in mind is that if you're on top of an opponent (in BJJ say), or you're releasing a submission hold, to let go of it slowly. If your opponent is resisting the hold, they're likely to be using all their might and to suddenly let go of the hold could cause injury.

Stop is not often heard in boxing matches, but rather in MMA events or in class. The order to stop means to cease your actions, but remain in the same position. In an MMA match, this could be used by the referee to indicate that they are going to restart action in the center of the ring and need to make sure the fighters remain in the same position or in class when your instructor is going to point something out to you. In the latter case it might be that you're halfway to a single-leg but are having trouble finishing it and he's going to walk you through the part you're having trouble with. An instructor might also call stop in order for the class to freeze and make sure they're in the proper position they need to be (good posture/stance, etc.).

Just as with break, one should maintain a sense of where they and their opponent are, just in case your opponent doesn't hear or respond to the command.

Now you can see the difference between these two terms and have a sense of when it is appropriate to use them in class and in the ring ("stop" and "break" could both be used in the course of training, for instance, shouting "stop - check your stance" to make sure everyone is keeping up with their technique during a round and then ending the round with "break!"). Hopefully this will make your training more productive and less confusing (especially if you decide to make the transition from merely training to competing!).

Preworkout hydration

2009-02-01T11:03:00.005-06:00

by Mike

Dehydration is one of the more dangerous parts of training (or any exercise, really), yet drinking water is often looked down on in many gyms - a holdout of the old-school toughguy days.

The Grappler's Guide to Sport Nutrition tells us that dehydration is be a serious bogeyman, and

can lead to increases in perceived exertion and central fatigue, a reduction in plasma volume (blood volume), decreases in sweat rate and cooling, decrease in mental performance, a decrease in fine motor skills and precision, and a decrease in endurance and work capacity.

Obviously, avoiding dehydration is something that is both necessary and easier said than done (and hydration during a workout is another subject entirely), but one of the best ways to cut down on the effects of dehydration is to make sure you're properly hydrated before going into the workout. Now, how should one do that?

The American College of Sports Medicine suggests:

To avoid or delay the detrimental effects of dehydration during exercise, individuals appear to benefit from fluid ingested prior to competition. For instance, water ingested 60 min before exercise will enhance thermoregulation and lower heart rate during exercise (34,56). However, urine volume will increase as much as 4 times that measured without preexercise fluid intake. Pragmatically, ingestion of 400-600 ml of water 2 h before exercise should allow renal mechanisms sufficient time to regulate total body fluid volume and osmolality at optimal preexercise levels and help delay or avoid detrimental effects of dehydration during exercise.

A-wuh?

Basically: drink 12-20 oz. two hours before a workout to ensure proper hydration (and still have enough time to take a leak and get rid of any excess).

The knuckleheads then ask: How do I know if I should drink 12 or 20? Well, that depends: how much do you sweat? How hard are you working out? Do you get terribly thirsty during/after the workouts? Do you need to run to the bathroom in the middle of the workout for fear of wetting yourself in the middle of a round? Aka, experiment.

Even if you think you're properly hydrated before a workout, be sure to follow the above guidelines to make sure that you're "topped off" and you'll have one less thing to worry about during training.

CC-licensed flickr photo by lanier67.

What is the best martial art?

2009-01-26T06:49:00.000-06:00

by Mike

Stick around long enough in martial arts (like, long enough for people to find out that you are a martial artist) and you'll get this question.

There's really no way to answer this one without it being a total cop out - at least not if you want to get out of the conversation anytime soon. Without getting into the "well, if you want to learn boxing...boxing. If you want to drop the kids off so you can get a couple hours of quiet a week...whatever's closest. If you want to 'fight UFC'...anywhere where I don't have to put up with you, etc." you 've only got one real and legitimate answer:

The best martial art is the one that does what you need it to when you need it to.

Without getting all metaphysical or annoying philosophy-student on you, it's not only possible but likely that what you think you need (i.e. want) and what you need are two different things.

Granted, what you need it to do could be anything from preparing you to be a well-rounded fighter for your amateur MMA debut, provide you with a positive atmosphere and camaraderie for your attempt to get (and stay) in shape, or to give you the presence of mind to stay calm save yourself and your husband from armed house invaders. What you need may change over time - hopefully you'll be active in martial arts long enough that you see this changing - I know at least one guy who started training because he thought it was fun, but it ended up providing a focus for him while he quit his alcoholism.

Now, you'll note that what you "need" isn't necessarily the same thing as what you "want."

Or you could just say, "I dunno, whatever those UFC guys do seems pretty good" and point them to How to Choose A Martial Arts School.

Homework: left hook to head, right straight to the body

2009-01-25T09:27:00.005-06:00

by Mike

So, you've got a homework assignment this week, given to you by none other than Bas Rutten. During the Affliction 2: Day of Reckoning match between Vladimir Matyushenko and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Bas saw one of Minitoro's combinations (right cross to the body, left hook to the head) and decided to improve it:

Left hook to the head, right straight to the body - for sure going to be a hit, esepecially if he blocks that left hook, that right straight's always a hit. Try it out in sparring, you'll be amazed.

So? Give it a go. Let us know how it works.

Mailbag! Too many rules

2009-01-19T06:28:00.000-06:00

I get caught in class from time to time "breaking the rules" my instructors have been known to say "Hey, this is boxing only, you can't throw a backfist!" "Hey, this is kickboxing, no sheilding and kicks above the waist only!", etc.... How or where can I find out the rules to all the different styles we use?

-The Bear

While one might think that knowing the rules and regulations of a given style would be the responsibility of the student, many times instructors don't explicitly describe the rules of a given contest, which can be pretty difficult for new students (whether new to martial arts or new to a given style). This is especially annoying nowadays when most everyone is cross-training and often switching between multiple styles within a single class.

1. For starters, check out the rules compendium. This will tell you the official rules for a given governing body. If you're not competing, you'll be able to skip a lot of the sanctioning/regulatory information, but be sure to read the allowed techniques/fouls section.

2. The ultimate responsibility for students knowing the rules lies with the instructor. There's no harm in asking the instructor to go over the rules before a sparring session to make sure that everyone's on the same page and someone doesn't think that boxing includes a single-leg takedown (true story!). This is a good opportunity for instructors to let people know house rules ("no leg locks for white belts," "don't hurt anyone - if you hit them and they look stunned, stop and make sure they're OK. If they need to, take a break, of they're OK...hit them again")

To be sure, inaccurate or vague rules don't just happen in class - I've been in rules meetings where the entirety was, "We're basically gonna do UFC rules tonight." I won't get started on that, but instructors/promoters please, make sure everyone knows the rules, even if that means repeating yourself.

CC-licensed flickr photo from parhessiastes

Review: Fight Gear Bomber Headgear

2009-01-12T06:49:00.000-06:00

One-Liner: Excellent headgear!

Overview:

Before we get into the review of this headgear, make sure you understand why it's a good idea to wear headgear.

Fight Gear's Bomber Headgear is a great piece of equipment. Unlike some headgear, the padding actually helps out with softening shots while still letting you know you got hit. There's an odd little multi-way velcro adjustment in the back that makes sure you can find a tight fit that won't slip around during the middle of a round.

I don't know that the "cool max" lining helps keep you that much cooler but if you sweat it up, I can tell you that it stays slimy and clammy longer than other headgear. But that's neither here nor there because the headgear is MACHINE WASHABLE! Hot damn. Toss it in the washing machine, let it air dry (it can take awhile, so let it sit out on your off-day) and you've basically got new headgear.

The Bomber's durability is great - mine's lasted a couple years and held up nearly perfectly. The only complaints are some of the stitching across the badge on the forehead is unraveling and the hole I use in the chin strap is stretching a little. These are relatively minor concerns and I expect to get a lot more use out of this thing with no problem.

One thing I was pleasantly surprised to find out (yet kind of disappointed at the same time) was that this headgear actually absorbs some of the impact of incoming punches. Unlike other headgear that generally merely protects against headbutts and cuts (and possibly turns not-entirely-flush shots into glancing shots) this headgear actually saved me in a competition - my opponent had me on the ropes and as I tried to swivel out of the way he caught me flush with a stiff cross. I immediately thought "M*therf*fuck, hands up! Waitasecond...wtf? Why am I still standing?" My opponent was apparently thinking the same thing, which gave me a second to finish moving and win the round. Thank you, Bomber head gear!

The Good:

Machine washable! You have no idea how happy this makes your training partners.
Unlike some "stiffer" headgear that merely takes glancing blows and turns them into nothing, this actually has a bit of padding that will take some of the sting off of flush-on punches. Not a substitute for keeping your hands up.
Great value for price.
Velcro adjustment on the back makes sure it will fit your deformed noggin.

The Bad:

The chin strap holes can be hard to find on your own and can stretch after repeated use. You may need to have someone help you put it on (or have to leave the chin strap and undo the back velcro).
Seems to randomly unravel some of the seams (especially the "badge" on the forehead), but this hasn't affected performance in the year-plus I've had mine.
Not suitable for amateur boxing competition, so you'll need to go back to the stiff, leather stuff sometime.

Recommendation:

Excellent headgear that will stand up to years of use in the gym.

How to knock out Wanderlei Silva (or other straight-on brawlers)

2009-01-07T21:12:00.006-06:00

by Mike

UFC 92 was a sad event for Wandy's fans, but Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's knockout of Silva was nothing short of awesome, especially when you see it as a supreme use of tactics.

A bit of history: the first two fights between Rampage and Wanderlei (Pride 28 and Pride: Final Conflict 2003) ended poorly for Jackon, with him getting brutally KOd in both. The main difference in Jackson's strategy seemed to be: don't try to fight on your terms, instead play into his strengths.

The first thought, of course is, "why in Christ's name would you want to play into Silva's strengths? That's asking for a knuckle sandwhich and a nap in the middle of the cage!"

Check this, though: when's the best time to punch someone? When they're punching. Timing single strikes can be difficult though, so counter into their combinations.

Why into?

If there's ever a time for them to be sloppy, this is it. It's easy for even normally-technical fighters to become sloppy: they tend to let their hands come loose, their mouths open and their chins up. They're also likely to be off balance and are mentally or physically set into their combo so they can't change course in the middle and defend, or even notice that you're standing there, returning blows. If there's ever a time for you to hit someone, this is it.

Countering into combos is a very difficult thing to do, no doubt. It requires highly developed timing, distance, observation and confidence in your defense. A good chin is also necessary in case you miss some of your calculations.

What's a smart way to develop this skill without getting clobbered round after round? Like most other skills, it's really a 4 step process.

Mitt drills. Like most other skills, mitt drills are the place to get the basics down. Pick a pattern where your partner is attacking and build in places for you to counter.
Partner drills. Same as above, but with your sparring gear. This is an excellent drill for all involved - the uke gets to work on tightening up on their game as well as seeing where potential holes in their technique are. After a few rounds with different partners, countering into combos doesn't seem quite so scary anymore. Helpful hint: work with combos of 5 or more techniques at first, counter between the 4th and 5th. Then work your way down until you're confident getting them between "jab" and "cross" (or for local-circuit MMA guys: between "left wild-ass hook" and "right wild-ass hook").
Assaut a teme: Like any other new skill you're working on, have one person work a specific combo into your sparring. When they throw that combo, counter into it. This will get you in the habit of seeing combinations coming while still giving your partners the ability to defend themselves.
Sparring. This is where it gets fun (and scary again). First priority: observe their timing and tendencies. Second: making them regret attacking you.

You'll know you've developed this skill when your sparring partners refuse to attack you anymore. They might come in for one or two long-range attacks and then back out, afraid of getting caught when they're weakest. Next up are mastering the skills of cutting off the ring and engaging the timid.

Heart-breaking .gif from Fight Report.