13.05.09 Diary Entry

May 14th, 2009 by Jamie Clubb

Stand-up grappling Jack vs Alexander in the junior class

Juniors:

Today’s lesson was split into soft skills and hard skills areas. The junior class is normally just very physical and we address the soft skills from discussions at the end of the class. Often the juniors also derive soft skills from awareness activity games like the multi-player version of Strategy One versus Strategy Two. However, this time we had an in depth discussion on the tenets, focusing on “Respect” and how self-respect and be gained through applying your martial arts/self defence training to the rest of your life.

I explained a recent story I heard from an excellent gym, where a young student was getting on great in his martial arts classes, but still being bullied at school. It reminded me of some of my teenage years, where although I wasn’t bulled much – certainly not in comparison to the major bullying problems that were going on at my school – I was a totally different individual at the school than I was anywhere else. The question of being able to apply your martial arts training to everyday life is a factor martial arts teachers take for granted. There are plenty of examples of confident and strong willed people who are a success in their martial arts world and also outside it, but I often wonder whether this is just a core character trait.

 Another factor rarely addressed by the martial arts or the self defence is the likelihood of being attacked. I asked whether there was a big chance of being seriously attacked or small chance. Hands divided the class. After I told them that there was only a small chance, which the honest answer is and often shied away from in many clubs that focus on “fear” marketing, I was happily surprised by some challenging statements. One student explained that it depended on “where you live”. He was quite right, although on the whole and in general you don’t find yourself fending off kidnappers, muggers and thugs on a day-to-day basis. However, if you took on board the attributes and skills found in a martial arts class that lends itself to the “Respect” tenet, in this case self-respect, you will be less likely to be a target for crime and also have a healthier and happier life.

Connecting the two worlds – inside and outside the gym – is awkward. Given that a good number of martial arts clubs resemble a cult in some way, it is little surprising that a lot of children do have trouble applying the character attributes of confidence. Having said that, the gym I mentioned with the problem student is a top class gym that is the antithesis of the cult-like clubs. Part of the process, I feel, for making the connecting is actually addressing that connection. Swap stories of incidents in class, not just relating to bullying, but overcoming obstacles in everyday life. I even challenged the class to come up with a subject they study at school and I would find a strong connection to their training. This week someone mentioned physics. Physics has a very strong connection to our training and methodology. Science in general is important, but specifically physics teaches us the laws of motion and Newtonian physics is particularly applicable understand how to best transfer force in something like a strike. Leverage is also very important in grappling applications.

Here are some examples of applied physics in the TV series “Human Weapon” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_OKIzzgDsU

The hard skills focused mainly on grappling this week. After a high intensity warm-up of specific movements, like footwork, snaking, crawling, sit-throughs and so on, the students practiced their takedowns. They first worked on the entries and then the actual throws using crash mats. We also reviewed break falling. This is such a basic area, but it needs to be instinctive if one is to handle the problem of being unbalanced, taken down or thrown. The class then did some takedown sparring. Next they moved onto groundwork. I reviewed the arm bar and the triangle choke from guard before they moved onto guard passing.

Seniors

The seniors continued with their high intensity plyometric warm-up, focusing on footwork, sprinting, explosive movement going upwards and forwards, sprawling and squatting and kicking. Then it was straight into the fight to do some serious technique quarrying!

This began with three rounds of MMA sparring. Then we followed with multiple aggressor escape drills. This is particularly hard, much like the scramble drill, but it is great for boiling down principles under pressure. Some students found that techniques that would normally do very well in a one-on-one or match fight situation were not always great tactically in a multiple attack situation. Many techniques may “transcend environment”, but the application changes. Case in point, one student fired a very efficient and beautifully executed one-two punching combination, but in the “to and fro” way that occurs in conventional sparring. He was immediately leapt upon by everyone including the person he had struck. Later, by executing correct circular footwork he was able to get to the escape point very quickly. Another student, with a background in rugby, was taken down fairly early, but through a combination of relentless tenacity and continuous movement he made it over the escape line. Another student, and there is always one, took advantage from the get-go and exploded straight out without a finger been lain on him. Looking back on the drill there is a lot of argument for another lesson working on improving movement from various positions. That was the real technique to be quarried from today.

Nevertheless, we focused again on the forward pressure that is found in most offensive tactics in counter-assault. We looked at the various exercises used to build this technique.

Resistance bands (or cable crossovers)

This is perhaps one of the best pieces of kit a martial artist can possess. Resistance bands can be used on most techniques and certainly on high percentage ones. They have their origins in martial arts via Judo, where bicycle inner tubes were used to practice entries into throws. The resistance band can be used to develop a variety of strikes, throws and groundwork techniques if trained correctly. The secret is understand where the powerline lies and to retain the integrity of the technique throughout. By obeying the laws of physics by using resistance bands we self-correct balance, posture and strengthen the full range of technique before, during and after delivery.

Developing an upward angled hook strike using the resistance band

Baseball bat swings Unfortunately we didn’t have the tools for this exercise today, but I recently practiced it at Mo Teague’s gym over the past weekend. It will be part of the Red Flag Day and I intend to organize it as a part of the CCMA functional fitness training. If you swing a baseball bat or similar into a target like a stationary heavy bag for around a minute at high intensity you quickly get a feel for the body mechanics needed to deliver a good strike be it from the arms or legs. To swing a bat at high intensity by just using your arms is tiring work, especially if you are being prompted to hit with maximum force as often as possible, so it won’t be long before you are forced to engage all the muscles needed.

Bag-drop-delay strike Another one from Mo, but this time we were able to use. It involves dropping a heavy bag at the beginning of a strike. This creates the delay and forces you to load up on the strike from the read position. It is crucial to be holding the bag with your hand ready to strike thus preventing the bad habit of pulling the arm back.

Pre-exhaustion This is a bit of reverse thinking to help encourage stronger technique and delivery, so please bear with me as I go into a bit of history. I first encountered pre-exhaustion training in the late ‘90s from controversial bodybuilding instructor, Paul Borresson. Borresson was a big fan of isolation exercises. He noted that a lot of bodybuilders and power-lifters were not giving large muscle areas like their chest and shoulders a sufficient workout. This was because they were doing compound exercises that would wear out their smaller muscle groups like their biceps and triceps before they could target the larger muscle groups. He addressed this by having students focus on demanding up and down pyramid-style isolation exercises for the larger muscle groups, such as flies, until the larger muscle groups were singing and then they would hit the compound exercises whilst the smaller muscle groups were still reasonably fresh. We need to take this thinking into a more specific realm and virtually turn it on its head!

The martial artist wants muscles developed for a single purpose, to better aid them in the deliver of techniques. Unlike the bodybuilder they are not looking to increase size for the purpose of show. Unlike the powerlifter they are not looking to develop it so they can pick up inanimate objects. We are only interested in combative function. An example of using pre-exhaustion to better aid combative function was demonstrated at the end of the class. The students pre-exhausted their biceps and triceps through a series of exercises targeted specifically at the arms. With their arms tired out the students then went into striking the focus mitts. Like the baseball bat exercise, the striker is forced to engage his other muscles to give power to the strike.

Discussion: Gianni is currently featured in Martial Arts Illustrated as a contestant in Martial Edge’s Rising Stars competition. I encouraged the club to get behind him and vote.

Studies in Violence: I have posted a series of links for current and upcoming programmes, lectures and studies into violent and “bad” behaviour. This includes new and old research, as well as sceptical investigations into the results of certain experiments http://www.clubbchimera.com/?p=685

Ockham’s Razor: This is an approach with almost a millennium of history behind it and over time it has been interpreted and applied in many different ways. For the basic purpose of furthering our knowledge in efficient martial arts training, the Razor can be used to discover the simplest method. Everything is effective to some degree, but what is efficient? The Razor shaves off what is not necessary or unduly complicates a matter. However, experience is valid. How are we to research and gain experiences if we just stick conservatively to the line? We deviate off the line to gain certain attributes in our investigations. However, when it is time to get back to what works we shave off what isn’t efficient. This is done through pressure testing. The experiences, however, can leave an impression that will help develop favourable attributes. My example with the pre-exhaustion method would not have been reached if I wasn’t made aware of certain bodybuilding approaches. Nevertheless, the Razor is worth investigating. http://phyun5.ucr.edu/~wudka/Physics7/Notes_www/node10.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/424706/Ockhams-razor