CCMA Self-Protection - Anti-Grappling and HIIT (diary

01.08.13 We continued with our progression of CCMA’s basic self-protection programme. This began with a revision of pre-emptive strike line-ups, incidental combinations, transitions through postures, transitional kicks and the cover. My client’s new material was anti-grappling, having reached the hypothetical of a conflict where the range has deteriorated to gripping. Once again, it is vital that student is mindful of the strategy to escape and not to become embroiled in our natural instinct to grapple, particularly if we are being grappled. This is done by using a drill where the student is encouraged to strike whilst being grappled. Here he learns to hit whilst being thrown off balance and his tactics are geared towards having the grappler let go in order to protect against the relentless uninterrupted flow of strikes.   However, range can make striking not that effective when a person grapples in tight, so the defender needs to consider other options before he can return to his primary counter-attacking tools. As Mo Teague advises, “go for the eyes”. The eye gouge is a good equalizer and you have a better chance of dealing with a stronger grappling adversary using this tactic if you are not a very experienced clinch-fighter. This was then combined with head-butts and elbow strikes. Next we looked at biting as a method for creating gaps. Finally we covered the sprawl.   The session was finished with fight-specific tabata. This is a form of High Intensitiy Interval Training. The client completed 8 x 20 second rounds of the following at high intensity.   Sprawl/Knee Strike Shadow Boxing Press-up/Strike Shadow Boxing Side Raise and Hook Strike Shadow Boxing Knee Drops Shadow Boxing Relevant Article: Combat Grappling Resources: All You Need to Know About HIIT Training