The regular heel hook twists the ankle medially. The opponent's leg is entangled to prevent him from escaping the hold. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
General Lesson
The problem with focus mitts is that you can all-too-easily get carried away with them. There are many ways to approach target training and I feel they are an essential part of developing strikes. However, they can have some counter-productive side effects. This is why working directly with another fighter is very important. Therefore, we directly applied some of the previous weeks’ combinations. I noticed that several students were having problems with target acquisition. This justified my initial concerns. Movement also needs addressing and I will look into some footwork exercises soon.
We then looked at the clinch and securing the double under-hooks. This position is essential for in-fighting. We looked at securing it in response to a striking attack, utilizing the cover. Then we started exploring the different options for takedowns.
The class was finished with a few rounds of MMA sparring and then a warm-down.
Private Lesson 1 – Mixed Martial Arts
We began the lesson some basic clinch warm-up exercises. This started with “bulling”, which works the collar-tie position. We then moved onto grip fighting, which prompted the theme for the rest of the lesson: angles of attack. I looked at ways to off-balance opponents by using a 45 degree angle of attack. This followed on from last week’s Thai clinch position, where you control the head and arm. We then took this onto further development on the Thai pads and the resistance band.
We then went to the ground followed the theme by using the scissor guard. From here we introduced striking from the back position, which is not often taught in MMA. As an aside, I covered the heel-hook, which is a very strong counter to the scissor guard.
The lesson was finished with “The Bodyguard Game”, a two-on-one exercise that promotes striking from angles. It was my hope was that all the various drills and exercises today put across the importance of taking advantage of offset an opponent and using the 45 degree angle whatever position a fighter finds himself in. Whether we are fighting from stand-up, clinch or ground, angling your attacks and counter-attacks gives you a distinctive advantage over facing anyone head-on.
Private Lesson 2 – Self Defence
We began with some impact development work. Using a resistance band we worked on the straight, hook, rear elbow and backhand strikes to offline targets. After overloading these individually on the focus mitts using the band, we looked at whether there was any increased impact.
We then returned to the ground and looked at defence using the guard. Generally the best response here for self-defence purposes is getting the feet into the hips in order to get back to the feet. If this is not immediately accessible then the defender needs to look at sweeping/turning the attacker. All of this is aided by striking and various simple anti-grappling tactics.
The lesson’s fitness ordeal consisted of the spraw/knee burpee. The sprawl is an excellent defence against lowline attempts to take down or pick up the defender.
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