Hooks, combinations, takedown, sweep and a knee-bar (diary entry)

14.01.13

General Class

We had another student-led warm-up, consisting of sport-specific exercises. Then we continued the theme from the previous week, beginning with the fence and then moving onto another power punch from western boxing. The fence drill took the students straight onto the focus mitts. This drill is designed to prompt pre-emptive muscle memory. The coach touches the “sensory tentacle” of the fence and the student responds with an immediate strike to the target until the target is covered and the student can escape.

Hooking punches were taught first as an isolated technique and then from a rolling evasion – sometimes referred to as bob and weaving. It is important to remember not to dip too low in muay Thai or MMA when you perform this type of evasion, as it leaves the striker open to a knee in the face. We finished this section with the flying hook punch. This rather brash technique is comparable to the MMA “superman punch”. I used it to help the students generate more force in their technique.

The class was finished with some MMA sparring and then a shadow-boxing warm-down.

Private Lesson

The lesson began with some agility exercises. This included footwork drills and some ground movement. We then began on some stand-up work. This started with catching jabs. We then countered with an overhand cross. This set up the combination with a waist-lock. We looked at a waist-lock takedown from the side or back and a back suplex. As an alternative, the waistlock set up a single leg takedown.

We moved onto the ground next. Looking at the long guard concept, we covered the hook or De La Hiva guard and performed a basic sweep. It is not uncommon to end up in your opponent’s half-guard when this sweep is performed, so we looked at taking the knee-bar from here.