Integrating Jeff Chan's Evasive Tactics & Pendulum Kicks into Mixed Martial Arts Personal Training

jamie03066
Jan 30
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

27.01.2026

Martial artists practising tactics and kicks against a red mat backdrop. Text: Integrating Jeff Chan's Tactics. "Read the Blog!" at ClubbChimera.com/Blog. — Explore Jeff Chan's dynamic evasive tactics and pendulum kicks in this insightful blog post at Clubb Chimera.

Mixed Martial Arts Personal Training

In hour three of my client's Mixed Martial Arts Personal Training course, we reviewed material from the Jeff Chan seminar we attended on Monday. Hosted by Cotswold Karate School and one of my clients, Jack Heritage, the seminar featured the former One Championship fighter and YouTube influencer. My clients, including Freddie Gorst, and Ollie Barlow, participated. Tonight, Freddie practised drills from the seminar, followed by two 5-minute rounds of attack versus defense sparring and concluded with one of Jeff's intensive heavy bag workouts.

Two martial artists spar in a gym with wooden floors. One delivers a side kick to the other's side. Observers stand in the background. — Former One Championship Fighter, YouTube influencer and owner of MMA Shredded, Jeff Chan, demonstrates his pendulum low kick/trail kick on CCMA client and owner of Cotswold Karate, Jack Heritage.

Jeff Chan's MMA Style

Jeff Chan has very distinct and idiosyncratic style of fighting for MMA. His early career was in Muay Thai, but he later began widening his stance and working more a longer range when he began his MMA career. It's a style of fighting very different to my approach or any approach I have learned in Mixed Martial Arts lessons, but it comes over as a very pure MMA style. Jeff says the stance-work and low guard is more akin to sport karate whereas the kicks he uses are very much Muay Thai and the upper body defence takes a lot of inspiration from modern boxing styles. However, it is more than the sum of its parts and very much bears Jeff's stamp.

Karate instructor in white gi demonstrates a move with students in a gym. Wooden floor, stack of chairs in background, focused mood. — Jeff Chan with CCMA client Freddie Gorst and Cotswold Karate student

The style works at long range with all the drills beginning with both partners starting with their arms outstretched in front of them, effectively starting out of range. By stepping offline attacks sometimes begin with a single cross. Jeff has stated that he was used to throwing Dutch-style combinations, but switched to throwing single or two-technique combinations in MMA. He moved from shelling defences to more slipping and parrying.

Two martial artists spar; one in a white gi kicks, while the other in black defends. They're in a room with parquet flooring and chairs. — Freddie Gorst drilling at Jeff Chan seminar.

Two men practicing martial arts indoors; one kicking, the other preparing. Wooden floor, stacked chairs, and a fire exit sign in view. — CCMA owner, Jamie Clubb, practising the pendulum kick with CCMA client, Ollie Barlow

One of Jeff's signature techniques is his trail kick, which he lands after stepping offline and after throwing straight punches. He often uses the pendulum action to land his low kicks, allowing him to bounce off the target and then reposition in a pivoted stance.

His evasiveness at distance is achieved by regular angle changing and level changing. For example, he uses a combined shift and crouch step to handle forward pressure.

Two people spar in a martial arts setting. One wears a white gi and black belt, the other in black gear with shorts. Wooden floor, chairs, art. — Freddie Gorst practises one of Jeff's drills by slipping a cross and angling off.

People in a gym practicing martial arts techniques on a wooden floor. Participants wear black and white outfits, focusing intently. — Jeff Chan teaching CCMA owner, Jamie Clubb and CCMA client, Ollie Barlow.

Three men in a martial arts dojo; two spar in black gear, one observes in a white gi. Wooden floor, checkered curtains in background. — Freddie Gorst with Jeff Chan

Two men spar in a gym with wooden flooring. One kicks high, the other blocks with gloves. Blue curtain backdrop. Focused mood. — Freddie Gorst training under Jeff Chan's guidance

Two men in black sportswear spar indoors on a wooden floor, surrounded by stacked chairs. One throws a punch, the other defends. — Ollie Barlow slips Jamie's cross.

Two men practising martial arts; one delivers a high kick, the other blocks. They're in a room with stacked chairs and wooden flooring. — Jamie lands a round kick to Ollie Barlow as they drill techniques at Jeff Chan's seminar

Putting the Style Under Pressure

One aspect of Jeff's approach that I applaud is the way he will show a combination or tactic in theory, either on focus mitts or as a drill, before demonstrating it in live sparring. During the question and answer section, he admitted to always regularly sparring and having the ability to observe something and picking it up pretty quickly. That isn't to say he isn't humble either because he is also happy to show the times he has failed with different approaches too.

I decided the best way to integrate this material after going through the drills we could remember was to use the attack versus defence specific sparring. We tried to not only just avoid an aggressive opponent but also allow them to over-commit, creating opportunities for takedowns.

Two men in black training gear spar in a room with parquet flooring and stacked chairs. One man punches, while the other blocks. Bright lighting. — Jamie Clubb parries Ollie Barlow's jab during a Jeff Chan drill.

Pendulum Kick and Trail Kick

We then took turns to work the pendulum kick (or two-step kick as Jeff calls it) in isolation and then as part of his cross/trail kick set-up.

Intensive Speed and Power Burnout

We finished the session completing Jeff's 16-minute intensive round kick workout. This is on Jeff's channel alternating rounds to speed and power with each round divided into 10 min rounds to maximum intensity.