More Hooks than Hellraiser (diary entry)

18.11.13

General Lesson

We continued with the slipping and rolling theme, bringing in the Tyson uppercut/hook combination. Some of the students also looked at other targets and possible combinations they were able to test under progressive intensity. We also revised the arm triangle from both the slipping entry and breaking away form a neck clinch. We also looked at defending strikes from the guard as the opponent administered overhands and shovel hooks. I covered this in depth during the private lesson that followed. The general lesson finished with a few rounds of MMA sparring.

Private Lesson 1

This class also worked on the slipping and rolling head movements, although being a private lesson we were able to cover more ground and go further in depth. The Tyson combination also brought us onto the liver shot/shovel hook punch. Coming off the angling I am emphasizing, we covered the overhand right.   

We looked at securing under-hooks under pressure and taking the back. This came off the back of the angling attacks. In order to secure a dominant under-hook requires a fighter to use a rolling head movement at close clinch range. We then moved onto the back suplex from Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling, looking at developing upward momentum, driving from the feet to the hips.

The technical side of the session finished with overhands and shovel hooks being delivered inside the guard. Here the defender, holding the guard, was encouraged to use more bobbing and weaving movement. As with the way I reference the opponent’s shoulder to have my clients move tighter in after rolling under a hook, so I used elbow strikes to the thighs as a reference point for my students to attack angles from the guard. From here students can attack with various submissions. We ended the whole sessions with three rounds of MMA sparring. My next session with this private group will look at layering the tactics derived from this theme with specific and progressive sparring.

Private Lesson 2

Our self-defence class concerned itself with the hook and related movements. Debates rage in the self-defence community regarding preferences of techniques. I am of the school that places a preference on striking over grappling when it comes to high risk fight situations. The same school advocates hand striking over any other unarmed attack tools.  My specification stops at straight or hooked hand strikes. This can be dependent on the target and also on the natural preferences of the fighter. I do feel that all foundation students should have an understanding of both types of strike.

The advantage of hooking strikes is what it lacks in the directness offered by straight strikes it makes up for in its angulation. The hook comes from the blind side of the target and, if executed correctly, is hard to see coming. We began from a simple rebound counter-attack, where you strip off a gripping hand and hook with the same hand. This is a tactic taught to me by John “Awesome” Anderson. In truth you are unlikely to break a strong grip entirely with a single hand stripping technique, but the move is more about creating space and the all-important rebound for the hook to be applied efficiently. John is an expert at delivering the short hook from virtually any angle and some incredibly tight spaces. Hooks are a surprisingly versatile technique for both self-defence and MMA.

We expanded the range of the hook to encourage better movement and looked at the backhand/hammer strike. Both work the same muscles in different directions and therefore complement each other by working the retrieving line of force. We also took the opportunity of addressing the tactical objective of a forehand/backhand strike: pre-empting aggressors directly in front and coming in at a blind spot.

This we then covered using rattan canes to help generate more power. By having an object, like a stick, as an extension of one’s arm, the fighter is able to throw more behind a strike. As an added bonus, it helps eliminate an inhibition a fighter might have regarding damaging their hand. We then used kicks to focus more on the torque required in the mid-section to get the right momentum when hooking. Going further afield we used this same torqueing movement to execute a rear hip throw. We completely focused on the core muscles by performing three sets of 45 degree torso rotations, side oblique raises and bicycle crunches.

Finally we brought everything back to the focus mitts to see if more power could be generated from the basic hooking hand strike. I believe this was confirmed with both clients being more aware about engaging their core and moving their head correctly to get maximum power in their circular techniques. This was borne out by the increased impact on the pads despite having expended a lot of energy in the various activities.