08.07.12
Juniors
Today we moved back onto positioning. All exercises were focused on actions coming from certain postures. We began with striking to focus mitts then we used the postures for single and double leg takedowns. This was done from the following postures: kickboxing, wrestling, combat base, butterfly guard and from the back (snaking and close guard). Each of these postures was interrupted with a break fall or sprawl. I did this to overload the action to “stance-up”. The student has to quickly recover from a full body motion like a fall or a sprawl in order to assume the right posture. Going to the ground we looked at making the guard positions more active – drilling appropriate sweeps. The class finished with some MMAsparring and then a warm-down.
Seniors
Overlapping the warm-down with the juniors, the seniors engaged in several explosive specific movements for their warm-up. This included jumping from a kneeling position to standing and sprawl/medicine ball throws. We then focused on some stand-up to compliment last week’s grappling-only class. This began with some flash-pad work. I love to use flash-pad work as a basis because, like sparring, it prompts raw and instinctive responses I can refine and build on. We then did some rounds of mirrored footwork only (where the student mimics the coach’s movements), interspersed with some speed-only straight hand strikes, hook hand strikes and uppercuts.
We then moved onto kicking and knee strikes. We focused on developing the push kick or teep from muay Thai. This was combined with a jab, working a seesaw movement to increase speed in the kicking delivery. Knee strikes also brought in some elementary clinching from the plumb position. The lesson finished with some clinch sparring and then a warm-down.
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