Striking (Photo credit: parhessiastes)
General Lesson
Today I allowed my junior brown sash to take the class under my supervision. Here I was able to take a supporting role and help guide him, and pay more attention to individuals. I was able to check on finer details. My appointed coach decided to allow for a democratic decision on tonight’s area of study. Takedowns were singled out.
He began by using the 20% resistance improvised throw exercise. This is where one student stands in the middle of a circle and is clinched by different members of the class who he then takes down with the appropriate technique. He then covered highline and midline takedowns. This consisted of the major outer-reaping throw, the headlock takedown and the rear waist-lock takedown.
I concluded the lesson first with a demonstration given by senior members of the takedowns and then some takedown wrestling sparring.
Private Lesson 1
We warmed up with techniques. This included jabs, crosses, hooks, upper-cuts, front kicks, round kicks, stamp kicks, push kicks, footwork, rolling weaves and postures. Today’s session consisted of no pad-work whatsoever, the emphasis being on accuracy and movement to actual targets.
We moved onto partner-work to look at angling and speed. One fighter moved around the body of the other first as a completely static human target and then as a target that threw jabs, jab/crosses, hooks and kicks. In this latter instance the human target became a type of slip-bag used ot develop good moving and striking tactics, as well as timing. This was followed with high, mid and lowline clinch entries, focusing on circling and unbalancing an opponent. The lesson was finished with some guard-passing sparring.
Private Lesson 2
We warmed up with blitzing on the focus mitts and tactical escapes. Today we made some decided progress with the aggressive fence. The strikes are coming in harder and faster. I also had my private two clients work the focus mitts for each other, getting a better appreciation on the purpose of the exercise.
We then addressed another area for concern, fighting from the back against a pin. This is not an unlikely position and arguably one of the worst a person can end up in besides being seriously disabled or dead of course. Here the importance of leverage and movement are never more important. Biting, pinching, gouging and striking are good add-ons in the defender’s toolbox, but without understanding how to mechanically move someone off them, the defender is entirely reliant on the person pinning them to not have an above average pain threshold. Bridging and snaking/shrimping are crucial skills in this instance. Then we revised asymmetrical ground fighting.
The lesson finished with responses to weapons. We first covered escape response and then the use of incidental weapons.
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