The Post-Contact Plan (diary entry)

29.07.13

Today’s private lesson was a one-to-one focusing on mixed martial arts. Most of the training took the reverse engineering approach and began with sparring. We broke up the session into boxing, kickboxing, clinch with striking and then some positional training on the ground.

Boxing brought up the importance of the jab. Just about everything comes off this when you are at stand-up range. The hands are the most dextrous natural tool we have to use and manipulate the fight. The jab sets up rear hand strikes, kicks and grappling attacks. Being a mixed martial artist it is important to have a pliable yet solid general base to launch all attacks. I teach my students to look commonality where possible in techniques. Rather than getting bound up in the final stage of an attack, look towards options in each available position. Therefore dropping from the opponent’s eye line to deliver a low jab can be exactly the same position a fighter might use to shoot in a low line takedown.

Pioneering Prussian war strategist Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke famously said "No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength". Former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world Mike Tyson expressed it in layman’s terms: “Everyone has a plan until they punched in the mouth”. Therefore, a typical example might be that you feel an opponent is weak for a low level attack. You suddenly drop down. Within milliseconds you need to decide whether that low attack warrants a jab to the mid-section or double leg takedown. What’s his stance like? You need to be able to change immediately. Obviously your timing is going to be affected if you haven’t decided on one of these two attacks before you dropped down, but you also need to have the other one as your plan b depending on how the attack goes.

Kickboxing raised the importance of combining techniques. Again, I am big believer in small combinations for practical value and larger combinations for attribute training. Obviously the smaller variety was on the menu when it came to sparring. This leads us onto predicting an opponent’s moves, especially between strikes. Good kickboxing harmonizes hands with feet. Many clubs and individuals fall into the trap of separating these areas rather than combining them from the beginning. Although there are definite benefits in studying boxing and kickboxing in isolation, I do not see a lot tactical advantage in studying kicks alone. Many schools of karate, taekwondo and similar strike-based arts do this due to the nature of their objectives. MMA and muay Thai need punches and kicks to be combined, along with knees and elbows.

Clinch work was different from conventional muay Thai clinch, which largely focuses on neck-wrestling with knee strikes and some elbow work. Our sparring was more wrestling based with strikes and takedowns. This highlighted taking control from both angles and down the centre. These are universal principles that can be applied to all ranges of the fight. I also emphasized the importance of relaxing, which is not easy when you are sparring.

Finally we transitioned through top pins and looked at various arm-locks.

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR TWO UPCOMING ARTICLES:

CCMA casts its sceptical eye of self-help and the martial arts. After that we take a dispassionate look at the "McDojo".