tallgeese

Detailed to range for the week . Got to spend the day training with the rilfe and sub-guns our dept. issues. Lots of fun, plenty of rounds down range. After that: free roll 30 min sparring of various sorts, 4 min rounds for another 30 or so

Today- warm up- stick work in air for 5 min crossfit (mod.) 15 shoulder presses- 95 lbs. 1 pull up 13 sp's 3 pu's 11 sp 5 pu 9 sp 7 pu 7 sp 9 pu 5 sp 11 pu 3 sp 13 pu 1 sp 15 pu Had to break down the pull-ups at the higher reps. Sets of 5's or less usually past 9. Cool down- knife work 5 min

Bummer, and it's tough to deal with. First up, I'd try to find a couple of unoffical training partners to work with outside of class. Those are actually some of the best partners I've worked with over the years. If you can find some one willing to do an info swap it's even better. After that, I'd see if you have a place to set up a makeshift training facility. It's now time to go Rocky Balboa on your training. Hang a heavy bag and start a daily regimine. Next, get a couple of 2 by 4's that are a foot or so long. You'll need to cut some closed cell foam that you can get from wal-mart. Double stack this and lock it down to the entire face with duct tape. Now lag bolt these into the nearest wall stud. One at lower leg height and the other at head height. Now you have a great set of tools to work everything from low line kicks and knees on the lower to punches and elbows on the top. Combo work on these can do wonders. They also allow you to trap and strike off the targets. Just don't hit the bolts. If you can hang a double end bag it's a pretty good option too. It lets you work upper body motion and accurcey and can be set up in suprisining little space. After that, it's about conditioning. Lot's of shadow boxing will be good. Try to set up specific skills to work on during each round and work hard. If you do weapons, work in the air can be acceptable if you just can't find a partner. Just remember to actaully work on skills rather than just slice through imaginary ninjas . That seems to happen to me from time to time. Of course, if you're into kata, you'd focus on that during this time as well. After that, rope jumping, running, weights, ect. Keep the warrior mindset all the time, it's easy to let it slip if you're not throwing down with other guys.

Today- crossfit (modified) 20 minutes continous with the below rotation: 12 alt. lunges 15 glut/ham sit ups 15 goodmornings 15 pullups (had to do sets of 5) 15 dips On an unrelated note: bushido man, drop me a PM when you get a chance and let me know if that focus mitt stuff i sent you was helpful or not.

I can understand where you're coming from, and I respectfully disagree. The game has evolved considerably since it's inception. Take a look at the first few UFC's. The skill level of the athletes was nowhere near as good as it is now. No one was cross-training and everyone was preaching "their style". Now, we have fighters training in JJ, MT, wrestling, ect. Now, someone will naturally have a range they excel in, but they are also versed in other aspects of the fight game. If nothing else, it has shown everyone the value of cross-training. Even the most die-hard BJJ'er will practice with a MT coach. I agree, i f someone is doing BJJ or MT, then they should just say it. If they are practicing all aspects of the game, and training to integrate them, then they should say they are training MMA. Something has changed when you put those arts together within a methodogy of training. It's now a different animal than when each functioned alone.

Yeah but my point is that everything is always changing and moving forward. As to the MT, BJJ movements used in MMA, I'm sure that the aspects that Yamaguchi took out of pau kau to use in goju were always thought of as kung fu before that. And the hard elements that he took out of karate probibly were always thought of as being Japaneese. These things happen as arts evolve. You can call it whatever you want, but mma is coming into its own as something that is taught exclusiveley at schools around the country. Focus may be give to one aspect or another on any given night, but it's all coming together. Remember, I said that it's evoloving into an art, not that it's there yet. Of course not all mma fighters will look the same. Each will have certain aspects of his game that his physiology is more adept at performing. This is the case across the gambut of ma's. The differences may be more profound in mma, but the core idea is the same. Again, just my thoughts. Sorry if I got some of the goju history wrong, I haven't been involved directly with it for some time.

No prob, bushido man. First, yes it's a thai style kick on that one. Off the lead leg, you sacrifice power, but it's still a good shot for what we're talking about here, definatly under used. Second, no just putting the kick on the shin will suffice. I'd reccomend the holder wear shin pads as contact does tend to escelate. If you go without them, you can see how the front kick to the shin can change the opponats body position. It can be very instructive, but you're partner won't like it much if you continue to hammer away at his unprotected shin . This can be a great opener as it does draw the bad guys guard down. Todays workout- crossfit (modified) 3 rounds of: Deadlift by 5 reps 10 burpies legs 3-2min rounds of shadow boxing round 1- focused on closing to infight range round 2- infight w elbows and knees round 3- worked folding strikes thru combination

Today- 5k

Certainly. First off, the books are fantastic source material. Second, Downey is an excellent actor. Should be good with the right script.

I agree, these definatly serve as distractions, but I like the concept of attempting to debilitate the opponant as well. As far as some of the strikes you're working on here's a couple of things I would try to put together. Again, there's a high likelihood that you're using these alreay, but just to brain storm- jab, cross, front kick to shin (reverse w kick first as well) lead leg shin to quad,immediate cross (add lead hook later) lead jab, slide to lead side, lead hook jab,cross,hook,hook, uppercut (or just jab,cross, upper) backfist (or hammer w lead), rear hook, lead uppercut jab, cross, lead elbow, upper cuttin elbow off of rear hand Just some thoughts give the weapons you described. If you're carful, and have a good partner, you can work some grab and knees with mitts as well once you close.

Of course, I the cop dosen't show he's usually looking at a nasty-gram of some sort for the SA's office at least (not that I'd know first hand or anything ).

Yes, I try to always punch cross-mitt, for exactly the reasons you described. IT does train you to work as much hip rotation as possible with each strike. I try to even work upper cuts in that manner. If I can design the drill to function off of that basic configuration I do.

A lawyer will probibly increase your chances of being able plead them out with supervision, but you'll probibly still have to eat a guilty verdict. Just a tip, always go to court even if you're on your own. You never know when the officer won't show up. If that happens, the tickets will generally get dismissed. At least where I'm from.

Hey bushi, As far as mitt work goes I try to do most all of it based out of combinations. The exception would be working on reactionary timing by having a mitt holder move in fight mode and feed out a single mitt. The idea being to have the student react as quickly as possible to strike the mitt. I work mainly the jab with this drill since it's the stike most commonly used to explode quicky across the gap. As far as combinations go, I try to do them all from moving. Maybe a few reps stationary just to get the movement, after that I want the holder moving as if we were sparring. I like settin up combos that flow naturally together so maximal power is generated in each. I also have the mitt holder "attack" occassionally with the mitts to make me remember to defend. This can be by punching with the mitts, kicking, or attempting a takedown. I also try to make sure I'm throwing kicks while workin g the mitts as well, this makes me train to integrate the two during fighting. There's also alot of good in the idea of having the trainee on the mitts move in behind his shots and attempt takedowns and joint controling movments. I sent you an e-mail with an article I'm workin on that has more detail. Let me know if you got it.

I wouldn't rely on a single strike ever knocking someong out, that being said, I see what you're getting at. I'd have to say the top choice for me is a flurry to the head, making sure a couple of the shots are hooks. This tends not only to raise the guard but also allows the defenders elbows to drift out as the bend forward slightly. Then thow the uppercut off the back hand. It's worked pretty good for me. A second would be shin kick low w/ power and drop the cross immedtately. It's also caught a few guys for me with good results.

crossfit- 100 pull ups (got 5 sets of 10, 2 sets of 5, then had to go to assisted. Finished in sets of 10) 100 push ups 100 sit ups 100 air squats bicep workout, one set of other rows for the back, but I was pretty blasted already on this

The art does lend itself to these types of demos just based on the dynamic nature of its movements. Other arts, such as some small circle joint systems don't translate as well to this type of thing. Don't stess too much though, there's this stuff out there in every system. I can't count the number of times I've watched some guy out of a Japaneese art slice a watermelon off someones head with a sword and such. It's all rather silly, no matter what art it comes out of. I'm all for demos and stuff to get people into your doors if you're a comercial operation. But I think you should at least show people what they're getting into, not some over-hyped version of flashy movments.

Try ice, compression, and elevation. Stick to the basics. You can dose up advil or ibuprophen up to 3 advil, 3 times per day, for 3 weeks. This will gt you to the appointment. That amount of advil will be equal to an anti-inflammitory that you could get via perscription like vioxx or celebrex. Not a doctor or anything, just had bad knees for a while .

Tonight- reviewed ankle lock/heel hook series-15 min free roll-35 min or so mitt training to locking and or ground and pound, choice -30 min

Adopted by it, yes. Hence, evolution. Most guys are cross trining in all that stuff. I don't see it as incorrect, still it's only my opinon.

Man, this makes me feel old.

In response to the reuleset v. system question posted a slightly lenghty bit. I'll copy it over to here: I see Jim's point and I really do think that in the early days that was entirly true. It was merely a rules set. I think that right now, were in a transitionary period were it is developing into it's own art as bushido man stated. It will be interesting to see where it comes out. I think in 10 years or so, it will be clearly definded as it's own system. Anytime a systematic fighting proctice functions under a specific set of rules, for long enough, it begins to become it's own animal. Movements are dropped from the cirriculum that don't work within the ruleset it's functioning under. Others are added to capitalize on the rules. This becomes kind of a standard for the "system" if you will. MMA has already come into it's own in regard to training methodology, conditionng, and event specific tactics. This will only continue. It is really not unlike (nor is it entirely like, I understnad that) the process by which Funikoshi brought modern karate into being. Different skills, of course. But the process of change and additions of sparring and such that Funikoshi began teaching seemed to do much the same to the karate world as mma has done for the ma world in general. System gets a bad rap from lots of circles, including one's i've been party to over the years. It can become a constraining factor in learning new skills and it does add an artifical element to an entirely chaotic event (unarmed combat). However, we have to look at "system" for what it really should be, nothing more than a systemized method of teaching one to fight. A system should grow with the addition of new knowledge to it's practitioners, and this is where so many have gone wrong over the years, IMO. But at it's core, it's merely about an organized pattern of training. Under this criteria, mma has certainly come a long way during it's short lifespan. Not only is the training higly "systemized" but is also very effective for producing combatants quickly with a moderate level of skill. As you can see, under this viewpoint, becomeing a "system" is not a bad thing. So is it an art? Maybe not yet. But it's certainly showing the signs of becoming one.

Excellet question. I'd like to think that I'm training to gain the highest level of combative readiness that my physiology will allow. Pretty stock answer, huh? The thing is, I know I can't really do that. Family comitments, work, ect. So, in reality, I'm probibly trying to reach my physiological combative peak within the constraints of a 40 hour work week, and the time demads of a family of 4 (and of course my love for burritos ). Of course, all of this is on a sliding rule. I probibly won't have the sheer athletic ability 5 years from now that I do now. Still, I hope to be trying to stay near the upper percentiles. In terms of sd preparedness. As far as specific goals, I've found I've had to be much more focused on what I'm training now with my time constraints. I can't just go shadowbox for instance. I need to pick something and really work it during that time frame. I've actaully found that triaining smarter has help my skill continue to progress well. I wish I had figured it out 10 years ago when I had more time to throw into the ma's. I guess youth really is wasted on the young.

True, it limits the bad guys avanues of attack. However, it also limits your routes for escape and lets them press you with weight of numbers. Unless no oter option exsisted, I'd keep moving in open space.

I see Jim's point and I really do think that in the early days that was entirly true. It was merely a rules set. I think that right now, were in a transitionary period were it is developing into it's own art as bushido man stated. It will be interesting to see where it comes out. I think in 10 years or so, it will be clearly definded as it's own system. Anytime a systematic fighting proctice functions under a specific set of rules, for long enough, it begins to become it's own animal. Movements are dropped from the cirriculum that don't work within the ruleset it's functioning under. Others are added to capitalize on the rules. This becomes kind of a standard for the "system" if you will. MMA has already come into it's own in regard to training methodology, conditionng, and event specific tactics. This will only continue. It is really not unlike (nor is it entirely like, I understnad that) the process by which Funikoshi brought modern karate into being. Different skills, of course. But the process of change and additions of sparring and such that Funikoshi began teaching seemed to do much the same to the karate world as mma has done for the ma world in general. System gets a bad rap from lots of circles, including one's i've been party to over the years. It can become a constraining factor in learning new skills and it does add an artifical element to an entirely chaotic event (unarmed combat). However, we have to look at "system" for what it really should be, nothing more than a systemized method of teaching one to fight. A system should grow with the addition of new knowledge to it's practitioners, and this is where so many have gone wrong over the years, IMO. But at it's core, it's merely about an organized pattern of training. Under this criteria, mma has certainly come a long way during it's short lifespan. Not only is the training higly "systemized" but is also very effective for producing combatants quickly with a moderate level of skill. As you can see, under this viewpoint, becomeing a "system" is not a bad thing. So is it an art? Maybe not yet. But it's certainly showing the signs of becoming one.