Jerry

I have fought tournaments with wrapped ankles. Now I have a question ..... I tore the ligaments in my right ankle for a second time now (first time in 2002 3 days after winning gold at our championchips and now again end 2005 when I went skydiving). I am unable to train and thus spend my time at our local gym doing weight traing. It is very sensitive. So my question. Does any one know a way that I can wrap my ankle to minimize impact and blows while fighting? I do Freestyle Kickboxing. Respect.

Yip, cute ... But won't last in the ring though. But who knows, maybe one day thay can be very good.

Congratulations!! And how is it going? You enjoying it?

I agree, it just happens. A "lucky punch or kick". We had a guy in our dojo preparing for a pro fight and some of us had to spar with him to get him focused. He did some jumping kick and kicked me in the face he then punched my mouthguard halfway out of my mouth. I then thought to return the favour and he did a jumping spinning kick which I dodged and ended up with his foot on my shoulder and as i came up I hooked and that was the last thing he remembered for the training evening. One thing I have to say though is that I could actually feel the solidness of the punch landing and I just knew he was going down. But as for advice for a KO, go for the jaw or temple. Temple is very difficult though as where the jaw is easy to access. A nasty kick I use is a front kick, but not to the gut, to the jaw. You are very close when you launch the kick and you can give it some power too. Do be careful not to break the opponant's jaw though, we are all in the same sport and should respect one another even though we do compete. It's not a war it's a sport

I also look at the chest area. But do beware when you spar a woman, it's not nice then to be focussed on the chest, be nice and watch her face, it also gives movement away. As for fighting a bigger/taller guy. We have a guy training with us who is also about 6" taller than me and he weighs about 50kgs(x2.21 for lbs) more. He's a tad chubby, but he's a bouncer so do know that his arms have no fat. Anyway ... I normally stay out of his reach and when I see the gap I move in and land quick three punches and move out. I also catch him when I fake a dip and then jump and punch him in the face. That's what I do, fake going in and he punches, from where I go in and give him some. As for his kicks, believe it or not, I go into them. Seeing that his legs are long (and huge), I find that he has very little power in his legs upon initiation of the kick and therefore I move in, take the kick and then I'm close enough to land another punch or kick myself. My timimg was off once and he almost wiped the floor with me flying accross it ... was fun though

To become aggressive is easy. Just become competative. Taste the win and you will be inspired.

I tore the ligaments (sp?) in my right foot/ankle in September 2002. I started training again (with a slightly sensitive foot) in January 2005. So I would suggest you take it easy for about 3 to 6 months and then go to gym and slowly train that foot/ankle. My injury was to the extend that my doctor told me that I should have rather broken my ankle ... I cycled and ran in the off time, but my ankle is still sensitive though. I also did tae-bo not too loose my technique. Good luck!!

I enjoy running and cycling. The nice thing is that cycling makes you running fit too, meaning that if you can cycle for long(ish) distances you will be able to run a few miles without hassle. It does however not worh the other way around. Building stamina is great. What is the use of having "explosive power" if you can only give it for 2 minutes? I suggest that you cycle for long distances in the likes of 50 miles (80 km) or slightly less. 60km is great to start with (where 1.6km = 1mile). Don't forget the water and energy drink though

And you also stretch the muscle in question very slowly and way beyond it's normal "ability". This helps you to become more flexible. I suggest you use a partner when doing dynamic stretching because you WILL stop when you reach your limit, whereas your partner will push it that little extra.

Skipping rope must be your friend. Also a great workout. But don't worry, you'll get into the thing in 2 or 3 months. It takes time. Keep cycling, drink lots of water and give it your all when you train. enjoy!

Amen!

Pushups generally work more on the chest and biceps. Flip the picture upside down and see yourself doing a bench press. Yes diamond pushups burn those triceps nicely.

Hi Ben, In my personal opinion I think both ways are fine. You'd see the people in the gym do then slow. They would do 3 or 4 sets of 20 or so. In MA we train the body to be robust opposed to having a nice body. Therefore in the dojo we do them relatively fast. Which is great for stamina and ab development. So I say, which ever one you are comfortable with, but try and go faster.

Also remember that you only put power into a punch and kick right before impact. Ensure your knee is raised, like when running a 200m hurdle race, and then keeping in mind that your foot on the ground must turn and swing your leg in and before impact give it power and snap it back. You do not want to kick through the person, but rather into him. Be a puppet on strings.

Relax!!! .... Being tense makes you tired. Relax and focus. In the ring I am very relaxed and it helps a lot with reading my opponants. Consentrate on your technique opposed to knocking the guy out. My trainer (shihan ... spelling?) has showed me how to relax and he is drilling it into us. He personally knocked 14 guys out withing the first two rounds in his pro carreer. His longest fight was sheduled 8 rounds and lasted 7 .. KO .. he wins! Be relaxed and relax your arms and legs when fighting. If you have not yet done so, read Bruce Lee's book - Tao of Jeet Kun Do ... great tips! Enjoy!!