Dragn

Absolutely. Karate has always been so much more than just fighting for me. My experiences in my training effect many aspects of my life and vice versa. There is no separation.

Interesting article. But I would think that some of the changes in boxing techs are not only because of changes in rules, but more due to a natural evolution of technique through experience. I agree that some boxing defences rely alot on the size of the gloves to give you cover. When I compete in Kudo bareknuckle MMA, I find it alot harder to protect myself against punches than when I fight kickboxing rules.

In MT you'd never lace your fingers together. For a start its impossible to do with gloves on! And it dosent give you good controll either. You want to cup 1 hand inside the other with your fingers pointing up behind the back of the head. Push your elbows together and toward him to get your forearms tight round the neck. Push his head forward and down with your fingers. This will give you good controll over his head/neck. It is just one of the clinch positions though. There are a few different ones. Being able to work smoothly through the various clinches against a resisting partner is a real skill which takes ALOT of practise.

Thanks guys. It wasnt my first fight. I've had a few now. I felt like I was getting better at handling the adrenalin each time, but this last fight was like a big step backward. Thats what really got me down. And knowing that in the gym I would have torn my opponent apart, but in the ring I just caved in under the pressure. I watched the fight on tape. Its obvious that my weakness is all in my head. I could have beaten him but for some reason I seemed to loose the will to keep fighting at various times during the fight. When I'm on the attack I'm fine, but when I take a good hit ,or my opponent just keeps comming at me even when I've hit him with a hard blow, it seems to drain my confidence. Towards the middle of the second round I started thinking more about how much time I had to keep going rather than about trying to win. Thats where I really lost it. Came on strong again in the last 20 secs but it was too late. In a way I'm kind of thankfull for the loss. Its made me more aware of the fact that much of my weakness is just comming from a lack of confidence in the face of aggression. Also I just have to focus more on toughening myself mentally when I'm training. Not showing my fatigue or pain, but using it as trigger to push me forward rather than backward. I have to train my fighting spirit every day, rather than just expecting it to be there when I need it. Above all, I need to develop more of a desire to win. Without that burning desire theres nothing to push me through those tough parts of a fight where its tempting to just stop trying. I'm going to train with a fury like never before.

Well so much for all that hard training. I lost. I dunno what happened. One of my worst fights ever. My opponent wasnt even all that good. Just really aggressive. Came at me non stop, and I just fell apart under the pressure. Couldnt think straight. Lost focus.Hesitated, swung wildly,and lost heart. The worst kind of loss. I can handle losing to an opponent because hes a better fighter. Its losing to myself that is so unforgivable.This has been a real issue for me in the past but I thought I had gotten over it. It seems not. I landed some good hard blows and had some bursts of decent combinations, but spent much of the fight backpeddling, and my opponent just kept comming. Its so exasperating knowing I have the skills to do so much better, but laking the mental toughness to back them up. In the ring I'm seldom able to fight to the degree I'm capable of. Of course thats pretty normal. But this time I wasnt even performing at 10% of my ability. Everybody who trains with me expects so much from me when I fight, cause they know how good I am in the dojo. But I rarely produce the expected results. Its a tough pill to swallow.I feel like I really let everybody down.Haaaaaah! Thats full contact for you. It really forces you to face your weaknesses. I guess thats why I do it. Well I'm going to have to really dig down deep to find the inner strength I need to be successfull as a fighter. Its more than just the physical training I need. I have to develop a never give up attitude.No matter what. Both in and out of the dojo. I'll take a few days RandR and get back into it later this week.

Cheers. I've come across some of Ross' material before. Thats where I got the idea for my 2 minute drills. I might order one of his manuals. Aaaaaah what a week. Working morn till night everyday. I managed to squeeze in a little training though. Mon: Shadow 4x2mins Rest 1 rnd Heavy bag 4x2mins Abs/core work, Tues: (dojo) Shadow 3x3mins sparring 3x2mins rest 1rnd heavybag rushes: 20 secs punching, 10 sec break, repeating for 3 mins x 3rnds shadow 1x3mins rest abs Fri: jog 1 km shadow 3x2mins jog 1 km Basically just trying to keep myself loose till the fight now. 2 days to go....

I use them seperately when not training for a fight. on non lifting days, I do plyos. about 4 weeks out from the fight, I do them in conjunction with weights. So, for example, I would do a set of bench presses and immediately follow it with a set of plyometric pushups, creating a superset of the two. Prior to the fight, you want to raise your limit strength. As the fight gets closer, you want explosiveness. Lower the weight some and superset with plyos. Hope you dont mind me asking, but where did you learn this method from? Sounds good. I just like to check out my sources before I take something on. Thanks for sharing.

I agree with you guys actually. Thats why I've been doing 2 min rnds when I'm at home. Today we only did 3x2min rnds of sparring at the dojo. I thought my sensei would have shortened the rounds alot earlier. I guess hes stiil a bit "old school" in some of his ways.

daidojuku.com has some vids. There was a good vid in the Karate section here a while ago, if you do a little searching. I dont think Daidojuku has any branches in the US yet. Dont know about any of the other "shin karate" styles either. I can understand your frustration. I just wouldnt be interested in competing in point rules or kyokushin rules any more. Its just a very different way of fighting. Your best bet is just Sanshou/ Muay Thai/ or amature MMA. Karate in the west seems to be moving in a very different direction to Japan. The influence of kick boxing and MMA is huge here. Traditional dojos are getting fewer and fewer, whereas "Shin Karate" and "Kakutogi" ,or fighting sport dojos teaching a mixture of Karate and kickboxing/submission, are sprouting up all over.

I compete in full contact. One of my first fights was sanshou. I couldnt beleive how sloppy I was! Nerves and adrenalin really have a big effect on you. I hated the combersome gloves, and it was hard to see periferally with the head gear on. A mixture of intense fear and exillaration at the same time. There was no more theorising, no excuses. Just take out the guy in front of you or get beaten down. I actually did OK. Came 2nd in the tournament. But I realised that alot of what I had been taught hadnt prepared me for a real fight. So I sought out a good dojo that could teach me the skills I needed to really defend myself. Now I compete in Kickboxing and Kudo MMA. Every fight pushes me to face all my shortcommings and is a very rewarding learning experience.

Fri morn: aerobic run 5km (run 1k, shadow 5 mins, squats x100, run 4k finishing with steep 50m hill run) Fri eve: Shadow 4x3mins(1 min breaks) heavy bag 4x3mins. Last rnd just rt kick/lft kick kick pads 2x3mins rest 1 rnd heavy bag 2x3mins. !st rnd, rt kicks only 2nd rnd, lft kicks only, finishing with 10 rep kick each leg. shadow 2x3mins. Sat shadow 5 mins strength work out: Elevated push ups/pull ups supersets: 20reps/10reps, 20/8, 20/6 swiss ball core work out. 160 reps Ran out of time so had to cut it short.... Sun 5km run

No, I havent been to any kickboxing gyms that do. I dont know enough about it yet myself. I used to do a little when I was doing wushu, years ago. Are there any exercises you can recommend that would specificly usefull for kickboxing? I've heard conflicting views on when to use them too. Some combine them with with heavy weight routines while others advise doing them separately, as a pre comp training exercise, to replace heavy weights. So I've been hesitant to use them until I can find out more reliable info.

I heard that hes not even the no1 ranked fighter for his weight. So I dont know how he was selected. I dont know if hes even competing in MT in Thailand now. I'm pretty sure hes just training for K1 rules these days. After all its a different "game". No need to practice all that clinching and elbow work. More important to focus on boxing skills. And hes doing a very fine job of it! He was out boxing many of his opponents in the last K1!

2 weeks till fight: Mon (at home) shadow 3x2mins Heavy bag 3x2mins. The last round I just did constant rt kick /rt punch/lft kick, then did straight punches full speed for the last 20 secs. Rest 1 rnd Heavy bag rush training: fast straight punches(1,2.1,2.1,2......)for 20secs, rest 10 secs then repeat. Keep doing this at max effort for 1 rnd. Rest Anaerobic 2 min drill: Jump squats/burpees/pushups/mountain climbers/V ups/run on spot/high jumps/pull ups. Repeat for 3, 2min rnds. Swiss ball core training and back extensions. Tues disaster! I caught a cold! I think a combination of sun burn from my surf trip, and a run down imune system from all the hard training, took its toll. Had to take the day off. I pumped myself full of VC and anti oxidants. Wed: Felt alot better but still a bit weak. Went to the dojo anyway. Medicine ball ab routine Kneesx100 shadow 3x3mins kick pad partner drill.This was a real killer. Both you and your partner wear Thai pads and take turns to kick each other. Rnd 1: lft kick Rnd 2: rt kick Rnd 3: lft kick rt kick. You have to kick straight after receiving opponents kick. So its a constant fast pace. The last minute gets pretty hard. Thats when you need your trainer yelling "encouragement" to keep you kicking at full power. This is a great anaerobic conditioning drill. If you enjoy pain that is! Rest! Heavy bag partner conditioning drills: 1 holds the bag while the other punches. First 1,2 x20 then switch, so the bag holder becomes the puncher. Continue in this fashion through a pyramid drill. i.e. 1,2x20. Then 1,2,1,2x20 Then 1,2,1,2,1,2x20 Then rt hook, lft hook x20 Then rt hook, lft hook x2 x20 Then x3 ( 6 punches) x20 All punches have to be full power with good hip rotation and extension. Dont get too close to the bag. I thought this would be easy because of the rest you get in between sets of combis while you hold the bag. It wasn't! rest I had to teach basics to one of the white belts here for 3 rnds. Yaaay, a break! Sparring: 5x3mins rest 1 rnd Sparring with sempai: 3x3mins I was so exhausted that I forgot to cool down and stretch. Thurs ( dojo ) Still didnt feel up to doing any running yet. medicine ball ab routine knees x100 shadow 3x3mins kick pads 3x3mins. hold pads for partner 3 rnds Tai sabaki drills. 1rnd attack, 1 defence. boxing defence drills, 2 rnds attack, 2 defence. counters against punchig attacks. 2rnds attack, 2 defence. rest 1 rnd sparring: 7 rnds! rest 2rnds Sparring with pro (boxing only) 3x3mins cool down, stretch Feeling exhausted again. I think I'll avoid doing any anaerobic type drills tommorrow and keep it simple.

It varies from day to day depending on my condition. At the dojo I put in about 2and 1/2 hrs + At home I try to keep it shorter and intense, finishing in about 1and1/2~2hrs. Then if I include some running or weights on that day its another hr + Trying to fit all this training in to my busy work schedule is the hardest part! I usually dont train this hard. Only for the last few weeks leading up to a fight. I'm still trying to figure out how to combine my technical/aerobic/anaerobic/sparring and strength training effectively without overdoing it. I dont think I'm pushing it as hard as some of the pros I know though. But then they dont have to work full time.

Haha, that reminded me of the time I tried a front flip when drunk. I overspun and landed right on my face. Broke my nose, blood everywhere. Luckily I was too drunk to be embarrassed! Well at least till they next day, when I woke up with 2 black eyes and a nose twice its usual width.

Well this year Buakaw beat Souwer to win The K1 title. I'm always happy to see a Thai at the top. And he certainly is an awesome fighter. All the K1 max guys are! Its sooo much better than the heavy weight division.

I was 2nd degree TKD black belt before I took up MT and MMA. At first I found alot of bad habits from TKD were messing up my MT. So I really tried to forget my TKD and focus on MT for a while. Once my MT basics got strong I started intergrating some of my TKD kicks into my MT. I find it to be a very effective mix. Fast snappy TKD lead leg kicks can set up power hits and catch opponents off guard. I've found my back kicks and ax kicks to be very effective too. fast triky foot work also helps to set up techs. But If you're going to fight MT you need to use a MT stance and have solid MT footwork. The side on stance of TKD will get your legs destroyed by low kicks. So you have to adapt all your TKD techs to a more square stance. I use about 90% MT now, but my TKD background certainly developed my kicking prowess to a level above my MT peers. It gives me a versatility in my technical ability which enhances my MT skills. I Know of a few other top kickboxers who came from a TKD background too.

Like many others said, I agree that pressure points have their place. In some situations they can be usefull. But If you focus on them too much without first learning how to fight effectively with conventional techs, then you'll never be able to aply points effectively against a resisting opponent. Its hard enough to land a good hard punch to the jaw of a decent fighter let alone worry about exact points and angles. I think they can be studied by advanced martial artists to take their abilities to a deeper level. In my experience arts that focus on points and small joint manipulation without realistic resistance dont produce effective fighters. Learn how to hit hard, and avoid getting hit first, and then refine it as you advance.

lol!

3 weeks before fight: Mon morn: aerobic run, 5k Mon evening (at home): Jump rope 15mins Stretch shadow 3x3mins rest 1 rnd heavy bag 5x2mins. with 1 min breaks. The last round I did "rushes". Just going all out nonstop punching for 30secs, then taking a 10sec break, and repeating 3 times to complete a round. Tues evening (Dojo): Medicine ball ab routine Knees on heavy bagx100. 1 set. shadow 3x3mins kick pads 3x 3mins. For the last round I did a multiple kick pyramid. ie: kick 10 times rt leg then 10 times left. Then 9 times rt, 9 times left...Continuing down to 1 time each leg. So a total of 55 kicks each leg. Then I finished the round with a 30 sec rush of punches. Wow that was hard! Rest 1 rnd. Technique drills 4rnds attack and 4 in defence. Rest 1 rnd sparring 4x3mins. Rest 1 rnd Sparring 3x3mins with pro rest 1 rnd heavy bag 2x3mins. cool down/stretch. Wed morn: anaerobic run: Jog 1km, shadowx2, stretch, run 1.5km, then sprint 200m/jog 200m x4, Then run 1km and finish with a 50m steep hill run. Wed evening (dojo) kneesx 100, 1 set. shadow 3x3mins. kick pads 4x3mins. For the last round I just did punch/low kick combos, non stop. Hold pads for partner, 3x3mins heavy bag 2x3mins. rest 1rnd. Tech drills. 2rnds attack, 2rnds defence. rest 1rnd sparring 4x2mins. rest 1rnd sparring with fresh partners each rnd. 3x3mins. rest Ab exercises x200reps. Thurs even (dojo) Medicine ball ab routine. kneesx100. shadowx3 kick pads x3 Tech drills x2, (feints) Light sparring (no pads) 2x 3mins rest 1 rnd sparring with pro 3x3mins. rest anaerobic conditioning 2minute drills. i.e. perform a nonstop circuit of .... squat jumpsx10 burpeesx10 pushupsx10 jacknivesx10 high knees run 10 secs. Repeat circuit till 2mins is up. Rest 1min, then repeat drill 3 times. Strength training: Superset of rope pull ups/ wide grip push ups.x3sets.( 12reps,10 reps, 8 reps) Rope climb using arms only. (1.5m rope) up and down 3x. cool down/stretch. Fri morn aerobic run 5km. I was starting to feel a bit over trained Fri eve so I took the night off. Sat eve 5km aerobic run. Sun Surf. 1 more week of hard training to go....

Yeah I stopped the weights this week, so I could focus more on anaerobic conditioning without overtraining. Still I was so exausted today that I came home and slept 2hrs after work and didnt make it to the dojo. I'll just do a short bag workout tomorrow and take it real easy on Sunday.

I'm eating 4~5 small meals a day. I've managed to knock 4 kgs off and still feeling strong. I got my 6 pack back, and my stamina is the best its ever been! Feeling really good about this fight.

Good point. Because daidojuku fights are 3 mins we always do 3 min rounds at the dojo. But when I train at home I chose to do 2 min rounds. As the fight gets closer I do 2 min rounds of sparring at the dojo too. There are some things I would do differently if it was just up to me. But at the dojo I gotta do what sensei says. Hes got a whole lot more experience than me, so I aint gonna argue.

I've got an amature kickboxing fight comming up in a few weeks. 2x2min rnds. I was thinking on recording my fight prep training for future reference and figured I should post it on here. That way I might be able to get some feed back too. Please feel free to comment on what you would do differently and why. Mon:(4 weeks before fight) Shadow box 3x3min rnds stretch Weight training (shoulders and arms) Tues: (dojo) warm up/stretch medicine ball( 3kg) ab/ core routine. 100 reps. multiple knees on heavy bag. 50 reps x2 sets Shadow 3x3mins. with 30sec breaks Punch mitts 3x3mins with 30 sec breaks. Rest 1 rnd kick pads 3x3mins with 30 sec breaks. (at the dojo we always use just 30 sec breaks and do either 10 push ups or 10 jack-knives during the break) Each rnd also starts off or finishes with 10 rep multi kicks for each leg. rest 1 rnd technique drills. This usually consists of practising certain defense and counter techs with a partner. A couple of rounds as attacker then as defender. Then 2 rounds of punch defence( parry, block sway bob etc) Then 2 rnds of kick counters against punching attacks.( push kicks, knees, rnd kicks etc) rest 1 rnd Sparring 5x 3min rnds( with everybody ) rest 1 rnd then spar again 3 rnds with just a pro for opponent. I'm lucky to have some great sparring partners. Lately I've been sparring alot with Aoki san who is the shooto champ and is fighting in the up comming pride Bushido in August. Also Kitazawa san who is a Japanese Muay Thai champ. He really kicks my ...... clinching 1x 10 min rnd. cool down / stretch Wed (morn) SURF! Not a regular part of my training, but during summer I try to get to the beach for a few waves when I can. Wed(evening) Shadow 5x3min rnds and stretch run 5km fartlek. Thurs(morn) Surf! Evening dojo: Warm up/ stretch knees 50 reps x 2 sets shadow 3x3mins. kick pads 3x3mins heavy bag 3x3mins Technique drills sparring 6x3mins Sparring(with pro) 3x3mins Ab/core routine. Various exercises x200 reps total. cool down/stretch Fri (at home) warm up/stretch shadow 5x3mins heavy bag 4x2min rnds ,at max output, with 1min breaks. rest Weights (chest and back) cool down/ stretch Sat (at home) shadow 3x3mins heavy bag 5x2min rnds, max effort, with 1min breaks. The last rnd I just did rt kick/lft kick combo consistant for the whole round. rest Weights(legs and abs) Sun OFF! I'll post this weeks routine at the end of the week....