For the BJJ guys who can't get to training that often, these exercises are great for mobility
http://youtu.be/iydZKc_mnn8
http://youtu.be/iydZKc_mnn8
Great to see another Krav dude. How long have you been training for?
JTran, how was the PATHS? I might be in that area sometime in the future and if i need a new place to train itll be a candidate
I wasn't able to go last weekend but will attend the coming weekend. From the email I got from the instructor, Allen Carroll, they train in their Hsing I classes at a park in the basketball court on Saturday and Sunday mornings only. I will be sure to update you after my first class, mainly for my own selfish reasons for advice and what not. I have been watching a few videos like this one and this one to try and get a feel of what the class will be like. Hopefully my class updates will be enough info for you to base your decision.
tournaments are stressful, nothing will change that./venting
Yeah, you might do line practice but the first thing you'll learn will probably be this:
San Ti Shi stance
This is the "horse stance" type foundational training of any Hebei style XYQ system, it's also the fighting stance where skills come from (in combat/spars i raise my rear hand a lot for blocks and such) kinda like this:
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youtube it and try standing in that position for like 5 minutes. The physical structure is important, but try to focus on being relaxed. Don't force it. The point is to remodel your body (especially your legs). You won't have a good santi stance even after a couple months, honestly. But you can at least try to start it.
Edit: you might also learn the first of the 5 elements Pi Quan too
I tried it out yesterday and I will admit it was difficult. Not sure if I was doing it correct but a lot of weight was on my back leg knee, thigh, and hamstring. I have been doing martial arts for a few years and had to do front, back, and horse stances a lot. Not saying I am very good at them but San Ti Shi stance felt more difficult then what I think is close to a back stance. I think it is because the back foot was facing forward instead of back and both feet where on the same line instead of shoulder width apart. Or maybe I was doing it wrong but definitely feels like something I will need lots of practice on. Thanks for the tips and help.
interesting, I need to try this. are these straight punches it hooks? I'm worried i'd fatigue, lose form, and tweak my wrists.Did another Krav Maga endurance thing yesterday, 400 full force punches to the bag. Felt like an odd exercise for the first 300 punches, but at that mark it clicked and I really just wanted to murder the bag. And did so with really good punching force and form. I've never experienced actually getting better form at the end of endurance tests before.
interesting, I need to try this. are these straight punches it hooks? I'm worried i'd fatigue, lose form, and tweak my wrists.
Fight class today was good. I've been meaning the boxing side of training a lot more seriously as I really enjoy it and as such have spent the last week researching boxing styles and fighters. Last night I also picked up from the book store a book on boxing training to brush up on the basics.
Today I put what I've learnt so far into practice and I'm pleased with the result. As I'm pretty sure an in-fighter's style suits me best I went with the peek-a-boo defence and managed to take a lot less hits and get in some pretty solid blows. Unfortunately we were just doing straight punches today so I couldn't really take advantage of my style but the tips I read on how to tackle a taller fighter really gave me an edge.
Gonna see how far I can push myself.
I have to say, Krav Maga is a lot more strike focused than I thought it would be. They have even said as much, with the argument that good striking form is what's going to keep you off the ground. Not that I mind it, and I'm toying with the idea of training a bit of Muay Thai as a complement to the Krav Maga. But I never realized how poor my strikes had been until, well, they got better. Some 350 strikes later.
BJJ dudes,
Any tips on keeping guard and preventing a pass? I've only been practicing for a few months and my instructor and some training partners tell me I am getting better but it just seems so easy for anyone to pass my guard. Last training session I felt was better because after each round I was not as tired as last week. I was submitted by 2 gi chokes, armbar, americana, and omoplata but I did get a arm triangle so not too bad. The arm triangle felt more like luck though cause the guy had me in side control then he switched to scarf hold. Somehow I got out of it and almost had his back but got side. My chest was on his arm and I pressed his arm against his chest. Noticed it was wrapped around his neck so was able to finish with the arm triangle. It was cool to get the submission but everytime I get one, it feels more like luck then anything which is why I ask about you guys' defense tactics. I watched the youtube videos and read stuff online in forums and sites but just curious on what you guys do.
Remember that the founder of Krav was a champion boxer and wrestler so it's not surprising that boxing is a vital part of the training. Besides, boxers have the best standing game out there.
Mixed it up with wrestling club guys today. Man, their shoots and grinds are so good. I learned a lot. And, applied some old football skills, good stuff.
Punishment session. Pounded and kicked by 7 others, drop to the floor, defend best as I could and then ordered to get the hell out of the room any way possible which in this case meant shielding my way past two only to be tackled and grabbed by an instructor. It felt pretty good when I managed to lift and neutralize the guy, and it's always nice when I actually get some use of my strength.
It'd appear as if the instructors have now quietly divided the class up a bit during these types of exercises, meaning some of us will see more brutal resistance than others.
First time coming across this thread(I have rarely stepped into the off topic section before) so I thought I would introduce myself for randomly popping in and joining conversations.
I am from Perth, Western Australia, Australia and currently train in Muay Thai. I will add that I do 3 boxing classes a week as well to keep me sweating in the gym for longer and having a class purely about hands is always good.
I started Muay Thai around 2 years ago and kept at it 4 nights a week for an entire year. It began as a way to get fit and lose weight as pushing weights in the gym bored me to tears. I went from 100kg-80kg in that time. My goal was to reach mid 70's and re evaluate my goals from there. Sadly my interest dwindled away, barely being home and having any time after working and training just slowly pushed me away. I wish now I had just toned it back a little instead of giving myself a complete break from it all as this led to struggling to find the motivation to get back into it. However a year later I have been back for a month averaging 3 nights a week and I couldn't be happier. I'm sad that I am back at square one and need to lose all the weight again but live and learn I guess.
Current goals in mind are to hit 4 nights a week consistently and to drop that first 10kg.
I would love to hear from other trainers in Muay Thai what cardio based exercises they enjoy doing as 1 of those nights it is open gym where I train myself. Lots of skipping at this stage lol.
A great but painful class.
Another brutal trial, group attack but this time one of the blind attacks was with a knife, and not the "look at this knife coming" way either, but streetfight style with short and fast stabs to the midsection. Did alright, would have sliced up my arms but I at least eliminated the guy without receiving any hits to the vital regions.
Great class today. Sparring. Got to meet and spar with a couple Chen Taiji guys too, they highlighted a lot of areas i needed to work on grappling wise. They made me work for striking position, had to use a lot of lateral and diagonal movement
Do you ever roll/spar with people outside of your discipline?
Or are you just trying to compete within the discipline?
As a BJJ guy I grapple with Judo, Wrestling, and Aikido guys a lot so I can find the holes in my own grappling game.
BJJ has a lot of holes in it. Mostly standing and positional ones.
If you appreciate grappling at all, you need to watch this great HL from Worlds 2012; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_94SS8ZSHvI&feature=channel&list=UL
my god. these guys are on such a high level.
Man, I am dead after today's class. I missed Wednesday's class due to sickness (first time I've missed class in a long while) and today I could feel that my stamina was definitely affected. On the plus side my experimentation with trying out Cus D'Amato's "Peek-a-boo" boxing stance (made famous by Mike Tyson) bore fruit, allowing me to be harder to hit. The down side is as the stance requires heaps of stamina and core strength for all the bobbing and weaving I took a lot of hooks to the temples as I was trying it out. It gives me something to work on, though.
Great video, very entertaining to watch.If you appreciate grappling at all, you need to watch this great HL from Worlds 2012; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_94SS8ZSHvI&feature=channel&list=UL
my god. these guys are on such a high level.
When I started out boxing i used to use that stance as well. It's definitely something of a specialist style. It allows you to throw volleys of explosive hooks and uppercuts pretty well. It's good for shorter fighters. It has ups and downs tho like you said- you're right about stamina, but it also makes it harder to throw good straight punches in my opinion. You should still be able to throw a mean overhand right if you want to and straights to the body, but that limits your middle and long range options. Plus it kinda has a predictable attack pattern. I'm not to sure about how it is in an MMA or self defense context, but it is very boxing specific. I ended up moving to a more roberto duran/ joe louis style classic stance. I felt like it gave me more options.
EDIT: thinking about fighting full contact sanda in a tournament in april. should be fun
Same. Generally ill drop my guard more at a distance and change my leg width. I think its easier to feint and draw punches that way. And then i'll close up more as i get in range. Never was much of an outboxer though. I'm 5'8" ~175-180, lolI'm 5'10" and more of an in-fighter so it suits me well. However I definitely like to switch stance often whilst sparring so I may start in classic guard and then switch to peek-a-boo, then Philly Shell and back to classic, etc. I'm also trying to work on my counter-punching as it's so important to master.
Predictability is a bad word. I think versatility is better for what I'm saying. If you kind of side tilt the stance like Patterson did you can throw a pretty decent piston like jab if you step in. You need a fair bit of power or good mechanics to get the right results at that range though, as far as punching goes. An infight is pretty much a struggle for the tiniest bit of space and an endurance test. Used to love how you could use that peek a boo bob and weave to hurl your bodyweight into a hookAs to the predictability of the peek-a-boo stance, yes you can pretty much guarantee that once the person closes the distance they will launch a volley of hooks and uppercuts. The thing is once they're right in your face there's not much you can do other than shell-up or clinch which is why the peek-a-boo is so good for in-fighters.
Agreed. My fighting/sparring stance is different from a classical xingyi guard as well. I open up my legs a bit and raise my rear hand to chin area. I like to move my lead hand around a bit to probe for openings and such.On the street in a real fight however I'd probably stick to a classic guard because I'd be using my legs as well to defend.
Same. Generally ill drop my guard more at a distance and change my leg width. I think its easier to feint and draw punches that way. And then i'll close up more as i get in range. Never was much of an outboxer though. I'm 5'8" ~175-180, lol
Predictability is a bad word. I think versatility is better for what I'm saying. If you kind of side tilt the stance like Patterson did you can throw a pretty decent piston like jab if you step in. You need a fair bit of power or good mechanics to get the right results at that range though, as far as punching goes. An infight is pretty much a struggle for the tiniest bit of space and an endurance test.
Agreed. My fighting/sparring stance is different from a classical xingyi guard as well. I open up my legs a bit and raise my rear hand to chin area. I like to move my lead hand around a bit to probe for openings and such.
Yeah, I've got to get used to widening and narrowing my leg position.
Also, if I want to make the most of being an in-fighter I really need to pack on more muscle. I've lost a tonne of weight this year and as such I don't have the power to do my strikes justice. Early next year I plan to hit the gym to adress that however.
Being able to move your legs actively makes a huge difference. I think a lot of westerners have issues with this in martial arts because of the sedentary lifestyles we lead. A lot of my foundational training in xingyi is footwork stuff, long steps to open your body up. Its not just about flexibility I think, but also maintaining your balance, posture and hip position as you move around. The key to power IMO is hand to foot. you wanna start a kinetic chain from your hand, through your hips, up your back and out into whatever you're striking with. Muscular strength and mass makes a difference for sure, but I think you can make similarly incredible gains in striking power from focusing on coordination, breathing, and mechanics.
That being said I definitely would check out http://rosstraining.com/blog/
Tons of conditioning for combat athletes; strongman work, calisthenics, weights. You name it. I would recommend the sledgehammer tire exercise. Great workout and you will notice the difference in hitting power. Plus its cheap and convenient, you can do it at home in the morning before work or something.