Thursday Night Training

I apologize for being a bit late in posting our workout on Thursday, I had every intention of posting this yesterday but time got the better of me.

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
2x3min/1min jump rope
2 rounds of – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, 10 overhead squats, hip stretch, 10 GHD situps, 10 lumbar extensions

Footwork/Agility 2min/30sec 1 circuit
Forward and Back footwork
Side to side
Forward crossover
Side crossover

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 1 circuit
Maize ball
Rope line
Heavy bag

Shadow Boxing 3min/1min
Round 1 full spin Thai roundhouse kick left and right
Round 2 punching and kicking combinations – any we have used so far

Heavy Bag and Thai Pads 2min/1min
Tony and Mike alternated Thai pads and Heavy Bag for 4 rounds
Heavy bag

• Round 1 lead thai kick-cross-left hook-rear thai
• Round 2 – jab cross – lead/rear thai kick (working both combos)

Pads

• Round 1 Jab-cross-lead thai- block rear thai- return rear thai
• Round 2 – lead foot jab-rear thai-left hook-cross-left hook

Pads

Round Robin – 30 sec alternating double thai kicks (right-right, left-left) each person did 2 kicking rounds (including me)

Glove Drills
These were done as a continuous Round Robin, 1 minute rounds – 1st time through 3 people we switched aggressor and continued.

• Left hook cover – both sides working (thrower focus on proper form for punch and receiver on keeping tight on the cover – also motioned the cross return)
• Jabs – single jabs, defender working on slips to each side as well as the catch

Finisher

1 minute rounds rotate each minute to next station completed 2 full circuits

• Wall ball – 20 pound ball held at chest-full squat and throw at 10 foot target-catch and repeat for full round
• Sumo Deadlift High Pull – 65 pound bar – from deadlift to full hip extension with bar to chin- as many reps as possible for full round
• Decline Ring Rows – on gymnastic rings perform as many rows in full round (body in reverse plank position).

Originally planned on 3 circuits for the “Finisher” but it was much harder than expected at the end of Thursday’s workout so we settled on 2 (I’m still sore today but it was much worse on Friday).

Killer "Fran"

Tony, Mike and any other Firefighter's take a look at this amazing video on Crossfit's site. “Fran” is a grueling workout as is but in full gear it's truly amazing (I personally still scale it down just so I can complete it). Watch as he finishes off a 30 minute tank in just under 9 minutes.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitNorCal_FirefighterFran.wmv

Mixed training

Initially we were schedule to train Tuesday and Friday this week but due to my wife, Laura, coming down with a very serious case of strep throat we had to cancel Tuesday so I could care for her. Most of us have had strep throat at some time in our lives and sometimes are worse than others, hers was the worst - high fever with severe pain in her throat and her whole body (very frightening for me). Because of this I called off Tuesday's practice so I could help her. It's always difficult for me to see anyone in pain especially when there is so little I can really do to help. It's different when you can do something to remove the pain and a whole different thing when you just have to help someone you love bear it until it gets better (hopefully). I am so relieved that she is doing so much better today (it's her first day out of bed since this began). I ask all you reading this to look to the health of all of your loved ones and help them in their times of need, it can be difficult but caring for them and helping them get better makes life worthwhile.

With that said I want to dedicate this session to my Wife Laura who's 43rd birthday is tomorrow.

We combined our boxing and Thai fighting day to make up for our missed practice earlier this week.

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
2x3min jump rope (last 30sec of each round double under’s)
2 Rounds – 10 pull ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 overhead squats (5 foot long bar held overhead, keeping it in line with mid foot), 10 GHD situps, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 rounds:
Heavy bag – working distance, pivot, in/out on a swinging bag
Maize ball – slips, counter punching, timing
Rope Line – bob and weave, forward and back footwork, etc

Shadow Boxing 3min/1min
Full spin thai round kick both legs

Bag work 3min/1min
Jab-cross-hook-cross-lead thai round-cross
Jab-cross-rear thai- hook punch

Glove Drills with shin guards
Round Robin – 2:10 rounds with off round on the heavy bag
Lead mid level thai kick leg defense
Rear mid level thai kick defense
Defense against lead hook – cover (2 rounds each)

We finished (as usual) with a conditioning drill. Each person did a 2:30 round of alternating double thai round kick on the pads.

Left Hook

The left hook (or lead hook) is an all important punch in boxing and mixed martial arts. The problem is it is difficult to learn and even harder too find good instruction in how to do it. I personally like to teach it from a bottom up approach, foot and hip torque before the punch is thrown since this maximizes power in the punch.

A very good instructional video on YouTube is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m8H9YEz888 I would embed this video but that feature is disabled.
This video does a great job in illustrating the importance of using the body in throwing the hook – a powerful hook is feet first then knees, hips, shoulder and finally the arm and fist. It helps to think of it as a whip like movement, the final snap of the whip is the fist moving and hitting the target.

Our next practice is Friday night at 6pm.

(please post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

One on one training

Saturday's training focused on boxing. Mike was unable to make it due to some overtime work so I focused on technique with Tony.

Warm-up:
2 rounds 3min/1min jump rope (final 30sec of each round double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 squats, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Maize ball - slips and controlling distance
Rope line - slips, bob and weave while moving forward and back

Gloves 3min/1min

• 2 rounds slip practice – 1st round slip inside or outside against single jab, 2nd round double slip against double jab.

Mitts 3min/1min

• Left hook - focus on technique, keeping the hook relaxed and hip and shoulder leading the punch
• Left body hook - (angled at 45 degrees upward) began with just the hook then hook after slipping outside against the cross
• Double left hook – body hook followed by head hook. Worked in isolation then against cross

Gloves 3min/1min

• Working the left head hook cover 1st round just the cover, 2nd round cover to return cross
• 2 rounds Jab-cross-left hook – parry-slip-cover-return cross

In addition to the above we also worked on refining the hooks between rounds and introducing the right uppercut. My daughter Callie also joined us for part of the workout, I just got in gloves that actually fit her and she really enjoyed working covering up against light punches.

(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

Thai Fun

We had an unusual warm-up today, my wife and I recently got a new jungle gym for our daughter and the parts all came today. When the jungle gym was delivered they left it at the end of the driveway, curb side delivery only, so all the boxes of wood and screws had to be moved to the back. As a result, our warm-up consisted of carrying everything from the driveway into the backyard; I like to think of it as a good “functional” warmup.

Roll Call: Tony and Mike

Footwork Drills 2min/20sec
Forward and Back
Side to Side

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Heavy bag – maintain distance with forward and back, side to side and circling footwork
Maize ball – working in and out and slips
Rope Line – working the bob and weave forward and back with punching

Shadow boxing 3min/1min
Round 1 – thai round kicks with full spin
Round 2 – jab cross rear thai kick

Heavy bag and thai pads 3min/1min
Round 1 and 2 rear thai kick – lead hook – cross – lead hook
Round 2 and 3 lead thai kick – cross – lead hook – cross
Each person did one round on the pads and one round on the bag for each combination. Prior to this we worked punch to kick combinations and I thought it would be good to focus on kick to punch combinations.

Glove Drills 2min/30sec
Combination: Attacker jab-cross-lead thai kick, Defender parry-parry-block-return rear thai kick-lead hook

With this drill we worked both offense and defense covering most of the major parry’s/blocks as well as the major attacks. We completed two circuits and did this as a round robin, I worked with Mike, then Tony, followed by Mike and Tony together. The off round was spent working technique on the bag. In addition, with Tony I had him finish his defense side with 2 slips avoiding the jab after his final punch.

Finisher
Mini “Cindy” 8 minutes as many rounds as each person could complete of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats
Everyone made it through about 4-5 rounds

We were all pretty spent by the end and looking forward to a good nights sleep. Next practice is Saturday at 11:00am, we'd love to see you all there.

(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

One on one training

One on one coaching with Mike due to Tony being tied up with a Fire exam this morning.

Mike ran an 8k race this morning before coming for his workout (that’s 5 miles for the metrically challenged). He had forgotten about the race until today and as a result didn’t practice much for it but felt his conditioning here really paid off in the race. He finished in about 40 minutes and felt fresh at the end, another runner who finished with him said he was going home to rest and Mike told him he was heading to the gym for a workout (I just imagine the shock on the other runners face).

Since we worked one on one I focused primarily on technique, mainly slips and the left hook. We did skip the jump rope at the start since he had just come from a 5 mile run.

Warm-up:
2 rounds of 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 overhead body weight squats, 10 Roman Chair sit-ups and 10 back extensions on the Roman Chair

Agility/Footwork 2min/30sec 1 circuit
Forward and back
Side to side
Double leg hop forward and back going across the line
Double leg hop side to side going up and back across the line

Before the defense circuit I had Mike do 1x3min round practicing slips against an upright pole – essentially the same as the shoulder bump drill.

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits

• Maize ball
• Slip line – I had Mike add straight punching into his bob and weave to make it a more offensive drill as well as working on rotating the shoulders more with the weave. When he bobbed and weaved under to the right he came up and threw a jab and to the left he threw a cross.
• Heavy bag – working distance and the pivot step

Glove Drills 3min/1min
2 rounds of slip practice – practice slipping to the left and right against a jab, first stationary followed by moving.

Focus Mitts 3min/1min

• First round we focused on throwing the left elbow, emphasis on leg and hip torque with the shoulder moving just before the elbow.
• Second round was the left hook, followed the same as for the elbow just a bit further away, he finished with a stronger more relaxed hook.
• Third round – outside slip followed by left hook-cross-left hook, we also mixed in the jab, jab-cross, jab-cross-hook
• Forth round – inside slip followed by cross-left hook-cross again mixing in the jab, jab-cross, jab-cross-hook

Finisher 4 circuits of:

• 40sec punch out on heavy bag
• 40sec 20” box jumps
• 40sec rest

Each round was separated by a 10sec break to allow moving to the next station.

After we were done I showed Mike some videos of Ross Enamaits training – truly impressive.

(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

Importance of Shadow Boxing

Shadow boxing is important in helping you practice techiques and working your mind. The technique benefit is obvious - the more more practice a particular punch, kick or combination the better you get at it. The mental side assists you in imagining your opponent and visualizing what he or she would do in different circumstances and what you response will be. I like to approach shadow boxing as an active form of visualization - you visualize an opponent and you actively practice techniques against him or her.

Thursday Thai Practice

This Thai practice my objective was to introduce more combinations and include more work with knees since our prior focus has primarily been on working the Thai round kick.

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
We followed our usual full body warm-up
2x3min/1min jump rope (final 30sec each round double unders)
2 circuits – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 body weight squats, 10 situp on Roman Chair, 10 back extensions on Roman Chair

Agility/Footwork 2min/30sec rounds 1 circuit
Forward and Back on the line with side to side movement (slips) with each step.
Side to side added using some bob and weave with puching
Hop back to front – Thai evasion defense (focus on being ready to return with a kick)

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 1 circuit
Maize ball
Slip line
Heavy bag

Shadow boxing 3min/1min
Round 1 - Thai round kicks with full spin
Round 2 - Front kick round kick combinations (lead front kick followed by Thai round kick - both left and right)

Pads and Heavy Bag 3min/1min

• Rear knee
• Front knee
• Front angled knee with hold

We performed this with 1:30min rounds run continuously. One person on bag the other on pads, switch next round then a 1:30 rest followed by the next technique. The Forward angled knee with a hold was done either grapsing the bag with both hands or holding onto the neck of the Pad holder.

Heavy bag 3min/1min
Round 1 - Jab Cross Jab (or hook) rear round kick
Round 2 - Jab Cross front round kick

Finisher 5 rounds
30sec 20lb ball slam (lift up to behind head slam to ground and repeat)
30sec 75lb overhead press (clean once and keep pressing to lockout)
30sec Zercher Squats with 70lb bag
5 seconds between stations to get set

The ball slams were definitely the easiest but the squats and presses ended up being killers. I usually have a “Finisher” set before the workout but this one I thought up on the fly and it worked very well – we were all toasted at the end.

(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

RIP and Farewell

In a recent search I found that one great individual that I trained under at a good number of seminars (I even lent him my car at one seminar – that is another story though) died recently (actually last August). I have not been formally in the JKD community for a while (was an apprentice instructor in Lee Jun Fan Kickboxing and Filipino Martial Arts) but I have always followed its main concepts in my training.Below is an interview with Larry Hartsell, he trained with many of the greats (as well as being one himself) and was always learning and teaching what he learned to his many devoted students:

Shadow boxing

This is a good video describing shadow boxing that I just found:

Shadow boxing -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Check out the other videos by the same guy for some good advice on training.

Boxing day

Another great day - weather was perfect and even better no injuries.

Roll call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
2 x 3min/1min Jump-rope (last 30sec of each round doubles)
2 Rounds of 10 pull-ups, 8 ring pushups, 10 squats, hip stretch, 10 situps, 10 back extensions

Agility/Footwork (2min/30sec)
Double leg hop going across the line forward and back
Double leg hop across the line side to side
Foreward and back
Side to Side

Defense Circuit (3min/1min - 2 circuits)
Maize ball
Slip Line
Heavy Bag (working on mainitaining distance - in/out/side/circle)

Heavy Bag (3min/1min)
Left hook - slip to outside then throw hook
Right cross - slip to inside then thow cross

Shadow Boxing (3min/1min) 2 rounds
I've neglected this so far but we focused on it today - it's always uncomfortable the first time you do shadow boxing (its much different than bag or mitt work).

The next 2 drills we did in an alternating fashion until Tony and Mike each completed 2 rounds of each.
Mitt Drills (3min/1min)
-Holder throws JAB - slip to inside and return cross, left hook, cross
-Holder throws JAB CROSS - catch jab, slip cross to outside and return left hook, cross, left hook
Heavy Bag (3min/1min)
Work jab, double jab, high low jab, jab-cross, jab-cross-hook

Glove Drills (3min/1min) 3 rounds
Working off the jab - slip inside, slip outside or catch

Finisher
We set the clock for 1:15 rounds for this one (needed the extra 15 seconds for change overs). Everyone completed 3 full circuits.
-Punch out on heavy bag (jab-cross-jab-cross - repeat until you drop)
-Kettlebell Farmers walk (we used one 24kg in one hand and 2 12kg in the other - keep walking for the entire round)
-Active Rest - hold bag

Everyones shoulders felt toasted by the end of this one.

Thursday 5/1

This was our Thai day. The weather was great which meant the garage (gym) door was open and since people are now out walking we get more people stopping to stare and wonder what we are doing - if you happen to be one of them your welcome to stop in.

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
2x3min/1min Jump rope (last 30sec doubles)
2 Rounds: 10 pull ups, 3 ring dips, 10 squats, hip stretch, 10 situps, 10 back extensions

Agility/Footwork 2min/30sec
Hop back and forward (Thai evasion defense)
Forward and back using Thai leg block/cover every few steps
Side to side (lateral footwork) with punch

Defense Circuit 3min/1min (1 circuit)
Heavy Bag - with swinging bag maintain distance while moving in, out and circling
Maize ball - slips with punching
Slip Line
I know that there are many of you who wonder how these drills are done and I thought I'd attach a few videos that show the basics:
An example of Maize Ball work


The Slip Line


Shadow Boxing 3min/1min (2 rounds)
Lead and rear thai kick with full spin

Heavy Bag
2 rounds of (1 round each leg):
30sec single round kick
1 min double round kick
30sec single round kick

Defense drill 3min/1min (2 rounds)
Rear thai to lead thigh - leg block - return lead thai to thigh (shin guards used)

Med Ball Drills
around body pass with partner (back to back), straight throws and twist throw with partner

Finisher
25 Burpees

We did have an injury today -during the defense circuit Tony pulled a groin muscle and I had him sit out the workout and ice it (better to lose one day of practice than a week or more because you want to "push through an injury)

Our next practice is Sunday at 11am.

Post any questions or comments to "comments" below.