Boxing, Kickboxing and Thai Boxing fundanentals. We train with gloves, focus mitts, speed bags, heavy bags, Thai Pads and sparring. We combine this with high intensity training using functional movements from gymnastics and weightlifting. Located in Plainfield, Illinois. Check here for out current schedule, next practice time will be listed below. We are a free club. Come join us! You can contact me by email under the "About Me" tab.
This week we’ll be hosting open training in the Garage Gym from 6:00 to 7:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday. This means, any and all who want to come out we are training these day’s this week we'll welcome you. If you are late we still welcome you but you’ll miss some of the training. I’m still open for other times but you’ll need to call ahead so I can work you into my schedule. Tuesday we’ll focus on boxing fundamentals and Thursday we’ll focus on Muay Thai and kickboxing. Since it’s cold out the garage door will be down but don’t be afraid to knock, we’ll open it to let you in.
As a side note, I’m starting using Precision Nutrition as my guide for a training diet. I’ve read up on John Berard and found his strategies match my goals. More to come on that in future posts.
(Please post comments, questions or suggestions to "Comments" below).
I've made a few changes to the blog (don't worry, all the posts and videos are still here). To make finding things a bit easier I slimmed down my tags to 10:
Boxing (including any boxing training, equipment, techniques, etc.)
Jujitsu (wrestling, judo, catch wrestling, etc)
Conditioning (drills, strength, endurance, supplements to improve conditioning) - really almost all the posts are about conditioning but I only tagged those specific to it.
Health (nutrition, hydration, longevity, exercise in general)
Inspiration (stuff that helps drive you to put more into training)
Video (those I've made as well as others I've posted)
Schedule (when we are meeting)
Misc. (humor, or other things I think you may find interesting - this post is listed under "Misc.")
Hopefully these changes will make it easier to find the information you are looking for.
I continue to get more calls from local people for training: I know that I turn up A LOT on searches for local (Plainfield, Joliet, Aurora, etc) boxing and MMA gym searches. Because of this I’m trying to nail down some consistent training times that would be open to all of you. My schedule is a bit in flux due to patient needs at my office but for all of you interested in training I’m going to post a survey on the blog to find the most convenient times for all of us to meet and train (give me a day or so to figure out how to do it). I’ll post it within the next few days so we can get to work.
We are continuing our basic/introductory training in ground fighting. My experience in teaching groundfighting is limited and as a result I'm learning as much about teaching it as Tony is in learning the basics. As a result I'll be including more warmup drills emphasizing movement on the ground starting with our next workout on Saturday.
Roll Call: Tony
Warm-up: 1x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders) 2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 overhead squats, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions Continuous 1 min rounds
Single leg forward hop
Double leg side hop
Forward crossover
Hip twist
Defense Circuit 2min/30sec (2 each)
Maize ball
Rope line
Shadow Boxing 2min/1min
Boxing
Muay Thai
Heavy Bag 2min/1min Hands only
Straight punches (high and low jab and cross)
Working to inside, emphasis on close quarter punching
Hands and feet
Thai kicks, singles and doubles
Punch then kick, kick then punch combinations
Mat Work
Standing under hook drill 2x1min/30sec
Mount: basic locks
Arm bar side to side. Start with drill on floor then with opponent. Side to side 10each
I had planned on working the arm bar in the guard but didn't want information overload. The sit up drill we used for the kimura was simply performing the setup for the kimura (trapping the wrist, sit-up and reach over to your own wrist, back down and repeat on opposite side).
The warmup drills we'll be incorporating involve some of the ones in the following video:(Post comments, questions or suggestions to "Comments" below)
The insane training schedule of a pro Muay Thai gym.
I’ve had some questions recently about training in Thailand, a lofty but worthwhile goal. In the past, 10 years ago, I had a few training partners that went every year or so and they loved it. As result, I recently decided to look into training routines and costs for training over there, the first gym I thought of is Kaewsamrit Gym .
Morning Session 6 a.m.
10-12 kilometer run.
Pad session 3-4 (5 minute) rounds with one round focusing on boxing and elbows only.
Bag work 4 (5 minute) rounds
30 minutes of clinch and knee work
general conditioning work such as pull-ups, 300 sit-ups
light warm down (I’m not to sure what they consider light)
10 a.m. morning meal followed by rest period
Afternoon Session 3 p.m
skipping for 30 minutes
Pad work with trainer 5-6 (5 minute rounds) with 1-2 rounds focusing on boxing and elbows only.
Bagwork 5 rounds of 5 minute duration
Technical sparing 3 rounds of 5 minute duration
30 minutes of Clinch and knee work
light jog of 2-3 kilometers
300 knees on heavy bag and 100 kicks
general conditioning work such as pull-ups and 300 sit-ups.
Followed by light warm down.
They post at the end of the routine that “This is routine followed by the top Thai boxers in the gym and foreign students are not expected to reach this level straight away and are given time to build up to a level comfortable for them”.
The cost for training at Kaewsamrit is about 30 US dollars a day for the first 15 days. Pretty inexpensive for the hour of training.
Youtube Videos of Kaewsamrit
(Post comments, suggestions or question at "Comments" below)
I made my first visit to a local fight gym Combat-Do last Tuesday evening. I first heard about this gym from a neighbor friend of mine who is a High School wrestler – his wrestling club was using their mats for practice on the weekends. He gave me a big thumbs up about Master Bob and the grappling training at the school – that was enough to make me want to check it out. At that time, the location was new and it took me a few trips over searching for the address to find it (the location didn’t have its own phone number at the time). After finding the location I had to find out when they held classes – they didn’t list their Plainfield location until earlier this summer (I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I had just called the Cicero phone number). Well, it’s taken me awhile but I finally got there last week for an evening MMA class.
Workout: Combat-Do is owned and run by Master Bob Schirmer a very experienced and dedicated instructor. I originally set out just to contact the school but missed everyone at lunchtime and after calling and reaching Master Bob I was set to come in at 6:30 for the MMA class. I have heard many good things about Master Bob by word of mouth and he lived up to all of it. He runs a tough class; we did literally hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups and flutter kicks. General conditioning also consisted of sprint work interspersed with push-ups, sit-ups, flutter kicks, jumping jacks, etc. So, without a question you will get an amazing workout.
Trainers: The class I was in was run by Master Bob so I can certainly state that instruction was excellent. Other people who helped out the class at points were also effective and attentive instructors.
Equipment: The school has a boxing ring, MMA Cage, wrestling mats (that’s where the workout I attended was held) in addition to hanging thai heavy bags, focus mitts, thai pads, kicking pads, a large tire for flipping and sledgehammer work, etc. All in all a very well equipped gym.
Type of Fighting: Combat-Do does not focus exclusively on stand up or grappling, they train both but there is a concentration on grappling (jujitsu/judo etc.) at least in the MMA class I was in. In addition to conditioning a good portion of my workout consisted of low and high thai kicks on kicking pads, stand up Greco Roman wrestling drills, and Jiu-Jitsu throws and submissions.
Sparring: While we didn’t do any sparring in the class I was in they do spar at the gym (hence the ring and cage).
Competition: Not only do they encourage competition in judo/jujitsu (which is easier to enter into at my age group – there are enough competitors that age and experience level allows you to be matched with people of the same level of experience) but they also host competitions annually or semiannually the Combat-Do Fighting Challenge and the Midwest Jiu-Jitsu Tournament (which are both being held this month). The video below is from Combat-Do Fighting Challenge 9:
Cost for training: For MMA training costs range from $150 to $175 a month, which is comparable to other gyms I have been to. This covers you for any and all classes that you attend at either location as well as open gym time for training. If you have more than one family member training additional members are discounted.
In addition to MMA classes they also offer Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing and children’s classes (outside of training with me, this is where I really want my daughter Callie train).
If you live in Plainfield or Cicero this is a group you can really learn a lot from, I wholeheartedly recommend Combat-Do and intend on working out there in the future when my schedule allows it.
(Post comments, suggestions or questions to “comments” below)
I’ve been away for a bit, both literally and figuratively, but I’m back and set to make up for it this week. Some upcoming things to look for:
Reviews of local gyms and trainers
New videos on focus mitt training and glove drills
In and around Plainfield we have a number of gyms that focus on fighting (boxing, kickboxing and grappling) and I’m set to visit them all and give you some information on their training methods, how they run workouts, open gym time (important if you want to work technique or conditioning outside of class using the gyms equipment), what their focus is (stand up, ground, competition, conditioning etc.) as well as information on their fees. In reading my reviews I will be using the following list for giving you information on the gyms I visit:
A great workout/conditioning
Trainer’s – good instructors
Equipment – what they use to train. While this isn’t a pre-requisite for a good gym (many great gyms produce great fighters with minimal equipment) it is something that many people look for.
Type of fighting: Stand-up fighting- boxing, kickboxing, Grappling – wrestling, jui-jitsu, judo, etc.
Sparring – contact, light contact, non-contact, stand up, grappling
Competition – do they host competitions, train fighters for competition, competitive fighters train at the gym
Price: while there are inexpensive gyms most offer training at a premium price (you pay for the experience of the instructors). Schools that run strictly conditioning and those training competitive fighters run from as low as $30 up to $200 a month
Most gyms are able to fulfill #1 on the list above (workout/conditioning). While my concentration is preparation for fighting and I feel preparing for competition (whether you actually compete or not) is important since this is the best preparation for real combat – I know that many others prefer a different approach so I will strive to be clear in my reviews as to what different gyms offer.
If you wish me to feature your gym or training group please contact me via email (available at my "About Me" link on the side bar. (Post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)
Sunday morning boxing workout. We continued our focus on developing the bob and weave counter against hooks. Our planned workout was to have more mitt drills as well as some limited sparing (lead hand punches only) but Tony's shoulder started to act up after the third round of mitt drills. After some soft tissue work on Tony's shoulder we finished with a review of the kettlebell swing - a fanstatic exercise for all athletes (whether done with a kettlebell or a dumbell). I provide some usefull links for learning this exercise at the end of the post.
Roll Call: Tony
Warm-up: 2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions
Defense Circuit 3min/1min (2 circuits)
Maize ball
Rope line
Rack
Footwork/Agility Line work (1 minute rounds run continuously)
Forward step with alternating slip (slip to left with left foor step and to the right with right step)
Single leg hop forward and back (going across the line)
Double leg hop sideways (heels together hoping forward and back across the line moving sideways)
Hip/shoulder twist (hands on hips, full twist so elbow faces forward)
Bob and weave lead hook after jab cross – return with cross hook
Bob and weave rear hook after jab cross – return with hook cross
Finisher
Review KB swing. The Kettle Bell Swing is an excellent exercise once you have learned it but proper form is difficult to learn and teach. I have neglected teaching this recently due to “so little time but so much to teach”. You may think, why should I learn this exercise but it teaches powerful hip drive that translates into harder punches and kicks (your power comes from your hips and legs whenever you throw a hard punch or kick and practice with the swing, dumbbell or kettlebell, develops this). In addition, high repetition interval swings are great for building stamina and endurance. A great resource for learning the Swing can be found at Perform Betters website under their Training Zone tab followed by their Kettlebell tab. Don’t forget, you can use a dumbbell for learning and performing this exercise (though, I feel it is easier to learn with a kettlebell due to holding it palm down). Anthony DiLuglio offers great instruction under “Swing Exercise Video’s 1-3” as well as “Kettlebell Training Clinic – Swing Part’s 1-3”
Crossfit WOD weighted pull-ups 7x1 (I had Tony sit this out to save his shoulder)
(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)
Reality TV is not really my thing. I saw the end of season one of survivor years ago and was appalled by the scheming and underhandedness that was rewarded and was immediately turned off the whole idea. With that said, there are a few reality shows that I do like enough to watch on occasion – The Biggest Loser, The Contender, Ultimate Fighter and now The Contender Asia. These are all reality shows that actually endeavor to inspire people to reach for a higher level of health and illustrate the struggles inherent in getting there. They can all get a bit overly dramatic with people playing to the camera, the silly Challenges etc. but these few I think offer some positive messages to people. I haven’t watched much of any of these shows but did watch a recent episode of The Contender Asia yesterday – who can resist a show on Muay Thai. I liked how the fighters were presented, real people (trained fighters) with a goal of being great fighters having worked hard to get there. The contestants are all experienced fighters in Muay Thai and come from many diverse ethnic and national backgrounds. Below is their promo video:
My main goal in watching any of these shows is to gain insight into training regimens, techniques and what motivates people to become champions as well as what they’ll do to get there.
For “Stand Up” fighting I feel that Western Boxing and Muay Thai are the best for fighters getting into the ring. The Contender Asia is a good illustration of the dedication and sacrifice needed to become a great fighter and you can see some great training techniques that you can take and use as well as some good fights to watch, it is broadcast on Versus.
The Ultimate Weapon is one other show I like for its illustration of different fighting styles and how they train (they also have some good Muay Thai footage, see below).
(Post comments, suugestions or questions to "Comments" below)
Baseball players, especially hitters show amazing rotational power. Take note of how baseball players generate batting power, this is the same as how you develop punching power – get your whole body behind the punch. The hips and legs are the key to power in throwing strong punches. Baseball and softball players know this because when you hit a ball with the bat you are using your hips and legs for power. For a great example of this watch:
Watch how the leg and hips move first, then the shoulder and finally the bat. That is how a power punch is thrown – the hand or fist is essentially the end of a whip that begins with the feet.
Jack Dempsey is thought by many to be one of the hardest punchers in boxing and much of his power came from working as a lumberjack. His work as a lumberjack gave him tremendous rotational strength and power for hook punches (hip rotation and power is easily seen in hooks but applies to all power punches: straight right, power jabs even uppercuts). Old school boxing training involved actually chopping down trees, not realistic now but there are way’s to emulate this.
Rotational throws with medicine ball
You can perform this exercise as a partner exercise (what I use since I don’t have a concrete or cinderblock wall). It’s not as fast but you can vary it with distance between partners (the further away the harder you have to throw but the longer the time) as well as weight of the ball.
Tornado ball
It may not look like a lot of hip torque but you’ve got to try it to feel it.
Sledgehammer training
Sledgehammer or bat training on a tire (a bat on a heavy bag is bad idea – I’ve tried it and the bag breaks down to fast, save your bag for punching)
Looks like the hammer was to heavy but I hope you get the idea. The following video is another is another illustration (the video is rotated 90 degrees but again, I hope you get the general idea),
These are potential supplemental drills to hitting the bag. In the end bag work is best (if your time is limited spend it on actual technique training) but these other training methods can provide you with the “feel” – how it feels to develop power through the hips and leg for rotation so that you know how it should feel when you punch the bag.
(Post comments, questions and suggestions to "Comments" below)
We started at 8:45 this morning for our Muay Thai focus day. The weather has finally shifted back so we had a wonderful, sunny with 80% humidity, morning workout. I’m not what I’d consider a morning person but looked forward to the challenge. This morning’s workout was fast paced due to time pressure (I needed to get my daughter to school, then get showered and changed to get into work before my first patient).
The first round of our warm-up was jump-rope (3min), all other rounds following that were 2 min with a 30 second rest which we ran continuously. We had a few short breaks for introduction to technique for some new combinations. In the end, we finished on time, 45 minutes.
Jump-rope 1 (3min) round – last 30sec doubles
Thai footwork – up and back with most of the weight on rear foot 1 (2min/30sec) round
Hop back and forward 1 (2min/30sec) round
Shadow boxing thai kick 1 round with full spin 1 (2min/30) rounds
Hop back against rear kick to knee 1 (2min/30sec) round each
Front kick (foot jab) on pads 1 (2min/30sec) round each
1-2-3 R and L kicks on pads (alternate after each series) 1 (2min.30sec) round each
Front kick (foot jab) defense (scoop) 1 (2min/30sec) round each
Pads front kick (foot jab) defense – return rear kick after scoop 1 (2min/30sec) round each
The challenge in many of these workouts is to keep it intense (the easier part), and fun (if it isn’t interesting only the most dedicated want to do it), all the while working on technique (you can have a super hard workout but without a focus on technique you may as well be doing Tae Bo – not to knock people doing Tae Bo but their focus is purely on conditioning while ours is on fighting).
In this workout we did a general warm-up, then some technique warm-up followed by application. We then continued by working on the elements of skill following with working its application. We also mixed in some direct technique/conditioning. The general focus of this workout was obviously on Muay Thai Training – but more than that it was on the fundamentals, technique, combinations and defense with counters. Conditioning (strength, power, endurance, agility – in this case) was automatically built into this workout.
(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)
Finally finished the video on using the Slip Line.
The Slip Line (or Rope Line, as I refer to it in our workouts) is a great and inexpensive tool for working on footwork, slipping, the bob and weave etc. All you really need is a rope or string and something to tie it to and you're ready to go. I routinely use the Slip Line and Maize Bag as part of our warmup in every practice and encourage everyone to use the same tools at home. The Maize Bag and Slip Line are excellent tools to use on your day's off from the gym, just work 1-3 rounds of each and when you get back to the gym you'll be sharper.
A great night for training – cool with little humidity, this is a respite from the summer heat that probably won’t last long, what better way to enjoy it than training. We rescheduled yesterdays training for this evening.
Roll Call: Tony, Mike
Warm-up: 2 rounds on the line
1min Forward hop single leg alternate (hop forward crossing back and forth on the line, switch legs after each up and back)
1min Side hop 2 legs (face the line, keeping heels together hop forward and back across the line moving up and down the line)
1min Forward and back with hip twist
1min rest
These agility drills come from Kenny Weldon, its been a while since we’ve used them so I decided to make them part of the warm-up. You can see a video of these drills at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6h7BpjKviw
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 8 ring push-ups, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions
Defense Circuit 3min/1min (2 circuits) Maize ball Rope line Speed bag
Heavy bag Thai round kicks 4 x 30sec rounds of double’s, switching legs each round with a 30sec rest between each round.
Glove Drills 2 Round Robins (first time one person aggressor and the other defender, switch next round) 1:30min rounds
3 way jab
Double jab
Jab cross
Following this we worked on developing the right hook. This began with positioning – turned toward right with weight over the right foot. From that position we worked on the hip twist and weight shift by practicing with hands on hips and elbows out, starting in the above position left elbow faces opponent, twist from the hips and shift weight over to left foot – end with right elbow facing opponent. We did this for ½ round followed by working it on the bag and mitts with the actual punch to develop a feel for it.
Next practice I hope to have a “rack” made to practice footwork with the jab – don’t know what a “rack” is check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5rsQd1dPUY My only change may be spacing it further from the wall – I like everyone to be able to get full extension on the jab.
(Please post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)
Our last workout (Saturday) was cancelled at the last minute but we made up for it on Tuesday night with some hard training. Hot night - heat index was 93.
Roll Call: Mike and Tony
Warm-up: 2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders) 2 rounds – 10 rope pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions, 10 overhead squats
Defense Circuit 2min/1min (2 circuits) Maize ball - first round hung from 10' second from 8' Rope line Speed bag
Heavy bag 4 rounds - Thai kicks doubles 30sec work/30sec rest - alternate leg each work round, total 1 minute work each leg.
Glove Drills Round Robin drills (3 people working) - 1:30 minute rounds, alternate person each round - each person worked offense and defense for 1 round with the other 2 people for each drill.
3 way jab
Double jab
Jab cross
Finisher Punch out on the heavy bag 4 rounds 30sec work/ 30sec rest each
Mike did a great job making use of his reach and controlling distance in the glove drills
We were a bit hurried today due to Mike being called into work after arriving here. As a result we cut the workout down a little while still covering the skills that we set out to cover (mainly working on round kicks with attention to doubles). Mike had to leave before the “Finisher” so I completed it on my own – the bag carry was a bit tough due to sweat making it slippery (had to squeeze harder as a result).
Roll Call: Mike
Warm-up:
2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 hip extensions (I changes the name of this to more accurately represent the exercise – back is kept in neutral and the hips extend – lumbar muscle work is more isometric/stabilizing)
Footwork/Agility
3 rounds (continous)
1min agility ladder
1min footwork with round and foot jab kicks
Defense Circuit 3min/1min (1 circuit)
Maize ball
Rope line (I'll have the video on the basics for this up within the week)
Speed bag
Heavy Bag 2min/1min (1 round each leg)
Double thai kicks (bag hung low) – 2 kicks thrown as fast and hard as you can separated by touching foot to ground
Thai Pads 2min/1min
Double kick work w/foot jab
Glove Drills
Low line kick defense (leg block)
Mid line kick defense angling away from kick
Mid line kick defense cut kick
Finisher
4 rounds Bag carry- bear hug 30sec work/30sec rest After last 30sec rest followed with 4 rounds Bag throw - alternating shoulders 30sec work/30sec rest
You can see an example of the drills used in today’s “Finisher” in the video at the start of this post.
(Please post questions, comments or suggestions to "comments" below)
Everyone is out on vacation this week and I’m left to train by myself. As a result I thought it would be a great idea to do a few videos on what I feel is the best equipment training to keep you sharp when you have to train alone. Everyone is familiar with the heavy bag (I would hope) and so I won’t cover that now. Instead, I’ll cover two drills that we use in almost every workout in the gym here – Maize (or slip) bag and the Rope Line. Today I’ll be showing the Maize bag. I’m not really sure where I first saw this used but with all the different boxing gyms I’ve trained at I can say it is not a standard piece of equipment, even though it is simple and cheap to construct (I even made one out of a sandwich bag, some sand and a piece of string when I was on vacation with my parents back in High School).
When training by your self you’re training is generally limited – shadow boxing, bag work, and general conditioning, which are all things you should be doing while training solo (or in the gym). When solo I like to also be able to practice my timing, being aware of distance and especially defensive skills. The Maize bag fits the bill for these things.
The Maize bag is simply a bag, hung from a chord or string, that swings back and forth allowing you to practice slipping, maintaining distance etc. The one I use in this video is made from an old Speed Bag filled with beans (to give it some weight).
For the first time we have actual video footage of our workout (had to use a Kodak Easy Share C613 to shoot it). It was a challenge, the camera kept turning itself off (I think I can correct that now), and a neighbor’s dog wanted to come in and play in the middle of out warm-up and then I found that instead of recording in avi format it recorded in mov format (not supported by Windows Movie Maker), finally after a few hours of work I figured how to convert and edit the video, just keep in mind that this is our first attempt and some of the really good stuff didn’t get recorded. A couple of notes: you’ll notice in the warm-up that Mike makes a few errors, that I’ll correct next practice, knees to far forward in the overhead squat, not enough extension in the GHD sit-up and not full ROM in the pull-up. If it wasn’t for the video I might continue to miss these since I’m working at the same time as him.
Roll Call: Mike (Tony was stranded and couldn’t make it)
Warm-up:
2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions
Defense Circuit 1 round 3min/1min
Maize ball
Rope line
Speed bag
Shadow Boxing 3min/1min
2 rounds
Glove Drills 3min/1min (each round was split so one worked offense and the other defense for half a round)
3 way jab
Jab cross – slip to right with cross hook counter
Jab cross – slip to left with hook cross counter
Low line kick block and counter
Right low line kick with block followed by right kick
Left low line kick with block followed be left kick
Either kick followed by counter as above
Finisher
4 rounds of 30sec punch out on bag followed by 30 seconds rest.
(Please post comments, questions or suggestions to "Comments" below)
We had a bit of a late start today but still put in a solid 2 hours of training. We are continuing to include some ground fighting basics in the workout to keep things a bit more rounded. Today was a bit of a mix between skill and conditioning emphasis since we haven’t all worked together for about a week.
Roll call: Tony and Mike
Warm-up
2x3min Jump-rope
2 Rounds of: 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 OH squats, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions
Footwork/agility 3 circuits of 1min rounds
Sprawl – from squared feet at start and work in throwing combination to a sudden sprawl.
Ground drill – on back, bridge up and roll to side control, kick leg through to kesa-gutami, roll onto back and repeat. This is a basic flow drill performed as shadow wrestling.
Shoulder Roll – this is presenting a challenge to Tony and Mike since it is a new skill and different from anything else we have done
Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Rope Line
Maize ball – 1st round 10’ 2nd round 8’
Speed bag
Shadow boxing 3min/1min
2 rounds
Mitts/Top and Bottom Bag 2min/1min
4 way hook
Slip jab and return with round kick (outside slip return right, inside slip return left)
Alternating rounds with top and bottom bag
Glove Drills
Jab – round robin, switch each minute (everyone had a round of offense and a round of defense with everyone else)
Jab Cross - round robin, switch each minute (everyone had a round of offense and a round of defense with everyone else)
The focus for these two drill was developing a clean defense and working on firing back after a block or evasion.
Finisher
3 rounds
Sled pull hand over hand to you with 150lbs in sled (50 foot pull each round)
KB swing 20 (using 16kilo)
Med ball throw supine single hand throw 10 each (4.4lb ball, throw as high as possible)
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Great workout on Saturday, our conditioning focus day. We did some new drills: box, mirror and a different take on pad training. Thankfully the weather has been cool since the ceiling fan isn’t up just yet. We were able to keep things rolling the entire time so no rest except between rounds. Roll Call: Tony, Mike Warm-up: 2x3min/1min jump-rope (last 30sec double under’s for each round) 2 rounds of 10 pullups, 3 ring dips, 10 overhead squats with PVC pipe, hip stretch, 10 GHD situps, 10 back extensions Footwork/Agility Box drill 3min (2 steps forward, 2 steps to right, 2 steps back, 2 steps left – keeping it alive with punches, slips, bob and weave) Mirror Drill 1:10 rounds 2 round robins (one person moves and the other follows maintaining distance entire round – each person worked with the other 2 as both follower and initiator) Defense Circuit 2x3min/1min Maize ball (1 round bag hung from 10’ next round from 8’) Rope Line Speed bag Shadow Boxing 2x3min/1min Anything goes for both rounds (we did do some focus on the foot jab and distance though) Thai Pads 1x3min/1min We alternated (Tony and Mike) lead foot jabs for 1st ½ round and the 2nd half we did foot jab thai round kick. This was something different, just to make it fun and mix things up. Offense Circuit 2x3min/1min Heavy bag hands Heavy bag hands and feet Top and bottom bag Finisher We did the “Big Wheel” routine with a basket ball performing 4 reps of each move 2 times per set and completed 3 rounds. A video of this can be found at http://www.medicineballs.com/education/videos/medleys/bigwheel.wmv I would have used a light medicine ball but I have those at the office and not at my home gym. Next week’s skill workout we’ll be adding the front roll and the sprawl as we start introducing some of the basics of moving to the ground for fighting.
(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to “Comments” bellow)
We worked it hard last night, I was actually to beat to write this up after the workout which is why I'm posting it now. My goal was to focus on basic training; as a result we did a lot of bag work on various bags.
Roll Call: Tony, Mike
Warm-up: 2 x 3min/1min Jump rope (last 30sec of each round double unders) 2 rounds of – 10 pull ups, 8 ring pushups, 10 overhead squats, hip stretch, 10 GHD situps, 10 back extensions
Footwork/Agility 2min/30sec
Forward and Back
Side to side
Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Maize ball – working in and out, slips etc
Rope Line – bob and weave up and back
Heavy Bag – working distance and moving around the bag
Shadow Boxing 3min/1min
Thai round kicks with full spin (follow through)
Combinations – any foot, hand or hand and foot combinations we have worked
Offense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Heavy bag – kicking focus (foot and hand foot combinations – last 30 seconds each round continuous work)
Heavy bag – punching focus (hand combinations only - last 30 seconds each round continuous punching)
Top and bottom bag – we used a smaller and faster bag than in the past, focus was on jabs and jab cross, mainly just being able to land consistently
Finisher “Quarter Gone Bad” 3 rounds
15 sec 75lb thruster
45 sec rest
15 sec pull-ups
45 sec rest
15 sec burpee’s
45 sec rest
Just for the record here is how everyone did in the finisher: Tony
Thruster 5-5-5
Pull-ups 8-6-6
Burpee 4-4-4
Mike
Thruster 4-3-3
Pull-ups 7-7-6
Burpee 6-5-5
Tom (me)
Thruster 5-6-5
Pull-ups 11-12-10
Burpee 5-5-6
This workout ended up being a rather brutal one – at the end everyone was ready to call it a day. By the time we were up to the finisher I gave Tony and Mike the choice of glove drills or the “Quarter Gone Bad” and neither wanted to do any more punching (our Offense Circuit was 6x3minute rounds of punching).
Our next practice is Saturday at 10am-Noon.
(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)
This week we’ll be hosting open training in the Garage Gym from 6:00 to 7:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday. This means, any and all who want to come out we are training these day’s this week we'll welcome you. If you are late we still welcome you but you’ll miss some of the training. I’m still open for other times but you’ll need to call ahead so I can work you into my schedule. Tuesday we’ll focus on boxing fundamentals and Thursday we’ll focus on Muay Thai and kickboxing. Since it’s cold out the garage door will be down but don’t be afraid to knock, we’ll open it to let you in.
Posts
