Homemade Clubbell

I'm going to put one of these together this week to try out some of the exercises that Scott Sonnon uses. Looks pretty easy to make so I'll update you on how it goes.

More Maize Bag

There are many designs for maize bags, just like for heavy bags.

Most people opt for a Maize Bag similar to the following video on FightChannel since this is what Mike Tyson was seen using and we all know how good he was in his prime for dodging punches and nailing his opponents.

This is a popular form of the Maize Bag and has great advantages since it’s easy and cheap to make (I used one on vacation made from a sandwich bag, some string and sand I got from the beach).

Another, less commonly seen, Maize Bag is the Traditional Heavy Maize Bag https://www.otiumlifestyle.com/shop/new_catalogue.php?departmentID=21&categoryID=91&catID=595
This bag weighs 66 pounds and has an 18” diameter and is 22” high (or long). Pretty close in dimensions to Reyes Wrecking Ball bag and Title’s Body Snatcher Bag. This is much different than the maize bags most of us see, which are much smaller and lighter. The advantages of this bag are that you have to really move to get out of its way (it’s bigger) and you can really hit it (most heavy bags are 75 to 100 pounds so this is pretty close) most maize bags are light enough that hitting them just sends them bouncing off the ceiling. Video of the Heavy Maize bag:



In the US the most commonly available Maize bags are from Title Boxing http://store.titleboxing.com/everlast-slip-ball.html (5”x 8”) and Ringside Boxing (an Everlast Bag) http://www.ringside.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MBW
Both these bags are the size of an extra small speed bag and weigh only a pound or so.

Regardless of the bag you use (and all are good) there are a few other variables to consider: Bag position and Length of the Chain or Cord.

Bag Position: some, like me, prefer the bag at a low position about chin or shoulder height while others prefer a higher position at nose or forehead height. Neither is right or wrong as long as you learn to slip and evade punches. Most fighters aim at the bridge of the nose but I like the safety margin of placing the bag lower (just in case).

Length of the Chain or Cord: this determines how fast the bag swings, the longer the chain the slower the swing and the shorter the chain the faster the swing. In my training I like to vary the height that I hang my bag from (10 feet down to 8 feet and sometimes in a doorway – each gives a different feel and speed). Below you can see training off a speed bag mount


I think I’m going to try hanging my 20 pound medicine ball from my 10 foot ceiling for a change of pace and I’ll put up video soon on that.

Get or make a maize bag and have some fun maizing, it’ll make you a better fighter.

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Short on Time?

When you are short on time it is important to make the best use of what time you do have. This past week has been a tough one, my daughter has been ill the whole week which has lead to little sleep or free time for me. Even though my workouts have been cut shorter as a result I was able to film and edit the video for the Slip Line (while my daughter was sleeping actually).

To top off the week yesterday’s scheduled workout was a bit of a bust – Tony and Mike were unable to make it due to work and as a result I had to settle for a solo workout. I didn’t have a lot of time so I kept it brief and focused on essentials. When time is tight you need to focus on your goals, for Saturday my goals were to work on basic defensive skills along with strength endurance (think work capacity or general physical preparedness). With this in mind I did the workout below:

Basic Defensive Skills
1x3min round each of

• Maize bag
• Slip Line
• Rack – I’ll be posting more on this tool later but for an introduction click on the following link Kenny Weldon's Rack

Strength Endurance
The strength endurance barbell complex I performed comes from Zack Esh.
3 rounds of 5 reps per exercise:

• Hang clean and push press
• Back Squat
• Dead Lift
• Stiff Leg Deadlift
• Bent over Rows

Below is a video of this complex:

The objective is to perform the exercises quickly without putting the bar down between exercises. I did this with 85 pounds resting 1 minute between complexes.

If you are short on time look to focus on the essentials of what you want to accomplish - what are your goals for your workout (specific skill development, cardiovascular, strength, power, agility, etc.). Once you know your goal it is much easier to cut to the chase and focus your work on that.

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

Slip Line

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.

Fun with the Heavy Bag

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)

Maize Bag

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).

Inspiration

The IronMan Triathlon is a true test of endurance and perseverance. This father and son team present an amazing example of this.

Following is IronMan’s video of this father son teams journey to the race and their amazing accomplishment.

Hot and humid glove workout

Friday 7/19/08, 6pm (a hot an humid evening that really pushed our conditioning)

Another video for everyone who wonders how we actully train.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up: 3min jump-rope followed by -

3 rounds of

• 10 sprawls
• 10 situps
• 10 pushups

Defense Circuit 2min/1min (2 circuits)

• Maize ball
• Rope line
• Speed bag

Shadow Boxing 2x3min/1min

Glove Drills 3min/1min

• Jab
• Double Jab
• Jab Cross

These rounds were split in half, Tony on offense for 1/2 and me on offense for 1/2.

Offense Circuit 3min/1min (1 circuit)

• Heavy Bag hands
• Heavy Bag hands and feet
• Top and Bottom bag

Glove Drills 3min/1min

• Low line kicks
• Jab cross hook rear kick – counter

Rounds split in half like earlier glove drills.

Finisher
Ring Rows and Thrusters
21, 15, 9 reps

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New Video

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.

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Skill Day

We introduced some new skills and drills with todays practice, specifically the sprawl, body surfing, and 4 way hook drill. Since we are working toward incorporating some basic ground fighting and introduced a basic defense against takedowns (a sprawl) as well as some introduction to moving around once on the ground (body surfing).

Roll Call: Tony and Mike

Warmup – 2x3min/1min jumprope
2 rounds of - 10 pullups, 8 ring push ups, hip stretch, 10 overhead squats with PVC pipe, 10 back extensions, 10 GHD situps
Footwork/agility
1:10 rounds 3 times (10 sec used for change over to next station)
Basic sprawl – we did the straight sprawl and back up more or less from a wrestling stance instead of a kickboxing stance


Body surf drill – we used a medicine ball for this today, a physio ball is more comfortable and that’s what we’ll be using next time. We focused on just rotating around ball.


Shadow boxing
Rest for 1:10 between circuits

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Maize ball (1st round 10’, 2nd round 8’)
Speed bag
Rope line

Shadow Boxing 2 rounds of 3min/1min

Mitt drills 2min/1min 2 circuits

• 4 way hook – left low hook, right low hook, left high hook, right high hook. After each hook the holder throws the boxer returns with 2 punches (left hook and cross or cross and left hook).
• Top and bottom bag

Glove Drills 2 round Robin’s for each of below each segment 1:10min (so each person had roughly 4 min of each drill ½ on defense and ½ offense)

• Jab defense – slips, or catch
• Jab cross defense – slips, catch, shoulder roll, or cover
• High low – one person can jab high and the other can jab low (limited sparing)

(Please post comments, questions or suggestions to "comments" below)

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)

Self Defense

I mainly deal with training on this blog but I thought I'd write a bit about “self defense”. Self-defense isn’t just about being able to overcome an attacker (or multiple attackers) but mostly about being able to avoid confrontation when you can. Looking like a victim or an opportunity to those out for easy cash presents a great way to get into a confrontation. While working as a bicycle messenger in Washington DC I saw many messengers with ratty looking bikes, they were dirty, spray painted, etc but if you looked close they were good (think expensive) bikes. Whenever you made a delivery you always had to leave your bike outside and even with a kryptonite lock it could be stolen (I had mine stolen while it was locked with a kryptonite in the stairwell of a locked building). Part of the trick, I learned later, was to make your bike look like crap, if it looked like a valuable bike it was a target. The lesson here isn’t that you should look like someone living on the street with no money but not to look like an easy opportunity.

Too many people see fight training and self-defense as being the same, its not. Training to fight does prepare you better for when a confrontation takes place but true self-defense is realized in avoiding that confrontation. Many people who train want to show others that they can “handle themselves” in a fight and go looking for one. I, personally, don’t want my students to be like that – I want fighting to stay in the ring. I don’t mean to say that you should walk away from all confrontation since that’s not really possible – if you are truly threatened and can’t remove yourself safely, or a loved one is in danger then confrontation is unavoidable – but avoid confrontation or disarm a possible one when possible.

Tony Blauer is an excellent instructor in this area. He trains people to be ready for a fight and what to do to avoid it as well as how to react once it actually happens.
A recent video posted on Crossfit does an amazing job at illustrating how to avoid potential confrontation: http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_BlauerATMStrategy.wmv

Always be vigilant, know who and what is around you, sense the atmosphere.Avoid a fight when you can, the ring is a different matter since you are there to fight.

Tyson and training

Everyone in boxing and fighting knows who Tyson is. Before his downward slide Tyson was known for his evasion of punches and speed, this video illustrates some of his Fight Camp training and the techniques used. Pay particular attention to the repetitious nature of his training – they keep drilling the same things over and over.

Some say that 1,000 good repetitions are needed to learn a technique or combination, others say 10,000. The take home message here is practice, practice, practice the basics. The Japanese Samurai who were involved in frequent combat only practiced a few select moves, over and over, they didn’t keep adding more and more complex techniques. Mastery of the fundamentals is what makes a truly great fighter, not flowery or complex techniques and once you have some mastery of the basics you have greater freedom to adapt and improvise.

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

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)

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.

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.

A great fitness excuse the “Birthday Challenge”

We shouldn't need any excuses to be fit but frequently having a goal helps by giving us a direction. A birthday challenge is a great way to keep motivation going – much better in my view than simply having a New Years Resolution. A birthday challenge gives you the goal not of completing something by your next birthday but ON your next birthday, the day of your birthday is the test day. Probably the most well known for this is Mark Madson with his wrestlers birthday challenge: your age in pull-ups, your age in dips, twice your age pushups, 2 climbs up a 16 foot pegboard, 1 true one arm pull up with each hand – all in 25 minutes.



He’s a bit of a showman but his physical abilities are very impressive. Other ideas for a challenge could be to do one of the “Girls” or “Heroes” workouts from Crossfit scaling the numbers for age and time: http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html#WOD0

Another great source is www.birthdaychallenge.com

Some Really Cool Stuff

The Traveling Rings in Santa Monica – some people refer to it as gymnastics on crack.


Santa Monica Muscle Beach is well known for its tradition of physical culture and this is another element that many people haven’t seen (most of us only think of the bodybuilders or maybe the roller skaters/bladers along the beach). I can remember seeing these rings in a few movies and thought they’d be cool to try but I never dreamed of the kinds of things these people are able to do on them and they make it look easy (which it definitely isn’t). At the start of this video you may think its only men doing this crazy stuff – just wait.