Steppin up - training '07

[stricker]

Decided to start another blog, I kinda enjoyed posting the little write ups after getting in from training, and i've got a really good feeling about 2007.

Well the 2 weeks before xmas i basically trained 6days a week, mma, thai or judo, plus some wing chun thrown in. Then had 2 weeks of for xmas and new years, went out nearly every night, was fun, but now im done and its time to train. I did a little bit of strength stuff with dumbells and some ab work a few times, but nothing serious. Yoga/bodyflow stuff every day.

Here goes, I'll post up some objectives soon.

[stricker]

first day back training after break.

MMA.
warm up
2 rounds shadow boxing with 30s intervals of pummelling, jumping switch lunges mixed in. then 1 minute of superman sprawls.

5x3 min rounds on the pads
instead of holding after the pad change over did some tasty takedown drills

then a few rounds rolling.

Fitness was wierd, didnt even break a sweat doing the warm up but then ****ed by the 3rd round on the pads, think the superman sprawls killed my arms big time.

[stricker]

MMA (judo)

rounds of standing kuzushi practice (grip the gi + take balance) then add foot sweeps, then add a few basic throws, then any throw/takedown

technique learning : rounds of rolling, 4 of us + judo coach. breaks whenever we needed to be taught technique, then drilled technique, then back to rolling.

then joined the no gi guys for more rounds of rolling.

[stricker]

MMA.

warm up, breakfalls
2 rounds shadow boxing with intervals of jumping lunges and superman sprawls
2x5min rounds on thai pads
2x5min rounds holding thai pads

rounds of pummelling with lots of stand up wrestling. got schooled on when to try duckunders and take the back and when not to by a judoka, got thrown a couple of times...

then groundwork:
details on arm bar from guard technique, need to tighten these up in rolling.
drilled triangles
bicep crush/turnover
choke from opponent in turtle (feint taking back but switch knees and roll back into guard)

[stricker]

Weights

Sumo Deadlift:
30kg+bar 10 reps
50kg+bar x5
70kg+bar x5
85kg+bar 4 sets of 5 reps

Dumbell Bench Press (on ball) back to back with bent over dumbell row (same weight)
10kg+dumbell 4sets x 8 reps L, R

OH dumbell lunges
3sets x20reps (10 each side)

Finished with a load of sledgehammer/clubbell stuff i'm experimenting with using a weight on one end of a dumbell handle. then usual stretching/yoga/bodyflow bits.

[stricker]

MMA.

warm up

nightmare of a conditioning session "to get rid of christmas fat". rounds and rounds of pummelling, thai pummel, wrestling for position, partner resisted march knees, wall teeps, kick pushbacks with parther, exercises like jumping lunges etc etc non stop for the whole hour and a half.

stretching to cool down

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
3x5 min rounds holding thai pads
3x5 min rounds working thai pads

1st round all kicks, kept the pace up
2nd round hands and combos, more alive
3rd round MMA (combos into underhooks, takedowns, ground and pound etc)

then rounds rolling.

holding pads was a bit accidental. first of all i didnt tighten my arms up enough holding for a long knee and the hit went right through 2 pads and my top arm (arms X'd resting on lip of belly pad) flew up and smacked me in the face, got some blood out my nose from that. Then after a take down a knee strike from side control caught my elbow instead of the side of belly pad, so thats now in ice...

[stricker]

MMA (thai boxing)

warm up,
2 rounds shadow boxing
few rounds of thai clinch wrestling
5x4 min rounds on thai pads
5x4 min rounds holding thai pads
wall kicks to finish each round

then sparring.

[stricker]

also, i've been spending time the evenings ive had off building training apparatus, pics to come :)

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
2 rounds shadow boxing with intervals of pummelling and jumping lunges
5x5 min rounds on pads
5x5 min rounds holding pads

then looked at some stand up techniques to get from boxing to clinch.

then rounds rolling.

[stricker]

im ill. felt so weak yesterday i could hardly stand up and walk around, got up about 3am last night and threw up all over the bathroom. now gotta clean it up and my head is pounding

[stricker]

stomach was still feeling bad a few days after last post, so i aint been eating great and my energy levels a bit low. had time off work then been away on the road :(

but, i did swing by a full time mma school for a quick session. no classes on but did roll for a bit with a cage rage vet (heavyweight) the bjj coach and a big doorman who teaches standing grappling stuff. funny re a thread on the main page, on the ground almost none of his stuff worked...

anyway back to training tomorrow, considering doing weights instead of MMA...

[stricker]

(tues a week later than the next one it should have been)

Weights

Sumo Deadlift:
50kg+bar x5
70kg+bar x5
90kg+bar x5, 4, 3. Bar was too **** cold to hold for long at a time

DB Ball Press back to back with bent over db row (same weight)
12.5kg+dumbell 4sets x 8 reps L, R (left arm nearly to failure)

OH dumbell lunges
1sets x20reps (10 each side)

DB curls (left arm only) regular, hammer, twisting x10 reps each

Sledgehammer stuff to finish off then bodyflow/yoga/stretching.

[stricker]

MMA.
warm up, 2 rounds shadow boxing with intervals of pummelling

5x3 minute rounds on thai pads, one round out doing shadow due to odd numbers
3x5 minute rounds holding thai pads

then rounds rolling

[stricker]

1. wing chun (1hr30)

then on to

2. mma/judo (1hr30)

warm up
kuzushi practice
drilled couple of throws
then counter to throw to suplex onto crash mats
then a group of us 2 at a time rolling supervised by judo coach. breaks for technique, drill, then back to 2 people rolling.

[lonewolf]

i know that you are working on thai pads but are you doing any kind of straight cardio? treadmill, jogging, jump rope? when i was training last year the tread mill worked great for cardio. my last MMA tournament i wasn't even winded after my fight, breathing wasn't heavy or anything. plus besides your classes are you doing any weight training daily besides the few that you blogged? otherwise i can give you some ideas to spice up your training. on the ill days try a quick jog. sometimes things just need to get moving before you can get anything done. also astragulus and ginseng are really good for keeping your endurance energy and immune system up.

[stricker]

MMA (thai boxing)

warm up
few rounds of clinch work + knees, intervals of just flowing from position to position and then wrestling
5x3 min rounds holding the pads, last round 6 mins
5x3 min rounds working pads, last round ran well over the 6 mins...

then boxing sparring.

last round on pads ****ed me. also did a whole round of lead hand work then struggled keeping lead hand up in sparring.

[stricker]

i know that you are working on thai pads but are you doing any kind of straight cardio? treadmill, jogging, jump rope? when i was training last year the tread mill worked great for cardio. my last MMA tournament i wasn't even winded after my fight, breathing wasn't heavy or anything. plus besides your classes are you doing any weight training daily besides the few that you blogged? otherwise i can give you some ideas to spice up your training. on the ill days try a quick jog. sometimes things just need to get moving before you can get anything done. also astragulus and ginseng are really good for keeping your endurance energy and immune system up.yup well spotted. the answers no, but im *aiming* to do 6 days a week of mma training, which is 2 nights mainly thai, 1 night judo/groundwork, and 3 nights mixed. that should mean 4 days a week hitting thai pads and a bunch of rolling and clinch work. then im aiming to do a whole body max strength workout once a week. for me its about the weakest link and right now cardio aint it, my weaknesses are more fighting, strength and keeping my body working. all the sessions i do are very conditioning oriented anyway, everything is in timed rounds and every drill we finish off in a hard conditioning way, eg finish every round on pads with 20 kicks or 2 to 10 punches etc, finish clinch rounds with hard pummelling, last 30secs of shadow are skip knees or burpees etc.

i'd love to work out a better way of structuring the weights in, but time, soreness and recovery etc mean i struggle with it, and im not at that pro fighter stage where i can do weights or sprints in the morning then train mma evening... your right though i should try to add even just some gentle cardio, running for recovery, skipping for footwork

im all ears man, fire some good ideas my way :)

[lonewolf]

when i was training last year i would jog on the treadmill 1.5-3 miles every other day. a month before the tournament i started alternate sprints on the treadmill for the rounds that the fights were in. if a match was 3, 3minute rounds, then i would do a one minute warm up, sprint 3 minutes, walk one minute, etc. i would do 12 of these. the way that i saw it was that if i was able to do cardio for 4 consecutive fights then i was more than prepared for one match. and it worked. after nine minutes in the cage i wasn't breathing heavy, and my pulse was steady.
as for weights i did the usual body building rutine of back/ biceps, chest/ shoulders/ triceps, and legs. but i did higher reps and lower weight to not interfer in the high endurance training i was doing. wrist curles were a must also. if you can get a tight grip in your opponant then it is easier to manipulate him to your will.
my flaw was the lack of sparring and couching, i didn't have a corner man with me when i was in the cage and that can break you in the end since they can see things that you can't. my underskilled opponant was talked through much of what he did and i was left to counter with no outside help.
i hope this little bit helps. i can write you more tomorrow when i have more time. :cool:

[stricker]

MMA.

warm up
ton of conditioning drills finished off with 5 mins of running and punching on the spot with sets of squats, lunges, pressups, sprawls etc thrown in.

3x5 min rounds on thai pads
3x5 min rounds holding pads

groundwork.
top and bottom game with punches (mma sparring gloves). sparred 30secs top, then switch 30secs bottom. for rounds. breaking the game down into drills, when to stay tight and work body, head, when to posture up and go for big shots, etc etc, how to play the bottom game for mma

[stricker]

when i was training last year i would jog on the treadmill 1.5-3 miles every other day. a month before the tournament i started alternate sprints on the treadmill for the rounds that the fights were in. if a match was 3, 3minute rounds, then i would do a one minute warm up, sprint 3 minutes, walk one minute, etc. i would do 12 of these. the way that i saw it was that if i was able to do cardio for 4 consecutive fights then i was more than prepared for one match. and it worked. after nine minutes in the cage i wasn't breathing heavy, and my pulse was steady.
as for weights i did the usual body building rutine of back/ biceps, chest/ shoulders/ triceps, and legs. but i did higher reps and lower weight to not interfer in the high endurance training i was doing. wrist curles were a must also. if you can get a tight grip in your opponant then it is easier to manipulate him to your will.
my flaw was the lack of sparring and couching, i didn't have a corner man with me when i was in the cage and that can break you in the end since they can see things that you can't. my underskilled opponant was talked through much of what he did and i was left to counter with no outside help.
i hope this little bit helps. i can write you more tomorrow when i have more time. :cool:same here im just writing up and gotta bust a move. having a good corner definitely makes a big difference. the tournaments you did sound pretty tough, 9 mins in one round then multiple fights per night? crazy.

the intervals we do for mma are usually like sprint 10 secons, jog back 20 secs etc for up to the 3 or 5 minute round then same rest interval etc..

[lonewolf]

i didn't write that right, 3-3minute rounds, 9 minutes total. and the stinting sounds pretty good. i like to keep the heart rate up for the amount of time that the rounds are but that's my way of doing it. i liked bas rutten's philosophy on cardio, "if my fight is going to be 10 minutes i train for a 30 minute fight." i like to follow that because you can never claim that your weren't in shape, plus if he does beat you he really was better then you. sometimes learning how to lose is more important then how to win.
some guys i work with talk about how they wish they were tyson and other so called champs out there. my response is that yeah they were a good fighter but a horrible loser when it came to life itself.
it sound like you are on the right track. keep doing what your doing. as long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other you will get somewhere.

[stricker]

MMA (thai boxing)

warm up
few technique drills

5x5 minute rounds holding thai pads
2x5 minute rounds working the pads, 3 rounds shadow (odd numbers tonight)

thai boxing coach held for me the 2 rounds, so they were hard. a ton of technique fixes to take on board too :o

[stricker]

i didn't write that right, 3-3minute rounds, 9 minutes total. and the stinting sounds pretty good. i like to keep the heart rate up for the amount of time that the rounds are but that's my way of doing it. i liked bas rutten's philosophy on cardio, "if my fight is going to be 10 minutes i train for a 30 minute fight." i like to follow that because you can never claim that your weren't in shape, plus if he does beat you he really was better then you. sometimes learning how to lose is more important then how to win.
some guys i work with talk about how they wish they were tyson and other so called champs out there. my response is that yeah they were a good fighter but a horrible loser when it came to life itself.
it sound like you are on the right track. keep doing what your doing. as long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other you will get somewhere.cool. the 10secs sprint 20secs jog thing is supposed to mirror the real activity in a fight, as well as giving you more cycles of recovery. good idea to look up tabata for the theory of intervals, it means you can work harder over the 3-5 minute round than just a constant rate the whole time. your right though i decided tonight i need to start skipping.

oh man, learning to lose is a funny one. at my gym (apart from the beginner night) people fall into 2 categories either loads bigger and stronger or tons more skilled and experienced than me, so im constantly getting tapped out, beat up, broken by conditioning etc and im learning to live with the highs and lows of that. its like tonight having a really top coach hold for me i felt like ive not learned anything at all and have so far to go, but then its all good that the more wrong things there are the more im learning and thats awesome :)

thanks for the heads up tho, good luck with your training and fighting too :)

[stricker]

Weights

Sumo Deadlift
50kg+bar x5
70kg+bar x5
90kg+bar x5
95kg+bar x2, 1, 1

then :
5x5 pull ups, kbell OH press (bottom up) left then right

then swung the sledgehammer about a bit.

i think im a bit ****ed at the minute, not getting fully recovered between training. ****ed off about deadlifting, amazing how much extra 5kg felt like. also the pull ups were surprisingly hard, nearly not making the last few reps of the last set. that sucks big time. but its a starting point.

[stricker]

MMA.

warm up
3x5 min rounds holding thai pads
3x5 min rounds on thai pads. one round with mma coach, i was ****ed after that :(

then rounds rolling.

im going through an armbar phase at the moment, set up a bunch of them tonight but couldnt get them on, combination of being outweighed (im lightweight, both people i rolled with tonight were light-heavies) and knackered, and a lack of skill/detail in the submission and set up.

[stricker]

1. Wing Chun

2. MMA (judo)

warm up, some ground agility drills, kuzushi practice, kuzushi+leg trips, drilled a couple of throws.

then ground technique. went over a few gi chokes, then the variants without gi, then a few chokes for either.

then supervised rolling with breaks for technique by judo coach.

then more rounds rolling.

[stricker]

MMA (muay thai)

warm up
technique drills
5x5 minute rounds on thai pads
5x5 minute rounds holding pads

then rounds of boxing sparring.

padwork killing me again. ive been fcked all week :(

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
extra conditioning/warm up - tons of sprawls, press ups, crunches, squat jumps, squats, lunges etc etc over 2x 5min rounds

pad work (holding, then working)
did pad man circuits, same volume of work as 3x5s i think

groundwork : striking on the ground.
bottom game : wrapping arms, guard, starting to set up subs/get position to stand up
top game : unwrapping arms, short hits, posture up/big hits, standing up, pass guard
etc etc broken down into drills, drilled for rounds. then put together to rolling with strikes

then round or two submission rolling to finish off.

[yenhoi]

No standup sparring or partner drills? (Besides the judo..)

Whats the Wing Chun look like?

;)

[stricker]

alright yenhoi,

check back, friday night is sparring night :)

there's usually bits of stand up drills mon, tues (not been this year), and fri's too.

also thai padwork covers a lot of ground. partner fires back quite a lot and defence/counter is built in as well as sparring reflexes.

aaah the wing chun... well im kinda letting it slip at the moment im focussing on the basics of fighting aka MMA. my wing chuns changing anyway so its on the back burner till i can do it justice

[stricker]

Yoga

wow actually made it, pretty happy with the progress ive made since last time i showed up to a class months and months ago

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

MMA (muay thai)

5x5 minute rounds on thai pads


depending on the intensity that right there would probably kill me.

[stricker]

MMA (muay thai)

warm up
technique drill : 4 responses to jab

5x5 min rounds on pads
5x5 min rounds holding pads

few rounds sparring. kicks+punches+clinch. got owned by a taller kicker.

[stricker]

depending on the intensity that right there would probably kill me.trust me it does, the 4th and 5th are real wars. the intensity doesnt really matter as if your unfit, it kills you. if your fit, the intensity just goes up and it still kills you. good padman are sadistic *******s like that. if you havent had a second wind and your not dead by the end of it they aint been doing their job properly :)

oh yeah we usually follow a format like 1st round all kicks, 2nd round kick+punch combinations, 3rd, 4th, 5th round kick-punch-elbow-knee. at the halfway mark and the end of each round would be something like 10 kicks each leg, or 20 knees, or 2-10 punches and back down etc.

the hardest thing i find personally is the mix of padwork and wrestling (+weights). one leaves you tired the other leaves you weak. mixing em up just sucks...

[stricker]

MMA.

warm up, 2xrounds shadow boxing with intervals of switchovers and pummelling

5x5 min rounds holding thai pads
5x5 min rounds working thai pads

this really is killing me, doing it again tomorrow...

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

5x3 min rounds holding thai pads for a new and slightly crazy french thai boxer
5x3 min rounds working pads, rounds 1,3,5 with mma coach, so worked normal a lot, HARD. last round with takedowns

then line drilled a takedown. i cant remember the name but its one of those running ones

then got a round of thai boxing sparring in

[stricker]

Thai boxing

warm up
5x5 min rounds holding thai pads
5x5 min rounds working thai pads (coach holding, so just hellish again)

finished off with clinch knee sparring last 10 mins or so.

only 4 people showed up so the price went up from £3 to £4 to cover the room. isnt that just ****ing insane. these sessions have been great recently, been getting some awesome coaching. i just hope i last...

[stricker]

Sat nite went to cage rage 20 in london. both fighters i went to see lost :( one or two good fights otherwise but pretty **** show

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
5x3 min rounds holding thai pads for 2 people (harder work for me than them)
5x3 min rounds working thai pads shared again.

then got a round of stand up sparring in.

bit ****ed off. had a few days off for R&R (during which i did quite a LOT of yoga bodyflow stretching and tweaked something in my shoulder/back a little bit) and wanted to go really HARD tonight, but not many people at training, the other 3 pairs working were all prepping for fights in the next week or two, and then only 3 of us left so had to work 3 ways. also the padman who held for me wasnt very experienced so i couldnt really get my techniques right, combos up to speed, or let rip with any power :mad:

got home, bashed the heavy bag about for a bit then the stand collapsed after a long knee causing all sorts of grief. did a little ab work. put a 5kg plate under my head, nice little effect. wanted to use more but weights underneath pile of structural damage... then did some walking lunges with 12kg dumbells overhead.
what more could go wrong?

still gotta roll with the punches :)

[stricker]

ooh nearly forgot. looks like im getting in the ring in a couple of days :o

[stricker]

Muay Thai Interclub Fight

i did it, first time ever getting in the ring, 3x2min rounds full contact amateur thai boxing! interclub rules so no elbows or knees to the head, shinpads and 16oz gloves. the whole thing was a bit of a ****in mess really but everyone seemed to think i did well.

got quite a lot of good kicks in (despite NO warm up) and got a couple of knockdowns. i remember getting in a good right cross too. but then i also remember getting kicked in the head at i think in the 1st and eating a couple of uppercuts and even a dodgy illegal knee to the head in the 3rd.

the whole thing was a bit of a **** up though. some messing around with the match making, then they called me for my fight with about a minutes notice, just enough time for hand wraps, the other guy was in the ring waiting while i was scrabbling in my kit bag to find my gumshield. so i went into the ring with NO warm up, not even any shadowboxing or stretching let alone kicking a pad...

anyway i got a ****ty plastic trophy bruised up shins and a bit of a headache. time for a hot bath. heads a bit mixed up right now cos im just back in so i still dont really know what im thinking. another guy took a couple photos on their phone so will post them if i can get hold of them

[stricker]

MMA (thai boxing)

warm up
thai boxing drills

5x5min rounds holding thai pads
5x5min rounds working hands on focus mitts (shins still hurtin from sat)

last round was 10 mins to finish up the session

working focus mitts was good, gonna try and get a round of hands in each one of these sessions.

bit of a chat at the end went over our fights and what we each need to work on.

[AndrewS]

Jon,

congrads on the smoker, nice work.

Andrew

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
rounds of pummelling, wrestling for position.
boxing drills
boxing drill into get an underhook -> pummell -> shouldershove to cross out
added dirty boxing and wrestling for position to pummell part
light boxing sparring to get the clinch to pummell for position with dirty boxing
1-10 jabs and back down, 1-10 crosses and back, 2-10 punches with sprawls between sets
partner resist march knees

then some conditioning stuff to finish, jog round room coach calls out sets of press ups, squat jumps, crunches, lunges, diamond pressups etc
stretching

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

Muay Thai Interclub Fight

i did it, first time ever getting in the ring, 3x2min rounds full contact amateur thai boxing! interclub rules so no elbows or knees to the head, shinpads and 16oz gloves. the whole thing was a bit of a ****in mess really but everyone seemed to think i did well.

got quite a lot of good kicks in (despite NO warm up) and got a couple of knockdowns. i remember getting in a good right cross too. but then i also remember getting kicked in the head at i think in the 1st and eating a couple of uppercuts and even a dodgy illegal knee to the head in the 3rd.

the whole thing was a bit of a **** up though. some messing around with the match making, then they called me for my fight with about a minutes notice, just enough time for hand wraps, the other guy was in the ring waiting while i was scrabbling in my kit bag to find my gumshield. so i went into the ring with NO warm up, not even any shadowboxing or stretching let alone kicking a pad...

anyway i got a ****ty plastic trophy bruised up shins and a bit of a headache. time for a hot bath. heads a bit mixed up right now cos im just back in so i still dont really know what im thinking. another guy took a couple photos on their phone so will post them if i can get hold of them

congrats dude ... dont forget about the photos.

i get a little nervous when i think about gettin in there for the first time at that level.

[stricker]

Jon,

congrads on the smoker, nice work.

Andrewthanks man. it was a really great experience, and i now know what i've got to do and what fighting means.

the biggest aspect of it by far is the mental side of it. i think i handled the emotional bit of it well enough, i stood my ground and stayed calm but aggresive. the biggest thing i noticed was i couldnt think at all during the fight. so when i couldnt think what to do as soon as he stepped in i just went round kick, round kick. if he stumbled back i followed with a cross or a hook or something. lucky for me that mostly worked.

i'll write up a bit analysis later.

[stricker]

congrats dude ... dont forget about the photos.

i get a little nervous when i think about gettin in there for the first time at that level.thanks man. yeah the whole "first time" thing is wierd. its nowhere near as bad as you imagine when you get in there. but then i tried not to think about getting hit, just focussed on dishing out punishment :D it only really starts to hurt a few hours later :)

oh yeah, i got the crappy after-fight pose shot. im the shorter dude on the right. as you can see i still dont know what the ****s going on hahaha

the mobile-phone action shots might take a few more days...

[Ernie]

GOOOOOOO brain tumor !

crazy ******* ;)

[stricker]

wing chun.

[stricker]

GOOOOOOO brain tumor !

crazy ******* ;)cheers bud just what i need to be thinkin about :)

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

5x5s holding pads. worked boxing combos, lots of firing back
5x5s working pads. same again lots of hands.

picked up some details on slipping the cross and stepping off to body shot/hook. hips good but foot position needs work. also need sit down on my punches more.

groundwork.

rolled for about 4-5 rounds.

[stricker]

oh yeah, ive been a bit of a slacker this week. chores caught up with me a bit, had to go away for work one day, actually the few days off has been nice. monday and tuesday i was still a bit too fired up from saturday.

[Dan_chi_sau]

hey dude,
been a while since we spoke, nice to see you're blogging again. Well done on the fight, you're far braver than I am. How's the shoulder holding up? last time we spoke you were umming and arring on the surgery, but I'm guessing thats history now. Anyhoo, just wanted to check in and say well done for doing what a lot of the people here (including me) aren't too keen on doing........

[stricker]

yoga.

always sets me up good for the week to come :)

[stricker]

hey dude,
been a while since we spoke, nice to see you're blogging again. Well done on the fight, you're far braver than I am. How's the shoulder holding up? last time we spoke you were umming and arring on the surgery, but I'm guessing thats history now. Anyhoo, just wanted to check in and say well done for doing what a lot of the people here (including me) aren't too keen on doing........hey dan, yeah the bloggings fun. the most constructive thing i found from the last one i did was when i set objectives and self-analysis then revisited it x weeks later to see how id done. makes you realise how what you do affects what you can do. sounds obvious i know :rolleyes:

as for the bravery, well thats a wierd one. ive been training pretty hard so i knew i'd put the work in. i basically figured if i get beat up then its not because i havent tried and its out of my control, so fair enough. sometimes you just gotta say fk it and jump in there. i had no idea how id react. the main thing i did mentally was try not to think about my opponent too much, just think of him as a punch bag and try to relax.

the shoulder thing is postponed. the surgeon told me its not gonna get any worse, and that the surgery would not be any less successful if i postponed, and id had a good few weeks of no real grief, so i cancelled. it still gives wierd cracks and pops, and my upper body strength/mechanics are still a bit wierd, but im working on it. i havent been back to doing tons of poon sao though so im sure ive got a nasty surprise waiting for me there...

i suspect i'll bump into you soon somewhere or other :)

[stricker]

MMA (thai)

warm up
bit of an extended warm up, plenty of sets or press ups, sit ups, leg raises, squat jumps etc thrown in

5x3s holding pads
5x3s working pads

sparring, hands only

[stricker]

here's the two action shots someone got on their phone. they only show me on the attack, so not very interesting i really wanted to see my structure etc when on the defensive.

first pic (the kick) : looks like im a bit out of range, although could just be the dodgy phone camera lens. nice that he blocked with the wrong leg. i think my supporting legs half decently rotated too but im leaning back way too much. rear hand positions good though :)

second pic (the punch) : looks like he slipped it. it was even more blurry in real life though :) fairly happy with chin position, but id have really liked to see the corner of my other glove guarding it.

criticism would be appreciated :)

frustrating really. my hands are far stronger than my kicks on the pads, my jab, cross and uppercut are all pretty decent, hooks not quite so but my kicks need work in real life. in the fight it was the opposite, i was all kicks no punches. not to mention he was taller so i should have tried to get into punching even more, but he was a better boxer and more experienced.

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

3x5s working thai pads
3x5s holding thai pads

then groundwork

5 mins of hop-hop-hop-squat to finish off

wierd session. we're trying out moving location from the community center with the grannies to training in a nearby full time boxing gym. they want to charge us double, and the mat area is tiny, so i dont think we're gonna go back. and we showed up the boxers working hands :p

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

warm up
5x3s holding thai pads. first and last rounds were 5s
5x3s working thai pads, same again.

then a couple of rounds sparring

numbers were really low tonight so due to partnering etc didnt really get a high quality of work in.

theres another thai interclub coming up in a few weeks. im really in two minds as to do it or not. its really too soon for me to make the changes i want to but the next one after that is ages away, and now i appreciate the realities of it way too much to go in there ill prepared again. i really need to decide soon as well...

[stricker]

MMA

warm up, 2 rounds shadow boxing, with intervals of pummelling and up and downers

3x5 min rounds on pads
3x5 min rounds holding pads

then did some thai boxing stand up drills
drilled shoot in to double leg
then thai boxing drill with shoot/sprawl added in at random

then looked at some positional stuff from side control-knee on stomach.
rolled for flow, no subs, no holding positions, 20%resistance


things were a little crazy in the gym today.

on a positive note, weve got one of our guys who wasnt at training today fighting tomorrow coming back from injury, hes looking mean as hell, and is gonna bring a WAR to his opponent, win this one and its going big time for him :)

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

warm up
quick run through some thai drills emphasis on balance/coordination. hard :(

5x5s holding pads
5x5s working pads

conditioning to finish, emphasis on abs, few sets of 30 press ups, sit ups, leg raises etc
then i think 3-4 mins of hop hop hop squat to finish.

my padmans fighting pro or semi-pro thai in about 3-4 weeks, didnt really beast him enough, but he had me dead after the 3rd.

more talks from coach about fighting mindset and psychology.

also, went to mma show last night. despite showing some good stand up and wrestling skills unfortunately our man lost, got leglocked by a russian samboist, held out for a while and nearly escaped it, but not quite. the main event had sol gilbert giving a masterclass in mma stand up. got two of the sweetest takedowns, and dropped a ton of low round kicks on his opponent.

[stricker]

Weights

Sumo Deadlift
5x50kg + bar
5x60kg + bar
5x70kg + bar
5x80kg + bar
5x90kg + bar
3x95kg + bar

circuit :
20 x Dumbell Lunges (fairly light weights, hands up at head hight)
20 x Pressups (dumbells as handles)
3x through no rest

then swung my sledgehammer about a bit

its been way too long ive not been doing the weights. happy i hit the weight i did but dont think im getting enough volume in.

[stricker]

Been busy with other obligations and lack of sleep left me with little bit of a cold

Weights

Sumo DL
5x 50kg + bar
5x 70kg + bar
5x 80kg + bar
5x 90kg + bar
3x 100kg + bar
2x 100kg + bar

then had a **** about couple of sets of 30 crunches on swiss ball, sets of 10 bw scap pull ups, some press ups, kbell oh presses, lunges holding one kbell overhead in either hand.

need to sort my **** out and get this planned properly.

[stricker]

MMA.

warm up
2 rounds shadow, with intervals of pummelling and up'n'downers

4x3min rounds holding thai pads
4x3min rounds working thai pads

rounds rolling, man in middle, so got 3 rounds straight with fresh partners

finish off, 5 mins of hop hop hop squat

stretching

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

warm up
3x5s holding focus mitts for usual mon & fri partner, who's fighting thai soon.
2x5s holding thai pads, same fighter again
then
3x5s holding thai pads, different partner
then
2x5s holding thai pads, another partner
then
2x5s working the pads

gave my forearms a good workout, all 3 are hard kickers.

my pad holding can always do with improving but i dont usually do focus mitts, need to step that up a bit. also missed my usual late afternoon eat, glad i didnt have to work pads too hard...

[stricker]

Also, decided not to do the interclub at the end of the month. its a bit late now, and anyway its not long enough to make the changes to my game i want to. only bummer is the next one after that is quite a long way off. there's a sub wrestling tournament in a month or so im gonna do but i've kinda dropped the ball a bit with my groundwork, maybe focus on that a bit more for the next few weeks then...

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
2 rounds shadow boxing with intervals of pummelling and up and downers

3x5s holding thai pads
3x5s working thai pads

rounds of clinch work. pummelling, wrestling for position.

groundwork. drilled wrapping up in guard to getting out to ****zer to triangle, counter to ****zer, some triangle defense/details.

rounds rolling.

2 new guys in today, brazillians from chute boxe.

[stricker]

Yoga class

these can get quite hard for my 'recovery' day... all the little pains from through the week show up sure as hell :(

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

warm up. big extended warm up as coach was late, calves killing afterwards...

5x5s holding pads. first 3 focus mitts, last 2 thai pads.
5x5s working pads. same again.

conditioning to end. circuit of press ups, sit ups, leg raises, leg bicycles, squat thrusts. then up and down the room on hands, partner holding legs up behind.

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

circuit of :
5 min round on thai pads
5 min round of clinch wrestling

2.5 times round

then more clinch work, drilled arm-drags, duckunders, ****zers then built into intervals of clinch wrestling for position from pummeling for rounds.

stretching to finish off

was late, so missed first half of padwork...

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
2 rounds shadow, intervals of pummelling and up'n'downers

3x5s holding pads.
3x5s working pads.

2x5s pummelling, wrestling for position, 2nd round on the mats with takedowns

groundwork.

went over some details of basic stuff in mount.
hips high or hips low in mount - dont hang out in the middle, feeling when to move.
nice mount escape using feet, correct foot position to stop that escape.
getting everything super-tight, transition to japanese mount, to arm bar.
fig-4 other arm if they block the armbar, or switch to bicep crush, or switch back to arm bar again.

[stricker]

Went to training partners matted-out summerhouse

warm up (not full mma one)
3x5s rolling

then drilled :
escape from mount to guard, sweep, then other person. started 0 resistance up to 80%
drilled side control
drilled rubber guard

spent most of the time trying to work out a format for how we're going to train...

then discussing promotion we're thinking of doing...

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

warm up

4x5s holding pads, lighter younger fighter so not very brutal for a change
4x5s working pads, same partner, worked lots of kicks less combos

session started about half an hour late so that's all we got done. im a bit knackered from last night, bicep hurting from a crush and generally sore as got to bed waay to late and didnt eat properly. BAD discipline on my part.

ZMA tonight...

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
2 rounds shadow with intervals of pummelling and up'n'downers
4x5 min rounds on the pads
4x5 min rounds holding pads

groundwork.

drill : mounted->guard pass->side control->mount and swap, repeat
ran over knee bar technique

then rounds rolling.

[AndrewS]

Notice anything off the ZMA?

Andrew

[stricker]

Mon.

no training, need to sleep after busy weekend.

Andrew,

Yeah definitely. My sleep's a bit out at the moment anyway... Sat night was out late party-ing then had to get up early Sun am to go to a thai boxing show (coach fighting, had to be there for weigh in) which was about a 3 hour drive away, and the clocks changed in the night, then got back really late, so im running on hardly any sleep at the moment.

but, the first night i took it it felt like i slept a lot deeper. only problem was i got woken up before my usual wake up time and was too awake to go back to sleep so the total number of hours sleep was less...

will see how the rest of the week goes, but so far it seems great.

[stricker]

had a ****ing nightmare of a cold all week long so no training :mad: couple of days off work with it too.

but... been doing my usual obsessive-compulsive shadow boxing and think im in the middle of figuring out something about shoulder mechanics and punching. over the last few weeks my uppercuts have made a jump in their power and im starting to connect a feeling between the zing i get in jabs and crosses and uppercuts. someone explained to me the "steering wheel" metaphor in punching the other day and ive been playing with that and lots of different punches, trying to replicate the feeling i get of a good jab/cross/uppercut but at different angles and lines... want to get on a bag soon and play... bruce mighta been right "a punch is just a punch"... but im not there yet i just feel like im on the edge of figuring something out.

also been watching a steve morris dvd, some bits in there went aha!

**** i wish i was smarter :rolleyes:

[stricker]

still got pesky cold/sore throat, but not 'ill' anymore...

went to thai boxing show tonight, 4 guys who i train with fighting :

1st up the guy who i've been doing pads with a lot on mons & fris lost on points. won the first round with far better boxing/kicks, but in the break between 1st and 2nd rounds his corner wisely told him to clinch up as much as possible. it just went to clinch knees the rest of the fight, my man didnt get hurt but lost a lot of points.

2nd guy, the other fighter failed the medical so no action...

3rd guy lost on points. started too slow against a taller opponent, but got some solid punches in. again not in any danger, and it was a comeback fight from a dislocated shoulder.

4th guy was headlining the show and won by 2nd round KO. put on a masterclass, pressured the other guy the whole time, perfect muay thai defensive structure when the other guy was attacking, then just unloading big kicks and punches. the KO was hook (right hand i think) from zero distance in the clinch.this guy is a MONSTER on the pads and usually fights out in thailand more than over here so it was good to finally see him in action.

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

pummelling+rounds of technique practice+rounds of wrestling for position

boxing drills
boxing drills into underhooks
boxing drills into wrestling for position

boxing slipping drill, gradually freed up

thai kicking drill (start mirroring, block to switch leader, then build up to kick sparring)

conditioning to finish :
10 clap pressups, feet up on bench
10 rows (partner squatting over to pull up on, feet up)
4 times through
10 bulgarian squats each leg followed immediatly by 10 jumping split squats, 4 times through

stretching.

we did some other stuff too. im still feeling ****ty from cold and bad sleep, work was just a struggle to get through the day, and i felt weak and mentally not present at training. also last night i went to sleep about 12 but woke up ridiculously early in the morning, couldnt get back to sleep then fell asleep about my usual wake-up time then late to work :mad: i'll keep going on the zma thing but so far its effect on my sleep has not been great. im sleeping deeper but less hours :confused:

need to step **** back up get training properly again...

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
5x5s holding thai pads
5x5s working pads

double-leg practice drill. jab-cross-shoot, jab-cross-slip-shoot type thing.

then did my own thing cos the 5 rounds killed me, im still feeling **** so i played with the floor-ceiling ball in the boxing gym we're now training in. tricky ****er it is! also our wrestling coach and someone else were also down with colds, apparently something going round...

at the end coach had me grab a silly light barbell (12kgs i think) and do :
10 cleans, 10 front squats, 10 push presses, 10 back squats, 10 bent over rows then 10 snatches. snatches were hard cos ive only really played with them a little bit with the kbell, but it was a silly light weight...

[stricker]

Weights

Warm up with kb swings and lunges with dumbell in rack position

Sumo Deadlift
5x50kg + bar
5x70kg + bar
4x90kg + bar
1x100kg+bar
1x90kg+bar
5x50kg+bar
5x50kg+bar

original plan was to do 5 reps at 100kg+bar but not up to it...

circuit :
Dumbell swiss ball press : 8l, 8r
db row (same weight) : 8l, 8r
3 times through. 12.5kg+db bar (about 15-16kg?)

chin-ups 3 sets of 8

rubbish.

[stricker]

also, its easter hols here so wahey 4 days off work, but on a downer all the halls we train in are closed. shoulda trained more but bad planning and too many late nights having fun. have kept up my usual bits of yoga/bodyflow/stretching,

plus i finally assembled my new garden furniture. its a big tubular frame to hold my heavy bag without putting big cracks in the walls. also good for pull ups and chin ups. sorting out cheapo blast straps as well for inverted rows and trickier press ups.

after i did that i had a little play on the bag, but the frame is too **** unstable to kick hard. Next step is add in some diagonal members and bolt the ****er down...

then beat the tyre a bit with the sledgehammer.

check out my back yard ghetto training facility :)

[stricker]

am.

circuit :
3 min of light thai kick technique work on the bag
2 min of sledgehammering the tyre
30 secs rest
3x through

pm. MMA

warm up
lots of wrestling this session
drilled a few different takedown variations from clinch and from jab-shoot in lines
then added takedown defence (eg sprawl etc)
then rounds of wrestling for takedown from standing/pummelling, no groundwork
then boxing gloves on, jab-cross, slip jab, shoot
then sparring boxing + takedowns/clinch
all done for rounds, swapping partners, coach going over technique details and drilling techniques between rounds.

then circuit to finish:
dumbell snatch from floor l then r, swings double handed
bw squats, lunges
barbell cleans (from just below knee), front squats, bent over rows, push press, snatch, back squat, back lunges
other stuff i forgot

its got some advantages being in this boxing gym wednesday nights, they've got weights which makes circuits more interesting, bags (none we can kick tho), and a ring. but, their matted area sucks.

[stricker]

am

circuit:
3 mins on heavy bag, all kicks, light just working technique
2 mins sledgehammer on tire
x3 times through

pm

MMA (Judo)

ippon-seonage drill, to lift and balance then full throw.

bridge mount escape drill
guard pass to side control to mount drill
top positions drill (going round the clock)

then rounds rolling

learned/drilled a slightly fancy guard pass, apparently sakuraba used it in mma but it seems hard against a heavier resisting opponent.

got a submission wrestling tournament on sunday, should be fun :)

[SevenStar]

let us know how the tournament goes!

[stricker]

MMA

rocked up to mma training about the time everyone's finished padwork and rolled at about 50% with wrestling coach for about half an hour. went over a few places where i've been getting stuck and some mistakes i'm making.

[stricker]

let us know how the tournament goes!cheers seven, willl do. someone asked if i had any particular game plan going in... i said yup i'm mainly gonna be choking people out and snapping arms :D

[stricker]

Submission Wrestling Tournament

lost my first and only match, equal on points but judges decision was i was less aggressive :(

went over the video in a service station on the way back, so here's a rough play by play while its still fresh:

started standing, was pretty dominant there, then i had control of his head (thai clinch) with one hand and got his other wrist and pushed it right down and jumped up into a triangle. he was a bit shorter than me and we were quite low down so i went for it even though i'd never tried it before... NEARLY got it but i think he sneaked a hand in or worked his way out of it, i hadnt secured it properly with my other leg, but the one on his neck was in deep.

from there i established guard and started working. played my usual game : every time he went to do anything i was scooting my hips side to side going for kimuras, triangles, armbars. i got at least 2 armbar attempts and another really close triangle he just kept slipping out of. worked my way through the first few steps of rubber guard stuff too but just couldnt get anything to stick. he passed half my guard a couple of times which i re-established real quick just not getting a sub. one time he even got right past to side control, which i tried to take his back from but then ended up pulling guard again.

then he changed tactics, and worked his way up to his feet. i followed him up from guard straight into a single leg takedown, this time ending up in his closed guard. another guard battle, i wasnt very successful trying to pass, and he nearly got me in a triangle, which i passed to scramble to side control, he escaped to guard again... then he swept me (i wanted to hit myself for letting that happen) and had mount, i counted to 10 to rest while he was trying to get my arms (no chance) and a choke attempt, then 1, 2, 3, buck sent him off on the attack again and beeep! time!

we were even on points, but the judges gave him the decision, on the basis of aggression. **** :mad:

after going over the tape i decided it must have been because i got a bit more cautious when i was in his guard and then ended up mounted, 'cos when i had guard i was working like hell, then when he had mount i literally counted to 10 to rest as i wasnt in any danger at all...

(quick make myself feel better whinge : at the weigh in i was 64kg in a 61-67 bracket. my opponent weighed in heavy and had to strip right down/take a **** etc to make weight, and, he went on to lose the semi final to the eventual winner...but im not *****ing)

anyway it was a good day out and im stoked :D i was more nervous than for the thai fight which is wierd, and after watching a lot of the fights i thought the standard was really very high. i think theres another 2 of these this year, and i think if i concentrated on my groundwork and made a step up in my game i could do well, but i dont know that i'll focus on submissions enough...

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

warm up. double the usual - tons of extra sets of 10 lunges, squats, press ups etc in an extra running round the room bit after the usual.

2 rounds shadow boxing, with sprawls

5x5 min rounds holding thai pads. threw a lot of kicks back
5x5 min rounds working thai pads. terrible performance, bad cardio and felt weak :mad:

worked with usual mon/fri partner, its great, our padwork gets like sparring.

conditioning to finish. circles - everyone in circle, count to 10/20 then next person does till all the way round room, then next exercise. 20x7 = 140, so it was :
140 sit ups
140 press ups
140 squats
140 sit ups
140 press ups
i didnt manage anywhere near my reps, probably only half that. also had coach punching us in the gut at random during the sit ups, which was nice.

[stricker]

Alternated a few rounds of kicks on the bag with sledgehammering the tire, some pullups and other bits and bobs. All over in about half an hour.

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

5x5s holding the pads
5x5s on the pads. wore mma gloves for a change, so hands felt super sharp

5x3 min rounds sparring. coach called out intervals of either just hands, just kicks, wrestling for position, or everything.

5 mins of hop-hop-hop-squat to finish off

[stricker]

quick workout : kicks on the bag + sledgehammering, pull ups, kb swings, bottoms up presses

took the skin of my knuckles on one hand changing the bottle on the water cooler at work... no one was around in the store cupboard so pressed it overhead one handed a couple of times, then tried bottoms up style (really one-side up, using the handle) only its plastic and not very grippy, got it on 3rd attempt but only after getting bloody knuckles.

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

running late so missed most of the warm up

went over thai clinch. basic positions and techniques. different strategies for mma, thai boxing and street, and when to play what game (early on in fight, late on and injured etc...)

so did rounds of thai clinch wrestling, first flowing through positions, then fighting for position, then one person throws knees, other off-balances/disrupts as knee strikes, then all in.

4x5 min rounds holding thai pads
4x5 min rounds on thai pads

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
4x5 min rounds holding pads
4x5 min rounds on pads.

groundwork :
rolling for rounds

then looked at an armbar escape and a detail on getting successful triangles

[stricker]

aaaargh my neck is ****ed :mad: i think it got a bit wrenched yesterday rolling, most of the rounds were full on. i cant look left any more, and i woke up about 4 times in the night in pain. spent most of the day lying or sitting ibuprofen'd up. the pain runs from the bottom of my skull to right the way down between my shoulder blades, although exactly where it hurts depends on the angle i move it.

[stricker]

4 sets of pistols 8l, 8r.
lunges

neck is nackered. if been giving it the deep heat/thai oil treatment and ibuprofen... it loosens up but i still keep finding places where all of a sudden it hurts like hell.

i hate sports healthcare in the uk. i can either a) lie and say the injury was within 24 hours - that gets me straight to a sports physio, or b) truth and go to doctor (x days) who will refer me to physio/ortho if im lucky more likely ibuprofen+rest. or c) pay $$$ for an hour with massage therapist/physio/osteopath etc, none of which i'm overjoyed with. this sucks.

[stricker]

got a recommendation for an osteopath with a guy who i train with whos a massage therapist. went and saw him this morning. it seemed to help but no miracle relief yet, going back next week. driving there in the morning wasnt too bad, but driving back from work to home was a nightmare.

hmmm time for some creative exercise ideas, anyone?

[stricker]

still ****ed. pain seems to have moved down from my neck into one place in my upper back just to the left of my spine between my shoulder blades.

another thai fight coming up too, i need to get this sorted asap...

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

late so missed warm up...

coach went over thai clinch tactics again and we drilled stuff, mainly co-operatively.
attacks from dominant position (plumm)
attacks from one under one over
setting up knees, thai sweep/takedowns
then added
escapes from domninant and 50/50

flowed through positions, practiced techniques, then practiced counters

neck still giving grief so i was out a fair bit and when i was in went FEATHER-light

then round of shadow, coach pushing us hard, tons of sprawls, squats, press ups, sets of 10 punches etc

4x5s holding pads (no knees/clinch stuff cos of neck)
4x5s working pads

the pain in my neck has migrated to down my back, and its only really giving me grief now with sudden movements or wierd head positions i can feel im going into

padwork was fairly light and not very fighty, more for speed and fitness.

had an awesome barbeque sunday afternoon, grilled the left over halloumi and vegetables etc for dinner this evening :)

also, finished off ZMA, and after a few days off it decided to get another months supply. definitely a big thumbs up from me

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
2 rounds shadow boxing with intervals of up'n'downers and pummelling
3x5 min rounds on thai pads
3x5 min rounds holding thai pads

no wrestling cos of neck, so

2x5 min rounds boxing sparring with thai boxing coach.

[WinterPalm]

I sure hope that you have good head movement and parrying abilities! I wouldn't want to get hit with some good shots sparring with a messed up neck.

I'd consider a chiropractor...I know they kill some people and they work wonders for others...I've had very positive experiences.

[stricker]

I sure hope that you have good head movement and parrying abilities! I wouldn't want to get hit with some good shots sparring with a messed up neck.

I'd consider a chiropractor...I know they kill some people and they work wonders for others...I've had very positive experiences.it was cool man, my necks feeling loads better and only really hurts at the end of my current ROM (a bit reduced from normal). we were sparring medium/light contact so i didnt get hit with any power shots, but he kept piling on the pressure the whole time. my head movement sucks, but i sure got reminded how to parry correctly a few times :eek: :D

also i saw an osteopath end of last week and again today. apparently the problem was with the joint between one of my ribs and the vertebra, but thats been sorted now. also i need to work on thoracic spine mobility as there are one or two vertebra that are a bit stuck...

[stricker]

Weights

2 rounds on bag to warm up

Sumo Deadlift
5 @ 50kg+bar
5 @ 70kg+bar
5 @ 90kg+bar
5 @ 90kg+bar
3 @ 90kg+bar

5x5 bw pull ups

3mins thai kicks on bag straight into 2mins sledgehammering
2 times through, 1 min rest between rounds

10 chin ups and 10 OH squats with some scaffold pole for good measure

some stretching etc

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

road closed and traffic nightmare meant it took me over an hour to get there instead of the usual 15 mins so i missed half the session.

quick warm up, round of shadow boxing
3x5 min rounds holding pads
3x5 min rounds working pads

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
5x3 min rounds holding thai pads
5x3 min rounds on pads

bit of stretching. sat out wrestling cos of neck.

[stricker]

Boxing

went to the boxing gym we train mma in on a wed night...

went for a run to warm up (10 mins or so)
rounds of skipping
boxing circuit:
3 rounds shadow
3 rounds skipping
3 rounds on bags (heavy, uppercut bag, floor-ceiling ball)
then around again a few times
quick stretch to finish off

session was definitely easier than mma or the crazy 5x5s on mon and fri. I think im gonna do these on tues and thurs the next little while, my energy levels were suffering a bit with 6days a week hard training, so two slightly easier days will be nice, while sharpening up my skills...

got the whole 'boxing is the ultimate in fitness' and 'well mate of the hundreds that come through this door only one or two ever step in the ring' bits :rolleyes: oh well...

also i had a full on fight with a skipping rope. i dont ever do it (just star jumps and running) so i kept flailing around. i think it was because i was jumping way too high but my calves now have about the worst DOMS ive ever had, can barely walk!!!

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

still in calf DOMS hell, no laps round the room, so warm up was shadow boxing (hands only) + bw exercises i could do (squats+sprawls etc ok, no switchovers)

thai clinch drilling (couldnt get up on toes, so worked kinda light pure technique)

5x5s holding thai pads
5x5s holding thai pads

no typo, held twice cos i have NO footwork right now, cant put weight over my toes... couldnt hold for teeps or anything with lots of footwork involved, so kept it simple.

[stricker]

skipped MMA and did upper body conditioning workout:

circuit of :

2 mins hands on the heavy bag
10x kb OH press bottoms up. 5l, 5r
10x pullups

5 times round. dropped the number of pullups/had to take a break between reps in the last few sets.

bit of sledgehammering to finish.

mma show in the evening to see a few guys from my club fight.

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

warm up
extra conditioning, sets of 20, 30 pressups and situps, then 100 squats, more running round room, 100 squats again, running round the room, then 100 knees-to-chest jumps. couldnt do them, calves FRIED... coach seems to know exactly how to kill exactly what's already hurting...

then simple technique drills, lots of shin-block to kick, block kicks to firing back etc...

then

3x5 min rounds holding thai pads
3x5 min rounds working thai pads

felt weak and unfit :(

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

MMA partner circuit :
1 min thai kick throwbacks
1 min boxing sparring, then throw gloves off into
1 min clinch wrestling for position
1 min sprawls
1 min clinch wrestling for position

3 times through, 1 min rest.

then went over groundwork basics:
kesa gatame - broken kesa - side control - low knee - full knee on stomach - mount
for each position first holding it, then a simple submission from there, then transition to next position
then went over again this time looking at striking for each position and to set up subs etc, also basic defense etc

started low resistance, upped it so we were really tightening each others game up, especially in the transitions.

longer than usual stretching session to finish off.

[stricker]

MMA

massively late to training cos of work, so missed padwork :mad:

quickish warm up
1 round shadow boxing
1 round hands on heavy bag

MMA circuit :
1 min guard passing (me in guard, partner trying to pass)
1 min mount escaping (me mounted trying to escape)
1 min sprawls
1 min guard passing (other way round)
1 min mount escaping (other way round)

3x through

then drilled a takedown counter to single leg.
added a knee bar on the end of that

fitness : intervals of dumbell thrusters. i used a 10kg plate. i think it might have been a tabata interval, it was _0 secs on, _0 secs off, but it was a bit of a blur...

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

warm up
technique drills :
parry jab
parry jab+return with cross
overhand right over the top of jab
defend low round kick - step off and shin block
defend high round kick 1 - step off and arms
defend high round kick 2 - outside cutting kick
defend high round kick 3 - inside cutting kick
defend high round kick 4 - teep
defend teep 1 - scoop it out, round kick
defend teep 2 - move body back
defend teep 3 - catch, pull on to cross
defend teep 4 - catch underneath

3x5 min rounds holding pads
3x5 min rounds on pads

then sparring to finish. focus on using the techniques we'd drilled earlier.

[bodhitree]

Are you fighting anytime soon?

[stricker]

Spent saturday at SENI, then back again for a bit sunday morning. Wanted to get back for some boxing but engineering works meant it didnt happen. So, did some training at home

300 star jumps, warm up bits
2 x3min rounds shadow boxing (all hands + kick defense)
5 x3min rounds on the heavy bag (all hands + kick defense)
1 x3min round sledgehammering the tyre
1 min rest interval

hooked up my new Power rings :
5x press ups (feet on bench, body parallel)
6x inverted rows (heels on bench)
5 times through

1 to 10 and back down jabs
1 to 10 and back down crosses

i originally wanted to put the press ups and rows in the 3 min rounds but this was the first time playing with the power rings and i had no idea how **** hard it is to do the press ups on them, especially in a conditioning circuit

I guess i'll end up posting about seni on the wing chun forum, but anyway i hung out with nick for a bit and met alan orr. nick's great, we're so like-minded in our martial arts...

[stricker]

Are you fighting anytime soon?yup got another thai boxing interclub weekend after next!

im a bit worried about my conditioning though, i had a few weeks pretty easy going, then started the build up before thinking about proper hard training, then lost nearly two weeks (the neck injury and the calf doms).

now i've got 2 weeks to go and I'm away this friday till monday... i basically got 4 days training, 4 days off, 2 days training, 2 days rest then fight.

i REALLY want to do this one, but i'd had in my mind the idea that i'd like to have made some real changes before fighting again. i know i have in my head but i dont know how that'll translate to the ring. before the last one i was banging out 5x5s on the pads and still felt ****ed in the ring...

we'll see how the next bunch of days training go, these interclubs are matched fairly last minute, but i dont want to have to wait too long before fighting again

oh, and i think ive got another submission tourney about 3-4 weeks after the thai thing, so i'll drop all stand up for a couple of weeks and hopefully actually prepare for this one :rolleyes:

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

quick warm up (not the usual conditioning bits etc)
more kicking defense/counters technique drilling :
scooping teeps out to round kick
inside cutting kick counter to round kick
outside cutting kick counter to round kick
body slip teep to right cross
shin blocks
catching kicks to various nastiness
scooping out round kicks to round kick
some others i forgot, but lots of points of detail to do with technique, hand positions, fight strategy and tactics etc... coach dropping wisdom as always...

then mixing it up, 30 secs one person kicking the other countering, then switch

partnered with coach so it was got close to kick sparring, but just technique/balance/speed, and no shin pads anyway.

1 round shadow boxing
3x5 min rounds holding pads for coach :eek:
2x5 min rounds holding pads for a beginner
5x5 min rounds teaching thai pad holding to a beginner, worked my kick technique/balance, couldnt really get into power or anything good with hands.

[Nick Forrer]

Hey Jon

Good to see you at seni and to rap/play

straight back to training I see. Ha ha me too. Feeling it now though...body is seizing up:eek:

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
2 rounds shadow boxing
couple of rounds of pummelling variations, intervals of wrestling for position
drilled basic wrestling moves - arm drag, duckunder, ****zer
into pummelling, more wreslting for position

MMA circuit :
1 min boxing (with beginner so not sparring just jab-cross-hook-cross drilled)
1 min wrestling for position
1 min sprawls
1 min boxing
1 min wrestling for position

2x through, maybe 3

ground technique and drills:
broken kesa, to side control, to low-knee to postured up knee
a basic submission from each position, plus a couple more advanced ones

then some fitness stuff, run round the room sets of press ups, sit ups, jumping squats etc

then stretching to finish off


after i got home i wanted to put a couple of rounds in on the bag, but was feeling a bit mentally drained and couldnt get into the mood :(

[stricker]

Hey Jon

Good to see you at seni and to rap/play

straight back to training I see. Ha ha me too. Feeling it now though...body is seizing up:eek:yup well i said i had to go to make it to boxing, just didnt manage it... still got some decent work in :)

the training you've been putting in with alan has been paying off man! still waiting for you to put up a seni thread ;)

[stricker]

AM Training

quick warm up, 2 rounds of shadow
10 mins working the heavy bag, all kicks. not power, just technique/speed and bouncing into a kick from a shin-block or other footwork.
then 3 mins sledgehammering the tyre

PM - MMA

warm up
2 rounds shadow
3x5 min rounds on thai pads
3x5 min rounds holding thai pads

MMA circuit :
1 min passing guard
1 min mount escaping
1 min sprawls
1 min passing guard (swap roles)
1 min mount escaping (swap roles)

2 times through

then drilled a sweep
added an armbar on the end of the sweep, drilled.

was really humid today, so gym was ridiculous...

[stricker]

Also, got some good news through :

i dont know how to use a calendar, i've got another week to prepare for the thai boxing fight. still way behind though...

[stricker]

MMA (Thai)

tonight we arranged to do a whole night of sparring, but i had a work trip miles away today and family commitments other side of country too this weekend, so dedicated as i am i drove 3 hours to get to training tonight, and have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning for another probably 4 hour drive, all for... wait for it...

warm up,
did some counter/response drills for a few rounds, then
3rd round of sparring i teeped and caught my foot early and wierd and CRAAAACK! my middle toe on my left foot! the guy doing the stopwatch heard it the other side of the room over another 4 pairs of people sparring. i think i dislocated or broke the toe. anyway it ****ing hurts to put any weight on cant walk properly yet a-****ing-gain. im livid. supposed to be fighting soon so probably wont get even any running done now im away from training facilities the next few days

i did try and get another round or two of sparring in but just boxing where we stood toe-to-toe and didnt move our feet. of course that didnt work very successfully and i got my toe trodden on twice and it turned into full boxing sparring with me having no footwork pretty quick...

FFFFUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKK :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[SevenStar]

man, that sucks. how soon is the fight?

[stricker]

man, that sucks. how soon is the fight?like i said i ****ed up my calendar calculations and its actually 20 days to go... one's definitely broken and i think the other is too.

the tips of the toes are still pink but they've got heavy black bruising right around the bone from where it comes out of the foot to the first knuckle. they hurt to touch and wiggle. walking and driving are a struggle.

i cant see the thai fight happening now. i need to be training hard (2x a day, running etc) and specifically for am thai format&rules the next 2 weeks and i just cant see being back in training for at least a week or two, let alone teeping, and no way im gonna fight thai without a good teep... :mad:

[stricker]

MMA, with broken toes

hands only shadow boxing through warm up
2x rounds shadown boxing with intervals of pummelling

3x5 min rounds on the heavy bag
3x5 min rounds light rolling with mma coach - pauses while he checked the stopwatch and ran the class...

sat out and watched rounds of wrestling with takedowns

groundwork : armbar drill, armbar escape/counter drill

conditioning to finish : dumbell/barbell circuit consisting of power cleans, front squats, bent over rows, push press, back squat, power snatches and lunges (skipped them)

in another wierd turn of events my martial arts journey might be making a bit of a radical change soon...

[Dan_chi_sau]

awwww......i hate cliff hangers.

[stricker]

awwww......i hate cliff hangers.hey dan, which cliffhanger you talking about, the 'am i going to fight thai with a broken toe' or the radical change in training :)

i wish i knew too hahaha

the radical change is about 180 degrees opposite to what im doing right now :D

thinking about it it might actually be the end of me, as it will be in ADDITION to my current training :o

[stricker]

Weights

quick session

Sumo Deadlift
10x50kg+bar
5x70kg+bar
5x90kg+bar
5x90kg+bar
4x90kg+bar

circuit :
15 press ups
15 crunches on ball with 10kg plate behind head
repeat 3x through

then 3 mins sledgehammering to finish off

i had to be really quick today, no time to set up anything better for upper body :(

the plate behind the head trick and the ball definitely made a difference with the crunches, another kfm tip :cool:

having broken toe made sure i kept my weight way back on my heels doing the deadlifts :)

[bodhitree]

that sucks about your toe. Speedy recovery!

[Dan_chi_sau]

I was refering to the 'radical change in direction' cliffhanger. Hmmmm, i could guess, but a)i could be here all day and b) it may be something you're not ready to reveal yet, so i wont pry (even though i want to)......

Hope your toes sort themselves out for the fight. if its any concelation, I had a 'steel rod down the middle of the bone' op on one of my toes years ago, it was curling under itsself and made sports or running near impossible. What i got from this though, is the knowledge that although it was a little more brittle, and broke again a few times after that, it really wasnt a problem after the first couple of times...i played a lot of basketball back then and the last couple of occasions it was like 'oh....broke me toe again...hang on.....Im open! Im open!', and didnt really bother me too much. Hope it all works out. Or you could just kick the hell out of him with bust flappy toes and hopefully psych him out.....

[stricker]

Bodhi,

cheers bud. its frustrating cos its such a minor injury, with the worst timing...

I was refering to the 'radical change in direction' cliffhanger. Hmmmm, i could guess, but a)i could be here all day and b) it may be something you're not ready to reveal yet, so i wont pry (even though i want to)......

Hope your toes sort themselves out for the fight. if its any concelation, I had a 'steel rod down the middle of the bone' op on one of my toes years ago, it was curling under itsself and made sports or running near impossible. What i got from this though, is the knowledge that although it was a little more brittle, and broke again a few times after that, it really wasnt a problem after the first couple of times...i played a lot of basketball back then and the last couple of occasions it was like 'oh....broke me toe again...hang on.....Im open! Im open!', and didnt really bother me too much. Hope it all works out. Or you could just kick the hell out of him with bust flappy toes and hopefully psych him out.....dan,

hahaha its not like some big secret, just i really dont know any detail yet, even exactly what martial art its gonna be, so i dont wanna count my chickens before their eggs or whatever... besides if it goes ahead the first post of the new training as it will be NOTHING like mon-mma, tue-mma, wed-mma etc i'll be a real surprise :D

cheers for the horror story mate :) do you do the 'grip the floor with the toes' thing in wing chun?

[stricker]

yoga : did john davies renegade yoga dvd

then did a big instructional session : sbg's five point guard passing seminar, chris getz boxing focus mitts and erik paulsons focus mitts for vale tudo and rewatched some older stuff...

[Dan_chi_sau]

i do grip the floor with toes as best i can, its the one tucked next to the big toe, so it aint too bad, it just kinda sits there and encourages the others.

[stricker]

MMA

hobbled through warm up,
2 rounds shadow, pretty much hands only no footwork.

mma circuit :
1 min boxing combo back and forth (jab-jab-cross-hook-cross)
1 min clinch wrestling for position
1 min sprawls (i did press ups with legs crossed 1st round, squats 2nd)
1 min boxing combo
1 min clinch wrestling
3 times through

then few rounds of pummelling and wrestling for position

groundwork :
drilled some techniques including a nice broken-kesa to armbar, legs x-ed round their face, comes on really quick...

then 2 out in the middle rolling till the end. got 4 x2min rounds in.

rolling was wierd. toes still hurt to touch and i sure dont want them to re-break, so i was super careful. had to just pull guard and use my heel or keep foot in air a few times, when i did end up in guard and passing i just got swept right away, cos i couldt base on it. wrestling for position was worse, got schooled by a judo guy i normally survive with and generally sucked because i was being very careful with my foot...

having injuries has its upside you get to learn a lot...

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
2x5 min rounds holding pads, first all on ground'n'pound, second all boxing
2x5 min rounds on pads, same again.

mma circuit:
1 min boxing sparring
1 min clinch wrestling for position
1 min sprawls (i did squats/press ups)
1 min boxing sparring
1 min clinch wrestling
2x through, 1 min rest between. 10 secs to put gloves on/off for boxing bits...

sat out while others did wrestling sparring with takedowns

then did 2x5 min rounds rolling with mma gloves+strikes.

still putting weight through heel on my left foot, so no footwork/balance. got partnered with a really good amateur boxer so padwork was tasty but got toyed with in the boxing sparring, took shot after shot :o

rolling with strikes was with thai coach so had a real 'fighting' energy. i was mostly in guard due to foot injury. again, got punched a lot. my forearms are ****ed now, im now thinking grip strength is even more important when trying to prevent strikes than in regular submission fighting...

having a hurt foot is getting frustrating :mad:

[stricker]

MMA (Judo) - went no gi

quick warm up

kuzushi practice
then added foot sweeps
then with any standing techniques (light, not full randori)

drilled a throw, hooking around the outside of their leg with your outer leg, drive through with hip. seemed similar to a wrestling takedown

then into rounds rolling.

tiring session, frustrated yet again with foot. felt very one-dimensional, played out and plateud out tonight :(

[bodhitree]

drilled a throw, hooking around the outside of their leg with your outer leg, drive through with hip. seemed similar to a wrestling takedown



We did something similar to this, then if uke stepped out we went to a lateral drop (http://judoinfo.com/images/animations/blue/yokootoshi.htm) (without a gi it was from an over/under clinch). It was a pretty cool combo if the trip doesn't work.

[stricker]

bodhi,

skillz with the link to judoinfo... at the time it made sense to me that if it didnt work to drop level into more of a wrestling-like takedown. driving the hips through was a key point to this throw anyway. i think it was ko soto gake (http://www.judoinfo.com/video/gokyo/KoSotoGake.wmv). but im terrible with judo...

while i'm here, i just remembered, at the end of rolling we briefly went over a side naked choke from where your opponent is turtled, you get your knee in their side, if they put their arm round your leg-nearest-their head, triangle their arm up with your legs and go for choke.

Also, tonight's gonna be a night off. no point going to stand up sparring session when my footworks in the state its in... actually, i might do some weights, i'll have to think about what im doing the next few days/weeks...

[bodhitree]

I just added that link to my log, ha ha. Thanks

[stricker]

MMA

skipped first half of session - not holding or hitting pads sensibly right now
groundwork.

went over a rolling transition from twister side control to take the back. tricky...

then rolling. got a few rounds in, including 2 or 3 going straight non-stop through the breaks with a really strong fighter...

then as soon as i got home :

Sumo Deadlift
5x70kg+bar
3x90kg+bar
2x100kg+bar

thought this was a good idea, but not feeling up to it...

****ed around with the kettlebell for a bit, playing with some ideas for "grappling arm strength" like slow halo's, isometric-y grinding circles in front of me etc, just moving it all around my body, up, down, etc, 2-handed holding it by the horns

[stricker]

Yoga class for an hour and a half

struggled with some stuff with my toes...

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
fews round of pummelling/wrestling for position with various techniques drilled/added in

MMA circuit:
1 min boxing sparring
1 min clinch wrestling
1 min sprawls (i did squats or pressups)
1 min boxing
1 min wrestling

3x through, 1 min rest

some more clinch stuff

then about 3-4 rounds rolling

stretching to finish off

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

2x5 min rounds holding for thai coach. mainly kicks, i really cant hold hands for him...
2x5 min rounds hitting pads, beginner holding, one all hands, one gnp

then i did a round of holding low kick back for someone

then a whole load of rounds rolling.

conditioning to finish - 5 min round of sort of burpee things with a roll back, i didnt do the toe-hurting bit...

[stricker]

MMA (Judo)

quick warm up
guard pass/mount escape drill

kuzushi practice

went over another judo throw. judoinfo's down but i think it might have been uchimata? the one where you really stand on one leg and kick your airbone leg right up high...

then into rounds of rolling.

only took one out till near the end something went awry with my shoulder (the torn-labrum one). it felt really weak, a bit of pain doing like the lowering bit of a dip movement, and some tingling in my fingers... down with some ibuprofen, ice on and fingers crossed...

[bodhitree]

uchi mata (http://judoinfo.com/images/animations/blue/uchimata.htm) is the inner thigh throw. You kazushi uke towards you with a high sleeve pull and use one of your legs to go up uke's inner thigh. This can be done on the hip or just with the leg, although classified as a leg technique.



My shoulders pretty hurt today, I'm going to class but don't know how I'll do.

Good training man!

[stricker]

morning MMA

warm up
5x3 min rounds hands on focus mitts, worked hard and fast!
5x3 min rounds holding thai pads

went over bread and butter basics from pummel :
double underhooks - high and low
simple thow from both positions
defense/counter to double underhooks : drop hips back
if you have double underhooks and they drop hips, pull them down into ground
drilled those possibilities/counter-counters, made more alive
duck-under to take back
back-taken defense/counter - hips, pop their grip, spin

then a few rounds rolling

afternoon - thai boxing interclub. went to support a few training partners from monday & friday thai sessions, ITCHING to get in there

evening - went to see one of my mma bros headline a big mma show in london

[stricker]

uchi mata (http://judoinfo.com/images/animations/blue/uchimata.htm) is the inner thigh throw. You kazushi uke towards you with a high sleeve pull and use one of your legs to go up uke's inner thigh. This can be done on the hip or just with the leg, although classified as a leg technique.



My shoulders pretty hurt today, I'm going to class but don't know how I'll do.

Good training man!yup i think thats the one, maybe slightly different...it was definitely more of a leg technique than hip. my partner and i were no gi, so didnt pick up the sleeve stuff...

be careful with the shoulder, dont risk something serious...

[stricker]

decided to have a few days off R&R from sat till now... regretted it!

MMA

warm up

1 round shadow boxing
1 round pummelling (various levels 1/2/3)

stand up clinch circuit:
1 min wrestling for position
1 min rear bear hug escaping
1 min pummelling
1 min wrestling for position
1 min rear bear hug escaping (other role)

3x through, 1 min rest

ground circuit :
1 min mount escaping
1 min keeping guard
1 min sprawls
1 min holding mount (partner escapes)
1 min passing guard (same as)

3x through, 1 min rest

then rounds of takedown wrestling
then rounds of groundwork

drilled catching a kick to sweep to kneebar
drilled nogi judo hip throw (ippon seonage, i think)

[stricker]

MMA (Judo)

warm up

1 round kuzushi
drilled a simple ankle sweep throw
1 round kuzushi + ankle sweeps
1 round kuzushi + any throw/takedown

groundwork.

rounds rolling. 3 mins each, 30secs rest, 4 rounds in, 1 round out, repeat...

went over triangle where you havent got an arm in there and use your own arm (i got one of these rolling. turns out i used a slightly different technique to the 'textbook')
went over arm bar escape to knee bar (frank shamrock)
went over sneaky leg submission from standing in someones open guard, calf-crush/knee joint type attack

stretch to cool off.

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

2 rounds shadow boxing

stand up circuit :
1 min clinch wrestling
1 min rear bearhug escape
1 min pummelling
1 min clinch wrestling
1 min rear bearhug escape (other way round)

ground circuit :
1 min mount esacpe
1 min guard pass
1 min sprawls (each person counts to 10 in turn till time's up)
1 min mount escape (other way round)
1 min guard pass (other way round)

we did i think 5 rounds of that, alternating between ground circuit on the mats and stand up circuit. this time my toes feeling a little bit better so i did the sprawls instead of just bw squats. these circuits are definitely not easy...

then rounds of sub wrestling from standing, no strikes but intensity up a few notches...

[stricker]

Weights

quick warm up

Sumo DL
10x50kg+bar
5x70kg+bar
5x90kg+bar
4x90kg+bar
3x90kg+bar

**** knows what happened there, feeling weak :(

then it started raining, so my plans had to change rapidly.

quickly bust out 4 sets of 6 chin ups (the bicep ones, not pull ups) before it got too wet.

then circuit :
1 min sledgehammer in the rain, inside for :
1 min crunches on ball (about 40)
10x side bends w/16kg L then R
10x overhead/military press with 16kg kbell
30secs rest, repeat 3x through

3sets of 20 windshield wipers (lying on back legs up straight 90degrees, drop to left then right)
3sets of 20 lunges with dbells overhead (really light about 8kg)

then did some band pull aparts, band flyes, slow halos with 16kg kbell

submission tournament coming up in about 2-3 weeks (i forget the dates), would like to put on about 3-4kgs of muscle by then. dont know if i can make it happen. boiling 6 eggs every morning to snack on through the day... i'd really like my toe fixed by then too so i can have a top game and survive stand up...

[stricker]

also, got an email from my possible radical change in training. looks like it's not gonna happen, but i MAY follow this up a little bit. my whole training thing is a bit up in the air at the moment anyway as monday and friday training (which was AWESOME, 5x5s on the pads, hard) has now closed down due to lack of regulars :mad:

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

1 round shadow boxing
1 round pummelling

stand up wrestling circuit:
1min wrestling
1min back escape
1min push pummelling
1min wrestling
1min back escape (other role)

2 times through

ground circuit:
1min mount escape
1min blah blah blah see older posts...

2 times though

then rounds rolling

horrible conditioning thing to finish, burpee with a back roll in it...

stretching

[stricker]

missed session due to work emergency :mad:

computer outage means i'm catching up with these entries...

[stricker]

Judo (MMA)

warm up

kuzushi
kuzushi + leg trips

then standing randori any throw/takedown no groundwork. did 2 rounds

then rounds rolling, from standing

went over a calf crush type submission from mid guard-pass,
a guard pass
shoulder lock attacking turtle

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

round of shadow boxing
round of pummelling

then alternate the usual stand up circuit and ground circuit for 5x5 min rounds

then wrestling from standing into ground.

then just rolling to end

went over side control escape to butterfly guard
some other stuff i forgot

round of rolling burpee thing to finish.

I think the few days off and these hard sessions have done me good, the subwrestling tournament next weekend is at under 68kg and i was 63-64kg at the start of the week. I've been eating about 6+ boiled eggs a day, protein shake after training, cottage cheese before bed etc etc and i got on the scales at 68 this morning :)

toe STILL giving grief, can't do really shoot in for takedowns as it puts too much pressure on it, but ive been getting good at landing in a good position from a takedown

[stricker]

MMA

warm up

4x5 min rounds, alternate ground circuit with stand up circuit

ground :1 min each of mount escape, pass guard, sprawls, hold mount, keep guard
stand up : 1 min each of wrestle for position, back escape, push pummell, wrestle, back keep/lift

then out rolling.

then sick burpee with back roll thing and stretching to finish

[stricker]

MMA

warm up
1 round shadow boxing
1 round pummelling

4x5 min rounds of wrestling circuits (ground and standing) same as last few weeks

then rounds of grappling from standing to takedowns
then rounds with groundwork
then rounds pure groundwork

rolling burpee thing to finish

got home, 3 sets of 10 chin ups (the bicep ones) while cooking...

[stricker]

MMA (Judo)

pure no-gi session

warm up
1 round pummelling

4x5 min rounds of wrestling circuits, alternate :

A :
1 min wrestle for position
1 min back escape
1 min take turns to shoot in and pick up partner
1 min wrestle for position
1 min back hold and lift

B:
1 min side control
1 min pass guard
1 min sprawls
1 min side control escape
1 min hold guard

1 min rest.

then rounds rolling

went over some bread and butter techniques, armbars, triangles, made sure we were getting details correct and drilled a bit for slickness...

went over a nice turnover into choke from half butterfly guard.

[stricker]

Submission Wrestling Tournament (my 2nd...)

weighed in at 65.5kg for under 67kg, all good, but i was feeling a bit fcking lethargic to be honest. had to get up way too early and drive 2 hours+

Match #1

Won by KO :D Pretty quickly got the guy in a triangle, but he wasn't tapping so i straightened out his arm to see if that'd make him tap, had it hyperextended but couldnt get much more than just my arm pushing his wrist out with his upper arm against my thigh. I asked the ref if it was safe to continue, as i felt i could have easily damaged his elbow but he said carry on, and this guy wasnt giving in easy. So, just held on to the triangle and before long his eyes glazed over and rolled back and the ref stopped it.

He must have only been out for a few seconds but when he came round he was LIVID, having a go at the ref saying how he broke out of my triangle, when i'd completely let go after the ref said to. Just after i let go he was shaking and stuff and even had foam coming out of his mouth, even people in the stands said they could see he'd gone out...

Match #2 - semi final.

This was a tough match. This guy won the tournament last time back in April, and we had a bit of a stare down which was funny... Anyway after shaking hands and a bit of clinching (**** his grip was STRONG) he shot in and took me down with a single leg, then i got guard and tried a guillotine, couldnt get it. he passed to half guard, didnt let him pass the other leg, then we came up to knees. he then bust a very nice arm drag to take my back. ****! while i was busy defending the choke he worked to get a body triangle. battle for the choke ensues, he couldnt get anywhere near it. rolled all over the place, me on top him on top, sides etc, his legs were secure and i had super choke defense... i knew i'd lost but no way he was gonna sub me... then i was a bit risky defending the triangle and pushed is arm right away from me, which he then took and went into a triangle. i had my hand in there to defend it, but he eventually forced it out and got the choke on, i had to tap. seeing stars and a bit dizzy hahaha.

i had to hand it to him he was a **** good wrestler, really strong and explosive.

Match #3 i got called back to the mats for the playoffs. this was to decide 3rd place/bronze.

I almost didnt bother with this, just didnt feel like getting on the mat for it. the last guy really tired me out and i didnt feel up for another battle. anyway i cant remember exactly what happened and only got the end of it on video, but i ended up with him in a triangle pretty quickly (yet again). this one though his arm wasnt straight and his hand went back in the triangle (point of his elbow pointing out) to defend the choke. no way i could get the arm out, the choke wasnt coming on, tried putting my forearm in his neck, wrapped my arms round the back of it, spun and rolled around to get better position, tightened it up with my hands, everything...

it started to get ridiculous when points scoring started after the first 3 mins but i was already in the position so didnt pick up 3pts for the sub attempt... i chatted away to the ref about the points, talked to a few teammates about how to finish him off etc, this carried on for ages, hard work on my legs and arms... he was going a bit wierd at this point grunting and stuff, thought maybe he'd go out like the first guy, but no

then he decided to pick me up, but in novice/intermediate there were no slams, so i was a bit confused. instead he started spinning round on the spot with me wrapped round his head up at head height. he was really growling and stuff and i thought he'd gone a bit mental or something so let go and spun off onto the mat...

dizzy when i got up and he was straight on the attack, really going nuts growling and screwing his face up hahaha. anyway he came in once and i was ****in nackered and really just wanted a lie down, so pulled him down into butterfly guard when he came in, -1 point! moved to full guard, he tried passing, no chance, i tried my favourite triangle set up, no where near, then the horn went, end...

bit annoyed i lost on a stupid minus point when really i should have subbed him early on, but i really didnt want to be in that last match, head or heart wasnt in it.

all in all a fun day. dont know why but i felt really lethargic, just didnt attack at all, relied on old favourites. the armdrag was annoying as thats one of my moves and i usually defend it pretty well, also disappointed i got tapped with the triangle as i thought i could hold him off for the time.

the turn out was smaller than the last one, i would have liked to have worked harder to get 4th, but i did think i deserved it. i think the guy i lost to in the semi and the guy who beat him in the final were definitely better than me, but the guy who came third i really should have beaten. on a better day i think my 2nd match would have been really exciting but he still would have won.

[stricker]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVAVgUbYqeU

didn't get the one of me choking the guy out on video :( i think the organisers are going to put their footage of it up though...

[Nick Forrer]

Hey Jon

great fights!

Your guard is looking slick

Was gonna compete myself in advanced but one of my class mates decided it would a be good idea to pop my arm on wed so I wasnt fight ready

But went and trained with Alan in York all weekend anyway so it was all good in the end. How did brasa do?

[Mr Punch]

Can't watch the vid yet, but that description of the third fight had me chortling... sounds like a right head-the-ball!