Saturday MMA Class 04/05/08
Since I switched from my old school, a more traditional form of karate, I haven't done any striking. Truth is, I wasn't very good at it in spite of my ever changing belt color... part of the reason I left. So, with a little trepidation, I showed up yesterday for MMA.
Our school has three "MMA" classes each week. Two are run primarily by Jeff Hougland, a fighter with a professional record who is a purple belt in BJJ and never, ever gets tired. Jeff Bourgeois, also a purple belt with several amateur MMA fights is an assistant coach. He also... never, ever gets tired. They're good guys in BJJ class because they push you to be technical. You get away with nothing when working with them and they see every mistake or hole in your game.
Saturday is "MMA Basics" and is run by Bill Jensen, a nice guy... for a cop. Seriously, though, I've been thinking more and more about trying this class out over the last few months. I've still got 10 lbs to lose and I guess my 37 year old body has grown fond of it. This last bit of pudge is the first pudge I got. It's a sentimental attachment to my dwindling spare tire. My diet isn't militant, but quite frankly, I have no desire to live like that. I want to eat healthy food, but not beat myself up for drinking a beer or eating a piece of lemon meringue pie (Mmmmmm.... lemon meringue pie). Still, I eat well, think about nutrition and have managed to stay under 185 lbs for over a year (down from let's say well over 200 lbs when I started).
I've read and been advised by many people more knowledgeable about sports nutrition and health than I that the body acclimates to a workout routine over time and will stabilize. So, shaking up my workout is what's needed. With this in mind, I'm still going to try and make at least three BJJ classes each week, but think I've found the remedy. First is this MMA Basics class on Saturdays, and second is a 45 minute workout Thursday mornings at my gym. I'm not really sure what the Thursday workout will entail. It's labeled "boot camp" on the schedule, but it fits my schedule, and I can't imagine that it's any worse than some of Bill's "warm-ups." So, we'll see. Hopefully, the addition of these two variations in my routine will kick start my metabolism.
MMA Basics class started with a relatively standard warm-up. Abs/neck and then stretching:
- x60 leg lifts
- x60 frog kicks
- x60 oblique crunches (each side)
- x60 elbow to knee crunches (each side)
- x60 closed guard crunches
- x60 Yes neck exercises
- x60 No
- x60 Maybes
- x10 circles (each way)
Some details on the 1, 2, 3 combination (Jab, Cross, Hook). This is relatively foreign to me, so I'm sure I'm missing a lot. If anyone has any pointers, feel free to comment.
On the Jab, I'm right handed, so I'm going to set up with my left leg in front of my right. Bill said later in the class that everyone's stance is a little different. We'll figure out pretty quickly what works for us. Thinking about it, how far out I lead that leg is going to depend on how well I can defend a take down, among other things. The main point is that, as a righty, my jab will come with my left hand.
To get power from my jab, I need to step into the jab, keeping my right hand up to protect myself. That's easier said than done. It's easy to keep my right hand up when I'm just doing a jab, but when I add the cross into the mix, I tend to drop my right hand. This was particularly apparent when I was trying this on the heavy bag and attempting to add some power to the techniques.
So, I lead with my left jab. I'll follow with a right cross. The thing here is to remember to bring my left hand right back to guard again.
Finish with a left hook. It was really easy to allow myself to reach a little with my hook. I guess the idea with the hook is to keep it relatively close to your body, swinging more with the hips and legs than with the arm. Well, that's going to take some practice.
So, there you go: jab, cross, hook.
After the rounds on the bags, we worked some on the sprawl, starting with sprawls on the bag and then with a partner shooting for a single or a double. I worked with Keoni, who is always a good partner. The focus in this drill was on ending with our hips low, keeping our opponent's head centered in our body to help prevent a sitout, and getting at least one underhook.
From here, we went to drilling both the Anaconda and the D'arce chokes from this position.
Here's a terrific explanation of the Anaconda from this exact position:
The only additional detail Bill provided is on the finish. This would be if for whatever reason my opponent doesn't tap or go to sleep as I walk my legs around to finish. If this happens, I can walk all the way around, hooking his leg with my own and then using that to shoot my hips in.
The D'arce (or Brabo) choke is very similar to the Anaconda choke. The big difference is that on the Anaconda, I'm going to get my arm deep against his neck, reaching my own bicep outside of his shoulder. If I slide it the other way, grabbing my bicep right next to his neck, it's a D'arce or Brabo.
Here's a video showing a basic D'arce choke from turtle, as we learned it yesterday:
Another point that Bill made yesterday with both of these chokes is to concentrate when finishing the the technique to bring elbows in and pull my opponent toward my chest.
Finishing up the class, we did some sparring for takedown only. I've found that my shots are actually getting better. Which is to say that they still stink, but not quite as bad as when I started. I need to concentrate on finishing. If I get stuffed, I need to drive up and over. I'm getting pretty deep on the shot, but then I get stuffed.
Today I get to go to BJJ. My arms are pretty sore. If I was looking for a different workout, I think I've found it. MMA is a completely different kind of cardio and my shoulders in particular are feeling it today.
