Training, training and more training...

Some great training recently at Leicester MMA. Last month's stand up training concentrated on clinch range fighting. The last few sessions were spent working the underhook and thai plum in order to strike. The classes were taken by Nathan Leverton and his usual attention to the details that can be the difference between a technique's success or failure was again in evidence. Nathan spent time ensuring that the basics of each position and the ability to establish dominant control was developed and drilled – pummelling for the underhook and establishing and maintaining inside control with the plum as well as the underhook – before adding in punches and knees.

During the last session, even though we were only drilling, my training partner and I experienced the crescendo effect, whereby the intensity of the drill spirals upwards until you're almost sparing. All the coaches at Leicester Shoot expend a lot of energy reminding classes of the need to relax, slow down and learn. It's a lesson we could all learn occasionally.

This month we're going to be working on guard – playing and passing, I'm especially looking forward to the passing work. Anyway, aside from MMA training, I've been able to fit in two strength sessions each week alongside some conditioning work. The conditioning has included strongman medley, sled pulling and bag work. Strength-wise I'm continuing to stick with 5/3/1.

More to post I the next few days, take care.

Little and Large

As a short, heavier man I'm always interested in how shorter fighters deal with taller opponents, anyone that I fight is likely to be much taller than me.
Jeff Monson is an example of a fighter who, due to being short and having a shorter reach than most of those at his weight, has to close the distance a great deal during his fights.  If you watch his fight with Daniel Cormier Monson struggled to effectively close the distance to strike, clinch or get the takedown.  When you consider that Cormier is only a few inches taller than Monson you can only imagine the difficulties that Jeff had with the six-foot-eight Tim Sylvia who's nearly a foot taller!

Randy Couture, though nowhere near as short as Monson, also had to solve the conundrum of Sylvia's size at UFC 68. 

In a classic fight Couture used a lead inside leg kick to close the distance, unbalance and distract Sylvia before launching a big overhand right that took his opponent off his feet and to the canvas.  Although he couldn't finish the fight, Couture controlled and dominated the fight taking the Heavyweight Championship from Sylvia where Monson and Andre Arlovski failed.

Since I first saw this fight back in 2007 I've trained this combo though I've yet to have an opportunity to try it on a live opponent.  More importantly, it's a great example of being able to draw an idea from a real-life fight and incorporate it in your training.  Key to this, though, is not choosing a fighter who is very attribute based, simply, someone who does things that others can't - Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, BJ Penn, Shinya Aoki.  Pick the skill, learn it, drill it, use it.

The Whizzer

Last week's submission grappling training centred around The Whizzer, again taught by Nathan Leverton.  Maybe I was tired after work or not quite recovered from a bout of cold virus, but I had real difficulty getting hold of this technique and keeping it in my head.  Don't misunderstand - I've worked Whizzers in the past, but the transitions to other positions & submissions just wouldn't stick in my mind.  Oh well.
There was a lot in this lesson:

• Head position
• Wrist control
• Peeling the wrist off
• Transitioning from collar tie, underhook.
• Transitioning to headlock/snapdown
• The Marcelotine (!)
• The Anaconda choke 

The Marcelotine was new to me and a real eye opener- literally - as the choke comes on quickly and particularly hard against the windpipe.  Nasty.

I'd studied the Anaconda previously but still managed to completely mess it up on my first attempt.


I've decided to keep a kind of training journal that records details of the training at Leicester MMA.  This is not a diary type journal but more a way of ensuring that I remeber things through the act of writing them down.  I can also revisit my notes, like a kind of revision, so that I can try to cement techniques and key details in my mind.  I'll let you know how this goes.


More posts soon, lots to write up from the last week.....