Slow Kicks

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading. The rehab is going well...although slower than I had hoped. The hip isn't really giving me too many issues now, its mainly the hamstring holding me back. So after yet another torturous session with my sadistic osteopath things are looking better.....slowly.

I'm still to avoid isometrics for the time being (I really feel like the blog should be called training with injuries) but am slowly re-introducing kicks and more focused work on my hamstrings, still only light stretching though.

The exercise I am finding the biggest benefit from are slow kicks.  This is a big thing for me because I hate slow kicks.....I've hated them for over 20 years. While there is nothing better than a fast strong head height kick, there is nothing more demoralizing than slow kicks.

My hatred of slow kicks dates back over 20 years to my early Tae Kwon Do days. My instructor at the time loved them...and why wouldn't he?...he was awesome at them. He would routinely stand and teach the class about the finer points of a side kick while holding one leg out at head height. He had such an enviable combination of flexibility and strength....just picture Bill Wallace in his younger days, but Anthony (my instructor) could do it with either leg!!

While it was a great inspiration to train under someone so good, the focus of any leg exercise became (for me) to just get my leg as high as possible...and doing so I pretty much cheated myself out of any real benefit of the exercise and just grew to hate it..so started avoiding it, and have done for way too long.

Fast forward to today and while I am still terrible at them, I am finding them very beneficial. I had previously done them using some sort of support (a chair, a wall or partner) for balance but find doing this really takes away the biggest benefit of the exercise...developing strength in the supporting leg.

Now I do them freestanding and find them much more beneficial.

What the hell, I just made a quick video of what I mean. See below.




While I wouldn't go so far as to say I love them, I can definitely see the benefit in doing them. They are great to use as part of a warm up for a kicking session as well.

90% of fights go to the ground

Hi Guys,
Thanks for reading.

I'm still just doing some light therapeutic workouts for my hips, so no splits progressions for the time being. I am looking at a new training location for when I get back into things though.

One of the better options is an MMA gym in Sydney that also offers some Japanese Jujitsu taught by a former world ranked #1 full contact shooto champion. Sounds very promising.

If I do decide to start training there, they also offer Thai and BJJ which I will try and do 1 each per week...thats the current plan anyway.

This got me to thinking about the mantra of every BBJer that I know...90% of fights end up on the ground. Don't get me wrong I think BBJ is a fantastic ground art and they have solid training protocols, however in my opinion as an option for self defense, I think any art that focuses primarily on going to the ground has some fundamental issues. THE last place you want to be in any self defense situation is rolling around on the ground with either multiple or armed attackers.

The few guys I know that do BBJ don't think about this, they spend 90% of their time training on the ground and still think they are learning self defense. If they are just doing it for sport/fitness/fun thats fine, but a lot of BJJers believe that what they are doing is the best option for self defense available.

Anyway, back to the topic.

With some time on my hands I thought I would do a little research. It seems that the figure, now famously (or infamously) declared by the Gracies at the start of the BJJ phenomenon comes from a 1997 LAPD study of arrest data. (see link at bottom).
The first thing to note is that this study is looking at arrest data, not fights. In-fact the report clearly shows that only 25% of incidents included the offender actually attacking the officer. The other 4 of 5 responses in  95% of cases was:

33% pulled away from the officers arm grab
19% refused to assume a search position
10% ran
6% took an offensive "stance" or posture but didn't attack the officer.

Of this only 62% of incidents ended with the officer and the offender on the ground. Again, it important to note, this is not a fight, its an arrest. Even if you did think you could draw a correlation between fight and arrest data (which I don't think you should), the altercation only ended on the ground in 62% of cases, thats a long way from 95%.

This is a huge issue and the debate will rage for years to come. No doubt that BJJ has changed the way people look at fighting and probably for the better. I still think that a decent stand up fighting art should be the base of any realistic self defense system, even if only because it allows you to run away if necessary. I also think cross training in a ground fighting system is a great thing to do...and fun! Grappling is an incredibly complex art and if you haven't done any, I recommend you find a good local instructor and get a few lessons even if you only learn the very basics.

I am also aware of the irony of someone that is focusing on training for splits and kicking to the head talking about how unrealistic BJJ is for self defense. This is a purely personal goal for athletic and artistic reasons, not for practical self defense skills.

LAPD study

Isometrics plan

Hi Guys,

Thanks for reading.

As I mentioned previously, once I'm given the all clear to start back on isometrics (hopefully soon), I plan on using the strength progression plan outlined by Dan Van Zandt from the Martial Arts Planet website, the plan is also outlined on his Blog. You can fnd a link to his blog in my useful links section.

Basically this is a cut and paste from his Blog. I have also mocked up a spreadsheet that I will use to track my workouts, find a download link at the bottom of this post and feel free to use it yourself.

From: Here


Saturday, 25 September 2010
Isometric split progression

This method is based on the principle that total time under tension is key to building strength in extended positions, and therefore increasing flexibility. (Remember, a stronger muscle tenses less as it tries to support itself in an extended ROM.) An individual starting at the beginning of this schedule could reach full splits in as little as 6 months. Some people may achieve such results even quicker. Your overall progress will depend on your starting strength.

Note that this method is tough and not for the faint of heart. It requires you to hold strong, steady tensions for up to three minutes. Anyone who has tried standard isometrics in the past may very well be crapping their pants right now. Some people may very well be reaching for a bottle of aspirin and prayer book when they find out the later stages involve holding such tennsions while lifting as much as 30 kilos. Like I said - not for the faint of heart. But it does work. This method is the most successful with my clients.

The process of increasing ROM during each rep is simple: get into your front or side split and extend your leg(s) until you feel like you can't increase it any further; hold this position until you feel the tension start to dissipate. Don't stick around for too long - 30 seconds is enough for most folks. Extend further into the split. Hold, and extend further still. Ideally you should keep repeating this cycle until you reach your absolute maximum, but by that point most people will have no interest in tensing for up to three minutes. Yes, the worst is still yet to come! I usually do around three extensions before tensing. Tense the target muscle(s), building the tension up over 5 seconds, reaching its maximum by the fifth second. Hold steady, unwavering tension. You should be contracting at 100% maximum effort at all times.

When it comes to holding weight you can insert barbell plates into a tough rucksack or wear a weight vest. I prefer the latter.

The sets below are listing in ascending order. The numbers in brackets indicate how many workouts you should perform that training load. For example, 5 sets x 1:30 + 12.5 kg (6) means you should do five sets using tensions lasting one minute and thirty seconds, carrying 12.5 kilos, for six consecutive workouts. Six workouts usually take around two weeks to complete, going off the assumption you leave a full day of rest between workouts and you aren't overly sore afterwards. Note that, occasionally, you will be extremely sore following the use of this method. If you are very sore for several days after every workout, you need to reduce the intensity a bit. If you are very sore after just the first level, you should leave isometrics for the time being and focus on building overall lower body strength using exercises such as squats, deadlifts and lunges. In terms of order of exercises in your workout, do your isometrics at the very end, after your normal weight lifting routine.

Anyway, enough of that. Here are the details:

1) 1 set x 0:30 (1)
2) 2 sets x 0:30 (1)
3) 3 sets x 0:30 (1)
4) 4 sets x 0:30 (1)
5) 5 sets x 0:30 (1)
6) 5 sets x 0:45 (6)
7) 5 sets x 1:00 (6)
8) 5 sets x 1:15 (6)
9) 5 sets x 1:30 (6)
10) 5 sets x 1:45 (6)
11) 5 sets x 2:00 (6)
12) 5 sets x 2:15 (6)
13) 5 sets x 2:30 (6)
14) 5 sets x 3:00 (6)
15) 5 sets x 3:00 + 1.25 kg (6)
16) 5 sets x 3:00 + 2.50 kg (6)
17) 5 sets x 3:00 + 5.00 kg (6)
18) 5 sets x 3:00 + 7.50 kg (6)
19) 5 sets x 3:00 + 10.0 kg (6)
20) 5 sets x 3:00 + 12.5 kg (6)
21) 5 sets x 3:00 + 15.0 kg (6)
22) 5 sets x 3:00 + 17.5 kg (6)
23) 5 sets x 3:00 + 20.0 kg (6)
24) 5 sets x 3:00 + 22.5 kg (6)
25) 5 sets x 3:00 + 25.0 kg (6)
26) 5 sets x 3:00 + 27.5 kg (6)
27) 5 sets x 3:00 + 30.0 kg (6)

This schedule is capped at 5 sets carrying 30 kilos because I have never met a client who could not do full splits beyond level 27. Most achieve their maximal flexibility many levels before that. You can go up to level 27 if you wish... and if you can handle it. I said this method is tough; it hurts like a bitch, but it works like the devil. My advice is to cap your progress at one level above that with which you hit full splits, two at most. For example, if you reach full splits by level 18, you shouldn't need to progress further than 19 or 20.

Dan then also provides a Q & A post: Q & A Here

Finally, Here is the link to the download of the spreadsheet for the program that i created, any inconsistencies are mine and not Dans.

Hopefully I can get stuck into it soon.

Advanced Jujitsu seminar

Hi guys,

Thanks for reading.
Yesterday I attended an advanced jujitsu seminar at my school. It was a great day of training split into 3 sessions. The first was some advanced jujitsu escapes and a few reversal techniques. The second was on the basics of MMA, although it was essentially on groundwork and grappling. Some nice techniques for the side mount and arm bars from the ground mount position. Then they ran a 45 minute MMA conditioning session which was fantastic. It was basically a martial arts related circuit, we did each station for 1 minute. We ran it at 5 x 1 minute stations, with 1 minute rest then 5 more stations then 1 minute rest etc . It was exhausting but a lot of fun.

One of my favorite stations that I will definitely introduce my friends too was a ground and pound exercise. Basically one person lays on their back on the ground and holds a large kicking shield on their chest and abdomin. The other person gets in the mount position on top. When the time starts, the person on top starts hitting the bag as hard as they can continuously with  punches, elbows etc. The person on the bottom moves around and tries to buck the person on top off by bridging. Both people end up getting a great workout.

Splits training.
Still holding off isometrics as per my osteopaths recommendation. The hip is definitely feeling better. Despite a lot of plyometric training and a round of chest height kicking on the bag at the seminar, there has been no real pain which is great. I'm feelng pretty confident that I should be back doing them within about 2 weeks hopefully.

Using the foam roller every 1-2 days has been very helpful and I am finding less trigger points almost every session.

Below is a good video showing a few foam roller exercises.