A Different Kind of Workout

Posted on 23. May, 2008 by Jeremy in Press On, Sharpening, Writing

From what I’ve seen and felt, the only thing that can prepare one for an MMA workout is an MMA workout. I went into Tuesday’s class feeling pretty good despite a tender thumb (tweaked during my first class one week prior when I stumbled into a rack of wooden swords – if they’d been real, I’d be typing with stumps right now), and ready for more boxing drills and sparring.

Ah, surprises. We warmed up as usual, then went right into 5-minute rounds of agility and power movements:

  • Footwork through a rope ladder on the floor
  • Forward high jumps over little hurdles with our knees as high as we could get them
  • Hopping on one foot in and out of a rope ladder on the floor
  • Lateral high jumps over hurdles
  • Moving laterally along a rope ladder on the floor, touching the toes of each foot inside each square
  • Start over and do it all again

We did three rounds of that with 30 seconds rest in between, and I had to take a few breathers during the last round. It doesn’t feel good to let the other guys down by taking a break, but I didn’t want to dig a hole I couldn’t get out of.

Then we moved on to something I was really interested in; the instructor, Fernando Neto, an MMA fighter and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt from Brazil, showed us how to transition into an armbar from the guard when our opponent postures up and plants a foot for balance. This is the kind of stuff that will really inform my writing and give me an understanding of MMA strategy. How to set something up and execute it with all the details on where to put your hands, feet, hips, etc.

After that we sparred. I find it fascinating how two people who’ve never met can say, “Wanna go?”
“Sure.”
“I’m Dave.”
“Jim.”
Then they touch gloves and begin to kick, punch, choke, and crank each other. When it’s over, they touch gloves again and say, “Nice work.”

It’s honest and real, and incredibly refreshing. There are no facades, at least not for me. I don’t have the energy to spare for it.

Driving home, one week after the first class that left me barely able to dial a phone, I felt great. A few tweaks here and there, but the long Memorial Day weekend should be ample time for those to heal.

The Good News: I Haven’t Been Kicked in the Head. Yet.

Posted on 18. May, 2008 by Jeremy in Press On, Sharpening, Writing

The second day of MMA training went much better. I’m not nearly as sore as I was after the first day, and since I knew what to expect I didn’t have the tension that wore me out so quickly last time.

After warming up with jogging, air squats, leg lifts, jumping rope, and shoots & sprawls, we started with some boxing combinations. Jabs (1), crosses (2), and lead hooks (3) with footwork, doing combos of 1-1-2-3-2 ( so jab, jab, cross, hook, cross). It can get pretty tiring, especially in the shoulders, to keep my hands up while punching then holding the mitts up for my partner to throw his punches. There was a lot of “shaking it out.”

I got some great pointers on keeping my punches solid and smooth without flailing around and getting off balance. Form and technique first, then speed. Power comes later.

We did three rounds of 6-minute sparring sessions with 2 minutes rest in between. The stand-up was a lot of fun and increased my respect for fighters who stand in the pocket. It’s unsettling to be within range of punches, kicks, knees and elbows, even at half speed.

When it went to the ground I managed to get an Americana (raise your hand like you’re getting sworn in and tilt your hand back and push your elbow forward, putting torque on the shoulder), a quasi-Anaconda Choke without the gator roll (I tried it once with the roll and failed miserably). I tapped out to an armbar and was close to getting submitted via Americana myself, but my partner wasn’t very familiar with it so we went through the steps until the round was over.

It was another great session, and it’s already informed the writing for book two of the Woodshed Wallace series. I’m very happy that the class won’t leave me too sore to type, which would kind of defeat the purpose.