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Saturday August 22, 2009

How Do Hit?

Started back today on my stand-up after a hiatus of about a year. I don't feel like my form has suffered horribly (not that it was that great to begin with) but my conditioning is totally gone.

I think doing MT regularly will definitely help me get back up to speed on my Jiu-jitsu as well.

To start we ran 4 laps and then did a couple rounds of jump-rope. Coach then had us do a pretty strenuous warm-up with lots of alternating chest and ab work. After shadowboxing we did some paired drills working on the push kick and defense and also jab/cross defense. We did some work on the bags of jab/cross combos, then finished up with some punch/block/return drills.

Push Kick
* Knee comes up to my chest
* Push leg forward so that foot can be flat against their chest, between navel and sternum
* Push foot forward to throw them off balance

Wednesday May 28, 2008

Distance

Worked some kicks, both single and double till close to failure. Did some defensive drilling, then broke into two groups of 5 for sparring, rotating 1 new person in every round.

Round 1

* This was someone I thought I should be able to control, but had a lot of trouble getting through his defense to actually get good hits in. I never felt in a lot of danger from him either. Coach said I need to tighten up my range, and move out after making a combo.

Round 2
* This was someone more experienced than me, but he was pretty tired from the workout and played it pretty conservative. He told me I need to move when under pressure, I have a habit of covering up and standing still.

Saturday May 24, 2008

Workout

Did 10 min of rope, some shadowboxing and did some bagwork. Then paired up with someone and did mittwork. Finished up with defensive drills and some light sparring.

Wednesday April 30, 2008

30-80

Coach said that most everyone is at a level now that he wants to back off and let us work more on developing our own game, so we're going to be doing a lot more sparring and less drilling.

We paired up, started out at 30% and slowly ramped it up to 50, 75 and 80%. My partner is a lot better at stand up than me, so I focused on trying to control the flow, minimizing damage and footwork. My footwork needs a lot of work, I tend to lose it when I'm working a combo on a moving opponent.

We also did some mit drills where we'd slip a jab, and return with either a jab or cross.

Saturday April 5, 2008

Back At It

Started back at the gym after over a month off. Just did some stretching & ropes, then mittwork. Stuck to basics like jab & jab/cross and focused on my footwork.

Tips from coach
* On my jab, the punch should hit before or as my lead foot hits the ground, not after
* Same with cross

Saturday February 16, 2008

Back In It

First day back after a month, so I started out slow to see how I feel. Did 10 minutes of ropes and a lot of stretching, then paired up with a friend and did some basic (straight) mitt work. After he left, I hit up the bags for a while, mixed in with some more stretching.

My cardio seems okay, but I have lost some flexibility. I'm going to work on it the next couple weeks to see if I can't get back to where I was and start increasing it again.

Saturday January 12, 2008

Combos

Got to class a bit late, so just partnered up and did mitt work on various combos.

Wednesday January 9, 2008

Wear You Out

Partnered up with someone and did pad work, drilling a circuit of elbows, kicks and knees. We kept going till I almost couldn't lift my legs. Was a pretty good workout.

Saturday January 5, 2008

In Range

Did 15 min of jump rope and then worked the bags for a while. I'm really trying to work on my distance, since I still seem to be crowding. After a few rounds, I paired up with a classmate and we did some mitt drills.

Hook
* Should come from side of head, not out and around
* Power should come from hips - lots of rotation

Saturday December 22, 2007

Drive From the Toe

Did 10-15min with ropes then paired up with a classmate to do mitt & pad work on 3 min rounds.

Mitts (moving) - 1-2/3-4/9-10
Thai Pads - 15 rear kicks/10 knees/15 lead kicks/10 knees - repeat

Coach's Tips
* Keep elbow up on hook
* Drive up with the uppercut, put the shoulder into it and drive from the toe

Saturday December 15, 2007

Jab, Jab, Jab

Jumped rope for a few minutes, then did some distance bag work. I then paired up with someone and we worked defense, first just vs straight jab/cross and then throwing anything (jab, cross, hook, uppercut, body blows, etc). We finished up with some light sparring.

Wednesday December 12, 2007

Ho's and Bo's

Got to class a little late due to construction so only caught half the warmup. Coach was at one of his kid's games, so a senior student led us through drills. We did kicks, knees, elbows, a elbow counter drill, and then some combos. (1/2/3 - 10/3/2)

Kicks and Knees
* When kicking with my left leg, I need to step out more
* When kneeing, make sure to grab the back of their head, not neck

Elbows
* "Wipe the Head" - After throwing an elbow, the hand should come back around in a wiping motion - palm out - to protect the head as you turn your body to throw from the other side. For example, after I throw a right, my hand would go clockwise across my forhead as I pivot right to throw my left.

Elbow Counter Drill
* Catch elbow with same side hand
* Put back of opposite arm on their tricep
* Palm of same side hand on tricep
* Come in with elbow from opposite side
* They catch, and continue to ping-pong

Punching notes
* Make sure to pivot on toe for hooks
* On uppercut, drive from toe, shoulder should be behind it

Saturday December 8, 2007

Counterstrike

Started out with some ropes, then did a circuit of bag & mitt work, then some defensive drills and sparring.

Few things I need to work on :
* Keep covered when jabbing
* Use counter-punch
* Combos ftw

Saturday December 1, 2007

Make Space

Did some mitt work with a partner, then some defensive drills (with and without hands) and finished up with some light/med sparring.

I need to work on my distance, keep my chin down and keep pressure on my opponent. If I'm hitting them, they have a lot more trouble unloading on me.

Wednesday November 28, 2007

Check Your Head

Coach talked about stances, and the differences between traditional boxing, muay thai and mma. So far I've been doing more of a boxing stance, for MMA we keep our level lower in order to more easily shoot for a takedown and to guard against getting taken down.

We also drilled some head movement by putting our arms down and having our partner punch at our head.

Saturday November 17, 2007

Range

Came in a little late, so just jumped around a bit to warm up and then hit the bags. I worked my jab, cross and jab/cross , and did a bit of kicking here and there. Coach came by to give me some pointers, especially about the range problem I continue to have. I need to get a good distance away from it, then jab on the way in so that I'm connecting with a left-hand power shot about the time I land.

If I'm just going for a jab, move straight in. If I'm going for a jab/cross, I should come to the side so that my range stays correct.

Wednesday November 14, 2007

Catching

Started out with some combo drills on mitts. My partner noticed that I wasn't putting my shoulder into my uppercut. After tweaking it a bit, I noticed a lot more power when I get my body turned just a little bit more.

We then both put on gloves and worked some counter-punching. One person would jab, the other would catch it and immediately jab back. We did this with jab, cross and then jab/cross.

After that we did some clinch drills, some swimming and then some knee defense. When someone throws a knee in the clinch and it goes above the waist, grab it. Then you can sweep the other leg in myriad ways. Grab it only if they bring it up above the waist, don't reach down for it. If you can't grab it, you can place a hand on their waist to create space and keep their knee away.

Saturday November 10, 2007

Lift and Sweep

Jumped rope for 15 min then started drilling what we covered on Wednesday, beginning with bare-fisted punching drills. We just did jab, cross and jab/cross and then started working some of the pummeling and body locks.

Wednesday November 7, 2007

Lead With the Waist

Today's class was a little different than normal. After skipping, coach had us pair up and drill without gloves. This is the first time I've actually tried to hit someone with a bare fist, so it was a new thing for me. He had us do jab, cross, hook & uppercut (both sides).

We then worked on some clinching & pummeling, moving into a body lock.

Pummeling - The process of attempting to advance into more dominant clinch positions.

Drill 1 - Lead Side
* One hand on head, other on arm
* If they slide back, rotate hand on their arm inwards to grab back
* Rotate hand on head inwards to grab back
* Gable grip behind back
* At the same time, lower body and lift in a relaxed arc
* Head goes to lead side

Drill 2 - Rear Side
* One hand on head, other on arm
* If they step back, rotate hand on their arm inwards to grab back
* Rotate hand on head inwards to grab back
* Gable grip behind back
* At the same time, lower body and lift in a relaxed arc
* Head goes to rear side

Drill 3 - Jab Defense
* When opponent comes in for a jab
* Bat it away like we do in offensive drills
* Continue movement to bring hand inside his jabbing arm
* Change level and move in
* Cover your damn face and try to avoid a cross (got to be fast to pull this off)

Saturday November 3, 2007

One Two

Did 15 min of jump rope, a bit of shadow boxing and then hit the bags. I rotated between the distance, speed and thai bags for 3 minute rounds and tried to really focus on my range issues. I'm also trying to tighten up my kicks and slowly trying to raise them up higher. Currently about the highest I can get is armpit level. I then paired up with someone and just worked jab/cross on mitts.

I've noticed that my cross gets very sloppy when I try to do it quickly off a combo. I tend to drop my hand before I throw it and I also throw more from the arm than from the hip. When I catch myself doing it, I need to slow down, get the technique right and then speed it back up.

Wednesday October 31, 2007

Distance

Just had an open gym because it was Halloween, so I skipped rope for 10 minutes, did some shadow boxing and then started working bags. I bounced around between a thai bag, working my jab, cross, hook and various kicks, and a distance bag. Coach came over and watched me a bit to give me tips on my distance. Apparently I'm still crowding too much. He suggested I come in and work a stationary bag some more in order to improve, and to draw a mental line on the floor that's at the correct range and to not cross that line.

The weird thing is that I tend to crowd when working a bag or mits, but I'm too far away when actually sparring.

About halfway through class a friend showed up, so we both put on gloves and worked on our jab/cross defense for a while.

Saturday October 27, 2007

Strings

Thought I'd be an overachiever and wrap my hands before going to class. I was able to do both hands the same way, so while I might not have it correct, at least I'm consistent. After finishing that and getting ready, I realized I had nothing to eat, so I had to stop by a bagel shop for breakfast. The girl behind the counter asked me what happened to my hands...

Jumped rope for 10-15 minutes, then did some shadow boxing and then began working the bags. Apparently I was so proud of the fact that I got my hands wrapped that I neglected to bring my gloves, so I had to wear some of the nasty gym gloves.

I worked the slip bag a bit, which I've never done before. The trick is give it a good hit then move out of the way since it's going to come right back at you. I also worked a moving bag, and coach showed me the purpose of it. It's for training footwork, so you back up to get the correct distance if it swings toward you so you don't crowd or you can move in to hit it if it swings away from you.

I also did some kicks and combos on a heavy bag. Coach critiqued my technique a bit, apparently when I get in a hurry it goes to shit. He told me to imagine that there are strings attached from my hands to my hips, so when I jab, my hips should turn that way and the same with the cross. He also cautioned me on turning my elbow out and punching with my arm when I do a cross. It should drive forward from my body, not come out at all.

Wednesday October 24, 2007

Slip and Slide

Had a large class today. I got paired up with a guy my size and coach drilled us on some mitts : he'd call out a number and we'd do that many of a certain punch. Did jab, cross, lead hook, rear hook, lead uppercut and rear uppercut. Then we did the same thing with 2 hit combos, jab/cross, hook/hook and uppercut/uppercut.

After that we both put on gloves and worked defense from jab, cross and jab/cross. Then he had us back up against the wall with our partner throwing at our head to work on deflecting and slipping. Finally, we finished up with some light sparring.

Things to focus on
* Strike off the toe - coach said my feet were too flat when I was doing cross and hooks
* Be careful about slipping a jab towards the side of their cross - you could get it in the face

When we were sparring, I had a definite reach advantage on the guy and I was able to slip one in over his jab at one point, which was cool.

Saturday October 20, 2007

D-Fens

Did some mitt work, just moving around with partner throwing up the mitts for a jab cross. Then we worked on defense some more, from jab, cross and jab/cross. I'm getting a little better at slapping away an attack, but when I get crowded with combos I tend to lean back and go straight back, rather than keeping my form and moving out to the side.

Saturday October 13, 2007

Hook and Crook

Did a light warmup then worked some mitts and defensive drills with a buddy.

Hook Defense
* "Answer the phone"
* Hand goes up to head, behind ear
* Turn slightly to the side
* Catch hook on glove

Basic Rules (to be broken later)
* Always step with your Jab
* Never finish a combo with your Cross
* Circle to the side of your last punch when you finish a combination
* There is no such thing as a rear-sided Hook

Saturday October 6, 2007

Eat a Fist

Worked what we covered on Wednesday some more, with a friend who was a lot more experienced than my previous partner. I did okay with the block, but had some trouble dealing with any counter punches when the tables were turned.

Defensive Jab
* Move in, move out
* Shoulder up to cover jaw

Wednesday October 3, 2007

Throw Like a Man

We did some mitt drills today and I got paired up with a new guy that only shows up occasionally. I've never actually worked with someone who didn't actually punch before, he seemed to be playing patty cake with the mitts. I understand that you should go slow in order to work on technique, but this guy didn't seem to hit at all.

I've noticed that when doing a combo with a hook in it, I tend to not keep my hand up on the side I'm preparing to hook from, telegraphing the strike and leaving myself wide open. I need to focus on resetting my hand before the hit so that I don't get clocked.

After that, both sides put on gloves and we did defensive drills vs jab and cross, consisting of deflecting the incoming punch away in a sort of patting motion. I need a lot of work on this, but my partner seemed afraid to hit me. At one point I stopped, lowered my gloves and asked him repeatedly to hit me in the head, that he wasn't going to hurt me. I tried to go really light with him, but I did end up tagging him once or twice. I hope to work some more on this on Saturday.

Saturday September 22, 2007

Back to Basics

Did 12 minutes of rope, then wrapped my hands and rotate in on some mitt work. We did jab/cross with a little bit of movement. On my jab/cross I need to make a slight adjustment on range so that I'm a bit farther out, I still have a tendency to crowd. I also need to focus on getting the rotation correct; a friend suggested I exaggerate the movement when working the mitts so that I do it correctly when actually sparring/fighting.

When it wasn't my turn I did some kicks on a heavy bag. I think my rear kick is decent but my lead is really inconsistent. It'll take some work before the shuffle step feels comfortable.

Wednesday September 19, 2007

Throwin Bo's

We worked clinch, elbows and knees. Coach wasn't there so a senior student (one of our fighters) led the class and ran us through several clinch drills.

The Lever
* Take one arm and put it over their near arm and under their farm arm
* Take other hand and push up on arm like a lever to wedge arms apart
* Helps to splay fingers out

The Shoulder Slip
* If they're in tight, turn body sideways in order to slip arm in

Slap and Under
* Push upwards on one of their elbows
* Slip under their arm and take the back

We also worked elbows, which I need a lot of work on.

Elbow Tips
* For uppercuts, palms should be facing me
* For crosses and overhands, palms should be facing outwards
* The overall motion should be like the 'karate kid' waxing motion

Saturday September 15, 2007

Right-o Left-o

Did 12 minutes of jumprope, then decided to wrap my hands so I could throw heavy. Took me a good 10-15 minutes to remember how to wrap the damn things but I think I have it down now. Did a bit of shadowboxing, then spent the rest of the class working the bag.

Mostly did jab/cross, because I'm obsessed with my basics, but I also did a bit of kicking as well. I seem to be able to throw a decent rear leg and even combo it with a jab, but I have a lot of trouble with a lead kick. Trying to pair it up with a cross was disastrous, so I need to spend a lot more time working the lead leg till I'm able to get power behind it and not lose my balance after throwing it. Then maybe I can start mixing it in with other things.

Wednesday September 5, 2007

Open Gym

Had an open gym today so I worked mitts and the bag, doing singles, combos and recapped the defensive drills from the previous week. It's a constant struggle to keep my footwork correct, especially when moving.

Thursday August 30, 2007

Boxing Hands

Gym's going to be closed for a few days due to the upcoming holiday, so I did the full 3 classes.

Started out drilling single hits, then moved into combos. I've noticed it helps a lot for me to work simple stuff like this since I seem to get really sloppy when I try to put a long combo together. After that we drilled a new defense, using a slightly different hand position than I've been doing so far.


Boxing Hands

* Rear hand on temple
* Lead hand at temple level, but out in front of face

Defense
* Slap away incoming punch
* Should be palm out
* Motion should be small
* Don't push it away, just deflect

Saturday August 25, 2007

Hot Potato

Was hung over so I got to class about 30 minutes late. Skipped the jumprope and just stretched, hopped around and some shadowboxing to warm up.

I then paired up with a classmate around my size and we worked on single and double mitt work we had worked on Wednesday. Got several pointers from coach and senior classmates.

Boxing Notes
* Hot Potato - bring hands back as fast as they go out
* Ice Skating - slide feet rather than taking steps
* Jab - don't turn all the way sideways, shoulders should still be facing opponent

I haven't sparred in a while, if we don't in the next Wednesday class I'm going to try and grab someone to get a few minutes in on a Saturday to gauge my improvement.

Wednesday August 22, 2007

Leg Kicks Hurt

Finally got some gloves on my own and got busy breaking them in. I've been holding off on using my new wraps till I got them, now I need some practice actually wrapping so that I can get them on in a reasonable amount of time.

We drilled kicks, single punches, 2 punch drills and some punch/kick drills. I found it was easier to isolate and work on my technique when I was repeatedly just using 1 or 2 strikes and then resetting.

At the end of class we worked on accuracy a bit and alternated some light leg kicks on our partner. Even with little force, that shit hurts when you're as skinny as I am. I learned to turn and take it on the back of the thigh pretty quickly.

Breaking in new gloves, leg kicks fucking hurt

Kicking
* Leg comes up
* Once leg is up, then turn and use hip for power
* Doesn't come from far away

Saturday August 18, 2007

Take Your Time

Did 10-15 minutes of Jumprope, some shadowboxing, a bit of bag work and then paired off with a guy around my size to do some mitt work. We did some pretty complex combos compared to what I normally do..

1-2-1-2-1-2
* Go slow at first in order to get the form down
* Keep hands up
* Don't let the cross get sloppy the second or third time

2-3, 2-3-2, 1-2-3-2
* Use the rotation of the cross in order to power the hook

1-9, 1-9-2, 2-9-2, 1-9, 2-9-2
* Drive up with the uppercut
* Keep head covered

Wednesday August 15, 2007

Hands Up

Had an open gym today, so I did 10 minutes of jump rope and then did some pad drills with another guy around my size. Coach had suggested we work together because we're both having problems in the same area, particularly distance, footwork and keeping our hands up.

* Keep hands up at temple level
- This way, as you get tired and your hands drop they'll still cover your face
* Step in for jab, step out for cross
* Uppercut should use power from legs, DRIVE up
* If opponent is taller or shorter, don't move body upwards or downwards to hit them, adjust the angle of the arms

Since I worked arms yesterday at the gym, my shoulders almost gave out on me while holding the mits. Coach gave me some new wraps and instructed me on how to wrap. It'll probably take me a few tries to get it right.

Wraps
* Knuckles most important
* Thumb second
* Wrist third

Start over thumb, around wrist and wrap knuckles, back to thumb, then knuckles again (3 times), then pinky, knuckles, ring finger, knuckles, middle finger, knuckles, index, knuckles, do X pattern twice, then go to wrist.

Saturday August 4, 2007

Slide & Clinch

Jumped rope for 15 minutes then did some shadowboxing for a while. Coach critiqued me and gave me some tips on uppercut.

Uppercut
* Whole body goes down with fist so that head stays covered
* Power from leg to throw the uppercut

I rotated out padwork with a couple folks and worked really hard on my footwork. I continue to get too close, so I tried focusing on keeping a good distance then moving in doing a combo and moving out. For a moment I think I had the back foot slide happening correctly; hopefully with practice it will become more natural.

At the end of class I asked someone to work clinch with me some more and we spent a few minutes just trying to control each other's heads. It seemed to make more sense than on Wednesday.

The Clinch
* Hands go on the crown of their head, not their neck
* The goal is to have both hands on the inside
* Once both hands are in, it's easy to toss them around by the head

Wednesday August 1, 2007

Bing Bing Bang

Today we worked some combos, then threw knees into the mix.

Some Notes
* I need to hold a wider stance, and need to move my feet
* For some reason I kept getting too close to what I'm hitting. If I'm working off the line, I need to step out rather than in towards them.
* Take the time to do each hit correctly, I rush through stuff and my form get's screwed
- Coach said each shot should be worth something, if you miss on the first, the second could connect, if the second gets blocked the third could get through, etc
* When kneeing, lean back and put some power into it
* Keep hands up

We also did a bit of clinch work at the end, which I've never done before... and boy do I suck

The Clinch
* Relax, stay loose
* Control their head
- Try to keep hands on the crown of their head
* Use weight to pull on them, not tense arm strength

Saturday July 28, 2007

Easy as 1-2-3

First day back, so I took it easy. Jumped rope for 15 minutes, then alternated shadowboxing with bagwork. Still trying to pay close attention to my footwork as I seem to lose it when put under pressure. Some notes :

* When kicking, pivot on ball of foot and turn hips. When combining a rear leg kick with a jab/cross I had a habit of throwing the kick flat footed.
* Relax shoulders when punching

Saturday July 14, 2007

Kicking for Victory

Open gym, so did 15min of jump rope, some shadow boxing and mitt/thai pad work with a classmate.

A few notes :
* Backup after combos, don't just stand there or I'll get hit
* Work on lead kick, especially when part of a combo
* More power, I'm way too tappy when sparring, need to put more force behind my hits
* Jab defensively to keep opponent from moving in on me at will

Wednesday July 11, 2007

Jab Jab FTW

Did some pad work (jab/cross/hook/cross, cross/uc/cross/hook/cross), defensive drills (jab, jab/cross) and sparring today.

Jab
* Turn body
* Arm should be almost straight, but not locked

Sparring

* My footwork seems to be better when sparring than drilling
* I throw a lot of jabs, but they don't have a lot of power
* I need to get better at moving when on the defensive, I cover up well but don't get out of the way

Saturday July 7, 2007

Points for Showing Up

Got to class a little late, so I just jumped some rope and shadow boxing. I got to watch my coach put on some gloves and bang with a couple of the guys who are getting ready for competition, which was cool. I also watched some guys do clinch work, which I haven't really done yet in a stand-up/striking context.

Saturday June 30, 2007

It's All in the Hip

Jumped rope for 10 min, then did some shadowboxing and bag work. Finished up with a bit of light sparring.

Kicking 101
* Use hips
* After kick, drop foot, don't hold it up
* Think "whip"
* Hit with shin, not knee or instep

Wednesday June 27, 2007

Nowhere to Run

We've got 3 folks getting ready for fights, so coach broke us up into 2 groups so he could work them harder while we went through regular class. Started out doing some pushups + mitt drills (jab/cross & cross/uc/cross) both static and moving. He then had us back up against a wall and have our partner throw at us in order to work bobbing/weaving.

footwork
* feet shoulder width apart
* rear leg toe should be about midpoint of other foot
* when moving in for a cross, lead leg goes out at an angle, not directly forward

bob & weave
* watch center of chest
* don't dodge around using back & neck
* movement is from legs
* make sure to keep torso covered with elbows

After class got to watch some of the conditioning of the guys training for fights. He had them doing pushups till failure & beyond, standing still and taking hits to torso & legs, and lying down with someone walking across their stomachs. Looked pretty fun.

Wednesday June 20, 2007

Footwork

Did offensive/defensive drills with jab & jab + cross. Then some light/med sparring with jab or jab + cross. Just some random thoughts from the day :

punched in head
* Don't jab for their torso unless you've already blocked their cross, or else that cross will catch you right in the fucking head.

footwork
* Coach said I need to spend time on my footwork, when defending my feet go all over the place, changing up stance and other random spazzing.
* Need to keep working on keeping my stance low

hips
* Hips control the fight, whether you're standing up or on the ground.
-circling right
they have to rotate to square up
-circling left
you have to rotate to square up

Wednesday June 13, 2007

Left on the Fly

Did mitt work, some different hand combos, then finished up with some kicks and punch/kick combos. I do alright with the rear leg, but I still have a lot of trouble with my lead kick, especially if I'm trying to use it as a follow up.

I need to figure out somewhere to stash a bag at home so I can practice when I'm not in class.

Saturday June 9, 2007

More Bagwork

Got to open gym a little late, so spent the first hour shadow boxing and working the bag.

Wednesday June 6, 2007

Right in the Kisser

Worked some legs, both standing and moving. I need a lot more work on moving and kicking with lead leg, though rear leg seemed pretty natural when moving forward or backward. Sparred with a classmate who's quite a lot bigger and stronger than me but I think I did pretty well. I caught him several times in the head, once in the nose and got him in the belly as well. My tactic of jab-jab-jab-etc seems to work okay to keep some distance from them.

Things I need to work on :
* Distance - a lot of my shots were coming up short, making it a surprise when I actually did connect
* Defense - my constant jabbing is just covering the fact that I can't defend for shit. When they're coming after me I have a lot of trouble covering up or retaliating. I need to spend more time on my crazy monkey since I seem to be turning too much and losing sight of my opponent.

Saturday June 2, 2007

Not In the Face

Did some mitt work, defensive drills and some light sparring Few notes :

* Keep my hands higher, I'm getting hit and it pushes my glove into my eye
* Watch out for a feint, keep hands up
* Work on distance, get closer, especially on hook & uppercut
* Control the range like kendo
* Cut corners and control their movement

Wednesday May 30, 2007

Catch as Catch Can

Worked on kicks, and catching an opponent's leg

* Turn back as you catch, to spread out the impact
* Immediately move in on them to knock them down (otherwise they can bend knee and come in for clinch)

Wednesday May 23, 2007

Throwing Elbows

Did some punching mit drills, as well as some knees and elbows.

Knee
* Lean a bit back when thrown
* Put hips into it

Elbow
* Regular, Overhand or Undercut
* Hands open and facing outward, keep one hand at head while other throws elbow
* Put hips into it
* Hit with point of elbow
* On regular elbow, keep it horizontal

Had several guys come in the door during class. One brought his girlfriend and said he wanted to be a "MMA Fighter", he smelled like he smoked a pack before he walked in the door. The other guy said he'd been looking for the gym for 3 years. A friend of mine told me this is the time of year when we get a lot of short-timers who only last a couple weeks.

Saturday May 19, 2007

Crazy Monkey!

Open gym. Jumped rope for about 10 minutes, need to figure out how to do it correctly. I never feel as much like a newb as when I trip on a jump rope 5 times in a row.

Did a bit of bag work & shadow boxing, then worked mitts with a classmate. Started with some building blocks, basic movement drills with jab/cross, then up to a jab/cross/hook/uppercut. Partner wanted to do some defensive drills so I got to punch on him for a while. I returned the favor and he showed me the basics of crazy monkey. After taking a break, I did some light sparring with another classmate and one of our seniors class members came over and broke it down for me.

Crazy Monkey
* Hands stay in contact with the head
* Move hand up across scalp, like you're wiping the sweat off
* Use both arms, not just one
* Stay centered, should be able to see opponent's chest at all times

Other things to remember
* Knees bent
* Hands up
* Chin down
* Stay low

Wednesday May 16, 2007

Jab Jab

Did some mitt work. Jab & move, Jab/Cross and move. Jab, Uppercut, Hook, Cross. Also worked some kicks and knees.

Things to remember :
* Don't adjust the height of punch targets for a shorter partner, keep target for jab/cross at my head level, uppercut target at chin
* For knee target, place one on top of the other to brace
* When rear leg kicking, make sure to step out to the left in order to keep my kick from getting jammed

I also got to spar at the end of class. My partner was shorter and lighter than me, but a little more experienced. We went pretty light, but I don't think either of us made and solid hits. I kept jabbing to keep her out of range and she kept her head covered so the few crosses I threw didn't really connect. It was hela fun though, I can't wait to do it again.

Saturday May 12, 2007

Jab and Move

Worked with Brandon doing basic movement drills. He'd move and present a target, I'd have to move into range and jab. After doing this a while, expanded it into a jab/cross combo, which made it pretty obvious when my footwork wasn't right. If I let my rear foot trail too far, it steals range and power from my cross. Move first, then hit.

Coach also gave me some tips on my stance
* Chin down
* Knees bent
* Stay on balls of feet

Saturday May 5, 2007

1-2 Move

Did some basic punching and movement drills. I'd do a 1-2, they'd move and I'd have to reposition before striking again.

Always get into position first, then strike - don't rush it. Footwork is paramount, if my rear leg drags too far behind it saps the power from my Cross. Hip rotation on Jab is important as well.

Wednesday May 2, 2007

Stop Hitting Me

Did some varying punching drills like 1-3, 2-6, 1-3-4-6-2. Also worked on a defensive drill where my opponent would jab and I'd block and jab underneath into their ribs. I learned that I need a lot of work on my distance and my reaction time.

* Head movement is very important
* Get the body shot then back out before they can follow with a cross

First time actually getting hit, even though we were going light I can tell it'll take some getting used to.

Saturday April 28, 2007

Pad Work

Spent a couple hours at the gym today. First half I worked standup, mostly bag and footwork but did a bit of pad work with one of the new guys.

Wednesday April 25, 2007

Left foot, right foot

More mitt work, some combos, got some good kicking practice in doing jab/cross x varying number of kicks.

Punching
* Keep fists up by head when not punching, this includes uppercut and hook

Lead leg kick
* Take a short hop-step with rear foot then push off with lead foot for the kick
* Turn hips for most power

Rear leg kick

* Make sure to step out with lead leg
* Can come very fast after a jab/cross combo

Saturday April 21, 2007

Footwork

Went over more boxing basics today.

Stance
Feet should be shoulder width apart, left foot forward with right foot half of a foot back and slightly turned out.

Moving
Back foot pushes off, moving forward foot in the direction you want to go. Looks different, but a similar concept to Kendo footwork.

Jab

Turn hips, rotate fist in a bit

Cross
Turn hips & bend knee, right knee should come in to almost touch left knee

Wednesday April 18, 2007

Punching 101

First Muay Thai class tonight, just did some basic punching & kicking with someone holding mits.

Jab - Left hand punch
Cross - Right hand punch
Uppercut - Come straight up from underneath, use hips
Hook - Come from side, fist is vertical
Basic Kick - step diagonally outward with foward foot, use hips to power kick. Foot ends up about 90degrees from body.

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