Martial Arts

There are three basic grappling techniques used in judo. They are holddowns, strangles and elbow locks and twists. All these techniques should be learned by the student of judo. He should also know defensive methods in grappling. 1.Osaekomi-waza (holddowns)
These are techniques that are used to immobilize your opponent when he is lying on his back on the mat. They include kesagatame (collar hold), kata-gatame (single shoulder holddown), kami-shiho-gatame (four-quarter holddown), kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame (modified four-quarter holddown), and yoko-shiho-gatame (side four-quarter holddown).

2.Shime-waza (strangles)
These are judo techniques by which you strangle your opponent into submission. Both hands press against either the windpipe or the carotid arteries to stop the flow of blood to his head. Shime-waza include such techniques as navni-juji-jime (normal cross strangle), gyaku-juji-jime (reverse cross strangle), kata-juji-jime (half cross strangle), okuri-eri-jime (sliding collar strangle), kata-ha-jime (single wing strangle), hada-ka-jime (bare-hand strangle), and ryote-jime (two-hand strangle).

3.Kansetsu-waza (elbow locks and twists)
These are judo techniques by which you bend, twist, or lock the elbow joint of your opponent’s arm in order to bring him to submission. Kansetsu-waza include juji-gatame (cross armlock), hiza-gatame (knee-elbow lock), ude-gatame (straight armlock), and ude-garami (entangled armlock). Because of the obvious danger if the other joints are involved, the rules of the Kodokan prohibit the locking of any joint except the elbow.
Defense methods in grappling

Put both your hands and knees on the mat. In this posture you can use the waist and abdominal region at will to defend yourself from an attack from the rear. The force of the waist and abdominal region, which enables all your muscles to cooperate, comes from the power of your legs, which press against the mat. Your defensive power is therefore larger than his offensive power. Never give him the opportunity to flatten your body against the mat, for in this posture you can use neither the force of your legs nor that of your waist and abdominal region.

If only you are free to push the mat with one of your legs, it will be impossible for your opponent to strangle you. By pushing the mat effectively, you can set your body in a posture that will allow the power of the waist and abdominal region to operate in defense against the attack. 

The art of ferociousness in its finest, dirtiest form. That is what UFC offers, or at least it did at one time. Gone are the days of the blood-lust, the modern UFC looks more like a ballet. In its early beginnings UFC was the anything goes, bare knuckle blood fest that pulled from underground foreign fighting circuits and targeted the violence nurtured American public. It was for people who liked to watch men destroy each other, plain and simple. Nowadays, UFC has accommodated itself to the mainstream. Instead “Oh, my god, how much more can he take?” commentators are more likely to be heard saying “My god, the ref called that on in a hurry.” What inspired this radical change in style? When The Ultimate Fighter began on UFC, the producers knew some changes had to be made. Even under the protections of late night cable, a weekly UFC was not going to get away with the dangers of the no holds barred style. What if, for example, someone was seriously injured, or even killed? The adjustments were created, and hence UFC crept into the mainstream. Formerly acclaimed as the ultimate underground fighting promotion, UFC is now regarded as the contender to take over for Boxing as the century rolls on. Pundits reason that the diverse styles that UFC attracts place their fighters above boxers in terms of intelligence and dynamics. UFC fighters can be anything from Ninja’s to street brawlers, it is hard to say, unless you are a full-fledged fan, what direction a UFC fight is going to go in. Is it going to be a submission showdown? Or a knockout? This is part of the glamour of the fight. As UFC moves further and further from its underground roots with engaging fighters replacing the scarred warriors of past days, it seems nothing can stop it from becoming the sporting event of the future. As the world advances, our way of fascinating ourselves also moves to the next level. Say for example our fixation with the UFC. ufc 2009 undisputed roster are impressive. No wonder viewers, gamers and fans are hooked by them.

martial art training

In spite of what the movies may suggest, martial arts are not limited to the Chinese martial art, the Korean martial art and the Japanese martial art. There’s a plethora of martial arts styles from all around the world. They all came up the same way, too: local authorities outlaw the lower class from owning weapons and the people find a way to protect themselves regardless. Martial arts history tells us that people began refining the martial art styles back then, until the forms were refined into what we have today. This is how the Russian martial art was developed.

Russia is no exception. Russia has a long history of internal conflict and invasion. It is a massive country with borders that span over 11 time zones. The Russians came to expect the unexpected when in battle and no two enemies would fight the same. From these encounters, the Russian warriors developed into the type of fighter that reacted on instinct. They had to face the enemy as an individual and adapt to whatever the enemy threw at them. The Russian martial arts had to be as versatile as the men who practiced it.

Russia is so huge that, in the beginning, a standard army was not possible. There were too many tiny villages and towns scattered across the land, as well as too many lords and territories, that made this type of organization nearly impossible. During times of war, men were recruited from the towns and villages to fight and, when the battle was over, they went home. During peacetime, these men would continue to train on their own. This Russian martial arts were tailor-made to fit the common man.

Systema has no prearranged kumite (choreographed two man fighting) like the martial arts of the Far East. Russian martial arts are fluid — the goal being able to fight without consciousness. Like the many forms of Eastern martial arts, Russian martial arts started with one “ideal” and evolved into many different styles of that form across Russia, each one geared towards that locale’s specific needs. The basic principals remained consistent and provided the common thread of the Russian martial arts.

In time, the loose teachings came together into the Russian martial art systema. Towns and villages would show off their skill, having friendly competitions for pride and honor. Sadly, in 1917, the Communist party had taken over Russia. Just like the evil lords of old, they outlawed weapons and traditions. The martial art styles were forced underground. Fathers would teach their sons, grandfathers would teach grandsons, and the martial art training lived on.

When the new Soviet government had to focus on arming their soldiers, they sent agents to find the best fighting systems in the world. They didn’t have to search too far, the answer was right under their nose. From that point on, the Russian army began instruction in an age-old technique pulled right from the roots of their own heritage.

The martial arts have continued to grow in popularity in recent years, and the Russian martial art systema is no different. While it’s mostly used by the Russian Special Operation Units, the form spread to the Western world when several soldiers left Russia after the Cold War ended.

I hate walking into a Martial Art School and seeing a bunch of kids walking their way through techniques, blocks, exercises, stretches and katas as if they are just doing vague movements while waiting for the class to finish.

I also hate walking into a class that is totally out of control with kids running wild and ignoring all instruction.It may seem strange to some but I’d rather have the first problem to deal with than the second.A great problem to have is a class full of kids who have too much energy, you just need a way to harness that excess energy.

At the start of every lesson you will have some kids bubbling with energy and others that need to be woken up, which is why I think the first 5-8 minutes of the lesson are the most important to get right.Hyper-active kids need to burn off excess energy while slow starters need to be warmed up in some way.  One of my best solutions when teaching martial arts to kids is a quick game called “The Fury”.

The number of kids that can participate at one time is dictated by the size of your training area.Arrange the kids so they have plenty of room around each of them before you start.To make sure that you can play the game safely you might want to break the class into a couple of different teams.

In my Martial Art we use the concept of a clock on the ground to give a reference point for techniques.  When you first take a ready stance the direction in front of you is 12o’clock, behind you is 6:00, your left side is 9:00 and your right is 3:00.You can also try using the points of a compass but I have found that the clock is more easily understood by the kids when they play this Martial Game.

With the kids all facing the front in their fight stance  you explain to them that they are going to fight imaginary demons/bad guys/ghosts/ninjas… whatever you believe is the most relevant or interesting for their age.  Now tell them that they can use any technique they want to hurt the bad guys when they attack and that it is best not to repeat the same technique too often as the bad guys will notice and learn to block it.  Tell them that you can see the bad guys and will tell them where they are so they know which direction they need to face and attack.  Now the fun begins.

Always call out the first attacker coming from 12:00 to get them started, then start mixing it up… there’s one at 3:00, now there’s another one at 9:00, quickly 12:00 get him… . Start slowly, then speed things up so that they have just enough time to reset their ready fighting stance from the last attack before calling the next one.Keep making them face different directions and don’t get into a rhythm/pattern, occasionally make them wait and wonder what you are going to call next.

This Martial Game has a lot of great benefits:

1.       It teaches them direction

2.       It tests their knowledge of techniques

3.       It tests their techniques under pressure

4.       It tests their balance and footwork

5.       It teaches them to cover as they transition from one direction to another

6.       It gets the heart pumping, lungs opening, brain focusing

7.       It burns excess energy and energisers the slow starters.

This is a fun way to start a session as it gets everyone involved and creates an upbeat mood in the room.  The kids are excited, happy, ready to do more but at the same time exhausted which helps keep them controllable.Your Students are less inclined to muck around when they don’t have any spare energy to waste.

Please try this game in your next kids class and if you want a good laugh try it on the adults as well.

All the best

Aaron Perry

Note: Aaron Perry is the creator of “Martial Games for Kids” which has been sold to  instructors teaching kids martial arts around the world.His Martial Games for Kids are now being used in England, America, Holland, Norway, Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

Parents are always asking “When is the best time to start their kids in a Martial Art”… the answer is always as soon as they take an interest.  Obviously most instructors don’t want to be teaching lessons to 2 year olds so the youngest age of most schools to start teaching kids martial arts is around 5yo.

Although most Instructors don’t want to teach 1, 2 or 3yo kids they generally start teaching their own children as soon as they start walking.Just take a look on youtube and you can watch proud parents showing their own kids picking up training gloves and having a go or trying to get their Mum or Dad in an armbar.Kids that are raised in a Martial Arts Family will always have an opportunity of advantage.Physical Exercise is just seen as a part a normal lifestyle.

I remember once being at my instructors house and we were sparring hard, groin shots, takedowns, chokes were all happening and then we see his 3yo daughter walk casually past us while we’re rolling on the ground, she climbs up onto the swing, gets it going and yells out “look at me Daddy,  look at me”

Seeing her Dad knocking around with friends was just a typical weekend.  Most “normal” kids would be worried about their dad turning purple from a rear naked chock but not this girl… she is now a brown belt and even though she is one of the smaller kids she always hits the target (normally a groin shot) and hits it harder than the average student, then she walks away giggling to herself.

The intro of this article has taken a small detour but my point is the younger kids start learning the better they will be when they are older.  I’m not just talking about teaching kids martial arts, but also Flexibility, Focus, Strength and Conditioning.

I’m sure I’ll upset a lot of people by saying that fat lazy kids annoy me, but that’s how I feel.I don’t blame the young kids because I think it’s the parents fault by not showing them a better lifestyle.  Kids do what they see and follow the best leader they can find.You are not expected to take on the responsibility of teaching kids how to be fit and healthy but if they are already coming to you, why not do it as a bonus.Consider it your reward to be able to point them in the right direction.The things that you can teach them will not only benefit them but everyone around them.

So what do I mean by Exploding/Explosive kids?

Kids excel at things they enjoy so it’s important to show them ways to build their Strength, their Fitness and their Flexibility safely and in a variety of fun ways.

When it comes to Muscular Strength you have to be careful.I don’t recommend using heavy weights because if the kids are not properly supervised at all time they can use bad form while lifting and cause damage to developing bones, tendons and joints…. BUT there are plenty of exercises that they can do simply using their own bodyweight.

There are three great advantages to body weight exercises:

1.       No-one has to pay for any equipment

2.       The Kids bodyweight is the perfect weight for them to train with

3.       Most exercises can be done anywhere at any time

Body weight exercises also use a lot of core muscles and compound muscle groups.You can create great cardio endurance and explosive speed and power by training with higher reps and the explosive nature of these exercises.These are all crucial things for a fighter.

So “When is the best time to start teaching kids Strength, Conditioning and Flexibility”… NOW!!!

The basic exercises for core strength are push-ups, squats, dips, chin-ups and then add bridging which will strengthen the neck and back.  Don’t just do the standards of all these exercises, mix them up and teach the kids new ways to do them, for example in the push-up category you have: standard, wide, narrow, diamonds, wide-narrow, armpit push-ups, robots, clappers, high-lows, hovers… Show them some variety and make a game/challenge out of it.

I find it a little daunting to see how strong the young kids will be when they become teenagers.Imagine fighting with an 18yo that’s been doing 100-200 push-ups, sit-ups and squats everyday since they started training at the age of 5.

My final words of advice, if you chose to teach these ideas to your kids then make sure you also do them or one day they will be bigger and stronger than you… Maintain your own advantage for as long as you can.

I wish you all the best with your teaching and training

Regards

A.J.Perry – Author of “Martial Games for Kids“

These are my thoughts on dishing out punishment in the dojo and in life…

I see a lot of Instructors using Push Ups as a form of punishment and it drives me nuts.  How can making someone do something beneficial be a punishment?  If your kids misbehave do you tell them to eat a healthy meal and get a good nights sleep.If their behaviour is good do you pump them full of junk food and sugar and make them play video games till the sun comes up?… Maybe you do but I hope not.

Push-Ups are a great exercise and it makes me furious to see people threatening to use them as a form of punishment.  I wonder if this comes from old army and football training routines.  If the guys do something wrong the Sergeant/Coach makes them “drop and give me twenty!”.

I want to share a quick story with you about my time at school (way back then) when a teacher could actually tell students what to do and kids had no choice but to do it…

When I was 15 years old I had a mathematics teacher who was an extremely smart man and he was also a solid 240lbs (115kgs) of weight trained muscle mass.  He competed at the Commonwealth Games in Power Lifting. he also ran the weightlifting club after school which was open to anyone, bully or geek.  He was a great guy and taught me a lot about how to lift weights properly.

In his class we quickly realised that any misbehaviour such as talking in class, not doing your home work, getting a C or lower in any test, etc was dealt with by issuing a certain number of push ups to be done on the spot.I wasn’t the smartest in class but I managed to get through without hitting the floor to do 20 or more push ups for one reason or another.

As the school year progressed the same guys kept doing the same stupid things and kept getting punished the same way.The biggest difference was that these guys got stronger and fitter and more dangerous outside of class.  The maths teacher being a smart man realised that it was becoming too easy so he simply raised the number of push ups required.  Some of the guys would have to do 50, 80 or 100 push ups every time, and sometimes that was 2 or 3 times in a single lesson.

I realised a couple of things in that year: 

1.       The guys that were the worst behaved were generally the bullies of the school.

2.The more they misbehaved in the classroom the more push ups they had to do.

3.The more push ups they had to do, the stronger and prouder they became.

4.Push Ups were not considered a negative thing, they did them proudly.

That year the smarter kids learned maths while the trouble makers stayed dumb but got a lot stronger physically.Looking back now I can see that he would have been better off forcing them to do extra home work which they would have hated and then rewarded the better kids with exercises so they wouldn’t get bullied so easily.

My point in this article is that I want other Instructors to stop using push ups as a negative and start using them as a positive.  There are an infinite number of push up variations for you to teach your students.Show them some new ones and get them to come up with some of their own.Have a push up contest and see who can complete the most push ups of different types.  Make push ups fun and challenging.

Recently I have been experimenting with a variety of explosive push ups that have greatly improved my ability to spring back to me feet after sprawling.In the new world with MMA fighting becoming main stream this is a great skill to improve.

So please, find some other form of punishment for bad behaviour.  Make the Push Up a friend, not an enemy.

I wish you all the best with your teaching and training

Regards

Aaron Perry

All combat sports competitions deal with the issue of weight-loss. Most combat sports including amateur wrestling, mma, boxing, or kickboxing require their competitors to be at a certain weight limit. Depending on the regulations of each sport, the amount and methods of weight cutting can differ greatly.

The term weight-cutting is often used broadly by athletes to refer to both the long-term process which includes dieting and the short-term process which focuses primarily on shedding water weight shortly prior to the weigh-in.

Mixed Martial Arts events often hold public weigh-ins (much like boxing) up to 24 hours prior to the athletic events. In these cases, it not uncommon to find athletes losing and gaining back in excess of 10% of their body weight. These massive short-term weight cuts often involve trips to the sauna, sweat suits, and low-intensity cardio exercises intended to cause sweating with minimal exertion. Cycling is the preferable cardiovascular exercise method of choice due to its low impact. Because the event is the following day, athletes who fail to meet the necessary weight limit are given additional opportunities to lose the extra poundage.

In contrast, international Brazilian Jiu Jitsu events run by the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) requires mat-side weigh-ins. Athletes are unable to compete if they do not make the required weigh limit because the weight check occurs immediately before the match. Athletes are unable to lose excessive amounts of weight and still expect to compete effectively under the IBJJF system. The lack of weight-loss induced deaths and illnesses is a positive consequence of mat-side weigh-ins. Any martial artist that wants to meet the weight requirement for a Jiu Jitsu event needs to compete very close to their normal weight or begin a slower (and safer) weight loss program well in advance of the competition.

Julius Park

Baltimore Mixed Martial Arts

The intense physical demands of Mixed Martial Arts fighting has led to a variety of different strength and conditioning routines.  This article is not going to compare and contrast different routines in order to determine which is “the best.”  Rather it will focus on what are some of the most popular programs and some of the different philosophies behind them.

Probably the most common conditioning routines are what I call the “home made” routines.  Most amateur fighters, without proper guidance, have concocted a unique combination of routines from the internet, movies, and their friends.  This is the type of routine I see a lot of college students come in with at my Baltimore Mixed Martial Arts gym.This guy might combine long distance running with a hypertrophic weightlighting regimen.  Another guy might only use body-weight exercises, doing 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats every morning and every night. 

Another popular fitness form is Crossfit.  Crossfit focuses on generalized fitness and generally has shorter, higher-intensity workouts than what most people are used to.Rowing 10k to maxing out on squats can be part of the wide ranging variabilty of Crossfit workout routines.  Their philosophy is that a truly “fit” individual should be able to be handle a wide variety of physical demands, whether the demands be a marathon or bench-pressing.  This style of conditioning has exploded in popularity in recent years and can be found in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts schools across the United States.

The other form of conditioning is very sports-specific.  Much like the NFL coaches work on making their players better football players (and all other sports be damned), some MMA coaches use routines that make their players better MMA fighters.  The conditioning is intended to produce maximum results for 3 5-minute rounds or 5 5-minute rounds, whichever the event requires.  These types of workouts will often mix isometric exercises with explosive ones to imitate the grappling and striking demands of UFC-style fighting.

It will be interesting to see where the MMA industry heads in the future.  Will it head towards more of a sports-specific routine like most professional sports?  Or are the demands of Mixed Martial Arts so variable that no routine can accurately mimic it?  Until then, MMA fighters should experiment with different workout regimens and find one that they can maintain and that produces good results.

Adam Delbrugge

Columbia Maryland Martial Arts

For the athlete or martial artist, one of the most frustrating situations one can face is when one is slightly injured or sick.  Unlike a severe injury, the athlete often faces increased self-doubt about his own toughness.  For example, at my Baltimore MMA gym, one of my top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitors, had to undergo major shoulder surgery.  There was absolutely no possible way he could practice.  On the other hand, when my athletes are sick with the flu or a simple cold, they often try to come in and work out.  After all, they do not want to be known as the guy who was not tough enough to train with a fever.

But is this really a good idea?

The first issue to consider is the benefit to the athlete himself.  Will an extra training session be productive in his or her weakened state?In addition, will the athlete's return to health be delayed by the additional training?Recovery and healing might be slowed by the additional training.

The second issue pertains to the effect of the illness / injury to the other athletes.  In the case of an infectious illness such as the flu, quarantine is probably preferable simply to avoid spreading the illness to other individuals.  When the athlete is suffering from an acute injury, one must consider the effect of the injured athlete on the training of the other team members – will the quality of the practice of the healthy athletes be negatively affected by having an injured athlete present? 

A real-life instance of this would be in the case mentioned above of the Martial Artist who was suffering from a shoulder injury.  He would often train in the Baltimore Kickboxing classes because he could kick and knee.Unfortunately, when it was his turn to hold the pads for his partner, he was unable to.The athlete's injury negatively affected his partner's practice more than it did his.

At the end of the day, each injury or illness must be considered on a case-by-case basis by the coach or medical staff simply due to the large amount of variables that come into play.  However, any decision must take into account the two issues listed above – namely, the effect of the illness/injury on the athlete herself and the effect of the illness/injury on the team.

Julius Park

Baltimore Mixed Martial Arts

In addition to a good attitude and a dose of patience, there are several things a fencer needs to actually fence. While equipping oneself for a competition is a little more involved, to get started one just needs fencing jacket, mask, glove and fencing equipment or practice weapon. Foil, sabre or epee are the main fencing weapons.

If you are new to the sport, most organizations will offer “loaner” fencing gear during your initial training sessions. After you have mastered the fundamentals, you will be ready to purchase some items. Two possibilities exist for the newcomer.

The initial way to go is to acquire separate items one by one until you have a full set. Another way achieve this is to purchase a starter kit. These kits come with all the fundamental necessities already put together and sold as a package. You have your inventory of the necessary equipment, so what’s next? Before you purchase anything or begin to use your new tools, it’s wise to have the basic knowledge of their function and how they work.

The is made with the intent of protecting the fencer. It is important to select a jacket which is both well made and provides adequate protective coverage. There is no standard minimum constraint in the US, there is a particular standard of protection in Europe, though. For tournaments which are international in scope, such as Olympic fencing, there are greater requirements.

When you are beginning, the standard costume will be more than sufficient. Your primary decision will be whether you want it in cotton or synthetic fabric. Cotton will probably be less expensive but it is heavier and warmer. Synthetic fabric is lightweight but it will cost a bit more.

The mask is also for protection so be sure to select a mask that has sufficient interior padding, does not press on the top of the head or chin, and fits with ease. Even though you can purchase non-electric gloves it is almost always worth buying a glove with a cuff that can be used for electric fencing.

This cuff lets you to effortlessly connect the body cord from under your sleeve to an electric weapon. These are sized either as small, medium or large, or in separate glove sizes. Going for gloves that are individually sized will generally get you a better fit but they tend to be more costly. The foil is intended for thrusting. The blade is very thin, with a rounded or foiled tip. Foil blades are flexible enough to bend upon striking an opponent, in order to avoid injuries.