tendons, ligaments and muscles
required for punching. We
can then try isometric power
exercises such as holding the
end position of the punch and
pressing it strongly into the
resisting hands of a training
partner. These exercises have
the puncher feel the muscles
they are using, their balance,
and their shoulder, wrist and
knuckle alignment prior to
hitting anything.
- GAMES
Games can play (pun intended)
a surprisingly important
part in callousing students
by introducing competition
and contact/impact within a
non-threatening environment.
Games from the touching (tag),
hitting or pushing and chasing
families are great for this. If we
look at the straight punch again
we can play a game of tag in a
push-up position on the hands
and feet while moving around.
With both persons looking
to tag the other’s shoulders,
while simultaneously defending
them can build some healthy
competitiveness and resolve,
also strengthening the muscles
required for punching. - TECHNICAL TRAINING
If we continue with the theme
of punching, once the technique
has been taught, pad work
(using focus mitts, Thai pads,
shields and bags) is integral
to get used to the impact of
striking and absorbing strikes
(and obviously to be accurate
and improve technique). This
can be done with gloves in the
beginning, but should eventually
lead to striking without gloves
to prepare the body adequately
for the real world, if that is the
goal. Hard on pad-work is a
great way to get fit, but also
to develop the determination
and grit for bigger challenges in
training and life.
The level of impact and
contact with techniques in
general should be low in the
beginning and increased
slowly over a period of time,
so your mind becomes
gradually accustomed to the
level of impact, contact and
aggressiveness of particular
assaults such as strikes, grabs,
chokes and holds, but also so
your body has time to adapt to
the contact.
On a side note, traditional
martial artists have used
other tools such as sandbags,
makiwara [striking posts],
wooden dummies, rice digging
and so on to condition the
hands. The degree to which
this is taken, and its long-term
health effects on the individual,
should be considered strongly.- TOUGHNESS &
AGGRESSION DRILLS
Toughness and aggression drills
can build mental toughness and
courage, controlled aggression,
persistence and determination,
while inoculating us to contact.
To use the straight punch
technique as an example, try
this: form a group of three —
one pad holder, one puncher
and one ‘blocker’. The blocker
puts their body in the way of
the pad holder to defend the
pad holder, while the puncher’s
single-minded mission is to
get to the pad to straight-blast
it. The blocker can only use
their body without grabbing
(initially; at a later stage grabs
are allowed) to attempt to stop
them reaching the pad.
If you want to really ramp
up this drill, while the puncher
attempts to reach the pad and
destroy it, have a fourth person
apply holds, chokes, grabs or
even strikes to the puncher to
defend as they try to destroy
the pad. The next level could be
putting the gloves on another
defender to hit the puncher’s
body as they attempt to get
to the pad. The options are
endless. Learning how to
overcome disturbances and
resistance/protection is one way
to develop these qualities. - FIGHTING & SPARRING
Slow fighting is used by some
of the world’s top fighting gyms
and defensive tactics systems
(including krav maga) have a
way of taking technique and
putting it into an alive, dynamic
and fluid state for beginners
and advanced practitioners
alike. It is somewhat competitive
but allows students to be
able to enact what’s known in
military parlance as the ‘OODA
loop’ — Observe attacks,
Orientate to them, Decide
a response and Act — in an
environment that challenges
them but is not overly difficult.
This helps us train for success
without over excitation/arousal,
keeping us (hopefully) out of
the fight-or-flight response and
instead in a state of ‘play’ that is
optimal for learning.
Again, if we use the subject
of straight punches, it allows
us to explore and experiment
with applying the technique
and defending it (or not) in a
controlled environment. One-
step, two-step (etc.) sparring
has been used by the traditional
arts for hundreds of years,
and the Thais, for example (as
they fight so often), playfully
spar and grapple at the end
of training sessions to develop
their skill sets without injuring
each other prior to their fights.
Of course, over a period
of time, based on your goals,
health considerations, physical
and mental capabilities and
long-term impacts of medium-
to-hard sparring and contact,
the level of contact/impact
and speed can be gradually
escalated...to a point, especially
when it comes to the head. The
level and frequency of contact
to the head, along with the
use of protective equipment
and so on, must be seriously
considered by both instructors
and students alike, especially in
light of the current research into
brain damage due to trauma
sustained during contact sports.- THEORY, OBSERVATION,
& SIMULATIONS
The first stage of learning
any skill is the cognitive
stage. The fundamental
requirement here is that we
gain an understanding of the
task required; basically, so we
know what to do and have
some insight regarding how
to do it. Conceptualisation
— or the generation of clear
mental pictures of the task
— is essential if we’re to
reproduce a movement well.
Demonstrations, videos and
information highlighting the
important points can help
guide us through the skill;
likewise, observing attacks
being initiated from a realistic
distance and position helps
us understand the problem
or the execution of the
technique. Then, at later stage,
predicting and imagining
possible reactions or using
guided mental imagery and
visualisation can help a great
deal in our development.
Role-playing and simulations
help us to see and experience
how our physical techniques
may apply in real-life scenarios.
Through this process we can
gain awareness of the kinds of
situations likely to arise in real
life that may lead to physical
conflict, and it also enables us
to train the tactical component
of self-defence training and
to practise making smart
decisions. We discover the
nature of real violence — which
includes surprise, fear and pain
— and thus become somewhat
inoculated against it. A happy
by-product of this conditioning
is that we develop our skills in
handling the pre-confrontation
and pre-fight end of the fight
continuum, learning how to be
more aware, how to identify the
signals that attackers display
and the language they use to
interview victims, and how to
prevent and to de-escalate
conflict. While becoming
desensitised to aggressive
posturing and loud, foul
language, we also learn how
to move away and maintain
distance safely, to understand
ego and verbal baits, to employ
verbal and body language
strategically, etc. — all of whichON THE MAT |ƫ333ċ (%06) #ċ*!0ƫđƫ^63