Archives for boxing category
14
Aug
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How Martial Artists Can Get In “Cage Fighter” Shape Fast was written by Matt Numrich from jkdondvd.com
I get questions all the time from my students and email street-fighting lessons subscribers about what the best way to exercise is as far as learning martial arts and street-fighting.
They want to know how to get the flexibility, stamina and speed they see other martial artists have.
They want to know if they should concentrate on lifting weights, calisthenics, or machines?
The short answer to this is: Train like you fight.
In other words, if you want to be flexible like a martial artist, then do a lot of sparring in whatever you want to get flexible at.
If you want stamina for ground fighting, then ground fight a lot.
If you want speed, then spar and practice for speed.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t lift weights, do calisthenics or go to the gym. But if you want to get your body in fighting shape, then train in fighting.
Just make sure you do it in a controlled manner. In fact, the best way to do this is to vary the intensity with a stopwatch.
For instance, spar for 15 seconds. Then for a minute. Then 5 minutes. And up. Go long on some days, short on others.
If you can have a third person work the stop watch, and randomly set the start and stop times, that’s even better. Because it’s more like a real street-fight, which can take a few seconds or several minutes. It’s never the same.
Just make sure you start slow, and build up your endurance. Don’t overdo it, and when you spar, use common sense and don’t do anything reckless that can hurt you or your partner.
Follow these simple guidelines and your body will start adapting and, before you know it, you’ll be in excellent fighting shape.
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14
Aug
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This Little-Known Martial Arts Secret Gives You A Gigantic Advantage In A Street Fight was written by Matt Numrich from jkdondvd.com
You may or may not be aware of this but there are only three “body types” in the world.
And they are:
1.) Ectomorph - tall, lanky, lots of energy
2.) Endomorph - plump, big boned, slow
3.) Mesomorph - natural athlete, muscular, athletic
Now, while it’s rare when you see a person who fits one of these body types exactly (most people have a mixture of two of them), if you know what the strong and weak points are in each of these general body types…you’ll have any fight half won before it even starts.
For example, if you’re fighting a tall, lanky guy — someone who is predominantly an ectomorph — then you know he’s going to have almost unlimited speed, energy and stamina…but will lack a lot of physical strength.
If you’re fighting a guy who is sort of “portly” — someone who is predominantly an endomorph — then you’ll know he’s going to be slow and lack stamina…but will not be someone you want to grapple with on the ground.
If you’re fighting a mesomorph — someone who is a natural athlete — then you know you’re going to be given a run for your money in all the physical areas. But, there’s also a good chance he’ll rely on his physical stature and skills — leaving himself wide open to all kinds of different attacks.
Bottom line:
While the above is a blatant generalization of how body types work, knowing the core strengths and weaknesses of your enemies like this — and how to exploit them — gives you a gigantic advantage in any fight.
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14
Aug
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I love these Taekwondo 540 kicks so. Enjoy them!
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13
Aug
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Increasing Striking And Punching Power Using Dropping Energy was written by Al Ridenhour from attackproof.com
How would you like to generate more power in your strikes when you’re in close with your opponent? You can, by developing the little known skill of Dropping Energy. Dropping Energy is perfect for fighting nose-to-nose, where the most mayhem occurs and where there’s no room to pull back and chamber a strike. It also delivers more energy in less time at any angle, and causes far more internal damage to the enemy without disrupting your relaxation, sensitivity, or balance; instead, it augments them.
Over the years I’ve probably gotten more letters on this single aspect of Guided Chaos (Ki Chuan Do) than anything else. So what I’m going to do here is reveal a very basic method for developing your Drop Hitting.
The One Inch Punch vs. The No Inch Punch When people are first introduced to the concept of Drop Hitting it usually conjures up images of Bruce Lee’s famous “One Inch Punch,” however, drop hitting is completely different. Unless you understand how the phenomenon works you’ll either perceive it to be some sort of magician’s trick in which the student and instructor are in on it, or, if you are so inclined, believe it’s some sort of mystical “force” or “energy” developed through years of meditation. In both cases you would be wrong. In fact, drop hitting is a very learnable skill that virtually anyone can employ to great effect. Drop-hitting is trained on a moving opponent since generally speaking, people usually don’t stand still waiting for you to throw a punch at them.
“In a boxing match you can win by points, in a real fight you have to knock people out”– Jack Dempsey
Probably no one knew this better than the legendary Jack Dempsey who was a master pugilist and a master at employing the Drop Punch or what became known as “The Dempsey Drop.” The Drop Punch or Dempsey Drop is an extremely sudden penetration, which is very focused and localized as opposed to the One Inch Punch, which is more of a pushing-like motion in order to move people backwards. The problem with pushing people backwards (as anyone with real fighting experience can tell you) is that it generally makes them mad, allows them to come back and does not by any means end the fight. Remember that when people attack you on the street they mean business; rarely do they just walk up to you without at least trying to use some sort of subterfuge to get the drop on you.
Another difference between the Drop Punch and the One Inch Punch is that the Drop Punch can be employed at any range with any weapon including having your hand right against a person’s body ( a “no-inch punch”), so as long as the person you are striking is within your sphere of influence it can be used from literally any position.
Developing the Drop Punch Let’s be honest, the Drop Punch is one of, if not the “coolest” technique we teach and until you’ve felt it for yourself you just would not believe how devastating a strike it is. I know that there are still people who will, even after reading this, remain skeptical. Those who have felt what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the Drop Punch can speak first hand to the power of the strike. About the only way to describe it is if you have ever played a contact sport where you got blindsided and the hit literally “rocks” your whole body, that’s the way it feels.
When hit with a body shot you feel for a second that you are going to go unconscious. You become nauseous and your organs feel like jelly as a wave of kinetic force penetrates your body.
Understand that such demonstrations of dropping power, while devastating, are not designed to cause permanent damage. Anything more than that could cause serious injury or death. This is why we do not Drop Strike when working with each other to the head or to the neck and other vital areas, nor do we drop with full power for all of the reasons stated above.
In Tai Chi and other internal arts this technique is called “Cold Power.” All Cold Power is, is the ability to suddenly bring all of your body into the strike at the right moment with compete relaxation and all of the physics behind it. You’ve seen this a million times yet probably never knew what it was. The explosiveness of dropping is the same effect as a football player blasting someone into the next world with a devastating hit, a hockey player checking someone into the boards or hitting a slap shot. In sports they are allowed to over commit on their shots or as in the case of football give up their entire body, whereas in a fight this is unacceptable since it makes you vulnerable to possible counterstrikes. When striking people the Drop Punch feels like hitting a baseball on the sweet spot of the bat, or hitting a golf ball on the right spot of the club. In other words, when all of the physics and body unity come together upon contact the strike feels effortless yet the effect is extremely potent. In essence this is the purest application of Tai Chi “Fa Jing” and chi or as some books on the internal arts describe it “…the circulating point of finesse in the body.”
How Do You Drop? Simply put, Dropping Energy refers to a spasmodic lowering of the entire body weight into a current or new root. Whatever your body weight is, it becomes a formidable weapon when you get it moving all at once in accordance with gravity. The sensation of dropping is similar to having your legs kicked out from under you, stumbling off a curb, or falling asleep at the wheel of your car and then jerking awake. It resembles the effect when you sneeze: your diaphragm contracts violently and your whole body spasms and drops. The energy is explosive but involuntary. You want to be able to control it at will, directing it to any weapon. When fueled by your fear and permitted to flow by relaxation, the damage dished out by dropping can be substantial.
Dropping consists of two parts that happen simultaneously:
- Stand with your knees slightly bent, then try to bend them more so quickly that for a split second your whole body becomes weightless, so that a slip of paper could actually be inserted between your feet and the ground. Most beginners make the mistake of actually jumping up first, which entirely misses the point. if you are a skier or play hockey, the sensation is similar to down-unweighting (the fastest way to change edges in a turn).
- Halt the drop with a snap to start the shock wave of energy. You don’t want to drop more than a couple of inches at most. Think of it as snapping a wet dish towel or cracking a whip; you’re essentially trying to “catch the bounce” your body makes as it’s stopped. Your momentum bounces off the floor through your feet and back up your body to be channeled into whatever weapon you’re using, provided all your joints are perfectly aligned for maximum power generation from your foot all the way through your hand. Think of it this way: a whip will generate zero power if a) it’s grabbed in the middle just as it’s snapped or b) the timing is wrong gathering the entire length of the whip for a wave-like crack or c) the whip itself is dipped in water and rigidly frozen (this is akin to fighting in an external style using pure grunting muscular exertion). when you drop properly, all the loose flesh on your body shakes violently (you know what we mean…)
You can drop into one or both legs or from leg to leg, it doesn’t matter.
Advantages of Dropping as a Source of Power
- It requires no continuous muscle tension or great strength<
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- It requires no windup or chamber
- It’s perfect for fighting nose-to-nose, where the most mayhem occurs and where there’s no room to pull back and chamber a strike
- It delivers more energy in less time
- You can deliver it at any angle, including upward
- It causes far more internal damage to the enemy
- It doesn’t disrupt your relaxation, sensitivity, or balance; instead, it augments them
Seven Step Drop Program Here’s a series of progressive exercises that you can practice on your own. Please note: In order to develop the ability to drop on your strikes the most important thing you must develop is your balance. Without balance you can do nothing, for you need to be able to “catch” and control your body as you strike, since the power emanates from your root through your center of gravity. As you drop you must land with your foot flat with your center of gravity rooted over the foot you drop on.
STEP ONE - stand with your hands out in front of your arms, shoulder height and slightly bent with your wrists relaxed. This position looks exactly like the first move in the Tai Chi form. As you drop and catch yourself, perform a palm heel strike, focusing on timing your strike with your drop. Your arms should feel the contraction of the muscles with the hands “snapping” into the palm heel strike. Your hands should strike outward in front of you with no more than three to four inches of movement.
Start off slow, focusing on developing the timing and then gradually pick up the speed.
Resist the temptation to “launch” with your legs by jumping up in the air first. This is a common mistake and will not add one iota of power to your strikes.
Upon dropping, ensure that all motion in your body ceases and hold your position for two full seconds. You should feel yourself rooting to the ground with each drop, knees bent, ensuring that you do not hop forward or lean in any one direction dropping straight down. This will ensure that as you strike you are able to do so with maximum contraction of the muscles and balance. Make sure as you recover for your next drop that, as you return to the original position, you are totally “relaxed” between each drop.
Repeat this over and over for two minutes or until the point of fatigue.
STEP TWO - repeating all of the steps in step one, upon dropping, ensure that all motion in your body ceases and hold your position for one full second. In doing so you will now begin to cut down on the amount of time it takes between your strikes while ensuring that as you strike you are able to do so with maximum contraction and balance.
Repeat this over and over for one minute or until the point of fatigue.
STEP THREE - upon dropping, ensure that all motion in your body ceases and hold your position for one half a second cutting down even more on the amount of time it takes between your strikes to gather yourself, again focusing on striking with maximum contraction and balance.
STEP FOUR - stand with your hands out in front of your arms, shoulder height and slightly bent with your wrists relaxed. As you drop and catch yourself, perform a side chop or “shuto” strike focusing on timing your strike with your drop. Your arms should feel the contraction of the muscles with the hands “snapping” into the strike. Again your hands should strike outward in front of you with no more that three to four inches of movement.
Ensure that the hands are already in the proper position to make the strike work as if you were striking for real, focusing on hitting with the side of the hand, not the fingers. Now, you want to drop and strike as fast as you can, making sure you remain balanced as you strike and relaxed in between strikes.
Again do not lean forward or hop as you strike. Make sure that you are striking as you catch yourself when dropping.
STEP FIVE - repeat step four only now, drop on one leg, alternating the feet, and begin to develop the dropping on one leg. Do not lean forward or to the side and do not hop as you strike. Make sure that you are striking as you catch yourself when dropping, ensuring that your center of gravity is directly over the rooted leg. Once you gain proficiency at this, begin dropping employing various strikes, hitting within your sphere of influence with every possible weapon you can imagine.
STEP SIX - repeat step five, striking and moving in every possible direction, striking with every possible weapon within your sphere of influence. Ensure that as you step you maintain your body unity. Then begin the Guided Chaos exercise Polishing the Sphere (see Attackproof: the Ultimate Guide to Personal Protection), intermixing it with drop hitting.
STEP SEVEN - drop until you can’t drop anymore and repeat several times a week until it is infused into every fiber of your being. You should mostly feel this in your legs, later you will want to do this against a heavy bag, then on the wobble board, then on the board against the heavy bag, on one leg etc…
These are simply beginner drills. There are many more advanced drills to develop Dropping Energy and apply it to dynamic combat under chaotic conditions.
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13
Aug
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Martial Arts Secrets Used By Military Special Ops was written by Matt Numrich from jkdondvd.com
If you want to give yourself an enormous advantage over any kind of attacker — whether they’re armed, trained or just plain psychopathic — then the best thing you can do for yourself is do your martial arts and self defense sparring in the dark.
Why would you want to do that?
Simply because, statistically speaking, the vast majority of violent crimes happen at night, under cover of darkness — when you can’t see a anything, or when visibility is extremely low.
And if you know how to fight when you can’t fully see everything (and everyone) around you…and your attacker is foolishly relying on his weapon or the element of surprise (as most violent criminals do)…then your chances of winning and dominating the fight go through the roof.
In fact, this this is such an important skill the military special ops…and even your local police force…are required to train in low-light (even pitch black) scenarios where they can’t see and have to learn how to fight without the luxury of vision.
And you want to know something almost nobody in the martial arts world realizes or teaches?
When you do the same thing — when you start to spar and practice your martial arts skills in the dark — as well as in other environments, like in the snow and ice, rain and fog, and even in the extreme heat — you’ll always be a step or two ahead of anyone who tries attacking you, no matter when or where it happens.
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13
Aug
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This “Small Guy” Martial Arts Secret Let’s Fighting Amateurs Take Down Seasoned Black Belts was written by Matt Numrich from jkdondvd.com
One of Bruce Lee’s most interesting street-fighting discoveries — that is virtually unknown in the traditional and even the so-called “mixed” martial arts world — is what he called “trapping range.”
What is trapping range?
Trapping range is the range of combat that is sort of in between grappling range (up close) and boxing range (within arm’s length). And what makes it so powerful is that it allows you to use your body’s own natural “weapons” — such as your elbows, knees and the top of your head — to attack a person’s “tender areas” — such as their face, groin or eyes.
This range is so effective it allows even small children and 65-year-old ladies riddled with arthritis to take down a 300-pound crazed lunatic almost instantly, with the guy on the ground howling in pain and screaming for medical attention.
In fact, when you know and understand trapping range, your attacker’s size, weight, height, and even skill don’t mean jack squat.
I don’t care if you’re fighting a 7 foot tall thug jacked up on drugs and ripped with muscle…or a multiple black belt martial arts master who has trained his entire life. It simply won’t make a lick of difference who you fight when you know and understand “trapping range.”
And best of all:
Since it’s virtually unknown to 99.9% of the population…even in the martial arts world…chances are that anyone foolish enough to attack you will have no idea how to defend themselves against it when you use it on them.
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13
Aug
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This Popular Martial Arts Kick Can Get You Killed was written by Matt Numrich from jkdondvd.com
People often send me emails asking me why I’m so hard on traditional martial arts — like karate, kung fu, aikido, etc.
Only problem is, I’m not hard on them.
In fact, I have nothing but respect for them — as did Bruce Lee and all the other street-fighting masters who have emerged in the past 30 years.
The street-fighting philosophy I teach literally has elements from some 30 different kinds of traditional martial arts. If I didn’t like or respect them, I wouldn’t be teaching them.
But at the same time…Bruce Lee had this saying: “absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.”
In other words, take a good look at what’s out there, extract what you can actually use in a street-fight — where there are no rules, regulations or referees — and leave all the fancy stuff out.
Like, for example, the much revered spinning high kick you see performed on TV and in the dojos all the time.
Totally useless in a real fight.
Don’t believe me?
Then go ahead and try it for yourself in a real fight.
Chances are you will either severely injure yourself, or leave yourself wide open to an attack.
Why?
Because unless you’re a phenomenal athlete, with an almost supernatural sense of balance, timing and power…and unless you perform your “super kick” at just the right angle and distance…you’ll fall flat on your face.
Happens all the time.
Reason why is because that particular kick — which is enormously popular in some of the traditional martial arts — was invented hundreds of years ago to kick people off their horses.
Not take out a thug in the back alley high on meth, with a knife in his hand.
You see, the violent criminals stalking our streets today are meaner, nastier and tougher than ever before in history. They have no sense of honor, fair play or morality whatsoever.
And to make matters worse, many of them also abuse mind-altering drugs and even steroids — making them almost immune to pain and pumped with an almost freakish kind of brute strength.
And so, to really defend yourself against these violent criminals you need fighting tactics that are “monkey simple” to learn, work almost automatically when you need them, and that can quickly do a lot of damage — whether you’re in shape, out of shape, or have any natural athletic ability whatsoever.
Bottom line:
When you’re in a violent altercation on the street, leave the fancy “Jackie Chan” moves and Van Dam roundhouse kicks for Hollywood where they belong.
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13
Aug
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The One Martial Arts Secret That Lets You 100% Avoid Freezing Up In Fights was written by Matt Numrich from jkdondvd.com
If you took all the pages in all the books about martial arts, street fighting and self-defense, you’d see a lot about physical conditioning — building strength, speed, endurance and stamina.
Only problem is…physical conditioning will NOT save you in a real fight.
Why?
Because while physical conditioning is important, even more important is emotional conditioning.
In fact, if you had two fighters, both of equal size, speed and skill, with one being in peak physical condition and the other in peak emotional condition — my money would be on the emotionally conditioned guy in all day long.
Reason why is because learning how to deal with all the emotions of a threat — like fear, anxiety, frustration and anger — and learning how to actually use them (like a weapon) in a fight is one of the most powerful fighting “skills” you can possess.
Think about it:
The best “techniques” in the world are worthless if you freak out during a fight. And all the physical training in the world is useless if you “freeze up” before the fight even begins.
Luckily, it’s not hard to emotionally condition yourself.
For example, one simple way to do it is to watch fighting, wresting and “full contact” events — and see how they control their emotions when things get hairy.
Another way is to talk to law enforcement professionals and military people, and ask them how they deal with stressful situations. Anything you get out of them will be pure gold to you if you ever find yourself in a violent situation, gripped by fear and anxiety.
Whatever the case, commit yourself to some serious study on emotional conditioning. When you learn how it works, and how to harness it in a fight, you will much of your fear about fighting evaporating.
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13
Aug
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Why Martial Arts And Self Defense “Moves” Don’t Mean Jack Squat was written by Matt Numrich from jkdondvd.com
Whenever people start learning martial arts and self defense skills — whether it’s in a dojo, health club or even at the YMCA — they will usually learn a lot of different “techniques.” Like kicking, punching, leg sweeping, blocking etc.
However, just as important as technique — maybe even more important, depending on who you ask — is something you rarely hear in the dojos, on TV or read about in the magazines:
And that something is called “Attributes.”
What are attributes?
Attributes are things like awareness, line familiarization, sensitivity, strength, power, speed, distancing, timing, and body mechanics.
In other words, attributes are the things that make it possible to pull off a technique in a real life situation. The guy who trained me, Sifu Paul Vunak, explains it like this:
“Anyone can watch hours of Michael Jordan on videotape. Anyone can write down and study his techniques on dribbling, shooting, passing, and defense. Now why can’t that person go out and play like him? It is because one does not possess his attributes, like his awareness of teammates and defenders, his speed, distancing, and ability to coordinate his body.”
And this is where many traditional martial artists fall short. They may have very effective and efficient “moves”, but can’t execute them in a street-fighting situation. Having moves without attributes is basically the same as having a car without gas. No matter how fancy, flashy or expensive the car…it can’t go anywhere without gas. And the same goes with fighting and attributes.
Bottom line:
When it comes to techniques and attributes, without one, the other is useless. Train them both and you’ll be a lot more dangerous to a violent attacker than you would with just “moves.”
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13
Aug
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Bruce Lee With A Gun? was written by Matt Numrich from jkdondvd.com
Can you imagine Bruce Lee with a gun?
Me neither.
Truth is, there’s very little about Bruce Lee’s view on guns. He was more focused on using his body, other weapons, and his mind to win and dominate fights.
But here’s the rub:
If you want to give yourself the highest chance of survival in a violent situation you should at least familiarize yourself with the basics of firearms. Even if you are someone who doesn’t want to have a gun, use a gun or even look at a gun.
Why?
Because — and this happens all the time to people who never thought it would — you never know when you will have to use a neighbor’s, or one that you’ve just wrestled out of the hands of an attacker.
This is a very common scenario, actually. You just never know when you are going to be thrust into a situation where you will have to use someone else’s firearm to save your own life.
For example…
Imagine you are fighting some thug and you manage to disarm him. He gets up and pulls a long, blood stained knife and starts coming at you.. You have the gun pointed at him and have maybe five seconds to use it.
Do you know where the safety is on it? Do you know how to quickly turn off the safety if it is on? Is the gun cocked? Are there any bullets in it? If so how many? Do you know how to check?
For some people, these are simple questions. For others — especially people who are deathly afraid of guns, or hate them and have never really considered they may need to use one some day — these are just a few things to consider learning about.
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