set and unset work

There are a lot of "set" drills in FMA....hubud, cadenas dos manos , sombrada, the modules of Bram Frank, etc. I do them with my students...a lot. Both sides have set roles and movements. We also do the kind of drilling we did last night, which is unset, or partially set.  I.e., working at 50 % pressure, one person opens with an attack, it is blocked, he traps, and continues until he lands a significant blow. The defender can parry as he pleases, but can not counter.  This lets the attacker focus on flowing until he lands a hit, but since the parries are not predetermined, this forces him to stay in the moment.  Now put an implement, knife, cell phone, travel wrench, cane, in the mix (use protective gear, and practice weapons).  Suddenly trapping makes more sense...why hit with the rear hand when the lead has a force multiplier.  We do the same with Tony Blauer material, ie flinch to spear to ?????with a cell phone sub in hand...I think that the set drills are a good way to acquire skills, and practice them, but you also need to step outside them, and unset drills are a good bridge to totally free work.

stay off the ground in a self-defense situation.

I just posted this in response to an Acadamie Duello video of a street fight. Literally. 2 guys rolling around on the freaking street.  Guy number one gets on top and is enjoying handing out a few recreational elbows from the mount.  Guy number 2 is not enjoying anything. Suddenly a woman bystander (G2's mother?) steps in, kicks G1 to the head. He goes from on top to out cold. No clue, no chance. This is my comment

stay off the ground, stay off the road (cars deliver a terrific knockout), stay alert. Here's a fun drill for 3 people. 1 person is the learner., get in the standard ground positions, mount, guard, 1/2 guard, side mount, sit out...work your techniques, Your partner (person number 2) resists. Person number 3 at some point calls out in, 1, 2, 3...you have 3 seconds to disengage, and be ready to engage person number 3. Person number 2 will hold on as much as possible. Good luck
Here's another variation, instead of calling in, person number 3 drops a practice knife, or a piece of foam that simulates a rock, or broken bottle near, or on the grapplers. Finally, just have person number 2 conceal a practice knife in a pocket, or in a boot, and try to access it while person number one is hitting, or trying to get a submission. Person number one...notice where the hands are going....if you are hitting someone, why would they take a hand away from the protective position....? Learn to feel the movements of someone accessing a weapon (other places of concealment that have i seen are kidney conceal ( clipped in the back, dominant hand side, roughly over the kidney), neck carry, front or back, hilt down up the sleeve of the non dominant arm.

back to swimming....whee

Back to swimming, 1800m, and water martial arts....there is something so reviving about the water, and doing martial arts in water allows you to work power without the jarring of bagwork....now that i am swimming and doing DMA (Drowning Man Arnis), i am also back to more focused strength work. Today I did 25 minutes of one arm long cycle, 12 kbell, switching every 4 reps. I got 250 reps, with a bit of a sprint at the end...so 10 rpm. I plan to work up to 1 hour in five minute increments. I would like to do one of  the long cycle charity events. That is the plan, subject, as my dad used to say, to change. You need to have a plan, but you also need to be able to reassess it...is it too challenging, not challenging enough, too time consuming (my time will change when i retire that is why one hour long cycle is possible)

power, technique, endurance.

today's morning workout was designed to combine power, technique, and endurance. I warmed up with 10 mins. of sword and gladius. Then I did 10 minutes of power, tech, endurance. I set my timer to go off every min. I would then do either 3 reps of resisted pushups (power pushup by lifeline, but you can use a backpack with wts), or 3 reps of weighted chins (8lbs), using the explode up, lower slower method.. These  were alternated for 10 mins. For the remainder of the minute I did 1/empty hand 2/ gladius and shield 3/ stick patterns / 4 /knife flow 5/ ground mobility. repeat. The short rest break, with movement, allows me to maintain heart rate, whilst getting some recovery, however by the last sets, I am struggling to maintain reps in the power, and technique and pace in the rest of the minute. This is what is intended.  Ideally I would have a heavy bag, and or pell, but I need my space open on other nights. However I do work in front of the mirror, so that I can check technique, and aim at myself (so far, I have missed). Next week, I will increase  reps to 4.  Before my hip operation I did this workout with dumbbell clean and jerk. It all works....some caveats...do not use new techniques for either the power exercise, or the martial arts exercise, you need well grooved movements, or the slop will be evil, and you will be practising poor technique.

changes...and a good workout.

I am retiring from my job, effective Nov. 07/11.  Which will cause changes in how/when/where I train.  More germane to my current life, the pool at the university is closed.  Since my pool workout incorporates martial arts movements as well as swimming, I need to replace those movements in my weekly routine.  My answer is too incorporate the arts back into my resistance training. My workout this morning was 1 min each (amap As Many As Possible), 1/ 20k kbell swings, 2/ gladius and shield,3/ kbell, 2 bell jerks, 16k bells, 4/empy hand work  5/bob and weave squats, 6/ foot work drills,  last set with sidesword,  7/ self row on trx 8/ stick.  9/ medicine ball abs  10/ knife, or cell phone flow (i teach people, if you are going to pack a damn cell phone, learn to use it for something other than annoying people on transit.) I went through that 3 times. 30 minutes I get some strength, endurance, and weapon specific training in a fatigued condition.  Now i need something to hit besides my students... took down my heavy bag after my hip operation, and now i need the room to teach....

Swimming and martial arts

just went for a swim at lunch, 1200m.  I feel stretched out, worked out, yet refreshed.  In my experience, swimming is very easy to recover from, relative of course, to intensity. It does not leave me as drained as an equivalent run. Swimming also requires a relaxed full body extertion, and of course, a focus on breathing.  This makes it an excellent adjunct to FMA and other martial arts, and it is joint friendly.  And swimming in the ocean can be so refreshing, yet so humbling...an infinitely larger, uncaring opponent, that you must work with, not against. I am not saying that swimming is the only, or the best crosstraining for FMA, just that it has, as every activity does, some distinct strengths...and weaknesses (doesn't work the legs as much as running, and it can soften your hands for a few hours, leading to some unexpected blisters if you pick up a stick, or sword, or knife.)

Jockin it

Well-rounded weekend...I am still, at heart, a jock. Someone who likes to do a lot of activities, and accepts that she/he will never be the best at anything. That said, my primary activity is FMA, and everything else feeds off, or into that. Saturday, I did KBells with Trish Dong at Code 5 fitness. Comraderie, challenge, strength. Did 5mins of snatch, 12k, one switch at 2:30. 53 reps left, 52 right. Then Turkish get-ups. I looked best in the silk belly dancer outfit, but preferred the Janassarie costume (just kidding TGU is a great exercise where you go from flat on your back to upright. Very good for core, legs, balance, body awareness....you name it.) I think the benefits to FMA are apparent, but GS kbeller's will be chortling at my numbers. Sunday, did a strong uphill hike with my wife, dogs, and friends. Uphill hiking challenges the legs and the will. Again, by the standard of a hard core hiker, slow, and not far enough...for them, plenty far for me. Then did 3 minutes, 30 seconds off, rounds of carrenza, or shadow workd, with empty hand, sword, sword and shield, sticks, knife, gladius, wrestling, anyos/jurus. 18 rounds total. Sunday, went down to Kits beach, and did 37 mins. of open water swimming (I hear the triathletes that i used to hang with saying "nice warm up, dude"). I will never be the best at any of these things, including my beloved FMA, but, frankly, even if i concentrated on one, I still wouldn't be the best. And I wouldn't be having as much fun.