Ground and Pound Training for MMA

About 20 years ago, if someone saw ground and pound they would probably call it brutal and unnecessary. Fast forward 20 years to the present however and it is a common thing to see, occurring in nearly every MMA fight and is even more common to see being practised in martial art schools the world over, than ever before.

To be a true martial artist, you need to be capable of fighting from all positions, including standing, on your knees, from your back and whilst on top of your opponent. Ground and pound training therefore is a must.

If you are new to ground and pound training it is wise that all you practise is strikes from the mount to begin with, concentrating on straight punches. Striking downwards at first can feel tricky to some, but after a few sessions of it, you should become more comfortable with downward punching.

When you feel you have progressed with punching from the mount you should progress to punching from the knee on the stomach position. This is great for working balance. You should also try switching sides so as to work left and ride, for you never know which side you shall end up in during the course of a fight.

I have shown above one round of ground and pound training using a heavy bag. I start by striking from the mount and the knee on the stomach positions using straight punches and elbows. I circle the bag by either stepping round or swinging one leg over the bag pivoting on the opposite knee. The scarf hold and side control positions are also worked, whilst incorporating a variety of elbow strikes and knees.

When transitioning through positions try and stay a low as possible when moving. You do not want to get into the habit of raising your body when stepping round the bag. You must make your movements as subtle as possible. Also, always think of your guard and your striking technique just as you would during stand-up striking.

Ground and pound is an excellent form of stamina training. After a couple of minutes of it your heart will be pumping fast. As you are constantly moving around the bag whilst striking you also improve your scrambling abilities and you shall notice the differences to your grappling. If you have not trained ground and pound before, start now.

Marks

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Close Quarter Striking

Close quarter striking is something that must not be ignored. Nearly all fights on the street will involve close quarter strikes and every MMA and boxing fight that lasts more than twenty seconds will involve close quarter strikes.

Its amazing that many martial artists who train striking still don't seem to realise this and think that long distance punches and kicks are all they need.

I have uploaded a couple of videos demonstrating close quarter strikes. The majority of techniques are elbows and knees, but the occasional punches and low kicks are used.

This first video demonstrates striking very close to a wall. This is to simulate close distance striking. By training close to the wall, you are forced to use only close quarter techniques. Notice in the video, that right and left stances are both worked. Working your weaker side is just as important as working your stronger side.



This second video demonstrates close distance striking with the heavy bag. Again, left and right side is worked and concentration is placed on balance, a tight guard and variety in the combinations



Marks

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Technorati Tags: heavy bag, close quarter combat, elbow, knee

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A Great Takedown for all Martial Artists

When people see throws and takedowns, the majority of them tend to be double leg pickups, hip throws of some sort, wrestler type suplexes or reaping techniques (O soto gari etc) One of the most underused takedowns which is very quick and requires little energy is the back of the knee press.

It works like this. From the clinch, move to the back of your opponent quickly or pull him round so his back his facing you. Then using the sole of your foot, press through the back of your opponents knee joint whilst pulling him/her backwards (grabbing any part of his/her upper body, including shoulders, arms, upper torso, head, hair etc). As your opponent falls backwards, be sure to move your body out of the way, so he/she does not fall on top of you.

The beauty of this takedown is that it requires very little strength to pull off. The back of the knee is very weak on everyone, no matter how strong they think they are, and a small amount of force is needed to bend the leg. The pull of the upper body then brings the opponent down to the floor. Also unlike most other throws where nearly all of the times there is a strong chance that the person will also fall to the floor, this is not the case with the back of the knee press. It is quite simple to remain standing, without your opponent gaining the ability to pull you down.

The key step to learn with this throw is how to get to a position behind your opponent. This can be achieved through practice and sparring.

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