First, my heart goes out to all Utahans that may have suffered ill effects from the sustained heavy winds (75-100 mph) and power outages on 12/1/11 to 12/2/11. It sucks to have a 30-year-old pine tree ripped from your yard and placed not-so-gently onto your car, or to have your truck flipped over by sheer wind-power.
With this recent calamity in mind, I’d like to draw a parallel between emergency preparedness and overall fight preparedness. When the storm comes – be it literal or in the cage – you know in that moment what you don’t have. Many folks here in Davis county (where I live) had the power out for 18+ hours; they immediately realized a need for candles/flash lights, extra blankets, and non-electrical heating/cooking.
In that moment, when your opponent is hitting a solid double-leg takedown, you realize your deficiency in wrestling. In that moment, when you cannot get past your opponent’s jab, you realize your boxing is sub-par. In that moment, when you are gasping for air, think back on your cardio time in the gym.
In that moment, all you can do is try to make the best of things.
However, let this be a lesson to all of us. You cannot prepare for every contingency but you can prepare for many contingencies. If an emergency beyond your capacity hits, your self-reliant attitude and survival practices will help you see another day.
I hope that when our moment finds us, it does not expose our weakness but reveals our preparedness.
This is a kickboxing combination we worked on recently in class. I’ve been really digging the use of the uppercut as a counterpunch lately. Remember – stay tight (protected). You don’t have to flap around to generate power in the uppercut. The power comes from your hips and really shoveling from the ground.
Among many of the awesome things at UFC 139, there were a number of solid uppercuts. Thus inspired, I threw together a little video with commentary. Hope you enjoy.
References:
BJ Penn’s book, the MMA book of knowledge, has a solid introduction to the uppercut punch with a couple of variations.
If you are just looking for a quick video on how to throw the uppercut, here’s one for that.
Saturday Novemeber 12: Forty minutes of pre-fight hype on Fox didn’t slow heavyweights Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez from getting busy in no time. The bout ended in 64 seconds with JDS shoveling punches into a downed Velasquez, who was sent to the mats courtesy of a nasty looping overhand right.
Lesson 1: JDS is a bad mamba-jamba.
Lesson 2: Cain has a chin, but the shot behind the ear messes with your equilibrium, making it hard to get up. Remember, Cheick Kongo blasted Cain on the chin with two good shots and he recovered and wrestled to victory.
Lesson 3: MMA boxing is different than regular boxing. The looping-overhand punch (a la Chuck Liddell) works really well with 4 ounce gloves. It seems … almost sloppy, like it shouldn’t work. But it does. Oh, it does.
Lesson 3: Loveable fatboy, Roy Nelson, has one tough cranium. JDS plowed that thing into the ground and Roy didn’t go out. (Roy has nacho-cheese injected directly into his brain-stem every fiscal quarter, making him hard to knock out. Science fact. )
After every good lesson, there must be a knowledge check! My questions for you are:
Q1. Does this mean Cain has a “glass jaw” or are the heavyweight sluggers just that brutish?
Q2. After seeing some HW heavy hands, do we credit Brock Lesnar for taking a beating much longer (or better?) than Cain?
Q3. Who do you think the best HW is going to be in the next year?
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