SLC MMAExploring MMA and Jujitsu in Salt Lake City Utah

Quick Video Reminder: Body Blows Hurt, BadlyFiled Under: Rantings

There was a time in my early youth when I didn’t believe a shot to the midsection could do much. Two cracked ribs helped me reverse my particular position on this. Nowadays, being kicked or punched in the body is not on my top 5 favorite things.  That being said, I do love them when I’m not on the receiving end.  Below, a few fights ending via body shots.

You’ll see some nice strikes to liver and diaphragm – remember that the liver is on the left hand side of a fighter (as you face him). If you want to jump to the proverbial punch line (who has time for the buildup these days?), the good stuff starts at 5:30, 2:20, 0:20, and 0:15.

Tags: body shots, liver ko, liver shot

The Bas Rutten Liver ShotFiled Under: Instruction, Local

It almost seems that Bas Rutten has the patent on the liver shot – it’s something he does really well. The video above is short and sweet – and easy watch.  I really like how Bas delineates between the hook and the liver shot – the latter being more uppercut than hook. And the visual of shanking someone with a knife blade between your knuckles, Wolverine style,  …  priceless Bas Rutten.

Anyway, the local boys over at Mushin Self Defense have an longer, more in depth video (below) talking about the finer details of the liver and striking it. The first five or so minutes is Sensei Brian taking with a medical doctor about the location and structure of the liver.  The music in the background cracks me up.

One other thing – this punch is sometimes called a shovel hook, or a shovel punch, because of how it mimics the way you shovel snow in the winter time, something we all can relate to.  To make the punch really hit hard, you need to get your hips behind it and drive through with your feet -  without changing much of your vertical height. The video below is pretty decent and you can see the hip shift and the pushing through on the balls of the feet. Since they are coming from a kickboxing point of view, there is one notable  correction for us MMA guys – their starting stance is a little wide (foot to foot) and a tad too “slim” (angle to the opponent).

Tags: bas rutten, body shots, Brian Yamasaki, liver shot, Mushin, punching, shovel punch, taking it to the mmat