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IronMan's Log

48K views 318 replies 33 participants last post by  IronMan 
#1 ·
I'm not the biggest fan of "blogging" but what the hell.

June 20, Combat day:

2 hours of freestyle grappling and takedowns practice. Also practice for groundnpound and for guard passes.
1 hour of boxing and clinch-striking, mostly knees.
Simulated fight: 3 rounds of 5 minutes each with the first 2 minutes of each round purely striking and the last 3 of takedowns and submissions.
1/2 hour submission training

Cooldown:

Bench press: 3 sets (each set 12 reps)
Kickpress: 3 sets
Shoulderpress: 1 set
300 situps
 
#27 ·
That sounds like a good training regimen...

as for being smaller...close the gap and follow up....the insede game can be very devastating....

Im 5'10" with very good stand up...but my ground work needs the most improvement....Im explosive and very flexible on the ground but my standing is my strength....
 
#28 ·
Deadly Poet said:
That sounds like a good training regimen...

as for being smaller...close the gap and follow up....the insede game can be very devastating....

Im 5'10" with very good stand up...but my ground work needs the most improvement....Im explosive and very flexible on the ground but my standing is my strength....
Yeah, and that works for a taller, lighter, probably quicker guy. For me it's necessary to get as close as I can so I don't get worked over by my opponents jabs.

I do most of my damage from the thai clinch and dirty boxing position. Elbows are vicious, as is my right hand and my right knee, but if I'm fighting a taller guy I have to clinch, maybe throw one or two shots on him and then take him down.

That's really the key for me, I'm always looking for the takedown, always trying to set it up. I guesss one of the reasons why my takedowns get stuffed, even by good wrestlers, is because I throw a few shots at them first to give them something to think about.
 
#29 ·
IronMan said:
Yeah, and that works for a taller, lighter, probably quicker guy. For me it's necessary to get as close as I can so I don't get worked over by my opponents jabs.

I do most of my damage from the thai clinch and dirty boxing position. Elbows are vicious, as is my right hand and my right knee, but if I'm fighting a taller guy I have to clinch, maybe throw one or two shots on him and then take him down.

That's really the key for me, I'm always looking for the takedown, always trying to set it up. I guesss one of the reasons why my takedowns get stuffed, even by good wrestlers, is because I throw a few shots at them first to give them something to think about.
thats the way to take ppl down...if u just shoot then is easy to defend it...

my takedowns are not the best....especially if Im not hitting u...my best takedown is a straight right hand....
 
#31 ·
intresting

i saw you said you got noth south joke can you explain how im the world you got that iv bee trying for ever. pretty intense training how do you make time. when you do weighted shadow boxing you said you wighted your wristets so i tryed it ya i got swolen wrists and bruises you also start to relie a little to much on the momentum and force the wieghts give i think that the giant rubber band is a much better idea with alot less after afects and its cheaper! ha ha on your bench press how much do you do? i noticed that u didnt put the punching the heavy bag in your rougtine and talked about it later is that because youu just do it for fun post me plz.:confused:
 
#32 ·
i like your plans alot but it realy makes you a specilized fighter your week point is that your dont have a plan for going against some one whoknows how to spawl and though in the right knee that can knock you unconsous. when your fighting people who have the power to knock you out woth jabs or even just mui ti clinch you and knok the wind out of you. you seem like aa great fighter but you wouldnt be prepaired to fight some one whos 2 inches shorter than you and knows a little wrestiong a little judo and a few submitiosn but has huge resition standing and decent power.
 
#33 ·
Getting the choke is all about speed immediately from the takedown. You have to split the guard first, then get into a north/south position and just go for it. It didn't hurt that my opponent doesn't have the ground game to defend against any sort of advanced submission. But he's working on it.
 
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#34 ·
Yeah, little bro, sorry its taking me so long to reply to all of your posts.

I am getting to that point where I might be getting to specialized, but I try to avoid it. Stay rounded. You know what I mean. You also know very well that I hate striking with people.

You know that I train with RK, who is shorter and way stronger than me. He also has way better wrestling then me, so he helps me work from the bottom alot. It's about getting used to position, so alot of my stuff isn't just about getting on top of the guy and dominating him. I'm cool with having someone in my guard, triangles, guillotines and armbars are some of the best submissions.

If you mean fighting a short striker, all I'd do was keep him away with the jab and work leg kicks until he straightens up and starts to loose his ability to defend the takedown and work that wrestling and judo efficiently. Once I see him pop up and start to forget about his position then I'll go in for the takedown, either with the shot or by setting him up with underhooks.
 
#37 ·
Calibretto9 said:
How do you have time to train 6+ hours a day? You don't work or go to school?
That part of the log was done over the summer, when I was out of school and I just trained all day. Now I have school and I train after for 2-3 hours, more like a sports practice.

I wanted to add some stuff I started doing recently. For those who don't know, I do strictly body weight training, along with the occasional 10 pound curls while I watch TV.

I was doing pull ups this afternoon and I started to think about when I was little and did gymnastics (keep in mind, this is a long time ago). I started pulling my knees up to my chest and putting my ankles against the bar with each rep. This helps to stregthen the lower core, beyond just the target area of a regular pull-up which is the upper body.

A full rep, then, starts like a regular pull up, but when I get to the top I tuck my legs, lean my body back and touch the bar with either my shins or my ankles. I don't get as many reps in, but it definitely pushes me a little bit farther.
 
#39 ·
For core strength I do alot of situps when I'm not working with equipment like bars and that kind of stuff. I do the pull ups. Taking a medicine ball and leaning back is another good one, but it doesn't build explosiveness, so I do it after cardio workouts, usually. It's also a nice stretch.

Heavybag lifts are my preferred core strength excercise, because it builds strength in the legs and in the core, essentially targetting all of the areas that are used in Roman Greco style takedowns.
 
#42 ·
Here's a little bit of what I do with heavybag lifts:

Make sure that the heavybags is (at least) your own weight. That way you are training yourself to lift someone else in your weightclass.

Remember, these are intended to work muscles essential for ground fighters (particularly for takedowns). It's my way of combat training for takedowns with something that builds explosiveness!

First: Do a straight lift. It's sort of a dead lift, pick the bag up against your chest, lean back and then lean forward and put the bag down. This should really work the core (mostly abs and obliques) as well as some in the legs.

Second: Do a shoulder lift. Pick the bag up, put it over your shoulder, do a full leg extension (I've actually seen guys stronger than I am do a jump from here to build the legs). Once you've completed the extension you can put the bag down or slam it down to complete the rep. (If you have a mat a slam is definitely the best way to go, if you don't then don't damage the floor)

Third: Do a should toss. (Only if you have a mat and open space to toss onto) Lift the bag and throw it over your shoulder. This is built to simulate a suplex style throw. It is really essential for building strength in the hips as well as the legs. (it's a great excersise for wrestlers, though suplexes are harder and harder to get in MMA)

Remember, with every lift you should lift the bag off of the mat in order to make sure that you are lifting it as far as you can to push your body as hard as you can.
 
#44 ·
philjitsu said:
Is a bag more effective than using a bar from your experience?
Do you mean a pull-up bar or a weight bar?

I do pullups also. (I talk about them in an earlier post)

As for weight bars, they work for some people, but I am trying to simulate the body movement of takedowns and throws using weight and you can't really do that with a weight bar.

I find that using a groundnpound bag as weight is the most effective weight excersise I do because it builds physical strength while also helping build proper technique. The weight bar excersises are good for building conditioning, but they don't simulate actual technique.
 
#46 ·
wukkadb said:
I'm not sure if you train still, I'm thinking you do, but I hope you consider writing in this log again ;) I need some good guidelines for core training/explosiveness/strength(
Yup, still training.

One of the best things that you can do for grappling explosiveness is definitely the bag lifts, so I really suggest trying that.

I am a little bit ADD when it comes to conditioning. I don't want to do 1000 crunches or 500 pushups because I get bored, so I've spent alot of time figuring out ways to work all of those muscles quickly.

For the abs I use a modified situp:

Sit with the legs straight out, touch your toes and then lie back with your arms up so that your back as flat and your arms are outstretched above your head, then sit up and touch your toes.

After a while of doing this excersise I wanted to get even more flexion, so I did it on the foot of my bed, keeping the hips on the edge and, when you go back to lay out flat, force the abdominal muscles to support your body (to keep you from falling off). This one works.

Something I've picked up from reading is a back bridge excersise where you start on your stomach and roll your legs up into a handstand and put your legs down so you are in a bridge, then use your abs to pull yourself into a squatted position. Once you get down the muscle movement to doing this excersise practice doing it fast, it really helps with muscle strength and agility for scrambling.

If anyone has a heavybag that's not strung up or a groundnpound bag you can always work on ground control and position changing by laying it out on the floor, putting your elbows down (and keeping the hands close!), spreading the legs out like in a sprawl and circle around the bag. See how fast you can get around and keep trying to get faster changing from side control to north/south. Also go from sidecontrol to the mount to sidecontrol (it's called a "hopping" drill).

The best way to really build effective explosiveness is to do lots of live grappling, because it works all of the muscle that you will use in a fight. You can simulate submissions and stimulate those muscles, but it's not the same in drills as when you have an opponent there to resist you.
 
#47 ·
IronMan said:
Yup, still training.

One of the best things that you can do for grappling explosiveness is definitely the bag lifts, so I really suggest trying that.

I am a little bit ADD when it comes to conditioning. I don't want to do 1000 crunches or 500 pushups because I get bored, so I've spent alot of time figuring out ways to work all of those muscles quickly.

For the abs I use a modified situp:

Sit with the legs straight out, touch your toes and then lie back with your arms up so that your back as flat and your arms are outstretched above your head, then sit up and touch your toes.

After a while of doing this excersise I wanted to get even more flexion, so I did it on the foot of my bed, keeping the hips on the edge and, when you go back to lay out flat, force the abdominal muscles to support your body (to keep you from falling off). This one works.

Something I've picked up from reading is a back bridge excersise where you start on your stomach and roll your legs up into a handstand and put your legs down so you are in a bridge, then use your abs to pull yourself into a squatted position. Once you get down the muscle movement to doing this excersise practice doing it fast, it really helps with muscle strength and agility for scrambling.

If anyone has a heavybag that's not strung up or a groundnpound bag you can always work on ground control and position changing by laying it out on the floor, putting your elbows down (and keeping the hands close!), spreading the legs out like in a sprawl and circle around the bag. See how fast you can get around and keep trying to get faster changing from side control to north/south. Also go from sidecontrol to the mount to sidecontrol (it's called a "hopping" drill).

The best way to really build effective explosiveness is to do lots of live grappling, because it works all of the muscle that you will use in a fight. You can simulate submissions and stimulate those muscles, but it's not the same in drills as when you have an opponent there to resist you.
Thanks a bunch. Ive definitely noticed that live grappling is the most efficient way to get better overall it just sucks that BJJ classes have very little actual 'live grappling.' Im usually fine when I have my partner with me because we can just roll but it sucks when he's not there and I have no one to roll with.
 
#48 ·
wukkadb said:
Thanks a bunch. Ive definitely noticed that live grappling is the most efficient way to get better overall it just sucks that BJJ classes have very little actual 'live grappling.' Im usually fine when I have my partner with me because we can just roll but it sucks when he's not there and I have no one to roll with.
I'm starting at a new BJJ school (actually today) and their schedule says that they have open mats on Friday nights. Open mats are the best way to get alot of rolling in over a very short period of time. I've noticed that alot of guys will go off to get water or get a Gatorade from the drugstore in the middle. This is my advice:

When you have open mat (or any martial arts class, for that matter) stay on the mat the whole time. Part of the discipline in this sport is dedication and so its important not to lose a minute of training time when you have a teacher and senior students who could be teaching your stuff.
 
#49 ·
I did my first BJJ class with Eduardo Rocha, a 3rd Degree blackbelt under Royler Gracie, and, honestly, it was different than any BJJ class I've ever been in before.

In the past, the BJJ classes I've been to have sort of had the attittude of: the senior students beat on you until eventually you learn some jiu-jitsu.

I started in a beginners class, so it was very simple and very basic. (I spent 5-10 minutes with a senior student while they walked me through the armbar and keylock from mount) Still, the beginners class is good. Even though I know alot of techniques and I know what positions I can use them from working of the fundamentals of techniques that I thought I really had down revealed that there are a handful of little details in each technique that make things alot easier.

The conditioning in the class was minimal, which is fine because I'd rather be grappling anyway, and the instruction and the senior training partners were helpful.

Definitely a gym worth checking out for those in Oakland. The address is 3600 Grand Ave and the website is cateambjj.com
 
#51 ·
flm74 said:
Great posts man, this is inspiring me to get back into fighting shape. Getting too old for the game though.
Even if you're too old to pursue it as a career, it's definitely a great way to, like you said, get back in shape.

If you really improve quickly and you want to test yourself, there is always amateur competition, and I definitely suggest it if you want to fight.
 
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