Finesse what you know best

by Mike

Styles make fights is one of those truisms that promoters use to put butts in the seats and PPV buys in the books. Take a fighter whose really good at X and match him up with a fighter that's good at Y and you've got something!

Well, usually. Sometimes X and Y end up being incompatible and you end up with technically proficient bouts like Machida vs. Ortiz or Mayweather vs. De La Hoya. Fun for the fans, but a cure for insomnia for the casual viewer.

Styles, though, are made up of much smaller components and when you really drill down into watching someone, you'll often find that they've got one or two little "tricks" that set them apart from everyone else but otherwise, they're merely competent.

Granted, the further up the ladder you get, the better "competent" needs to be get and the things that separate the best from everyone else is really only those one or two things.

A great place to see this on display is to watch the Olympics. Pick a couple random sports and listen to the commentary. Especially for those sports where you watch them and go, "people spend their free time doing this?" Well, not only do they spend their free time doing that, _they organize their schedules so they can spend as much time as possible_ doing that. And guess what? They're probably much better at that than you are at doing anything.

But that's neither here nor there. The thing that kills me is to watch, badminton or track or rowing and hear comments like, "her fakes are like nothing we've ever seen before," "he's the best corner runner in the game today," "the way they can read the water is uncanny." Not only are these things they're good at things that make you go, "wtf?" they're things that someone who doesn't spend all their time practicing that sport would ever think that you could be good at, let alone win a gold medal because of.

Point is, not only are there are a lot of things you can be good at, but there are a lot of things you can be good at and they'll make a big difference in your game even if not all of them are obvious. Getting back to martial arts...like Chuck D said, "finesse what you know best."

If you've got a left high kick that people don't get up from, you've got something you can hang your hat on. If your takedown defense means you never end up on your back, you know what to do. If you're the best at taking big shots and still moving forward.... Well, we can still work with that.

How do you know what you're good at? It's probably not what you think it is. Keep track of what you find yourself doing no matter what the situation is - figure out what you keep coming back to when you get worried or when you get tired. Ask your sparring partners what part of your game they have to watch out for. What's the thing that your instructor yells at you for, not because you're doing it poorly but because you're so good at it, you're not advancing your game any.

That's what you're good at. Now you've got to figure out how to put someone in that position no matter what goes on. This is going to be fundamental to setting up your gameplan. Once you've got a good sense of what you need to be doing, you can take a break from it and start working on what you're bad at, filling in the holes, so to speak.

Don't discount anything that you happen to be good at - if nothing else, it's a start. There are plenty of things you'll never be good at and while you can't eliminate those from your consideration entirely, you can learn how to play the game to your advantage.

CC-licensed photo by Lochinvart.

How to make the most of open mat

by Mike

Open mat time is some of the best that you'll be able to find for your training. If your school is divided in skill-level classes, this can be a great time for both beginning and advanced students to mingle in situations other than an organized class and see some totally different dynamics. If the open mat is being held at another school, well, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better way to meet and work with a variety of students from a number of other schools.

Some things to keep in mind when you're at an open mat:

• Get involved. Ask to work in - if you don't make it known that you're there and looking to actually get some work done, you'll end up sitting on the side like a nerd. Much like trying to ask for your first prom date, the worst thing that's going to happen is they'll say, "no" and then that's probably because they're training for a fight or competition and trying to get a specific workout in. No problem, ask someone else. You didn't sit at home on prom night, did you?
  
  
• Try to go one round with everyone. Whether they're better or worse than you are, you made a special trip to come out, so make it worth your while. There are some very good reasons to train with people not-as-good-as-you-are and if nothing else you'll have a chance to work on new parts of your game.
  
  
• Ask questions. With no instructor-like supervision and everyone trying to get as much work as possible in, you've got to be particularly aware of getting your take-homes from the experience. Without an instructor or a timetable for class, you'll be surprised just how insightful and helpful people are willing to be. To make sure you don't miss anything, remember your notebook.
  
  
• Stay focused. It's easy to get sidetracked with what happened at the fights or speculating whether that chick Flipper took home was actually a dude, but remember that you're there to work. If you're done working but don't want to leave, stay out of the way and quiet.
  
  
• Thank your partners. Especially if you're at another school.
  

In short, have fun and don't be a jerk.

Proof that red things go faster?

by Mike

The guys over at Combat Sport Psychology note that studies suggest that referees may look more favorably upon fighters wearing red than fighters wearing...other colors.

The findings, which appear in the August 2008 issue of Psychological Science, suggest that referees may hold a split-second bias toward red-clad athletes when the competitors are evenly matched in skill

Granted this is just in Tae Kwon Do competitions where one is wearing red and the other blue, so the study is kinda (as the researchers admit) largely inconclusive. Who knows, maybe refs like Rich Franklin's pink-and-brown shorts best of all?

I'm going to stick with my blue Sprawls. They make my gams look sexy.

Don't Kick Your Partner in the Balls

by Meredith

It seems to go without saying, and of course no one ever does this intentionally (I'm assuming) but don't kick your partner in the crotch.

We all know that accidents happen when learning any kind of martial art, that's why we wear all the protective gear and sign all the waivers at the front door, however, when any accident keeps happening, it's time to look at your technique.

We'll start with being a consistent crotch blaster.

As we've established, accidents happen to everyone, however, if you find that you're just about always kicking someone in a tender spot, the problem is probably you. The most common reasons for consistent crotch kicking are sloppy targeting and sloppy technique. If you're not turning your roundhouses over, for instance, then your kicks are more likely to end up being some kind of weird roundhouse, snap-kick hybrid, in which case, it's no wonder that all of your inner thigh kicks end up going someplace less polite. If this is you, work the bags for a while and make sure you're turning your hip over all the way and chambering correctly. Work speed and power and be extra conscious the next time you go with a real person. If targeting is your problem, work some focus mitt drills with a partner. Have your partner change the level of the mitts frequently and make sure your targeting is right on. If you seem to be fine when working on the bags or with mitts, but you fall apart in the ring, it could be nerves. Find someone you can go light with until you get over it.

Most of the time when you kick someone in their privates, you know it. If you happen to be one of those people who gets told "okay, dude, you just kicked me in the nuts for the second time" and you really had no idea you were doing it, you need to figure it out. You can ask your partner "I'm so sorry, I had no idea, do you have any idea what I'm doing incorrectly?"

Things to do if you do accidentally kick your partner where it hurts:

1. Do not blame your partner or get defensive. "It's because you always throw a roundhouse when I'M throwing a roundhouse!" No one wants to hear that shit when they're wounded in the area. Apologize immediately and just own the mistake. Also, don't take this moment to point out the wounds they've given you. It doesn't help and it can be annoying.
   
   
2. If your partner looks like they're going to puke, help them get their gloves off, then leave them alone.
   
   
3. If your partner walks it off and says they're okay to finish the round, DO NOT kick them there again. Also, apologize.
   
   
4. If your partner is curled up in a fetal position, get them some ice. Give it to them, let them decide where they want to put it.
   
   
5. If your partner waves you away and wants to be left alone, leave them alone. If they stumble into the bathroom, collect any gear they've disgarded and put it by their bag or off to the side. Have someone check on them after a few minutes if they don't resurface.

As I said above, accidents happen, everyone is going to get kicked in the crotch, probably several times, if they do any contact sport for any length of time. I am a girl and I have personally been kicked hard enough to drop twice in the past six months by two different people, neither of whom are consistent crotch kickers. Basically, this article is a warning to those of you who find yourself having this kind of 'accident' at least once every time you spar. If you don't correct it, you'll run out of sparring partners. Either that or you'll be left with the ones who can knock you out before you get a chance to throw that roundsnapkick.

CC-licensed photo by AkumAPRIME

Why crosstraining Savate is helpful for MMA guys

by Mike

For all the haters: Savate vs. Muay Thai.
Not quite Savate vs. MMA, but we all saw UFC 1

We recently ran into an interesting problem in the gym. We have a group of MMA fighters preparing for their upcoming fights at the same time as a group of savateurs are preparing for their competition. Especially when one's competing in an assaut (light contact), Savate and MMA couldn't be much more different. Savate is a game of angles, while MMA is a game of levels. Aside from not having enough ring space to do everything at once, the biggest problem was I wanted to do both.

The solution? Mix everyone up, but do it in such a way that our big wrestlers end up slamming our Savateuses who weigh as much as the wrestler's legs. Turn it into a Savate match.

One of the big complaints that non-savateurs have about Savate is that most Savate training is for the assaut and not full-contact. That makes Savate look not only weak, but kinda like a sport for softies. The second biggest complaint is no checking/shielding against kicks. This was a conscious decision by the Savate governing body since it basically eliminated most of the movement that makes Savate Savate.

Fortunately, we'd been working Savate drills in our MMA sessions often enough that any hesitance wasn't "I hope none of my friends see me doing this" so much as "crap, I can't do the things I'm good at."

Benefits for the MMA guys:

• Without shin checks, you really need to learn distance, timing and footwork, or else one gets tagged constantly
  
  
• There's no better way to emphasize the importance of working angles. Savate is a game played at a distance and while other combat sports emphasize clinch work, Savate is quick to break them up. The solution then is to keep moving and keep changing angles, both while on the offense and the defense
  
  
• Combinations are key to Savate. Where MMA guys have a tendency to emphasize heavy hands, Savateurs emphasize combinations. Staying at a distance means that it's relatively easy to see things coming, so combinations are necessary to change up targets, rhythm and disguise changing angles and distance
  
  
• Working in 2 minute rounds when you're used to 5 requires you to rewire your entire gameplan. Attacks need to be constant, points where you expect to be able to take a breath turn out to be when the other person is turning up their game
  
  
• Working the assaut means going light which both gives your body a break from all the stress of a typical MMA sparring session, but also forces you to work your technique

These are all great things that can be taken and added to one's MMA game.

Drawbacks for the MMA guys:

• Getting into Savate mode is tough for someone that's used to a much closer, rougher style of fighting. Occasionally, you can see the frustration when the MMA guys would see a kick coming and then drop to shoot in, catch themselves, then stand back up and get caught by the kick
  
  
• There's a tendency for "light" to equal "slow." Our wrestling coach likes to make fun of people working "at Savate speed" and he's right

Benefits of Savateurs training with the MMA guys:

• MMA guys approach the round much differently than a savateur, so the timing is different
  
  
• MMA guys tend to be linear, giving savateurs a chance to work their angles, but also work on movement to avoid opponents that keep coming forward
  
  
• The same way that the pacing is different for the MMA guys, the savateurs need to adjust to deal with someone who is used to putting out five minutes of intense work trying to do the same amount in two
  

Drawbacks of Savateurs training with the MMA guys:

• MMA version of "light" often tends to be a lot heavier than the savateurs'. This can be a good thing since it keeps the savateurs honest with their defense
  
  
• When lots of headkicks get dangled out in front of them MMA guys tend to forget what "no takedowns" means
  

All in all, working in something that is both similar to what you know, but unfamiliar to what your expectations are keeps you on your toes both figuratively and literally. While some common Savate techniques are probably a bad idea to use in an MMA match, it's easy enough to ignore those and concentrate on the things that will carry over.