Encompassing Athleticism and Fighting

[Sano]

Not sure if you've seen this or not, but maybe some of this stuff can help with deadlifts

Thanks man! No hadn't seen it before. Some good exercises definitely. Doesn't really address my issue, I have pretty good extension and I already do unilateral hinging. My problem is what I suspect a structural one with my hip flexion. I have a really hard time staying neutral in the bottom position. I simply don't have enough room in my hips to go down before my pelvis gets involved and pulls my tailbone under/creates a butt wink. I might be able to tweak it a little bit and improve.

I will however try to do Romanians for a while and keep them slow and tight, only going down as far as I can keep neutral, or just sumo (which isn't a problem for me). I need to build some strength over time in the position as well.

Thanks again!

 

[Sano]

Soooo! I went to the MMA gym today for the first time in 7 months since my concussion! Btw, I've found out it's actually whiplash that has been giving me neck pain/headaches. I think the concussion went away after the first few months and then it's been the neck that's been the culprit since. Still bothers me a little, but I'm doing specific exercises to turn off some muscles and turn on others. I'll go see a physio who knows how to deal with cervical issues.

Anyway! Went to boxing training first. It was so fucking great to be able to go again. Warmup, drills, some padwork and sparring. I only sparred one guy, controlled sparring, but it was awesome! The class took about an hour. Afterwards I stayed for some HIT/cardio boxing class. Bagwork, sprinting, BW exercises timed and so forth, for another hour. Ended with some stretching and a nice hot bath.

Great to be back!

 

[Sano]

Stupid neck is killing me right now.

Anyway, I've been a little sick these last few days but I'm holding on. Gym at my school is being renovated, so did some training outside at a park.

Cardio:
- Running/walking/shadowboxing

BW:
- Chinups: 10 reps, 8 reps
- Beginner shrimps (2nd): 8 reps each side
x3
- One arm elevated pushups (3d): 5 reps each side
- Decline pike pushups (3d): 8 reps
x2
- Inverted rows (2nd): 6 reps
x1

Took a little more than an hour.

 

[Sano]

So I did some benching for the the first time in a while a few days ago. Worked up to 6x85kg for a few sets. No big deal. Also did some upright rows and lateral raises for the mid delts. Add to that some unilateral deadlifts with dumbbells. Some bottoms up presses and some supine dumbbell presses as well. Whatever.

Anyway, today, I just returned from my first legit wrestling class. I mean, I am primarily a striker, but I've grappled before of course. Never been to a real wrestling class though that wasn't some BJJ watered down version. I'm not really that fond of BJJ. Anyway, holy shit it blew me away. It was fucking awesome, and I'm completely destroyed. It comes much more natural to me than BJJ and you're actually allowed to fight for position. With respect of course, I've had enough injuries to know when to not push through something.

The class was run by a very nice guy, who also happened to be a beast. I don't know who he is, but he's not Danish and he seems very legit.

We started off with some shadow wrestling. Keeping good base, being in our stance always, taking angles and sprawling/shooting as it went on. Never break position was the point. The great part is, low center of gravity, angles, keeping stance it flows directly into my boxing. The style of boxing I like to use.

Then we did some partner shadow drills. One guy touches the ground pretends to shoot, the other sprawls and then immediately shoots. I can sprawl pretty well but my shots are not good.

Then we did some pummeling, then we did some partnered drills. You go for the underhook, opponent goes for the whizzer, you take an angle and go for the high crotch, then lift and drop. The drill was expanded to high crotch -> gets defended -> high single -> leg sweep. Then to leg sweep gets defended -> push triceps away, take an angle and take the back. It was fucking awesome.

Then we did some grueling drills. Winner starting from high crotch kneeling position and then other guy trying to escape or take you down. Winner stays in and keeps fighting new guys. Felt like forever and I was sucking air like there was not enough oxygen on the entire planet to keep be breathing. Used a lot of energy lol. Could barely stand at the end, even if I can usually box for a long time and I can lift "ok". Anyway, a few things clicked and some of the transitions felt pretty fluid. All in all great training.

I'll put weight training on the back burner. I'll get plenty of resistance work wrestling with those guys. You should see some of their legs it's ridicules. I'll also actually learn something and get comfortable in unusual positions. The class went from novices to pro fighters at a high level so it was a fun mix. I'll do LISS a little bit on off days and do striking + wrestling/grappling at the gym for a while. I'll get plenty of anerobic work there. Maybe do a few prehab/maintenance sessions once in a while.

Here I come baby!

 

[Sano]

Supposed to be rest day today, I'm fried from the wrestling still. Anyway, I did a little low intensity BB/corrective upper body stuff.

Cardio:
- Brisk walk for about 45-60 mins

Misc:
- 10-12 x Upright rows
- 10-12 x Lateral raises each side
- 10-12 x Reverse flyes
- 10 x Chest press with dumbbells
- 10 x Kneeling unilateral OHP with a plate (instead of bottoms up kettlebell)
x4-5 sets

Just working shoulders and biomechanics. Kept it very light. Did a little mobilty and nerve mobilisation as a warmup to alleviate some tightness and nerve irritation I'm having.

Tomorrow is striking class! I'll try to record some sparring.

 

[Sano]

Went to striking class today, it was pretty cool!

Shadowboxing, some padwork, some partner drills and then sparring. Sparred maybe 4-5 rounds, but I didn't get anything recorded. Then after training I had two quick sparring sessions that I managed to get someone to record. Second time back sparring in 8-9 months! I'm rusty and I'm out of shape, but it was fun! I have improved a few things while I was away, but now is the time to get better! Kicking kinda throws me off a little bit, I like pure boxing better. Maybe I really should work them more if I'm doing kickboxing anyway. I just don't want to stray from my boxing roots. As long as they are add ons I guess it's okay.

Unfortunately the last few "rounds" here after class was cut short because the first guy got a nosebleed after the uppercut I think, and the second one had to stop because of the liver punch.

I have to practice using speed without using power. Right now I'm just probing too much and going too slow. I don't want to blast someone too hard, so it's a balance.

 

[Ilk]

I like it how you spam these punches and pressuring taking every will of them to fight and how you check some of these kicks. Very good boxing. Very good control in spars, loved it.

 

[Sano]

I like it how you spam these punches and pressuring taking every will of them to fight and how you check some of these kicks. Very good boxing. Very good control in spars, loved it.

Thanks man! Still have alot to improve on, but my boxing is definitely better than my kickboxing/MT.

Yup, I love to pressure. I'm working on taking more angles as you can see a few times when I close the distance and they shell up.

I'll keep training and hopefully get better!

 

[Ilk]

Of course you will improve. I like how you take the angles when they shell up, yes. That is the art of boxing. What is the plan on improving kickboxing MT?

 

[Sano]

Of course you will improve. I like how you take the angles when they shell up, yes. That is the art of boxing. What is the plan on improving kickboxing MT?

Hmm, not sure yet. I want to get better at clinching at least and I'm doing wrestling as well. A good MT clinch with a few trips and sweeps would be nice. I need to practice the simple kicks a little more. Lowkick, frontkick and switch kick and get some more speed on them. I don't want to changce my style too much, but adapt it.

I'll just keep showing up and hopefully get some more tools to deal with kicks. There are a few guys down there who kick pretty well that I can ask for help.

 

[Sano]

Went running outside in a big park today with two of my fellow classmates. It was great to be outside! When I got home I did a little shoulder/chest workout in the basement here at my apartment complex.

Cardio:
- LISS for about 30-40 mins
- Hill sprints x 6, took about 15-20 min, kicked my ass.

Misc:
- 10-12 x Upright rows
- 10-12 x Lateral raises each side
- 15-18 x Reverse flyes
- 10 x Chest press with dumbbells
- 12 x Kneeling unilateral OHP with a plate (instead of bottoms up kettlebell)
- Some trap 3 and scapula setting reps
- 10 x RDL with little weight.
x4-5 sets

 

[Sano]

Wrestling:
Went to wrestling class today. It's warm as fuck right now, and humid too. I was sweating bullets, but that's nothing new.

Pretty fun class! I really like wrestling. Did some warmup, then some shadow wrestling, then some double leg drills. Blast double and regular double. Then we drilled a few ways to continue the takedown after getting sprawled on. I did some shadowboxing mixed in with wrestling after class while some of the other guys rolled.

Neck is killing me right now, those blast doubles really hurt it. Otherwise it's getting better generally, but I really need to go see a physio when I get my act together and actually go through with it. I am "treating" myself with a few drills but I need someone who knows more about cervical issues than I do, and someone who can do some manual/arthrokinematic/osteokinematic treatment on me.

I have an assignment that I have to finish this weekend for school too. Procrastinating!

 

[Sano]

Cardio:
- Shadowboxing
- Bagwork

Misc:
- 10-12 x Upright rows
- 10-12 x Lateral raises each side
- 15-18 x Bendover lateral rases
- 10 x Chest press with dumbbells
- 12 x Kneeling unilateral OHP with a plate (instead of bottoms up kettlebell)
- 10 x RDL with light weight.
- 8 x Single leg deadlift with dumbbells each side
- 8 x Lunge with dumbbells each side
x3-4 sets

 

[Sano]

Striking class:
Neck was is still not back to normal, but it's a lot better. Had some really good sparring today.

We started with jump rope, then shadowboxing, then we did a few MT/KB partner drills, returning fire and all that. Then we sparred. I did pretty well. One big, tall, strong guy that was southpaw caught me a little with a headkick and a few hard left straights. I can't do my usual slip to my right against a southpaw. I got a little assertive after that, and as soon as I closed the distance and he shelled up he got a few good body punches returned.

After regular class, some of the pros came for MMA sparring. I sparred one of them, who's a striker primarily. Got caught flush with a lead headkick and an overhand right one or twice. Other than that I held my own. Slipping/leaning to my right got me caught a few times today and that's my go to move. I need to keep my right hand up! I have to drill that. It's a lot harder to get away with slipping without having your hand there when kicks are involved. Also, I'm having a lot of success with my flicker jab, but I need to be wary of the overhand and keep looking at my opponent.

Whole thing took about 1½-2 hours.

Improvement: Flicker jab worked well, took more angles and moved to my right more, am getting better at not smothering my distance, front kicks mixed in with jabs worked about as good as they ever have for me today. Snappy frontkicks. Using them as feints as well (thanks @AndyMaBobs).

Need to work on:
1. Keep that right hand up and to the chin. Don't drop it.
2. Look at the opponent at all times.
3. Use my range
4. Keep working on angles

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Striking class:
Neck was is still not back to normal, but it's a lot better. Had some really good sparring today.

We started with jump rope, then shadowboxing, then we did a few MT/KB partner drills, returning fire and all that. Then we sparred. I did pretty well. One big, tall, strong guy that was southpaw caught me a little with a headkick and a few hard left straights. I can't do my usual slip to my right against a southpaw. I got a little assertive after that, and as soon as I closed the distance and he shelled up he got a few good body punches returned.

After regular class, some of the pros came for MMA sparring. I sparred one of them, who's a striker primarily. Got caught flush with a lead headkick and an overhand right one or twice. Other than that I held my own. Slipping/leaning to my right got me caught a few times today and that's my go to move. I need to keep my right hand up! I have to drill that. It's a lot harder to get away with slipping without having your hand there when kicks are involved. Also, I'm having a lot of success with my flicker jab, but I need to be wary of the overhand and keep looking at my opponent.

Whole thing took about 1½-2 hours.

Improvement: Flicker jab worked well, took more angles and moved to my right more, am getting better at not smothering my distance, front kicks mixed in with jabs worked about as good as they ever have for me today. Snappy frontkicks. Using them as feints as well (thanks @AndyMaBobs).

Need to work on:
1. Keep that right hand up and to the chin. Don't drop it.
2. Look at the opponent at all times.
3. Use my range
4. Keep working on angles

Glad it worked out well dude! It's a banging combo to control the range and where people down

 

[Sano]

Glad it worked out well dude! It's a banging combo to control the range and where people down

Yeah it is. Usually I'm very cautious with kicks and I throw them slow, because I don't want to hurt my partner, but I put some speed on the front kicks today, to the stomach. It was possible without going too hard.

When I throw them slow normally I always get my leg caught. Not today. I set up a few right hands by faking it as well, it was good.

 

[Sano]

Been doing some small strength workouts these last few days. Went to striking today and got beat up.

Striking:

We did some warmup, some shadowboxing, some partner drill with a few combinations and then sparred. I sparred a few guys I've sparred before, and some I haven't. Went pretty well, I've figured the tall soutpaw guy out a little bit, and I sparred another big guy who was a decent boxer, but I put some pressure on him. Good sparring.

Then I sparred this guy who just went 100% from the getgo. Smaller than me, but fast and hit hard. Got pieced up pretty badly, tried to adjust mentally to the level, got a few shots in but it became a fight. Then he caught me with a perfect overhand behind the ear/back of the head area while I was moving into the shot. I've been rocked before, but I don't think like that. I stumbled a little bit I think, I was ROCKED. There was about 30 seconds left of the round and I just thought "fuck this, I've just begun sparring again I don't need another concussion" and I sat the rest of the sparring out. Felt kinda like a bitch move, I know it isn't, but I really don't think it's worth getting scrambled up again with no reward. I just hope that my mindset is not changing so that I'll quit if I get dazed in a fight. I've always been balls to the wall and invited getting hit, I still don't mind, but I just don't think continuing after getting rocked like that is a smart move in sparring.

I found out he's an amateur boxer with 74 fights, who was about to go pro a while ago but had some issues with the promoter. Apparently, he went to a pretty famous Danish boxing promoters affiliated gyms and beat up the pros there. He has a mean streak, I can tell you that much. He continued to stop two other guys afterwards with head shots. It was a little much.

I talked to him afterwards, and he seemed like a nice enough guy, but definitely old school boxing mentality. Personally I think it's a little weak to go all out on guys you are clearly better than, but hey, it is what it is.

It annoys me very much that I didn't get it recorded. I want to see why I'm getting tagged as much as I am. I need to record sparring with the good guys but I don't really have a place to put the phone. It's annoys me that I'm not able to win as well lol, and that I got rocked. I hope my chin is still strong, but I shouldn't be getting hit at all!

Anyway, I'll take a little break from sparring for a few weeks, but continue to show up to class. Second time in a row I got a black eye, a cut under my eye and this time was rocked with a shot behind the ear.

Went well:
Slipped well to my left against the soutpaw. Used my lead to trap his lead and get in with the right cross pretty well. Had success with some straights to the body.

Need to work on:
1. Weight back, not leaning into shots and keeping hands up
2. Perhaps stay on the outside a little more and use kicks against real boxers
3. Get a better defense generally (maybe more angles defensively?)
4. Mentally be prepared to up the intensity faster. I was seriously concerned about one of us getting knocked out if it kept going

 

[Sano]

Did some basic stuff today.

Cardio:
- Shadowboxing

PL/Weightlifting:
- Benchpress -
- Warmup sets
- 10x70kg paused
- 5x80kg
- 8x70kg paused
- 8x70kg paused

- Romanian DL paused -
- 10x60kg
- 10x60kg
- 10x60kg
- 10x60kg

Kept the RDLs very light and just focused on improving my hip hinge mechanics. It sucks and I'm using all kinds of compensatory body parts.

Misc:
- Mobility warmup
- Some balance work both inner ear stuff and unilateral stuff
- Isometrick neck work
- Guns and grip

Focused on having a higher guard and defensive movement during my shadowboxing. I need to get better at not getting socked in the face. That's hard to do with my come forward style against pro fighters, but I'll try. Got a headache little bit after monday, but hopefully it's nothing serious and will pass soon *knock on wood*. I have no other symptoms, just need to not exert too much energy these next few days.

Shadowboxing vid:

 

[Ilk]

Sano what I notice is that your hands are too close to your head and are not really protecting.

Try bringing the left hand more forward and angle it a bit so it protects from all kind of straight hits. Turn it with knucles towards your opponent. It is like holding a shield.

The right hand try placing again a bit forward and turn it with knuckles towards your opponents. Keep it narrow so it protects the body too.

In this way you will be shielding with left and swording with the right.

It is very important your hands to be in front of you and you seing them in order to have a good guard. Lastly trow punches out of the guard, not pulling them to the body to telegraf.

 

[Sano]

Sano what I notice is that your hands are too close to your head and are not really protecting.

Try bringing the left hand more forward and angle it a bit so it protects from all kind of straight hits. Turn it with knucles towards your opponent. It is like holding a shield.

The right hand try placing again a bit forward and turn it with knuckles towards your opponents. Keep it narrow so it protects the body too.

In this way you will be shielding with left and swording with the right.

It is very important your hands to be in front of you and you seing them in order to have a good guard. Lastly trow punches out of the guard, not pulling them to the body to telegraf.

Thanks. I might try it out.

There's a million different ways to defend and many different stances. I just need to find out what works best for me. I can get away with a lot of stuff without really knowing what I'm doing and just reacting instinctively against low-mid level guys, but high level guys that come out fast and hard is another story. Unfortunately I can't eat shots like I used to, but that point would have come sooner or later anyway.

Still have a headache now 6 days after, got another minor concussion again unfortunately. Don't know what the future holds right now.