In the world of combat sports, stepping into the octagon is as extreme as it gets. Standing across from another person who has trained specifically to cause you bodily injury is an unsettling thought for any normal person. In order for these abnormal, yet special individuals to succeed on fight night, everything must be aligned, mind, body, and spirit. The slightest miscalculation or attention to detail could result in a brutal night at the office. For that reason, MMA fighters invest a lot of time and money in preparing for that one night of battle. Fighters have struggled to make it to the Octagon on fight night because of injuries. Injuries are very common in MMA, but can they be avoided? In this article, we’ll find out. How Long Is an MMA Fight Training Camp? For an MMA fighter to be in shape and ready to go at fight time, the necessary training must be done in the form of a fight training camp. A typical fight camp normally ranges between six to eight weeks. For major fights and championships, camps can extend to 16 weeks. MMA Fighters must follow a customized schedule in order to enhance their skills and develop a winning strategy. Occasionally, fights get booked on short notice. This would require an even shorter fight camp. An MMA fight training camp will often contain the following: ●Wrestling ●Kickboxing or Muay Thai ●Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ●Strength and conditioning ●Reaction drills On a daily basis, multiple training sessions take place throughout the day to perfect these skills. To accomplish this in the most effective way, the camp is divided into cycles. At the start of MMA fight camp, a fighter may begin at their home gym with the usual coaches. It is quite common for fighters to refer to another gym or bring in people to train with if they cannot receive all the skills they need at their current gym. How Much Is an MMA Fight Training Camp? The cost of an MMA fight camp depends on many things. An MMA fighter seeking outside help at other gyms and training with specialists can get expensive fast. Having a fight camp at their home gym with their regular coaches and training partners will be much cheaper. In a 2013 Bleacher report article, retired MMA fighter John Cholish explained how much it costs to be a UFC fighter. During his time with the UFC, Cholish trained in New York City at Renzo Gracie Academy. Cholish explained how much he spends on a fight camp by saying, "This is just gym fees, travel expenses, making sure you're eating the right stuff, and not talking day-to-day stuff like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. More like supplements, training gear, all that top to bottom. I'd say roughly between $4,000 to $6,000 a month when you look at it." Former UFC featherweight and BKFC fighter Chad Mendes detailed how much it cost him when UFC fights got canceled. He told MMAJunkie , “I don’t know what these guys are doing to get injured or what is going on, but it’s just frustrating.” “I go through a camp, and I spend my own money. I'll go $6,000 or $7,000 or even $10,000 in, and then right before the fight it falls through. I don't get that money back, so that in itself is frustrating, let alone having to kill myself for nothing.” he continued. At UFC 280 on fight island, we saw the crowning of the new lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev. It is reported coach, mentor, and childhood friend Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team spent a staggering $1 million to ensure Makhachev was ready to take home the lightweight title against former champion Charles Oliveira. Obviously, this is on the extreme side of things, but can you imagine if that fight had a T.J. Dillashaw pre-existing shoulder moment or was canceled altogether due to injury? Why Injuries Occur Training too hard and overtraining is the most common cause of injuries during fight camp. There was a time when nearly all the fighters out of the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) couldn’t make it to fight day due to injury. To simulate fight night, fighters grappled or sparred too hard and too much, causing back, knee, or shoulder injuries. This was a recurring theme for former champions Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, and Cain Velasquez. Nurmagomedov faced a lot of criticism because of the fights he had to pull out of for medical reasons. For this reason, UFC veterans like Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez have stopped sparring to preserve their health. It seems like more high-profile fighters are going this route to keep their bodies and minds healthy. Injuries have slowly declined from the good old days when AKA pretty much dominated the UFC. By incorporating old recovery methods like acupuncture, cupping, and massage, fighters, and coaches are now training smarter and not harder. Fight camps are also using new methods in the form of technology. The use of cryotherapy and monitoring devices can contribute to an injury-free fight camp. Can MMA Fighter’s Avoid Injuries Before a Fight? It’s hard to train for a fight without actually fighting. As a result, fight camp injuries are common in MMA. However, steps can be taken to reduce them. Injury reductions over the years have proven this to be true. Giving fighters ample time to rest and heal from tough training sessions is important. Pushing through muscle fatigue will increase the risk of injury. Fight camp injuries can also be reduced with the use of technology to enhance training output and speed recovery. As fighters and coaches start to focus more on health and on effective training techniques, fight cancelations will continue to be reduced. This benefits us MMA fans as we’ll get to see more fighters make it to the octagon on fight night.

Amir Aliakbari got off to a rough start when he joined ONE Championship, but the Iranian superstar has gotten back on the path toward the top of the heavyweight mountain. Now he is set for a pivotal clash against Dustin Joynson at ONE Fight Night 12 on July 14. After a powerful finish of Mauro Cerilli last August, Aliakbari returned with a first-round TKO over former ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera to prove his status as a threat to the throne. Aliakbari knows the Canadian will be a tough out but is confident he has the advantage in the matchup. “Dustin is a good opponent, and I have been training for many months after my last fight with Brandon, and I hope to reap the benefits of my hard work in my next fight,” Aliakbari told ONE. “Dustin is a good fighter. He has a strong chin and stamina, but his weak points are my strong points.” Getting back in the win column was important for Aliakbari, and his back-to-back TKO wins have given him momentum in the division. He can attribute some of that success to his mindset. The Iranian is focused on only one thing — winning. “The most important thing in my life is martial arts and, more importantly, being successful at it,” Aliakbari said. Not one to mince words, Aliakbari was steadfast in his prediction for the heavyweight clash. The 35-year-old does not see it getting to the judges. “This fight will be over before we reach a decision if God wills,” Aliakbari said. But the heavyweight knows another challenge awaits with a big performance, and one that is important for him to attempt again. In his second bout in ONE, Aliakbari was ousted by Anatoly Malykhin. The Russian now stands atop the division with the undisputed ONE Heavyweight World Championship. And Aliakbari feels it is his destiny to take him off his pedestal. “After my big loss to him, Anatoly Malykhin became stronger and prouder of himself. It’s my job now to break his prestige,” Aliakbari said. He will first need to get past Joynson on July 14 to get that chance. Aliakbari is prepared to show the world he deserves the rematch and a chance at ultimate glory. ONE Fight Night 12 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, July 14, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event is free for all Amazon Prime members in the U.S. and Canada.

In the previous installment on this topic, it was suggested at great length that a dedicated fanbase like the one attached to Mixed Martial Arts seems surprisingly uninvolved and uninterested in things like fighter pay. Surprisingly is actually a compliment to the average MMA fan here - because MMA fans as a rule really love their sport and its fighters. So, it is indeed a surprise the topic is not more prevalent in the consciousness and conversation of fans. Of course, if sport is an escape, it makes all the sense in the world to avoid how the proverbial sausage gets made and not talk about real life things. But, still. Nothing? Along with the treatment of fighters and their paychecks – however measly – comes the question as to why the Ultimate Fighting Championship has literally monopolized dominated the market in Mixed Martial Arts. If fans are indeed fanatics of MMA, how can they give so much of their attention exclusively to one promotion? In the beginning of the last bit on this, it was stated that it seems the MMA fanbase that exclusively follows the UFC as the sole producer of the combat sport, also appears to be tacitly going along with things just being the way they are. Would it be too much to say that it is simply accepted that when Dana White, who is the president of the UFC, says something, it is taken as what it is? When he says terrible things of fighters, that is alright? When he maligns the media (who essentially pay to promote his company), that is alright? Or the hinge pin of this discussion; when he maligns fans, that is alright? Think this is overstatement? Go search the phrase online “Dana blasts.” Part of the allure when MMA was burgeoning was that it was a fight sport with fighter-types associated – including its very vocal president. There was a feeling that we were all in on some Fight Club stuff. The voice for the company was saying we will be who we want to be. Then came legalization in all states, stars (the writer groans when that word comes up), television deals, USADA, and apparel deals. And this last one is where we pause for a moment and remind ourselves. Many times from the man himself, it was stated the goal was to be super-duper professional like the other sports. A drinking game (figuratively of course) could be made of the times White says “this thing” referring to what they have built and how it is mainstream and huge and global and extra professional – super-duper, extra professional. Did we say, professional? And here we are with the sport having gone literally global. The promotion itself being in partnership with ESPN; possibly the most ubiquitous sports commodity on earth. And as recent as months ago, the president of the company is saying of boxers: “All those f****** guys are overpaid.” It is quite possible that this is an attractive quality to some. But this is a Martial Arts context we are in. The loudest voice in the sport said that people getting punched in the head for a living are being overpaid. Not ice-skaters. Not curlers. Boxers. Take a minute if you would, and go watch interviews from retired boxers. This is not really about pay if we have any empathy. Enter the other promotions. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Chatri Sityodtong – President of One Championship - answered some tough questions very candidly about the journey he has been on as a promoter. How the first three years were so very difficult. He spoke about how even now they are still working - having had some devastating setbacks due to the pandemic and other things – to become profitable. He also spoke of particular numbers gauging success for combat sports and how One is leading the pack – even over UFC – in many parts of the world. But what about the ethos? What about when told he is not as big or as good as UFC? What about the constant drone of always being a bridesmaid? Maybe taking a swing at a star like Nate Diaz is the shot in the arm he needs, right? Wrong. Chatri spoke of the ethos of his company being about the Martial Arts. He emphatically said UFC is an MMA company. He doesn’t want a star for stars’ sake. He wants the best strikers, the best grapplers, the best kickbokers, etc. He is not taking castoffs from other organizations. He is building his own fighters. And it would seem for all intents and purposes, succeeding at doing so. And not once has he ever told us we are idiots or as White did to a fan who said a card wasn’t good, “Stay home then, f***face!” – in public no less. We have not even talked about Bellator and Scott Coker’s reputation and integrity, or the backing that PFL has gotten from pretty significant investors, or even the smaller promotions producing some excellent talent. If in a discussion, this is the part where people ask weird impossible hypotheticals about champions in one place fighting champions in another. Aside from the actual evidence such as Eddie Alvarez spanning promotions and reaching the absolute heights in each, or the title fight between UFC Champion Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira essentially being a showcase of fighters not homegrown in the UFC, or seeing UFC fighters even in their prime struggling elsewhere – aside from all of that, people will likely still simply accept that the UFC has all of the good fighters and fights. If you go further past the top five in the UFC, you will see without doubt that things are way more equal and open in the talent pool. Still, UFC is best, right? Maybe. This is all to say that the UFC did it. They told us all ‘it is what it is’ and what it is is that we consume what we are fed. There seems no number high enough of fighters complaining about their lot in the UFC or fighters extoling the virtues of another organization that will make the casual fan take notice. Will this end up in the end being a ‘what might have been’? Could there have been a scenario in a parallel universe where fighters got to excel, be paid handsomely like other pro sports, be appreciated by fan and promoter alike, and have opportunities in a free market to appreciate in value? All while representing the honor of Martial Arts? The strange thing is that this seems to be a model that is not all that costly. It could be that everyone could win if done right. Wishful thinking perhaps – if the cost of doing business is less ego.

The irradiation concept is a must-know for anybody serious about martial arts and strength training. The principle of irradiation will increase your strength, speed, and power. And it is fantastic for preparing the body for athletics and sports. Look at it like this: what you do during your deadlift will augment your strength more than just doing a deadlift. And the same goes for squatting and all exercises and activity imaginable. For example, irradiation is a technique to try during your movements, techniques, and exercises because it will instantly increase your rep count and power. What is the Principle of Irradiation? The irradiation idea was developed in the 1890s by Charles Scott Sherrington. His concept implies that as impulses from the nervous system increase, they transfer the signal to other muscles to contract. A muscle that generates significant tension will recruit and exacerbate the tension of the surrounding muscles. Donald Hebb, a prominent psychologist considered the "father of neuropsychology," also contributed to Sherrington’s Law. Hebb stated, "Cells that fire together will wire together." His discovery indicates that any two cells or systems regularly active at the same moment will connect and activate together. Irradiation Techniques Try it out. Put one hand on your triceps. Start by clenching your other hand by making a fist as tightly as possible. You can do it slowly or quickly, tightening your grip to max tension. You'll feel the contraction all the way up to your triceps. Unconsciously, this irradiation recruits all the muscles up to your mid-back. You can also touch your chest, shoulder, and back muscles to feel the impulse when doing the grip technique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b9SbrF1aCo (Exercises to Develop Crushing Grip Strength Video.) Are you having trouble perceiving irradiation using the grip? Therefore, try this. Stand tall and clench your glutes the same way as described with the grip. Slowly or fast to max tension. It is essential to feel what is occurring between the relaxation and contraction. As you tighten your glutes, you will also feel your abdominal and leg muscles contract all the way down to your feet, rooting into the floor. There is an added irradiation effect if you do nasal diaphragmatic breathing that tenses the core. Understand when your muscles create maximum tension and force, they irradiate that tension to the neighboring muscles. The stronger you become using irradiation, the more connected your muscles will be throughout your whole body. An Important Remark Regarding Stability To create maximum force and power, proper alignment and stability are required. If your joints lack stability and your hips and spine are misaligned, your strength potential will be diminished. You can force yourself to become stronger; however, this will only harm your body. What you don’t understand about your nervous system is that your ability to increase tension and force is restricted when stability is lacking. So, no matter how much force you generate or how many weights you stack on the bar to increase force, you are more likely to suffer from strain and injury rather than increase strength. Simply put, if something is not stable, the force will cause it to crumble and fall. Therefore, if you wish to get stronger, consider stability first! As I explain to everyone, stability is like the difference between diving into a lake from a dock versus a canoe. The dock is sturdy, and you can generate force from the sturdy platform to increase speed, height, and force. However, you cannot do the same from an unstable canoe on the water. Consequently, stability is the key to achieving peak strength, power, and explosiveness. What does this signify? When doing a squat, deadlift, shoulder press, bench press, etc., you can use irradiation to actively activate your lats, core, glutes, and grip. Irradiation induces isometric contraction, which enhances muscle tension and structural stability. The nervous system picks up on the tension and allows greater force augmentation. Consequently, if you apply the irradiation theory to your five-rep maximum, you can perform more repetitions. Therefore, recognize that your lack of stability and misalignment may prevent you from optimizing your strength. As your neuromuscular condition and coordination improve, your injury risk decreases as you activate the systems that enhance your strength. How to Implement Irradiation Tension During Exercises Utilizing the lats during Squats, Deadlifts, Rows, and Presses. Squats When you bring the bar onto your upper back, pull down on the bar and pull your elbows toward your ribs. This will activate and engage your core, mid-back, and lats. Deadlift Pinch your armpits. You will activate your lats throughout the deadlift by drawing your elbows toward your body. At the top of the deadlift, contract your glutes. As you descend, bend slightly forward onto your big toe, and you will feel additional muscular contractions. In addition, foot position will stimulate the ankles, knees, and hips. Rows Maximally clenching the bar with your fist will engage all the arm's muscles, from the forearm to your mid-back. Unilateral Shoulder Press The first approach to improve your press is to tighten and clench your non-working hand's fist. And at the same time, clench your glutes. In this manner, the shoulder press engages the entire body, not just the shoulders. In addition, the isometric contraction chain augments tension and force in the nervous system for the working arm to do more work, hence increasing the number of repetitions. The second method involves using a resistance band. Attach it high, so it provides a great deal of resistance when pulled down. Pull it down and maintain the isometric single-arm lat pull while performing dumbbell shoulder presses with the opposite arm. Also, contract your glutes as you press. This is my preferred method because it is very effective! Bench Press When performing a bench press, maintain a tight grip on the bar and attempt to bend it like a strongman. Gripping and trying to bend the bar will cause your elbows to move toward your ribs, activating your lats. This signal of irradiation reaches your shoulders and upper back muscles as well. During the concentric portion of the push, you can press your feet into the floor. This will engage your core, glutes, and hips, allowing your entire body to work during the bench press. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1uwUndk56Y&t=270s (Do more reps. Be stronger instantly! Irradiation Principal Exercises Video.) Understand sometimes, tension is created by clenching, increasing abdominal tension, your grip, or altering your foot position. Now that you know what irradiation is and how it functions, try to include it in your movements. Check out the book INSTANT STRENGTH for more info about strength, speed, power, and explosive training. Or, to see more great videos to develop your sport and training, watch the BALANCED BODY channel.

Another year has ended and once again we are met with great and terrible combat sports moments. Title fights have been fought, legacies have been started, great legacies have ended. Today though, we’re going to look at the most ridiculous moments. The moments that make us all question why we even watch combat sports in the first place. From terrible business decisions, to fandoms divorced from reality, to the downright bizarre moments. The Jake Paul Hate Train I have spent an unhealthy amount of time writing about how Jake Paul, literally, did nothing wrong. Yet the hate train surrounding this man crossed the border into straight up delusion, when people in their droves try to claim that every Jake Paul bout is fixed. That every opponent he faces takes a dive, and that he will lose when he finally faces a ‘real’ boxer, ignoring Anderson Silva’s win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Every time Jake Paul fights a new opponent, the goal posts are moved further. The hate train gets dumber, and the more it seems that Paul has some legitimate ability as a fighter. You can read more on this in “Well, It’s Time To Defend Jake Paul”. Aldo at Elevation Jose Aldo retired, leaving behind an unparalleled record at featherweight. Aldo fought all-comers and dominated the division in a reign that subsequent champions haven’t even come close to surpassing. Jose Aldo also struggles with cardio. Yet the UFC decided for his final fight, his retirement fight, that the entire bout should be fought in Salt Lake City, Utah, at an elevation of almost 1300 feet. Needless to say, cardio ended up being a factor, causing the great champion to retire on a wholly avoidable loss. Sean Strickland’s Gameplan vs Alex Pereira Sean Strickland should have beaten Alex Pereira, he had to do simply one thing, shoot for a takedown and best his opponent on the ground. We would soon learn that Alex Pereira could be outwrestled by a fellow kickboxer. So dedicated MMA fighter Sean Strickland could surely do the job, right? Instead Sean Strickland decided to strike with Alex Pereira, with his chin high in the air, and then was legitimately surprised that he was knocked out by the kickboxers left hook. Keep in mind, Alex Pereira is known for this power. During a press conference, Sean Strickland kept referring to Israel Adesanya, then champion, and seemed to be looking passed Pereira. The Champion, who had fought Pereira twice before, said plainly ‘he will sleep you’. And that he did. Anthony Joshua’s Passive Aggressive Meltdown After losing the rematch to Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua seemingly snapped. While emotions were understandably high, Anthony Joshua’s bizarre speech left everyone wondering exactly what was going through his head. He congratulated Usyk on his win and got the audience to ‘hip hip hooray’ him in a passive aggressive affair – said that Usyk’s work in the Ukrainian war was admirable, but spent most of the time talking about himself and how big and powerful he is. It for all the world looked like Joshua had prepared a victory speech, which he then had to re-work after losing. Usyk spent the whole time looking rather awkward and embarrassed, although whether it was for himself or Joshua is up for debate. DK Yoo vs Manny Pacquaio All outrage towards Jake Paul, should instead be directed towards DK Yoo’s truly ridiculous exhibition bouts. As a matter of fact, I put off writing this article purely in anticipation of this exhibition. I knew from the get go, that it would make it in. DK Yoo continues his weird exhibition boxing bouts, where he gets beaten up in an attempt to prove that his brand of martial arts is legit. His last bout against former UFC fighter Brad Scott showed that DK Yoo’s real struggle was less defending himself, and more understanding the rules of boxing. This fight was similar to the Scott match, in that Yoo essentially backpedaled and clinched as much as he could, while the referee did everything in his power to help Yoo out. Pacquaio was mostly sparring, until he wasn’t, would light Yoo up, the referee would step in for some arbitrary reason. Rince. Repeat. Terrible. You can complain about Jake Paul’s fights, but at least he actually fights , rather than avoiding the opponent the whole time, even in the context of an exhibition. These were just a few of the most headscratching moments for me this year. Although they are certainly not the only ones. We can only imagine what the next year will hold.

Time Magazine announced their prestigious year end awards . Tuesday and a name long familiar to martial arts movie fans was among the honorees. Michelle Yeoh, who first came to prominence teaming up with Black Belt hall of famer Cynthia Rothrock in the 1985 Hong Kong release "Yes, Madam," was named as Time's 2022 Icon of the Year . Though not originally trained in martial arts , Yeoh had a background as a ballet dancer and worked with various expert trainers for her roles in numerous kung fu movies, including training in wing chun for "Wing Chun" and tai chi for her role in the Academy Award-winning wuxia film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Over the years, Yeoh's appeared alongside many of the biggest names in the martial arts movie industry including Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Her most recent film , the critically acclaimed "Everything Everywhere All at Once," is a genre bending fantasy that includes elements of comedy, science fiction, animation and, of course, martial arts, which may earn her an Academy Award nomination for best actress.

In the nearly 50 years since Bruce Lee's death, there have been a host of theories as to what killed the martial arts star, everything from ninja assassins to smoking too much weed. But now a group of Spanish researchers claim to have uncovered the real culprit behind Lee's death: too much water. In a study published in the Clinical Kidney Journal , the researchers offer evidence that a condition called "hyponatraemia," an inability by Lee's kidneys to excrete excess water, was what led to his July 1973 death in Hong Kong. The official cause of Lee's death was listed as cerebral edema, a swelling of the brain, and attributed to an allergic reaction to a painkiller called Equagesic. But the new study notes Lee felt unwell before taking the painkiller - possible evidence of brain swelling prior to ingesting the drug - and that there were no additional symptoms of an allergic reaction present in the autopsy. Examining other possible causes of death, such as epilepsy and heat stroke, the study indicates these seem unlikely as well. Instead, the researchers said Lee had several risk factors that made him a candidate for hyponatraemia including excessive fluid intake (he appears to have been on what's described as "a fluid-based diet"), he had factors like marijuana usage that may have increased his thirst even more and he had recently been drinking more alcohol and taking several drugs which could have decreased his kidneys' ability to excrete water. As the paper notes, it's ironic that the man who popularized the motto "be water" may have died from too much of it.

In the 1950s, Jack LaLane was a huge advocate for health and fitness on TV. ‘The Jack LaLane Show’ would feature LaLane as he talked about proper nutrition, exercise and how you could do it yourself at home. The irony was that at the time, LaLane’s advice of ‘exercise regular, eat lots of vegetables and cut out processed food’ was actually controversial. Doctors, who at the time were promoting cigarettes, were saying that LaLane’s advice was bad for your health. LaLane would advise women to lift weights, while the notion at the time was that lifting weights would make women look masculine, as though it were so easy. When LaLane opened the first chain of gyms in the USA, Doctors said that training like LaLane would just leave you ‘muscle bound’. While today, the phrase muscle bound is a compliment, at the time, the idea was that becoming muscular would actually cause health problems, making you slow and reducing your joint mobility.- something that martial artists still warn about today, despite it evidently being untrue. Why Do Martial Artists Avoid Weights? This is largely a problem in the US, as opposed to Europe and Asia, but the main reason simply comes down to laziness. In America when you step into a martial arts school, you’re going to see a lot of people with high-ranking belts that are seriously overweight. It’s not just the issue of McDojo’s but also the misconception that the US has about martial arts. In Asia, martial arts and fitness come hand in hand together. You must be working out in order to succeed in martial arts, a strong body leads to good martial arts. In the US it’s instead thought that ‘martial arts helps the weak beat the strong’ which isn’t really true in any meaningful way. This difference between ‘martial arts making you strong’ and ‘making you beat the strong’ is key here. It’s very easy to lazy people who don’t want to work out and become fitter and stronger to hide behind the illusion that they do not need to do it, and that their martial arts skills will carry them. We then have outdated beliefs, that training with weight will ‘slow you down’. There really aren’t two sides to this discussion, it simply isn’t true. When people watch bodybuilders slowly fail to fight, this gets attributed to them being ‘too big’, when in actuality it’s because the bodybuilder simply isn’t a trained fighter and it slower by default. Heavyweights like Alistair Overeem and Brock Lesnar were known for their huge size, and they were by no means slow. Why Martial Artists Should Weight Train? LaLane was known for his impressive lean muscle, in an era before steroids, and for his impressive feats of strength while swimming. Given the sort of life he led, it’s somewhat unusual that he wasn’t a martial artist. If he had been one, I can only imagine he would have been a success. LaLane spent time around professional wrestlers, as in the early 1900s there was a large crossover between bodybuilding, strongman lifting, and pro wrestling. Wrestlers were some of the only martial artists that were aware that lifting weights brought clear benefits. Weight training improved strength and joint health, which leads to more strength and power to move through different movements, whether its grappling or striking. There are direct cross overs between the three key lifts of bench press, squat and deadlift and any serious grappling art like judo, Greco, or Sambo. When it comes to striking, pulling exercises like deadlifts and rows train the lats which are key in delivering powerful punches, assuming you’re punching with correct technique. Squats will do the same, training strength and mobility in the hips to improve kick and knee strikes. The raw truth is that the most successful martial artists are not the ones who live in the world of hypothetical ‘self defence’ from the comfort of a gym. They are the ones that go out and actually compete, from Judo competition to Kyokushin knock down tournaments. All of these martial arts athletes use some sort of weight training, because the benefits are objective. If you want to be the best martial artist you can possibly be, that includes pushing the limits of what your body is capable of doing. Why you aren’t going to become ‘too big’ Another common excuse given for not lifting is the fear of becoming ‘too big’. This excuse has no place in reality. The process of building muscle and size takes months to years and even then, you will only see real changes when you’re training each muscle group twice a week and getting about 0.8g protein per pound of bodyweight. Most people simply will not lift enough to develop real muscle size and definition, but you don’t have to be bodybuilding in order to see results in your strength and fitness. If you want to body build, then you have to put in the conscious effort to actually do it, and if that makes you happy, you should do it – but for martial artists just lifting regular to improve strength and maintain fitness is more than enough.

Many of the worst injuries from street violence don’t result from the punch that knocks someone out; they result from the head hitting the ground when the person falls. A 6-foot-tall man’s head drops six feet to the asphalt, perhaps smacking a car, a curb or a trash can along the way. Ugh. Here are a few street-fighting tips that will prevent that from happening to you: Training Tip #1: Incorporate Contact Into Your Practice of Self-Defense Moves In the past, I’ve written about the importance of incorporating contact as a part of your overall training in self-defense moves. It reduces anxiety over being punched at and hit, it provides a controlled opportunity to test your “chin,” and it develops your mental toughness to fight through anxiety, fear and pain. Instructors who don’t include honest, real-time, reciprocal contact in self-defense training improperly lead their students to believe they can’t or won’t be hit catastrophically, that they won’t be hit multiple times as they execute self-defense moves or that every situation can be handled pre-emptively before getting hit. Most bona-fide medical authorities agree knockouts are caused in one of two ways: When the head is struck, it accelerates in a way that results in rotational movement of the brain inside the skull, or when the head hits something solid, it stops instantly, again resulting in rotational movement of the brain inside the skull. Training Tip #2: Guard Your Head It’s essential to protect your head, face and chin in a fight. Although you can take some serious punches straight to your forehead because of the resistance provided by the musculature of the neck, you’re far less able to resist rotational force applied to your chin from either side (hook punch), obliquely (cross) or from underneath (uppercut) because your chin provides more leverage to those strikes. Here’s a graphic visual image for emphasis: Imagine a Nerf ball with a pencil stuck in it. When you hit the ball, it moves away but doesn’t necessarily spin. When you hit the pencil, the ball spins. When you hit the pencil faster and harder, the ball moves away and spins, violently accelerating from rest to maximum spin. Make sense? Training Tip #3: Keep Your Hands Up Any striking coach knows that one of the most important first lessons is to keep your hands up and always protect your chin. Why? Well, partly because of what I just said but also because practitioners of the striking arts — in particular, boxing and muay Thai — actually hit each other. A lot. Consequently, they have to protect themselves from the very beginning of their training. In contrast, a lot of self-defense moves initiate from a grabbing attack or from being punched at, not necessarily hit. Sure, people get grabbed on the street (“yoking” someone up), so there’s a legitimate need to know how to break grabs, but grabbing usually precedes punching by milliseconds. Besides, nobody gets knocked out solely by being grabbed. Ever hear someone say about a fighter, “He’s got a puncher’s chance”? That means the fighter swings hard, wild and often, and he might catch his opponent on the chin, jaw or temple and knock him out. It happens all the time — one guy bends at the waist, drops his head and looks at the ground, then “swims” in at his opponent, swinging for the fences. The other guy stands tall, sways and moves straight back to get away but lifts his chin in the process and — bang! — he catches one on the jaw and drops like a stone. Oops. You get the opposite outcome when someone swims forward but the other guy stays cool and covers, protecting his chin, then angles in and unloads an uppercut or cross to his chin. Boom! The swimmer face-plants, unconscious. Training Tip #4: Keep Your Cool Don’t succumb to your emotions when you get jumped or hit. Anger and rage are useful to fuel ferocity, to cement your resolve, but don’t lose your cool. That’s when you’re likely to forget you have a chin and need to protect it. Can you “condition” your chin? I don’t know, and I don’t know that anyone else knows, either. There’s data to suggest strengthening your neck muscles helps somewhat — although no authoritative source is able to quantify how much or how it would affect outcomes when executing self-defense moves. Training Tip #5: Use Your Best Judgment Beware of questionable advice like “Dude, you need to take repeated shots to the head to get used to it.” Even more familiar and accepted advice like “Learn to roll with the punch” (moving away from a blow while snapping your head away to bleed off energy) is easier said than done, given how fast punches are thrown and that you probably won’t see them all. On the street, without the benefit of headgear and gloves that effectively double the surface area of your hands when you block, you’re better off being evasive and avoiding getting hit, or covering up and putting as much mass as possible between fist and target. Work on developing an effective, dynamic guard with similarly motivated partners. Video your practice of self-defense moves so you can identify your shortfalls. It’s a great way to avoid waking up on your back, looking up at a streetlight and wondering how the hell you got there. About the Author: Kelly McCann has studied and taught combatives for 25 years. He provides training to U.S. government, law-enforcement and military personnel. He is the author of the best-selling book

Last month I wrote about how to use Muay Thai for practical self defense . I still maintain that as far as a pure striking art goes, Muay Thai (along with boxing) are the most practical for self defense, because they are the simplest and emphasise sparring with those simple techniques. However there are several harsh truths about self defense that I need to talk about today. This article will likely not make me any friends, but I’m not writing to please people. I’m writing to state the truth. Self defense is a matter of life and death, and far too many martial artists delude themselves into believing and promoting unreliable and dangerous ideas when it comes to the street. Today we’ll be going through these harsh truths one by one and explaining them. This article will likely annoy many martial artists, but it all has to be said. Harsh Truth 1: Your martial art is USELESS unless you practise regular hard sparring. If your martial art cannot stand up to pressure testing in the context of MMA, or some other full contact sport, your martial art does not work. The only way you can know if you are able to take a punch, is by taking one. The only way you know you’re able to land a punch is by doing it, over and over again, in a live environment. Drills do not prepare you for self defense. Kata does not prepare you for self defense. No martial arts practise that relies on a hypothetical will prepare you for self defense. The only thing that can prepare you to defend yourself, is actually having to do it in a live combat situation, and the closest you will get to that is in real hard sparring where you do run the risk of getting a broken nose. There is no other alternative, anyone who claims otherwise is wrong. Combat sports cannot fully prepare you for a fight on the street, as there are so many variables at play – but they train more reliable, high percentage techniques that are guaranteed to work for you in a fight. Harsh Truth 2: Knife and gun disarms to not work in real life. There are many ‘self defense programs’ or ‘street martial arts’ that will train you to disarm a weapon bare handed. These techniques do not work. In real life an attacker with a knife does not make a deliberate swing at you, which you can then grab and disarm. In real life a knife wielder lunges at you and will stab rapidly, dozens of times. You will not be able to stop them all. You will most likely not be able to stop even one, as knife disarms teach ridiculous hypotheticals in which you’re able to stop the knife and then turn it on the opponent. These drills also imply that you already know the attacker has a knife. In real life it will likely be concealed until the last moment. Attempted to disarm a knife will get you killed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBBahcNMSDI&ab_channel=UFPRO There is ever so slightly more leeway with guns, as a gun is only dangerous if the barrel is pointing at you. For the most part though the principle remains the same. Harsh Truth 3: TMA ‘Illegal Techniques’ do not work in real life The excuse that TMA practitioners always give for why their martial arts have not been successful in combat sports, is that their techniques are ‘too deadly’ to use in competition. The eye poke is banned, the finger break is bad, the throat punch is banned (a particularly silly one as head kicks nearly always actually land on the neck). If these techniques are ‘too deadly’ to use in a sport, then that means they are too deadly to be used in training. Am I to believe that these deadly banned techniques, are so dangerous that you cannot use them in competition, but that you would practise them for real against a partner in training? This is ridiculous, what happens in real life is that illegal throat chop is practised in super slow motion, against a compliant partner, and no one is hurt. That technique is NEVER trained full contact and as a result is useless. There are some martial artists who have build their entire egos around their martial art being so deadly that it can’t even be used. If it can’t be used, then that means the practitioner has never used it. That means that it doesn’t work. If the martial art does not have a thriving combat sport where bones can be broken for real – the martial art is not worth using – and it will certainly not save your life in a street fight. Harsh Truth 4: Women’s self defense courses do not work. Here is a sad truth, while men are statistically more likely to be the victim of a violent crime, women undoubtedly fear it more. It’s a completely reasonable fear, after all women are typically smaller and weaker than men and as a result will look into self defense options. Unfortunately, the reality of women’s self defense classes are nonsense courses that effectively teach a woman how to get assaulted. They will teach aforementioned bogus techniques like eye gouges and finger breaks, or God forbid those same knife and gun disarms. Of course, there is no full contact sparring either, as these courses want to create a ‘friendly’ environment, even though that friendly environment teach bad practises that can lead to death if used in an emergency. Women who want to learn self defense, need to learn in a proper combat sport. Whether its muay thai, judo or boxing – the only way to learn to defend yourself is to learn how to fight for real. A Word on ‘Opinions’ This article is harsh, and it is harsh for a good reason. As a martial artist, as a teacher and as a writer, I need people reading to know what is real and what is fantasy. Which is why my piece on how to use Muay Thai for self defense always emphasized de-escalation and running before any proper combat. There is a common fallacy, that every opinion is equally valid. This is not true. This is not my opinion vs the opinion of other equally knowledgeable martial artists. The sort of martial artists, and self defense “gurus” who encourage the very ideas I have fought against in this article are wrong . Which is why Bas Rutten is such a good person to listen to. Being publicly very critical of self-proclaimed defense gurus who encourage dangerous practises. https://blackbeltmag.com/bas-rutten-disses-dale-brown There are opinions, and there are facts. These harsh truths are based in fact. Train hard. Train safe. Be aware of hucksters.

Where should your focus be? These days, people seem to use the term “self-defense” as a catch-all. It’s become so overused that it has lost its meaning. We can google “self-defense” and discover thousands of classes that claim to teach self-defense for women, children, grandparents and even dogs.This kind of instruction is important and valid, but it can miss the key concepts of self-protection, concepts that are designed to help you avoid conflict in the first place. People often discuss self-protection and self-defense as if they’re interchangeable. They are not. And the difference could help save someone’s life. As a mom, a daughter and someone who was kidnapped at a young age, I can say without a doubt that self-protection has kept me alive. Let me explain how. When should we rely on “self-defense” vs. “self-protection?” Let’s dig a little deeper into the meanings of the two terms and why it might be important to teach our loved ones and students the difference. Self: “A person’s essential being that distinguishes them from others, especially considered as the object of introspection or reflexive action” (Oxford Dictionary) When we are afraid, we become self-centered. All animals share this characteristic. It’s an important survival mechanism. What we do with this self-centeredness is key to our survival. Defense: “The action of defending from or resisting attack” (Oxford Dictionary) Defense often involves machines, tools, guns and tactics for defending one’s home — as in warfare. We can trace some forms of self-defense back to our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Protection: “The action of protecting, or the state of being protected. A person or thing that prevents someone or something from suffering harm or injury” (Oxford Dictionary) Here, the word “protection” invokes planning ahead, which can include preparing borders around one’s home, learning forms of self-defense in case they’re needed, understanding the attacker’s intention before he or she attacks, and ultimately avoiding conflict. As martial artists, we know that it takes years of practice to master self-defense moves. These can include pressure points, strikes, joint locks, kicks and weapons techniques. To know where to grip a joint, apply pressure on a nerve or execute an effective kick takes years of discipline. They require masterful teachers and embodied techniques. The purpose of these techniques is to fend off an attacker. They require knowledge of a skill set that understands which technique to execute when. For example, if you have developed your wrists and fingers to choke, you understand that you must be in close proximity to the attacker to execute such a technique with a chance of success. For the vast majority of the population, joint locks, pressure points, weapons, and hand and foot techniques are not in their toolbox. When one attempts to engage in self-defense without proper training, it can fail — and it might be too late to redirect the attacker at that point. On the other hand, every one of us can include forms of self-protection in our toolbox. For example, one of the most important techniques of modern self-protection is to know your surroundings. When you’re walking alone, are you aware of the space behind your body and to the sides? Do you ever pause to assess your surroundings? In Jungshin Fitness, we use the technique of directional-momentum sword training to teach the body and mind to maintain awareness of all elements of spatial distance (strengthening our proprioceptors). Other techniques that help train people in self-protection include the following: • Energy manners: How do you walk into crowds and engage with others? Are you invasive with your personality and energy? Do you allow your ki (internal energy) to spill over into the public domain? We can contain ourselves by making ourselves small or big depending on the situation. • Meditation: It aids in the ability of the brain (an organ) to react quickly if needed. When the mind is clear, the response can be immediate. • Good nutrition: A body weighed down with gluten and sugar causes the nervous system to be less aware than when the body runs efficiently with enough water, breath and healthy foods that support the internal organs. • Regular training in forms (kata): Kata are a type of “moving meditation” that keeps the mind focused, calm and aware in all directions. If I had not studied martial arts for 30 years, I would not feel comfortable with a choking technique as my go-to move for self-defensive. I would never want to get that close to an opponent. I still don’t! That is why I focus on self-protection. Knowing how to stay in my own zone and practicing the aforementioned techniques form the most important skill set you need to avoid conflict. The next time you’re rushing, shopping or getting the kids out of the house, see if you can apply a pause technique and notice how your surroundings respond. This small step in self-protection will have a huge impact. I hope incorporating these techniques into your practice contributes to your journey on the path to your best protected, but friendly, self. Be the warrior you are!

For better or worse, your mind is powerful. It can be the mighty blade which helps you cut through the obstacles of life or it can be the debilitating handicap freezing you in place during a stressful event. Over the years, many intelligent people have come up with methods and strategies to better understand and manipulate this tool we call the human mind. From these, there are two major concepts that have risen to prominence within the world of self-defense and martial arts. Want a quick way to build your awareness? Want to stay a step ahead of your assailant? This article is here to give you the mental keys to exactly that. A Colorful Language White, yellow, orange, and red. These aren’t just the colors of Bob Ross’ Sunset Aglow, these are the colors that will help you understand your mind and stay alive. These are the colors with which late Marine Lt. Colonel Jeff Cooper cataloged peril and the readiness of a person’s mind. In one of the most useful ways for those dealing with life and death situations, he described the mental states as such: ● White = Unaware ● Yellow = Relaxed awareness ● Orange = Focused attention ● Red = Engaged and ready In the White state, a person is oblivious. In an era of social media and non-stop entertainment on our wrists and in our palms, this is a common and deadly mental state to be in. A person wandering around downtown at night with AirPods lodged in their ears and painfully unaware of their surroundings is prime picking for a crime.Just as you are most susceptible to injury from the punch you don’t see coming, you are most susceptible to crime in the environment you pay the least attention to. In Condition Yellow, you are at ease yet also present-minded and aware. You aren’t living in paranoia, you are simply attentive to your environment and the people around you. There may not be a certain threat yet, however you are better equipped in this state if one does arise. Consider this to be the mindset of a bodyguard or bouncer when not occupied with a current situation. In Condition Orange, things get more interesting. You are alert to a more specific potential threat. A person is getting too close for comfort or a corner of the room seems to be getting too rowdy. At this point, you should be taking pre-emptive steps to set yourself up for safety. Perhaps you orient towards an exit or ensure you are in a posture which will help you stay balanced and protected. In Condition Red, it’s go time! As the alarms are blaring in your head and the situation is unfolding, you are primed to do what needs done. In this phase, you are engaged with the threat and have to take action. You fight, you flee, you do what needs to be done in order to stay alive. A fifth Color Code, Condition Black, is sometimes unofficially added in to further denote combat in progress or a freeze response (i.e. immobilized by panic or overwhelm). In this case, a distinction often gets made between the readiness to act of Condition Red and the decision to act of Condition Black. Regardless of the number of conditions, these Cooper Color Codes are a helpful way to train your mentality for self defense and martial arts training. It isn’t about assessing the danger a situation may provide, it is a method that enables you to break yourself out of an oblivious or reluctant mentality. Lifesaving action requires a proper mentality. If you are freaking out or frozen in a mental loop, your chances of survival seriously dwindle. Heck, even Traditional Chinese Medicine says that the Yi (mind/intention) is an essential element in the process of manifesting Li (muscular force). Throughout your day, you can ask yourself what Cooper Color Code you are in. Try not to fall into Condition White. People in this phase aren’t just social zombies, they are the most likely to lose their money and lose their life. Of Flying Footballs and Fists Watch out! If a football comes hurtling towards you, what are you apt to do? OK, Tom Brady – you caught the ball (or at least tried to). Good job. But that’s not really all that happens in that type of situation. According to the late United States Air Force Colonel John Boyd, whenever we are in the midst of an interaction or unfolding circumstances, we run through a four-phase cycle: ● Observe ● Orient ● Decide ● Act First, we observe. We receive the stimulus that alerts us to change. In the example given early, you simply saw something hurtling towards you. Easy enough. Second, we orient. From the stimus you received, you processed it in your brain and assessed what it was and what it meant to you. Was that object hurtling towards you a football or a thrown pie? Is this person getting ready to punch you or giving you a knuckle bump? How you interpret the data presented to you is based on more than just your current environment however – culture, previous experience, and more can affect how you view your happenings. Next up, we’ve gotta decide. Do I try to snatch this football slicing through the wind out of the air or do I sidestep and avoid it? This can be a tricky piece of the puzzle for martial artists – if we care too much about just collecting techniques and tactics, we are apt to stay frozen trying to pick the perfect one for the situation. At some level, any decision is better than no decision. In a life or death situation, the last thing we want to do is be frozen like Han Solo in carbonite. Fourth, is action. We finalized our decision and now we commit it to action. At this point, we are actually moving to grab the ball or avoid that punch. Mind you, this is a cycle. Our action causes a ripple effect. We have changed our position and likely incited a reaction out of our opponent, meaning we are right back at the beginning of observing what changed, orienting to the new situation, deciding a next step, and making it happen. This OODA loop is a lil’ waltz that continues between you and your attacker until the situation is resolved in whatever way. Action and reaction, assess and commit. How Does That Really Even Help Though? The OODA concept pairs very, very well with the Cooper Color Codes mentioned earlier. You can think of the OODA Loop as being the noteworthy times on an analog clock. Observe starts us off at 12:00, Orient is found at 3:00, Decide is 6:00, and Act is 9:00. A person scouting for a victim has already made it pretty far into his day. By the time he is making his move on you, he is already at roughly 9:00 while an oblivious person’s day is still just getting started. In other words, if you don’t see him until the last minute, you have some serious catching up to do. Action beats reaction. However, if you stay out of Condition White and instead see the threat and begin to focus and prepare for him, you have fast-forwarded your clock to be matched much closer to his instead. Awareness begets better action. At the end of the day, your mind can be your most powerful ally or debilitating opponent. Rather than let it wander and keep you inattentive while a problem is preparing, keep it broadly ready and prepared for action. Stay alert.