Training Exercise

[Rich Beaupit]

Hi Everyone,

I am always looking for new ways to train basic skills. It allows me to get the repetition I need to improve on the basics and stimulate me mentally and emotionally.

As well, I like to create an atmosphere in class that can simulate the feelings you may experience in an all out street attack.

When we are fresh and have alot of energy it is very easy to function at a capacity that would allow us to reasonably protect ourselves should we need to. But what about when we are in an all out street attack that has ended up going for an exetended period of time, for whatever reasons.
Will our self-protection skills still work effectively when we are fatiqued, breathing heavily, nervous, etc.?

Here is a drill we are using to help address this question. One person gets ready to hit the heavy bag with non-stop jab/cross combo. They hit as fast and as hard as they can. This will help create the fatique factor.
Have 2 or 3 guys standing around the bag. When the guy starts hitting the bag, these guys can start "mouthing off " to him, they can push him around a bit, they can stand in front off him to make him "throw" them out of his way so he can continue to hit the bag. This will help create the emotional aspect we want in the drill.
When you feel the person is tiring enough, you yell "ready". That is a signal for the 2 or 3 guys to stand behind the guy hitting the bag. When you want you yell "go". This is the signal for the person hitting the bag to turn around and face the 2 or 3 guys because one of them is going to attack him. ( Before the drill starts the attack and attacker is pre-determined by you but the person hitting the bag will not know either.)
Once the attack is started, the person hitting the bag can defend how they want to, and it continues till you yell stop.

This is another one of my students favorite drills, it gets them into great shape, is lots of fun, and helps prepare them for the street.

If anyone has any drills they use with their students please share them. I am always searching for great ways to train basic skills.

Take care,

Rich

[Burton]

Another great drill from Rich! Thanks for that, we will try it with focus gloves. (No heavy bags at our location.)
Here is another fun drill to try. Have everyone walk around class in no order. Anyone can attack anyone else they choose. Start with just a few attacks, like a haymaker or a tackle. This way there is nothing prearranged, and people go from being the stalker to being the stalkee. It is a lot of fun!

[Jim McRae]

Another thing that I am worried about besides fatigue in a street fight is the tendency most rednecks have to draw a weapon — usually a blade — when they start to loose hand-to-hand. To train for this eventuality, I like to practice the following drills:
Suit up in your typical sparring gear and stuff a folding training knife in your pocket or waistband (I'm a big fan of the Spyderco Endura trainer). Have your partner do the same. The round starts empty-handed, but if one guy starts getting his tail kicked, he can draw the folder and attack with it. This is great for building awareness of the physical cues a person gives when he goes for a weapon, and it's a great way to practice your disarms (or, if you're a fast draw, your knife sparring). You can alternatively give only one guy a knife. Here, the rule is the knife-carrier can only draw once he gets in a bad position, but the other guy can draw his opponent's blade at any time and use it against him. For guys like me who always carry a folder, having it drawn by your opponent and used against you is a real concern (not to mention a really stupid way to die). The folding trainers also work well for stick sparring — you start with sticks and can't go for the blade until you loose your stick or hit a clinch and get it tied up. Of course, you have to have training partners who don't mind getting poked with not-entirely-dull training blades...

Take care and train hard,
Jim McRae

[Burton]

Something that I have considered putting in, but have yet to do so, is the idea of everyone having a rubber training knife on them during practice. Anytime during the session, the attacker can go for the knife. This would ensure that no matter what we are training, we always are looking for a weapon. All this great training would be lost if some idiot pulls a knife and we aren't trained to adapt. Maybe we will try this out for a few weeks and see how it works.