Principle #1 – Focus on the Sport

Strength training is supplementary. While having big numbers in the gym is good for your ego, no one cares about your bench press, squat, deadlift, or whatever numbers you get in the gym if you suck at your art or sport. Strength is just one facet of your training and one athletic attribute. It should never be developed at the expense of other attributes and their sport-specific skill base.

If you get stronger in the gym but your movement, reaction time, flexibility, coordination, motor control, and technique go backwards then you are barking up the wrong tree. If you can’t convert that strength into great technique and movement such as a powerful punch, a quick kick, an explosive jumping knee, a crushing take down, smooth submission, or speedy counter attack, then it doesn’t matter. You aren’t going to get that championship belt around your waist just because you have a big bench press.

Principle #2 – Understand the Point of Strength Training

Train to address your weaknesses while keeping your strengths your strengths. If you are strong but lack endurance then that is the weak link you must address. If you have great endurance but lack adequate strength in comparison, then you need to work for strength.

“While having big numbers in the gym is good for your ego, no one cares about your bench press, squat, deadlift, or whatever numbers you get in the gym if you suck at your art or sport.” 

And don’t miss the point of correct strength training programming. Getting strong is also about being more resilient and injury-proofing the body. Call it prehab if you will. Who cares how strong you get if you are always broken and can never compete? Strength training is about balancing the body after the dysfunction and compensations that arrive from thousands of repetitions moving the same way all the time. Removing asymmetries to an acceptable level, improving weaknesses in particular areas, re-establishing neuromuscular balance and control, and becoming more resilient should also be the goal of a good strength program.

Principle #3 – Quality Over Quantity and Fatigue Management

Never sacrifice quality for quantity. Dan John put it best (quoting the great Mel Siff, author of Supertraining):

“To me the sign of an excellent routine is one which places great demands on the athlete, yet produces long term improvement without soreness, injuries or without the athlete feeling thoroughly depleted. Any fool can create a program so demanding it would kill the toughest Marines or the hardest of elite athletes, but not any fool can create a tough program that produces progress without unnecessary pain.”

Time is a precious commodity for most athletes, and fatigue is the enemy. Manage your fatigue. Rather than adding to programs, look at what you can strip away so you can focus on the sport.

Schedule in your strength work after your sport. Unpredictable activities (e.g., sparring) cannot be easily modified on the spot when necessary, whereas strength training can. For example, if you are more fatigued than expected following a strength training session, you won’t be able to modify the subsequent free sparring session in order to protect yourself. On the other hand, if you incur an injury during sparring, the subsequent strength training workout can be easily modified to accommodate the injury.

Principle #4 – Don’t Mimic Your Sport with Strength Exercises

Mimicking the movement or technique you are doing and loading it up will not necessarily make you better. A lot of strength work in martial arts and mixed martial arts training appears to be done by mimicking the movements performed and then putting that pattern under heavy load. A great example is having a fighter using heavy dumbbells (like in Rocky) while practicing upper-cut punches. The theory of specific adaptation to imposed demands (SAID) is an important reminder of how specifically our bodies adapt to stimulus in training.

When discussing specificity in training Dr. Siff mentions:

“While simulation of a sporting movement with small added resistance over the full range of movement or with larger resistance over a restricted part of the movement range may be appropriate at certain stages of training, simulation of any movement with significant resistance is inadvisable since it can confuse the neuromuscular programs which determine the specificity of the above factors. (In relation to: type of muscle contraction, movement pattern, fatigue, flexibility, muscle fibre recruitment, velocity of movement, force of contraction, and region of movement and so on).”

There have been a number of studies on baseball pitching and batting done in the United States. While there are many proponents who suggest using a heavier ball isn’t productive at all, there are at least two studies in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning that show the velocity of a pitch can be improved by using both a lighter (4oz) and a heavier (6oz) baseball to train with. In fact, the studies showed a bigger improvement in those pitchers who used the light and heavier balls than those who just used the 5oz regulation ball.

But here is the clincher and the most important point. One additional ounce (6oz total) adds twenty percent more weight to the baseball. This is perfect for the development of arm strength because the biomechanics of the throwing motion remain unchanged. Any more weight than this and the proper throwing biomechanics of the arm will start to break down because the body is forced to implement its larger muscles (like the lattissimus dorsi) to throw the ball instead of the rotator cuff and shoulder.

“Too much weights not enough speed work. Useless prick.”- Jake “The Muss” Heke, Once Were Warriors 

Principle #5- Strength Doesn’t Equal Power

There is a big misconception that you must focus on strength first through high-tension, heavy, and slow lifting and by doing so you automatically develop power. This could not be farther from the truth, and the idea reflects a lack of understanding of the physics of physiology and specificity. While I agree it is important to improve overall maximal or absolute strength, after a certain level there is a tradeoff – especially with beginners.

We have all heard it before:

Force equals mass x acceleration or: F = Mass x Acceleration

This concept is still used to promote the idea of strength training and to explain generating force in striking in the martial arts. The concept is that you will develop more force if you lift heavier (increase the mass) or accelerate the mass more. This is correct, but equating this with power is not correct. But this is the concept that most proponents of developing strength advocate.

Just because you develop a high amount of force does not mean that you will develop a high amount of power. Power is actually an expression of the amount of force you can affect your surroundings or an object with, when moving at a certain velocity. The definition of power is:

Power = Force x Velocity

You can increase weight on the bar to increase the force production, but this comes hand-in-hand with a decrease in velocity and thereby a decrease in acceleration. So once you generate too much force, because the velocity and acceleration decreases, your power also diminishes significantly.

The mass you lift matters little compared to the velocity you are lifting at, if you want power. For example, you will see this in an athlete whose back squat numbers may improve while their vertical leap stays the same or goes backwards.

The actual velocity and real time acceleration of the implement you are lifting is what matters most. Doing high tension lifts all the time (the maximal effort method) can make practitioners sluggish and slow. Being relaxed and loose is the premise to generating speed and power. Follow in Jake “The Muss” Heke’s footsteps and make sure you don’t lift too many slow and heavy weights, or you may end up with same poor fate of his mate at the juke box.

The Final Word

There are number of potential pitfalls you can avoid by adhering to these principles when programing for the fight game. Strength training done the wrong way can affect other athletic attributes and change motor control and coordination. It’s probably why a lot of old-school coaches didn’t like their fighters doing much strength training.

Take a closer look at the world’s most dynamic and explosive athletes like Floyd Mayweather, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Manny Pacquiao, the Red Bull Kick-It competitors, or even world champion sprinter Usain Bolt. Examine the way they train. You will not see incredulous feats of strength, gym busting numbers on big lifts, or lots of hypertrophy like a body builder. Instead, you will see is the development of strength as just one part of the puzzle in making a complete fighter, martial artist, or professional athlete.

More like this:

• Speed Kills, Part 1: Proper Development of Speed for the Athlete
• Speed Kills, Part 2: Speed Development for the MMA Fighter
• 3 Training Mistakes that Leave Fighters too Smoked for Skill Work
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. DeRenne, C., Hetzler, RK., and Ho. KW., “Effects of Under- and Overweighted Implement Training on Pitching Velocity.” The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 247–250. 

2. DeRenne, C., Blitzblau, A. and o. KW., “Effects of Weighted Implement Training on Throwing Velocity” The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 16–19.

Photo courtesy of Baltimore BJJ.

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Medline Plus describes Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome as “a heart condition in which there is an abnormal extra electrical pathway of the heart. The condition can lead to episodes of rapid heart rate (tachycardia).” Possible complications arising from this condition vary. According to Medline, “It may rapidly lead to shock or death, and requires emergency treatment.”

In spite of his condition, which had been asymptomatic, Dan feels better than ever. Overtraining for years took its toll on his body, and now that he is free of the constant pressure of fight camp, his health has flourished. In our recent interview, Dan said:

Physically I feel very different now. I have spent a year without the damage of fighting and training camp. My workouts now are based on physical strength and flexibility. I still integrate martial arts into my workouts, but now as an element of training instead of the dominant factor. My problem has always been pushing too much and being overtrained and exhausted. This was a combination of my own enthusiasm, wanting to impress my coaches, and being so competitive with everyone else in the gym. On the days where I should have been taking it easy or resting altogether, I never did, even when I was injured. I’d be going for a secret midnight run to quench my desire to exercise or turning a technical session into hard sparring when I’m already tired.

Over this past year in particular, now that I have no set training schedule, I’ve just been listening to my instincts a lot more. Paying attention to how my body feels and being honest, whether that means pushing a little bit more because I know I have it or taking a day to let my body recover. The piece of advice that I got recently during a meditation session is that nobody knows me better than me, so if I learn to be honest with myself I will always make the right decision when it comes to training.

Dan’s training schedule varies, depending upon what he wants to focus on. “I do about four hot yoga sessions a week, I do some kind of strength training almost every day, and I do some kind of cardiovascular conditioning a couple of times during the week.”

After a career of watching his weight, Dan has now developed healthy eating habits and doesn’t follow a particular diet structure. He eats when he’s hungry and uses his energy level as a guide. He explained:

With my diet, I tend to have a couple of smoothies a day, juice or almond milk, frozen fruit, and protein. My meals are usually salads with lots of power foods like hemp, avocado, and spinach, or stir-fried vegetables with rice or quinoa. I snack on trail mix, fruit and things like hummus and rice cakes. When I need a boost, I grab a Xenergy.

My new favorite power meal at the moment is frozen bananas, dates, and a little cinnamon. Blend it until its smooth and you will be surprised how much like ice cream it is! My girl also makes these awesome Incan bowls for breakfast when we have a big day of training. Quinoa cooked in tangerine juice with a little honey, slices strawberries, bananas, and a mixture of seeds such as flax, pumpkin, chia, and sunflower.

Spending time away from fight camp made Dan realize how out of balance his personal life was during his career. He enjoys the new opportunity he has to travel and spends more time with his friends and family. Hardy is also making the transition from fighter to trainer and muchof his time is spent mentoring up-and-coming athletes in collaboration with XYIENCE. And with 36 fights behind him, The Outlaw knows what it takes to be a professional fighter:

Dedication is by far the most important. It encompasses everything else because without it there would be no consistency, no forethought before making a bad decision, and no focus in the gym. My first real mentor was my Taekwondo instructor, Mick Rowley. I really began to embrace martial arts as a lifestyle when I began training with him. He introduced me to Bruce Lee, the master of dedication to the martial arts.

After so many years of hard work and dedication as a “student,” it’s really very cool to move into a mentoring role and help XYIENCE kick off its grassroots Power to Win Team. The program is aimed at up-and-coming amateur athletes, so that gives the pro-athletes like me a chance to become a teacher of sorts.

In addition to training, Dan stresses the importance of becoming adept at public relations when building a career. “It’s important for young athletes to realize the benefits of working with brands beyond the pay check,” he explained. “With XYIENCE, I’ve been able to hone my on-camera skills and have a lot of fun doing the Fit Tips and parodies like the Xy-What? video where I get to punch BMX athlete Mike Escamilla over a bet about how to pronounce the product name.”

To top it all off, Dan’s experience in managing the stress of competition is invaluable to the athletes he mentors. What’s interesting is that in addition to visualization, Hardy’s pre-fight preparation includes regulating his heartbeat.

The heart rate meditation is something I learned a while ago as a way of focusing inward when my mind is erratic. I have breathing and counting methods I use also, but I always feel more connected when I focus on my heartbeat. I remember as a kid I saw a show on TV where a guy slowed his heart rate right down and I would practice before I fell asleep at night. I found it was really useful during exams at school, job interviews and before fights.

In my late teens, someone taught me some visualization techniques to meditate on being successful. I combined them for training camp meditation and then by fight time. Every time I got any anxiety I would focus on my heart rate, control my breathing to slow it down, and then visualize the fight going my way.

Dan’s success in MMA is a result of all of his hard work and dedication in all aspects of the game. He is a well-rounded athlete and an invaluable asset to anyone who is fortunate enough to train with him. To stay up to date on what’s happening with The Outlaw, follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He’s very active on social media and has some great training and diet tips.

Photos 1, 2, and 4 courtesy of Xyience.

Photo 3 by U.S. Army photo by Karl Weisel (USAG Wiesbaden) (United States Army (cropped)) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Interview With UFC Fighter Dan Hardy: One Door Closes, Another Opens appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

You might be wondering about the purpose of measuring HRV. It’s obvious that the heart has the ability to respond to different situations. Recline a bit and relax, and your heart slows down. Exercise and it speeds up. But it’s not just physical activity that changes your heart rate – stress does too. And heart rate isn’t the only way the heart responds to physical or psychological stress.

The variability of heartbeat to heartbeat reflects the function of the nervous system. When different parts of the nervous system experience stress, they respond in different ways, which affects the way your heart works. HRV is a measurement of these changes.

Now that you understand what HRV is, you may want to know why there is a particular interest in it for combat sports. In this study the researchers looked at judo players for a specific reason. When you go into the gym and do a lift, you have a built-in measure of how much you’ve done. You count the reps, sets, and the weight you used. In sports like soccer, you can measure the distance covered. But when you engage in combat sports like judo, there’s no simple way to measure the work done.

The researchers wanted to find out if HRV was a good measure of stress for judo. You can actually take the HRV of an athlete at any time, including the day after a training session, to tell how much stress they endured and how much they recovered. Indeed, in this study the researchers discovered HRV was a good measurement tool for combat athletes.They could even tell the difference between how hard the athletes had worked and the different phases of stress and recovery by using HRV.

HRV measuring devices are available now, and require no lab setting. You may even be able to find free online resources for HRV. However, the results may still be too confusing for most athletes or coaches. With more automation, HRV will be a tool that will become more readily available in the future.

Although the advantages are clear with sports in which the load is difficult to quantify, it seems that monitoring HRV may be helpful for any athlete. While many athletic endeavors may be easy enough to figure out in a lab setting, or by clever coaches, in the real world most athletes and coaches play it by ear and hope for the best. With a tool that determines the degree of stress and subsequent recovery an athlete has achieved, the future looks bright for HRV.

References:

1. José Morales, et. al., “The Use of Heart Rate Variability in Monitoring Stress and Recovery in Judo Athletes,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000328

Photo courtesy of by David Brown Photography.

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Journalists are supposed to be impartial. But columnists get to have opinions. Big, loud ones. So if I’m either of these two things, today I’m a columnist.

This is because my topic for today’s and Sunday’s articles is my friend Darren “BC” (short for “Bone Crusher”) Uyenoyama. If you have heard his name, it may be because he recently won his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut at bantamweight, beating the celebrated Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto by unanimous decision on UFC on Fox 1, November 12, 2011, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. His next fight will be on UFC on Fox 3 against The Ultimate Fighter 14 bantamweight winner John Dodson on May 5, 2012, at the Izod Center in E. Rutherford, NJ. Both Darren and Dodson will drop to flyweight (125 pounds and under) for the fight.

At the risk of sounding name-droppy, I am thrilled for Darren because I have had the pleasure of knowing him and being his friend for about six years now. He is a talented grappler and mixed martial artist as well as a loving family man and a hilarious and decent – if unusually sweaty and hairy – person. (Note for example the fact that most of what we talked about when I “interviewed” him is not appropriate for an article such as this, but was riotously funny.)

I met Darren when I was living and training in southern California; we had a mutual friend in Johnny Ramirez, head instructor at New Breed Academy, who was also my grappling coach at the time. Among other adventures we have had together, Darren and I kept each other reasonably sane on a trip we took to Turkey for a grappling tournament in 2007; he was cutting weight beforehand and I was annoyed by the heat and the ubiquitous cigarette smoke; it was summertime in a resort town called Antalya, which has not been affected by no-smoking laws. So we were both cranky.

Darren came to Virginia recently to train at Fifty/50 BJJ, and since I train there too, I got to hang out with him and ask him some questions for this story.

First things first: Get the name right. It’s not that hard – it’s pronounced “Wen-o-YA-ma.” It’s Japanese, as is half of Darren. The other half is Guatemalan. Darren was born and raised in San Francisco, where he still lives with his family (wife Madonna, son Sean, and daughter Keiko). He runs FTCC Gym in Daly City, CA, where he trains for his mixed martial arts fights.

Like many of the devoted, Darren started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in a roundabout way. At his son’s first birthday party, he reconnected with a high school wrestler friend who had been doing BJJ for the previous year at Ralph Gracie’s academy in San Francisco. He started with three days a week of training, but again, as so often happens with the devoted, within a month he upgraded to training every day.

Not too much time passed before Darren started making BJJ his career. An argument with his then-boss at the after-market automobile dealership he was working at helped to precipitate this shift. He had always been the person at work to stay late, without getting paid extra, but when BJJ came along, he realized he had found a purpose. So he started leaving on time to make class, and the boss didn’t like it. He (the boss) got lippy and said some inappropriate things, and Darren ended up leaving. And while he (Darren) was collecting unemployment, he just trained all the time, having already won a few tournaments.

He added punchin’ and kickin’ to the mix with his first MMA fight in June 2002; he took it partially because he needed money to pay for his wedding to Madonna. (The fight, which he won, awarded him the exact amount he needed.) It was with a Japanese promotion called Deep, against a muay Thai figher; the promotion hyped the fight as muay Thai versus BJJ. He replaced veteran BJJ black belt Robson Moura, who had originally been scheduled to fight but suffered a knee injury shortly beforehand. Ralph Gracie had stretched the truth a little bit, indicating Darren was a BJJ black belt, when he was only blue. (He would eventually earn his black belt from Ralph in 2010).

He didn’t fight again for five years after that; he got back to it while helping bantamweight mixed martial artist Chris Cariaso prepare for his second fight. Then a call came in from a different promotion, Cage Combat, indicating they needed a replacement fighter, and he answered the call, winning that fight as well. Darren noted that he never really had a plan to be a champion; he just loves what he does.

So he has kept on doing it, and doing it, and doing it well. During his career, he has amassed an overall competition record of 7-3, in fights for Deep, Dream (another Japanese promotion), Strikeforce, Cage Combat, and now the UFC.

And he is a decorated grappler as well; one of my favorite Darren stories is about how our mutual friend Johnny Ramirez had to browbeat him into competing in the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Pan Ams – Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship when he was a purple belt, and he ended up winning his division. Did I mention that he also won his division in the tournament we traveled to Turkey to compete in?

Tune in on Sunday for the second half of this story, when Darren talks about life after winning in the UFC and how he stays grounded.

The post An Unabashedly Biased Portrait of UFC Fighter Darren Uyenoyama – Part 1 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Cauliflower ear occurs when the skin surrounding the ear becomes separated from the underlying cartilage; this can be a byproduct of the sports and activities mentioned above.¹ The cartilage in the ear has no blood flow of its own and relies on what the skin provides. When this separation occurs, the blood flow is curtailed, resulting in redness and swelling. If left untreated, the cartilage subsequently dies, hardening and curling in on itself in a way that produces the tell-tale “cauliflower” appearance. This has aesthetic implications, particularly for people in professional contexts, and in severe cases it can also affect hearing, or even the ability to use a cell phone earpiece or earbuds.²

The condition can be prevented through the use of headgear that covers the ear during the offending activity. It can be treated by restoring the blood flow to the affected area through draining any accumulated fluid with a syringe and then applying pressure to prevent the fluid from accumulating again.³ If the ear hardens, plastic surgery may be necessary to restore a normal look.

However, especially given the increase in popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where cauliflower ear proliferates among practitioners, many male grapplers cultivate “the ear” as a badge of honor and of longevity in the sport. Its appearance is certainly distinctive, and apparently it impresses at least some of the ladies. Few of the female grapplers I know have it; personally, I actively prevent it, though I have a tiny bit of hardness on each ear.

So the next time you see someone with ears that look like mashed Silly Putty, keep in mind that s/he may actively participate in a combat sport. Be friendly—and speak loudly!

The post Cauliflower Ear: What IS That Stuff? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

In previous articles these three components of MMA have been discussed, as well as the various styles of wrestling found within MMA. The different striking backgrounds and skills a fighter may possess, however, have not been discussed.

In regards to MMA, the striking arts can be broken down in three general areas: boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai.

Boxing

An established and lucrative sport of its own, boxing also has a place within the skill set of the MMA fighter. Boxing allows striking only with the knuckles of a closed fist and uses enclosed gloves larger than those in MMA. Boxers can strike to the head or torso, but not below the belt or to the back of the head, back, or kidneys.

Boxing encourages head movement, lightness on the feet, and is highly strategic, hence its nickname, the “sweet science.” Fighters will on occasion “tie up” or clinch, but it is against the rules and will be broken up quickly by the referee. Rounds are three minutes in length with a minute rest between rounds. Unlike MMA, a fighter may be knocked out multiple times in boxing if he recovers before the referee finishes his count.

Examples of Boxers in MMA: Nick Diaz, K.J. Noons, Marcus Davis

Kickboxing

Kickboxing had its heyday in the United States in the 1970s, but it also spread throughout the world in its various forms. It laid the foundation for MMA and many fighters still train styles of kickboxing today.

Whereas boxing uses two points of contact (the hands), kickboxing uses four – fighters are allowed to strike with punches and kicks. In America, kickboxing and full-contact karate are very similar, but globally there are many different schools within the art of kickboxing, like Dutch kickboxing, French Savate, or Japanese karate styles. In other parts of the world kickboxing may allow strikes and techniques more akin to Muay Thai and rules and regulations vary greatly.

Examples of Kickboxers in MMA: Lyoto Machida, Chuck Liddell, Georges St-Pierre

Muay Thai

The national sport of Thailand and sometimes considered a form of kickboxing in the broader sense of the word, Muay Thai adds even more elements into the striking game. Known as the “Art of Eight Limbs,” Muay Thai allows punching, kicking, elbowing, and kneeing. Unlike boxing and kickboxing, Muay Thai fighters are also allowed to clinch. The clinch is, in fact, a very dangerous place to be with a talented muay Thai fighter as it allows them full use of their elbows and knees.

Rules for Muay Thai vary from country to country and with different organizations. In general the rounds, judging and refereeing are similar to those in boxing and kickboxing. Traditional Muay Thai fighters will also perform the Ram Muay dance before a fight to honor their coaches.

Examples of muay Thai fighters in MMA: Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, Mauricio Rua

There are so many aspects to MMA, it can be confusing for a newcomer to watch. With a little understanding of the martial arts behind the sport, however, a new fan can start to discern the strategy and truly enjoy watching MMA.

The post Striking 101: Striking in Mixed Martial Arts appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

After a number of years on the fringe, mixed martial arts (MMA) has more recently lodged itself firmly in the national Zeitgeist.

Even many people who don’t follow it closely seem to have heard of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) or Strikeforce, which are two of the main MMA outlets.

There seems to be something about watching two people enter an enclosed space and try to best each other, using nothing but their bodies, that speaks to something within us.

Author Sam Sheridan writes in A Fighter’s Heart, “The depths (of fighting) are about knowledge and self-knowledge, a method of examining one’s own life and motives. For most people who take it seriously, fighting is much more about the self than the other”.

And mixed martial artists who want to be successful must take it seriously, because they must become proficient in a variety of domains.

Their job is to use wrestling, judo, and grappling techniques (among others) to gain position and apply finishing holds; use boxing and Muay Thai techniques (among others) to land physical blows; or use some combination of these, with the ultimate goal of finishing the fight via tapout, knockout, referee stoppage, or judges’ decision.

A tapout occurs when an opponent is caught in a finishing hold that would otherwise result in severe injury or unconsciousness. A knockout is the same as in boxing.

A referee stoppage occurs when the referee determines that an opponent is unable to defend himself intelligently in the face of an attack. And a judges’ decision occurs when a fight goes the distance, usually three rounds that are five minutes in duration, and a panel of experts decides who won the fight according to a variety of criteria.

For viewers, all of this translates into a fun opportunity to get together with one another, root for their favorite fighter, and even yell at the TV when things aren’t going so well for their camp.

But those of us who are interested but not yet familiar with how MMA works might find that while we enjoy the spectacle, we are a bit uncertain about what exactly we are watching.

This is understandable given that MMA derives from a variety of martial arts and fighting styles, each with its own moves and terminology. Add to this the slang related to the sport of MMA itself, and sometimes you might not be sure what language the commentators, or your more knowledgeable friends, are actually speaking.

It is for these new enthusiasts that we offer the following glossary of MMA terms frequently mentioned during color commentary.

One caveat: Some of these descriptions may make MMA sound unduly violent. Yes, MMA is about inflicting physical superiority over another person.

But to quote Sam Sheridan again, “When you think about it, fighting in a ring is incredibly civilized. We’ll try to kill each other, but we agree to stop the instant the other wants to, or is hurt, we’ll shut down all the killer instincts inside us the moment we feel a tap on the leg”.

Another note: While women are starting to make inroads into MMA, practitioners are still overwhelmingly male. Thus, for the purposes of grammatical simplicity, the pronouns used in these descriptions are masculine. And now, in the words of UFC commentator Mike Goldberg, here we go!

Arm Bar: A finishing hold where a competitor puts pressure on his/her opponent’s elbow joint by attempting to bend it the way it does not naturally bend. The competitor situates himself so that the opponent’s arm is between his knees, enabling him to use his hips to intensify the pressure.

Axe Kick: A kick executed by a standing fighter, frequently against an opponent who is on the ground, also known as a downed opponent. The standing fighter raises one leg straight in the air and brings it straight down, like the motion of an axe. It is the heel that usually makes contact with the opponent.

Back Control: A position where one competitor gets behind the other and controls him by wrapping his legs around the back of his opponent and placing his heels (also known as “hooks”) inside the opponent’s thighs, while also controlling the torso and arms from the back. Having back control is considered to be very advantageous. This is because the person who is being controlled cannot defend well, especially if the person with control is on top of the other person, both people face down.

Choke: A finishing hold that cuts off the blood and/or the oxygen to a mixed martial artist’s brain. A player who does not tap to a well-executed choke will pass out. There are different kinds of chokes, some that use the forearms or biceps to put pressure on the arteries in the neck and/or the windpipe, and others that use the legs around the head and arm.

Clinch: A position where competitors try to control each other’s bodies by wrapping their arms around one another, fighting for good arm and hip position, frequently as a precursor to a takedown attempt. The clinch looks a bit like hugging, but is not affectionate.

Cross: A punch frequently used in combination with the jab and executed with the non-jabbing arm.

Dirty Boxing: A combination of wrestling and boxing techniques that enables a competitor to close the distance between himself and his opponent and execute punches and elbows from the clinch.

Elbow Strike or Elbow: A blow to the opponent’s body or head using the point of the elbow. Elbow strikes are painful, and they can also open cuts. The use of elbows is generally heavily regulated. For instance, a competitor may not raise his elbow straight in the air and bring it straight down upon his opponent. Elbows must come in at an angle.

Ground and Pound: A strategy where a competitor takes his opponent to the ground and unleashes a flurry of punches and elbows to try to finish a fight.

Guard: A grappling position where one player is on his back and has his legs around an opponent, who is either standing or kneeling. A competitor who is in someone’s guard may try to pass the guard and get to side control or the mount, both of which are more offensive positions, though the competitor may also try to land blows from the guard. A competitor who has someone in his guard wants to prevent his opponent from passing, and avoid getting punched or kicked.

Guillotine: A choke a competitor executes by positioning himself in front of his opponent, wrapping his arm around the top of the opponent’s neck and under the chin, and applying pressure on the neck and throat. The guillotine can place a lot of pressure on the neck as well as render an opponent unconscious.

Hammerfist: A punch where the competitor brings the bottom (pinky side) of his closed fist into contact with his opponent with speed and force.

Hook: A punch where the competitor cocks his arm at a 90-degree angle in front of his body, with the force coming from the side rather than straight on or from underneath. Not to be confused with “hooks,” below.

Hooks: The feet, specifically when a competitor takes an opponent’s back and has anchored his heels around his opponent’s legs. The act of getting one’s heels around one’s opponent’s legs is called “putting in the hooks.”

Jab: A straight punch.

Leg Kick: A kick a competitor lands on his opponent’s leg. Multiple leg kicks can cause accumulated damage and fatigue and disrupt an opponent’s balance.

Leg Lock: A finishing hold where a competitor isolates part of the opponent’s leg or foot to put pressure on the knee, ankle, or toes. The pressure from some leg locks such as the kneebar or the heel hook can come on quickly, and frequently by the time the recipient feels pain from these leglocks, damage has already been done to the knee joint.

Mount: A ground position where a competitor is on top of his opponent with his legs around the opponent’s body. The opponent is on his back, and the competitor is facing him, driving his hips forward to maintain pressure. People who are competing may “take the mount” or may “be mounted.” This position is very advantageous for the person on top and very dangerous for the person on the bottom.

Rear Naked Choke: A choke executed from back control where a competitor wraps one bare arm around the opponent’s neck (hence the naked) and reinforces that grip with the other arm to force a tap out.

Side Control: A position where a competitor immobilizes an opponent by lying perpendicularly across the other player, who is on his back or side, controlling the head and hips.

Spinning Back-Fist: A punch where a competitor starts out facing his opponent and then spins around quickly with one fist outstretched, using the momentum generated from the spin to put force behind the resulting contact, which occurs when the spin comes full circle.

Spinning Back-Kick: A kick executed in a manner similar to the spinning back-fist.

Sprawl: A response to a takedown attempt, where the competitor jumps back, drops his hips, and drives his weight into the opponent who is attempting to take him down.

Superman: A punch where a competitor fakes a front kick and then draws the kicking leg back quickly, while simultaneously throwing a punch with the same side fist. The force of the kick is transferred to the punch, and the supporting foot leaves the ground.

Sweep: A move where a competitor who has an opponent in the guard takes away the opponent’s balance, turns him over, and ends up on top, frequently in the mount. Sweeps are dependent upon the sweeper’s ability to remove all of the opponent’s supports on one side, by making it impossible for the opponent to “base out” with a hand or a foot.

Swing for the Fences: An expression indicating that competitors are giving it everything they’ve got in the final seconds of a round or a match. (e.g., “He’s swinging for the fences to try to get the decision.”)

Takedown: A method for getting an opponent on the ground and getting on top of him, borrowed heavily from wrestling. Competitors can “shoot in” for a takedown or attempt one from the clinch.

Tap Out: The way to submit to a finishing hold because it is on securely and the opponent is in pain or in danger of being put to sleep. Competitors who tap out literally tap the mat or the opponent to signal that they want the opponent to stop.

Triangle: A choke performed by a competitor wrapping his legs around the opponent’s head and one of his arms, bending one knee over the other ankle/shin. Named for the shape of the space between the legs, this choke can be executed from the guard or from the mount.

Uppercut: A punch the competitor executes by bringing the fist up sharply and quickly, into the face or the body of the opponent.

The post What’s That Move Called? A Glossary of MMA Terms appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a complicated sport to watch and there are many nuances for a newcomer to the sport to learn. A couple weeks ago I introduced you to “MMA 101” and went over the three basic arts that comprise MMA: submissions, striking, and wrestling.

Each of these arts can be broken down further into many sub-categories. For example, there are three primary styles of wrestling: Folkstyle, Freestyle, and Greco-Roman. Each has different rules and scoring and different application in the sport of MMA.

Here in the United States, when most of us hear of wrestling, we think of people we knew in high school or college, or the occasional Olympic athlete. But, what are they really doing and what do you need to look for to increase your understanding when watching MMA?

To help me answer this question I enrolled the help of Darryl Christian, a two-time Greco-Roman Wrestling National Champion who also works with MMA fighters, to walk us through the styles of wrestling.

Folkstyle

Folkstyle exists only in the United States and Canada and is practiced on the collegiate level. Unlike the international styles, Freestyle and Greco-Roman, Folkstyle is not as flashy. “No high amplitude throws exist within this style of wrestling,” said Christian. “Scoring is slow paced and less technical. Sometimes a strong wrestler with strong positions can dominate.” But even college level folkstyle wrestlers bring a special skill set to fighting. It is not just their physical aptitude they have developed, but their mental strength, as well. “A good collegiate background will bring a solid training schedule and mental toughness that has been refined over years of matches and seasons of wrestling,” said Christian.

Examples in MMA of fighters with a Folkstyle background are Matt Hughes and Kevin Randleman.

Freestyle

Unlike Folkstyle, Freestyle wrestling is practiced throughout the world. The two are related, however, and you could look at Freestyle as an evolved version of Folkstyle. “Having a Freestyle background is the same as a collegiate background,” said Christian, “but with the ability to be more technical and refined than a typical collegiate background.” Freestyle has more scoring opportunities than Folkstyle, allowing for an athlete to attack the entire body in a variety of ways. Freestyle does not put as big an emphasis on control as Folkstyle, but instead emphasizes explosiveness and risk. Throws will be more dynamic and of higher amplitude than Folkstyle.

Examples in MMA of fighters who incorporate Freestyle wrestling are Mark Kerr and Mark Coleman.

Greco-Roman

In addition, Christian also feels Greco-Roman wrestlers have spent more time developing their hip power and have that as an advantage, as well. “Power is generated through the hips, like an Olympic lift. Greco-Roman wrestlers usually have more power in their punches or ability to generate it, than any other discipline.”

Examples in MMA of fighters who incorporate Greco-Roman wrestling are Randy Couture, Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland.

While wrestling is a complicated sport, you don’t have to understand all the rules and nuances to understand the basics of how it works when applied to MMA. Once you, as a new viewer, start discerning the differences between the wrestling styles and knowing which style a certain fighter is practiced in, it will give you more ability to predict action in a fight and to understand the strategy that fighters are employing.

The post Wrestling 101: Wrestling in Mixed Martial Arts appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Having been involved in mixed martial arts (MMA) for almost a decade, I sometimes forget it is still a new sport to most people. As such, the concept of the sport may not be very clear for people encountering the sport for the first time. What exactly does the name mean – mixed martial arts? What are the “arts” involved in MMA?

While some fans could get into an in-depth conversation about the origins of MMA, recalling Bruce Lee and Helio Gracie, the sport has evolved into something unique from its past and different from any other competitive combat sport. When broken down, however, any athlete aspiring to compete in MMA must study a few basic disciplines.

Submissions

Another branch of grappling is “submission” or “catch” wrestling. Born on the old carnival circuit and practiced by strong men and professional wrestlers, catch wrestling is a very real and dangerous submission art.

Fighters known for their submissions: Royce Gracie, BJ Penn, Josh Barnett

Striking

There are a variety of options for a fighter to train in the striking arts. Kickboxing, Karate, Muay Thai, and boxing are the most popular, but there are even a few successful Tae Kwon Do fighters who are well known in the UFC.

What is important to know is that a fighter can use their hands, elbows, knees and legs to throw strikes.

Because of this, it is more complicated than what most fans are used to witnessing in boxing – and more exciting and unpredictable. Striking is also different in MMA because there is a risk of being taken to the ground by a wrestler, which does not exist in purely striking sports.

Fighters known for their striking: Anderson Silva, Mirko Cro-Cop, Chuck Liddell

Wrestling

Wrestlers bring more to the table than just their physical skill. Typically they have been competing for far longer than other fighters. In the U.S. it is not uncommon for children to begin wrestling as young as the age of 5. Therefore wrestlers often have a competitive mental edge as well as a familiarity with what it takes to prepare for competition.

There are two main styles of wrestling you will see in MMA – Freestyle and Greco-Roman. Freestyle is similar to the collegiate style most people are familiar with, whereas Greco-Roman is a style of wrestling which focuses on the upper body.

Wrestling has two main uses in MMA – controlling the opponent and taking the opponent to the ground. Wrestling is not a submission art, but can put a fighter in position to go after submissions, and wrestling defense is essential for strikers wishing to keep the fight standing. Therefore, wrestling and wrestling defense can be the linchpin for a fighter trying to keep the fight in their domain.

Also, mention should be made of judo, a Japanese art specializing in takedowns. A number of UFC fighters with Judo backgrounds have demonstrated success.

Fighters known for their wrestling: Mat Hughes, Randy Couture, Chael Sonnen

Every competitor possesses different strengths, both physically and strategically, so the emphasis on one discipline versus another may vary from athlete to athlete.

All athletes must have a functioning knowledge of all three areas of submissions, striking, and wrestling, however, to succeed even on a defensive level. It is how these attributes match up between fighters and the sheer number of variables in the outcomes of a match-up that makes MMA such an exciting sport to watch.

The post MMA 101: The Arts Behind Mixed Martial Arts appeared first on Breaking Muscle.