Brian McLaughlin - Poughkeepsie Martial Arts Instructor and Hudson Valley MMA Fighter
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Home» Posts tagged "Hudson Valley Mixed Martial Arts"

The guard for self defense

Posted on August 30, 2013 by fighter in Uncategorized

At my gym we have a vale tudo night in which we practice using our BJJ for self defense.  One of the areas of concern is fighting off your back when punches are involved.  The most important part of which is distance management – keeping your opponent too close or too far to strike you.  A great drill which we practice regularly is outlined here by Stephan Kesting

Live in the Hudson Valley and want to train at my MMA gym? Check out www.bjjfighter.com

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Hudson Valley Mixed Martial Arts, Hudson Valley MMA No Comments Read More

Hello Japan!

Posted on August 5, 2013 by fighter in Hudson Valley MMA
Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

Kids today don’t know how good they’ve got it.  Yes, the closer I get to 30 the more of a grumpy curmudgeon I become, but in this instance I am one hundred percent correct.  Fight master, Ultimate fighter, UFC on Fox, UFC on Fuel, FS1, UFC Unleashed, World Series of Fighting, Bellator, Inside MMA and if you’re really desperate you can always tune to the Spanish station and watch gladitorius del UFC – there’s almost too much MMA these days.  Watching elite fighters put their skills on display is an everyday occurrence.  However, once upon a time UFC events were pay per view only and often months apart.  If you wanted to satiate your MMA desire you had to befriend a Direct TV subscriber and wait for the US broadcast of Pride Fighting Championships.  In high school I would have been best friends with Charles Manson if it meant I could watch Kazushi Sakuraba fight Renzo Gracie. 

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

Japanese MMA was special.  Pride, Pancrase, K1 and Shooto all had a special flair.  They were contested in pristine rings with over the top pageantry and showmanship.  Mysterious international talent was coupled with wild rules, scoring and mixed weight super-fights. The silent crowd that appreciated submissions as much as striking was also a welcome alternative to the inebriated “just bleed” crowd that populated American MMA events.  

Fighting in Japan was a dream of mine.  During my MMA career I scratched off plenty of bucket list items.  I fought for Zuffa, made it to the Ultimate Fighter and won a few oversized MMA belts – but I never made it to the Land of the Rising Sun. 

Fortune smiled on me though after sparring at the AMA Fight Club on day when my friend Andy Main shared some exciting news. “I’m fighting in Japan” Andy said with his trademark calm demeanor.  Without hesitation I told him, “If you fight, I’m there”.  Finally, the opportunity to experience Japanese MMA first hand had arrived and in Pancrase no less.  Anyone with an appreciation for MMA history knows the esteem place Pancrase holds in the mixed martial arts world – an event that pre-dates the UFC and launched the careers of pioneers like Bas Rutten, the Shamrock brothers, Yuki Kondo and Matt Hume. 

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

Andy Main was slated to take on Hiroki “AB” Aoki as part of Team Nam Phan vs Team Pancrase.  Originally a number of fighters were slated to represent Nam Phan, but through a process of attrition Andy became the sole representative for Nam.  Andy and Nam knew each other as teammates on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter.  Andy has been the best kept secret in northeast MMA for the past few years.  A slick fighter giving top UFC fighters fits in training who ran into a bad streak of illness and injuries.  Andy would prep for a fight when shingles, mono, flu or vitamin deficiencies would strike – if there was an illness Andy had it.  I used to joke that I knew cancer patients healthier than him.  Lately though, it seemed like he had turned a corner.  He climbed back into the cage for CFFC and put on a clinic en route to a first round submission victory.  His striking had caught up to his jiu-jitsu and he was looking dangerous in all areas. 

His opponent was tricky.  Aside from having to travel behind enemy lines, the fight was also going to be contested at 155, one weight class above Andy’s normal fighting weight.  For the first time he wasn’t going to have the height advantage either as his opponent was long and lean.  Experience also played into AB’s favor with him having more than twice as many fights as Andy.  If any of this bothered Andy you’d never know it.  He put his nose to the grind stone and whenever the topic of Pancrase came up he spoke with an assertive confidence that let me know he expected to walk away with his hand raised.

Andy Main

Andy Main

The only stumbling block seemed to be the fact that the fight would be contested inside a boxing ring as opposed to a cage.  Most of our training at AMA Fight Club prepares us for walls and cages rather than ropes.  Fortunately, my Hudson Valley MMA gym Precision Mixed Martial Arts has a full sized boxing ring.  Andy made weekly trips up to Poughkeepsie, NY to familiarize himself with the ring and pick up some coaching tips from me at the same time.  As a student Andy is ideal.  He’s receptive to feedback and constructive criticism and makes better mid-round adjustments than almost any fighter I’ve worked with.  While coaching him at times I almost felt like I was playing a video game and he was my character.

Finally, camp came to a close and it was time to fly out.  I extended my stay longer so I would get some extra training (put the $1,800 plane ticket to good use).  After Andy arrived we met in Shinigawa decided it would be good to get a sweat going after being cooped up in a plane for 14 hours.  On way to the local Gold’s Gym we got our first taste of Japanese culture shock.  Andy is something of a boy scout. He’s a vegetarian; he grew up doing mission work for his local church and runs a business with his little brother.  You’re more likely to find him at a dog park than a bar.  However, he is covered in tattoos.  His most prominent ones are portraits of his mother and father and an inscription reminding him that he is his brother’s keeper.  Not exactly skulls and cross bones.  However, once the woman behind the counter saw the slightest bit of ink peeking out from the sleeve of his sweat shirt she treated him like he was in the Hell’s Angels.  She insisted we leave immediately.  After a series of begging and pleading (90% of which was likely lost in translation) we were allowed to stay.  Apparently, every Gold’s Gym in Tokyo comes equipped with a fully stocked MMA gym.  We got a good workout in and I could feel that in spite of the arduous journey Andy retained his strength. 

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

The following afternoon was open workouts and media day.  We met Nam Phan and headed over to a different Gold’s Gym to get some training in.  We reviewed some last minute technical strategies and got after it hard.  Andy was feeling stronger today and it showed.  Once Andy was finished training I got some good flow rolling in with Nam and was impressed.  He even showed me a few tips for landing his signature liver shot.  It’s too bad we didn’t have more time to train together.  The Japanese media was interesting.  They were always looking at things from a pro-wrestling angle, trying to stir the pot and get Andy to say something controversial that would fire up the opposition.  We were able to find out that everyone had painted Andy as a pure jiu-jitsu fighter.  We were excited since striking was a big part of our game plan, we figured the element of surprise would be on our side.

Weight cutting wasn’t going to be an issue.  Andy was walking at 155 despite eating regularly.  We knew we would be giving up size, but stereotypically the Japanese aren’t big weight cutters so we weren’t too concerned.     

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

The weigh-ins were supposed to be a non-issue, but became more dramatic during the rules meeting.  Going into this fight we were under the impression that it would basically be contested under unified rules sans elbows.  We quickly found out that we were mistaken.  Each time we spoke to someone the rules changed.  By the time we were done asking soccer kicks, stomps and knees to a grounded fighter were all legal – it was like old school Pride rules.  Fighting for sport is something of a chaotic endeavor.  The one thing I try to do as a coach and athlete to mitigate the chaos is to be aware of all the variables and prepare my athletes accordingly.  These last minute revelations did not sit well with me.  I started going over new strategies and frantically trying to make sense of the new potential dangers we faced in the fight.  Andy shared none of my concerns.  He looked at me and said “Whatever, it’s a fight”.  I wasn’t sure if his resolve was the result of confidence or insanity, but it let me know he was dialed in and nothing was going to change that. 

The weigh-ins also saw drama when fellow US fighter Amber Brown struggled to cut the final pounds in order to make her 105 lbs. weight class.  Seeing how lean and dry she appeared I wasn’t certain she could do it.  Simply walking up a small hill on way to the scale was a tall order for Amber, but there was a lot of resolve in her small frame and she made the weight.       

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

Following some epic meals, sight-seeing and wandering it was game day.  Unlike cards in the US which might have 10 or so bouts, Pancrase had stacked 18 fights on the card with Andy being the main event, which meant a whole lot of waiting.  As the bout neared closer I noticed a few things that were different in Japan.  No one watched me while I wrapped Andy’s hands, a process that is traditionally very closely scrutinized by US athletic commissions.  Also, none of the fighters were drug tested.  In the US something as pedestrian as a sleeping pill can result in a failed drug test and hefty fines.  There was no pre-fight physical or doctor exam.  Finally, no Vaseline was applied prior to fights and there were seemingly no cut men in the corners.  Many of these rituals are never noted by the casual observer, but for me the absence of these pre-fight traditions made me feel like I was in the Wild West. 

After a quick warmup it we stepped into the on-deck circle.  Nam and I peeked our heads around the curtain to watch Amber’s fight.  We got to know Amber a little in the days prior and were really rooting for her.  Things weren’t looking good, she was eating hard leg kicks and had a cut bleeding right over her eye.  She rallied in the second round, but was clearly not going to be winning a decision.  Time was ticking away with Amber on her back when she threw up a perfect armbar from guard.  She put everything into it and scored the submission.  Amber’s victory gave us some positive energy to fuel off and I suddenly felt more at ease as the pre-fight promos played for Andy’s fight.  There was a long pro-wrestling-esque montage that set the stage for Andy vs AB.  Finally Andy’s entrance music played and it was go time.  Andy (and his brother Mikey, a fighter himself) walk out to “Some Nights” by Fun.  The song is a light hearted sing along track.  It helps break some of the tension and anxiety surrounding the imminent battle.  AB destroyed this calm ambiance by walking out to the most abrasive screaming death metal I’ve ever heard in my life.  The juxtaposition was borderline comical. 

Immediately prior to the walkout a new wrinkle immerged when officials told Nam and I that the fight would feature “open scoring”.  Meaning that judges would indicate who was winning at the conclusion of each round.  I decided not to tell Andy about this new discovery since I didn’t want to break his concentration just prior to fighting. 

At long last, the bell sounded and round 1 began.  Andy began executing the game plan to a “t”. He marched out, controlled the center and began lacing AB with lightning quick jabs and crosses.  Each punch was snapping AB’s head back.  Andy was being mindful of his defense keeping his head moving the whole time, being aggressive by not wreck less.  AB decided to abandon the striking exchange and moved into the clinch.  I could tell he was strong here, but Andy was controlling well with his wizzer.  AB made a quick move to Andy’s back and secured hooks for a brief moment, but Andy countered with a Sakuraba like Kimura and turned into the guard.  Now ontop Andy worked some ground and pound and looked to pass after thwarting a few upkicks.  Taking side control Andy landed some knees to the body before the round closed.

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

The fight was going perfect, Andy had rocked AB who was now cut and clearly won the round.  I told Andy to use and underhook rather than a wizzer to stop AB from coming behind him and to mix some uppercuts into his combinations since AB was looking down to avoid the 1-2’s.

Round 2 began and Andy once again dominated the boxing.  He mixed in the uppercuts perfectly and followed them up with huge knees.  AB clinched in desperation and Andy pummeled to an underhook and hit a flawless Uchi Mata sending his opponent head over heels crashing to the mat.  I thought Andy might just finish the fight here, but AB showed this would be no easy victory by attacking off his back.  AB locked in a triangle that had me heart skip a beat, Andy defended well by posturing but found himself in a kimura quickly thereafter.  I was confident that the submission wouldn’t be finished, but worried that if the round ended this way they would award it to AB.  Andy solved the riddle though and escaped to side control and then immediately mounted.  With 15 seconds we told him to pull the trigger and he finished the round raining down strong punches.  We were now up 2 rounds to 0.

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

Going into the 3rd I just wanted Andy to stay out of the clinch.  We knew he could knock AB out if he made it a striking battle.  I could tell Andy was fatigued, but far from gassed.  The third round began much like the prior two with Andy landing clean strikes almost at will.  Right as a knockout seemed imminent the ref called a halt to the action to check AB’s cut.  Initially I thought this would benefit us since Andy could catch his breath, but the break was so long that it really allowed AB to recover and get back in the fight.  AB pushed forward and secured a body lock.  He hit a bear hug and landed on top of Andy.  As Andy went to shrimp AB took his back and locked in a tight body triangle.  Andy defended well, but wasn’t able to move his hips out to escape. Time was on our side though, if we could simply survive the next 2 minutes we would take home a victory.  At one point AB had him completely flattened out and things looked bad, but Andy showed his heart and gutted out an escape.  To his credit AB landed some shots before Andy secured closed guard, but once he did he immediately threw up a tight armbar, AB defended well and the round came to a close.  The open scoring allowed us to breathe a sigh of relief during the announcement – Andy earned the decision. 

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

Nam and I went crazy and ran to congratulate Andy, who was on the verge of throwing up.  Fortunately, he was able to hold it together, but he told us he had pulled something in his rib which is why the final round was so dramatic.  After a few pictures and autographs we headed back to the locker room victorious.

         
Following the fight Andy posted this:

“Now the thank you’s! HUGE thank you to my coach and training partner Brian McLaughlin for making the trip to Japan with me and preparing me for this fight. Big thanks to Nam Phan for setting it up. Thanks to everyone at Pancrase for giving me the opportunity. Thank you Coach Mike Constantino and all my teammates at AMA Fight Club, I will be back asap to help you all get ready for your next bouts. Also the guys at Precision MMA and my Instructor Yanni Hronakis for helping me prepare. Thank you to my students and family at Pure MMA you guys don’t realize what you all mean to me. Thank you Alex Kennedy and Melvis Figueroa for helping cover classes while I was away. Thank you my Mom and Pop for the ongoing support. Thank you to my amazing supportive girlfriend Maggie Krol. And thank you to my brother Mikey who keeps me honest and keeps me pushing forward whether he knows it or not. I fight for you all and it makes victory that much sweeter”
       

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

 

Interested in becoming the next Hudson Valley MMA champion?  Check out Precision MMA FREE for 30 days call 845-392-8495 or visit http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com

Andy Main, Brian McLaughlin, Hudson Valley Mixed Martial Arts, Hudson Valley MMA, Poughkeepsie MMA, Precision MMA No Comments Read More

Spider Guard Omoplata – Hudson Valley martial arts

Posted on June 29, 2013 by fighter in Hudson Valley MMA

Here’s a cool move from the spider guard which allows you to transition into an omo plata or a triangle.  Filmed at my Hudson Valley martial arts school Precision MMA in LaGrange, NY.

Brought to you by http://www.learntograpple.com your source for Hudson Valley martial arts techniques

Hudson Valley BJJ, Hudson Valley brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Hudson Valley Martial Arts, Hudson Valley Mixed Martial Arts, Hudson Valley MMA, LaGrange martial arts, New Paltz martial arts No Comments Read More

Hudson Valley Martial Arts, Spider Guard Bicep Lock

Posted on June 29, 2013 by fighter in Hudson Valley MMA, martial arts

Check out the latest from www.learntograpple.com the best source for Hudson Valley martial arts techniques

Want to train Hudson Valley martial arts for 30 Days Free check out http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com or call 845-392-8495

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley Martial arts

Hudson Valley BJJ, Hudson Valley Martial Arts, Hudson Valley Mixed Martial Arts, Hudson Valley MMA, Poughkeepsie martial arts No Comments Read More

Hudson Valley martial arts at Precision MMA

Posted on June 25, 2013 by fighter in Uncategorized

If you’re a New Yorker interested in seeing what your options are for Hudson Valley martial arts then I hope you’ll check out my school Precision MMA in LaGrange, NY. 

Here’s an article Precision brown belt Jamey Bazes wrote about Precision’s Hudson Valley martial arts program

http://bjjfighter.com/blog/2013/06/hudson-valley-martial-arts-precision-mixed-martial-arts-in-poughkeepsie-ny-offers-more-martial-arts-than-other-local-dojos/

Hudson valley martial arts

Hudson Valley martial arts

Hudson Valley BJJ, Hudson Valley Karate, Hudson Valley Martial Arts, Hudson Valley Mixed Martial Arts, Hudson Valley MMA No Comments Read More

Paul and The Spaniard win – Hudson Valley martial arts

Posted on June 25, 2013 by fighter in Uncategorized

This weekend I made the trip up to Amsterdam, NY to cheer on Precision MMA boxers Paul Maley and Dan Power.  Once again I got a speeding ticket on the way up, but I figured that was a good omen since last time that happened Pat Daka took home the golden gloves title.

The bouts were outside at a baseball stadium.  First up was Paul Maley.  I knew Paul would be hungry since he wound up on the wrong side of some extremely close decisions recently and was looking to make a statement.  Sure enough he took the center of the ring and wasted no time getting down to business.  Landing crisp jabs and solid uppercuts Paul was clearly getting the better of his game, but outmatched opponent.

In the second round the ref gave Paul’s opponent a standing 8 count.  This sparked more output and Paul made the third round his strongest.  As the judges score cards were being tallied we knew Paul had won

Hudson Valley martial arts

Hudson Valley martial arts

  Next up was Dan Power.  Dan brought his straight ahead pressure style into the ring and immediately went after his rangy opponent.  Scoring with heavy body shots and high output Dan comfortably took the first round.  At the start of the second Dan smelled blood and went in strong, but got a little reckless and ate a big uppercut against the ropes.  He went down but quickly jumped to his feet assuring the ref that he was more than ready to continue.  Unfortunately, something the ref saw lead him to think otherwise and he stopped the fight, giving Dan’s opponent the victory.  To say Dan was upset is an understatement.  He acted as a sportsman and shook his opponent’s hand, but was extremely frustrated that the fight was taken out of his hands when he wanted to continue.

I had mixed emotions.  On the one hand I know Dan is incredibly tough and would have gone out there to give it his all.  On the other hand I know sometimes fighters are too tough for their own good and perhaps this time it may have been best to live to fight another day.  One thing I can guarantee though, whoever steps in the ring with Dan Power next is going to have a bad day.

While I was in upstate New York there were also some fierce MMA fights going on at Valley Forge, PA.  My training partner Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman continued his rise up the  pound ladder and racked up a dominating victory at CFFC.  This makes three straight dominating performances for Charlie, the UFC should be taking notice soon.
Hudson Valley martial arts

Hudson Valley martial arts

Precision fighters get back in the ring for muay thai fights in July and AMA fighters will keep me busy as Andy Main fights in Pancrase and Sean Santella defends his CFFC Flyweight title in the coming months.

Hudson Valley martial Arts

Hudson Valley martial Arts

If you’re looking to train Hudson Valley martial arts then check out Precision MMA in LaGrange, NY.  Call 845-392-8495 or visit http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com to get started

Hudson Valley BJJ, Hudson Valley Boxing, Hudson Valley jiu-jitsu, Hudson Valley Martial Arts, Hudson Valley Mixed Martial Arts, Hudson Valley MMA No Comments Read More

Hudson Valley MMA – The 33% Rule

Posted on May 23, 2013 by fighter in Hudson Valley MMA

The 33% Rule

 Hudson Valley Training tactics from Brian McLaughlin head Hudson Valley MMA coach at Precision Mixed Martial Arts in LaGrange, NY

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

Over the last decade I’ve trained at just about every major MMA gym on the east coast from the Hudson Valley to South Florida.  I’ve been an instructor, sparring partner or student of fighters ranging from UFC world champions to first time amateurs – I’ve even seen guys go from their first fight in empty middle school gymnasiums to fighting for 6 figures in front of sold out Las Vegas crowds.  In this time I’ve seen a myriad of different training approaches and practice routines all with varying levels of effectiveness.  Some gyms focused mainly on striking, others were wrestling based and many had a jiu-jitsu approach – but what I’m going to talk about here transcends styles and techniques.  This is the training approach that I believe allows an athlete to put themselves in the best position to be successful – the 33% rule.

The old mantra repeated by just about every guru in the business is “train smarter not harder” but what does that really mean?  In my estimation this statement highlights the fact that hard work and effort, at a certain point, yield diminishing returns.  Biting down on your mouthpiece and pushing yourself 100% certainly has its place in combat sports, but in order to reach the upper echelons of the sport most agree that a higher level of sophistication is warranted.  Therefore, training smarter would be defined as the approach which most efficiently leads an athlete towards improvement without injury or burnout.

The specific area of training I am looking to examine deals with sparring (or rolling for you BJJers) partners.  The prevailing wisdom is that you’re only as good as your training partners.  Therefore, in order to progress a student should work with the highest caliber partners available.  The more skilled the sparring partner the better.  Admittedly, this was a mindset that I often times fell into.  When it was time to train I would avoid the people at or below my level and look to partner up with the killers.  However, I noticed that I wasn’t making the strides I expected, despite working with such world class training partners. 

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

My perspective began to change after a conversation I had with my boxing coach.  He was complaining that one of his fighters was removed from a training camp for a high profile pro because he was getting the better of the fighter.  I was shocked since I was lead to believe that training with people better than yourself was the path to improvement.  My coach told me though that in boxing, coaches want a fighter to be very confident going into a fight so that when the moment comes he won’t hesitate to throw his techniques, confidence in training will result in confidence in the fight.  They also hone in on specific strategies and techniques they want the fighter executing and if the sparring partner figures out how to avoid them it will throw them off their game.  Finally offense is scored more heavily in fight and they would rather their fighter have strong offensive skills to win rather than good defensive skills and survive.  Obviously, this approach has some major flaws.  Never working with people who can expose your flaws or shortcomings could be a recipe for disaster.  However, this was the first time I heard someone explain the benefits of sparring exclusively with lower level partners.

More credence came to this idea when I listened to an interview with Renzo Gracie.  The interviewer asked Renzo what it was like having to prepare for major fights when first coming to the US and not having access to elite caliber training partners.  Renzo replied that often times that is when a fighter makes their greatest improvements.  He pointed out that Roger Gracie excelled the most when he went to London and had very few if any black belts to train with.  Renzo rationalized this by explaining that when working with elite partners people often times limit their game and refuse to take chances for fear of getting caught or not being successful.  However, when working with lower level partners the student feels comfortable opening their game, exploring new avenues of attack and working out of positions of disadvantage.

Conversely, I worked with many fighters who made great strides after leaving their local gyms and working with more elite competitors.  They claimed to have developed the “big fish in a small pond” mentality.  The elite competitors pushed them to evolve and fix the holes in their games. Losing in training brought them out of their comfort zone and forced them to take a more critical look at their techniques and strategies.   

As an athlete I had experienced both extremes.  I had been the big fish as well as the whipping boy.  Through a process of trial and error I found what I believe to be the best training approach – the 33% rule.  Under this approach 1/3 or your training partners are well below your level.  If you’re a pro these are the mid-level amateurs.  If you’re an amateur, these are the recreational gym rats.  These training partners are nothing short of essential.  This is where you build new wrinkled in your offense and work on your worst-case scenarios.  For example, when I was first learning how to slip punches my coach told me “have children try to hit you, they wind  up so you’ll see it a mile away, but they are fast enough to keep you honest. And if you mess up you’re only getting punched by a 10 year old”.  As ridiculous as this sounds it worked wonders for me.  Obviously, I wasn’t going to make it as a professional MMA fighter sparring exclusively with children.  However, I made sure that 33% of my training was against people that were well below my skill level.  These sessions were designed to build confidence and competence in unfamiliar territory.  Even when sparring I was using these sessions almost like a form of live drilling. These partners allowed me to build the kinesthetic repetitions necessary to make the movements instinctive.  There is some debate about the “magic number” some calling for as many as 10,000 repetitions.  I didn’t keep a tally, but I once heard Teddy Atlas talk about training Mike Tyson.  He said Cus D’amato instructed him that Tyson was “To do each technique right so many times that he couldn’t do them wrong if he wanted to”.  In addition to building repetitions, this 33% would be the portion of my training that would be experimental.  Practicing techniques on my weak side, switching to south paw, trying new guard positions for the first time, or attempting a technique I saw online or at a competition all work best against partners well below your abilities.  The penalty for imperfection is lower allowing you to feel more comfortable opening up and more confident with each progressive success.    

The second tier of training is spent with fighters that are very comparable in skill, but just slightly below your level.  This is the next step technical progression.  You take the techniques you’ve worked against the lower 33% and test your progress against a more skilled, but still slightly inferior opponent.  If you do everything perfect the technique will be a success every time.  However, unlike the first group, if the timing or execution is slightly off then your opponent will escape or counter.  In addition to cleaning up the mistakes and making the techniques more fluid this is where a student works on contingency plans.  What to do if the initial attack is defended, how to sequence attacks together, how to disguise techniques to overcome resistance – this is where these strategies are honed.  An important thing to remember here is that these partners are still BELOW your skill level.  For a high level black belt, these are the killer brown belts of the world.  Some people consider having 2/3 of your training time spent with people below your skill level to be counter-productive.  However, there are several advantages that I feel are often overlooked.  The first and most obvious (for striking or MMA) is injury prevention.  Sparring with elite pros, especially in pre-competition training camps, increases the chances of injury with each session.  The next major benefit is more mental than physical.  Constantly getting tapped out and dominated wears on a fighter.  The ever present self-doubt becomes more pronounced and the satisfaction which comes from successful execution of techniques becomes fleeting.  A bad day at training can keep a fighter up at night, building anxiety and stress.  This can never be completely avoided, but certainly minimized by the 33% rule.  Finally, a fighter does not grow and evolve when they are constantly put in a defensive shell.  If keeping one’s head above water is an arduous fight then you can bet they aren’t going to learn any new strokes.  When working against a group of killers the struggle for survival supersedes the need to evolve.  I have seen training camps where fighters work exclusively with partners better than them.  In some cases these elite partners are even rotating in fresh against a tired inferior fighter.  Generally, this makes one very good at tapping out and taking shots, but not much else. 

The final tiers of training partners are those that are better than you.  This is where your defense and survival skills get put to the test.  This is where you swim in the deep end of the ocean.  You should be getting tapped out, taken down, hit and at times dominated.  This 33% should point out where you concentrate your efforts with the other 66% of your partners.  If the top tier can take you down at will then you need to implement new or sharpen your existing strategies and techniques for takedown defense with people you are better than.  Then test your progress with people who are better than you.  This 33% stops fighters from becoming cocky or complacent.  Ideally, it shows them how high the mountain of success is and inspires them to work harder. 

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

This is the tier that most people misuse.  For example, I had a former coach enthusiastically call me to tell me about a fighter of his who would be the next UFC champion.  He told me proudly, “No one in training can stop his takedown and no one can take his punch”.  I knew after that statement that he was not training smart.  There should always be someone who can best you somewhere.  Sure enough the much heralded fighter never climbed to the heights prophesized.  Conversely, I’ve seen amateurs who refuse to work with anyone that is not a high level pro.  These well intentioned up and comers typically become mediocre and rarely obtain their lofty goals. 

 

 There are two places where the 33% rule does not necessarily apply.  The first is for someone completely new.  In this instance everyone will be better and it therefore doesn’t necessarily make practical sense to break training partners into tiers.  The second group includes those who are among the very best in the world in a particular discipline.  In this case, nearly everyone falls into the first group.  To reach the top or stay on top it may be necessary to almost exclusively work with elite training partners.   

 

In order to maximize the effectiveness of the 33% rule you must know where your partners stack up and train with them accordingly.  For example, if you decide to focus your training on armbars.  The first 33% is where you will build your reps, make the steps of the armbar second nature and automatic.  You can also work on your weak side armbar and experiment with exotic entries and finishes.  The second tier you will work on breaking the grip, overcoming stacking and dealing with guys ripping their arms out.  You’ll work on hitting armbars off sweeps and distracting opponents with other submissions or disguising your setups.  The final group you’ll work on follow up moves and put yourself under the microscope.  How to maintain guard after they roll out of the armbar, how to remain on top if the mounted armbar fails.  Also examine why you aren’t successful with moves that work against the other 2 groups.  Is it an issue with your grip, your timing, or your hips?  If you are with someone better than you it doesn’t make sense to try an exotic armbar on your weak side.  If you are with someone inferior to you it will be difficult to analyze where the holes in your attacks are.  Focused training will lead to the greatest success with the fewest headaches.   

The 33% rule is something I’ve put into practice at my Hudson Valley MMA gym, Precision MMA.

Hudson Valley MMA

Hudson Valley MMA

Looking to train Hudson Valley MMA?  Precision Mixed Martial Arts offers elite Mixed Martial Arts training in the Hudson Valley.  Call 845-392-8495 or visit http://www.poughkeepsiemixedmartialarts.com
           

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