Striking Classes

I’ve lost count of the amount of people at DMMA that have said I “look karate”! I didn’t know you could look “karate”. Mind you, now that I think about it Machida looks and acts distinctly karate when in the Octagon. 

Anyway, I’ve been training at DMMA for just over two months now, but I still feel very new. I’m still mostly learning the basics in wrestling and mma striking rather than sparring, but I’m so eager to get sparring! I’ve done a bit of sparring since joining DMMA and each time it’s been a real thrill, and I’m sure once the instructors feel I’m ready and let me spar that even more “karate” will instinctively come out, so DMMA members you’d better be ready! 

Haha only joking. But once I’ve got the basics down and I find my rhythm I’ll be able to incorporate some karate into my fighting game. Until then……

My first striking class was back in August. I began MMA knowing that learning new ways of striking would be a huge challenge. I’m constantly battling my karate instincts; my punches, kicks, stances, how I hold my head, where my hands are, weight distribution, feet placement etc is all ingrained in me. I’ve done things a certain way for so long I don’t even know I’m doing them. In order to combat some of this I purchased a wee notebook so I could note down some pointers from each class I attend:

(ok so it’s a bit girly, but I can be girly and badass at the same time!)

The notes I made after my first class were:

• Chin down (minimises chances of getting KO'd)

• Hands up to the temples (in point-scoring karate my hands were quite low to defend against kicks to the body as well as the head, but in full-contact my priority is to protect the head and learn to crunch/absorb body shots)

• Shoulders hunched over (build-in defence against hooks to the chin)

• Check leg-kicks with your own leg rather than gedan barai/low block (blocking kicks leaves your head WIDE open)

• Jab to close distance

In addition, some drills I noted down were:

• Jab, cross, hook, leg kick (remember weight distribution)

• Jab, cross, duck, hook

• Jab, jab, cross, step-off-to-the-side body kick

Going over these techniques a few times in class isn't sufficient in committing them to memory, but I’ve found that shadow boxing at home has been a good way of developing the muscle memory required. A bit of shadow boxing can be done quickly before starting a shift and it’s fun to do with Thin Lizzy blaring in the background. Although I’m still terribly inconsistent with keeping my hands up, shoulders hunched over etc, I’m pleased with my progress. 

Just as an amusing, self-mocking anecdote; one of the coaches has spotted a tell I do just before fighting. I quickly punch the air before getting into my stance. Sounds so stupid, right? I honestly had no idea I did this, and at first I had no clue why on earth I would do this. He was concerned that I would do this in the cage and get knocked out, and I became concerned about this too; how do you stop something you don’t even know you’re doing?! I’ve realised what it’s about; I’ve trained for a long time with a restricting gi, so I did this to loosen the gi before starting a drill. I must have been doing this for years as I still do this even though I don’t train in a gi anymore. Imagine if UFC fighters had conditioned themselves to punch the air before fighting, all we'd see is 2-second finishes! I'm working on cutting it out, but it's taking a while.

I hope some of these basic striking pointers have been useful. I'd love to hear some of the striking techniques you learnt when you first started out. My next blog will discuss the techniques I've been learning in wrestling classes.

Life getting in the way of training, my fatal error, and an awesome video you just have to watch

My nursing registration came through yesterday (yey!) but it bothers me A LOT that shifts will get in the way of attending training sessions at DMMAYACSA. Their classes are in the evenings so I’ll still be able to attend when I’m not on a 12 hour shift/back shift/night shift. Wait, that only leaves early shifts and days off! I really wish illnesses would only affect people 9-5…

Anyhoo, DMMAYACSA do various classes throughout the week; freestyle wrestling, submission wrestling, BJJ, fitness, striking specific to your skill level, beginners MMA and Sambo. I attend a couple of classes each night, so my week until now has looked like this:

Monday: freestyle wrestling, then basic striking with pads

Tuesday: fitness, then beginners MMA

Wednesday: striking drills and light sparring

Thursday: fitness, then basic MMA

Friday: fitness, then submission wrestling

Saturday or Sunday: go for a run around the pretty gardens where I live.

(credit Scott Malone via DMMAYACSA's Facebook page)

My shifts will get in the way of attending classes, but I’ve been doing drills outside of classes to augment my learning, so I’ll just keep this up. For example; before a back shift I’ll shadow box in the morning, or before starting night shift I’ll practise sprawls and other wrestling drills. So if one of your excuses for not training is work, it ain’t valid! Although I can fully appreciate how valid it seems, it was certainly one of my own excuses…

I made a fatal (ok not quite fatal) error last night though. For the first time since I started training I had to leave class early. I’d completed the 1 hour fitness circuits class, then started the 2 hour wrestling class, but about half an hour in I felt faint as fuck, and nothing people were saying was going in. My training partner had to tell me at least 10 times where to put my hands for a simple arm lock. I pushed through and wrestled to about the 1.5 hour mark, but just half an hour before the end of class I had to stop. What was my fatal error? I didn’t consume electrolytes or carbs after an intense circuit class, or eat enough of the right things before training. I hate that I had to leave early, I’ve woken up really annoyed at this, but my lesson is definitely learnt! 

You may have noted that I don’t attend BJJ or Sambo. I’ve been debating whether to add in BJJ at this stage or wait until I’ve got the basics down in striking and wrestling. On one hand I would love to develop a ground game as it’s currently absent, and it would flow nicely with the rest of my training. After all, I didn’t start MMA just to focus on striking and do a bit of wrestling. However, I am currently of the opinion that I’m better to wait until I’ve got more experience in these areas before I can really focus and spend a lot of time on BJJ. 

That being said, I’d welcome any thoughts on this and would be happy to change my mind if you would advise starting BJJ now. 

As for Sambo, I think this would definitely be information overload at this point!

I gotta go for just now; I'm about to practice kata. As much as I'm loving learning all these different fighting styles, karate will always have my heart and there's just something blissful about practising kata. Plus, watch this short video of Machida to see how kata is utilised within MMA; 

(credit to Emmanuel Shepherd via Youtube)

I actually squealed watching this, ahhhhh so exciting! Or maybe that's just me...

Starting MMA: how exciting!

Over the past couple of years I’ve lost my passion for karate. This was for several reasons: I wasn’t progressing and had become stagnant. In addition, politics in Scottish Karate are (without ranting) taking the karate out of karate. Lastly, achieving 3rd Dan last year didn’t feel like anything. Yes I’ve put 20 years into it, but my heart was no longer there. 

So I’d been thinking of trying a new martial art. I hadn’t really contemplated MMA as subconsciously I considered it too daunting (see previous post). I thought about kick boxing, boxing, judo, but I didn’t do anything about it, I just carried on training at the gym. I enjoyed the gym, but spin class and running machines are nothing like sparring and I missed it terribly. 

But now that I’ve started my MMA journey I couldn’t be more thrilled! The excitement of progressing and learning loads of new things all at once, the frustration with how long it’s taking to learn the most basic of moves, the smells (yes the smells). It’s just all so good! Most nights I walk away ecstatic at how much I've gained in the previous few hours. Even the few times that I've walked home disappointed at my performance during the past 3 hours, I’ve never once walked away thinking I could have worked harder, and for that I’m grateful to karate for the discipline it has instilled in me.

Oh, btw, those of you who make fun of me for bowing as walk on/leave the mat, I’m never going to stop so better get used to it! At least I’ve cut it down; I used to do big bows entering the building, leaving the building, and big bows every time I walked off and on the mat (which amounted to a lot of times during the evening to get water/gloves etc). Now I just do a very subtle bow the very first time I walk on, and the very last time I walk off. That’s it. I don’t even say Oss! Which is still hard for me to get my head around; how does the instructor know I’ve heard what he/she’s said? Or know I regard what he/she’s said? It still doesn’t feel right but I know the slagging I’ll get for saying it so I’m just gonna keep fighting the urge.

The next few posts will discuss the techniques I'm learning in the martial arts I'm training in, my training methods at home away from the gym, the things training is making me learn about myself, and my biggest barrier so far: overcoming the mental challenges.

My First MMA Class

Going from 20+ years of studying karate to MMA was a daunting prospect. I'm claustrophobic on the ground (even the duvet wrapped around too tight makes me panic), and I am ridiculously susceptible to concussions due to years of karate training combined with a super whack to head I sustained while snowboarding last year. So here's what made me take the leap...

One night I sparred an MMA guy and I absolutely loved it! Fainting, blitzing, going in and out; I did all the usual karate stuff and also had fun trying out moves which are illegal in karate such as leg kicks. I also really enjoyed the techniques he was doing of which I didn't have previous experience i.e. double leg takedowns. However, after a while I said "I'm exhausted" and we stopped. 

I really did have fun; I've always enjoyed sparring (if you're one of those "karate" types who doesn't spar but just does kata all day and night, then you're not doing karate). But I realised the next day I lied to myself and him when I said I was exhausted. The real reason I wanted to stop? 

I was losing. 

People who know me will be surprised to read this as I've never been known as competitive. But, despite training my whole life, it wasn't until this moment I realised that I hate losing. To expand on this a little; subconciously I've never had faith in myself that I'll win at anything. To compete and lose, or try something new and fail, would then confirm this belief. So I've kept doing the martial art I'm comfortable in, I've never learnt how to play pool, I don't take risks in poker etc.

I was so angry with myself when I realised this. How did I not know this crucial part of me until now? WHAT A BULLSHIT REASON TO NOT TRY STUFF!!

So I turned up at my local MMA club which had this on the door: 

I was terrified! I wanted to run away. Are they going to go all Rousey on my ass and break my arm as part of the initiations? Are they going to laugh at my long stances and lack of experience with grappling? 

But I walked in and heard my favourite Placebo song called I Know and it was a sign that this was for me. Other (perhaps more legit) signs included how laid-back the atmosphere was, how knowledgeable and helpful the instructors were, and the absence of ego. The biggest sign, though, was that throughout the class I had to stop myself from smiling and laughing as I was enjoying it so much. It was a beginners wrestling class, something I've never done before, but I felt at home, like I was finally being me; it was so liberating. 

So if you're thinking of trying MMA but are, understandably, scared/anxious/unsure if it's for you, try it anyway. They know you're new and don't expect you to have any knowledge, they will break things down for you and go at your pace. They won't hurt you (until you're getting good, but by then you'll be hurting them too in a controlled way), and you'll love the euphoria. If not, then it's probably not for you, but at least you've tried it.

Also, if you live in the Dundee area I would HIGHLY recommend DMMAYACSA (Shooters). As above, the instructors are highly knowledgable and experienced, and will support you in whatever your goals are. Crucially, they are genuinely lovely people who have a focus on technique and skill rather than brutality.

Thanks for reading! More posts to follow.