GJ Speed Kills

The Charming Killer
(I just figured out how to embed video, so enjoy)

We started with cardio training before class:

• 20 push-ups
  
• Sprint 50 m
  
• 100 yard pad work
  
• 400 / 300 / 200 m run
  
• Perform twice then take 1 minute rest, do entire circuit three times, decreasing the runs each time

The pad work rounds were, for set 1:

• Knees
  
• Pitterpat

Set 2:

• Alternating kicks
  
• Crosses n' hooks

Set 3:

• LK-C-H-RK-H-C
  
• 3 Knees CHC/HCH

We then worked 3 minute MMA style rounds:

1. Sprawl, Fall and Follow
   
   
2. Focus Mitt Pummelling
   

3. Groundwork Punching

   • Side mount -- 3 hammer fists
     
   • Triple threat pull to rear mount
     
   • Three punches to one side (prop mitt on triceps)
     
   • Shift to mount -- 3 to 10 punches
     
   • Allow to be bridge and rolled -- 3 to 10 punches from guard
     
   • Reset

4. Conditioning

   No time, just finish as fast as you can

   • 1 mat-2 mats-3 mats shuttle
     
   • Knees (3 mats)
     
   • 1 mat-2 mats-3 mats shuttle
     
   • Pitterpat (3 mats)
     
   • 1 mat-2 mats-3 mats shuttle
     
   • Alternating kicks (3 mats)
     
   • 1 mat-2 mats-3 mats shuttle
     
   • 3 Punches Sprawl

We then discussed some more of the technical aspects of fighting. My philosophy if your not going to do it in real life either sport or self-defense, why bother training it. Utility can be beautiful, functionality can be aesthetic. Hence martial art. Granted application is conditional certain tools, tactics, strategies, and concepts work better in certain situations and some are universally applicable.
One of these deals with relaxation, only when we are relaxed can we move quickly. And speed is essential for fighting, on order to cause damage the only way to maximize our momentum and kinetic energy is to move faster, we cannot change our mass. A relaxed muscle can accelerate much faster than a tense one. Furthermore, we can train relaxed both slowly, maximizing technical prowess, or quickly maximizing functional delivery. With a tense structure only slow is available. In essences, "speed kills".
Next we discussed knees. Knees are loaded by the flexion of the hip and delivered by the forward thrust of the hips. This minimizes the surface area of your knee making contact with the target, i.e. the tip of the femur, thus maximizing the pounds per square inch delivered. Although the movement is awkward it is more efficient and damaging than using a larger portion of the thigh and spreading out the force over a large area. We therefore worked on the hip thrust on our partner followed by two punch-knee transitory combinations:

• (RKick-)LH-C-(lead hand grab)-LKn-push-C-LH-C
  
• (LKick-)C-LH-(rear hand grab)-RKn-pull-LH-C-LH

We finished with several 2 minute rounds of timing. Everyone did an excellent job, working slowly but smoothly and putting together offensive combinations, defense, and reactions. It was excellent high cereberal content low trauma training. Perhaps my admonishment that I'd KO anyone who tried to take my head off worked.