techniques | HOMETHEATER

Grappling Dummy Techniques for MMA Athletes

March 8, 2021 Comments Off

Mixed martial arts has literally burst onto the TV screen and it looks like it is here to stay. At my martial arts club the mixed martial arts classes are overrun with people wanting to learn MMA and I constantly have people asking me what can they do at home that will help increase there MMA skills. I tell them to invest in a grappling or throwing dummy. There dummies are designed for MMA athletes to throw, punch, kick and pound without ever hurting a single training partner.
Compared to other combat sports, MMA training is extremely easy to get injured either through a stray elbow, knee or headbutt. Drills such as punching when in knee ride or driving through wildly with a double leg can accidentally injure your opponent so there are times when you have to not punch, kick or throw with as much force as you would really like. While running MMA classes I sometimes get the occasional fighter who cannot control his strikes and so I assign him to using a grappling dummy.
If you are the sort of person who cannot regularly attend training then I highly advise you to purchase a dummy. This way if you ever miss training due to work or family commitments you can still drill your techniques in order to continually improve your MMA skills.
Grappling dummies are designed so that you can drill your MMA techniques without ever having to worry about injuring your opponent. You can perform various ‘ground and pound’ techniques such as strikes from mount, elbows from side control as well as vicious elbows when your on the bottom. Drilling knees and elbow strikes while on your feet is also a great technique you can drill with a grappling dummy.
Grappling dummies are built very well and can be picked up and slammed over and over again which is great if you are looking at practicing take downs against the cage, in a clinch or shooting in straight after a few strikes.
MMA fighters require a high level of fitness and conditioning due to the fact that a fight goes for anything from 3-5 rounds of 3-5 minutes (depending on the fight being amateur or professional). Therefore it is crucial that the fighters have a high level of fitness and adding different dummy techniques can assist in raising your aerobic threshold.
In conclusion grappling dummy’s are a fantastic investment for MMA fighters looking at training one hundred percent without injuring their opponents or for those fighters who cannot always get to training but are keen on practicing their skills in the comfort of their own home…

Martial-Arts Novels and Ninja Techniques

September 22, 2020 Comments Off

I Used to Read Martial-Arts Novels, Too

When I was a teen, I used to read any martial-arts fiction that I could get my hands on. Kung fu comics with the evil Fu Man Chu — Kung Fu Mace Books — anything with a martial-arts hero.

I especially craved any books dealing with the ninja….

As such, my mind was filled with dipping shuriken in egg white, in order to poison my enemy.

And I also read about my protagonists throwing ball bearings and catching the enemy in the back of the neck, in order to knock him out. Note: Some people label anything thrown as a shuriken. These ball bearings can’t be called shuriken, since they aren’t specifically or metaphorically “swords hidden in the hand.”

Blow Guns and Shuriken in a Martial-Arts Class?

So, you can imagine how I felt when I walked into martial arts class one night and everyone was practicing with blowguns — yes, honest-to-goodness blowguns.

I was jazzed. What fun. I had a great time “playing” with these slightly impractical weapons.

More Realistic Martial Arts

Now, it’s time to get real….

I realize that when I write, there are several different “audiences” digesting these articles:

Some are practical martial artists. They sincerely want to defend themselves, if the need arises, but they realize that most of the time, society functions without constantly “dumping on them” and forcing them to use their martial arts.

Other people reading online articles do so to feed their fantasies, so to speak. These are the guys who are planning on carrying an arsenal with them wherever they go — shuriken, knives, powder to blind the enemy, and other concealed “mishegas.” These folks imagine threats around every corner. And these are the guys who are the self-appointed protagonists of the world.

Finally, there are those who have a healthy respect for practical application, and really do need to use their martial skills regularly. These are our law enforcement officials, juvenile detention officers, and kindergarten teachers (just kidding).

Note: I am willing to bet that you’d see distinct differences in the kinds of weapons that each group would choose to carry. You could probably discover similarities of choice of weapon within each group, but when comparing and contrasting across factions, the “flavor” of weapon would vary.

Martial Arts — Facts Versus Fantasy

I want you to take a more realistic view of self defense, not for my sake, but for yours. If the devices mentioned in this article seem like your cup of “hot chocolate,” then we need to do a little debriefing:

It would be pretty difficult, if not down right impossible, to hit the back of someone’s neck with a marble-sized ball bearing and cause a loss of consciousness. Not very practical, wouldn’t you agree? (And the legal consequences, if you did succeed …)

Using a throwing star to distract a guard like the ninjas of the past? Are you serious? The most obvious absurdity of all of this is that if “I” were the guard and someone nicked my arm with a shuriken whizzing by, my first thought would be “someone is trying to distract me with a shuriken!” And I’d focus in on where … you get the idea.

Also, if you had a bunch of razor-sharp throwing stars in your pocket, you might inadvertently cut yourself.

The legal ramifications of all of this … from concealed weapons to excessive use of force. Mind boggling and more than a little bit scary.

Yes, I do believe it’s good to train with as many weapons as possible. The coordination benefits alone are a big plus. And you never know, you might, one day, have to use a weapon in a real self-defense emergency.

Still, there is a big difference between familiarity with a throwing star and carrying a bunch of them with you wherever you go.…

Martial Arts Self Defense Techniques – 2 Self Defense Techniques to Escape a Head Lock

August 21, 2019 Comments Off

A head lock is one of the most intimidating and most excruciating ways to be attacked. The attacker can apply enough force to quickly render a victim unconscious or break the neck. One needs to be able to escape a head lock very quickly. In this article we will discuss two self defense techniques to escape from a head lock.
Martial arts practitioners learn to escape a variety of holds and grabs. Oftentimes the more force that is applied to a technique the higher degree of success. Speed of implementation of the technique is also required. The longer an attacker is able to be in control the more a victim can be injured. Once released the victim should counter attack or flee.
One martial arts self-defense technique involves just the fingers. If the headlock is applied with the attacker’s right arm, the victim can raise their left arm up the back of the attacker until the face is located. Place two fingers under the assailant’s nose and pull back forcefully. There is a pressure point directly under the nose that when pulled in this way can cause intense pain. An alternative is to drive the fingers into the aggressor’s eyes.
Most headlocks leave the defender on one side of the attacker. A second martial arts self defense technique is to step in front of the attacker and strike them in any of the vulnerable parts of the body. Punches should be aimed at the solar plexus, diaphragm or groin. Foot kicks and knee kicks should be aimed at the legs, shins or knees of the assailant. The victim can use the heel of their foot to stomp the top of the attacker’s foot.…