There's no substitute for real

Haganah instructor Dave had me doing a cool drill on Saturday morning. With time to kill between combat fitness class and FIGHT class, Dave asked,  "Want to do some knife sparring?"   Don't ever pass up the chance to train one-on-one with someone who knows their shit.

We got two rubber knives and started sparring in the boxing ring. Time after time Dave was connecting to my shoulder with a slow straight stab (while sparring, we use the shoulder as a target in place of the neck for safety purposes). OK, so he got a lethal stab in. I won't let that happen again, I thought to myself. And then, in another minute he got me with the same move. In hindsight I understand what he was doing. Dave was able to read my attack and change the rhythm of his own attack to score the lethal stab. Every time he got me with the straight stab it was after I had done an angle 1 attack (slashing from my right shoulder to my left hip. When my knife was at the bottom of the slash, in came Dave's blade. It was not a fast attack, just a well thought out and properly executed stab that was able to penetrate because he read my rhythm.

After Dave "killed" me several times, he changed up the scenario to incorporate open hand knife defense. We would start knife sparring, but on Dave's command I had to drop my knife and deal with his knife attack while unarmed. This added a nice element of realism to the training. It would not be unusual to drop a knife during a knife fight and have to continue to deal with the attack.

With any training, the more realistic you can make it the harder it becomes to perform. I know the various open hand knife defenses. I can recite each step. I can visualize every move. I can perform every move .... that is, until the situation approaches real. Once the situation becomes stressful and pseudo-real, my  intellectual understanding of the techniques does me no good. My reactions must be based on muscle memory and impulse, there's really no time for thinking.  This is a critical lesson I'm really starting to appreciate.

Like a real knife attack would be, once I dropped my knife and had to switch from attack to open hand defense, I had no clue as to what angle Dave would be attacking from and I had to execute my defense in real time. This meant that my grip used to seize his arm was sometimes wrong - not using positive and negative grip, and on an angle two attack, once I seized the arm I did not transition it properly so I ended up in the incorrect point of reference (I was behind him instead of being squared up in front of him). There were also moments when I realized I did something wrong and I hesitated. While it's good to realize a mistake, it's bad to hesitate. No matter what position you find yourself in, you just have to work with what you have.

It was only 30 minutes that I got to spend training with Dave, but those 30 minutes taught me more than weeks of regular training could.

Bloody knuckles indicate bad form

This aluminum knife is what we use
for training. There is no edge or point.
For sparring we use flexible rubber knives.

I've been dedicating time this week to some knife work, practicing box drills on a heavy bag. Practicing the slash-stab on a heavy bag helps me determine my ideal range and it's also helping me adhere to proper form when performing the slash. Bloody knuckles on my knife hand were a clear indicator that my slashing needs serious improvement. Bloody knuckles tell me that my wrist is not bent properly and I'm not turning my shoulder properly, so instead of the blade making contact with the bag, I'm first contacting the bag with my knuckles and only making contact with the blade when I'm almost at the end of the slashing motion. This is no good. What's the point of fighting with a knife if the knife isn't contacting the target? The blade should be doing all the work, not my knuckles. I would have never discovered this poor form if I wasn't practicing on the bag.


Boxing Class
We're reviewing basics this weeks: proper punching form and proper power blocking for head and body shots. I'm good on punching form but  my power blocks need some help. The key to power blocking is to block with the same side of your body as your opponent is using. So if my opponent throws a left jab, I'm blocking it with my right hand. He throws a right, I block with my left. The reasons for matching your block to your opponent's punch are simple: if I block a left jab with my left hand I'm twisting my body to the point where I'm turning my head to the side and losing visual contact of my opponent. It also screws up my distribution of weight on my legs. A power block requires your weight to be shifted to the leg - if I power block with my left hand, my weight should shift to my left leg. This becomes more important when countering your opponents punches. If I power block with my left hand I should be immediately counter punching with that left hand. The thinking is that you don't want your opponent occupying your weapons (your fists) with his punches.

My major malfunction with power blocking is using the wrong hand to block with. My blocking form is OK, but I'm still using my left hand to block a left punch. This needs practice, mental awareness and the ability to read my opponent's punches.

Working the heavy bags during knife fighting

This week’s I.P.T.T (Israeli Professional Tactical Training) knife class (July 7) was small, only three students, so we got some very personal attention and the chance to work on movement with the heavy bags. And movement, whether it’s in boxing, kick boxing, knife fighting or pillow fighting, is the key to being good and not getting hurt. So after we did our basic box drills - slashing and stabbing from different points of entry - we moved over to the heavy bags and worked on how to shadow our opponent, closing distance and attacking on angles. While movement in knife fighting is similar to that in boxing – rear foot propels the body forward, never cross your legs, etc. –  the difference is that your stance is reversed. In boxing, since I’m right handed I stand with my left foot out front, but in knife fighting, since I’m right handed and holding the knife in my right hand, I stand with my right foot forward.

This was the first time we got to use the heavy bags in knife class and I’m glad we had the chance. We practiced taking two steps toward the bag with our second step moving us offline and to the right of the bag and then we would pivot in, slash and stab and then keep moving.

At the end of class we practiced a little bit on timing the entry of our attack by reading the rhythm of our opponent’s attack. Here’s how we did it: my partner would stab at me, I would blade my body (turn it sideways to create a small target in case my block fails) and block his stab by keeping my knife at a 90 degree angle to my wrist and driving the blade, just above the hilt, into his forearm. On my opponent’s second stab and after my block, I would immediately go on the attack by grasping the forearm of the hand my opponent’s knife was in, stepping in then slashing the arm and continuing the slash across the mid-section, stab to the ribs, push his arm away and slash the tendons behind the knee. This is a standard block and entry we practice all the time. However, since it was a small class, the instructor, Victor, a former Marine fighter pilot, added another move. Once you slash across the mid-section and stab to the mid-section, before pushing the opponent’s knife arm away and slashing behind the knee, since I already have a hold of my opponent’s arm, it’s a simple step to force the arm backwards exposing the armpit and driving the knife upward to slash the armpit and then slash the knee and pivot.

I know it's really hard to visualize this stuff unless you’ve done it before, but the armpit slash is a nice little addition to that attack. While I can sit here and write about how to do it, actually being able to do it properly still eludes me. To practice this, Victor suggested hanging a towel in a doorway and pretending that the towel is my opponent’s arm. I did this when I got home and it totally works.

Beach Burpees

I'm taking it pretty easy this week since I'm on vacation down in Cape May. I've been laying on the beach for about six hours each day, reading, floating in the ocean, stuffing my face with seafood and drinking about six pack of Victory lager a day, however, despite my week of leisure, this past Saturday morning just didn't seem right without some combat fitness.

The place I'm staying in is close enough to the beach that I could a throw a medicine ball and hit it,  so it was only natural to hit the sand for some beach burpees. I did a leisurely 1-mile barefoot run to an isolated part of the beach where signs warn you not to proceed any further. Beyond those signs is a live fire range used by the  Coast Guard.

Since sprints have become a regular fixture at Saturday classes, I couldn't resist sprinting on the wet sand. Then I did our basic stuff: squats, jumping jacks, push-ups, burpees ... all while facing the distant horizon where the Atlantic and the sky merge.

Despite the pleasant setting, doing this stuff on the sand adds a little bit of difficulty since it gives way beneath feet and hands, but the sand also temporarily kept the record of my workout in the burrows dug from my burpees and the divets cut by my sprints until the next high tide wiped it away.

When I was all done, dripping sweat and breathing hard, I only needed to take five steps before I was submerged in the cooling ocean waters.

I'll close out this blog post with a modified version of how we end each class: Heroes don't quit! - but on occassion they do go on vacation.

Happy B-Day Sir

We were warned that Wednesday's combat fitness class would be challenging. "You're gonna hate it," Mr. Stuart said to us at the end of class on Monday night and pretty much told us how bad it would suck and how hot it was going to be.

It was hot, but the air conditioning was on, it was mild in the gym and combat fitness, while it involved some tough sets, I don't considered it one of the hardest classes I've been through... at least not physically. However, it was tough psychologically. You see, at the beginning of class Mr. Stuart announced that it was his 53rd birthday and then, as is the case in every combat fitness class, he went on to out perform everyone, even 19 and 20 year olds who are in very good shape.

While that can be a bitter pill to swallow - seeing a man twice your age kick your ass - it offers hope to a guy like me who's 39. It offers hope because it says you don't have to get old if you don't want to. It says that fitness can be yours as long as you never stop. It says that even when the muscles and tendons and joints cause you pain and try to limit your performance, experience, will and sheer determination will defeat youth.

Action is faster than reaction

Last week's boxing class had us focussing on breaking our opponent's rythm. Letting your opponent build rhythm is bad. When your opponent builds rhythm you become the bass drum they're beating on.

The main drill we worked to break rhythm was jabbing our opponent the moment they reached their set line. Set line is the point at which your opponent can reach you with their weapons. Set line is different for everyone because it is dependent upon size and reach. The drill involved starting in no man's land. No man's land is where you cannot reach your opponent with kicks or punches and your opponent cannot reach you with kicks or punches. From no man's land we would step to our firing line. The firing line is the point where you are just out of punching distance, but one more step will get you to your set line and close enough to connect to your opponent. As soon as our opponent reached their set line, BLAMO, we would fire a  jab to break their rhythm and disrupt their plans.

This technique is cool because it's prempting the attack. You're not waiting to slip or sit, you're jamming up your opponent so that the attack never materializes. It's like being in a battle and letting your enemy's jet fighters taxi out of the hangers and while they're idling on the tarmac waiting for takeoff you fly by and straff them. Don't let them get off the ground and then rely on evasive maneuvers and chaff to avoid their rockets. Kill 'em before they ever take off, or jab 'em before they can throw a punch. Just like you have to let the jets come out of the hangers and into the open where they be can be seen before being destroyed, you have to let your opponent move closer to you and reach their set line before you can break their rhythm.

I really dig the idea of stiffling the attack instead of responding to the attack. It might sound dumb, but it was a revelation to me. It was one of those AHAH moments. I thought to myself, I don't have to wait until my opponent punches and then react. Matter of fact, I should never really be reacting to my opponent's moves unless I'm reacting offensively, like if they drop their guard and I can fire in a punch. My opponent should be reacting to my moves. Action is always faster than reaction.

The same thing applies to a slip. I dont' have to wait to see the punch coming and then decide to slip it. I am slow and not very good at slipping once the punch is on its way. But, if I see my opponent moving and getting ready to reach his set line, I could slip, step in and deliver some hooks to the body, or I could jab and then slip and step.

In my totally unprofessional opinion, I think it's important to note that while our intention is to break our opponent's rhythm with a jab, that moment doesn't exist in a bubble. Keep in my mind that the jab's job is to stabilize your opponent in order to land more punches. Always punch in combinations. Don't just jab and let them restart their attack. Jab, step in and land some body shots.

I thought I had the breaking rhythm thing down, and then in our next class Mr. Stuart turned that thinking on its head. He had us practicing moving from no man's land to our firing line, then our set line, but we were doing it with the intention of drawing our opponent's jab so that we could slip and step in to land hooks to the body.

This is getting into the chess aspect of boxing where you're thinking a few moves down the road to lure your opponent into a trap. It's way too advanced for me. I would just end up creating a trap for myself.

So, while it's good to break your opponent's rhythm by jabbing when they reach their set line, you could be walking into a trap. That said, it doesn't mean you don't jab to break the rhythm, it means you have to be aware of what might be coming at you once you jab.

Self destruction is reconstruction

Rare is the time when some part of my body doesn't hurt. My hips are sore just about every day and for the last week there's been a small spot on my left elbow that reacts dramatically from the slightest touch. The top of my right foot hurts, a sharp, sporadic pain right at the base of my toes. And my left quad has a knot, or a tear, or whatever goes wrong with a muscle being called on to do sprints at 8:40 on a Saturday morning.

Not working out, just giving up isn't an option. And really, it's only during class that the pains go away. When my body is moving, jumping, running, punching it doesn't hurt. It's sitting at my desk at work when my hips scream out to be stretched, or my elbow bangs into an open drawer.

So it becomes routine to use the foam roller after class, apply ice packs, wraps, drink ginger tea and for the most part just become accustomed to to constant, mild discomfort.

The exercise is the cause and the cure. I'm sore because I exercise and I feel better because I exercise.

There is a certain element of self-destruction to taking classes five days a week. But this self-destruction is more in line with reconstruction. In order to renovate an old house you must first strip it to the bones and go from there.