The following post was given to us by our friends at MarksTraining.com which is a great site to learn how to defend yourself when you are unarmed.

The video below is about how to get higher side kicks. The side kick is very popular amongst

Side Kick Training

karate and teakwondo practitioners. Muay thai, kickboxers and MMA fighters however tend not to use it as much, simply because they do not practise it as much as other kicks like the roundhouse and front kick.

The side kick requires an extensive amount of training in order to make it effective. It is very hard to get used to kicking in a sideways direction and one must be able to adapt and use it if they wish to become an all round martial artist.

The main reasons why the side kick is hard and why some people have trouble with it is simply because they do not have the required strength and flexibility in there legs. One may be able to do the splits and may be able to squat some very heavy weight, but with the side kick, one must combine flexibility and strength. This is where specific strength and flexibility exercises come into play.

The following video is a really good one which addresses these problem areas and ways in which there can be improved. The person demonstrating is called Paul Zaichik and he teaches the ElasticSteel of Athletic Conditioning method and seems to know what he is talking about.

Please check out the whole video and try and use the teaching methods to help you improve your own strength and flexibility even if you have no wish of using the side kick. The valuable physical advantages this type of training can offer will be good for you in the long run. Enjoy!

Marks

www.markstraining.com

Fighting and Training Methods for Unarmed Martial Artists

The LINE system is a collection of close-combat skills and techniques developed by Ron Donvito before he joined the US Marine Corps in 1978. The standardized system contains grappling and striking techniques that resemble many other martial arts and are nearly all designed to kill an enemy. Donvito has summed up its ethos as: “Get them on the ground, stamp on their head.”

Confidence and aggressiveness

Between 1989 and 1998 the US Marine Corps used LINE system to train 750,000 military personnel. It instilled both confidence and aggression, and taught hand-to-hand, close-quarter skills. Soldiers are tested on the techniques when they are very tired. After 4-6 hours of taxing aerobic and anaerobic work in full battle dress, the soldiers must prove they can demonstrate the techniques quickly, powerfully, and effectively. All LINE system techniques are tested in poor visibility, too—such as at night or in smoke-filled environments.

Kokondo

Kokondo is a self-defense system that emphasizes body dynamics and fast, powerful techniques. The term kokondo describes the martial arts of kondo karate and its sister style, jukido jujutsu, developed earlier in 1959. Founder Paul Arel studied sanzyu ryu jujutsu and, while in Japan with the US Marines, jujutsu and karate.

Kokondo’s main philosophy comes from the “budo” code of the warrior, and ideals such as honor, justice, and loyalty are encouraged. Its practice derives from three key principles: focus on an opponent’s center line (an imaginary vertical line that divides the body in two) while throwing or striking; emphasize the circular-style movements commonly found in many Chinese systems when striking; and, most importantly, try to create an imbalance in an opponent before attempting a strike or a throw.

SCARS

Sometimes known as “Special Combat Agression Reactionary System,” the SCARS combat system was created by Jerry Peterson, using his training in san soo kung fu and his combat experiences in the late 1960s during the Vietnam War. The main aspect of the system, which differentiates it from other similar systems, is that it claims to have no blocking moves—although it does include attacking maneuvers that resemble blocks. The underlying principle behind every contact is that the practitioner should attempt to cause injury to his opponent.

Expensive training

Although a highly streamlined course, the expensive nature of SCARS training has led to criticism from the martial-arts community.

It is arguably the most expensive self-defense training program available. Due to an excellent marketing campaign, it is estimated that, in 1993 when training tapes were promoted in national magazines in the US, the system grossed one million dollars in the first nine months of trading. Taught on 40-hour retreat programs, it is clearly a successful enterprise.

<a href=”http://www.themmazone.com”>The MMA Zone</a>

I feel that physiology is the most important “ology” an athlete in mixed martial arts can know. I am talking about human physiology, which can be defined as the science of the functions of the human body and the chemical and physical processes involved. The better you understand how the body works, the better able you are going to be to train and feed it.

There are six building blocks of life. Simply put, if you are missing any of these components from your diet, you are going to die. This is stated not to scare you, but to help you remember. These six building blocks are water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. A basic understanding of the functions, sources, and appropriate amounts of each of these building blocks is essential for optimal performance. Without this knowledge, there is no basis for how you choose to eat.

Mixed Martial Arts and Water

The body is 70 percent water. Your muscles are 80 percent water. You can go without food for some time without dying, but only a few days without water.

As an athlete, you are constantly losing water to the environment, and it must be replaced. Most athletes do not do this at the correct rate, and most are, therefore, in a chronic state of mild dehydration. This has a huge effect on performance and injury. Being dehydrated just 2—3 percent can produce adverse affects in performanc

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Our simple analogy is, picture a muscle cell of your body as a grape. Then picture a dehydrated muscle cell as a raisin. Now ask yourself which one you would like to use when you are staring at your opponent across the ring.

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Drink nothing but water for a week, and drink a lot of it. Try to drink an ounce for every pound that you weigh, and see how you feel.

The MMA Zone

The Pro Leg Stretcher click on image for details.

Before a warrior can attack his workout, he must first prepare his body. The MMA warrior warm-up prepares the body for the demanding activities within MMA like; striking, wrestling, and grappling. This warm-up increases a fighter’s core temperature, which is important for performance. With a higher temperature in the core and in the specific muscles about to be used, the warrior is ensured better performance during the workout with less chance of injury. By using the warm-up exercises through a complete range of motion, the warrior’s dynamic flexibility is increased and his joints are nourished and strengthened by the compressive forces passed through them. By using the dynamic version of stretching, the neuromuscular system is prepared to perform; and by performing the exercises over and over correctly, the athlete also improves his coordination and ability to process new skills.

Remember, training is not just about getting tired. A true warrior must be more concerned with the quality of work than with its quantity and intensity. A warrior does not sacrifice technique for speed when beginning to perform this warm-up. Begin the warm-up at a higher quality and lower intensity level. As your skill improves, you can increase the intensity to match the quality of your exercise. You must monitor your technique and address any errors. You must also make sure not to perform a task better on one side versus another. These unilateral mistakes must be addressed to ensure that the warrior will reach maximum athletic potential. The warrior must also remember that joint position affects specific muscle recruitment.

High Kicks equals Flexibility

Training in MMA is an all-year process. Stay consistent with the warm-up year-round so that the exercises become truly a warm-up and not a complete workout in themselves. When an MMA warrior applies this type of consistency to his training, that will be a time of progress and, most important, the warrior will use this warm-up to better understand himself.

The MMA Zone

If you could be a car, what kind of car would you like to be? Most people say

What food is best for MMA?

Ferrari or Lamborghini, but neither of them is the fastest, most specialized car for performance that you could be.  I would like you to think of a dragster. You know, one of those cars with the giant back tires, the engine that is just pouring out of the front of the machine, and the spoiler that makes sure it keeps this beast from being airborne. That is specialized for speed and power.

When you think of that car, you realize that not only does it need fuel, but this fuel must be in the right amounts and have the right components, and it is very different from what other cars need. This is the philosophy behind performance nutrition. You are a specialized athlete that needs the right amounts and components of fuel for optimum performance.

One of the simplest areas to start with when describing how much to eat in your MMA training is thermodynamics. Quite simply, if you take in more than you expend, you will gain weight. If you burn off more than you take in, you will lose weight. Period.

Food for training

At this point, you should be asking yourself, “Well, then how many calories do I need a day?” If you cannot answer this question, everything else that you do with your diet is really guesswork. You could be eating all the right things, but if you take in too much or too little of it, you may not be getting the results you are after.

A simple formula in the MMA Diet that we like to use to help determine how many calories you need for a nontraining day is 11-14 multiplied times body weight, in pounds. So, if you weigh 200 pounds, your caloric intake should range from 2,200 to 2,800 calories per day. Depending on how active your job is and how intense your martial arts work out that day, you can also add more calories. For instance, if you are active at work, add another 30 percent more calories to this number. In addition to this, add the estimated amount of calories burned during your MMA training to get the training-day expenditure.

Monitor your weight as you go along, and if you are losing or gaining too much weight, alter the calories 100 at a time to find your optimal range for what you are looking to do. This should lead the athlete to the understanding that thermodynamics is about knowing how much fuel to put into the machine every day.

The MMA Zone

The MMA Zone