Renaissance Boxing: September 2010

Calling all athletes and philosophers

Welcome to my site for skill-based martial arts cross-training. Follow my pursuit of elite boxing, muay thai, tae kwon do and karate skills through training methods used by professional athletes across diverse sports--football, baseball, basketball, hockey and others you would least expect to give you a unique edge. All areas of sports conditioning will be represented (and debated) here. Ultimately, the essential question will emerge: How can you best condition yourself if you were to eventually step into the ring?

The magic of the spinning hook kick

This is my favorite spinning kick, which I learned as a blue belt. It is often executed off the roundhouse kick in a combination. Focus on a target such as a double end bag or speed bag for height. Begin by pivoting on your left foot into a turn. At the same time, while keeping your right leg in line with the rest of your body, bend down as far as possible. This will give height to the kick. When you cannot bend any further, finish the 180 turn with the trademark lateral sweeping motion of your lower right leg. Then follow through with the next 180 into starting position. Speed is critical in the follow-through. This is not a good sparring move, but is a lot of fun. A dance instructor once spotted me in the Dartmouth gym and told me it was a work of art.

Mastering the 360 roundhouse kick

This advanced move and its Hollywood derivations will put glamour into your fighting techniques. It is seldom useful in the ring and is likely to render you vulnerable to a simple strike while you’re in mid-air, but practice this famous arial in the gym and you’ll be taken seriously. First, stand in an attacking stance with legs apart, left in front of right. Turn slightly to your right—your right elbow will be leading you into the spin. Then let your head and right elbow lead you into a 360 spin. Bring up your right leg into the air at the same time. In the air, kick with your left leg while your right leg descends. With enough practice you'll be hitting your focus target in mid-air.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD3ZfCh-Sq0

The famous combination crib sheet

The 3-cone drill

At the NFL combine, this is a respected test of pivoting, sudden weight shifts and rapid directional changes. The utility of this type of skill in kickboxing is unequivocal. Start in a three-point stance in front of three cones that are set up in an L shape, each cone separated by 5 yards. Sprint 5 yards to one cone, then back to the initial cone. Sprint back to the second cone, and run around it. Cut right to the third cone. Run a circle around the third cone from the inside to the outside and run around the second cone before returning to the first cone. Outside fighting styles will benefit the most from this type of agility.

Pyramid sprints are made for boxing

Pyramid intervals are a highly effective approach to improving explosive power, speed and conditioning. A variety of distances are presented in a progressive manner, with stamina tested in the middle intervals and power emphasized in the first and last. This is used by many boxing clubs for conditioning. Going longer than 800 meters at a time will not improve gains. Always keep your track intervals within the 3-minute round time. Some 40-50 meter sprints can be integrated if power is a boxer's weak spot. Yes, this does apply to me! I ran cross country in high school and if a boxing ring were 1 mile wide, I'd win. Alas, you have a small area to work in. Unless you're an inveterate infighter, speed up or get hit. Here is an example:

400 m warmup
Intervals with 1 minute rest:
4x100m
3x200m
2x400m
1x800m
2x400m
3x200m
4x100m
400 m recovery jog
stretching

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