Mixed Martial Arts – Day Eight
Posted on | November 24, 2008
Last Thursday we worked out a lot on the bleachers(The kind that are found around parks, or fields, that are only 6 or so rows high). Anyone who has been to a couple of my instructors training sessions quickly learns that the bleachers are one of his favorite work out tools. We do all sorts of push-ups up and down the bleachers, as well as along the sides of them.
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We stood along the side of the bleachers, starting at the lowest bleacher, and placing our left hand against it and our right hand on the next highest bleacher. Doing this made us a bit off balanced and worked out the different areas of muscles as we did push-ups in this stance. After we completed one set at that angle, we’d move up one row, and then continue. We did this till we did the whole side, then went over and went down the other side. The bleachers are also great for leg stretches and sit-ups. We would sit on the lowest row of the bleachers, facing the higher rows and lock our legs in place and then lean back. Our upper bodies would be free and not limited so, if we were able to to, we could lean all the way back where our head would touch the ground and then sit back up. We’d do this at a slow pace which makes it a decent deal more difficult, all while usually pounding on the different sides and areas of our stomach and chest. There are so many great exercises you can do on the bleachers. I suppose this is why my instructor loves them so much. 
Eventually, after warming up and practicing combo’s, we did something a little bit different than we usually do. Since there was four of us out there, we made two circles in the sand with about enough for two people to circle around each other, but barely. We practiced in pairs, having to keep inside the circle and not step out. There was very little room to make mistakes, but the fact that we were told we had to do push-ups every time we stepped out of the circle, kept us trying a hell of a lot harder not to mess up. I only had to do one set of push-ups because I happened to be listening to the instructor explaining something and stepped a bit out of the circle. Apparently that counts as well, so I quickly did them and got back in the circle. 
While in pairs inside the circle, we also worked on basic Wing Chun techniques/practice. The goal was simple, one person would attempt to block and the other would attempt to find a hole and get a fist through. We weren’t using speed nor strength, just sensitivity. In fact, we had to close our eyes and turn our heads to the side so that we got use to relying on working on sensitivity with our arms versus using our eye sight. One of the biggest problems I have that I’ve been really trying to work on is my tension. When doing forms of Wing Chun practice like that, when I start to attempt to focus, my arms suddenly tense up and I begin using muscle(which any Wing Chun practitioner knows is a horrible thing). If I don’t think and just let things flow, I can maintain my “looseness” for a while but I have a habit of getting tense at different points. Hopefully this won’t be a habit that takes long to break. This habit already really effects my arm muscles and energy noticeably.
I think the best thing for me right now is to continue practicing my Sil Nim Tao form, maybe even more frequently, when I’m not out at training.
Tags: bleachers > form > Sil Nim Tao > stomach > tension > Training
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