Foam Weapon Sparring at the Beach

Recently, I've been taking advantage of the gorgeous Vancouver summers by going to the beach and sparring with foam-covered weapons. I haven't done much bokken (Japanese sword) or escrima (Filipino stick) training, but when I was in high school and university I did competitive fencing for about 7 years, at one point achieving the rank of 26th in Canada in women's foil and being on University of Ottawa's women's sabre team, which took first place the year I was involved. Lucky for me, much of the skills from fencing translate over to bokken and escrima sparring.

Anyway, without going into a massive amount of technical detail, my sparring partner and I had tons of fun trading blows with these foam bokken and foam escrima I bought from Century. We were able to spar realistically without hurting each other too badly. We did get a few bruises, particularly across the hands and knuckles, but nothing crippling. They're a great way to practice distance and timing and they're waaaaaay more fun than tossing a frisbee or bumping a volleyball, as long as you don't mind the odd slack-jawed gawker. I can't wait for my foam bos to arrive. :)

How to Do Shrimping Drills and Why

Shrimping was originally introduced in Japan where it was known as "ebi aruki" or in English, shrimp walking. Judo and Jiu-jitsu schools use it to develop the lateral hip movement that is used to escape from many holds on the ground. The hands are also used in conjunction with the hips to simulate pushing an attacker away. The video below demonstrates this drill very well.



With all the core body that is used to move the hips, shrimping is also great for strengthening the abs. My coach often has me doing this drill for my MMA training. I personally like drills that develop both skills and strength simultaneously.

Is 500 Squats Too Many?

It isn't according to my MMA coach. Last night, Mark had me do an intensive leg workout including: 500 squats, 5 minutes of stepping up and down from the ring, 5 minutes of shrimp walking (aka- shrimping), 5 minutes of pummeling drills, 3 minutes of leg lunges, 3 minutes of calf raises, and 2 3-minute rounds of kicks on the heavy bags.

Last fall, when I first started doing MMA training, half this amount would have had a similar effect on my body. It seems my body is capable of handling quite a bit more than it used to. I won't lie to you though. My legs are pretty wobbly and sore today, but I do like knowing that I'm capable of this amount of conditioning.

In theory, this will help keep me from tiring in the octagon when I do finally enter it. My coach says late August early September, but you never know with these things. He's trying to get me a good match-up for my first fight.

How to Help Out Without Hindering

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Dehydration = Decreased Performance

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More Throwing in MMA

In my style of Jiu-jitsu, we do more throwing than is practiced in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. While it can take awhile to develop the skill and timing to execute throws effectively, I think throwing is a very worthwhile ability to develop for MMA.

Check out some of the masterful throws that were executed at the 2007 World Judo Championships:



Throwing can be a very effective way to take an opponent to the ground while keeping in an ever-so-important dominant position. Not only that, it makes for very exciting fights! Who wouldn't like to see some of these Judo throws worked into MMA more often?

How to Use a Speed Bag Properly

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