Exhaustive training

Hey Tony,

Hope your keeping well mate.

I know a lot of people who train in self defence, or the arts who when they get tired, their technique no matter what it is, tends to then fall into the Inacurate category and they just throw techniques for the sake of throwing them and lose motivation.

I know you have covered motivation, and I know where I stand on being tired and training. I still train every shot and technique like it is the only chance I will get. and knowing that if I can throw this when tired or exhausted then all the better and try and keep my focus till the end of the training session to overcome this barrier..

We may not get the chance to defend ourself when fresh and as we know an incident can happen at any time no matter what time or what we have been doing.

How do you incorporate exhaustive training into your routine if at all, and what do you think the benefits of it are and should it be done regularly. in order to work through the feeling of not wanting to carry on. for mental focus and stamina also.

I hope this makes sense, it sounds a lot better in my head

warmest regards as always

Craig

Hi Craig,

Training through exhaustion is a regular occurrence at our FFMA classes. When we train to exhaustion it is done on the basis that you need to keep the body moving when it is tired using smooth movements that transfer your body weight whilst not using up too much energy (giving you time to recover). At the same time by moving you shift the lactic acid and get the oxygen moving in your system. We also focus on breathing to specifically calm the brain when we are at the point of exhaustion. Typically we have several routines that we use; here are just some of them:

Interval training; we will combine routines for the top half of the body with punching and routines for the legs with kicking. Our typical drill set is 8 minutes consisting of 16 x 30 second sets; we have many mixed routines but here is an example of one (1) of our combat fitness drills – you do each of the below for 30 seconds with no break and you must keep going at all times:

1. Window washer press ups
2. Jab and cross continually to your partners pads (we call it criss-cross punching)
3. Plyometric press ups using a kick shield
4. Criss-cross punches
5. Crocodile press ups
6. Criss-cross punches
7. Robot press ups
8. Criss-cross punches
9. Split squats
10. Left roundhouse kicks full non stop to your partners Thai Pads
11. Jumping Squats
12. Right roundhouse kicks full non stop to your partners Thai Pads
13. Grasshoppers
14. Left roundhouse kicks full non stop to your partners Thai Pads
15. Mountain climbers
16. Right roundhouse kicks full non stop to your partners Thai Pads

With the above training as you get tired you start over a period of time to be able to develop striking ability by using body movement with the least amount of energy. The principal is the same as driving a car that is low on fuel, if you want to get from A to B on low fuel you drive slowly, if you put your foot down hard on the gas you will stop in a short space of time.

We also use many other combat conditioning drills in timed sets combined with shadow sparring, or light sparring or Greco wrestling with a partner for a set time - we do this for anywhere between 3 to 8 minutes. Another drill is that we put you up against the wall wearing 16oz gloves (you can’t go backwards) and you get to defend your self against a line up of 3 opponents wearing 16 oz gloves each giving you a 30 second blitz full contact (with you having no rest for 3 to 4 minutes). We also do circle training.

The main principle of our exhaustion training it to develop the ability to keep moving, conserve energy and still strike with effective techniques while you are recovering. If you give it all you have and hit big then there is a risk you will miss big when you are fatigued. I realize that there are instances when it may be necessary to risk one last big shot if you have no energy left, however this is a decision that only you can make at a given moment for a given situation. The truth is that there is no exact science in fighting as anything can happen.

Regards,
Tony

I agree totally Tony.

Thanks for the input mate, very much appreciated.
Will have to get my backside in gear and come up for a session.

Thanks mate
Craig