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Save Your Face in Sparring and Competiton!

Over the years I’ve done a lot of shadow boxing. Actually I think I’ve done a little too much of it. I recall a time when I would set the oven timer for 30 minutes every morning and every night so that I could work on all of my newest techniques over and over again while shadowboxing. Needless to say after a while I could no longer lift my arms up and out to my sides without feeling excruciating pain pulse through my shoulders and biceps.  That was a painful lesson about over doing things.

Anyways, I want to share my one of my favourite shadowboxing drills. Before I do, let’s look at how you will benefit from doing it regularly.

First off it will help you get hit in the head way less!

If that’s not enough of a reason to start implementing this drill, then I say it will also help you land more strikes on your opponent and majorly increase the damage you inflict because the poor guy won’t even see the strikes coming.

Lastly this drill will make you frustrating to face in training or competition. You’ll look slicker, smoother and more experienced inside the cage or ring which is a nice bonus that may even draw you a few extra fans over the years.

What’s the drill you ask?

It’s a shadowboxing drill that incorporates the use of a set of mirrors –which many kickboxing and boxing gyms have– to improve your head movement skills.

Here’s how it works.

Plant yourself directly in front of the mirrors, body facing them, at a distance of two to three feet. Assume a fighting stance and adjust your position so that from your perspective your nose is directly in line with one of the cracks or seams that marks where one mirror ends and the next mirror starts. Be sure that you’re in your full fighting stance when you line everything up.

Next, begin shadowboxing as your normally would but keep your lower body completely still. Instead of moving your feet focusing on moving your upper body so that your nose moves on and off of the line you marked using the mirrors in front of you. Slip to the left, slip to the right, roll under a punch or two and after every evasive manoeuvre allow your nose to return to the place in which it started. Once there, move your head again…and again…and again.

I suggest doing a few rounds without any punching, strictly focusing on moving your head. Once you feel comfortable in doing that begin to add some simple punches. If your nose is off to the right side of your mark, fire back with a straight right hand. If it’s off to the left, counter attack with a killer left hook. Remember to maintain your high rate of head movement as it’s easy to get so wrapped up in punching again that you head movement starts to lessen.

Now you’re ready for the full drill. Start the timer to begin a round. Begin moving your head often, keeping your motion fluid and relaxed. Start unleashing punching combinations into your imaginary opponent’s face and body, each set of punches originating from the position that your evasive movements brought you too. Be sure to throw some punches from the normal vertical standing position but always move your head immediately after ending a flurry and then continue on with the drill. In the midst of all this action, maintain solid technical striking detail in your movements by keeping your hands up high, and by turning your hips when you punch plus all of the other things your instructor has taught you in training.

Do this drill often and you’ll find yourself moving your head more while working the heavy bag, while hitting the hand mitts and most importantly while sparring. What’s the end result? You’ll get hit less, land more solid shots of your own and look pretty slick in the process.

Have fun with it!

Here’s an example of how not to move your head!

and here’s a technique from a Head Movement workshop that I taught:

To pick up the Full 31 Video Head Movement video workshop which covers proper slipping, rolling, counter punching and more visit HERE.

This Sunday, March 14^th, I’ll  be teaching a Submission Wrestling (no-gi) workshop at Joslin’s MMA. I’m excited about this one as it will focus on “Sneaky Attacks”.

Come on out to learn some of my most sneaky submissions and techniques including 3 ways to tap your opponent out in less than 3 seconds! Always fun to do I must say.

The workshop is being held at Joslin’s MMA (436 Concessions Street, Hamilton) from 1pm-3pm on Sunday, March 14, 2010. Come a little early, warm-up on your own and we’ll jump right into 2 solid hours of technical practice.

Perfect for students of all levels, this workshop will leave your training partners shocked and surprised next time you roll with them.

It’s going to be a fun one to teach!

To sign up or for info on this and many other of my workshops CLICK HERE

See you on the mats!

I really share it all in this 31 Video workshop! That’s right 31 videos including techniques, drills, and secret details.

Learn the techniques that will make you the one doing the hitting, not the guy that’s getting hit.

In this series your learn:

- Tire and frustrate your opponent by making him miss while slipping and rolling away from every one of his punches.

- Smash your opponent with combinations that are specific to each evasive head movement.

- Hit way harder with less effort through the use of key technical details.

You can purchase the online video series and begin causing major problems for your sparring partners and opponents by CLICKING HERE.

Live BJJ, MMA, Boxing, Kickboxing and Submission Wrestling Technique plus a lot more!

It’ll all be available on a new page I’ve just added to the site and  I’m really excited about it. The page is called Jeff Joslin MMA live! and can be accessed through the Learn-MMA menu tab.

Look for future live streams from my home and workplace at Joslin’s Mixed Martial Arts. Content will include live group classes, private lessons, live special events, a weekly MMA show and anything else that will help provide MMA technique, info and entertainment for those in search of it.

Check out the page by CLICKING HERE.

Today was my first day back teaching self defense/martial arts at the high schools in Hamilton, Ontario. It’s always great fun to work with the students and they seem to enjoy changing up their regular routine for a few days.

I started the high school self defense program almost 14 years ago after one of my teachers asked me, a few years after graduating, to come back and teach martial arts to a few of his classes. Over time the program has evolved a lot and now I’m pretty busy running it all.

I have a few hours off now before teaching an MMA class at Joslin’s MMA tonight…

Just getting ready to teach the 2nd workshop of the 22 planned for this year at Joslin’s MMA. Today we’re going to be working on one of my favourite aspects of boxing; Avoiding punches with proper head movement and firing back with the most effective combos while the opponent is vulnerable.

Should be fun a fun lesson to teach.

Anyways, I was up most of the night editing the videos from the X-Guard workshop that I taught last weekend. All 14 videos are now up online in the new PREMIUM CONTENT SHOP.

In addition to all the free basic instructional techniques already offered on the site, the Premium content shop will be the place to find intermediate and advanced level technique plus many new specialized video training series that will help you improve your game fast.

You can view a sample video from the X-Guard workshop on the Premium Content Shop page by clicking HERE. Enjoy!

With the UFC’s recent signing of champion boxer James Toney there has been a lot of talk in the media.

I think it’s great to have a highly accomplished boxer within the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and I’m really looking forward to seeing him go at it in the Octagon. His success will depend on who he gets matched up with first.

From a style standpoint the ideal fighter for him to fight would be someone who likes to strike but possesses less than stellar take down skills. With some basic wrestling training, consisting mostly of drilling defensive movements, I believe Toney can prove to be very dangerous against any fighter who fits that description. Give him a fighter with solid take down ability  and I think he loses the fight sometime in the first round.

It’s all going to come down to what the UFC’s plans are with James Toney. Do they want to see him dominated in his first fight to send a message to the boxing world ? Or do they want to help him climb the ranks and build on his already substantial star status,  by giving him fights in which he has an average to good chance of winning?

Anyone in particular you think would be a good match up for James Toney?

In this video you’ll see a simple but effective way to counter the opponent’s jab.

Play Now

=> Want more free videos? …CLICK HERE.

A large group of students came out to the X-Guard workshop I taught yesterday afternoon. I’m looking forward to hear how the techniques worked out for them in their rolling this week. It’s always nice to get a few hours of drilling techniques and then putting it to use in sparring as soon as possible.

I ended up covering nearly everything I had hoped to at the workshop.

1. Basic X-guard entry and control
2. Two sweeps from the x-guard
3. Two x-guard entries from standing
5. Two x-guard entries from the guard
5. One mount escape into the x-guard
6. One back escape into the x-guard
7. One way to pass the x-guard

Next workshop will be taking place this coming Sunday. I’ll be focusing on one of my favourite aspects of striking, head movement. Learn how to slip and evade punches and fire back with some devastating combinations.

For more info on the head movement workshop or other upcoming workshops CLICK HERE.

We had a great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class today, well actually 2 classes, one beginner and one advanced.

In the morning I had the beginners work on some mount escapes and taught them how to avoid and defend the “cheap shot” type of punch that commonly happens in the street, at school, at the bar and many other places.

For the advanced class we focused on back control and how to properly choke your opponent when they are in a spot from which  they can easily defend the common collar chokes.

After the technique drilling we rolled for five 8 minute rounds alternating partners for each.

Man, I’ve been having so much fun rolling with the gi as much as I am. I really don’t think no-gi grappling compares to training with the gi. In no-gi training I find myself always doing the same set of movements and although they work well for me, it feels way too repetitive from time to time.

Gi grappling, on the other hand allows me to play so many different styles of jiu-jitsu; I use the spider guard, the x-guard, butterfly guard and several other styles of guard on the bottom and when it comes to passing the guard and submitting my opponent the options are almost endless.

A lot of fans watch the sport of  MMA fighting, where fighters do not wear the gi and come to the conclusion that wearing one is not an important part of training. I strongly disagree! It’s been my experience in Gi competitions and in training while wearing that traditional Japanese garment over many years that has honed my ground fighting skill set.

Also, an extremely high percentage of the ground fighters that have been successful in both MMA and submission wrestling –where fighters only wear short and a tshirt/rashguard– come from a traditional grappling background having done most of their training with their gis on.

Up next…An X-guard workshop tomorrow afternoon…with the gi.