Scott Sonnon: Born to Fail - Made to Succeed

Peeling Back the Layers of Striking

One of my best friends, and most trusted confidants, has been with me since CST Alpha. And he and I share more than just physical culture, we share a strong martial heritage. When you see, Brandon, you know intuitively that he has “it” - that ephemeral virtue that defies description which only those who can carry the mantle of responsibility emanate.

Over the years of evolution of RMAX into the “think tank” it is - FlowFighting® has blossomed into a multi-disciplinary warehouse of skills, all within a very specific training paradigm called the Three Dimensional Performance Pyramid.

Brandon’s wide font of knowledge, deep development of talent, and personal accountability for leading from the front compelled me to reconsider the organization of FlowFighting®, and its need for someone to take it where I cannot. My international responsibilities with our various global initatives demand too much of my consolidated focus, and FlowFighting® should not suffer neglect.

I have stepped back as Director of FlowFighting® and with the unanimous support of the RMAX faculty, appoint Brandon Jones as successor to our system. I shall remain active as an advisor, present at events and participatory in design elements. But Brandon is taking the lead now.

Please join me in congratulating one of my best friends, as one of our leaders chooses to become even more personally responsible for our continued growth individually and collectively.

Here’s an example contributed by RMAX Faculty Coach and newly crowned Director of FlowFighting® Division of RMAX International, Brandon Jones:

“Striking, like any other “range” of combat has subtle nuances and details that are largely missed by the majority. It’s not that people want to put out questionable or incorrect information, it’s just that there’s a lot out there and there’s a depth to it that most people don’t want or need to go to. Many fighters have had great careers either by following the instructions of great coaches or by “natural ability” allowing them to do well IN SPITE of rather than BECAUSE of their training.

When these great athletes retire from competition and enter into the realm of coaching, the respect they EARNED as a fighter and athlete is given to them in their new role as a coach. Sometimes it’s warranted and other times….. well, not so much.

In this day where MMA is at a peak, too many fighters coming from a respectable grappling background believe, incorrectly, that they can just sail into a boxing gym and learn in a few months of training what has taken others years of focused and disciplined training and experience. Just like with grappling, there are deeper and deeper levels of sophistication that only come with solid coaching, training and time.

Recently, a member of the forum asked a question regarding the efficiency of the “vertical fist”, the “screwing fist”, and the advantages and disadvantages of standing “squared up” to your opponent. I thought I’d take time and address these concepts a little deeper.

The Vertical Fist

The “vertical fist” is a tool that shows up in virtually every martial art. It is a useful tool and has a place in purpose. In short…it WORKS. However, like every tool, it is only the correct tool if it works seamlessly with the specific situation at hand. In a fight, the situation at hand varies consistently and at the drop of a hat.

If we’re going to look at the benefits or negatives of the “vertical fist” we first have to get past the specific weapon.

A punch (or any kind of strike for that matter) is simply an expression of force. What makes it successful is the result of what happens when it makes contact. Among many, some could be:

• Distraction
• Damage
• Determining range
• and more than a few other results that would be/could be beneficial.

What makes the punch efficient is different. Efficiency in a strike is determined not only be the end result in terms of contact, but in how effortlessly defense can be maintained throughout the duration of time needed to hit the target. This is where many fighters and coaches miss the forest for the trees.

In any good strike, defense must be maintained throughout. From the first initiation of power from the waist to the point of contact, the less time you are open, the more efficient the punch. The more difficult you are to hit, the better your chances of coming out on top in the confrontation.

Mechanically speaking, the power initiates from the hips and waist, is rooted through the rear leg, brought back up through the hips and explosively up through the shoulder. The arm and hand can now “reach out and touch someone”. The arms play an infinitesimal role. They are only the means of delivery, nothing more.

With all that in mind, we can now look at a “vertical fist”. The vertical fist has an advantage over the horizontal fist only when looked at in the context of the more elongated horizontal fist of many traditional martial arts. It is, in that case, faster. The horizontal fist used in modern day boxing and in some traditional martial arts doesn’t apply here since there is no chamber. It is, in essence, a “vertical fist” with a stinger on the end. That stinger is the turning over of the fist at the very last minute which enhances the chance for cutting and increases power through the extra force generated from the turning among other things.

The Screwing Fist - Casting

Now this same “turning” is used in the “screwing fist”. This type of strike is one of the most misunderstood things in martial arts. When you first learn it you have to see the full motion in terms of what the body is doing and how it’s doing it. Then, as your understanding deepens and your movement sophisticates that motion gets smaller and smaller until, eventually, it becomes almost an “invisible” motion. In other words – you can no longer see the “screwing” aspect of the body, arm and hand. The same action happens with much less overt movement. Unfortunately, people get caught up and stuck in the first viewing of the movement and believe that the big loops and circles are the goal instead of a training method to get to the goal.

You could see this problem in many people who purchased the Fisticuffs series from RMAX as well as the Shock Ability series. Many people misunderstood that what was presented was a method of developing attributes rather than skills. They thought, incorrectly that the methods presented were techniques to be applied rather than tools to help them improve. This happens still with many DVDs produced by others. The publishers of the DVDs want to present the user with good information and usable methods but a lot is lost in translation. A great tool for improvement is taken as a skill rather than an attribute to be developed and techniques or ideas that the publisher hoped to get across are lost in the process and warped. It’s a negative of an otherwise very positive training tool.

Hopefully, this clip from the HARDWORK seminar will help:

http://www.rmaxinternational.com/images/casting.wmv

Squaring Up

Now, when it comes to the idea of “squaring up” I don’t have anything good to say. Squaring up is not only something that isn’t helpful in the generation of power or speed, but getting your opponent to “square up” with you is by and large the GOAL when fighting. It increases your target profile which equates to you not being able to adopt as successful a defense as you could otherwise.

To be efficient in your defense, it has to be effortless. Your relaxed posture must be your defensive posture and you should have to do precious little, if anything with your hands and arms in order to protect yourself. When you learn to do this correctly, all movement is generated from the waist and the arms and hands come along for the ride. You are better protected and can more easily be intelligently offensive.

When your body turns to accept the incoming strike of an opponent, that turn simultaneously winds, coils, and roots your body for the strike. Your “counter” than becomes a natural and powerful result of your opponent’s punch. That winding, in turn sets you up to deliver your next blow and so on…and so on…and so on. It’s a constant dance of coiling and uncoiling, expanding and contracting. Defense and offense merge into one.

Any time you move you change your target profile. A good fighter is looking for the holes. If you know where your holes are and at what point, you have a pretty good idea of where your opponent is going and this gives you an edge… a pretty big edge in most cases.

On a small scale it’s like covering up your face completely and leaving your belly exposed. An opponent isn’t going to hit your arms when he can fire off a shot to your exposed area, so you have a pretty good idea of where he’s going. While this is a really, REALLY simplified example, this concept applies to every position you should ever be in - whether throwing a punch or approaching your opponent or moving away from your opponent. All the time and always.

When you’re able to use your target profile to your advantage, you are beginning to be efficient in your striking.

While there are many different approaches to teaching striking, it’s important to remember that a good strike is more than just hitting hard or fast. The hardest and fastest puncher in the world can and will miss and when they do if they forget about or don’t understand the target profile they leave, then they can talk about how hard they punch or how fast they are from the hospital bed.

Consistency of performance in striking is only possible by understanding and training the many layers.”

Congratulations to Brandon and his new Directorship!

Flow Thyself™,