Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Martial Arts — TKDLouisville

BJJ Baltimore students never go into a competition not knowing what they plan to do in their match.  If you ever plan on competing in a Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition you need to have a gameplan of what you are going to do.   Your chances of winning become extremely small if you enter a competition without a gameplan, essentially making it a waste of time and money.   Building a simple Brazilian jiu-jitsu gameplan will create a foundation to later add to.   You just have to ask yourself a series of questions to know where to start. 

You’ll begin by making a note of all of your strengths and weaknesses.   It’s very important to identify your strength and weakness in the beginning so you’ll have a baseline to work from.   Your ability to pull guard could be a strength.   Another strength could be your power and you are able to be dominant from standing.   Recognizing your weaknesses are equally as vital as your strengths.   A weakness could include struggling with closed guard.   You could have difficulties keeping pressure on your opponent when you have them in side control or half guard. Whatever your weaknesses are you need to be able to address them accordingly.Instructors of MMA in MD have to really sit down and discipline the children to stick with the gameplan.

Once you have identified your strong and weak points you can start creating a gameplan.   It starts by identifying whether you want to be a top player or bottom player.   If you choose top then you need to have some good takedowns and judo moves that you can use against your opponent.   In practicing your takedowns and throws it is important to be able to do it at a speed you will use in competition.   If you choose bottom game then you need to figure out what guard you want to attack from.  After pulling guard you have to assume your position and begin working right away.   Whether your guard is half, spider or closed it won’t make a difference.   You just need to make sure that you get there quickly and work for your favorite sweeps and submissions from that position.   BJJ Baltimore students believe in the philosophy of ‘if you fail to plan, plan to fail’.

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 If a person participates in a mixed martial arts class, their upper body is great risk of getting injured, even though upper body injuries are very common to begin with.    A MMA fighter places a lot of stress on their muscles, ligaments, and bones.   It’s possible that injury may occur; however, in most cases they are minor strains that heal with time.   Fighters who get MMA training in MD get hurt all the time but they are educated in the various injuries that may occur and are prepared to deal with them.

Impingement syndrome makes it difficult to perform exercises that require the arms to be above the head for extended periods of time.   Exercises such as overhead presses, military presses, lat pulldown, and incline presses may aggravate this condition.   It is up to the person to replace exercises that involve this positioning with work outs that will not be aggravating.

Individuals with habitually dislocated shoulders are usually more susceptible to injury when their shoulders are in an abducted and externally rotated position, such as the starting position of a lat pulldown or behind-the-neck overhead press.   In most cases, the shoulder ligaments have been extended beyond their normal stretch range.   When the client places their shoulder in this position, the shoulder is more likely to “slip” forward and recreate the dislocation.  Maryland jujitsu students have to be careful with putting too much pressure on their shoulders because it can lead to serious injury.

Avoiding these positions is critical. You may want to “block” the full range of motion. For example, if you perform a bench press on a machine you can get a person to place a pin in the weight stack after the handle has been lifted up to a safe position. A second pin can then be used to set the desired weight. This will protect the shoulder from excessive abduction and external rotation. There are two related conditions called lateral epicondylitis and medial epicondylitis Both conditions are caused by inflexibility and abuse of your forearm muscles while starting new exercises. “Tennis elbow” is a common name for lateral epicondylitis. The pain is located at the elbow on the radial, or thumb side. Pain felt on the other side of the elbow is known as medial epicondylitis or in every day terms “Little League elbow”.   You should understand these conditions and implement appropriate flexibility exercises for these muscle groups. In addition, refrain from any activities that may aggravate the condition. Both conditions respond well to conservative treatment by medical professionals. Those injuries are rare to occur in MMA in MD, but fighters know getting that condition is possible.

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Instructors at Fitness Boot Camp Maryland for women believe more women need to understand the importance of leverage and how it applies to Brazilian jiu-jitsu.  We use leverage everyday to move an item easier.   We gain power by using leverage accordingly.  In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu you will use leverage in almost all positions.  

In a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match you start standing up and this is the perfect opportunity to use leverage to control your opponents movements.  The correct leverage allows you to push, pull or even move them from side to side.   When you use your leverage to move them you can set them up to perform a takedown or even a judo throw.    If you use leverage properly you can make your opponent feel light enough to perform an attack.   

You can use leverage to stand up in your opponent’s closed guard easier.   When you are in your opponent’s closed guard get your posture straight first.    Once you get your posture straight you can begin standing up by leaning to one side.     When you lean to the side it makes one of your feet lighter.    Stand with the lightest foot first then proceed to do your closed guard escape from there.    You have to make sure you are leaning to the right or left to stand up because leaning forward will make you susceptible to your opponent’s attacks.    Leverage is great for Women Self Defense Classes in Maryland because it teaches them how to use their weight against somebody.

Leverage is a powerful weapon to use.   People shouldn’t underestimate the importance of leverage because matches have been won and lost based on how much leverage one person had over the other.   Leverage is all about keeping your core tight throughout the movements.    This is one the best workouts for women because balance starts at the core which is why so many Baltimore fitness for women classes have started to stress this. You should be able to feel the moment you are off balance or whenever your opponent is off balance. When you can do that you’ll be amazed at how much easier everything will become.

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Maryland Jujitsu students are strong because they work out their antagonistic muscles.  The antagonistic muscles are the opposing muscles to the agonist muscles.   The antagonistic muscles are often neglected because people only work out the agonist muscle groups like the biceps, quadriceps, and chest.   Triceps are considered the minor muscle of the bicep.   It’s important to make sure that you treat the antagonistic muscles as equally as it’s agonist muscles.   Exercise will make your agonist muscles stronger.   The function of smaller muscles is to assist in the limbs coming back to their intended position.  

Work your antagonistic muscles to maximize your regiment for speed and efficiency.   Working antagonistic muscles back to back helps you squeeze more benefit out of a quick workout.   Muscles that are inactive need to be fully relaxed to allow for them to move.   Below are two exercises that you can do to exercise both your agonist and antagonistic muscles within the same movement.   Students who do Self Defense Classes in Maryland are strong because they added these exercises into their strength training routine.

Zercher squat:  The lower back, hamstrings and quads are exercised in the following.   You will need a bar and weights.  Make sure you use enough weight to do multiple repetitions.   You are going to place the bar in the crooks of your arms (use a bar pad or rolled-up towel for cushioning).   Stand shoulder-width apart; keep your knees slightly bent and your back straight.  You have to hold the bar tightly against your body. Perform a squat by lowering your legs till they are 90 degrees parallel to the ground from that position stand back up into the original position.        

Weighted situp:  The weighted situp will work out your abdominals. To perform this exercise you need a ball that is the size of basketball or a medicine ball. You’ll also need a weighted plate. Lie on your back with your knees bent on the ground.  Place the ball in-between your legs and hold the weighted plate on your chest. Perform a situp by slowly lifting your torso toward your knees. BJJ Baltimore students love this exercise because abdominal strength is important to their Brazilian jiu-jitsu training.

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BJJ Baltimore students know that dumbbells are a great piece of equipment.  Dumbbells just aren’t for biceps curls anymore.   The biceps curl is a great workout; however, there are so many different ways to use the dumbbells.    It’s unfortunate that many people don’t know how versatile the weights are.    There are so many different exercises that you do with them.   Most people who aren’t familiar with dumbbells think they can only workout their arms.   That is so far from the truth because you can get a complete total body strength training workout from dumbbells.    Dumbbells aren’t as expensive as the other exercise equipment on the market.  They are also durable and will last for years.     With enough dumbbells in different sizes you could easier turn your home into your own personal gym studio. 

Throughout this article will be a dumbbell routine that is great for anybody to do regardless skill level.   It doesn’t matter if you just want a basic routine or if you want something more advanced to have better results.   BJJ Baltimore instructors recommend that with any exercise routine you have to be clear on what your goals are.   You have to be clear on what your goals are before beginning.  Are you working out for basic strength and muscle building, fat loss, aggressive muscle building, or aggressive strength and muscle building. 

If your goals are basic strength and muscle building it is best to do one set of eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise.   Make sure you rest 1 minute between exercises.   If your goal is fat loss then do your dumbbell workout in circuit form.   To do them in a circuit fashion, do one set of eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise; repeat twice with little rest in-between exercises.   For the more aggressive strength and muscle building results do three to five sets of three to six repetitions of the first four exercises in the workouts, and one set of 10 to 12 repetitions of the others.   Make sure you take a 2 minute break in-between sets. 

The dumbbell pushup is a great chest and tricep exercise to do.  The basic way to do it is to get into pushup position with the hexagonal dumbbell in your hands.  Slowly lower your body to the ground, without touching the ground, pause for a second then push yourself back up.  The advanced variation is to do a T-pushup with the dumbbells.  You are going to do the same thing you did with dumbbell pushup, but on the way up you are going twist your upper body so that you can raise one of the dumbbells toward the ceiling.  Lower yourself then repeat.

 The dumbbell movement you can perform for your lower body is the squat.    Have your arms by your side with the dumbbells in your hand.   Stand shoulder width apart then slowly lower your legs till your thighs are parallel to the floor then stand straight back up.   The advanced variation to this move is to do the split jump squat.  With the dumbbells in your hand again stand with your feet staggered then slowly lower your legs.  When your thighs are parallel to the floor jump up into the air and switch the position of your feet (so the other foot will be in front).  You will land with your knees bent, from there you will quickly lower yourself till you knee is bent 90 degrees then repeat by jumping from that position. BJJ Baltimore students love how effective this training is.

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BJJ Baltimore schools get students asking them every day to be made into world champions.  Is one of your goals in life to be a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion?  The step first to making your dreams a reality is to act accordingly.  You have to act in order to make things happen, but you need to know what is meant by acting accordingly. What that means is to do all the steps and requirements to achieve your goal.  If you don’t plan everything out you’ll be wondering around making plenty of mistakes along the way. There is too much trial and error involved in not planning and that can take away from the time that you could have use to do something significant. 

Maryland jujitsu schools help their students understand the harsh reality involved with achieving the dream of becoming a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion. People may know from watching others that it is a tough road, but until you have actually walked the path you’ll never truly understand how tough it can be.  As the saying goes “Everbody wants to be a world champion, but nobody wants to put in the work to be a world champion.  The reason why the path to becoming a world champion is difficult is because it requires dedication, focus, willpower, sacrifice, and selfishness. 

You have to be willing to completely trust in your instructors when they say they know what is best for you.   If your coach tells you to run 5 miles everyday you need to run 5 miles everyday.  If they say you have to drill the same set of moves for one hour you better drill the same set of moves for one hour.   If your coach tells you there is a practice session on the weekend then you better be at that practice session. You told your coach that you want to be a world champion so you need to do what is required. The second you show them that you are not serious they will feel like they are wasting their time.  Maryland BJJ instructors get upset when students say one thing, but mean another. Don’t waste other people’s time if you are not willing to put in the work to achieve results. 

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BJJ Baltimore instructors know a really good saying, ‘losing is not the end of the world’ however the people who hate losing despise that saying.  Unfortunately for them, martial arts is one of those areas where you can’t have that winning is the only thing that matters type of mindset.   Having that kind of mindset will not allow you to grow and learn from your mistakes.   Let’s say you compete in the martial art Brazilian jiu-jitsu.   This martial art is very competitive because it takes a lot of hard work and dedication just to be good at.   So imagine putting all that hard work and dedication into competing and you end up losing.    It’s completely understandable if you feel upset or even furious; however there is always a silver lining, losing has the opportunity to make you better if you have the right mindset.   Try instilling that mindset in kids of childrens martial arts classes.

 When you win it feels amazing because everything that you did to prepare for the fight worked.    A lost has to used as a learning experience or else you’ll miss the opportunity to get better at jiu-jitsu.    Sometimes you learn more from losing than you do winning because when you lose you have to address the reasons why you lost.    You may think that your jiu-jitsu game is solid until you lose but you can easily locate the area you need to fix and fix it.     For example, your gameplan for the match is to pull open guard and play De La Riva because that is the position you’ve worked hard on and you feel comfortable with.   Now it’s your turn to fight, you pull guard and get in your De La Riva position according to plan; however, you weren’t anticipating your opponent being able to grab hold of your leg that was on their hip and them being able to drag it onto one side of their body for the easy guard pass. Your opponent was able to pin you down in side control but was unable to submit, sweep, or gain more points on you. 

Even though you lost you should be thankful because now you know what you need to correct.The thing about losing in martial arts is that once you’ve made the mistake you are extremely less likely to make it again.  Also if you end up fighting that same person again one day you’ll know you have improved.  BJJ Baltimore instructor makes sure their students well-rounded enough to play both and bottom.    

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Students who are new to muay thai kickboxing classes in MD will have problems getting their roundhouse kick form correct.  It is very rare to have a new unexperienced student start muay thai kickboxing with technical roundhouse kicks.   If there is a new student that is able to do that then they should consider themselves extremely fortunate because everybody else has drill a lot to get it correct.   Practicing on a heavy bag is not ideal for drilling and correcting your technique.  The heavy bag isn’t shaped like the body so it won’t help your technique when you are kicking an opponent. There is a muay thai kickboxing drill that you can do that will correct your roundhouse kick form over time.  This drill requires you to work with a partner. 

This is a 4-kick body combination drill that attacks their lower legs and body. Instructors of kickboxing classes in MD love this drill because you’ll be able to focus on getting your hip rotation, foot work, and windshield wiper arm motion correct.  To start this drill off you’ll stand in your muay thai kickboxing stance facing your partner.  Make sure you are the proper distance away from them.  To make sure you are the correct distance you will extend your jab hand till it touches their jab hand.  If you can touch them you can kick them.  The first kick is a rear leg roundhouse kick to the outside of their thigh.  Then they will kick you back the same way. Your second kick will be a rear leg roundhouse kick to their torso. Again they will return the same kick back to you. The third kick will be a lead leg kick to the inside of their front leg. Your partner will then kick the inside your leg. The final kick in the combination will be a lead leg kick to their body. Then your partner will return the final kick back to you. Repeat this drill with your partner for 3 round that are 3-minutes.

 You have to check your footwork when doing this drill.   Every kick that you throw should require you to step out with your hands protecting your face.  You should be kicking your partner with your shin.  When you throw your kicks you will move you arms in windshield wiper motion.  That motion will help your hips rotate over easier.  If you practice this drill three times a day or more you’ll be well on your way to have perfectly formed roundhouse kicks. Students who do muay thai kickboxing classes in MD practice this drill in class and at home often.

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BJJ Baltimore instructors love the techniques that you can do from closed guard especially taking the back.  You can take the more direct approach and just fight your hardest for that position or you can use a bit more finesse.   If you want to do the more direct way be aware that your opponent will fight their hardest to prevent it from happening.  That is a lot of energy that will be expended.    If you want to do the easier way you’ll end up outsmarting your opponent into a submission.   The reason why the attack will be easier is because they are defending the first submission attempt that they won’t notice the second submission attempt.   

In Brazilian jiu-jitsu you have to use your energy wisely because you don’t know if you can finish your opponent quickly or not.   That’s why this closed guard back take technique is so great to have in your arsenal.

To start off this technique put your opponent in your closed guard.   From there you want to try to break your opponent’s posture by sitting up and pulling them back down or by dragging them down with a lapel grip.   When they are worried about posture they can’t focus on what you plan on doing next.  

You now want to take your right hand and grab their right sleeve.   With your left hand you are going to grab the back of their triceps.   This grip will make it more difficult for your opponent to regain their posture.    Childrens martial arts classes like this technique because it’s easy for kids to perform.  With the grip on their arm you are going to drag it across your body toward your right arm till your arm is fully extended and their shoulder is touching your upper torso.  Use your left hand to reach across their back for a grip around their armpit to lock them down in the position.    From this position taking the back is pretty much guaranteed.  Now start to shrimp your butt out leaving one foot hook in between their legs.   Instead of doing what you normally think you will do like jump over to their back from there you are going to get a grip on their pants and drag there hip down to the ground in-between your legs.  Then you can get you other hooks in and go for your favorite attacks from the back.  BJJ Baltimore students like to finish off their opponents with the bow and arrow choke. 

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