In the video below Ritchie Yip, head instructor of Infighting Martial Arts, delivers an absolute masterclass on the jab, the most important punch in boxing. The jab can be used offensively and defensively. The jab allows you to dictate the range and pace of a fight. It can be used to cut someone, tire them out, set up your KO punching blitz, or even allow you to enter into … [Read more...]
How to Pass the Guard When Your Opponent Can Kick You
If you're approaching someone who is flat on their back with their knees pulled in to their chest be very, very careful. It's a sign that the other guy could have some training and might be planning to kick your teeth down your throat as soon as you close the distance. This is a legit threat; many MMA fights have ended suddenly because of an upkick from the ground. And if … [Read more...]
I accidentally followed the advice of a mini-mall ninja master
I’m limping around right now because of a torn groin. It’s not serious; it’ll heal up, but it’s my own damn fault. You see, I had just walked into the dojo when someone asked me how much distance you can cover with a jumping front kick. “Show, don’t tell,” I responded and launched myself across the room into a front kick. It was a good demo, but as soon as I landed, … [Read more...]
Kicking from the Ground – How to Do It Properly!
Many self defense systems teach that if you get knocked down to the ground you should get into a defensive position on your side. From there you should then lash out at your opponent with sidekicks to keep him away. In this article and video I'll show how staying on your side when you're knocked down is mostly an outmoded technique and that there are much better options … [Read more...]
The Zombie Walk Drill for Improving Your Footwork in Striking
The Zombie Walk is a great warmup drill that'll sharpen your footwork, improve your ability to get angles on your opponent, and blend movement with striking. To do this drill your partner - the feeder - holds his hands forwards to simulate a fighting position. Then he walks towards you at a slow, zombie-like pace. You also start in a fighting position but then circle out … [Read more...]
A 1 Minute Burnout Drill for Aggression, Power and Stamina
Here's the world's simplest conditioning drill that I want you to try... Set a timer for one minute Unload on a heavy bag with punches as hard as you can Keep it super simple: just left-right-left-right-left-right Hit as hard as you can and as fast as you can, making every single punch a knockout shot Keep breathing and don't stop In theory, you could do … [Read more...]
Too Deadly for Boxing, MMA and BJJ: Illegal but Effective Combat Sport Techniques
Many people learn martial arts to learn how to handle themselves in a real fight. But many martial arts are sports and sports have rules while street fights don't. That means many things happen in fights that aren't allowed in certain martial arts. Although it started out as "no-holds-barred", mixed martial arts has rules today. Headbutts, groin strikes, eye pokes, biting … [Read more...]
The 4 Deceptions to Set Up Your Knockout Strike
If you want to knock people out then you've got to use deception, duplicity, and subterfuge to set those big fight-ending shots. In fact having good strategies to set up your attack can go a long way to compensate for many physical deficiencies. It's exactly what the famous world full contact Karate champion Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace used to say: “There’s always going to … [Read more...]
A Drill to Make Multiple Knee Strikes Powerful and Instinctive
The knee strike is one of the most powerful shots you can throw. A good knee to the groin, the torso, or the head can drop any attacker. But if one knee is good then more are better! The classic Muay Thai 'skip knee' attack involves you throwing multiple knee shots in quick succession until your opponent is incapacitated. It's a VERY effective attack but developing the … [Read more...]
How to Defend Against Ground and Pound
One of the central concepts of using the guard for self defense is to either keep your opponent very close or very far away. When he's very close it's hard for him to generate enough power for a knockout shot. And if he's very far away then his punches simply can't reach you. It's the middle ground that gets you killed. This is where punches reach their full KO power, … [Read more...]
Kime in Martial Arts is Mostly a Bad Idea…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpIynSBWj6A&feature=youtu.be The idea of 'Kime' is very widespread in Japanese martial arts like Karate, and is also found in Okinawan and Chinese Martial Arts. While the term can be translated as 'intent' or 'decision' the truth is that, most of the time, it's used to describe that robot-like freezing used all the time in kata and … [Read more...]
How Hard Should You Go In Sparring?
How hard should you go in sparring? That's a good question! At one end of the spectrum you have light, relaxed and friendly sparring. And at the other end you have fights to the death that would make Roman gladiators proud. I once asked a Judo coaches whether I should go light or hard in the sparring part of class, and his answer has stuck with me ever … [Read more...]
BJJ vs Boxing
A question came up on a recent Instagram Live Q&A I did about a streetfight video in which a 'boxer' beat up a 'jiu-jitsu guy'. This was a great entry point into a really interesting discussion about the street applicability of BJJ, the importance of cross training in today's martial arts environment, and specific drills BJJ guys should be doing if they want their art to … [Read more...]
How to Spar in Kickboxing for the First Time
I've watched a lot of beginners spar for the first time. Usually it takes only about 30 seconds for all thoughts of defense or strategy or finesse vanish and the exercise quickly devolves into two people trading giant haymakers. This is totally understandable - sparring is stressful especially if you're not used to it. But throwing heavy leather on your first time in the … [Read more...]
5 Mistakes Grapplers Make When Striking
If you’re a grapplers that wants to learn boxing or kickboxing then there are several very common mistakes that you’re probably going to make. This is because each style of fighting (grappling vs striking) trains you to use your body slightly differently which can set you up for failure in the other art Here's a video showing 5 common mistakes for grapplers when they start … [Read more...]