How good can solo training really make you?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2022
- How good can a martial artist get training only by themselves? How important is it to have training partners? Is it necessary to spar? Can you intelligently defend yourself in a fight without the context of experience of repeated live training?
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Ramsey Dewey is an MMA coach, referee, and fight commentator, and occasional musician based in Shanghai, China.
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I've been training solo for years. It's like homework, you learn more from class, but you can improve by also doing more at home.
Good analogy
I can learn way more at home than at class. Not a good analogy because fighting requires interactive feedback, raw knowledge is detached from any physical interaction on the other hand.
I get what you're trying to say, but I don't think it works 🤔
@@alexrosario423 think you missed the point. Solo home training is supplemental. It's like Ramsey Dewey said in the video, "Solo training has an important place for every martial artist. A huge percent of your training will be by yourself. Strength and conditioning, bag work, shadowboxing and shadow wrestling. . ." But it requires time in the gym, training and sparring to gain any benefits from solo training.
@@thomasfaverty6788 I didn't miss the point, you missed the one I made. You can learn so much at home that you can make the class itself supplemental or even obsolete if you're really trying to understand a subject, but you can't achieve the same in something that inherently relies on active resistance from another person to fully comprehend.
That being said, you can actually learn more on your own time if you have enough of it than a martial arts class, but you will always need an active resisting opponent to learn how to implement the knowledge the way that's it's meant to be implemented, especially when you consider the wide variety of body types that exist that shift the formula in subtle ways. Not everyone can do this, because some people don't have as much intuitive control of their movements and need a resisting opponent to point out the flaws in their technique. There's just way more at play.
@@alexrosario423I think Max Holloway proved your point. He said he spent a lot of time light sparring and shadow boxing. His point is sometimes you need time alone without the pressure of the real fight so your brain can be free to get creative. And while training with partners is absolutely necessary it also constrains the fighters to a certain fighting style in response to the partners fighting style. GSP is also another example. He spent a lot of time watching videos to develop his own theory.
I personally started my journey in striking solo learning from youtube and trying it at the heavy bag, shadow boxing, and occasionally training with friends. I worked on this for about 3-4 years casually alongside weightlifting, understanding that I was not really getting the best experience but nonetheless trying to be honestly self-critical and trying to improve my technique.
When I went to an actual MMA gym, the result of this was that I has some shadow of the techiques that the instructors could work with and touch up, and I could keep up with drills and pad work. However, when it came to sparring, I was completely lost - I had no understanding of the timing, spacing, rhythm, or defensive techniques needed to make fighting work.
All in all, I don't regret doing that solo training, but I definitely could have made progress a lot faster if I had just found an MMA gym and bit the bullet.
Agree trained for several months doing the same for boxing but once I sparred all of it went out the window. Context is everything
Interesting what you guys r saying etc
I did the opposite I went to classes for 20 years
Then started doing solo training
I sparred every week that I trained for 20 years
In total I sparred for 22 years
You learn a lot from solo training.. especially in the beginning
Finding out how your own body works
Going to classes is not always the key
Depends on what the class focuses on
May not cater for the needs of all individuals
Keep it up guys
You r inspirational 🔥🔥🔥🔥😊
First, you train your body to be able to do all movements correctly - muscle memory of form, physical conditioning (for stamina/strength/balance), and fluidity between one movement and the next (and the next). This is solo training... or at least, it is solo training under the eye of a coach/trainer/partner who makes sure your form is correct. Solo training is actually fantastic if you know the correct form and are just keeping/getting your body in shape.
Once you have your body ready, then you NEED a target that fights back. This again can be a coach/trainer/partner, but you need resistance. You need a moving target. You need the target to throw an uppercut, to shove you around, to grab at you to restrict your movements. And then once you've trained this way... you need to actually fight. There is a massive difference between being able to land a straight right hand and being able to land a straight right hand that puts someone on their back - the last thing you ever want is to train your body to do movements that lack effectiveness. You need muscle memory of actually doing the thing, at 100% speed and power, against a target that is trying to stop you or make you miss.
Keep in mind that your body only has so much actual fighting in it - you can land blows and do throws for decades, but after taking so many blows/throws your body will be done. Train safely. At 100%, but safely within that context.
"then"? It's too late then! There's worse but it's pointlessly late.
Bro what should i do . I dont have access to gym and my friends dont fight
@@IMPROVEMENTHUB468 Fighting is not everything in life. Unless you really want to be a champion, there is no benefit in fighting (there are also drawbacks like a risk of long-term injury). Street fighting is way too different from sparring anyway, and you should avoid street fighting without trainer supervision 100% as well.
So if your plan is to become a champion, then go look for a gym. Fighting without proper supervision might give you a *very small* chance of earning big money, but a *very big* change of injuring yourself badly and suffering in the old age. If your plan is to improve yourself for general living, don't bother "fighting" much. Nobody stops you from practicing the moves at home and improving your stamina and endurance, and don't listen to people who say that it's pointless. They have too big of an ego they built on their fighting achievements and cannot see that there are other ways in life. You don't have to limit yourself with boxing either. Try karate, aikido, akroyoga, dancing bachata, anything you can do in a gym or at home alone, just don't fall into the trap of trying to mold yourself to someone else's standards.
A good clip with lots of good points, I think.
I train boxing 3 to 4 times a week - and I am in my late forties (very late forties) now. The opportunity to spar and/or get training partners are getting more and more scarce. At the same time - of course - I like to keep on boxing. To keep up fighting the decay of my body from age etc.
I'm (way) past my prime, but after training boxing for more than 30 years, I feel more and more comfortable acknowledging the fact that more and more of my boxing training and excercise is going to be in solitude.
Keep up the good work, dear master Dewey. You rock.
Why do you have less opportunities brother? I regularly spar with a guy in our gym who’s 6’ 3” 264lbs...and 59 y.o. He’s also boxing on our home show in December 🙏💪🔥
@@paulpelle3046 He said he's been boxing for over 30 years. He's had more than enough wear and tear at this point if he completed in the past. Let the man be
@@paulpelle3046 He probably means finding sparring partners of the roughly same fitness- and experience level.
Once we reach a certain age, being significantly older than our sparring partners often becomes a handicap in terms of being able to keep up with their pace and athletic ability. Injuries and impingements we've picked up over the years also start to add up.
While sparring isn't a competition, it just feels different sparring someone we're on a somewhat equal footing with and sparring with someone who'd absolutely destroy us with their advantages in athleticism and/or technique.
It's better than doing absolutely nothing, but I agree you'll learn more with sparring and an instructor
Only if you're doing it right. If you train alone, without a clue what you're doing, you might accidentally commit bad habits to muscle memory. Practice only *makes* perfect if the practice *is* perfect.
@@IncredibleMD A man told me one time, "practice makes permanent", not perfect. In other words, if you practice wrong, it'll be very hard to undo how you trained it in the first place.
@@arielrichardson9436 Exactly.
First we visualize it mentally preparing to do it physically .. Synchronizing the 2 is why we practice alone.. If you don't know how to do this, then it will take longer to get better at what it is you train for.
I couldn't ever imagine solo training. I did start training with a friend and we had no idea what we were doing. after a few months and about 300h of mat time. we went to local gym's MMA beginner class and we realized that we ain't that shit after all. consistent feedback and explaining everything that you are landing and why you are landing after sparring helps the training partner to adapt to your style and eventually both have to evolve their arsenal. Never keep secrets from your training partner if you want to truly get better xd
💯 💯 💯
I personally cannot push myself at all unless I’m in the gym, surrounded by 20-30 other members. The aura is motivating too.
We ALWAYS partner up also. That constant feedback loop is vital to keep techniques honest...especially things like guard (tapping partner on head if they keep dropping their guard, or don’t bring hand back to temple etc)
There’s also the camaraderie and being part of a like-minded gym family. Honestly, it’s utterly indispensable. 🙏
PS. I’m back training tonight after 3 WEEKS off with a nasty chest infection. Kinda dreading how awful my cardio is gonna be! 😩😁✌️
I'm the same way. I can motivate myself to do hard exercise for maybe 15 minutes if I'm alone before getting bored, but I can train for hours in the gym.
@@connorperrett9559 absolutely brother 👏🔥🙏
Saaaaame. I never get join groups a such as I'd like these days, so solo stuff has to suplement. That means I have to forge the will to push hard when I'm alone. It's time to forge that will. To be able to summon oneself to the brink without competition only means it'd be that much stronger when competition did arrive.
@@gonzo5648 interesting!
That’s great if you have that much self-discipline dude. 👏
...I’d highly recommend filming yourself hitting the bag though mate, because I guarantee you’ll be making technical errors which you won’t necessarily ‘feel’ at the time. ✌️
@@paulpelle3046 yeah, it's definitely not something I have right now. It's something I know I'd have to make.
There's a story Freddy Roach said once on Georges St-Pierre: "I was teaching him him him th-th-this punch, and the next day he cccame back to me an e was doing the punch perfectly, so I says to him "You went home and practiced that punch all night didn't you?" and he says "How'd you know!" an I says cause that's what Pacquiao always did."
Determined Diligence!!
Some videos did really help me get better, especially precision striking channel
solo training is probably like playing chess against yourself, the better you are, the more useful it is
From what I've taken: get out there and train with others, then drill the moves yourself in your free time. Reps are valuable, but feedback and experience is essential. 💪
Short and sweet! I don't mind when you go on for longer though. But this specific subject has been discussed quite a bit already, so it was nice to have a bullet point version.
I tried this. I developed shitty technique but had better cardio than other beginners who never trained
Well that's good you improved cardio but I've heard it takes longer to unlearn bad technique than if you had learned it correctly the first time
Yeah thankfully that was months ago, I train on a real gym and have a good coach now and we're working on it
You shoulda practiced your technique more. You CAN get good punching & kicking form (for example) with practice at home, and it's not THAT hard to unlearn bad technique. I've found most martial artists to be fairly stupid and/or stubborn people, which would explain why they can't train the basics on their own & why it takes forever for a coach to correct their mistakes.
You'll teach them a basic armbar from guard, "Okay, now windshield-wipe your left foot across my shoulder, then throw your right leg over my head & pull down on my arm."
And they'll say, "Okay!! First I do this, then I do this, then I do this... awww, I made a mistake!"
They think "do this and this..." is an effective memorization of "left leg over shoulder, right leg over head". How can someone that naive be expected to learn on their own? To them, martial arts are summed up as "this, that & the other".
@King Woosh I agree but I'm using a vr boxing game at home before i get some gear to practice irl and i think I got good ass form for punches the vr is good for simulating sparring.
Just started training at Tristar in Montreal, it's my 3rd week in and to be truly honest self training for years helped me in the sense that I have a decent foundation at least. Following the drills isn't as overwhelming as I thought they would be (so far) and in sparring I've done fairly decent against guys with minimal experience. However I can clearly see what a difference it would have made had I just gone to train in a gym years ago. Witnessing a room full of different levels of fighters it's quite easy to realize you don't stand a chance against guys that train routinely and who take classes on the regular.
Thank you Sir Ramsey, you are one of many who inspired me to push myself and get out there and train.
Side note, I'm only half decent with the striking, my first roll in BJJ I got absolutely manhandled by a dude with just 6 months training, humbling experience I think alot of people need to go through.
Well, thanks for posting it.
its insane how cool you are
That was a cheeky elbow you mixed in on the speed bag there 😎
Mr. Dewey, mostly of the times you have the wisdom of a dad, and sometimes the raw commentaries of an older brother.
Stay in there and train..... this time! 👍
It polishes your basics and builds up your cardio
During peak covid years I got into mma training. At home. With heavy bag, shadowboxing, and double end bag. Once I joined a gym, I quickly realized that I did not fight with a long guard, I was flinching… I needed to keep my hands closer to my head until I figured out some REAL movements that WORK. I found out I couldn’t time a straight punch for the love of me. My jab was the only punch that had developed enough to use. After over a year of training at a gym, I can tap out fellas heavier than me, I’m hard to hit, and I hit back. Granted I’m not the craziest fighter, I still have so much to learn, but comparing the progress of solo training and training in a gym, it’s absurd to choose solo over group training. If you can make group training happen one way or another, you really aught to go with that. I recently had to quit my mma gym cuz of schedule disputes with my schooling. So I’m starting an mma club at my university. And there are already 30 members! People love to train for free, who woulda thought!! 😅
Thank´s for sharing this video, we all like to go to an academy or dojo but the pandemia put ourselves to the test.
I believe this can be overcome by videoing yourself band being brutally honest, and watching other fighters and training against whatever they are doing top down.
Not everyone has hundreds of dollars to blow on a gym.
Very good for muscle memory that reacts without having to think it out first; all masters did it to keep others from knowing their every move in a fight !...
Thank you, sir.
Speaking from a lot of experience, after I gained about two years of training in Karate, I made it to brown belt. Then my family took me out of it and I think it was to focus more on school. Then for years I trained by myself via TH-cam. At first it was Fight Tips by Shane, and some videos of Kung Fu from Jake Mace. The latter helped as a thought exercise more than anything while Fight Tips helped with my fighting skills and technique.
After two years of that, I went back to my old school and was able to toy around with the other brown belts there and it took a black belt who trained longer than me to give me a decent challenge. After that, a few more years of training myself because I couldn't and still can't afford a gym membership. Now I don't have the time, but I am working as an assistant instructor at a Taekwondo school, so I can work on a few things.
The biggest issue with self training is that it can only take you so far before you hit a wall that can only be breached by training with others to work on your weaknesses. I have made a few improvements by sparring with a couple friends here and there who can exploit my weaknesses and they have helped me a lot.
That is what I have learned from my experience of over 10 years of training, most of which is self training.
My teacher lives in Malaysia, I live in California. I travel to learn from him, but then I come home and train alone. Last year I joined a muay thai/mma gym for sparring partners, and it was excellent.
I took private lessons when I started TKD, then I joined the USC TKD club and gained a lot of knowledge and experience for the two years that I trained there while also training privately at the dojang with Master Park. During COVID it was impossible to train with others and ever since then I've trained alone because I've not been successful in finding and keeping training partners. I don't like or use social media; best probably would be to post flyers asking to be contacted by someone serious.
This can be the difference of what makes you a champion. You can't be with someone training always, but you can always train and think alone. Processing the game and strategy
If your goal is to be a Champion, or to reach the highest level possible, as I believe ANY Martial Artist who understands the fundamentals will strive to achieve, never giving less than your best, yes. You absolutely have to train with a partner and ideally with as many people as possible, as they each will teach you different lessons.
Some lessons, however, only take time and self-reflection to learn and cannot be rushed, but usually everything will be learned much faster or only by training with others.
@@christiangauthier727 didn't say you shouldn't train with a partner. I'm saying you should basically be thinking and doing what you can even when you're not working with one.
@@realjaytruth I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough. My comment was about saying that I totally agree with everything you said, while just expanding a bit on the topic.
Of course, personal/solo training is an integral part of a Martial Artist's journey, and I even said that some lessons cannot be learned with partners. Some basic, fundamental concepts take time, maturity and lots of introspection to fully grasp.
When I have been forced to stop training for years due to injuries and illness, I noticed that I kept gaining deeper insights into fundamental concepts, even though I wasn't training (solo or with partners).
There's also all the progress that can only be achieved by training solo, as you need to work on improving a ton of details to fine-tune your techniques. Techniques that, however, need to be tested with a partner to gain further insight and learn how you need to further readjust your personal training.
@@christiangauthier727 I definitely agree, sorry!
Damn Ramsey with da swole patrol!
I am taking my solo training more seriously soon, in a more consistent and systematic way. It is important to perfect techniques as long as its not the only training you do. Its an essential component of training.
Thanks for all your content since the pandemic! I'd been solo training and sparring with a friend, but You and Gabriel Varga inspired me to start training under an experienced kickboxing coach (5-time national champion in Georgia), although we're working through some language barrier.
My question was about how to take care of the shoulders and elbows as an older guy (40) with previous injuries. I feel comfortable going all out for 5 rounds on the heavy bag when I'm doing lots of hooks, overhands and uppercuts, but last session I worked exclusively on the straight punches and my shoulders and elbows are feeling it. I think it's mostly from the torque of twisting while keeping the shoulder positioned to defend the jaw. The more my coach approves of my technique, the more I feel it. I wonder if you've ever run into similar issues and whether it's an inherently stressful technique I might need to modify or use in moderation given my history, a technical mistake on my part that my coach might not understand how to communicate, or just the normal discomfort of rehab that will fade in time.
If it makes any difference, my coach is a 2-knuckle striker but gave me the nod for 3-knuckle striking when I demonstrated my iron hand on the concrete wall, most of my formal training being Wing Chun. Didn't want to derail the main question, but I figured it's relevant. Maybe it'd be better to use 2-knuckle for the straights in my case, but I can't see the difference.
Many thanks!
Technical drilling + light sparring are the number one ways to improve in my opinion. The bulk of solo training time can be used to improve attributes: strength, endurance, flexibility, etc.
I agree that solo training lacks many necessary elements and doesn't makeup for training with a variety of partners. Solo training, when done correctly, is far greater than no training.
Coming from karate, I would say that this is where most of us failed. Thinking kata is the end all, be all, and is sufficient, when in reality, it's just one method of training. Sparring is essential. And I agree with your statement about visualization. How can you picture what you are doing if you haven't actually done it? How can you interprete bunkai accurately if you have never sparred? Nice, short and sweet video!
I’ve often times train at home if I’ve not got enough time to make it to the gym, and closer to when I first started I don’t think it did much looking back, but now I’ve been training for 3 years and this year it seems to be drastically accelerating how much I’m learning. I’m not that great yet even after that time, but I do at least understand angles, timing, distance etc, from training with others, and that might be the prerequisite level you have to be to benefit from training alone, otherwise you don’t actually know how to accurately visualise what you’re training for.
The amount of convenience that training solo and at home brings is more than enough to outweigh the benefits of training with others when you need to accommodate their availability, schedules, and level of energy. Of course, given the foundation that you have already had a decent amount of experience in training and sparring with others before.
Solo training for me is more for reinforcing what I know and internalizing the macro movements with some details, but no substitute for training with others
I'm a busy student myself and don't have enough time to go to the gym sparring although I would loved to. With just an hour a day I can now workout with the combination of technical muaythai stuff with just my mma gloves my father has, some dumbbells and rings for strength and conditioning. Things really get boring for a while but I would love to have some partner drills or in a gym environment someday where I can test my skills with just researching videos on internet and my background in taekwondo and FMA. Cheers!🤗
Solo training is sharpening
This made me emotional...
Ever since actively training in a competitive martial art (bjj), and gaining the baseline context of experience, I've learned more from 1 year of solo training than I've learned in my whole life.
Competing has taught me how skillfully a competitor plays, and how hard a competitor works.
With every roll on the mat my visualization skills get better, and my raw hunger for resistance training grows.
Not sure how you trained BJJ solo? you really need a partner for positioning etc. but if it worked for you that is awesome, I love when people find a way, no matter what!
@@joediffy The way I look at it, solo technique training is like homework.
My system is
1: Learn where my body goes with the help of a partner
2: practice it on my own without a partner (in the air)
3: practice it with a partner again
4: pull it off on friends
5: pull it off in the gym
I use my solo training time to learn how to do basic body movements and become more fluid in them. That's one of the reasons why I enjoy animal movements and yoga so much
I always train alone now. Cause i just left my home town and my old gym for about a year ago, so im just finding a new gym to train with other dudes..
I think the more experience i have been got from rolling and sparring my expectation of how a technic would work out live got more and more realistic. Therefore nowadays i can watch a youtube video, break it down and practice a technic at home, and hit it on a person who dosen't expect it. I can but it dosen't work out well all the times. Sometimes you need to ask your coach what is the key detail you missed out.
Also doing shadow wrestling helps me to be more fluent and instictive.
But, it only works if i roll every week. If you don't roll you will be rusty and you need time to get yourself together. And you will struggling to do what you have alredy done.
So the best thing i done while I couldn't train that actually translated to me being a better grappler is working on my flexibility. And dead lifting. Wich is the number one passing skill in my opinion.
So in summary the best you can do when you can't train in a combat sport facility is to listen to Ramsey Dewey.
It true depends on each person’s ability, you’d be very surprised. But always good to have a gym membership
Same can be said about how good can I get by just sparring, just going to class, just bag training, solo training should be part of a balance breakfast or training regime.
My biggest mistake in shadowboxing is that I was hitting way too soft, particularly jabs. I would've never discovered that if it wasn't for sparring, I learnt that quick after my jabs just got ignored.
Hello Ramsey! Great video as always! I would like to ask your opinion on Japanese Shoot Boxing if you have any experience or knowledge about it. All I know is that it includes punches, kicks, knees, elbows, throws and standing submissions
Never know what you can do until you try. When I lift and train I compete with myself and I lift and self motivate. Self reliance is a dying thing. We need to bring it back.
For practicing the techniques, its great, perfect practice makes perfect, theory side of it
Do need someone there to apply them for practical spplication
TH-cam is my dojo, da streets is my ocean and I am a mackerel!
I watched this video when if was first uploaded and now that I've had time to think about it i have come to the realization that the problem with training alone is the same problem i had with learning a language in school. You're learning a language but never having a conversation. You can say it, read it, write it but you can't speak it because you never had that verbal sparring match
The way I see it is if you know the proper mechanics for each technique and you practice them on your own, it will be much easier for you when you join a class because you'll already know most of the basics on some of the techniques being taught. All depends on how you practice as well as how effective your practice is. I mostly train solo and I make sure to do proper research on techniques and their purposes, how to properly execute them as well as read books on self defense, so when I join a class I'm way ahead of my classmates in terms of knowledge and cardio
hey coach, I have a question for you.
I have started training a friend that has no knowledge or experience fighting and I've come by some difficulties in trying to teach him the basic techniques. for example, when going over the low kick and explaining the mechanics of it he conceptually gets it, but physically cant put all of it together. like he gets that he need to open his hips but nontheless he can only seem to kick with the inside if the shin.
also he cant get the fluidity needed for boxing combos.
any tips on how I should address those errors to help him improve? maybe specific fluidity drill or an exercise to get the low kick right. Thanks, love the content!
Gym is far away and sparring partners are nonexistent. The only classes I get are the occassional boxing classss... I'm going to have to stick to solo training and studying.
Sparring was definitely a game changer
Through competition can we discover ourselves.
Now, where have I heard that before?
this is really interesting - my instructor figured out alot of stuff on his own (so he says) and he absolutely stomped on me. i was 26 at the time and a 6-0 amateur boxer, so im not a world champ but not a novice either
but he was 54 and everything i did got shut down
can you please do a video on how to better apply techniques that you’ve learned in sparring? my technique in drills is good but in sparring i have trouble executing
I’ve been meaning to make an updated version of this video for all kinds of sparring, but the principles shown here with BJJ and boxing hold true: th-cam.com/video/gqXE39U3ucE/w-d-xo.html
@@RamseyDewey thanks!
@@RamseyDewey can u pls react to this video ..... This is vdo from an mma gym
th-cam.com/video/rUFGhrFT3H4/w-d-xo.html
You can get pretty good with solo training but I think guidance from a coach and other students is eventually essential
I will not lie, you can get strength, If you count weight lifting, stretching doing cardio, you can get resistance, yes you may need a coach and spare to be a prizefighter, a professional prizefighter but, If you don't have anything else, and you need to start to be healthy, to be more active, to give that first step, or simply to lift your spirit and keep you going, to release stress, will help you at least to lose some extra pounds and get moving. So I think is not that bad, in the worse years of my life, when I had to work as an auxiliary mortician after my father got a stroke, those training hours from 4 am to 8 am kept me sane.
You can certainly build up the movement aspects of striking by yourself ( especially fitness, footwork and punching with power) but timing and distancing requires a partner - I think in its earlier stages solo training can give a false sense of accomplishment that can come crashing down when you start training again with a live opponent ("Man, I always land terrific punches on the bag, how come I can't hit my opponent?"). Its also tough to learn grappling skills alone.
But, in the final analysis, I'd say it's still a useful component of a training programme, just as long as it isn't the entirety of your programme.
So, still worth
Oh you really need both solo and with a partner. Sometimes you need to be by yourself so you can work on what you need to.
But I firmly believe that you're missing out if you stick with strictly partners or solo training.
One solo training drill that cannot be overstated is shin conditioning. I have been practicing the Tong Po method for the past several days. Once this cast comes off Tony Ferguson himself will bow down to my shins.
Unfortunately I don't have good partners to practice with, so most of my training was always solo, it's a really sad but also mindful experience, only thing that exists at that moment is your training. (I'm not considering to find another gym because of the friends I've had for years)
"You won't t know untill you know "
Yo Ramsey, I have a question: how can I get better at countering punches such as straight punches, hook punches, and uppercuts? Most just seem to go too fast and I can't react to them in time, and then sometimes I end up blinking instead of doing anything useful. I'm having an especially hard time countering jabs since they just seem to go too fast and land before I can actually do anything like a slip, duck, pull (lean back), or parry. A little help? Thanks in advance!
First my take on all of this is having a training partner is great especially if you want to compete. However, if just doing this for fitness meaning fun, and get in shape training on your own there is nothing wrong with it. As for your question, use a double end bag. It will greatly improve your reflexes and timing. I am nearly 50 now and I stopped sparring a few years ago. Even when I did never went super hard. However, I am very difficult to hit. Using the double end bag improved my head and foot movement so much It is very hard for people to land. If you don't have a double end the Cobra bag is a good second. It is very similar. The only thing I don't like and just my personal opinion is the spring always comes back same spot.
Thankfully I've never had to go to a gym to learn how to fight. TH-cam and sparring my brothers and friends was enough. I even train some of my friends. Been watching mma since childhood and been sparring my brothers since little. As an adult now, most would assume I have formal training. When in reality its youtube vids, fight breakdowns, film study and sparring. That alone got me where I am now. I fight like adesanya/omalley being they were the main people i studied when I decided to find a particular style. Watching nate diaz as a kid is why I started training. My style is now far from his. Basically, what im saying is that there are ways to learn to fight outside of the gym. Ultimately the gym is the best option of course. Im looking foward to hitting a gym and being able to say "I have never been trained or to a gym before" to see their faces because I truly don't move like it. I spar enough to understand timing, range, footwork, open stance footwork and fighting strategies, I've taught myself southpaw this year so now I stance switch like butter. Sometimes I forget what stance I'm in as I'm fighting or shadowboxing. Just let's me know its becoming as fluid as my orthodox. If you have a love for something and you're dedicated to doing it as correctly as possible, you can teach yourself through simply sparring and online videos from CREDIBLE SOURCES. I only use fight tips, Gabriel Varga and bazooka Joe. They have helped me tremendously in my self teaching journey. I was already doing enough but they really break down proper form and all that. Im truly grateful for youtube being able to teach me mma being I was never put in classes as a kid.
I agree with you, you don't have to be part of a gym to learn how to fight, I learned how to fight through family members. Most people in my family where fighters and trained martial artist back in the day and still are, I didn't have to pay for a gym because I had family members that taught me privately. I've done Karate classes when I was younger and got out of it because I didn't need it and it was too expensive and I always say, I've learned a lot more at home than I did in any class that I've signed up for. Alot of people that don't train inside of a gym are taught privately by someone they know or some one they're related to it's honestly no different than being trained by a coach at a gym the only difference is that you're not paying tons of money lol and Mahamid Ali once said, (you don't have to be in a boxing ring to be a good fighter) and that's true just because someone isn't a "world champion" that doesn't mean that they aren't good fighters or good martial artist and just because they don't compete doesn't mean they aren't training properly not everyone train's to be part of a fighting sport, some train just for self defense, which is learning how to defend yourself just in case you have to fight off an attacker or an aggressive person. Some train to stay in shape, some train just for the sake of it and some train just for a hobbie but that doesn't mean that they aren't actually capable of fighting in the ring training is training no matter how you look at it. As for solo training, it's good for stamina and keeping yourself occupied and confident and it's good for keeping your skills intact, wooden dummies, heavy bag's, speed bag's, grappling dummies and pads are all excellent training tools bag's help you build hitting power same with pads, dummies are good for stimulating blocking Wing Chun dummies I'm referring to, speed bag's help you get faster and quicker and grappling dummies help with your wrestling and BJJ. In my opinion solo training has more options as for training with a partner there's less but training with someone is better in some ways to. Having a trainer is very important when it comes to understanding the movement and stance of a fighting style and it's good for someone to point out flaw's with your fighting like telling you what you're during wrong and what you're during right. Also, if you're trying to be a ring fighter than having a trainer is number one and having partners is a need for sparing to help you prepare for the actual match so I'll say you need partners if you're trying to compete. But in all honesty I think everyone should train rather they train solo or at a gym both are good in their own way but I prefer train alone cause I'm not really a social person but when I have time to spar and do pad work with someone I definitely do it I got my cousin's, my dad, my brother's and I used to have my uncle but he is no longer with longer with us and none of us are part of a gym some of them used to compete back in the day and were also privately taught by their uncle's and dad's that were martial artist and champion's and not only that but street fighters lol no kidding.
Hey Coach. How about 1-1 trainings vs group trainings for someone who is starting after 30? I am 35 and I am taking 1-1 classes in order to learn mma faster. Once I feel more confident, I may switch to group trainings.
Or on the flip side: "you don't know what you don't know".... that's what you should know!
I tried to learn boxing at home and i did, my technique was good, i had some flaws but it was good enough, when i joined a kickboxing gym the instructor said that i did really well learning the basics, my kicks werent as good tho and it took way more time to learn
When you have already a good experience of sparring and real fighting ,solo training can be very usefull…
I would say it's important how you train if you shall train solo. For example, the bag training gives a wrong distance training. (In reality, arms are in the way) As long as you train like you fight like, jab + straight, slip (to protect against a counter punch) Then low kick side step or go into clinch you can train good solo.
Not to discount either one, but it is honestly the most important, and is what will do majority of the actual physical/mental development parts. And also just being real, how often are you going to have someone around willing to train with you? If you only train with others and bot on your own you aren't going to be training very much Js.
Back in the day when training alone I would Imagine an opponent faster stronger better. In all ways. I would visualize fighting him. Until I could alter and improve my methods of fighting to defeate him. Then meditate to develope my focus when punching and kicking. Throwing grappling elbow striks. I would practice back kicks against a tree. I would bounce off a lot at the beginning. But over time when I kicked the tree would shake. And my body my mind would be in sync.
I am a kickboxing coach and I believe that because of the many aspects of kickboxing that if you train by yourself you can get really good a certain aspects of kickboxing but miss many other aspects. for instance if you train by yourself you will not be sparing and sparing is really where the rubber meets the road, you find out what works and what does not work, you develop timing and defense that you just cant get when you train alone. If you self train you can shadow box and hit the bag but with no one to hold Thai pads or boxing mitts you will miss a lot. I have been training since I was a kid, I started with Karate and then American PKA kickboxing and Muai Thai for the last 16 years, I'm 59 now, when I owned my MMA gym, I spent a lot of time training fighters and cornering them and everything that goes along with being a coach and running a gym but my training slacked off for a few years I still hit the bag and and worked on stuff when I had time but I was not sparing and after we closed the gym, I went back to a local Muay Thai gym and I felt like I was starting over when we spared, LOL it took me 6 months to get my timing back and my sparing cardio back, granted I'm getting older but I have kickboxed for many years and I was amazed at how much I had lost. I guess what I'm trying to say is you can get good at some things but you will not develop a complete skill-set, but any training is better than no training.
cool, straghtforward
Lifting weights and having the basic technique turns out to be more advantageous than doing fake sparring. Currently many fight academies are selling HIIT exercises and not teaching fight.
I used to train in Teakwondo went there two sometimes three times a week then I got hurt a little over a year ago im getting better im training by myself on the stuff that I know or what I can do im afraid going back into a class because I don't want to get hurt again
I imagine my fighting opponent will say "Is this guy sober? I'm not going to get in trouble by fighting this guy" and he would leave.
Agreed
I've already been aware of the limits of solo training. However some people aren't always able to attend the classes they want/need. Shadow-wrestling is definitely the hardest one.
I guess the main point is to be real about the limitations and not kid oneself. As long as we keep this is mind, solo training is ok, especially if we already had trianing with other we can use as references, and it's better than nothing.
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Hi Ramsey! I’ve finally convinced my mother to let me join my schools wrestling team! How useful will it (hopefully three wrestling seasons) be for learning how to fight on the ground and what else would you recommend that I should focus on? All of the gyms/dojos in my area are either McDojos/McGyms or too expensive. Would it be worth it to go to a bad boxing gym if there are no other alternatives?
I'm very jealous as i live in the UK so I'm unable to find a place where i can wrestle. Wrestling will be amazing for learning takedowns and pins but at some point you will want to get experience with submissions. The boxing gym will be beneficial as long as they do some sparing and it isn't just for cardio. You might want to look into judo as its normally pretty cheep and will teach you submissions and takedowns from the clinch.
The danger sen-Sei', do you see any practical use
of the Dragon Screw/Mandara Hineri? 🙂
Sure. It’s a shockingly easy single leg finish. I made a tutorial on the move included in this video: th-cam.com/video/T0IybgaRV80/w-d-xo.html
Question…. How many times a week should I spar with a partner? Most of my work is solo but I wanna improve!!
my training partner is BoB... Body Opponent Bag... He usually wins when we spar.
0:08 That's how you should treat your little bro if he touches your PC💀
Solo training is good for boxing footwork drills.
What about move's that would kill or seriously injure another human? Can you train such moves in any practical way with another person? On the one hand, you can see if such shots can land, but you have to pull your technique. On the other hand, you can practice the technique on a bag or inanimate dummy/pinata, but you won't develop the timing and range to use it. That puts you in a predicament, because if you use those techniques full force, with the proper timing and range, you will likely injure your training partner, and you're back to square one training alone, possibly in a jail cell.
It depends on what you're training for... if you think your training partners are going to stick around to hold your hand as you train then you're dead wrong, because most of them are going to show up late and leave as soon as class is over (and then you got those students that think they're in charge, like when a child tries to be the parent to a younger sibling and fails horribly often at the expense of the younger sibling... and nobody wants to stick around after class and have to deal with those people as soon as the instructor steps out). Furthermore there are certain monetary and legal reasons those doors will often be closed at the end of class time. All of these reasons and more mean that while that 10% of context is extremely valuable it is also extremely limited and you must find ways of making your solo training amount to more than a hollow substitute... otherwise when you finally get in the ring odds are you will be a hollow substitute for your opponent (if you are lucky this happens early enough it doesn't hurt you badly and you can make adjustments, if not and you go up against people of equal mind and body until much later then you probably won't be able to adjust enough quickly enough to be able to compete at that level and will essentially be shutout). Make your solo training count.
Is that why it's hard for me to shadow box? I have never really Sparred with someone so like I've never really been pressure tested like that. I feel kind of wonky trying to shadowbox cause i've never been in like a real fight.
Basically, yes.
Reminds me of singing honsetly. If i just starting cracking out note at home like a madman, ill probably get something right, but mostly wrong and hurt myself in the process. Training your voice at home only starts to make sense once you have plenty of classes where you are told what is correct and what isint by a competent instructer.
Seems like MMA is like that
It's not as much, but I don't have much of a choice in the matter. I also don't want people to know I train, so that it'll be harder for them to figure me out.
The few times I did spar and train with people, I was able to submit some blue belts and I was able to surprise boxers and Muay Thai in sparring. I think there's something to keeping what you know under wraps and knowing what the other guys do while figuring out ways to counter them.
I'm no pro level, but I'm happy that I know all that I know. It could have been better though
I train with my cat he’s pretty tough now I keep getting injuries though
I'm totally out of shape and a loner, I'm getting some pads to start and carrying on with traditional judo and ju-jitsu,, I don't want to be a fighter, just do something for me
How do I overcome the fear of being punched and the pain of getting hit? I do grappling but everytime I try striking of any kind I fail really hard because I can’t stop looking away and so on
Light sparring.
Check out this playlist: sparring for newbs: th-cam.com/play/PLx78ZkEKSXzDwTtPHNjnK4lo3CabXvXyJ.html
@@RamseyDewey Thanks, I knew I could count on you
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