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Injury prevention 1 Savash Mustafa

Injury prevention 2 Savash Mustafa

Injury prevention 3: Hamstring stretching Savash Mustafa

TIPS

1. Understanding the Guard position
2. Bag work

Understanding the guard position

When students get taught the basic stance and guard they often start with a stiff impression of how it should be. However, the basic vertical or standard guard is just a place to start. It is firstly part of a family of guards which includes the half guard and the cross guard. All of these have differing pro's and con's They can lead you into trapping or they offer different striking advantages. However, for the beginning and intermediate student the standard guard is the best. It is great for long and medium distance. When in the guard keep it flexible and fluid. This can be likened to cleaning a window with the lead hand. It should go round and round but also back and forward so it partially threatens the opponent and when you do strike he is less likely to pick up the beginning of your strike because it's hidden in a sea of movement. Similarly, the rear hand should do some movement much like a nightwatchman going round and checking doors. Old boxers used to rub their nose or salute then check or catch to the front. This should be in conjunction with head movement.
A good way to think of your fighting structure would be to think that each part of your guard controls one sector. The hands control the area on the same side as they are on. Don't cross over! Later on at a high level you can forget these dictates but for now keep it simple. Similarly, the elbows cover the quarter around where they are. Don't drop the hands to cover the low line (though you can do this in exceptional circumstances).
For covering up, instead of lifting the hand /arm to cover the head and leave the body uncovered, curve the body and try to fit it into the dimensions of the arm. It won't fit totally but you are less open.
Keep it simple and tight and not making any of your moves too big. Rather make small moves that are fluid; this will make you harder to hit, harder to trap because you are not fixed, and will leave all the work to your opponent. Threaten his line all the time and tie good guard work in with body movement and good and appropriate footwork.
Good training.

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Bag work

Many people hit the bag but with little understanding of its possibilities. Hitting the bag can be a real art form and will not only increase the power in your punches but also improve your footwork evasion and particularly your alignment on your opponent.
Firstly on striking the bag don't push through the bag but explode into it. Once your energy starts to move the bag it's time to withdraw your hand. Almost concentrate on bringing the hand back at least as much as you do on exploding it out. Don't see the arms as the workforce here they are just the conduit through which the energy produced by the feet and the body is transferred to the bag. If you can feel it in the arms then the power is in the arms and not going through to the bag. This also applies if your arms get tired quickly. Concentrate on body alignment so there are less hinges and joints in motion for you to lose power. Remember 'where there's a joint there's a weakness'. Shoulders should be fluid and relaxed until impact. When the bag moves and comes back towards you either move back slightly out of range or even better move slightly off of line. Think of the returning bag as your opponent's counter attack. Being off line makes it harder for him to charge towards you at speed because it isn't in a straight line. Hit the bag when it just starts to come towards you therefore you are hitting it with its energy and yours. When you move off line you may find that the bag is moving across your centre line and offering its sides to you. This is the time to do your body hooks or shovel hooks. Hit it when it's at a diagonal away from you so that your hand fits in easily. Similarly, move the head the opposite way to the way the bag is moving. The bag gives you the rhythm for all of this and tapping into the bag's rhythm is part of the art. If you can't interrelate with the bag it will be even harder with a human being. Train to good music where rhythm is prominent and soon you'll be hitting like a pro.

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