Build Strong, Powerful Legs!

If you're a martial artist or combat athlete you already know that the vast majority of your power comes from your legs and your hips. So, if your interested in being able to deliver more power in all of your moves (strikes, kicks, throws, etc...), then you need to put some serious effort into training your legs.

Now, I know a lot you guys out there think they may need a lot of equipment to properly work their legs: a squat rack, an Olympic Barbell, a Leg Press Machine, a leg extension machine, a leg curl machine, etc....

Well, I'm here to tell you that simply isn't true. You can build a pair of super powerful legs with just two exercises that require minimal equipment: the Pistol and the Swing.

3 Quick Tips for Better Sparring!

At least once a week I get an email from a reader asking how they can improve their sparring.

It seems that most of the people reading Uncaged Fighter understand the importance of sparring. However, a lot of guys out there are apprehensive about it. The idea of hitting your training partner and
having them hit you back is unfamiliar to most combat sport newbies and "weekend warrior" martial artists. It goes against everything we were taught growing up: "Play nice", "Don't hit!", "Take turns", etc... Changing those habits in the gym or dojo can be difficult for some.

And let's not forget that being hit in the face can be scary as hell for most people!

So, I'm going to give you guys some tips that I've found very useful at really improving my sparring - and, therefore, making me a better fighter.

How to Combine Swings and the Heavy-Bag for a Kick-Ass Workout!

I'm always looking for ways to save time when training.

In addition to my day job, family life, and social/community obligations I also have to juggle networking, blogging, and find the time to train and workout.

I get the impression that a lot of martial artists and fighters are having similar issues.

So, I want to share with you guys one of my favorite workouts. It combines two tools every fighter should be using: the heavy-bag and kettlebells.

Brain Power = Punching Power!

 I just came across this interesting article:

Powerful Punch is All in the Brain, Study Finds

Pretty neat stuff, but it shouldn't come as a surprise to the regulars here: Repetitive practice creates far more neurological adaptations than "muscular adaptations".

Let me know what you guys think.


Train Hard,
Josh Skinner

Meditation Can Give You The "Winning Edge"!

It seems like I'm coming across more and more research into the benefits of meditation.


This article gives a particularly good summary of the most recent findings. 


It's becoming more and more accepted that meditation is a highly effective (and drug free) way to reduce stress, reduce pain, improve memory, and improve cognitive function.

Despite what the skeptics and naysayers have to say, meditation is a highly valuable way for fighters and martial artists to improve their performance.

More Evidence That Fighters Should Meditate Daily

Found a great article on Science Daily the other day:

"Evidence Builds that Meditation Strengthens the Brain"

Basically, researchers at UCLA did a study and found that meditation helps increase the amount of "cortical folding" in the brain. This cortical folding helps people process information much faster.

Being able to quickly process information has all kinds of uses but of particular interest to fighters and martial artists is the ability to quickly process the fact that a fist is flying rapidly towards your face.

;)

Just more evidence that fighters and martial artists should meditate daily.


Train Hard,
Josh Skinner

The #1 Thing You MUST Do If You Want To Be A Better Fighter

As MMA becomes increasingly popular, more and more people are becoming interested in the martial arts.

Not surprisingly, these individuals want to train like their favorite UFC hero. They see videos on YouTube of guys like Georges St. Pierre or Sean Sherk training like freaking mad men and want to emulate them.

 I mean, it isn't hard to understand why anyone wouldn't want to perform and train like any of the Pro MMA athletes.

The problem is: I don't think many of these guys really understand how high-level MMA fighters actually train - when the cameras and/or media aren't watching them.

How to Use Kettlebells to Excel as A Fighter

Tommy Blom kicking ass!

Here's an excellent Q&A article with Tommy Blom from DragonDoor.com:

"Tommy Blom: My basic fight training is with a professional team here in Göteborg. There we do all the actual MMA training, working in the cage, fighting and sparring. The technical stuff for the fighting. My physical training has been with myself basically, with kettlebells and heavy bags. That's about it...

...most of my MMA fight training when it's specified for that I usually divide it into rounds. So if I'm fighting three five-minute rounds, I'll just put the training into three five-minute rounds with one-minute rests in between...

...[t]he work in the rounds is a mix of basic kettlebell exercises like heavy swings, clean and jerk, long cycles, snatches, alternating with heavy bag work standing up or heavy bag work on the ground. It's about 30 seconds of heavy bag work and 30 seconds of swings, then 30 seconds of bag work on the ground. Then 30 seconds of clean and jerks. Double kettlebells and so on until the rounds are done..."

I enjoyed it, hope you guys do too.

Read the full article here!



Train Hard,
Josh Skinner

Essential Muay Thai Stance Work

Ajarn Paul Delfino in a Muay Thai stance.

So, I've been training with the guys at Raja Muay Thai/Universal Tactics here in Greenville, SC for several months now and I have to say I'm incredibly happy.

It's a great place to train: no egos, no macho/bad-ass attitudes, everyone wants to help each other succeed, and the instructors have a very open-minded view of the martial arts that is very much like my own.

One aspect I really like about training here is the emphasis on stance training and how it can make you a better fighter.

3 Reasons You Should Wear a Mouth Guard When Training.

You need me. You want me.

To be honest I didn't really think I'd ever have to explain to any martial artist or combat athlete WHY wearing a mouth guard is important.

But a recent email has changed that and I thought my response might be helpful to some of you out there.

You see, this individual was a new Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student. His instructor makes all students wear a mouth guard during training: warm ups, solo drills, partner drills, rolling, and even conditioning.

This new BJJ student just couldn't understand why he had to wear this uncomfortable piece of soft plastic every time he stepped on the mat.

So I gave him a reply which consisted of basically three main reasons wearing a mouth guard is important to all martial artists.

Below is a "church-ed up" version of my reply.

Frank Shamrock's MMA Kettlebell Circuits.

So, I was digging around the Dragon Door articles section this morning and found an article detailing Frank Shamrock's strength and conditioning training as he prepared for Strikeforce: Shamrock vs Gracie.

In this bout, Shamrock knocked Gracie out 20 seconds into Round 1 - pretty impressive!

Now, the article (which was written in 2006) doesn't really do a great job explaining how fighters can utilize the training described to maximum effect. So, in this post I want to clarify why and when fighters should use these kettlebell circuits in their own training.

Extreme Push Hands Looks Freaking Fun!

If you haven't figured it out yet: I'm a "martial arts nerd".

Some guys are into anime, sci-fi, or gaming. But, I'm a total "fan boy" about the martial arts.

Whether it's the external styles, the internal styles, traditional or modern styles, Japanese styles, Chinese styles, Southeast Asian styles (like Muay Thai)....I love them all. And if you're here I'm pretty sure you've got a little "martial arts nerd" in you too!

One aspect of the martial arts I really enjoy is innovation.

I love seeing unique and practical applications and I love new (or new to me) training methods. I like it when someone moves beyond the "same old, same old" stuff and actually makes it work.

This is exactly why I'm geeking-out about Extreme Push Hands.

A Snatch Variation for Fighting Power!

Not all exercises are created equal.

Some exercises like the Squat or the Swing are great for building general levels of strength and conditioning. Other exercises, however, are much better for training that is more specific to the martial arts and combat sports.

A martial artist or combat athlete is heavily dependent on movements that are anaerobic, explosive, and (typically) unilateral in nature. So, we want to utilize, as much as possible, exercises and training methods that focus on those qualities.

I think I've got just the exercise for you.

Sanchin Kata Will Make You Strong!

Sanchin, or "Three Battles"

I've already shown how training Katas can be very useful to martial artists.

Recently, I've been using Karate's Sanchin Kata as a part of my overall training program and I've seen some pretty impressive results:

• I'm stronger AND faster. 
• I'm much more stable. 
• My balance has improved. 
• My focus has become laser-like. 

I've seen these improvements because Sanchin Kata is a very unique type of kata. 

Let's take a deeper look. 

The Truth About the Lin Kong Jing (part 4)

 Part 1 |  Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

We're finally to the part of the series, "The Truth About the Lin Kong Jing", that most people have been waiting for:

The actual practice itself.

We're done with theory. Now, it's time to get to work.

Like the rest of the series, my approach to Lin Kong Jing training varies in serveral ways from the "traditional" method. Personally, I feel like these variations are improvements.

But, I'll let you judge that.

Kettlebells and Combat Sports...

Here's a great strength and conditioning article I found over at DragonDoor.com: 


"Sushi, Sake, Karate, and Kettlebells - by Gary Music, RKC  


Karate and Kettlebells are a perfect match, and if you follow the RKC doctrine of Hardstyle the two arts are a perfect match. Just like sushi goes with sake, kettlebells and karate make an unstoppable combination for fitness, strength, speed, power and tournament skill......


...Pavel likes to say that the kettlebell swing is as close as you can get to fighting without a fight. Why does the swing help you spar? The swing builds explosive power and endurance while simultaneously improving the tense-relax (contract & expand) skills used by highly skilled fighters."

Excellent stuff. Make sure you check it out.

Train Hard,
Josh Skinner

How to Build a Punch Proof Body!

New Article from Chad Waterbury.

Hey guys, just saw this article on T-Nation and thought you should take a look:

"Core development is essential to any sport. It takes a strong core to provide a solid support system for explosive, powerful movements.


After five years of testing MMA fighters at the professional level, it's clear that the fighters who can punch and kick with the most power are rarely the guys who can bench press or squat the most. Instead, the knockout artists are the ones who perform best with exercises such as the ab wheel rollout and Pallof Press."

As you might already know, I'm a big fan of Waterbury. He writes great stuff with little to no bullshit - my kinda guy!

Enjoy the article.


Train Hard,
Josh Skinner

The Truth About the Lin Kong Jing (part 3)

                                                        Part 1 |  Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
                    "The softest things in world overcome the hardest things in the world"
                                                                                        ~ from, The Tao Te Ching

In the last part of this series on the Lin Kong Jing we talked about the relationship between Qi and Bioelectricity.

I also provided significant proof that the bioelectricity (or Qi) of one person could affect the nervous system of another.

During this post I want to discuss the REAL purpose behind Lin Kong Jing training.

We're going to cut through all this superhuman bullshit and look at the real reasons Lin Kong Jing training is important for all martial artists.

The Truth About the Lin Kong Jing (part 1)

Everything You'll Ever Need to Know About "The Powerful Empty Force".
                                                  Part 1 |  Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
At least once a week I get an email from someone asking me about the Lin Kong Jing.

Due to the fact that I frequent several martial arts forums many know that I study the Lin Kong Jing.

It isn't a secret that the Lin Kong Jing is a controversial topic in martial arts circles. So, typically, I either refer them to Paul Dong's book  or I just tell them to do a lot of zhan zhuang.

I have recently come to believe that such a response will no longer cut it.

So, over the next few weeks I'll be publishing several posts that will shed more light on the realities of the Lin Kong Jing and outline the entire training method.

Hopefully, this will satisfy the masses. :)

Speed-Strength for Fighters!

Your Guide to Developing a Crucial Strength Quality that Will Dramatically Improve Your Performance.


"I have one speed, I have one gear: Go!"

You NEED to be faster.

This isn't an option - it's a requirement.

As a martial artist or combat athlete you train to deal with people who are trying to hurt you. Not only do you need to be able to react quickly, but you need to be able to actually move quickly.

There is simply no reason for you to ever have to utter the words, "I just wasn't fast enough."

So, let me ask you:
Are you going to be a turtle or a fucking Tiger?