Heavybag Training Videos....

Hey guys!

As many of you know I've been training with the guys at Raja Muay Thai/Universal Tactics here in Greenville, SC for a while now.

Well, this Saturday I'll be testing for rank (white prajiet under the Thai Boxing Association) and to prepare I've been taking some video of some of my training to identify flaws in my technique.

Here's a couple of videos showing me doing some heavybag work:

First video shows me doing a standard 2 min. round with gloves -



Next video is really just a conditioning round (toughen my knuckles, work on "cardio", ect...) -



So...what do you guys think?

What do I need to work on?

Thanks in advance for the input!

Train Hard,
Josh Skinner

3 Tips for Preventing Brain Injury.

Martial arts training involves contact - sometimes hard contact.

It's a simple fact. We train to be good at fighting and to be good at fighting we must spend some time in simulated fights (aka: sparring and competition). The problem is too many hard knocks to the head can cause some serious issues to arise.

Dementia Pugilistica, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a real problem among full contact athletes and, especially combat athletes (boxers, martial artists, and wrestlers). Symptoms include: slow reaction speeds, impaired memory and speech patterns, changes in personality, depression, aggression, and dementia that gets progressively worse.

While there is still a lot of research to be done on the subject there are a few things we martial artists can do to prevent CTE.

Lyoto Machida's New Training Video!

Just wanted to share this new video of Lyoto "the Dragon" Machida training. In the video you can see him working on his Machida-Do Karate as well as some barbell drills.

Machida is definately one of my favorite fighters and I'm really looking forward to his next fight. I hope he beats the HELL out of "Rampage" Jackson!





Train Hard,
Josh Skinner (donjitsu2)

What Golf can Teach Us About the Martial Arts.

“It’s all about the swing, not the club.”

I heard this phrase from a golf instructor once and it stuck with me. I mean, if you really think about it, it’s very true.

Let’s say you and Tiger Woods decide to play a round of golf. You get to play with the most expensive, well-designed clubs on the market. Tiger Woods has to play with a used driver he bought at a flea market, a 60 year old putter he found in his father’s garage, and a broomstick. I’d bet dollars to donuts that Woods would still get a significantly lower score than you. Why?

“It’s all about the swing, not the club.”

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Minimalist Training

I've been really low on time recently (seems that way a lot) and that means I’ve had less and less time to squeeze in my training. I've been forced to make some compromises and drop quite a bit form my usual routine. So, I picked two conditioning drills and two Martial Skill drills to work on until I get some more time in my schedule. I already decided ahead of time that my levels of raw strength most likely won't increase during this time and I'm alright with that, since I won't be losing any strength either.

Martial Skill Drills -
1. San Ti / Tiger Xing (an internal power builder that alternates 1-2 minutes of San Ti standing w/ 10-20 reps Xingyi's Tiger Xing drill) - 10 minutes
2. Heavy Bag - 5, 2 min. rounds
* On the weekends I usually get a few rounds of sparring and grappling in.

Conditioning Drills -
1. Burpees (Squat, Pushup, explosive jump combo) - 100-200 reps
2. Snatches w/ a 24kg kettlebell - 100-200 reps

Enter the Kettlebell!
Strength Secrets of the Soviet Supermen

Every day I work both Martial Skill Drills and it takes me a little over 20 minutes. I follow that up with either the Burpees or the Snatch which can take anywhere between 4.5 - 10 minutes (I try to decrease the time it takes to complete the conditioning drills each week so I can improve my work capacity). At first, I really thought my fighting skills would suffer but this hasn’t been the case at all. I believe this is due to the high level of focus on and volume with relatively few training drills. I really encourage anyone to take up such a minimalist regimen some time I think you’ll be pleased with the results.

Train Hard!