I usually taught one hour formal classes. My students came and went and there were some who spent most of their lives in the dojo working out, practicing and drilling. I went around adjusting, commenting, criticizing or demonstrating constantly. However, the formal classes themselves generally followed the following formats.

The first format is for the day to day class with no tournament or fight in the immediate future. The second and third were designed to prepare the student to achieve maximum readiness on the day of the fight.

Once I’d taught them the basic skills, stretches and warm up or cool down exercises, my students were always expected to do these on their own rather than take up valuable class time.

Normal Class

Strikes and kicks                                                10 minutes

Throws (technique)                                             5 minutes

Drills (knowledge, speed, strength, endurance)      10 minutes

Variations and combinations                                10 minutes

Sparring                                                            15 minutes

Pre-fight classes (week preceding the fight)

Sparring                                                             10 minutes

Drills                                                                    5 minutes

Sparring                                                              10 minutes

Throws                                                                 5 minutes

Sparring                                                               10 minutes

Strikes and kicks                                                     5 minutes

Last pre-fight class

Strategy, tactics, combinations, opponent evaluation, fight videos

After many years of fighting (both in and out of the ring) these are the basic principles that I have found to have brought me consistent success. If I have lost, it is because I have failed to fully apply one of these principles.

Hopefully at some point we’ll have short vid clips of me explaining each one of these.

1. Set up
1. To win both through rigorous physical and mental conditioning
2. Your opponent with both verbal and nonverbal communication
3. The judges and ref by exhibiting a winning attitude
2. Positioning
1. Mobility
2. Defense
3. Offense
4. Psychological attitude
3. Independent movement
1. All movements should be independent
2. Don’t telegraph your intent
3. Avoid premeditated combinations
4. Initial speed
1. Explode into your leading offensive technique
2. Explode into your defensive technique
3. Push off to gain maximum speed and penetration with your opening techniques
5. Attack lines
1. Inside
2. Middle
3. Outside
6. Bridging the gap
1. Into kicking range
2. Into striking range
3. Into throwing/sweeping range
4. Into grappling range
7. Simplicity of technique
1. Pick three to five techniques and master them
2. Avoid fancy, difficult techniques
3. Rely on the basics and apply the principles
8. Economy of motion
1. Conserve energy by using straight lines
2. By attacking with the closest weapon to the target
3. Use direct angles for attack and defense
4. Don’t throw something you know won’t hit. Even fakes should potentially hit.
9. Relaxation
1. To conserve energy
2. To increase speed
3. To increase power
10. Mobility
1. Use your footwork patterns to cover distance

                                          i.    Basic stepping

                                        ii.    Switch stepping

                                       iii.    Shuffling

                                       iv.    Hopping

                                        v.    Creeping

1. Apply your footwork in three directions

                                          i.    Vertical

                                        ii.    Horizontal

                                       iii.    Arcing

1. Do EVERYTHING in motion
1. Reach
1. Extend to the limit of your reach
2. Hyper extend
3. Double hyper extend
2. Center line
1. Attack all the center line targets
2. Expect attack when you open your center line
3. Bring all your weapons to bear by angling your center line
3. Straight lines
1. Gain power
2. Are the shortest route so they save energy
3. Gain speed
4. Faking
1. Fake with the hips, body and shoulders
2. Fake to scare him into moving
3. Fake to destroy his timing
5. Constant forward pressure
1. Apply forward movement to keep him defensive
2. Use aggressive body language
3. Exert constant mental pressure to keep your mind in the fight and your opponent on the run
4. PURSUE! Do not stop finding and attacking targets until your opponent ceases to move, submits, or the ref pulls you off.
6. Timing
1. Attack before he moves
2. Attack as he moves
3. Attack after he moves
7. Angles of attack
1. Direct
2. Oblique
3. Deceptive
8. Broken rhythm
1. Mix up you targets and strike middle, high and low places.
2. Vary your rhythm between active and passive.
3. Change body motion. Mix forward and backward unpredictably.
4. Alternate the speed of your techniques to throw off his timing.
5. Mix faking with attacking.
6. Switch your line of attack.
7. Mix relaxation and tension.

Switch from righty to southpaw at will.