Finnegan's Wake

[finnegan]

helmet looks kickass. yeah over under with your strength you could really toss some people far. have you guys gone over trips or throws yet?

I've been tripped and thrown alot, if that's what you mean.
I'm okay with trips, but my mind just doesn't grasp throws/ hip tosses/ etc yet. I'm horrible with distributing my weight correctly, and I tend to try and bulldog people over instead of work leverage/ angles. Once I'm on the ground, my sub game/ defense is decent, but I thoroughly suck at the clinch when I'm not striking.

 

[the_w1se]

yeah with your strength, you could make people fly, leverage! learning how helped me a lot with some greco and freestyle tournaments i did. i personally though, if i get an over under go for an ankle pick or some sort of variation like that. damn my wrestling days

 

[finnegan]

yeah with your strength, you could make people fly, leverage! learning how helped me a lot with some greco and freestyle tournaments i did. i personally though, if i get an over under go for an ankle pick or some sort of variation like that. damn my wrestling days

If it all works out, I'll be getting some pointers this weekend from a Greco guy. I think that it would play to my strengths better than what I've been learning (Judo/ Freestyle). I know that one weekend won't do me a whole lot of good, but it's better than nothing.

 

[finnegan]

Conditioning

Bas Rutten's All Around Workout
28 minutes. Nothing fancy, just good ol' Bas.

Impressions: Endurance is getting better. After all the jumping squats/ knees to chest/ spiderman lunges/ normal lunges he has you do, I still feel strong in my legs, and it took me about 5 minutes to really catch my breath and get back to a normal heartrate. I'm pleased (or I'm not jumping as high and as fast as I could, so actually I'm now motivated to pick up the pace next time).

 

[krellik]

If it all works out, I'll be getting some pointers this weekend from a Greco guy. I think that it would play to my strengths better than what I've been learning (Judo/ Freestyle). I know that one weekend won't do me a whole lot of good, but it's better than nothing.

Serious, for the clinch just pummel, pummel, pummel and yeah do some more pummeling. Both simple "swimming" drills and clinchwrestling for position without throws. Get some fool to do that with you an extra 15 minutes every training and at every other possible time (you can pummel everywhere since you usually arent doing throws from it) for a few weeks and see what that does for your clinchgame.

First be sure to get fluid in the "swimming" and then add more wrestling for possition. Oh and its good to have a little punishment to in the clinchwrestling drills, if the other guy gets the position you wrestle for, like double underhooks for instance then you do a few pushups while the other guy gets to rest, makes it interesting.

Just some random stuff.

 

[bacon]

Nice fuckin helmet! I need something like that for special occasions. You know, stormin teh castle, fighting off the mogol horde, job interviews....

 

[dexter c]

Both. I can get the Thai clinch on my sparring partners pretty much at will, but that doesn't really help me in sub grappling format. I can toss them off balance, but that is about it.

Are you just letting the thai clinch go because you don't have any options from there, or something else?

 

[finnegan]

Are you just letting the thai clinch go because you don't have any options from there, or something else?

Yeah. Basically, I don't want to rely on it when I should be focusing on improving my other (mediocre) skills. I can hold an opponent in it and move him around, but really haven't learned much from there. Usually, I'll toss him off balance and go for a double leg if anything. My instructors don't really have an answer either as they've never done any MT. They tell me to use it as a setup for other stuff, so I figured I just need to learn and drill it.
So far, we've covered single and double leg takedowns, ankle picks, hip tosses (again, and again, again...) and a couple of trips. We do a lot more ground work than anything else.

 

[finnegan]

Zercher Deadlifts
105 x 5
135 x 5
205 x 5
255 x 3
275 x 3
305 x 1
325 x 0, 4 attempts
325 x 1, +25 lbs PR

Deadlift
325 x 8, 3 sets

Pullups
3,3,3,5,5,5,7,7,7 Total: 45

Impressions 325 is definitely my max on the Zercher Deadlifts. I had to dump the weight 4 times, but each time it was a balance issue. The bar kept rolling down my forearms. I was getting really pissed because I knew I could finish the lift. I ended up taking the towel off, putting some tape on the bar, some tape on my elbows/ forearms for friction, and scooped the bastard up. The towel works for reps, but for high weight, I won't be using it again. I'm very happy with today's results.
Oh, and I blew up one of the cinder blocks I was using as a stand on the last one. Oh well. It served its purpose.

 

[the_w1se]

I never really used a straight thai clinch in wrestling, i guess could be a double collar tie. you could try almost an inside trip. those work good, or if your really feelin it, lateral drop. and damn good job on those zerchers!!

 

[finnegan]

I never really used a straight thai clinch in wrestling, i guess could be a double collar tie. you could try almost an inside trip. those work good, or if your really feelin it, lateral drop. and damn good job on those zerchers!!

Thanks man for the advice and encouragement. I'll probably video a Zercher Deadlift before long for St. Wilhelm's, as soon as I figure out a better method of elevating the plates to my ROM.

 

[Cap'n]

When you say..."one of the cinder blocks blew up"

Do you mean you dropped the bar on it and it shattered in an explosion of dust? Cuz that's AWESOME

 

[finnegan]

When you say..."one of the cinder blocks blew up"

Do you mean you dropped the bar on it and it shattered in an explosion of dust? Cuz that's AWESOME

It wasn't quite as...
I mean, yes, that is exactly what happened.

 

[finnegan]

Serious, for the clinch just pummel, pummel, pummel and yeah do some more pummeling. Both simple "swimming" drills and clinchwrestling for position without throws. Get some fool to do that with you an extra 15 minutes every training and at every other possible time (you can pummel everywhere since you usually arent doing throws from it) for a few weeks and see what that does for your clinchgame.

First be sure to get fluid in the "swimming" and then add more wrestling for possition. Oh and its good to have a little punishment to in the clinchwrestling drills, if the other guy gets the position you wrestle for, like double underhooks for instance then you do a few pushups while the other guy gets to rest, makes it interesting.

Just some random stuff.

Thanks for the advice. I like the negative reinforcement stuff. That has worked well for me in other areas (mainly when I drop my hands on mitt work I get whacked in the head with one. I learned really fast)

 

[the_w1se]

Serious, for the clinch just pummel, pummel, pummel and yeah do some more pummeling. Both simple "swimming" drills and clinchwrestling for position without throws. Get some fool to do that with you an extra 15 minutes every training and at every other possible time (you can pummel everywhere since you usually arent doing throws from it) for a few weeks and see what that does for your clinchgame.

First be sure to get fluid in the "swimming" and then add more wrestling for possition. Oh and its good to have a little punishment to in the clinchwrestling drills, if the other guy gets the position you wrestle for, like double underhooks for instance then you do a few pushups while the other guy gets to rest, makes it interesting.
Just some random stuff.

Quincey, my wrestling coach is that you?? yeah neg reinforcement is a good way to get it right. im interested to see once you get this down. tossin guys all over

 

[krellik]

Thanks for the advice. I like the negative reinforcement stuff. That has worked well for me in other areas (mainly when I drop my hands on mitt work I get whacked in the head with one. I learned really fast)

No problem, and just remember pummeling/swimming drills is for your greco clinch what shadowboxing is for your standup or what doing shrimping drills and drilling basics are in bjj/subwrestling. That low impact stuff that you can do very very much of without fucking yourself up, but its not as sexy as full out sparring, but its what builds your game. Ehrm did I mention that pummeling is quite important?
Then when you got that down you can add in as many fancy throws as you you want or link it to your freestyle or thaigame all you want.

Oh and it can surely suck with just a few lousy pushups when your shoulders are burning from trying to swim for the doubleunderhooks. Then it is good with some motivation since clinch is a pretty hard grinding discipline...

Writting this makes me realise its time to get on the mat again..

 

[finnegan]

Zercher Deadlifts (Off the Floor)
205 x 1
225 x 1
255 x 1
275 x 0 (roll off half way up)
275 x 1

BORs
145 x 8
165 x 8
185 x 8, 2 sets
205 x 8, 1 set

Hammer Curl Negatives
65 lbs x 5

Grip Work
Squeezing the goo ball as hard as I could, negatives with the cheap Wal Mart gripper (45 seconds each hand) Negatives with the Wal Mart gripper w/ the goo ball between the handles (15 seconds each hand)

Impressions
FUCK! my Forearms are bruised to the bone after today's double shot of Zercher deadlifts. These are much, much trickier off the floor. It took me 10 minutes of stretching, bouncing, cursing at the bar, wishing I had 65 lbs plates, reading Smashius's bold jab at us poor inflexible monsters in the PR thread, etc before I finally got under it. My feet were only about 2 inches from the plates. 275 was brutal. My legs just didn't want to go, but I locked it out. I've not done any exercise with that wide of a stance before, and I really felt it tonight.

Well, that is last of the Zercher stuff for about a week (festival coming up from Weds night to Sunday. Firetending will take care of everything I need to work).

 

[finnegan]

Conditioning
Bas Rutten's 3 Minute Muay Thai rounds
7 rds. Nothing fancy, just Bas's instructions.

Impressions
I bought some handwraps today (Everlast, 108") , and had just enough time to squeeze this in before work. It served as an active recovery for yesterday's Zercher craziness. I used the Century MMA bag gloves, and was pleased with the results. I've got a pair of 12 oz gloves I'll be using on non-circuit sessions from now on.
Technique wise, my jab really sucked today. I'm going to do some narrow room work to tighten it up.

 

[Brando]

Man at the gym today I tried to get low enough for a zercher just for the sake of trying and was not even close. Great job with 'em

I'd recommend the 180" "mexican" wraps over the 108s, especially for a bigger guy, both because your hands are probably larger and because the wear on your hands throwing heavyweight punches may be more.

I'm out with a hand injury right now so can count your blessing on both... hands... dammnit

 

[finnegan]

Man at the gym today I tried to get low enough for a zercher just for the sake of trying and was not even close. Great job with 'em

I'd recommend the 180" "mexican" wraps over the 108s, especially for a bigger guy, both because your hands are probably larger and because the wear on your hands throwing heavyweight punches may be more.

I'm out with a hand injury right now so can count your blessing on both... hands... dammnit

Thanks for the advice on the wraps. 108" was the biggest they had. I'll add 180s to my shopping list.
Sucks about the hand injury. I chipped a knuckle a year ago punching a log (drinking and lumberjacking don't mix) so I feel for ya.

Speaking of that

Current Shopping List
CoC #2 Grippers
20 feet, 2 inch wide angle iron (making a squat rack/ dip station eventually)
180" hand wraps
16 oz boxing gloves
Thai pads
Muay Thai headgear
Muay Thai shinpads
1 35 lbs Olympic plate (replacing a casualty)