TJ Dillashaw Striking Style
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He's a lil' snake in da grass.
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yessir. I wrote a breakdown on his fighting style here.Do any of you guys know about breakdowns of TJs fighting style except the ones on fightland? I'm really finding his style of striking fascinating and I'm studying it to some extent.
Thanks
https://strikingthoughtssite.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/how-tj-dillashaw-fights-breakdown-part-1/
It received a lot of good feedback from readers. One particular reader mentioned that he had just started learning T.J.'s footwork before Duane Ludwig left the Gym and that my piece was really helpful in furthering his understanding of the footwork.
Hopefully you find the piece helpful too.
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IIRC I read your breakdown on Cruz, but not this one. I'll get to it. Thanks a lot
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http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/7/3...-johnson-ludwig-hagler-tyson-boxing-mma-fight
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/7/2...wig-knockout-mma-technique-gif-footwork-feint
It's early so his poster name escapes me, but Connor R. Does great technical analysis on a number of fighters, dillashaw included. Here's a few but if you google "Connor ruebusch tj dillashaw" you'll find plenty of material.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/7/2...wig-knockout-mma-technique-gif-footwork-feint
It's early so his poster name escapes me, but Connor R. Does great technical analysis on a number of fighters, dillashaw included. Here's a few but if you google "Connor ruebusch tj dillashaw" you'll find plenty of material.
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Dillishaw is clearly my favourite MMA fighter at the moment. I get a battle-fat every time I see a vid of him training. He moves beautifully. He flows so well as he switch-hits and makes angles that would be so difficult for most fighters.
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He has a pretty wide stance. Has he ever done TKD?
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I’ve been working on a better breakdown of Dillashaw, but those are some preliminary thoughts anyway.
I attended a Duane Ludwig seminar at the now defunct Blue Dragon Muay Thai in 2012. He emphasized learning through partner drills, and, unsurprisingly, many of the concepts he emphasized come through in Dillashaw’s style.
After Duane left TAM – and before the flame war ignited – Faber said: "Duane did a great job running his practice and he's passionate about his stuff. We implemented a lot of his drills during our set practices and it turned out great." I’ve been to other seminars before, many of which included tough warm-ups and long-winded speeches that ate up training time, but Duane was all business. He’s extremely time-efficient and technically focused, both things you want in a seminar instructor. He explains a combination – usually a “broad arsenal” series that includes punches/probes high, low, and doubling up, kicks that step you off at angles, and steps or pivots part way through – then focuses on getting you and your partner the maximum number of reps. It's a great system of learning that produces quick improvements.
Duane also spent a lot of time discussing a concept he referred to as “the counter eye," something that is very visible in TJ's style. In other words, Duane wants to always look for and create openings, whether you're punching or moving. Duane teaches a number of novel techniques to open up an opponent. He liked to throw “hollow” crosses to disguise a gap-closing step into southpaw. He described the step from orthodox to southpaw as a normal stride you’d take while walking, but with your “crossing” arm extended to present a threat. From here, you’d have options: follow up with a kick or knee depending on your range, or propel yourself back to orthodox if you’ve baited a big reaction from your opponent.
You can see ways Duane likes to create openings to exploit with his counter eye everywhere in Dillashaw’s style. Dillashaw relies a lot on the counter eye. His style is all about feinting, giving looks, and probing to draw unfavourable reactions from his opponent, which he can then capitalize on. People watch a springy, dancing, combination-punching Dillashaw and interpret all of that movement as offense – which is exactly what he wants his opponent to think - but he’s really more of an opportunist than a swarmer. He waits for you to adjust to his movement or react to his probes, then fires. He pressures a lot, but he’s baiting more often than he’s initiating. He typically only uncorks combinations when you’re a beat behind, which may be why he struggled against Cruz.
I rewatched Dillashaw/Easton today. I like this fight for two reasons. First, Easton incorporates a lot of boxing into his style, so it gives me a familiar baseline to use for striking analysis in MMA. Second, TJ was only 2 years into Ludwig’s curriculum at this point, and because we tend to exaggerate things as we’re learning them, it means you can see his attempts and intentions a little more clearly.
In this fight, Dillashaw plays a lot at the very cusp of range. He bounces in and out a few inches at a time to try and draw something out of Easton. He plays a lot with what I call the “skip out” at range. You can see Locche using it to move right in the first frame here
And here’s Dillashaw showing the same foot positioning:
I’d describe Dillashaw’s movement as more of a “skip in” because, unlike Locche, he uses it offensively. He’ll “skip out” to cut Easton off while he tries to move left, then either follow up from southpaw, or step with his left foot to close the gap and align his offense with whichever direction Easton chose.
Dillashaw still has some bad habits, the kind of thing that drives purists nuts when commentators fawn over his footwork. Here he is basically touching his ankles together:
And again:
He does this very often, and it puts him into a weak position where opponents could capitalize with proper timing. Still, it’s not necessarily a “wasted movement.” From this position, he can step in any direction, and dart anywhere he wants very quickly with a level change; he’s upright, balanced on both feet, and highly-mobile, even if he’s not in a defensively strong stance. And to his credit, he usually plays with this shuffle as part of his range-feinting game from a safe distance. That said, I think it’s mostly a stylized bit of a fluff that he does because it feels good.
I attended a Duane Ludwig seminar at the now defunct Blue Dragon Muay Thai in 2012. He emphasized learning through partner drills, and, unsurprisingly, many of the concepts he emphasized come through in Dillashaw’s style.
After Duane left TAM – and before the flame war ignited – Faber said: "Duane did a great job running his practice and he's passionate about his stuff. We implemented a lot of his drills during our set practices and it turned out great." I’ve been to other seminars before, many of which included tough warm-ups and long-winded speeches that ate up training time, but Duane was all business. He’s extremely time-efficient and technically focused, both things you want in a seminar instructor. He explains a combination – usually a “broad arsenal” series that includes punches/probes high, low, and doubling up, kicks that step you off at angles, and steps or pivots part way through – then focuses on getting you and your partner the maximum number of reps. It's a great system of learning that produces quick improvements.
Duane also spent a lot of time discussing a concept he referred to as “the counter eye," something that is very visible in TJ's style. In other words, Duane wants to always look for and create openings, whether you're punching or moving. Duane teaches a number of novel techniques to open up an opponent. He liked to throw “hollow” crosses to disguise a gap-closing step into southpaw. He described the step from orthodox to southpaw as a normal stride you’d take while walking, but with your “crossing” arm extended to present a threat. From here, you’d have options: follow up with a kick or knee depending on your range, or propel yourself back to orthodox if you’ve baited a big reaction from your opponent.
You can see ways Duane likes to create openings to exploit with his counter eye everywhere in Dillashaw’s style. Dillashaw relies a lot on the counter eye. His style is all about feinting, giving looks, and probing to draw unfavourable reactions from his opponent, which he can then capitalize on. People watch a springy, dancing, combination-punching Dillashaw and interpret all of that movement as offense – which is exactly what he wants his opponent to think - but he’s really more of an opportunist than a swarmer. He waits for you to adjust to his movement or react to his probes, then fires. He pressures a lot, but he’s baiting more often than he’s initiating. He typically only uncorks combinations when you’re a beat behind, which may be why he struggled against Cruz.
I rewatched Dillashaw/Easton today. I like this fight for two reasons. First, Easton incorporates a lot of boxing into his style, so it gives me a familiar baseline to use for striking analysis in MMA. Second, TJ was only 2 years into Ludwig’s curriculum at this point, and because we tend to exaggerate things as we’re learning them, it means you can see his attempts and intentions a little more clearly.
In this fight, Dillashaw plays a lot at the very cusp of range. He bounces in and out a few inches at a time to try and draw something out of Easton. He plays a lot with what I call the “skip out” at range. You can see Locche using it to move right in the first frame here
And here’s Dillashaw showing the same foot positioning:
I’d describe Dillashaw’s movement as more of a “skip in” because, unlike Locche, he uses it offensively. He’ll “skip out” to cut Easton off while he tries to move left, then either follow up from southpaw, or step with his left foot to close the gap and align his offense with whichever direction Easton chose.
Dillashaw still has some bad habits, the kind of thing that drives purists nuts when commentators fawn over his footwork. Here he is basically touching his ankles together:
And again:
He does this very often, and it puts him into a weak position where opponents could capitalize with proper timing. Still, it’s not necessarily a “wasted movement.” From this position, he can step in any direction, and dart anywhere he wants very quickly with a level change; he’s upright, balanced on both feet, and highly-mobile, even if he’s not in a defensively strong stance. And to his credit, he usually plays with this shuffle as part of his range-feinting game from a safe distance. That said, I think it’s mostly a stylized bit of a fluff that he does because it feels good.
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Nice breakdown, it's a fascinating idea it's all built around. Don't like what Ludwig did and the whole Team Alpha Male drama, but he's developed a damn good striking system.I’ve been working on a better breakdown of Dillashaw, but those are some preliminary thoughts anyway.
I attended a Duane Ludwig seminar at the now defunct Blue Dragon Muay Thai in 2012. He emphasized learning through partner drills, and, unsurprisingly, many of the concepts he emphasized come through in Dillashaw’s style.
After Duane left TAM – and before the flame war ignited – Faber said: "Duane did a great job running his practice and he's passionate about his stuff. We implemented a lot of his drills during our set practices and it turned out great." I’ve been to other seminars before, many of which included tough warm-ups and long-winded speeches that ate up training time, but Duane was all business. He’s extremely time-efficient and technically focused, both things you want in a seminar instructor. He explains a combination – usually a “broad arsenal” series that includes punches/probes high, low, and doubling up, kicks that step you off at angles, and steps or pivots part way through – then focuses on getting you and your partner the maximum number of reps. It's a great system of learning that produces quick improvements.
Duane also spent a lot of time discussing a concept he referred to as “the counter eye," something that is very visible in TJ's style. In other words, Duane wants to always look for and create openings, whether you're punching or moving. Duane teaches a number of novel techniques to open up an opponent. He liked to throw “hollow” crosses to disguise a gap-closing step into southpaw. He described the step from orthodox to southpaw as a normal stride you’d take while walking, but with your “crossing” arm extended to present a threat. From here, you’d have options: follow up with a kick or knee depending on your range, or propel yourself back to orthodox if you’ve baited a big reaction from your opponent.
You can see ways Duane likes to create openings to exploit with his counter eye everywhere in Dillashaw’s style. Dillashaw relies a lot on the counter eye. His style is all about feinting, giving looks, and probing to draw unfavourable reactions from his opponent, which he can then capitalize on. People watch a springy, dancing, combination-punching Dillashaw and interpret all of that movement as offense – which is exactly what he wants his opponent to think - but he’s really more of an opportunist than a swarmer. He waits for you to adjust to his movement or react to his probes, then fires. He pressures a lot, but he’s baiting more often than he’s initiating. He typically only uncorks combinations when you’re a beat behind, which may be why he struggled against Cruz.
I rewatched Dillashaw/Easton today. I like this fight for two reasons. First, Easton incorporates a lot of boxing into his style, so it gives me a familiar baseline to use for striking analysis in MMA. Second, TJ was only 2 years into Ludwig’s curriculum at this point, and because we tend to exaggerate things as we’re learning them, it means you can see his attempts and intentions a little more clearly.
In this fight, Dillashaw plays a lot at the very cusp of range. He bounces in and out a few inches at a time to try and draw something out of Easton. He plays a lot with what I call the “skip out” at range. You can see Locche using it to move right in the first frame here
And here’s Dillashaw showing the same foot positioning:
I’d describe Dillashaw’s movement as more of a “skip in” because, unlike Locche, he uses it offensively. He’ll “skip out” to cut Easton off while he tries to move left, then either follow up from southpaw, or step with his left foot to close the gap and align his offense with whichever direction Easton chose.
Dillashaw still has some bad habits, the kind of thing that drives purists nuts when commentators fawn over his footwork. Here he is basically touching his ankles together:
And again:
He does this very often, and it puts him into a weak position where opponents could capitalize with proper timing. Still, it’s not necessarily a “wasted movement.” From this position, he can step in any direction, and dart anywhere he wants very quickly with a level change; he’s upright, balanced on both feet, and highly-mobile, even if he’s not in a defensively strong stance. And to his credit, he usually plays with this shuffle as part of his range-feinting game from a safe distance. That said, I think it’s mostly a stylized bit of a fluff that he does because it feels good.
