Fighting Against the Cage?

Question

As MMA is usually fought in a cage it is wise to practsie fighting when in the awkward position of being pressed against the cage. Who does this and if so what kind of training/drills do you do.

I have wrote an article about this and plan to write another similar one detailing training methods in full. Any comments would be appriciated and referenced in the upcoming article.

http://markstraining.com Fighting and Training Methods for the Unarmed Martial Artist.

Answer 1

The best drill would be to make a realistic training= train with a cage.

Answer 2

We do a lot of "Cage Walking" or using the cage to stand up.  One person is up against the fencing and the other in side control.  We practice hip movement toward the cage, position at least one underhook and proceed to use our butt and back to "walk or crawl" up the cage.  The person preventing this tries to resecure a single or double leg and put you back on the mat against the cage.  This is one of the most exhausting drills for both participants.  We do this for five minutes, 30 second rest and switch roles unless someone is training this specifically for a fight, in that scenario we will line up four or five fresh fighters and take turns trying to hold the other fighter down against the cage.  Both the takedowns and the crawling are huge energy burners if you are stalemating so its very important to have technique on your side.  Hope this helps a little bit.

Answer 3

In my opinion, it's easier to pick people up when someone is pushing you against the cage in certain conditions. It's also hard to go for a knock out when you're against the cage since you can't swing back in order to get more power. Also, cages can some times be used as an advantage as I have mentioned before. Take wrestlers for example. Once you're against the cage, it makes it harder for them to tackle you down unless they crouch down and pick you up by the legs but they still can't drive you forward. But it's still never preferable to be against the cage because once they rush you, it's hard to attack back with the same force. The best defense or the technique to train is the clinching. In Muay Thai, it's very popular to clinch and swing them around, throw them, and used to switch positions. The better you are at clinching, the more you can control the opponent. And once you clinch them in the correct way, they can't move back, go down, or forward. All they can do is to just push you back or just force their way out once they're caught with the correct way of clinching.

There are some fighters who's on the ground that leans against the cage to get back up.