What are some good striking drills?

Question

What are some good striking drills that will help me in MMA. I have a heavy bag, BOB, weights, basically a gym in my garage, and focus mitts. What drills can I do alone AND with a partner??

All help is appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

practice your technique by kicking or punching. Do it over and over

Answer 2

Warning: you've asked a hefty question, so here's an equally bulky answer.

Solo stuff includes

- Bagwork. Preferably the good kind, where you move around the bag. This requires a hanging bag; stationary bags dont cut it. Treat the bag just like an opponent. That is to say, don't just stand in front of it and swing.

When you're not attacking, stay out of reach. When you are attacking, explosively cover the distance, strike with a combination (at least 2 hits) and get back out of reach. Do this for several timed rounds.

Do a couple of rounds with just hands, hands and feet, 8 points of contact, and (if you've got one of those really long kickboxing bags) strikes and shots.

Partner Drills

- Focus Mitts. Have him spontaneously feed you combinations and occassionally throw strikes back at you to evade.

- Counter Drills. These are most handy tools for training general striking ability than any other that I've ever encountered. I only know one trainer who does this, and it's made a HUGE difference with my skills and everyone else who's used it.

For this drill, you've got one designated attacker and one designated defender. As expected, the attacker will try to land a blow on his partner. The defender will try and thwart the strike while counter attacking. The original attacker will try to evade the counter. Sounds simple right?

However, little modifications can encompass a myriad of scenarios and skills.

When you're first starting out with these, try to keep things linear. Find a good length of space and start on one end of it. Remain out of arms reach. Do the drill. After each exchange, reset. Cover the entire area that you've decided on using, then switch roles.

Things for the attacker to keep in mind:

- Cover distance! Remain out of arms-reach until you're attacking, otherwise the drill is unrealistic.

- Don't pose. Throw your attack, and bring your hand back in front of your face immediately -- hit or miss.

- Get the h**l out of there. Once you've thrown your attack, regardless of success or failure, get back out of reach. Use linear or nonlinear footwork to do so.

Things for the defender to remember:

- Don't back up. Period. Backing up negates the purpose of the drill and is a horrible habit. If you must, fade back AT AN ANGLE. But optimally, you went to move sideways, forwards at an angle, or underneath your opponents punches.

- Aim to make your counter simultaneous to the initial attack. Since that's not always possible, try to counter as soon as possible. An example of a simultaneous counter is slipping a jab while throwing a body jab. An example of near-simultaneous countering is deflecting a punch while throwing another within the same second.

Think of it like music. You want your counter to land on the same beat as the attack. If that's not possible, you want to land it on the upbeat. If you throw your counter attack on an entirely second count, he's already gone (unless he sucks).

Modifying the drill:

If you're a beginner or unfamiliar with it, start by allowing the attacker to use only a single jab (high or low).

A step up from there is to allow any single punch.

A step up from there is to allow any combination of 2 punches. The counter attack should also consist of 2 punches.

A step up from there is to allow only a single attack and single counter, but include kicks.

A step up from there is to allow a one-two combination, including punches and kicks.

You can also use this drill in a non-linear fashion. Just get a timer, set up rounds, and perform the drill with uninhibited footwork, which can be used for feints and whatnot.

To modify the drill for MMA, allow takedowns as a counter, an attack, or both. This can be done with hands only (and you should start off doing it like that) or with hands and feet.

However, you should let takedowns count as a third attack. You can attempt one immediately, but you can also do 2 striking attacks and then a shot, as that's more realistic. This will help you set up takedowns and defend takedowns that are hidden within combinations.

Also, make sure that you stay out of arms reach when not attacking. Treat stepping into arms reach as an attack in itself, and counter as soon as it happens.

So yeah, that's pretty much the best drill that I've ever done in my entire life. It can be modified in so many ways. It's practically the perfect bridge between padwork and sparring. If only I'd made it up myself...

It works best when you've got a good coach watching over you, but can be done with just a partner -- assuming that you're both competent and aware enough to call each other out if you get sloppy with technique.

Answer 3

Do a search for the following ebook:

Muay Thai - The Art of Fighting

Yod Ruerngsa, Khun Kao Charuad and James Cartmell

It has a lot of drills.

Good Luck

Answer 4

Get a makiwara board and train on it for an hour a day at least.