Wim Demeere's Blog

Martial Arts, Self Defense and a Whole Lot More.

Progressive Relaxation Training for Martial Arts

by 1 Comment

One of the aspects that always intrigued me most in the martial arts is the mental and psychological side. I read as much as I could on this subject but often find the information too woo-woo or pretty much useless because it lacks  practical guidelines. Some 20 years ago, I discovered Progressive Muscle Relaxation and have used it ever since for both my own training and for helping clients.  It’s one of the fastest and most efficient techniques I know to teach people how to relax.

But relaxation in and of itself isn’t enough to become a better martial artist or a more skilled fighter. You have to know how to apply it to your training. Through the years, I developed my own way of training and teaching this and wrote about it a bit in Loren’s book Solo Training 2.  But when a friend of mine, Professor Drew Anderson, brought out an e-mail course on this subject specifically for martial artists, I was obviously very excited to learn more about it.

Drew was kind enough to send me the course and it turned out to be a really good one. Some of the material was similar to what I was already doing but I also picked up a lot of really good, new information.  So I asked Drew if he would be up for a special deal here on my blog and he agreed.  Before I explain the details, here’s a short interview with Drew and some more information on his course:

Could you introduce yourself?

My name is Drew Anderson. I’m a psychology professor and licensed clinical psychologist.

I’ve been athletic all my life, but I didn’t start martial arts until my 20s. I dabbled for a bit before getting deeply involved in judo. I trained in judo up to the rank of ikkyu but had a career-ending back injury that forced me to quit. I have since been training in a form of silat.

What led you to develop this course?

When I was doing judo I found that my own body tension was really interfering with my performance, both in randori and in competition, and I began to adapt some of the relaxation training I used in my psychology work to my martial arts. I’ve continued to use it in my silat training and find it helps a great deal.

This course is based on progressive relaxation training (PRT), probably the most well-studied form of relaxation that has been developed. It has been shown to increase relaxation and muscular awareness in literally dozens of research studies.

What is PRT and how does it work?

PRT works by helping you become more aware of levels of tension and relaxation in your body, and teaches you to adjust your levels for optimal performance. For most people, this involves learning to relax excess muscle tension.

How do martial artists benefit from it?

First, optimizing muscle tension can make your movements faster, smoother, and more efficient. Second, it can help you deal with stressful situations, ranging from pre-competition jitters to a confrontation at a bar.

Does PRT work for all  martial arts or only specific ones?

It can work for any martial art. The “harder” style martial arts tend to not emphasize relaxation, so individuals studying those styles can typically benefit a great deal from PRT. And although the “softer” arts tend to have more relaxation-type skills built into them, there are still some subtleties that can they can pick up from PRT.

What kind of results can people expect from the course?

They can expect to become much more aware of their own muscular tension and relaxation and how it affects their movement. They will also develop ways of regulating their muscular tension to optimal levels. Finally, they will learn exercises specifically developed to help adapt these skills for martial arts performance.

How long does it take to get those results?

Most people are able to notice levels of muscular tension and relax almost immediately after beginning to practice, but generally it takes a week or two of practice to be able to begin to apply these skills in their day-to-day life. The course follows this notion; you first learn the basic skills and then later work on applications of those skills.

Professor Drew Anderson on the left training with another friend of mine, Mr. Frank Garza

You can get access to this course at a discount price and here’s how:

  • The course takes 6 weeks to complete. Three weeks are foundation weeks- learning the basics, and 3 weeks are applied.
  • The regular price is 200US$.  However, as a member of my site you get a 25% discount when you sign up for Drew’s email course on Progressive Relaxation Training for Martial Arts.
  • To get this discount, you need the promo code you’ll find after you log into your free membership account.
  • Send Drew an email with the promo code, he’ll send you the details to pay via Paypal or credit card and you’re good to go.
  • Drew offers a 100% refund if you’re not satisfied by the course so don’t hesitate to sign up!

So if you haven’t already made your free membership account, do so now and you can take advantage of this promotion.  You’ll not only find the promo code but also a bunch of free videos and an E-book.  Enjoy!

.

MMA against multiple opponents, Part Two

by 15 Comments

In the first part of MMA against multiple opponents, a couple of you left comments that bring up some interesting points. Here’s one by Viro:

I think the reason sport-MMA doesn’t have much of a game for a multiple-attacker scenario is that its not an issue for those types.

The MMA folks have boiled down what works and what doesn’t for the model they’re working under: one vs one in a ring with whatever particular rules exist for that venue.*

I think for MMA to come up with a vs multiple-attacker game, there just needs to be a viable venue where someone is faced with multiple attackers. If there is enough money involved, people is going to sign up. Then we’ll see MMA work to find the most efficient method to win in whatever scenario and rule-set is in place.

Oh, based on the video. I think Miller was pulling a stunt. He obviously looks jovial in the beginning of the clip. I don’t think everyone/anyone else was in on it and they displayed a singular lack of humor in dealing with his shenanigans.*

*I think I read it here, but am not sure: In most leagues, you can’t stomp on someone on the ground. In those leagues there is a ground game. In the leagues where you can stomp and kick someone on the ground, the person sent to the ground gets. TF. off. of. the. ground. as soon as possible.

 

Here are some of my thoughts:

  • First, that was exactly my point: multiple opponents is a non issue in MMA.
  • Second, the rules indeed make the game. A small change in rules can have huge effects on the game. Case in point.
  • As for a multiple opponent MMA competition, there was talk about exactly such a venue. I think it was last year or the one before, not sure anymore. As far as I know, it never took off. I seriously doubt there’ll ever be such a competition, a legal one that is. It comes close to manslaughter and the potential for some really nasty fixed matches is high.  But it sure would be somehting to see such a competition. I’m pretty sure it would look very different from today’s UFC…

Another comment, from Jon this time: [Read more…]

Martial Intent, the wrong way

by 9 Comments

After the Crazy Monkey kung fu post, several people commented on how weird it looked. And also how this type of “go nuts and flip out” fighting might surprise you at first.

Surprise! I’m crazy!

The last part first. One of the fighting “temperaments” is just that: you flip out and go crazy, making you very unpredictable. It’s very surprising the first time you meet somebody like that. Unless you have lots of experience, you might get caught by a sucker punch form such an opponent. You see guys like this on the street for different reasons:

  • They’re pumping themselves up/intimidating you.
  • It just happens to be their preferred way fighting. (It happens.)
  • They’re crazy, as in certifiably so.
  • A combination of the above.

When you’re faced with such a person, it can go bad for you because of that unpredictability. You don’t have to lie down and start bleeding just yet, but there’s definitely an extra difficulty to these guys if you haven’t faced them before. My personal preferences:

  • If they’re not attacking you just yet but are flipping out, leave ASAP. If you can’t, strike first, very fast and hard. It’s hard to jump up and down and be all hyper-active when your knee is busted or your cracked ribs are sticking to your spine…
  • If they’re coming at you like that, you might like to:
    • Side step quickly and counter very, very hard.
    • Fire a powerful long range technique as they come in (balance is not their strong point) but only if you know you have the speed, power and timing to do the job of stopping them cold.
    • Grab a tool (preferably a big one) and hit them with it.

Obviously, anything can go wrong but in my experience, these guys are usually not prepared for an immediate and powerful response form you. I find the right mindset for this to be “I don’t care how crazy you are; I’ll just hit you really, really hard right away.”

What’s the point?

The first question remains: why on earth would somebody train like those guys in the video? For a variety of reasons actually. I covered the tactical surprise here above but there’s more. [Read more…]

Former Marine Sergeant stabs robber

by 30 Comments

I just saw this video here. No idea if it’s fake or not, looks real enough.

Looks like it was shot on the store’s CCTV system but it has pretty good sound, though you might need to turn it up to hear the robber speak. And then turn it down right after so your kids or colleagues don’t hear what the former Marine says at the end (you’ve been warned!)

What it looks like to me is this:

  • The robber comes in and produces the gun.
  • He demands the money in the register.
  • “Grits” aka “Uncle Bill”, which seems to be his name, stabs him and chases him off

Anyway, I’d like to hear from any LEO or criminal defense attorney out there what they make of it: Is this self defense? If not, what is it in the eyes of the law?

"Uncle Bill Gritts" stabs the robber.

UPDATE: I should have made it clear right away but I do know the US justice system varies from state to state. So a universal answer is not possible. That’s OK. If you can comment on how things would look in your jurisdiction, that’s plenty good by me.

Also, I know anything can happen once a case ends up in court.  Just your opinion, based on your professional experience, is perfectly fine as answer. Thanks!

.

From the Octagon to the Street, Part 2

by 8 Comments

After re-reading my MMA sucks posts and then “From the Octagon to the Street“, I’m coming to the point where there doesn’t seem much left to say on this topic. I’ve tried to argue my points clearly, citing my reasoning and how I come to those specific conclusions. At this point,  like Austin Powers says “I’m spent”.

The sad thing about the Internet is how people read two sentences and then pass judgment on an entire article, forming conclusions based on limited information. I guess it’s something to do with short attention spans or information overload because it seems to become more prevalent as time goes by.  It’s like looking at the first two minutes of a movie and then feeling qualified to praise or bash it…

In the real world, there often aren’t any easy explanations. Topics are complex and so are the answers to the questions regarding them. That  means you have to put a lot of things on the table to give an accurate reply, show both the forest and the trees. And then explain how they interact.

I like that approach. When I’m interested in something, I want to know all about it and especially the “Why?” part instead of only “How?” That’s just how I am and it probably shows in the way I write. I absolutely loathe the elevator pitch mentality. Sure, it has some benefits but it needs to be followed up by research and study to see if your original assessment is even in the ballpark. All too often, that’s just not the case.

I guess I’m getting older because I don’t have much drive anymore to explain the concept of “Debate” to those who are only interested in screaming “It is so because I tell you so!” Or worse: “It is so because my great-mega-ultra-grandmaster says so!!!” What I have even less patience with is spouting off an opinion while being too lazy to even think it through or research it: [Read more…]

Popular posts

Recent Posts

Search this blog

Custom Search
Google