Revolutionizing Self Defence Training: Constructing Effective Drills for Successful Sparring and Fighting
When it comes to martial arts training, transitioning from passive drilling to live sparring or even fighting can often present a formidable challenge. After all, there’s a stark contrast between executing a learned move on a compliant partner versus managing the sensory overload of an unpredictable engagement. This was the main discussion point in a recent video from the well-respected YouTube channel Hard2Hurt, run by ‘Icy Mike’. The emphasis of the video is, getting ready to spar isn’t just about mastering your moves – it’s about conditioning yourself to execute an effective response under pressure and in unexpected circumstances. Gabriel Varga’s Disruptive Approach to Martial Arts Training The video features six-time world champion Gabriel Varga discussing an innovative method to construct practical drills that are easily applicable in sparring or a real fight. The fundamental issue at stake here, as Gabriel suggests, is the failure of many training regimes to bridge the gap between passive practice and live sparring. These regimes leave students unprepared for the unpredictability and rapid decision making required in actual combat, despite good command over learned techniques. Live Drilling: Key to Improve Fighting Skills In contrast to common practice, Gabriel introduced an insightful concept of ‘live drilling’. This practice involves training the brain to react with learned techniques in a structured yet spontaneous setting. To implement, students are first familiarised with a simple attack and then graduate to deal with combinations of different attacks. This training escalation equips them with improved reaction times, sharper cognitive skills and a better technique recall in complex fighting scenes. There is a note of caution though for beginners and coaching programs. Gabriel insists on first mastering techniques in isolation before introducing variables into the mix. This is not unlike learning a new language where one first learns words and grammar rules before attempting to construct complex sentences. The Role of Ego in Combat Training Another critical point raised in this discussion was the role of ego in self-defence training. The video suggests that ego can hinder progression as it often prompts individuals to resort to their strengths rather than working on their weaknesses. This training approach results in rounded skills development and delivers a more prepared and versatile fighter. Conclusion: Be Realistic in Your Training An athlete’s training journey is often a continuous struggle to improve and outperform their limitations. It’s critical to remember that this journey is not just about gaining proficiency in techniques but also about training your brain to think under pressure. While the formal methods of martial arts training play a crucial role in learning, they should gradually evolve into realistic simulation drills, such as live drilling. Finally, while an individual’s ego can feel challenged by these rigorous training routines, it’s vital to put it aside to enable true growth. To wrap up, Gabriel’s message is quite clear: learn, drill dynamically, spar realistically, and never cease to improve your game. Keep these principles in mind and stay ‘Hard2Hurt’. Remember, developing the ability to effectively apply your mastered techniques in practice, under pressure and amidst the chaos of a real fight, will inevitably make you a formidable contender.Blablabla
Hard2Hurt is a YouTube channel led by a professional self-defense trainer, Icy Mike. Delivering practical, science-based self-defense methods, Icy Mike uses his experience as a former law enforcement officer to teach personal safety skills. His relatable and usable tips help viewers to protect themselves in real-world situations.
Self-Defence Block
Good way to phrase it so I can sell it better to the people who bitch about doing exercises they need but dislike, or bitch when they look foolish, thanks 😊
Tang Soo do, eh? I don't remember Chuck Norris sucking
This great for teaching. Thank you 🙏
Great drill, top coaching
Sparring should be drilling as much as it is combat. Sparring is just drilling where you throw in variables but you can't throw variables at new practitioners because they panic. I've found that's really the most important thing for new people getting hit for the first time, to reduce the level of panic. It's also true for intermediate practitioners as well. They mess up and they feel flummoxed but in a real fight, you don't have time to entertain of dwell on the mistakes, you just have to drill to fight that urge to need to stop and reflect or commiserate with yourself when making mistakes.
Fighting is about who adapts from their mistakes most effectively. Drilling is about learning how to fight the need to pause or be distracted by what you perceive as you having done wrong. Imperfect fighting where you adapt well is more effective than technically perfect fighting done ineffectively. At the end of the day even the top level martial artists are constantly making mistakes.
Top video fellas!
I really like the idea behind this. I always find it a little frustrating when I'm training striking or grappling with people who have a fair amount of experience and they only want to do "drills" that just involve repeatedly throwing combinations on mitts without any competitive aspect or potential for failure.
Doing totally compliant technique drills is fine for people who are just looking to get a workout or if you're just learning the technique, but too many people have this idea that just practicing a punching combination or a submission on a compliant partner over and over is the way you improve and I honestly feel like that type of training has almost no impact on your ability to use the techniques for real; in some cases it can make you worse, because without the risk of failure or being countered, you can easily develop habits that make those pitfalls more likely to occur.
I think it's ideal to practice drills that you will initially fail at more often than succeeding, like the jab/leg kick one you do here at the start. I get the impression that a lot of people just assume it's a bad drill or it's not worth doing if they try it 10 times and fail 5 or more of those times, but in reality, that should be the kind of things that encourages you to practice more until you can pull it off more frequently. The benefit of that type of training is that you can try hard and fail often without getting hurt, which is not always the case in sparring and certainly not the case in a real fight. If you can't embrace the risk of failure, you're probably never going to find the ability to succeed.
Best fighting YouTube channel
Without live drilling…youre just dancing.
Same with all those Aikido and Hapkido techniques.
People learn the basic form, then they might make it more flowery and fancy, but they almost never do the work to make it functional.
That means training it in sparring, recognising the reference points where a technique is available, making the entry, applying kasushi to disrupt his pattern of movement to create a moment and then applying the technique.
Oh and then there are all the options for when he stuffs the technique, which will happen more often than not.
Great advice thank you.
Hello Mike, since I don't have a Gabriel Varga in my gym could you also show how to improve martial arts skills without Gabriel Varga, thank you.
This is great and so true, p.s have seen the ultimate defense championship video and from what I've seen you were the only one that has pulled off the cleanest techniques, kicking heads, knifes out of hands, flying kicks,fighting upside down, awesome work!
So right about the live drilling
Couldn't agree more! I remember doing one step and three step "sparring", almost useless.
So many senseïs should adopt these ideas about sparring! They do not and the guys run to the next muaythai or kickboxing gym to finally learn how to fight.
So happy to see my experience confirmed, I thought it was me who wasn't gifted for Martial Arts. We didn't do live drills in my dojo, neither in my Boxing club. I noticed this gap between drills and sparrings and what I did is focusing on one single thing I wanted to improve/restitute during my sparrings. I remembered it was working. Stupidly, I didn't do it on a systematic basis hence my not very impressive progress.
Totaly true. Been training for 2mo. They badly needed a man for spar. And I was not able to trow more than 2,3 normal punches. Rest was who knows what techique and style. Not to mention I was exausted.
We do this kind of thing in my karate class. We "drill" certain techniques in 'easy' sparring situations. Good content Mike 👌
This was how my first boxing coach trained me. He would show me the technique and then he would move around with me and throw other stuff and then throw the shot we worked on. Great stuff!
Iam in Statesville NC were y'all located?
It's chess not checkers.
I'm at a boxing & muay thai gym where the instructors seem very open to trying new things and generally have a humble attitude, but I haven't come across this kind of live drilling. Granted, I've only been here for about 3 and a half months. How would you recommend introducing this concept to them so I don't come off as like, condescending to my own instructors?
I was told all the time that was bad etiquette in learning. I was told let your partner learn the move. The lies i was told lol.
It was Eisenhower who said Planning is essential, but plans are useless. Mean, planning or drilling is important, but the plan will be useless in the actual engagement. Fights are chaotic because you forget that you can not make your opponent's plans for him or her. Sun Tzu, "Know your enemy"
My gym we do lite sparring and body work sparring for beginners
The elite martial artists on YouTube really share useful information. Thank you Mike, Gabe, Shane, Seth, Jeff, Steven Wonderboy, and many more that I'm unable to recall.
It all comes down to coaches trying to do too much and talk to much and instruct too much instead of knowing the fundamentals and ensuring the fighters keep the fundamentals.
the most beneficial drills i've ever done started real light and progressively got harder and harder to the point you're nearly about to kill or be killed, but you hardly notice because you enter a flow state.
My boxing couch had me spar in the first month. But he only allowed us to use the jab. Then later on in training he added the straight. So he made it at my beginner pace
I saw the lights from the car skipping across the back wall and thought someone was hotboxing your studio 😂😂😂