Waterbury MMA Thread

[kuri]

Chad Waterbury has started a MMA thread in his Author's Locker Room at T-Mag.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=967822&pageNo=0

Pretty interesting read so far. One nugget of information Chad dropped is that he uses mobility drills he picked up from the Rickson Gracie documentary "Choke". I also use some of those movements and agree they are great.

Discussion has gotten more on the topic of Gi vs. no-Gi BJJ rather than strength/conditioning training for MMA but theres some cool training info within. A number of guys chiming in are MMA coaches and some fighters are participating as well.

Apparently Chad is working on an MMA-focused training article. That I can't wait for.

[Chris Correia]

Good find, Kuri. I'll have to check that out later on.

[David.W]

Great thread Kuri thanks. Ive always been one of these guys who trains heavy in the gym and lets my martial art look after the endurance and cardio aspects. Its great to be reminded of how strong boxers and thai boxers are and how much emphesis they place on running.

I need to run more thats for sure, and I really underestimate my abilities as well. After seeing some of those pseudo routines, its clear I could be doing more to reach my goals...alot more.

Thanks!
David.W

[kuri]

I'm picking out a few posts I found most interesting concerning lifting/conditioning for martial artists.

Interesting program layout by Waterbury here:

Chad Waterbury wrote:

Day 1: AM lifting workout, PM lifting workout
Day 2: MMA and/or boxing
Day 3: Off
Day 4: AM lifting workout, PM lifting workout
Day 5: MMA and/or boxing
Day 6: Off
Day 7: Flexibility workout

Of course, flexibility training should be performed on all days (at least 20 minutes). But I like to devote at least one day/week (for beginnners) to an hour long flexibility session. Think of this session as a full workout in itself.

>80% of 1RM for the AM
65-70% of 1RM for the PM

Another poster lays out his training:

5-7 Days per Week...typically once a day, twice if I can make it
3x3 minutes jump rope or some type of dynamic warm up that will also help improve fitness (gpp)
3x3 minutes shadow boxing...sometimes more
3x3 minutes on the heavy bag...sometimes more
lots of basic sparring drills, typically done to the pattern of 2 minute rounds and usually 2 "sets" per drill. 12-20+ rounds
sometimes mitt work or pad work
sometimes sparring (3 minute rounds)...changes all the time. Last week I put in some 30+ rounds of sparring. Other weeks very little or none.
sometimes wall drills
sometimes clinch work or in fighting.
emphasis is on the basics...good footwork, good head movement, good balance, good mechanics. lots of situational type drills, working off of angles...using your head!
not a whole lot of ground training, lately...this will come later. My primary focus is on striking for right now.

Strength and Conditioning:
Typically 3 days on/ 1 day off using the Crossfit/Black Box Method/Whatever you want to call it. I like it, it works for me...i could care less about the politics that go on there.
Besides the wod posted on crossfit.com, I use lots of ideas from the likes of
various crossfit affiliates (gymjones.com, coachrut.blogspot.com, crossfitnc.com to name a few) that also post workout of the days, ethan reeve, zach even esh, rhadi ferguson, steve maxwell, Chad Waterbury, martin rooney, louie simmons, alwyn cosgrove, etc, etc. the list goes on. I take whats useful for my goals and throw the rest out.

[chi sao]

"Flexibility workout"

Did he post the flexibility workout by any chance?

[Jean-Paul]

Did you catch this article by Waterbury at T-mag?

Fight School
The Origin and Practice of Mixed Martial Arts
by Chad Waterbury

Make no mistake about it, hand to hand combat has been around for as long as Testosterone has poured through the bloodstream of Homo sapiens.
That's because you and I are designed with one sole purpose in mind: survival. So no matter how paradoxical it might seem, red-blooded males have an innate, and sometimes intense, desire to grapple with others in hopes that we'll somehow become more apt to survive nature and all its beasts.
Or maybe we just think that proficient ass-whoopin' skills will get us laid more?
Regardless, fighting has existed since the dawn of man and you can be damn sure it'll be around until the dusk of man.

The Genesis of Hand-to-Hand Combat?
If we could somehow travel back to when man first walked the earth, we'd probably see that the first bout of hand to hand combat was between a scraggly-haired fella and a snaggle-toothed beast (actually, it's likely they both had snaggle teeth).
You see, man needed to wrestle down those beasts for food or the ol' cavewoman wouldn't be giving out any late-night rompin' by the fire. Not to mention that some of those beasts can be rather tasty. After all, a real caveman needs fleshy protein that contains the entire amino acid spectrum – not just some sissy tree bark and dried up beetles.
But it's likely that something else happened that begot today's Testosterone-infused fisticuffs. I'm talking about good old-fashioned competition — the kind of competition that would make the late Sam Walton proud.
Yep, I'll betcha' that one day a scraggly, wretched man from the "other side of the mountain" was roaming outside of his territory in hopes of landing some prime beef for dinner. At some point, he probably ran into another hirsute fella that was just as hungry, and nasty, as he was. So these two cave-dudes decided to conduct a good ol' throw-down. They probably battled to blood-splattered fury while their fleshy prey ran away in delight.

Well, I'm not sure if that's how it all started, but I bet it ain't too far off. Anyhow, I've spent plenty of time around hand-to-hand combat, both inside and outside of the boxing gym, dojo, and Honky-Tonks (as a bouncer, mind you).
So I'm here to give you a little background on a sport that's quickly rising to mainstream status; a no-holds-barred fighting event where elite practitioners from dozens of fighting styles come together to compete: mixed martial arts (MMA).

Is Fighting a Sport?
According to the in-depth look at the history and practice of MMA in his outstanding book No Holds Barred, Clyde Gentry dates the coalescence of fighting and sport back to the Trojan War in 2000 BC (and you thought your great-grandma Gertrude was old)!
But it appears that the first organized fighting event that wasn't purely boxing or wrestling in nature took place during the 33^rd Olympics in 648 BC. This event was known as pankration, meaning "all sport" or "all power."
So if you consider Olympic events to be sport, then yes, fighting is a sport. However, the definition became muddy once the Olympic competitors started dealing with a rather nasty side-effect of pankration: namely, death. By 404 AD, this kind of combat was nixed. Go figure.

Fast-Forward a Couple Millenia
There are strong guys, and there are fast guys. There are high-kickers, and there are heavy hitters. But the dogma of organized fighting events has effectively separated such guys from ever meeting in competition. After all, Tae Kwon Do guys fight Tae Kwon Do guys. And boxers fight boxers. They simply don't venture out of their given sport to challenge other fighters. That all changed, and much of the credit can be given to one family.
Around the mid-1900's, Helio Gracie honed a unique style of fighting that revolved around submission techniques such as chokes and arm bars. This style of fighting became known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ).


Helio Gracie
Both BJJ and the Gracie name spread like wildfire through the martial arts community. Not only did the Gracie style of jiu-jitsu prove to be effective and unique, but the Gracie family also set a precedent that forever changed the dogma of organized fighting: they were willing to compete against fighters of different styles.
Helio's oldest son, Rorion, soon took over the reigns to represent the Gracie style of jiu-jitsu. Rorion challenged kick-boxing champion, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, to a fight with a six-figure purse. But even after much negotiation, Urquidez never accepted the Gracie challenge. Not willing to give up on his desire to prove the effectiveness of Gracie jiu-jitsu, Rorion challenged anyone in the US to fight him for $100,000. No one jumped at the opportunity.
So Rorion eventually combined forces with an advertising guy named Arthur Davie. Their intent was to put together a pay-per-view fighting event that showcased some of the world's top fighters in a single elimination contest.
During this time, around 1993, Rorion and Arthur attended a No-Holds-Barred (NHB) underground event called Kage Kombat in Irvine, California. The cage that was used in this event gave them the idea to develop their own unique fighting platform. After throwing around a few thoughts, Rorion came up with the idea to use a caged octagon for the fighters. The purpose of the octagon was to provide a strong, stable environment to support the hellish activity that was sure to go on between fighters.
With the help of promoter, Michael Abramson, the title of this soon-to-be event was coined The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). On November 12, 1993, the first UFC event was held – and man, was it ugly.

Blood, Sweat and Politics
In the beginning of UFC, there were no rules. Well, let me rephrase that: it was recommended that fighters not eye gouge or bite. So I guess you could call those rules. But then again, fighters who did eye gouge or bite weren't disqualified – they were fined $1000. Given that the purse for these events was miniscule, and since no fighter had the last name Rockefeller, I guess the system worked.
At the time, the UFC was the United States most popular MMA event, but not all thought it was fit for society. Because of the plethora of broken bones (no gloves), knocked-out teeth (no mouth guards), and crushed balls (very few wore cups), the mainstream media articulated their disapprobation for the UFC by using words like "disgusting" or "dumb" or "human cockfighting." Touché?
Arizona Senator, John McCain, led the fight to get the UFC banned from the states. But, society's hard-wired desire to watch two men unleash their aggressions on each other couldn't be sublimated.
Due to bigger venues, larger audiences, pay-per-view success, better marketing, and more charismatic and colorful fighters, the sport of "no holds barred" MMA spread like herpes through a whorehouse (but not without many legal and political obstacles along the way).


The Pride Factor
In the fall of 1997, Japan debuted its own MMA event titled Pride Fighting Championships, or just plain Pride. This event proved much slicker and better organized than the original UFC events. (Hey, it's always easier to be successful when you can build on the struggles of others.)
While the UFC started out in small venues with unqualified announcers and a small purse; Pride was able to book huge venues and world-class fighters because the event offered a much larger purse than UFC tournaments. Needless to say, many of the top UFC fighters skedaddled over to Japan.
In addition to Pride, another fighting event has been extremely popular in Japan for more than a decade. It's called K-1. While still relatively unknown in the states, K-1 is huge worldwide. Their events sell-out venues like the Tokyo Dome. (In case you didn't know, the Tokyo dome holds approximately 60,000 people.)
Both Pride and K-1 are similar in the sense that they attract huge audiences, and the fights take place in a square boxing ring with ropes.

Since Pride has booked venues that push 100,000 people, it's probably safe to assume that it's the largest and most lucrative MMA competition in the world. However, the UFC is the most popular in the states (mainly due to an incredibly savvy marketing plan that's in place).

Rules, Anyone?
Okay, enough with the history, politics, and popularity. Let me break down the current rules and regulations for UFC, Pride, and K-1 MMA. In terms of rules, much overlap exists between the three events, but there are indeed some differences. In fact, I could ramble on ad nauseam about the differences, but I'll spare you. Two of the biggest differences are the length of rounds and the fighting area.
In Pride, the first round is 10 minutes with the last two rounds being 5 minutes each. In UFC and K-1 MMA, all rounds are 5 minutes (regular matches are 3 rounds while championship matches are typically 5 rounds).
There are two minutes between each round in Pride and K-1 MMA, while the UFC only allows one minute between each round.
Pride and K-1 MMA both use a 7x7 meter boxing ring with four evenly-spaced ropes. The UFC uses an octagon fighting area that's surrounded by a steel cage.
Here's a rough overview of MMA rules (keep in mind, there are a plethora of nuances that separate each organization, but this will give you the basic idea).

General MMA Rules
How to Win (or lose depending on your reference point):
1. Ippon (fighter taps opponent or mat 3 times)


2. Technical Knockout (TKO)

• Referee Stoppage
• Doctor Stoppage
• Forfeit (corner throws in the towel)

3. Decision (three judges each choose a winner)
How to Lose:
Disqualification (fighter loses if he breaks any of the rules listed below)
Draw:
No Contest (if both fighters break any of the rules; or if both fighters can no longer fight)
Grounds For Disqualification (Each results in a penalty, three result in a loss):
1. No head butting, eye gouging, hair pulling, biting, or fish hooking.
2. No attacking the groin.
3. No strikes (kicks, elbows, punching) to the back of the head (includes the occipital region and the spine).
4. No small joint manipulation (control of four or more fingers/toes is necessary).
5. No elbow strikes to the head and face.
6. No intentionally throwing your opponent out of the ring.
7. No running out of the ring (you big pussy).
8. No purposely holding the ropes (or the cage with regard to UFC).
9. No kicks or knees to the head or the face of an opponent who falls face down.
10. No application of oil, ointment, spray, Vaseline, massaging cream, hair cream, or any other substances is permitted to any part of the fighter's body before and during the fights.

Building the Ultimate Fighter
I've always had a huge interest in the sport of MMA. That's probably not surprising to you, given my profession. Indeed, a MMA athlete is one of the most completely developed machines on earth.

Biotest's Georges St. Pierre, known more commonly as "GSP"

If you want to succeed in MMA, you must possess extraordinary levels of strength, endurance, and flexibility. That pretty much covers the entire fitness spectrum, and that's precisely the reason why training like a MMA – even if you have no desire to ever compete – is simply one of the best ways to train. You too can metamorphose into an ass-stompin' machine of power and agility.
But this article isn't intended to delve into the details of how I train MMA fighters. I'll address that topic at length in my future articles. In the meantime, I want to discuss what qualities a trainee who's new to MMA should strive for.

Maximal Strength:
For those who are new to training for MMA, or for those with low levels of maximal strength, I'll first build up the three powerlifts. The most important powerlift for a MMA fighter is the deadlift. The first priority will be to develop a 2.5x bodyweight deadlift.
So, if you weigh 180 lbs, you'll need to achieve a 450 lbs raw deadlift (no belt, suit, or straps). Eventually, the ultimate goal will be a 3.0x bodyweight deadlift. But this is by no means written in stone. Depending on the lifter's height and skeletal structure, a 2.5x bodyweight deadlift might be sufficient.
The second priority is a 2.5x bodyweight squat. Again, this must be a raw effort. For taller trainees (over 6'), a 2.5x bodyweight squat is ideal. For shorter lifters, or for those who have the skeletal structure conducive to squatting big numbers, I might kick the number up to 3.0x bodyweight (but this is rare). Keep in mind, I'm referring to a powerlifting squat where you're only required to drop your femur just below parallel to the floor.
The third priority is a 2.0x bodyweight bench press. This is the least important of all the powerlifts, but a bigger bench can help your fighting efforts. Nevertheless, whatever you can bench press must be perfectly matched by a seated row (even though a seated row is not a powerlift). I only allow my clients to increase their bench press if their rowing strength matches their current pressing strength. And if their bench press increases 20 lbs, so does their rowing strength.
As counterintuitive as it might seem, my purpose in building up a novice's maximal strength is to help him get faster. Speed is most important in mixed martial arts. I don't care how strong you are, if your opponent can punch you quicker than you can punch him, he's going to beat you. And if you build up your maximal strength, you'll get faster, but this is only true for beginners.
Advanced trainees must do specific speed-strength training to get faster because rate of force development becomes a limiting factor. Furthermore, advanced trainees should spend the majority of their resistance training time performing single-limb exercises such as pistols, one-leg deadlifts, etc. that improves both range of motion and stability strength.

Endurance:
With MMA events, the intermediate energy system (anaerobic glycolysis) is most important. This is the system that allows you to train at a relatively high level for up to 10 minutes (a little more or less depending on who you reference). To build up this energy system, I use circuits of exercises such as squats, presses, deads, and pulls.
In addition, I'll focus on sprinting drills that range in length from 40-800M. And depending on the specific needs and fitness levels of the fighter, I'll build up his endurance even further by training him to run 3 miles in 18 minutes. But this 18 minute endurance event is the limit. I feel many MMA fighters are performing an excessive amount of long-duration cardio that's impairing their maximal strength and explosiveness.

Flexibility:
An extraordinary level of flexibility is paramount in MMA training and competition. If you're tight, you're not going to be able to maneuver yourself into effective ground positions; and you're not going to be able to get out of compromising positions (i.e, you'll get submitted much easier if you're tight).
MMA fighters must stretch every day. In fact, most need to stretch for multiple sessions each day. A typical North American will have excessively tight anterior shoulder muscles, internal rotators, posterior chain muscles, and adductors. But the list certainly doesn't end there.

If you can kick your shin up to your forehead; interlock your fingers behind your back with the over-and-under shoulder stretch; and drop down into the full splits, you're well on your way. If not, you better get to dynamic, static, and passive stretching. I suggest you pick up Stretching Scientifically by Thomas Kurz for a basic overview of some effective stretches and flexibility routines.

Conclusion
I've taken you from the origin of sport fighting, all the way through to the basic qualities that a MMA fighter or weekend warrior should strive for. This article is not intended to be an exhaustive review of the complexities involved in the sport and training. Instead, it's merely a teaser article for what's to come from my methods. In the near future, I'll show you how to develop your strength, endurance, and flexibility to levels that you never thought possible.
Stay tuned for my complete MMA training system!

© 1998 — 2006 Testosterone, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

For those who were at last year's summit, you will remember that Chad actually LOOKS like a barbarian or a viking... Tall, built like a brick shit house, and long hair (just like Conan only blond). Somehow I can picture him throwing down. Maybe if we can get him back for future events we'll have a section on MMA. That would be a change of pace. Alwyn's going to be my next headliner, so between the two of them they could get us fired up enough to start our our "fight club".

[Chris Correia]

I didn't then (catch it). I did now. Thanks for the post, JP.

[Canadian_Bacon]

I didnt like that article.. what MMA fighters has CW trained? It seems like he took what he knew(training for strength and endurance) and tried to directly apply it to MMA fighters.

claiming a fighter needs to run 3 miles in 18 mins, or high 2.5x BW squat is silly IMHO. Those are good goals for any athelete but they should be training more for the actual fighting.

Look at Fedor, Gomi, BJ Penn, Mark Hunt, etc etc. These people are the best fighters but clearly they arent the best from a physique standpoint.

[kuri]

Good find JP.

C Bacon, I think Waterbury's point is that MMA fighters (like any athlete) would benefit from strength training. That's not to say Fedor & Gomi aren't badasses, because they clearly are. And both of them regularly beat other opponents that appear to be physically stronger (Fedor vs Randleman).

Some of them, and Rich Franklin comes to mind here, might be succeeding despite their strength training programs.

Of course there are many other factors that determine the outcome of a MMA fight, but if I were a competing fighter I'd sure as hell listen to what Chad has to say on the subject. I don't see any situation in which being better conditioned and stronger would be a detriment.

[Canadian_Bacon]

kuri, i agree but those are HUGE numbers. Do you honestly think most people can learn how to be a proper striker, grappler, wrestler and on top of that put in enough time in the gym to get to the types of weights some mid level PLers would be jealous of?

Someone on eltefts who actually trains for MMA and is also part of pling community said that is just silly. You can be a good lifter or a good MMA fighter, you cant really be both.

I agree that strength training is important I just disagree w/ the bench marks CW throws around.

[kuri]

Yeah I know those are huge numbers. I spend way more time lifting than doing MMA right now and I still am not even close to those numbers. But, in that T-Mag thread (pg 3 or 4) Waterbury stated that those numbers are goals. It doesn't mean athletes he trains are actually putting up those kinds of numbers.

J Braswell, an amateur fighter that trains with St. Pierre & Arlovski stated neither of them have 2.5xbw squats & DLs.

I do agree that sport specific training should take up the bulk of an athlete's time - a point Chad would doubtless agree with, so instead of focusing on the 2.5xbw figure I'll just wait and see his next article that promises to outline a program.

[Chris Correia]

Originally Posted by kuri

Yeah I know those are huge numbers. I spend way more time lifting than doing MMA right now and I still am not even close to those numbers. But, in that T-Mag thread (pg 3 or 4) Waterbury stated that those numbers are goals. It doesn't mean athletes he trains are actually putting up those kinds of numbers.

J Braswell, an amateur fighter that trains with St. Pierre & Arlovski stated neither of them have 2.5xbw squats & DLs.

I do agree that sport specific training should take up the bulk of an athlete's time - a point Chad would doubtless agree with, so instead of focusing on the 2.5xbw figure I'll just wait and see his next article that promises to outline a program.

Then that begs the question, "Where do those numbers/goals come from?" Are they based on work Chad or others have done with other athletes and they are getting carried over? Are they numbers demonstrated by a number of successful MMA fighters? Are they just theoretical goals? Are those numbers educated opinion, experience, or science (or, if more than one, which ones, and based on what?)?

[Canadian_Bacon]

Good point Chris, The fact that basically none of the best fighters in the world are putting up those types of #s in the gym I dont see how they can even be described as "GOOD" goals.

Setting benchmarks that dont jive w/ what the vast majority of the successfull people do can only lead to bad things IMHO. Like young fighters starting out and putting to much time in the weightroom and not on the mat.

I honestly think this is one of CW's poorer articles. I dont think he has the knowledge/experience actually training people for MMA and it shows.

[kuri]

Well, I do know there are some fighters that probably can handle those numbers. Cro Cop and Randleman have huge lower bodies. Ron Waterman certainly looks like he could handle it, and Tank (bad example I know) benched 600 at 250 bw.

Your points are well taken though & wasn't too impressed with the article overall - but it is just a foray into the sport. I'm curious to see more of CW's MMA specific work and who he has trained. Rather than getting stuck on those numbers I'm looking forward to seeing how he combines the strength and all-important conditioning training.

[Rdbaerd]

loved chads post on TNation on the ulimate fighting, pretty interesting and plus the workouts that he gave. Although he doesnt metion training for actual fighting i think that goes without saying.