Technique Tips And Mental Tips 

From Instructor Brad Daddis

(mental tips found at bottom of page)

3/05/2009  I can't stress enough how important it is to strike when breaking out of a clinch!  This is when your opponent feels safe and thinks he has time to reset in his stance.  He is vulnerable at this point and you must take advantage of this.   An example would be... you are in a clinch or tie up and not much is happening.   Push off and immediately throw a head  high kick!  Not one second after the clinch breaks.  I mean immediately, as the clinch breaks.   Even just a simple 1,2 combination will do the trick.   Trust me on this one and try it next time you are sparring.   Timing is the key to this whole theory and timing is what separates intermediate fighters from advanced.   But please, controlled striked in sparring class!  Thanks guys...see you in training.  

 Brad Daddis

2/27/07 Body Kicks-  I just had a student e-mail me with the following question...

"when going for a body kick i notice myself getting caught alot...what can i do to avoid this? and when my opponent has my leg should i focus more on getting it back down or throwing a strike?"     My answer to his great question was this.... "Good question... try to throw the kick while he is in mid punch, this way his body is exposed and his arms extended.   This will make your kick much harder to catch and will give you an open target.  So, timing is the key there.    Also, make sure you are setting up the kick with a punch or another strike.   As, for your next question... throw a quick, straight, lead punch to stun your opponent, making it easier to do your escapes to free your leg."

2/20/07 POWER PUNCHING- I preach this in class constantly but it is worth repeating.   All punches develop their power from the ground up!   I.e.  The power from a straight right cross does not come from your tricep muscle or just your shoulder muscles.   It comes from your whole body.   On a right cross, you begin by pivoting on your right foot, generating power from the ground which in turn, twists your hips to the left and then your torso as well.   Lastly, your shoulders, triceps, ect...put the finishing power on the punch.   My point is that all of your body weight should be behind the punch.  Think about it...if you were laying flat on your back and threw a right punch, would it be as powerful as if you were standing?  Obviously not.  Most likely not even a third of the power would be developed.   Punching power comes from good technique, so this tip should help you quite a bit.   Good luck!

1/12/2009 When throwing knee strikes, it is important for your knee to not only drive upwards, but into the opponent as well. Many students simply raise there knee for their strike and the result is lack of power. The key here is to lean back as you throw the knee, projecting your hips forward. This will make your knee drive forwards as well as up, making it twice as powerful. Remember, lean back and push the hips forward!

Mental Tip