Online MMA Training

This is a great exercise for building core strength in the obliques and inter-costals. It sounds easy, and for the first few reps it really is, but it does get hard fast - much more so that you would expect. You do need some kind of bar to do this. I use a ‘bo’ staff, which is a weapon used in oriental martial arts, but you can use a weight lifting bar instead, or even a broom handle. Basically all you do is to rest the bar on the back of your shoulders, running behind your neck, and then rest your hands on either end so that your arms are nearly straight. You then turn around to the left until you really feel the stretch (your working flexibility as well as strength here), then turn back to the front and stop when you are facing forwards again, then turn all the way back to the left but this time come back past the forwards facing position without stopping and turn all the way around to the right and do the same on that side. It is the stopping and starting again that really works the muscles, particularly if you do it with quite fast movements.

The Kimura Drill is a great way to combine strength and conditioning training for your abs and other core muscles with practicing some of your basic ground fighting skills. The drill is actually based on repeating the same movment, which is a set up to a submission hold, over and over again so that it becomes automatic and you can perform it faster. This video demonstrates the drill and the submission hold that it is based on: