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AFFILIATIONS Terry Barnett's British Combat
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RESTRICTION |
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On a recent seminar, I asked the audience to give me some examples of what they thought Restrictive Training was and how it could be trained. As one would expect, many of the answers offered up were primarily focused on the physical restrictive aspects. Suggestions such as, sparring one handed, starting the spar from vulnerable positions, etc etc.
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Here are some typical suggestions of how you can add restriction to your training in a very physical sense. Isolation sparring – where one or both fighters are limited to select techniques or perhaps only sparring with the one hand. Forcing the speed and pace of the spar, both fast and slow, light and heavy. Sometimes it’s more difficult to spar slowly and softly, so more self control is required as is a better understanding of technique. We often mask our lack of technical competence with lightning speed, so restriction in the pace is a great way of exposing these technical flaws and allowing you to observe them and rectify them. Limit the ranges of the spar so that kicking is not allowed, or clinchwork is not allowed. Sparring with the emphasis on a specific aspect such as, ensuring every attack is countered to develop a good habit of counter attacking and not being dominated in fights. Or making efforts to employ a specific punching combination as many times as possible in the spar – taking that combination from padwork and into a more realistic scenario. Basically, the list is endless in terms of how you can mix things up in your training to add restriction. The restriction we focus on mostly in the Restriction Training DVD is that of physical space and room to move and execute technique. More laterally, we can look at adding restriction from more than just the physical technique or position we are in. For example, how about we restrict ourselves by starting our training with an increased heart rate? Perhaps, busting out a few burpees before you start your next round on the pads; this will have a massive effect and remove the ability to pace yourself through the round as you’re already starting it tired and out of breath. Or, how about we start to add some trepidation and some anxiety and nerves to our training by organising a tough hard spar a week in advance. Give yourself something to look forward to and dwell on for a week. Now we’re starting to get to the real types of restrictive training. You see, restriction doesn’t just have to be a physical restriction. Sure, I can learn a lot from standing with my back to the wall and punching pads, but the real lesson isn’t in the development of more power with the limited movement. It is about the process of how you achieved that increase in power. Put yourself in a restrictive position and you will immediately feel uncomfortable. And I guess that makes sense as, whenever you try to learn a new martial art or skill that perhaps goes against something you have already learned, your reference points are no longer valid and confusion ensues. For someone with no experience, they know nothing else and so simply get on with the task in hand assuming that is just the way you feel when you’re starting out. So lets take a lesson from a complete beginner here. It’s this relaxation and comfort within the discomfort that we must seek if we are to gain what restrictive training is really intended to deliver. From a purely physical stand point, if I can learn to relax and generate more power when in a restricted position, it’s going to feel like my birthday when I am then allowed my usual room to move and can wind up the techniques. Learn to kick high and kicking low will be easy, so to speak. |
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However, far more important than the generation of more physical punching power is the knowledge of the steps you have taken and the lesson you have learned during this process. We only have to look at the financial crisis that is apparently happening at the moment to see how we can learn from these restrictions. If my salary was cut in half over night I would feel a massive financial restriction but if I’d never had that salary, just as the person who’d never learned to punch in the first place, then I would not feel the same amount of discomfort and would be able to relax more easily. Relax in the discomfort and you will provide the room for growth. Be creative with your training and find new ways to restrict yourself and expose areas which require further development. Then finally, take these lessons from your training and translate them into everything else.
Stay Safe and have fun Al x |
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