What
Do You Do When You Have No Strong Training Partners
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Back in 1979, as a member of the U.S. Judo
Team, I was training at Tokai University in Japan. Often there
were over a hundred black belts on the mat, especially when foreign
teams were visiting. Practices were 2 ½ to 3 hours long
and included various kinds of Uchikomis (Fit-Ins of Throws), Ground-Grappling,
Randori (“Free Practice”, Live Wrestling), Throwing
Practice and various drills. These were tough sessions, especially
since some of these guys were World and Olympic Champions, as
well as All-Japan and College Champions.
Tokai’s
morning weight training and conditioning sessions were fairly
short, 45 minutes to 1 hour and I’d have to say that the
Europeans knew more about that aspect of training than the Japanese,
at least back then. But with all that training each afternoon
against such a wide variety of high-level opponents, the Japanese
fighters could afford to be a little behind the times on their
strength training and conditioning outside the dojo. Their grueling
practices made them plenty strong and conditioned.
In
the United States, though, we didn’t (and still don’t)
have the luxury of a hundred-plus training partners to choose
from. And I’m betting that most of you can’t get
2 ½ to 3 hours of practice at the dojo each day.
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So what can you do to compete with the best? Start
with the following:
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Learn to practice by yourself outside your regular practice sessions.
Every great champion has devised Solo Practice methods to gain
an advantage over his competition (Some examples are bag work,
solo uchikomis with tubing, and so on.). Use your imagination
to come up with more.
Travel to training camps and clinics. You’ll not only learn
new skills, but you can also “cross swords” with other
fighters.
Become a fanatic with your conditioning. Use time away from the
dojo to develop greater endurance, speed, strength, and flexibility.
Try to turn your physical weaknesses into strengths. There are
many good exercises and training methods to choose from and you
should learn and use those that work the best for you. But let
me tell you about one that you probably haven’t heard of
before: A newly invented piece of equipment called “The
Grappler”. Regardless of your style, it will make you a
much stronger fighter.
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The
Grappler |
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A Revolutionary Innovation In Strength Training For Grapplers
and Martial Artists of All Styles
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The
biggest problem in weight training for martial artists, especially
those that do some form of grappling is that most of the lifts,
Bench Press for example, strengthen you in just one line of motion.
If your opponent forces your arms even a few inches up, down,
in, or out from that line, you’ll be weaker than a school
girl. This problem is even worse with conventional weight machines
since they don’t allow for as many exercise variations and
are generally limited to one range of motion.
In
grappling and other martial arts, though, you need strength from
all angles and positions. This is why standard weight training
isn’t the whole answer. Body weight exercises like Hindu
Squats, Bridging, Pull Ups, Rope Climbing, Hindu Push Ups, and
various abdominal exercises are a step in the right direction.
They have their place in any fighters’ routine. Recently,
though, I came across a device called The Grappler that I believe
is the next step for all serious martial artists and grapplers.
Let me tell you a little bit about it.
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The
Grappler Was Invented By One Of The Foremost Speed - Strength Coaches In
The World |
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The Grappler was invented by my friend
Louie Simmons,
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arguably
the best speed-strength coach in the world. Everyone in the powerlifting
community already knows Louie. In fact, he is often called “The
Great Guru of Powerlifting” and “The Mad Monk of Powerlifting”.
Pretty good description, since his world-famous Westside Barbell
Club is the strongest gym in the world and has produced too many
National and World Champions to count. Westside currently has
5 lifters who have totaled over 2400lbs, the only gym in the world
to have done so.
But
what may not be as well known is the work Louie has done with
other world-class athletes. He has worked with the strength
coaches of The New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, Seattle
Seahawks, and The Green Bay Packers, to name just a few. And
about 1/3 of the college teams in the country have adopted some
version of Louie’s stuff. He’s also trained a 70’
plus shot putter, an Olympic sprinter, mixed martial artists,
wrestlers, and athletes from many other sports. Nobody knows
more about developing strength, power, and speed for grapplers,
mixed martial artists, and sports in general, than Louie Simmons.
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Louie’s
a big mixed martial arts fan, and one night recently while watching the
Pride Fighting Championship |
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I
asked him:
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“Why,” I asked in between
fights, “did you invent The Grappler?”
“I
made it for guys like you.”
“What
do you do,” he went on, “when you don’t have
anybody to train with?”
“Yeah,
that happens a lot in this country,” I interjected.
“Well,
when you don’t have any strong partners to workout with,”
he continued, “just do a session with The Grappler. It’ll
wear you out.
After
the next fight in which Mario Sperry knocked out his opponent
in 11 seconds, I asked,
“What
weight exercises do you think are most important for grapplers,
jujitsu fighters, judoists, submission wrestlers, and mixed
martial artists?
“I’d
concentrate on 4 things: Towing a Sled with your legs and with
your arms, Good Morning, Zercher Squats, and The Grappler.”
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"What
kind of exercises," I asked, "would you do with The
Grappler?"
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“Do all kinds of stuff. Do a lot of Vertical Bar Twists,
what we call ‘Land Mines’. This will work the rotational
muscles of your torso and your stabilizers. Invent new movements
to work your weaknesses and to support your techniques. Work your
arms and shoulders in circular motions and try working them independently
of each other. Just use your imagination.”
“Are there any other exercises
you’d recommend?” I went on.
“Yeah. Anything to work
the posterior chain. The Towing Sled is great, but also do lots
of Glute Ham Raises, Seated Leg Curls with Bands, and Reverse
Hypers. I like that DB Drill you do, too.”
Louie was referring to The 5
Minute DB Drill, a method I used with my fighters from The U.S.
National Judo Training Squad at The Olympic Training Center.
It is described in detail in my soon-to-be-released book on
physical training for grapplers and other martial artists.
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Now,
What Will "The Grappler "Do For You? |
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With
The Grappler you will develop:
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Superhuman rotational strength which is vitally important in many
throws of judo, wrestling, and other grappling-based arts. It
will also increase the power of your kicks and punches.
Ultra-powerful shoulders, all-round upper body, torso, and lower
back strength.
Awe-inspiring, specific strength in the motions you need for many
forward and twisting throws.
Super strong stabilizer muscles throughout your entire body. (These
are the often neglected muscles which most conventional weight
training misses, but which are so necessary in all ground-grappling,
throws, takedowns, kicks and punches.)
Greater resistance to injuries through greater tendon, ligament,
and stabilizer muscle strength.
In short, The Grappler will make you a much tougher fighter, whether
for self-defense or competition.
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What
Exactly Is “The Grappler?”
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“The Grappler” is simply a super heavy-duty steel
platform onto which two universal-type joints are mounted. These
two joints are designed to hold ends of 2 standard Olympic Bars.
(The 2 Olympic bars are not included). The joints allow you
to grip the other end of the bars and move them in all directions
making it possible for you to get strong from almost any angle.
You can load the end of the bars up with extra weight as you
get stronger. “The Grappler” is designed to handle
as much weight as you can safely use no matter how strong you
are.
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Josh
“Heavy” Hendricks
2x
NCAA heavyweight All-American Wrestler, Professional No-Holds-Barred
Fighter
“The Grappler’ is for the guy who wants to get real
strong. I don’t mean beach and barbell strong. I mean real
diesel horsepower strong.”
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J.P. Pocock
Professional
No-Holds-Barred Fighter , Former National Jujitsu Champion
“‘The
Grappler’ is a must for every serious fighting gym. It
enables you to train at angles that just cannot be mimicked
by any other equipment.”
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Also, if you would like information on bands or any of
Louie Simmons’ other outstanding exercise equipment,
please give me a call at 419-938-6089 or e-mail me
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