New Interview with Live Hard

Hey folks, I've been quite busy lately but I have also been away for a few days so I haven't had much chance to catch you all up on what I'm doing at the moment. There is a big update coming to Fights Gone By soon, but in the meantime here is an interview I did for a good friend at Live Hard. This blog is well worth a look as he examines meta-learning in the martial arts. I am very interested to hear the results! If they are good it could certainly revolutionize at least my own teaching strategy!

http://livehard.co.uk/2012/12/03/guest-post-jack-slack-on-meta-learning-and-body-punching/

A Fantastic Ricky Hatton Tribute by Gorilla Productions

I love this Gorlla Productions' highlights and I think my readers probably will too. Although about half of the video is focused on Ricky Hatton's losses to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the first three minutes capture perfectly what The Hitman was about. Hatton wasn't just a whirling dervish, he was a scientific rough houser at close range.

The inside game is a hugely important and overlooked part of boxing and many weight classes are now almost devoid of inside power punchers at the highest levels of the game. For many years the infighter was an almost exclusively North American export, while the traditional upright out fighter was a European commodity mainly championed by the British. It is interesting that despite fighters from the UK who make it to the world stage being more adept as outfighters overall, one of the most powerful infighters at the lower weights in recent years was an Englishman.


Hatton will be remembered by many fans as being a blood and guts fighter who fought some fairly weak competition en route to his world title and as a fighter who never learned the rudiments of defense. All of that is true, but it shouldn't blind us to his genius in his field of boxing and the several times he rose to the occasion against truly elite fighters. Just watch Hatton's work at close range and notice how much is going on.

Frank Klaus,one of the first great infighters, stressed that the normal rules of boxing don't apply in infighting as the range means that it is more about checking the opponent's hands and feeling what is happening than it is about guarding and watching the opponent's movements. Hatton's intuition on the inside was fantastic as he threw double and triple hooks to the body and head off of the same hand. Hatton would also force his opponents to cover with a hook to the head and then uppercut off of the same hand straight up the middle of their guard, or place a glove on their elbow as they kept it tight to their body and use it to steer himself around them to an angle. There is a great deal to be said for Hatton's scientific offense on the inside and it would be delusional to pretend that he got by on power alone.

Killing the King: Georges St. Pierre

 

Read 'Killing the King: Jon Jones' here.

Georges St. Pierre is to my mind the most rounded fighter to ever compete in mixed martial arts but Killing the King series is my commitment to examining all of the UFC champions with an eye for weaknesses which may be exploited by elite game planning. I will say up front that these men are champions for a reason - finding chinks in the armour of men such asJon Jones, Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva is a very hard task. Everyone, however, has favourite techniques which they use more than others, and every technique opens up a target (even the 'safe' ones: the jab, the side kick, the teep) and the targets exposed by a fighter's favorite go to techniques are the most intelligent ones to exploit.

A great example from a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu perspective is Frank Mir's use of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's favourite sit out technique to lock in an unusual kimura. Frank Mir doesn't have as good a positional BJJ game as Nogueira has shown in the past, but he is an excellent hunter of submissions and a decent gameplanner. These are the sort of openings which are the best to target against the men who can force their will on a division.

Today we will examine:

·  St. Pierre's Striking

·  Availability of the Body Shot

·  Countering GSP's Explosiveness

Photo by Esther Lin / MMA Fighting

St. Pierre's Striking

St. Pierre’s striking in recent years has evolved along the Bruce Lee-esque philosophy of absorbing what is useful and discarding what is not. Georges has really simplified his game down to the basics and he lands them basically whenever he throws them. Gone are the high kick and back kick which GSP used to sprinkle in as often as he threw a punch, the new GSP is built around that king of strikes: the jab.  There is a great deal of misconception surrounding the jab and the two most popular are that:

·  The jab is a point fighting move, unable to do any damage beyond the superficial cutting and bruising of the face except in freak cases.

·  The jab is a single technique.

I shall address both of these points by referring the reader to Georges St. Pierre’s second bout with Josh Koscheck. The damage which St. Pierre did with his lead throughout the bout was far more than superficial and he prevented an iron headed opponent with heavy hands from doing anything.  One does not stupefy a man as passionate for throwing leather as Josh Koshcheck with point scoring techniques, because he has shown himself happy to walk through other fighters punches to land his own.  Review the fight and note that a great many of the times on which St. Pierre connects his jab he visibly stuns Koscheck and the latter ceases his forward motion almost immediately.

The second belief is something which most people are not even aware that they have but when you hear people saying "all GSP does is jab, jab, jab" as if it is just a case of St. Pierre going through the motions exactly as in practice they are suffering from this misconception. Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Matt Serra, Dan Hardy; none of them are considered elite in their striking defence but they all know how to deal with "the jab". They have each spent hours and hours in the gym with pad men simulating "the jab" and probably learnt several counters for it. To land a hard, jolting jab with any degree of consistency on anyone with a full time striking training program is a hard thing to do. St. Pierre’s fights are a masterclass in how to use the jab to damage and discourage an opponent – here are just a few factors to look for when reviewing his recent bouts. (G)

·  GSP will fake a jab two or three times to dive in with one hard one.

·  St. Pierre will jab while leaping in straight or while circling to the left in what is called a Safety Lead.

·  St. Pierre will use a non-committal jab to hide the step up with his rear leg for his hard inside low kick, and conversely will use a faked inside low kick to throw a leaping jab / cheat punch (commonly called his Superman Jab).

·  When St. Pierre sees his opponent attempting to parry his jab with their rear hand (basic boxing form) he will occasionally fake the jab and throw a lead hook instead. GSP does not commit to this technique as often as I would love to see him do, but when he does he is capable of dropping fighters of the calibre of Josh Koscheck and Thiago Alves.

To learn more about Georges St. Pierre’s jabbing techniques I recommend reading my article specifically on the subject.

Next we will focus on how to deal with St. Pierre’s bamboozling lead.  

Continues at: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/11/8/3617306/UFC-154-georges-st-pierre-vs-carlos-condit-jack-slack-killing-the-king-mma-analysis

Slack's Travels: The Road Ahead

It's been about a week since my second ebook, Elementary Striking became available and the orders have been flooding in. I want to say thank you to everyone who is supporting me by picking up my books or donating to the site, or simply by sharing my work with friends. It's amazing for me personally to see my work reaching people I have admired for years and them enjoying it - without naming too many names there's been some real heroes of mine from the BJJ and MMA world picking up Elementary Striking and tweeting my articles.

I think it's about time that I let all my readers in on my future plans. Firstly, at some point I will be coming back to updating my blog full time and doing outside work on occasion. Slack's Travels (I may think of a better name) will be my updates from the adventures which I am having through martial arts around the world. Below I'll give a little insight into my upcoming adventure.

In summer of 2013 I will be heading out to my favorite city in the world, Tokyo, once again. My previous trip to Tokyo was about three or four years ago and I had the great pleasure of being able to train at the Japan Karate Association headquarters (or honbu if you're feeling very traditional) and Kid Yamamoto's Yamamoto Sport's Academy along with the Krazy Bee team and their coaches.

This time around I will be trying to do a little more dojo hopping and will keep a track of my experiences. I'll be hoping to make it over to the UWFi Snake Pit, Laughter7, P's Lab, Parraestra and many other big Japanese MMA gyms. Then there's all the great karate dojo (is that plural?) that I need to visit.

Most of my writing is about modern, practical striking, but many of you will know that I also adore the traditional martial arts when they are practiced with some realism and intent. The JKA is one of the finest places to learn the meaning of true traditional martial arts. I lost a piece of one of my teeth at the JKA when I wasn't concentrating (tired or hungover, I can't remember); the guys there do hit to hurt, and that is what I love about it! Until my training at the JKA I had pretty much written off the front snap kick as a mediocre technique. A private lesson (by chance, not booked) with JKA All Japan female kumite champion, Yukko Takahashi quickly changed my mind about that as she drilled me through the fundamentals and practical applications of her great kick. Now just a few years later the UFC is filled with fighters attempting the same kick with varying degrees of success.

Here are some photographs which I took at the JKA headquarters during my last visit. It certainly is a beautiful environment in which to train.

I'll also be trying to have a bit more of a life outside of training than I did on my last visit! There's plenty of history to be found just outside of Tokyo and the shinkansen bullet trains connect Toyko extremely well with the more historic cities of Japan. For those of you who don't know, my degree is in history (rather than journalism as I'm sure you can tell) and my passion for museums is obsessive. There is also an incredibly vibrant nightlife in Tokyo and I'm sure I'll find time to sample some of it and tell you all about it and my poor capacity for drink!

Pictured: Womb, one of Tokyo's larger clubs with Japan's largest mirror ball. Photo from The Guardian.



After my jaunt in Tokyo I will be heading down to Okinawa with my lovely girlfriend. Many of you will know that this is the birthplace of karate but I'm under strict orders that this portion of my trip will be a holiday. There will be plenty of snorkeling along the coral reefs and exploring volcanic islands to keep me busy in a tropical archipelago. I'm sure I'll be able to charm my way into sneaking out to a couple of training sessions with the local masters though!#


Some more photos from my time in Tokyo. Top to bottom: Shinjuku at night, The grounds of the Imperial Palace surrounded by high rise buildings, Senso-ji Temple, The grounds of Senso-ji.

After my return from Japan it will be back to training around rainy old England until I have finalized some details on my next adventure. I am in the process of planning some time touring some major U.S. MMA and BJJ camps and writing about some of the aspects of training for big fights / tournaments. As the U.K., and particularly my part of it, are very limited in both MMA interest and facilities, I'm hugely excited to see how some of the major camps in the U.S. operate - and I'm sure I'll get my arse kicked a few times along the way! If you are a coach or have a coach that would be interested in letting me bum around at their camp for a while in my travels please do let me know!

My articles will continue as I try to punch my way into the top levels of MMA journalism, and if I can't I'll just work on this site full time until it is big enough to rival some of the other MMA sites out there. Furthermore I will continue to share what I know and what I learn with all those interested.

Stay tuned and thanks again for all your support,

Jack Slack

Elementary Striking: Available Now!

Hey guys,

So pleased to announce that Elementary Striking is now available on the Books page! It's taken a long time to put together and aside from the difficulty formatting a .mobi version I am very pleased with how it's come out!

For those of you who don't know, Elementary Striking is a lot more to do with my personal philosophy and teachings on striking than Advanced Striking - which was more case studies. The Advanced Striking will get a second volume but Elementary Striking is pretty much a one off guide to fundamental strategy.

Don't let the word fundamental fool you though - there's a lot in there that I haven't seen written down before and a lot of it isn't taught in most gyms!

Cheers,
Jack

The Most Emotional MMA Moment?

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I updated (as always it seems!) I've had a lot on with the new book and becoming a big attraction at BE (my articles are now being listed as "Jack Slack Breaks Down" rather than "Judo Chop", which is pretty awesome). I wanted to share a moment from an old PRIDE fight which I consider one of the most intense displays of emotion in MMA history.

This moment comes in round 7 of the incredible fight between Kazushi Sakuraba and Royce Gracie - which was scheduled to have no time limit other than being fought in 15 minute rounds. After fighting for an hour and a half both men were exhausted but Sakuraba began to best Royce with low kicks. At about 3:40 you can witness the start of the end for Royce Gracie as Sakuraba lands two such kicks on Royce's thigh to an eruption of the crowd.

At about 7 minutes into the clip Stephen Quadros, Bas Rutten and Maurice Smith begin to discuss how Helio Gracie must feel for his son. Helio had been in lengthy fights like this but never against a complete fighter such as Sakuraba. This is accompanied by a shot of Helio Gracie, looking intensely stoic as always.

At 9:25 Sakuraba drops Royce with another brutal low kick and stands over him in his guard. Both men are absolutely exhausted as they return to the centre of the ring and their mouths are open while their hands are low. No-one has ever fought for as long as Sakuraba and Gracie did in this bout and while it was understandably dull in places it remains an incredible spectacle.

By the 11 minute mark Royce Gracie is a shell of himself and simply hanging on through Sakuraba's hard kicks and punches. Every time Gracie drops to his guard he is finding it harder and harder to get to his feet. At 11:50 the camera cuts to Helio Gracie wringing his hands with concern for his son as the announcer declares that there are 3 minutes left in the round.

Helio Gracie is perhaps one of the toughest men in martial arts history - weighing only 140lbs he took on all comers in fights lasting up to an hour with his newly created variant on Judo newaza, Gracie Jiu Jitsu. He had not once considered throwing in the towel when the enormous Dan Severn was seemingly setting his son, Royce up for the kill, nor when heavyweight Kimo Leopaldo was bloodying Royce up in an unexpectedly tough fight in the UFC. In fact any time Helio appeared on screen in Royce's corner, even up until earlier in this round, he had been the epitome of tranquility in the face of his son's pain. This moment in the 7th round tells us more about Helio Gracie as a man and a father than any of the legends can. He may have been the authoritarian father figure, insisting his boys toughen up and come to blows for honour, but when he knew a fight was lost, he didn't want to see his son take any more punishment.

At 12:28 the camera cuts back to Helio and Rorion Gracie and the camera zooms in on Rorion's hand on the ring apron, holding the towel in a white knuckle fist. As this shot happens the crowd erupts and you realize that the image we are seeing on our screen has been broadcast to the entire arena. The crowd know that the Gracie's are going to give in, but Sakuraba and even Royce are clueless - never taking their eyes off of each other.

In the final minutes of the round Maurice Smith asks his co-commentators "How much can a fighter take? How much should a fighter take?" in reference to Royce Gracie, vainly throwing up kicks that visibly hurt his own legs. Gracie has abandoned attempting to stand from his guard and is instead attempting to chop at Sakuraba's legs from the floor. Sakuraba, 90 minutes in to the longest MMA match in history, against an undefeated opponent, summons all his energy to deliver what has perhaps become the defining image of his career.

After the end of this clip there is a minute in the corners before the Gracie family finally throw in the towel, but by that point it is ceremonial. In the course of this single round Royce went from in the fight to being savagely beaten, his family turned from intense, machismo and encouraging to the point where they wanted to end the fight, and the Japanese fans reached a fever point as a shaky camera shot confirmed that the legendary Gracie family were going to give up after years of refusing to submit, even through broken bones.

The fight between Sakuraba and Gracie is one of the most significant moments in both martial arts and combat sports history and I recommend that anyone who hasn't seen it put aside 90 minutes, sit down with a drink and a snack, and watch two master tacticians grind each other down. The lulls in action are more than made up for by the creativity of Sakuraba, the heart of Gracie and the significance of the bout. 

The Overrated Boxing of Fabio Maldonado

Fabio Maldonado has been one of the most requested fighters for analysis in recent months - partly due to his upcoming bout with Brazilian stand out, Glover Teixiera and partly due to the continued assertion that because he has good body work he has good technical boxing. Now the light heavyweight division and MMA in general aren't stacked with guys who have excellent boxing technique and strategy - in fact most are just above passable - Maldonado's successful boxing career should put him head and shoulders above most in the division, and yet even against middling opposition he has looked nothing like a world beater in the striking department.

Maldonado has fantastic body punches and this has garnered him great attention because the body attack is firstly so underused in MMA as it is, and secondly it is such an effective means of visibly hurting and opponent. Kyle Kingsbury is an ultra tough guy in terms of durability - that much should be clear from his last two fights - but he was giving up the Thai plumm because of body shots that Maldonado was landing while stooped over and eating knees - that's pretty much unheard of. The only other individual in main stream MMA who throws body shots while defending the Thai plumm is Nick Diaz, and he's never visibly hurt anyone while doing it.


If Maldonado hits hard, works the body well and has a granite chin - how can I possibly say he doesn't have good boxing? The heart of boxing technique is attacking while attempting to stay safe oneself but Maldonado's defence is laughably bad when he stepsforward. I have often referred to what I call "Rashad Evans Syndrome" - where a fighter bobs his head back and forth as if he is a professional boxer, only to stand bolt upright as he steps in with punches. Where Rashad Evans, Frank Mir and others in MMA at least convince themselves to move their head when they're not punching - Maldonado NEVER moves his head. His approach to striking has been to walk forward and grind his opponents down as he would in a boxing match but he lacks the large gloves to hide behind when pressing forward.

In order to get inside to do his brilliant body work, Maldonado must close the distance. Where a good boxer would throw a dipping jab, eliminate his opponent's lead hand or move to an angle and move in while his opponent turned to face him - Maldonado simply jumps in with his head up and his shoulders down.



Notice here how Maldonado jumps in with a jab to the body and because his head remains completely vertical, with his chin up, his head is easily snapped back by Kyle Kingsbury's jab. Compare this to a good technical boxer - such as Anderson SIlva.



Notice that Silva jumps in with his head off line - so that he is hard to hit. When jabbing at an opponent the majority of the time their vision will be obscured even if you miss, so following your head is a tough task. If you keep your head in the same spot as in your normal stance every time you jab however the opponent can throw a punch with his eyes closed and still know where you're going to be. Notice that in frames 3 and 4 Anderson is standing almost on a line with his lead shoulder high and his right arm hiding his ribs and chest. In 3 and 4 Anderson wants Okami to come back so that Anderson can shoulder roll or duck and then counter - this is high level stuff. Maldonado simply wants to get inside and get to work - not set up a counter-counter, but if he moved his head when he lunged in it would certainly be a much less arduous task to close the distance.

Later in the same fight between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami, Silva demonstrated how effective a jab with correct movement could be:

Continues at: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/10/7/3468098/ufc-153-judo-chop-the-overrated-boxing-of-fabio-maldonado

The Greatest Knockouts of the 1950s

Many of my regular readers will recall my constant referencing of the "Golden Age of Boxing" and wonder just how good a sport could have been thirty, forty or even fifty years ago. There were no readily available performance enhancing drugs, cardiovascular training methods were archaic, and strength and conditioning didn't exist. Boxing unlike every other sport in the world, has not gone forward in leaps and bounds technically since 50 years ago. In fact it's interesting to note that Floyd Mayweather, considered one of the best fighters pound for pound and the best defensive fighter on the planet, is called a "throw back" due to his old school fighting style that confounds today's square on, combination spamming fighter.

From the 1890s to the 1960s boxing was the world's favourite sporting event and almost every healthy young man strapped on the gloves at some point. Whether it be the gentleman's clubs of London who wagered on and negotiated the bouts, or the young men with no saleable skills aside from their punch, boxing was practised and speculated by a huge portion of society. Due to the huge pool of fighters and the regularity with which they fought, defensive genius came to be of paramount importance. Watch a fighter such as Archie Moore who fought 219 recorded professional fights, then watch a man such as Ricky Hatton and you'll notice that a man who fights a couple of times a year until the age of 30 never has to correct the errors in his dangerous, self sacrificing style. When you fight as often Archie Moore or his contemporaries did, safety and career longevity become of great importance. Consequently there were a great many knockout artists, counter punchers and defensive geniuses around in the 1950s who deserve the attention of the combat sports student today.

Today I have teamed up with our fantastic media man, Zombie Prophet, to examine and comment on some of the high quality gifs he has assembled from the 1950s boxing archives. This is part one of a two part series on the 1950s and if it goes well we hope to do other decades as well so do let us know what you think!

Archie Moore versus Yvon Durelle - 1959
Our first knockout comes courtesy of the aforementioned Archie Moore. Affectionately nicknamed "The Old Mongoose" in his time, Moore became the world light heavyweight champion in 1952 at the age of 36, and ruled until 1962 when he abandoned the title. Moore had met the Canadian, Yvon Durelle in 1958 and had been floored 4 times in the opening rounds before coming back to knock Durelle out in the tenth round, showing the heart of a true champion. In 1959 at age 43, Moore defended his title again in a hotly anticipated rematch against "The Fighting Fisherman".



This is the last of four knockdowns and demonstrates Moore's wiliness in action. Almost every other fighter would be swarming on Durelle and swinging at his head - instead Moore performs an inside slip, towards Durelle's powerful right hand (a signature of Moore) and delivers a ripping left uppercut to the Canadian's body. They pivot around and Moore dispatches his winded foe with a few good punches to the head to put him on his knees for the count.



Floyd Patterson versus Archie Moore - 1956When Rocky Marciano retired as the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world it was decided that Patterson and Moore were the most deserving contenders. In a true match of experience versus youth as Patterson was just 21 years of age. Patterson was the charge of Cus D'amato who many of you will remember was Mike Tyson's adoptive father and trainer, and as such fought with what the newspapers dubbed a "peek-a-boo" style.



Many great classical style boxers - those who enjoy using the right hand to parry jabs in order to economize on footwork - have proven susceptible to a leaping left hook behind their right hand which is often forward of their chin and ready to parry jabs. Joe Louis was dropped by numerous opponents who shouldn't have given him any trouble with surprise left hooks, and here Archie Moore meets Floyd Patterson's money punch. Patterson's left hook from the deep crouch has been called the "Kangaroo Punch" or more commonly "The Gazelle Punch" and despite the similarities in training that he and Mike Tyson underwent, Tyson's leaping left hook never really captured the distance or grace of Patterson's. Patterson finishes the fight with the hand speed that he was known for. Before the emergence of Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali), Patterson was considered the fastest punching heavyweight ever and he certainly carried a power that Ali never rivalled.

Floyd Patterson versus Pete Rademacher - 1957
Pete Rademacher is an interesting case as he is the only man in boxing history to be given a title fight in his professional debut. A sterling amateur record and an olympic gold medal did support Rademacher's case for a title shot, and he certainly backed it up when he dropped Patterson several times in the opening rounds. Patterson rallied soon after however and put Rademacher down for the count in the sixth round.



Though Patterson was known for his left hook he was also a powerful right handed puncher and it was this tool that he used to fell Rademacher. Notice that Patterson clips Rademacher twice with right hooks as he is exiting the pocket. In fact the first right hand is thrown as Rademacher is pushing Patterson away.

Jersey Joe Walcott versus Ezzard Charles - 1951
You've probably all read my gushings over this punch and Jersey Joe before, but this is one of the finest fight finishers I have seen to this day and I don't anticipate there being many better before I'm gone. Jersey Joe Walcott is possibly the savviest fighter in boxing; impoverished for much of his career, feeding a family by working menial jobs and still having time to floor men like Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano in his evenings, Walcott is an inspiration figure and a hypnotic fighter. Ezzard Charles is perhaps the greatest light heavyweight of all time and fought many of the greatest fighters of his era and in fact ever - Walcott, Louis, Marciano.



This bout was finished with a beautiful inside slip past Charles' excellent and dangerous jab, followed by a lead uppercut / hook hybrid that caught Charles at the perfect angle as he dipped into this. The best thing about this punch? Ezzard Charles did everything right - his right hand is up, his lead shoulder is high and he doesn't telegraph the jab at all. The inside slip is fairly offbeat and the inside slip to lead uppercut counter is especially rare because it is a difficult slip followed by an awkward, short punch. The fact that Walcott did this so nonchalantly against one of the greatest technical boxers who ever lived and who had already bested Walcott twice is a credit to how bizarre Walcott's style was. I break down this counter in detail in my book, Advanced Striking.

Continues with loads more knockouts at: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/9/27/3407780/greatest-knockouts-of-the-1950s-gif-tacular

Your Favourite MIDNIGHT MADNESS Moments!

Maniacs gathering for the Madness!

The Line of Madness!

Can you believe that we're just slightly over a week after the whirlwind of the Toronto International Film Festival and, of course, Midnight Madness 2012.  If you're anything like me, you've been getting way too much sleep (over 3 hours? Whaaaaa?), catching up on Homeland, and not watching three or more movies a day, which has given me time to reflect back on those crazy ten days and my favourite moments from TIFF.

Our fantastic Midnight Madness audience has been doing the same thing on Twitter and Facebook, and we wanted to share some of those with you! (additional photos by Ian Goring)

Turns out that Godwin's Law applies at the Ryerson 

Who was that, I wonder?

Oh.

Remember, if you've got any favourite moments and memories to add, tweet them to us using the #mmadnesstiff hashtag or post them up in the Midnight Madness Facebook group! 

By the way, if you want to keep the Midnight Madness party going for a little longer, don't forget to check out Programmer Colin Geddes' exhibit at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche this year! If this piece doesn't satisfy your cravings for zombie kills, nothing will!

Jon Jones' Toolbox: Spinning Elbows

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones meets Vitor Belfort on September 22nd in an unlikely title bout and even before the fight begins it is fairly safe to assume that at least one standing elbow strike will be attempted by Jones in the course of the match. Jon Jones has cut out a niche for himself in MMA by using standing elbows with a frequency and efficacy that has yet to be matched. While Jones has numerous natural advantages - the 84" reach that he sports means that Jones' elbows may be connected when his opponent is entering their own punching range - none of these would matter if he simply went out and threw elbows at random. Jones' set ups are excellent and they're definitely worth closer analysis ahead of UFC 152.

Today we will focus exclusively on Jones' infamous spinning elbow strikes. Jones typically lands these one of two ways:

- Clinching against the Fence

- Faking the Single Leg Takedown



Clinching against the Fence
Jon Jones doesn't throw the spinning elbow at random for the simple reason that it is difficult to land correctly and if the opponent is stepping in towards him it pretty much gifts the opponent Jones' back. An excellent example of this came in the first round of Jones' bout with Mauricio Rua as the latter was lumbering towards Jones. Jones threw the spinning elbow as Rua plodded forward but missed and gave the injured Brazilian back control. Fortunately Rua's wrestling was not a huge threat to Jones, and instead the champion attempted to drop for a heel hook, giving Jones top position. Notice below how Jones' elbow flies past Rua's head and Jones' shoulder is the only point that contacts Rua with a soft thud.



The actual striking surface on a spinning back elbow is actually remarkably small, unlike Jones' elbows from guard in which if he misses with his elbow the rigid bone of his forearm still does ample damage, if Jones misses the spinning elbow he only connects with the triceps or shoulder. When this is the case very little damage is done for such a high risk manoeuvre. For all the talk of how Jones' enormous reach allows him to take risks without fear of repercussions, Jon Jones' spinning back elbow essentially gives his opponent's their only chance to get in range when he fails to land it correctly and he still uses it in most of his fights.

The variation with which we are now all most familiar is Jones' spinning elbow along the fence. This has proven to be the most reliable scenario from which Jones can place himself in position to spin as safely as possible and line up his target to connect with the point of his elbow. Below is the standard Jon Jones set up for his spinning back elbow. (G)




Notice that Jones has Rua pressed against the fence with his head to the left and keeps control of Rua's right elbow. Every time Jones clinches an opponent along the fence, he frees one arm so that he can spin while using his other hand to drive the opponents head back from underneath their chin. If an opponent holds an overhook or an underhook on either of Jones' arms he is not free to spin - consequently this technique doesn't mesh as well with Jones' takedown game as it appears. If both of Jones' hands are free and he is still pushing his opponent into the fence, a spinning elbow is pretty much assured.

You will also notice the unique position Jones has to assume before he spins - Jones brings his right leg across in front of himself. In every spinning or turning technique, finding ways to shorten the spin by bringing your pivot leg across yourself while distracting your opponent is vital to improving the likelihood of success. Jones' use of the clinch - a position in which he is famed for his wrestling - to conceal the preliminary movements or his turning strikes is a wonderful strategic turn and shows that Jones is willing to give up the prospect of a takedown to inflict one shot damage.



Here it is from another angle - notice how Jones doesn't spin on spot but rather steps far across himself so that he is turning almost next to Rua rather than spinning on spot, allowing him to connect with the point of his elbow. Notice also Jones' familiar grip on his opponent's chin. When we examine Jones' ground and pound we will talk in great depth about this. Jones is also routinely warned (most notably by Herb Dean against Brandon Vera and Shogun) for digging his thumb into the sternal notch and windpipe when using this control.

The main defence to spinning techniques is to move either straight backward or in the same direction as the spin,Jones has removed the two effective evasions by pushing his opponents onto the fence and by ensuring that he ends up almost next to them on the side that they would have to circle to.

Continues at:  http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/9/22/3372010/ufc-152-judo-chop-jon-jones-toolbox-spinning-elbows-vitor-belfort