End-range Rotational Training
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Once you have adequate flexibility (passive motion) and mobility (active motor control) the next step is to load the joint.
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“Ihashi et al. demonstrated internal rotation and external rotation will activate all of the rotator cuff musculature including supraspinatus (Wilk 1997).” A healthy shoulder will have an appropriate balance between force couples: deltoids and rotator cuff. This is why proper proprioception is essential. How do we improve shoulder proprioception?
End-range movements: “Guanche et al. (1995) found the presence of mechanoreceptors in the capsule, creating reflex arcs via capsular afferent nerves, resulted in muscle contraction (Hess 2000).” “Terry et al have theorized that stretch-sensitive mechanoreceptors within the capsular ligaments could be activated by tension, thus, producing a muscular contraction to protect the ligaments at the extremes of motion (Wilk 1997).”
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Won’t extreme ranges of motion put stress on the joint capsule?
“The joint capsule collagen fiber orientation is comprised of radial fibers. The cross-linked capsular collagen structure assists in providing joint stability. During rotational movements, such as internal and external rotation, the collagen fiber bundles tighten, thus centering the humeral head and reducing humeral head displacement (Wilk 1997).”
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One should have sufficient mobility and be able to minimize compensatory patterns before loading.
•CARs level 1 : conscious movement first before progressing.
•ERR (end-range rotational training) loaded rotational movements.
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Indian clubs are one method of loading to create articular resilience for the shoulders. Changing body position is another way to significantly increase the difficulty.
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Mobility is Strength training
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References:
1️⃣Hess, S. A. (2000). Functional stability of the glenohumeral joint. Manual therapy, 5(2), 63-71.
2️⃣Wilk, K. E., Arrigo, C. A., & Andrews, J. R. (1997). Current concepts: the stabilizing structures of the glenohumeral joint. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 25(6), 364-379.
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@functionalrangeconditioning @mbroser @drandreospina @ufultimatefitness

Developing the Squeeze: Isometric Ramping for Chokes – Part 2
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In my last post I explained what isometric ramping is and why it is important. I would argue that most people burn out on their chokes because :
1️⃣Improper choke setup
2️⃣Squeeze too hard too fast
This usually is a SKILL and MOTOR CONTROL problem not a muscle endurance problem.
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Here is a setup I originally learned about from @eddiebravo10p on how to develop “the squeeze”. Sit on the ground with your knee up. Practice synching in your choke CORRECTLY. Key details:
1️⃣Elbow should be in the center so you can apply even pressure to both sides of the neck.
2️⃣Slide in your second hand with the back on your hand on their head (this ensures they cannot reach their hand over and pull your arm out.
3️⃣Use your head and chin as a secondary lock to minimize their escape.
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Isometric ramping drill details: Slowly squeeze by isometrically ramping up tension in your arms. When applying a choke you start with a 10% contraction, then bump up to 20%, then to 30% and so on. Once you get to 100% ramp back down. In live rolling you will likely get them to tap or go unconscious by 40-50% tension.
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This is slowly ramping up activation of the motor units in your arms so that you can continuously apply pressure without exhausting your muscles.
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Isometric ramping is a skill many grapplers develop unconsciously over time, however if you feel you lack the control it is an important aspect to address. It is very demoralizing when you are in the perfect position to finish an opponent but lack the muscle control to finish because your arms burn out.

Developing the Squeeze: Isometric Ramping for Chokes
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How often do you hear that someone is “mat strong”? Often this means that the person may not be able lift impressive weight but has a functional strength while grappling. While body mechanics and leverage help assist with “mat strength”, I believe this person will have a high ability to isometrically resist an opponent. .
Grappling is often a game of inches as two opponents battle for positions and specific areas of control. Isometric strength is the ability to maintain a resistance against an unyielding force. When it comes to grappling it is not necessarily that someone is strong isometrically, because this just means they are only strong at one specific range of motion (+/- 10 degrees) but they have the ability to isometrically ramp and recruit more motor units for their desired task when necessary.
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The ability to isometrically ramp is critical for developing efficient choking skills, this is something @eddiebravo10p calls “The squeeze”. How often do you see beginners get a choke and squeeze as hard as they can and burn out before getting the submission? .
A lesson I learned from my friend @jamesdriskill , Rickson Gracie black belt, when applying a choke you start with a 10% contraction, then bump up to 20%, then to 30% and so on. Usually by the time you are contracting/squeezing at 40% maximum they tap or are rendered unconscious. This is slowly ramping up activation of the motor units in your arms so that you can continuously apply pressure without exhausting your muscles.
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Isometric ramping is a skill many grapplers develop unconsciously over time, however if you feel you lack the control it is an important aspect to address. It is very demoralizing when you are in the perfect position to finish an opponent but lack the muscle control to finish because your arms burn out.

Breathing and Body Shots
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Attacking the body is an underrated tactic in martial arts because it will disrupt the opponent’s breathing. Breath control is one of the only ways someone can manipulate their own body chemistry. In the context of fighting breathing helps with a fighter’s ability to maintain energy levels for the duration of the bout. Repeated blows to the body a fighter will have their breathing disrupted which will then make them more tired. Fatigue may compromise their skills.
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Last night there was a very interesting @ufc fight with @cubswanson and Kron Gracie. Swanson, who is a versatile boxer, attacked the body of Gracie early. Despite repetitive body shots Gracie never slowed down or shows any signs of being hurt. .
Interesting Kron was taught a special yoga breathing practice from his father, Rickson. This breathing teaches a martial artist how to control their diaphragm and may be a useful skill in absorbing body blows. This breath control may have been an important factor in explaining Kron’s durability.

Science of Sweeping : Part 2
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Balance is defined as keeping someone’s center of mass within their base of support. When the center of mass moves outside the base of support they become unbalanced. Everyone has 4 muscle strategies to regain balance:
1️⃣ankles
2️⃣hip
3️⃣stepping
4️⃣reaching .
Kuzushi is a concept in Judo which means to unbalance an opponent. When an opponent is unbalanced the finish is effortless. All sweeps begin with initiating grip. Once control is established a push/pull to manipulate the balance or deception to have your opponent move in a manner that off balances themselves. The finish involves controlling the hips and/or preventing the reach/step. .
If you feel you are muscling a sweep then the opponent was not sufficiently unbalanced. When you learn how to unbalance your opponent your sweeps will be effortless.
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This is an example of using a butterfly guard to sweep.
Key details: •Control the arm on the side to where you sweep to prevent the post. •You also need to elevate effectively to move the center of mass outside the base of support AND to prevent an effective step strategy.

The Science of Takedowns – Part 2
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For a grappler to control positions with minimal energy they must understand how to disrupt balance. Every takedown or sweep first requires the grappler to off balance the opponent.
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Balance is defined as keeping your center of mass inside your base of support. When your center of mass goes outside your base of support you are off-balance.
Balance strategies:
1️⃣Ankle
2️⃣Hip
3️⃣Step / reach
For small perturbations you use your ankles, when the perturbation is greater/faster you utilize your hips (wrestlers often say someone has “good hips”). When both of those strategies fail you can step to re-align your base of support to keep your center of mass inside.
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Kuzushi is a concept in Judo which means to unbalance an opponent. When an opponent is unbalanced the finish is effortless. All takedowns begin with initiating grip. Once control is established a push/pull to manipulate the balance or deception to have your opponent move in a manner that off balances themselves. The finish involves controlling the hips and/or preventing the feet from stepping. .
Here @persian.fury demonstrates this concept with a classic foot sweep. First he utilizes off balancing and then blocks the step response to finish the takedown.

Science of Sweeps ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Balance is defined as keeping someone’s center of mass within their base of support. When the center of mass moves outside the base of support they become unbalanced. Everyone has 4 muscle strategies to regain balance:
1️⃣ankles
2️⃣hip
3️⃣stepping
4️⃣reaching (especially when kneeling)
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All sweeps involve the attacker unbalancing an opponent so they can be tipped over to gain the positional advantage. Judo does a better job than jiu jitsu of teaching kuzushi, the art of unbalancing. YOU MUST UNBALANCE prior to sweeping. Once unbalanced the sweeper than makes sure that the defender is unable to use their hips, step or reach to re-balance.
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If you feel you are muscling a sweep then the opponent was not sufficiently unbalanced. When you learn how to unbalance your opponent your sweeps will be effortless.
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The video is a great example of @jakewatsonofficial using a butterfly sweep to get on top. .
Video credit: @flograppling

Risks of Flying Submissions
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In grappling most joint locks first involve one grappler using a takedown to bring the other to the floor prior to one of them being able to initiate a submission attack. One of the most exciting techniques to watch in a grappling match is a well timed “flying submission”. This is when one grappler jumps onto an opponent’s limb from a standing position. Most common “flying” submissions include flying armbars and triangles. .
The problem with these techniques is there is a fairly high risk involved. Because the attacker will be upside down there is a good likelihood of landing on the head and/or neck. Also they will not be able to use their arms to brace the fall. When done correctly the opponent will slow down the descent but when done incorrectly the attacker will fall directly on their head/neck. High risk / low success rate.
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A perfect example is @hingerbjj vs @matheusdinizjj . There was no score going into the last minute of the match so Hinger attempted a flying armbar. His opponent immediately slipped out and Hinger landed on his head. In the moment of being dazed Diniz took Hinger’s back and finished with a choke. .
I do not mean to pick on Hinger as he is a very accomplished grappler but this match is a very good example of what can happen when flying submissions go wrong. I personally have used flying submissions successfully in grappling competitions but want to highlight that they are a high risk attack.

Case study: Assessment and Treatment for neck pain
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I started having neck pain after posting on my head during Jiu jitsu following my training partner attempting a sweep (forceful axial compression on my cervical spine). At the moment I felt a “stinger” and a jolt down my arm and my neck felt stiff and painful after class.
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Assessment: cervical motion to identify potential pain triggers. In my case I had closing angle joint pain with extension and rotation. Ie as the cervical facets close something is “pinching”. This is a sign of aberrant joint mechanics and a healthy cervical spine should be able to do this motion. No radicular symptoms (pain or tingling down my arm) with cervical movements.
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Treatment:
1️⃣Cervical hinge point training: this is a motor control exercise to give tactile cues to make sure each segment can move. Some segments may not move due mechanical restrictions.
2️⃣Segmental neck movements (capsular Cervical CARs) After identifying the segments that do not move well I isolated them to assist in moving properly.
3️⃣Re-assessment and re training: Following the treatment the re-assessment indicates no pinching or closing angle pain but still there is a restriction. I will use global and capsular movements to retrain and keep the newly gained ranges of motion.
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This is not medical advice just one example of how I may treat a patient. If you have closing angle joint pain or radicular symptoms I recommend you see a healthcare professional / @functionalrangerelease practitioner.
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@functionalrangeconditioning

Maximizing Rotation for Kickboxing
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Two components that are key for effective striking is spine rotation and scapular mobility. In my last post I addressed scapular mobility so for this post I will address spine mobility.
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When someone lacks spine mobility or motor control to use all of their range it limits their offensive and defensive capabilities.
1️⃣Generally I want to be as far away as possible while still able to hit my opponent.
2️⃣In terms of kickboxing I want a range similar for both punches and kicks to blend the offensive options. This means I need to have long punches.
3️⃣The power from striking comes from the legs and hips where the spine and arm are the vehicle for delivering the power.
4️⃣Not only does a rotated spine improve reach but it also primes my follow up attack (cross followed up with a loaded hook etc…).
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In terms of spine mobility the thoracic spine is the region responsible for a majority of rotation.
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Here are 3 exercises to help to develop thoracic rotation in the spine:
1️⃣Segmental cat cow: Prior to developing rotational capabilities one must first develop linear capabilities.
2️⃣Thoracic Controlled Articular Rotations: CARs are essential for spine health and to develop the motor control to move the spine in other planes of motion: sidebending and rotation.
As one progresses and develops the ability to move without compensation you can begin to add resistance or load.
3️⃣Kneeling Thoracic Rotation: As the goal of this post is on developing spine rotation. Kneeling and a strong post with the stability hand helps to minimize compensation.
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After one improves spine mobility capabilities they can start to add speed. This means practicing punching with full rotation and gradually increasing speed.

Serratus Anterior: Training the Boxer’s Muscle
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The serratus anterior, often called the “boxer’s muscle”, is a muscle used for punching. This muscle allows for scapular protraction which means the shoulder blade can shift forward on the ribs. This movement is important for punching because it gives you more reach so you can punch from further away. With inadequate scapular motion you lose out on a potential 1-2” of reach.
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How does one train the “boxer’s muscle”?
1️⃣Scapular Controlled Articular Rotations: first someone needs to ability to isolate and move their scapula. With this exercise you take the scapula through its full available motion in all directions.
2️⃣Push up Plus: This is a closed kinetic chain exercise to train against resistance.
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The intention of these exercises is to first make sure you have the muscular control and can move the scapula appropriately. Second you have to have the muscular endurance to repetively activate it over a course of sparring or a fight. .
Make sure to practice punching with full thoracic rotation and fully protracting your shoulder blade after the drill. First you isolate then you combine the movements.
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The only thing cooler than punching someone in the face is punching them when they can’t hit you back.

Golden Rule of Wrestling: Don’t shoot with your head down
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One of the Golden rules of wrestling that my former wrestling coach, @john_galt_speaking , told me was “Don’t shoot with your head down.”
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@benaskren , who had wrestled in the Olympics broke the rule this weekend. In the sport of wrestling a shot is tactical movement to get to the hips of the opponent. A wrestler will have a lower stance and the classic movement is to drop their level first to get underneath then penetrate the opponent’s stance to get control of the hips. If someone shoots with their head down then the defender’s response, a sprawl, will be easier.
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In fighting a wrestler has to get past a variety of strikes (punches, kicks, knees) before they can get the hips. This makes the rule even more important. If you shoot with your head down you are vulnerable to blows that you will not be able to see coming. This is where set ups are crucial.
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In the case of Ben Askren his opponent, @gamebredfighter , jumping into a flying knee. Askren’s first response was to dive down… right into his opponent’s knee, which resulted in a KO.
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Prior to this fight Askren was undefeated, so it is unfair to comment on his fight IQ. His diving shot tactic had worked well in the past, however Masvidal was ready for this tactic and had the perfect answer.
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Askren’s tactic worked for many years until now when it didn’t work. It is a good reminder to grapplers to set up their takedown, keep the head up and to enter the hips correctly.
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Animation: @danirarte

Dynamic Knee Valgus: How Thiago Santos hurt his knee
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Last night at @ufc 239 @tmarretamma challenged @jonnybones for the belt. The contender started out strong with kicks however during the early part of the fight he threw a kick and afterwards started to hobble. While Santos was able to have a good showing the instability of his knee compromised his ability to win the fight. What did Santos do to his knee?
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Dynamic Knee Valgus. Typically on a kick you open your hip and step the foot to de stress the knee. In an attempt to target Jones’s calf (really the peroneals) / lower knee Santos did not take a step which caused an over rotation of his body on a fixed knee.
A combination of excessive femur adduction, femur internal rotation and tibial external rotation caused his left knee to buckle. .
One of the main stabilizer of the knee is the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The excessive dynamic knee valgus may have caused an ACL injury (strain or tear) which would explain his knee buckling throughout the fight.

How to develop FINISHING power in your Armbar
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Armbars are a complex movement that utilize the legs and posterior chain for maximum efficiency to create a hyperextension force on the elbow joint. Each muscle has a different task.
1️⃣Hamstrings (Knee flexors): Heels are pulled in as tight as possible to control the opponent so they cannot sit up and create space to escape the submission.
2️⃣Adductors (hip adduction): thighs are squeezed together to isolate the humerus to focus the energy on the elbow joint.
3️⃣Glutes (hip extension): The finishing force. The hips are raised/extended to impart the force necessary to dislocate the ulna from the humerus.
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This means the posterior chain is extremely important: hamstrings for control and glutes for finishing the submission. Bridging is an excellent beginning exercise to develop motor control and has a clear skill transfer to grappling, however for strength development to occur one must sufficiently load the tissues to create adaptation.
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Here is one exercise that I like to develop glute strength and power.
1️⃣Hip Thrust: This exercise can be loaded heavier than a kettlebell and spares the spine while still developing glute strength.
Other exercises useful exercises (video not included) for developing the posterior chain include: deadlifting, single / double arm kettlebell swings.
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The goal of an armbar is not to get your opponent to tap; the goal of an armbar is to disable your opponent by making his arm useless. Make sure you have the motor control to not hurt your training partner, but also make sure you have the finishing power to disable your opponent if the need arises!