Hand Clock Fist Orientation Key
Guard
1.) Sneaky: thumb up at 12 O’Clock
Rolled Out
2.) Shovel: thumb out at 1-2 or 10-11 O’Clock
Supine: thumb out, palm down at 3 or 9 O’clock
Rolled In
3.) Diagonal: thumb in/up at 1-2 or 10-11 O’Clock
4.) Prone: thump in/palm down at 3 or 9 O’Clock
5.) Screwed: thumb in/down at 4-5 or 7-8 O’Clock
Thomas Grady is being trained for a fight with Noah Cutter. I have been asked for ideas on dealing with the man for whom I have viewed 1 bare-knuckle video, on behalf of a fellow for whom I have seen three videos of MMA fights. Currently, the better angels of MMA have been rescuing what is left of boxing from its commercial abyss, in terms of returning honor to the fist. This article will post a month after the fight.
Noah marches in behind straight punches from the shoulder thrown in full pronation, reminiscent of Vitor Bellfort walking down Silva more than 20 years ago. He is strong, brave, starts fast and is too aggressive for his own health. This was 4 years past. So we assume Noah has cut some angles into his game and is more formidable. As a man who seems to have a strong heroic streak, I sense he will revert to form under the right conditions. Thomas may be facing a very different man. So, our training should have an aspect conducted to bring the old Noah in the video back into play out from under whatever improvements he has worked.
Thomas is tough, brave, starts slow, and seems to wake up late behind two good shovel hooks. On paper, this looks like a great fight! We don’t want a great fight. We want Thomas to stop his man without hurting his own hands. There are no other goals. In traditional BK, the boxer is the man who uses his fists as tools to assist his posture and footwork in dealing with a powerful foe. Any KO should be the result of low-risk, high-precision and attrition suffered by the high-risk low-precision attacker. We want a clinic, not a show. Ideally, we want a a video that will serve as a perfect training video for the opponent to use to improve his form after the fight.
For BK in general, those shovels Thomas owns should be used against the chin and eye to protect the thumbs from elbows. The body should be attacked, especially in bare-knuckle, in target/tool specific ways. Before working on Thomas’s high-line and angles, we should give him replacement punches for his shovel to the body.
Cutter, throwing in full pronation leaves his body open. But, a dropped elbow, especially a late elbow on Thomas’s thumb, could be a disaster.
Left Side:
1.) Counter the blitz with the downward screw punch, to floating rib and spleen, with right hand, corkscrewing downward with thumb at 7 or 8 on the hand clock. Position for this with a right knee dip from a side step or high pivot from fade. This works with or without clinching.
2.) Once Noah can be side-stepped right or fade baited, if he steps around behind a high probing jab, the heart should be targeted with either hand. Against a Ray Mercer style stalk, meet his jab with a lower power jab, then pivot behind, always behind him, away from the right. Make Thomas a mugger. The hardest coaching job with positive heroic fighters like him is to turn them into conditional predators against their analogue.
3.) Screw to floater or top back rib with right hand from grind pivot, high pivot or knee drop. We will train these steps.
Center
1.) The money guard should be an extended 12 O’clock. This guards the floating rib/heart and accesses the nose, chin and wind with a low-commitment fist. The lead hand need not be turned over for power. We will work the fall step, slide, lunge and safety. So long as they are fronted this is the lead punching angle which obscures our punching range. This is used like the blind jab in gloved boxing.
The 12 O’Clock guard uses our elbow to protect our heart from long range punches, with the elbow up and out [point down] to drop on close range punching thumbs. This guard floats to wing block, hip/hand check and shoulder butt fluidly.
Right Side
1.) The liver and bottom rib should be attacked with the right screw, placing our right rear elbow on his center line, fist down, achieving wing block and shoulder butt posture while turning him with the left hand.
2.) Downward, screws with the left attack the ribs while using rear/right wing block.
As soon as Thomas achieves a right side fade, side step, then high shovel punches [1-2 & 11-12 O’Clock] go to work over the foe’s lead, and also over the rear hand once it is thrown.
Head Hunting
This is the proper term: careful, angled, set up stabs, thrusts with 12 O’clock sneak to chin and nose, and 10-11 O’Clock thrust to all targets, including forehead. Practice break fist measuring early in case he catches the point of Noah’s skull. Our man needs hand sensitivity. [see hand stages below] Coupled with feints and angles, this enables healthy hands for the next fight and for whatever work he does. We add the inward diagonal power fists to his arsenal. His shovels are great as is. So these new punching angles should set up our shovels, being their rotational opposites.
Please have Thomas practice slowly rotating his fists along the hand clock above and sliding along the fist stages below in air, salt water and rice bucket.
The footwork will be a big focus in camp:
0.) Slide-step & Fall-step
1.) U-hustle
2.) High pivot
3.) Knee drop
4.) Grind pivot
5.) Counter dip
6.) Safety pivot
7.) Fade
8.) Fade and draw step
9.) Lunge [Haggler vs Mugabi]
10.) Finishing shift [Haggler vs Hearnes]
Fist Stages
1.) Cup
2.) Curl
3.) Clench
4.) Press
5.) Slide [break-fist]
Reviewing the Guard
Left lead fist at 12, lightly held, not clinched until impact, available for cup push, wrist measure, palm check and diagonal thrust.
The lead hand should be at 2 hand spans from shoulder, elbow in front of heart, thumb in line with left ear.
Right hand thumb-knuckle to side of chin, so if the thumb were uncurled the nail would cover right corner of mouth.
Power is coiled in the legs. Shoulders are NOT used for punch amplification, but for access angles and defensive leverage. We use the hands to transfer force generated with the LEGS to the target.
Concept Angle
Against a converted gloved boxer throwing in pronation at 9 O’Cock on the high line, we want to leave the lead hand and foot in his wheel house, step off CLOSELY, and drop knuckles into his body, at 7-8 O’Clock right.
Wing block angle is achieved with the punch, elbow and shoulder available for mugging or separation.
The goal is to achieve high line control through battering his low line, dropping his guard, and then slide-thrusting shovels over his shoulders and arms, then chop-screwing down. When the arms come up in the MMA shield, return to the body for the power finish, punching down. By punching up with 1-2 O’Clock shovel, we are chambered for the 7-8 O’Clock downward screw.
The heavy bag, as we know it, was invented for this downward punch. DO NOT hit the heavy bag with 12 O’Clock punch below your shoulder level. Train with mitt style light gloves, using heavy bag for body shots and light bags for head shots; Muay Thai belly pad for body, mitts for head.
Developing the 12 O’Clock, is first lead priority, your trip-wire fence.
Developing the 1-2 O’Clock thrust is second lead priority, your scope, as it enables a successful long range hunt in case the opponent breaks off, and facilitates a long range defensive option for Thomas in case Noah has improved and remains aggressive. For example, a good Philly [12 O’] hook popping off from mid range or a cutter hook [1-2 or 10-11 O’clock] in close, might defeat our 12’ O’Clock guard and require the 1-2 O’Clock straight lead to restore angle control.
Training Notes
Please abandon heavy bag gloves and MMA gloves for bag hitting. Until mitt gloves can be had, use light curled bag gloves on light bags and only slap, check, clinch, shoulder butt and wing block with your heavy bag.
Floor mounted “heavy” bags with the water filled base can be used for high line bare knuckle punching with the sneaky and diagonal fist. Wait on the screw chop until you have mitt gloves. MMA gloves on the bag pose a danger to the big knuckles.
Brine your hands.
Use the rice bucket.
Punch water while closing the fist on impact.
