Chris Herzog: Part 1
Skill+Preparation+Right Mind Set = Success. Part 1
When Alder first asked me to write a blog
for 10th Planet Watch I was pumped, then immediately realized, “you can
barely put thoughts to spoken words you dope, how the hell are you
going to articulate them to written words.” Apparently that wasn’t a
concern for Alder, so as long you guys don’t care, I don’t care
either. So grammar and spelling be damned (thank the Anunnaki for
spell check, however I think I’m the only person in the world that
gives spell check a headache, because sometimes it doesn’t even know
what the hell I’m trying to spell).
So, besides the deciding what initial topics
were going to cover, the next step was comming up with a name for the
blog. I was playing around with the idea of something witty, and then
that came to a screeching halt. So I decided upon a tribute to a close
friend and mentor that’s on hard times, as a reminder to him of the
lives he’s touched and effected. He used to run a open MMA forum with
the same name. So welcome to the new “Coach’s Corner”.
Preparation:
In this installment of Coach’s Corner we’ll
begin to take a look and the equation I use to promote success for my
competitors/fighters. Just to be clear we will be discussing
competition in terms of attempting to win, there are merits to
competing for skill development, but that’s something we can discuss at
a later date. Today will start our discussion with tournament
preparation and its importance to success. “But skill is listed
first”. Hey this is my blog and I start it anyway damn way I please.
Now sit down and the 3 of you pay attention!
Preparation consists of many aspects but we’ll be touching on three
pieces to the puzzle that I’ve found to be the most effective: sport
specific conditioning, tournament strategies, and proper warming up the
day of the event.
Sport Specific Conditioning: Over the years I’ve had many well
conditioned athletes walk through my Academy doors; marathon runners;
collegiate athletes wrestlers, soccer and football players,
powerlifters, body builders, etc.
They all had one thing in common. They all gassed when they spared and
when they competed, they where all in great shape, but they weren’t in
the right shape.
To get into the right shape we have to understand the importance of
sport specific conditioning. Most grappling matches consist of one
round 5-8mins in length depending on the skill level of the competitor.
Studies have show that most intense action during these matches happens
in busts of approximate 20 seconds, with 25-30 seconds of “active rest”
which allows heart rate recovery in between bursts. It’s
important to replicate these conditions during your tournament
preparation. Using a round based system one can easily apply it to
drill training (escapes, passes, etc.) and their conditioning program
reinforcing the replication of a competitive environment. Depending
on the level of importance of the event will dictate how long you want
to prepare for the tournament between 3-6 weeks
