What makes the best and most respected contemporary fighters of our day stand out from the rest is not technique alone. It is a combination of physical, mental, and emotional energy working in unison. By Joe Maffei
I've had the opportunity to work with thousands of people and what I have found is that energy or feeling seems to be the cornerstone or common denominator which determines whether your technique will or will not work.
As you conduct your personal research and study people you consider champions or expert fighters, You may wonder how they take techniques that you train and use them better. They may use what you would consider a simple technique to finish the fight. Their secret is that they use the appropriate technique at the appropriate time. The secret to discovering what that is for you is the exploration of energy.
I will be focusing on bringing the traditional martial artists energy secrets into the contemporary fighter's training to add to your freestyle fighting arsenal. When you face any opponent you should be able to adapt to his power and use it against him.
Understanding Energy
Understanding energy can be very complex. When I talk about energy what I mean is an understanding of balance and the flow between positive and negative polarities, the pushing and pulling, offense and defense both standing and on the ground.
There are many different types of energy. We use a variety of energy every day in our training, such as stretching, coordination training, balance and endurance exercises. Kickboxing is its own energy. Trapping, grappling, ground fighting, weapons, and multiple attacks have their own energy. The type of training you do depends on the martial arts you study, In the popular mixed martial arts matches you see today, the fighters may not even know, who they are fighting and may not understand the energy which may accompany a certain style.
What energy will you be confronted with in a fight? The techniques may be the same but
how they are executed may vary by individual. As a martial artist, you must be versed in many types of energy to overcome your opponent. The following exercises include,general knowledge of training your energy in different directions (forward and back, side to side, the entire body at once and energy in ground- fighting). These are just a few possibilities for training that will offer you years of exploration in energy drills.
Push Hands
Your posture should be as follows: Both opponents must keep their feet a shouldeJ~
length apart, standing straight with their heads up. Both opponents place their right
foot in front facing each other. Each will join che outside of their right wrists while the lefr
hand grabs at their opponent's right elbow.
Opponent A is going to push B forward. B is going to yield, redirect che energy, and push it back to A. Your weight should shifr from 60 percent on one leg to 40 percent on che ocher leg and vice versa as you shifr back and forth. (Opponents should not be too aggressive at the beginning of this exercise. It should be done sofrly and slowly so your entire body can feel the pressure of his push). "A" will then yield, redirect the energy, and push it back to B. This circularpattern will continue back and forth. Try to feel when your opponent pushes. Instead of yielding and redirecting his energy, grab his arm and pull simultaneously using his power against him. The stronger and harder he pushes, the easier it will be for you to force him off-balance. Now you have the components to play the game.in which a grappler may find himself. The idea of grappling is to feel your oppo-
nent's energy so that you may strike him, use a finishing hold or take him to the ground
before he has the chance to execute the same move on you. The purpose of these next drills is to help you feel the grappler's energy and flow from position to position. You also must learn to relax and breathe to conserve energy
Push Hands
