Circuit training is a great form of exercise to acquaint yourself with if you plan to compete in mixed martial arts. It allows you to work on strength and cardio at the same time. In addition to that, circuit training has the potential to burn an amazing amount of calories, so if you are looking to drop some weight these are the exercises for you.

What is Circuit training?

Circuit training is a form of conditioning in which you string together a number of exercises completing one after another without rest or with minimal rest. The exercises that you string together form what is called the circuit.

How to do it.

There is a huge amount of room for creativity when it comes to creating a circuit. You can vary the overall length of time, the time spent on each exercise, the time in between exercises, what exercises you use, how much weight you use (if you are using weights), etc.

Let’s take a look at some of the things to consider when creating a circuit training program to improve performance in MMA.

• Time length - This one is pretty easy. You will usually want to try to mimic the length of time you will spend fighting and resting during a mma fight. For example, if you have a 3 round fight with each round lasting 5 minutes with 1 minute rest in between, then you would want to create a circuit that uses those times. Of course there are instances that you may not want to do it exactly that way. For instance you may want to increase the intensity of the workout beyond what you will experience in the fight e.g. less rest and longer periods of activity.
• Exercises - Well, I’m a big fan of exercises that use large muscle groups, since that is usually what you use in a fight. Think pull ups, push ups, bent over rows, and squats. Not exercises that isolate one part of the body like one arm bicep curls, calf extensions and tricep extensions. Also try to make the exercises as sport specific as you can. For instance, rather than doing squats, grab a partner and practice shooting in for a double leg, then pick him all the way off the ground, then repeat. You can replace wind sprints with an intense round of kicking the thai pads. That being said, you can pretty much use any exercise you want in your circuit providing it is safe and will push you in the direction of your goal.
• How often? - This is not an easy question to answer because it will vary from person to person. But it’s definitely an important one to ask so that you can prevent over or under training. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to get a better idea of how often you should be trying to fit this into your routine.
  • Am I gearing up for a fight or just trying to maintain the fitness level I already have?
  • How intense is the other training I am currently doing?
  • Have I recently had a fight and need to recover?
  • How intense is the circuit I created?

  The answers to those questions will hopefully give you an idea of how often to implement circuit training into you conditioning program. Other than that, just make sure you listen to your coach, he is there to monitor your training and make sure you neither over nor under train.

No good article on circuit training would be complete without a demonstration. So I will turn it over to Randy “The Natural” Couture to give us a demo of a circuit.

Randy “The Natural” Couture Circuit Training

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Conclusion

In mixed martial arts we usually see the more conditioned athlete with his or her hand raised at the end of the fight. Rarely do we see it the other way around. This being the case, if we want to be in the winners spot it’s our job to show up in the best shape we can. Circuit training gives us a great opportunity to improve both strength and cardio so that we can take not one, but two steps closer to being the more conditioned of the two athletes that step into the ring.

The guillotine choke is a submission hold that you have undoubtedly seen before if you have spent any time training mixed martial arts or Brazilian Jujitsu. You most likely have seen it in many televised MMA events also. In fact, it’s one of the most common submissions you will see when you tune in to watch a MMA event, such as the UFC, on the old boobtube.

So why is it that you constantly see it? Well, it basically comes down to the fact that during the course of a mixed martial arts fight most MMA fighters will put themselves into a position to be guillotined many times throughout a fight. Every time someone goes for a takedown and places their head to the outside of the opponents body they put themselves right into position. So if you are going to be stepping into the ring with someone that will most likely be putting themselves into position for a certain technique many time through out a fight, don’t you think it would be a good idea to learn it? Good, then let’s get started.

The guillotine is a choke hold that can cause the tap by being either a blood choke or air choke depending on how it is performed. If the pressure from the forearm is placed against the wind pipe then of course you are going to get an air choke but if the pressure is on the arteries of the neck then you will get a blood choke.

In addition to there being two ways that this submission hold can cause the tap. There are also two primary positions that it can be applied from. Standing and on the ground. when applying it in the most commonly see way, on the ground from the guard, you should try to get the opponent into your full guard. If not it will be very hard to finish the choke and get him to tap.

As for instructions, I will leave it up to these well done videos by the members on the Gracie Family.

Renzo Gracie Demonstrates the Guillotine Choke

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The Guillotine Choke On the Ground and Standing

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An added bonus of learning how to apply this submission is that you are going to get a better idea of how to defend it also. And if you will be putting yourself in position to be guillotined everytime you go for a takedown with the head on the outside, then it would be a good idea to get used to defending it.

Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga is a mixed martial arts fighter currently fighting in the UFC heavyweight division. Although he is a native of Brazil, he is now fighting out of Ludlow, Massachusetts as a part of “Team Link”. When he was in Brazil he spent time training with the highly touted fight team “Chute Boxe”, which is home to some of the best fighters in MMA. Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Murilo “Ninja” Rua are all members of Chute Boxe.

Gonzaga is a well rounded fighter with skills in BJJ, an art that he holds a black belt in, and a good arsenal of strikes. His current MMA record is 8 wins, 1 loss, and 0 draws. His only loss is at the hands of Fabricio Werdum during Jungle Fight 1 back in 2003. The biggest win out of the 8 he has racked up is surely his upset win over Mirko “Cro Cop”. A fight that saw him dish out to Cro Cop the same medicine that the Croatian fighter has given many opponents. Namely, a solid kick to the head that results in a knock out. That victory shot him into the position of #1 contender in the UFC heavyweight division. Now he is set to face the current champ Randy “The Natural” Couture for the title.

It is exciting seeing a fighter in the heavyweight class with both a well rounded fight game and the athleticism to back it up. I am sure that Gonzaga is going to be quite a force in that division for many years to come.

UFC 70 Gonzaga vs Cro Cop Preview

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Gonzaga vs Carmelo Marrero - UFC 66

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Chuck Liddell a.k.a. “The Iceman” is a light heavyweight mixed martial artist fighting out of “The Pit” in Arroyo Grande, CA. Liddell’s martial arts background encompasses many styles, Collegiate Wrestling, Kempo Karate, Koei-Kan Karate-Do, and Kickboxing. In addition to these arts, once Liddell began fighting in MMA, he went on to study Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under John Lewis and is now a purple belt.

The Iceman’s MMA career started in 1998 at UFC 17 since that time he has gone on to fight a who’s who of mixed martial artists. He has stepped into the ring/cage with the likes of Jose Landi-Jons, Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, Renato Sobral and Randy Couture, to name just a few. Without a doubt, Liddell is not one to shy away from a tough fight. In fact, it’s the - I will fight anyone, anyplace, anytime - attitude that has endeared him to mixed martial arts fans the world over. Well, that and his ability to knock out just about anyone that he steps into the ring with.

Although Liddell is a well rounded MMA fighter who can fight on his feet and on the ground, his game plan for almost all of his fights is to keep the fight standing and look for the knock out. He does this because, although his ground game is good and I’m sure he could fight there, his striking is truly exceptional. He possess very good timing and accuracy, which makes him a great counter puncher. In addition to his technical ability on his feet, Liddell boasts some of the heaviest hands in the sport. This can be seen by the shear number of knockouts he has accumulated during his fight career.

As of today’s date of May 9th, 2007 The Iceman’s MMA record is 20 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, with only 6 of the wins coming by decision. Also as of right now Chuck Liddell has held the UFC Light Heavyweight title for 2 years running, and has successfully defended it 4 times.

Chuck Liddell vs Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons

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Chuck Liddell Highlight Video

Brazilian Jujitsu, which is often simply referred to as BJJ, is one of the most common grappling arts for mixed martial artists to train in. It is a fantastic system of submission fighting that has evolved along side the sport of MMA since its inception. While you do see many MMA fighters who have a background in other forms of submission fighting, such as Judo or Sambo, Brazilian Jujitsu is arguably the most often used base for the submission techniques used by fighters.

In addition to the art being practiced in conjunction with MMA, it is also a stand alone art that is practiced by enthusiasts the world over. BJJ tournaments can be found in almost every part of the world, giving the practitioners the chance to hone their skills.

Now to take a real look at Brazilian Jujitsu, we should probably start at the beginning.

A Brief History of BJJ

Brazilian Jujitsu has its roots in the Japanese arts of Judo and Jujitsu and a man named Mitsuyo Maeda. Mitsuyo Maeda was born in Japan in 1878 and began training Judo and Jiu Jitsu in 1895. Later on he traveled abroad and became well known for fighting in many challenge matches. Finally he settled in Brazil with the help of a man named Gastao Gracie. In return for this favor Koma taught Judo and Jujitsu to Gastao’s son Carlos. After years of training, Carlos became a master and later on taught his brothers. One of those brothers was Helio Gracie. Helio later became the figure head of the school and became quite famous in both his home country and through out the world.

The Gracie brothers and their descendants have taught and refined this style of jujitsu through out the years. But now it has spread far beyond just being a family art. There are teachers of Gracie/Brazilian Jujitsu all over the world, of all different nationalities, and coming from all walks of life.

BJJ Specializes in the Ground Game.

Although BJJ as it was originally taught had all aspects of martial arts incorporated into it, both striking and grappling, the style was and still remains mainly a grappling art that focuses on the ground game with submission of the opponent as the ultimate goal in mind. A master of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is adept at maneuvering himself into a dominant position where he can have control of the opponent’s body. It is from there that he is able to effectively apply one of the many submission holds in his arsenal.

Using BJJ in a MMA Fight.

The Brazilian Jujitsu tactics that are used in a MMA fight are going to be a little different than the ones used in BJJ competition. This especially holds true if you are talking about the BJJ used in a competition with the uniform (Gi) on. This is because in Gi competition the uniform is often used to grab hold of your opponents body and maneuver it into the proper position for a submission. You also see some submissions that are completely dependant on the Gi, such as the lapel choke. So it is obvious that without the Gi you will not be able to manipulate the body in the same way. In no-gi grappling and MMA your opponents actual body will provide the handles to grab onto so you can manipulate him into position.

Other things you will need to take into account is the fact that when you are fighting in mixed martial arts, your opponent can strike you. The different scenarios where this could effect the way you apply your Jujitsu are numerous. Take for instance escaping the mount by going underneath the leg of your opponent, rather than just trying to regain half guard. If you get stuck half way in this position then you will be in serious trouble. Because now your opponent is on top of you raining down punches with two hands and you only have one to defend with.

How do you prepare for these differences and learn how to apply your BJJ in a MMA fight in the right way? What you want to do is train how you are going to fight. What I mean by that is that you need to get in a lot of sparring sessions without wearing a Gi and with MMA gloves on. Also you should allow strikes both on the feet and on the ground. So by mimicking the conditions of a MMA fight you will quickly learn exactly what BJJ moves you can apply under those conditions.

The rear naked choke is a submission hold used in mixed martial arts that cuts off the flow of blood to the brain. If applied correctly, it will force the opponent to submit. If they do not submit, they will pass out within a matter of seconds.

The name “Rear Naked Choke” most likely comes from the name used in Judo for the technique, “Hadakajime” or in English “Naked Strangle”. It is called that in Judo because the choke does not make use of the uniform (gi), as other chokes do.

To apply the technique, the back mount, also known as the rear mount, must be achieved. From that position of back control, which can be secured even more by hooking the insteps of the feet into the inside of the opponents thighs, the choke can be effectively applied.

The technique involves wrapping one arm around the opponents neck so that the inside of your elbow is placed against his throat. This will naturally place your bicep against one side of his neck and your forearm against the other side. From there you have two options for sinking in the choke and applying the pressure needed for the tap. You can place the hand of the arm you have wrapped around the neck on the bicep of the other arm and the hand of the other arm on the back of the opponents head. From there you hug your arms together and push out with your chest. The other option is to use what is called the Gable Grip. Where you take the hands of both your choking arm and your free arm and place them together with the palms facing. From that position you can squeeze the choking arm tight against the neck and get the tap out.

One factor to keep in mind if you are planning on applying this in an actual MMA fight, as opposed to a BJJ, judo or submission wrestling match, is the gloves. The gloves used in MMA can make it quite a bit harder to sink in the rear naked choke. So if you are going to be wearing them when you fight, you should be getting in a lot of training sessions with them on so that you get used to the added difficulty. When you step into the cage for your next fight, you don’t want any surprises.

Rear Naked Choke Tutorial

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Quinton Jackson (A.K.A. “Rampage”) is a light heavyweight mixed martial artist with great skills and a truly unique persona. He is well known for his trademark wolf howl that he bellows as he walks to the ring and the large chain that he wears around his neck.

Jackson began his career fighting in smaller shows such as King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge. Later on he was invited to fight for Pride Fighting Championships in japan. In his first fight in Pride, Jackson took on the Japanese super star Kazushi Sakuraba. Despite being submitted with a rear naked choke, Rampage made a lasting impression on the Pride fans and management. This was in no doubt partially due to his unique personality and “leave it all in the ring” mentality, but not many would argue that the biggest factor was his astonishing slams. Through out the fight Quinton employed a multitude of high altitude slams on Sakuraba. This would become known as his signature technique.

During his years fighting for Pride FC Rampage fought and defeated some of the best fighters in MMA. The most notable being Chuck Liddell, Ricardo Arona, Kevin Randleman, Igor Vovchanchyn and Murilo Bustamante.

After fighting in Pride for a number of years, Quinton signed with the World Fighting Alliance. During his short stint with the WFA, Jackson would face former Olympic silver medalist turned MMA fighter Matt “The Law” Lindland. Rampage would end up defeating Lindland by split decision in a very hard fought fight.

In late 2006 Zuffa (The owner of the UFC) bought Quintons contract along with other assets from the WFA. The UFC soon announced that Quinton Jackson would be fighting on the UFC 67 card on 2/3/2007. Jackson’s opponent would be Marvin Eastman. This would be a rematch, seeing as these fighters had faced each other in 2000 on a KOTC card. That fight was won by Eastman by decision.

On Feb 3rd Jackson debuted in the UFC and avenged his loss to Eastman with a 2nd round KO.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Highlight Video

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Quinton Jackson vs Chuck Liddell

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Quinton Jackson vs Kevin Randleman

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The Kimura is a submission hold commonly seen in mixed martial arts fights. This submission effects mainly the shoulder joint, but also to a lesser extent the elbow joint. When applied, this joint lock hyperrotates the shoulder causing intense pain and the tap out.

The name for this grappling technique comes from the great judo master Masahiko Kimura. Practitioners of Brazilian jiu jitsu gave the grappling technique that name after Masahiko Kimura used it to break Helio Gracie’s arm during a 1955 challenge match in Brazil.

There are two primary positions from which this submission hold is applied. The guard and side control. Both of these positions give the practitioner the leverage needed to apply the technique with power and get the tap. It is also very common for someone applying this submission technique from the side control position to step over the opponents head with the leg closest to the head. This gives even more leverage and power to the technique.

The kimura has been used on many occasions, by many fighters, to get the tap and end a fight. There are literally hundreds of examples of this submission hold being used in MMA fights. Some of the notable examples of it in mixed martial arts are: Kazushi Sakuraba using it to break Renzo Gracie’s arm in Pride 10, Fedor using it to tap Kevin Randleman in the 2004 Pride FC Heavyweight Grand Prix and Matt Hughes tapping Joe Riggs with the technique in UFC 56.

This submission grappling technique has been and will continue to be a favorite for many of the top MMA fighters in the world.

Kimura from the Closed Guard.

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Stephan Kesting Demonstrates how to Counter Someone Defending the Kimura.

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Fedor Emelianenko is a heavyweight mixed martial artist hailing from Russia. He has held the PRIDE Fighting Championships heavyweight title from 3/16/2003 up until today’s date of 2/11/2007. Fedor is considered by many to be one of the best, if not the best heavyweight the sport has ever seen.

Not only has Fedor risen to the top of the MMA world, he is also an accomplished Judo and Sambo competitor. He was the 1998 bronze medalist in the Russian Judo Championships absolute division and the 1999 bronze medalist in the Moscow International Judo Tournament heavyweight division. In 2002 he was the Russian Combat Sambo Champion. Also in 2002 he was the World Combat Sambo Champion in both the heavyweight and absolute divisions. Then in 2005 he once again won the World Combat Sambo Championships in the heavyweight division.

Emelianenko began his MMA career fighting in the Rings organization. While in Rings he faced and defeated by unanimous decision both Ricardo Arona and Renato “Babalu” Sobral. It is also there that he suffered his one and only loss to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka due to a cut received just 17 seconds into the first round. The cut was due to an elbow which was not legal under Rings rules. Normally this would result in a no contest ruling (because it appeared to be unintentional), but the fight was in an elimination tournament and one of the fighters needed to progress. Emelianenko could not continue because of the cut, so Kohsaka was given the victory and moved on to the next round. Later on in PRIDE Bushido 6 Fedor would avenge this loss with a first round TKO.

Once in the Pride ring, Fedor immediately dispatched Semmy Schilt and Heath Herring. He then challenged Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Pride Heavyweight title and won.

After winning the belt, Emelianenko fought and defeated such notable fighters as Mark Coleman (twice), Kevin Randleman, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (for the second time), Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Mark Hunt.

All together Fedor Emelinenko’s MMA record as of 2/11/2007 is 25 wins, 1 loss, 0 draws and 1 no contest.

Fedor Emelianenko Highlight Video

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Fedor vs Cro Cop

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Fedor vs Mark Hunt

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Fedor Emelianenko vs Mark Coleman 2

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The omoplata is a joint lock used in mixed martial arts and submission wrestling. The joint lock hyperrotates the shoulder joint causing pain and the submission. If the opponent chooses not to submit then they risk torn ligaments and tendons in the shoulder joint.

This lock is not seen very often in mixed martial arts competition. This is perhaps due to the fact that if not done properly, you will be giving the opponent a good opportunity to pass your guard. But that is not to say that it can not be used effectively. Here are just a few examples of it being used with great success in MMA fights…

Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira’s use of it during a beautiful transition in his fight with Enson Inoue on the PRIDE 19-Bad Blood card. That transition ended in him tapping Inoue with a triangle choke.

Frank Mir’s use of it to transition into a toe hold on David “Tank” Abbott in UFC 41-Onslaught.

Joe “Diesel” Riggs use of it to sweep Chris Lytle and escape form the bottom position in their fight on the UFC 55-Fury card.

As you can see from the examples above, the technique can be used for much more than just submitting an opponent. It can be used as a sweep (a technique that allows you to escape the bottom position and gain the top position). It can also be used to set up other grappling submission holds.

Omoplata from the closed guard

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Omoplata from the open guard

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Nino “Elvis” Schembri puts the technique into action during a submission grappling match.

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