Armageddon Training - Questions ...

[hockeyscout]

↵Here is a video of the fighter I train: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJKuvLo8luQ

[don_budge]

↵Here is a video of the fighter I train: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJKuvLo8luQ

My MMA fighter is about 30 days away from his next fight. He's been out for about nine months now, training on and off. Concussion. It's been an issue, somewhere along the line he got tagged, and everything has been on and off.

I am thinking about:

- recording all our training - instructional sessions.

- itemizing all drills, movements, warmups, activations, etc

- making a training web-site, which covers, how to physically prepare properly for professional sports.

I got a lot of other top MMA fighters from Europe and Russia who want to come in and work with me, so, I may pull them into our training camp here with us, so, that will be good for the videos.

How does this relate to tennis?

It takes a certain type of training to hit a tennis ball, throw a punch, run, skate, shoot, hit a baseball or dribble a basketball properly. That's what we do.

The Russian's changed hockey in the 1970's - they believed hockey was a combination of tennis, fighting, baseball, basketball, football and soccer, and they were right. They produced the best, and what was interesting was they were not hockey coaches when they started! The results speak for themselves, I think.

The real goal I have as a trainer, is to set up a developmental program that will make any athlete in any sport better. The real key - take skill sets from every sport, and apply them to the sport the athlete performs in. It's been achievable for me in MMA and Hockey sports, and I guess we will see in five or six years if it works in tennis. Who knows? I will admit, lots can go wrong.

As most of you can see my MMA athlete is world class - especially in areas like movement. His feet became a real asset working under my system (he had no choice but to move well working the way I work). They will get better as he gets older and needs to be more exact.

What would interest people on this board in the sport of tennis?

A lot of stuff I do with MMA is done to benefit for my two daughters. Everything I do is highly applicable to tennis (and, other sports). I want to create a tennis player who could compete physically and mentally in that type of environment. You have to have a ton of skill-sets, and that is great for a tennis player (being an all-around athlete).

What would you like to see?

Activations, warmups, speed, lateral training, flow, balance, body positioning, etc?

I will post here video of different things, and, would love to see the commentary.

If you want to see the best MMA athlete ever guys, take a look at Fedor - the gold standard. Mike Tyson said he's the best athlete he has ever seen. Attitude of a hockey player, lateral movement of Agassi, Ali's hand speed, soccer kicking like Beckham, vertical jump like Kobe Bryant, Federer's hand-eye coordination, bear-like strength, flexibility of a gymnast -- it is insane. He adds on a lot of extra weight for his fights now that he's older to protect himself, but, it would have been amazing to see what he would have done playing a sport like tennis or hockey with his rather unbelievable traits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzKBq3KREM

I'd be very interested in seeing your training techniques. If you were to post them on this thread it would create a uniqued thread. I have often thought of tennis as a martial arts. I have always thought that I would have made a great boxer with my two handed abilities. That was a nasty looking fellow your man was fighting. He took a nasty hit to the head and was out in a flash. Is this what Armageddon tennis would look like? I always teach in combinations...death by a few cuts. If not a thousand.

Let's see what you got. Should be really good food for thought.

[don_budge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzKBq3KREM

This guy is amazingly "quick". He follows up with blinding speed. The two handed attack is devastating. He hurts you and then he is all over you like a cheap suit. A wet blanket.

[stroke]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzKBq3KREM

This guy is amazingly "quick". He follows up with blinding speed. The two handed attack is devastating. He hurts you and then he is all over you like a cheap suit. A wet blanket.

Fedor in his prime was like Federer and Michael Jordon. He just looks different/ better out there. Fedor when he is throwing those strikes, his face and jaw(if you look closely) is very relaxed. Very unusual. Federer same when striking a tennis ball.

[klacr]

Fedor in his prime was like Federer and Michael Jordon. He just looks different/ better out there. Fedor when he is throwing those strikes, his face and jaw(if you look closely) is very relaxed. Very unusual. Federer same when striking a tennis ball.

Agree on all points. Fedor was remarkable on so many levels. The Best.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[klacr]

The ability to use frustration to your advantage, and lose over and over and over. Guys like Fedor enjoy losing. It's a great trait to thing to have, and if you have the patience to work at it until everyone else goes home and gives up you will be okay. At the end of the day, trust me, he will always be the winner. It's psychologically tough working against a guy like this because he's always getting better, better and coming up with a new weapon. Fedor worked so hard he made it look like child's play.

The Loser's Edge.

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/mentalgame/kyle_lacroix/the_losers_edge/

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[EdWeiss]

One thing which would be helpful to a number of coaches is a balanced program which their students could do for 30-45 minutes a day (or three or four times a week). I realize that you need more to be a champion but many of us have students who love tennis and compete at a pretty high level with a goal to get as good as they can be within the structure of going to school full time, homework, other outside activities, etc.

[klacr]

What's interesting about Fedor is he is a real belligerent kind of guy. He wants to beat everyone at their main strength. Takes a lot of patience to do that - lots of training hours and mental focus. Few have the mental wherewithal or intelligence to do it. The ability to use frustration to your advantage, and lose over and over and over is VERY important in development. Guys like Fedor enjoy losing. It's a great trait to thing to have, and if you have the patience to work at it until everyone else goes home and gives up you will be okay. At the end of the day, trust me, he will always be the winner. It's psychologically tough working against a guy like this because he's always getting better, better and coming up with a new weapon. Fedor worked so hard he made it look like child's play.

If someone is better at a skill in the ring than him, he will fight them in that style until he wins. His ability to take a punch was like Ali's. Like Ali, the key for him was how relaxed he was as an athlete. They are both like babies, he never lost that ease of movement and relaxation. In a plane crash a baby's chances of living are very good because they are so relaxed. The durability of young children is insane, because they have no worries and never tense up. Older athletes can learn from that, I tell you! That is what Fedor possesses that is unusual. That really allowed him to be creative, and test out new ideas on the fly. Everyone hated training with this guy because he was mean mean mean, no one would go home until he figured out something new and played with it for a long period of time. His training really set him apart. He does all of his training in a village far away from Moscow in an environment that is worse than a prison gym. Apparently, he doesn't care. He respects his roots, and likes being away from prying eyes.

Fedor documentary-Baddest Man on The Planet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL7oUmTu74I

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[Guest]

I wish we had training facilities as good as Fedor's. But, you make due with what you have I guess.

[don_budge]

Nothing New Under the Sun...Fedor borrows a page from "Beat Them at Their Own Game"

What's interesting about Fedor is he is a real belligerent kind of guy. He wants to beat everyone at their main strength. Takes a lot of patience to do that - lots of training hours and mental focus. Few have the mental wherewithal or intelligence to do it. The ability to use frustration to your advantage, and lose over and over and over is VERY important in development. Guys like Fedor enjoy losing. It's a great trait to thing to have, and if you have the patience to work at it until everyone else goes home and gives up you will be okay. At the end of the day, trust me, he will always be the winner. It's psychologically tough working against a guy like this because he's always getting better, better and coming up with a new weapon. Fedor worked so hard he made it look like child's play.

If someone is better at a skill in the ring than him, he will fight them in that style until he wins. His ability to take a punch was like Ali's. Like Ali, the key for him was how relaxed he was as an athlete. They are both like babies, he never lost that ease of movement and relaxation. In a plane crash a baby's chances of living are very good because they are so relaxed. The durability of young children is insane, because they have no worries and never tense up. Older athletes can learn from that, I tell you! That is what Fedor possesses that is unusual. That really allowed him to be creative, and test out new ideas on the fly. Everyone hated training with this guy because he was mean mean mean, no one would go home until he figured out something new and played with it for a long period of time. His training really set him apart. He does all of his training in a village far away from Moscow in an environment that is worse than a prison gym. Apparently, he doesn't care. He respects his roots, and likes being away from prying eyes.

"Do not be mechanical or pigheaded about your tactics. Always keep an open mind, aware of the whole picture and ready to change plans at any time if it seems wise. Far too many players make up their minds to play a certain point, game, set, or even match in one way, and stick to it even when it's obvious that they're getting nowhere with it. That is neither courage nor determination-it is stupidity. There are two generalities of tactics which should be borne in mind in this connection:

Never change a winning game.
Always change a losing game.

The first seems obvious. You would think that anyone would know enough to follow that rule, but for some perverse reason it seems to work that other way with some players. A man will build up a winning lead by staying back and pounding his opponent's backhand. Then suddenly, for no understandable reason except perhaps a desire to finish in a blaze of glory, he begins to rush the net, starts losing points, and ends by being defeated. Perhaps the reverse takes place. He builds up his lead by going to the net constantly but, just as he should be finishing his man off, suddenly retires to the baseline and eventually loses. Perhaps he gains his lead by slow finesse and changes to speed for no reason, or vice versa. In each case he changes a winning game before he has won, and by doing so he gets just what he deserves-a licking.

Conversely, it is equally stupid to insist upon playing to the end a type of game that is losing badly. If you do, you are certain to lose. You might lose anyways, but you might better try to win with something else. If you can't win from the baseline, go to the net. If you have been going in and it hasn't been working, stay back and see if you can unsteady your opponent. Try out something new, if what you have previously been trying has failed.

There is another approach to this tactical problem, which is that your opponent is never completely beaten until you have broken his morale and made him conscious of his impending defeat. Pounding a weakness is one way to do it. It is the longest, often the surest, and certainly the most universally used method. A method I frequently prefer is quicker, more exciting, and perhaps more dangerous, but if it's successful it inflicts the most lasting of all defeats. It is to play your opponent's strength until you break it. (This, of course, is the exception to the tactical rule of not giving your opponent a shot he likes to play.) Believe me, once a player finds his favorite shot won't win for him his whole game collapses. If he can't win with his strength he can't win at all. Once a player admits defeat to himself he is through, even though he plays on gamely, and tries to hide it. Certainly, the very fact that you attack his strong point with assurance and confidence will shake him, if you get away with it a few times. It makes him aware of your strength of purpose and will to win, and keeps tremendous mental pressure on him that is worth much to you in a long match. It takes courage and determination on your part to attack his strength, but if you do it of your own volition you are prepared for his reply and you can tune your own game accordingly."

[hockeyscout]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzKBq3KREM

This guy is amazingly "quick". He follows up with blinding speed. The two handed attack is devastating. He hurts you and then he is all over you like a cheap suit. A wet blanket.

Thanks for that link. My daughter watched that, and said, "Wow, thats a pro's pro." I am not sure if I have ever seen a NHL, MLB or NBA player with Fedor's ability to play the game. That guy understand his sport maybe better than Gretzky. But, Wayne never had that level of physical ability. Best raw physical ability I ever saw was Sean Kemp - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQeMhYJe5JA - but, he was all potential never realized. Fedor clearly put in the work - and is a true artist.