Banded Hook for Punching Mechanics

Throughout my martial arts and fighting career I had plenty of coaches who wanted the lead hook to perform differently. Some yell pivot the foot, don't pivot the foot, punch with thumb up, thumb down, in a downward arc, straight across, etc... One thing they all had in common was to turn the hips.



I had a boxing coach who told me to focus on pulling the opposite shoulder and hip as fast as possible when throwing a hook. Not in those exact words though;  "You're not on the fucking Pec Deck Machine. Pull your this hip and shoulder back fast and throw a punch. Not a dumbbell fly." It clicked for me and made so much sense.



The hook is a pulling punch, made to go around your opponent's guard or peripheral vision that has to be delivered with speed for maximum damage. Remember this is just 1 component of throwing a hook. There are other dynamics and ways to throw and land a hook. Make sure to train with a qualified instructor and be coachable so that you can learn effectively. Give this drill a try and Let me know if it helped you or your teammates with the lead hook.



TIPS



1. Use a light resistance band.

2. Loop around your rear shoulder and underneath your armpit.

3. You can grab the band with your free hand so that it's not in the way.

4. Violently pull the band back with your hip and shoulder as you throw your hook.

5. You can pivot your lead leg or just the hip (depending on how your coach wants you to throw it).

6. Vary the length, arc, and hand position of your hook.

7. Add elbows.

8. Focus on speed.

9. Bringing hand back to your home base.

10. Hiding your chin.

11. Moving your head slightly off-center.



Best to your training,



Danny Millet

Alternating Incline Press for Muay Thai w/ Kettlebell

Back Step Teep

3 Hip Exercises for Stronger Front Kicks

It's a good idea to increase your muscular strength, power, and speed work as part of your overall training program.

You must integrate a strength & conditioning routine with your skill work. These cycles can have a dedicated training day/time to themselves or you can perform before or after your skill training.

In this video, I go over a hip hinge progression which will transfer over for front kicks, teeps, knees and basically anything hip related.

I hope you find this video useful for your Muay Thai training. Leave a comment with any of your questions and share this video with your teammates.

Best to your training,

Danny Millet

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Muay Thai Warm Up for Teeps

Weak and tight muscles will limit your techniques. In this clip, I demonstrate 2 movement prep exercises which can help loosen up and strengthing your hips, quads, glutes, hamstrings, and ankle. Good addition to your warm up if you are looking to improve your techniques, especially you're focusing on teeps, front kicks, foot jabs, etc...

Hip Opener For Muay Thai Boxing (The 90/90 Switch)

Two Kettlebell Neck Exercises for Fighters

Neck stability, strength, and endurance are vital for all athletes involved in any contact sport. Especially for combat athletes and martial artists. It can make the difference between taking a hard shot that gets you KTFO or taking that same hard shot but it just rocks you. 

For this series of Neck Exercises, I use the Neck Bridge. Unlike in wrestling, I prefer not to arch my lower back. That involves lower back and neck mobility which is sport specific to wrestling for avoiding a pin or escaping bottom positions. A great movement for grapplers. 

If you can’t perform the bridge I’d recommend you start off with isometric holds to strengthen your neck muscles. Also, avoid these exercise until you’re strong enough to bridge with body weight for at least 2 mins and always start off with a lightweight.

Let me know how these exercises work for you and don't forget to comment and hit like on this post.

Neck strength, stability, and endurance is vital for all athletes involved in any contact sport. Especially for combat athletes and martial artists. It can make the difference between taking a hard shot that gets you KTFO 😴 or taking that same hard shot but it just rocks you. 👊💥 ______ 🤼‍♂️ For this series of Neck Exercises I use the Neck Bridge. Unlike in wrestling I prefer not to arch my lower back. That involves more lower back and neck mobility which is sport specific to wrestling for avoiding a pin or escaping bottom positions. A great movement for grapplers. ______ ❌ If you can’t perform the bridge I’d recommend you start off with isometric holds to strengthen your neck muscles. Also, avoid these exercise until you’re strong enough to bridge with body weight for at least 2 mins and always start off with a light weight. ______ 💪 Let me know how these exercises works for you and check link in bio for more training tips or to join us in a class. ______ #BJJ #MMA #MuayThai #ThaiBoxing #Kettlebell #Kettlebells #KettlebellWorkOut #Totowa #Montclair #LittleFalls #WoodlandPark #FairField #NJ #NorthJersey #NYC #MidTown #GarmentDistrict #Manhattan

A post shared by Kettlebell MSP (@kettlebell_msp) on Jun 19, 2018 at 6:22am PDT

Skip Knee Warm Up Complex

Warming up can make or break your training. There's more to warming up than just feeling "warm" or getting a light sweat going. 

There's activation, movement prep, mental prep, breathing, you're intentions for the training session, etc... the list goes on and on.

I've been working consistently on a Warm Up Blueprint for Muay Thai Boxers. Whether you're training solo or in a class, jumping rope and shadow boxing isn't enough. 

I have other warmup complexes, movement prep and guide coming soon. For now, hit the clock for a 3 min round and give do this at your next training session.

Best to your training,

Danny Millet

Putting Out Multiple Fires In Your Life

I can't believe it's already June. I'm thankful that May whipped by so fast because it was a hectic month for me; both financially and physically. If you're going through the same situation, here are a couple of tips to put out those fires...

What We Bought This Week At Trader Joe's

Hey guys, Maggie here! Danny let me take over the blog today to share what we buy at Trader Joe's in a typical week. So many of you ask us what we eat throughout the day to keep our energy up and also to control cravings so I thought I'd share the things we buy at Trader Joe's in our weekly shopping trip and a few of our favorite recipes!