7/2/17: R.A.T. masterclass part 3

Shadow boxing warm up

SOLO DRILLING:

Straight blast running across the hall

Rear knee and lead elbow

Whole sequence - straight blast - eye rake - headbutt - knee - elbow

PARTNER WORK:

Destructions against the straight punches, interceptions against hooking punches, interceptions using the lead kick to the groin. These were worked primarily by keeping your fence up and the distance long. Distance = time. That was a key theme running through the night. Initially we were working the destructions and interceptions but then we added the layers of the full complement of RAT tools. As in previous sessions, only going in after the pain response was given. Lots of changes of partners to get a feel for different energies and body types.

2 v 1:

The walking dead. The 1st person was the primary target; their job was to walk you down. The 2nd person had a knife and were slowly trying to get around the first person to get to the defender. The defender's job was to:
Keep the fence up
Keep the first person in between themselves and the 2nd person.
Keep moving and not get cornered or jammed against a wall.

We then added punches so the defender used any of the initial 'defences' followed by the straight blast and follow up techniques. However, if the 2nd person was encroaching, the defender had to be aware of this and maintain neck control and zone off rather than completing the RAT to the detriment of their safety.

Being cornered. Escaping along the wall - the two attackers wore focus mitts and encroached and hit as in the image at the top of this blog entry. As they started to strike, the defender covered and moved by side stepping rapidly whilst covering, when out of range they out up the fence. This was a great drill to practise the covering whilst keeping the eyes strong and staying calm.

5/6 v 1 whilst being cornered.

Now obviously, it was a movie so we did not use the spinning hook kicks to get us out of the way. We used forward, aggressive intent coupled with the straight blast and vocals such as "MOVE!" Two people help the Thai pads shoulder to shoulder simulating a barrier. Our job was to get through the barrier with aggressive forward intent in our strikes and our voice. It didn’t look nor sound pretty but it was both effective and empowering.