TRAINING FOR A FIGHT

TRAINING FOR A FIGHT

By Shane Robert

Sometimes my thoughts wander to hypothetical situations that, in most cases, are not likely to actually occur. Lately, I can’t help but contemplate having to defend myself from a show of physical force that is not, on the whole, justified. Naturally, I think about what my response would be and what I can do to give myself the greatest advantage to, hopefully, come out as victor. Of course, in any sort of physical altercation, having specific martial training and experience gives a person a significant advantage. If both parties have martial training, the one with the most training and experience will usually win. If the combatants are of equal skill and experience, then the strongest of the two will almost always win. Indeed, if the strength imbalance is great enough, someone with *slightly* less skill but significantly more strength may still have an advantage over the other. If neither party is trained in a martial art, which is usually the case, then the stronger of the two is at a distinct advantage.

The obvious solution, of course, for success in a hypothetical fight is to take a martial art. There are a few downsides to this solution:

1. Cost. Martial arts are expensive. In my area, you’re looking at $200+ per month for 2-3 classes per week
2. Schedule. For some reason, martial arts classes tend to only be in the late evening. This doesn’t work for me and my schedule, nor does it work for most people I work with who have families.
3. Time. It takes a long time to become proficient in any type of martial art. While even a few months of classes is better than nothing, it still isn’t enough to give you much of an edge.

It should be no surprise, then, that the best option is to make sure that you will definitely be the strongest in the fight. Building a high level of strength on basic lifts like some type of squat and deadlift is always going to be the foundation of any worthwhile strength program. However, there are certain movements that will carry over better to the awkward strength that besting another human requires. 

Those exercises, in no particular order, are:

• Sandbag Suplex
• Heavy Swings
• Push Press
• Sandbag Getups 
• Weighted Pushups 
• Zercher Carries

SANDBAG SUPLEX

When it comes to fighting with someone, the ability to grapple and control your opponent is a key part of becoming victorious. Sandbags are hard to control and awkward to lift, much in the same way that a person is. This movement is simple—get your arms around the bag any way that you can, lift it and throw it backward over your shoulder. Since we don’t have the luxury of fine technique, we need the brute strength to be able to grab someone around the middle, pick them up, and throw them hard into the ground. This isn’t about throwing lightweights as high as you can, this is about lifting as heavy a weight as you possibly can and forcefully getting it over your shoulder.

Making a sandbag is easy. If you don’t want to buy a specific sandbag, get a duffle bag and fill it with something that will make it heavy. Sand is a good option. So is pea gravel or shot. 

HEAVY SWINGS

The power for hard punches and kicks comes from the hips. There are few exercises that build this kind of power like swings. In this case, our goal isn’t cardio so the weight should be heavy enough that you can’t do more than about 15 reps with it. If you want a conditioning effect, do lightweight, higher rep swings after your heavier work.

If you don’t have access to a heavy enough kettlebell, you can build a simple T-Handle to load plates on and do swings.

PUSH PRESS

Any version of this movement is great, whether with a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, or single-arm versions of any of those. The main purpose of including push presses in this list is to teach the coordination of a strong punch or shove. The main power comes from the legs and transfers up through the arms.

SANDBAG GETUPS

As stated above, you can’t escape how useful sandbags are for this kind of training. The sandbag getup differs from the more traditional Turkish Getup in that the sandbag is draped over your shoulder or held at the chest in a sort of bear hug style. The usefulness of this movement is obvious—if you find yourself on your back with someone on top of you, it’s usually in your interest to be able to get back up to your feet, or at least be able to roll them over so that they are on their back and you have the advantage.

WEIGHTED PUSHUPS

This movement is essentially the opposite side version of the getup. If you are facedown and someone is on top of you, it's in your best interest not to be in that position. The ability to push your body away from the ground against weight is essential to do that. The bench press is great, but it doesn’t have quite the same benefits as weighted pushups because of the technical modifications you can make for increased load.

Chains are my favorite way to load pushups, but a backpack with weight works, so too does a weight vest or a buddy sitting on your back.

ZERCHER CARRIES

Anything Zercher, where the bar rests in the crook of your elbows, is tough, no matter what the movement. The bar placement puts tremendous load on the upper back and core. Walking with the weight adds stability and a time-under-tension element that makes it even harder. Having granite-strong abs is going to help you take a hit much better.

BONUS - CONDITIONING FOR A FIGHT

Fighting is one of the physically hardest things that you can do. The amount of cardio necessary is almost unbelievable if you have never experienced it. Two things in the gym come closest to that feeling:

• Sled Sprint repeats for time
• AB(urpee)C complex

I think sled sprints are pretty straightforward. Load up a sled and sprint away with it for time. You will start to slow down, but don’t allow yourself to stop until the time has passed. 2-5 minutes is a good time range. Rest 1 minute and repeat.

I’ve written about the AB(urpee)C complex before, but it is simply Dan John’s armor building complex, where you use two kettlebells and do 2 cleans, 1 press, 3 squats each set, but you do 4 burpees before starting the complex. Use a challenging weight (if you are capable of pressing 70s, don’t use 15s, maybe use 44s or 53s), and aim to get as many rounds of the burpees +complex as you can in the allotted time. Once again, 2-5 minutes is a good range. Rest 1 minute and repeat.

CONCLUSION

Learning some kind of martial art is going to be the best way to ensure you can handle yourself if you ever need to throw down. Failing that, being as strong as a bull will go a long way to give you an advantage. The exercises shared a great way to do that. If, for some reason, you don’t want to do those, find others that will accomplish similar goals. Hopefully, you never will be in a situation where it matters, but if you do, you’ll be ready.