Elite Training Center: Redondo

Naturally we all come to a plataue in our martial arts training. Sometimes information can leave us feeling frustrated and confused. Take this holiday season to relax and reassess your goals. Realize that although you may struggle with the comprehension of new material, it is this struggle that makes the reward of knowledge so sweet.

Krav Maga, Kali Silat, Muay Thai Kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu all came to fruition through hours upon hours of practice. It is important to understand that through trial and error that the arts ultimately found a platform to work from. This said platform will still be reworked as most martial arts should be. To not maintain a consistent push to make techniques and arts more feasible to the masses defeats the purpose of training. If anything is to improve it must be broken down and built back up to be stronger, faster and more effective.

As a student living the martial way the realization and acceptance of this process will only lead to a more positive outlook on your martial path.

With the holiday season upon us it is important to think about how truly fortunate we are. At Elite Training Center in Redondo Beach, CA, we stress the importance of giving back to the community and those less fortunate. Daily we are able to practice a myriad of martial arts which consist of Krav Maga, Kali Silat, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and MMA. These very functional and effective martial arts would not be with us today had the importance of sharing and giving back not been instilled by the practitioners of the arts.

To truly understand the martial way is to give the self to the arts with the understanding that the responsibility of sharing this information is vital. If one can share information, should it be so difficult to volunteer time and other material goods?

This time of year there is a call to give to those less fortunate. Somewhere a child will wake up without a gift to open. Somewhere a child will be huddled with a loved one just to keep warm. Take some time to look around at what you have, what you want and then what you can give.

Hello Elite Training Center Friends,

This week’s classes in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program saw us practicing techniques in combatives and self-defense focusing using the guard to influence and control the distance against punches, elbows and headbutt strikes by the top fighter. After this instruction, we moved on to additional submission attacks from the bottom position using the triangle choke & kimura armlock.

During the punching defense classes from the guard, we continuously practiced the understanding of making it extremely difficult for the top fighter to land successful strikes in a series. If the top opponent is hitting you effectively, you are not influencing the control of the distance. The middle position in the guard is the major factor of control. When the top fighter can stay in the middle position with good posture, it is going to be a difficult day for the bottom fighter. This is the start of effective guard passing and striking attacks for the man on top.

The basic strategy was to keep the opponent very close (Closed Guard) or very far away from you (Open Guard). This is a similar concept that relates to the standing clinch and closing the distance in jiu-jitsu. We need to keep in mind, our opponent will be bigger and stronger than us in a ground fight; therefore, you will not be able to hold a position for ever or a long period of time. When your opponent attacks with a strike or a punching technique, you will need to move at the right time in this situation to counter it. Using too much strength or wasted energy will quickly make you tired. Move at the right times and use your whole body: Mostly your hips and legs to control the bigger opponent.

Later in the week we continued our understanding of the kimura armlock and the triangle choke from the guard. Some of my observation saw many of the students trying to understand the details of the triangle choke. The kimura was easy to perform after a basic review. The triangle choke had many of you making adjustments to finalize the technique. And adjustments in the details are exactly what you have to do to making all jiu-jitsu techniques and strategies work for you: not just the triangle choke.

Keys to success in finishing the opponent with the triangle choke for the guard are: Getting a good bite on the opponent’s neck with your leg; controlling the opponent’s arm to bring it to the correct side of your body; controlling the posture on the opponent’s body by controlling the head; making body adjustments with your foot on the opponent’s hip to get the best angle to finish the technique; and finally, using a figure-four lock with your legs with the foot behind the knee to squeeze the opponent’s neck for the choke hold. Extra details to finalize the leg choke triangle is to pull downward on the opponent’s head with your hands, squeeze your knees together and lift upward with your hips. This is done at the same time and making for a three directional pressure.

For many of you this was the first time really learning the triangle choke. All the details will get easier: I promise you! There are 15 partner drills I can think of that will help you improve this technique; plus, you will also get a nice workout while improving your jiu-jitsu!

Be ready for next week!

Best,

Prof. Tony Pacenski

Elite Training Center

Fear is not something to ever be taken lightly. Always trust your gut. But always embrace the fear you feel and turn into awareness.

Krav Maga and Kali Silat focus on situational awareness. Starting off with single attackers and moving onto multiple attackers. Never ignore your “gut feeling.” Always trust it and use it to make the best decision. In a PC society it is often to the dismay of many that we pass judgement too quickly. From a self defense standpoint this form of judgment can be the catalyst to help you avoid an altercation altogether.

Don’t be so quick to dismiss someone who doesn’t have as much experience as you in your martial arts career. There is always something to learn either through viewing or doing. At Elite Training Center in Redondo Beach we refer to our upper level programs as Master Path.

Although Krav Maga is not steeped in such rich history as Kali Silat, it is continually changing and moving to ensure efficiency. Kali Silat, 2000 years old is continually researching and developing to come up with new technology to counter enemy tactics. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) stems from Japanese Jiu Jitsu. A once thought art of strength and position was slowly developed into position and angles.

If martial arts are always changing then how can one call themselves or deem another a “master?” There is the masters path, a journey that has no end, only the gathering and accumulation of knowledge in the martial way.

We hope to see you all at our holiday party this Saturday down at Texas Loosey’s for the fights! Everyone is welcome to come down and hangout as we get together for the holiday season. Hope to see you there!

This is a big weekend at Elite Training Center! We have nearly forty students promoting or testing to higher belts in Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, and Mixed Martial Arts, and many of these students are advancing in more than one discipline and truly becoming complete martial artists. We are so proud of everyone, and we’re proud of the students who have shown up to support their teammates and to help them succeed. Keep up the great work!!

Those of you who rely on strength to defeat an opponent, there will come a day when you come across a warrior who is experienced with strategy, tactics, angles and technique. You will find only frustration when you try to move an immovable object. The key to finding success is simply making your way either over, around or under it. Keeping an open mind will attract success and invaluble experience in all aspects.

Do not forget how important this time of year is for self defense. With the amount of people doing holiday shopping, good people must be on the lookout.

At Elite Training Center in Redondo Beach, CA we encourage all of our students to use situational awareness each and every day. Krav Maga, Kali Silat, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu all focus on identifying and anticipating movement of an attacker or opponent. With the “silly” season upon on it is important to recognize the dangers that lie within.

Violent attacks and muggings occur around this time often out of desperation. Take this time to recognize what is going on around you. Utilize these simple steps to utilize situational awareness:

Don’t text while walking back to your car from a busy day of shopping. Keep your head up and move with purpose.

Don’t disengage your car alarm until you are at your car. Don’t make a steady line towards your own vehicle if you are alone. Move in the direction of another vehicle and then make a quick move.

Don’t hold onto too many bags which can inhibit your vision and mobility. Shop simply and smart.

Be sure to lock up your belongings and don’t leave anything in view worth stealing.

One more thing…don’t be a bad person. Santa’s watching…

Happy Holidays from everyone here at Elite Training Center! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this past weekend. Believe it or not Christmas is approaching quickly and before we know it the New Year will be on our doorstep. Every year our school takes part in Los Angeles City Fire Department’s ‘Spark of Love’ Toy Drive.
Our duty as martial artists is to lead a selfless lifestyle off the mat. This time of year our community needs it the most! Unfortunately, there are children in our area that will wake up without a visit from Santa Clause. Lucky for us we have the opportunity to change that by helping our firefighters in their mission to bring Christmas to the youth of Los Angeles!