Eric Center Balance Training at Xtreme Couture.
Big thanks to Coach Kui
Archive for the 'Gym' Category
10
Jul
11
Individual Coaches
After training for a few years I thought I had the strength and conditioning portion down. I would run and lift on certain days by myself and thought this would cut it for my training. It wasn’t until I decided to get a strength and conditioning coach, Kui Gonsalves-Kanoho, did I realize I was doing it all wrong for several reasons.
1. Drive – You can push yourself to your limit but somebody else can push you beyond that. Kui never lets me quit on myself and is always pushing me far beyond the limits I thought I had.
2. knowledge – I thought I knew what I was doing until I started working with Kui. He knew a lot more workouts than I did and consistently changed things up. He kept my body guessing and tailored his workouts to my goals and fight needs.
3. Motivation – Knowing you have another person in your corner is very important. The additional support he provided through out my camp and the night of the fight was valuable.
After my first camp with Kui I was literally in the best shape of my life. How I looked and felt was proof that the decision I made was the correct one. I highly suggest the amateur fighter to invest in a strength and conditioning coach at this stage of their fight career. He will teach you good habits, improve your motivation, and provide additional support.
10
Jul
11
Training Photos
14
Aug
10
Inflict Sports
I want to give a huge thank you to Inflict Sports for sponsoring me in my last fight. They also sponsor Ryan Couture, Jimmy Jones, and Frank Trigg. Check out their stuff!
02
Sep
09
To Be The Best, Watch The Best
By Eric Center
There is an old saying that steal sharpens steal and in the world of combat sports this is very true. Everybody knows that in order to be a successful fighter you have to train with the best but one can gain a multitude of knowledge from watching and studying the best also.
When I started out on my MMA journey one of the basic fundamentals one needed to learn is a Muay Thai style kick. Unfortunately this is way easier said than done. I was given the routine advice like step out, turn your kick over, etc but for some reason it was not clicking. It wasn’t until I started training with Master Toddy that I was able to observe very high level Muay Thai fighters that everything clicked. I would sit at watch as guys would throw kick after kick to the heavy bag. I watched their toes up to their hips. I noted rotation, hand placement, body placement, you get the point. Soon after I was throwing kicks like a pro.
Whenever I train at Xtreme Couture I find the best fighters in the gym and I watch them. I look to see what they are doing right and I copy them, yes that is right I COPY them. This is very important because this is often how I learn a lot of new moves.
When you train think of yourself as a sponge that needs to soak up everything. Take UFC fighter Jon “Bones” Jones whose fight against Stephen Boner cause a lot of talk in the MMA community because of his crazy spinning back fists and other unorthodox/highly entertaining moves. When ask where he learn said moves John replied YouTube! That’s right he learn his crazy moves from simply watching other fighters do them on the internet and then taking what he saw to the gym and make it his own.
Somebody once said imitation is the best form of flattery and in fighting this rings true so the next time you are taking a class seek out the best fighters and watch what they are doing right, incorporate their moves into your skill set and trust me before you know it you will be one bad man or women in the cage or ring.
16
Aug
09
Gym Spotlight – Master Toddy
Gym Spotlight
Master Toddy’s Muay Thai Academy
Gym info – Grandmaster Toddy has trained over 40 Muay Thai World Champions and trust me this man is no joke. Top fighters and instructors come literally from all over the world to learn under the legendary Master Toddy. Not everybody is allowed to join. You have to do a one on one hour long sessions with one of Toddy’s instructors. The reasons for this is to see if you are a fit for the gym and to see if the gym is fit for you. I have only been training at Master Toddy’s for a few weeks but in this short amount of time my striking has gone through the roof and it continues to evolve.
Notable fighters – Felice Herrig , Dorian Price, Kit Cope, Rey-Phillip Santos, Mick Doyle (kickboxer), LaTasha Marzolla, Dale Hartt, Maurice Smith, Gina Carano, Marvin Eastman, Lisa King, Tito Ortiz
Location – Master Toddy’s Muay Thai Academy
5740 South Arville Street Suite 212
Las Vegas, NV 89118
Price – $120 a month includes a free shirt and hand wraps *subject to change*
Equipment – Bag area, 2 ring areas, treadmill, Master Toddy owns an equipment factory in Thailand so there is plenty to gloves, pads, mitts, etc, and a family area.
Atmosphere – Very traditional South East Asian style gym. Very family friendly. Every six weeks Master Toddy’s holds a “Risings Star” event at his gym. Rising Stars is basically a amateur Muay Thai fight complete with representatives from the NSAC, referee, corner men, and a gym packed with spectators.
Trainers – Grandmaster Toddy, Master Wong (Over 200 Muay Thai fights in Thailand), Jason Andrada, Master Toddy often brings some the best Thai instructors from Thailand
Classes – All off the classes at Master Toddys resolve around striking. There are different classes for the different skill levels including kids. Master Toddys Special Fighters classes are for those truly want to test themesleves in the world of Muay Thai.
Master Toddy’s Muay Thai Academy
I heard that Satoshi Ishii was training with Randy at Xtreme Couture a few weeks ago but I never had the chance to meet him, until today. I was very excited to meet Satoshi Ishii because he is a Judoka who won the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics. Sorry I don’t have much to say about our conversation because he does not speak much English but it was an honor to meet him.
08
Jul
09
Getting Ready for Combat
With UFC 100, Affliction Trilogy, and a ton of other smaller promotions coming up in July and the beginning of August, many fighters at Xtreme Couture are working hard. Check Vitor Belfort, Jay Glazer, and some other guys who I have no clue who they are getting ready for action.
04
Jul
09
Hitting Mitts At Xtreme Couture
Check out Tasha Marzolla and Ray Sefo as they hit mitts with legendary striking coach Shawn Tompkins.
By Eric Center
Believe it or not one my best training partners is my iPhone 3G with the 3.0 firmware, let me explain why. The Apple iPhone/iPod is basically a computer in your pocket and if you are a nerd like I am you can use some of the iPhones features such as: Podcasts, Music, Videos, and Apps, to help you become a better fighter.
- Podcasts – If you’re a hardcore MMA nerd like I am then you are going to want to soak up as much MMA as you can. A great way to do this is to subscribe to some MMA related podcasts. MMA podcasts are great because they often have great fighter interviews, keep you update on what’s going on in the MMA community, and are just really funny and entertaining. I have listened some of my favorites below:
- Music – The biggest plus of having an iPhone/iPod is the music. Lots of guys feel uncomfortable listening to their music while training. You have to understand music is the soundtrack of life. There is a reason why at Xtreme Couture the music is always blasting. Often, the instructors have to talk over the loud music but nobody complains because we all use the music as motivation. I listen while I am driving to the gym, jumping rope, shadow boxing, working on my foot work in the cage, and every other chance I get. For me, metal music gets me in the mood to punch (and be punched) in the head. Here are some of my favorite artist in my “Gym Playlist” I listen to while I am in training.
Metallica
SlipKnot
The Offspring
Lil’ Wayne
- Video – I am a self admitted YouTube fight highlight junkie and with the new iPhone 3.0 firmware, you are now able to watch your subscribed YouTube videos straight from your phone. I often find myself watching highlights of Robert Duran or Ramon Dekkers before practice for motivation. When I am sparring, I often think back to these videos and use the images in my head as added motivation. I also use YouTube to check out other fighters, learn the latest Jiu-Jitsu technique, or learn about new fighters. I also like to record myself training with my iPhone so I can go back and watch the things I am doing right/wrong. I can tell you for a 100% fact that your favorite fighter watches YouTube fight videos so why aren’t you?
- Apps – Training MMA? Yes there is an App for that. Some apps I use to help me in my quest for MMA excellence are
Lose It – Succeed at weight loss with Lose It! Set goals and establish a daily calorie budget that enables you to meet them. Stay on track each day by recording your food and exercise and staying within your budget. Enter food and exercise easily using a searchable database. Quickly re-enter foods and meals you’ve had in the past. Lose It! is the most complete and streamlined weight loss application available for the iPhone.
Grapple Arts Submissions– With this app you can quickly learn about grappling submissions like chokes, armbars and leglocks. Using high-quality video instruction this app shows you the secrets of the most effective submissions from mixed martial arts, submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).
MMA Tracker – The Mixed Martial Arts’ fan essential resource for keeping track of upcoming fights, news and fighter stats.
RunKeeper- is a beautiful iPhone application—in fact, it’s exactly the kind of app you’d expect a real Nike+ solution to be. It tracks your speed, pace, time, and distance, displays that blow-by-blow information directly on your iPhone while you’re running, and has a great history feature that lets you browse through your recent runs and delete a run if you don’t want it. That’s all completely awesome.
So the next time you are checking your Face Book or updating what you had for lunch on twitter remember that the same device can be used to turn you into a lean mean MMA fighting machine.
