The Prince of Muay Thai salutes our readers and celebrates good times in the UFC with a class that will leave you breathless - and please the fans
By Marcelo Dunlop
Anderson Silva surprised the world by overthrowing Rich Franklin and becoming UFC champion in his second bout in the American organization. The Brazilian has been an outstanding muay thai practitioner for many years. But if he could, would he give some advice to the young Silva, who began practicing a long time ago? The prince of muay thai smiles, ponders and says: “The main thing, for those wanting to become fighters, is to keep an open mind, and don’t enter the career thinking about money. You should turn your thoughts inward and try to be a better person. Few will be a Minotauro, a Wanderlei or a Vitor Belfort, and it is good to understand that before starting out.”
The other lessons on his list are as follows:
1 - For flexibility and injury prevention
Aware of the risk of injury that the "high-impact exercise" his fight modality presents, Anderson only leads his and his students’ training sessions after paying special attention to stretching and warming up.
Beyond, for example, a series of back and forth head movements to warm up his neck, Anderson likes to move around the gym while attached to the wall or ring by an elastic cord, hopping, jogging or warming up the legs and joints by doing kneeing movements.
2 - Cut out the soft drinks
A classic tip for the menu of any fighter, eating right is also one of Anderson's secrets. But, as he quickly confirms, his lean figure, practically molded by Muay Thai, is more the result of a cruel diet than genetics.
Father of Kalyl and Gabriel and the girl Kaory, Anderson insists that nutritional education begins early, at home. “The problem is excess. I try to avoid sodas, sweets and fried-food, and always have legumes and salad on the table at home.”
3 – Pull a knee out of the hat
Anderson knows what his fans want to know: “And what is the trick to doing a good flying-knee?” For the fighter, the secret is in the hip (see photo), but that is not the only trick. “For the knee to get in, ideally the adversary would not be expecting it. For that, I recommend that athletes crouch, fake a kick and, quickly and with the same leg, project themselves for a flying-knee”, he teaches.
4 – Two steps over, two steps back
After being questioned about whether there is a stand up training routine he himself developed, Anderson blinks, cleverly, and shows, once again, his inseparable elastic cord, which, for this exercise, should be kept a little below knee-level.
Anderson then jumps from one side to the other, for three minutes. To increase the intensity, Anderson has two sparring-partners, one on either side of the elastic, like attentive sentinels, who receive him with a kick or punch every time the UFC fighter jumps over the cord, which he must defend defend.
It is arduous training for beginners, normally carried out after not-too intense training sessions. Start slowly.
5 – The base of it all
Those that admire the dancer-like style of Anderson Silva in the rings should know that his warm-up exercises really seem like play. They only seem that way.
With the help of one or two tennis balls ("Even I don't last very long with two"), the muay thai beast trains his coordination and the legwork of his students, who jump around the ring bouncing the balls up and down, changing the front leg every three minutes.
6 – Achilles Heel
A fundamental part of Muay Thai, the athlete’s base is another point of review for Anderson. As he is used to wowing the crowd by constantly changing leading legs, throwing his opponents off, the Muay Thai Dream Team star draws attention to a key point: “The ankle. The rear ankle should always be loose and raised, whether it be a side step or a crouch for an attack.
7 – Kiss the elbow
It is not by training for a week or reading NOCAUTE seated that you will learn to throw masterful blows, like the elbow Anderson knocked Tony Fryklund out with in 2 minutes 2 seconds, at Cage Rage 16, in April. But Silva shows the details of the trick, frame by frame, here, to help you learn the move. "In my usual training sessions, I practice repetitions of the technique for three minutes with the right, three minutes with the left."
8 – Blind them
When questioned about what is the greatest weakness he notices in the rings these days, Anderson is discreet. He doesn’t like commenting on other fighters, but he stresses one point: “People go around telegraphing their strikes too much. Every time I think about striking, I try to couple the strike with a jab or a straight punch to block my opponent’s eyes."
To do so, Anderson uses a left jab when he wants to launch a right shin (and vice-versa), or a straight-right when he wants to launch a kick from the same side.
9 – Don’t forget the ground
The owner of 16 wins in MMA with 11 by knock-out, Anderson Silva, divides up his training in the following way: Jiu-Jitsu on Mondays, muay thai on Tuesdays, boxing on Wednesdays, and position-specific training, combinations and repetitions on Thursdays and Fridays.
For those muay thai fighters that dream of shining in the MMA rings, he summarizes one of his essential tips: "Don't forget to train grappling, with or without the gi."
10 – Clinch time
As he sees himself in a clinch, Anderson puts his arms around the foe’s neck, as shown in picture 10-c. That’s what allows him to reverse the risky situation and at last trap the neck of Rafael Feijao, leaving him prey to knee strikes..
Anderson’s pupils usually train the clinch for about five minutes, in pairs, alternating grips on the nape of the opponent’s neck, while the latter tries to free himself. Only hard training and repetition make the athlete improve his clinch.
11 - Approaching and sprawling
Learn, step by step, how Anderson treats the unadvised fighter who tries to take the action to the ground. “Notice the detail of the hand on the shoulder. Keep the distance and then attack,” he teaches.
12 – Backing up
Anderson often says in his training sessions: “The good fighter needs to understand the art of walking backwards, because going forward everyone learns when they are just babies”. Sure, backing up, unlike what you tough guys think, is useful to a fighter.
“This is learned through training. When fighters are exchanging punches very close, one step back aiming at striking can mean salvation for you and doom for your adversary,” he says.
On tip 11, Anderson shows how lethal a little walking back can be.
13 – Be around the best
Anderson Silva began training boxing at the Corinthians Sports Club, fought muay thai with Chute Boxe, trains ground fighting with Rogerio Minotouro and Rodrigo Minotauro; performed in Pride, UFC, Shooto, Meca, Gladiator FC in South Korea, Cage Rage in England and K-1's Hawaiian production, Rumble on the Rock.
Much more than being bothered by his reputation of being a nomad, Anderson celebrates it as one of the strong points in his evolution as an athlete. “After going through some big events, you start to get a broader view of your role as an MMA fighter”, he explains. “I evolved a lot through this diversification. Aside from that, I, who always wanted to compete in professional boxing, went and fought at Minotauro Fights. And I did a lot of submission grappling and Jiu-Jitsu in an edition of the Paraná Championship. The idea is to test one’s self and evolve.”
Beyond that, the ex-student of Rafael Cordeiro and Rudimar Fedrigo – who liked giving tips to the boys Ninja and Shogun - makes a point of always listening to the people around him, his team, friends and family. For this reason I cannot miss the chance to thank my training partners today, Diógenes Assahida, Rodrigo Vidal, Fausto Black, Silvio Urutum, Michel, Shaolin, Negro and Pequeno.”
Article Source: http://www.graciemag.com
Article Source: http://www.graciemag.com
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