What would you do with three 15 min training periods per week.

[Robert Mitchum]

Saw guys get Big by doing pushups and stuff like this in Prison.

[Guerrero]

^^^Looks like my workout - rotating sets of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and squats.

[RevolverRob]

For solo grappling, I would work the universal movements like hip escape, hip lift, technical stand up, hip heist, upward hip drive. Maybe some breakfalls. All of those motions are used in almost all other ground grappling techniques so if you have the movement itself down subconsciously then it becomes far easier to apply the attack in the appropriate moment.

Solo standing - Shadow boxing (to include wrestling entries like duckunders and armdrags), top and bottom bag, heavy bag. Lots of Default Cover work, since that is key to not get KTFO.

Cecil, thoughts on using a grappling dummy for solo work (both standing and grappling)?

I adjust the height of my heavy bag to be lower and use it for this work, but I feel like something that has "appendages" may improve form, especially with duckunders and and arm drags.

Anyone else who does this work solo, please feel free to chime in, too.

[Cecil Burch]

Cecil, thoughts on using a grappling dummy for solo work (both standing and grappling)?

I adjust the height of my heavy bag to be lower and use it for this work, but I feel like something that has "appendages" may improve form, especially with duckunders and and arm drags.

Anyone else who does this work solo, please feel free to chime in, too.

I have a partially written blog post that I need to dust off and finish that addresses this. I can go into more detail in that environment. But for now, my attitude is that putting time in a grappling dummy is juice that is not worth the squeeze.

Here is the problem - to get a good one that is rugged enough and is shaped in a way to be useful, you have to spend a boat load , generally around $500 or so. But you are only getting a tiny fraction of performance out of it that you can't get solo. Most of what is unable to do solo needs to be done against a resisting opponent with aliveness and ambiguity. For example, the hard part of doing a duckunder is 1) the proper mechanics of a level change and keeping your heard vertical 2) seeing or setting up the opening to do the move and 3) finishing while the other guy reacts. So to make sure you have the move down, the first part can be done shadow boxing, and the other two parts need a moving opponent. That's not to say you can't do the shadow boxing (or shadow wrestling in this case) on the dummy, but it is not needed and you have spent $500 to boot. Working armdrags (or something similar like a 2on1) on a dummy is fractionally better and more useful because to do a drag you have to actually grasp an arm, but again, is that worth the money?

I do think there is one specific time a dummy is worthwhile. If you truly live in an area where you are more than an hour travel from a BJJ/Judo/Sambo/Wrestling gym, AND you have had some hands on training (as in a short course like ECQC, Paul's MDOC, my course, or similar), then having a dummy will be the best you can do as far as an opponent for the bulk of your practice. Then it is a good investment. It is a bad investment IMO if you ahve not had the hands on coaching. Trying to learn any kind of entangled fighting through DVDs or Youtube is useless, so again no need to spend the cash on a dummy.

[Paul Sharp]

This is something Paul, Craig and I have talked and written about a lot over the past 15 years or so. It is near and dear to my heart because I have found myself in that exact situation (only being able to do short sessions) many times. For myself, I tend to focus on foundational things, and shy away from too many specifics. In other words, general purpose vs specific purpose.

For 15 minutes of shooting - in dry fire I would go through Ben Stoeger's dryfire book and just work my way through his different programs and do each one for 15 minutes, regardless of what he sets for the time limit. That way you are covering a number of skills without getting into a rut. To work a bit more on the foundation stuff, I might alternate the first couple of drills from the book with the other following ones, i.e. do the first one, then the second, then the third, then go back to the first, then the fourth, then the second, etc. Always repeating the first couple over and over again. For live fire, I would do one of two programs. One would be a combo of something like 5 yard Round up, 5x5x5x5 drill from concealment, Defoor's pistol test #1, and Dot Torture. Then the other program on another session would be a single course of fire that changes often (FBI qual, Rangemaster qual, the old FAM, etc). I think something like that covers the most useful skills (the 80/20 rule).

Combatives oriented - I will break it down to solo and partner work.

For solo grappling, I would work the universal movements like hip escape, hip lift, technical stand up, hip heist, upward hip drive. Maybe some breakfalls. All of those motions are used in almost all other ground grappling techniques so if you have the movement itself down subconsciously then it becomes far easier to apply the attack in the appropriate moment.

Solo standing - Shadow boxing (to include wrestling entries like duckunders and armdrags), top and bottom bag, heavy bag. Lots of Default Cover work, since that is key to not get KTFO.

Partner work - Positional sparring rounds done from co-operative drilling energy on up to full blown trying to win. Things like start from handfighting range and work to a control and hold against resistance for 3 seconds, or let a guy mount you and he tries to finish while you have to escape, or you are in guard and your job is to stand up. Add in ambiguity in the encroachment by one party and the other has to deal with it (MUC skills which IMO are the most useful skill to have, even above shooting). Specific session on just IFWA both standing and on the ground.

S & C - sprint work (as many variations of runs from 25 yds to 100 yds that you can manage to do in 15 minutes), Dan John's Coyote KB complex with the heaviest bell you can handle, The 100 burpee challenge, a strength focus session of doing one single whole body movement like deadlift, squat, or press each time (you ca ndo a series of jsut concentrating on one lift to get stronger, or alternate one each session for more of a maintenance type approach), or a pre-hab/rehab session of exercises like foam rollers, specific mobility work for your particular issue and goblet squats to keep the body working well.

Life - man, I hate giving this advice when I know myself I fall short of these things all the time. I have been studying Stoicism since college and I love a daily reading and reflection in that (there is even a great book called the Daily Stoic that helps this). A session at least once a week where I make it a point to tell important people in my life how important they are. Maybe at least one session a week planning goals, to include meal planning for the week ahead to help maintain good health.

That is a pretty good sketch, and I have used all of them at one time or another.

This.

You can get a lot done in 15 minutes 3-4 times a week. You won't become a world champion at anything in only 45 minutes a week yet you can build enough skill to keep you safe, while maintaining skills already built.

[Paul Sharp]

I had the opportunity to be on the Higher Line Podcast a few weeks ago. We actually talked about this question at the 1:10:00 mark. Hopefully I was able to copy/paste the link in a way that starts it at the point where we are discussing this subject.

https://youtu.be/RTuVszBELJ8?t=4276

[okie john]

I've been doing 15-20 minutes weight lifting sessions throughout the day due to time constraints. I've really had to get my act together to get the most out of the short sessions. Goal setting and planning is paramount. Not sure exactly what I could only do with three 15 minute firearm training sessions a week, but I would come up with a 6 week goal, come up with general plan to reach that goal and then break it down into 18 training sessions. At the end of that I would assess, adjust and come up with a new training plan.

I'd love to hear more about this. I'm headed into a situation where my gym time will be extremely limited for the foreseeable future.


Okie John