Training Log: MMA

(during my time at brief time at Elite, I also managed to fit in a diversion to Harrow on the way home, to a MMA club I'd been meaning to try out for ages. I was joined by Alex, a poster from Tung-Fu...)

The Mauler's Cage Fighters Gym, (MMA), Steve Dempsey, Harrow, UK - 02/09/2004

Went along with fellow poster, Alex, and as he had warned, the class was pretty fitness intensive - my shirt was a damp rag by the end of the two hours! I'm not sure how long the warm-up was (probably much shorter than it felt ), but it consisted mainly of running on the sport, 'cycling' in the air supporting our backs with our hands, a bit of shadow boxing, plus a brief stint of press-ups and sit ups. The warm-up then moved into a variation on the seal crawl, stretching the arms right out in front as we lay on our stomachs, then pulling ourselves the length of the room twice, then switching to our backs and using our shoulders, finishing with the first exercise...but this time with someone holding on to our legs.

After that came a relatively extensive session of pad-work, concentrating on punches. Pairing off, one person would moves the pads about as they wanted, while the guy with the gloves on would respond. Steve then added 'stage 2', in which the guy with the pads would grab hold of the boxer, and finally 'stage 3', where the boxer would take down his partner, moving between full mount and guard, punching all the while, finishing back where we started, then eventually switching over.The final part of the lesson was a 20 minute roll, with various partners (though I ended up with Alex twice, much to my delight ). I rolled three times, generally getting various arm locks applied to me by Alex, though I did managed to guillotine him once, albeit with in-fight help from Steve! Also gave me an active demonstration of why wrestlers used to grease up - the sweat makes holding on to someone @%$# hard!

All in all, a good workout, and as usual the seniors were helpful (well, the one I rolled with anyway and Steve - I don't think we can count Alex as a senior just yet ).

Unfortunately, its a bit late finishing at 10pm, meaning I finally got home an hour past my bedtime, plus I have the joy of Elite tonight with added aches and pains. However, I would certainly recommend Steve's club to anyone in the Harrow area, especially if you value your fitness! Come to think of it, that workout must have been long, unless I missed something out? Possibly too knackered to remember...

Club Details

Club Name: The Mauler's Cage Fighters Gym
Address: Rayners Lane, Harrow, London (short walk from tube station, a tiny little door that says Harrow martial arts)
Country: United Kingdom

Website: Here, and a women's MMA site here. Update 06/05/05: Both sites appear to be down, but the club does have a message board you could try, here.

Instructor: Steve Dempsey. Update 06/05/05: Steve has now retired (at least for the moment!), but his classes will continue under Mark Chen, a noted exponent of MMA. I look forward to trying out Mark's classes)
Cost: £5 per session
Styles Taught: Self-defence & MMA

Training times are Wednesday, 20:00-22:00.