Sunday, June 30, 2013

Training with Your Significant Other

Back when Shelly and I ran a lot, we did the vast majority of our training together. That included long runs, speed work, and functional fitness crosstraining.

When we started mma training, it was only natural we continue training together. As long as both of us are in the same class, we pair up for boxing, muay Thai, and jiu jitsu drilling. We often pair with others for liver sparring or rolling, however. For us, this arrangement has some significant advantages... and disadvantages. Here are a few:

Pro- We're brutally honest. There's no need to preserve each others' egos. If one of us are doing something wrong, there's no hesitation to point it out.

Con- We're brutally honest... but sometimes wrong. My idea of correct technique sometimes deviates from Shelly's idea of correct technique. The result is usually an argument that's not settled until a) one of us causes significant pain by using the correct technique, or b) one of our instructors settles the argument.

Pro- We don't have to deal with the clueless spazzing of other white belts in drills. We're both fairly calm, laid back folks. We're also pretty good at listening to the details of any technique, then applying it in drills. Together we're able to execute better than if we were paired with other white belts.

Con- Sometimes we're spazzy white belts that don't know what the fuck we're doing. It's like the blind leading the blind, especially if we're doing a completely new technique. We'd definitely benefit from pairing with other more advanced belts.

Pro- We can spend hours and hours outside of class discussing everything we've done. This helps solidify our understanding of everything we've learned. This is especially true when it comes to incorporating new stuff into the previously-learned stuff. It helps us understand the nature of sequencing in both the striking and grappling realm.

Con- The discussions, when paired with a few beers or glasses of wine, usually devolves into us "showing" each other the techniques. This would be great if we had a cool mat room in our house. But we don't. We live in an RV. Our "mat room" is a full size bed in a room that's pretty much the same size as the mattress. Silver lining: We'd be pretty adept at fighting against the cage.

Pro- We get to know each others' games. Yeah, I know. We're just white belts. Our "game" is analogous to a fish flopping around in a boat. But both of us have very simple, clear setups for everything we do. This telegraphing of technique forces us to a) pay attention to subtle cues, b) begin defense before an attack, and c) develop a wider variety of setups. We'd definitely get this with other partners, but the "chess match" is much more robust because we have a deep understanding of each other's personalities outside of the training.

Con- We quickly exhaust all our techniques. It goes something like this: I'm in Shelly's guard. She tries to set up a cross choke. I counter. She moves to an arm bar. I counter. I try a knee pass. She counters. Then we sit there for 5 seconds thinking of the next techniques to try. Ultimately this is a good thing... but wastes a little time when sparring.

These are just a few of the issues that arise when pairing with a significant other. Overall, the experience is great. Just like running and lifting, fight training brings us closer. It requires trust and communication. The pheromones are a plus, too. Quite honestly, it's an awesome "date." It beats the Hell out of the "cheesy romantic comedy", "walk in the park", or "shopping at Abercrombie and IKEA" dates.

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