Combat Learning

Today I'm joined by Matt Phili, a mobility training coach and founder of Primal Mobility.

Whether a grappler or striker, most martial artists need greater mobility. However, most of the mobility routines you see around Instagram really won't cut it, and stretching isn't necessarily good mobility work either -- at least on its own.

In this episode, Matt unpacks his approach to mobility training: not simply as a stretching routine, but as an approach to strength in progressively deeper ranges of motion. Primal Mobility is unique in that it feels more like accessory exercises in a strength program than a stretching protocol, including sets and reps.

In the second half of the episode, we dive into more grappling and striking-specific advice on building and maintaining mobility. Topics include guard-play and guard retention, bridging, as well as higher, more powerful kicks.

Finally, we discuss the importance of training outside of neutral spine and in compromised positions to help prevent injuries during the course of real life combat sports performance.

A quick note, Matt doesn't come from an Ecological Dynamics or CLA framework. I've had other guests on that aren't ecological before, but I haven't done a good job of making that clear.

---

In this episode, Pedro updates us on his kickboxing program. Then we move into a deep discussion on combinations, affordances, and elaborate pad work in striking sports.
We return to the external focus of attention subject briefly before digging into some of the issues Pedro and his coaches experience applying CLA to their classes on a daily basis.

If you're excited to jump in, hit the subscribe button and enjoy the show. And if you're listening from YouTube, be sure also to drop a like.

---

Today, Pedro Sierra returns to the podcast to update us on his program in two parts.

Before understanding Ecological Dynamics, Sierra MMA had lackluster results. Since implementing the constraints-led approach, Sierra MMA has begun to see much more success.

In fact, thanks to this change in training methodology, one of coach Pedro's students even won an ADCC Open.

Pedro has come a long way since we first talked. As this episode unfolds, we discuss some of the problems he ran into and how he solved them. One of them involves round intensity and time constraints.

We also discuss self-organization and how accounting for it helps us design better sparring games. Finally, this moves into a discussion about understanding what intention and attention are and how they work practically inside the constraints-led approach.

---