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MMA Training - The Impact of the Hip and Glutes in MMA

Author: Tony Hackerott
Date Posted: March 29, 2009

Hip

Just like a boa constrictor, the warrior must be able to latch down on his opponent and squeeze the life out of him. Although it may not be apparent, the muscles of the hips are essential in this ability. The muscles surrounding the hips are some of the biggest and strongest in a warrior's arsenal. These muscles are used to squeeze the legs together, spread them apart, and drive the knee forward at the hip joint. In an MMA match a warrior must use these muscles to help generate force during kicks, knees, and punches and to stabilize the hip when shooting in or defending takedowns. On the ground, however, is when these muscles are used often during a fight, and their use is commonly misunderstood by people watching the event.

Many warriors may not understand why the guard is often a safe and powerful position. Not only is it difficult for a fighter to pass an experienced grappler's guard, but the athlete on top is in danger of submission if he is not careful.

The guard position is centered around the hips. If the hips are free, the guard can be maintained, which leaves the warrior at a safe distance and the opponent vulnerable to submission attack. When the hips are overcome or controlled, the warrior in the guard position has now become vulnerable. In addition to its improving grappling technique, developing powerful hip abductors, hip flexors, and hip adductors is critical for keeping an opponent from passing the guard. By no means am I saying get strong hips and you will have a great guard, but I am saying that stronger hips in addition to a great technical guard will make your game better.

Glutes and Quads

The days of the weak, thin-legged fighter are over. As Bruce Lee once said, "Take power from the ground through your legs, hips, and back." Everything starts from the ground. To properly execute a powerful punch, kick, or takedown, the legs have to be strong. The same goes for powerful sprawls (driving the legs back to prevent a takedown), reversals, and mounts. Without proper leg strength, these are all going to be ineffective in the ring. Today's warrior knows leg training has to take precedence in a warrior's strength work. The gluteal muscles at the back of the hips and the quadriceps in the front of the thigh are some of the largest and most powerful muscles of the warrior's body. Interestingly, these muscles are often atrophied and weak in today's warrior. This is because warriors "mold" their bodies into shapes according to what muscles they use most. When a warrior spends most of his or her training on the ground, that warrior is going to have a classic look: strong forearms, back, and neck but skinny legs with no gluteal and quad muscles to be found. If one looks back at the physiques of many of the fighters of the past, this area is commonly undersized.

Not only must the warrior understand that the hips are an incredibly important area, but he or she must also know that to control an opponent's hips, either on the feet or on the ground during a fight, is to control that opponent. If you are not able to control your opponent's hips during a fight, all of the strength in the world cannot stop your opponent from sprawling away or escaping on the ground and getting back to his feet. Strong hips and the ability to resist a takedown by sprawling and get back to, or stay on, the feet are reasons why many striking fighters, such as Chuck Liddell and Mirko Crocop, are enjoying success today with little use of the ground game during their fights.

The huge glute and quad muscles allow you to explosively sprawl, escape, and are also critical for executing powerful kicks, punches, and lightning-fast takedowns. These muscles are very important links in the powerful chain that connects the muscles all the way from the neck, back, and core down to the feet of a warrior. The thin-legged body type of the past will not work for the warrior of the future.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more on MMA training please go to The MMA Zone.

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Article Source: JKD Street Combat - online collection of Exercise articles.

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