by Zach Downs, Head Coach Krave Gym West Des Moines Co-Host The Gym Closet (A Krave Gym Podcast)
Every week in COACHES BREAKDOWN our coaches will breakdown a movement or exercise to help our athletes perform better when training! In our first Coaches Breakdown, we dive in deep on the correct technique with striking AND holding the shields for our Making an Impact Season!
First thing we want to concentrate on is holding the shields. The most important part of holding the shield is anchoring it into your body. This gives your partner a strong target to make contact. If we hold the shield out, away from our body, there will be no stability… So ANCHOR it in!!! The second important part of holding the shield is making sure that you are communicating with your partner. Let your partner know how they are doing and where you will be moving so they can keep spacing during the combos. Third, if a combo calls for a hook or upper cut tell your teammate which way you will be tilting the shield to allow them to strike it correctly. Make sure that you tilt into the striking technique in order for your partner to strike it correctly and straight through the shield.
The next part of shield work is striking the shields. We are NOT going for power in this portion of our training session, that is saved for a different round on the heavy bags. The main goal here is going to be SPEED & QUICKNESS! We are aiming to make fast good contact, immediately pulling that hand back to protect our face between combos. Make sure if you are striking the shields you are also communicating! If your partner is not holding the shield strong, talk to them and let them know. We are teammates and communication is key here! Now lets continue to make MAKING AN IMPACT Season a great success.