Issue 143
July 2016
Learn the Cross Pads System and take your mitt work to the next level
Few things in any fight camp are as vital as a quality padman. Holding mitts is an art that should be developed and honed like any skill. And no two padmen are ever the same.
SBG Manchester head coach Karl Tanswell has been training martial arts his entire life and is the go-to padman for UFC standouts like Gunnar Nelson and Davey Grant. He’s developed a system that has coaches across Europe scrambling to take his courses.
“The system was originally developed to help orthodox coaches drill pads for southpaw fighters. But I soon realized that feeding in this manner had much more far-reaching benefits,” he tells FO.
Cross Pads focuses on evolving the padman to be confident in defending the flanks as a fighter moves from the edge to the pocket.
“The goal is to achieve total freelance on the pads or, more simply put, to get as close to actual sparring as possible.”
Cross Pads System benefits
The body mechanics the coach feeds are a finer visual representation to what the athlete will actually see when under attack.
The padman can feed the counter attack more efficiently.
The counter attack can be fed a half-beat quicker than conventional pad work feeding.
STEP 1
The padman assumes the starting cross pads posture which signals the fighter to move into range with one of three initial attacks. Once you assume the cross pads initiation posture the attack responds with a jab-cross. After this two-beat attack the feeder will reply with one of four flank attacks.
Cross Pads Posture
Coach says
“Initially we work each flank line individually and focus on the body mechanics. Ultimately, the goal is to feed any line in any order and again move towards freelance.”
“Any defense can be drilled on these flanks and can be incorporated later including evasion, blocking and jamming.”
STEP 2
After mastering the entry attack the padman will feed an attack back into one of the four primary flanks. This drill helps develop peripheral vision and the four feeds emphasise the attacks that will first appear in that field of sight. In this sequence we focus on covering the four basic flank attacks and the appropriate responses. It’s important to drill the mechanics of these four feeds and accentuate the body mechanics. This is where the Cross Pads come into their own and the two major qualities of the system express themselves.
The four flank feeds
The follow-up feed in the initial phase is always the same. The response from the fighter is dependent upon the position they’re in after they defend and the most economical counter attack is dictated by the fighter.
High outside flank - Cover - Cross - Hook
High inside flank - Cover - Hook - Cross
Low outside flank - Cover - Cross - Hook
Low inside flank - Cover - Hook - Cross
?The Essential Padman
Developed by Karl Tanswell, head coach at SBG Manchester in England, this online resource is for anybody who wants to improve their focus-mitt and pad-work drills. For more info check out: essentialpadman.com
