Issue 058
January 2010
UFC lightweight champ BJ Penn’s nickname is ‘The Prodigy’ due to his amazing fighting ability, much of which came naturally to him as a youngster. Much of Penn’s game is very particular to him due to his genetics, but with the right training you can emulate certain aspects of the champ’s skills and apply them to your own style.
FOOT DEXTERITY
BJ’s amazing back control is due in part to his ability to use his feet like another pair of hands.
In the gym
Develop dexterity with your feet and toes by picking up and controlling different size and shape objects with one or both feet. Car keys, medicine balls, anything that you have to hand can be used to improve your motor function.
In action
Take a look at BJ’s back control against Joe Stevenson when he captured the UFC lightweight title.
FLEXIBILITY
BJ’s incredible flexibility may be due in part to genetics and the Hawaiian climate, but you can still increase your flexibility, regardless of who you are or where you live, with a regular program of dynamic and static stretching.
In the gym
Warm up with dynamic stretches and end your sessions with an extended period of static stretching. Move through stretches such as the rubber guard stretch (a partner-assisted hamstring stretch) and the yoga position known as ‘the pigeon’, a deep gluteal stretch.
In action
Review footage from the second Penn-Hughes fight. Matt Hughes attempted to take BJ down with a single leg and Penn was able to stretch his back leg out straight behind himself and flatten his bent lead leg to the mat to prevent Hughes from finishing.
BALANCE
Famously difficult to take down, BJ’s exceptional balance is not just due to natural talent, but also excellent core strength and hours of consistent training to improve this attribute.
In the gym
Try balancing with one leg on the mat and one leg lifted with the knee at waist height. Progress to holding your leg out straight. Once you can balance easily by yourself, have your training partner either hold you by the ankle or take an outside single leg and push and pull you around the mat as you hop to make adjustments. Try standing on a medicine ball. Work with a partner, throwing and catching a small medicine ball or tennis ball.
In action
Penn’s ability to make small shifts in his ankles and apply his weight through his hips made it impossible for even a wrestler of Sean Sherk’s caliber to finish the single leg.
BOXING
Penn’s punches cause terrible damage to his opponents, yet look effortless. The power at the end of his straight punch comes from a snap in his wrist, like the crack of a whip. BJ recruits maximum power to his uppercuts, whipping them in from his hip, not punching from his shoulder.
In the gym
Working with focus mitts, choose a particular punch – the right uppercut for example. Throw the same shot for an entire round, aiming for perfect mechanics. Have your pad man give you feedback – if the shot was strong or weak, too slow, or if your guard was tight enough – once you have perfected your punch, integrate it back in to your normal pad work. Do another round using all your shots, but maintaining perfect form on the punch you have been working on.
In action
Look at the faces of his opponents after his first fight against GSP, or his fight against Sherk at UFC 84, for evidence of the damage those hands can do. BJ knocked down Stevenson in their UFC 80 title fight with a picture-perfect uppercut.
