Sensei Gerwyn Harries Trains with Renowned Mick Coup

On Saturday 16^th November I was invited to train with Mick Coup, the seminar was organized by Sensei Robbie Tennant at his Swansea Gym. I have trained with Mick previously but I was really looking forward to this course as i had missed the last one due to my wife selfishly booking our wedding on the same date !

Once I arrived it was great to see some friends who I haven't trained with for a number of years now and it was a long overdue catch up.

The course content was going to cover Close Quarter Work and Striking from Restricted Position's. As per usual for me I don't like partnering up on any course like this with someone I know so I found myself with Dan, A BJJ / MMA guy from Birmingham (who was superb on the floor as i was to find out later).

We started with a little Warm Up as well as a few Stretching Drills and then straight into some Basic Focus Pad Work but making sure we hit the pad with all that we could.

We soon then moved onto some Anti-Grappling / Grabbing Drills and it was quite clear to me that the emphasis was on keeping the advantage at ALL Times.

A Grab is a pretty common used technique and we were dealing with the moment before the grab took place and then moving onto dealing with the grab if it has taken hold, some were straight forward like grabbing to the wrist then some were a bit more complex like Rugby Tackle / Bear Hug and Headlocks. All pretty commonly used techniques but if they go unchallenged they can put you in real danger.

We then went into situations where your attacks or defence were limited by how much space you had i.e. against a wall, on the floor or in a crowd. This part of the course was really interesting for me as all of the drills that we done clearly served in a dual purpose, A Military One ( which you would expect given Mick's background) and a Civilian One.

For over an hour I was being tackled to the floor and then fighting to keep the advantage, with the partner I had his experience made it exceptionally tough for me. On times I was standing there with my eyes closed getting hit from any angle. We then finished the course with a brief Question & Answer Session although most of us were still fighting for breath never mind ask any questions !

The whole day was superb and im sure everyone took something away from the course, I know I did, from how to use the floor to improve the effect of the strike and learning the hard way how a BJJ student works the floor !

All in all, a hugely enjoyable day and im making my sure my name is the 1^st one down on the next course.

lastly a big thanks to Sensei Robbie for organising the course and giving me the opportunity to train with someone of Mick's caliber. 

Thanks Sensei Gerwyn

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