Our own Andrew Gomme is heading out of state for about three months to participate in a training intensive.
This blog is being setup so that Andrew (and other team members) can post updates about their training. Those who teach at Plus One train constantly and are always looking for the most up-to-date information and ideas. Andrew happens to be going to train with Matt Hughes’ camp. I, for one, look forward to hearing about the progress, and I am already looking forward to his return… and all the cool stuff he’ll be showing us!
In other words, Andrew… you better keep us posted!
March 22nd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
A thousand miles of lessons learned:
I’d like to start this blog with a list of things i learned and experienced while driving out to Illinois.
* GPS is the only way to go.
* If you start talking to your GPS as if it can carry a conversation, then it is time to pull over.
* There is a severe lack of Starbucks stores in Pennsylvania.
* If the truck stop waitress suggests eggs and chili, Decline!!!
* Sometimes an ipod and redbull become as important as breathing air.
* Doing sprints outside a Super 8 motel at sundown is ill-advised
and finally the most important thing i learned is that i am going to miss all my training partners and friends back home… severely.
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:34 am
Andrew… you da’ man!
Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on things. I encourage other readers on this blog to respond back to Andrew, too. We don’t have to wait until he gets back to probe his mind and obtain some insights from all the cool things he’s going to be learning.) As for the truck stop eggs and chili… that’s good advice. Thanks. (It’s always hard to discern whether a dish is being recommended because it’s good… or because they need to get rid of it.)
March 23rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Are you there yet?
March 23rd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
yeah i’m here. Already been beaten on too.
March 26th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Week 1:
Alright i’ve been here for just under a week so far and things are going great. I’ve been doing 2 sessions a day of conditioning and striking/wrestling as well as plenty of free-rolling. On top of this i have been getting some sick techniques from their muay thai, wrestling and jiu jitsu coaches. The guys here are really great and inviting and have so far gone to the ncaa championships for wrestling in st. louis and will be going this weekend to Arkansas to see some members of the H.I.T. squad compete. I’ll check in at the end of the weekend and give up-dates about their fights and everything going on here, and if you are on facebook feel free to check out the Photo Album i have posted about the trip.
March 26th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I’m glad that the training is going well. I’m also glad that you are no longer running sprints through motel parking lots. Actually, I’m making the assumption that you are no longer running sprints through motel parking lots. Actually, seeing as I know you somewhat well… I’m revising my initial statement. Andrew, please be careful as you continue running through motel parking lots!
March 27th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
GPS is definitely the way to go. If you can afford it I suggest getting Goose from Top Gun to be your navigator. He was AWESOME!!! So what’s the conditioning like? Brutal I would imagine. Give me some details!
March 29th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Good luck out there Drew.. and remember, I wanna do the Muay Thai/Aikido/Jujutsu intergrated study when you get back and have some time. You should come back with all kinds of new techniques, so all the more effective that should be. God bless.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Weekend 2:
This weekend a was an exciting one for me. I drove down with the hit squad to an mma event in Arkansas. 3 fighters were on the card and all fighters ended it in the first round with a win. my roomate was able to talk a sponsor into giving us cageside seats so my 25 dollars had me sitting with Jamie Varner and CB Dolloway at the gutcheck.tv 100 dollars a seat table. I found this experience with the team to be very beneficial and was able to really get to know alot of the guys while telling stories and goofing off on the hours spent driving to and from the event. I’m really looking forward to this week and all the great wrestling and stand-up that is instore for me.
The conditioning is pretty intense here Justin. They real like their plyometrics both upper and lower body, and everytime you think that your on your last drill, they toss another one at you. They also end every sparring session with conditioning, so after you have gone for 6 rounds of pounding one another you still have 15 to 20 minutes of work left, but it’ll all payoff in the end.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Week 2:
Everything is moving along nicely here. A few bumps and bruises that are making some training sessions slow going but nothing bad enough to stop the momentum. Spike tv came by this week to film for the ufc countdown when hughes fights serra. This could only mean one thing… ok two things the first was an intense game of dodgeball which is the prefered way of warming up at the h.i.t. squad. The second thing it meant was 90 minutes of wrestling, BJJ and techniques that could only be described as grueling.
Between that night and Wendsdays UFC Fight Night it finally sank in. I am training, learning from and living with fighters from across the country who have fought on multiple continents for the biggest MMA organizations in the world. The list is extensive and i only hope i can absorb as much knowledge from these people as i can.
April 4th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Way cool, Andrew. I’m excited (and as I have mentioned… slightly envious). Remember the five “D’s” of dodgeball…. duck, dodge, dip, dive… and dodge. Is there an old guy there who throws wrenches at your face to help you learn the fundamentals of dodgeball?
Oh, I sent off your medical paperwork last week, so it should be there soon. (Subsequently, I’m competing in today’s NAGA tournament in New Jersey.) Keep training hard!
April 4th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Goodluck this weekend Sensei!
April 5th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Thanks Andrew. I took home the silver… tapped the first guy out with a choke about three minutes into the match… which put me into the finals… and the battle for first and second place went the distance. I lost by points, but it was a tight match, and I’m actually more proud of the way that match went than I am about the first one. The second match was much more technical and was really a lot of fun. The first one was more of a brawl. Anyhow, I’m very excited to have taken home 2nd place. Jim Newman (one of our beginner guys) took home 2nd place in his division, too. Brandy… who took home the gold in the last NAGA… is competing today. Of course, Marco took home first place in his division and got a really cool championship belt for it… another one to add to his collection.
April 6th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Does there happen to be a guy there that dresses like a Pirate when you play dodgeball? If so, he’s the man.
April 9th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Week 3:
this week has been slow-going to say the least and infuriating at the worst. A shoulder/pec injury has left me sidelined for any serious rolling or sparring. It has also left me with an inability to do any upperbody weight training or conditioning which is very unfortunate. I have however been able to work on my technique in BJJ wrestling and Muay Thai, so all is not lost. Hopefully giving my shoulder a rest will allow me to jump back into full training by the beginning of next week and get the show back on the road.
April 10th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Mike told me about your injury. I’m sorry to hear that; I know it’s frustrating. Hang in there, and I hope you get back to 100% as soon as possible.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:38 am
My third weekend here has brought about another multitude of fights. H.i.t. squad members this weekend fought all over the midwest including in Illinois Missouri and Colorado with mixed results. One more important things that has happened is that i have recieved word that i am scheduled for a amateur mma fight under the probattle mma company on April the 24th. I will be fighting at 170lbs and can’t wait for this opportunity.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Awesome! I’m sure you will do very well. How’s the chest/shoulder recovering?
April 14th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Shoulders doing good sensei, almost 100%
I’ve also decided that i am gonna keep a training log on the blog for the next two weeks leading up to my fight which will include my conditioning, and technique drills as preparation through the week.
April 14th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Monday April 13th
The morning conditioning session started with a round of plyometrics.
A plyo round today included.
30 straddle jumps on a 12″ box.
25 speed jumps on a 18″ box
20 stepups with a knee drive into a medicine ball per leg on a 24″ box
20 jumps onto a 30″ box
20 jumps onto a 36″ box.
Immediately following this was a 35 minute session of core and ab work capped with lunges with plates back and forth across the matted area.
As a cooldown for the morning session the team had another game of dodgeball that lasted about 30 minutes
The afternoon pro session started with six rounds of pad work led by Robbie Lawler followd by 6 rounds of sparring that i was thourghly beaten pillar to post.
The night ended with 3 more rounds of pad work later that night after dinner.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I’m very glad to hear that the shoulder is doing well. I like the training log, too. You are going to come back in seriously insane condition.
April 15th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Tuesday April 14th.
My day of training was interupted and disturbed greatly by multiple trips to the local airport but i was still able to get some good work in.
After my morning trip to the airport i returned to do a strength training routine for my legs and lower back using freeweights machines and kettlebells.
Waiting just long enough for my post-workout meal to digest i returned for a striking/conditioning class to develop endurance and speed for standup followed by a brief game of dodgeball.
After returning from my second trip to the airport i returned for a muay thai technique class to finish my day. Nothing grueling on Tuesday except for all the driving but wendsday should make up for it.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:27 am
More than anything… when you get back… I’m scared. More specifically, I’m scared that you will challenge me to a game of dodgeball.
April 17th, 2009 at 12:23 am
Wednesday. april 15th
Wendesday started with morning conditioning, which that day was wrestling and gymnastics. To start we went through different drills from the over under pummeling position and different takedowns. We then moved onto the gymnastics. Gymnastics is used as a workout to help build agility co-ordination preconception and body strength. The workout conisited of various movements including roundoffsshoulder rolls, flips and the such.
Evening practice started with 6 rounds of padwork run by Robbie once again, and this time i got his little cheat sheet for future reference. We then moved onto to 6 rounds of sparring where i was once again pushed hard by various pro and semi-pro fighters in the camp. As always the pro class was finished up by a long bout of core work including crunches pike-ups and russian twists.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Thursday April 16th
Thursday consisted of a morning session of thaiboxing accentuating footwork, and clinchwork. Afternoon session was a prograppling class that started with yet another game of dodgeball. After dodgeball there was a short technique session focusing on kimura offense and defense in the half-guard. Class then immediately went into an live grappling finished up with a round of two-on-one tag team grappling.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Friday April 17th
Fridays morning conditioning is always a treat due to the fact that no other classes are held after so coach Fiore can beat us to what ever extent he deems appropriate. This friday was a special one with four, 5 minute rounds of ciruicts with upperbody and lower body stations of rope climbs, resisted sprints, weighted mitt work, and 4 other stations. The session was finished up with a 5+ minutes round of dummy throws which thourghly exhausted everyone involved.
See y’all Monday!
April 19th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Awesome… but what’s this “See y’all Monday” stuff? Slacker… taking the weekend off… (just kidding). Good work Andrew. By the way, Axel had his fight on Friday. He did very well. His opponent was unable to continue after taking a knee to the chest in the first round. The guy complained that it was a knee to the head (but it wasn’t) and it ended with a “no contest” decision.
April 21st, 2009 at 9:04 am
Seriously, your conditioning programs sound awesome! Your going to come back and be able to run circles around all of us!
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Kick some out-of-state butt tomorrow in your fight! Keep us posted on how it goes!
April 24th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Good luck today, Andrew! (And don’t forget to get tape of the fight).
April 24th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Hey Drew, I also wanted to add my well wishes for you upcoming fight. I had always been impressed by the work ethic that you and Chris displayed when I first joined the school. I know you are showing those guys what PlusOne is all about. I look forward to reading future posts and adding my two cents whenever I can. Remember whenever things get really tough – Lance Armstrong believes in you!! Peace & Blessings
April 24th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Pre-fight week:
The last week of training pre-fight was very similar to the previous week. Lots of conditioning as well as lots of pad-work and extra cardio to get down to fight weight. All together 15 pounds were shed to make 170 and every pound was brutal.
I’m writing this now from the hotel they are providing for us and fight time is just a few hours away, so i’m gonna go get ready do my thing and let y’all know how it turns out real soon.
April 24th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Hey Andrew! I hope you kick some bootay tonight! Talk to you soon bro. Keep up the hard work
April 30th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Nice work, Andrew! I was excited to hear of your quick and decisive victory!
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:08 pm
The Weigh-ins:
What A Night!
The team arrived in Kansas City and headed straight for our hotel. After re-grouping we then headed to the weigh-ins which were being held at the Lucky-Strike Lounge in downtown Kansas city. After weighing in and re-hydrating we were informed of a faux weigh-in that would be held after the other teams had arrived. So after waiting 90 minutes we were brought behind a curtain and informed that when our name is called we should head out remove our shirts and step on the scale for photos. So one after one we headed out for our moment in the spot light. When my name was called i headed out, stepped up and did my best goofball flexing poses for the cameras.
Day of the fight:
The one problem with waking up at 7:30 every morning for training, is that your body gets accustomed to it. So with out intending to i woke up at 7:45 friday morning. My first though upon waking was that no one else is gonna be awake for hours to come and, i hope i still got some spring in my step 12 hours from now when the fights start. After coming to terms with my irreversible awakeness i threw on some clothes and strolled down to the lobby and partook of the buffet at the attached restaurant. “I need to put some weight back on” I thought to myself as i piled plate after plate en mass with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and assorted breakfast goodies. This display of gluttony served a dual purpose, Foremost it brought my weight back up to my pre-cut levels, and it also made me very lethargic which meant i was able to sleep for another 90 minutes. after waking once again at 10 i went for a stroll in the area to get some air and to collect my thoughts for the coming night. The rest of the day until 4 consisted of sitting around various hotel rooms with the other fighters joking around and yet another heaping meal.
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Way cool. Thanks for the details. I look forward to reading more about it. Also, I’m not sure if you’ll be back by June 20th… but if you are and would like a Muay Thai fight (outside venue… Saturday)… let me know by May 6th. If you have a fight pic you want me to use, other than the ones I have on file… let me know that, too.
Again, awesome job on your fight… and thanks for keeping us all posted!
May 11th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
So sorry this took so long but i have been busy/tired and wanted to be sure to give this my full attention so i can give an accurate description of the fight night and the event itself.
The Event:
It’s 4 o’clock and there is a van sitting right in front of the hotel. Myself the rest of the team and some of the others staying at the hotel for the fights grab our gear and cram ourselves in. The ride to the casino took just a short time but it felt almost instant with all the joking and wise-cracking going on by various members of the team. Everyone fighting and everyone coming along for support was in the highest of spirits and i found this to be a good omen. We arrived and made our way to the VooDoo Lounge where the fights were being held and then up to our green room. The sign next to the door explained which fighters were in which rooms and also gave the full fight card and order. We found out then that h.i.t. squad fighters made up 5 of the 6 fights that night and that we virtually had the room to ourselves. At about 5 one of the refs came into the room and let us know that the rules meeting would be at 6:30 and that we could start getting ready after that. I took this as an opportunity to go for a stroll alone and maybe grab a bite to eat and a drink. As I made my way through the casino i found to my endless delight that there was a starbucks right on the other side of the main lobby. That would be good omen number 2 for the night. After having a large cup of coffee I worked my way further across the casino and found a small shop and bought my self a bag of granola. At this point it was a little after 6 so i made my way back to the greenroom and grabbed another cup of joe on the way back.
The refs promptly at 6:30 had all the fighters come outinto the hall and went over the rules. In short the rules were given thouroughly and clearly so that no questions went un-answered and everyone was ready for the fights. The rules as well were pretty standard and basic save one. We found out during the rules meeting that unlike most amateur mma fights we would be able to strike to the head with knees. This addition to the rules immediately piqued my interest and also changed my original gameplen due to my preference to clinch. My corner as well had the same thought and we convened to to over how this changed our plans. After going over the new gameplan we went back to the greenroom and started wrapping the hands of the fighters. Wrapping would have gone off without a hitch except for the fact that one of the advisers for the event believed that our wraps did not conform to their guidelines. The two corners had words with the adviser because they believed that his definition of the guidelines would not offer appropriate support the the strikers hand and would not re-wrap the hands until the head-honcho came and gave his verdict. To give a little of back story to this situation the two corners mario and foster have extensive experience in not only multiple states but also multiple combat sports and countries pertaining to hand wrapping, so they have worked with every possible athletic commission and sport involving striking that their is to offer, so the opinion that they had was based upon experience and not on any type of bravado. To make a longstory short the head honcho took about 2 seconds to decide that the wraps were acceptable and that we better move our butts because the event was starting soon.
May 12th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I absolutely enjoy the play-by-play. It sounds like a great experience, and I’m glad they had a Starbucks in the lobby area. I’m sure that made you smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside… prior to learning that you could knee to the head… which I’m sure also made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Hmmm… if only you could knee to the head while drinking your Starbucks coffee… I don’t think you’d be able to handle that type of contentment without weeping just a little bit.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
i almost feel like i am there with you, i know how you feel getting into the ring with all those people around and the lights and the music. good times good times, good luck out there and train hard
May 27th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
So i have been trying my darndest to put together a post about my fight. i have thought it thru a thousand times and always end up with a hazy assessment of what happened. So instead of going in depth with it i am going to be short and only mention things i know happened. I entered the ring. I blew kisses to the crowd. We were brought to the center of the ring. He wouldnt look at me. The bell rang. I didnt tap gloves. I took the center. he circled. I blasted him with a cross hook combo. He rushed in. We clinched. He tried to drop for a double leg. I got under-hooks and pulled him up. I kneed him him repeatedly till he went limp and slumped to the mat. I dropped a big right when he went down but overstepped and ended up standing over his head. I hesitaed to pounce on him because of my lack of knowledge of his ground skills. As he got up i fired my right but then hesitated to continue because the only available target was the back of his head. when he got fully upright i clinched him up again and continued to fire knees into his body and head. i pushed him back towards the cage but mistepped and found us with our sides to the cage. After a few more shots to the head he pulled away and leaned hard against the cage. I triangled my arms around his neck for a rnc. as i went to climb on his back to cinch it in i heard my corner scream “Don’t climb” so i instead leaned hard against him and positioned my body so he was stuck against the cage and squeezed. He tapped and i proceeded to go about the cage cheering and dragging my thumb across my throat a-la-josh barnett.
And that is it. 90 seconds lots of knees, lots of satisfaction, a little blood and a W.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Life since the fight has been the same as it was before. I’m still trying to train as much as i can without burning myself out and getting ready for my next fight which is on june the 13th. Hopefully now that i have the post about the fight out of my system i can start to post on a more regular basis and talk more about life here and training for my next fight.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:42 am
I would say that’s a great summary. Thanks for posting it, and I now understand how you got the standing rnc. Nice work, and I’m impressed with your strategic process and your creativity. I will expect to hear details surrounding something similar to a “flying rnc” for your next fight. j/k. Keep up the good work and know that we are all thinking about you and missing you.
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:23 am
You are slacking on your updates!!
June 4th, 2009 at 5:35 am
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
June 4th, 2009 at 11:13 am
I agree. Keep the updates comming. I always check for new posts while im at work
June 4th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Cool win, Andrew. What a way to start. When you’re chatting with Robbie, ask if he has any long lost cousins in CT. There aren’t too many of us who spell the name Lawler with an “e”. And I come from a long line of kick-ass relatives.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
My time here is winding down, but instead of with a whimper it will end with a sustained bang. It’s Saturday afternoon and i am currently waiting to go to the strikeforce event being held across the river featuring Robbie Lawler. The night promises to be long and event filled with pre-fight festivities followed by the fights themselves and then VIP passes to Robbie’s after party in St. Louis. If i have the energy to move in the morning i will be starting a more active weight cutting program for my fight next Saturday, followed by watching the Faber Brown re-match in the barracks with a group of guys who have collectively forgotten more about fighting then i could hope to learn. Once again i would like to emphasize how great it is to watch these fights with seasoned mma pros because of the unique and expansive insights they offer through their years of experience. Then will begin my final full week of training in Granite City for my fight in Missouri.
June 11th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
What a weekend, and what a week thus far. Saturday night the hit squad headed into St. Louis for Lawler’s fight and took in the experience of a high profile mma event. This meant that we were surrounded by every cliche mma fan you could imagine. Two rows up was the obligatory tattooed newly turned 21 braggadocio describing how his style of fighting is akin to a diaz-fedor hybrid brandishing his bud lights for everyone to see and looking like he had just witnessed a miracle when Nick Diaz stopped for a photo. His high pitched squeal was alternately drowned out by the bellowing 2 rows back of yet another obligatory mma fan. This fan was the always entertaining overweight tapout covered psuedo intellectual who knew at every moment what either fighter “should” be doing to swing the the tide of battle, whether that be applying a rear naked choke from side control, or (and my personal favorite) elbowing him in the ear to quote un-quote “cauliflower” him up. All in all a memorable evening. Sunday night had for the amusement of all the WEC fights which were watched in the rec-room with and endless commentary that rivaled if not over-shadowed the provided commentary of the show itself.
I am mid-week of my final week of training here and i couldn’t feel better. My weight is easily where it should be and my energy is still keeping me going through the training sessions. I don’t know what else to say about this week other than that i can’t wait for this weekend to see the fruits of my labor and get ready to return home to all my training partners and friends and get training again.
June 18th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Hey Darin,
I have been trying to leave a post/comment on Andrew’s blog about his trip but for some reason it wont post. I am pasting it below:
—————————-
I just want to say what a pleasure it was having Andrew at the HIT Squad training camp. He showed up everyday and worked his *** off. He never complained although he did whine a little when he received a “pink belly” on his birthday. You guys are lucky to have him at your gym. We hope to see him again at the HIT Squad and not just because he is an easy dodgeball target.
Todd Laux
General Manager
HIT Squad
http://www.thehitsquad.com
P.S. Andrew is looking for sponsorship so he can come back sometime. This would be a great investment for anyone. (You’re welcome Andrew.)
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**Note from Darin… I’m not sure why Todd’s comment wasn’t posting. If anybody else has troubles posting… just let me know.**
June 29th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
The first thing you always hear is “You learn more from losing.” And it couldnt be more true. You learn about your strengths, your weaknesses, you learn about the sport, but most importantly you learn about yourself. Winning helps your esteem and confidence, but Losing helps your drive. (at least for me) Losing makes you hungry. It makes you hungry to learn, to grow and to become a better fighter. I’m back in Connecticut now and i am more hungry for this then ever. I’m coming off a loss and am driven like never before. Hopefully i will see you all in class and we can all get better and grow together!