Comtech FMA DVD Special - Just 30 Each This Week Only
 

Comtech Stick Fighting Vol.1-2
This new series covers all the basics of Filipino stick fighting the Comtech way.
Vol.1 covers Single Stick Techniques and Vol.2 expands your arsenal with Double Stick Techniques.
 

Dequerdes: Filipino Training Cross
Train your skills & reactions with open hands or weapons
anytime you want with this easy to build piece of equipment

(Hey all! This article has a LOT of video content so please read this on the alliance site where we have all the videos on one page.)

Used automobile tires are a ubiquitous item of modern life. You might have some laying around the garage, or if not most mechanics will be happy to give them to you for free. Anytime I've asked at a shop they just laughed and said to take as many as I wanted; the worn-out tires are a nuisance for them.

Because of their dense rubber construction they are a common training target for stick and blade work, but can also be used for unarmed work or conditioning. Overall they are quite adaptable and can be utilized in many ways. For example:

Tire Stack - As the name suggests, this is a stack of tires that is roughly your height. Perfect for developing your power and footwork as you circle it. If you have this outdoors be sure to drill holes for water drainage, otherwise they become mosquito pits. When using the long blades you can slice between the layers of tires using your horizontal strikes, giving a feeling of cutting through a target. Here's a video showing the tire stack as well as the tire heavy bag and wall tire. Perfect for an outdoor park environment in Russia!

Tire Stack / Heavy Bag / Wall Bag Outdoor Gym

Tire Heavy Bag - With a drill and some basic hardware (nuts, bolts, washers) you can attach tires in a short stack and then hang them up just like a heavy bag. Here's a video from YouTube showing a simple yet nice how-to build.

Tire Heavy Bag How To Video

Wall Tire Kicking - Either whole or half tires are attached to the wall or a pole and used for kick or punch training using various punches and kicks. Be careful before you lay in a full power Thai kick on this, the tire flexes but is very hard like kicking a person.

Partner with Tire - One partner hugs the tire to their chest by putting both arms through the middle. They provide a moving target for the other to strike. Here's a video showing how it's done!

Kali Partner Tire Training - Single Stick Combos

Hanging Tire(s) - Like an old-fashioned kids tire swing. Can be made with multiple tires tied over top of one another so you have high, middle, and low targets. I've seen hybrid versions with one or more arms over top of the tire, like a Dequerdes (cross shaped training dummy) or through the center. Here's one of them with two arms more like a Chinese Mook Jong on video.

Hanging Tire Dummy With Two Arms

Tire Man Dummy - Some creative folks will cut up several tires to make a man-shaped dummy. This takes a little bit of work but the resulting product will last forever. This video shows how it's done! A later video by the same gentleman shows how to add a spring powered arm to it so it will hit you back!

Build A Tire Man Dummy

Ground Tire Kicking - Lay a small sized tire on the floor and practice kicking it so it slides, then chase it and kick it again but with the other foot. You can use the the ball, the heel, the inside or the outside edge of the foot to kick. This is power training for your low line sipa (kicking) skills.

Tire Conditioning - While you probably don't have a monster truck tire to exercise with, you can do a ton of calisthenics with a regular tire. This video shows a lot of creative exercises that will improve your strength and mobility for MMA, Boxing or Grappling. Many of these drills have direct applications to BJJ as you'll see.

Tire Conditioning Drills For Martial Arts

Of course there's more than this! Keep poking around YouTube and you'll find all kind of personal tire dummies with arms and legs, etc. That's one of the cool things about these tire dummies is they invite creativity in designing something to suit your individual needs or to develop a specific technique.

With any of these drills, be aware that tires are noisy when you hit them and you will be taking a lot of shock from the impact to your wrist. So, start of hitting it lightly and build up as you calibrate the feel in your body. As always, good technical mechanics should be observed.

Regardless of which of these variations you do, I'm sure it'll "tire you out" (ha ha ha)

All my very best to you,

Pete Kautz