Articles
Muay Thai's Circle of Death
Page 3 - The Circle of Death
Villalobos’ fighters are winners. His techniques for training are superb. One of his favorite training routines is a unique combination of techniques performed on heavy bags. He calls it the "Circle of Death."
"I got the idea for the ‘Circle of Death’ bag routines from my training in Thailand. I took ideas from several champions and adjusted them. We call it the ‘Circle of Death’ because, when you start you feel very alive, but when you finish you feel like you are going to die," Pedro says, laughing. Basically the "Circle of Death" is a series of speed and power routines done on heavy bags. It is extremely challenging. Villalobos also uses a heart monitor to track the effectiveness of his various routines. "This training is really intense," he explains.
"The ‘Circle of Death’ routines bring the heart rate up as high as anything we do." It is excellent for cardiovascular endurance, plus the "Circle of Death" routines condition shins and knees as well as any drill Pedro teaches. The "Circle of Death" prepares the different body weapons with emphasis on knees and shins. Over time the trainee’s knees and shins become battle toughened. "It is an excellent way to condition your weapons for fighting. It works gradually without damaging the body and this is the proper way," Villalobos says.
The "Circle of Death" is not a single routine. Rather, it is a method of moving and working with heavy bags with many variations. Villalobos has 12 heavy banana bags in his studio. Students line up, usually behind Villalobos, and follow the leader through each side-stitching "Circle of Death" routine. "In a typical ‘Circle of Death’ pattern, we start on the bag with one person leading," he relates. "Each person holds the bag and hits it with ten knees right and left. Then, you move to the next bag and repeat until you’ve traveled through all 12 banana bags striking each ten times." This means 130 rapid and high-power knee strikes with just one rotation through the "Circle of Death."
"Depending on how I want to train them, we may go through the ‘Circle
of Death’ routine again", Villalobos comments. )
"But the second time
it will be a different routine that repeats as we pass through.
Maybe this time it will be knees again but at a different angle." Two times
through the "Circle of Death" is enough to make all but the fittest
of students feel like they are going to pass out. Peer pressure is one
reason why the "Circle of Death" routines are so challenging. Everyone
must keep up with the leader. Striking the bag less than the prescribed
number of times is not acceptable to Villalobos. "The good thing about
this is everyone must move along at the same pace," he notes. "I watch
as I lead them through the ‘Circle of Death.’ If someone in the line
doesn’t go hard, or gets behind, I ask them to do push-ups. It is good
because the pacing of the group pushes you harder than you would go
if you were alone."
On an average day Villalobos leads his students through at least three "Circle of Death" routines, usually spaced out over the workout. "Normally we do three rounds - one low, middle, high in the ‘Circle of Death’," he says. Villalobos has many "Circle of Death" routines and almost all feature knees, kicks, or elbows. One feature of the "Circle of Death" method is that the fighters usually restrain the bag in some way while striking it. "We do this to promote endurance at close range and to better understand the dynamics of the clinch," Pedro says. "Most of the ‘Circle of Death’ routines focus on knees, kicks, and elbows. We want repetition, and a fast pace for this type of exercise. We control the movement of the bag all the time."
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