Rick Alford is the owner of Defensive Edge Martial Arts Training in Wakefield, MA (less than a minute from my home) and we're having the greatest time learning from him. Rick has some fantastic ideas about how Gary and I can train martial artists more effectively, and we are really excited about working with him and some of the MMA fighters he trains.
Mixed martial arts has two components (striking and grappling) that are distinctly different from the standpoint of vision training. Striking (and defending against strikes) incorporate a greater visual component, while grappling is more highly tactile. We've been working with the Wayne Fixator and the smaller SVT board, and Rick's progress is astounding. Of course, his scores at the first visit were quite impressive, but yesterday he scored a 151 on the 9-14 routine on the WSF (counterclockwise spiral, accelerating.) I think it's the highest score we've seen yet on this routine, and he is narrowing the gap between his dominant and non-dominant hands.
To celebrate Rick's new record, Gary snapped this photo of Rick, gleefully pointing to his score.
If you get the chance, check out Rick's site (http://www.modernjujitsu.com.) It's hard not to be impressed with his credentials, as well as those of his fellow instructors. It's been my pleasure to meet and get to know Rick and some of the people that work with him, and I'm looking forward to adding more news on this blog as we go.
