Elbow Chains Playbook

Mat Manual companion guide to "Elbows Travel in Pairs." Print it. The article explains the two chains: cross, lead horizontal elbow over the guard, rear elbow; and jab, step-in spear elbow, rear horizontal elbow on an exit angle chosen before the jab. This book builds both chains on pads first and in controlled partner work only, teaches choosing the chain off the guard shown, and drills the clinch entry and the long guard frame that beat them.

Name: ______________________________ Gym: ______________________________ Grade: ______________ Start date: ______________ Lead side (circle): Left / Right Current week (Part 11): ______________

BEFORE ANYTHING: PARTNER SAFETY AND AGREEMENTS ☐ Elbows in this book are drilled on pads and in controlled partner work only. Full stop. No elbow is thrown at a partner's head or body in free work at any point in this book, at any level, in any cycle. ☐ All partner work runs at agreed speed and agreed contact, stated out loud before each drill. Contact level is named on every card: pad, guard-touch, or shadow. A card's level is a ceiling, not a target. ☐ In guard-touch cards, elbows travel the full line and stop at touch on a raised guard or forearm, at the card's stated speed. A touch that rocks the partner's head or moves them off balance was not a touch, and the set restarts at a slower speed. ☐ Pads are held by a holder who has been shown the line before the set. Holders may stop any set with one word. A worker who throws past a stopped set leaves partner work for that session. ☐ Clinch-entry drills (Part 7 and Part 14) are reach-and-touch only at the speeds stated. No tie is fought over in this book, and no elbow follows a live clinch entry. ☐ Stop on any pain, cut, dizziness, or loss of control, from either partner, with no argument and no finishing the set first. Log what happened in the session log (Part 16).

Part 1: The Chain at a Glance

Two chains, one rule each: the second elbow is planned before the first leaves, and the exit angle is chosen before the entry.

Chain law: a rep without a named exit angle does not count, in either chain. Chain one exits on its recovery step; chain two exits on the angle its second elbow travels. Naming the angle out loud before the set is part of the technique in this book, not a coaching extra.