I am a season ticket holder for a North American Hockey League team (the Springfield Spirit), and they are ages 16-20. They are a blast to watch, and they play very hard.
There are a lot of fights, and a few of the players are very good at fighting. However, many of the players don't do very well. One guy, for example, had two fights in the same game (against the same opponent), and all he would do is keep his head down (with his body bent forward) and hope to survive. Then, he would sit in the penalty box and shake his head. He was obviously frustrated.
I have a few ideas for training for a hockey fight such as boxing (sparring) and maybe using MMA gloves that allow you to grab your opponent. They could spar on ice like that, too. They usually have a jersey in one hand and punch with the other when they fight. I think they should probably wear headgear and save the danger for the games. If some of them could just learn to keep their heads in there and keep their eyes open, it would help them a lot.
What would you do if you were asked to train them to fight? Thanks.
not a hockey expert, but i was asked to help train a semi pro hockey enforcer at my gym. your ideas sound very solid. the ice changes the game a lot, and i'm not an expert on it, but here is what i have. there is already something of a "hockey fighting" art, the knowledgable poster above described some of it. the #1 problem is that guys train for hockey, they don't train in an organized, goal oriented method for fighting. which is silly because fighting is part of the sport.
the sparring you describe sounds really good. teach them the art of light sparring, it's an invaluable tool for quickly gaining skills. they'll figure out and fine tune the already proven weapons of hockey fighting. maybe add the inside elbows of MT.
since the referees tend to break up fights on the ground, teach them to go for takedowns when overmatched. this will keep them from getting hurt, let them get a few cheap shots on the ground, and keep the other teams top enforcers frustrated and in the penalty box.
"you grab the jersey and try to pull it over the shoulder."
This also gives you the opportunity to give short little jabs while still holding onto their jersey. As most hockey players only expect punches from the other arm, this can throw them off.
It's also important to get their helmet off as quickly as possible. I like to try and flip the helmet off by pulling the back side of the helmet up and towards me. This either takes the helmet off quickly, or at least covers their eyes, which is nice too.
Another thing that I think is neglected is combinations and mixing up your punches. Too often players just unload a hooks, or uppercuts. Mix it up! Hook, Hook, uppercut... you need to do this as the guy can easily minimize the damage by using his shoulder pads to help deflect the blows.
Anyway, the moral of the story is: don't ever fight a Canadian on ice. :)
Can you really throw elbows and not get ejected or something?
What is really cool about most of these fights is that they both agree to fight. The gloves come off and so do the helmets. Then they skate towards the middle of the ice and square off. It sure makes it exciting because you can see it coming.
"There are no jabs. Once the clinch is engaged then the fight is on. This is no disengagement."
Maybe I described it wrong. If you grab the guy's jersey around the shoulder with say, your left hand, you can short punch the guy without letting go of the jersey. It's not a hard punch, but it can be annoying.
From someone who plays and has fought on ice. From my experience,
balance on your skates is the most important thing. Because you are on
ice you are not stable and will always be in motion even when throwing
punches. Keeping your knees bent at all times will put more power in
your punches and most likely keep you upright.
As was said previously, being able to turn your blades to the side
allows you to dig in and get somewhat stationary. The problem therein
lies with your opponent and their mobility and lack thereof. If the guy
is a shitty skater chances are you can have an advantage in pulling/
pushing into punches.
Before the actual clinch, the gloves and stick are dropped, yes some
guys will try to remove the helmet of the opponent. Dont get all caught
up in trying to get the helmet off..If you get close enough to it then
pull on the chin strap and with the movement it will come off or your
opponent will quickly get it off so it is not a distraction for him.
While others go directly to grabbing the shirt for a handle to fire off
punches. If you happen to "jerseys" (pulling the jersey over the head)
the guy.... great, but the main purpose is to land your shots. I agree
with what has been already said...depending on your distance to your
opponent, uppercuts, straight punches...all good. Elbows actually bring
you too close and if you are not good on your skates you could end up
being tripped backwards.
If you ever experience a hockey fight on ice..it is strange because you
will feel pulled and pushed while all at the same time be doing this to
your opponent. Most people think landing punches is easy...believe me
it is NOT!! The main problem comes from being off balance when
overextending yourself to land. Even if you have control of the jersey,
you will still experience this.
When the fight goes to the ice, the ref has to break it up because of
close contact with guy's heads and the ice..dangerous.
For training, the best is boxing and training for a clinch while firing off
your punches!
"Can you really throw elbows and not get ejected or something?"
Throwing elbows is not a good idea
Some good advice given so far, having more then a few scraps on the ice myself i would have to say the key is balance and keeping your opponent unbalanced, you do that and your going to win
But forget all that, just grab on and throw down, thats the canadian way
i'm not any kind of skating or hockey expert, but i've ben boxing, wrestling, and doing different kinds of fighting for many years. is there realy no way to throw practical elbow shots on skates? they would seem to be the perfect weapon. there is a LOT to elbow strikes, a lot of different kinds of them from every angle. they're an art unto themselves. it is much tighter than traditional hockey fighting, but isn't that one of the advantages, a good clinch fighter with elbows would be able to smother a lot of what i see hockey players throwing. if you're "too close", and vulnerable to being tripped backward, wouldn't your opponent be in the same situation, only worse, because you're smothering his action and punishing him with elbows?
great drills by stu. i hope he does them on ice, but it would be difficult to rig up a heavy bag at the edge of a skating rink. would a balance board really be enough to simulate skating? your power comes up thru your base, so your body dynamics are incredibly important.
you guys are the hockey fighting experts, so i'll bow to your superior knowledge in the field, but are there any true elbow experts/MMA clinchfighting experts with ice experience who can comment on this?i'm not talking about a guy who just learned how to throw an elbow like a hook, but a guy who really understands elbow strikes, MT holding and hitting, and clinchfighting.
The whole elbowing thing during a fight on the ice will get some suspension time, and anywhere i have played if you pull that sort of stuff your going to be a marked man next time you play that team
If the fight starts from in close just sort of spur of the moment.. no squaring off, i always liked to grab for the chinstrap or the loop around the ear and give that a good pull... either the helmets coming off or the guys going to be off balance and you should be able to get a good start
Another good trick is using the jersey to pin arms down or restrict movement, you can wrap guys up tight enough its hard for them to throw a punch
If you happen to be losing the fight, better hope you can get a hold on his jersey or go for the bottom of the pants and try for the modified double leg
i know guys like bob probert and joe kocur (two of the best fighters of their eras) used to take boxing lessons. Not that hockey fights look like boxing but i am sure any training can help. Mainly u got to hold on to the other opponent with your "weak" hand trying to tie up their stronger hand while trying to land blows of your own (hold on helps to keep your balance too). Some guys punch and keep punching while other guys kinda pick out their spots more to land more powerful and flush punches.