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MARK ZUCKERBERG'S LAWRENCE KENSHIN STRIKING BREAKDOWNS

What is the highest honor someone could receive on social media?

Perhaps it's receiving permission to breakdown "all of the content" of the GOAT of social media...

How could I not breakdown his striking after that comment?...

The clip above of Zuck training with Khai Wu is from half a year ago, when Zuck just started training MMA. 

For the amount of time he trained, Zuck was already good. In a more recent clip with top pound for pound fighter, Alexander Volkanovski, it's clear Zuck is already much better. 

Experienced martial artists know that Zuck is practicing real combat, which is why he's already gained the respect of the martial arts community.

I can only guess why he's so passionate with training at the end of this article... and I hope his passion starts a trend of people in tech falling in love with martial arts.

You see, contrary to the myths of fighting being primarily about violence and brutality, I believe that the world would be a better place if everyone trained.

Most martial artists observe the phenomenon of being more humble and peaceful after exerting their aggression through training.

With that said, in this breakdown, I will highlight some  techniques he's already good at and some of what can be improved upon.

This is not a "beginner breakdown." The points raised in this analysis are the same points I stress to championship caliber athletes. These technical points are advanced and held to the highest standard. 

I believe that most people around the world would benefit from this analysis, as getting these right skyrocketed the progress of even championship athletes.

At the time of this piece, Zuckerberg is becoming a serious practitioner. This transition is representative of 90%+ of the training population. It's gamechanging to get these technical cues right early on.

P.s. I can't believe I'm doing this and I'm still shocked that on occasions, he might "Lawrence Kenshin and chill." 

Striking Breakdown of Mark Zuckerberg

Let's start with the good: Zuck had proper distance management, footwork, vision of what's happening, and some slick head movement—no surprise there as his training partner, Khai Wu, is excellent at all of those.

Given his competitive fencing background, it seems like there's good transfer of skills into striking.

Here's what can be improved—it's likely already corrected by his great team.

Getting The Hip To Fire Before the Core

This is something that even advanced fighters often don't get right. It is however, the most important part to generating power with beautiful technique.

It was personally taught to me by my mentor and legendary biomechanist Dr. Michael Yessis. The hip rotation must occur before the core rotation. Not doing so will destroy the flow of kinetic chain—this applies for all sports.

Can you imagine throwing a ball with your core rotation leading the movement?  Unfortunately, many people do, just as they might when they throw a punch.

After testing specialized hip rotation exercises with strikers of all levels, I've personally found that once you get this hip movement right, the punch feels natural and the technique self corrects.

Do note it's not specific to Zuck, it's extremely common for most Muay Thai practitioners to fire their core before firing their hips. Most people will sky rocket their progression if they reverse this common error.

If this error is not corrected early, technical adjustments alone will take a long time to correct. However, I've seen that Dr. Yessis's  specialized hip rotation exercise instantly correct the kinetic chain despite any existing habit a striker might have.

By getting the hip rotation to fire before the core rotates, a full extension of the punch naturally occurs. The opposite hand also easily remains elevated instead of dropping.

It's magical. As you can see with the lead hook below, this pattern is also consistent.

The Low Kick

Zuckerberg was throwing several 1-2-3 low kicks, which is a textbook combination made especially famous by Ernesto Hoost. This combination is excellent against opponents in the same stance: orthodox vs orthodox or southpaw vs southpaw.

The timing of the strikes were good, as well as the distance management.

However, to produce more power, the lead foot must step out 45 degrees. Not doing so will destroy the balance of the standing leg as the hip will not be able to turn optimally for a powerful kick.

The hip not being able to turn will also affect the upper body rotation. The rear shoulder needs to also shoot forward with the rear hip in order to sync the rotational power of the kick.

Getting these right amplifies power. For many people with an existing athletic base, it often creates a thunderous low kick. 

The High Kick

Like the mechanics of a thudding rear low kick, the rear high kick requires the shooting forward of rear hip as well as the rear shoulder. 

By pivoting or stepping out 45 degrees, the hip and core will also be able to rotate much more fully. 

Other additional technical points for the high kick include: raising up on the tip toes of standing leg, straightening the standing leg more, and getting both arm's swinging action to coordinate.

Much of this can self correct if the lead foot just steps out 45 degrees.

Remember how I said earlier that Zuck's great team probably already corrected a lot of points mentioned?

I just went to look at his more recent training with Alexander Volkanovski, and tada.

What Makes Great Training?

Zuckerberg's quick progress must be credited to his great training partners and coaches, one of them being Khai Wu, the #1 Taiwanese MMA fighter.

Optimal progress is made in a safe training environment and there are many factors that contribute to this. 

It's sad to need to emphasize this, but the most important factor is having coaches and training partners who have your best interest at heart.

You see, a baseline of psychological and physical safety is required for optimal growth.

Experienced training partners who have the intent of helping you progress without unnecessarily hurting you makes all the difference.

With that said, even with great training partners, the only way to build resilience is by going through the fire. To grow, one must also accept the pain and discomfort involved with combat training.

By meeting the continuous challenges in training, we also experience continuous improvement and anti-fragility.

Throwing Real Strikes in Sparring

In Zuck's training with Khai Wu, he is putting in high amounts of effort while being sufficiently challenged.  

Because Khai is a professional fighter and an experienced coach, he is able to receive Zuckerberg's shots without getting hurt, and Zuck also trusts that Khai won't hurt him.

Throwing strikes with high effort is needed for realistic training, but the partner also needs to be ready to receive it. This is why optimal progress often happens in a 1-on-1 setting with a much more experienced coach.

The experienced partner knows how to take the student to the edge of comfort zone without either party risking injury.

Without safety, panic reactions stunts growth. But if one is too comfortable, growth will also be slow or plateau quickly.

That's why optimal training progress often occurs at the edge of discomfort and comfort. This is also how increasing levels of flow is experienced over time—as both skills and the level of challenge increase accordingly.

Being able to match the ability of the student and provide the perfect amount of resistance is an art of training. This is called "feeding" and you can see great coaches in all combat sports do this effectively.

It's also through this process that a more experienced training partner transfers their knowledge, rhythm, and timing. 

Once the fundamentals are mastered, this is simply the best way to improve.

Why is Mark Zuckerberg Into Martial Arts?

In Zuckererg's Harvard commencement speech, he shared that whenever he faces a big challenge, he channels the healing prayer Mi Shebeirach: "May the source of strength, who blessed the ones before us, help us find the courage to make our lives a blessing."

If I had to choose a quote to sum up the spirit of martial artists, Mi Shebeirach is perhaps second to none. 

After all, we are the survivors of ancestral warriors who fought for our peace and our existence. Without their strength and courage, we wouldn't have our blessings today.

In each training session, we are blessed by the strength and the knowledge of our coaches and training partners.

Experienced martial artists understand the warrior spirit as a healing force. A paradox in martial arts is that people can find peace through fighting. Simply training also has this effect.

Although most great entrepreneurs do not step into the ring to fight, they have a strong warrior spirit within them like many legendary fighters. The arena they choose is not in combat sport, but in what gives them the most meaning and purpose.

For Zuckerberg, that means connecting people, empowering voices, and building communities.

Recently, he shared that after training for 1-2 hours in the morning, he feels ready to solve the problem of the day. To me, that is channeling the warrior spirit from martial arts into everyday life, something I wish more people would do.

- Lawrence Kenshin

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