Unveiling the Core of Athletic Movement: Insights from Ido Portal and Conor McGregor

Recently, there has been a surge of Facebook re - posts showcasing UFC fighter Conor McGregor training with Ido Portal. These posts have thrust the concept of free movement as a training modality into the spotlight. The linked post contains a crucial statement: "For those who lack the basic level of joint health, refrain from rushing out and initiating all such activities." This point demands serious consideration and should not be overlooked.

The Impact of Joint Health on Movement Perception

Joint ill - health significantly impedes our capacity to perceive external and internal forces, whether originating from the ground, the wind, an opponent, or our own inertia. In sports, our ability to absorb and respond to all that transpires in wrestling, grappling, combat scenarios, or any encounter with a direct opponent is measured as an output.

The essence of an athlete lies in their proficiency to process internal and external sensory stimuli (inputs) into either gross or fine patterns (outputs). In essence, athletes are defined by their ability to transform input stimuli into output patterns.

Debunking the Myth: Poor Movement ≠ Poor Coaching

When an individual exhibits poor movement (i.e., the output pattern is subpar), it is commonly misattributed to the quality of coaching. It is as if coaching is expected to directly enhance how the central nervous system functions to generate movement.

However, if an athlete's joints and tissues lack the necessary competence to assume the correct positions, the coach's instructions become irrelevant. This is known as the joint - by - joint approach. A joint with a tendency towards stiffness may exhaust its range of movement before achieving the desired objective. Consequently, another joint must sacrifice some of its stability to sustain movement.

Ido Portal excels in maintaining a high level of joint health, enabling him to assume appropriate positions and apply movement skills. His approach offers numerous opportunities for central and peripheral nervous system processing.

Charting the Path to Enhanced Movement

In the realm of novel movement paradigms, improvement seldom hinges on superior coaching. I have gleaned this insight from three esteemed coaches:

• Bill Sweetenham, an Australian swimming coach renowned for mentoring gold medalists in multiple Olympic Games. Similar to Ido Portal, he appears to possess a profound understanding of coaching athletes to move effectively and consistently. In early 2014, I co - presented with him at a "Higher, Stronger, Faster" roadshow in Northern Australia. During one of his lectures, he stated, "An athlete in training does not heed your words."

• Frans Bosch, an Olympic jumps and sprint coach for the Netherlands, a professor of motor learning, running coach for the Wales Rugby Union, consultant coach to the English Institute of Sport, and a global lecturer in running biomechanics, echoed a similar sentiment: "An athlete's body will simply ignore what you say."

• The well - known strength coach and physical therapist Gray Cook phrased it in a comparable manner: "Do not coach change; cue change."

So, how can we embark on the journey to better movement? Fortunately, the process commences with cultivating a healthier set of peripheral inputs. This is something that every amateur athlete, coach, and clinician can achieve through the use of foam rollers, massage sticks, trigger - point devices, stretching, or professional therapy.

Improvement commences with establishing healthier peripheral inputs. Every endeavor to regain mobility enhances the ability to detect both subtle and obvious movements. Once athletes regain this movement, cues for skill improvement will be more effective due to increased sensory input.

Ido Portal's Influence on Conor McGregor

Both Ido Portal and Conor McGregor exhibit exceptional mobility in key areas such as the ankles, hips, thoracic spine, and shoulders. This implies that they stand to gain from training in free movement and natural environments.

Following this sequence leads to an enhanced preparedness to exhibit fine and gross motor patterns. Conor McGregor exemplifies the significance of prioritizing mobility, followed by the implicit cues provided by natural free - form movement. This sequence results in an improved state of readiness to display the motor patterns required to land or dodge a punch at the opportune moment.

Also Recommended Reading:

• Stability Versus Mobility: The Bigger Picture is Movement

• Move Your Body, Move Your Brain: Training for Neuroplasticity

• Motor Control and Movement Patterns: A Must Read for Athletes

• New on Breaking Muscle AU

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Andrius Petrucenia on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC BY - SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.