Texas Rangers pitchers try martial arts training
03:21 AM CST on Thursday, February 7, 2008
By RICHARD DURRETT / The Dallas Morning News rdurrett@dallasnews.com



IRVING -- With one quick, calculated motion, Texas Rangers pitcher Kevin Millwood grabs teammate Kameron Loe's right leg, lifts it up and slams Loe's back onto a cushioned mat. Millwood then slides on top of Loe, pins him by his legs , and sounds like a snake as he delivers quick blows to the desired target.

Hiss. Hiss. Hiss.

Millwood is pounding his elbow into a blocker pad sitting on Loe's chest.

"Really get into it!" shouts kickboxing instructor Allen Mohler. "Faster! Faster! Come on! Hammer him!"

Millwood obliges, and the slightest smile creeps on his sweaty, determined face as he hisses away.
 
After the intense, 60-minute workout, Millwood admits, "This is fun."

His 2007 season was no fun. That's why Millwood, 33, has come to this small martial arts studio twice weekly this winter. After leading the Rangers in 2006 with 16 wins, he dropped last season to 10-14 with a career-worst 5.16 ERA. He had what he called a series of minor but annoying injuries and never seemed to hit his stride.

"It was almost a loss of a year," Millwood said. "So I wanted to do something different and make sure I was completely ready. I'm getting older, and I can tell. I've got to be in better shape. And this is a fun way to do it."

To help make 2008 better from the first pitch, Millwood spends two days a week at Mohler Mixed Martial Arts, a small room with punching bags, a ring and a padded floor.

Mohler's studio, located in a strip mall on MacArthur Boulevard, is about home run distance from the Cowboys' practice facility. But there's no talk about football or much else, for that matter, when Millwood enters the door. Mohler makes sure of that.

"We don't stop for an hour," said Mohler, just before working with Millwood and teammate Loe one morning late last month. "He doesn't even ask. We're punching, kicking, running and constantly moving. He's always here, works hard and is improving every day. He'll even ask me to make it tougher sometimes."

Millwood towers over the short Mohler but listens intently to every word the instructor utters. He clearly has Millwood's respect.

"He's a little guy, but I wouldn't mess with him," Millwood said with a straight face.

Mohler said he didn't recognize Millwood when he walked in for his first session and acknowledges that Millwood's physique isn't one that would normally grace the cover of a fitness magazine.

"He doesn't look like an athlete to me," Mohler said. "But he showed me right away that he's an athlete. He's laid-back, friendly and approachable. But he's also driven, competitive and in shape."

It was more than motivation after a poor season that pushed Millwood to make the short drive from his house to the studio last October. Boredom was a big factor. Millwood complained to Jose Vazquez, the Rangers' strength and conditioning coach, that jogging on the treadmill or riding a stationary bike had become a necessity that he dreaded.

"I've tried everything to find something he likes to get him enthusiastic," Vazquez said. "He doesn't get excited about workouts at all. Everything we've done, we do because he knows he has to. But he really likes this and enjoys going."


 










Kickboxing has allowed Millwood to get out some aggression and get his heart pumping at the same time. But it also helps his mental game. For the final 15 minutes of most sessions, Millwood stands in front of a punching bag and must punch or kick as Mohler calls out specific moves like front kick, jab, hook, uppercut and even Superman -- a fake kick followed by a hard punch.

Millwood is worn out but refreshed when it's over. He lifts weights the other three days of the week and, for the last few months, has spent most afternoons at Rangers Ballpark working on a throwing program to get his arm back in pitching shape. Millwood loves golf but hasn't had much time the last month to hit the links. He's too busy focusing on the start of spring training; pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Feb. 14. And he plans to continue kickboxing in Irving this season during homestands.

"I've done a lot this off-season working out; a lot more than I've done before," Millwood said. "I know I feel good and feel strong, and hopefully I can do a lot more on the mound."





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     LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN  Texas Rangers pitchers Kevin Millwood (left) and Kameron Loe spar.