There was something about the TV commercial that captivated Morris Henry.
The advertisement for a martial arts school intrigued Henry, who lived on the West side of Orlando.
“It was kind of cool to see kids flipping and kicking stuff,” Henry, 32, recently told the Sentinel. “That’s cool; let me do that.”
It wasn’t long before the 10-year-old found himself in front of Master Sean Cumberbatch at Ignite Martial Arts studio, learning the ways of taekwondo.
“The thing that drew me to it was the confidence you get from it,” said Henry, “knowing that you have certain tools to defend yourself if you get into a crazy situation and all the character traits and the values you learn from martial arts.”
Henry enjoyed the training and was a quick study. Before long, his hard work paid off, and he became a fourth-degree black belt in taekwondo. He also studied Muay Thai, a form of Thai martial arts, and mixed martial arts.
After playing defensive back at Ocoee High School and Morehead State, Henry began working in Tulsa’s strength and conditioning program and then at Auburn. He wondered how to integrate those martial arts techniques into coaching.
“It was kind of a two-way street; I learned from the defensive linemen, and they learned from me,” said Henry. “How do I apply this to the boxing world, where you have different countermoves that lead to different combinations? This is your go-to move, but what is your counter?”
Henry slowly began piecing together a plan, much of it trial-and-error, as he moved throughout his career, including a stop with the Detroit Lions. At each stop, he would focus on how linemen used their hands and struck out at their opponents.
“Those are things I learned in martial arts, like breaking concrete or breaking [wooden] boards,” he explained. “How are you striking? What position is the hand you’re striking, and how do they apply to the football game?”
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It became a gridiron form of hand-to-hand combat.
The training began to pay dividends, and Auburn linebacker Jeff Holland was one of the top students, leading the SEC in sacks (10) in 2017. The Tigers were among the top-25 teams in the country in pass rushing.
“He was the callous one who bought into that and tried to apply it,” said Henry. “[Auburn defensive lineman] Derrick Brown also did it. Those two guys bought into that thing every day — about five or 10 minutes daily.
“It’s like the old Bruce Lee adage: It’s not doing a thousand kicks at one time, but doing that one kick a thousand times.”
He brought these techniques to UCF when he was hired as the associate director of sports performance as part of the new staff under strength coach Anthony Kincy.
“It’s been fun. It’s like hand-to-hand combat,” said redshirt junior defensive end Malachi Lawrence. “We’re working with our hands and not letting the offensive linemen put their hands on you.”
“It’s just learning how to use your hands,” said fifth-year senior defensive tackle Ricky Barber. “It’s about being reactionary. If he [the offensive lineman] chooses this, I will do that. It’s about making it second nature.”
The training isn’t limited to the defensive side, with offensive linemen also capitalizing on the knowledge.
“Me and [lineman Caden] Kitler jumped on the field the other day and did a little extra work,” said fifth-year offensive lineman Marcellus Marshall. “It’s something that you don’t realize how it translates, but when you start to get into a game and reps, it truly does show up.
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“I’ve done some different hand-fighting drills as an offensive lineman but not from an MMA-type perspective in trying to get hands off.”
Fifth-year offensive lineman Adrian Medley added, “They’re [defensive linemen] snatching more, moving more, and I’m like, ‘Bro, just calm down.’ That’s helped us because it lets us see different moves and steps to change up. We have to bring it every day now.”
The techniques that Henry has been teaching aren’t a replacement for what the linemen are learning from their respective position coaches but more as an additional option in the player’s arsenal.
“Take what you like; discard what you don’t like,” Henry said. “What I’m just doing is adding value and giving you options. They say, ‘Beat the hands, you beat the man.’ So I’m just letting them think outside the box.”
Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com
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