An easy drill....?

Just now, I was thinking about a way of training the angles 1 and 4 into focus mitt training. When you take away the stick and do an angle 1, that's like doing a hammerfist or forehand strike, and angle 4, without the stick becomes a raking back knuckle strike. So here is a way of partner training, "A" holds the mitts as if he was saying the classic bully-type "come on then", i.e. the mitts are target side up, not quite flat but slightly diagonal, with arms at shoulder-width apart. So "B" has his hands down by his sides, not in a guard or fighting stance. You may do this to the count if you like, 10 to a set, two strikes to one count, i.e. a forehand and a backhand together. Or perhaps have them go at it for a one-minute round. After one minute, get the hitter to do 10 normal grip knuckle press-ups, 10 squat springs and 10 situps, or other exercise variations. The second round: get the student to double-up, i.e. two forehand/two backhand for one-minute. Then follow up with bodyweight exercises, 10 squat thrusts, 10 hindu squats, 10 crunches, (or if you are mean and just because its the second round, do 20 of each). The third and last round might be to try triple hits in quick succession, full of intent, always beginning with hands down by the sides. Follow this with either a final round of 30-rep bodyweight exercises, things like star jumps, wide grip press ups and over-the-knee sit ups. Final round would perhaps be to do the same with the soft-padded stick on the pads, working the same angles, 1 minute, all-out. Bang bang bang! Repeat this with the mitt holder now.

Who knows, it might work and maybe your students will like it. You could always vary it, after all.

Train hard,

L.

Salford University gym

Salford University's gym has had a massive facelift. A brand new feel to welcome the students of 2009-10 and beyond. Its looking all rather good.

A lot of gyms have sprung up in the Manchester area, but Salford Uni has the best! All the new stuff is very impressive. The following pic shows where the running machines used to be.

All the equipment is brand new and the old equipment is hardly there apart from all the free weights as before.

Good stuff.

L.

The Gym

What is it about the gym that keeps me going? That's an easy one. In the gym, I feel free. Free from all the things that drag me down elsewhere. Free from all the uncertainties, insecurities and idiosyncracies. OK maybe I don't train as hard as I used to, but in the gym, there are people there who have a lot of positivity. In life's long twisting roads, sometimes you find that you may have to tip-toe around people and do a lot of pussy-footing. Sometimes you get appreciated, but most times no one has time or cares for individual efforts, so what happens, you feel under-appreciated. Then what happens? You might work extra hours thinking it might help, but then you actually get even less recognition for the good that you did and you get it on the chin for working late and being slow!! Some people feel so insecure, that, even if you want to sympathise for them, that little bit of attention to another human being, can still land you in trouble! Why? Because these weak-minded individuals want to be recognised for their strengths and not their weaknesses. So much insecurity!!

In the gym, its a totally different ball game. Its a place where you can de-stress and train. Its a place where you can chat to people and have a laugh, and not feel like you need to be on your guard. Why is this so? Its because all of the people in the gym have a common goal. They all train to varying degrees but the common thread is that they want to get results. They use the same tools, if you like, to attain a better, healthier body and mind. There is no conflict, there is only you, and the barbell, the dumbbell, the machines, or the focus mitts, the cage, the ring, the Thai pads and so on. Elsewhere in life one might find conflict because of personalities, ego, and down-right arrogance. Why does it need to be this way?

Sure enough there will be people in the gym hyperextending their backs because they aren't training right. Or there will be those who will train wrong and have big egos, throwing their weights down and so on. Whats worse is that some will use artificial means rather than properly "feel the burn" and arrive at CheatWorld via needle. These guys I tend not to mix with so much.

Tonight I was in the gym for a short while, and met up with some familiar faces. I will tell you this: just to be there was a very positive affair. So much positive energy which far outweighs any and all of the bad stuff I mentioned before. I felt good and I worked out as well.

GET IN THAT GYM AND WORK OUT. Its money in the bank as some Olympian might say.

Cheers

L.

Why You Must Carry On

The Roman orator, Cicero said:

"It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor".

Best reason ever. Even as we get older, staying physically and mentally active helps us to stay sharp as we age. There is an important connection between mental acuity and physical activity.

To me, its important to pick up a new skill. And the good thing is is that in martial arts, you can never stop analysing, learning and assimilating unless you decide to not participate.

Simply, you must carry on some kind of physical activity to keep the mind active. There is no disconnect between the mind and the body. Why should there be?

In the July/August edition of Scientific American MIND, its stated that "staying fit helps us keep cognition more robust". Physical activity reduces several risks, e.g. type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer and others. Colon cancer is also associated with compromised cognition, same with diabetes. So, exercise can honestly only be good for you. I notice this at work sometimes too, colleagues who remain seated throughout the whole day seem to be less energetic and even suffer memory loss than colleagues who enjoy some kind of fitness regime.

So....I think I will leave it here, and go do something active. Why don't you, too?

L.

Painful?

The other day I was doing some amarra training, i.e. going through the 10 different methods of line familiarisation with the sticks, when I realised that my hands really hurt and it was difficult to hold the sticks. I did the heavy sticks first, then mid-weight, then light sticks, but even the light sticks hurt! Sometime back I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, (its funny how they have to call it a syndrome, God knows how many syndromes there are out there.) This syndrome is a condition of the nerves in the arms from the neck down. In fact, typing right now hurts.

I am wondering what caused this problem. Too much stick sparring? No can't be. Too much punching the pads? No...don't think its that. In today's legislative world, I might not even be allowed to say what I think what the main culprit is.

The thing is, is that I can't train properly. And its hurting me inside! You know when you pick up an injury, any injury and you get sidelined for months? Arggggh! Not good.

I remember reading about Bruce Lee and his back injury. I can't imagine how stressful it must have been for him, not to be able to train. With the fire in his belly raging, it must have been like an inferno. With me, I just come to blogger-land and have a bit of a rant.

We are a strange bunch. We can't live very happily without training. Our skills become a shadow of what they once were. Its injury times like this that one must show one's indomitable spirit. But even that can take a serious beating and need time to recover. In a way as martial artists, we develop that particular spirit, especially if you follow Korean martial arts. Several years back, I wrote about what I liked about Taekwon-do. I recall popping my hamstring in one of the lessons and having a massive bruise going all the way down my right leg. I think I returned after a couple of months. Indomitable spirit did help. The doctor said I'd need 6 months. I just kept wanting it to heal, so I could go back and train. Why so badly? Because I enjoyed it and it made me feel "free", for two hours of the day, twice weekly.

Enjoy training, all.

L.

A show of appreciation

What does an instructor feel when a student tells him that he feels he isn't progressing, yet at the same time, tells him he has no time to practice? Is that the instructor's fault? Why should the instructor bother?
You can bring up a student to level 1, or yellow belt, and its hard work for all concerned. But then if the same guy tells you, he has forgotten some of level 1, then surely he has no true foundation. To be honest, it makes me feel numb.

Its a little pointless if a person can't practice. If a person pays good money to learn whatever you have, and then doesn't consolidate afterwards with extra "in-his-own-time" practice, there is just little point coming! Might as well give up right there and then.

I called this blog "A show of appreciation". If your coach, your trainer, your teacher, etc, puts in the effort to give you something that makes a difference in your life for that hour in that lesson, and you fail to go away and practice, then you just won't get it. You might think you have got it, but no. Whatsmore, you have just failed also to appreciate your instructors efforts. There are in truth different levels of instructors, in terms of experience, but he or she got there and got the grade because he or she, PRACTICED and practiced HARD.

There are those guys who genuinely appreciate your efforts, and genuinely go and practice with their friends. They keep it going, they are the ones that propagate whatever art you are showing them. They have whats called ENTHUSIASM.

Enthusiasm is key in any role, in anything you participate in. Its part of the human psyche that makes you the individual that you are. I am enthusiastic about writing this blog, though I know that not many people will read it. Don't much care, though.

The jagged road of Life throws up many challenges and presents many mountains to climb. One should never lose heart and just give up.

Keep going. Show your appreciation for those who have gone before you. But don't tell them you feel you haven't got anywhere when you know you don't practice.

Thanks
L

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

How's that for an opening title? Thanks to Mr Abraham Lincoln for that one.

Well...back to work.

L.