07/08/2021 08/08/2021 09/08/2021 Training over these dates has been quite poor, I’ve had very little time with work and personal commitments so I’ve tried to do the best I can. My hand was injured from work so I’ve tapered off any bag/impact type work to let it recover. I’ve got some sparring tomorrow which isn’t ideal but will go light with my right hand and wrap it well.
Good to hear, one of the few martial arts I've never tried but sparred a few fighters over the years! Apologies if off topic Mitch, but as an admin could you advise if I would be allowed to do the occasional equipment type review (headguard/mitts) etc on my training log thread (avoiding any prices/site advertising etc) or would this breach site rules? Thanks mate
It's something I've been thinking about recently actually, we might set up an area for reviews. Give me a couple of days to mull it over
Thanks Axel, something a bit different - I get to keep a written record as a backup and can upload a photo of it to save duplicating it in text form on this forum.
10/08/2021 I done some freestyle and Wing Chun work in class today with sparring (2 minute rounds with 1 minute rest). It was nice to get into sparring but probably was overly kind at times and too blasé/relaxed with defense meaning I did get clipped far too many times. That said, my cardio and kicks to the lower body/torso were effective. Had a bit of a headache/sore neck from sparring so going to rest up a few weeks before sparring again. 11/08/2021 Still felt tired from yesterday so done some lighter / timing / precision based style work as active recovery. 12/08/2021 Quite tired from work today so just done a bit of light stretching.
13/08/2021 I’ve potentially got a tough half night shift at work tonight so lowered the intensity today to manage this. Warmed up with some stretching and George Kotaka drills for Gyaku Zuki. He has some really good content to mix into your normal traditional style training.
16/08/2021 17/08/2021 18/08/2021 20/08/2021 - MSFT (Bleep test): Level 6/3 26/08/2021 I’ve been struggling with training over the past fortnight. Work has been intense and busy leaving me quite fatigued post shifts with disrupted sleep from half night hours. Hence I’ve reduced the intensity of training to accommodate some recovery. I done a quick bleep test at work to level 6/3 which I passed fairly easily despite a lack of sleep between the shift prior and travelling out to the test venue. Following this I’ve been on annual leave but I’ve done a lot of travelling with my girlfriend to London; had a great time but had no opportunities to train outside travelling and seeing some shows in the West End. On 26/08/2021 I done Kickboxing but my fitness and flexibility felt poor; going to make it my aim to improve on this with Kickboxing training at least 3x a week.
27/08/2021 28/08/2021 On 27/08/2021 I went to Newcastle Metro Centre with my girlfriend so I didn’t have time to complete a full workout save for some light stretching before I went to bed. On 28/08/2021 I performed a 15 minute stretching routine with my flexibility slowly coming back, some basic Kihon work practising blocks and then a slow low intensity run with my dog including his toilet breaks and occasional distraction at a relaxed pace. I took it easy during the run as I’ve been feeling some DOMS from the kickboxing session from the other day.
29/08/2021 Kickboxing Today I completed a stretching/flexibility routine for 15 minutes which was probably a bit too easy if I’m hoping to make best progression. I then went for a 20 minute walk with my dog and then done Kickboxing. My fitness faired better than the last session, I’m still slow compared to the instructor’s speed but completed the warm up without any rest between sets and then onto combination work with fitness rounds added onto the end of each combination sequence; again without rest. I pushed myself well, I felt nauseous after the final combination of the set which consisted of front kick into a side kick without placing your foot down for both sides. Pushing myself after this any further would probably have been counter productive.
30\08\2021 31\08\2021 01\09\2021 02\09\2021 03\09\2021 I felt quite strong on 30\08\2021 but still kept the intensity at about 70-80% to allow for some recovery. 31\08\2021 and 01\09\2021 was just some lighter Karate practise, followed a guided instructor led stretching part in the first day which really helped me progress in flexibility and lower any injury rate. On the second day I went for a walk with my Dad and dog over at their place which was lasted a couple of miles at a relaxed pace. I felt super tired on 02\09\2021 and wasn't going to do any exercise whatsoever as I was quite busy with jobs to do and eating out at a restaurant with my girlfriend but decided to do a weight training type workout before I went to sleep. Weights were very low and there was no plan or structure or lower body work due to DOMS. I have an alternative to an Ivanko super gripper so completed some light sets on that and finished with some isometric work using a Bullworker for about ten minutes at the end. I'm back at work tonight but done Kickboxing which felt quite taxing. Completed all the warm up without any rest between sets and then worked on solo techniques and then in combinations but with fitness rounds included as well, again without any rest. I'm still slower than the instructor and my form drops off quickly with the increasing fatigue but my fitness is definitely improving in the right direction. I'm hoping to grade again towards the end of this month or early next month depending how busy I am.
Going well! Does your style do any grappling/gripping? I only ask as you're using the Captains of crush.
04/09/2021 05/09/2021 07/09/2021 08/09/2021 I felt quite good during the run on 05/09/2021 but the weather was quite hot and I was with my dog who enjoyed having breaks and having me drag him in places. Slowed the speed right down so he didn’t overheat and poured water on him every mile or so which added another minute per mile on my average pace. I’ve felt pretty tired this set of days off so didn’t do anything whatsoever on 06/09/2021 and just some light stretching on 07/09/2021. I done kickboxing training on 08/09/2021, fitness improving every session but still slow compared to the instructor’s pace which might take years to match. Felt exhausted during the training and struggling to keep good form when very fatigued; especially on side kicks, roundhouse kicks and balance drills.
Hi Mitch, hope you’re keeping well. The karate style I practise on and off does, kickboxing not so much. That said, I do enjoy foot sweeps and takedowns in sparring when I can so grip is always at the back of my mind. I’ve always had small wrists which are quite prone to buckling so have dabbled in grip strengthening for about 15 years. My original captains of crush which was a #1 is still going strong and about 15 years old now. Do you work on grip strength / captains of crush? I’d also recommend David Horne’s collection of grip products if you have the money.
07/10/2021 I’ve had a bit of time off from regular training due to work, courses/training etc including a residential stay over in Manchester and around my own county which was pretty exhausting at the end of each day. I’ve also completed my ‘Fitness Instructor Level 2’ personal training qualification in Newcastle with last bits of studying and a practical assessment day which invested a fair bit of my free time towards the end of it. Training today felt good, flexibility was still mostly there and technique and balance work wasn’t too bad considering my hiatus. I’m going to focus on increasing my fitness and stamina session by session to the pre-break levels.
11/11/2021 (Stretching) 12/11/2021 (Kickboxing) I’m still training intermittently, just not logging or being as consistent as I have been when I started. I’m planning to change that by training some more to build up frequency gradually and logging workouts more diligently. The press-ups felt fairly easy today which probably has some crossover to the TRX training I’ve been doing recently.
