Sunday 19th July Today was the final day of selections for the upcoming world championships. I don't spar anymore so I was only applying for the patterns division. There was only room for one person per division and even just in patterns there were at least five people for every spot on the team. I was applying for the 18+ 1st to 2nd Dan Male Black Belt Patterns category, which had the highest turnout: I was up against twenty-three other people all gunning for that one place. National squad sessions are usually an informal affair held at a sports centre in Oxford (no uniforms, no belts, no real emphasis on do-jang rules etc). But selections had been moved further south to Slough and all attendees were instructed to wear doboks and belts. There was at least a hundred and fifty people present. We lined up in grade order, bowed in and recited the TKD oath. Candidates were divided into two groups: those going for sparring and those going for patterns. A few were going for both but I don't know what their arrangements were. Patterns selection started intense line work (traditional stances with blocks, punches and kicks). We got straight into it without a group warm-up as we'd been told to warm ourselves up before the session started. The pace was relentless and continued uninterrupted for a full hour. A few people dropped out at this early stage; the weather was sunny and in the low twenties (°C) but the sheer number of people in the sports hall had turned the place into a giant furnace. We stayed in lines and went straight into patterns from Chon-Ji up to our highest grade pattern. Once we did our highest pattern, we went back to Chon-Ji and started again. Every single move had to be done with 100% focus and intensity. The sweat was literally falling off everyone. After an hour, we broke off into groups according to the division we were applying for and led by a couple of higher ranked black belts who were closely watching and taking notes of our every move. We were called out to the front two at a time and instructed to perform a pattern of the judges' choice. We were being marked on everything from bowing in and walking on to the floor, to every single aspect of the pattern itself. This process was a lot less intense than the first two hours and took about forty-five minutes to complete. In the end I didn't get selected. I'm not down about it. I'll still be going to squad training and I'll be able to support my friends who did get selected in their preparations. My focus is now on the Scottish Nationals in September. In other news, the date for my right hip replacement has come through: November 24th.
Monday 20th July I've tweaked my health and fitness goals now that my hip replacement surgery is booked in for eighteen weeks tomorrow. I regretted not being in better shape before my left hip was replaced six years ago (wow, that long already). I was eating healthy and doing all the exercises the physio told me to do (and then some) but lack of "proper" exercise for 6-8 weeks saw me lose a lot of muscle and become "skinny fat". So with this in mind I've hired a bodybuilding coach to help me get in top shape and build some quality muscle before the surgery. He's worked with several IFBB pros and clearly knows his stuff from the current shape he's in - 49 years old and vacularity that makes the veins running down his arms look like power cables. We met on Saturday and discussed my possible goals. He took some measurements: I weighed in at 67.2kg and 16.5% body fat. I was shocked my stats had shot up like that because only a few months ago I was hovering around 11-12% body fat. It's odd because I've been eating relatively healthy and I'm doing Taekwon-do six to seven days a week (although admittedly the intensity probably peaks at a six out of ten in most sessions). The primary goal he set for me is to maximise muscle growth while reducing body fat to around 8-10%. The basic principles of the program he gave me are: • Each body part worked 2x a week (except legs). • Legs worked 1x a week because I'm doing TKD so often. • 2-3 body parts per workout (back/biceps, shoulders/triceps, chest/abs/legs). • 12 sets per muscle group (split into 3-4 exercises). • 10 reps per exercise. • Starting loads are low but increase every workout. • No squats or deadlifts because of my hip. • Plenty of bench work though (Fish will laugh at this). • HIIT won't be introduced until at around 10% body fat. I'll be eating a calorie deficit diet to lose weight but still hitting my macros (especially protein) to stay in what he called a "nitrogen positive balance". Essentially allowing me to lose weight/fat at the same time as building muscle. All whole foods (no packaged stuff) supplemented with whey and BCAAs. He also stuck me on a 16/8 intermittent fasting regimen with my feeding window being 1pm until 9pm. Be interesting to see how that goes. Anyhoo, I skipped TKD because tonight was our first workout together. Details below (warm-up sets not included). Evening - Weight Lifting Barbell overhead press (seated): 3 x 10 (25kg). Dumbbell front delt raise: 3 x 10 (7.5kg). Dumbbell side delt raise: 3 x 10 (7.5kg). Narrow-grip push-up: 4, 3, 2 (extremely slow) Barbell overhead triceps extension: 3 x 10 (15kg) Dumbbell triceps kickback: 3 x 10 (7.5kg) Dumbbell overhead triceps extension: 3 x 10 (7.5kg) Cable triceps pull-down: 3 x 10 (5kg) 180° left front split PNF stretches* * I alternate the type of splits I do every day i.e. day 1 = side split, day 2 = left front split, day 3 = right front split. That way I keep stretching time to a minimum and can do PNF exercises every day without the need for rest.
Friday 14th August Quick update on the last month. The bodybuilding sessions have been great, noticed a real difference in my strength and body composition. Walking around at 65.4kg and 13.9% body fat as of this morning. Vascularity, definition and muscle "fullness" have definitely improved. Still doing TKD (patterns and breaking only), although I'm able to kick the pads with a bit more force now. Dropped the number of sessions from 6 to 2 sessions a week and I haven't been to national squad training since selections. I'm training in Krav Maga and I love it! I went to two clubs which were both complete jokes run by fakes. But I found one run by an ex-army guy and he's superb. The techniques are trained with resistance and we do heavy contact self-defence sparring every class. I'm training three times a week (2x group classes and 1x private). I'm also going to a private Muay Thai class once a week to improve my clinching (pure self-defence focus). I took up Krav because a friend runs a security firm and I'm interested in renewing my close protection licence. He swears by Krav and I've always known him as a guy who can handle his shizzle so I gave it a pop and think it's great (IF you find a decent instructor). Being flexible and from a TKD background gives my training a bit of a twist from the norm with doing high kicks in self-defence scenarios. Oh, and I'm getting divorced from Mrs VZ. It's okay though, got myself a new girlfriend and it's going amazing!
And I thought the "Krav Maga" in your avatar was ironic! Did you do that just to get in more arguments on MAP? Sounds like you're going great guns, best of luck with everything
Ha ha ha I used to be one of Krav's biggest opponents around here. Still am if we're talking about bad instructors and Crap Maga. It's like anything though I guess, good instructor + good training methods = good results. Cheers for the support bud.
Hope the CP work goes well for you! ...and when I said "great guns", obviously I was talking about your weight training
Monday 17th August 0600-0730: Gym workout Step-ups to warm-up: 10 minutes. Barbell Bulgarian split-squat: 5 x 5 (40kg). Barbell Romanian deadlift: 5 x 5 (25kg). Seated barbell overhead press: 4 x 10 (35kg). Dumbbell side deltoid raise: 4 x 10 (15kg). Ab wheel roll-out: 4 x 10 (with 8kg vest) 180° PNF left, right and middle splits: 10 minutes. 1030-1200: Krav Maga class Started with a basic warm-up of light bodyweight exercises (push-ups, sit-ups etc) and joint rotations. No real pre-stretching to speak of because the focus is on techniques that don't require a warm-up. Did basic kickboxing combinations on the heavy bag: push-kick to the groin, jab, cross, clinch and headbutt, that sort of thing. Then reversing the combination as you move out of range. Did that for about 15-20 minutes until we had a real sweat going on. Next we drilled a defensive combination against straight punches: simultaneous parry with one hand and palm strike/eye rake to the face with the other hand, quickly followed up by a powerful cross with the hand that parried. Drilled at half-speed/touch contact at first, then we put on "space helmets" (boxing head guards with clear face shields) and mouth guards (just to be safe) and drilled it full contact. Next we drilled basic defence against an underhand knife thrust to the belly: simultaneously block the opponent's knife hand with one arm while striking to the face/throat with the other hand, disarming the knife, then a flurry of strikes to the eyes/throat/groin/knees in seemingly random order (the focus being on just beating the opponent rather than too much on "how" to beat them). Finished with basic static stretches. 1900-2030: Krav Maga class I found another Krav academy within easy travelling distance which is linked to my primary teacher (run by his teacher). That basically means I can attend ten classes a week and expect a similar high standard across the board. After a basic warm-up we did distancing drills for kicks, knees, punches, elbows and clinching. The rest of the session was ground work, which can basically be summed up as nut shots from half guard. We did an escape I recognised from my brief foray into BJJ as a pendulum sweep.
Yes mate. My PTSD was too much for her, I guess. Which is a shame because I feel it's back under control now -- or at least better under control (to the point I'm keen on getting back into work that deals with confrontation, i.e. close protection). It's all good though, we're still civil and the new missus is supportive of my plans.
Tuesday 18th August 1730-1830: Krav Maga Private Lesson My teacher focused the lesson on weapon retention and using an empty pistol as a force multiplier for hand-to-hand techniques. I was instructed to dress as realistically as possible, as though I was on a close protection detail: baseball cap, tactical sunglasses, plate carrier vest and webbing (complete with Level 3A ceramic plates in the vest, and ankle weights stuffed into the pouches to simulate magazines), daysack weighing 5kg, t-shirt, cargo pants, walking boots, hard knuckle gloves, knee pads and a training pistol in a leg holster. First part of the lesson was spent practising isolated techniques (punches, slaps, kicks, knees, elbows etc) on the heavy bag. My teacher was surprised at how well I could still kick to the head with power and no loss of balance despite all the cumbersome kit. Next we focused on creating distance between myself and an assailant when my pistol was empty, thereby giving me a chance to reload. An example drill was: 1. Pistol is empty and assailant has closed within striking range, 2. Push kick to assailant's groin/stomach (to stun/distract and create distance), 3. Straight palm strike/eye jab with support hand, aiming to push the assailant's head back and expose his throat, 4. "Punch" the assailant in the throat multiple times with the barrel of the pistol using the primary hand, 5. Shove assailant away by pushing hard on his chest with support hand (stepping back at the same time), 6. Emergency reload (allow empty mag to drop to the floor), push the slide forward, extend pistol forward in a two-handed grip (focusing on front sight picture), "fire" three shots centre mass, return hands to the "safe" position and scan the surroundings. I like the fact my teacher is an experienced shooter and is able to build weapons drills into our training scenarios. We initially practised these drills on the BOB freestanding bag before padding up and moving to live drilling with a heavily resisting partner. 1830-1930: Krav Maga Class I removed cap, sunglasses, plate carrier and webbing for the public class - that stuff is damn heavy and I was drenched! - but kept on the gloves and knee pads. The focus of this class was honing basic boxing technique so much of the time was spent drilling jab, cross, hook and uppercut in isolation and then in short combinations of no more than 2-3 punches. My teacher's philosophy is that the aim is to be able to punch well enough to create space and escape, not to become a good boxer who throws dazzling and complex combinations. I agree with him. My preferred punching combinations are jab-cross and cross-lead hook, both while sliding in. So by the time the second punch has landed I'm already in range to clinch, elbow, knee, headbutt, or shove and run in the opposite direction. We finished by padding up and practising our preferred combinations under heavy contact with a resisting partner.
Wednesday 19th August Rest day. Thursday 20th August 0630-0800: Gym workout Step-ups to warm-up: 10 minutes. Barbell high step-up: 5 x 5 (42.5kg). Barbell sumo high pull: 5 x 5 (40kg). Barbell biceps curl: 4 x 10 (25kg). Dumbbell hammer curl: 4 x 10 (15kg). Russian twist with med ball: 4 x 15 (6kg ball). 180° PNF left, right and middle splits: 10 minutes. 1800-2000: ITF Taekwon-do class 10-minute circuit of push-ups, sit-ups, burpees and sprints to warm-up followed by dynamic stretches (leg swings in all directions). Next was a good half hour of practicing kicks in the air in lines up and down the hall - front, side, turning, hook, axe, twisting, crescent, reverse side and reverse hook kicks were all done at least two dozen times on each leg. My hips gave me no problems and I was kicking way above my own head easily/pain-free. We then padded up and did free sparring for the remainder of the session. The pace was light (touch contact) because there was only a few of us. Finished with left, right and middle splits stretches. Great workout overall.
I can understand, my wife being from roughly the same part of the world as your'n - they've a culturally induced abhorrence towards ... animated behaviour, you might say. The time or two I've put a hole in the wall - you'd of thought I'd of committed genocide or something. Best of all to you and your new beginnings!
Friday 21st August 0930-1030: Krav Maga Private Lesson Dressed in full tactical gear again (including heavy plate carrier vest and webbing) with metal airsoft weapons - an M4A1 (with vertical foregrip and T-dot holographic CQB sight) on sling and USP in leg holster, both high quality construction with some weight to them (as opposed to flimsy plastic ones I've used before). They were the next best thing considering annoying UK firearms restrictions. First up was a circuit consisting of pull-ups, box jumps, rope climbs and burpees. Only fifteen minutes but the weight of the kit, the cumbersomeness of the "weapons" and the high intensity made it damn tough. The idea was to induce a state of pre-fatigue to make the upcoming drill that much more difficult (and realistic). By the end I looked like I'd taken a dip in the river. The main Krav gym I train at is based in a large warehouse on an industrial estate. The vast space and equipment available allow for some awesome scenario training. This includes a 'run and gun' course about 100 metres long with vertical wooden boards (6" tall x 3" wide) positioned at various intervals to simulate cover. At the far end of the course was a 'Bob' freestanding bag to simulate the threat. The length of the range exceeded the max effective range of the airsoft weapons but this was a essentially a dry-firing exercise so I just went with it. Thedrill involved moving between cover, firing from all shooting positions (standing, kneeling, prone and on back), firing with both primary and support sides (shooting left and right handed), transitioning from rifle to pistol, and from pistol to knife/empty hand after having moved in to very close range. 1930-2045: Boxing Class Wanted to work on my own specific stuff so didn't partner up with anyone. Jumped rope at an easy pace to warm-up. Practiced my two favourite combinations (sliding-in jab-cross and sliding-in cross-lead hook) in the mirror. Then drilled the same combinations on the heavy bag. Finished with a 20-minute bodyweight circuit involving the whole group.
Saturday 22nd August 1100-1200: BJJ Class Took my Krav instructor's advice and signed up with BJJ classes to improve my KM ground work. This first class with Lucio Sergio Dos Santos was a fundamentals session covering two passes and two sweeps from half-guard. Lucio was big on repetition and I lost count of the number of times we drilled these techniques (with equal importance placed on both sides). I also forgot how irritating gi burns on the cheeks can be! But I loved it.
I'm heaving just reading your Krav post, man. That sounds tough and you've had infantry experience (IIRC). I take it the programme you're in isn't for the avg joe, then?
Ha ha, trust me mate I was heaving plenty enough for both of us and I thought I had decent conditioning. We did an initial run-through of the course before the pre-fatigue circuit and I completed it in a little under 90 seconds (which is classed as somewhere between 'average' and 'good'). But once my instructor kicked my ass with the circuit, my "best" time was 2:15. I don't think I completed a single proper run-through without dropping a magazine. The "Krav Maga Class" workouts are public classes and open to anyone aged 18+ and with a clean criminal record. The "Krav Maga Private Lesson" workouts are one-to-one sessions with the head instructor and myself, and cover pretty much anything specific I want to work on (with input from him on what he thinks I need to work on). I'm very lucky to have found a skilled Krav instructor who is also ex-army and a skilled shooter (he's a range officer for a shooting club and coaches firearms to close protection trainees at a range over in Poland), so he is able to set up these awesome CQB sessions which also cover stoppage drills, shooting both handed and transitions, as well as the obvious basics of marksmanship.
Sunday 23rd August 1100-1500: Krav Maga Seminar & Grading My Krav gym hosts a four-hour "training day" once a month where the instructor team runs intensive scenario training. The day culminates in a grading, although people who aren't testing for their next rank are invited to attend also (although you have to pass a physical fitness assessment beforehand). After a brief warm-up, the group of twenty or so attendees spent the first hour hitting Thai pads. The emphasis was on palm strikes, elbows, knees, clinching and kicks. We mostly drilled front and side push kicks to the stomach, and roundhouse kicks to the legs and ribs. I hate to say it but I was pretty appalled at the poor kicking technique from some of the instructors. Maybe it's because I'm from a Taekwon-do and Karate background and kicking is my speciality. And I get that Krav isn't about what a kick looks like, it's about how effective it is. But I strongly believe a good looking kick is indicative of proper form, which in turn affects effectiveness. By "good looking" I don't mean flashy jump spinning kicks; I mean even just basic kicks done with good technique. I have always been very confident kicking to the head in real fights. So naturally I asked my partner to lift the pads to head height. I had no problem belting the pads without any loss of speed and power; hell, I'd be audacious enough to say my head-height kicks were faster and stronger than most of the instructors' low kicks. I didn't lose balance once even though I was wearing "civvies" (walking boots and cargo trousers). More than one person in the instructor team kept telling me "high kicks are unrealistic" but my main teacher said to do them if I wanted to. The next hour was spent drilling three standing takedowns from clinching range: 1) body lock to outside trip, 2) Thai clinch to double leg, and 3) Neck and biceps clinch to neck wrench takedown. We drilled them in isolation, entering from striking (e.g. groin kick, palm strike, body lock to outside trip) and transitioning to clinching when intercepting/defending common attacks. We dr The third hour was spent pressure testing the techniques we'd been drilling in the first couple of hours. We put on head-to-toe sparring equipment: Kudo-style "space helmets", mouth guards, elbow pads, 7 oz. MMA gloves, groin guard (females too - they also had to wear a chest protector), knee pads, and shin-and-instep pads. The rounds varied in length from 30 seconds to five minutes, to represent the fact that street fights are never the same length. The first few rounds were essentially 1-v-1 MMA fights. I had a lot of success leading with front-leg side push kicks to my partner's face. After snapping their head back, it was quite easy to shoot in for a double leg, or close the gap for a body lock into outside trip. Being smaller than most people there, my primary aim was to get them down and assume a dominant top position as soon as possible. Once I had full mount, I did ground-and-pound elbows until they tapped (or the referee -- one of the instructor team -- tapped for them) or I secured an arm triangle and choked them until they tapped (luckily the "space helmets" didn't obstruct chokes). At no time was this more gratifying than when I partnered up with one of the instructor's who said high kicks don't work, and I knocked him on his ass with a side kick to the face and secured a magnificent arm bar. The worst round I had was against a guy who was significently bigger than me, and a much better boxer. This was after the third or fourth time of winning matches by kicking people in the head first, so my main teacher said I had to imagine I'd blown out a knee in training and couldn't kick. I managed to keep out of range of my partner's punches for a few seconds. My teacher shoved me from behind and shouted, "His mate just joined in!" My partner then cracked me square in the face with one of the heaviest right crosses I've ever felt. Thank god my helmet had a face shield or else I'd be nursing a badly broken nose right now. The punch was so strong my head snapped back and I almost fell on my ****. My partner shot in for a double leg, worked his way to my back and sunk in a rear naked choke in what must have been less than ten seconds. I tapped to the RNC almost as soon as it was on. Without doubt one of the most horrible chokes I have ever felt in my life. Afterwards I said to him, "Remind me never to get punched or taken down by you for real." He replied, "Remind me to shoot you in the legs before I punch or take you down for real." I later found out he was a blue belt under Jason Tan in Liverpool. Real nice guy. We then moved on to sparring multiple opponents, which was more an exercise in survival than victory. It was 3-v-1 and the defender would switch roles with one of the attackers as soon as they were overwhelmed. That kept the pace constant and intense. I was defender in the first round and started by booting one of my attackers in the face with a front kick. I was about to follow up with a nice jab-cross boxing combination I had planned - honestly man, it would have been beautiful - but I faceplanted hard just as I was stepping in. The blue belt I sparred earlier had double legged me from behind. He sat on my back, pinned my arms somehow and started punching me HARD in the side of the head with one of his lunchbox sized hands. Thankfully the instructor/referee called time before my skull was permanently deformed. After switching to the role of attacker, I found myself hesitant to get stuck in and give some digs. I don't know whether it was down to fatigue or hesitation because I'm not actually a thug who enjoys putting group beatings on lone survivors. I noticed most of the group experienced something similar. In the last few rounds, the instructor team mixed things up by giving one of the attackers a training knife. The person with the knife would change each round and the defender wouldn't know who had the knife or when the attack was coming. I got stabbed in the back, stomach, chest, arms, neck or face every single time I was the defender. My teacher said I did probably defend the knife attacks successfully a couple of times and some of the wounds could have been survivable. I say "probably" and "could have" because nothing is certain when it comes to knife attacks. But it was certainly an eye opening experience. The final hour was spent covering grading material relevant to grade, with those not testing going through the techniques to assist those who were testing and to prepare themselves for next time. I had no intention of testing but I finished the day being awarded my Practitioner Level 2 (P2) grading patch (gold with two black bars). It was a nice surprise, especially considering I've only been doing Krav a month or so and never tested for my P1 patch. Afterwards we all headed to the pub for loads of food and beers, where I continued the debate on the effectiveness of head kicks with some of the instructors. Overall I had a great day and can't wait for the next one.
