It's time for a Breakthrough, but how do we go about getting one? Training has to follow a plan. That plan has to develop over time and has to have progression. We start small but move on. This is how we improve physically too, by overloading our bodies. Our bodies love that, we train but if we maintain the intensity and duration we do not improve. We have to use it up, we have to max it out, we have to get uncomfortable and sure enough our body will adapt and develop. These are of course the basic principles of all physical exercise ie weight lifting, cardio training and athletic training, so how do we go about improving on technique? Practice of course, but practice does not always develop technique alone we have to have good practice. Some of my technique has in fact reversed despite my length of training. My butterfly stance (a weird crouching twisty type of stance seen in the butterfly knife set) has become awful! I used to be alright at it but I carry a hip injury which means I can no longer have a good practice of it. So what can I do? I'm going to have to develop a way in which I can do it without proper technique. I'm going to have to learn how to wing it! It is an essential skill in Martial Arts. Practice a hand block or a kick block, then have your opponent go for you, I mean really go for you and you will see that your practiced movements have had to adapt. Controversial right? Absolutely, we are told that technique always beats brute force. It's not true guys, not in real life. The technique has to adapt but it has to be understood in the first place so that you can adapt it. In the real world, where you are more likely to need your martial arts we are subject to many more factors. Weather, surface, clothing you are wearing, how much you have had to drink etc etc... You will never be technically correct trying to throw a spin kick whilst wearing jeans, on the street, in the rain after 3 pints! But what if you had to, well I can assure you, you adapt. Taking the technique that has been drilled into your muscle memory you will pull something off. It might be cool, it might not, but I can safely say it won't look like the kick you threw at your last grading.
So what is the secret if it isn't in the technique? There is no secret, it all comes down to the training method. What if you had been training how to throw a spin kick whilst wearing jeans, on the street, in the rain after 3 pints? It would look a whole lot nicer than if you hadn't. So what next? how do we get this breakthough? By pressure testing it of course, by having someone try and "do one on you". The merits of pressure testing stuff have been advocated for a long time, but no one ever talks about how much fun it is! You get roughed up, sometimes you fail but always you are forced to wing it! Thats life too, you have to learn for yourself, you have to make mistakes you have to make it up! However you can do it from a place of understanding. That understanding has to come from you though from your own breakthroughs, not because someone else told you it would work but because YOU made it work! Keep training, get as much info as you can and give it a good practice! Todays meditation- a mistake only becomes an error if it is allowed to continue
Monday 27 May 2013
Thursday 23 May 2013
Be of one mind, your own.
I finished the filming of the latest set of "2 Minute Breakthroughs" at Mission Training Systems on Tuesday. The videos will be appearing very soon on Breakthrough Combats' Youtube channel. The Filming part is the easy part and a huge thank you goes to the Strength and Conditioning coach Johnny Elliot for giving his time. He was very informative and natural on the camera. Johnny and I had a discussion about what I was trying to achieve and it was very simple for him to translate that into some practical exercises to try at home.
The whole point behind the videos is to give some inspiration and ideas for people to give it a go! The hardest part starts after you have done them! The scrutiny of others begins. The videos are not intended to be a "This is how it should be done" type of thing. They are a "This is one way in which you could try" type of thing, like advice, good or bad it does not need to be heeded. Whenever you do a technique based video it amazes me how much hatred it inspires in people. Of course I have seen some awful stuff out on Youtube, non functional or plain silly but never has it created so much anger within that I couldn't let it go. Like bad advice (and sadly some good advice) I just ignore it. I was surprised when Johnny said that he has also received some abuse for his Strength and conditioning coaching techniques. It's crazy that someone out there in the big bad internet would like to offer an uninformed baseless opinion about anything, about everything even!
Anyway this is not the case with the new series of 2 Minute Breakthroughs, Johnny did an excellent job and made it very specific to the Combat Arts. It all comes down to justification. My whole martial career has had a constant justification required. I am surrounded by peers, good friends and good Martial Artist, many of them higher grades than me. But their Martial Arts are not my Martial Arts. How they go about teaching or expressing what they want to do is no concern of mine, that sounds harsh but I mean it in the best way. I respect them and their opinions of course but we cannot become robots. We all have to add our own personality to it, that is how things evolve. Provided that the teachings do not jeopardise the students safety, be it through unsafe training methods or false information then it's all good. Each to their own. I am getting more experienced everyday and have grown tired of justifying myself to others. This is one of the main driving forces behind starting Breakthrough. It is scary to not have the security of others but the freedom it provides in teaching more than makes up for it. If I can justify it to myself and my students then that is all I need.
So go out and try something. If you enjoy it keep it up. If you don't then stop. You don't need to belittle or badmouth it. There are many options and most of us are out there trying to give a helping hand. So what should todays meditation be? I think it would be fitting if I said that is entirely up to you.....
The whole point behind the videos is to give some inspiration and ideas for people to give it a go! The hardest part starts after you have done them! The scrutiny of others begins. The videos are not intended to be a "This is how it should be done" type of thing. They are a "This is one way in which you could try" type of thing, like advice, good or bad it does not need to be heeded. Whenever you do a technique based video it amazes me how much hatred it inspires in people. Of course I have seen some awful stuff out on Youtube, non functional or plain silly but never has it created so much anger within that I couldn't let it go. Like bad advice (and sadly some good advice) I just ignore it. I was surprised when Johnny said that he has also received some abuse for his Strength and conditioning coaching techniques. It's crazy that someone out there in the big bad internet would like to offer an uninformed baseless opinion about anything, about everything even!
Anyway this is not the case with the new series of 2 Minute Breakthroughs, Johnny did an excellent job and made it very specific to the Combat Arts. It all comes down to justification. My whole martial career has had a constant justification required. I am surrounded by peers, good friends and good Martial Artist, many of them higher grades than me. But their Martial Arts are not my Martial Arts. How they go about teaching or expressing what they want to do is no concern of mine, that sounds harsh but I mean it in the best way. I respect them and their opinions of course but we cannot become robots. We all have to add our own personality to it, that is how things evolve. Provided that the teachings do not jeopardise the students safety, be it through unsafe training methods or false information then it's all good. Each to their own. I am getting more experienced everyday and have grown tired of justifying myself to others. This is one of the main driving forces behind starting Breakthrough. It is scary to not have the security of others but the freedom it provides in teaching more than makes up for it. If I can justify it to myself and my students then that is all I need.
So go out and try something. If you enjoy it keep it up. If you don't then stop. You don't need to belittle or badmouth it. There are many options and most of us are out there trying to give a helping hand. So what should todays meditation be? I think it would be fitting if I said that is entirely up to you.....
Sunday 19 May 2013
Getting your priorities straight
Obviously I am a great believer in the things that can be achieved with Martial Arts. Not just through physical training, but through the qualities that are inherent within its teachings: discipline, respect and humanity. One of the greatest exports that Britain has is its pugilistic merits. " The British have always been handy with their fists" to quote a book from the turn of the century that's title escapes me!
Boxing has been removed from the school curriculum in the UK since 1962, but there has been a serious campaign in recent years to get it back up there.
"Chairman of the Amateur Boxing Association Keith Walters said boxing in schools could benefit children by boosting their overall fitness, reaching out to disengaged young people and improving their self-esteem, discipline and self confidence."
I couldn't agree more but boxing is stuck with the label of violence, but only to those who do not practice it. If you are a martial artist of any discipline/style I think that you too would see that this label is unfair! It is often equated that cultivating a healthy sense of competition is damaging to our youth. Well I say that is the biggest pile of bullshit I've heard. To send your children off into the world with no real sense of the hardship or unfairness of life is irresponsible. Yet here, whilst in school, we can cement values in our primary kids that will take them through life, standing them in good stead for adulthood. Teach them that the world owes them nothing but does not hold it against them if they try their hardest. Sometimes no matter how hard you try it may not be enough, but respect is earned from oneself and from ones peers by trying. Compete in safety against someone who holds the same principles as you and you will find a true friend not an enemy. I digress, my true point here is that the combat arts have never received the true backing of the people that can make a difference:the ones who hold the purse strings. It's all about the bandwagon for UK Sport and Sport Scotland. I've been there looking for funding in previous years-no chance, despite some of our brightest talent emerging from the field of contact sport. I hold up any amateur practitioner of fight sports over that of a professional Football player as a role model any day. We train hard and juggle more things for less reward to be labelled as thugs. I know fighters I've been around them, in various countries, to know they are the nicest group of people you could meet. Why? because they have discipline, respect and humanity. In Britain amateur boxing engenders those qualities. No one cared until the Olympics of 2012 where we cleaned up. Support was suddenly very forthcoming from the government. Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has recently warned of government intervention as the sport is in serious danger of losing £10 million of IOC(International Olympic Committee) funding over a battle between governing bodies.What is more important Hugh? the lack of development in the sport or the financial investment? So what is today's message? Stay true to what you love and stay in love with what is true to you.
Boxing has been removed from the school curriculum in the UK since 1962, but there has been a serious campaign in recent years to get it back up there.
"Chairman of the Amateur Boxing Association Keith Walters said boxing in schools could benefit children by boosting their overall fitness, reaching out to disengaged young people and improving their self-esteem, discipline and self confidence."
I couldn't agree more but boxing is stuck with the label of violence, but only to those who do not practice it. If you are a martial artist of any discipline/style I think that you too would see that this label is unfair! It is often equated that cultivating a healthy sense of competition is damaging to our youth. Well I say that is the biggest pile of bullshit I've heard. To send your children off into the world with no real sense of the hardship or unfairness of life is irresponsible. Yet here, whilst in school, we can cement values in our primary kids that will take them through life, standing them in good stead for adulthood. Teach them that the world owes them nothing but does not hold it against them if they try their hardest. Sometimes no matter how hard you try it may not be enough, but respect is earned from oneself and from ones peers by trying. Compete in safety against someone who holds the same principles as you and you will find a true friend not an enemy. I digress, my true point here is that the combat arts have never received the true backing of the people that can make a difference:the ones who hold the purse strings. It's all about the bandwagon for UK Sport and Sport Scotland. I've been there looking for funding in previous years-no chance, despite some of our brightest talent emerging from the field of contact sport. I hold up any amateur practitioner of fight sports over that of a professional Football player as a role model any day. We train hard and juggle more things for less reward to be labelled as thugs. I know fighters I've been around them, in various countries, to know they are the nicest group of people you could meet. Why? because they have discipline, respect and humanity. In Britain amateur boxing engenders those qualities. No one cared until the Olympics of 2012 where we cleaned up. Support was suddenly very forthcoming from the government. Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has recently warned of government intervention as the sport is in serious danger of losing £10 million of IOC(International Olympic Committee) funding over a battle between governing bodies.What is more important Hugh? the lack of development in the sport or the financial investment? So what is today's message? Stay true to what you love and stay in love with what is true to you.
Thursday 16 May 2013
What it all comes down to...
One of my ex girlfriends was a high level sportswoman (not that I bragging....) We shared many opinions about training but she said something to me that helped influence my view. She competed in the Triple-jump and was a firm believer that the basis for all sport was athletics. If, through training, she could add a centimetre onto each of the stages of the hop, the step or the jump she effectively could improve her jump three times over. It was all connected. Therefore if I could improve my triple jump did that mean I could improve my Martial Arts? Absolutely, if I take one example to work on plyometrics, particularly the amortization phase, I can improve my kicking speed and power.
What am I talking about? The amortization phase is the transition point between two kicks for the same leg. Yes you can double kick without putting the foot down in-between, but you will not generate the same amount of force in the second kick from muscle work alone. However if you do put the foot down, the time it spends on the floor must be kept to a minimum. It gets very complicated as we get into the eccentric and the concentric phase, load on the agonist muscles etc etc. Basically the kick creates elastic like energy which is stored in the foot between the two phases. That energy can be used to "bounce back" through your second kick. The longer the foot is on the floor the more of that energy dissipates. If you want to see it in action the best example would be to look at a Thai Boxer throwing multiple kicks from the same side. Alternatively look at a triple jumper, I was never very good at that though(I think that's why she dumped me).
So the sum of all movements is based on very small parts, if you can improve any one of those parts you will improve the complete action. That is why I am very pleased to say that the trainers at Mission Training systems have agreed to help out with the next bunch of "2 Minute Breakthroughs". With their knowledge of athletic movement, anatomy and sport we should be able to come up with some useful tasks you can practice. Many thanks to them. So what is today's meditation? Again this applies to life as much as it applies to combat:
Improve one small aspect and feel the benefits.
What am I talking about? The amortization phase is the transition point between two kicks for the same leg. Yes you can double kick without putting the foot down in-between, but you will not generate the same amount of force in the second kick from muscle work alone. However if you do put the foot down, the time it spends on the floor must be kept to a minimum. It gets very complicated as we get into the eccentric and the concentric phase, load on the agonist muscles etc etc. Basically the kick creates elastic like energy which is stored in the foot between the two phases. That energy can be used to "bounce back" through your second kick. The longer the foot is on the floor the more of that energy dissipates. If you want to see it in action the best example would be to look at a Thai Boxer throwing multiple kicks from the same side. Alternatively look at a triple jumper, I was never very good at that though(I think that's why she dumped me).
So the sum of all movements is based on very small parts, if you can improve any one of those parts you will improve the complete action. That is why I am very pleased to say that the trainers at Mission Training systems have agreed to help out with the next bunch of "2 Minute Breakthroughs". With their knowledge of athletic movement, anatomy and sport we should be able to come up with some useful tasks you can practice. Many thanks to them. So what is today's meditation? Again this applies to life as much as it applies to combat:
Improve one small aspect and feel the benefits.
Wednesday 15 May 2013
The Warm Up
The warm up is absolutely vital for safe exercise in whatever your chosen sport. They can take on a bit of a life of their own however. When I was first asked to teach my Instructor would often ask me to take care of the warm up for him, usually for him to do all the club admin, I realise later with my own experience there is nothing more tiresome than hearing your own voice over two hours so that probably played a part. So I used to give the guys a bit of a hard time. Thinking that I was actually doing some good making them sweat and groan as I kept counting out the push ups. How boring! The sweating and the groaning should happen throughout the class not just in the first part! This was the problem, the warm up had become an event in itself completely detracting from the time the senior Instructor had with the students during which time they would actually learn stuff. Push ups, sit ups all need to be done but they don't have to be hammered out without mercy! All of a sudden the warm up was taking between 30 and 40 minutes. Although I teach, I still train. I take my place in the ranks and get on with it. Nothing bores me more than a warm up! Especially when the warm up has nothing to do with whats going on in the class plan. Why do push ups if you're working stances? The legs are warmed up and mobilised so that you are safe from injury when the real work begins. Don't lose sight of your training goals there are hundreds upon hundreds of full body workouts that take less than 10 minutes. They are not warm ups however, they are actual exercise programmes which still require a warm up. There is no reason to do a half hour warm up for a 10 minute programme. With all Combat Arts there is much more interesting stuff to be getting on with than push ups and sit ups. What you are doing, be it punches, kicks, wrestling or stances these are the things that will help your strength, help your core and generally help your fitness levels. Take 5 minutes to get the blood pumping then the rest of the night is yours to get the brain working and the techniques working. So today's meditation is an oldie but a goodie, enjoy your training, don't endure it!
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Sunday 12 May 2013
Daily Meditations
Breakthrough Combat Arts has its own blog, how exciting! Keep up to date with all goings on with Breakthrough right here. I've had a lot of time on my hands today and turned my attention to the class plan for this week. One of my favourite styles is Wing Chun. I love the approach that Wing Chun promotes (straight to the point). I have even had the pleasure of training bits and pieces of it (in fact I trained Ving Tsun if someone more enlightened wished to explain the difference I'd be eternally grateful) so elements of it will feature at The Phoenix Studio this week. Whilst thinking about how best to illustrate the dynamic beauty of the style I started to think about what kind of drills would be most useful to express it. This lead me to have a bit of a Breakthrough moment myself. One of the things I want to let people play with is the bridge or the Bong Sau, so I started thinking about movements that could be used around the bridge for trapping. Lo and behold motions from the very first empty hand form in Lau Gar seemed to be the most logical route to follow. I even found a pretty awesome use for tricky tenth and eleventh movements of Kay Boon Sau Fa! I hope to see plenty people there on Tuesday so together we can reach the ultimate destination, that of understanding!! I'll leave you with a daily meditation something that I plan to do each day (providing I can get on the interweb)
A man is always more than what people say about him.
A man is always more than what people say about him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)