Month: July 2010

Caught on film… FOOTWORK

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Filming is a great way to see what I do wrong. I usually get angry at myself but this is the way to target the work I need to do and it gives me even more determination. I have trained for 6 years ( 5 with Micke ) I just HAVE to get to the next level.

No surprises here: Footwork.

I know this is what is holding me back, I cannot get to the next level If I cannot correct this , and I decided to  focus even more on this one until I get it right, this is the basics, without the basics there is nothing good.

Here is what I worked on yesterday:

Heavy bag:

– Punches

First Jab, then  Cross and  Hook separately. I went on with combinations of all three using both power and speed.

Looked bad at first but better after a while.

– Kicks

Side, hook and front, then combinations. If you ask me I find the side kick better, the hook lacks power, the front is  Ok , but all of them could use more power and stability, I am working heavier at the gym these days,  to get some more strength in those legs.

– Working the bag, all in.

using all kicks and punches in rounds of 3 minutes trying to get some flow. On film the technique looks quite Ok , looks like I have power ( at least more than before ) , the flow however needs more work.

Punching Ball:

working with one hand then two with speed , Bob and weave, blocking.

Paper Drill:

I really like this one but I would like to know what Micke thinks about it, I asked him to look at the film or watch me do it.

JKD Pole:

Ah the famous exercise that kills your arms… really good one though I just need to achieve more reps

Wristroller:

If the JKD Pole has not killed you yet this one will finish the work, if you ask me this is the worst but I love it !

As a conclusion I would say that  filming yesterday was a good idea.

Today I spent quite some time on my footwork especially with the Straight Lead, at the end I WILL get this one right  !

2010 martial arts festival in France

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I am so happy when I see this.

On Facebook , Our friend Mike Shen from Saint Louis Missouri posted a video from you tube today :

 In Paris at the 2010 Martial Arts Festival,   A french stunt team ( Cascade Demo Team ) openned the show with a exibition / remake of a fight scene from Fists of Fury.

 37 years after his passing, Bruce is still  impacting generation after generation, this is so great to see. 

Thanks Mike for posting 🙂

“Be water my friend”

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Yesterday starting the training session at the top of the slope, it was too hot I could not get it right. We decided to go down to the water and try it there instead.

First getting some balance  when trying to kick then we went on with light sparring. the movements are slowed down by the water power and this is a great deal to keep the balance on the sand soil, but I have to say I want to do that again soon because it is very interesting and gives another perspective about the training and the possibilities in different conditions.

My thoughts about this training : Adaptation,Awareness,  turn the evironnement to an advantage, recognize and use whatever tools available.

“Be water my friend”

20/7/73 – 20/7/2010

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I just cannot imagine how sad this day must have been  but today, more than 30 years after we still miss Bruce very much and cannot help but wonder how he would have lived his life after the great success from Enter the Dragon. 

Micke and I had our Bruce Lee T shirt on today.

As we do,  a lot of people all around the world will be thinking about him today,  that is for sure.

Training with a Master Magician & World Champion

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Today we had a “guest star” training with us . Seth Engström is a  Swedish Magician, he is very  inspired by Bruce Lee ´s philosophy and is using it in his own way to develop his art.

I asked him today what he meant by using Bruce ´s philosophy in his art and he said,  quoting Bruce:

“Having no way as way, having no limitation as limitation, not going after rules, finding your own way, the way that works for you”.

He said he recognised himself in what Bruce Lee writes because he has that way of thinking and has been living his life that way. He has been practising with cards since he was four years old and at the age of 16 ( I hope I got the age right 🙂 ) he was asked in an interview : Who is your inspiration ? and he answered : Bruce Lee. Seth  is really interested in the philosophical aspect, he  finds a lot of inspiration in Bruce ´s writings.  He reads all books and everything he can about Bruce,  especially from trusted writers like John Little .

Seth is actually a very busy man practising card tricks up to 10 -12 hours a day … but I would be very interested if Seth himself  would like to write about how Bruce Lee inspires him and how he applies it….

For more information on Seth please visit his website http://www.trollkarlen.se/ or check him out on you tube.

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Today we introduced JKD to Seth, starting with basics. We found him very dedicated and intrested and keen on learning. We certainly think he has some potential and are very pleased to welcome him for more sessions.

Bring it !!!

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Michel Remy and Gina  where there for a great sparring session this saturday instead of sunday this week.

We started on the back side of the slope,   sparring one on one

. Defense

. Attack

. Interception

. Blocking

Rounds with each other and then with Micke  ( who was in the mood for throwing people around this day 🙂 )

All of us tried to take him down….. Yes, I said ” tried” …

and I am quoting myself to Michel:  ” it is like trying to move a mountain!!! ”

The session was pretty intense , some of us where bleeding from ending down on the ground.

Then we finished with carrying a partner on the shoulders up  the slope, I cannot carry any of these guys so I did not do it, but Michel and Remy carried each other managing one third of the hill …. will have to improve that one  guys!
🙂

Gym

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Today I started at a new Gym, a bigger one with more modern equipment.

Micke and I trained hard on biceps,  back and stomach.

It is more than 35 degres outside  but thank God they have A C !

It was pretty tough training today but I get even more motivated because  Micke has gone crazy with training those days , can´t stop him anymore !!!

Well, we fore sure are gonna look good in San Francisco 🙂

Let´s hope we ´ll meet a lot of JKD friends in the States in november … I Can´t wait,  this will be quite a trip and I just have to quote our friend Michal Czapla from Poland : “This will be AWESOME!!!”

The return of the attack

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I know this can happen because it happenned before and here is the proof that you ALWAYS should be prepared for anything.

We decided to train at my place today , Micke knocked at the door and I came to open  the door when he jumped on me and attacked me, we sparred all the way into the living room and the training room and he shouted all the time “defend yourself !!!”

In the training room I found myself thrown against the wall and the heavy bag then on the floor. I did my best to not panik and do everything I can to keep myself standing while trying to hit him and take myself off his grip.

Well the adrenaline was high and even if I could not do much when at the end the big wall of 107kgs was sitting on me , I did not loose my focus , I fought until I could not breathe anymore ( because of the heavy weight sitting on me !!! 🙂  )

well this is an experience and the good thing is that , this is life, this could happen anytime, the question is how do you react in this situation ? I think this is good to practise this

after that we moved on to the heavy bag for some punches and kicking

we worked the JKD pole and the wristroller

it was around 35 degres today , makes the training even harder , but no one is complaining !

Evolution :-)

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I am thinking about all that happenned the last few months. When I talked about facebook to Micke he strongly said NO, but as good a student I am , I did not listen to him for this matter 🙂 and finally 6 months after, I persuaded him.

I believe  it is necessary for us to be seen, and especially for Micke to be recognized for the great fighter he is. We have evolved as a group, together for four years now, we all need some work of course but we have been  giving it a 100% and we are better now than we ever were before and this is  thanks to a great trainer.

I felt I needed to do something in return and facebook in my opinion is a great way. I managed to get in contact with some great JKD people. At the beginning, Jari Nyman from Spain immediately helped me establishing some contacts and then I got to be friend with  instructors like Bob Landers from Tulsa USA who has openned the door to even more, like the Ted Wong JKD Forum. I am very grateful for the help and without facebook, this would not have happenned.

I also started a group,  as I wrote previously: The “Ted Wong JKD Group Sweden”. I wanted our JKD friends to know about our group, my trainer, my training partners,  and me. I upploaded almost all our training videos and some of our best pictures.

I strongly believe we have a high quality level but somehow nobody or few  knew we even existed and I think this is a waste,  especially for Micke.

But this is about to change, we got some great feedback from our friend Luigi Clemente in Italy for exemple and more JKD people are asking to be members everyday, this is a succes and I am so happy .

We are the ONLY Authorized Ted Wong JKD Group in Sweden and we : Micke, Coshe, Michel, Remy and Gina, are all working hard to get this level even higher!

This is for us, for Bruce, for Ted.

We are on Facebook !

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Yesterday I created our own page on facebook with all our videos , pictures and news.

My point with this is to be seen in the JKD world and recognised as a member of the family. Let´s face it, facebook is a great way to communicate and share with the rest of the world.

The page is dedicated to our group and to Bruce and Ted.

We are  Micke,  Coshe, Michel , Remy and Gina the only Authorized Ted Wong Training Group in Sweden and very proud of it !