Month: April 2011

Hard Work, it is about time!

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I have trained according to the new program this week, I added some stretching for the back and the hips. I can feel it, I have some work to do. This is quite boring to stretch, especially when it takes a long time but anytime I think I want to move on to something else I remember : you will never be good at something else if you´re not flexible! and this is true,  my movements are limited because of that and ENOUGH with the excuses ! I know what I need to do if I ever what to reach the level I want!

I worked on the papper drill , it is such a good exercise, I train all punches following the movement of the papper after impact. I train hook kicks as well , I tried side kicks but they are a bit tricky on the papper 🙂

I also add some hardenning on the heavy bag, this thing is so hard it works just fine! I punch with both hands and controlled impact 100 times and I also kick 100 times with both legs,   I need to harden the shin area because it is just too sensible. As I said,  I do it with controlled impact, I will not go hit a banana tree 1000 times a day as I have seen in some Jean Claude Van Damme movies ! ( go find a banana tree in Sweden anyway! )  

Ted used to hit daily on a piece of steel, he said this is not a question of damaging nerves,  it is gradually building strong knuckles .

But I have to say I am not very happy with myself, this is ground work, basics, I should have put some time in this a long time ago. Now after 6 years I wonder why I am limited while I should be better than this, no wonder I am not …

OUTSIDE training!

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For the first time this year we trained outside, fantastic day !

I warmed up and stretched at home before meeting Micke outside and we took our bikes for the first ride of the year !

That was kind of tough, at the arrival at the slope we met Remy and decided to go check the front side. That is where we found lots of snow and instead of going around,  Micke decided we would go up instead. Riding the bike up this slope is mission impossible due to the steepness so we pushed/ carried our bikes while Remy ran up. YEAH good idea Micke, I thought I would never be able to train after that!

At the top we worked on the mitts:

Combination : Jab cross hook ,  without gloves focusing on power and speed , keeping a good stance and appropriate footwork.

We were told to do a 1000 but I don´t think we did them all !

Then we worked on the double hook kick: low and high without landing. Here too, focus on a good position,  stability and control as much as power.

I was quite happy with the feeling I had today on the mitts, I think I can notice the improvement because of  the work I do at home, both kicks and punches felt more controlled and stable today, I surely need some more work and especially with the balance, but stretching before the session felt like a good idea for me, and with that kind of warmup I think it all helped a little !

We went to the edge of the slope and did some light / controlled sparring with Remy. A couple of times I corrected myself with the position of my body, I am already small but I make myself smaller by looking down and bending my body, which makes me target the center of the opponent too much. I know about it and correct it by myself which is good, because I have to be better at this. I think this will help me be more centered and see openings in a better way, I also believe this will help me be more stable on my feet.

Everytime I write I feel like I find new things to work on, the learning process never ends. After 6 years I have so much more to learn. The positive aspect is that the things I am working on now are adjustements, details that will help me get better, I feel I have the basis and what I am doing now is taking them to the next level and this is such an awesome feeling. Nothing will make me more happy than the day I  feel I master some techniques, the day I feel stable and strong and in control of my movements, this day will be a great day, one of the best.

Finishing the session with Micke standing on the edge of the slope we were down and jumped up to a hook kick on the mitts, same exercise with the knees.

I was worthless with the knee exercise as I could not reach the mitt so I brought the mitt down instead but that was not the point !

anyway we were actually done with the session and started to go down the backside of the slope. then we rested for a minute and decided I would run up the slope.  I could do it as the backside is easier than the front side.

That was finished for the day… for Remy who drove back home, we on the other side,  had to ride our bikes home, and let me tell you something about Sweden, this is no flat country, up and down hills at all times!

OMG!

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There are things that really make me mad, like when this body refuses to do what I say !

After my own training yesterday night, I read a book on flexibility for martial artists. It appears that no matter what I say,  that my body is not flexible because this or that…..,  is pure BS. You can be flexible,  it depends on how much time you put into stretching and how effective you make the training. I heard Ted say he was not that flexible when he started, it is not a question of age, it is like everything else,  a question of training.

I made myself a new training schedule today, adding more stretching and more technique and footwork.

It looks like this:

Monday: Own technique training, footwork and stretching

Thuesday: Private lesson with Micke

Wednesday: Own technique training, footwork and stretching

Thursday : Gym or run or bike ride

Friday : Own technique training, footwork and stretching

Saturday : Rest or TRX

Sunday: Sparring session , Group training

The days I train by myself always include footwork, I start with warmup and finish with stretch. I train both shadow boxing and on the heavy bag and add static training.

Either than flexibility, I am going to try to improve both stability and flow.

Tough it up Girl !

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I asked Micke for a technique session yesterday.

we trained footwork, punches kicks and combinations on pads,   ended with situps, back training , stomach hardening and stretching.

it was hard and tough, Micke says he was very pleased by my ability to take it , especially keeping a good form during the exercises.

It did not feel quite good because I felt so exhausted, but I was determined not to quit.

The main problem yesterday was balance, that was bad !

I will focus on technique for a while as I see I have some work to do in this aera, some details are in the way of me becoming better, flexibility and balance are huge problems and I need to fix them one way or another.

THE CLAW !!!!!!!!!!

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Participants, Micke, Nicklas, Gina.

Ah , well this Sunday  training session was all about I what do wrong ! 

I am not complaining this is good because I cannot notice it all when I train all by myself, I asked Micke already to give me one extra technique session in the week because of that, and after this Sunday it seems I need it more than I thought.

Training by myself, I pick bad habbits and one of them (which I have had all along) is the CLAW !!!

The Claw is me having the left hand open and it looks like I am waiting to pick up something , I don´t know. Micke kept repeating it the whole session:  ” THE CLAW”  so I closed my fist and now I can´t get this out of my head so yes it works.(For those who don´t get the joke, this is out of Liar Liar with Jim Carey )

This session was all about technique  exercises on pads and on the heavy bag.

Footwork back and forth on a line, then footwork” sparring” : no punch or kicks just using footwork. then we tried to step on each other foot, hit each others hand, all this using appropriate footwork.

we worked on the legs strength and I finished with statical training.

Then I asked Micke to help me with stretching.

It was a great session, as usual. I am just not in a good state of mind these days, I hope this will get better.