I had to write about today´s training. I train different things everyday,  I try to harmonise during the week to cover it all.

Today was mostly on the  heavy bag.

I started jumping the rope for a couple of minutes.

Then on the heavy bag I started slow:

Jab  then cross then hook

jab and cross

jab cross and hook all together

then I work a round of 3 minutes with all hand techniques jab cross hook uppercut elbow…

Kicks:

I actually worked a while on the side kick first

Then low hook , normal and high,  on both sides.

Right at the beginning (and because I use to hear it on sundays) I feel my guard is low when I kick, I decided to get a rope  around my shoulders and put my arm in it,  in the correct position which provided me from loosing my guard while kicking.

 Amazing feeling here as I feel I got a whole new and better stability during kicking !

I have some work to do on the side kick still,  the start position of the knee is too far on the inside, I know what I have to do, lift and kick,  easy ! I just need to have my body to get it ! but as I train it again and again,  I will get there.

Hook kicks feel good , front kick OK, I did not use any other kicks tonight , I thought I limit myself to a few.

Then I took it all on the heavy bag ( 180cm and 75 kgs ) it  did not use to move a lot when I punched it , but as I got myself a bit stronger I see a difference now.

I did a couple of rounds on the heavy bag .

I decided to work on my straight lead again, and I took the gloves off to feel better, this is exactly what happens you feel the punch in a whole other way and when you hit wrong you know it because it hurts like hell 🙂

Anyway I am always happy about the feeling, if I get blisters  so what , I train Martial Arts not golf 🙂

Some hard stretching after that ( I WILL get that split for heaven sake ! ) 

Sit ups

Push ups (and  no girly ones in case you wonder,  I ´d rather not do it at all! )

20 push ups- 20 secondes rest –  20 push ups  … 5 times totally.

Then I could sit down and start thinking , my God training JKD is the best feeling in the world…

I have looked for different forms of complement training for the winter,

Yesterday I tried Body Pump . I found it to be a good workout and I decided to integrate it in my weekly schedule:

Footwork and stretching: everyday

Body Pump: once a week

Technique and Heavy Bag:  Three times a week

Sparring: once a week ( sunday )

Regular gym: one to two times a week.

I think this is a good start , I will try it for a while and adjust or change if needed.

Well I have been writing this post 4 times already but I can´t save because there is something wrong somewhere,  but I won´t give up ! let´s try AGAIN

The Sunday sparring session was cancelled so I asked for a private session to work on my technique .

We practised on mitts:

Straight lead as the mitt holder is moving and only showing the mitt quickly.

working the speed and reaction ability as much as the footwork

same drill with cross and then hook.

Combinations: showing the pad in any position : adapt to recognise which punch to use , constantly moving to adapt to the correct distance and work the speed !

And last we added the ” mitt response “, by that I mean the mitt will hit you back ! feels a lot like regular sparring but hitting on mitts instead and mitts hitting you !

the thing here is the focus on hitting the mitt, the partner is actually controlling the game as he is controlling where  you will be hitting , this is not a free / regular sparring where you can hit wherever you want , anywhere you find an opening.

kind  of interesting exercise though,  it requires a lot of awareness, control and speed in reaction.

then we worked on footwork.

I placed myself next to Micke and tried to follow him, trying to get some flow !

This will be perfect for me to practise alone during the week.

Finally I could write this whole post, means it works again !

 I am going to work on my footwork now:-)

I decided to add more cardio to my daily training, yesterday I went to the gym and completed 60 minutes cardio training on the step machine, the one that allows you to take wide steps upwards and work with the arms as well.  This was a great work out.

 I guess this will help me get strength in my legs and the stairs will be a piece of cake after  several weeks of this !

Strength in my legs will also mean more stability and power in my kicks, I look forward to see some results.

Yesterday I asked Micke if we could have a private session instead of the gym, I needed more attention to the front hand lead , footwork, speed and kicks and wanted him to correct some details and to give me some advice on my own training during the week

I practised on the heavy bag, on mitts and on the paper sheet.

It is always the same problem as soon as I start thinking I loose it all !  Seems so easy when Micke does it , actually !  but again, I can absolutely not compare myself to him.

I can only watch and learn and practise until I get it right , he says he gives me three years and I will be as good as Him … euh .. no he did not !  He said three more years and I will be a good fighter, I realise I have to put some more hours daily training because I personnaly think I will need it.

Anyway after at least a hundred times trying to get the front hande lead  right , I went to the heavy bag and worked on my kicks, they are better apparently which is good, I feel more stability and that was good news.

After that we did some more drills to gain stability in the moves.

In the air, hook kick:  low  regular and high, first with landing in between , then without landing 

Same thing with side and front kick

after that we repeated with some speed

and the last one with the slowest motion possible,

This one was interesting is NOT as easy as it sounds, the position and  balance to be kept at all times during the developement of the kick , good exercise actually.

I repeated al this a while after Micke had left yesterday and this will be part of the program for quite a while from now on.

I spend more time on footwork and straight lead these days.

My technique is doing better, I need more strength and stability to push it harder. I studied the last filming and I see what needs to be improved, I have now rearranged my own daily training to focus on those points which are:

– A better on guard and a better Front hand  lead.

– Being tighter in my movements and less tensed .

– Stretching and Power

By focusing on those things for a while until this becomes natural will help me get all the rest better as well.

I saw a very good documentary on TV yesterday where Bruce speaks about muscle memory, there is no secret if you train all the time the muscles will remember the moves and you won´t need to think about it. I am working hard towards this.

I am not a quiter,  I am pretty determined to get it right and I will.

🙂

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  !

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”

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!!!”

During the week end I felt very stressed and the best way of getting rid of it is through training. Yesterday evening although it was late I thought I could not go to bed in that state of mind, I put on my running shoes and when out for a run.

Due to some private factors I have a very stressed time in my life right now, I try to focus on my training and not let this negativity invade my head again, this is quite difficult but I try.