Category: fitness

 have to admit it – I don’t like running. I do however like what running provides in terms of training both on a physical and mental platform. So ….I decided to run to the dojo this Saturday morning. I haven’t being doing a heap of running lately, and this particular run I have only undertaken twice previously. Both times, this run had taken me approx 20 mins. However, this time, I was behind schedule (I was going to say running late…but the pun was too corny) and now I only had x 15 mins to get to the dojo to open up for first class of the day. Yay !

Not making excuses, but no warm up, no breakfast apart from a piece of toast and a glass of coffee was not a good way to set up. Normally I would take my time in the morning knowing I had three and a half hours of teaching coming up to have a good meal and proper fluid intake. But not this day. No time. So off I set. I began the run on a bit of a downhill so the pace was quick at the get go. I would say about 2 mins in …my lungs hadn’t caught up with my legs and I felt like i wanted to gasp a bit for air. But….reminding myself this is a normal response….I pushed on. Next call out was from my legs still sore from the squats and lunges the day before. Again, reminding myself that once they warmed up and got into the swing of things, they would feel better I pushed on.

Knowing I was going to struggle to make it on time, before I left I had sent a student a text message who I knew would drive past me on the way to class, and told him to pick me up on the way if he saw me. My pace was fast and i think in my mind I thought I could push it pretty hard as I would soon be collected by car . It’s funny what goes on in our minds if we listen.

I would imagine about 7 mins in (not sure of exact times) I really wanted to stop and walk. So I did. Then I thought….what if (student) drives past and sees me walking !  That would look so bad….so with that thought In mind I picked up my feet and began running again. I would say that scenario took about 30 secs to unfold. And there in lies a motivational tool……imagining what others will think and say, and how I feel about that.

Now I’m still setting a pace which is fast for me. It’s hurting and I’m digging deep and then I’m starting to wonder if and when (student) is going to come past and put me out of my misery. My mind is wandering and now I think……am I going to make it on time. I think about my students waiting at the door….wondering where i am ….and convince myself to keep going. Now that I have decided to keep on pushing…..and with time my motivation I start to get into a bit of a groove. Breathing has settled and I have a bit of a rhythm going. Feeling more comfortable now……………And then comes the hill.

Coincidence or not just as the hill starts, the Eminem song ‘Till I Collapse’ comes on my playlist and the words in that drive me to really work up that hill. I stop thinking about walking this part of the run, and find something which I had in reserve. And now my mind really starts going. See that’s what I do love about running. Once you get going……there is really nothing to think of in terms of technique. Sure….if you are trying to correct posture or stride etc you could concentrate on that, but otherwise you can just really find the zone and go. In this place…your mind is free to wander. To sort out the events of the day…to completely drift off and just be…..or like me, to play mental challenge games with yourself because you suck at running. It’s during one of those mental moments when my mind ticks over to this :

If you are training hard enough, there will always come a time when you will reach a point where it will be so tough and demanding that the thought of quitting enters your mind. It’s at this time that the real training begins. The type that changes and grows you. It’s always at this point where success lies. Out of your comfort zone. And it’s amazing….at that point when you make the choice to not quit, to persevere and win, it gets easier. You get your second wind and things start to work and your energy returns. You run not on adrenaline…but something else. Something in your spirit urges you on and success breeds more success. Winning makes you want to win more and you go until you reach that quitting point again. This time though…..because you’ve been there before and tasted success….it’s easier to push past that point. Not easy…..but easi-er.

It’s also worth noting that I do believe that with all training (martial arts, weight lifting, and all other sports that push us) these lessons and attitudes transfer over to our everyday lives. Sometimes life can get really tough. We might struggle financially, lose our job, get sick or injured, have issues with our children, we might be lied to or cheated on, we might lose a loved one or see our dreams seemingly get further and further away from us. But here is that point again. Here is our choice to dig down deep…..to get out of our comfort zone….trust in our self and push to the point of victory. And then…..hopefully….we just keep on winning.

And all that…..from one run !     Maybe I do like running after all !

And for those that want to know…Yes :- I made it in time. Shaved 5 mins off my previous run time.

Osu. KB

Last night was our Eltham Martial Arts Academy Formal Awards Night. It was a really great night with a great ‘anti bullying’ demo by the juniors and of course Award presentations , a visit from Santa, and just a great night with everyone decked out in their finest, good food, wine , drinks , dancing and even better company. It always makes me happy and feel accomplished every year to stand up in front of everyone and make a speech. For those that were there last night…thanks for listening.

Here is a copy of my speech :

Let me officially say welcome to the Eltham Martial Arts Academy Formal Awards Night 2013.

Thanks Mark Niven for the introduction and words……and let me take a second to say….” You guys scrub up alright!”

In all seriousness though, Each time we have this event and I stand up here, it really makes me feel proud to be part of such a great group of people and I am so thankful for my circle of friends. Simply by being here you are showing your support for me and EMAA, and of course each other.

So now, that being said…..without further ado……let’s get my speech cracking…..as always…..I only have a couple of things to say   (winky face )

Somewhere in the world right now, there is a martial arts instructor standing in front of a class telling their students the importance of basics. Of why we must train them each and every class to establish not only technique, but an automatic action that we can rely on in times of stress. A programmed response that happens seemingly without conscious thought, much like the beating of our hearts, or our own respiration.

The fancy stuff is nice, (the back spinning kicks, the complicated joint manipulations, takedowns and the awesome jumping elbows etc) however they are what I like to consider as bonus extra’s. To the junior class, I explain this as sprinkles. It’s a simple analogy, but what is the point of sprinkles without the ice-cream to eat them with?

Nothing ends a fight quite like a simple well timed hard punch to the face – smack on the jaw, a decent kick to the groin , or a fantastic roundhouse to the head , so it makes sense to practice those and make sure the simple and effective stuff is well rehearsed and ready to go.

A famous quote by Aristotle states:

“We are that which we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

And thus, it makes sense that if one wishes to Excell… to establish great habits. We must develop an attitude whereby we are prepared to continue to practice the same things over and over without thinking we have perfected something. We must remain humble and open minded and honour the training and our instructors. And It’s worthwile mentioning that ‘everyone’ is your teacher. There are lessons to be learnt from everyone and everything. If one was to consider….just for a moment ….that you could learn something even from and Ant !

What you ask….well how about the fact that many hands make light work. Or to not to judge a person’s strength through size alone. You know how strong an ant is right ?!  Yup….x 10 times their own body weight they can lift. Ever seen anyone do that in the gym?  

But I digress. Martial arts in it’s essence is simple. There is no “secret “except that which Sosai spoke of. If there was one….it was SWEAT.  Sweat and spirit. Morever I believe that on most occasions when people fall or people fail…it wasn’t their body or their technique, but their spirit. 

That’s why I love Kyokushin. It may have shortfalls as I believe all the arts do but wherever it lacks technically, it makes up for threefold in terms of it’s spirit. During my martial arts journey thus far, I’ve heard well established and senior martial artists in differing styles claim such thing’s such as that you needn’t be fit to win a real fight. That you needn’t have loads of techniques under your belt or that long and arduous grading’s are a waste of time and don’t really contribute to your ability.

All those things may in fact be true in the first sense, However………That physical and moreover the mental strength you develop through forcing your body and mind through an 8 hour grading, a punishing class, or the humility and respect for both the art and others you forge through tough competition……gives you something inside that not everyone is lucky to hold within. A never say die attitude and a self knowledge that no matter what…..thy will not quit. Not now. Not ever. Osu No Seishin.

The simplicity of martial arts can be echoed in everyday life.

It’s a shame then when we get caught up in the myriad of distractions available to us nowadays. We are essentially wired in (and of this I’m guilty as charged)  to our social devices and our work. We are contactable 24 /7 and we can and do work anywhere as we can access “information” at the slide of a finger or push of a button. Emails, Videos , games, music, and the money….oh the money. We can spend it on all those things we are convinced by media, companies and our peers that we apparently need…….without even leaving the house. In fact…..We can do it wherever there is online access ……and these days……you don’t even need to ‘have’ money to spend it !

But we don’t need this stuff.

We need sleep.

We need nutrition from whole food and clean fresh water

We need loving relationships

We need exercise

We need basic clothing and a place to call home that is safe.

Everything else is extra.

Everything else is sprinkles.

It’s managing what we need with what is nice to have that is our challenge.Knowing the difference is the first part. Keeping ourselves inline and in focus is the second and the difficult part.

And so…here we are again….at the pointy end of the circle.

That lesson from practicing and repeating basics so that they are automatic programmed responses. 

It’s then you start to realize that we do the same thing with our lives every day. In our dealings with others, relationships, our careers and then we pass those things on to our children through our interaction with them. And that’s A-OK if those responses are positive and enhance our martial arts or our dday to day lives, but what if they don’t ? 

People / or we , generally react the way we behaved last time….and we repeat those behavior’s even if they don’t produce a so called ‘desired response’.

It’s like When someone at work annoys you because every morning you walk in and the first thing they say is “ have you seen that email about whatever and it’s red hot urgent ! ” and immediately you get your back up. You are annoyed because You haven’t even sat down yet, settled in at your desk…and you are already being barked at. So then …your’e programmed response might be to get grumpy…heart rate increases….and then you start stammering some excuse why you haven’t read it yet…but will in a minute and ……oh…Ive got a headache already.

But to change that programmed response…you could simple smile at this person……throw them off guard and say “ Good Morning. How are you Today ?” And keep on smiling. Not sure why….but I think of Alan Shaw from Boston Legal when I do that. It’s so simple……but sometimes the power of distraction can change the whole mood. Try it next time.

Another example might be always picking the “ bad guy” or the “psycho girlfriend”………You need to stop and look at what attributes you are being attracted to here. That’s a hard one……..but if you look closely ….you’ll find the things to avoid next time. Pretty much….all the stuff that annoyed you is probably the thing’s you found cool at the start. And scary…

Maybe you always run out of petrol because you leave it till the light comes on……then you stress out as you run late for your next appointment because oh my gosh….you’ve run out of fuel and now you have to stop and you’ll be late and and and . If you do that….make yourself to promise to always fill up when the tank get’s down to ¼ no matter what.

There are hundreds of examples but when it all comes down to it……life is all about basics. About the thing’s we do every day, and how we do them.

I believe – To my Very Core- that Martial Arts can help you …if you let it.

See……training, can answer many things about us.

Do you quit , or do you do that one last push up ?

Do you talk positive to yourself ? like….I can’t do that or I will lose ?…….

Do you push yourself to go to class or do you find excuses not to ?……..

Are you a respectful person or do you push around the lower ranks ?…..

Sosai said that all questions can be answered through hard training. Allow yourself to hear the questions. And then honestly answer them. If you don’t like the answers –  change them. It’s basics . It might not be easy. But It’s worth it !

I am sure that most of you know some of the challenges that my life has been faced with this year. It’s no secret about the changes within my personal life although I do like to keep those things low key.

What I will say is that times like these allow you to re-assess what’s important in your life. But…you don’t have to wait till something major shifts around you to make changes.

This year more than ever…I have drawn strength from the dojo and Martial Arts. Sometimes it’s been hard to show up to the dojo and teach – and keep up appearances- but I know that once Im there….and I see you guys come to class for training…I remember why I teach and why I need to push on regardless. It’s a rare occasion that I don’t always feel better after a night/ day at the dojo.

So, again let me say thankyou for your support and help during this time. Some perhaps more than others, but in your own way…by continuing to be a part of the dojo you have all played a positive role.

Osu.

Kop Kun Kaa

Now….on to the awards ………….

I like a good “piss take” as much as the next bloke. Even though I’m not a bloke…..I sometimes like a giggle at someone’s expense, even if that person is myself .Cuz I’m an Aussie…..and that’s how we roll. We aren’t afraid to laugh at ourselves. Now perhaps it’s just the circles that I am involved in, but it does feel like at the moment, there is a lot of ‘memes’ circulating the social media traps about different types of training within both the martial arts, and fitness industries. I of course have shared more than a couple of these ‘memes’ as they are often what I think are quite funny, and very witty.  Sometimes however, I stop and look and think….now hang on a minute – fair suck of the sav mate (wicked expression don’t ya think ! )

One of those such times was during training a couple of weekends ago. Something I had seen recently on Facebook came to mind while I was lunging backwards down a ramp I had just sprinted up for the 6th time, and I got to thinking. It’s all about work ethic. Every training style must have merit or nobody would do it. Each individual chooses that particular method of defence, fighting, self improvement or fitness regime for their own particular reason. And that reason may not be it’s makers original intention, but important and valid for this person nonetheless. So we must not judge that person or that training style before we know what these reasons are, and then again, perhaps we shouldn’t be judging at all anyway.

Unless we ourselves are involved in that particular sport or training type…how we can possibly hope to judge the level of another persons training. Of course, there are always going to be the extreme examples…….like a Facebook post I saw recently with a young man thrusting an ezicurl bar fwd and back with dance like footwork. It looked like he was training to get more power in his rave…and see this is what I mean….if that’s what he was doing…then hey…..maybe that’s the best way !  Of course this video did make laugh and I didn’t think what he was doing was safe to say the least. In terms of body building or any hopes of Hypertrophy it was a waste of time, He didn’t do it long enough to reap any significant cardiovascular or stamina gains and well….I can’t really see the what or the why…but does that really matter  ? If he is getting what he wants out of training, who am I to judge ?

And then comes the sticky part. The grey area. That bit where the Crossfitters bag out the Body Builders , the Gymnasts pick on the power lifters, the Karateka’s judge the Kickboxers, the Boxers the Muay Thai, The boot campers v’s the obstacle racers and the Marathon runners the Ironmen and  MMA versus the world and Vice Versa.  I’m not trying to settle any arguments here because really I don’t think there is one.  No one style of training can be right.  An easy example is the Kipping V’s the Clean Full Form Pull Up. Now, if you are training to achieve not only high rep ranges to max out your Aerobic (and maybe even anaerobic) systems then the cross fit style of kipping pull-ups is definitely going to help you achieve that aim. Of course, the muscles don’t quite work the same way they do with a full form pull up, but well….that’s not the goal here is it. Nope, Max gains are not going to happen and yeah….it might be considered cheating by old school enthusiasts’, but have the nay sayer’s tried the Kipping ?  I have- and I suck at it. There is a certain amount of rhythm you must develop and I think different muscles are recruited through your core to do this. So maybe there are gains to be had after all, albeit not perhaps those intended for targeting with a pullup. Then I think of thing’s like maybe Move Nat &  Parkour (free running) and that type of training .  If you need to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible – or run away from an attacker say….and you knew how to kip……then maybe when you needed to run and jump and climb a tree it would be far easier. Then…..when you needed to scale a wall or a fence….perhaps a static dead hang pull up would be your best training. I just think that before a training style is attacked, then end goal must be considered.

So now….fighting. In reality, there is one goal. To beat the opponent and win. There are so many styles here and MMA has come a way’s in bringing this argument to the fore. It has however also shown no doubt that it’s the people behind the styles and their own abilities and strengths which come into play too. Not every BJJ practitioner wins all fights . Some great stand up competitors dominate rounds over Grapplers and the like.  It’s my belief that good MMA fighters must have knowledge of other styles, but they need that one that they are great at. The one which makes them who they are as a fighter and that is what they focus their training on. So……can anyone really say one training style over another is better ? I think a lot of it comes down to the person. There are millions of Kung Fu students, but none of them are Bruce Lee. So….you can’t judge the style by grabbing Joe Bloggs from the local Wing Chun School and put them up against Manny Pacquiao and say that will settle the argument between which is better. Kung Fu or Boxing. The only way to really know this…..is if say Mohammed Ali was equally a good Karate student as he was Boxer. Then …pit him against himself. Maybe then we’d know !

And then, one must consider that Martial Arts in a controlled environment is much more different than the street. I’m not for one minute going to pretend that I’ve ever been in a really dangerous situation in the street. I’ve never had a bar brawl or been attacked…but I have had times where I have had to defend myself and or use some real life skills and the game changes. Dramatically. Now you are going to need some street smarts, and some knowledge that you will never find in a dojo or gym. You are also going to have to know what fear feels like , or perhaps even rage and what that does to your perception and will. Hmmm…….so what are we training for again ?

But….I digress slightly from my original topic. We cannot judge another’s training. There is no way to measure their “how” against their  “why” because will we ever really know ? and also…we first must know their abilities and limits. And that brings me to my conclusion in a way. I think the only thing we an analyse is a person’s training ethic. Are they doing the best they can ? Are they giving it their all ? Are they asking the right questions of themselves whilst training? Are they researching their why and adjusting their how ? Now these thing’s we can look at and pass judgement if we wish…however….before we do that…..maybe we should do the same to ourselves.

This really could have been a more indepth look at this topic…but seriously I’m not trying to write a thesis.  I just like to provoke thought by telling you some of my own.  I hope it resonates with you.

At the time of writing this post, I have been practising martial arts since 1994 with no break. So…that’s now 21 years. In this time I’ve had more fights than I can remember. The big ones, yes I do recall of course, though not always vividly. I remember moments. It might be a pivotal moment in the bout, or something said to me in the corner or side of the mat, but the thing I remember most about fights is that feeling you get about 30 seconds in and the lungs start to burn and then you do that unconscious mental check with yourself. The one that happens in a millisecond where you say….damn I feel tired…have I trained enough for this ? Oh yes….yes I did…..so get back in there and fight. On those rare times when I have gone into a tournament un-prepared, that conversation with the self can end badly. It’s then when you feel tired and you ask yourself that question…that the doubt creeps in and you only have two choices. To talk yourself out of winning….or decide to smash through hard and give it all you got anyway.  It’s much better to train hard in the lead up …push yourself to the point of failure and know you can survive so that on comp day….when the going gets tough….you know your training has been equally as tough and so you have this.

I tell my students that haven’t competed in a full contact event this all the time. That you will never understand the intensity at which you need to train until you have had that 30 second moment on the mat. That feeling half way through a round where you are like….where is all my power ? That moment when you hit someone with all you have…and they don’t stop. They don’t fall. Those moments where you need to dig deep just to find the energy to keep kicking and punching and blocking etc. That’s when you understand why you need to work hard in training. Past the point where it’s fun. Past the point where you like it in that moment.

Having had a few injuries the last year or so that have made sparring and fighting not possible for me, and also looking for something to give me a new challenge, I took up Crossfit. There are those that like to say negative things about Crossfit – but to me it all made perfect sense. Strength training, which is varied and functional, in a group session (something I like because of my martial arts background – I love the energy a group brings) and all this tied in with an intense high volume workout sounded just fine to me. Booking myself into my first few sessions of basics to begin to learn the Olympic lifting….I knew I was in for a challenge. I had considered myself coordinated, flexible and somewhat strong. I had started light weights work after completing my Personal Training Qualifications about 1.5 yrs earlier…..so I thought I’d be on track to pick up Crossfit quickly. Ummmm……no. There were of course things I could do and had strength and cardio fitness….but so many new movements. In fact…..certain postures or stances that I had formed like patterns into my core were making life hard in the box. My feet just naturally fell into stances….and now I was trying to break them. I’d been taught to squat a certain way….and now I had to re-learn that too. I think perhaps that coming to Crossfit as someone with no sporting history would be somewhat easier. Or…maybe It was just that I was out of my comfort zone. After years of being immersed in something where I knew what I was doing…and a reasonable rank….I was now back at the bottom of the food chain.

Fast forward to now, and about 1 – 1.5 years of regular Crossfit training, I am now of the opinion that everyone that does fighting martial arts could benefit from this type of training. The Olympic lifting may not be an advantage…but the strength that it builds sure is. Being able to perform some of the movements also requires flexibility in places that as martial artists we don’t address. For example……I had no idea how tight or limited my back movement was until I started tyring to Squat properly….and Overhead squat. And sure….I could pretty much do the splits…..but wasn’t getting deep enough in my squat due to my hips. No doubt some of this was movement patterns…. but here it was pointed out to me in real time.

But that’s not the best part. The best part is that there is no cheating. When you hit the bag…..it’s your choice how hard you hit it. You can go at 60%…or at 100% but it makes no difference to the bag. Sure…it might move more or less but at the end of the day nobody’s going to know but you. Even if you are with a trainer and they hold pads, and they are a great trainer and they push you …..You can still be in a position to control the intensity somewhat. Don’t get me wrong…nothing can replace padwork and bagwork for a fighter and I’m not discounting how hard fighters train. No way. It’s just however that the bar never lies. It’s a great tool for the fighter to know where their strength is at. It’s always going to take you the same amount of effort to lift 20 or 40 or 60 Kg’s. You can’t cheat. You can only make it easier by doing the work and getting stronger so that 40kgs feels like 30 now etc. Couple the use of weights in a workout where there might be running or pullups or burpees and you have yourself a challenge. One that will either burn the lungs….challenge your heart (come on …pickup the bar again) or just be something that you can’t do very well and now you have to do it.

In a fight….we can push some of our own short falling’s on to our opponent. If we somehow manage to talk ourselves out of winning or give up a little…..we lose and we say that the other fighter was better on the day. I am sure deep inside we know….but there is still that avenue. When you are doing a workout….one that really pushes you and you give in to that voice inside your head…..you can’t blame the bar. It’s you. And you know what….that’s okay. And just like a fighter would…you will be back there tomorrow to fight that bar and lift that weight and swing that Kettlebell and burn those lungs and push till your legs want to collapse and row past the point where its comfortable and believe me I hate rowing. I don’t like feeling inadequate when I can’t lift as much as others. I don’t like not being able to do a muscle-up. I don’t like feeling like I want to cry but I have to throw that stupid wall ball up so high another 20 times. I don’t really like Crossfit sometimes at all. But that’s precisely why I love it. It mimics the same feelings that we get in a hard sparring session or a hard pad session or a hard grading or fight. But it does this while building strength and without the same kind of injuries. It forces you to train hard. The things that make us better aren’t usually the things we think of fondly at the time.

So……Maybe give crossfit a try. Perhaps you won’t like it too !