Training Summary - 23/9/09

Due to the small turnout the previous week, I decided to go through body shots again, so that more members could get to learn the new technique. The strength & conditioning exercises we did before that:

1. Spider crawls (upper body and core)
2. Squats (legs)

The squats proved challenging for all of us. The boys did three sets with decreasing reps of 50, 40 and 30. The girls really struggled with this, only managing 10 reps for the last set. Even without weights, bodyweight squats are beneficial in training the lower body. Without weights, there will naturally be more emphasis on muscular endurance as opposed to strength. However, bodyweight squats are an opportunity for us to perfect our form before we take on heavy loads that could potentially cause injury.

After we were done with the body shots, I got the boys to do 3 x 1-minute rounds on the kick shield, with a 30-second break between rounds. This was a first for some and I tried to make sure that they kept their workrate sufficiently intense for that short period. As always, it's easy to start dropping your hands when tired so I let them know whenever they did that. The girls finished with a half tabata (four sets instead of eight). Burpees never fail to do the job. Props to Tim for giving it a go as well!

Training Summary - 16/9/09

Only Ed and Castell turned up this week, but good thing the rain stopped in time for us to train. The theme of the week was body rips but first some conditioning was in order:

1. Body warmup (full body)
2. Zenkutsu dachi pushing (legs)
3. Hindu pushups (upper body)

This week's conditioning was kept relatively short and light because the participants were quite sore and tired. This left us with more time for striking technique:

1. Slipping punches
2. Slip to counter punch
3. Body rips

Working on slipping punches was particularly enjoyable for me as it was the closest thing to actual free sparring that I've done in a while. Working as a pair, one person threw jabs and crosses while the other tried to slip and maybe counter. Pretty simple, but essential stuff.

This week was the first time body rips were taught, so it's a pity that so few managed to make it. Key points:

1. Power comes from pivoting on the balls of the feet.
2. Try not to swing the arms too wide.
3. Other hand stays up in guard, as always.

We didn't do any killer cardio at the end of this week's session. Instead, we trained the core muscles with planks (one minute) and side planks (a minute each side). The long-term goal is to be able to hold these positions for three minutes with proper form. I suggest doing these daily or every other day, gradually increasing the duration. No equipment and minimal space needed, so get working guys!

Training Summary - 9/9/09

This week Tim and Ka Bien managed to join us after returning from a series of trips overseas. Props to them for making the effort despite being jetlagged. In addition, Ben turned up too! Seeing that some of us only had like three hours of sleep, I didn't want this session to be *too* hard:

1. Dynamic warmup (full body)
2. Crocodile walk (upper body & core)
3. Frog jumps (legs & cardio)
4. Striking (full body)
5. Burpee shuttles (cardio)

Striking was kept simple, just 1-2's and low kicks. I would love to progress on to more advanced stuff, but we really need to get the basics right, especially the fighting stance. Remember, it's no use trying to punch with power if your stance is not balanced to begin with. Punching power starts from the ground.

The last bit of fun came in the form of burpee shuttles. It involves a shuttle run with ten punches at one end, and steadily increasing burpees at the other. Something like this:

10 punches, run, 2 burpees, run, 10 punches, run, 4 burpees, run, 10 punches, run, 6 burpees...

Everyone managed to finish their target eight burpees and I did my usual ten followed by a 2-minute round on the kick shield. The burpees didn't feel too bad, but I was struggling on the kick shield. Not bad guys, try for ten burpees next time!

Training Summary - 2/9/09

This week Lai Fan from Crush paid us a surprise visit! She is preparing for the 10km Mizuno Wave Run in October, so our monthly running day suited fine. We took the same route around Athinahapan. It was the night of the Hungry Ghost Festival, so the more superstitious among us were just slightly concerned. I noticed offerings to the spirits along the road. Must've been yummy and plentiful, as we all finished our run without incident.

There was plenty of time left after the 30-minute run, but most of us had already emptied our tanks, so a relaxed technique session was in order. I think this is what we'll be doing after each running session. The dying/dead ones can have a rest while those who wish to try new stuff or work on something they suck at may do so. The Mix is supposed to be fun after all.

I pointed out some things about the BJJ back mount position - the importance of using hooks and also the folly of crossing your legs as in the closed guard. Takedowns were next. I tried a few on Tong, then Ting showed me a couple from his Bujinkan days. I wonder how James Lee is doing these days. We finished up with some striking - 1-2 to low kick, jab to spinning back kick and side kick. Tong is getting better and better with his punches. The right shoulder is coming up less now. Castell also impressed with her low kicks. Just a bit of fine-tuning here and there and she'll be throwing really nice ones soon. The striking part was probably something new for Lai Fan. Hope she enjoyed the class and will join us again soon!