I'm back!

After graduating I immediately went on a family holiday - cruise around North Europe. They had a gym on board with head to toe windows covering one side of the wall, so the view was magnificent! Anyway although I hit the gym everyday with my brother, it was inevitable I would put weight on because we were eating five huge meals a day (that's what all inclusive cruises do to you)!

When I came back to England I had a few days of hard training, but before I knew it I was offered a job as a fitness (and archery) instructor in America, working at a children's summer camp. I took up this offer and spent the next two months, eating quite well and working out quite well. I was also on the whey protein, which is really cheap in wal-mart. I met some great guys at camp and we decided upon a road trip around America!

After ironing out a few problems, we were restricted to the west coast, which was still bloody amazing! But during our road trip we hit the gym twice in three weeks, but each session were long three hour sessions doing all over body work outs! It was the same deal when we returned the car and there was just two of us left backpacking.

So now I'm back in England and I'm finding it tough getting back into it. I went for a short run and was dead! I went back to my old long term club and was shattered after a short session and I can feel some of my old injuries coming back. Plus flexibility has gone down hill. With all these negative thoughts, it's easy to give up but it's tough to suck it up and put in even more effort to get back to the standard I was. I am determined to get there. I'll keep you updated of how I progress!

Charity TV advert for Help for Heroes

A few posts a go, you may remember me mentioning a varsity charity kickboxing fight night (Bath VS Loughborough Uni). This post continues on from Being a star for a day, by showing you the final TV ad! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dStuXQoLZHE

They did shoot a lot more footage but things get cut, oh well I still get my two seconds of fame! I’m surprised by the amount of people who that quick glimpse! Watch out for it on all most TV channels (so far it has been seen on Sky One, BBC1, ITV, and Channel 4).

Martial Arts for Martial Artists

In my opinion to become a great fighter (as well as building on the Triangle hypothesis: technique, power, and speed) you must be skilful in long , mid, and close-range combat and ground fighting.

By long combat I don’t mean metres away from you opponent using guns and ninja stars. Instead, I mean an adequate fighting distance, i.e. before someone invades your personal space. This often tends to be around two metres. Since, most people’s legs are longer than their arms, I suggest a kicking martial art (and obviously from my background), I recommend Tae kwon-do (TKD). One aspect of TKD is learning how to cover distance (by stepping behind, skipping, and jumping etc), which is ideal for long range combat.

For mid-range combat, legs may be ineffective, so I suggest the use of hands through Boxing. Boxing will not only improve your punching power, but agility and body movement.

My choice for close range is a mixture of Muay-Thai and Brazilian Ju Jitsu (BJJ). Once in your opponents comfort zone it’s important to strike as fast as possible without big lavish kicks and spins. Elbows and knees can be effective blunt tools of destruction. However, most close range fights get tied up in clinching or/and go to the floor. That is why I propose BJJ.

So to summarise, I recommend TKD, Boxing, Muay-Thai, and BJJ as key martial arts to learn in becoming a great all round fighter.

Physics behind TKD kicks

The physics behind three TKD kicks: side kick, back kick, and "tornado" kick.

100 Press Ups Challenge

A couple of weeks ago a bunch of friends and I were out for a mate's birthday. We were talking about the gym (as alpha male guys do) and one guy said he could do 100 press ups, and still have energy to do more! Immediately I was sceptical and didn't really believe it. He doesn't have a bad physique but a 100 press ups is a lot! Anyway before we moved on to TGI Friday's for our meal, he dropped down and started doing his “press ups”... as you can probably guess he had very bad form/technique. I can only describe what I saw as him “humping” the floor (to be fair if no-one has shown you the proper form how can you know what to do?). Anyway I stopped him and showed him the proper technique: arm's locked, bum in line with your back, lowering yourself down to a fist's height off the floor, back up to arm's locked (and repeat).

During our meal the conversation carried on... he said that he could do 100 proper press ups before we broke up for Easter (three weeks away). I bet he couldn't, so we agreed that if he did it, I would need to take my top off and do as many press ups as I could in the middle of our University campus during a peak time. If he failed, then he would need to do it.

There is one week to go, and from what I hear he is only managing 30 or so press ups :D

Out of interest can any of you (the readers) do 100 press ups (keeping proper form)? I youTubed it and haven't been too impressed.

Muscle strength VS Flexibility

I believe that training in the gym (lifting weights) helps develop your strength in sparring, for any Martial Art. However, I have always avoided doing leg weights (squats, calf raises and leg press etc) because I do not want to lose flexibility in my kicking.

So firstly, do you think you lose flexibility if you build up the muscles in your legs? And what would you suggest for developing kicking power/leg strength without losing flexibility?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Sparring Strategy

Great fighters need more than just technique, power and speed. They also need a good dynamic strategy. Strategy ought to be tailored to a specific opponent or situation. It is also good to have a “default strategy” – a strategy you automatically revert to without thinking about it. In my opinion, the best method of this is continuous attacking (some followers of Kung Fu also adopt this approach). When you are hit, automatically hit back nonstop until your opponent is no longer a threat. This will minimize the damage to yourself.

This line of attack relies on the use of combinations of techniques, not just the one hit wonders which often miss. This is one of the reasons why I think TKD (and other martial arts which practice patterns/forms/katas) is better than kickboxing. TKD teaches patterns (a sequence of movements against an imaginary opponent) which can be adapted for use in default continuous sparring.

One advantage of this strategy is that for the majority of the time, you are in the dominant position. If you land your first attack, then your opponent will likely be hurt or stunned, but even if you miss, your opponent is prone to be “on the back foot.” They will be reacting rather than acting, which means you get to dictate the fight.

Obviously, this strategy should be used with caution. You shouldn’t go running in all gung ho. Timing is everything. Pick your moment to attack carefully, as kicking and punching thin air is just a waste of energy.

Riz's Martial Arts Training: The Triangle Hypothesis

Here's a link to a very interesting article about the theory behind developing as a martial artist:

Riz's Martial Arts Training: The Triangle Hypothesis

Tae kwon-do vs Kickboxing Video

This is definitely one of the more entertaining fight that I’ve come across on youtube. True showmanship... I felt that both fighters went out not to simply win, but to win in style and to put on a great show. However, the TKD guy is showing a classic example of over using the spinning/reverse turning-kick. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH0dCP4nDzU&eurl

Fighting the Chinese genes

As you may already know form my previous blog posts, I have been trying to bulk up and “get big”... I was told again today that I'm not as big as my (white English) friend, Ben, who is also on this “getting big” programme. It's annoying! And I blame it on my genes! The Chinese aren't built to be big. We don't play rugby; we stick to table tennis and badminton where our small frames and nimbleness works to our advantage. I'm green with envy off Ben... we have been lifting pretty much the same in the gym, yet he is the one bulking up. I argue the Chinese simply aren't built for this!!

On the other hand, another friend said to me today, “It's not all about size.” And I have to agree with this. I believe I am getting stronger, which will help my Martial Arts, and I won't need to buy a new wardrobe because I've got too big for my clothes (unlike Ben)!!

Reasons why ITF is better than WTF

As I have previously said, there are two main types of Tae kwon-do (TKD) practised in the world: ITF and WTF. The main differences between the two are:


Personally, I don't see why WTF is an Olympic sport. It gives TKD a bad name and when my friends ask what I do, I specifically say not Olympic TKD. They spend most of their time bouncing on the spot, waiting to use a counter-attack knock-out turning kick. It just seems like a lot of pointless noise and not much action. ITF has a greater variation of techniques, and thus is better to watch.

Something not mentioned in the above table is that WTF predominately focuses on kicks, whereas ITF uses hands as well. I would say ITF is a more traditional Martial Art, whereas WTF has developed into a sport due to its Olympic participation.

However, a good point about WTF is its full-contact nature. I wish ITF did more full-contact and according to TKD Times magazine, a merger between the WTF and ITF will happen in the next few years. As a style, TKD has been taking a beating from other martial arts who have been trying to discredit it as a legitimate form of self defence or fighting. I think unification would help strengthen the style and help fight back against this bad publicity. My other future hopes for TKD, is to see a stronger ITF or kickboxing influence in the Olympics and less politics within the two major organisations.

Getting BIG update (week 3)

It’s been two weeks since the “Get Big Phase” started and I thought it was time to see how effective this regime was… I am now weighing 83.5kg (up 3kg) and my fat index has dropped to 7.5% from 10.5%! I’m over the moon about this result! I thought I had put on some fat (definitely feel a bit podgier) but apparently not! Visually, I can't see much of a change apart from my back looking slightly broader. I will stick with my workout and weigh in in another two weeks.

Peace out.

Origins of Tae kwon-do and its current status in the UK

Since Tae kwon-do (TKD) has been such a large and influential part of my life, I find it important to understand its origins. I hope some of you will find this interesting too…

TKD is a relatively new Martial Art developed in South Korea by Major General Choi Hong Hi (1918 – 2002) in 1955. It’s popularity is due to the way that it encompasses exercise, self-defence, and philosophy. If you speak to any competent Martial Artist, they will tell you the emphasis of TKD is in the use of feet as a formidable weapon.

“Tae” means to strike with the foot, “Kwon” means to strike with the fist, and “Do” means the way or art. At every grading, the student must answer questions on the theory of TKD; this includes pattern meanings, Korean terminology and personal questions related to TKD etc. There are five tenants of TKD that are engrained to everyone who trains: courtesy, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit and integrity. This requirement to understand the meaning behind the art is a unique approach.

There are two main styles of TKD that exist: International Tae kwon-do Federation (ITF, founded in 1967) and the World Tae kwon-do Federation (WTF, founded in 1977). ITF was formed by Master Rhee Ki Ha and concentrates on all the elements of TKD as previously described. WTF concentrates more on the sport element of TKD and is the accepted Olympic style (a bad choice in my opinion - I think ITF is much more of a spectator sport). Many branches exist under these two main bodies. For example, I train under GTI which is part of ITF. Tae kwon-do Association of Great Britain (TAGB) deserves a mention here, as they are the biggest (ITF style) organization in Europe and have produced some excellent fighters (in particular Warren Vice).

Getting BIG!

For the past few months I have unsuccessfully been trying to put on weight because I am one of the lightest in the heavy weight division. It was time a drastic change. Monday morning saw the start of our (my friend’s and I) “Get Big Phase”.

Basically the first week is the loading phase: whey protein (post-gym and at 3am!), creatine, eating as much as we can (four big meals a day plus snacks) and hitting the gym everyday. The next stage, the bulking phase, involves: daily whey protein, creatine, eating four meals a day and gymming it ever other day. Bulking up will involve an increase in the amount of muscle and fat we put on, so we have planned the next stage (the getting lean phase) to strip away the excess fat. This will involve 5 weeks of high cardio, eating regular amounts and cutting out late night carbs (no creatine or whey protein). The heaviest I’ve ever weighed in my life is 82.6kg (I’m currently on 80kg), hopefully by the end of this I’ll be 86kg.

Its day five of this new regime and it feels like I’ve just spent the last few days eating non-stop! The good news is I managed to bench press my all time high (five sets of three reps at 95kg) yesterday and after jumping on the scales it looks like things are going to plan! I’ll keep you updated on my progress...

Being a star for the day!

It all started a few weeks a go… last November 2008 I helped set up a Varsity Kickboxing Fight Night (I’ll give more details in a later post) to raise money for the charity Help for Heroes - Loughborough University vs University of Bath. It was a great success and a few weeks a go I received a phone call asking me to be in a television advert for the charity (in conjunction with The Sun newspaper). They said they would pay for everything (food, transport and accommodation etc). I just couldn’t say no!

So last Friday I caught the train down to London with five other Bath Uni students (the event organisers). When we finally arrived, we had a guy waiting for us with a sign with our names on and a tinted window van. Talk about feeling like superstars! We arrived at an extremely nice hotel and were greeted by one of the coordinators. He basically told us to help ourselves to room service and that there would be a short get-together meeting that evening. Anyway, being students we quickly found the nearest corner shop and started playing drinking games in the hotel room (along with room service). One of the guys went down to the meeting, but came back up a few minutes later saying it was pants. We continued to consume our beverages and then had a night out in Ealing Broadway (quite a rough area – we even had to go through a metal detector to get into the club!).

Bright and early Saturday morning (7 am) we had to check out and were meant to be driven to the studio, but the coordinator had made a mix up so we had an extra hour in the hotel, where we raided the breakfast buffet.

When we got to the studio, we sped through hair, make-up and costume (since we didn’t need to get much done). We met lots of other groups who had also raised money for the charity. There was a lot of waiting around for the different groups to get their shots in. By the end of the day we had had: individual head shots, a group video, individual and group still shots, recorded some audio and were interviewed by The Sun for their website. Phew!

I was called the “alpha male” of the group as I was the only kickboxer. This meant I was involved in some sparring and poesy techniques (I wasn’t impressed when the photographer asked me to drop my guard so the charity logo could be seen). We returned to Bath by train on Saturday night. All in all it was a great experience, we were well looked after and we even got to meet the lovely page 3 girl, Peta!

Background

So I guess I should start with my background in Martial Arts. I started at the young age of 5 in Karate. I started mainly because my brother started (we’re extremely competitive!!) and my parents wanted me to too. Anyway I can’t remember too much about this being so long ago... but I do recall progressing a few grades and having to stop training after about 18 months (my Dad’s job meant we had to relocate elsewhere).

After unpacking we (my brother and I) started to search for a new place to train. We eventually found Tae kwon-do (TKD) at a local school. I remember starting with a dozen or so other students. As time passed my peers started failing various gradings and then dropping out. Especially during my teenage years everyone left until my brother and I were the only ones remaining from our original group. So the TKD club I joined and am still part of is the GTI (Global Tae kwon-do International) which follows the ITF (International Tae kwon-do Federation) style. I have been training in TKD for over 14 years and although I rarely train with them anymore I still feel/have a close tie to the GTI (e.g. competing at their tournaments, participating in their pre-gradings and seminars etc).

As I have previously mentioned I am studying at the University of Bath. When I started in my first year I wanted to carry on Martial Arts and so tried out Ju Jitsu, Kickboxing and Karate. I’m not a big fan of ground fighting so I dropped Ju Jitsu after a week or two.

The University of Bath Kickboxing club was in decline when I first joined (2005/06), but it still managed to sign up 100+ members during the Fresher’s fair. The club only had about a dozen members training in the second semester. I managed to get on the committee by firstly taking the Treasurer’s position due to the current Treasurer leaving unexpectedly. There was a row between the Kickboxing Chairwoman and the Men’s Captain so I then made it to Men’s Captain. There was then a row between the Chairwoman and Instructors! It was agreed upon by the committee and instructors that I would be a good Chairman to take the club forward next year.

Currently I am in my final year at university, thus don't have the time to fulfil the duties of Chairman. So I am the Kickboxing Captain at the University of Bath, train with GTI in TKD when I can, and have recently started getting into full-contact kickboxing. In reflection this post probably has too much background information about me, rather than Martial Arts. In the future, I will endeavour to make my posts more Martial Arts focused.