Combination 5 & 6 with Keiryu (diary entry)

May 5, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
keiryu 04 05 21 (2)

04.05.21 The third part of my course on “Rythm and Flow” combinations for stand-up fighting for Keiryu Practical Karate continued on Tuesday. This is a Zoom training experience for adults and teenagers. Tonight we went through the punch and footwork dominant combinations five and six. Combination five is very much a switch-hitting combination. After the initial jab/cross the fighter switches to southpaw and lands with a cross before using shuffle step to throw a right hook/left hook/right uppercut combination to […]

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Dutch Block and Pad-Work on Combination Number 12 (diary entry)

May 5, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
dutch block

03.05.21 Monday’s lesson was the third part of my couple client’s rhythm and flow combination on focus mitts. We are into our third hour of this course. Tonight we worked on the 12th combination. This particular combination sets up a same side low kick to mid kick combination with a jab/cross before tranferring weight back to the opposite side for a cross chained rapidly with a hook and a second cross. At this stage there is concession made for the […]

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Edged Weapon Hard Skills (diary entry)

May 4, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
edged weapon hard skills 1

02.05.21 Sunday saw the conclusion of my trilogy of edged weapon awareness and defence webinars. We focused mainly on hard skills, but this had to be prefaced with observational soft skills (behavioural indicators and presence indicators). Hard skill training went through my priority escape and sounding the alarm procedures upon spotting an armed offender to tactical escape variations to incidental weapons to unarmed methods when cornered. Edged Weapon and Awareness Part 1 Edged Weapon and Awareness Part 2 Services  

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Straight Right and Crosses (diary entry)

May 4, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
downward cross

29.04.21 Thursday night saw one of my teacher consultancy clients book me for his second lesson in Western Boxing for Martial Arts Cross Training. Tonight we focused on the right cross. This was an online virtual training lesson conducted via Zoom. However, he had his son present, which allowed me to coach them both on the focus mitts. At the beginning I explained the rather sinistrist attitude towards southpaws that described a basic rear straight punch as “straight right”. However, […]

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Progress with Sticks & Kicks! (diary entry)

May 4, 2021 | Uncategorized [ssba]
muay thai small

28.04.21 Wednesday night saw significant improvement with my stick-fighting client and my kickboxing client. In the former’s lesson we blended in diagonal strikes to the legs in addition to the two high angled strikes. These were done with fluid posture transitioning, on the move and from different stances. They were first taught with single stick from each hand then as double sticks. Next I introduced a double-hand grip and put them together for a sequence of 10 techniques. Kickboxing moved […]

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Meanwhile Elsewhere in the Combat Sport World (diary entry)

April 30, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
athena 27 04 21 2

27.04.21 My teacher consultancy’s bespoke course on combat sport history continued after a two week break. Tonight I decided I would round off the Jess Willard story before his defeat at the hands of Jack Dempsey with a match he fought against Frank Moran. Then it was a plunge into other combat sports – duelling, catch wrestling, savate, la canne,  that were captured on film through the Corbett to Johnson era and a little bit beyond. Savate and boxe Francais […]

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Combinations 3 & 4 with Keiryu (diary entry)

April 30, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
keiryu kickboxing lesson 27 04 21

27.04.21 Keiryu Practical Karate invited me back to continue my rhythm and flow series. Tonight we covered combinations three and four. It is always interesting to do these two combinations next to each other due their extreme differences. Combination three is a long punch heavy combination used to camouflage two rear leg round kicks to the body. Combination four is a relative short counter-combination that is mainly concerned with “big techniques”. Combination three is all about chaining together tight streams […]

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The Infamous Calf Kick (diary entry)

April 29, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
low-kick

26.04.21 My second lesson on Monday was a face-to-face lesson in line with Step 2 Covid-19 protocols. We trained combination 11, which sets things up with a calf-kick. The calf-kick is a technique that has won a lot of favour in the MMA world in recent years. However, the recent incident at UFC 261 that saw Chris Weidman break his leg to a shin-check from Uriah Hall at the 17 second mark of their first round demonstrates how things can […]

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When Parents Aren’t Around – Anti-Abduction Training (diary entry)

April 28, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
WPAA abduction webinar

26.04.21 I taught the latest part of my “When Parents Aren’t Around” webinar series to Forest School of Karate. You will recall that I previously went through this content with my client teacher last Thursday. Teaching self-protection requires a constant need to be honest. Good teachers should never pander to the paranoia or the zeitgeist of their times but stick to the facts. Our job as teachers is to do our best to educate children how to be safe when […]

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Thai Clinch Webinar

April 27, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
Ryukyukan karate thai clinch

24.04.21 I was invited back by Ryukyukan Shorin Ryu Karate to teach a webinar on the muay Thai clinch. We warmed up with dynamic stretching, footwork and basic short-range weapon introductions. Then we moved onto the following areas. Elbow and Knee Strikes – We covered horizontal, slashing, spear and smash-down elbows as well as spear/long, diagonal and curve knee strikes Plum Position – Hand positions, forward, backward and pivoting footwork to break posture. This included a set up for a […]

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When Parents Aren’t Around Pre-Webinar (diary entry)

April 26, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
forest school karate zoom

22.04.21 Forest School of Karate will kindly be booking me to teach on 26.04.21. Ahead of the session, their head teacher booked me in for a private lesson to go over the material. This is an excellent way to ensure that he is prepped for the webinar and it is something we have been doing throughout the “When Parents Aren’t Around” series. We were able to discuss various trigger warnings due to the nature of the material and also discuss […]

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Fluid Weapon Work and Fluid Striking Combinations (diary entry)

April 22, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
focus mitts holding

21.04.21 My first lesson continued my combat stick work. Using Filipino influences, we warmed up using several dexterity and mobility drills. These exercises include getting used to the length of the sticks, moving them around the body and seamlessly switching hands and grips. The focus tonight was to get my client used to adapting, changing levels, stance, postures and fighting whilst moving. This will be a continuous theme of the course. We then trained the first two angles from both […]

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Keiryu Experiences the Rhythm and Flow (diary entry)

April 21, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
rhythm and flow combinations keiryu

20.04.21 I was delighted to teach the beginning of a four-part online training course covering the stand-up rhythm and flow combinations that have previously been covered by Athena School of Karate and several of my private clients with long-time friends, Keiryu Practical Karate. We got through combinations one and two as shadow boxing work. I also discussed the context, purpose, application and attributes of these combinations. Combination number one uses double-up attack/counter-attack tactics. This includes a cross/slip-cross (or a straight […]

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Speed and Power on the Pads (diary entry)

April 20, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
extreme academy tarn thai kick2

19.04.21 In line with current Covid-19 protocols, my two clients continued going through their stand-up combinations with me (see last session for details). We trained combination 10, which is a particularly fast-paced sequence that includes a double rear round kick to the body and a double speed round kick to the body. We looked at changing direction with this combination and changing tempos. I also isolated the kicking aspects of the combination to better chain the kicks to the punches […]

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Superman Punch and Switch-Hitting (diary entry)

April 19, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
check superman punch 3 (1)

14.04.21 Today my first client continued working on different angled strikes with the stick and was introduced to double sticks. My second client reviewed the first three combinations and then we covered combinations four and five. Stick training began with reviewing the first two angles. These were then performed from different postures in transition and with footwork. Having performed this solo with each hand, we then worked through this using two sticks. Next, we introduced horizontal angles, a single stab […]

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Style and its Limitations (diary entry)

April 16, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]
jack johnson 3

13.04.21 My teacher consultancy concluded its trilogy of lessons on Jack Johnson with his last two title defences. Prior to analysing the fights, it was relevant to discuss the campaign against Johnson. Having defeated the previously undefeated James J Jeffries in a bout that resulted in a nation wide series of riots, there was  growing tension within the white establishment to handle Johnson. Not only was he destroying all the “Great White Hopes” sent his way, but his extravagent behaviour […]

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