Hit or be hit

This weeks classes have been dedicated to Kali…stick and knife fighting. There is something that happens during knife fighting that I term “pissing match”. What happens is that one or both fighters start out with a plan and they fail to execute it. So instead of backing away and forming a new plan of attack, they stand within striking range and basically flail their blade in hopes that they will hit their opponent before their opponent strikes them. The big picture is two folks wildly slashing at each other with no real plan other than hope.
I see this in empty hand fighting as well. Opponents standing in striking range and throwing kicks and punches hoping that they are the one who lands the first blow, and that the blow they land does some damage.
Keep in mind that I am only talking about the plan that fails. If your plan was to hit high and it lands, celebrate; if your plan was to get your opponent to back up, perfect; if your plan was to draw your opponent in or force him to push a bad position so that you can strike while he or she is off balance, take advantage of it. I am talking about the plan that fails and leaves you standing to hit or be hit. This is a fool’s game.
You are counting on too many variables going your way. You are counting on being faster than your opponent, being more skilled, being stronger, or being luckier. Maybe you are all of those things, but are you willing to risk your life on it?

Easy Nutrition

There is so much nutritional advice available today. How do you know what is right and what will work for you? Because everyone is so different; what one person responds to may not work well for another. There is one way to way to ensure weight loss - burn more calories than you take in. The problem that most folks face is two fold. The first is how many calories do I need? There are a number of tests on them market to help you find out. I use the BodyGem which uses your Respiratory Exchange Rate to determine your metabolic rate; from there we can determine the number of calories per day that you are burning. We then adjust your caloric intake accordingly. The second problem is that we eat too many empty calories. When we eat food with little nutritional value, we are still hungry until are body gets the nutrition it needs. So, we eat more thus consuming too many calories. If you stick to this simple list, you should start to see improvement (assuming you are not overeating).

1. Limit Soda, alcohol, and coffee. These are diuretics and in small amounts are ok, but they will dehydrate you
2. Consume enough water. How much is enough? Start with 64 ounces per day and adjust for your activity level. If you train hard, you will need more.
3. No “white” foods. Limit pasta, bread, refined flours, etc
4. Cut way back on deserts and refined sugars such as candy, pastries, etc
5. Eat five servings of fruit and/or veggies daily

I’m know there is more, but try these first for a few weeks and see if you start getting the results you want.

Be aware that I am not a certified dietician and make no such claims to be

perseverance

I have a number of clients who cross train. One woman I have been training for a number of years has truly amazed me. A few years ago, she could not hold herself in a plank position (the up push up position) for more than 20 seconds. When I started my boot camp class she was one of the first to express interest even though it would involve a mile and a quarter run; something she has never done. The first day she ran almost half, the next class she ran a few steps further, and the next, a few steps further, etc. She has not yet run the full mile, but her perseverance is to be commended. Every run she goes a few steps further. Take this lesson into everyday life. Make it a point to go a few steps further to day than you did yesterday and you will achieve your goals. This applies to not just fitness and martial arts, but everything you do.

Reaction Time

If you have been keeping up with anything I do, you know that I am working on my masters in Human Movement (aka- sports medicine). One topic that we recently covered is reaction time. “Big deal” you say, “I work on that all the time.”
What I find interesting is that every study done (let me know if you want the sources) has determined that reaction time can not be improved. What can be improved is movement time by improving anticipation skills. In other words, you are going to become faster by learning the skills needed for your particular activity, for me it’s martial arts, and learning how to react to your opponent’s movements. Learn the body mechanics and what it looks like when someone is kicking or punching, or getting ready to commit to a takedown. How do the hips and shoulders move, how is the weight placed - front or rear foot, do the hands move up or down, in what direction does the knee face; learning these things will be far more beneficial in increasing over all response time (reaction time + movement time) than working on just one component.

What we did this week.

I have to remember that for a blog to be of any use, it has to be utilized.
Morning Boot Camp class Thursday morning was a little rough. We did a lot of plyometrics (ballistic movement and sudden stopping); Push up- clap, short hurdles, two grappling exercises - hop ups and sit outs, and then the peg board. I think what most of the participants really like is that because we do everything by time rather than repetitions, everyone can go at their own pace; no pressure Now that the weather is warming up some, the mile run is not too bad. There was a slight chilly wind this morning, but it was energizing.


In Jeet Kune Do class on Thursday we got back to the roots of what we do which is combat. For self perfection we practice kickboxing with sport rules. Meaning we do exactly what we DO NOT want to do in a fight – we stand there and trade bombs with each other. Training in this manner allows us to work on attributes and practice techniques in a safe fashion, but it is not the meat of what we want. What we want to do is get inside as fast as possible and apply headbutts, knees, and elbows. For training this we worked off of the roundhouse kick. We pushed a knee into the shin of the oncoming kick, we stepped forward, trapped the hands so we wouldn’t get punched, and then did a low line nerve destruction – a front kick to our opponents other shin. The goal being to get our opponent off balance so we can get to the neck. Then we sparred to learn to apply the training in a dynamic situation.

Intro

Hey folks,
After a few years of my students and fitness clients urging me to write down what I teach, I figured it was about time.
The one point that I want to get across is that I am a contrarian by nature. I am not happy doing what everyone else is doing. Mainly because I do want the results that everyone else is getting.
Check back every so often and you will see what I am talking about.