Tuesday (30/04/19) Karate @ 60 minutes As regular Thursday evening training is not guaranteed this week, (there is an election being held in the hall that we use, and we have yet to secure an alternate venue) I decided to head over to our sister club in the next county, to 'take up the slack' We got underway tonight with a couple of rounds of Pad Drills, by way of a warm-up, working Combinations (up to 6 strikes) Angles and Range. Next up, we broke off into groups of 4, and ran a few Multiples Drills - Starting with a Static Pad Drill, which involved 1 striker, and 3 pad holders, (2 flanking, 1 directly in front) each of which presenting single (random) targets. Sticking with the same format as above, this now became a Dynamic Pad Drill, where in the pad holders, could circle, close/increase the distance, and the striker now how demonstrate/create an avenue of Escape. Finally, we ditched the pads, returning once again to a Static Drill, this time with the 'agressors' adopting a position (not necessarily a threatening one) near/teaching the 'victim', who in turn needed to give a Live De-brief of the situation, along with their response, as it played it - Who (if any one) was the biggest threat, what their best course of action might be (and why) and if it went wrong, why? That was all we had time for on this occasion, and I'm not gonna make back out there for a while now, so I guess I'll just have to hear about how they progressed further with it. Travess
Wednesday (01/05/19) Today was meant to be a Rest Day, but I decided that starting a new month that way, would be getting things off to a bad start. Of course, this realization didn't hit me until gone 7 in the evening, so with nothing planned, I just took advantage of the nearest opportunity (which in my house, is a treadmill) Warm-up: 3 minutes of Walking, followed by 10+ minutes of Stretching, then rounded off with 3 more minutes of Walking. Treadmill Run: I had no distance/time goals in mind, but when it became apparent that I stood a chance at challenging my previous PB 5K time, that suddenly became all that I could think about... Distance: 5km Duration: 24m 08s (against 24m 51s) Slowest Pace: 5m 14s per/km Fastest Pace: 4m 30s per/km Average Pace: 4m 50s per/km Cool Down: 3 minutes of Slow Walking and 5 minutes of Stretching Duration: 55 minutes Starting HR: 72 bpm Max HR: 188 bpm Average HR: 136 bpm Calories: 320 used Travess
Thursday (02/05/19) It was confirmed that there would indeed be no Karate on tonight, so I threw together a quick Circuit Session in lieu. Warm-up: 25 minutes of Walking (school run) 10 minutes of Stretching Circuit: Station 1 - 12 x Push Ups Station 2 - 30s Plank Station 3 - 15 x Squats Station 4 - 10 x Tricep Dips Station 5 - 10 x Box Jumps Station 6 - 12 x Bicep Curls (TRX) (Rest @ 60s x 5 rounds) Cool Down: 10+ minutes of Stretching of Yoga Duration: 01h 06m Starting HR: 74 bpm Max HR: 160 bpm Average HR: 106 bpm Calories: 328 used Travess
Friday (03/05/19) - Rest Day Saturday (04/05/19) This was to be an Active Rest Day, as I'd planned to do a little bit in the morning, a little bit more in the afternoon, then, if I could be bothered, maybe some more in the evening. After a day of running around though, I didn't actually get around to doing anything - Other than hitting 11,000+ Steps - So I decided to cram it all in, as a mini-workout, before heading to bed. Warm-Up: 15 minutes of Stretching Workout: I decided as a one-off, to do Push Ups to failure - 132 reps in total, done in 8 sets of 15, and 1 (failed) set of 12 - I alternated each set between Miltary, Wide Arm, Incline and Decline push ups. Cool Down: Short Yoga set. ...and that is all the news that is fit to print for today. Travess
Sunday (05/05/19) - Rest Day Monday (06/05/19) Karate @ 110 minutes - I got down to the hall 20 odd minutes early tonight, as I want to start making a habit of getting at least 3 sessions of my own Kata Practice done each week, on top of my other training. Ichi Ni Saifa Seyunchin Shisochin Sanseru Sanchin Tensho Once the lesson got underway, I was tasked with running a couple of white belts thru a revision of Gekisai Di Ichi, but I chucked in a few extra curricular Pad Drills, along the way, to keep things fresh. Travess
Tuesday (07/05/19) After a subdued few days, training wise, and some frustrating days, work wise, I decided that I needed to hit something! (repeatedly...) I have had this little routine planned for a while now, but up until today, had yet to give it a trial run. Warm-Up: 10+ minutes of Stretching and ROM exercises. Workout: As I said above, I needed (wanted) to hit something, but I didn't JUST want to hit something, so I mixed in a couple of other exercises in with my Striking Drills. 9 x 90 second rounds, each round being split into intervals of 30 seconds of Battle Ropes, 30 seconds of Body Weight Exercises, (switching each round between Ab Rollouts, Squats, High Plank and Lunges) and 30 seconds of Bag-Work. (averaging 45 seconds rest between each round) Cool Down: 10 minutes of Yoga exercises. I did not have my Garmin on, as it was charging. Travess
Wednesday (08/05/19) Bit of a 'doing something for the sake of doing something' kind of a day today - Just 30 minutes on the Treadmill (plus warm-up and cool down) Warm-up: 15 minutes of Stretching Treadmill: I did a Walking / Jogging / Running / Jogging / Walking (and, repeat) Pyramid, alternating pace at 2 minute intervals. Duration: 30 minutes Distance: 5km Slowest Pace: 8m 15s per/km Fastest Pace: 4m 20s per/km Average Pace: 5m 59s per/km Cool Down: 10 minute Yoga Routine Duration: 55 minutes Starting HR: 74 bpm Max HR: 185 bpm Average HR: 127 bpm Calories: 461 used Travess
Thursday (09/05/19) Kids Karate @ 60 minutes - Following a warm-up of Cardio Drills, Kihon and Stretching, I broke them down into groups, and ran low level versions of the Multiples Drills, that the adults did recently. (3-on-1 pad drills, strike to escape drills, and live analysis of action drills) My own Kata Practice @ 20 minutes - As with Monday evening, I took some time out to run through all of my Kata. Adults Karate @ 90 minutes - We had a long overdue (in my opinion) Sanchin and Tensho based session tonight, spending around 45 minutes on each. Sanchin: In addition to drilling the Kata, looking at the timing, the tension, and the breathing, we also looked at Shime Testing - both soft, and hard, the latter of which Sensei used me as his Uke for, when demonstrating to the class, which as always, is something to be endured. Tensho: As with the above, we started out by running thru the Kata - I went thru it at a slower pace than the majority of the class, as I was flanked by 2 students who were a little unfamiliar with the moves, that needed someone to mirror. Next up we worked a few Pad Drills, isolating specific strikes from the Kata, starting with the horizontal (across the body) techniques, such as the Taisho (palm) Strike, and Koken (wrist joint) Strike, and then finishing up with the vertical (up and down) variations of the same 2 techniques. I personally love these strikes, especially their short range applications. Travess
Friday (10/05/19) I don't feel that Strength Training is currently playing as much of a part in my training schedule as they should be, and whilst today will by no means make up for that, hopefully it will be a start. 8 reps, for a total of 5 sets, for each of the following: Flat Bench (@ 35kg) Bicep Curls (@ 20kg) Incline Bench (@ 35kg) Tricep Dips Extra Credit: 5 minutes of Plank, over 10 minutes (30 seconds on / 30 seconds off) These sessions are definitely getting further and farther between these days, and it really is starting to show. Travess
Saturday (11/05/19) - Rest Day Sunday (12/05/19) KEWAP Instructor Course: As the title suggests, I took part in a KEWAP (Knives and edged weapons awareness programme) course today, with the aim of gaining their accreditation. The day itself was broken down into several practical and theoretical modules - The practical side covering both Soft and Hard Skills - Hard Skills: Realistic Vs Unrealistic Training (run by Mo Teague) Concepts/Tactics Vs Techniques, when looking at Knife Defence. Soft Skills: Awareness Verbal De-escalation Knowing your Rights/the Law Distance/Controlling the Space (plus more) There were slightly more theoretical modules than there were practical, which included subjects such as- Self Defence Law Battle Field Trauma 1st Aid The Criminal Knives Act Know your Weapons. It was a great day, attended by some very interesting, knowledgeable and like minded people, and I cannot recommend it enough. Note: I kept this post mostly to bullet points for 2 reasons 1) my head it still swimming a little, from (just the right amount) of information overload, and 2) it'd definitely come under the umbrella of tl;dr if I didn't. Travess
Monday (13/05/19) Karate @ 120 minutes - I got to class 30 minutes tonight, as I once again wanted to squeeze in some of my own remedial Kata Practice... Gekisai Di Ichi x 2 Gekisai Dai Ni x 2 Saifa x 2 Seyunchin Shisochin Sanseru Sanchin Tensho ...plus 10 minutes of Stretching. Once the class got underway, I was dipped to take a group of (4) junior grades, for a lesson of my choosing - I decided to run them thru (pretty much) the entirety of the 9th Kyu Grading Syllabus. Kihon (stationary) Kihon (moving) Pad Drills Kata Sparring (light) We had a bit of spare time at the end, so I ran a small Pad Gauntlet, to wrap things up. Sunday (14/05/19) - Active Rest Day I spent all day today in a boardroom, which, surprisingly (or not) absolutely zapped me, so I didn't feel up to my 1st Russian Sambo session in the end. (I may try to rectify that with a private 1-on-1 session this Friday) I did however manage to force myself to run thru some Stretching, followed by a short Yoga session, in the early evening. Travess
Been super busy recently, so more bullet points again! Wednesday (15/05/19) Road Run: 5km @ 26m 30s (5m 18s per/km) Thursday (16/05/19) Kids Karate (60 minutes) Kihon Kata Pad Drills Adults Karate (90 minutes) Sparring Drills Shuttle Sprints Pad Drills Mindset (agression) Drills Friday (17/05/19) 1-on-1 Grappling (60 minutes) Standing Up (from back) Guillotine escape Single leg takedowns Taking the Back Saturday (18/05/19) Cardio Session: 5km Road Run (5m 6s per/km) Heavy-Bag (6 x 90s rounds) Travess
Saturday addendum... (18/05/19) Forgot about these. Arms: 8kg KB - Bicep Curl into Press, with a Triceps Curl at the top (10-down-5 reps, on each arm) Travess
Sunday (19/05/19) - Active Rest Day Made the decision to slow things down today, with just 20+ minutes of Yoga. Monday (20/05/19) Karate @ 120 minutes - Got to the hall early again today, as not only did I wanna get some free practice in, I also had some excess energy to burn, and I was expecting a light session. (I was wrong!) Free Practice: Shuttle Sprints 8 x Kata (high intensity) Stretching Once the session was underway, Sensei made it clear that he'd had a last minute change of plan, and rather than focusing on Kata and Bunkai, we'd now be pursuing some higher intensity goals. These goals started with a good old fashion Kihon based Thrashing, plodding (for lack of a better word) up and down the hall, for a good 20 minutes. Once suitable warm, we broke into groups of 6 (and one group of 7, due to numbers) for 40 minutes of Pad Gauntlet Drills - with 4 set stations, alternating between Foot and Hand techniques, and with 2 to 3 strikers in each group, running the gauntlet, for approximately 2 minutes per round. With just under 30 minutes of the session still to go, and with everyone absolutely melted at this point, Sensei decided to lower the intensity of this last section (though not the intent) with some Kata Based Sparring Drills, with set parameters/goals/requirements being put in place. Controlling the Space Stripping Limbs Pre-emptive Strikes Escaping. Job done. Note: My tendinitis flared up a bit during session, which may cause an issue with tomorrow's training (which was to be either lifting, or Bag-work) Travess
Tuesday (21/05/19) Cause an issue it did, but at least my legs were okay! 12km, (moderate pace) Road Run, only really made difficult by the temperatures (20+°c) and the uphill sections (see pic) - 5m 48s per/km Travess
Wednesday (22/05/19) My 'Tennis Elbow' was feeling a lot better today, and rather than giving it another 24 hours of rest (which I probably should have done) I decided to see just how well it would hold up. AM: 100 x Push Ups (1-upto-10 reps, then back down again) 100 x Bicep Curls (5 x 20 reps) PM: Karate @ 60 minutes - Sensei put together a Dan grade only session tonight, aimed at ironing out some stylistic differences found in both Sanseru and Seipai Kata, and identifying how we want them both taught within our clubs syllabus. Travess
Thursday (23/05/19) - Active Rest Day Aside from some Seipai Kata revision throughout the day, which was easily up into double figures, I kept things pretty chilled today. Travess
Friday (24/05/19) I had a Heavy-Bag session penciled in for today, as I wanted to work on Impact and Stamina. Warm-Up: Switching things up a little bit today, I got underway with 15-minutes of Yoga (as opposed to finishing up with it) Heavy-Bag: As I said above, stamina and impact were the themes of the day, and Iain Abernethy's Solo Bag Drills tick both of those boxes, without requiring a lot of thought in the process (on my part) Cool Down: 50% Kata (Seipai) Stretching Duration: 49 minutes Starting HR: 110 bpm (I'd already been pretty active) Max HR: 179 bpm Average HR: 124 bpm Calories: 403 used Note: I'm full of (unintentionally) empty promises to myself like this, but I really do need to getting at least one bag session in, each and every week. Travess
Saturday (25/05/19) This was down as a Rest Day, and up until about half 5 in the evening, it was fixing to be just that - I found myself locked out of my house, with my wife (and girls) not due back for another 15-20 minutes though, so I made the most of it, and headed to the garage. 30kg Flat Bench and 16kg Bicep Curls - Nothing fancy, just 10-down-to-2 reps (evens only) for both, then one final AMRAP of each (17* and 19 reps respectively) A little bit of Stretching, than that was me done! (Note: *The flat bench AMRAP was not a true AMRAP, as I was in the garage alone, without a spotter, so I only took it up until I started to seriously wobble on the upward push, before stopping) Travess
Sunday (26/05/19) I headed back out to the garage again today, for some Timed Cardio based Circuits - 30s per station, with a 30s rest between each. Warm-Up: 10 minutes of Stretching Stations: Rowing Machine Battle Ropes Shadow Boxing 180° Squat Jumps Bag-Work Get Up Drills (from back) (Rest 90s* and repeat for 5 rounds) Cool Down: Sanchin and Tensho Kata 10 minutes of Stretching (Note: *I found myself seriously floundering today, having to 'go back to the well' from the very 1st circuit, so I extended this rest from the planned 60s rest period) Duration: 58 mins Starting HR: 77 bpm Max HR: 179 bpm Average HR: 131 bpm Calories: 520 used Travess
