16/09/12 Woke up 50 minutes before a black belt day, yea thats how I role. The aim of the day was to provide a day for Red belts and above, and as you know I have recently got back into TKD, and have been re-registered straight in as a black belt. So I feel a bit of pressure to get up to par. There was a nice bit of people introducing themselves to each other at the start. A lot of people who I had not seen at the club before turned up so it was cool to meet new people. Something my current instructor seems keen on is people getting to know each other within the organsation I think this is really good. There should be a culture within TKD that allows you to be welcome at any club,without the CI getting his nose out of his joint because of the “I don't likse so and so” (Within ITF/WTF respectivly) Anyway thats getting into my philisophy of TKD unity,moving on! Tenets and Oath, followed by a warm up, some fundemental moves. Then we worked through the patterns Chon Ji>Joon Gun. Some 1,2 and 3 step sparring. Then Hwa Rang (My favourite) followed by Choong-Moo. This was followed by some self defence , for this I paired with one of the V'dans who has is very keen on realistic physical application,which I think is imporatant , half hearted applications or effort grind my gears to no end. This was followed by a presenation for those who had graded in March of their certificates. Lunch was had. Followed by a kind of discussion period under the heading “moral culture” but focused mainly on etiquette ,still a good thing to include. Another warm up, with some light stretching then a good bit of time spent on black belt patterns I swear Gae Bek is becoming a love hate relationship, its a bit confusing but at the same time varied in moves, flow and speed. We moved on to to some special tech , in relation to your grading syllabus, for me it was jumping turning kick. My flexibility is the only player holding be back. Group photo, and that was the end of a good day. Raz
17/09/12 Ran a mile in about 7:30 Did an overall mix of things, squats , ab raises, pull ups, cuban press, bicep curls. Not very pro I know but.. im still aching a bit from yesterday so wanted to do some all over. Raz
Went to TKD last night, Warm up, stretching – usual Most of the night was spent on going over occurrences found on Sunday (read above), focusing on hand placement and feet placement in jumping moves. Mostly back first, landing in X-Stance. It’s a bit surprising when you break down to an individual move how much you can work at it. Some light pad work after this, I was focusing on jumping turning kick, I always get surprised that the kicks I don’t like I tend to be better at. Jumping, spinning back kick etc Also had a chance to help some of the red belts with their kicks, which was good. I have been quite hesitant to offer advice yet as Im just getting back into it, but some things were quite obvious, and easy fixes as it were. Also, I got given an ITF Dobok for the Scottish Championships this weekend, so hiding behind I didn’t have the right attire has now left me….. Raz
At the hotel , night before tournament..feeling quite confident. I plan to rely on my fitness more than anything. Raz
Currently on the train from Glasgow back up "north" Arrived at the Scottish open about 0930, got talking to some of the national squad pps from Both England and Scotland, had one guy asking me a lot of questions checking me out on behalf of his friend lol Time went on a bit noticed some of the younger ones from my club watched them pocket some medals for patterns which was cool. I became an impromptu coach for one of the younger black tags .... I had no clue what I was doing ,so I just kept it to motivational stuff. With the usual about staying light on the ties etc He was at the point were he was sure for a bronze and was wanting to bank what he had I was like "your already tired ,what's the point it stopping now,what's better fold or bronze?" He went on to win silver. Will wright the rest in a bit
K so back home now. Well after "coaching" the jnr for his silver. It was pretty much lunch time. This was a mistake I made I should of realised how long I would be waiting for , I didn't plan my diet out for the day which caught up with me. I was there for 0930 sharp -Retrspect no need for me to be there so early- Had a leafy salad about 1130, some fruit about 1400. And I was up at 1635 ish, Did ok , nothing fancy was just saving energy. Then it came to the fight for bronze, I genuinly though I had won this, I landed a front snap kick to his face, as well as several punches. My problem was A: I don't drive on, when I had him tired I really should of went for it but didn't B: I should of used my legs a lot more, my hands were good but , not enough points this way. C: Stamping as a feint, only works once or twice, over using it was not ecomical. D: Did not capatlise on counter attacks, a lot of the time he came in flaying, a back jumping back kick would of made the difference. Yea thats it for now un till I get the video Raz
Back from the Inter services competition at the weekend. I only took part in the ITF sparring, individual and team. There was an option to take part in WTF but I opted to watch this time and maybe next time I will get involved. The timing of the event was a bit out of sync and I was on straight after lunch (unexpected). First round I got a bye.... Second I was up against a guy from the navy 2nd dan TAGB. The 2 minutes went past quite fast and to be honest this was quite easy.. I got a lot of points early on and just kept quite defensive for the remaining 30 seconds or so. 4 flags in my favour match done. A lot of sitting around........ at least 30 minutes...... Then it was my next fight and I don't know what happened in the weight category organisation but this guy should not of been fighting me. He was 2 years junior, onl 2/3'rds of my height and 18kg(i late found out) lighter than me. Turns out I was just inside this category by a 1/2kg or so. Anyway this one was a no contest, we kept it quite light and he came in a few times. Shook hands at the end and had a chat etc. This got me into the final. I was against a 2nd degree , 19 years older than I. And he dominated me. I just couldn't get into him properly, gave away for to many points. Though I managed to not go down even though I was thumped in the head/face twice,once with a back fist the other with rev turning kick. I ended up fighting him in the team event as well which was kind of deja vu, though the gap was a lot closer this time. One of the corner ref's gave a draw so I must of picked it up a bit. From the couple of days training, and the competition day, I gained a lot. I learned to relax a lot more during fights, and not be so side in fights to the point im force twisting my body. Flexibility is my barrier to get through next, this will hopefully let me kick a lot easier and allow more confidence. On a final note, I twisted my right knee during one of the kicking barrages, and it hurts big time, I can't walk properly, seeing a doctor tomorrow. Silver Medal and a wrecked knee, some bad with the good Raz
Went to the doctor today , been told iv knackered the tendon or was it ligament? On the right of my right knee. Been given some diclofenac told to take it easy for a week or two and go from there, any major issues ill see a physio. Had some bad days of diet following the comp on Sunday, starting clean again tomorrow especially since I am not exercising. Raz
Been very pro lazy at the moment. Went to TKD first time in 2 weeks, though my kneee has been the main reason behind the lazy ness. It is sore, though I can feel it getting better. Im away to france for 2 weeks on Monday. Raz
knee has been fine, Have not been to the gym in a month... same with TKD. Will aim to go this weekend. :cry:
Currently in Afgh, past 2 weeks has been a lot of cardio 30-40k a day cycling. Getting a solid baseline of fitness. Yesterday , was first arms day. 3k warm up. Then 15x Climbing up a rope no legs just arms 5 press ups 30 sec plank 30 Lside 30 R side At 5,10 and 15. Climb the rope as fast as you can 3 times. 10 minutes on the bag. Then some additional ab work. 3x12 leg raises. Today is 5'5s 5k run 5k row 5k cycle' will back fill numbers tomorrow.
18th: 5k run/row/cycle 57 mins. Not so happy. I made the mistake of going onto the treadmill straight away with the timer ticking, should of done 5 mins or so on the cross trainer as a warm up. That way I could of hit the treadmill running and shaved 3 minutes or so of my time there. The cycling was ok, i was using this as a rest period , but still did it in around 7 minutes, bracing myself for the rowing. (I hate rowing) The rowing took as expected a long time, just under 25 minutes by the end. If i can bring this down to 21/22 ill be happy. I plan to do this once a week and keep logging the times. With eventual goals of 5k run-20 minutes 5k cycle-5 minutes 5k row- 20 minutes Whats annoying is I used to be all over this, but 8 months out of fitness has messed me up. --- 19th, I did a steady 40k on the bike, in around an hour. Tomorrow will be a rest day as i try construct a more regimented routine. I have a few different workouts but most of them are made ad hoc. Raz
Arms and legs today. 3*6 on leg press @135 30 lunges with 16kg in each hand 30 tire jump in/outs Then 5*8@13kg bicep curl 5*8@14kg Hammer curl 5*8@10kg preacher curls Will run 5k this evening Raz
Changing programme to really focus on strength, as such will reduce cardio to one day a week. My right shoulder is starting to bug me a little bit, but 2-3 days off should fix that. I have 8 just over 8 weeks out here left and want to make the most of it. Ill upload a pic of me just before I left the UK and one off what im at now in terms of weight etc. Raz
Tried TRX for the first time last night. It hurts.. a lot. 30 mins CV, which for me was 4 a mile run. Followed by 500 rope whips, in reps of 50. Then onto the TRX apparatus itself, using different exercises all of which engaging the core, and some how also involved a press up at the end. Arms dead. Raz
Cracking on with TRX, noticing a change in my shoulders /arms as minor as it is. Have a LIIT cardio later this evening. Constantly refining my diet, gone from normal fizzy drinks to diet, to zero to none. Ive had some black and green tea’s sent out, the loose leaf kind, the only issue with this is I find I get hungry quite quickly, following. Supplement wise, iv started on the omega 3 again, not something I should of dropped. The Xenadrine has been well 4/10 in my opinion as in impact on weight loss. My wrist joints are taking a bit of a hit with the TRX movements. But I see this as growing pains and hope the omega 3 will help here. My running is getting a lot better, ultimate goal is 3 miles in 19 minutes. I’ll continue TRX mixed with CV for the rest of September then for October its about hitting the weights hard. Photos imminent Question though, thoughts on Soya Milk? Due to the nature of my location there is a lot of it around. Is it more healthy than normal? Raz
0400 5k row Mix of TRX and core exercises, Session time: 50 mins Breakfast, 2 poached eggs ,half a grapefruit. 1 handful of oats mixed with natural yoghurt in 2 hours, 2 hours from that a protein shake. Lunch will be fish+Salad. Gym tonight is triceps Raz
