Pad work

Courtesy of my instructor Guro David Onuma and good friend, MMA coach Glen Akwei, here's some videos of basic pad work we'll be adding in to the empty hands classes. Enjoy!


1.Jab
2.Cross
3.Lead hook
4.Lead uppercut to head
5.Rear uppercut to head

Video 1

Video 2

 Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

See you in class!

Dedication

While I was in London a couple of weeks ago Guro David Onuma was kind enough to make some time for a private training session were we covered a range of things from single and double stick to some empty hand techniques. He gave me some great tips and we caught up and had a bit of laugh.

I remember thinking several times that night how much I value training with him and look forward to every opportunity to do so.

Something I've learned from training with Guro David and Guro Bob is to always appreciate and take in what your instructor gives you, it might not always click on a given day but when it does you should relish it... especially when things start clicking like sticks in a well executed flow drill!

B.I.G Camp Oct 2011

As you guys know classes were canceled a couple of weeks ago as I made a trip to London for a training camp with Guro Bob Breen.

At the camp I saw good friends and training partners and throughout the day thought about how Guro Bob never ceased to amaze me. The variety of things he taught us and the way it all linked together was inspiring. Empty hand counters, locks and take downs as well as single stick techniques and flow drills. All excellent stuff!

After a couple of bruises and scratches from the Velcro of the gloves in sparring, two on one as well as stick, a few of us had a light bite and lost track of time catching up.

Training was amazing, company was great and everything that we covered that weekend was highly valued. I can't wait for next time!

New Classes, New Location

I'm happy to let you all know that there will be classes on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons at a great new location! The new classes will be at the Fulinkazan Gym, classes will be Fridays from 19:30 and Saturdays from 15:00 

The full address is:

Floor 2, 114 Sunbridge Road, 

Bradford BD1 2NE

Join in the first class on Friday September 16th at 19:30 where principles of JKD and Panantukan will be covered, followed by an hour of weaponry (single stick).

The gym's existing price structure applies, single sessions are £6 a class or £8 for a day pass.

There will be no more classes at Addictive Fitness, I'd like to thank them for providing a great space and the students that trained there, especially those who now come to the Friday and Saturday classes.

Any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

 

See you in class

Attitudes towards training and martial arts

Over the past few months I've had the good fortune of speaking to many different individuals about martial arts. What I find interesting is the misconception that martial arts training, is or should be, rough and violent. It's a view I've encountered from experienced martial artists to complete beginners.

By its very nature martial arts training is about learning skills to overcome violence, this doesn't however, mean that we should be violent with our training partners and classmates to see personal improvements and gains. A class should be a controlled environment where you can work towards goals and aims, if it was all about brutish violence there would be a lot of injuries resulting in less training, which in turn leads to less development and skill.

It may be easy to put the gloves on and beat up on each other... But what's the point when your  technique isn't too good and your defences are shabby because you haven't bothered to learn them? You will only progress so much in this way and stunt your growth. 

The same applies to stick fighting, believe it or not I've had people think we go into class and whack each other with sticks for an hour! Don't get me wrong, weaponry as well as the empty hand arts do involve contact and sparring to test what we learn, but the fact remains that we have to first "LEARN" then apply, sensibly. 

To think that martial arts are, or should be, "hardcore" "dangerous" or "rough" doesn't make you those things, martial arts training doesn't have to be those things unless you want it to be. It's no good to think in such rigid and restrictive ways, one cannot plant a seed in stone, instead we plant it in soil because it allows for growth. Having an attitude of stone towards training may appear tough but we know that soil yields more crops.

The study of martial arts is to learn and refine, it takes time but the rewards are plenty. I'll end my rant by suggesting you think about the following next time you go training........

Due to his skill and effectiveness the late GM Wong Shun Leung was known as "King of Talking Hands", one cannot talk without first learning words.