Training in The 'Peg

[WinterPalm]

Decided it was time to put up a log over here on KFM.
I've been doing one consistently since 1 Jan 2008...it has been a long time goal to have a journal and to keep it going for at least a whole year. I've been using a journal feature on another site but figured I'd put it over here as I've been here a long time and my focus is still Kung Fu in my training.

My goals for the year have been to compete thrice, perform 200 55pd snatches in under 10min, and open a San Da club in Winnipeg. I'd also like to get stronger, as always, but that seems to take a backseat to conditioning and martial training.
My best lifts are 315 deadlift and 225 squat. Not bad but nothing special.

So far I have fought Judo and San Shou. I took silver in both going 1-2 in Judo and 2-1 in San Shou. If things go well with work this summer I hope to fight San Shou in July or August if possible. I will more than likely fight Judo again but I need to get my technique up to par (my first tournament I had trained for maybe 10 classes in total...kung fu base sure helped though!).

I've been training for 8 years this May in everything from Savate to boxing to CLF, to wushu, to Judo to kung fu. I spent 6 years doing Black Tiger kung fu and continue to practice this daily. I've been doing Judo since Nov 2007 and have a great club with a couple of Olympians for coaches. Although I've always maintained kickboxing training and conditioning, I've recently had the pleasure of hooking up with a Coach/Sifu in the city who has fought quite a bit of San Shou and who let me come to his Kung Fu club and spar with him to prepare. I'm also hitting up LKFMDC's club in NY this April for an instructor seminar and will hopefully be getting our website and posters for the club going in May...plus forking over the dough for mats!

On to the training!

[WinterPalm]

21 March 2008
Weight: 175

Just came off a week off from training after fighting at the Tiger Balm Internationals in Vancouver. Now it's back to hard work!

Kung Fu/San Da training
Warmed up with footwork, agility exercises, and a variety of movements from Magnificent Mobility (a DVD I highly recommend!).
Iron Palm
Gung Lik Kuen (a power generating dynamic tension set)

Heavy Bag
5X3 min, 50 sec rest.
Worked different combos mixing in grabbing the bag for throws and using a lot of stop kicks. Really trying to work the flow from punching, kicking, to throwing and back again.

Then I did this awful Steve Maxwell Spartan 300 Bodyweight routine...I recommend it by man it made me sore!

You basically do 30 reps of each exercise coupling them together doing as many of each in the couplet back and forth till the couplet is done then do the next one.

Chin up/Push up (in this one you glide back and forth over the arm at the bottom)
Full Squat/V-Up
Bodyweight Horizontal Row/Hindu Push Up
Cossack/Alternating leg raise with elbow to knee touch
Jumping Lunge/Burpee

Time: 27:50 Not too shabby, I'll be doing the above routine every Friday and trying to beat that time.

[WinterPalm]

22 March 2008
Weight: 177.6

San Da

Went to a gym facility with a workout area. Usually I do Judo today but there's no class due to the holidays.

2X3min skipping.
Lots of joint rotations and Magnifcient Mobility movements...I am very sore from yesterday!

Then we did some footwork stuff.
Attack and Counter drills:
Defend the jab and pay attention to openings. The same with the sidekick. Then a basic Jab, legkick defend drill.
Then a hook drill where the one guy throws jab, cross, hook, or jab, right hook, and off the hook you perform a separation grab of head and leg...not sure of the name but whatever.

Then did some Thai Pads really working on mixing all the elements together using stop kicks and punches flowing into takedowns...really worked that one takedown as I need to broaden my San Da takedown repertoire.

That was it...just a short one today.

Another note is that although my cardio held up in the competition my muscular endurance, from all the takedowns and wrestling didn't hold up as well so I am looking to really expand my muscular endurance and my limit strength to a certain extent. No doubt I'll be pushing cars around the neigbourhood and sprinting up a huge hill soon enough!

[WinterPalm]

23 March 2008
Nothing today.
Forgot to weight myself. I'm still pretty sore from that Spartan thing.
Oh well, lots of hard training tomorrow!

[WinterPalm]

24 March 2008
Weight: 176.8 (Surprising considering the amount of cheesecake and chocolate crap I ate yesterday. But nonetheless...

San Da Solo Practice
Piles of joint mobility and loosening exercises
3X3min skipping with more movement stuff inbetween.

Went through a bunch of kicks and punches real slow building to fast and faster to work the whole body mechanics.
Da Kuen (Fighting Set about 5min long) X2
Shadowboxing 3X3min with 50 sec rest period.

Squats (Finally!)
135X5
185X3X3sets
135X5
Just working on the movement and the mechanics, getting good depth. Plus I'm not that strong in the squat.
Will do kettlebell later tonight.

[WinterPalm]

24 March 2008 cont.

Kettlebell

Warmed up with various swings, halos, snatches and presses with the 40 and 56 pound kettlebell.

Turkish Get Up: 2X4reps with the 56er.

Then a back and forth of:
Military Press: 50 X 3 reps
Swing: 105pdsX6
Did that for 4 sets.
Then ended with three times through a workout I found called "Heaven and Hell"...that one was pretty bad. Twice through, did some abs, then once through. I'd like to do the whole thing through 5 times but my forearms were screaming with lactic acid. It's this type of training that makes newaza not so painful!