Good week

I went from the ETK style workout to the VO2 Max this week. What a change. I only hit 24 sets on my first night, partly becuase it was 10:30 at night. It was a little intimidating at first even though I only had to hit 7 reps a cycle. The next day it felt like I was hit by a truck. I coulod really feel my posterior chain and core. I worked on 3 sets of 3-5 the next night to loosen up. It was the light night and I only used double 24kgs. I practiced squats, clean and presses and pullups.

I went ahead and hit 40 sets on my second workout. I really felt pretty strong and was not as intimidated. It went really well and I actually enjoyed it. I feel really good today and have lots of energy. I am going to skip the workout onight, which is supposed to be 32kgs for strength. It is Trick or Treat time. I will hit it tomorrow instead.

Time to take the kids out and eat badly. I can't wait.

Don't mess with this lady!

This lady decided to not be a victim. I always like to teach people to take charge of the situation. This lady listens to her inner voice and keeps watch out of the corner of her eye. That is what helps her react as fast as she does.


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So much to learn

I love to learn about everything I can. I read just about anything that I come across, watch videos, train with different people and just watch people. I really think that the more you know the better off you are. The amount of knowledge in the RKC community is tremendous. It would be possible to pretty much do nothing but communicate with, read blogs and hang out on forums. I feel a need to narrow my focus in several areas of my journey.

I am in the process of reading Plato's Republic, Pavel's Beyond Bodybuilding, Warrior Diet and lots of studies that I have come across. In the video area, I am watching Kenneth Jay's Advanced Strength Strategies, Pavel's DVDs as well as several others. Granted, I am able to only do some of this in small bits, sure is nice to have a book in each room.. But even small bits is better than nothing as you sometimes get more in the small bites of time.

The problem is that the knowledge you gain has to be able to be used or it is not worth the effort it took to find it. I think that you have to decide what direction that you want to go and learn about that area and experiment, train, play with that knowledge until you own it. I really like the direction that the RKC is headed with the new snatch test and VO2 max. I think that I need to focus on that direction with my training for a little while. I have been doing a little bit of playing with this idea by going back to the ETK. It is time to really turn it on.

I have decided to focus on some other areas as well. I have been super focused on my business and will continue to do so. I am throwing some moderation in however. I am pretty much done answering calls, and emails after a certain time of the day as well as letting weekends be more relaxed. I need to focus on my martial arts in certain areas. I really want to look at the grappling aspects for a little while.

I think that by focusing on what I need to do in these several areas will help me increase my knowledge in an easier path. I will be able to learn more in those chosen areas this way. It will allow me to dig deeper than I would just following every lead or meandering thought.

The nice thing is that all of these things actually dovetail quite nicely. I drive past some really incredible BJJ schools that have classes during my lunch breaks, the RKC fits in well with the combatives and the business continues to grow with the relaxing of the intensity.

There are some other things that I am interested in learning and doing, but they will have their time in the near future.

Zombies

I kettlebell and train in combatives to be safe from Zombies! Guess what two of the best exercises for fighting Zombies is, swings and get ups.

Busy Week

I have had a busy week. I have had one of my coaches out for the week, so I have been covering her schools as well as everything else I do. I skipped my Tuesday workout because I was just tired. It happens to all of us. The problem is that the older I get the more it occurs or at least the easier it seems to happen.

We had a great training night last night. I ended up teaching martial arts for about 4 hours after teaching a lot of Amazing Athletes classes all day. The more worn out I got last night the more I seemed to relax and smooth up techniques.

Today was another full day of Amazing Athletes as well as workout time. I took a little longer on rest tonight, a minute versus 30 seconds. I felt pretty good. It was time for clean and presses tonight. I took it easy and alternated arms for single reps. I focused on lat activation as well as elbow lockout. It went pretty well. I will be hitting Get Ups tomorrow for 5 minutes.

I will have more tomorrow. I am busy getting set for the Women's Self Defense Class that begins on Monday.

Where to start...

Here is someone having a bad day. How many things are wrong with this picture? This is a reason that kettlebells are a great tool, especially training alone!

Last night was an okay workout. I was pretty tired from running classes all day. When you work with children, you have to do lots of demonstrations to get them on the right track. It helps me be in shape, but can be tiring after a long day.I am going to start adding a few exercises to the equation. I feel pretty good with the swings and Get Ups. I am going to start adding some low rep clean and presses as well as some pullups.

So many things to do...

I always seem to run out of time in my day to think about posting anything. I try to stay pretty current, but sometime I falter. I got back to training after fighting a sinus infection for a week. I can always tell when I start over training as I tend to get ill more easily.

I stepped up to the 32kg for training this week. The swings went pretty well and I continued to knock out 8 sets of 10 L/R with only 30 seconds of rest. I was a little worn out on Thursday night, I was only waist level with the swings. It happens, but I need to watch my energy level. I have found that the swings have definitely been a great corrective strategy. I feel pretty good physically. I was having some knee pain as well as lower back issues again prior to starting this program. Those issues have disappeared.

I practiced the Get Up this week also. I hit the 5 minute mark with 32kg, but lost it on my last rep. My elbow gave out. I still need to work on my lockout. I decided to hit another 2 minutes with the 24kg to work that elbow lock. I know what I have to work on and will continue to do so. The goal this week will be 10 sets of swings and 7 minutes of Get Ups.

We had our Saturday training at the park this week. I am starting to get back into the swing of group training again. Everyone seems to enjoy it and we have a great group. We added the Get Up this week. we worked on technique and moved onto the workout.

Swings 30 seconds/30 seconds of rest
Partner Get Ups, "you go, I go" for 5 minutes.
Practiced cleans for about 7 minutes (sneaky training)
cool down and stretch.

Still have room in the 2 day Women's Self Defense Class! Email for more information.

This is not what I am teaching at the Women's Class. This is a nice Silat clip.

Workout tonight

I was a little under the weather this week with allergies. I was tired last night and skipped my workout, so I decided to hit it pretty hard tonight. I am really pushing swings and get ups with some one and two rep extras this week. I ended up doing 8 sets of 10 l/r with the 32kg on swings tonight. Having fixed my swings at the RKC, I have noticed a big difference in power generation. I am really hiking the kettlebell back and snapping forward. I am focusing on the snap and tightening before the bell hits the apex. I can tell a major difference from what I was doing before the trip. It really is setting in the relaxed tension relationship as prescribed by Pavel. It is really making everything else I do more crisp and strong also.

I am still working on my presses. I am only doing 1 rep of double clean and press. I am really working to feel the lats engage, shoulders suck into socket and elbows lock. I am starting to feel pretty confident with my technique again. I am going to start incorporating more presses on a variety day.

Every time I attend the RKC it becomes a life improving event. This time i really soaked up the joint mobility and Z-Health work. I am doing a lot more joint mobility, which has me feeling a lot better and more fluid.

It is amazing how the Joint Mobility fits in with Shen Chuan. They really seem to help in power generation as well as weight transfer for the balance disruptions. Our video man will be back next week and I think we need to put some stuff on film. If nothing else to see where I need to improve.

The Women's Self Defense Class is Oct. 27th and Oct 30th in Rockwall. We still have room if you wish to attend. It will be a lot of fun and as always, very informative. Please email me for more information.

Lots of Stuff

It has been a really busy week since coming back from Nacogdoches and Camp Lansdale #12. Over the last month, I have had the opportunity to be an assistant at the RKC, be a main attraction at a seminar, start a kettlebell group class and schedule a woman's self defense class. That along with my full time job running Amazing Athletes in North Texas.

Camp Lansdale was an incredible camp. That was not because I was there, but for the level of the other instructors. I started my session off by telling everyone that "I suck, " so that lets you know that there were some great instructors.

I cannot say enough how impressed I am with Sifu Brandon Jones and his skills in Seven Start Praying Mantis. I have never been a real fan of traditional martial arts, however, I like this system and Sifu Jones. He is an incredible teacher and shows what his system is really about. I wish that I had more time so that I could head to Tyler to train with him on a regular basis. I think that if you live in the Tyler area, you would be well served to visit him.

What can I say about Joe Lansdale and his crew? They are some of the most incredible warriors that I know. I hope to one day have a quarter of their skill and knowledge. Coy Harry was named a Grandmaster in Shen Chuan and that is really great for the Shen Chuan System. Coy is incredible at pretty much everything he attempts. Coy is a sponge and can see a technique and pretty much use it for real immediately. Billy Jack Worsham is the Soke Dai to the system now. Having grown in my training with Billy Jack as my partner, it is truly an honor to have him beat me senseless every time I visit Nacogdoches. There was a lot of video shot at this seminar. I will try to get a clip or two to put on the site. Joe has to be seen to be believed. He is a consummate student of martial arts. He lives and breaths training and the history of the arts. It is an incredible experience to see and feel what he has to teach. When I say feel it, I mean it. Unless you are on the receiving end, it is hard to understand.

The kettlebell group workout continues to grow. We had two out on a trip and two more in to replace them. It is really fun to have a dedicated and motivated bunch of people to train with on a regular basis. Thankfully we are spreading out a little from our regular core group. It is always nice to have fresh faces and thought. Since this is my first group in a year and there are a lot of kettlebell newbies we are running the group through the program minimum. We have hit swings the last two workouts and will add the Get-Up this next week. Everyone seemed excited, they just don't know what is in store for them next time.

I took the week off from my own training. I felt pretty beat down and just exhausted. I ended up pretty sick this week and decided it was time for a back off week. I was also on some antibiotics that can affect the tendons and it caused my elbow to hurt. I am hitting the kettlebells again starting tomorrow with swings, swings and more swings. I am going to follow the Enter the Kettlebell program for a while longer. I am moving up to the 32kg however. I will also continue to correct my press faults.

How Tough Are you?

This is Monica Smith. I have known Monica since she was about 14 years old. She was involved in a car wreck several years ago. How bad was the wreck? Monica lost her mother and suffered massive burns that covered a large part of her body. Monica's legs were amputated and she lost the fingers on on her hand.

Monica has never quit. I do not think that the word is in her vocabulary. Monica started training in Shen Chuan when we first met. She was always there and always working hard. After the accident she started rehab. My father was in rehab at the same time. He told me at the time that her goal was to become a black belt and that she could not wait to start training again. He watched her go through the pain and suffering of learning how to function again. My Dad called her the toughest person that he ever met.

I have not trained with Monica since I left Nacogdoches 11 years ago. I had emailed her a few times and sent her one of my school's shirts. Monica was at Camp Lansdale 12 this last weekend. She was using her prosthetics and knocking around with everyone there. Monica could just sit back and be a victim, but she has chosen to be a part of life. Monica did not ever stop training other than short breaks to rest. She even worked through lunch with one of my guys.

Monica has taken what some people would see as limitations and worked with them to strengthen them. Monica has learned to use the way her body works to increase her ability to defend herself. She has a devastating low shin kick because of the nice pieces of titanium she now wears. Her hip movements enable her to generate really good power as well as be hard to hold onto.

She has earned her Brown Belt with Black stripe and is working towards her next rank, Black Belt. Monica is a testament to what I wish could be instilled in everyone I train. Never quit and rise to the highest level that you are capable of achieving.

quick training info

We will be having a group kettlebell class at Foxchase Park in Rockwall this Saturday. The class will be at 8:00 am. This is going to be an ongoing class and no experience is necessary.

I will teaching a Women's Self Defense Seminar on October 27 and October 30th from 7-9pm. It will be held at Chandler's Landing Yacht Club in Rockwall. It is being held over two nights as there is a lot of information to share. I will be teaching the Mental, emotional and physical aspects of Self Defense. It will be a great class. Cost will be $55.00 for non-Chandler's Residents. Please call or email me for info.

I will be posting info on Camp Lansdale 12 in the next day or so. It was a great weekend and everyone had a lot of phone. I know that I learned a lot of good stuff that I will be working on over the next few months.

I have had a busy week and will get some photos up as well as a really inspirational story this week. We will be putting our own videos up on the blog in the near future, possible some this week. All it takes is more time in the day to get it all done.