Getting over the hump

After my first two weeks of training, I feel like i am getting over the initial hump. The rampant all over muscular pain is disappearing and I am waking up feeling fresh most mornings. After morning training I usually feel pretty wrecked but buy the time afternoon training comes round I am feeling pretty good again, so it means I will be able to start hitting a few more sessions during the week!

So far my training efforts have been focused on Boxing, Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I'm in Thailand and i still have not done a Muay Thai class....

Boxing:
Silviu the boxing coach has made me aware that I keep a bit too much weight over my front foot while I'm boxing. So I have been concentrating on my weight distribution alot and also trying not to lean in as i start throwing punches. Straight away I can notice the difference, just feeling more mobile and able to move in and out of range more effectively.
During sparring the other day I found myself being a bit too cautious and avoiding engaging. As a result of sparring like this I got tagged by a decent cross that landed right on my nose. After that I started engaging alot more and getting a few good combos off and it was a complete turn around of what was happening in the ring.... Lesson learned, when I'm boxing, I have to box not just avoid.
I remember reading in Sam Sheridans book that most amateur boxing matches can be won with simple straight punches, the jab and the cross and the rest of the punches will develop naturally when they are needed. So for the next few weeks that is all I am going to use during sparring.

Wrestling:
The MMA/ Wrestling classes are fast becoming one of my favourite classes at Phuket Top Team. The class sizes always seem pretty small so head coach Silviu is always close by for advice. I loved the open wrestling at the end of the class! You can really notice the difference in strength, size and fitness of different guys during this wrestling. So far I have found the best tactic here is to make sure I shoot the takedown before my opponent and if I don't land it straight away, just keep driving.... But there is so much to learn here, I'm looking forward to alot more of these classes.

BJJ:
In the BJJ classes i feel like a small child being played with by the more experienced guys. Grappling with guys with a similar level of experience who are about my size is great though. In this situation we can both try and work for some submissions and defend some submissions. I am starting to become more aware now, of when I am being set up for an arm bar or triangle and I am able to defend that. But some guys will just woop out something crazy that I have never seen before and having me tapping out in no time... Ahhh fun.

I'm looking forward to some good training on moday, but for now it's coffee time!

Western Boxing at P.T.T.

Today i did my first class at Phuket Top Team, the western boxing class. The coach is Silviu Vulc, a former Romanian olympic boxing coach. To me that just seems like a great 'pedigree' of training. The class had about 8 blokes in it, most of them seemed to be at a decent level.
The class was largely based around sparring, which is great because I have definitely never done enough sparring. We did a few rounds of light touch sparring, just trying to tap each other on the shoulders or chest. Great for building up the reactions and footwork. Then Silviu had half of us with our backs to the wall, while the other half would rotate through throwing combinations at us and we were to block and counter. I thought this was great it forces you to stay in the pocket and return fire, rather than just scoot back as your opponent advances. Then it was onto sparring 3 rounds of sparring with the lead hand only and then 3 rounds of sparring with both. I loved the lead hand sparring, defensivley it gives you alot less to think about.
During sparring today I felt ok, not great but competent prehaps. Half way through the sparring I had some nasty blisters develop under the balls of my feet. I have been expecting this, your feet always get shredded pretty fast from all the pivoting when you first start training. So after that I lost alot of my footwork and movement, which made me feel like I was sparring with an arm tied behind my back. But soon my feet will be hard and calloused (like my palms) and it won't be a problem.
The whole time during the class Silviu was telling every power, power and also stressing lightness on the feet, I liked that. Every time I got flat footed Silviu would reming me to keep it light on the feet......

So all in all, a great training session. I am looking forward to the next one.....
Peace