Hidden nuggets of gold

I like running, but running on the road can be a bore, and here in Thailand running on the road is like running around in Grand Theft Auto. The roads are crazy. So I started riding out to a big dam that has a road the whole way around it, it's about 7km to run a lap and pretty nice scenery too. But today I had just started running a lap and in the strip of forest between the road and the dam I noticed a couple of little signs with arrows on them. After riding mountain bikes for so many years I know what it looks like when someone has marked out a race track, so I checked it out. Yep it was a beautiful cross country race loop, I was so happy. Running on trails is just great, so much more entertaining and away from the glaring heat of the road. Running trails is just better training too, the agility needed and the effort required for all the undulations. After running only on the road for the last five months this felt like a real treat, I ran two laps and I will definitely be back tomorrow.

Playing Sambo

Sambo is a quite comprehensive martial art. I made the mistake of comparing sambo with freestyle wrestling and Silviu was quick to correct me. Freestyle wrestling is grappling but sambo is fighting, it is combat. Sambo is used by military to stop an enemy as fast as possible.

For the last week and a bit I have been learning sambo with Silviu every day. That is barely enough time to scratch the surface of sambo, but I have learnt some cool things. We played around each day covering one or two techniques and then sparred for a while.

We practiced working from the clinch and building a sensitivity, for if I push my opponent usually pushes back and if i pull my opponents reaction is to pull back. Then the goal was to use this change in momentum to my advantage, to create an angle, to create an opportunity.

From here Silviu taught me a few different takedowns, a double leg, a big pick up on the shoulders and slam, a couple of nice single leg takedows. One that I really liked was a trip into a knee bar. Then we played around for a while with the knee bars, with different defences and counters. I loved learning the flow of the techniques. Starting with one takedown and if that doesn't work it would set me up for another then into a submission, a knee bar. And if he can defend that then he can grab a heel hook. And so on...

On the last day Silviu and I just went back over everything he had taught me, doing ten per side to help commit it to memory. Sometimes I wish I could spend a few years learning from this guy, but real life awaits.

Time flies

Where has my motivation gone? I feel like now that I have decided to go home I'm just going through the motions with my training. In three weeks i will be on a plane heading home. The last couple of months training have been great, mainly focused on boxing with Silviu. But now the end is near and my mind is thinking about riding sweet single track in Canada, and not thinking about blocking that left hook that's coming for my body.

The last couple of months Have been doing a lot of boxing training and many private lessons with Silviu. In any other sport that I have done I have never really been coached. Now I see the value in having a great coach. I am probably not a great student, I won't really take information on board unless I am told 'why' it is important. And that is exactly what Silviu has been doing for me. He explains every action in precise detail and then he tells me why. I've learnt a lot from these lesson. I love it when we talk a little about tactics and he goes on and on talking about so many little details and strategies, it's great. It seems like every week I am having an "ah ha' moment, first it was about footwork then hip movement and then i was trying to get more speed in the hips then that needed more fitness. Now it is balance and controlling the space in the ring.

In my last few weeks I am changing things up a bit to help me stay motivated. I'm going to be doing some sambo with Silviu, aswell as muay thai and a couple of lessons of BJJ.

Where am I?

I just threw together this quick vid from some clips i had from training....

Double Teamed

I got double teamed today, it was awesome.
I went for a run on saturday for the first time in the 2 months that I've been living here. I found a nice quiet, flat stretch of road that seems pretty safe to run on, some of the roads here are crazy so it's pretty important. I blasted out 4kms and felt pretty good. I knew straight away that I need to be doing this a lot more often. When i woke up on sunday damn my calves were sore, thats what I get for not hitting the pavement in so long. Today, yep still sore. So I went and got myself a Thai massage just on my calves. One lady started to do the massage and then when I was lying face down the other lady working there was either bored or could not resist my explosive calves (which, BTW are much more toned than Matt Johnson's) and joined in. Getting massaged by four hands at once; totally awesome!

Training has been going well, I've been doing a few private lessons in western boxing with one of the trainers at Tiger Muay Thai. Aon has been spending a lot of time teaching me to slip outside (to the left) and follow up with various counters. At first I was stepping way to far outside, but Aon has fixed it and has me stepping forward at a 45 now. It's pretty hard mentally to step forward into a punch like that. Other than that we've been working on balance and torquing my shoulders and hips correctly with each punch.

For now training is on hold. Some how I have picked an infection on my neck. It feels like a cross between fire and mosquito bites. It is dying down now that i have the correct medication for it, but I'm thinking it's gonna be a few more days at least until I hit the mats again.

 

I've been getting the start of some cauliflower ear on my left ear. Nothing serious, it just feels sore and swollen after training wrestling or jiu jitsu. So I decided it was time to drain it and relive a bit of the pressure in there. After getting a few vague instructions from some guys I train with I just went for it. I went to the chemist and bought a syringe and some alcohol and then home to operate. Actually I was a bit nervous about jabbing a needle into my ear, but I just did it and it was instant relief. It has swollen up a little bit since then so I might give it another crack soon.

So happy new year!
Stay Awesome!

Ups and Downs

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Well not really, but living here if you can't train it gets boring pretty fast....
So I had a few small injuries that kept me out of the gym for a bit and I started going clinically insane. But things heal up and training resumes and Dan is happy again. Yay!
I did and MMA class where the focus was alot more on ground and pound rather than wrestling. Man thats like an all new sport. It was crazy, coach really pushed us to our limits. It was great and i definitely learnt alot, and as coach said it is important to push your limits. During the the ground and pound drills/ sparring I was submitted a bunch of times when I was on top throwing punches, and I have a nice bruise on my head from being on the bottom defending punches.
And jiu jitsu has been incredible. I love it. I had this big monster sitting in my guard and he was trying to work. I was doing something but whatever it was Silvio was watching and called out to me to switch to an arm bar. I flicked my leg over the guys head to grab the arm bar, but the guy rolled and I ended up face down on the ground but I still had the arm tight. I gave it a crank and I got the tap, it was beautiful. Silvio was happy with me, and it made me proud to get the thumbs up from him...

Ah Rest Day

Yesterday was sunday, my day off. And it felt great to be incredibly lazy for a day. I added it up and I spent 19.5 hours training last week, mostly classes but also including hill sprints and some conditioning work to prevent injuries to my cannon ball like shoulders.
So after this big week it was great to head to Phuket spa with a couple of pals and kill a few hours going back and forth between the herbal sauna and the pool.

Over the last couple of weeks my goals ad priorities in training have changed quite a bit. Just taking there natural course I guess, as I find what suits me the most. Initially I had planned on training mostly muay thai and western boxing, but it's just not happening like that now. I am totally addicted to jiu jitsu now. Every class is better than the last. Maybe it's because the learning curve is so big right now, but I'm finding it so satisfying. I lie in bed at night running through moves in my head.... haha. I think alot has to do with professor Silvio who teaches the class. He loves to teach and he brings alot of enthusiasm and charisma.

The jiu jitsu classes have a good crew in them, a few French guys who all got skills and me and a couple of other Aussie boys who don't got skills but we are learning. There is a few things that are starting to click for me, I love taking the back and i'm always looking for it. Every time I roll with French guy Romain, he always grabs my back and then transitions around to an arm bar. I'm going to get Romain to show me this after class today so I can try it when I can't sink a choke in.
And then there was the Gi class. It was like starting all over again wearing a Gi. I had that same feeling of being a little kid and getting messed around with and not being able to do anything about it..... Ahhh love it!

I never really got it back at work when people would ask 'are you living the dream?' I thought it must be some kind of cruel joke that everyone else got except me.... Well now I am living the dream. At night I am looking forward to the morning so I can wake up and learn some more.... It's great.

Dan is happy!

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!

BJJ week

This last week has been a great week. Lots of learning. The advantages of training at an mma gym like Phuket top team, rather than a full muay thai gym have been pretty clear this week. While letting my feet heal up I have jumped straight into the Brazilian jiu jitsu classes.
The first class of bjj I did was super tough, sparring at the end of the class absolutely nailed me. If it had gone for one more round I would have lost my breakfast...
During the week the class numbers seemed to thin out quite alot, to the point were for two sessions it was just me and the coach, Sheeha. Sheeha is a Norwegian dude who is filling in as bjj coach just for a couple of weeks while the usual guy is away... As a beginner having the coach all to myself was a dream, I was able to grill him on all the little basic things that I want to learn. I told Sheeha that I often end up with side control but I dont really know what to do from there, so he taught me a few submission and drilled them with me for long enough that i could do it with out instruction. He also spent time teaching me how to arm bar and triangle choke from guard, and again drilled it with me at least twenty times. After we would have a spar and for me it's mostly just wrestling at this stage, but every now and then I would get the chance to try and lock on a submission I had just learnt and it would feel so satisfying......
Well big week, this week
toodles

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

A long time coming

It's been exactly 2 years since I first came to Thailand to train muay thai. 2 years ago I was a complete beginner, and getting a big culture shock also. I stayed and trained for 6 months then and learnt alot. I had one fight at Chewang stadium in Ko Samui, that was a big eye opener. You can feel so good in training but once you step in that ring the mind goes completely blank....

Now I am here back in  Phuket to get my punch on again. Man this place has changed alot in the last couple of years, the once quiet street of tiger muay thai is now full of all sorts of little shops and bars.
I rolled through tiger muay thai and saw my first ever trainer, kru Phetjing. Straight away he had a big smile for me, it was really nice. I trained a couple of private lessons with Phetjing on the last couple of days and it felt so great. I just loved the feeling of wondering back to my room after training completly worn out and high on endorphins, getting back and jumping into a cold shower.... Bliss.
Straight away Phetjing is showing me some tricks and helping with my fight tactics. I remember alot of things he was trying to tell me two years ago that i just never understood, this time he has been telling the same thing and its just seems to click straight away.....

I have signed up to Phuket top team mma gym and I will be doing my first class there tomorrow, I'm gonna try and get the boxing class in the morning and the muay thai class in the evening. That will be 3.5 hours for the day.... Can't wait!

Feeling Fit

I initially wanted to be really fit and strong and just generally in great shape when i arrived in Thailand. But sometimes things don't work out perfectly. So after a few hiccups with teethe and food poisoning I'm now hitting it hard with only a few days left before i leave. I have to give a big thanks to my Dad, who is a fit old bastard and has taken me on a couple of punishing 1hour plus runs through the jungle. Dad always pushes the pace and loves nothing more than to burn out younger guys who try and keep up with him. But i managed to hold on.
I have found a perfect hill behind my house to do hill sprints on each morning. Hill sprints, in my opinion are one of the toughest workouts for the cardio and leg strength. About 10 months ago when I was living in brisbane I was doing alot of hill sprints,  probably 10 or 12 sprints a couple of times a week. Back then I was weighing around 85 kg, but now I am a skinny boy at just 73 kg I feel like I am just floating up the hill so effortlessly. In general it feels like simply being lighter has greatly improved my fitness.
Other than the running, I've  been hitting up some kettlebell workouts to keep my strength up. Mainly trying to focus on lots of shoulder movement to keep those badboys strong.

So is it all going to be enough? Am I going to breeze through training in Thailand? NO way! The extra heat and humidity and the pace that the Thais push during training I know I'm going to feel like a lazy unfit bastard for the first few weeks...... But I love it

The best thing ever!

So im up here in beautiful Cairns enjoying quality time with my family at the moment and it's great. My training however has had a little hiccup, i've had to get 2 of my wisdom teeth ripped out. Yes everyone knows that it sucks, but better now than when im trying to train in Thailand.

In the meantime I have found the best invention ever! yep thats a big call.

It's the accupressure massage ball. It costs about twenty bucks from rebel sport and you will love it. The first day i got it i spent about 2 hours massaging my gigantic thighs while i was watching some movies, i could barley walk after. It really hit the spot.
For me i have always loved a bit of self massage, finding the knots and slowly working them away. But there was always places i just couldn't reach, with this ball now i can get to just about everything including all over my back and shoulders. You just have to roll the ball around the problem area, or lean up against the wall, with the ball in between and shimmie up and down.
Its really been helping sort out my ITBS (sore leg syndrome) and allowing me to run a bit further.

Get one!

Guerilla Cardio!

I have this great feeling these days. I have only 3 days left at work before i head home to Cairns for a month and then onto Thailand for some serious training.
It is definitely time to kick my training in the ass and boost my cardio. I am doing Guerilla cardio/ Tabata style training which has been scientifically proven to be awsome! It is basically interval training with 20 seconds of effort followed by 10 seconds of rest and then repeat for a total of 8 rounds. It might not sound like alot but it works.
Read the original article i found on the workout here here
This article recommends sprinting, but I dont think you should limit yourself. Anything done at 100% effort will get the results. I have done it sprinting, with push ups, on the bike, punching with weights and my favourite is sprinting on trails. Sprinting intervals on the trails adds a technicals element that I love. Its such a buzz moving through the trees at that speed.

So to conclude, if you want to get fit, burn fat and be awsome get out and do your sprints!

Ouch!

Any one who trains in martial arts, or any other sport has more than likely had to deal with injuries whilst training. There is alot of different ways we can deal with this problem, the best being sitting on the couch and eating ice-cream.....

On my first training session jiu jitsu last week I pulled my groin during the warm up. It hurt like hell, I've never pulled a muscle before I didnt really know what it would feel like. So i found myself limping around and bored. But then I figured, why not use this as an opportunity to get into the gym and work the upper body. I got down to the gym for a few days and made the most of the situation.

Over the years I have gotten alot better at handling injuries. Finding what works for me and listening to others about how they dealt with similar injuries. One thing that really made a big difference for me was massage. A mate of mine is a massage therapist and he helped me out so much with tendonitis in my elbow/ tricep area, I couldnt believe it. I payed attention and now anytime i have some problem i have learned how to massage it out myself. And there is always exercises that can help you strengthen any area of your body. I have increased the strength of my delicate ankles so much over the last year by doing various balance exercises that i can now run pain free. The only hard part is knowing what to do, and committing to doing it.

So all this is about, dont just accept your injuries as something you have to live with. Do your research, it is most likely something you can beat.

you have to start somewhere

All the planets seemed to align for once, and I have finally started training brazilian jui jitsu....

Ive been wanting to start grappling for a while (I figure Im probably already at black belt level from the amount of ufc I have watched) but it just never seemed to happen. Then I was at a cool cafe in Kelvin Grove chatting to the owner on a quiet saturday when a bloke came in wearing all sorts of bjj paraphernalia, I started talking to the guy, it was Eduardo Dias. Eduardo is a Brazilian guy, who is bjj black belt and runs Garra bjj in Kelvin Grove. www.garrabjj.com.au

So it seemed like I had found a cool place to learn... Then down the Gold Coast for a weekend I poked my head into the planet max store and saw the shiny new Hayabusa Gi (aka karate suit) so I bought it. Yep I love impulse shopping. 

The last thing came into play when work changed the shift times by a couple of hours which would allow me to catch the morning class from 11:00 until 12:30 at Garra bjj. So I did it.

I made it to 3 classes last week and it was great. There is a pretty cool atmosphere at the gym and I am just starting to have my eyes opened to jui jitsu. All I could do was laugh sometimes at how easy some of these guys were getting submissions on me. And my body has been feeling pretty battered all weekend, but i love this feeling.

So now I  just have to keep it up. Try and absorb as much as I can in the next 4 and a half months before I take off to train full time in Thailand