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thought what the hell, it would be nice to document how my trainings going, not just in weights but in kung fu as well. ill start off with the weights ive done this week (briefly) i guess and the kung-fu ive done as well
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ive recently switched to a push-pull type workoput. i am a LOT more sore as ive increased the volume a little bit. i still get the unnerving feeling im not stimulating parts of my body when i do them (i.e. eve though my biceps are sore on bi-back day i feel i havent hit them enough as ive only done 2 sets of curls but have done a lot more rows to compensate etc)...
kung fu wise things are really starting to take off. ive recently 'almost' started full contact sparring (i.e. no powerful punches with full whip etc )thrown. in class things are progressing as normal, the wieghts always make body conditioning hard as im so sore, but im getting better at some movements. im not conditioning my body enough, im waiting for injuries to my knees to totally heal before i start conditioning them. i also need to improve my flexibilty dramatically
in the sparring, things are improving, but its bringing in the principles i have learnt in class and sifting through them to try and succesfully intergrate them into a combat scenario. not evrrything i leant in class is practical, even if it is devastating. me throwing a kick might be very nice, but having it caught and then being punched in the solar plexus due to me dropping my guard isnt
my first sparring day was interesting, as im fighting someone with 4 years experience on me as well as him being an instructor. i was moderately impressed with me being able to keep my stance solid (itsvery similar to a muay thai stance if any have seen it). however some of the blocks i attempted were pathetic. if im going to suceed in my style i need to get some of them sorted out as when they do connect i can start bringing in breaks, throws and joint locks, if they miss i am wasting energy and getting hit.
on the plus side i am very impressed with my retreating block, it is very effective. the first day we were sizing each other up more than anything so i was able to suprise him with a few new moves. i landed a sweet groin toe kick, a sickle kick (or inner roundhouse/round kick), the odd roundhouse, and maybe 1 or 2 punches. i also managed to throw him quite nicely though he managed to roll out of it but left himself very prone during the roll. however, he landed a lot more punches than me. and the odd kick too. he easily won
2nd day: he had obviously adapted to our last encounter. he read the majority of my kicks and managed to wither block or grab most of them. in the grab he managed to land punches continually which was worrying. on the plus side all these weights ive been doing have thickened me up a little so i could take it. i landed more punches this time as i threw them a lot more frequently and in combinations, however i missed a lot more kicks as a result. he doesnt seem to throw as many kicks as me....and when they do they are usually straight and not round houses (note...my style calls round kicks round-houses
). however my blocking of kicks was attrocious with me actually trying to stop a kick with my hands when in hindsight i could have deflected them with ease. and my punch blockig is once again not very vaired, i palm block most and dont bring my hands up into guard quick enough.
3rd day: took some advice from thaibox and moved in my stance a lot more(which kicks ass in terms of strength and maneouvaerability), and feigned a lot more kicks. it worked wonders. i landed the majority of my kicks this time, not necessarily in any vital parts but were i kicking full strength they would hurt. punching was a little better, but still not good enough. im keeping my distance a little too much. id also love to bring in some more joint locking/grapples, but dont have the necessary speed to grab on and throw. hopefully that will come with practise. we really went at it today, he threw me, i threw him after latching onto his kick, but i landed a fair amount today. and i did get in some punches. however he managed to get 2 in on my chin which is dangerous to say the least
however, im really beginning to see the importnce of my stance and how staying too rooted is bad, its ok to skip about a bit if they are well out of the way but fighting in the stance is a necessity. due to the ability to shuffle so well within it, i was able to dodge front/straight aimed kicks and kick him on the side as a result. this pleased. me
however i need to work on guard a LOT more. i did get a joint lock out but it was when we were working on a psarring exercise and not in actyual sparring. however, duting this exercie (almost full speed punching) i worked in a joint break and another type of block. which was nice.
landed hits on him all over the place. he did too he got me in the stiomach quite nicely, but my abs are strong, RRAWRR 
_________________
ive recently switched to a push-pull type workoput. i am a LOT more sore as ive increased the volume a little bit. i still get the unnerving feeling im not stimulating parts of my body when i do them (i.e. eve though my biceps are sore on bi-back day i feel i havent hit them enough as ive only done 2 sets of curls but have done a lot more rows to compensate etc)...
kung fu wise things are really starting to take off. ive recently 'almost' started full contact sparring (i.e. no powerful punches with full whip etc )thrown. in class things are progressing as normal, the wieghts always make body conditioning hard as im so sore, but im getting better at some movements. im not conditioning my body enough, im waiting for injuries to my knees to totally heal before i start conditioning them. i also need to improve my flexibilty dramatically
in the sparring, things are improving, but its bringing in the principles i have learnt in class and sifting through them to try and succesfully intergrate them into a combat scenario. not evrrything i leant in class is practical, even if it is devastating. me throwing a kick might be very nice, but having it caught and then being punched in the solar plexus due to me dropping my guard isnt
my first sparring day was interesting, as im fighting someone with 4 years experience on me as well as him being an instructor. i was moderately impressed with me being able to keep my stance solid (itsvery similar to a muay thai stance if any have seen it). however some of the blocks i attempted were pathetic. if im going to suceed in my style i need to get some of them sorted out as when they do connect i can start bringing in breaks, throws and joint locks, if they miss i am wasting energy and getting hit.
on the plus side i am very impressed with my retreating block, it is very effective. the first day we were sizing each other up more than anything so i was able to suprise him with a few new moves. i landed a sweet groin toe kick, a sickle kick (or inner roundhouse/round kick), the odd roundhouse, and maybe 1 or 2 punches. i also managed to throw him quite nicely though he managed to roll out of it but left himself very prone during the roll. however, he landed a lot more punches than me. and the odd kick too. he easily won
2nd day: he had obviously adapted to our last encounter. he read the majority of my kicks and managed to wither block or grab most of them. in the grab he managed to land punches continually which was worrying. on the plus side all these weights ive been doing have thickened me up a little so i could take it. i landed more punches this time as i threw them a lot more frequently and in combinations, however i missed a lot more kicks as a result. he doesnt seem to throw as many kicks as me....and when they do they are usually straight and not round houses (note...my style calls round kicks round-houses
). however my blocking of kicks was attrocious with me actually trying to stop a kick with my hands when in hindsight i could have deflected them with ease. and my punch blockig is once again not very vaired, i palm block most and dont bring my hands up into guard quick enough.3rd day: took some advice from thaibox and moved in my stance a lot more(which kicks ass in terms of strength and maneouvaerability), and feigned a lot more kicks. it worked wonders. i landed the majority of my kicks this time, not necessarily in any vital parts but were i kicking full strength they would hurt. punching was a little better, but still not good enough. im keeping my distance a little too much. id also love to bring in some more joint locking/grapples, but dont have the necessary speed to grab on and throw. hopefully that will come with practise. we really went at it today, he threw me, i threw him after latching onto his kick, but i landed a fair amount today. and i did get in some punches. however he managed to get 2 in on my chin which is dangerous to say the least
however, im really beginning to see the importnce of my stance and how staying too rooted is bad, its ok to skip about a bit if they are well out of the way but fighting in the stance is a necessity. due to the ability to shuffle so well within it, i was able to dodge front/straight aimed kicks and kick him on the side as a result. this pleased. me
however i need to work on guard a LOT more. i did get a joint lock out but it was when we were working on a psarring exercise and not in actyual sparring. however, duting this exercie (almost full speed punching) i worked in a joint break and another type of block. which was nice.landed hits on him all over the place. he did too
he got me in the stiomach quite nicely, but my abs are strong, RRAWRR 
