Back in the Hiiiiiiiigh (Kick) Life Again

Tuesday was my first day back to train after vacation. It went well. I stretched my hip as much as I could yet it still hurt by the time we got to KB2/Sparring. Classes were easy. There was little to no intensity and a lot of goofing off by the other people there. These kinds of things frustrate me, mostly because I want to train and get better so I can fight while others are just there for fitness. I take it very seriously but I have to remember that some people don't.

When sparring came around the only person who was available was Titus. He is not a fan of kickboxing, prefers boxing, but he indulged me. I think that's the last time he will do that. He lazily threw a back round kick the same time I threw mine. He is orthodox and I am southpaw so when he threw his kick it hit my knee with his toe, fracturing it he later found out. If he had thrown it correctly and with some power it would have been a more bearable contact and he wouldn't have been hurt. I feel bad cause I convinced him to spar but I know its all good.

Wednesday was MMA Grappling with John Salgado. We pummeled a lot, which I am getting better at. He is going to post the 300 Rep workout so we can chart our progress. We practiced some single underhook techniques and even tried a Tee Pee submission (similar to a triangle). I rolled with Les who trains with John on a regular basis. I really enjoy the grappling, it makes sense to me.

Boxing sparring was a different story. I felt like shit for the first two rounds with Luch. I looked at the video (not worth posting) and noticed that I failed to land most of my punches. My range was off. I joked that next time I take vacation I will just stay home and train rather than travel but that might be the case. I then sparred with Rashawn which was better for my combination.

At the end I sparred for two rounds with Eric (amateur?). He has a lot of really good head movement and he hits hard. I got my ass handed to me the first round, getting it topped off with a body shot with 15 sec left that dropped me. WOW, need to work on my core strength so that doesn't happen again. Sifu gave me some pointers and the second round I actually felt like I won. I landed a bunch of hard crosses (odd) and had good movement around the ring. I covered up and tried to keep my head from staying stationary. Also, I felt very confident in my jab footwork. I was stepping to the right very well which helped me keep my base (worked on on Tuesday) and set up my cross.

I feel like after I get hit I get more aggressive. I don't get mad at the person that hit me, I get mad at myself for getting hit and then promise to be more aggressive. I need to learn to flip that switch on my own and keep in mind the first time I get hit,might be the only one that needs to land, if its a KO.

Improvements:
Core Strength, Head Movement, Aggressiveness, Pummeling

Positives:
Conditioning, NEW GEAR (compliments on the boxing shoes), jab footwork

California Love

Here in San Diego I have been distracted by plenty of other things besides being inside on a computer and blogging. This week off has been great.

Tuesday was the workout challenge. Gerry came to the gym right from work and took 3 classes. He talked with Gillian about joining up and last we spoke he was seriously considering it. He said it was a great workout. The challenge was awesome. We only had 5 minutes between classes to rest. We did new and more intense exercises for each class. A couple people did all the classes and some even stayed to spar at the end. I did two rounds with only kicks. Its odd when you rely on your punches to set up your kicks and then you don't have them.

My hip felt great mostly because I stretched for 30 minutes prior to class starting. I focused on technique for all the motions to make sure I was doing them correctly so I did not aggravate my injury (yes I consider myself injured not hurt now).

Wednesday I flew out to San Diego. I went for a run and long bike ride upon arrival. Thursday I jumped rope and shadowboxed for a few rounds. Took a bike up to a point on the beach to stretch and then rode back just in time to play football for a couple hours. The picture above is where I stretched. Jealous?

Saturday I woke up ar0und 9 am and did some jump rope pyramids, shadowboxing, and two leg trees with push ups. My hip feels sore (mostly from football) but working it out manages the pain a bit. Tomorrow I will most likely go to play another couple hours of football unless it conflicts with my flight.


Positives:
Hip stretches work, staying active

Improvements:
Getting hungry every1.5 hours rather than every 2.5

Picture me Rollin'

I got my hip checked out today before leaving CT and my IT band is very "closed." I got some stretches to "open" it up and will be working them every day.

Today brought about my first day of grappling/submission wrestling. Thankfully a lot of the class is focused around stretching and conditioning which will help with my IT band issues.

We worked on single leg lifts and basic take down defense. John let us know that we would be learning 10 different exercises for a workout he calls 300's. Each exercise is done 30 times in succession for a total of 300 reps, hence the name (complicated I know). I loved this class and cannot wait for the next one. Stretching on off days and doing the exercises will help with my progression.

Here are videos from this past Saturday's sparring.

3/13/10

Round 1



Round 2





Positives:
IT Band issues diagnosis, ordered personal equipment (headgear, shin guards, etc)

Improvements:
Swim move, single leg lift/take down

**Challenge tomorrow**

Hip, Hop. . . no Horay

Hopefully this is my last Thursday session. Not because I don't like it but because when I get back from CA I am looking forward to being able to work from 9-5 on Monday and Wednesday so I can do multiple classes on those days, including MMA Grappling.

My hip really hurt today. It is an odd pain that is more acute than lasting. It prevents me pivoting or really putting any weight on it while kicking or even punching. I told Sifu about it on Tuesday and he was perplexed as to the cause of it. He mentioned it might be my hips "opening up," which would be a good thing. I might go see Darin on Monday while in CT and take an early train back.

Sifu addressed the class today about something special for next Tuesday. They, the gym, are issuing a challenge (God knows how I love challenges) to all members. Guest instructors will make an appearance for the 4 classes (Kickboxing, Warrior Fit, Boxing, and Kickboxing 2) making sure that members push themselves. Tuesdays I normally do all four classes but this made me very excited. They will also be judging participants and there might be some kind of "prize" awarded. I would be fine with pride and rising to the challenge but a tangible reward? Bring it!

Here is my attempt to load some video from my YouTube account (ProgThruAggression). The videos are from 3-6-10 sparring.

Sparring w/ Ahmed

Round 1


Round 2


Round 3


Round 4

Sparring w/ Luch

Round 1



Posititves:
Challenge on Tuesday (3/16), 100 Kicks in 1 minute with left leg

Improvements:
Hip Pain, Footwork

Weight, its not over

The first weight workout of the week brought some challenges.

• First, I am dumb and read the workout wrong. Completely messed up the inclined bench/Spider-Man Push-Up Super Set. I left out the regular Push-Up entirely. Its OK though cause my mess up caused the exercise to be torture.
  

• Second, when you pay $20/month for a gym membership you get LOTS of people in the gym who don't know what they are doing. There is lots of standing around and socializing. I feel like I am back in McCann @ Marist. Hands down, my biggest pet peeve in the gym is people who don't clean up after themselves. The dumbbells are slim pickings anyway but when some coiffed up 20 something leaves a set in the corner, far out of view, how are the other people supposed to use them? Enough bitching, here is a dissection of the workout.

Warm Up

Leg Press (M): (15-20)

Legs

Frog Jumps (D): (3 sets 12-15 reps) *Worth the looks you get from people while doing them*

Single leg extensions (M):(3sets 10-12reps)

Weighted lunge jumps (D): (3sets 15 reps) *I did 2 sets of 30 cause I am smart and can read=pain*

Chest

Flat bench alternate press (D): (3 sets 8-10 each arm) *Static contraction at 90 degrees*

Inclined press (D): (3-4 sets 10-12 reps)-before each set do 10 spider-man push ups (LOVE! Check the picture above) *Totally fucked this up by combining the following exercise and this one. Imagine if you will; holding each at 90 degrees for 10 sec then exploding up = 1 rep. Very effective in making your arms hate you but not for completing a workout*

Push up hold: (3sets 10reps) *Didn't do these cause I can't read YET AGAIN*

Core

Leg raises: (3-4sets 15-20reps)

Bridges: (Front 1min, Side 30 sec, 3 sets)

Crunches: (3 sets 15reps)

Side bends: (3 sets 15 reps)


Tonight is Boxing->Warrior Fit->Kickboxing. Love it.

Weight this Morning= 185 lbs

**UPLOAD OF VIDEOS TO YouTube (ProgThruAggression) TONIGHT**

Knocked Out vs. Knocked Down: Defined

"There is actually very little known about what exactly causes a knockout but many agree it has to do with minor trauma to the brain stem. This usually happens when the head rotates sharply, often caused by a strike. There are three general manifestations of such trauma - the typical knock out which results in a sustained loss of consciousness (comparable to general anesthesia - where the recipient emerges and has lost memory of the event), a "flash" knock out where a very transient loss of consciousness (of less than three seconds) occurs (where the recipient often maintains awareness and memory of the combat) , and lastly a "stunning" where consciousness is maintained despite extremely distorted proprioception, visual fields, and auditory processing. A basic principle of boxing is to defend against this vulnerability by keeping both hands raised about the face and the chin tucked in."- Wikipedia: "Knockout"

"A knockdown occurs when a fighter touches the floor of the ring with any part of his or her body other than his or her feet following a hit. The term is also used if the fighter is hanging on to the ropes, caught between the ropes, or is hanging over the ropes and is unable to fall to the floor and cannot protect him or her self. A knockdown triggers a count by the referee; if the fighter fails the count, then the fight is ended as a K.O. A flash knockdown is a knockdown where the fighter hits the canvas but recovers quickly enough that a count is not started."- Wikipedia: "Knockout"


To correct, on Saturday (3/6/10), it was more of a Flash Knockdown than a Knockout.

Post-Tuesday Blues

Yesterday was a hard Tuesday. Kickboxing made way for Warrior fit (not bad) then boxing crept into Kickboxing 2.

The new layout of the gym allows for lots of bag work which is great because we can get more rounds in rather than switching up on Thai Pads. The downside is the bag moves like a bag and not a person. It does help with timing though, in a different manner though.

Boxing was fun because Titus and I worked in the ring. Ahmed helped me with my hook and my footwork. Sifu's mats came in and they were set up just in time for boxing class. Having mats in the ring makes a world of difference.

Kickboxing brought the beginning of sparring on Tuesday. I went 4 rounds back to back to start after doing some partner work on defending different kicks. The footwork is different for kickboxing and boxing but it is something I need to work on for each. While sparring I tried to throw a kick followed by hand combo and end with a kick. It worked most of the time and I hope more people show up on Saturday who want to spar for kickboxing.

Positives:
4 rounds for sparring and felt fine

Improvements:
Hook- elbow higher, rotate at waist more, General footwork for boxing

Pains:
Knee and hip (feels better at time of posting)

Cherry Popped: ROCKED

Sparring Saturdays has becoming something I look forward to all week. The chance to see if my skills have progressed further than last week is the only real evaluative tool I have. After filming Brad last week I decided to ask Jessica to film me this week. I remembered when I was learning how to kick, for football, the coach would have me watch video of myself and dissect it. I would be able to see the subtle issues I was having with foot placement and follow through. Fighting is different. I know that I am making BIG mistakes (eating an overhand is a pretty immediate indication) but I have no idea what it looks like. I need to see what it looks like so I can know what it feels like so I can know NOT to do it.

The purpose of these videos is to help me evaluate my technique. They are not ways for me to boost my ego by posting how awesome I am at boxing/kickboxing. As of right now the only people viewing this blog are my friends but maybe later others will find their way over here and give me some tips and possibly learn things themselves. * No videos yet cause they don't want to upload to the blog. I will post them on YouTube and embed them here*

Let the videos speak for themselves. The thinner guy is Ahmed, he is an instructor and pro Kickboxer from Egypt. The taller one is Luciano, he just had his first boxing match a couple weeks ago. I call him Bunny Foo Foo (don’t ask why cause, I really have no idea) and is fast becoming a person I will be training a lot with. As of right now we are the only two signed up for MMA Grappling. Should be interesting with me at 185 and him at 265 (when I get him running he will shed weight like WHOA).

The one video Jess did not film is the one where the fun happened. I was tired in my last round. I tried to sneak one more in so that I could get some work. I should have listened to my Dad’s advice. “When you want to do one more (ski run), don’t. When you say one more that’s when you need to stop. Its in the “one more” run that you get hurt.” I didn’t get hurt, I got . . . knocked out. I was fighting Ahmed and was way more tired than I thought. I had my chin raised and my arms swinging wildly. I heard Sifu in the sorner screaming for me to “ANSWER. THROW BACK.” I just couldn’t. Not from fear of being hit (I really don’t have that) but just from the fact that when I get tired my form, in anything, goes to shit. Sure enough, Ahmed ducted under and caught my chin, which was sitting on a silver platter, and I dropped like a fucking sack to the floor. If you take a look at the first video, he tags me on the left side with a right hook almost immediately. The punch that knocked me out/down hurt way less than that one but it was just so textbook my brain said, “Nope, if you won’t stop you then I will. To the floor with you , you stubborn ass.” **Correction, upon further research what happened would be considered a Flash Knockdown**

One thing I got out of all this is that I need to work on my footwork. I know that but I just don’t know how to or what that means right now. Sifu held mitts for me after we ended the sparring session which really helped with my placement of the cross and not to look “surprised” when someone throws a punch. Also, he is trying to get me to answer. It hasn’t become reflex yet but it needs to if I want to stop becoming a tenderized Pak-steak.

While changing, I asked Ahmed to clarify a statement he made about me being “stubborn.” I wasn’t sure if it was meant as a compliment or an area of improvement. He assured me it was a compliment and a good quality I have. ”You don’t stop. You don’t give up.”

Why would I.

Positives:

Weave, stubbornness

Improvements:

Footwork, keeping my chin down, close off my shoulders in fighting stance

Ahhh Fridays

Started today at the gym and did bicep, tricep and core work. I hate dips more than I can explain but I like the idea of doing them to failure rather than a set amount of reps. My friend Pat is helping me with my weight lifting regimen, mostly because we know a considerable amount about each others personality while training. Pat and I used to run together at Marist on the Track and Field team. Honestly, he is one of the few people who can match my intensity. I went to him because he has been far more diligent in the gym than I, when it comes to weight training. He and I are collaborating on a system to build strength and not size. I personally think he should go for a personal training certification. Coupled with his knowledge of sales I think he would kill it.

The reason I want to gain strength and not size is simple. I asked Sifu the other day what weight class he suggest I fight at. He said the highest I should go is 175. Ideally, 165 should be my weight class.

Here are the facts as they stand today. I am 5'11" and weigh 186 pounds with just shy of 14% body fat. That means my lean body weight (LBW) is 160 lbs. For me to be fighting at 165 I would have to have 3% body fat. Sufficed to say, this has become my obsession.

Play Time

Thursdays are great for training. Starting with Boxing then Warrior Fit then Kickboxing.

I was worried because when the class started there were only females attending. Nothing against the women at the club but many of them are there for fitness and not for fight training. I am happy to have progressed, in the eyes of my coaches, into a more advanced level for boxing and kicboxing. I did four rounds of bag work and then partner work. Myself and Juan David (southpaw) started working during boxing. We worked on "playing" with the jab mostly, parrying and answering. Then I worked with Luciano in the ring doing the same. I am vulnerable to the body shot on the right, def need to watch that during sparring.

Warrior Fit was great, and is something I look forward to and will miss when (God willing) my schedule change comes through. With the new layout of the gym Sifu had us doing core work on the mat and then some agility work. Broad jump was an ego boost. However, on the first one I landed intensely and tweaked my right calf. Hurts to walk but the following days off will be beneficial. Like The Program teaches us, there's hurt and there's injured. Damned if I will be injured off some bullshit 10 foot broad jump.

Kickboxing was a change today. Mike taught the class and, much to my liking, will be taking over Thursday classes for the time being. His approach is much different than the other coaches. The constant switching and threats of more work if you don't keep up the intensity was sweet. I cannot wait for sparring and I hope, HOPE, I can catch someone's kick and counter with a straight left.

Positives:
Learned how to place my hook better, good broad jump, 2 min of straight skip knees

Needs improvement:
FUCKING CALF, lead body shot defense

Why do you have a black eye?

Person X- "Why do you have a black eye? Did you get in a fight?"

Me- "I got it sparring."

Person X- "Sparring for what? Like boxing?"

Me- "Yeah, I am training to become a fighter. MMA, kickboxing, boxing- that kinda stuff."

Person X- "Cage fighting?! Why would you want to do that?"

The answer is simple. Fighting, as I have learned, is the ultimate form of competition. It is unlike running or team sports (both of which I have been a part of for my entire life). It is just you and another person, slugging it out, for a predetermined amount of time, until there is a clear (most of the time) winner. The real appeal is not the violence but the training. You need to be very disciplined and focused on so many different things, from technique to diet.

I train at Fit 2 Fight Club in Manhattan. It is located on West 38th street. The owner, Sifu Steve Ventura, is also the lead trainer (other people will be introduced later). I started in August of 2009 but just recently got serious about it. I have been sparring for a few weeks now and I love it. I am starting to connect almost as much as I am getting tagged. Every time I get hit, I learn something new.

Last night, while sparring with Luciano, I learned not to drop my head and leave my chin open cause you will get hit with a hook that leaves you shaken. After he connected with that hook I didn't drop my head again.

I pride myself on being coachable because I know when other people are more experienced than me. What I like most about the gym is that everyone tries to help everyone out. I am, by no means, experienced. I have overcome some beginner mistakes and when holding mitts or pads for someone I try to impart what I have learned. They can take it or leave it.

Positives:
No bleeding yesterday, stuck to diet, lifted after sparring

Improvements needed:

Be more aggressive while sparring. It is harder for them to throw punches/kicks if you are already throwing them yourself. Answer everything that comes your way.