Wild Geese
Fitness Training

So yesterday was a Bank Holiday Monday, so the gym was closed except for a few dedicated members who have their own keys to get in. I spent the day with my family. Which, as you can imagine, as a full time gym owner and coach, is time that is precious. On Sunday son no 1 made his 1st communion, which here is Ireland is pretty much mandatory if one wants to stand a chance of getting into the better schools. Part of the tradition is that the kids are given gifts of cash. So yes

About 2 months ago one of my regular members, Kevin”Hardcore”  Callan who is the head of the Kyokushin Karate Ireland Federation asked me to help out one of his fighters. I work with him and several of the IKK senior instructors so was more than happy to help out. The fighter was due to compete in the Kyokushin Karate World Championships in Russia and Kevin realised she needed sharpening up with a period of Strength and Conditioning work. Aneta throwing an Axe Kick in Russia

When teaching self defence or working with our Thai Boxers and Kyokushinkai fighters I talk about the wrist. Think about the punishment our hands and wrists take on a daily basis, never mind the trauma that goes through it when a punch impacts. Is it any wonder boxers need to wrap their wrists to the point of immobility? But with MMA gloves there’s little wrapping. In karate and in self defence, there’s no support what so ever. So why not build you own? Why not train the han

I’m over here in Lancaster, England where it’s been pretty cool catching up with my past. It’s almost 20 years since I left this town, but I lived here from the age of 8 to 19. And it’s here that my journey into Martial Arts and Physical Fitness began. At age 11, I discovered the St Martins Junior Karate Club lead by Jack Parker Sensei. Over the next 8 years I went from a soft, lazy kid, into a focussed and dedicated teen. And it was all down to Jacks mentoring. And I’m not t

Wrist injuries are very common amongst the martial arts community. The wrist is a complex joint that is designed for mobility, yet when we strike with a closed fist we ask it to become stable and solid. Often it fails. A bent wrist is the very foundation of the Aikido/Aiki-jutsu arts, where wrist locks are used to control and disarm opponents with crippling pain. In fact, over the 10 year period where I worked as a Doorman it was the humble wrist lock that got me out of mor

Old school seems to be back in vogue, crunches are on the way out and real core strength is on the way back in, hence the popularity of Kettlebells and Jim Smith’s excellent work www.CombatCore.com Here’s an exercise that’s been around for generations in the martial arts world. Fighters need a strong core, both for generating and for absorbing power. To this end kata’s/form’s such as Seisan and Sanchin were devised, I demo seisan here: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

I was covering a Kenpo class there yesterday, I wasn’t too familiar with the student as he belongs to another instructor. The lad is dedicated and bright, but when I asked him to show me which Kenpo techniques he wanted to go over, I was frankly gobsmacked!! One of the things that I have always loved about Kenpo, since I first came across it in 2001, was the speed, power and efficiency involved in it’s movement. I’ve always disliked the overly complex syllabus, but we can’t h

True. But don’t forget that 90% start on the feet. The truth is, if you’re awareness has failed and you find yourself in a situation that you can’t talk yourself out of, the chances are you’re on your feet (as are the antagonists). This is where preemptive striking, power and accuracy will come into play. You want to know that when you make contact, it counts. The ground is the last place you want to be. For this reason the majority of traditional martial arts are all stand u

The following blog is a translation commissioned by Iain Abernethy, the original can be found here: http://blog.iainabernethy.com/?p=81 _________________________________________________________ Karate did not develop from Buddhism or Confucianism. In the past the Shorin-ryu school and the Shorei-ryu school were brought to Okinawa from China. Both of these schools have strong points and I therefore list them below just as they are without embellishment. 1. Karate is not merely