The importance of a training log

What a perfect example of why to keep a training log, and more importantly why to maintain it properly. By maintaining it properly I mean writing down lessons from class right away.
I was going to write about yesterday’s class just as I got home (after having a shower first though), but then forgot about it. Now I’m sitting here about 30 hours later struggling to remember what the key points were. Not that I can’t remember what we did, but it’s the fine details that make all the difference which elude me at the moment.
So here’s what I can scrape together.

First off we did some basic lower block (Hardan marki) applications. In this case we used the folding action to block against a straight centreline punch to the head and the actual down block against a strike to the solar plexus. I’ve not used the lower block in this variation before, which shows just how much I still have to learn. I do enjoy these basic exercises though, because they are exactly that; the basics. If you don’t get your basics right, how can you expect to manage the more advanced techniques? My guess is you won’t, so practice your basics! The other reason I like doing basic techniques is that I don’t feel completely at loss when doing them, or learning new applications. Lately I’ve been feeling at loss quite often during class due to the huge amount of new things thrown at me. So basics were quite welcome for a change.

Next thing we did was some self defence work against someone grabbing your clothes (e.g. jacket) at chest level. The basic strategy is to hold your arms up and let them drop down on the opponents arms. At the same time raise your feet and tighten your muscles, so that your body is linked to your arms at the point of impact. This way essentially your entire body weight is dropped on the opponents arms, which can be quite distressing, as the jerk form the arms is transferred directly into the neck. Very unpleasant, trust me, I’ve been on the receiving end of this technique many a times.
The technique doesn’t sound difficult, but in the words of my instructor: “That’s it, well done! It only took you 6 months to learn that!”

From this we went straight into using a wrist lock (yes we do locks and throws as well in our school) to really rid ourselves from the opponent. The lock starts by grabbing the opponents hand (the actual hand, not the fingers, although this is acceptable, but definitely not the wrist) “pistol grip” style and turning it inward until the wrist is vertical while keeping the opponents elbow down. At this stage your hand should be in front of you with your fingers pointing upwards, were you to extend them. Now simply turn your hand forward, so that your fingers would be pointing downward. This induces excruciating pain on the opponents wrist (again, I speak from experience) and will let you quite comfortably control his movement, as the entire body will be locked into position. This wrist lock can then be followed up by a forward kick or a takedown.

Finally we worked on some close quarter punches, based on the premise that any point along the life-cycle of the punch is a legitimate strike irrespective of the rotation of the fist (wording kindly stolen from my instructor). As seems to be a common theme through all the techniques I’m taught at the moment, the punch is powered by “snapping” of the hip. And as seems to be a common theme in learning the techniques, I don’t quite get it yet… Time will tell if I’ll ever manage it, but my instructor is confident, so I shall be as well.

It seems like I’ve managed to recollect a good bit from yesterday’s class in the end, but how much of what I’ve been taught this actually is, I don’t know…

Information Overload

Wow, this must have been one of the more intense training sessions I’ve had in recent times. Not just physically, but also mentally.

I’ve recently been promoted to the next belt and so I’m learning a few new techniques. At this point I must say, I’m not a quick learner and need more time than others to get my head around a new technique, so today was a big challenge.

We’ve had a few additions to our training group since the beginning of the year, so we do a good bit of very basic exercises, which suits me well, because it allows me to revisit some of the things I meant to have learned when I first started (not that long ago). So first off we did an exercise to learn how to generate power through rotation and linking our body to our weapon (in this case the hand) to increase the effective mass. I still use too much strength in my arm and shoulder to generate power rather than linking the arm and hand to my body and using its rotation. I think towards the end I managed to do it a bit better.

Closely tied to the initial exercise was a new punching technique, which uses hip rotation and the shift of weight from back to front leg as the main source of power. It’s a very subtle technique meant to be used while the opponent is distracted by a hand in front of his face, or a similar diversion.
As I expected I started using my shoulder to generate the power again, which meant I was raising my elbow. This completely defeated the purpose of the technique, as it gives away the intent. The challenge was therefore in trying to keep the elbow tucked in, pressed to the ribs, and using rotation of the hips to shoot the arm forward. It proved to be more difficult than I expected.
The second aspect of the technique is using a snapping or whipping motion (remaining pretty linear mind) rather than pushing through the target as you would for a lunge punch. This therefore involved a quick forward action and equally quick retraction of the arm. Throughout the technique there is little tension to allow for a quick acceleration. Only at the instance of impact will the whole body be tensed to transfer the maximum force possible.
I will need to practice this technique quite a bit I recon, if I ever want to nail it. But then, I’ve just started learning it, so I shall not despair quite yet.

Finally, I got to practice my forward kick (just started learning that one last week) by kicking a tree for what seemed like hours, but was probably only 15 minutes. Nevertheless, the muscles in my hips were burning from lifting my leg. I never used to use these muscles in my life before TKD, so they are quite underdeveloped, I hope in time they will get stronger. Anyway, the main thing I need to focus on with this kick for now is the quick snapping motion and making sure I stretch my foot at the point of maximum extension. This too is quite a new concept to me, lifting my toes while the leg and foot are extended/stretched.