Sundays Session

Hi Steve,
Good session yesterday, thanks.
It was nice to see our friends from the Smoke, Rob & Raj make the trip to Coventry, enjoyed training with them.
Come back soon guys.
I'd be interested to hear what the other guys at the session, took away from it, there's always so much information.
My point of the day was in the stiking drills, although we were working full power to the body only at one point, Steve pointed out the fact that a lot of us were only focused on slipping & cover the body, where as, although there were no head strikes, we should have been training with the mind set of fully protecting ourselves, ( head as well) not just zoning on one aspect of the drill.
Oh ! and one for Steve, is this guy your Russian brother - Volk Han, he has been among other thing Fedors Combat Sambo instructor.
He's on You tube, if you tap in ' Fedor training with Volk Han', he's in the combats, to me there's a definete family likeness !

Regards

Rob

Yeah, it was a good day's training.

As far as the Russian guy goes, he might be related to the branch of my family descended from Vlad the Impaler. Maybe. He's definitely got the 1000 mile stare!

And this might be a good place to begin a thread where the guys who are coming to the Sunday training can talk about what we're doing and how your training is going in the week, and ask any follow-up questions.

We'll be taking some photos next week and I'll try to post some after that as well.

It was great to finally come up to the Primal Sunday Session after some false starts, injuries and personal issues.
The training was, as usual, excellent. It was great to work on ground skills (my weak area!) and Steve took us through some great Fight specific warms ups that prepared us nicely for the session. He urged us to include these in our training regularly to ensure we were preparing our bodies to actually fight instead of the general exercises that were not as beneficial.
Steve started the session with some pommelling, body clinches and Thai clinches and got us to mix them up in a fight situation. He included some takedown drills and a few 'Morris' style takedowns that were really effective. We moved on to groundwork where Steve got us to move into positions where we could look for possible submissions or gain control. Steve's emphasis was on moving effortlessly for one position to another at a rapid but relaxed pace so that you can 'feel' of your body and get used to it being in a vulnerable position and be able to find ways to get back into control. Steve was getting us to look at different ways of getting out of these vulnerable positions and introduced some of the ways he does it...very impressive!
We moved on to standup skills which involved some dynamic attacks and defences, exchange drills, reaction drills ...and so much more..
Steve's sessions are PACKED full of information...This short write up doesn't do it justice as it only touches on the amount of stuff he covers.
On a personal note, for me, Steve's an inspiration..I have yet to meet any Martial Artist that has the depth of knowledge that he has and I'v been in this game a long time...And the thing is...he doesn't just talk about it..He can still DO IT!!..If you don't understand something, he'll demonstrate it....at speed!!...How many, long in the tooth, overweight , self proclaimed Martial Arts 'masters' could do that?...I don't need to go on about his age, cos quite frankly, I don't think it matters. I think he's getting faster!!
Get up to the Sunday Sessions, you will not be disappointed.

p.s. If you haven't got it yet...get the Morris Power Pad DVD. It's an excellent reference source for the use of Pads in your training...I haven't seen an equivalent on the market.

Bob

Really enjoyed the session yesterday. Started learning right from the warm up! Those who were there will know what that means!

Rob good see you again and thanks for the tips yesterday. It was a pleasure to make the trip up from London and attend the session.

As always my thanks to Steve for what is always a great session, covering so much in what feels so little time!

I dont think it is necessary for me to tell any one reading this forum how good Steve is. I think that is evident from all previous posts.

Anyone who wants to learn the real deal in Martial Arts must train with Steve as he is the best mind (and body) I think we have here, and if you are unsure of what to expect, get on his website buy a DVD and see what I mean!

all the best to everyone there, see you guys soon.

Raj Saigal

He included some takedown drills and a few 'Morris' style takedowns that were really effective.

A good idea to a next DVD... Maybe "Morris Method: Throws and Takedowns"
...or some clips in Youtube

That's going to be a long time coming, Luciano. Got to get a gym that looks like a gym before I can put anything new on film.

Sunday: really good session. Thanks to the loyal core group who keep coming down.

As I told you, we took some photos and I intended to put them up. THere are some really great shots, but somehow the decor just gets in the way. I don't want to be negative, but I just can't put them up. You know what I'm talking about.

I think what you were on about Rory was a whizzer and not a twister.

Jon, if you've got the time it would be good to write up an overview so that we can keep a record and maybe get other guys interested in what we're doing. The foundation is beginning to take shape.

When we were coming back in the car, that's what I was saying to you Rob about the self-protection stuff. I said that I couldn't in all honesty teach the self-protection stuff until I had the foundation in place.

I've just got a copy of a film from Paul that he took in July of a seminar I did in Coventry, and the problem with it is that the participants have no foundation in anything. Without the understanding of what is fundamental to fighting and training, you really are pissing in the wind as a fighter. And for me, trying to train people, it's impossible to get anywhere because you haven't got a root language.

You guys know what I'm talking about, because you've all seen the progress you're making. And for you, Jon, who attended that course five months ago, when I look at you on the film and I look at you now, it's like two different guys. You've come such a long way.

Anything you guys want to talk about, just use this thread, I'll give priority to questions posted here because you're training with me.

Steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks for Sunday, some great stuff on takedowns, still sore all over from Rory bouncing me off the floor, that mats a bitch !
I'm glad the photo's came out in the end ! what a bunch of techno phobes we are !

A request for this sundays session.
Ref a your recent reply to one of the guys on this site regarding making space for your strikes when ground fighting ect, Would it be possible to spend some time working us on our ground striking.
A lot of guys, even some of the top MMA fighters seem to find it very difficult to generate any power in their shoots when on the floor, and end up chopping away with hammer fists.
I'd much prefer to strike than grapple for submission on the floor, but tend to spend most of my ground training practising grappling skills, I well understand the need for a solid grappling game, but feel I neglect the striking on floor, other than ground & pounding the bags.
So some work in this area would be much appreciated, well by me anyway !
The other guys will probaly be cursing me as they read this, Sore ribs Sunday night I expect .

Regards

Rob

Cheers Steve .. you're right it was a Twister.
Bisping was saying it was one of the core moves they trained in the states for throws trips and reversals on the cage it's obviously also used to cancel those moves being used on you.
I like it, its reasonably high percentage(when in that situation) and very effective without being too technical ... you know me I'm no gazelle so solid core moves suit me better.

PS. I know I said I wouldn’t make an appearance on the board but I think this thread like you say is a good opportunity to discuss Sunday's sessions.
Hopefully the KB Warriors wont have any input here ...

Rob .. I caught a black eye from Spencers knee and like you my ribs are minging... Catch you Wed.

Whoa Steve !

Rory on a forum what have you done !

Spencer will be well chuffed about the black eye Ror.

Steve, can you expand on the lack of fundemental skills, you are seeing from guys coming to train with you, and what would you like to see, as a base line for trainees.
Also to what do you attribute the lack of fundimental skills in the guys, considering the massive amount of real & effective martial arts material we have access to these days, ie UFC, Pride, youtube ect, are some people just afraid to step out of their safety zone (Club, style, ect).

Regards

Rob

Steve, thank you for your kind words, still always seems like there is so much further to go. Another reason I enjoy your sessions so much, Sunday’s was no different.

We started with skipping, which is slowly coming together for me, at least I’m not looking at my feet any more! Then a monster specific warm-up. One of the things that first impressed me on Steve’s site was his understanding of ‘specific’. Many people think they understand specific. On the face of it, it’s fairly straightforward, bias the warm-up to the content of the session, easy. Not so for so much of the half-baked efforts out there in books and on the net.

Many of these sources seem to get ‘almost specific’ or ‘towards specific’ but I’m not sure I’ve seen ‘specific’ so comprehensively covered. We invovled pretty much the lot in that warm-up for both standing and ground fighting. Agility, strength, speed work, footwork and reactive power, components were all blended into an extensive array of exercises to prepare us for the session. It was interesting how individuals were better at certain aspects over others, and how each exercise could be adapted to vary the degree of difficulty. In effect a complete bodyweight program specific to fight training could be gleaned from just the warm-up! Great stuff! I really liked the tiger jumps we did at the end, I felt as if I really was going for the world record, you had to be there.

We moved onto some pummelling work, something I’m not very familiar with, moving between a variety of tie-ups and clinches, alternating between strength, sensitivity and conditioning work. Steve then took us through a plethora of takedowns. Double/single leg, high/low, throws/trips/sweeps, sit-downs….. the list went on and on. Some were simple, others ingenious, but all effective. There really was too much to mention/remember, but memory overload didn’t detract from what we were doing rather the multitude of techniques served to hammer home the concepts involved. Some of the stuff we covered was very cheeky, but impressively everyone seemed to get it all to work without any difficulty at all really.

Steve had us perform these movements from a ‘slap-fight’ situation, so there was always an element, at least, of entering the other bloke’s space. Also, once the movement was completed we were implored to regain our feet whilst still maintaining contact with our training partner, i.e. not simply finishing on the floor, rolling over and stumbling to our feet. Other times we’d move into foot locks or similar. This is a common aspect of Steve’s training, ensuring that it ain’t just over. This section finished by working from a failed takedown to scurry and scramble at a defending partner until he was taken down.

After a break we put on the gloves and did some striking drills to the body, ‘as though you were striking the head’. Again a nice simple statement but there was plenty to it. We began with three strikes only available to attack our partner with, while he defended. Shots were full power but safe as we knew what was coming. These strikes were added to and altered, and eventually included takedowns and tie-ups. These drills were great but tiring. I was struggling a bit with my defence so Steve kindly went through a lot of ideas with us after we completed these drills. We ended up with some ‘play fighting’ on the ground to round off another excellent session.

The training is hard work but certainly manageable for most people who train regularly. The four hours are packed with information, strewn with tips and rife with learning experiences. Steve Morris has got a huge amount of knowledge that he is happily divulging to all that want it for just £15-£25 a session. Training is located smack in the middle of the country, in Coventry just off the M6. It really isn’t difficult to get to and a trip to even just one of these sessions would be well worth the effort. Steve can show you things that will improve you very quickly, of that there is no doubt.

Thanks for the overview, Jon. And thanks for coming on the forum, Rory.

Rob, we'll do striking from every position on Sunday. You'll see that there'll be no difference between the principle of striking on the feet and striking on the ground.

About fundamentals. I think a lot of guys just learn moves, and there's no actual structure of movement that is its foundation. It's about these underlying patterns, and structurally that's what I'm doing in the warmup. I'm reinforcing those patterns so you become familiar with them, and we see how that same pattern can be adapted to different offensive, defensive, and counteroffensive requirements. By understanding a fundamental pattern, you can make countless adaptations of it or you can combine it with other fundamental patterns. It's really looking for the move within the move. I take it one step further and include the inherent reflex patterns of the body, those which allow the body to move as a dynamic whole.

What we also do in that warmup, I include elements which can make a skill successful. Dynamic strength, static strength, reactive power, core stability, hand/eye coordination, dynamic balance, flexibility, speed, agility, timing, and conditioning of course. In other words, if I'm doing an agility drill or drills, then there will be an element of conditioning in the drill itself. Because you have to be agile within the context of a lasting effort. You could be exhausted or in a bad position and still need to use your agility to get out of there, for example.

What I refer to as a dynamic warmup, it really is taking the key elements of what is required for fighting and incorporating them into a psychological/physiological/physical preparatory workout at the level you will be needing in order to do the main work coming up in the session. There's no point in skipping at a low tempo and then going on to do high tempo work. However, if you were going to go into more technical work then you wouldn't need a high-intensity dynamic warmup.

By the way, I've been getting enquiries about the required fitness level to attend on the Sundays. THat takes care of itself. This isn't a military regime where you're being forced to work, it's a personal challenge for you. You're the motivator. I might be the inspiration, and I'll help a little, but I'm not a drill sergeant. I can be, but in this context I don't want to be. So if you're thinking about coming down, don't be put off by what you might be reading. It's definitely not a stand around and listen and watch session, it's active participation. BUt you are where you are, and I'll gradually get you where you need to be. Gradually is the key word.

Going back to the fundamentals, the majority of martial artists just don't know what the fundamentals are. Even the so-called experts. They haven't got a clue. They very well might know how to throw a ball, for example, but their martial art practices don't facilitate or incorporate the dynamics of that throwing as a basic pattern of movement. They superimpose something which they call a skill, instead of understanding the underlying pattern and enhancing it combatively.

What I try to do--and this is for Luciano as well--is I define those patterns and through that definition of them I can then set about refining them. By refinement what I mean is that I've got an instinctive/intuitive/rational sense of the movement pattern of say a throw. And then I distill that larger movement into a less obvious movement, but the throwing action is still taking place. And that's why I'm able to do it with what appears to be reduced movement, and within a limited time frame and space. That really is what internal martial arts are about. YOu need external objectives and an obvious successful external representation (i.e. throwing) and then you get into it and set about refining it.

When I gave this explanation to Richard La Plante about 15 years ago he said I'd peeled the onion.

I'm a teacher. An athlete will be incorporating these patterns naturally, and a refinement process will be taking place through the rigours of the sport. THe demand of the situation will take care of his learning process. Provided he realises failure and continues to persist, the improvement will take place.

The problem in the martial arts is that there is an assumption that the move works, that it doesn't have to be tested. It doesn't have to be applied in the same way that the guy kicking the ball in a football match would have to apply it. Martial artists fix the situation so that the move they want to use will work. The move isn't being practiced in a chaotic environment, but in an organized way.

Natural movement patterns are the consequence of chaos. Those are the successful patterns which have emerged through the process of evolution, and those are the moves that small children respond with. And those are the moves that as adults we must re-reference if we want to be successful as martial artists. There's no way round that one.

Many martial artists are geeks. They've come into the martial arts because they couldn't move, they're non-athletes, they can't fight. They have no natural physical reference other than what they've found within the martial arts. And their teachers are geeks themselves. So you get this self-perpetuating population of geeks. They can watch all the UFC in the world but they have no internal representation by which to recognize what they're seeing, much less reproduce it.

If I was to call myself a master of anything, I'd call myself a master of movement. But when you look at martial arts teachers, they've mastered fixed patterns. Any ordinary athlete could outmove them any day of the week. For me, it's extremely painful to look at, especially when the guy is a teacher and he's being showed off as the greatest thing since sliced bread. I just want to vomit. This isn't directed at any one specific guy, by the way, because there are so many of them I've lost count. I keep seeing their names up on the forums and going off to look at them on You Tube and see what they're all about, and my dad summed it up exactly right. 'Stephen, they can't walk and spit at the same time.'

I look at dancers, I look at soccer players, tennis players, swimmers, snowboarders, practically any athlete and I see people who impress me. But I look at the martial arts and I just shake my head in disbelief.

I've been holding back lately trying to be diplomatic, thinking that the diplomacy might help me succeed. But the war paint's back on, I'm sharpening up my hatchet and I got a bottle of Chianti on standby...

Thanks for the reply Steve, I'll look forward to Sunday.

Bye the way any guys reading this thread, don't be put off turning up on a Sunday, by Rory & myself moaning about our aches and pains, those are purely down to the pair of us being clumsey gits.
We both have trouble walking & spitting, and never at the same time.

Rob

What I try to do--and this is for Luciano as well--is I define those patterns and through that definition of them I can then set about refining them. By refinement what I mean is that I've got an instinctive/intuitive/rational sense of the movement pattern of say a throw. And then I distill that larger movement into a less obvious movement, but the throwing action is still taking place. And that's why I'm able to do it with what appears to be reduced movement, and within a limited time frame and space. That really is what internal martial arts are about. YOu need external objectives and an obvious successful external representation (i.e. throwing) and then you get into it and set about refining it.

Thanks Mr. Morris, you really peeled the onion!
In Yi Quan and some others "internal" martial art (Taikiken, Hsing Yi, Pakua mainly) your above advice full all that theoric gaps in old traditions.

The problem in the martial arts is that there is an assumption that the move works, that it doesn't have to be tested. It doesn't have to be applied in the same way that the guy kicking the ball in a football match would have to apply it. Martial artists fix the situation so that the move they want to use will work. The move isn't being practiced in a chaotic environment, but in an organized way.

Yes, the following link show some thing like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GmfsqzC-eo

It´s fun, but even in jokes we learn too.

...the majority of martial artists just don't know what the fundamentals are. Even the so-called experts. They haven't got a clue. They very well might know how to throw a ball, for example, but their martial art practices don't facilitate or incorporate the dynamics of that throwing as a basic pattern of movement. They superimpose something which they call a skill, instead of understanding the underlying pattern and enhancing it combatively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpm0m6bVfrM

I´m looking to some advices regard how to use (of course in our fight context) this free climbing pattern skills.
Any idea?

P.s.: Mr. Morris, please fell free to answer this post in another topic.

that first clip is a good example of geeks in action. The second clip, that's a completely different story. Incredible document of bringing all your mental and physical faculties together in a way that's literally right on the edge. Talk about an exhibition of physical prowess. Tragically, he died in an accident during conditional free-fall in which his ropes tangled and severed--unrelated to free climbing. But his legacy is one that climbers will try to emulate and that will be inspirational to anybody.

It's a pity there are no legacies like that within the martial arts; most of the legacies in traditional martial arts are just tall stories, they're lies that have got bigger over the years.

I think the thing you take away from a clip like that, Luciano, is not trying to translate it into your training in direct, literal way, but rather to take inspiration from the effort that you're seeing. HE's going up the side of that cliff faster than most people could crawl across a level floor. The hand/eye/foot/touch coordination is unbelievable, not to mention the commitment, decisiveness to the task at hand, and of course the strength/weight ratio.

I've always said to Trish that if I got a big enough gym, I wanted to put up a climbing wall. It's the most natural way of grip development. Of course you can substitute grip development by using ropes, towels, but that's a little one-dimensional.

There are lots of climbing actions within the entry/breakdown and takedown phases of the fight, and the use of contact control on the cliff could be applied to grappling.

I think, though, you might be looking at this whole thing a little too analytically. I said to Trish, a lot of people are getting caught up in too much detail 'how do I apply this to my martial arts' and looking for a specific solution to that problem. It would be better to simply absorb the information and let the subconscious process how that information is going to be organized. So: better to go and do some climbing than to think about it.

That's a bit of advice I give to a lot of martial artists. Get out of your box. Don't necessarily go and do another martial art, but go and do something totally different. Basketball. Rugby. Racquetball. Soccer. All competitive games which require hand/eye/foot coordination.

What you'll start to see if you play those sports is a dissimilarity between what you're doing in the sport and the martial art you've been taught. And that's what I mean when I say there's a lack of fundamental patterns. You need to recognize skill patterns being performed in a functional, competitive way (even if it's non combative) and get a sense of how the body moves. You need a sense, not an idea. You need to get out of your head.

Once you've developed this sense, then you can go back and analyze what you've got. But without it, no matter how much you think or how hard you try, it's not going to happen. The wisdom of the body is elusive, at least for adults.

And you can't just go and mess around. I'm not giving you license to have a fantasy about getting physical. Go and seriously get into a sport of your choice, make sure it's competitive and demanding. You'll learn a lot more.

And for my guys, you're already doing it. I'm talking now to the people who have got caught up in this traditional way of moving.

Luciano, I know you're trying to put reality back into your tradition, but the tradition keeps popping up in the way you think and the way you move. You've gone the right way looking at clips like this climber, but honestly rather than trying to bring this into your martial arts at this stage, it would make more sense to get on the rock yourself and let your body take care of making the connections. That's the best advice I've got.

The guy in the 2nd clip, Dan Osman, I have never seen anything like that. The guy is like fucking Spiderman. What he's doing looks impossible, but it ain't cause he did it.

Awesome stuff. Thanks for posting it.

steve morris wrote:
What we also do in that warmup, I include elements which can make a skill successful. Dynamic strength, static strength, reactive power, core stability, hand/eye coordination, dynamic balance, flexibility, speed, agility, timing, and conditioning of course. In other words, if I'm doing an agility drill or drills, then there will be an element of conditioning in the drill itself. Because you have to be agile within the context of a lasting effort. You could be exhausted or in a bad position and still need to use your agility to get out of there, for example.

These drills are really good, it's interesting how different body types can or cannot perform the drills at varying levels. I've always considered myself to be something of a 'bull in a China shop' but can manage some of the 'breakdancing' type drills. Pleasing and surprising.

Actually, ever since the medecine ball drills we did a little while ago I feel much more mobile on the ground. Quite possibly as there was considerable scope to improve in that area, nevertheless just doing those drills seems to have improved performance. Of course you have to extrapolate, but that is straightforward.

What I refer to as a dynamic warmup, it really is taking the key elements of what is required for fighting and incorporating them into a psychological/physiological/physical preparatory workout at the level you will be needing in order to do the main work coming up in the session.

last night I was teaching two young lads and they really struggled to understand what we were doing in regards this type of warm-up, focusing on pre-loading the punch while walking and moving. They got there in the end. It was noticeable that during training they were hugely improved in the striking drills we were doing, all very simple as they really are just beginners. I was well chuffed

By the way, I've been getting enquiries about the required fitness level to attend on the Sundays. THat takes care of itself. This isn't a military regime where you're being forced to work, it's a personal challenge for you. You're the motivator. I might be the inspiration, and I'll help a little, but I'm not a drill sergeant. I can be, but in this context I don't want to be. So if you're thinking about coming down, don't be put off by what you might be reading. It's definitely not a stand around and listen and watch session, it's active participation. BUt you are where you are, and I'll gradually get you where you need to be. Gradually is the key word.

Thats a good point. I can see that people reading your site Steve, could form an impression that the training would be 100 mph. Sure, it's challenging physically and psychologically to varyiong degrees at different points throughout the session but definately manageable.

One thing that Steve does very well is vary the content of the sessions. This means that before something becomes anything like a chore the activity is altered. Whereby, even though we may be practising the underlying patterns in a similar fashion, the external patterns will be different, i.e strikes, kicks etc. Also the variety of content throughout the entire session keeps you going. You may feel you are getting a bit flakey but then we get to do something else, really enjoyable and you 'forget' your fatigue. This really works.

As an example, at the end of one session we got to have a go on the dump bag. I loved that and managed to squeeze out a lot more than I'd've thought possible if I'd've thougth about it, if you get my meaning.

These sessions are great. You really come out of it buzzing, with plenty to think about. There is always a sense of achieveiment and learning and of plenty more to come. I've been training since 1991 and am now getting the same feeling I got right back at the start. It's great.

My teacher for many years used to say that the hardest thing is getting through the door, after that he takes over. This may be relevantfor some of you interested in training with Steve, i'd suggest you come down and try it, you'll love it.

Big thank you to Steve for this sunday session

First time ive been able to make it to the coventry venue but well worth it. Some good guys there too. Both familiar faces and new ones.

Guys we did cover a lot of take downs but I will write a list of them to help anyone who got a bit lost to remember

Here is the list I remember. Im sure there were more

Clinch

Pummeling drill

• Light
  Hard (pinch elbows to make it hard to get underhook through)
  Sumo drive across the room (bump if you get stuck)
  Throat push x 3

Body lock – three grips: palms together, fingers locked or grab own wrist– dont lace fingers tho. Grab at cocyx and pull elbows in and drive forward with head. Then take him backwards, or wheel him left or right (one elbow up and one down) or pick him up and suplex back

Slam
Pick the guy up from closed guard
He has a guillotine pick him up
Double leg:
Hug around the legs, squat and elevate...then pull legs out the way you want to take him and use head to bring down
Suplex: Look at wall behind you and arch back

From tie up (neck tie and bicep or elbow tie)

Drive in to him and as he drive back (action reaction)
Snap down
Arm drag to back (then can use sit out takedown from back)
Elbow pop/throw away to back
Head push (get his weight over one leg) and knee block
Head circle and go to back
Level change and shoot and then

• a)high crotch
  b)Double leg
  c)Outside high single
  d)Slide by single
  e)Low single
  f)Inside high single – can wheel him left or right and bring leg inside or outside

Inside trip, outside trip, X trip outside, x trip inside
Judo turn in takedowns – go under bicep, over head or hip throw....if fail rolling knee bar or granby roll and leg tie.
Whizzer grip and pivot around

Hi Steve,

Good session as usual yesterday, nice to see some new faces , if we could get eveyone who's trained over the last six or seven weeks turning up regularly we'll have a decent class.
Fair play to the guys who made the effort to travel in from Devon / Lincoln & London, thats a bit of a slog on a Sunday, it was good to train with them.
Thanks for taking the time re - strking in the clinch & on the ground, I've got to work on my making space to strike in these area's.

Look forward to tne next session

Rob

Hi Steve,
thanks for the session yesterday. It was well worth the trip from Devon.
I have posted a review here: http://excelsiorgroup.blogspot.com/ and have spread the word.

Good to see a synopsis of what we did posted here as an aide memoire. Very useful as it was all new to me.

Just a bit stiff getting out of the car when I got home, but fine this morning.

Really great training session, good to see some new faces.

James mentioned closing eyes during one drill. So you don't get any misunderstanding, it isn't anything esoteric, it's just a solution I came up with during the session to prevent the more experienced guys targeting the head on its way in during the other guy's entry. When the newer guys were bobbing and weaving and trying to slip the other guys' shots, they couldn't get in. So I got the more experienced guys to close their eyes and just run the combination. Once that was sorted, back to normal. It's nothing magical or mystical.

I think, with the core group, you're starting to see this thing come together now. Just think what its' going to be like six months down the road.

James, thanks for the plug. Turning Christians into lions is my specialty! That's what I was sent up from Hell to do.

Hey guys, just a quick thank you to those of you that trained last Sunday, as I made it over for the first time. Really enjoyed the session, and appreciate the help / advice etc you gave me as I am completely new to anything other than stand-up strikes (so thanks for your patience!).
Steve - great class

I notice there are a few posts about fitness, I suspect no-one will ever feel anything other than knackered at the end of it as the fitter you are the harder you push yourself. So whatever your fitness level you will gain from this training, both skills and stamina wise.

One question (maybe not in the right place), but if there are any women out there reading this, what's stopping you? From a sport perspective it is hard to compete with men as there are natural imbalances of strength and power that you can't change - so training with other women is valuable as we can compete more evenly (but something I rarely get to do) - guys can worry about hurting us girlies which I do appreciate having had ribs cracked a couple of times!

From a self defence perspective, training with men is fantastic as you need to appreciate the difference and how feckin difficult it is to get out of a situation. But at least this sort of training can help prepare you to try to deal with this as best as possible.

I'd love to train regularly on the Sunday sessions but am restricted due to distance and family commitments - however I will try to get down every so often as it was definately worth it, I would recommend it to anyone prepared to challenge themselves and learn.
Anyway thanks again and hope to see you again at some point

Thanks for the post, Claire. I'd like to see more like you, competitive-minded people (men or women) who really want to get it, and it shows. Sorry we didn't get to that round kick, I completely forgot, but it's an easy one to sort out next time I see you.

Have you ever looked at Gina Carano on You Tube? She's Trish's hero. No reason you couldn't aspire to that. It's all about wanting it.

no I hadn't seen any of Gina's stuff before, checked it out last night There's a lot of crap 'fighting' on You tube, so thanks for highlighting something definately worth watching! Definately some inspiration for me to improve as much as I can..
Guess we all choose different routes in life, so there is a wow factor when you see what others can achieve when they put their mind to it and concentrate on that one thing. My problem is not concentrating on one thing, but wanting lots of things!
No worries about the round kick, we'll get to it at some point (but you could take any of my strikes, and get me to do something better with them), it'll just take a lot of work for me to unlearn the wrong bits and pick up the right bits, but the will is there, I want to be able to smash things with it...
So much to learn, so little time..!