Day Eight: Tuesday 8th December 2009

I don't know what I'll do when it becomes January, I'm justing to be there going, 'day 34..... ummm I think its Wednesday, maybe the 8th?ish??? definately maybe 2010...'

Anyway, todays lesson was *awesome* we did boxing like actual boxing!!

Small things. I got my BTCB license book signed so I can go train anywhere in the UK (BTCB club) and I'll be all insured and everything.

Normal warm up but without the running around, I should say normal stretch, then we launched (literally) into the warm up. Jab Jab (with front leg slight turn of hip) punch (with opposite arm to leg and full hip movement). Elbows up, guard up, took a while to get use to as we were wearing boxing gloves(I've never worn them before) and the other person was wearing a hand mitt.

Then it went jab jab punch followed very quickly by a leg kick. This was more karate or street fight (as he explained the application) whereby you bend the leg, turn the hips same as a turning kick, but its lower, aimed just above the knee, and it goes sideway and ur leg is almost straight but a bit bent. So basically it knocks them off balance (and if done with enough force gives you cramp) when showing it to me, even with the mitt to protect I felt it on the muscle! The person holding the mitt twisted slightly (but not much otherwise its a danger to your knee) and bent down a bit. Was fun but very very exhausting. (Note to Toni, I may believe you when you say boxexercise is exhausting!) oh and we were moving around the room.

Best comment by me, when he says, have you done this before, I reply... 'We'll I've done it on the wii...'

So that was the warm up... (2 one minute rounds of each - was grueling) then a bit of stretching, dynamic style, front, side, back (see previous posts for explanation) before a bit of technique work for the turning kick, knee up, open hip out then extend leg. Much as what I did in the morning session yesterday except you extend the leg and hold the knee. I've been wanting to hold the knee but can't reach without sacrificing my hip position so Pete gave me directions on how to hold by dobok trousers to get the same effect. Holding at the knee instead of the ankle reduces the chance of the knee pointing down.

Then onto kicks, first pendulum half turning, this is when you swing (or thrust) your hips forwards so you back leg swings at the same time as our front leg kicks. when done correctly it leads to a faster half turning. 15 on each leg.

Then turning kicks (shoulder to head height) these still need work but are getting better. Need to work on the hips and how to move the standing foot as when I get to a certain point I role onto my toes. 15 each leg.

(I should probably say, then the partner goes - we aren't stupidly hardcore!)

Then two half turnings mid air. Now theseare done slightly differently to my last club (I think, although it could be a case that I just wasn't aware we do it this way)

Whereby you to the first kick off back leg then its as your knee is bending your launch into the second kick. Hence making sure you turn your hips each time and it makes the kick faster as your don't so much jump as do two kicks. 20 of those. (2 kicks = 1)

Then onto (after some confusion on the name) spinning half turning kicks. He told me to make sure I moved through the kick and for the first 10 (until I was knackered) the movement was a lot better than usual and I'm starting to feel my hips moving more.

I think this is not so much new club (although new club, exercises do help highlight some things) but also its because I'm really fully aware of all those things. I think in 3rd year with dissertation tkd became one of those things I did and I was more into the friends than the competitions. now I really want to improve my kicks and get my black belt and although the social aspect of it is good, I'm doing it to really improve technique. It may not look as good in some respects as before, but the technique is getting better.

Then we did poomsae (the set of technical moves), we went through Koryo a couple of times, in chunks(it was taught like this at Lancaster and I liked it so I asked the black belt teaching it to me to keep going back and it was very much ba, ba ba, ba, ba type affair as I was picking up not only the moves but the rhythms.

Then onto self defense, we did knife defense for ten minutes, because I haven't done much knife defense before, we are still laying out the groundwork, so attach to stomach, the instand move the stomach out the way, thrust the arms forward in a slightly different type of x fist block, twist the arm around in 2 directions (depending what arm is on top),hold at the wrist, open the thumb out, tack the knife from the weakest point. Getting faster at it and more sturdy. This is the main move where it all comes from so I think Pete really wants me to get it right. This was again done with partners taking it in turns, only with right hand coming from inside and ourtside of the body. The other two who have done it a lot more did more realistic stuff but there's no point doing that until I can do the basics :) (which are twisting the wrist to a lock type position and playing against the weakest part of the hand)

Then as always a bit of conditioning, tonight it was 25 squats on one leg while balancing using a radiator, and then the other leg and then 50 sit ups middle, left, right.

Then we did stretching as normal as a warm down and then left!

So another good 2 hour session over! Intense but excellent to learn things which were a bit different to the norm, it was a good self defense lesson all round actually (apart from kick techniques though thats still good for defense) as the punchs and kicks which weren't for taekwondo competition were for a street fight situation.

Tomorrow... Hopefully photos of how much kicks and stretches have progressed in a week.

x