Structured Sparring - one bloke does 4 straight jabs and a left hook, the partner than hits back with 4 body shots that are unblocked.
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
Free Sparring (4 partners) - this was awesome. Medium power to head and body, strong kicks to legs. I was going pretty well til I got a straight jab to the nose. Started to bleed but the coach said to continue. Felt pretty badass fighting with blood pissing out of my nose.
1st time sparring in ages so I can’t be too hard on myself, but holy fuck I’m rusty! My range and speed on leg kicks is off, one partner in particular caught 2 or 3 kicks and could easily sweep me from that. I also have a tendency to throw punches when I’m not square to my opponent. No power, no accuracy and it is just awkward. Also tend to lose sight of my opponent when they combo punch my head. This last part can only really be rectified by more sparring.
Such a cool session! This is invaluable experience that I never got in karate training. The idea of honing and conditioning my body for pain is so appealing to me at the moment.
On a personal note, I’m off to the beach for the next 3 days. So glad to get away! Have a good weekend peeps!
One legged hopping with a partner holding a leg x 4
2min Circuit
Battle Ropes
12kg Medicine Ball Slams
Pad Sparring with Coach
Clinch Practice
40kg Bench Press 2x10
Skipping Knees
10kg Plate Crunches x 100
We than did some structured sparring drills with a partner. 1st drill was 4 punches to the head (blocking), 4 punches to the gut (unblocked). I’ve got to learn to ‘catch’ these punches to the head. We did a few more drills mostly throwing and blocking punches to the head.
100 Push-ups
A bit of Shin Conditioning on the heavy bag to finish off.
Good training session. At one point I had steam coming off my head. I thought the building was on fire! Lol
20kg Plate Crunches x 50 + 20kg Plate Presses x 25
Pad Sparring with Coach
Leg Kicks on Pads
Incline Crunches x 40reps
1 Push-up + 1 Pull-up
40kg Bench Press 20 total reps
Skipping Knees
Heaps of leg kicks on the pad. Good leg conditioning here as the pad is pretty thin.
Clinch Practice for ages. Absolutely gassed after this. Partnered with a bloke who is about the same size and strength as I am. Had a good battle with him but I was being cautious of my ribs.
Done a bit of Shin Conditioning after that but nothing serious.
Just as a bit of a physique update, I have noticed I have lost a bit of mass. I’m unsure what I weigh but I’m probably around 72-74 kg (last weighed 76kg 3 months ago). My singlets that used to hug my lats now hang a little loose, I have lost my back squat arse and now have to pull up my jeans throughout the day and my inner thighs that had hairless patches when I started running have begun to grow hair again.
I’m slightly bummed about this but at the same time I realise a month of heavy deadlifts and squats will get me right back up to my biggest.
What has me puzzled is that I have lost a slight bit of fat around the mid section but nothing too notable. Either my body is using fat from other places or it prefers to atrophy my muscle instead of use my fat (in a very slight deficit over the week).
I have always thought of weight training as a savings plan or superannuation plan though. Do the hard yards when you can and make those gains. When life or things change and you lose some muscle, it is much quicker and easier to pack on the muscle again down the track.
I’ve never been a ‘right now everything must be perfect’ kind of guy, just happy to be slowly moving forward towards a peak that I will never achieve.
The other possibility is that what appears to be muscle loss on your lats and glutes was fat too. I’m going to guess subcutaneous fat, because your muscles would have given it shape, and when it goes it just appears to be muscle loss when in fact it was just fat. Just a thought
20kg Plate Crunches x 50 + 20kg Plate Presses x 20
Free Heavy Bag
Battle Ropes
Pad Sparring with Coach
Incline Crunches
1 Push-up + 1 Pull-up
40kg Bench Press 20 reps
Lots of Leg Kicks on Pads.
The pad sparring with the coach went for about 4 to 5 minutes. I swear the coach was trying to collapse my lungs. Dug deep and found some more gas.
The leg kicks turned into more like thigh conditioning towards the end. The big lads finished their clinching and came over to flog my legs. The big 110kg+ Maori bloke nearly made me piss myself with those kicks. Currently hobbling around waiting for a massive bruise.
Felt really strong in the run though and having no symptoms of shin splints. Winning!
Clinch Practice with 2 different partners. Getting better at absorbing energy from my opponent. It takes a lot of energy to push someone around a ring and if they are focused on moving you than they open themselves up to attacks. 2nd opponent was much better and really gassed me.
Free Sparring. 6 minute rounds. 3 different partners.
1st partner is a seasoned fighter. I like sparring with him because he gives me opportunity and openings. Nothing too crazy from either of us.
2nd partner is also a seasoned fighter. He is intimidating to fight because he is very compact and defensive but than unleashes a flurry of hits. He kept checking my leg kicks, so now I have a nice bruise on my lower shin.
3rd partner is intermediate but has karate background. We were both fucked by this point. He is also very compact but doesn’t have the sting the other guys had. Good spar.
And that was the end of that. The Thai fight is on Saturday night. QLD title defence from the coaches son. Should be an awesome night!
Thanks Duke! Not sure I’d say I’ve improved a lot but I give it a go!
I went to the fight night last night. Had many drinks and saw much blood and sweat and tears.
Our boy, the Qld defending title holder didn’t have a win unfortunately. He put in a courageous 5 rounds and ended with a 3cm cut on his forehead. A lot of blood was in his face for the last 2 rounds that made it hard for him to see and stay in his rhythm. His opponent fought very well. Stayed defensive but connected with some nice hits.
I had such a good night. About 15 fights all up and I swear the women go harder than the guys. We had the best table in the room. Same height as the ring and the fighters all walked past us. The show girls and dance girls were also sitting just behind us, so we just talked shit and got rowdy all night
Clinch Practice with 2 different partners. Young chick was 1st up. Hit my ribs 3 times. I swear she is the only thing that is stopping my rib from healing. It’s getting annoying now. 2nd was the 105kg Maori bloke. He creamed me. Not much I can do when I’m giving up weight and experience! So gassed.
2min Circuit
Round Kicks on Pads
Incline Russian Twists 10kg plate (70 total reps)
Chin-ups (19 total reps)
10kg DB Bench
Heavy Bag
10kg Crunches x 50 + 20kg Plate Presses x 25
Battle Ropes
Pad Sparring with Coach
Round Kicks on Pads
After the pad sparring with my coach he noted I must have learnt something from the weekend. I did hit crisply and he seems happy with my progress so that’s a plus. I need to keep focus and have my eyes on improving every day.
That was all I did. I come home a bit early to pack for my Army interview in the city. I can’t wait to get down there and smash it!
