Dojo sparring. 30.05.14. Knackered at the end of an hour of sparring.

Sparring today went well. Just picked up a knock to the inside of my right knee which has swollen up a bit. I kicked, he kneed, usual thing. I hadnt turned my hip over enough and his knee went into the soft side of my knee and just goosed it right up. Some thai oil later it felt OK and i carried on. But now an hour later i can see its a bit swollen. But all good. 

 In other news, last night i went out to see 'The Glitch Mob. Ran 5Km before the gig. Raved it up for several hours and then ran home anohter 5Km without touching a drop of booze, just orange juice. Looks like I'm back on the wagon. Although super tired after training today. Cardio still needs so much work.

Trip.

Logo - I have a logo!

Andrew Maddison (one of our talented VFX artists) has made me a logo! Just for the hell of it. Quiet day so off we went. Took an old photo of me from Instagram and boom! Silhouette logo of doom using the Thai flag colours.

Yoga, Muay Thai and Back Pain - The Question.

This is more a question than a comment. Does pairing Yoga with Muay Thai make for a favourable combination? and if so how many Yoga sessions a week would make sense? Has anyone had fortune combating injury and joint pain by adding Yoga into their regime? I have been recomended to work in Yoga and P90x3 workouts to strengthen core and increase functional mobility.... the pursuit of better biomechanics starts now!

Quit my job today.

So today has turned out to be the watershed. Today I handed in my 3 month notice having only been with the company 9 months. 

Same day as the 'Edge of Tomorrow' premiere which has been in all the papers. 

Coincidence. Yes. 

(Late comers may not know that was my last project)

But now I'm watching 'Double Impact' to try and make it seem like it all means something. (Side note - JCVD is actually a good actor in this film. I had forgotten how well he portrays the different brothers... Anyway.)

Giving in notice was surprisingly nerve wracking. Really felt like I was letting the team down. Probably not helped by my line manager starting our meeting with "I'll punch you in the face if you're quitting!"... My reply "erm... We should probably get that outta the way now then."... She was a little shocked but seemingly more disappointed than anything else. All in all it went well. We'll have to see how the rest of the management team take it over the next few days but I hope the door will be left open.

I sighted wanting to move home and spend more time with my family as the reason to leave. Seemed like a softer sell, and is true. After several funerals over the last 2 years I do feel very distant from them in London and the time at home training before flying out will give me chance to spend real time with my remaining family. 

I did tell work I plan to train in Thailand whilst off. I just didn't mention the fighting. I wanted to appear still industry focused should I want to come back in the future. Didn't seem sensible to let onto my frustrations and disillusion. Don't burn bridges.

Looking forward to the rest of the team knowing as I want to be able to talk about this all more freely. Already trying to keep this quiet on facebook is posing problems and hurting peoples feelings.

My advice... Get all your ducks in a row before telling anyone... And then tell everyone. It's the only way to avoid accidentally offending people. 

So tomorrow back to the office now working on 'Man From Uncle'... But I'm probably just going to read Muay Thai Blogs instead.

My brothers shins....

My family are on holiday right now and I was having a whatsapp conversation with my brothe about shin conditioning. He clearly didn't pay too much attention as he seems unable to even use sun screen. Check out these 2 pink baseball bats! My brother is 6'6 hence they look about 3 feet long.

Falling off the wagon.

Saturday training was a de-moralising wash out. 10K the night before had clearly not done my back any favours. I got to the gym an hour before sparring to warm up and stretch knowing i'd be a little stiff. A run on the treadmill followed by extensive stretching and foam roller and I still couldnt bend over without pain. There was no hope of touching my toes. It just felt like I had wooden boards in my lower back that didn't want to be moved. Even after painful slow stretching the moment I relaxed they re-set and locked back-up. I did what i could only to then find out sparring class had been cancelled and no one was showing up. Disaapointed I went to do some heavy bag and found out the gym have removed it. Stretched some more and then hopped in the boxing ring to do some shadow boxing. Felt like a complete prick cause I was moving like a 60year old man. It was embarrassing. I couldnt bob or weave, if i bent down and engaged my lower back i couldnt get back up. My boxing coach was stood outside the ring doing a PT session with a client and I couldnt handle the idea they were noticing me just walking round a boxing ring occasionally throwing a jab and then grimacing. I just got my stuff and left having barely got a sweat on. I didnt handle not being able to train very well. I left the gym got showered, changed and went to the pub to join my mates. We met at Saturday 1600hrs and partied through to Sunday 2200hrs. I drank everything, got sunburnt, didnt sleep, ended up at 'Florence and the Machines' managers house. Drank more. Messed around in their recording studio. Had an acoustic set on the roof. Then went for Sunday roast at the pub and then onto a blues gig sunday night at a coffee shop. It's now Tuesday and I still feel awful. I'm coming down with a cold and my back still hurts. Hopefully this post will serve as a reminder. Wehn you "can't" train, dont let the frustration take over. Don't use it as an excuse to be self destructive. The only person that loses out is you. Had I used that beer money and got a massage I probably wouldn't want to curl up under my desk and die right down.

My first 10K run. Milestone.

In my new shoes off I went and did a 10K. So that's from zero running to a 10K in 2 weeks. Pretty happy with that. Got sparring in the morning tomorrow so hopefully my calves are OK. I foam rolled and Thai oiled them to hell so fingers crossed. 

Joe Lea - King among men

Something mad has happened. I'm guessing through the Muay Thai Guy website more people have found my Blog. Actually feels for the first time that someone other than myself is visiting this page. Beyond that a certain Joe Lea has taken the time to actually donate money to my 'GoFundMe' asking nothing in return simply saying "Have fun dude. You'll be living my dream :) get some noodles on me." How amazing is that? Good will for good wills sake. When I saw that I got such a buzz. Right now we have European elections taking place and a backward bigoted party called UKIP (United Kingdom Independance Party) are gaining influence in English politics. It's a scary time when you feel the population of your country slipping into fear and making uneducated policy decisions based on catchy meme's that play to their fears and cultural stereotypes. To have this little flag of generosity come from the ether is just perfect timing. I dont know anything about Joe other than his name and that he loves Muay Thai but thanks to him and to be cliche... faith in humanity restored. Joe - Huge thank you for doing something so generous. My first head kick (given or recieved... lets be honest recieved) will be in your honour.

Run Mi6 - James Bond territory

Managed 8km around the river last night. My route took me round Mi6's headquarters. Can't help but check everyone out around there trying to tell I they are a spy or not. Essentially anyone who looks fit I assume is a spy and anyone not so much an analyst. Clearly watched way too much 24.

(Mi6 being the English CIA)

Got to admit, the place looks like such a fortress.

Running Shoes and Pronation. Nike vs Asics.

Whilst mixing Boxing, Muay Thai, Running, BJJ and weights I have managed to screw my lower back. BJJ class working from my back followed by leg press was a stupid idea and sent my lower lumbar into angry spasm. Since then I have struggled to get back to normal. I have been to see an Osteopath a few times and picked his brain about recovery. His advice has been to avoid the twisitng and impact of combat sports for a little while and invest in a foam roller. After a couple weeks he has green lit some running. Unfortunately during each run I am getting pain in my right knee and the following day the right side of my lower back would be extremely stiff and painful, especially if I tried to bend over but also just while sat at work. Much google research later I went to 2 different shops (Asics and Lillywhites) to have my gait analysed. They both provided the same result (which was re-assuring). Neutral left foot. Over pronating on my right foot. ( http://www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/pronation-explained ) Lillywhites tried to sell me 2 different Nike shoes, the flex and Lunarglide. The Flex saying that my pronation was mild enough that I would naturally compensate as I ran more often and these were light weight and great for my neutral foot (however they fit a little short so make sure you run in them to test). They suggested the Lunarglide should I feel like i would benefit from arch support on my right foot at the cost of weight due to padding. I see the 'flex' shoe everywhere these days. These seem more gym fashion than function. The lunarglide support seemed too overt and to the rear of my arch. I wasnt convinced.

Onwards to Asics. They filmed my gait again, came to the same conclusion, and suggested the Asics GT 2000's would offer mild support to aid my right foot whilst not being too structured. I ran in them and my left foot stayed neutral and my right foot powered through the support and still over pronated. As a result the sales clerk suggested the Asics Kayano. Their most supportive structured and expensive shoe. Seemed dodgey. But this sales clerk was really pushing for the weightier more cushioned shoes which compared with the Nikes felt heavy and hot. Not the nimble running aides I thought i needed.

I went back to my Osteopath and told him I overpornated on my right foot and without missing a beat he said you need Asics Kayano's. "Asics make great running shoes". This was before I had told him anything about the shoes I had tested. When I queried the various Nikes he said "look, you're not some 8 stone Kenyan runner. You need the cushioning offerred by the Asics, especally given the frequency of your planned runs". It was nice to get such a direct answer. So Asics Kayano's it is. The expensive ugly shoe. Ahh well. Time to search online for last years model/colours to avoid the huge expense.

London Sun - The carrot on the stick

I wore shorts to work today. A sunny 5 minute walk to my office door to then sit in a air conditioned office with only the glow of the LCD monitor for Vitamin D. Not exactly worth it. Quiet day, looks like I'm gonna get outta here early and maybe just maybe go for a run in the park in the sun with some energy to actually push a pace and run something worth tracking on my new nike + app. All looks good and I leave early at 17:00hrs... 17:15 and my phone goes for the first time in what is to be a constant tirade of bad news and work related fuck ups. I stick to my guns, make it home and change into my running gear. Thats done it. Nothing is salvagable, everything needs re-doing for the Americans who just woke up and dont give a shit about time zones. So i'm straight back to work now dressed in my running gear to do the night shift. It's now 21:34 and we still have 5 more hours to go, all to censor the word 'bitch' in some on screen graffitti for a Kuwait audience. How have i ended up here? What a bloody waste. If i ever needed a reminder I have made the right choice it's moments like this. Moments where i thought i was getting out early, i thought i had the evening to myself and I chose to be productive and train and yet its snatched back leaving me sat in an empty office waiting for take out food to eat alone whilst apologising via email to people i'll never meet for probelms i didn't create. It's a joke. Only 13 more weeks. Can't come quick enough.

Rally Driving - Experience Day

Sunny Sunday and my brother has booked us to go rally driving as a late xmas present. 2.5 hour train to Yorkshire and 1 hour drive and we arrive in the middle of nowhere. Awesome day rallying around a track learning the skill set and sliding the car. Needless to say we are both boy racers and were probably a bit aggresive with the gas pedal. Good times though and definately worth the 7 hour round trip. Man I miss the countryside, was so nice to just be out away from the concrete jungle for a while.

Camps in Pai and Chiang Mai

Here are some links to the camps that my research has brought up. All look like good choices but i think i will start in Pai and work down the country, assuming I dont want to stay the full time in Pai - i hear it has a lot of hippies. 

 Pai : http://www.charnchaimuaythai.com/

Chiang Mai: 

http://muay-thai-santai.com/

http://muaythaigymhongthong.com/

First Road Run - Central London

I hate running. It's boring it hurts my knees and makes my saliva taste funny. The whole process is bloody miserable and I have been trying to avoid it since i was about 8 years old and first introduced to mandatory cross country at school. Last night was my first voluntary road run as part of my pre-trip training and the good news is, it wasnt that bad. My gym is shut this week for refurbishment and we are able to use a hotel gym on Piccadilly opposite the Ritz. So we are talking mega posh central London/Mayfair. I walked in and did an immediete U-turn and left. The place was decked out like some Roman times swingers club. Running machines all in a line surrounded my topless, armless statues of women over looking a turkish bath style pool. Very weird. Especially given the location. It had this weird feeling that it used to be a luxury snooker club converted into a half arse gym. I might go back on the weekend and go fishing for a cougar who can sponsor my trip. It seems like the right place to pick up an after market modified older lady. A Fast and Furious bankers wife. Anyway, as I said, U-Turned... straight outta the door and just ran round central London through Green Park and down to Buckingham palace and back home. Only collected one dopey pedestrain along the way. Poor guy... he looked in real pain... I run along the curb, doing my best to run in the road as much as traffic will allow to avoid 'walkers' but this guy totally ignored the high way code and from the middle of the footpath looking the opposite direction made 3 giant quick steps towards the curb as if to hurry across the road but alas I was running there and there was traffic coming so i couldnt bounce into the road and back to get round him. It was him or the big red bus coming straight at me. I did my best to avoid him and slip sideways through but managed to just catch him in the eye socket with my right shoulder. Like ball joint in eye socket connection. Natural fit. I glanced back with a cursory hand raised in apology (i'm english, we apologise regardless of fault) and saw him clutching his face with a grimaced face spinning and dropping to his knees. Pretty sure I heard a yelp over my headphones as well. I didnt stop. I'm not a doctor and the dude should man up. May seem harsh but the way I see it, by not paying attention he put me at risk. Had it gone slightly differently i would have caught the Busses mirror to the top of my head, or worse face planted into the windshield. So screw him. My shoulder is a little bruised today, I do worry a little what his face will be like. Having to go into his high powered suited and booted office with a black eye would be something to see. But in other news... I was listening to the Muay Thai Guy podcast whilst running. Another great episode especially related to Thailand and living and training out there. Check it out: http://www.muay-thai-guy.com/muay-thai-pros-thailand.html

Tap Sparring May 2014 - Third Space Piccadilly

A really light tap sparring round at the end of a long session. Massively exhausted. Landed a nice left high kick but i dont find these light tap sessions very rewarding. I find myself holding back on the techniques proper form for a worry of delivering too much power. Listening to a Muay Thai Guy podcast (MTG 045) with Eric Haycraft about Glory and Dutch Kickboxing I kinda crave that Kyokushin level of sparring. I'm sure I'd be riddled with injuries but I feel it would help me break down the mental block I have when it comes to delivering full power strikes. Think I'll discuss it with the sparring coach. Maybe suggest 60% head strikes, 100% body and leg work. Really want to be able to use my height and throw high kicks without stopping at the apex.

Pad Drills 2013

A couple of old videos from Marshall Street Leisure centre in 2013. Hitting the Thai Pads with my friend Emmanuele. I kinda see this as my starting point. I really hope to put this video side by side with videos from Thailand next year and see a huge difference in flexibility, speed and foot work. My teep needs so much work... i think its wooden performance stems from a weak/stiff lower back.

Sparring.

How I earnt my black eye and bloody nose... by dropping my left hand consistently and moving like a zombie. Apologies for the 2 on their side... i-phone isnt great for this stuff.

Boxing class tonight

I am just terrible at this... Granted I was exhausted but watching my form and how heavy and slow I move... Man I need to get a treadmill. 

Should make for a nice swollen face for work tomorrow.

London in the sun.

Spent the bank holiday wandering London taking in the sights. Trying to see the place through a tourists eyes makes me remember how lucky we are to be surrounded by such a rich cultural history. Going to take more advantage of this before leaving. Feels like I'm slipping into travel mode already.