Mizblog

TJ’s Thursday morning class. I arrived earlier than TJ and spent some time sitting outside and putting Vaseline on my left small toe. It was sensitive and red after the last class so I thought it might be on the verge of blistering up again. After he opened up, I got about 10 minutes of stretching in before class.

We started class with shadow boxing, and I was already warmed up so I got right into it. Good movement and combinations were coming out of me, and I felt pretty confident. TJ mixed in various calisthenics (push ups, sit ups) and shoulder tag, then moved us to medicine ball drills. Two-handed passes, one-handed passes (first right hand, then left hand), overhead passes with squats, push up passes, seated sit up passes, then crunches alternating with having the medicine ball dropped on your belly 5×5. I paired with Jeff, who was nursing a tweaked ankle from the previous night’s class. We finished with stretching.

Then we gloved up and donned Thai pads. I held first, and Jeff was gimpily kicking with his sore ankle. We ended with 10 kicks each side, and then we switched. Sometime while I was throwing kicks, I wrapped my foot around the pad and tweaked my ankle. It didn’t bother me much through the rest of the class, but it sure did bother me later after I got home. I can’t remember if it happened before or during the final 10-kicks-per-side flurry, but I sure was surprised to see how slow I was at those kicks. Got to get faster!

We then moved on to kick defenses with the hands. You always use the right hand for low kicks and the left hand for high kicks. I was bad at this, as it was literally the first time I’d ever seen these maneuvers. I seemed to pick them up quickly, but later they went away in the stress drill. Anyway, we added counters and it was all new to me.

Then we went to the back room to finish things off. We did kick absorption in the thigh, then a drill where we combined all those kick defenses in a sequence of attacks. I moderately sucked.

Christian’s Tuesday morning class was the first I can remember where I went in and came out 99% uninjured.

We started running back and forth, then worked in shuffles, lunges, shadow boxing/advancing, punctuated by paired striking (palm strikes, knees).

Next was slipping punches, then bobbing and weaving. We worked it in with boxing gloves, adding the evasion moves after throwing a combination.

Last we went to the back training room, where we practiced chokes against the wall (from front and then from the back). Then Melissa was awarded her yellow belt (she tested on Saturday and was apparently devastated for the entire weekend).

TJ’s Saturday morning class. I came in worried that my cold was going to bother me, but it mostly didn’t. I was able to swallow the mucous I was generating.

Typical start-up but with shoulder tag, then bitchslaps with covering, transitioning to duck/roll/counter drill.

We got partners and gloves and focus mitts and did simple combos. Then we transitioned them into duck/roll/counter drills with the mitts. Finally we did a little boxing sparring. I did alright despite taking a few shots. I probably landed more than I absorbed so that’s good.

The self-defense bit was headlock defense from the ground. It’s basically kesa-gatame, but the defense is to frame against neck and hips, then hook their leg and slip your head out from under, strike, stand, and escape. Jeff had conceptual problems with it but it was very easy for me.

Christian’s Tuesday morning class, and my first since vacation, started with an intense cardio circuit. Then we went over all the elbows, then did some clinch and knees. Old man Mike was my partner and he’s seriously merciless with his grips in the standing side control. My skin was pinched uncomfortably.

For the self defense portion, we did bear hugs from the front with space. They’re the same with arms in or out so that was an easy refresher. After that we did from the front without space, arms free. I need to work out the footwork for that. It involves a head twist takedown and I need to remember to move my leg out of the way of their falling body so I don’t get my knee ruined. I had a close call with Mike right after Christian reminded me to do this. Oops.

Christian’s Tuesday morning class and my last chance to train before going out to Indiana for GENCON 2016. We started with a jump rope and mixed 30 seconds of rope jumping with 30 seconds of combatives or pad holding.

Then we got into combinations. Advancing punches (left then right, then left+right), groin kick + left+right punches, round kick + 1-2 punches, then #1 elbow + 2x knees. Finally we put them all together in a drill.

At the end we did baseball bat defense, and again we had about 5 minutes and Christian rushed it and we barely got to practice at all.