When it comes to exercise (and indeed life in general), I believe people can push themselves far harder than they think they can. I believe people - myself included - set their personal expectations too low, rarely try as hard as they think they are trying, and give up too easily. I believe pe...
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Today, I had my first cage fight, at Gods of War's Berserker Brawl V - Valhalla Rising! I also lost my first cage fight...along with my general confidence in my ability to grapple. To be honest, this is probably for the best. If I can't fight, it's good to at least know that I can't fight - r...
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Just a quick post today to say that I went back to High Wycombe Amateur Boxing Club last week with my brother, and went again tonight. An absolutely killer combination of fitness and technique work, the class has improved even further for 2013 and is now one of my absolute favourite places to train....
Continue reading ...Today, I went back to my dojo for the first time in months, with one goal in mind - to figure out if my body can still move properly... The good news is that yes, it seems to be functioning just fine after weeks of booze and food and general inactivity. The bad news is that...erm...well, I sup...
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Today, I had the pleasure of visiting the Shaolin Temple in Tufnel Park, London, to watch demonstrations of the various forms and arts they teach. I'd be lying if I said I could remember everything they showed (there was a lot) and, to be honest, I'd probably get it wrong if I tried to explain. ...
Continue reading ...[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MdAGqQi96I&w=420&h=315] At wrestling this evening, we worked on shooting for a double leg (a classic) and shooting a high crotch. A high crotch essentially involves going for a double leg takedown, with your head on your opponent's hip, but shooting your a...
Continue reading ...Last Monday and tonight make it three weeks back at boxing training for me, and I'm starting to get my eye in a little. There are a few old habits, however, that refuse to die. I blame them on wrestling. In wrestling, I stay low and circle my opponent, looking for a moment to catch him off guard ...
Continue reading ...After boxing on Monday night, I decided to spend Tuesday freestyle wrestling at Genesis Gym in Marlow. Although they have had their wrestling class running since early in the year, I haven't been able to attend very often because the class has been on a Friday night. Now, however, it has been move...
Continue reading ...The day after boxing, Simon and I returned to the same club for Jiu Jitsu. Not having Gis, our training was slightly different from the rest of the class. Luckily, however, it involved learning a basic escape from a full mount, which will prove very useful in lots of types of combat. We call ...
Continue reading ...This month, the other half of the Murderbeers Fight Team, Simon 'Bunn Slayer' Lowe, is back in the local area. As such, it makes perfect sense for us to brush up on our combat skills at some of the local classes. Having decided to document some of these classes, I have also decided not to go int...
Continue reading ...Getting Back into Shape, Day Three. Having put myself through some torturous gym sessions for the first two days of the week, I decided Wednesday was time for some intense cardio. What better way to achieve this than by a couple of hours at my logo dojo, Genesis, for the killer brazilian jiu jits...
Continue reading ...After a hellacious, but wonderfully enjoyable eleven days of chaos, I have finally managed to get back to training. Having left my job in favour of performing feats and enjoying every moment of life, I now have more time available to train and perform. That's the theory, anyway. So far, however, I ...
Continue reading ...Although there is a certain confidence that comes from knowing you can hold your own in a fight, that isn't the point of combat training - not for me, anyway. Recently, whilst training, I was struck by how odd what I was doing must seem to people who have never trained in combat. I thought it woul...
Continue reading ...Firstly - for the sake of accuracy - my stance in this picture is not en garde. It is the cool and far more effective stab-le-camera stroke, of myth and fable. I am one of only 17 people in England to have mastered this attack in the last 300 years, one of whom was Sir Richard Francis Burton (aka ...
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Tough Guy 2012 was 9 days ago. Since then, all the exercise I've managed is a couple of hours of submission wrestling on Thursday, a deadlifting and back session at the gym on Monday and a bench press and chest session this evening. Hopefully, these pictures will explain why... [gallery order...
Continue reading ...Last night, I returned to London Shootfighters for three hours of combat training. For the first hour and a half, I was taught Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by a three-time world champion (everybody at London Shootfighters is pretty much the best at what they do). Step by step, Simon and I were taught how...
Continue reading ...One of my many New Year's resolutions is to become schooled in the art of combat. To achieve this, I have decided to start attending London Shootfighters - a fantastic gym and MMA school in West London - with my friend and lifting nemesis, Simon Lowe (aka Grand Vizier of Murderbeers) Last nigh...
Continue reading ...If you're anything like a normal human being, you'll be wondering why I have a picture of a sex toy on my charity blog. Fear not, friends - it is actually a 'technique bag'. I provide a picture of this 'technique bag' because, upon arriving a the gym today, I discovered that they still haven't re...
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This evening, I turned up at wrestling, only to discover a competition in full swing! Paris vs South England! Although I agree to fight (I don't know who was more surprised, me or the coach!), it turned out there was nobody of my weight available.) Interestingly, my first ever competition was ...
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