Wrestling 101 - Last Weekend

This is going to be a short blog post this week, but I would like to go over some of the things from last week end. I'll go over the tournament as well as touch upon the UFC and what transpired. Next week will be more technique on wrestling and mma but for now enjoy.

First I would like to congratulate everyone who competed at the tournament. Morgan led the way with a gold and silver in bjj and freestyle grappling respectively, while Brett brought home a bronze medal. Our only female competitor Elyssa had a very strong outing in the striking, unfortunately the division was different then she thought it would be and therefore she didn't get to truly show of her power. Rounding out the list of competitors from Raptors was Oliver, Bryce and Reed who all had an amazing showing at the tournament. Be sure to check some pictures from the tournament on facebook.

Now before we get into the obvious fight from UFC 104 lets talk about some of the other fights. For me the best fight of the night was the Cain Velasquez fight. The best part his fight wasn't his wrestling or the TKO, it was his cardio and willingness to outwork his opponent. You can't always be bigger, stronger or more technical than your opponent but you can be in shape and have good cardio. This trait is most common in the lighter divisions (Lightweight, feather/Bantamweight) but to see it in a heavyweight is truly something to appreciate. Guys like Diego Sanchez, BJ Penn, and Clay Guida have made careers out of overwhelming their opponents and for Cain to bring that work ethic to the big boys will make for some interesting matchups. The other fight/technique I need to acknowledge is from Gleison Tibau. The standing back mount to flying armbar transition was a thing of beauty (watch for it at 2:15 of the 2nd round). Also his takedowns weren't that bad either.

Now for Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Personally I thought Shogun won that fight, he was aggresive, controling and more effective than Machida. Unfortunately the judges didn't see it the same way I (and most) did. For anybody interested in the numbers behind that fight I recommend checking out Fightmetric.com.

Now as far as gameplan goes Shougun's was damn near perfect. Machida likes to wait and counter by moving straight back and then lunging in with a counter puch. What Shogun did really well was not to give Machida a chance to lunge in with a counter, He chased Machida right up against the cage with a high guard incase machide punched. Once Machida hit the cage He was no longer in the right posture to counter back and was instead forced to cicle laterally of the cage. Shogun would then capitalize when Machida could no longer move backwards by kicking him hard to the legs and body. After awhile Machida was visibly bothered by this, having to repeadetly switch stances and being slowed considerably as Shogun landed more and more kicks. The key to this strategy though was a combination of a really good, high guard from Shogun (e.i. hands up) and working the body and legs. Too many fighters head hunt for the knockout instead of attacking the body and legs. If you hurt their body and legs you take away their foundation, and without a good foundation your opponent can't do good technique, inturn making it easier to beat them the longer it goes.

The rematch will be an interesting fight because Machida is a smart fighter and won't be quick to make the same mistake twice, and with him fixing pontentially his only weakness in his otherwise near perfect style will Shogun beable to find a new hole or will he try the same strategy. I personally have a hard time seeing Shogun beating Machida the second time but I didn't expect him do what he did either so we can't count him out. Now that I've gone on a little longer than I wanted to try and remeber to always take something away from a UFC event and always try and learn more. Until next time, train hard.

Swine flu and over training

The big news in health of the last month or more has been the H1N1 "swine" influenza and so many people are panicking and running for the vaccine I believe, prematurely.
The H1N1 flu strain is a rare and dangerous strain but there has not been adequate testing done to prove the effectiveness or the safety of the vaccine.
H1N1 swine flu can lead to viral pneumonia only 3-5 days into the illness and progressing to life-threatening within 24 hours. H1N1 attacks the lower lungs as well as the upper respiratory system unlike the regular seasonal flu which stays primarily in the upper lungs. This virus is different in that it can cause clotting in the lungs, so that standard ventilator care for pneumonia may not work.
That being said, we need to talk about over training in this flu season.
Exercise is very important for the human body to stay healthy and to fight off bacteria, virus and fungi but there is a limit. Healthy muscle cells are like a bank account of protein to feed your immune cells when you are sick. When we are in good shape we have better circulation and the muscles themselves have tiny filaments that massage the lymph system to help flush the detritus from the system which doesn't have its own pump to keep things moving. Simply being outside breathing fresh air and building up your vitamin D reserves are tremendously important. These are just two of the myriad of reasons to keep oneself in shape.
The problem occurs when inflammatory signals like Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha or T.N.F.a, a common result of excessive cardiovascular activity robs the energy and resources from the immune system. Supplementing with co-enzyme Q10 and vitamin D and A will support your immune function. Studies now show that bovine colostrum can pretty much eliminate the adverse effects of over training.
The other issue in over training is the lack of protein reserves in the muscles due to excessive calorie burning, protein being the most important calorie used by muscle cells. This will leave the immune system competing with the muscles for these resources, thus the achy muscle feeling when you are sick. By the way, the amino acid Glutamine is the most important to produce immune cells quickly.

To sum it up:
Easy on the over training but don't be a couch potato!

P.S. Always wear your warm hoody or a hat and sweater when you leave the gym all sweaty this winter.

Wrestling 101 - Cutting Wieght

A lot of people are concerned about there weight, but probably none more so than fighters. As fighters we are under a lot of pressure to be bigger, stronger, and faster than our opponents. We cut weight to be at the top of the weight class. The more you cut the bigger and stronger you will be, theoretically. If done wrong though, all that size and strength won't help you if you're not at 100% on the day of competition. We are going to look at some ways to make the cut easier as well as how to stay at 100% for fight day.

Let me first make something really clear, cutting weight is not the same as losing weight. You are simply removing the water from you're system to help drop a couple of pounds. As soon as you reingest water you put the weight right back on. As I cover the weight cutting process remember that these are the tips that work for me, some people drop the water easy while others have a hard time with it.

The water cutting process generally starts a week out from when you have to weigh in. During that time I will increase my water intake to about 4 - 6 litres of water a day, more if I'm working out hard. Now what this does is trick my body. Most people are dehydrated in their day to day lives. Their bodies retain water out of fear that more water isn't coming for a while. By drinking extra water, or what I like to call super hydrating, our body is forced to get rid of the water instead of retaining it to make room for the more that is coming. Another thing you need to do is cut out salt as it makes you retain water, therefore making it harder to lose it. We keep this up for the whole week.

The night before weigh in I take my last drink of water as well as my last meal. The day of the weigh in is when I start the hard work. Basically you need to sweat. Simple. By super hydrating the week leading up to our bodies will give up the water easy, but we don't replace it. Our bodies won't have enough time to readjust to retaining water therefore it will be easier to dehydrate ourselves and drop more weight. Some people like to give themselves two days to cut weight if they have a lot to lose. Say you had to drop 12 pounds to make your weight class, you could cut 7 pounds the first day and drink back 1 pound of water throughout the day and the next day you drop 6 more, effectively dropping 12 pounds. If you do this make sure to eat dry foods throughout the first day, no fruits, vegetables or anything else with lots of water in it. For any serious weight cutting I recommend picking up a sauna suit.

Now that the weight is dropped many people think they are done, but the most important part to being 100% is how you replenish. Make sure you gradually introduce the water back to your system. Pedialyte is a really good drink to replenish with as it has electrolytes and other stuff you lost during the sweating period. If you drink to quick you will cramp up and feel really bad. By this point you're probably thinking with your stomach instead of your head, but we have to make sure we eat properly at this point. That means go back to your routine leading up to this weigh in. Don't go get greasy nachos right after weigh in as this will be a shock to your system and not make you feel very good. The other really important thing is a good nights rest as you body needs to recover.

Now remember that this is just to cut water weight. To control your weight you need to eat properly. As far how much you should cut, that all depends on you. If you've never cut weight before then I recommend a practice cut to learn what is feasible for you. Now as the tournament is this weekend here is a highlight of Genki Sudo, one of the best/most entertaining grapplers and MMA fighters ever.

Functionality Part 2

In the gym we see people banging away on some machine or grunting under the weight of a barbell, each person envisioning the body part or muscle growing or shrinking. We often treat our bodies like a bunch of individual parts, molding and shaping, making them stronger and longer. Imagine a car with a 1000 horsepower motor and skinny little tires, you hit the gas and burn all the rubber off without making it to the finish line!
Look at a complete athlete like George St.Pierre; he is not obsessed with having huge biceps or massive pecs, rather, he trains his body as a cohesive unit.
If you haven't heard of "core" training you probably live in a cave, in which case you most likely are not reading this blog post. Core training is much more important than building big muscles when it comes to fighting or any sport for that matter. Throwing a powerful punch, turning out of a rear-naked choke, upa bridging or kneeing to the face all require a powerful core.
Try thinking of your body as a torso first with no arms or legs,then break your body down to 3 major areas. A) the shoulder girdle, consisting of the humerus, scapula and the clavicle. B) the core which consists of your abdominal, torso and back muscles. C) the pelvic and hip stabilizers. Without strength in these areas you would have no need for legs or arms!
Here are some good exercises for strengthening the shoulder, hip and core stabilizers.
1) Forward and back lunges: hold dumbell in each hand at your side, step forward and dip knee an inch or so from the floor then step the same leg back and perform the opposite movement.
2) Side to side "sit outs": From the push up position kick one leg out to the side and drop your hip to the floor, then repeat the movement on the other side. Switch back and forth fast to add some cardio to the exercise.
3) Perform a set of leg raises then flip over and do 10 sprawls. Repeat this for 5 or more sets then do 2 minutes or more of planks, front and side.
4) Try some Yoga "cobra" or sometimes called the "Hindu" push ups. these are done by going from downward dog, skimming the ground in a scooping motion to upward dog and scooping back to down dog. Try doing 10 of these if you think you have strong shoulders!
5) Lie on your stomach and, keeping you abs tight, lift one leg and the opposite side arm. Alternate and do 10 reps per side then lift both arms and legs at the same time for 10 to 20 reps.
These are a good start but I recommend that you incorporate a more comprehensive regimen in your daily routine.
I recommend the book you can find in my blog Amazon store; Core Performance Essentials by Mark Verstegen as a very good guide and there is a full workout plan that will give you a great base to improve your
performance.
Now think of your car with 1000 horsepower and traction bars and 30 inch meats in the rear! Now yer gonna get somewhere!!

P.S. here are some vids that might help:

Wrestling 101 - Mentally Tough

Last week in Wrestling 101 we talked about the most basic of wrestling and grappling fundamentals, the body follows the head. We looked at a double leg takedown to illustrate our point and this week we're going to build upon that by going over some of the most basic takedown defense, a sprawl.

If the body follows the head and I want to stop my opponent from picking me up then what do I have to do? Push his head down! This should be your highest priority when defending a takedown. Without good posture, i.e. head looking up, then your opponent will have a real hard time lifting you off the ground. Any one who has ever done any squats or deadlifts knows that looking down as you lift results in not being able to lift the weight and potential injury. Why would this principle change just because the weight is changing from a bar to a human being. Now just pushing the head down is not enough, we have to keep it down by kicking our legs back and dropping the weigh of our hips on to the back of his neck and shoulders. This action of a good, heavy sprawl can be very disheartening to your opponent and mentally shut them down in a match. Which brings us to our next point, attitude.

A good offense is the best defense. It's a cliche, but it's a cliche for a reason. To win you have to want it. That doesn't mean trying not to lose but actually going out there attacking trying to win. Vince Lombardi, one of the best coaches of not only football but of any sports put it this way:

"I think winning is the result if mental toughness. I think mental toughness is many things, and it is very difficult to explain what it is. First, I think mental toughness is humility; I think that it takes humility to realize that greatness is really simplicity. Mental toughness is made up too of the spartan qualities of sacrifice and self-denial. Mental toughness is loyalty. You cannot win consistently without it, and as you win each man grows because of it"

Dan Gable used these same principles to not only be one of the best wrestlers in the world but coach one of the best teams ever to compete. To be sucsessfull we need confidence. Confidence in our technique. Confidence in that we get out what we put in. Confidence that the people around us, coaches, teammates, all have our best interests at heart. Without this confidence and mental toughness you'll always be trying not to lose instead of going out there and winning. Here is a clip of Alexander Karelin, one of the most sucsessfull athletes ever

To win you need to be confident. To be confident you need to feel prepared. To feel prepared you need to put the time and energy in. You need to train how you wish to compete, with the same intesity, the same drive, and the same will. To be the best doesn't make you great, to be great you need to be ready to give up everything. You need to be mentally tough.

Wrestling 101 - The Golden Rule

This is Kurt and I'm going to be writing a column about wrestling as well as any other anecdotal, opinionated and otherwise relevant things that pop into my head. Without any more babbling I present Wrestling 101.

Wrestling is one of the oldest martial arts there is, with reference to it as far back as the 12th and 13th century bc. Greco-Roman wrestling was a part of the first modern day Olympics back in 1896 with freestyle wrestling following in 1904. In MMA, wrestlers are know for their ability to control fights as well as their conditioning and their unparalleled work ethic.

If we break wrestling down to its core elements we find that it's about your opponents disrupting your opponents balance while maintaining your own. Balance is determined by two things, stance and posture. We need to think of our stance and posture as our foundation, without a good foundation no amount of moves is going to make you good. With that in mind we are going to look at the most important thing to remember about wrestling, the Golden Rule:

THE BODY FOLLOWS THE HEAD!!

This is the most important thing to remember about wrestling as 90% of our technique is based off of this principle. We are going to look at a double leg take down to illustrate my point. Now in a double leg we first change levels then drive into our opponent, looking where we want to go. It's important that we never look down on our take downs as we compromise our posture as well as increasing our chance of being stuffed or submitted. We are going to look at a clip from 2 time Olympian Barry Davis on how to do a double leg.




Wow, thanks Barry, I couldn't have said it better myself. Now that's a lot of information, especially for someone just starting out with wrestling, but it's important to note the things we've been talking about. Notice the good posture as well as his head position, those are the most important things for beginners to focus on. The other thing he stressed that we haven't touched on yet is the penetrating step. It's important that we step deep with our inside leg (the one that is between our opponents leg) so that we can get right underneath their center of gravity and make the lift easy. That also helps us knock our opponent off balance which brings me back to the start of the article, wrestling is all about disrupting our opponents BALANCE.

Some people think of wrestlers as bullies or even brutish but if I can knock my opponent out of their stance with that first deep step and contact, then they're already one step behind. They are thinking of defending and recovering rather than attacking like they should be. You will often hear wrestlers and coaches refer to this as imposing your will or setting the tone, and that's how you want to start a match. This sport, as well as most other sports, are 80% mental and if I can make my opponent believe that there is no way he can beat me, by setting the tone early, then my life will be easy.

Now we've gone over a lot in this article but it is important to remember that we can't build good technique without a solid foundation. Next week we will be going over some more technique and principles with a single leg and a sprawl, as well as discussing proper work ethic in the gym. Until next time, remember the Golden Rule:

THE BODY FOLLOWS THE HEAD!!

Low back pain!

I don't know very many people who have never experienced low back pain at one time or another! I myself have and I know that most of my students have as a result of training constantly one-sided in our fighting stance. In fact, most folks are unbalanced by nature. We have all heard the saying that if a person were to walk in one direction for a length of time they would end up going in a circle because everyone tends to favor one side or have one leg shorter than the other among other reasons. Another reason why the lower back is so stressed is in the design of the human anatomy. Think about the structure of the skeleton and imagine all the huge muscle that you are building while you pound out 400lb bench sets and 300lb rows! Al this weight and power sitting on the little chicken-neck we call a spine! I am not a chiropractor, but it seems obvious to me when I think of it this way that taking good care of the back is crucial.
The foremost authority on back pain (and many other health subjects) in my opinion, is a fellow named Josh Rubin from East West Healing at http://www.eastwesthealing.com/Resources.aspx. He has sourced out a low back exercise from Doctor Guy Voyer that is easy and effective but you have to follow it exactly as he describes in this Youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb1pzak7w_M. It doesn't look like much but it works.

Give it a shot.
Coach Toby

This is the first installment of our video series, I think you will get some good training guidelines from this stuff.
The techniques are from Raptor's first level.
In this video, Kurt will demonstrate the use of sticks, similar to ladder drills in football, to drill proper footwork for Boxing, Kickboxing and M.M.A.
There are 3 basic elements that we incorporate in our footwork:
1. The steps
2. The rocking motion
3. The jab
All my students must master these and make them second nature. I tell them that they must have these 3 things on "Autopilot". When a fighter is in the ring the coach should never have to tell them to move the head or feet or to keep popping out that jab!
Much more to come.
Stay tuned!
Coach Toby

Functionality part 1

Functionality is a word that is floating around quite a bit lately. I think that the concept is quite sage and sound. The idea is that we might be doing too much of the wrong things and not enough of the correct things.
An example of this is the age old boxing training practice of "roadwork" or, jogging. When a person is fighting in a boxing, kickboxing or m.m.a. match the physical exertion the body is under hardly resembles a 20 kilometre jog. Imagine a long distance runner, having trained for his event for many years, the long thin musculature and the lean upper body are not favourable to a fighter.
All three types of muscle tissue (cardiac, smooth and skeletal) are made up of fibre-like cells.
The skeletal muscle tissue can be changed dramatically by the manor of the training.
1. Plyometric exercise; A combination of cardio and resistance training encourages the formation of type IIa fibres or "fast twitch".
2. Resistance exercise; weight training etc. builds up type IIb and somewhat IIa fibres, forming thin and thick myofilaments, increasing the size of the muscle
3. Endurance exercise; Cardiovascular training, prolonged intervals using less force over longer periods result in vast increases in blood flow and type I or "slow twitch" fibres, also known as "slow oxidative".
The human body will recruit the necessary fibres and combinations of fibres as well as the proper level of vascular efficiency to best suit the activity that you do most often.
Therefore, if I will be swinging punches, torque my body violently while pushing around someone my identical weight for 5 rounds (intervals) of 3 minutes, for example, how would I benefit from jogging around for an hourStay tuned.
Coach Toby

Boxing/Kickboxing Tip #4

A very simple formula for success in the stand up fight game.
Think about it this way;
If someone punched you in the face what would you do?
Most people would retaliate with the same strike as a natural human reaction .
As Shawn Tompkins often says, 'Fighting is a game of percentages', we want to
use this to our advantage.
An example of this is, if I were to throw a head shot at my opponent, I can assume that
they will try to hit me back and therefore I should always finish my combination with a defense.
I am aware of how elementary this sounds but after seeing hundreds of beginners as well as many professional fighters make that fatal mistake, I always drill my students to train this way habitually.
Try this;
Grab a partner and some focus mitts.
Throw 1, 2, 3, and 4 punch combinations and at the end of each one either slip, bob or rock before you take a step or throw another punch.
Always finish your last punch before doing the head movement and finish the head movement before taking a step. This will ensure that you keep your balance and get the full effectiveness of the technique.
Again, this type of drill will make you look like a physic! Every time your opponent tries to counter off your attack you won't be there!
Apply this same strategy to kick combinations as well as much of the grappling game.
If you kick his legs, the odds are that he will kick yours, if you attack one of his arms on the ground, you cause him to think of his arms.
In all of these cases, you can use the same theory to get another advantage on your opponent;
Assume that he has done some of the same training and keep your own counters as random as possible. ie: When he throws a punch to your head, go to the body, the next time, throw a kick and the time after that go back to the head.
Remember, all of these strategies will not work unless you have a strong foundation in the basics.
We started filming the videos this week so they will be ready shortly.
Keep your hands up!
Coach Toby

Boxing / Kickbxing tip #3

Build a strong foundation, build a strong house!

At Raptor we drill the shit out of footwork and it pays off in abundance with the way that we fight. Think about it this way, if you are always one or more steps ahead of your opponent he/she will be too busy looking for you to implement strategy. The first drills we work with new students are ladder-type drills that are as exciting as licking tissue paper but, with good footwork built in to your combination you can establish your dominance in the ring right from the start of the fight.
Conversely, if your footwork is lacking, you will never get good distance on your opponent, which translates to not being able to hit him and not having proper position for your own defense.
We do what is called "lateral movements" which are made up of three components or elements that I insist are to be mastered before anyone even attempts to do any sparring, let alone fighting. The three elements are:

1. The footwork - forward, back, left, right.
2. head movement (rocking motion) - the rule and rhyme is "rock the way you walk".
3. The Jab - jab lands when the front foot lands.

The way I explain it to my students is that these three elements need to be on auto-pilot while you are in the ring, the coach should never have to yell at you to keep your hands up or move your feet or head.

We will be putting up some great videos soon that will show these drills and techniques in detail.
The first level of kickboxing (Private) at Raptor will give you a fantastic foundation weather you are a Boxer, kickboxer or M.M.A. fighter and we will try to cover all of these in the video series so keep following!

Coach Toby

"Bitch Tits"

'Bitch Tits", or pseudo gynecomastia
If you are into bodybuilding or you are over 40 you may have an intimate and not so happy knowledge of this expression. It refers to the formation of breast-like protuberances in the
pectoral area of a man's chest. This is an indication of an imbalance of hormones in the body and only one of many issues that can occur caused by several factors. My topic for today is hormones and the system that provides these hormones is called the endocrine system.

The endocrine system is a network of glands and organs that make certain types of hormones.
(endo referring to internal functions)
It communicates with and controls the nervous system, reproductive system,
kidneys, gut, liver, pancreas and fat to operate with the following:


* sex drive and reproduction
* energy level
* growth and development of body tissue
* homeostasis or balance of body systems
* responses to stress and injury
* fat loss, increase and retention

The ebb and flow of these hormones are responsible for the sensation of most of the
emotions we feel, therefore they are largely responsible for our behavior as well.
There are many things in our environment and lifestyle that cause imbalances in the release of
one or more hormones, either, too much or too little.
Eg. 1. A problem with a gland or the blood supply
or receptors on the organs, tissues, or cells may cause this imbalance.
Eg. 2. If the liver or kidneys are not healthy, it results in problems clearing hormones from the blood.
Eg. 3. The network may not be properly regulating the hormones in the blood stream as well.

To illustrate some of the effect of these imbalances we can use the so-called "sex" hormones
in men and women that cause the more obvious symptoms:

Low bioavailability of testosterone levels in men causes:

* Low sex drive
* Emotional, psychological and behavioral changes
* Decreased muscle mass
* Loss of muscle strength
* Increased upper and central body fat
* Osteoporosis or weak bones and back pain
* "Feminization" of the male physique (Thus the reference to the bodybuilders nightmare, "bitch tits")
* Cardiovascular risk

High Estrogen and Low Progesterone in women causes:
* Increased storage of fat
* Anxiety ie:
- panic
- irritability
- mood swings
* Heavy Bleeding
* Bloating and Water Retention
* Breast Tenderness
* Headaches

Low Estrogen and High Progesterone

* Hot Flashes, Palpitations
* Insomnia
* Depression
* Forgetfulness
* Irregular Periods
* Loss of Libido

The visible effects of a hormone imbalance are not desirable but the less visible include types of cancer, diseases of all the major organs including the heart, liver and kidneys and for this reason as well as the more obvious,we should never ignore the endocrine system.
Stress, pharmaceutical drugs, birth control pills, improper nutrition and pollution are major causes of imbalances in your system.
An endocrinologist is a specialist trained to diagnose and treat diseases, which affect your
glands and hormone levels, they know how to treat conditions, which are specific to your endocrine system.
I would suggest that you find one who takes a more holistic approach to addressing the problems whereas, most physicians will simply prescribe a pharmaceutical drug which can lead to other problems, it is, I believe, more prudent to look at the root cause of the issue and restoring the body's own innate balance.
A friend of mine, Dr. Stephen Chung, BSc, MSc, PhD, a research biologist at U.B.C. in endocrinology specifically for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation and a member of Trillium Wellness Consultants, is my recommendation for any of my students and friends and family in this area. Dr. Chung has helped so many people with these issues and he will always try to find the most natural and lasting solution to the underlying problem rather than masking it with drugs and placebos.
POCO Naturals, 604-942-5612

Boxing / Kickboxing tip # 2

As anyone who attends my classes at Raptor knows, I am all about the drills! If you have any understanding of the human brain and how patterns are formed therein, you must recognize the benefit of repetition. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to restructure itself after training or practice. In many ways, neuroplasticity is what makes personal growth and development possible at its most basic level. One of the fun sayings around neuroplasticity: “neurons that fire together wire together… and neurons that fire apart wire apart.”. Effectively this means that when neurons activate at the same time as a response to an event, the neurons become associated with one another and the connections become stronger. This is why people talk about “neural pathways being set” with respect to increased practice – the more practice you accumulate, the more ingrained or grooved the pathways become. Of course the inverse happens as well: if those pathways aren’t utilized, the space will be used by other pathways needing room to grow. Use it or lose it! Many martial arts teachers will give you some sort of formula; "Ten times and you know it well enough to do the technique in class, one hundred times and you know it well enough to use it in a tournament, and ten thousand times and you can defend yourself with it in a street fight".
When we use our 'circular drills' ie. 5,4,bob,6,3, etc. we get the benefits of repetitions that reinforce our neural pathways and the additional benefit of flowing from one move to another which sets up the next logical defense or counter. The result being, for example, that the fighter looks like they are phycic when they seem to know what punch is coming next when in reality they simply drilled that sequence enough to react instinctivly.
In the near future, I will be adding video of these teachniques and drill to the blog, so stay posted!
Remember, practice makes perfect!
Coach Toby

90% Mental?......

What does it mean when your coach would say "Winning is %90 mental!" while he was talking about football or soccer or hockey? What the hell does my brain have to do with it, I'me gonna smash people and hit things? Well, I will tell you what my experience has shown me.
Imagine your first fight, you are walking up to the ring or cage and all around you are screaming people, card girls, tough guys, cameras etc. Now you step up onto the floor of the ring and you know that this is it, the time to put up or shut up. Like diving off a diving board, there is no turning back. Now, you look across at the guy you are here to fight and you see that he is big, mean looking and covered in ink! Between the crowd and the violence that is about to happen, your adrenaline is threatening to push your heart through your spine and cause you to vomit on the reff. The bell is sounded and suddenly your feet won't respond, your hands feel like coleslaw, all the training you have been doing is out the window. MAYBE you should have been doing some mental prep!?!?
I think that the mental aspects are more important in the fighting sports than any other. After all, you are all alone up there in front of many people with another trained fighter ready to take your head off!
I spent about a year with a mental coach and I would recommend it to anyone. Areadne Sawyer of Peak Performance Coaching ( http://www.ariadnescoaching.com/index.html ) helped me so much and gave me an entire toolbox of skills to learn new and better mental habits.
If you want to see a good example of a fighter who is very well prepared emotionally and mentally for the sport, look up Chris Horodeki on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQt0IgXn67A

By for now,
Coach Toby

The cure for dieting

I have some exciting stuff for dieting and addictions to food, particularly sugar and carbs as well as addictions to alcohol and drugs. This stuff is powerful but quite easy. The book I got this from is The Diet Cure by Julia Ross
Julia Ross is a pioneer in the field of nutritional psychology and a specialist in the treatment of eating disorders and addictions.She is a pioneer in the field of nutritional psychology, has developed a breakthrough method that uses amino acids to jump-start your program. You will feel your mood improve and your food cravings disappear within 24 hours.
The goal her book The Diet Cure is to stop your food cravings, address your eating and weight problems, and eliminate your mood swings and negative obsessions about your body. The first thing you must do is determine what is causing these problems.
The Quick Symptom Questionnaire http://www.dietcure.com/Questionnairea.html
Here is a questionnaire similar to the one you'll find in chapter one of the Diet Cure. Its nine key sections will help you to identify the particular physical imbalances at the root of your problems. Take a look and see if this will help you.
Have fun and stay healthy!
Coach Toby

Boxing / Kickboxing Tip #1

Hi, this will be the first tip in this series and there will be many more to come. I hope these are informative and help with your training.
One of the most important things that I or any other martial arts teacher can impart on students of all levels is, to KEEP YOUR HANDS UP!
Most fighters and fans have heard of the "Button", which is the area of the jaw that, when hit, seems to shut the fighters lights out. While may not be an actual button, it seems to be just as effective for the purpose of finishing a fight early. We see fighters such as Liddel and Wanderlei, two of the toughest s.o.b.s to enter the Octagon, drop that hand and the opponent capitalize with accuracy and timing and "BOOM OUT GO THE LIGHTS!. You hear folks talk about a "glass jaw" but in reality, anyone who gets hit with the correct leverage and the power that any trained fighter would posess is suseptible to this fate. In a self defense situation the same rule goes - we must always protect the pumpkin! I always say to my students that there are 2 ways that I never want them to lose a fight; 1. Never gas out for lack of training and 2. KEEP YOU HANDS UP!
And remember;
Stay loose, like Drunkin' Man Kung-Fu baby!
Coach Toby

PH level.

Hi I just wanted to remind everyone how it is very important to keep an eye on your ph. level ( how acidic or alkaline you are). The higher your body’s pH level the fewer toxins are being produced by bacteria and parasites which can result in more energy and health and less chance of getting sick.
Here are some basic steps that you can start with to get you on the right track.
Step 1

Know what the average pH level of the human body is:

The average range is between 6.4 and 7.5. Numbers lower than 6.4 indicate acidic body chemistry, higher numbers indicate alkaline.

Step 2

Know the two basic tenets about disease:

1) All disease (including cancers) and toxins are acidic; 2) Bacteria, viruses, and parasites die when exposed to high alkaline environments.

If your body is too acidic, then you might be sluggish, prone to depression, illness, chronic fatigue or a host of other ailments and conditions.

Step 3

Find out your body’s pH level.

An easy way to find out is through a litmus paper test. Remember those science experiments from school where you dipped that little strip of paper into a lemon juice solution? Same paper.

Step 4


Get yourself some pH test strips, I recommend 'Alaka' brand urine stream strips and you can get them at POCO NATURALS in Port Coq. Ask for Dr. Chung and tell him Toby sent you!


Step 5
Fresh veggies can raise your body pH.
One more time!.....
Fresh veggies can raise your body pH!

Learn what foods can you eat to raise your pH level.

• There is loads of free information on the web and free lists of alkaline and acidic foods.

Hi, this is a new blog and I am new at this but I wanted a way of keeping people informed about the club and share all the great information that I research.
Knowledge is power and everyone has a right to learn.
The world wide web has opened so many doors and leveled the playing field for so many people to empower themselves with knowledge from around the world.
For fighters it means we can share training methods and new techniques and everybody can benefit from learning about health and fitness!