Well it’s been a slightly slower week on the ground training wise this in comparison to the week before. In fact, I’ve yet to get myself to the gym but will probably make my way down tomorrow. Life being life I’ve been kept on my toes with everything else bar boxing but I guess sometimes you have to prioritise.

As always when it’s a quieter week training wise I value what time I manage to spend there. I’m aiming to make sure I’m back on track towards the winter this year but I’m enjoying taking things at my own pace and training as and when I can. Training and writing seem to be a little hit and miss at present, so apologies but rest assured normal service will be resumed shortly. “We are experiencing technical difficulties.”

Last week was very much a martial one,  and I found myself with a reasonably full week of Thai boxing finished off with some self defence training to boot which I always enjoy. Just like with anything the more you practice the more it sets in and although that’s currently only happening once a week I’m picking up the general premise.

Mondays have been relegated to the realms of “when I get around to it” for now but at some point Kali is still on the agenda. Like with a lot of people I often find there never seems to be enough time in the day to fit most things in. However, like with everything Thai and with everything else in my life I get there in the end.

I’m still keeping running on days I don’t make it to training and even on days that I do. At points it seems like a poor substitute but at least I know that I’m doing something. and I’d rather be doing something than nothing. That’s something I’ve found applying itself to a lot of areas of my life.

I made a decision the other day to start bringing in sprints when I can to the runs I do (usually around 4 to 6 k sometimes a little further ) to make things a little more interesting. Not only does running fast get your stamina up it sometimes gets you thinking and reacting a little quicker too. At least I think it does anyway.

When I have a fight coming up I will usually (I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before so sorry If I’m treading old ground) pace the fight in my head along my run. “Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, 4” and 5 is the big push. I think I want to get back to that because it makes me push myself and gives me a bit of extra drive to succeed.

Sprint training I’ve found helps with those 10 – 15 second bursts of energy that are  often needed at any moment in a fight, and I find can be essential for me when I need to start putting the pressure on. When it comes down to time spent at the gym I realised a little while ago I’m a lot quicker than I think I am when I want to be. If that makes sense. I started working in short, fast combinations that I knew would work and that I knew I could remember easily. That’s something I want to get back to.

I’ve found however that I’ve got sharper and I’ve got stronger of later. The speeds still there when I want it but it’s something I’m going to work on. Faster is the order of the day.  That’s always a good thing. And technique although it could do with having a little more time given to it at points is on a slow climb of improvement. Bad habits can be hard to break but you know what? I’m getting there and really that’s the most important thing.

So next week onwards it’s back to the norm and no doubt I’ll find a lot more time than this week to be the best I can be. And that’s something I aim for in all things. I thought I’d leave you this week with a little more boxing Pornsanae Sitmonchai (Muay Thai Rocky) vs Superlek. You can see those short sharp combinations I was talking about back there. Although it didn’t go his way that day it was one hell of a fight. Enjoy, have a great week and train hard and I’ll see you on that road.

Muay Thai – Superlek vs Pornsanae, Rajadamnern Stadium Bangkok, 10th September 2014 (Full Fight)