Hi. It’s nearly been a month since I sat down last to write and I think it’s something this year that I really need to get back to. It’s a natural bias of mine that I’ve inherited from my dad. When I was in Spain last Christmas me and mum sat down and went through a lot of the short stories he wrote and wanted to get published. This year we intend to find a publisher to make it happen.

Speaking of Spain I’m pleased to be heading out to see my mum next week for a well-deserved short break. It’ll only be for the weekend but I’m hoping it’s going to be a lot warmer than the UK at present! I’ve kind of hit a point where I feel a need to recharge and recalibrate slightly and besides it’s always good spending time with family.

I’ve been enjoying training of late and despite having recently run into the inevitable peaks and troughs moment most of us if not all of us experience when we train or compete in anything I know myself well enough as a martial artist to know that despite it all I just keep going and although what I do may not always be perfect little improvements often go a lot further than I think.

Just this week we all had to show our head coach our left and right body kicks on pads and as the inevitable “my go” moment emerged I worried as I often do that I was going to make myself look bad in front of a very busy class. Ok, my right kick needs a bit of work but on the second attempt I twisted my hips more and hey my left kick has always been strong and is absolutely getting there. It was nice to receive a bit of acknowledgment for getting the fundamentals of kicking right. I’ve been training for a long time so if I wasn’t there might have been a problem.

This week we’ve spent a lot of time working on our basics and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed doing, Sparring hasn’t been too bad either and yesterday it was good to spar with another fighter who has been training for 13 years or so. She started when she was seven she told me afterwards. I could tell as soon as she returned low kicks at the speed she did as well as the standard of her technique that she was an experienced Thai boxer. It’s nice when that happens. I’ve been training for 17 years as of this month. I’ve probably mentioned that before but hey it’s a vocation.

These days I train roughly around five or six times a week, and although you can argue the case that volume doesn’t account for much if you’re not improving it’s good to see that I most certainly am and remain inspired by the fact that the more I invest in myself the more it gives back to me.

I may not be perfect but I can still hold my own and when it comes down to it I know what I am doing. I’m currently working on staying in the pocket or fighting inside as being short, it’s always a challenge dealing with people taller than me. Staying inside their kicking range means I’m dangerous as I have good hands and low kicks, although after all these years I still occasionally wear my guard around my ankles. Face block only gets you so far in life.

I’m spending time outside of classes focusing on basics as present on the bags as I want to improve my fundamentals however I’m noticing my combinations flow well and sometimes I surprise myself with how easy I find it to put it together. The speed is there when I want it to be and I’m working on improving my kicking guard. As always there’s a lot to work on and it’s good fun.

Muay Thai is currently helping me take my power back and is a good release when I’ve had a tough day or week. It’s nice to feel welcome and valued in a training environment and to know that after seventeen years of doing this, I’ll be boxing when I’m sixty. Day by day I’m getting stronger and heading toward a new me with the same values and principles as before. I may not be the same guy walking out of the storm who walked into the storm, but I think that really this is what the storm has been about. Have a good week, train hard, and just like the last time… I’ll see you on that road.