Learning Theory and Hook Kicks…or…Sweat and the 70/20/10 Principle

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Training is useless without application…and it looks like Hannibal Lecter found this guy before we did.

As I was leaving taekwondo practice Monday night I mentioned to my instructor that I liked the sparring drills he added at the end of class. Monday is typically cardio and conditioning night, but lately we’ve been doing some no contact sparring (i.e., we’re not wearing protective gear so we try not to kill each other), reaction drills, and fighting techniques during the latter half of the class. That night we had done a simple drill during which one partner attacked with a roundhouse kick, which is a very typical (and predictable) attack during free sparring, and the defending partner would counter with a low block and a hook kick to the chest. Fun, simple, but surprisingly difficult for some students to do intuitively.
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Trying to Stay “Fun Size”: One More Week of Tough Training

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Here are some stats on my next-to-last week of training for my black belt test:

Days until Black Belt Test: 6
Weight: 116 pounds
Taekwondo classes: 5
Morning swimming workouts: 1 (I was shooting for 3, but wouldn’t you know, my bed is REALLY comfortable at 4:30 AM)
Yoga classes: 2
Physical Therapy/Personal Training/Butt-Kicking sessions: 2
Pain Scale of My Hamstring: 1.5-3 depending on how much kicking I do (YAY!!)
Pain Scale of My “Impinged” Anterior Hip: 0-0.5 (YAAAAAYYY!!!)
Number of sweaty sports bras drying out on a door knob somewhere in my house: at least 1 at all times
How much I want a cheeseburger and fries right now: 5,000,000
Productive things I’m going to do immediately after the test: 0

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Pain in the Ass

lion cub biting

The pain in my right hip that flared up three weeks ago seems to have slid around to the backside. While I don’t think it’s sciatica some of the symptoms are the same: pain shooting from what feels like the inner meat and bones of my hip socket down my leg, driving long distances becomes painful to the point that I’m in tears, and it’s only relieved by flicking my leg out from the hip socket so I get a nice loud pop.
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Choose Your Priorities, Don’t Let Them Choose You

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Tonight a teenage black belt who should be testing for second dan in October was throwing up one argument after another as to why he couldn’t stay for the extra classes we have on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Finally he said that his priorities have shifted for the summer.

“And what’s your priority this summer?” my instructor asked with a sigh.
“Video games.” The student turned on his heel and stalked out of the training room.
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4/20 Burnout…Wait, It’s Not What You Think!

burning candle

When you do something over and over you either become stronger or you break.
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