Diary / Training Notes

Saturday morning’s two-hour remote martial arts teacher training saw Hinnerup Karate in Denmark return. Having covered boxing over their past two two-hour lessons online, they decided to switch to kickboxing. This is all part of me helping train their instructors and senior students to better teach a kickboxing program that will be integrated into their practical karate syllabus. We discussed that the best way to teach this was to train the basics of boxing and then integrate

Integrating elbow strikes into sparring can transform a martial artist’s approach, especially when blending styles like Muay Thai and karate. Today, I worked with my teacher client from Cotswold Karate School on advancing his elbow strike techniques within sparring, focusing on counters to kicks. Over the past 10 lessons, we have built a foundation using Muay Thai and MMA sparring methods to introduce, isolate, and integrate elbow strikes into live practice.

Tonight’s Muay Thai personal training session brought back a familiar and exciting challenge: the dice game. If you haven’t encountered this before, it’s a simple yet effective way to sharpen focus, strategy, and technique during sparring. Instead of rolling a single die to determine a random number, we assign each number to a specific technique. The twist? You keep your roll secret while trying to score points only with the technique you rolled. Meanwhile, your opponent trie

Two individuals practise a triangle choke on red mats in a martial arts gym. Text promotes mastering the technique through games.

Boxing offers a unique blend of fitness, coordination, and mental focus, making it an excellent choice for seniors looking to stay active and sharp. One of the most powerful punches in boxing is the left hook, a move that can change the course of a fight when executed correctly. Tonight, during my client’s eighth hour of his senior boxing personal training, we concentrated on refining this technique through targeted sparring games and drills. I want to share the approach we u

Footwork shapes the foundation of effective martial arts practice. Without smooth, controlled movement, even the best strikes and defenses lose power and precision. This morning, while working remotely with my client from Drum Martial Arts and Fitness in Ireland, we focused on refining footwork through specific drills and shadow boxing routines. Our goal was to build fluidity, especially for escaping corners and moving naturally around the ring.

When I began working with my client from Cotswold Karate School, a martial arts teacher deeply committed to improving his teaching methods, we focused on using Muay Thai personal training to enhance the existing elbow strike techniques in karate. This cross-training approach has opened new doors for both of us, especially in how his students can better incorporate elbow strikes into their sparring. Recently, we wrapped up a session that introduced the K-block and various comb

Teaching boxing remotely presents unique challenges, especially when focusing on defensive skills that require precise timing and body awareness. Recently, my teacher clients from Hostlebro Taekwondo Klub in Denmark joined me for their fourth hour of Remote Online Boxing Training. This session focused on defensive work, breaking down the layers of defense and integrating footwork drills to build a solid foundation.

When my client expressed a desire to improve his triangle choke, I knew this session would take us deep into the world of Submission Grappling. The triangle choke is a powerful submission move that can turn the tide of any fight, but it requires precision, timing, and control. In this lesson, we focused on breaking down the triangle choke from guard, along with related techniques like the Omoplata and the arm-bar. These moves are essential tools in any mixed martial arts pers

Mastering the double-leg takedown is a key milestone in wrestling personal training. This technique is a fundamental move that can quickly change the momentum of a match. In my client’s eighth hour of training, we focused on sharpening this skill through targeted drills and sparring games. The session not only emphasized the mechanics of the double-leg takedown but also the defensive counter, the sprawl. Here, I’ll share the structure of the lesson, the sparring activities we

When my couple clients returned for their third hour of Mixed Martial Arts Personal Training, we focused on a critical but often challenging position: the half-guard. This lesson built on their previous session, where we explored half-guard fundamentals on open ground. This time, we took it to the wall, or cage, to simulate real fight conditions where movement is limited. The goal was to sharpen their ability to defend and attack from half-guard when space is tight and option

Boxing footwork can make or break your performance in the ring. One of the most effective movements to improve your agility and positioning is the L-step. This morning, while working with my teacher client from Drum Martial Arts and Fitness in Galway, Ireland, we focused on fully integrating the L-step into boxing footwork through a series of shadow boxing drills. These drills not only sharpened technique but also enhanced fluidity and balance.

Intensify your Muay Thai skills with one-on-one training focused on mastering the elbow strike. This comprehensive guide covers elbow sparring, defense tactics against punches, kicks, and knees, and full Thai rules sparring. Explore the detailed blog post on ClubbChimera.com.

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) demands mastery across multiple fighting ranges, each requiring unique skills and strategies. During a recent hour-long session, my client and I explored all the major ranges of MMA sparring. We structured the training into focused 3-minute rounds, covering boxing, kickboxing, shoot-boxing, clinch work, and ground fighting from both top and bottom positions. This approach offers a comprehensive way to develop well-rounded skills and sharpen transition

Hour seven of my client's Wrestling Personal Training course brought us onto the single leg takedown. There are many different ways to execute this technique, but for the purposes of this basic lesson we concentrated on two. They were taught using a series of constraints-led games following our warm-up.

My long-time couple clients returned for their weekly Mixed Martial Arts Personal Training session on Monday (23.02.2026), where we explored the use of the half-guard in MMA. We are on their second lesson of this particular course. The half-guard has had an interesting journey in this particular sport.

My senior client entered the sixth hour of his current boxing course. We are going through the finer details of basic punches. Last week we covered the jab; this week it made sense to look at the next straight punch: the cross.

Teaching martial arts is a continuous journey of growth, not just for students but for instructors as well. As a martial arts teacher, you know the value of expanding your skill set to offer richer, more effective training to your students. One way I have seen this happen firsthand is through martial arts teacher training that incorporates techniques from different disciplines.

My clients from Hostlebro Taekwondo Klub, Denmark (chief instructor and instructor), joined me for the third their current course of boxing lessons. We moved more onto some specialised footwork - shift steps, mainly from the peek-a-boo style and v-steps - to switch stances and take angles. After a specific warm-up and shadow boxing, we moved back onto the specific (constraints-led approach) sparring methods.

My veteran client (he has been training with me consistently since 2014) followed on from last lesson by shifting our focus onto knee strikes. We isolated these techniques and then integrated them into every specific sparring round.