Diary / Training Notes

Teaching children martial arts is a rewarding experience, especially when the lessons are fun and engaging. Today, I had the opportunity to conduct a private grappling lesson for two boys aged nine and seven. Over a series of 10 hours, they will learn the fundamentals of grappling, which combines stand-up wrestling and submission grappling or ground fighting.

Elbows are one of the most powerful and versatile weapons in Muay Thai. Yet, many martial arts teachers find it challenging to train elbows effectively in sparring, especially when combining them with other striking tools. During hour six of my personal training course with a teacher client from Cotswold Karate School, we focused intensely on elbows under pressure. This session involved a series of sparring rounds designed to sharpen elbow techniques in various scenarios.

Starting martial arts later in life can be a rewarding way to improve balance, coordination, and overall fitness. My 66-year-old client, who has a history of a serious head injury affecting his balance, recently began training to regain control and confidence in his movements. He trains in Tai Chi and Taekwondo at local clubs. I am not a Taekwondo teacher, but he sought me out to help him on his journey when he encountered some fundamental issues that needed some personal att

When couples come to me for submission grappling personal training, they often want to improve not just their strength but their ability to move naturally and react tactically on the ground. In our recent session, my couple clients embraced this challenge during their fourth hour of martial arts cross training. After focusing on hip control in the previous lesson, we introduced attacking with armlock holds, layering new skills on a solid foundation.

Transitioning from boxing to Muay Thai can feel like stepping into a new world. The stances, strikes, and rhythms differ, and the learning curve can be steep. For senior clients who have built a solid foundation in boxing, kickboxing offers a practical bridge to Muay Thai. This approach helps ease the transition by blending familiar boxing skills with new Muay Thai techniques. Here’s how a 10-lesson kickboxing course can support this journey, focusing on key moves like the te

Training martial arts remotely can feel challenging when it comes to mastering complex techniques like the Thai rear leg round kick and the switch kick. In my sixth remote online martial arts training session with my teacher client in Ireland’s Drum Martial Arts and Fitness, we focused on refining these two powerful kicks and combining them smoothly. This post shares insights from that session, practical tips, and how you can improve these kicks in your own remote training.

The jab and cross are the backbone of many boxing combinations. The jab is a quick, straight punch with the lead hand, used to gauge distance and set up attacks. The cross follows as a powerful straight punch from the rear hand, often delivering the knockout blow. Getting these punches right means more than just throwing fast punches. It requires proper stance, rotation, and muscle engagement.

When my advanced teenage taekwondo competitor came back for more martial arts cross training, I knew we had a great opportunity to sharpen her skills beyond traditional taekwondo drills. Cross-training in martial arts offers a fresh perspective and new challenges that can elevate performance in unexpected ways. Our session focused on contrasting in-fighting and outside fighting through sparring games, followed by drills to improve footwork and transition smoothly back into ta

When working with a returning 50-year-old professional businessman in his Boxing Personal Training course, I quickly realized that raw strength and power are only part of the equation. The real challenge lies in refining the structure of punches to maximize effectiveness while maintaining balance. This session focused on improving the mechanics behind his straight rights and crosses, ensuring that his punches are not only powerful but also controlled and well-balanced.

This post delves into the multifaceted benefits of targeted sparring as a method to bolster your Muay Thai defence. It will also explore the significance of punch structure in boxing training, emphasizing how this foundational aspect can translate into improved striking capabilities. Furthermore, we will discuss the advantages of cross-training in other martial arts, such as taekwondo, and how these practices can enhance overall performance and versatility in Muay Thai.

The rules are simple but clever. Each round, both sparring partners roll a die or dice in secret. The number rolled corresponds to a specific technique or strategy from a numbered list. Only the techniques linked to the rolled number count for scoring during that round. All other techniques are allowed but do not score points.

I do not teach taekwondo or any Korean martial art formally, despite starting my own martial arts journey in them during the early 1990s. Instead, I offer bespoke martial arts personal training that adapts to each client’s needs, drawing from a broad range of disciplines and experience. This outside perspective has proven valuable.

When I started working with my new client during our third hour of Triple C Fitness, I saw firsthand how this approach transforms fitness routines into engaging, effective workouts. Triple C Fitness is designed for people who want to learn martial arts for fitness benefits but prefer to avoid partner sparring or complex drills. Instead, we focus on solo exercises that build strength, agility, and technique.

When couples come to me for submission grappling personal training, they often aim to enhance their control and movement on the mat without overly depending on their hands. Hands can become fatigued, or sometimes you want to refine your body mechanics and utilize your hips more effectively. Recently, I conducted a two-hour session dedicated entirely to hip control, where we practiced sparring drills that required students to refrain from using their hands. This method enabled

Kickboxing and Muay Thai are dynamic martial arts that rely heavily on precise striking techniques. One of the most effective strikes in these disciplines is the low round kick. In my recent remote online martial arts personal training session with a client from Drum Martial Arts and Fitness in Galway, we focused on breaking down this technique to its essentials. This post shares insights from that lesson, explaining how to master the low round kick and how remote training ca

Returning to boxing after a long break can feel like stepping into a different world. For me, at 50 years old, getting back into boxing personal training was both a challenge and a rediscovery. The third hour of my client's training course focused on refining the basics and strengthening my defense. Revisiting jabs and crosses, while layering on defensive techniques, reminded me how much boxing is about precision, timing, and resilience.

Red boxing glove hits a heavy bag in a warm gym, with bold text: MAXIMISE YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH and Transform your body.

When my Muay Thai client asked to focus on attacking during our 1.5-hour session, I knew this would shape the entire training. We dedicated 12 rounds of 3 minutes each to specific sparring drills that sharpened his offensive skills. I took on a mostly defensive role, starting with a passive approach and gradually moving to active counterattacks. This method helped him develop a deeper understanding of timing, distance, and weapon combinations.

Tonight’s personal training session with my advanced client focused entirely on stand-up martial arts. We dedicated the full 1.5 hours to exploring the traditional conventions of boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai, rather than blending them as separate ranges in MMA. This approach allowed us to dive deep into the unique techniques and strategies each art offers in its purest form.

Submission grappling demands more than just knowing individual techniques. Success often depends on smooth transitions and the ability to chain attacks fluidly. One drill that highlights this approach is the "heat-seeking kimura," a sequence that links multiple arm locks through positional changes. This post explores how this drill fits into training from the north south position, its practical applications, and how it builds a stronger grappling game.