Diary / Training Notes

Hour four of this MMA Personal Training ground ’n pound course proved to be an intensive and enlightening session as we delved into various half-guard defences, which are crucial for any fighter looking to enhance their grappling skills in mixed martial arts. The focus of this training was on several key positions: deep half-guard, knee-shield, Z-guard, and classic half-guard. Each of these positions presents unique challenges and opportunities, making them essential componen

The third hour of my client’s first Muay Thai Personal Training course continued our work in the clinch. Our lesson integrated all the main knee strikes from the previous classes: spear knees, curve knees and introduced the horizontal knee. I also worked more on other arm positions in the clinch, such as the body locks.

Hour seven of my senior personal training course means that my client back onto strength and conditioning. As in previous classes, we stuck to the formula of using the big three lifts and a progressive pull-up routine. 

My client from Hostlebro Taekwondo Klub in Denmark concluded his three-part teacher consultancy course with me on the ecological dynamics/constraints-led approach to teaching martial arts. The purpose of our course has been to help him write a dissertation for his next black belt grade focusing on this method of training. We have gone into detail various problems that the approach can solve and how much it redefines such core concepts as technique. In order to maintain our sc

18.10.2025 Here are a selection of photos from the recent Animal Instincts Children's Self-Protection Teaching Programme - "Bear" (11-16 year-olds) Complete Physical Skills Syllabus.

My client started his new course with me: MMA Ground Fighting. We have finally circled back to this area after dedicating an entire course to Shoot Boxing. The lesson consists of a series of 3-minute rounds and sometimes 5-minute rounds of themed sparring. Sometimes these are constraints-led whereas others a bit more general. Future lessons will also highlight certain techniques, especially submissions.

My client teacher from Hostlebro Taekwondo Klub in Denmark continued his remote training with me. We are covering the application of ecological dynamics to his classes, which is being covered in a project set for one of his black belt grades. Last lesson, after a discussion on how to introduce the approach and various ideas for topics to approach, I asked my client to come back with a series of problems for me to answer.

Having finished his 10-hour kickboxing course, my client began Muay Thai in earnest this week, and we started everything with the basics on the clinch.

My senior client returned for the fourth hour of his current course. We alternating between Boxing lessons and resistance work.

My couple clients are on the sixth hour of their new Submission Grappling/Ground fighting course. We are keeping our focus on attacking and defending from the turtle position. In line with the decisions made at the conclusion of last week's class tonight's training was all about gaining more experience sparring from this position.

My teenage client began his kickboxing course on Thursday evening. He has completed his boxing course, and we decided this was the best bridge between boxing and Muay Thai.

My 1.5 hour private client took a break from sparring in this lesson and we decided to take a look at his technique through the lens of heavy bag and focus mitt training. We used the following 3-minute rounds:

The final hour of my client's 10-hour Kickboxing course focused on handling southpaws. We used the strategy of keeping the lead foot on the outside and leading with rear hand. The proximity to an opponent offered by this position allows for faster delivery of teeps and rear hand straights. Meanwhile, the outside techniques have to be adapted to up-jabs, question mark uppercuts, hooks, lead over hands and outside round kicks.

In the world of submission grappling, mastering the turtle position can significantly influence the outcome of a match. During our fifth hour of training with my clients, we took a close look at this position, honing in on weight sensitivity and distribution. This session was not only about learning the mechanics of the turtle position but about grasping the nuances that can either lead to victory or leave an opening for a counterattack.

This afternoon's class focused on isolating footwork training, specifically the shift step.

My senior client is on the second session of a three-day training block (yesterday he began hour one of this particular 10-hour course).

10.01.2025 Hour eight of my Cotswold Karate teacher's latest course on Submission Grappling and he chose to explore sweeps. Rather than...

06.01.2025 My couple clients returned to training on hour five of their Kickboxing course. As previously explained, this course focuses...