Diary / Training Notes

A video recorded and edited by my client showing the first round. 23.01.2026 Martial Arts Teacher Training My Cotswolds Karate teacher client returned for the sixth hour of his Martial Arts Teacher Training with me this morning. We went back through much of the material covered last week. These were the rounds covered. Check out the above video for the recording of our first round. Round 1 - Elbows to the body in the clinch. This is a great way to integrate elbow strikes, sh

My client began his 1.5 hour Muay Thai Personal Training private lesson with a focus on kicks. At 50 years of age, he is very conscious about maintaining this demanding weapon in the Thai Boxing arsenal. So, all our specific sparring was geared towards creating conditions where kicks could be tested, strategies formed around them and better applications made.

Training to fight effectively when trapped in the corner or pressed against the cage is a critical skill in Mixed Martial Arts Personal Training. These situations test your ability to stay calm, defend, and counterattack under pressure. In my client’s third lesson of their current MMA course, we focused on mastering these challenging positions by comparing techniques from boxing, wrestling, Muay Thai, and MMA clinch work. After seven years of private lessons, my client has a

Tuesday night marked my client’s third wrestling lesson, part of his fourth course on the MMA pathway. The first half of the CCMA wrestling course focuses on upper waist grappling, which aligns closely with Greco-Roman Wrestling techniques. This session centered on arm-drags, a fundamental move that can give you control and momentum in wrestling and MMA.

We switched our sparring to an objective-based game against the wall. One fighter began with their back against the wall. The other fighter's goal was to take them down. To keep the defender's goal challenging and proactive, we decided not to just settle with trying to escape, but to turn their opponent into the wall. Even with this specific goal, after six rounds of all three of us playing both roles, we agreed that the person with the takedown goal had the most difficult jo

Boxing is often seen as a young person’s sport, but my experience with Senior Boxing Personal Training proves otherwise. One of my clients, in his 60s, has shown remarkable progress since he started training last year. What makes his journey inspiring is not just his age but his enthusiasm for live sparring and his commitment to improving his skills safely and effectively.

Two men in kickboxing stance, wearing gloves and shorts, practise kicks. Text above: "Mastering Balance and Strategy in Kickboxing."

My Martial Arts Teacher Training client returned for the fifth hour in this particular course. The head of Cotswold Karate School in Chipping Campden, this client books me to not only increase his martial arts skills but also to consult on improving his teaching syllabus and curriculum. As a martial arts cross-trainer, it's always very encouraging to see teachers reaching out in the consistent drive to better their knowledge and the skills of their students.

Just as we discussed in our previous lesson, tonight's class with my most experienced client pitted all the various Muay Thai weapons against each other in a dynamic and engaging way through specific sparring. This form of asymmetrical fighting is particularly excellent for exploring how different ranges work against each other from a strategic perspective, allowing us to delve deeper into the nuances of each technique.

Martial artist performing a switch kick against a gradient background. Text: Latest Blog. Introducing the Switch Kick. ClubbChimera.com/Blog.

My client is currently pursuing a martial arts cross-training path me in his MMA Personal Training. We are regularly crossing into other component disciplines and then seeing how that impacts on the overall MMA game. Tonight we decided to go through the main disciplines before breaking up the ranges of MMA in 3-minute rounds.

Tonight saw the second lesson for client's first course in Wrestling Personal Training. He is focusing on upper body grappling, which loosely fits under the Greco-Roman banner or, at least, shares similar rule-set restrictions. We recapped from the previous class and then focused on two-on-one and under-hook based tactics.

Man with wrapped hands in purple background, "Latest Blog" text. Inset of three smiling people with text: "Integrating Elbow Strikes."

My senior client returned to Boxing after the Christmas layoff. I asked him what he would like to cover and he decided on head movement and general defence. I used the following 3-minute rounds.

A new client who started with me on Wednesday, also booked today keen to get in his training when possible. A professional businessman, whose schedule requires flexible training days and hours, this was the perfect solution for him. We are working through the foundations of Boxing by looking at defensive movements that are incidental to punching.

In this post, I share insights from our recent lesson, where we introduced the uppercut using a constraints-led approach. This method encourages discovery through live practice and game-like drills, helping martial arts teachers find new ways to teach boxing effectively to their students.

Tonight's lesson's focus was on adapting. This particular client has been consistently training with me since 2014. His lessons are 1.5 hours in length. We decided to train within different ranges with specific weapons together rather than pitting these against one another. Next lesson will take the latter approach. The order of the rounds was structured so that we regularly switched from different ranges rather than following a more linear path of adding on extra weapons. Fo

My second new client of 2026 (and my fourth in just over a month) began today with a Boxing Personal Training. Aged 50, like many busy professionals who live in the Cotswolds, his love for training in Boxing was hampered by a hectic schedule of regular commuting and business commitments. This is why his wife helpfully suggested training with me. After completing his pre-training questionnaire I discussed with my client how he would like to approach his Boxing course. Rather t

Tonight, my client began his first course on the clinch, where we train a variety of stand-up grappling or wrestling techniques within the restrictions of different rule sets. The course is typically divided into "Greco-Roman" style rules and techniques for the first five hours and then "Freestyle Wrestling" for the remaining five. This ensures that the client establishes good grips and positioning first through the Greco work before learning to attack the legs.

My couple clients returned for this first lesson back in 2026, picking up where they left off: shoot-kickboxing. This is the name we give to the MMA stand-up range that involves kicking, effectively kickboxing with clinch and all takedowns permitted. This lesson also saw the integration of knee strikes.