Diary / Training Notes

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 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).

14.02.2025 Although it seems like a good percentage of my private clients are taking Boxing courses, this blog post concerns a returning...

12.02.2025 Wednesday night's Mixed Martial Arts lesson returned us to a more holistic approach. We followed the range-based approach...

11.02.2025 Hour five of my client’s current MMA class where we are continuing to focus on the ground. How relevant is guard passing in...

10.02.2025 My Boxing client moved onto hour six and took advantage of my special promotion by bringing along a training partner for a...

My fortnightly Boxing client returned after a brief hiatus for hour three of her course. Sunday morning’s class looked at moving to the...

07.02.2025 My third lesson on Friday was a strength resistance lesson with a Boxing pad-work finish. My client is booking me for a course...

07.02.2025 My second lesson on Friday brought my Boxing client up to the fifth hour of his first course. We looked at developing better...

07.02.2025 I am catching up with my blogs due to a very hectic week. Here is last Friday’s morning lesson, where my client from Cotswold...

04.02.2025 Hour four of my client's MMA course kept us on the ground, where we feel most of the work needs to be done especially from...