Shadow boxing is often treated as a warm-up. That wastes it. Done well, it is one of the best ways to build footwork, rhythm, punch mechanics, defence and conditioning without needing a bag, pads or a partner. It also exposes weak habits quickly. If the feet stop, the boxing stops. If the guard drops, there is no bag to hide it.

The turning kick was the problem, but balance was the real subject of the course. My client, aged 66, came to me with a very clear brief. He wanted to improve his turning kick so he could pass his yellow belt grading in taekwondo. It sounds simple. Lift the knee, pivot the supporting foot, turn the hip, extend the leg, recover, land. Anyone who has trained striking arts knows it is rarely that tidy once the body starts moving under pressure.

A lot of people think kicking is mainly about flexibility. Flexibility helps, of course, but it’s not the main issue when moving from one kick to another. The real challenge is this: can the body stay organised while one leg is in the air? For my client, we worked on transitioning from one kick to another without putting his foot down. In taekwondo, this sort of control matters. A student might need to chamber the leg, kick, bring it back, turn the hip, and kick again.

My 66 year-old client embarked on his sixth hour with me. This is a martial arts cross-training personal training course used to improve his movement in taekwondo and to improve his balance for the turning kick. Despite not being involved with Korean martial arts since the 1990s, I am working with a lot of taekwodoins who wish to use other martial arts, such as boxing to improve their overall game. This afternoon, being so close to his grading, I decided to totally work on

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.