This client suffered a head injury years ago. He later took up Taekwondo to help improve his condition. He came to me for wider conditioning. I have trained in Korean martial arts for decades, but this booking has been a clear reminder of the value of looking outside one system.

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

My experience with Taekwondo and Korean martial arts dates back to the 1990s, so I don't claim to be up-to-date with every modern aspect of the sport. Nonetheless, I possess knowledge in martial arts cross-training, including timing, balance, conditioning, stance recovery, and footwork. These principles are transferable across different martial arts.

In previous sessions, we worked on balance, stance, chambering mechanics and the lead leg turning kick. His lead leg kick is improving, mainly because we have been stripping the movement down and removing unnecessary complications. In this fourth hour, the attention moved more fully to the rear leg turning kick, with the v-step used as a practical set-up.

Crowding changes everything for a taekwondo fighter. Range disappears, kicks get smothered, the opponent’s pressure feels constant, and the clean, linear exits that work well at long distance suddenly become harder to find. That was the central problem in a late afternoon martial arts cross training personal training session with a teenage taekwondo competitor preparing for the British Championships.

When a 66-year-old client returned for his fourth lesson focused on improving his Taekwondo turning kick, I knew this session would be both challenging and rewarding. Despite not training in Korean martial arts since the 1990s, I have worked with Taekwondo practitioners because of the clear benefits martial arts cross-training offers.

Boxing is often seen as a straightforward sport of punches and footwork, but mastering it requires more than just memorizing combinations. In my recent lesson with my teenage competitive taekwondo client, I focused on building foundational skills through dynamic drills and encouraging creative thinking during sparring. This approach not only sharpens technique but also develops adaptability, which is crucial for anyone interested in martial arts cross training.