Women's fitness class.

A solid effort by all the ladies that attended the class last night. You are really making great improvements in technique and conditioning. A couple of the ladies stuck around for the guys class and put most of them to shame with their fitness levels. In the girls class we focused on the kettlebell swing and lots of body weight drills. Self defence portion we went over basic striking, clothing grabs and foot pins. foot pins rock so don't underestimate them!

Last night we concentrated fairly heavily on developing our striking tools on the pads. We then tried to get away from defences that repelled an attacker. Instead, if they offered us a limb we said thank you and worked our way in from there. All the time ensuring that the attacker ended up on the ground at our feet not 3-5 feet away from us. That way we know where they are. We looked at tactile sensitivity and how this can play a massive part in an encounter. I also gave people a short drill that they can use when going through their combative sets in order to get the tactile sensitivity going. I again reiterated last night that although we may cover what some may interpret as basic attacks, they are the most common and after I give you some of the rudimentary motions you add your own sugar and spice and develop your own style. Each of us are different sizes, shapes etc so it cant be a one size fits all. You are coming along to learn and develop and a lot of it is self development. You need to be prepared to learn and practice at home if you expect this stuff to appear in the midst of battle. Like Rannoch Donald says – “This stuff doesn't just turn up to order”. If you want spoon fed and an easy time then look to train at another club and get babysat. If you are prepared to put time and effort in and actually test yourself then you’ve found home.

Marcus and Lee