University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Holiday session, Coventry, UK – 20/04/2008

I'll kick off by mentioning two news stories that really caught my attention recently, for all the right reasons. First was the fantastic news that the Spanish PM has appointed a majority of women to his cabinet, including the pregnant Minister for Defence. I'm hopeful this is going to have a big impact on Spain, and perhaps even the wider political world: will be interesting to see how this develops.

The other great bit of news was here in the UK. Psychics, mediums, healers and the like are finally going to have to back up their claims, or they risk going to jail due to a new law coming into force. Brilliant! Sounds like a triumph for reason, but again, will have to see how it pans out once the legislation is on the books.

My neck was still sore on Wednesday and Thursday, so I decided to give it as long a rest as possible before getting back on the mats. I was tempted to go ahead and train anyway on the Thursday, but decided to follow my own advice and wait, which was frustrating but sensible. I'm also hoping I can get in an extra session next Friday to make up for only making one this week.

I was, however, able to make my first ZSK session in almost a year today. Or at least, its technically a ZSK session: it wasn't taught, and I spent all of it grappling (nogi, as the ZSK people unsurprisingly don't have wear a BJJ/judo gi). It was also a good chance to catch up, as while I've made it along to a few socials, I haven't seen the old crew for some time.

In fact, it went along the same lines as a throwdown, with several groups of people split off around the room chatting, sparring and drilling. I stuck to my corner with a few mats, and started off by showing a few of the ZSK people some grappling. I always enjoy the opportunity to practice teaching, as its definitely something I'd like to do in the future, though it will be a while before I'd feel sufficiently qualified to do a proper class.

There were two or three people interested in trying out some grappling, which was handy as that meant I could use people to demonstrate on (an option I don't have when trying to show my gf some BJJ). I tried to keep things simple, going through the sit-up sweep, kimura, then armbar from guard. I also threw in a triangle later on, as I was trying to come up with a way to help out one of the smaller people, who was having trouble landing the kimura once there was a bit of resistance. That's definitely something I'd need to be prepared for if I ever did teach a proper class: made me think of this thread over on Bullshido, which has a good discussion of teaching when only a blue.

Kevin, who mentioned he'd done some judo on and off over the years, then asked if I wanted to roll. We went for a few rounds til submission. It was good to get back into nogi, as I haven't done that since the RGA nogi class moved from Thursday to Friday. As ever, I find it easier to get the RNC (presuming I manage to get somebody's back) when there is no gi to provide friction, but most other submissions are much tougher to land.

Paddy, a friend of mine I've not seen for a while, also wanted to have a roll. His reasons were different, as he was interested to see if size and strength could negate technique. Paddy is a big strong guy, whereas I'm a small weak guy, so I expected to find it difficult to do much, even though Paddy has almost no ground experience. I could get an armbar early on, but once Paddy knew what to expect, I wasn't able to isolate any of his limbs: he could simply power out of any grip I attempted, especially without a gi to hold onto.

We frequently found ourselves sliding off the mats: I've gotten used to the luxury of a properly matted surface at RGA, so had forgotten about the joys of accidentally hitting the unpadded floor, or having to regularly kick the mats back into place. I was able to generally at least get back to guard and stay safe, but I'd say Paddy got his answer: size matters, unless there is a really big skill discrepancy. Would be interesting to see what would happen in the gi, as while I suspect it would be similar, collar chokes and easier grips would probably make a difference.

Finally, my old ZSK instructor Glen wanted to have a grapple. Glen is even bigger and stronger than Paddy, and unlike him does have an understanding of the ground (he's got a brown belt in judo and has competed under various rule sets over the years, including some MMA). If I couldn't do much against Paddy, I was expecting to get crushed by Glen. That's pretty much what happened, though Glen wasn't using his strength. He did, however, get me in some weird positions when I was under side control, where he scooped my foot up high. I thought he was about to apply some kind of footlock, but eventually found space to slip out. He said later that it had been so long he could barely remember any of the locks, so I think he was just sticking to position.

I realised on the way back home that, in the nine years I've known Glen, that was actually the first time I've ever sparred him. Good fun, and meant that I could test out how my neck was feeling. Seemed to hold up ok, so I should be fine to get back to BJJ next. Hopefully three sessions to make up for last week, but will have to see how it goes.

24/04/2007 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 24/04/2007

Term has started up again, so I had the opportunity to go to ZSK for the first time in about 1.5 months, having had a writing meeting immediately before. There was a ZSK social at the weekend, though it effectively turned into a Warwick-Birmingham RockSoc social instead – mostly made up of Paddy’s metal mates. Despite lack of ZSK people, cool house party: instead of watching UFC 70, we went retro and relived Teila Tuli’s tooth flying past the Gold Gym sponsors at the inaugural event. Paddy’s friends all seemed pretty cool too, so hopefully we can do the house party thing again some time later in the term. Would be nice if ZSK people could make it this time, though!

Paddy isn’t going to be able to make many Tuesdays, as his PhD is (finally!) coming to an end, so getting intensive. So, that meant I took the warm-up, doing the usual run around the room thing with forty press-ups, sit-ups, leg raisers and squat thrusts, divided into sets of ten. Rod’s arrival marked a shift to the formal, with Rod going through compulsories, then moving on to forms. For the first time in a while, we did something more advanced than just the initial set of movements: if that continues, looks like I’m going to have to get some revision in, as I struggled to remember during class. As Rod suggested, I should be treating forms as a workout, given my disinterest in the traditional side of things. So, need to remember to put in as much effort as possible.

Rest of class was padwork. I was working with a guy I hadn’t seen before, Steve. Or rather, I don’t remember seeing him – he apparently started way back in 2001 and has been on and off since then, due to living in the area rather than studying at Warwick (he’s a Bristol alumnus). So I must have been in a class with him before at some point over those six years.

My punching still sucks, particularly my hooks – I find myself slipping off the target, and probably doing more damage to my knuckles than the guy I’m trying to hit. I was a little happier with my jab cross, but I lack power, and also have to watch over extending on the cross. On kicks, power is again the main problem: I should concentrate on putting my hip into it more. They were all off the front leg, which accounts for some of the weediness, but still need to be harder.

Also met another guy new to me, called Buzz (not his real name, which is a bit more complex, hence why he’s chosen that easier abbreviation). Class in general was pretty tiny, although it always is on Tuesdays, particularly now that we’re into the exam term.

I’m hoping to get people to buy rash guards with me, as the more people who order, the cheaper it gets. Rod was interested, having tried on mine after class (we’re roughly the same size, although Rod is considerably more built), so that’s at least one. As nobody has offered up any other artwork, we’ll go with the old logo Rod sent through – the only addition I might make is the Warwick crest, but I’ll see what people think. I’d also quite like to go for a short sleeve, so would be good if XFGear allow a mixture of long and short sleeve. The guy I’ve been emailing there seemed very helpful (its also where I bought my non-custom rash guard), so might well be flexible.

My main goal is to get people out to a social, so I’ll be trying to push that through on Facebook. Understandable that attendance was low at the last one, seeing as it was right at the start of term – hopefully ones later on will be more popular. Depends on when people’s exams are.

ZSK - 06/03/2007

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan, (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK - 06/03/2007

Been a month since I last made ZSK, for various reasons. As I’ll be flying back from Spain this coming Tuesday, I’ll be missing ZSK that week too (though on the plus side, should hopefully be able to get in some additional BJJ). So, next ZSK lesson will be in May – clearly not going to be improving my striking much this year!

Having said that, I unfortunately will have to build up my punching and kicking rather swiftly, as I’m the only senior belt available for Paddy, who needs to prepare for his black belt grading. That basically means I’m going to get beaten up by him over the third term: oh joy. I’ll be most pissed off if I get injured again and have to take time off, but as Paddy’s a good mate, I can hopefully avoid fucking up some joint or other this year.

I had a chance to chat to a whole bunch of people today. First person, rather randomly, was a girl I haven’t seen for at least three years, Malgorzata. If any of the creative writers are reading this on Facebook, they may remember her: apparently, she’s now working in advertising, and still makes those poetry films. Appeared behind me on the train, as she was on her way down to London, where she now lives.

I also got to talk to Tom, who wasn’t training as he’s hurt his back. Finally, I chatted to Jenny in class, which was nice as she’s a poetry person – not many of them around to converse with, especially one’s who are keen on form. As usual, I’ve been pushing for a social, which looks like it may actually happen next term. There was interest from the people in the class, and Rod should be able to make it too. Another good plan would be to have everyone round someone’s house (probably Paddy’s) to watch UFC 70, which I’m sure most people in class would find interesting. If not, there’s always booze, after which everything becomes interesting!

From next term, I need to start approaching ZSK the same way I’ve been approaching BJJ. That is to say, I should come to class with a plan and specific techniques I want to work on. If I’m going to be doing lots of hard sparring with Paddy, then that’s the perfect time to pressure test, although the injury problem is a worry. Kinda unavoidable problem in contact sports, so I’ll have to develop a solid defence. The chance to take Paddy down and do some groundwork would be fun, but given my inexperience at putting people on the floor from a standing position (particularly when that person is not only bigger and stronger, but trying to smack you in the face), I’m thinking it may well prove difficult.

As to class itself, was pretty formal (linework, compulsory movements, lo han chow, fixed spar), but that’s to be expected as there’s a grading coming up soon. Rod emphasised that he felt forms and the like were essential, citing Glen as an example of someone who is both a competent fighter and an advocate of forms. Not my thing (as evidenced again today when I could barely remember the beginning grade fixed spar), but then it’s a kung fu style, which means you have to do the formal stuff as well as the kickboxing.

On a random note, I was having a chat with Rod after class and I'm going to have a look into club branded rash guards (maybe that will encourage more groundwork? If nothing else, the whole wicking thing should make training a little more comfortable). If I can get a bunch of people interested, then might get a bulk order discount or something, which would be handy.

06/02/2007 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan, (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK - 06/02/2007

Amazingly enough, people weren’t overly keen to go see a Wham tribute band (imagine that), so ended up spending the evening doing some more reading on Robert Lowell. It’s a little depressing that a large number of the poets I admire were apparently pretty unpleasant people, but hey, it’s the poems that are important, not necessarily the person (though Lowell is a bit of a special case, given that autobiography – if not always entirely truthful – remains an integral part of much of his work).

Had three new people in today, which was kinda cool – still need to make 30 members, as we’re currently only up to 26 (anyone from Warwick, sign up here!). If I got their names right, there were two guys, Ed (chatted to him on Facebook already, and he’s signed up) and Matthew (previous experience in JKD), along with Ed’s friend Jenny (might have heard her wrong). Due to the number of beginners, class was geared towards the basics, and we also didn’t do any free sparring at the end. That’s fine by me, as not only am I a wimp who doesn’t like getting hit, but I can always do with working my basics.

So, lots of simple drills (like blocking, alternating low kicks which you had to slide away from, punches from riding stance) followed by equally simple combinations in linework (jab cross, jab cross low kick, jab cross hook, low kick mid kick high kick etc), finishing up with pads. I still need to work my hook, and hitting the pads bare knuckle I noticed I continue to occasionally let the thumb creep up, which is a really bad habit that is going to cause me some serious pain if I don’t lose it soon. I’m fairly happy with my kicks, if only from a “yeah, I can kick you in the head” perspective: not much power behind them, so if I ever wanted to grade again, would definitely need to beef up the impact.

At first wasn’t sure if Rod was going to be there tonight, but turned out not only did Rod show up, but so did one of the other black belts, Tim. He runs his own web business now, so decided as work was slow he’d drive up and train (normally comes on Thursdays and Sundays). Nice to see him again, as its been a fair while since I last had an opportunity to speak to him.

To close on a slightly more random note, if there is anyone Chinese and/or expert on CMA who happens to be reading this, would be brilliant if you could offer your opinion on whether or not Zhuan Shu Kuan ‘counts’ as Chinese – information is here, and the discussion link is here.

23/01/2007 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan, (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK - 23/01/2007

Rod focused on forms today, running through the first form (Lo Han Chow) in meticulous detail. That unfortunately meant no pad work, although we did do some conditioning drills which also worked timing and distance. The first one was to face your partner, waiting for them to try and hit you with a turning kick to midsection. Before they could hit, you were supposed to throw a front kick of your front leg, knocking them off-balance – they would still make contact, but noticeably less than if you did nothing.

With freshly bruised up midsections, we then moved onto the second drill. This time, your partner aimed the turning kick low to your leg. In response, you were to lift that leg and draw it round to the side, then fire out a side kick into your partner’s midsection. In practice, this became a shot into your partner’s forearms, as they tended (at least I certainly did!) bring those in tight to defend themselves.

Finally, your partner throws a high kick to your head. Stepping out with your far leg and round, you twist to the side to block with your arms, then throw your own turning kick to hit them just above the knee.

We finished up with free sparring, where I tried to be a little more aggressive. I also need to be better at picking people off when they drop their guard. That’s good not only for me, but also for them – nothing reminds you to keep your guard up like a punch in the face.

Still, I don’t think I’m ever going to much good at stand-up sparring, as like I mentioned last week, I can only make Tuesdays. However, I have been enjoying the socialising – its great to have a chat to Rod and Paddy, and also to try and talk to the newer people. Unfortunately, I may have to drop off if my gf goes for the teaching abroad scheme she’s thinking about, which would probably be followed by some travelling. On the other hand, that period of moving away from Birmingham would give me a chance to train more frequently at Roger Gracie’s. Also, if all goes as planned, my gf would then return to uni in 2008/2009, meaning we could live in Leamington and get back into ZSK training. Ideally I’d get a transfer from work in London to Birmingham as well, but that’s unlikely.

Don’t think I got too bruised up from all the conditioning, so should be fine for training BJJ tomorrow. That niggling cramp in my left leg seems to have gone – still not quite sure what that was. Forgot to ask how the taster session went, but hopefully that will mean some new joiners in the near future. Rod won’t be here next week, so I’m assuming Paddy will take the whole class, or me if he isn’t about. Also, looks like Steven Seagal is coming to the Warwick Arts Centre next month with his band: somewhat bizarre.

16/01/2007 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan, (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK - 16/01/2007

Didn’t make the MMA class I wanted to on Saturday – unfortunately, turns out that’s not going to be convenient after all. I’m hoping to still try it out in May, when I’ll have my BJJ contract paused (as I’ll be in the Caribbean for half of may). Should be a good substitute. Would also be cool if I can make the JKD school on Barbados, but that’s probably pushing it a bit.

This was my first session back since 5th December, meaning that I’ve had 12.5hrs of BJJ since my last ZSK class. So, felt a little rusty going back to striking, in particular on the stretching, but was good to whack the pads again. I also decided I’d waited more than long enough for my shoulder to recover from the judo injury in Oct 2005, so held pads for the first full class for well over a year (up to this point, I’ve been sticking with the heavy bag so I don’t get any jarring against my left shoulder).

Techniques were all as usual, with the compulsory movements for the first two grades (a bunch of blocks and then a bunch of kicks from back stance), followed by front, spurning and side kicks from the rear leg against pads. Was also good to see Paddy again and have a chat with him – sounds like his black belt grading is likely to be in June, so hopefully that won’t clash with the Birmingham Throwdown. The 7th July date would probably work either way, but will have to see. Would also be good to have Rod down this time, so will have to remember to ask him if and when he’s up for it this summer.

Sparring (at least standing up) is something else I haven’t done for a while now. I’ve never really enjoyed stand-up sparring, and find it a lot harder to get something out of in comparison to rolling. First partner was a relatively new guy, who as with most new guys had trouble getting himself to actually make contact. That’s fine by me, as its means I can settle back and work my defence, although I could just as easily step back to avoid the kicks and punches. Second partner, however, was Paddy, who I know is keen to go heavier contact with me. Mainly this is due to the fact that apart from Rod and the black belts who turn up on Sunday, he hasn’t really got anyone else he can go all out against.

Still, I don’t think he was going especially heavy today, though I’m sure he would have given me a good smack if I’d left an opening. I was fairly cautious, though I was trying to force myself to be offensive and learn something from the spar. Unfortunately, the voice in my head screaming DON’T GET INJURED DON’T GET INJURED DON’T GET INJURED made that a little hard. I’m even more timid than normal since that injury, as I’d really hate to miss a chunk of BJJ. That meant that I treated this as a comparatively relaxed way to get used to sparring stand-up again, though admittedly I do tend to take it easy as a matter of course if my partner doesn’t press forward. The usual problems of crappy punches, not following up strikes and backing away too readily are all there, but something I can work on in later sessions. Of course, I only get one session of striking a week at most, so I doubt I’m ever going to make great improvements. My main focus currently is groundwork, so the striking has been taking a back seat since last November.

Next session should be BJJ tomorrow. There is a slight chance I’ll have to miss it, as it depends on how long the meeting takes. It’s at 12:00, so if it stays under two hours, I should be able to make the train from Leamington to London no problem (ideally I’d be at Marylebone by 17:00). Can but hope. Then again, I've got the Saturday free this week, so either way should get at least two sessions of BJJ.

05/12/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 05/12/2006

After I went through the warm-up, throwing in some sprawls like last time, Rod arrived to work the formal side of things. Fortunately, he focused on the compulsory movements, which tends to be both enjoyable (as I get to jump around throwing flashy kicks) as well as a good work out (jumps are knackering!). Also good to know that my jumping back kick is still sharp, as it elicited a comment from Rod.

He also incorporated a lot of linework, with combinations like jab-cross-hook-uppercut, jab-cross-leg kick-back kick, jab-elbow-spinning elbow etc. Would have been preferable against pads, but again it’s good aerobic exercise and also works coordination.

Finally, it was time for padwork, or in my case (due to the continuing saga of my dodgy left shoulder), bagwork. Here I got some useful tips from Rod and Paddy, firstly a reminder on the hook to keep my elbow down rather than up. Rod also told me to aim for Paddy’s head (he’s significantly taller than me, so that requires a fair bit of reaching), which meant I had to put my hip into the punches more, as I couldn’t bring my elbow over the top. This has definitely been helping my piss-poor punching, especially on the wrist positioning: my punching has sucked for years, but if I keep getting (and more importantly, take on board) good advice, there’s hope for me yet.

Last drill was an unusual one on turning kicks. Rather than hitting with the instep or lower shin, we had to try and strike with the upper shin. Not only that, it needed to be a high kick. This turned out to really work my side, as well as flexibility, though I’m fortunate in that I can get my leg pretty high so flexibility isn’t normally a problem for me. It also reminded me how little conditioned my left shin is, but I’m fine with that – I’m perfectly happy to hide behind a nice thick pair of Viper pads.

Today will be the first of three consecutive lessons, as I plan to make BJJ on Wednesday and Thursday, then the Throwdown in Brighton on the Saturday. Should be a good week for training.

21/11/06 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Me, Coventry, UK – 21/11/2006

Rod has apparently broken his toe, which meant that I had to take the class today. I went through the usual warm-up, adding on sprawls, then quickly going through the necessary stretches so we could get on to padwork.

As before, I tried to do ‘alive’ padwork, with the pad person moving round and smacking their partner, trying to break up the rhythm and vary the distance. I’d also finally managed to work out the timer on my phone, which meant I could work the bag. That also handily meant I could watch the class at the same time – generally I was shouting out for people to keep their elbows in tighter to the ribs and for the pad people to be more mobile.

I went through jab-cross, then any punch (with the pad person shifting the pads to indicate hooks, uppercuts etc), after which I added kicks. Next step was to get some sweat going with jab-cross for a minute, then turning kick with each leg for a minute. All in all, I was aiming to take around 30 mins. What I like about padwork is that as I don’t feel properly qualified to demonstrate technique in a particularly detailed fashion, this gives people the opportunity to work their striking despite the fact they’ve only got me taking class. Also means they get a change from the formal stuff Rod often dips into, which was especially hefty last week.

I had another 30 minutes left, which I wanted to divide up between sparring and then a quick warm-down. My favourite ZSK sparring has always been the ‘four corner’ approach, where you have boxing in one corner, just kicking in another, kicking and punching in the third, then finally grappling in the fourth. I divided up the corners between the seniors (of which there were only four present, including me), then set the timer for 3 minute rounds.

Grappling is not something people at ZSK know much about, so I gave people the choice of either going at it, or if they preferred, I could show them a couple of techniques. I kept it really simple (considering my own noobness at grappling), so stuck to armbar from mount and a standing guillotine. Those are the two I’ve been shown the most over the various MMA, judo and BJJ classes I’ve been to, so hopefully I didn’t show anybody anything stupid.

The fourth guy had done a bit of judo, which meant he was happy to do some grappling from knees. As usual, I ended up in guard, which eventually got passed, though I did almost manage a triangle. Again as usual, he slipped out – that’s something I’m going to have to work on, as I keep failing to secure them properly. After a while, I noticed he wasn’t going for any subs: he had only ever rolled to pin, rather than sub. Only three weeks of judo, apparently, though I would have thought that was sufficient to learn at least one submission: I guess it depends on the class. I had just enough time to show an Americana from side-mount (on which he commented “Ah, yeah, we’ve done that in jujitsu”, so not sure what other experience he might have had).

If there is a next time, I think I’ll keep it even simpler and do the specific sparring thing, working passing and sweeps (though that would mean I’d have to show how to pass and sweep properly, so will need to be careful). My plan is to try and throw in some grappling when I can, in an effort to drum up sufficient interest that people will try out judo, BJJ etc, or at least be willing to come along to Throwdowns. Tom mentioned that Rod has been running some grappling on Thursdays, which is cool – would be great if that became a regular part of every class!

After a brief warm-down, session was over. Rod is back on Thursday, so I’m told, so hopefully he’s going to take it easy on that broken toe! Next session for me will be BJJ on Thursday, as my gf is coming back to Bucks with me tonight, so no training this Wednesday.

14/11/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 14/11/2006

Bit of a formal class today, which as I’ve already established isn’t exactly my favourite thing. It started off with a fairly intensive warm-up, taken by Paddy (who had made sure to turn up to class today to work his black belt grading stuff with Rod), counting out in sets of 15 rather than the usual 10. He then moved on to riding stance and punches, a trend which continued when Rod arrived.

We began by going through the 8^th grade (white belt, so the first grading) fixed spar. That’s the usual TMA procedure of one person punches, the other blocks – in this case, its rising, inner and outer forearm blocks. Rod then called Paddy over to work some pads with him (I presume the black belt form came in at some point, but maybe Rod just wanted to work Paddy’s fitness), meaning that I had to take the class through the compulsory movements. This again is something for the grading, which at 8^th grade looks pretty much like the fixed spar done solo.

I felt a bit strange instructing formal work, considering my views on it, but tried to teach it as best I could, emphasise the stance and putting effort into the blocks and strikes. Mainly that’s because I know from experience that Rod won’t put them forward for grading unless they look crisp, technical and firm. I attempted to make it a little less abstract by putting everyone into pairs after running through the movements a few times (it was a small class, so this was easy enough), then getting one of the pair to punch. That meant that instead of simply blocking in the air, there was a target to resist. Hopefully slightly more interesting, and it seemed to help (though that can be hard to tell).

In the midst of padwork with Paddy, Rod then told me to get everyone to simply jab-cross until I got tired (which effectively meant until Rod stopped: I didn’t especially want to be twiddling my thumbs while he was still working!). A very quick bit of linework from fighting stance, and the class was over. No sparring today, which I guess is because Rod wants to work the formal side of things in preparation for grading.

Not going to be able to make BJJ tomorrow unfortunately, but I’m compensating for that by going on Saturday instead. The question now is what to do Saturday night: I had intended to go to a corridor reunion, but now have to change my plans. Will see how things turn out.

31/10/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 31/10/2006

As with last week, I was feeling a little shitty so was in two minds about training today. However, also as with last week, I got a text from Paddy saying he couldn’t make it, and as I didn’t want to leave the class without anyone to take the warm-up, I forced myself onto campus.

Had a chat with a guy I haven’t seen before, who I think called himself Bly or something like that, who is apparently Chinese but has lived in Thailand all his life. He’s done some form of wu shu before, but didn’t know what I meant when I asked him about san shou and sanda – could well be he doesn’t know it under those terms, or the pronunciation is very different. Same goes for Cung Le, but I’m sure I said that wrong.

I ran the warm-up with my normal routine, but because Rod got stuck in traffic, I had to take a bit of the main class as well. As with the last few times that’s happened, I got everyone to pair up with some focus mitts than work jab-cross, followed by the same but a more ‘alive’ drill (getting the person with the mitts to move around and whack them). That was followed by a simple fitness drill: go as hard and fast as possible with jab-cross for a minute. Much more fun than yet more press-ups, although I have to be careful as I don’t feel comfortable teaching technique – after all, I’m not qualified as a brown belt, especially a brown belt that has only trained on Tuesdays for the past couple of years.

I was just finishing off a turning kick drill when Rod finally arrived. Due to the crappy traffic, he was in a pretty bad mood. We went straight into the formal stuff, and Rod was far from impressed. The one person who is grading this year got a grilling, and it didn’t help that I could barely remember the two-man fixed spar. I may think the formal side of things is pointless, but it doesn’t do anything for Rod’s irritation if I’m forgetting stuff!

The whole class repeatedly got punishment press-ups for things like not doing a kiai when drawing back before the fixed spar. That’s exactly the kind of thing I find really unnecessary, but in ZSK, the formal syllabus is a part of class, whether I like it or not. It did at least work up a sweat, given all the press-ups. Same goes for the linework, although I was getting a little concerned about my left shoulder by this point. Seems to be ok at the moment, but hopefully its not going to start protesting tomorrow.

Really looking forward to my first full BJJ class on Thursday, though I still need to clarify the contractual elements. The only thing that worries me is what happens if I get injured/ill for a long period and the direct debit is running. But we’ll see – I’ve managed to convince my girlfriend it’s a good idea (she was a bit concerned about the finances, but I literally went through my monthly budget so she could see I’ve got enough to afford it), so I should be at Roger Gracie Academy at least twice a week from next week onwards (just the one class this week). Its been entertaining reading some of the training logs on Bullshido, especially people like Bud Shi Dist, where I can see the progression from the first BJJ lesson onwards.

24/10/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 24/10/2006

Chatted to a new person called Jas (Jaz? I assume its short for a fairly long Indian name, but can’t be certain), which was nice. She’s been to most classes now, so looks to be a regular, although unfortunately she’s a third year, so won’t be there all that long (considering I’ll be there til 2010). Didn’t manage to get her to come out with us for drinks afterwards, but at least the social thing is there: now I just need to do the same with a large group of noobies. Not many people turned up today, but then that’s to be expect of Tuesdays – most people show at Sundays.

All in all, proved to be a good session. Paddy wasn’t there, so I took the warm-up, with the usual running round then counting out 40 press-ups etc in sets of 10. I also managed to throw in some training on the sprawl (run on the spot, then sprawl on the count), which I’ve been wanting to try out for a while: more fun than squat thrusts, anyway.

When Rod came in as I was doing neck stretches, he cleared something up for me I’ve been wondering for a while. I said to swivel the neck but not go all the way round, at which point Rod stepped in and said ‘Rubbish’. His point was that you need to be able to take a punch to the head, which involves neck flexibility. So, that confirms the prevailing ZSK opinion on the issue. I wasn’t totally convinced, because as far as I understand it, a physio would disagree, but then the main instructor Glen has been competing for many years now and apparently recommends this exercise. His neck appears to be fine. Of course, worth further research on my part – always good to have documented evidence on any topic. Don’t really fancy fucking up my neck just because Glen seems to think its ok.

Rod did some formal work, which elicited a groan from me, but I could at least see the point – he was working coordination (switching between front and back stance on blocks and punches) and strengthening the legs. Personally, I’d rather he did this with a more practical stance: e.g., switching in a fighting stance against pads, not bothering with the highly impractical blocks. However, there are people that join the class for the formal stuff, so I guess this appeals to them. I can live with it, as at least I can just try doing it fast and hard so it works the fitness a bit.

We moved on to pads, which was much more to my liking, and as I was working with Rod rather than Paddy, I finally got to get some advice on punching, which I’ve needed for a while. I’m always messing up my wrists, so I need to improve the positioning when punching, and Rod also gave me some useful tips on starting with the elbow low on a hook then coming in with the forearm horizontal. I didn’t quite get it down, as my wrist was still protesting, but definitely better than normal. Same goes for the other punching combo, which was simply jab-cross-jab-cross (though Rod switched it up to jab-cross-jab-grab and knee for me on the left, as that shoulder is still dodgy).

Sparring also proved pretty useful. My sparring has always been pants, so it was good to work with Rod and try to really concentrate on what I was doing. I tend to work off the counter, so I spend a lot of time attempting to anticipate the other persons actions so I can move in and kick off the block. I’d like to be able to move in with punches, but my upper body work is still too crap for that to work very often. Was nice to get contact on a kick to Rod’s head, but it was only glancing and mainly on the toes, so if I’d managed to connect properly, would probably have busted myself up. At least it got through his guard, even if I wasn’t too happy with my distancing (should have been closer so I hit squarely on the instep or shin).

Sparring with Adam was also handy, as he had busted his toes, which meant we restricted ourselves to boxing. He caught me with noticeable impact twice, particularly just at the end where he landed a shot to my forehead, but I think I got a few body shots in. Hard to tell, though – my punching is poor.

Looking forward to the BJJ intro session at Roger Gracie’s in London on Thursday – should be good. Price is likely to be ridiculous, but I’m determined to at least go for a while, even if its well overpriced. I’ve been wanting to go to BJJ so long now its getting embarrassing! Almost forgot my boots outside, which was cunning, so good thing no-one nicked em. Honest students at Warwick, I guess, or perhaps there was no-one in my size…

17/10/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 17/10/2006

I’d hoped to get my gf along this week, but couldn’t make it this time round – hopefully next week. I managed to get in sufficiently early to chat to freshers as planned: two guys I’d seen earlier, Eliot (not sure if that’s one l or two) and Tom, a German guy. After babbling at Tom for a while, disparaging form despite Paddy and Charles trying to counteract my sound advice, we had the usual warm-up with Paddy.

Unfortunately for me, once Rod arrived the first thing we did was formal work. Bleh. I suffered my way through both the compulsory movements (riding stance, left-right-left-right punch, low block in forward stance to either side, rising block going forwards and back in forward stance, outer forearm in back stance to either side, inner forearm block in back stance to either side) and the first form (‘lo han chow’), though at least we didn’t go through the entire syllabus, which is a typical warm-up exercise.

After that, Rod moved into linework from fighting stance. First it was, as it almost always is, jab cross, then adding a kick to the leg, a front kick, finishing with various permutations of turning kick with the ball of foot (leg kick followed by turning kick to midsection, then the full run-through of leg kick, midsection and finally head kick).

Next up was padwork, for which Paddy and I went onto the bag again – I’m still not convinced my shoulder is ok, though it seems to be holding up ok on press-ups. No jumping kicks this time, just front kick and side kicks. Only unusual aspect was that it was all off the front leg, but that suits me fine as I prefer front leg anyway.

The final part of class reintroduced me to sparring. Its been a good while since I last sparred, so I could certainly do with the practice. Would appear that nothings changed, as I still suck. A lot. So, good thing we’re at the teach-the-freshers stage, which means I can simply hang back and wait for them to try and smack me. I always feel a little disingenuous giving out advice to them at the end, seeing as I have such a low opinion of my own ability, but hopefully they find it useful (very basic stuff like keep your guard up, watch your toes, don’t be afraid to make contact, follow through on strikes etc).

I’m told that Sunday went well in social terms, with a few freshers popping along for drinks. No such luck today, meaning it was just me, Rod, Tom, Adam and Charles (who apparently hasn’t left, as he’s teaching in Cov: probably no bad thing to have more seniors around). There is Wing Wah’s this Sunday, though, so that should hopefully reel in some more freshers for me to babble at. Will have to be careful I don’t get annoying, but we’ll see how it goes – wine is always good! Also must phone the Roger Gracie Academy again tomorrow, as I haven’t managed to get through yet to book an intro session.

10/10/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 10/10/2006

Yep, still failed to make it to BJJ. My excuse is that I got the beginner session days mixed up: for some reason, I thought it was on Mondays, but its actually late on Wednesdays, which I can’t make. Grr. However, I checked out the Gracie Barra London classes, which should be no problem to get to – bit pricier than the already expensive Birmingham classes, but hopefully can make enough in London to be able to go to the normal classes back in Brum.

I was slightly delayed by a meeting, so couldn’t get there as early as I’d like. Reason I want to get there well before class is so I can chat to freshers, when they’re still keen to talk – I’m hoping to make them comfortable and feel a part of the club so they’ll come out and drink afterwards. Didn’t manage it last year because I was away for most of it due to the injury, but this time I’m determined to put plenty of effort into getting the social thing going!

Rod was back today, though as usual Paddy took the warm-up. My shoulder was still ok going through the 60 press-ups, so definitely on the road to recovery – needs a bit more before I can go all out in padwork, though. Warm-up was same as usual – running round, press-ups, sit-ups, leg-raisers, facing in side step and facing out, then stretching the legs (touch alternate toes with fingers/knuckles/palms, head down to right/left knee, sink down on left/right with heel to the ground and opposite toes pointing to ceiling, box splits etc), arms (circling forward and back, crossing over with different leading hand each time, brushing the ears, etc) torso and neck.

Once Rod arrived, we moved on to a quick bit of linework (jab-cross combo, adding in hooks, uppercuts, leg kicks, turning kicks and front kicks) before spending the rest of the lesson on the pads. Paddy and I went off to the bag, due to my dodgy shoulder, and worked on jumping kicks for most of the lesson. Started with jumping back kick (accuracy is a real bitch on that one), then jumping turning, front kick and jumping knee (which I found a little awkward on the bag, as you end up bashing it while its against the wall) and finally a hook and elbow combo. I could only really put power in on the one arm, so not able to properly do that last one.

Still, the jumping kicks are always fun, if entirely impractical, and I think my left jumping turning kick was better than usual – actually getting a little power behind it rather than just slapping, which has happened in the past. Back kicks still woefully off target most of the time, especially my left jumping back kick, which I couldn’t get to hit with any power on the bag. Looks good kicking air, but that’s about it: not much use.

After class, a few of us went to the bar for drinks and chatting. It was only ‘core members’, though still great to talk. What I’m hoping for is freshers coming along too – will see how it goes later in the year, when people feel more part of the club. Must not repeat last years mistakes, though: I will be babbling at new people as much as possible this year!

Next week should be cool, as I’m hoping to get my girlfriend along again. That made me late last time, so will try to avoid that this time round. If I can get it to be a regular thing, that would be brilliant (not to mention we could do with more senior grades, even if she is a little out of practice). Her assistant at work was also interested, though I’m a bit concerned about her various medical conditions, though my gf tells me they haven’t been a prob recently. We’ll see: Rod is sensible, so its not like he’s going to force her to do anything if she’s having trouble.

03/10/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Paddy Williams, Coventry, UK – 03/10/2006

Today was the first session of the new academic year, after plastering notice boards with posters on the Sunday and babbling at lots and lots of freshers for four hours at the Sports Fair earlier. Rod was not there, so Paddy took the class, which fortunately was small and mostly people from last year. At Sports Fair, we had been pushing the Sunday session as the one to try out, as that is when the main instructor, Glen Cudjoe comes up. It was enjoyable to get back into the old spiel of how our club was the only one on campus that worked up to full contact, had an instructor who had been teaching at the uni since 1985, had various experience as a kickboxing and judo champion, door work and a brief bit of cagefighting, along with our other ex-army instructor who was therefore top class on the fitness side of things.

There were a few new people, so Paddy ran through the usual warm-up, starting with static stretches, especially for the legs, then into press-ups, sit-ups and leg-raisers, before moving into some basic techniques.

Paddy started off with a jab from basic fighting stance, then the jab-cross combination, briefly went over the rising block (not too practical, but I guess it does come up in the formal grading stuff, so I can see why he threw it in) moving on to our typical exercises of low kicks to the thigh in two-person pairs, alternating strikes and sliding out of the way. The second classic ZSK loosening up exercise was crescent kicking in the same two-person pairs, with one ducking back then moving in with a crescent, swapping over each time.

Padwork filled up the latter half of our time, again with jab-cross combos and low kicks, after which we finished up with a quick warm-down. The main fresher onslaught should be the Sunday, which I probably will not be able to make as I am normally just there for Tuesdays. Might be nice to pop along, as my shoulder does feel a lot better – I got through the press-ups no problem for the first time in a long time, although I’m still not too confident on holding pads with the dodgy left tendon.

I have been considering taking up fencing, and it would fit on the Tuesday as its late, but I think I’d finish up too late for my gf, who I am hoping to tempt back to ZSK. I am also really keen to get the social side of ZSK vibrant again, as it has been fairly quite since my Masters ended back in 2003. BJJ is still something I’m planning to go along, so absolutely have to get off my arse and go along next week. I was chatting to one of the eskrima instructors at the Sports Fair (purely because he was wearing an Erik Paulson shirt, which caught my interest) who trains there, which is cool as its always good to be able to recognise a few faces at a new place.

So, if all goes well next training should – at long, long last – be at BJJ. If not, business as usual with ZSK.

20/06/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 20/06/2006

Turns out class was on this week, and a fairly fitness intensive class at that. Hurrying from a meeting (which fortunately didn’t run over), I made it to the sports centre expecting almost no-one to turn up given the confusion as to whether this session was running or not. I was greeted by the sight of three people, so assumed that would be it for today.

I ran the warm-up again, but this time knew Rod would be along later. Having chatted to some of the guys after the last class, I decided to keep the warm-up a little shorter this time, and put in some more back stretches. We swiftly went through the usual exercises and stretches, then got on to padwork. As last week, I did the ‘alive’ padwork (although the people with pads still weren’t whacking the striker enough!), moving on to the fitness drills (at this point Rod came in, warmed himself up, then ran through some grading stuff with one of the students while everyone else continued). Jab-cross for a minute or two, then front kick-turning kick for another few minutes, after which we switched legs.

That proved fairly tiring, as it was about 25 minutes of padwork all in all. Rod then took over, and told everyone to pad up for free-sparring, taking up the entirety of the remaining 40 minutes. I still felt my shoulder wasn’t quite up to that, and hadn’t brought any equipment anyway, so pounded the bag instead. However, clearly my cardio is way below standard, as I soon got knackered and found myself reduced to intermittent kicks. I also managed to do them wrong, busting my toes and shin as a result (nothing serious, though).

The main positive thing to come out of class for me was that Rod sounded like he was interested in attending the throwdown in August, and also planned to hold holiday training on weekends. So, looking good for the months until term starts up again! Also, as my shoulder has improved quite a bit recently, I’m hoping to be ready for BJJ in the near future; I’ll give myself a dummy run at home over the next couple of weeks to see if it holds up.

13/06/2006 - ZSK, and I had to instruct!

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson (who didn’t make it, meaning strangely I took the class!), Coventry, UK – 13/06/2006

This week, I finally ran out of people to delegate and had to take the class myself. I’ve been avoiding that task for a while now, as I’m not fond of responsibility, especially when I’m injured so can’t even do all the exercises/punches etc myself, but it didn’t turn out too badly.

I followed the normal pattern, doing the running round the room thing while calling out numbers to indicate press-ups, leg-raisers, squat-thrusts and sit-ups (only two of which I could do, due to arm). I started with fifty press-ups, then thought that would take a bit long, so only did forty of the remaining three exercises. After a quick facing inwards then outwards sidestepping, I moved on to stretching. Here again I wasn’t sure on timing – my eyesight is fairly crappy, so not being able to see the clock at the back of the room, I counted to fifty thousand in my head instead. Not a very accurate way of doing things, which also meant I couldn’t chat properly, something I like to do during stretching. I’m also beginning to think that this is actually a quite important part of the social side of things; if I take another class, I’m going to incorporate a lot more two-person stretches so some conversations get going (not that I want this to become a social club, but I feel a certain level of talking is healthy and makes people feel included).

I went through a variety of static leg stretches (like right heel on the floor, bend on right leg, while left leg is straight with toes pointing to the ceiling), and probably spent too much time on those. I went faster for the arm, neck and hip stretches, by which point I realised Rod wasn’t going to turn up (the time having reached about 17:45, class starting at 17:00 and finishing at 18:30).

I’ve planned lessons out before in my head in case this ever happened, so I immediately decided we’d do some ‘alive’ padwork, or at least my attempt at aliveness. Pairing up the class with focus mitts (uneven numbers, so one person had to go on the heavy bag), I told people to basically treat it as sparring, but with pads. The person with the pads was supposed to vary strikes by angling the pads, keep moving round to stimulate footwork and break rhythm, and occasionally smack their partner in the head and sides. I’ve always loved this drill, as it feels like a particularly functional way to use pads, but understandably the class was still somewhat stilted and stiff due to unfamiliarity. If we did this regularly, I’m sure they would all loosen up and get the hang of it.

I’d got fed up with counting in my head by this point, so took out my phone and used that as a clock instead. It also came in handy for the next drill, where I got people to simply jab-cross the pads for a minute, then switch over. I probably should have got them to switch leading hands too, but meh; I’ll do that if there’s a next time. This was succeeded by the same exercise (changing the focus mitts for a kick shield), but using front kick off the front leg followed by a turning kick off the back leg, for which I did remember to get them to change legs. I was also getting a little bored by this point, so joined in myself after the first switch of people (after all, it was legs, so no arms needed on my part).

I was now left with about thirty minutes of class, so decided it was long part time we did some sparring. Verity, the president (well, technically its supposed to have shifted to the new exec, but she’s still basically running things – change-over has been very delayed this year) wasn’t sure we were suitably insured, as apparently a registered instructor had to present. I thought that the club was already insured by the membership, not to mention the £30 Sports Federation fee everyone had to pay annually (otherwise, what the fuck is that all for?). However, will need to look into it – at her TKD club, its definitely the case that only the registered instructor can oversee sparring, even though Verity is a TKD BB.

So we went ahead and sparred anyway, as everyone was keen, though I said people needed to keep it light. It also meant I could join in again, first of all going up against a girl who hadn’t brought any sparring gear either, so we both wanted to go pretty light. After her, I partnered up with a tough foreign guy (possibly French, not sure) who clearly knew what he was doing; if we’d been sparring properly, he would have pasted me a few times (though at one point, he completely dropped his guard on one side, then seemed surprised when I kicked him – lightly - in the head. Not sure if that was supposed to be a taunt, but I guess I’ll find out if I ever get the chance to spar him properly. :icon_wink). As I couldn't use my arms, I was tending to focus on just his hips rather than taking into account his shoulders; definitely not a habit I want to get into to. Sparring for first time in ages also meant that I was sporting the usual bruise on my right shin – in seven years, I’ve received that same bump almost every time.

That left about ten minutes, so I filled it with a quick warm-down: jumping, small amount of press-ups, sit-ups etc, bit of a stretch, and finally a minute of shadow-boxing.

So, my first session taking a class went pretty well – people seemed to enjoy the opportunity to finally spar, which has been rather lacking this term, and I was very pleased to cut out all the form/linework stuff in favour of pads. However, I’ll be quite content for someone else to take it again next time! That might not be until the academic year starts again in September, as apparently our last session of ZSK will be this Sunday, which is a shame; I’ll have to check if the room is still booked for the Tuesday. Otherwise, won’t get any classes in until the UK Midlands Throwdown in August (unless my shoulder miraculously heals sufficiently for BJJ).

06/06/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 06/06/2006

The number of the Beast apparently denoted extra pain for my left tendon today, as it got a bit of a battering from all the combinations we did today. Class started as normal, with Ste running round the room and counting out numbers to drop and do 10 press-ups, 10 sit-ups etc (with me still doing sit-up insteads of press-ups and squat thrusts). I made a throwaway suggestion of replacing the squat thrusts with sprawls, as Ste said he didn’t like the former exercise, but it wasn’t the best idea as I couldn’t actually demonstrate, so had to try and explain it. Maybe next time; I’ll have to email him a video or something (although I think there is one of our other instructor, Glen Cudjoe, doing in sprawl in one of his san shou fights).

Rod came in as usual during stretching, and once we were feeling limber, we did a quick blast of Lo Han Chow (the first form in ZSK), but thankfully only went through it once. The rest of the session was almost entirely linework, and this is where my tendon got to suffer.

First off, we started with low kicks. That was built up to low kick, back kick, then low kick, back kick, back kick. Punches is where the strain came in, as I had to keep pulling my left punches, hooks and uppercuts, as well as elbows and taking care on the spinning techniques. Co-ordination was occasionally a challenge too, with combinations like jab, cross, hook, uppercut, front kick, knee, or jab, cross, hook, low kick, mid-section kick and head kick. On top of those, Rod also threw in his trademark acrobatic moves, like turning kick, tornado kick, tornado kick, or even more taxing, jab, punch, jumping knee, jumping back kick.

I can blame my injury for lacklustre punching, but I’ve got no excuse for the sloppy kicks. I was failing to follow through properly on the back kicks, particularly when they were doubled up, I didn’t fully bring the left spinning hook through, and my high kicks had terrible foot position and lacked power. Plenty of work to do to even reach my earlier standard, as my right spinning hook, normally one of my better kicks (in terms of flashiness at least – I wouldn’t throw any of these kicks in sparring, except maybe a back kick if there was an obvious opening), is looking poor.

Nevertheless, it proved to be a good work-out, but I’m sure my left shoulder area around the tendon will tell me exactly what it thinks of being thrown around tomorrow – I’ve been put off the Warwick physio by timings and cost, so I’ll have to force myself to go to the doctor if I’ve got any chance of getting in some BJJ this holiday.

Finally, there was a brief bit of two man work at the end. First drill was low kick your partner’s front leg, who would draw the leg across the body, then fire a short side kick into your mid-section, switching legs after a set of five. This was followed by punching your partner, who would block on the inside of the forearm, then low kick which they would counter with a shin block. That was a little problematic for me, as instead I have to double jab, and block with the same arm. This mainly served to confuse my partner even further, though I suppose its good to mix things up occasionally. However, would much rather being doing something sensible, like padwork with a bit of aliveness, so we’ll see if the session switches back to that next week.

Not many sessions left this term, so I may have to make up random crap over the three month holiday, unless my injury clears up. That’s a highly unlikely outcome, unfortunately, but I can always hope.

30/05/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson (in Bali, so Charles took the class), Coventry, UK – 30/05/2006

This time round it wasn’t Ste, but another senior grade (though still less than me; I wimped out of taking class due to injury), Charles. Kicking off with the usual running round warm-up followed by stretches, it was yet again the exact same pattern as last week. Charles then added on a few extra sets of press-ups, sit-ups, squat thrusts and leg-raisers, which were really starting to get to my abs as I was exchanging every exercise that required my left arm for sit-ups.

Once we’d gone through the usual, Charles decided he wanted to play with tornado kicks. So, he broke it down – somewhat laboriously – into kick, then kick and turn, then kick turn kick, at long last getting to the actual tornado kick itself. This was delayed even further by doing first doing each motion on the count before even getting to stringing together the preparatory moves. Still, always fun to fling yourself through the air, though my left hip protested slightly after about the eleventh time I gyrated through space.

Next up was padwork, beginning with low kicks to the thigh. This always hurts, but fortunately I wasn’t with a macho prick, I was with Ste, so he was happy to tone it down when my face started to display evidence of wimpy-ness. This moved on to knees, then a knee and turning knee combo (or whatever the knee to the side is called), and finally a jumping knee. This was considerably more fun than I thought it would be, though there is no way in hell I’d ever throw a flying knee in sparring; almost certainly miss or simply get side-stepped and smacked in the groin.

Class finished with a ‘self-defence’ section, which instantly switches my brain to ‘ignore’. Even so, I did manage to get a little entertainment out of it, as well as a reminder that I’m still injured. There was some move that involved hyper-extending the elbow using the shoulder after a ridiculous block. I flapped my arm against Ste’s, then swivelled and pulled his arm onto my left shoulder. Instant pain resulted, but unfortunately the pain was focused in my left shoulder, not Ste’s elbow. So that was clearly a no-no. This was followed by some wristy thing, which for some reason Ste decided to push a little further. I spun out of it, ending up on the floor, and decided I’d try and pull guard. Not knowing how to pull guard whilst on the floor, I ended up sitting there with my legs around the vertical Ste, who eventually fell over – no idea if I had anything to do with his descent. That resulted in eventually getting hold of eachothers legs – with Charles standing over us making some inane ‘homosexual’ commentary (not a convert to MMA, unfortunately) – while I finally attempted a heel hook. Ste tapped, but I think it had more to do with the hard wooden floor as opposed to my sloppy technique.

Rod’s back next week, so I imagine padwork will continue to be the mainstay, with a quick run-through of compulsory movements. While in a sense this makes for somewhat dull reading (if there is anyone reading this), I am glad that my familiarity with the class and instructor means I can feel relaxed about training around an injury; I wouldn’t get the same lee-way anywhere else.

23/05/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson (in Bali, so Ste took the class), Coventry, UK – 23/05/2006

Not much to write this week: Rod is on holiday, so Ste took the whole class this week instead of just the warm-up. We did the usual run round the room thing, though Ste upped the count to 80 per exercise rather than 50. I tried doing one-arm press-ups instead of normal ones, and probably did about 40 or 50 (pretty crappy ones, though) out of the 80, but think I’ll shift to just doing sit-ups while my shoulder heals up.

After the warm-up and stretching, Ste then launched into a bunch of fitness drills. He made up some combinations of pad work with exercises, which of course meant technique went out the window and there certainly wasn’t any aliveness. Still, pretty good work out. Started off with jab-cross turning kick, then a press-up, followed by front leg front kick and knee with a triple-sit-up (normal, to the left, to the right), next just kicking the bag as many times as possible in a minute with rear leg turning kick (weak leg first; I think I got about 63 on my left, but only 50 something on my stronger right leg, so did some penalty sit-ups), finishing up with a rear-leg side kick followed by a burpee (my shoulder certainly wasn’t up to that, so went with sit-ups again. Must have done 100s that session!).

Session finished with the four people in the front line counting out 10 press-ups each, followed by the same four with 10 sit-ups each (again, I did sit-ups for both, and just counted the 10 press-ups rather faster. :P). Finally a bit of two man stretching, then off home.

All that exercise was just what I needed – been feeling hugely out of shape thanks to the damn injury, so this should help my muscles back into place. Hopefully. ;)

16/05/2006 - ZSK

University of Warwick Zhuan Shu Kuan (ZSK), Rod Richardson, Coventry, UK – 16/05/2006

Much the same this week, although I was very pleased to get my girlfriend to come along training, which she hasn’t done in about 2 years. Unfortunately, that also meant we were a little late, as she got stuck in meetings and we then got stuck in traffic (probably would have helped if I’d remembered to bring the map. Ahem).

Still, we only missed about 20 minutes, which was just the warm-up, and entered in the middle of stretching. Quick bunch of sit-ups and leg-raisers, then I joined the rest of class. Rod was extremely surprised to see my gf there, but then that’s to be expected; last time we trained, he wasn’t there, so its even longer since he last saw her!

After the stretches, training followed the pattern of last Tuesday, as we went through all the compulsories (starts off with a rather TMA blocking one, then onto rear-leg front, spurning, side, turning and hook, followed by the same kicks off the front-leg then stepping, after which its rear-leg back, spinning hook, inner and outer axe, onto stepping jumping front, side, turning and back kicks, finishing up with the same jumping kicks but this time without a step). Didn’t bother with the form, which is always a pleasure to skip, moving straight on to padwork.

I was slightly worried I’d have problems this week, as the skin on my knuckles hasn’t grown back yet, but we focused on elbows (first jab and elbow, then spinning elbow) rather than punches, moving swiftly on to kicks and knees (front-leg front-kick, then added a knee). I ended up with my gf rather than the heavy bag, which was probably a good thing as it gave me a chance to rest. Though then again, I could only use one arm for holding the pads, which got particularly strained when I had to twist for the other side. Really looking forward to the damn shoulder healing!

No sparring again this week, which was a little strange; could be that they’re concentrating more on free sparring during the Thursday and Sunday lessons. Doesn’t bother me, as I wouldn’t spar anyway at the moment; not being able to punch might be a bit of a hindrance!

No Rod for the next two weeks, so lessons should be interesting. Will have to see what Ste comes up with.