Training Update: Random Brain Dump

This post is going to have an unconventional format compared to my usual posts from my training journal category. Instead of having 1 consistant theme, I am going to discuss several things that I have going on at the moment.

My Sick Poppy

About a week ago I woke up to some pretty bad news. My grandfather who will be 98 this year, took a bit of a turn for the worse health wise. We actually had to end up having our family doctor make a house call and found out that my grandfather’s heart is failing. We have had to call out hospice, which sends nurses to your home, and does things like provide items that you need when you are elderly and sick to allow for a better quality of life. Poppy (the name we call my grandfather) now has to be hooked up to an oxygen tank for most of the day, to get more oxygen into his blood and help his heart out. As a result, I have had to realign my priorities. My family is obviously a bigger priority than my personal goals or training, and I have had to put a portion of my training on hold. I won’t be training at the school I was at before. I am needed here during the evening hours to help out my grandfather with certain things, like meals, getting around, etc. I have also been waking up at 7am each day now to make him breakfest and get his day started. It’s a lot earlier than I am used to getting up, but I don’t mind because he is my Poppy.

My Training Partner

My main training partner Chris is on vacation this week. Chris and I usually get together on Tuesday to work on a variety of things from sparring, to grappling, etc. We are both pushing each other and looking to compete in some competitions this summer. I may be doing some stand up as well as some grappling competitions along side Chris this summer. As those develop I keep you updated. One thing we are discussing is a “Shogun Style” fight where the first round is bare knuckles, but you can only hit to the body, but you can kick anywhere legal. Round 2 is you put on gloves and can strike and kick anywhere that is legal. In Round 3, you also incorporate take downs, so you can look to submit or strike on the ground. This is definitel a unique style of fighting and something I am looking forward to if I can get a fight booked.

UFC Fan Expo/Master Toddy’s

3 weeks left before I leave for Vegas to attend the UFC Fan Expo and train at Master Toddy’s Muay Thai Academy. I am excited about this, and I have been doing a lot of conditition and extra training to prepare for this. There will be hundreds of vendors at the UFC Expo that I will be meeting with, not to mention all the UFC stars that I will hopefully get to meet and give pictures with. I am also going to be doing an Eddie Bravo Training Seminar during the Expo. I have recently become a big fan of Eddie Bravo and 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, so I am definitely looking forward to this. I will also be watching the UFC 100 while I am out in Vegas. I’ll probably head to the Hard Rock or something for that event. Finally, I will be spending the 13th – 15th training 2 sessions a day at Master Toddy’s Muay Thai Academy to learn some new techniques and enchance my Muay Thai skills. After this camp, I feel I will be ready to take a shot at some Muay Thai fights and I will be looking around to try to get in with a local promoter.

Gracie University BJJ Club

About a month ago I started the Gracie University online training program. When I first heard about this program, I was a little disinterested in it, and kind of thought of it as a scam for the Gracie’s to make money and that they were selling out. Now that I have been doing it for a month or so, I have completely changed my opinion of this. Basically, this is no different than simply buying some instructional DVDs and practicing the techniques at home or with some friends. Actually, the Gracie’s do a good job of showing all the nuiances of the techniques. I think to be honest that I have actually learned and understood the techniques better this way than I have at my previous two schools, because they take the time to show you every single fine point. Also, it’s not like you can become a black belt through distance learning. The highest rank you can acheive is Blue Belt, and there are very strict guidelines and expectations to accomplish this. Here is a page of videos of people who passed their Blue Belt Test and there is someone who failed it miserably. Gracie Univeristy Sample Test Page

Affordable Supplements

I have recently become an affiliate with Affordable Supplements, and I will be adding some pages to my online store. They have a lot of great products at really good prices, such as weight gainers, fat burners, protein, vitamins and other nutrional supplements. It kind of takes me a while to create pages in my online store, but once they are up they are easy to maintain, so I will be constantly updating them. You can check out their website at: Affordable Supplements They also have several free promotions where if you purchase one item you get another for free. You will see some of those promotions displayed on my site shortly.

Interview Section

Me and my MMA Head Writer Blair are working on a new project together. We are going to be adding an Interview section to the website. In this section we will be interviewing school owners, promoters, fighters and other people affiliated with MMA. Stay tuned for this coming soon. If you know anyone who would be interested in an interview on the website, please contact me through the Contact Page

New Camp Spotlight Coming Soon

I will have a couple new Camp Spotlight features coming shortly. There will be one on Emerald Gym, Scorpion Gym and Horizon Muay Thai. I also have plans to feature Fairtex, Ultra Gym (Master Toddy’s Bangkok school) and Muay Thai Institute at some point.

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