Bretty101

Don't know if i spelt that rite but i mean not sleeping. I've noticed if i don't train at some point during the day i can't sleep. I found myself laying awake last night unable to sleep. I ended up going for a 6mile run to burn some energy. I wouldn't mind but if i don't get enough sleep i feel terrible the next day. It seems i need my sleep but can't get any unless i've used my quotta of energy for that day. Does anyone else get this? I am training very hard at the moment, what do you suggest? Bretty

Just remembered this one (probably not good if your shoulders dislocate, but then nuffins good if your shoulders dislocate) and no special equipment needed either Step 1: Stand up with arms straight out in front of you, hands open and palms facing each other about an inche apart. Step 2: keeping arms straight bring arms out to the sides (so you look like a scarecrow) Step 3: bring arms back so they are again out in front of you but not touching. Repeat steps 2 and 3 a hundred times as fast as you can without your hands ever touching. Do that every day for a few weeks and you'll have a chest and shoulders like arnie. Bretty

push-ups are boring tho there are loads of variations (horay!!!). hands wide apart, close together, on top of one another, with your feet elevated (on a chair), with your elbows out to the sides or elbow tucked in (more tricep work), with on leg on top of the other, with legs apart, one handed press ups, press up and touch your shoulder with your hand then press up and trouch other side, press ups with a clap, press ups with some one sat on your back, hand stand push ups, finger tip press ups, press ups on your thumbs, knuckle press ups press ups with a friend, cat stretch (hindu push ups?). or good ol' standard push ups. Bretty

Over here in the UK i can walk into a shop and buy a black belt for about £3 (thats about $5 i think). I'm sure if i bought 10 or more i could get the price down a bit . and certificates probably cost about 20p each. However if i want one with a 'masters' name on or an organisations name on it i'll have to pay £100-£150 (the price of embroidery, it's that 'gold' stitching wot does it ) for my 1st dan i paid £90 (to pay a grand master to fly over from korea) I then paid £100 to take my 2nd dan in front of a panal of 5 masters. Bretty

Whaaa! (is that short for aaiihhyaaa-whaaa?) Kicking higher requires flexibility and strength. which one would you like help with? Any kicks in particular? What do you mean by straighter? so you can straighten your leg at height(requires flexibility) or so your foot can travel in a straight line like sidekick for example (requires coordination, flex and strength) If you name the kick you want we can all help you with stretches and exercises!! Bretty

At the moment it's loads of weights. an hour to an hour and a half every day in the gym. one body part per day for 5 days then 2 days rest. all usual exercise and alternating with leg stretching/ankle weights and ab work. When my club starts training again i'll be back to training 4 times a week in TKD and weights when i can. Body calisthenics? Is that like using your own body weight for resistance? If it is i hate it. I hate high rep work, I can do press-ups, sit-ups, dips, squat thrusts and chins all day. (okay not really all day but when i get around the 100 mark my wrists and back generally start aching before the muscles i'm trying to work ) Bretty

Achilles tendon Yikessss!! Luckily i've never had any trouble with mine. My brother tore his and it looked really painfull. Bretty

Cheers Jack! I've thought of doing split routines but with my current training i really like to kill the particular muscle group so it's totally wasted then give it a week to recover. To do this i don't really have the energy to do a second muscle group as well. I suppose i'm happy with my routine but would like to burn more fat with it. I don't think i have ever worked this hard in the gym yet i'm not burning any fat. How can i burn fat and still gain maximum muscle? Is it worth considering taking any products which change your metabolism, burn fat and stop the breaking down of muscle tissue? Bretty

Bladelee, I think io know exactly how you feel. I've got several excellent techniques in my armoury which beat everyone. However once someone knows all your tricks and knows when to expect them they will beat you. I'm exactly the same, people in the club are always watching you, sparring you and trying to work you out and eventually they start to catch you. You go to a tournament however against people who don't know you and you rip them apart. What i suggest is that you try and continually evolve and improve your style. ie for me it's very easy to rely on my big guns, i'm a big guy and have really strong axekicks, backfists and reverse punchs that beat most people. Instead of always using them i try and improve new techniques. ie improve your 'weak' side. so just when someones working you out flick stance to the other side.OR instead of fighting moving forwards all the time move backwards, or to the side or vise-versa. double things up and mix it up. Try new tricks so just when someone thinks they know whats coming give em something else. It's easy to use your best techniques all the time but people will learn them. (if thats any help at all) Bretty

Hi all, As you've probably noticed I'm lifting a lot of weights recently . I've got some questions about energy levels and fat lose. I spend between an hour to an hour and a half in the gym most days. I'm doing heavy weights and concentrating on one body part per day. typically: 5 exercises * 3 sets * 6-12 reps. I find by the end of each work out all my energy is gone and i struggle on the last few sets. So what is actually happening? should i change my diet to get more energy? Why if i'm using so much energy am i not burning fat? (I would like to burn more fat) how can i do more CV work when i don't have enough energy left over from weight training? Do you recommend taking any product which change my metabolism to use body fat for energy? I don't really want to lower the intensity of my weight training so i can do CV work. Please help. Thanks!! Bretty

Hi all, I'm still loving the weight training, in the gym most days. Usually doing a body part each day. Chest/Back/Arms/Shoulders/Legs with abs and stretching work alternate days. Anyway I used to be really afraid of heavy weights, scared of injury and the slowing/lack of mobility effects of too much bulk. But this couldn't be further from the truth!!!! I've found squats and deadlifting heavy weights have improved my jump kicks loads, and i can still do the splits and 540's no problem. Also all my joint problems have gone away. My knees feel great, my shoulders don't dislocate and my wrists don't click any more!! I recommend weight training to every one!!!!!! Bretty

I've found the best way to improve my roundhouse is to actually practice the kick itself. As it relys on the coordintaion of several muscle groups rather then just one you can train. I say practice (after a good warm up) throwing it as high and as powerfully as you can. that way you train all the right muscles gain the coordination, power and speed and get a dynamic stretch. Bretty

I really think mentally and physically i can achieve anything i put my mind to. If I want it i can have it, but i've got to want it! I know if i wanted to i could be a doctor or a world class athlete. all i need is the WANT, the motivation, the dedication and the determination. You WANT it you got it!!! Bretty

I'm nowehere near being any good a boxing (dispite years of kickboxing). However i have found the speed i have lost through weight training is more then made up by the power i can generate. Fortunately i've still got a quick stiff jab, and anyone thats too quick for me soon slows down after a good hard whack. I now have the power to destroy!!! Bretty

I've had cosmetic surgery (well dentistry really). I had one of my teethe punched out. Got a [edit: Sorry erm nasty] punch in the mouth my gum went all black and my tooth fell out. Anyway my front teeth started to spread out and i looked a bit goofy so my mum dragged me down to the orthadontist (orthadentist? anyway...).. I had 3 more teeth remove and braces put on my teeth, no sparring for 18months (I never did regain my fighting edge) Anyway cosmetic cos i never really needed it but i look better for it I wouldn't say I was insecure. You can get implant anything now!! Bretty

I seem to go through phases with clicking in my hips. I've always found if my hips start clicking and i carry on using it the 'click' becomes a 'twang' and i pull something. (Technical terms i know ) I'd say take it easy! yeah as said do some GENTLE stretches but go easy else you could make the joint loser. Another good thing i find is to do plenty of hip rolls before and in between any kicking exercises, it gets evry thing moving and is nice and steady. If your feeling a MUSCULAR pain on when doing and Axe, front kick or any rising kick with to the front with your foot upright. This is you Hip abductor muscle (you can feel it on the top of your leg where it meets your hip) If your feeling MUSCULAR pain when doing inside or outside cresent kick these kicks use the hip flexers to generate the left to right or right to left motion. With any Muscular problems the answer is always rest or consult a doctor. And it looks like i've just repeated everything every one else has said . Bretty

Hi all, Thanks for the responses. The rotator cuff must be the most neglected muscle in your body, yet it's really important for holding your shoulders together. When do you ever do exercises which use this muscle? Is it the rotator cuff muscle you use when you arm wrestle? ZR440: That rowing exercise I've found has really helped my shoulders a lot. The posterior deltoids at the back, again a really neglected muscle which i find pulls my shoulder right back into it's socket! KickChick: Are there any links you don't have? Cheers Bretty

How do you choke out 15 guys at once? You must have real long arms! Bretty (I wouldn't do it)

I can't bench much at all. probably about 110Kilos (~250lbs). But then i got long arms and a thin chest! Bretty

Uh-oh! Story time... When i first started Thai boxing i pointed out to the instructor I wasn't very hard and I didn't like the shin conditioning very much Anyway when i said 'hard' he laughed at me , he then paired me off with the biggest 'hardest' looking guy i've ever seen. The next exercise involved a lot of clashing shins (taking it in turns shin kick, shin block). The instructor said to me when you clash shins it will hurt both of you, but he said hide your pain and smile, then give him another good whack, it'll hurt both of you but keep smiling and if you see him wince give him a wink and another smile then hit him again harder. at the end of the exercise my shins were erm hurting . But i still hide the pain . The guy i was paired up with was hurting too and looked at me like and commented on how 'hard' i was. THE MORAL OF THIS STORY: Hardness is just not showing what your feeling, it's a front nothing else. These people are just the same as you and i but they come across as if they don't feel pain, every one feels pain and no one likes it. Bretty

Hi all, I was just gonna post a question asking about exercises for rotator cuff muscles, but then had the crazy idea of putting it into a search engine first. I came up with some interesting pages of exercises which you might be interested in. Having seen a physiotherapist a few months ago, she commented that I had done a lot of work on my major muscle groups and neglected the equally important minor groups. She recommended working on my rotator cuff muscles would help to prevent my shoulders dislocating (all the time). Anyway this is the rotator cuff: http://www.jointhealing.com/pages/shoulder/rotatorcuff.html And these are the exercises: http://familydoctor.org/handouts/265.html I'm off down the gym now, would be interested in hearing your thoughts. Bretty

I went to a few lessons of capoira, mainly coz i wanted to learn the 'cool' moves. but like all martial arts there is a lot more to it, i found it a little too dancy and i didn't want to do all the instrument playing and singing. It's a great laught though, give it a try! Bretty

There's a big capoeira club at my university (Leeds). I think the instructor has a few clubs around the uk, I'll have a look... Bretty

Mcdojo as in McDonalds. Suggests the club is a franchise which all clubs are!!! The chances are every one here trains in a Mcdojo. Unless an independant master set up a club and ran it in his own name without external connections then that isn't a mcdojo. But anyone who is part of an organisation is in a Mcdojo!!! They sell grades, licenses, insurance, suits, pads and let you use the organisations name. Hence a franchise and hence a Mcdojo. So really very few clubs aren't Mcdojos so it's a stupid term. If you've got enough money you can run a restaurant and buy into the mcdonalds franchise and sell their burgers and fries under their name. Bretty Trained in several different "Mcdojos" and McMartial arts

Kwon and Addidas are the best shoes i've seen (in the UK). For some reason it's become fashionable for people to wear them on the street. Serious even people who don't do martial arts?! I see them all the time in nightclubs. Anyway, I used to train on carpet which gives you really bad blisters nut when you get used to them you never have trouble with blisters ever again. I'm not really a fan of shoes as i'm light on my feet and like to feel where the floor is and how much traction i have. I only where them in our local sports centre where there is broken glass on the floor brough in on other peoples feet. Bretty