My feet are stinging and throbbing, my legs are aching and my ankles are stiff. I can barely move my neck and shoulders. What a great weekend.
We had the pleasure of having Drew Neal come down to teach a three hour sparring seminar yesterday, and although I’ve been lucky enough to train under him once before, this was much more personal and tailored to our club. There were only ten or eleven of us in attendance, and because of that we were able to work on the things we really wanted to. The first hour was spent going over some of the basics, which was good as it’s easy to overlook them and take them for granted, and that can be a bad thing, especially if you’ve gotten lazy or into bad habits. The next couple of hours were much harder work, concentrating on more advanced techniques and tactics, and then spending a long time sparring with everybody else. I’ve no idea how many rounds I fought, I completely lost track, it must’ve been about fifteen or so I think. Included in that time was the chance to spar with Drew himself, and it is just frightening how fast that guy can move and react – no wonder he’s got so many World and National championships under his belt. I’m glad we were totally padded and working at semi contact because otherwise I’d be totally black and blue this morning. He does everything that I try to do myself (but usually fail at within ten seconds of starting), mostly making the most of my advantages. Standing tall and staying tall throughout an exchange is the main thing, but not throwing more than two techniques in a row is another bad habit. I’ll get it, eventually.
When I sat down in the evening after a shower I realised how much the balls of my feet are hurting, I’ve managed to get carpet burns from the rubber mats. I’ve sneakily got my shoes off and my heels propped up on a foot stand under my desk, when really all I want to do is stick them in the fridge with my yoghurts. In fact I feel like a bit of an invalid all over now, after Friday night’s antics.
The last Friday of every month is Rock Night as regular readers will know, and I was determined to get a lot of dancing and a proportionate amount of alcohol under my belt after a few really stressful weeks. I bumped into an old friend there only to find out his band were playing a set there on the night – ace! They were great and surprised me with the variety of bands covered. I never thought I’d hear them do Wolfmother and Queens Of The Stone Age, but I did, and very well covered they were. Once the DJ got back on and Adam had a few drinks under his belt, there was some dancing going on and no mistake! I’ve been suffering ever since with very sore and stiff shoulders and neck, but it was definitely worth it. Awesome music + drinks + dancing like an idiot with your mates = a good night in my book.
Speaking of awesome music, any metal fans with taste similar to mine should treat themselves to The Way Of The Fist by Five Finger Death Punch. I’ve been listening to it a lot and I can honestly say there isn’t a bad track on the album, just a lot of excellent songs which make me want to get up and hurt my neck even more.
Thanks again to Drew for making the long trip down to us, teaching me a lot of very useful things, and giving me a thumping. It’s hard to get annoyed at someone kicking your ass up and down the hall when he’s such a nice bloke.