Lots of people keep phoning saying ‘ Where are you? ‘  ’ I used to train at the Academy and want to come back’

So here’s directions from the old school in Hoxton square. Come out of the Old school and turn left, walk up to the school and pub on the corner. Turn left there. Walk about 150 yards and then take the first turning right (no not the alley/drive) You’re now in Falkirk St. SPACe sports centre is about 60 yards on your right. Ask for the Bob Breen Academy or for me personally at reception and they’ll direct you to the training area. For those who were members of the old school you’ll see either my wife Judy or Sandra or Anne on reception. Nothing changes, the training is still great, focused and you can still chat to the girls on the desk. See you there. Ps I still drink tea in the classes.

SPACe website is http://www.hackneysportscentre.com/index.aspx

Like most people I feel the need to be more organised and I try to fit the most I can  into my day.

Having small ten minute slots for doing your cardio or yoga stretching or for drilling is I find more approachable and at least it gets done that way. Being overly ambitious you put it off.  If you’ve got more time then make it twice ten minutes and do twenty minutes cardio or floor exercises. Like we did in the classes over the Christmas period where we did ten minutes on the floor and everyone was exhausted there’s a lot you can do in a little time.

I’ve found two apps which I use on my iphone which work well in this regard and have JKD simplicity. The first is the Habit Factor which is a daily reminder to do your daily habits which for me is yoga, cardio, play piano, and write. The rest takes care of itself. I set really low minimum aims so I’m sure to hit them. Nothing succeeds like success. The other is a really good JKD approach app to ‘getting things done’. The David Allen book of that name has spawned a plethora of overly complex systems and apps but this one called ‘Put things Off’  is great and as the title indicates is a procrastinaters dream. It’s in touch with the real world and achievable. It’s my current favourite as it fits in with my aim to simplify and do less and be more. Check it out.

Recently in the Classes we’ve been working on clinch techniques and using the same techniques throughout all of our training whether we’re doing MMA style clinch, Filipino boxing, stickfighting or knife defence. In this way you get to see the same shapes constantly and then learn them in more depth. By doing them in  different contexts you’re sort of viewing them in different colours. In this way you’re on the path to integrated combat where you are formless and can go with the flow because you see certain constants all the time. Once you’ve got some of these shapes down then you need to spar them to find them in real time. Firstly we just play free flow with a couple of variables and then add more and more. Finding it for yourself is the gateway to truly knowing it. You’ve got to test your knowledge in a real situation. Like all testing and sparring it shouldn’t be too challenging but be progressive so that everyone gets to get better not just the ‘hard boys’ The more training partners you’ve got to train with the better.

We’ll be continuing in this field with a much more sparring related approach over the coming months. Less technique in terms of number but more understanding and facility. Training this way you learn to have a more subtle, fluid and changeable game. As a Tai chi master I know well says.’ If they’ve got a shape I can break it-I look for the guys who are formless/ shapeless and fluid. They’re the ones to train with’. See you there!

Recently Carl Greenidge and I did a small demonstration and talk along with my Jazz friend Stephen Keogh to some gang members on a north london ‘ sink ‘ estate. The estate looked great but obviously didn’t do what it intended as there was lots of drugs and gang violence there. Doing knife defence in front of people who probably stabbed someone in the last few months was interesting, maybe you’d get to test it.

It started with teaching the youths who attended about drumming in particular Samba drumming which is huge fun.  Then Carl and I did our demo integrating from sticks to kickboxing and grappling and ending with knife. The more serious older gang members didn’t come in but stood near the door looking in. We had a great time and maybe showed the guys there a different way, other possibilities for their life. Most interesting was at the end when two young guys got up and duplicated almost everything we did. They didn’t get it all right but it was hugely impressive. Something that takes weeks in a class to teach and months or years to perfect these two young men gave a very close copy of after just looking at it once. They added  a little Bruce lee type screeching and threw in a bit of hip hop and beatboxing too. It was fantastic, disrespectful in the right way and fun.  Afterwards we were told that the guys were the leaders of the local gang. What a waste! All that talent. They’d be in the British team in no time whatever avenue they wanted to go; MMA, Stickfighting, Kickboxing. Whether we made an impact or not has yet to be seen. We came away with a deep respect for these young smart guys. An interesting night.

Classes are back to normal now despite the snow. Don’t take any risks coming in but classes are back on and going strong. Last Thursday we had nearly a full house on what was a very nasty evening. From this week we’ll be focusing on Grading techniques with a new revised syllabus. Gradings at the Academy are obligatory and guaranteed to give you in depth knowledge of technique, plus strategy, tactics and all the right attributes to make you the best you can be.

This year looks like it’s going to be great, we’ll be entering a number of competitions to develop our skills and get out there. Consequently the training is going to be rigorous.  See you there!  Bob

A happy new year to all our members and friends logging in. It looks like it’s going to be a great year. It’s going to be the Chinese year of the tiger this year (from Febuary ) so lets get going and roar our way through the year. The training is going to be tough, the quality will be high. We guarantee lots of fun, fitness, and great martial arts. We start on Monday the fourth of January. See you there.  For those living further away come and join us at our regular seminars or watch the clips we post on Youtube. Let’s go!

bob

Ps Motto of year of the tiger and people born in those years is “I win”  Sounds about right.