The point is, I didn’t have the opportunity to train with people of my caliber, so I developed a system of training for myself- a system for speed & strength development, timing, and technique building. I also studied videos, countless videos. I studied the best fighters in the world. I read books on sport psychology, and speed training.

We have pretty much spelled out the general time and effort issues but tuition is worth exploring. Some students will not want to go on an overnight and some will. Some will not be able to afford the over night costs. By hosting both types of camps over the summer you can offer both a low cost and high cost option to your students. You also allow those who want to attend a camp but not stay over night to do so.

We spent most of our time relaxing on the banks of the River Vara playing with our son, swimming, diving, panning for gold, and snorkeling in the sparkling water of this beautiful river.

Fitness. This may seem obvious but it has to be said. MMA is an extremely physical sport and a high level of fitness is essential. Everything from running to swimming, cycling to cross-training will build your general fitness level. I do a lot of gym work and anything which raises your heart level into a cardio zone will help. Using weights is also important. This isn’t about building visible muscle it’s about building core strength. Stronger muscles mean less injury as well as advantages in a fight situation.

partes My experience with most women who have their black belts is that when asked, “do you think you could defend yourself against a 200 lb rapist?”, the answer is usually, “I’m not sure.” And that shouldn’t be the answer. If you’ve spent all that time in a dojo, then you should be able to walk down the streets and KNOW that you can defend yourself and quickly disable any attacker.

For many, it would seem like this is the first area of focus you should work on – a training location. However, I believe this might be one of the reasons that many of us limit our training potential. It is easy to decide to begin training when you have cleaned out your garage. However, once you are training and have that ball in motion – it will certainly help you to get a set area to train in. A home dojo if you will. I prefer the backyard, but a garage dojo is great too as you can open the door and let the air in. Having a set location or CONTEXT will not only constantly remind you to train, it will also help you to prepare quickly and get into the right state of mind each time you begin training.

Take the holiday we had this summer, for example. We stayed in carro, a small medieval hill village of about 400 inhabitants just 45 minutes drive from the seaside towns of Sestri Levante and La Spezia. We had what I can only describe as a one of those perfect family holidays in Italy.

True intelligence is the speed at which your mind works. There are other factors, but this is the one that is most important. This doesn’t evaluate how big or good your memory is, but how fast you can interchange with the environment.

junkyard anderson in When a martial artist is fighting an opponent he learns to stay relaxed during the confrontation. By staying relaxed his physical movements are free and flowing and controlled. He has speed and quickness in a relaxed state. Muscular tension slows down all physical movements and restricts quickness and speed. But when he strikes he tenses all muscles in his body and delivers the blow with a “focused burst” of his total energy into the target upon contact. This relaxed state works extremely well when hitting a baseball also.

Camp outs also work well with both a week long and a week-end option. The week-end camp will allow many more students to attend – especially adults who do not want to take time off from work to attend training.