MMA

I have an interesting experience to write about today, last night I had an amateur MMA fight at the ZT fight night in Eastbourne.
Amazingly I won by decision after two 4 minute rounds, I can honestly say it was the most intense feeling I have ever experienced.
The girl I was fighting was amazing at stand up but I managed to stick to my game plan and take it to the ground.
I would have loved to win by submission but I still need to get used to the different dynamics of mma its a lot different from bjj or even no gi.
All in all it was a great night Sophie and Laura both won their fights and lots of partying was done after perhaps too much ;) I have a sore head inside and out today.
Back to training BJJ hard for the next few competitions coming up, I think fighting mma will help me to be more confident and aggressive with my bjj.
I fought in my tatami fight shorts and rashguard so I will post a review of them soon as its hard to find good quality female mma fight ware in the UK the girls both had fightergirl shorts which looked really good gotta get me some of those :)

First generation at ZT fight school Eastbourne

Its a great thing to see hard work and dedication result in something as amazing as the new ZT Fight school where my bjj coach Tolly is now located.
Those of you who have followed my blog for a while can track how much bjj in Eastbourne has progressed in such a short space of time.

Tolly started teaching BJJ at canton martial arts when I returned from a months training at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, it was there I got bitten by the grappling bug and had made up my mind that I had to master BJJ.
I didn’t realise at the time what a bold statement that was or how many hours of intense training were ahead of me, it was just a feeling I had at that moment in time and I felt driven to achieve it.

I kind of think of it as fate looking back as low and behold our school had managed to acquire a bjj coach, I wondered where they had spirited him from as Eastbourne is a small place. The class attracted a range of students, some who had a basic knowledge of grappling but for the majority a pack of uncoordinated and unconditioned novices who Tolly had the challenge of teaching the complicated art of bjj to.

Class was only 3 times a week but it developed a cult following with Tolly's friendly and expert coaching style and personality proving the key behind the groups quick progression. It was not too long before some of us became regulars on the competition scene going up against some of the bigger longer established clubs and often bringing back medals for our efforts.

I had a great introduction to BJJ and I can attribute all my initial success to having this great group of people to train with, we didn't have the best facilities or training available on tap like some of the bigger gyms but it just shows that quality of training can often prove more effective than quantity and having a good coach can make all the difference to your experience and confidence when learning a new skill.

After about a year of training every ones efforts were rewarded when we had our first grading with many students that had been there from day one receiving their blue belts. It was at this point that I left the UK and went to stay with my dad for a year in Bahrain

While I was away efforts continued back in Eastbourne with Tolly always having the ultimate goal of having a permanent location that would be a solid base for everyone and allow more regular training.
He continued to train hard in BJJ and developed an interest in MMA training at Zt fight school in Brighton and his profile was raised after a number of victories at well established ZT fight nights.
Not only focusing on his success he continued to help his students to achieve their goals with many having had victories in MMA.

This success helped to push things to the next level and saw Tolly move to a part time location at fitness first where the second grading was hosted with a huge turn out of students and continued support from Brazilian top team Black belt Ze Marcello.
His hard work was also rewarded when he received his brown belt from Ze Marcello and became afficliated with Icon BJJ. All the while the final pieces were being put into place. First generation BJJ was born and ZT fightschool opened their doors in Eastbourne.

When I saw the new club for the first time I was blown away not only by the amazing facilities but by what Tolly had actually managed to achieve in terms of taking a sleepy town like Eastbourne and putting it on the map as a hotspot for up and coming talent in all areas of combat. There are so many good fighters at the school but it also attracts people who just want to improve their fitness and enjoy martial arts. Due to the positive attitudes and the way in which the club developed this is something that can coexist with everyone feeling they are part of the club regardless of age gender or ability and its an atmosphere that is often missing from some clubs.

T thanks Sol Gilbert and all the guys at Zt, Ze, students friends and sponsers that have made everything a possibility

So if you are ever down south check it out
Address
84 hammonds drive
Eastbourne

Facilites include cage, boxing ring, large matted area and strength and condidioning equiptemnt
Classes in BJJ MMA submission wrestling Kick boxing, taekwondo, boxing with more to be being added all the time. Ladies only and kids/youth and gym membership also available.
For more information about classes and membership you can call Tolly on 07707541535

Or if you want to check of some of the talent at the next fight night you can grab tickets on the ZT website
http://www.ztfightskool.com/hove/

VO2 max and Metabolism

Wow my brain in super charged with exercise physiology today after another fun day of training. I did 2 sub maximal VO2 max tests today. A sub maximal exercise test is useful to find out how fit you are and make sure your body has a normal response to exercise i.e the heart, lungs and metabolism are functioning as they should.

My VO2max is 31.9 ml/kg/min, When you exercise the body requires more oxygen in order to turn ATP into energy which allows muscles to contract and work to continue. VO2 max is the maximum volume of oxygen that can be utilized by the body during whole body exercise.
My VO2 max value is moderate for my age around the 50th percentile, this is after a few months of being despicably inactive, I wonder how much VO2 would improve after a few months of getting back to training bjj regularly.

How important is VO2 max to those of us training BJJ?
As I mentioned VO2 is a good estimate of how fit you are, I went back to class for the first time in ages and it kicked my ass big time. Physiologically speaking I had lost a lot of muscle mass and my heart wasn't as efficient at getting oxygen to my working muscles. My body's ability to oxidise fat as an energy source was therefore reduced and could explain why I was felt so drained by the end of class.

When training at such an intense level my body had to start using up all my blood sugar and then all the stored muscle glycogen too. Based on my metabolism anything that causes my heart rate to beat at 165bpm (85% of my estimated HRmax) and my body favours carbohydrates as a fuel.
The efficiency of my heart at delivering oxygen to the muscles was pretty bad too which means I need to get my lazy butt to the gym for some cardio!

Knowing your VO2 max can help you if you are going to do additional sessions in the gym in an effort to increase fitness and can provide some interesting information regarding your metabolic function. Increasing metabolism can help to maintain or lose weight which seems to be an eternal battle for some of us.

Diet
It is important to remember that a good nutritional plan is even more important when you start training after a period of inactivity. As failing to get a good intake of carbohydrate post training can mean recovery is slow.
Often people will not eat a good meal after training (this can be due to appetite suppression that can occur up to 1h post exercise and training finishing late at night) and if you are trying to lose weight this can be ok as long as you are getting a good intake of carbohydrate through out the day, or don't have another training session in the next 24h.

Certain foods can actually slightly increase your metabolism and include spicy foods like chilli, and green teas. 60% of the calories you burn each day are a result of your basal metabolic rate which is the calories required to maintain normal body function. On top of that you will require differing amount of calories to provide the energy for daily tasks and exercise. You can use rmr or bmr calculators online to get an estimate of this value. Make sure you are sensitive to your body's needs as the equations used by these calculators assume that metabolism is the same for everyone of a certain age.



Exercise
If you have been out of training and want to improve your fitness quickly the best thing to do is 15-30 minutes high intensity interval training daily and some light or body weight exercises and stretches to help reduce risk of injury. HIIT has been shown to improve VO2 max in as little as 2 weeks and also maybe more effective at fat burning particularly around the abdomen. To make it more bjj specific mix cardio and weights together and do 5-7 minute intervals with a 1-5 minute rest in between to mimic sparing.
Here are a couple videos for some exercise ideas both videos are a bit random but the exercises seemed well balanced and specific to bjj





When ever I have to take a break from training I really dread coming back when I know my fitness will not be so good it was interesting to have it scientifically confirmed but it will be useful to test my VO2 max again after a few months of training to see if it improves any.
So if your coming back to training after time off here are some recommendations.

1) Make sure you eat well increased carbohydrate/calorie intake after training might be necessary at first to replenish depleted muscle glycogen stores until fitness picks up and the body becomes more efficient. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water
2) Do regular stretching and solo drills
3) Do some interval training using a mix of cardio and weights
4) Don't push your self too hard in sparing get back into things slowly avoid sparing with overly competitive people or anyone who's likely to take advantage of your less than peak physical condition (sounds bad but it happens)
5) Tape fingers (this might just be me playing too much guard but protect any areas you know are prone to injury)
6) Drill all the basics particularly escapes to get your mind focused again

I started a New years resolution!

I managed to snag not one but 2 really good deals for capoiera classes on groupon!!!
One is ten classes at capaoeira ceara in Bethnal green and the other is 5 classes at Tribo capoeira in Puteny. I've missed training capoiera since I left Bahrain so it will be nice to varey training up and makes sure I'm compleating at least on of my new years resolutions. If you arn't a member of groupon sign up they always have loads of good deals on exercise classes, keeping fit doesnt have to cost a bomb!




Its been an interesting start back at work as I have training this week so I can start doing the advanced health screens. These involve performing a submaximal VO2max test on the patients, a more detailed lung function test and also a grip strength and flexibility assessment.
Whats good is that I have more opportunity to interact and help people make some life style changes. We spent the day reviewing exercise physiology which was interesting. I'm going to start keeping a monthly record of my training and fitness as doing a VO2max will give me a good baseline of where I'm at seeing as I have been so lazy the last month.
In other news my cholesterol and blood glucose results were all normal and I got my flu job done. I have been sneezing like crazy and today I realised my coat is full of feathers and thats probably what was making me feel like crap haha.

As for the Europeans I guess I will see how I feel at training and go from there, I hate doing anything when I'm unprepared but again it would be a good chance to see what my goals should be and help gear me up for entering some bigger competitions this year.

I was in a pretty grumpy mood but cheered myself up reading a couple blogs by some other bjj girlies, its nice to know more and more girls are getting into bjj and it means as much to them as it does to me, it just gave me a good vibe! Trusty old blog patrol lets me see how people stumble upon my blog and doubles as a tool for catching up on other blogs I might have otherwise missed, anyways I will add them to my blog roll so you can enjoy them too so check it out.

New Years Resolutions

Its nearly the New year and I seem to have a huge amount of resolutions!

1) Get my diet sorted: I haven't been eating enough as I've been so busy with work and house hunting so looking forward to returning to my healthy eating patterns and cooking more now I'm a bit more settled. I think I will ditch alcohol again after last new years I stopped drinking for about 5 months and i noticed the difference to my fitness and lifestyle.

2) Get back into training: I've had about a month off as I've been a bit stressed with the move and all my free time had been spent house hunting and getting settled into my new job but no more excuses! I have a lovely new flat seconds away from the gym 20 minutes from work and about an hour from Brighton its hideously expensive but ticks all my boxes so I just need to budget with an iron fist and everything will be all good. Going to somehow fit capoeira back into the mix too I miss the relaxed vibe the music and movements it stops me getting too stressed from bjj.

3) Enter every single competition there is!
check out http://www.fightyear.com/ this website for news on all the coming years competitions and events. I want to do a lot more no-gi this year too and maybe more mma in march if I get back in to training seriously.

4) Learn a new language: I started learning Portuguese as it's interesting to understand more about bjj and capoeira. This is a great website there is a lot of free material and its very interactive I have the premium membership just for a bit more help with grammar and speaking and its brill or "muito legal"

5)Be happy: I spent the whole of 2010 being a grump for various different reasons but I've realised I have a lot to be thankful for my new job is great and when I manage to balance my time better I have loads of wonderful friends and family here in the UK that I want to spend more time with.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, I think I will go into work for a half day then meet my mum and brother in Brighton for lunch, my best friend for dinner then party the rest of the night away :)

2010

I think its normal for most people to contemplate and summarise things in certain blocks of time, I haven't been thinking of things in a long term way in a while so its weird to be facing the end of the year in just a few weeks. Lots of new things have happened which have drove my life and my bjj forward but a few stupid things have dragged it back.

Mistakes are hard to deal with and address correctly in bjj. One of my biggest ones is always sitting back and playing defensive or guard with bigger people or even if I get a little tired as I know I can fight better from there. However In competition it let me down as I gave two points away by sitting back out of habit. Whats the best way to change the faults or mistakes we make? I've tried to be more dominant and aggressive when training to get me out of the bad habit of just giving up and relying on what I am comfortable with. I guess the first step is actively thinking about things as bjj has a large mental aspect that compliments the physical side.

I'm trying to look forward to the future I signed up for the Europeans in Portugal in January, it will be the first really big competition I will have competed in and despite the fact that at the minute I would rather curl up into a ball and hibernate somewhere till winter is over I think the hard work and training will help and I always seem to feel better when I have a goal or purpose to work towards.
All the people who have been part of my life this year and helped me in anyway I'm sorry if I didn't appreciate you more at the time or let you and myself down.
I will make 2011 a more positive one.

To end on a more positive note and in similar style to some of my fellow bloggers All I want for Christmas is....

1) Kul tatami Christmas special a gi t shirt jumper and bag for just 100 quid

http://www.tatamifightwear.com/product.php?id_product=123

2) Pretty much everything from the fightergirls.com






Happy holidays Oss!

English open and Seminars

Finally got a new charger for my laptop!!! October and November have been non stop! Started my new job which I'm really enjoying. Logistically still not settled into London yet, looking for a more permanent place to live which is such a hassle. I like living in east London because its so easy for work but I want somewhere closer to training!

Had my first real competition experience at blue belt at the English open a couple weeks ago. My day started at around 6.30am in Mcds in Brixton I was happily munching on an egg mcmuffin when this huge fight broke out, so it was an eventful start to the day. Drove down to Kent with my coach and a couple team mates. I wasn't fighting till 1.30 so had plenty of time to chill and watch some good fights from the bjj school guys. My fight in my weight class were pretty crappy I think i lost by 2 points to Vikki and the same with Tiff all I remember is getting caught in half guard and not being able to escape. I did better in my weight category fighting 2 lighter girls to begin with and then Tiff again at the end where I won by advantage. So that was gold in the absolute and bronze in my weight. I felt the difference in my fitness more than anything which shows I need to be training more. Luckily my Friend at work is going to help me with some S&C. I'm still trying to decide about fighting at the Europeans mainly due to the high probability that I will be as always completely broke but will decide within the next few weeks.






Another busy week ahead and a couple of really good seminars with some amazing female fighters to look forward to so try and make it to them if you can!

Wednesday 24th november at London fight factory with Shanti Abelah a brown belt


And another with Gazzy Parman on the 12th of December http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=171449496207116