By Chris Bishop
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..... I know Kung Fu.
Show me................
Well, what an fantastic weekend. As per usual Phil had fried my brain by the end of the weekend, but that was expected.
Phil arrived on Friday night, and stated 'I'm tired and I probably won't talk much'. Well he lied. So began my matrix style download of a weekend.
As stated above Saturday was about CM phase 1 and 2. A fantastic job was done on explaining the drivers using different modes of communication; explaination, illustration and experimentation. So no matter what your ideal learning mode was, it was covered. I always wanted to scribble over the studio's mirrors, so Phil has now set a precident.
Everybody was really engaged, and CM1 and CM2 gelled together nicely. Everybody's performance has had a dramatic improvement......... then the caveman came out. Okay, for those not familar with caveman strikes, get hold of Rodney's 'Viking' DVD to see what happened. It was a little more dramatic in my case, as I have yet to master the 'game face', but it illustrated perfectly the reason why you should shrug your shoulders in the hunch back stance.
We then moved onto kicking specifics. How to make you kicks heavy and more effective using body mechanics and proprioreception. As amateur kickboxers, we don't throw kicks below the waist, so this was a new experience from both a delivery and recieving point of view. Doug, I have a new respect for you as Phil's demo dummy.
On sunday, Phil introduced us to clinch. Something we haven't played around with to much. It has wet our appetites, and will be the subject of Phil's next visit. Though some of our necks didn't appreciate it the next day. Clinch was a very refreshing change, and it added an aspect to our game. We already started incorporating it into our pad work during our conditioning classes.
Monday, Phil took me for some private training to see how I was developing. I don't think I need to tell some of you coaches how difficult it can be developing your athelete's as well as your self. I was good to have someone who got me to the edge of my comfort zone. Phil has got game. You don't expect him to be so nimble and quick, let alone flexible. With only a month til Singapore, it was a good 'warm up', and has given my alot to work on.
It also highlighted that rules restrict creative thinking, experimentation and a hell of a lot of fun!!
Phil left me feeling empowered, and enthusiastic after the weekend..... just really tired.
I'd like to particularly thank him for getting my guys fully engaged. I have already some of them asking when the next seminar will be. Phil just has that ability to cause a massive mental shift. One of the lads is of to Thailand for 4 months with an entirely different outlook on things. I was also a great experience for them to simply get brain fried. Now they understand exactly what I mean.
I could go on forever on how much I loved the weekend, so I'll stop there. Having a coach like Phil in the PCWA makes you realise how special this alliance is, and how honored we should be to belong to it.
Labels: pcwa, seminar
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