IN THIS ISSUE
1 - Self Defence, the Professionals Perspective 3
2 - Goal Setting by A J Hedges
3 - Kettlebell Foundation Workshop
4 - Turbulance Training Bonus
5 - Recommended Products (genuinely recommended, cos we think they’re great)

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1 – SELF DEFENCE - THE PROFESSIONALS PERSPECTIVE 3

The bodyguard mantra is Avoid, Evade, Confront. In that order.
As a Self Defence professional, it doesn’t make sense to get involved in a conflict that could potentially end your life, career or risk the health of your charge(s). If I’m employed at significant cost to keep a group or individual client safe from harm, what good am I if I get tied up in an unnecessary fight that takes my attention off my client and could get me injured or worse?
So the number one skill the pro must develop is Awareness. Without this there is no way we can avoid potential threats and keep out of trouble.

How do we train awareness?
Simple, play games.
When you’re out and about pick a detail and scan the crowds for it. Now the detail can be anything, Nike trainers, Gucci Handbags, Red Hair, anything. Just try to spot as many as possible.

What will this do for you? The results are twofold.
1- It will get you constantly scanning your surroundings in a casual manner. Anything out of the ordinary will stand out like a sore thumb, giving you ample opportunity to decide how best to deal with it.

2- By raising your awareness you are separating yourself from the crowd. When the bad guys are selecting a target to attack/mug/hold up they will invariably select the easy targets. Easy targets are the ones that are switched off to their surroundings, head down, not paying attention or daydreaming. The person who is actively paying attention to their surroundings is most likely going to be left alone.

Another great drill to practice is to scan the crowd and look at people but instead of looking for a specific, predetermined detail instead look at them and think to yourself “if I were a bad guy, would I feel confident in attacking that guy, if yes, why? And if no, why not?

You are still raising your awareness but now you’re also learning.
By asking yourself why you would or wouldn’t take a person you are able to see the mistakes that people make and what to avoid. What was about that person that make them stand out to you as a target? Are you guilty of the same mistakes?
Why did a certain person come across as a definite no? What can you take from that person, was it posture, attitude, were they aware of you?
I regularly get my students to perform both drills as homework and enjoy listening to the stories the following class.

This should be nothing new if you train Japanese martial arts. In your karate class your instructor may spend time shouting Zanshin!! which means awareness, I know my old instructor, Jack Parker did. In the Goshin Jitsu class I attended as young man the instructor would constantly try to walk up behind you while you were training. If you spotted him, he’d leave you alone, if not, you’d get a clip round the back of the head.

In the traditional martial arts and in the so called Reality Based self defence systems, awareness training is a centre point of training. This is because they are developed for the purpose of staying out of trouble and getting yourself and those around you home safely. Unfortunately this is a skill that is not stress in the sport arts.
So while as a so called combat athlete you maybe extremely well conditioned and able to out fight just about anybody in your chosen arena, it’s just as well, because unless you add in some awareness training, you just might have to find out just how good you really are, without rules or a ref.

 

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2 – GOAL SETTING

by Alan J Hedges BSc, D.Hyp, PDCHyp, MBSCH www.hedgeshypnosis.co.uk
A gymnast faces the asymmetric bars and just stands looking at them, the spectators fall silent and the moment is stretched before the gymnastic routine is started. What’s happening in this preliminary standing and thinking phase?
If you have ever watched athletes, particularly in field events or gymnasts about to perform routines then you may have noticed that most also stand still, apparently staring into space prior to performing.
When you see the actual performance you are watching one that may have played through in the athlete or gymnasts minds several times over before the physical performance begins; the aforementioned gymnast is executing every move and seeing it happening perfectly, the shot putter, hammer and javelin throwers feel their arms move and see the projectile flying straight, true and far.

It is true that how we do whatever we do is determined by our mental preparation. In athletics Medals are won and lost by the competitors’ mental state. In the field of martial arts, primarily a self-defence art but also a sport, mental preparation is vital.
If attacked, it is pointless thinking about your response for the first time, your mind must rapidly bring back all those practice sessions you did over and over again, pick the most appropriate to the current situation and execute it before your assailant notices you have moved. Consciously, you may not really be aware of what you did until a second or so later. So when you are told to practise and practise and when you are fed up practising, to do it again until the move or sequence of moves is locked into your subconscious mind you are being trained to handle the unexpected.

In all sports goal setting is important, a javelin thrower may set a goal to throw an average of 10 cm further each week. If I had known about all this when I was 15, I might have jumped further than 5.09 metres in the long jump and not come second!
Goal setting can strike fear in the hearts of those working in sales or school kids with tyrannically caring/pushy parents; but personal goal setting, setting then pushing your own boundaries, is within your control and allows you to gain satisfaction from seeing yourself measurably improving.

So can do you do this effectively?
- First, you must believe in yourself, this means recognising what you can do, that you are no lesser a being than anybody else and that you deserve to get what you work for.
- Secondly, set your goal and be prepared to exceed it by redefining your goal as you progress. Short term goals leading to a big goal are great. Remember to stay safe, set reasonable, realistic goals that you progress towards at a pace that allows your body to respond without injury.
- Thirdly, close your eyes and see yourself performing your particular activity, repeat until it really feels good. Change what needs changed to do it better, see yourself getting closer to and achieving your goal, feel what it feels like inside.
- Fourthly, one of the best ways of visualising yourself practising and achieving is in hypnosis. Sports hypnosis is an aspect of hypnotherapy that uses visualisation, mental practice, goal setting that is carried on after the therapy using self hypnosis. It is a system I have used in skiing, ballet, snooker, golf and office management.

A good, well qualified hypnotherapist is a gem that isn’t always easy to find amongst the shingle. Don’t necessarily go for the cheapest, in my geographical area I am one of the more expensive yet people come to me and recommend me to others, sometimes having experienced the cheaper competition.

Check people out on the web by typing in their qualification, find their professional body and search for their name on its register of members, ask questions, find out what they have done, remember stage hypnotists are not the same as hypnotherapists.

Alan J Hedges BSc, D.Hyp, PDCHyp, MBSCH is a Clinical Hypnotherapist working out of clinics in Lancaster and Preston in the UK and can be contacted on +44 1524 35587 or via www.hedgeshypnosis.co.uk where more information about clinical hypnotherapy can be found.

 

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3 - WILD GEESE MARTIAL ARTS & KETTLEBELL FOUNDATION PRESENTS

A Kettlebell Foundation Workshop with Jason Kelly
at the Martial Arts Academy, 14-16 Magennis Place, Pearse St, Dublin 2 (map)
Sat 25th Oct at 13:00hrs
£45 per head
The course will focus on Competition lifts & sports specific exercises for the combat athlete.

All done at a base foundational level, so hope to hear from you all soon.
Places are limited.

To book your place reply to info@wildgeesema.com or you can guarantee your place with a deposit/full payment. Either drop by the academy with payment or alternatively send it via www.paypal.com to dave@wildgeesema.com

 

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4 - TURBULANCE TRAINING BONUS

Craig Ballantyne is recognised as one of the best trainers available today. His trademarked Turbulence Training method is very similar to methods I use, a combination of intense interval training, full body strength workouts and circuit training sessions that will blast away fat, build strength, stamina and promote muscle endurance.

Craig has allowed me to give away one of his books, the original Turbulence Training Bodyweight manual. Simply click on the link, or the image to begin the download.
Many of my clients have been asking me about training while away on holidays or on contract away from home, this book should go some way to answering these questions.
I’m also in the process of authoring a book dedicated to bodyweight training, hopefully it should be ready by next month. Any how, read through Craig’s work, he reveals some of the science behind the what myself and other trainers have known instinctively, why intervals are better for weight control than long cardio sessions, why supersets and circuits are more efficient than straight sets and why full body workouts are superior (to all but bodybuilders) to body part splits.

He has also written a fantastic new manual called the Big 5 Circuit, although he won’t allow me to give that away.

That wraps it up for now.
Please email me with any questions, comments, testimonials or newsletter content.

 

 

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5 - RECOMMENDED LINKS & PRODUCTS                                                   

www.liftstrong.com

All Proceeds go to the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society

This CD contains articles from the leading fitness specialists of our day including:

Adam Campbell; Alan Aragon; Bill Hartman; Bob Youngs; Brian Grasso; Chad Waterbury; Charles Staley; Chris Mohr; Chris Shugart; Craig Ballantyne; Dan John; Dave Tate; Dax Moy; The Doorman; Eric Cressey; Gray Cook; Brett Jones; Harry Selkow; Jack Reape; James Smith; Jason C Brown; Jim "Smitty" Smith; Jason Ferruggia; Jimmy Smith; Joe DeFranco; Joe Dowdell; Joe Stankowski; John Alvino; John Berardi; Julia Ladewski; Keith Scott; Lee Taft; Lori Incledon; Lou Schuler; Lyle McDonald; Mark Philippi; Michael Stare; Mike Boyle; Mike Mahler; Mike Mejia; Mike Robertson; Mike Rousell; Nick Grantham; Pat Beith; Pavel Tsatsouline; Rachel Cosgrove; Robert Dos Remedios; Ryan Lee; Steve Shafley; Susan Hill; TC Luoma; Todd Hamer; Tony Gentilcore; Tony Reynolds and Zach Even-Esh

We originally intended to publish this collection as a book. However - at over 800 pages - costs were prohibitive and we went with the CD option to maximize our contribution.

Minimalist Strength Training without bulk or fancy equipment

Power To The People, Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every American

A pretentious title but a truly fantastic book. Goes into great detail on how to perform the Deadlift safely and how to progress to massive amounts of strength without bulking up or wasting hours in the gym. I personally put 20kg’s onto my deadlift in only a few months of using the programme.

Check it out for your self Here: http://tinyurl.com/deadlift

All the best

The Wild Geese

Doce Pares Ireland / Kenpo Karate / Self Protection / Security Training

www.wildgeesema.com / wildgeesema.blogspot.com

info@wildgeesema.com

+353 87 672 6090