Practice everything!

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There’s always the temptation when practising a martial art to just practice with the students and techniques you know. Sometimes we can get caught up in practising our technique and form so much that we forget what our art is designed for. Last night at Moreland was an awesome session where we went through how some of your basic techniques can be used in self defence, as well as some more advanced techniques from patterns. Remember that although good technique is hugely important, it’s no good unless you know when and how to apply it.

Keep practising so that your techniques are as well-executed as possible, and if you don’t know what a technique is used for ask your Instructor!

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Source: ACTIONTKD Melbourne

Get fit for summer!

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Action Tae Kwon-Do Melbourne is holding a special offer this month!

 

The sun’s finally come out in Melbourne and it’s nearly summer – what better time to start training and building up your fitness? All new students who enrol in October will receive their first 2 weeks of training FREE!

Do you have a friend who’s asked about your training? Maybe they’ve seen how much you enjoy it and how much you’ve benefited. Now’s the perfect time to bring that friend along to training and help them get the same awesome experience that you’ve had! Bring a friend to class during the month of October and get two weeks of free training!
See you on the floor.

 

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Source: ACTIONTKD Melbourne

Bodyweight workout

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Need some extra training during the school holidays? Try out this awesome Action bodyweight workout. Complete this 3 times a week along with your regular training to see huge gains to strength and stamina.

 

15x pushups, touch chest to focus pad on ground (40-50mm thick, a book works fine as a substitute)

15x situps

25x star jumps

15x squats

Hold sitting position against wall x 60 seconds

10 tuck jumps over chair/bench/rail x 2 sets

10 lunges x 2 sets

Triceps dips x 25 x 2 sets – use a chair, step, bench etc

5x chin ups x 2 sets – try and do more! See notes below

Plank position x 30 seconds

Laying on elbows, cycling with legs x 30 seconds

Chin up notes: try and find a suitable bar in your area. Playgrounds are great – swing sets, monkey bars etc. You could also use rafters or even a tree branch, but you might want to wear gloves or throw a towel over it so you don’t tear up your hands. Grab with your palms facing towards you for an easier chin up that works your biceps more, but for the best effect have your palms facing away.

Chin up alternative: Inverted rows are a good way to start working those muscles if you can’t do a proper chin up, and can be performed using a handrail or sturdy table. Lie on your back underneath, grab the rail or edge of the table, and pull yourself up keeping your heels on the ground and your body as rigid as possible. You can adjust the difficulty by keeping more weight on the ground.  Diamond hand pushups (with hands below the centre of your chest) also work.

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Source: ACTIONTKD Melbourne

The best block

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Here’s a quick tip going towards the end of the training week – the best block for your sparring and self-defence.

 

That’s right – get out of the way!. Moving sideways to take you out of the way of attacks is a crucial skill in your sparring and self-defence, and opens up windows for you to counter strike most effectively. A good exercise is to practice moving your rear foot towards your back while blocking inwards with a front, palm or reverse low block and pivoting on the ball of your front foot. This will redirect your attack and put you in an excellent position to counter attack. Moving backwards can also be highly effective as it allows you to exploit an opening created by a missed strike.

Keep training hard and think about where you move when you spar!

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Source: ACTIONTKD Melbourne

Grading August 2014

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Congratulations to all Melbourne students who graded last Sunday 31 August. All students demonstrated an extremely high standard in their training and there was an excellent turnout.

Make sure to attend training this week to receive your grading results and take your training to the next level. Remember that nothing can stop you achieving your goals except yourself!

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Source: ACTIONTKD Melbourne

Front Snap Kick

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The front snap kick will be one of the very first techniques you learn in Tae Kwon-Do and will be one you practice and improve constantly throughout your training. It is delivered with the ball of the foot, pushing explosively into a target. The correct position is with the foot pointed and the toes pulled back so that the ball of the foot contacts the target. In this way, all of the force is concentrated into a smaller area.

On your front snap kick, make sure that you pull your knee up in front so that you can explode outwards and push directly into a target. A common mistake, especially when first learning this technique, is to kick in such a way that your foot travels out and up in an arc, rather than directly into a target – most of the force is going upwards, rather than into the target. Trying this out a couple of times on a kicking bag will quickly show you why kicking upwards has less of an effect than kicking in – you will glance off the bag instead of delivering a strong kick.

Having a strong and fast front snap kick is incredibly useful both in and out of the gym. It can be used in a self defence situation if somebody is approaching you – drop away, then kick hard towards the solar plexus, ribs, knee or groin. In the gym, it will be one of your most frequently used techniques in sparring.

To improve your kick, do plenty of squats to improve your leg strength and practice pointing your foot so that you strike with the ball of the foot.

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Source: ACTIONTKD Melbourne