Grr… got woken up early this morning by the phone ringing which is double annoying as when the answering machine kicked in they hung up, which is just bloody ignorant.
Anyway, I did have a plan for this week to crack on with some personal training so I took advantage of that to get my arse into gear and get in the gym. Just did a really quick energiser for 10 minutes and the plan is to get out there every day and start out likewise, working up to about a 30 minute daily wake up workout…
Err, right, sorry, couldnt resist..
Just got home from a seminar in sunny Doncaster. Actually it was in fact both, sunny and Doncaster – two terms which are generally considered mutually exclusive…
Nice to catch up with the usual suspects and this was a great seminar as Kel came too which is extremely important for me as she takes a more active role in the day-to-day running, and planned expansion of the school.
Signed up as an instructor for the XMA (Extreme Martial Arts) programme designed by Mike Chat, who to the uninitiated was one of the worlds leading creative forms competitors, and is now a succesful actor (he was even one of the Power Rangers…) and stuntman.
XMA is all about ‘performance’ martial arts, i.e. the sort of thing that you might see in musical/creative forms competitions, film & tv stunts, hong-kong action movies etc. This is exactly the sort of thing the kids are interested in and hence I am really excited about this programme. I am sure it will prove very popular in the school both as an extension for our existing students and as a stand-alone programme as well.
Have also signed up as an instuctor for a coaching programme aimed specifically as boosting childrens confidence and self-esteem. Callled “The Self Esteem Team” it is well established and has a proven track record as an ideal entry into schools, especially with the current views on anti-bullying etc.
My mate Rob made the most monumental pillock of himself tonight.
It’s bad enough that he has a completely over-the-top infatuation with a girl who isn’t even remotely interested, and that he seems to spend all of his time trying to win her over by saying/doing/buying anything and everything that he thinks she likes in some pathetic attempt to make her interested in him, but tonight really was his most impressive…
Karen is into sports bikes and racing in a big way, so Rob decides he’s going to get a sports bike… Now he passed his bike test a few years ago and had some kind of Harley Davidson clone but nothing resembling a sports bike and as far as I know he hasn’t ridden anything for a couple of years.
Anyway, he picks it up at 5:30 this evening and comes straight to the school to train, we finish as usual about 9:30 and were off outside ready to leave so Rob jumps on his new bike, revs it up like he’s on the starting grid and drops the clutch.
Stage 1 : The back wheel spins like a catherine wheel and the back end wobbles all over the place
Stage 2: The back wheel finds some grip and the bike launches forward like a catapult
Stage 3: the front end comes up at 90° and then careers off sideways as the rear-end overtakes it
Stage 4: Rob hits the tarmac as the bike does somersult right before his eyes.
Stage 5: We check that Rob is unhurt
Stage 6: We all point and laugh, a lot
Stage 7: Rob learns that its not big and its not clever…
Felt decidely crap earlier… had a banging headache all afternoon, undoubltedly caused by the fact I’ve not been drinking enough water…. slapped wrists for Dr RiK, must learn to practice what I preach. Got a litre of H2O and a couple of neurofen inside me and I feel right as rain now 
School was good tonight, kids classes were buzzing, loads of energy… It’s interesting to note that some of the new students that have joined recently have really taken to the training like a duck to water which is great. There are however a couple of the existing students that are really not up to scratch, nor are they putting in anything like the effort that they need to which will only show itself next time they come to take a grading… To be honest if they aren’t going to pull their weight then I will probably kick them out as I dont need dead weight dragging down the energy of the school. The kids classes are always full and we frequently end up with a waiting list so I can afford to be selective with the students that I enrol.
I was speaking to a friend (another professional instructor) earlier and explaining my thoughts on screening students, like the principle of a gardener who has to know when to cut away the dead wood to let the good wood grow… Although I have a business to run, it is important to the long-term success that the school is based on quality first rather than quantity. I am damned sure that my school has more to offer than any other in a 15 mile radius and as a school we are committed to constant improvement. I have a certain set of criteria that I expect of my students, starting with dedication, focus and a consistent attitude. Technical standards develop in time, but I expect a student to work for their progress. If they are not prepared to do this then as far as I am concerned then they fell at the first hurdle and failed the entrance exam.
It’s not just about whether we perform as a school, it is whether the student meets our criteria for membership as well… time for a wake-up call for a few I think…
Hmm…
Given that I dont drink, in fact I can’t even remeber the last time I drank alcohol (actually I can – ouchies…) I’m kinda guessing that the fact I woke up feeling hungover can only be natures way of telling me to drink more water.
As I’m planning on getting back into training in a big way in the not too distant future thats probably not a bad idea
And it was rather pleasing too…
First night back at the school tonight, and everyone seemed on good form which was nice. I was particularly pleased at the attendance, especially from a few of the students who are usually a little shaky in that respect.
It’s a good feeling when you see (the majority) of your students working so well and seeming to be pretty well focused. It is a shame that some of the more senior ones don’t set the example they could, or should be setting. Hopefully the fact that they will soon find themselves with a significant number of the lower grades snapping at their heels, and even overtaking them might make them sit up and take notice. If it doesn’t and they fall by the wayside it will be a real shame, but c’est la vie.
A skilled gardner knows that you need to cut away the dead wood to allow your plant to grow.