2013 25th Annual USKSF International Competition

This year was a special year. I had already achieved more than I ever anticipated already. Won Gold in my weight division last year, spear headed to the World Championship in Malaysia to represent Canada and I was nominated for Male Lei Tai Competitor of the Year for my fights in 2012. This year I decided it was time for a new challenge... Something I have never tried to do before... Enter the full contact sparring in the lower weight division (It's more exciting than it sounds I swear lol!) Getting ready for the tournament this year required a lot more planning, preparation, and focus than any other years I had ever competed in.

Not only did I have to worry about my training but also about making weight. My normal walking weight is about 160 lbs but when I first started training I weighed at 167 lbs and I had to get below 154.3 lbs. My meals for the last two months were on average 1200 Calories a day. My meal plan consisted of:

9 AM - Breakfast: Yogurt (100 Cal)
12 PM -  Lunch: Cold Cut Meat & Cheese Wrap (400 Cal)
5:30 PM - Snack: Protein Drink (125 Cal)
9PM - Dinner: Chicken Breast Dinner (500 Cal)

On the day before the weight in, I completely cut off my water intake and ate within my caloric range with my last meal being at 7 PM. I weighed 155 lbs when we arrived at our Hotel in Baltimore. My Coach and close friend, James Rowan, and I had planned to go to the Hotel's Gym, put me in a sweat suit and run on the thread mill for a good 30 minutes, went to sleep and woke up at 152.2 lbs on my digital scale. The weight in time was 2:30 PM this year so I had to restrain myself from eating or drinking until then. To keep my mind off my thirst and hunger, my coach  and I went shopping LOL! It actually worked! I had a great time until the weight in and when it was finally weight time, I officially weighed in at 151 lbs! Within the hour I ate and drank back 4 lbs and by the end of the day I was at 157 lbs. One thing I learned about cutting/losing weight is that you are going to feel hungry...ALL THE TIME! Fight the hunger, drink tea or simply just keep your mind busy on something else. You can also lose a lot of the weight quickly by using sweat suits but be sure to do your research or have a professional monitor you as you lose the water weight. It can be pretty dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

My workout routine increased from 3 days a week with an avg. of 2 hours per session to 6 days a week with an avg. of 4 hours per session 4 months prior to the tournament. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays were my weight training days. Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays were my cardio and sparring days. I also learned from the vigorous training that I should have given myself a week of rest somewhere in that 4 Months... 2 weeks prior the tournament, my body completely tensed up and was no longer able to move my neck, shoulders, and lower back. It took me a little over 1 week and a half to almost fully recover with 2 one hour session with an RMT and lots of doing nothing.

Finally on Fight day, I was fight number 2 on the list against Christian Geer. We fought around 2:30 PM last Saturday. It started off very well for me as I knocked down my opponent within 15 seconds of the first round with a right hook. I won that fight by 3 knock downs on the first round. I went on to fight an amazing Hungar practitioner from Switzerland, Alexander Klug, an excellent offensive fighter with great hand combinations. He caught me with some strong punches which took me out of my game and into swings (which is a big no no for those who doesn't know). I managed to hold my own and retaliate back with low sweep and hand combinations. When the first round ended the judges gave the fight to me. By half of round 2 my opponent gave up. Not sure why... I thought he was injured but it couldn't be as he won his next fight for Bronze. My last Fight of the day was for Gold. I went up against Luis Padilla from Philly. Also a great Wing Chung/ Boxer practitioner with awesome core movements. As it was told to me by many of the Viewers, Judges, and officials, that was the fight of the night. I won by the second round by judges decision. First round was voted 4 to 1 for me and the second round was 3 to 2 for me as well, putting me in 1st place. That last round was a tough decision and it could have gone either way, but I believe the push I gave to my opponent off the platform gave me a small advantage. I would not have been surprised if it went for a 3rd round, but it is what it is.

The following day at the Banquet, I was awarded Male Lei Tai Competitor of the year for my accomplishment last year at the tournament. It was a privilege and honor for me to accept such an award, something I never imagine I would have achieved.

That being said, I have done way more than I had originally set out to accomplish and therefore it is time for me to move on. I have decided to retire from competing in Lei Tai and move on to other things. Maybe compete in forms or weapons, coach future Lei Tai fighters, or perhaps even become an official Lei Tai referee. Not quite sure yet.

This tournament has to be some of the biggest,  most amazingly well organized tournament I have ever had the chance of participating in. I also met some amazing people at this tournament, some of which I hope never to lose touch with. All of the Lei Tai competitors I had the chance to match up with or meet at this tournament were all exceptional people. Friendly, great sportsmanship, humble, and overall great athletes. None were sore losers or winners.

I'd like to first thank everyone who has given me their support this year.

Abigail Ocreto - My Girlfriend, My better half, my guide. Thank you for putting up with my shenanigans, my crazy schedule, and my obsessions. Without your constant nagging about my eating habits and continuous doubts about the quality of my training, I would not have made the weight cut in time or been as prepared for this tournament.

Grand Master Augustin Ngu - My Teacher, my mentor, and my father. Thank you for the valuable lessons you have taught me throughout the years, whether it's about kung-fu, sparring, life, finances, and even philosophy.

James John Rowan - My Coach, my work out partner and last but not least, one of my closest friends. Your unending motivation and support got me to where I am today. You have endlessly tested my limits and because of that you play a big part in where I am today.

Ryan Pryslak - My Equipment Manager, my personal RMT, and my backup support - Without your reliability, diligence, and continuous support, I would not have been in the state of mind I would have been during the competition... Same goes for my body lol!

All Masters Crew - My home team, my family, and my stronghold - Thank you for all the love and support you all sent my way, for helping me getting ready for this tourney, and for lending me your mind and bodies when I needed to train.

Thank you EVERYONE for the amazing opportunities :)
 

2013 U.S.K.S.F. Lei Tai Tournament

As some of you already know, I've decided to compete in the lower weight division this year to change things up a little. I've been competing in the same weight division for the last 3 years with great success (first year with a Silver medal and last year with the Gold medal which sprung me to represent Canada at the World Championship) and I decided that it's time we make it a bit more challenging by cutting down on weight and entering the lower weight class which is between 144 lbs to 154 lbs. Being able to fight at my walking weight was a great experience since I didn't really have to think about what I could or could not eat and doing exercises to lose weight and to maintain it. Although, I was often at a disadvantage when competing as everyone else was cutting down on weight for the weigh-ins and hence, I would often have to fight bigger guys that sneaked their way into my weight class.

I am currently at 160 lbs and I need to lose another 7 lbs... I decided that July 12th 2013 will be my deadline. If i do not make the weight cut by July 12th, I will simply not compete this year. This leaves me a good 2 months to get to my weight goal and with my recent addition of Friday work out sessions I shouldn't have a problem attaining my goal. My biggest challenge at the moment is still dietary discipline... Although! Everyone around me is currently in some sort of healthy eating habit which is making it a lot easier for me to stay true to my goal, which is GREAT!!!

My only worry at the moment are my current injuries. I fell down hard on my right knee during a sparring match and ever since it's been difficult for me to jog or run let alone continue to spar properly. I've had to adjust my sparring strategies and techniques so I can at least continue to get some sparring training in while not making my injury any worse. I also bruised my hand somehow not too sure how, but punching isn't too much of a problem. It still hinders the power I could potentially emit from it...in the end I believe it's my cardio that is really being affected. I'm not sure if i should take a week off training or if i should just slow down my training... not sure which one help or not help at all... I'm still training regardless of the injury but some times during training the pain slows me down and makes me wonder if i should be continuing or just stop... Is that bad? lol!!

"It isn't how old you are, but how well you age"

That is what my Sifu told me when I asked him how it feels to turn 50. So to keep things in perspective and myself motivated, I've attached a picture of Byung-Hun Lee as Storm Shadow from his recent movie in the G.I. Joe Retaliation.

... Did I mention he is 42? 15 years older than I am and is in greater shape... I have no excuse.

... If he can do it...so can I... 

Let's KICK IT UP!

Crunch Time!!

So for the last few weeks I've been training in preparation for the International USKSF tournament which I've been attenting the last 4 years. Although this year I plan to compete in the lower weight division that i am used to, which means I will have to work hard to drop about 10 lbs. I have approximately 3 months to do so. It's a lot harder than I had anticipated, with the weather still a bit too cold to be running outside, my cardio hasn't been where it should be. My current training regiment involves:

Monday: 5:30pm to 7:30pm - Warm-Up, Bag and Pads Training

               7:30pm to 8:00pm - Sparring

               8:00pm to 9:00pm - Forms and Set Fighting

Tuesday: 5:30pm to 7:00pm - Weight Training and Bag Training

Wednesday: 5:30pm to 7:00pm - Bag Training

                    7:00pm to 9:00pm - Forms, Set fighting, and weapons training

         

Thursday: 5:30 to 7:00pm - Weight Training 

                7:00 to 8:30pm - Bag and Pads Training

                 8:30 to 9:00pm - Sparring

My bag training consist of :

20 of my most powerful round houses, front kicks, and low sweeps per leg which comes to 120 kicks to enhance the strength of my kicks, then I do 20 double round houses as quickly as possible per leg to enhance my kicking speed which comes to 80 kicks for the set. A total of 200 kicks per training session.  

I then move on to 20 straight jabs per hand as powerful as I can throw them, and 20 cross punches per hand for strength and conditioning my biceps, triceps, shoulders, and wrists. I then follow up with 20 Jab, cross combo to work on the speed of my jab and the power of my cross per side. I then work on 10 hooks per side and end it there. A total of 180 punches per bag training.  

Here is weight training regime:

4 Sets of:

10 Wide Grip Pushups

10 Chest Clap Pushups

10 Shoulder Raises (25 lbs)

10 Hammer Curls (25 lbs)

10 Tricep Push Ups

10 Shoulder Grudge (approx. 130 lbs bar)

10 Leg raises (6 lbs ball)

At the moment I weigh at 163 lbs and I need to reach below 154.5 lbs. I have to admit that my biggest problem at the moment is my diet... I have no discipline when it comes to eating bad food.

During work days my diet consist of 

9:00am - 2 Slices of Cheese Bread with cream cheese spread, 2 cups of V8 tomato juice, and an apple

1:30pm - 1 Tortilla wrap with cheese, salami, and mustard with a side of vegetable and hummus as a dip

4:00pm - A bowl of cereal with almond milk

5:30pm - A protein drink

9:30pm - Meat and Salad

Obviously there are times, where I will have a snack here and there throughout the day and on weekends I pretty much eat whatever the hell I want and snack on whatever I want... WHY DO THINGS HAVE TO TASTE SO DAMN GOOD!!! I was reflecting back on my youth and wondered how the hell did I sustain an avg of 140lbs... then I remembered that I was easily capable of ignoring my hunger whenever I was focused on my video games... perhaps I should return to my video games to help me lose some weight :)

Wish me luck everyone! :)

CHÚC MỪNG NĂM MỚI 2013 !!!

Happy Lunar New Years Everyone!! Since last week, I've been involved with the traditional cultural lion dance at my Kung-Fu school. This year will be my 12th years performing for the Lunar New Years and I haven't missed a year since I started volunteering.

Although, It took about 2 to 3 years of convincing me to get into it from the time that I started Kung-Fu. At first, I was completely uninterested in doing such thing. It just wasn't appealing to me. What REALLY got me into it, was that I was told i could use this opportunity to clock in my necessary volunteer hours to graduate from highschool. All my kung-fu brothers and sisters were doing it at the time, so I figured "Why not." Here I am today, 12 years later... still performing and doing what I can to keep the tradition alive while keepin' it old school. Although now, the main reason for my return each year is for the school, the people, and the good times :)

Not only am I helping my school but also this is helping me stay in shape. The amount of cardio, shoulders, biceps, triceps  thighs, neck, back and core muscles that i use throughout the performances is just as good as going to the gym. 

With the New Year passed , Valentine's Day over, and Family Day behind us... It's time to get "Back on Track!" :) Tonight I will be heading back to Kung-Fu for a nice work out :)

Enjoy the pictures :)

My Lion for Day 1

Last day of Lion Dance with my partner in our flashy  pants :)

Day 17 - 22

As I am getting closer to the end of my Back on Track project, I can't help but feel like I haven't quite pushed myself to the limits of my capabilities throughout this whole program. Then again, while reflecting on that thought... I  feel a sense of reassurance that I AM on the right path and that IS EXACTLY what I should be feeling and thinking. With that feeling and thought inside of me, it will drive me into my next program which will be MORE intensive, detailed, and focused. 

Day 17 - I didn't end up going to the Gym that day due to the crazy cold weather, so i ended up going straight to Kung-Fu after workd. I arrived at around 5:30pm and started getting ready for a good stretch and warm up, followed by intensive kicking drills. Then 2 hours of kung-fu training. 

Day 19 - Went to the gym and did 20 min of cardio (5 min of warm up and 15 min of running at 6.5 speed on the treadmill). Blazed through the cardio due to my new and improved method of distraction lol!

Then went onto the free weights. Same routine as the last few times... although my second set was extremely difficult this time around. While I was doing triceps extensions, I had to stop at 7 of 10, put the weight down, give myself a few seconds, pick up the weight again, and finish the reps. I actually shocked myself and immediately started to assess the situation. What did I do wrong for me to not being capable of doing my full 10 reps?? I started thinking "Did I not get sufficient sleep the night before? Did I do anything strenuous during the day? Did I not eat enough throughout the day? Did I not give myself sufficient rest in between the set? Am I lacking H2o?" After going through the process of elimination, there was only one possible option for me to try out and also capable of seeing immediate results. I gave myself 2 min rest between my 2nd and last set. I went through all of my reps for each exercise without putting the weight down. It still was a struggle to finish my last set but at least I managed it better than my previous set.

Day 22 - Yesterday was sparring day at my martial-arts club. Not a bad day at all, I might add. Everyone did exceptionally well. We also saw a lot of progress in a lot of the students... Visible differences that is. Anyways, i'm getting off track. Usually, I would go to the gym for a 30 min cardio...or at least I should go every monday, but the last two mondays... I haven't. I figured the one hour of sparring should be sufficient cardio for the day. The only problem I'm currently encountering is that from 6PM to 7PM, the school is running the northern shaolin class and during that time...the school is PACKED...literally PACKED... There is barelly enough space to stretch, let alone throw a punch without having it land on someones face. Now I'm faced with a new scheduling dilemma...I'm thinking of going to the gym and do core or something considering i don't ever do core or include core exercises in my program...yes... I am aware that the core is a major muscle that with proper training will enhances all aspect of my fighting capabilities... but I'm just not willing to spend that extra 20 min to 30 min when I've already been at the gym for over an hour. I guess the mondays and wednesdays would be a good core day... I still have lots of figuring out to do before the end of my program ends...

Day 15 - 16 of Back On Track

Monday was day 15 of my Back on Track project. I ended up just going straight to Kung-Fu. Started with a nice stretch warm-up and then went on to some punching and kicking drills. My training continued with an hour of Sparring, 2 minutes sessions with 5 to 10 min breaks in between. Finished my day with an hour of forms and two man drills.

Yesterday for day 16 I went to the gym. Started with 25 min cardio on the treadmill. This time, I uploaded my fight videos from Malaysia into my phone and while running on the treadmill, I watched them and studied them. It made time go by SOOOOOOO much faster. 5 minutes felt like 1, so from now on i'm going to upload ALL of my fight videos that i have on my computer into my phone and watch them when running on the treadmill.

I then moved on to free weights.

3 sets of:
10 reps of Rows with 25 lbs
10 reps of Bench Press with 45 lbs
10 reps of Triceps Extensions with 45 lbs
10 reps of Hammer Curls with 25 lbs
10 reps of Shoulder Raises with 25 lbs, and
10 reps of Upright Rows with a 50 lbs bar

This time around, it definitely felt a lot easier although I still struggled to finish my weights with proper postures on my last set. Hence, I know I'm not ready to go back to 4 sets just yet.

My diet currently consists of :
9AM - 2 toast with cheese and a coffee
1:00PM - Chicken, Lettuce, and Swiss Cheese Sandwich
5:30PM - Protein Drink
9:30PM - Meat and Veggies (It varies every night)