It's a Happy New Year - 567 Days to go!

RAAAAR!

Well, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Thanks to Andy Grodyński for taking time out to do the last blog update. I know what he is thinking, was his post more popular than Simmo's? the truthful answer at the moment...no... It's a dead heat at the moment. The most popular post is still of me doing my VO2 max, bunch of sadists who enjoyed watching that.

So what has my foray into the wrestling world come up with in the last few weeks. I guess first off to report, i was kindly asked by my employers Edinburgh Napier University to take some time out to do a podcast for them, it was pretty good fun, the interview itself was a good laugh, if a bit alien, not used to having someone ask you questions about what you a doing and why. Its weird to hear back because its only me talking, they cut out all the questions which is why its just me rabbiting on. I think it was alright, but you can decide for yourself. if you didn't catch it on Facebook or twitter you can have a listen here... Edinburgh Napier University Podcast 

The most exciting / scary thing in the last couple of weeks is that I now have my qualification targets for the year. I'm going to enter into 11 competitions over the next year. The first competition will be the British novices in April. It's great to have a target and puts things into perspective a little bit for me and will probably make the blog a little more interesting, knowing that there are actually competitions coming up. Training will have to be increased in the new year dramatically. This just got real!

Why is it a little exciting and scary? Well the reasons because I could potentially know if I'm going to be competing at Glasgow 2014 in June. That's only 6 months away! It's a mind blowing thought. If I'm not quite ready for those competitions though, it's not the end of the world as there are three Commonwealth Games qualification tournaments. The first is the British Open in June, I will be competing at that one, the second is the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in July, I would have to be selected for that by the Scotland squad to compete in that. Whilst its doable, I would have to become a lot more succinct in what I'm doing to compete properly and need a hefty amount of training and bouts under my belt before that would happen, so not pinning my hopes on that one.

The third is in 2014 itself and is the British closed championships, I'm going to be competing in that one too. For the British open and closed championships I need to finish in the top 3 British athletes. That means that I could for example finish 5th overall but if there is only a British athlete in 4th or higher and the rest are Iranian then I would qualify. They are the two events I'm hoping to target and get my qualification in. You can view the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Qualification document here if you re interested.

Wrestling finished up at [EN]GAGE a week before Christmas and it was the same in Glasgow, so I'm tried to do what I could at home whilst there isn't any wrestling training, that included a couple of flexibility sessions and body weight sessions, I could have done more my immune system seems to have taken a pounding and I spent the majority of the last week in bed.

Scottish Wrestling Association

The last wrestling session was great. Ewan Maddox 96kg commonwealth hopeful was my sparring partner, he is similar to Martin, albeit a lot bigger. he is a former rugby lad who has been Wrestling for 3 years or so. He showed me some good stuff, we had a good bout at the end of the session, he beat me (not surprisingly) but it was a closer contest than I thought it would be. It's tough fighting the smaller guys, they are quicker than I am and it's not too realistic for a 120kg contest, so I still haven't got a bench mark.

Truth be told, I can't wait to get back to work so I can't really start hitting the training hard for the next 6 months. The last 4 months have been physically and mentally demanding, there have been times where i've wondered what the hell I'm doing, is there any point? Or i've been so unmotivated that I've just wanted to call it quits and find something a little easier to take up but I find wrestling easier and less frustrating than golf!

That said, I've developed my mental strength, fought through and trained when I really didn't want to train, I guess that's part and parcel or trying to do something like this. No one has ever said it was going to be easy and I wasn't under any illusions. Life for me at the moment is great, despite the financial burdens of everything I've moaned about over the last few posts. I'm in a good place and really happy, wrestling definitely has something to do with that.

I'm well aware that some "friends" may think I'm a little dull or boring because I'm not going out as much or getting pissed as often as I used to, and still think I'm wasting my time with the wrestling: simple facts to ponder: you have to grow up at some point, children are expensive and what's wrong with having a goal? even if I don't make Glasgow, I'll be looking for a spot in 2018. Fact of the matter is I've managed to find a sport I really enjoy, I love the respect that comes with it on and off the mat and the people involved, only regret is that I didn't have the opportunity to take it up earlier.

Leon Rattigan - English and GB wrestler at 96kg and commonwealth bronze medallist, I take a bit of inspiration from him and like him mantra on life.

Leon Rattigan - 96kg Commonwealth Bronze Medallist

I enjoy Leon's words of wisdom on twitter @LeonRwrestler he quoted Eleanor Roosevelt last month and its something that resonated with me.

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

Nothing could be more apt.

Leon is offering his expertise for coaching in wrestling and MMA clubs, would love to have him up in Edinburgh but if your interested you can find out more and how to contact him here


Anyway, Christmas nights out have come and gone. The importance of any training programme is to have a break every now and again and rest up, people seriously under estimate the importance of rest.  I had a brilliant night out with the guys from the [EN]GAGE wrestling club including our two coaches Steve and Michael. Was great to hear about their experiences and have a bit of banter over a couple of pints. I took advice from Alex and didn't go crazy and I didn't get drunk, so don't worry.

NEENAW

Christmas was spent at home in Tranent with my wife and kid, first one on our own and it was brilliant, very chilled out but great to see the little guy on Christmas Day, having a child brings back the excitement and magic of Christmas. I helped Santa put together Cameron's new "Neenaw". we travelled to my folks on Boxing Day, caught up with the brothers abroad  on skype and at home and I even defeated my old man at trivial pursuit. Somehow lost to my mum in Tripoli... Unbelievable!

We spent a couple of days in Pittenweem before heading up north to visit Emma's folks and sisters, it's always good heading up there, big fire in the front room, well fed and a couple of whisky's. I've even managed not to overindulge myself, by steering clear of the dreaded bowl of chocolates! Cameron cleaned up on the presents as normal and i've spent the majority of my time either in bed or on the sofa trying to get rid of this infection!   

2013 heralds a pretty big year, there is a lot to look forward to and I can't wait to get stuck in there and give this year everything I have. Emma mentioned to me last night that she thinks I could give a little bit more to #mission2014 and she wants me to do it and work my ass off the next year and a half to qualify! So that's that, if that's what the boss says, who am I to say no!

Thanks for taking time out to read the blog and Have a Great 2013! 

Cheers

@shocksjr

Getting used to wrestling and my SPOTY predictions

Its been a fairly quiet couple of weeks, I hit training again hard, had some great sessions in the gym and managed to get in some full weeks of wrestling, there is so much to learn and its all about figuring out and being familiar with what you can do when you're put into different situations. I am getting better every week and learning some new techniques. I was describing wrestling to someone last week and its really all about levers and momentum, learning how people move and how you can make people move. For example, when someone pushes against you, use that momentum to your advantage and drag them or manipulate them into a position where you have an advantage. 

I'm starting to get better with the moves from standing, I wasn't great with that and was more comfortable working on the floor using headlocks or gut wrenches, both perfectly good moves but I wanted to be able to take people down or get behind them to get more points in a match. I'm doing alright considering its only been 3 months.

I've had an interesting couple of weeks, the last Wednesday I was through in Glasgow - to start I got to do some video analysis on Nikos, my wrestling counterpart at [EN]GAGE he has been getting in some extra training! For the session,  I was again working with Sean Keogh, who was teaching me some of the basics and some new trip moves that I hadn't done before. He is ridiculously good at them and they are pretty uncomfortable. The latter part of the session was a circuit for the institute athletes and that meant that Martin and I got to work with Vio (Scotland Assistant Coach) who was showing us some things that we can do from standing, much like a rugby tackle. The feedback Martin and I got from Vio after the sessions was fantastic, Martin - I think is close to institute level, his commitment is outstanding and he is a very good wrestler. For me, the feedback was "You are beginning to move more like a heavyweight but more dynamic, I see a lot of potential." I was pretty happy with that. Vio is from Moldova and Eastern Europeans don't beat about the bush, so that's good feedback

Sean Keogh - headlocking

My heavyweight friends, or just friends in general are lacking a little at training at the moment, I could do with a partner to train against on a Monday and a Friday who is over 100kg. So I will put out a little plea to anyone who is available, if you have a bit of time get along to the sessions and help me out. The session on Monday, Michael Cavanagh (coach) was my training partner, that was an experience, its always a little daunting going against someone who is coaching you but we did all right, we even had a two minute bout at the end, I managed to score which was good but Michael shucked me and he managed to level, so in that fight we finished with a draw. I'm happy with that!  It was nice to see Scott Hislen trying his hand at wrestling as well. This Friday though, I've got Andy Grodynski coming down to Wrestle, He isn't in my category but he has been in Australia for the last year and wants to see what all the malarkey is like! There have been mutings that Mr. Gordon Cox will get down to training to complete his year of sport, but i'm not going to hold my breath, a former uni rugby player at school he moved to shooting, so I think the chances of getting him on the mat are slim to none!

Really want to wrestle Gordon
Friday Coxy?

Steve Cote, has been helping out a lot with the coaching, Steve did collegiate style wrestling in the states and has some beautiful moves that he has been showing us, there is some really good stuff in there that hopefully I'll be able to nail down and use. We also figured out that i'm a bit of an anomaly, my stance is left but I would attack with my right foot making me awkward (story of my life given that I run like a camel). We did the first session with the kids, they loved it and were trying to get back for more this week. It's just something different.

I'm now two weeks behind weight training, which is annoying. I really enjoy the hypertrophy and am beginning to see the results, the guns are slowly coming back but at the same time, it is very difficult. I've had Alex pushing me on which is great but my shoulders from last week are still in tatters. I'm trying to get in as much as possible but there seems to always be something that gets in the way, work is essential but i've always said that Family comes first. Unfortunately the Bambino has had his first real bout of man flu and has been chucking up and his nappies aren't much fun, which has kept me busy, I was hoping to avoid catching it, its not been pleasant to watch but alas as I write my throat feels like its being stabbed in the glands, i've got a fever and generally feel crap! I did manage to present a break out with Iain Stewart from Strathclyde at the Scottish Student Sport Christmas Seminar about community engagement. We did a good amount of work on it, I felt terrible and my head was a little all over the place but got through it. It was at the Glasgow 2014 HQ in merchant city, pretty cool, decent offices, it was buzzing for the short time I was there.

So as we move towards Christmas, I will be watching what I eat. It's always dangerous when you head to your parents and in-laws for some reason people seem to like to make sure I have enough food which can result in overfeeding! i'm staying clear of that trap for Christmas 2012 and trying to protect my waist line, I do need to think of a clever alternative for training though because the centre will be closed for a Christmas!

SPOTY - Got to be Wiggo

2012 has been such a great year for British sport, you would think you would be hard pressed to pick an outright winner for SPOTY. Personally, I think it has to be Bradley Wiggins to win Sports Personality of the year, what he has done is incredible and think that although Andy Murray finally won a Grand Slam and Olympic Gold, Wiggo is still best placed. There is a lot of talk about Jessica Ennis, great athlete of course and again fantastic achievement but is it something that really beats winning the tour de france, not in my view. I think the Olympians did something amazing and wuldn't want to take away from that but I think you need someone who has personality and has done something truly incredible, hence wiggo! My second choice I think should be David Weir (Weirwolf) I really enjoyed watching him do his thing on the track and on the road, pretty impressive stuff. That said, im not sure if it was just the camera but the personality seemed to be lacking a little bit, was a bit boring to listen to but his accomplishments are amazing. Third would be Andy Murray, just to get a Scotsman in there! Its a tough one, but I know who I want to win!


I'm not sure if there will be another blog update before Christmas, so I will take this opportunity to say - Merry Christmas! hope you have a great time with family and friends. All the best for the New Year!

Thanks again for taking time out to catch up with #mission2014

Cheers

@shocksjr