Happy Hogmanay! 204 days to go.

As usual, apologies for the delay in keeping the blog up to date. Poor chat from me I know. Must do better...

First off, I wanted to say a thank you to everyone who took time to read my post last month about Andy, I was pretty humbled to get some of the messages and hear from a lot of people I have lost touch with over the years. It was nice to hear from you all, we should try to stay in touch a bit more often.

To start this post... It would be rude to not to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hogmanay!

I am on Christmas break for a couple of weeks and pleased to report that  I've managed to dominate the traditional Christmas "Tripoley" (card game consisting of poker and Michigan rummy) stakes at the Wallace residence in Pittenweem and the Lawrenson residence in Aberdeen, so i'm pretty chuffed with all that much to the annoyance of my wife. It has been nice to catch up with everyone, I have been so busy over the last couple of months it's been hard to see family as much as I would have liked so its great to spend a bit of time off the grid. I'm sure everyone finds that. 

Whether i'm at home or work I get asked the recurring question - I guess that's because people know that i've taken up wrestling and am trying to earn myself a spot at Glasgow 2014. The question, has moved on from "what is your entrance music going to be? or What is your finishing move?" it's much more general and is as you would expect "How is the Wrestling going?" I have almost developed a standard answer to this and that is - "yeah, it's going good thanks." I normally say that without even thinking about it, so after having a bit of time to reflect I found myself thinking is the wrestling going well? I questioned myself about it after bumping into my neighbour on the train and he said, "Still positive about it all?" 

That is a really good question - I think with hindsight and a bit of time to reflect you get a much better picture of where you are mentally and more importantly where you were. I know for a fact that mentally I have been drained and that has has an impact of my physical ability to train. To answer the question truthfully, the answer has to be, yes, I'm confident that my wrestling skills are getting better and i'm a lot more savvy on the mat and know what I'm doing. I had a couple of great wrestling sessions over the last couple of weeks which Steve which have honed in on my strength in attack and helped me with a bit of strategy which is always good. My physical fitness - it's ok, i've not hit the gym as much over the last two months, in part down to time constraints and in part down to niggly injuries but they are really just excuses. I kind of hit a bit of a rut after my injury back in June and i do still have a bit of pain ever now and again. I probably could have trained harder in the gym and I need to, I am going back to it hard in 2014. Sometimes you need a bit of motivation and I found mine. There are only 204 day to Glasgow 2014

www.scottishstudentsport.com

I had a nice surprise - I was asked to close the Scottish Student Sport Christmas Seminar a couple of weeks ago and had a do a presentation and talk about what I was doing and a bit about my wrestling journey. That gave me a bit of perspective, it really has been a bit of a mental journey and I have met some great people along the way and I've found out who my friends are and aren't. I looked back at the journey as a whole and one of the things that came out of my talk was that i've been wrestling now for 16 months, that is nothing in the grand scheme of things. If I mange to qualify in February it will be nothing short of good fortune. Not wanting to do myself a discredit but I am realistic. I've been hammered by people who think that I took up the sport as a quick and easy way to get to the commonwealth games. None of whom who have taken time to get on the mat and actually try it. Just because there isn't any other 120kg (from January 125kg) guys doesn't mean that its a shoe in by any stretch of the imagination. If there is one thing I've learnt so far from this experience it that wrestlers put in a phenomenal amount of work, it's a different lifestyle, you have to be adaptable to your training and you have to put in the hard yards at to make sure you progress but even more so than that, if you get the chance to represent your country, you have to earn it. My two closing notes at the seminar we Never Give Up and Don't be afraid to try something new, you never know what doors will open up for you and that is certainly true to what i've found.

My progress into wrestling has been good, for someone who had never even thought about the sport, i've done all right and more importantly i've enjoyed it and love doing it. I'm reading a book at the moment called "No Helmets Required" by Gavin Willacy. Gav is a really good bloke, passionate about what he does as a sports journalist and Author, I met Gav about 10 years ago now on a Rugby League tour. The book he has written is about an American footballer called Mike Dimitro, who in the 50's who set up the American All Stars to tour Australia, the guy was a complete cowboy but there was a passage in the book where Gavin articulated how I felt a couple of years ago. After Football Mike Dimitro needed that challenge, needed the ability to stiff arm someone and legitimately and legally smash them on the field of play. I know how that feels and that's exactly how I felt when I hung up my rugby boots.

Although my introduction 10 months ago into Wrestling Competition was a brutal one, these days it has taken me past the point where Coach Cavanagh is happy to wrestle me if he can help it, you see, Vio the Scottish Assistant Coach did a head snapping session last time I was through in Glasgow and it did wonders for me, last time I wrestled Michael he said afterwards it was like getting clubbed by a bear which of course made me chuckle. 

Michael was kind enough to speak to Sportscotland's Young Person's Sports Panel who were doing a video on commonwealth sports. I know Chris Sellar who is on the panel and he asked if he could get some footage. They did a fantastic job of the video which is below if you want to take a look alternatively click here , Chris Sellar did a great piece and I hope the sport comes across well and it comes across that we are realistic about what can be achieved and if I don't make it to Glasgow 2014. Michael is quite right, I've an outside chance of qualifying but it's still a chance. There is no shame, although it would be nice to show some people, its not about that, i'm doing this for me. If I don't make it, I will reassess, keep fit and try for 2018 games in the Gold Coast. 

My qualification date has changed to 23 February (scuppers my 30th plans). For me that is D -Day and I'm nervously excited for it. January is going to herald a month of Wrestling for me, I'm planning to make every session I can and am going to work my arse off in the gym in the run up just to build fitness going into that competition. On the day, I reckon I have an outside chance of qualifying, it depends who turns up and what my side of of the draw looks like, but I will give it everything I've got and hopefully I will be able to come away with a couple of wins and a podium finish, which will see me meet the games qualification criteria! It will be a bit surreal.

Away from the mat, I've actually been trying to get more involved in the sport and i'm delighted to say that after my volunteering interview back in August, I've been offered a "field of play" volunteering post for Glasgow 2014, so if I miss the qualification target I will be there with the best seat in the house! I had a pretty awesome week in the fact that I got an email from Glasgow 2014 about the volunteering, had something through about the Queens Baton Relay and I got accepted to the University of Aberdeen for a MSc Project Management (distance learning). That means if I qualify, I will technically be a student again, provisionally for the next three years which will take me to a decade of studentship! Van Wilder eat your heart out. Not bad for a kid who left Waid Academy with one Higher C in English but that's a story for another day.

I also went along to the Scottish Wrestling Association AGM last month as well, and they put out the plea for volunteers to get involved. Given that I work in Sports Development I thought it would be poor show not to offer my services and experience to the sport. So hopefully will be co-opted onto the board in the new year and can get to work helping to develop the Scottish Governing Body. 

That pretty much sums up my thoughts to date. 2013 has been a good year, it's been tough but I think it's only fair that I say a heart felt thank you to a few people who have had a massive influence in my life and without them I wouldn't be in the privileged position I am in. So... thanks to my coaches - Michael, Steven, Vlad and Vio. Alex for all the work he has put in on the S&C side. My friends who have been helping me out along the way and  last but most importantly, my family - who never complain about the time away from home, the late nights and the countless journeys around the country. Finally, thanks to those that read this blog, its nice to hear that sometimes people take a bit of inspiration from this little tale of mine.


Happy Hogmanay: All the Best for 2014 - it's going to be a hell of year!

@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