If you've watched the news in the past couple of days then you'd be aware that its exactly 2 years until the London 2012 Olympics. More , precisely 2 years until my division (66kg) is contested.
There is a lot of work to do in the meantime but the realisation that in 2 years I could be realising a dream i have had for 18 years send tingles down my spine.
Not that I needed any, but I am more motivated then ever to work my butt off, sacrifice everything and fight above and beyond my own abilities and get to London.
2 years..................
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
REST
Having enjoyed a wonderful rest day yesterday and dealing with the reality of going back to training, school, come monday morning i thought I would explain my thoughts on resting.
Until a few months ago when I began working closely with a exercise physiologist I didn't believe in rest days.
My (own) theory was that as long as i was working my body in different ways each day it wouldn't need rest. For example if friday was a hard gym and technical judo day then I would work my cardio and randori more on saturday. It seemed logical to me but it did mean that i was constantly jaded and operating at about 80%. I thought that was no problem because given a little taper I would be firing 100% come competition.
Unfortunately as time dragged on I started feeling the effects of over-training more and more. I would have chronic muscle soreness, feel lethargic most of the time, struggle to concentrate, have real issues getting to sleep and many other things which are really not fun to be dealing with when you are trying to peak physically and mentally come competition.
Eventually I had the benefits of complete rest explained to me and it was something I started to work on. If I was able to train 12 sessions a week at 90% of my maximum and have a day off. Then that would lead to much more improvement in my abilities then 13-14 sessions at 75-80%.
When that is mapped out over an 8-16 week training cycle it makes for a considerable difference in the end result.
I have now been operating with 1 day off a week for about 5 months now and I can say it has really been of benefit to me. I have been able to improve my performances in training, my concentration has been better and aspects off the mat have been helped too. I get to have long lunches with the family at home, get to spend couple of hours completing uni work and even get to veg out on the couch and watch tv for a change.
I do sometimes feel restless and revert back to meat-head mode that I could be doing more training (haven't broken a sweat in 24 hours!) but it just means I put that much more effort into my sessions on my work days.
I assure you that come sunday morning there is absolutely no petrol left in my tank.
Monday mornings still suck cos there is a hell of a lot of huffing and puffing to be done before my next day off!
Ivo
Until a few months ago when I began working closely with a exercise physiologist I didn't believe in rest days.
My (own) theory was that as long as i was working my body in different ways each day it wouldn't need rest. For example if friday was a hard gym and technical judo day then I would work my cardio and randori more on saturday. It seemed logical to me but it did mean that i was constantly jaded and operating at about 80%. I thought that was no problem because given a little taper I would be firing 100% come competition.
Unfortunately as time dragged on I started feeling the effects of over-training more and more. I would have chronic muscle soreness, feel lethargic most of the time, struggle to concentrate, have real issues getting to sleep and many other things which are really not fun to be dealing with when you are trying to peak physically and mentally come competition.
Eventually I had the benefits of complete rest explained to me and it was something I started to work on. If I was able to train 12 sessions a week at 90% of my maximum and have a day off. Then that would lead to much more improvement in my abilities then 13-14 sessions at 75-80%.
When that is mapped out over an 8-16 week training cycle it makes for a considerable difference in the end result.
I have now been operating with 1 day off a week for about 5 months now and I can say it has really been of benefit to me. I have been able to improve my performances in training, my concentration has been better and aspects off the mat have been helped too. I get to have long lunches with the family at home, get to spend couple of hours completing uni work and even get to veg out on the couch and watch tv for a change.
I do sometimes feel restless and revert back to meat-head mode that I could be doing more training (haven't broken a sweat in 24 hours!) but it just means I put that much more effort into my sessions on my work days.
I assure you that come sunday morning there is absolutely no petrol left in my tank.
Monday mornings still suck cos there is a hell of a lot of huffing and puffing to be done before my next day off!
Ivo
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
hard work
Victories that come cheap are cheap. Those only are worth having which come as the result of hard fighting. Henry Ward Beecher
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
MARGOSHVILI's incredible osotogari counter in Judo copetitio
SO AWESOME, I swear i have seen this one thousand times but i could watch it again another thousand times
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Australian National Judo Championships 66 kg Final
This is my final from nationals, you decide whether it was in or out.......................
Thursday, July 1, 2010
UPDATE
haven't posted anything for a bit so i thought i'd throw some info in about my next few months.
Well, after winning nationals with a tear in on of my shoulder's ligaments i took a couple of weeks to rest up, re-introduce myself to my family and slowly ease back into training.
it's now 5 weeks since i dislocated my shoulder in brasil and the doc says it's a 6-8 week recovery. i can't afford that sort of time off with the stuff i've got coming up so 5 will do.
have been back training 100% for a week now and it's amazing how quickly your body adapts to not getting beaten up and pretends each breakfall is the first you've ever done! having my arms blow out after 30 seconds of gripping hasn't been too much fun either but oh well, such is life (judo)
Next few months..........
I have 5 weeks until the AIS training camp which serves as preparation for the Oceania Championships august 15. a week later is the NSW Open.
This next part is depending on whether i am confirmed for the World Championships team or not, I should be but there's always a reason here or there why people are left out of these teams.
So assuming I am on for worlds............... Miami World Cup on Aug 28 and US Open at same venue on August 30. From there it's off to Japan for short training camp in preparation for Worlds and of course the World Championships which my division is contested on September 12.
Once that period of events is over I will see how i stand with national rankings, world ranking, uni marks and finances to then hopefully have a big crack at the IJF events in nov-dec.
That's all for now, i better get my gear together and head to training!
Ivo
Well, after winning nationals with a tear in on of my shoulder's ligaments i took a couple of weeks to rest up, re-introduce myself to my family and slowly ease back into training.
it's now 5 weeks since i dislocated my shoulder in brasil and the doc says it's a 6-8 week recovery. i can't afford that sort of time off with the stuff i've got coming up so 5 will do.
have been back training 100% for a week now and it's amazing how quickly your body adapts to not getting beaten up and pretends each breakfall is the first you've ever done! having my arms blow out after 30 seconds of gripping hasn't been too much fun either but oh well, such is life (judo)
Next few months..........
I have 5 weeks until the AIS training camp which serves as preparation for the Oceania Championships august 15. a week later is the NSW Open.
This next part is depending on whether i am confirmed for the World Championships team or not, I should be but there's always a reason here or there why people are left out of these teams.
So assuming I am on for worlds............... Miami World Cup on Aug 28 and US Open at same venue on August 30. From there it's off to Japan for short training camp in preparation for Worlds and of course the World Championships which my division is contested on September 12.
Once that period of events is over I will see how i stand with national rankings, world ranking, uni marks and finances to then hopefully have a big crack at the IJF events in nov-dec.
That's all for now, i better get my gear together and head to training!
Ivo
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Awesome Flying Juji-Gatame
Tomoo Torii is awesome, one of the most technical judo players of his generation. Gave me the biggest randori beating of my life at Tokai in 07!
Monday, June 14, 2010
I DID IT!
wow, its now monday night and 24 hours ago i was in one of the most testosterone-fuelled fights of my life. nationals went well i had a bye first round, won my next fight with uchi mata(which is a monumental moment and worthy of it's own blog entry) and won the semi final by throwing the fella for wazari with uchi mata (again i know!) and then choking him.
the final.......... my game plan had been to grip fight my butt off, pressure my opponent and get as many shidos on him as possible. i was breaking even on grips and not dominating how i wanted and we both got a shido for not engaging. We engaged in some attacks that ended up off the edge of the mat and instead of walking past me back to his line my opponent decided to get in my face and try a bit of a stare down, i didn't flinch and the line in the sand had been drawn so to speak. after another minute or so i managed to lock down one side and was looking for a reaction to drop under for sumi gaeshi. the referee's penalised me for one-sided grip and not him for dropping to his knees. after some more gripping me both got shido's and it was yuko for me wazari against and i was in a bit of trouble, another shido and i was disqualified. that realisation triggered something in my brain because the next time i got a grip i dragged him along and launched into a drop seio that planted him flat on his back. considering i was planning on not committing into a single full fledged attack in the whole fight because of my bad shoulder this was unexpected!
I couldn't celebrate straight away because the side judge froze and neither signalled that the throw was inside or outside the fighting area so i walked back to the line hoping one of the referee's would make the bloody call, i heard a bit of a noise from the crowd and saw that the ref commission had walked to the side of the mat, that meant one thing, they thought the throw was valid.
When the center referee came back and signalled my ippon i was ecstatic!!!
I won't get into the lack of sportsmanship that followed but i will say that if i provoked any of it i am sorry i was caught up in the emotion of it all.
AFTERMATH.........
Well my shoulder hurts like hell and i will get some more scans this week and find out what sort of rehab i will need to do. hopefully couple of easy weeks and i'll be right to train my butt off for Oceania, NSW Open, Miami World Cup, US Open and the Worlds (all in 1 month aug-sep)
the final.......... my game plan had been to grip fight my butt off, pressure my opponent and get as many shidos on him as possible. i was breaking even on grips and not dominating how i wanted and we both got a shido for not engaging. We engaged in some attacks that ended up off the edge of the mat and instead of walking past me back to his line my opponent decided to get in my face and try a bit of a stare down, i didn't flinch and the line in the sand had been drawn so to speak. after another minute or so i managed to lock down one side and was looking for a reaction to drop under for sumi gaeshi. the referee's penalised me for one-sided grip and not him for dropping to his knees. after some more gripping me both got shido's and it was yuko for me wazari against and i was in a bit of trouble, another shido and i was disqualified. that realisation triggered something in my brain because the next time i got a grip i dragged him along and launched into a drop seio that planted him flat on his back. considering i was planning on not committing into a single full fledged attack in the whole fight because of my bad shoulder this was unexpected!
I couldn't celebrate straight away because the side judge froze and neither signalled that the throw was inside or outside the fighting area so i walked back to the line hoping one of the referee's would make the bloody call, i heard a bit of a noise from the crowd and saw that the ref commission had walked to the side of the mat, that meant one thing, they thought the throw was valid.
When the center referee came back and signalled my ippon i was ecstatic!!!
I won't get into the lack of sportsmanship that followed but i will say that if i provoked any of it i am sorry i was caught up in the emotion of it all.
AFTERMATH.........
Well my shoulder hurts like hell and i will get some more scans this week and find out what sort of rehab i will need to do. hopefully couple of easy weeks and i'll be right to train my butt off for Oceania, NSW Open, Miami World Cup, US Open and the Worlds (all in 1 month aug-sep)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Flavio Canto Compilation
I have a massive man-crush on Flavio Canto. The guy is an an unbelievable judo player and someday will get himself a nobel prize
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/holt/2009/10/14/olympics-special-report-on-the-rio-de-janeiro-that-the-world-won-t-see-115875-21746397/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/holt/2009/10/14/olympics-special-report-on-the-rio-de-janeiro-that-the-world-won-t-see-115875-21746397/
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