I know it can be a challenge to get your children to exercise sometimes, however there are so many benefits for them. Here are my top 10 reasons why exercise is important for children

1. Better sleep

Doing exercise allows children to sleep better therefore handle physical and emotional challenges more effectively. More active children have been show to have more confidence and higher self-esteem.



2. Starts to introduce healthy habits

By exercising regularly, children begin to understand and develop healthier habits leading into their adulthood. They understand why it’s important and get more enjoyment out of it if parents are also enthusiastic about these healthy habits.



3. Improves behaviour

There is strong evidence to support that regular outdoor activity improves behaviour problems with children. Children's stress levels begins to fall when seeing the outdoors and can especially benefit children with ADHD aswell.

4. Fights Disease

By children performing physical activity, it helps keep their weight down, reduces their risk of developing diabetes, strengthens their bone mass and if they go outside will increase their vitamin D levels.



5. Improves Balance and Co-Ordination

The more children move around and put their body’s in different positions, the more they will naturally develop better balence and co-ordination, which when they get older, will allow them to have better mobility.



6. Helps brain power

Evidence has shown that children who exercise regularly have a better focus for their school work therefore helping to achieve their grades.



What you can do!

The key thing to remember is to make the exercise fun, if the child enjoys what they are doing, they are more likely to exercise again.
Games are a good way to go and doing a sport that they enjoy this can include activities such as:
tag, races, create your own obstacle course, walking, hop scotch, capture the flag.

I hope you found this useful. I have taught children of all ages martial arts and have seen a great increase with their confidence.

Feel free to contact me to find out more!

Training in Martial arts has been one of the best decisions of my life. It has helped me become a better person and helped me succeed more in life more than I ever thought possible. There may be a variety of reasons why someone may decide to start take up martial arts but. Here are the most important reasons I believe you should start now.

1. Self-Defence

Let’s start with one of the most, if not the most common, reason. Unfortunately, the world that we live in, can be a bit of a scary place. Every single person has the right to feel safe when stepping out their door and shouldn't have to live in fear. Martial arts is a fantastic way just to make yourself feel more confident when you are leave the house. It’s hard to explain, but doing martial arts just teaches you to have a better sense of awareness. when you are out. It teaches you to become more aware of your surroundings and you are more likely to pre-empt a confrontation happening much earlier than you normally would. This is the most important, and often not mentioned, part about self-defence. Just being aware of what is happening around you and being able to avoid situations before they even happen. Then, if you are ever do end up in a situation where you do have to take some action, you have the skill set and knowledge to hopefully handle the situation.



2. Confidence

Martial arts is fantastic for helping you grow confidence. As your physical health starts to improve, so does your belief in your other capabilities. It teaches you that you can endure difficult challenges and still come out the other side. You can then apply this confidence to other aspects of your life weather whether that’s at school, work or in your business endeavours. You can do anything if you have the confidence in yourself and belief in what you are trying to achieve.



3. You Make Friends

Now, there is the misconception about martial arts dojo's that they are unwelcoming and intimidating places to be. That could not be further from the truth. I've been incredibly lucky to travel to a few varieties of martial arts facilities around UK and US and I have yet to walk into one where I have felt uncomfortable. Anybody that knows me well, knows how important it is to me for a martial arts facility to make its members feel welcome and safe. At our facility, we have a wide range and different people from all walks of life who come together and have fun and share in their passion for martial arts. You get the opportunity to meet people you never normally would and form strong friendships.

4. Reduces stress and improves health

Everybody has moments of stress in life. You Through your training you get to redirect your energy at something physical and offers you a chance to really destress. Hitting a heavy bag or hitting pads is without a doubt a great way to let out that frustration and really let out that stress in a safe environment. It’s a fantastic workout for the whole body, where you get to improve your strength, power, speed, balance, co- ordination and flexibility.



5. Build’s your character

During martial arts training obviously you learn a lot of core values like respect, discipline, resilience and how to work with others. It really makes you become more of a humbler human being and forces you to open your mind, take on criticism and understand the importance of perseverance.



Martial arts have done so much more for me than to learn how to kick and punch. It’s helped me develop and focus on the characteristics in other aspects of my life. It helped me including become being more understanding of other people’s needs, to listen and be able to other help and support for my students when needed. I hope you found this to be a useful read and if you are interested in doing learning martial arts, feel free to get into contact and start your journey now

From the 5th - 9th August, Scott and I embarked on our second journey to the legendary camp of instructor Guro Dan Inosanto at the world famous Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts in Los Angeles. Guro Dan Inosanto is the leading pioneer in JKD, gaining his knowledge from his training partner and closest friend, Bruce Lee. After a 10-hour flight (and having to wait two hours for our rental car!) we finally arrived in Los Angeles. Exhausted from our days travel, we went straight to bed hoping to be on form for our first day of the camp.

The following morning, I got all my training gear ready and walked to the academy, I couldn't wait to get started! Walking through the front door it reminded me of the first time I came in October, the sense of greatness and all the world-famous martial artists who had trained here. I remembered how lucky I am to be training with one of the greats. While speaking to the receptionist, Dory, she got us even more excited by mentioning to us that Guro Dan is also teaching a 2-day staff seminar during the camp. Having previously done some staff at the October instructor camp, which I loved, I was eager to expand my knowledge so obviously I accepted the offer!



Training day 1… The training day began with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend Jean Jacques Machado. During this session we practised the arm bar from guard but really focusing on small details such as how much tension should be in the legs, what your legs should doing which is easily forgotten if you are not consistent. We also did this reverse scissor sweep which I found very interesting and had never seen before, which lead to doing a collar choke and arm bar from mount.

After the Jiu Jitsu session, the instructor camp began. We started off by doing the first six Jun Fan 5 counts adding in evading the lead round kick as well as adding it in with some basic compound trapping. After this we progressed onto doing variations on the Thai 6 counts, then went on to do defences of the Jab - Hook following up with some basic combinations.

We then went onto doing a lot of double stick, where we did the back-hand series, Abinkio series, Redondo series and figure of eight series. Throughout these drills, we changed to nights of the attacks, going from high - low – high to low – high – low for example, and we would always finish one off each combination with the odd series. When the camp had finished, we then did the staff seminar where we did basic patterns with our partner and how it translates to single stick and long sword.

Training Day 2… The camp started off with the Machado BJJ where we learnt what to do if your partner defends the collar choke from mount, so we did this smooth and slick arm bar. We also looked at how to get an arm bar from back mount which I thought was cool.

After this it was back to the 2nd part of the staff seminar where we revised the patterns, we did on day one. Then we moved on to do sumbrada with different weapons against the staff such as single stick, double stick, stick and dagger, long sword (or dos manos in Spanish) and sword and shield. Our third course that day was the International Inosanto Instructors camp - we started off with the basic four counts and we had the choice of using either Jun fan or Thai method. We then linked this with evading both the lead and rear round kick where we did some Silat takedowns as well. The stick work portion of the class we went over the Abinkio and Redondo series again, after this we also did some really cool things with the Cambiata!

Training Day 3… Once again, started out with an awesome BJJ session, we did the Kimura from Guard really focusing on the detail and how to get the back if your opponent straightens their arm. We also did the arm bar where we walk both legs up the back with using our arms, so we really had to focus on what our legs were doing.

In the instructor camp, it was a bit of a slower day as we had to do our testing. However, the day started off with revising the eleven four count drills we did on day 2, again either using Jun fan or Thai method. We also revised the 6 count drills but also did some new 6 counts using Burmese boxing method where we had to punch, elbow, knee and kicked all off the same side. We did a bit of conditioning where we did a straight blast for 30 seconds and aim to get at least 120 punches and I achieved 140! So, I was pretty happy with my result. We then did the same drill with uppercuts where I managed to get 130 punches.

It then came to the testing where we started off with the striking testing where we had to do an 11-count drill on the heavy bag. We then did the stick testing where we did Sumbrada with single stick, double stick, stick and dagger, long sword and staff.



Training Day 4… Day 4 of the BJJ session we did the scissor sweep to either arm bar or triangle we also did this really interesting reverse lasso and swept our partner. In the instructor camp, we went over the fourteen 4 counts and 6 counts. We also did the Thai 12 count drill; we also combined the 6 and 4 count drills while defending any attack the pad holder threw. We then went onto trapping into takedowns. The highlight for this day however was doing knife sparring having had guro Dan say to Scott and me that he was really impressed with our sparring. We then had to knife and sarong sparring in front of all 60 other instructors from around the world. Having never even held a sarong I felt little nervous, but Scott and I just decided to go with it and guro Dan once again told us it looked really good!

Training Day 5…. On the fifth and final day During the BJJ Camp we went revised some of the topics we did throughout the week and I was fortunate enough to roll with Jean Jacques Machado, BJJ Legend and 7th degree Red and Black Belt! Not many people can say that! During the final day of camp, like the BJJ Camp we had gone over the same content from the week such as all the 4 counts, 6 counts, 12 and 15 counts. As well going over the Abinkio and Redondo series and figure of 8. On the last day we also went over more advanced techniques and patterns with the staff and before I knew it the camp had come to an end.

Doing these camps have been a life changing experience for me personally. I had always had the dream to visit L.A. and training with guro Dan. I was able to fulfil this dream because of the opportunity Can Do Martial Arts has given me. I cannot stress how inspiring and knowledgeable Guro Dan is and this is an opportunity of a lifetime to go. This trip is a must, not just for JKD practitioners but for all martial artists who want to expand their knowledge.

Everybody knows that staying fit and having a healthy diet can improve your physical well-being, but not everybody realises the effect it can have on your mind as well.

Regular exercise can have a positive impact on depression, anxiety and ADHA, PTSD as well as relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better and boosts your overall mood.



How exercise can help with depression...
Studies have shown that exercise can treat depression just as effectively as anti-depressant medication. Studies have also shown that maintaining a regular exercise schedule can prevent you from relapsing. Exercise is a powerful depression fighter for many reasons, such as promoting changes to the brain including neural growth, reduced inflammation and can also serve as a distraction and help you ficus on something else.

How exercise can help with anxiety and stress...
Physical activity helps bump up the production of your brain's feel good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. Although this function is often referred to as a runner’s high, a rousing game of tennis or a nature hike also can contribute to this same feeling.
It's meditation in motion. After a fast-paced game of racquetball or several laps in the pool, you’ll often find that you've forgotten the day's irritations and concentrated only on your body’s movements.

As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you remain calm and clear in everything you do.

It improves your mood. Regular exercise can increase self-confidence, it can relax you, and it can lower the symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety. Exercise can also improve your sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression and anxiety. All these exercise benefits can ease your stress levels and give you a sense of command over your body and your life.



How exercise can help with ADHD...
Physical activity boosts the brain dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin levels. All of which improves focus and attention.

How exercise can help with PTSD...
Evidence suggests that focusing on body and how it feels during exercise. It can help your nervous system to move out of immobilisation response that characterises PTSD or trauma. If you feel and of this relates to you let feel free to get in contact and make the change you need.

Stretching and mobility exercise are not exclusive to the gymnast or a dancer, I’m here to tell you everyone should be doing it!

Stretching helps build the flexibility in your muscles and range of motion on your joints. If you don’t regularly stretch your muscles shorten and become tight. Then when you come to doing physical activity they are in a weaker state and are unable to extend properly and that’s when you are at risk of joint pains, strains and muscle damage.

For example, sitting in a chair all day results in tight hamstrings in the back of the thigh. That can make it harder to extend your leg or straighten your knee all the way, which may inhibit walking and certainly won’t prepare you for a bout of strenuous exercise. Movements that suddenly involve the muscle being stretched can then lead to joint injuries.br If you regularly stretch it keeps the muscles long and flexible and healthy muscles also aid better balance.

Greater mobility is important to achieve as when you age your muscles will shorten and tighten, keeping active with a good range of motion is one way to keep the effects of aging at bay.



Where to start?

With all the muscles you have in your body and having to do it regular may seem a bit overwhelming at first. But you don’t necessarily have to stretch every muscle you have. I recommend you start with the muscles and joints critical for mobility such as: Lower body - Your Calves, Hamstrings, Hip Flexors, Glutes and Quadriceps I also recommend stretching your shoulders, neck and lower back as these could influence your posture which could affect your spine.

Try and stretch in these areas and see how you feel! At the end of this blog, I will provide you with a list of different stretches you can do for these different areas.

We used to believe that stretching as a warmup or before your physical activity could have benefits, but research has shown that it can damage your muscles. "When everything is cold, the fibres aren't prepared and may be damaged. If you exercise first, you'll get blood flow to the area, and that makes the tissue more pliable and amenable to change," says David Nolan, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

It warms up your muscles properly, you just need to do is light activity for 5 – 10 minutes and then stretching after you work out will help relax your muscles. Hold a stretch for 30 seconds. Don't bounce, which can cause injury. You'll feel tension during a stretch, but you should not feel pain.

Different methods...

There are many different types of stretching here are just a couple of common ones. Dynamic stretching consists of movements with a progressive range of motion each time. For example, this could be 10 leg swings on each leg. A kickboxer or Taekwondo fighter might end up doing them at head-height after this. The muscles gradually lengthen over a series of movements.

Dynamics mimic the exercise you’re about to do, so they get a lot of use within sport. You can adapt this in the gym by doing your first set of each exercise with JUST the bar, or the lightest weight you can find. This will keep the muscles nice and toasty, preventing muscular injury.

Static stretching is a stretch that is held for up to 30 seconds at the point of getting tight, then you release a stretch after a short break, return to the next ‘set’, stretching slightly further.

More recent research has suggested that those who want to improve the flexibility of their muscles should only stretch to 30% of their maximum range, holding this for 1 minute, with a minute’s rest between stretches and repeat this for 3 sets. The downside to this is it take a long, long time to stretch one muscle group!