Urban Krav Maga & Shadowboxer

We recently visited the Central London School of Krav Maga, in Oxford Street under their Senior Instructor Stewart McGill. Stewart has impressive credentials, having been trained by Yamaguchi Hanshi, Goju Ryu and been an instructor with the International Krav Maga Federation. He has also trained with the Israel Krav Maga Association and trains in boxing and MMA so it should come as no surprise that Stewart has a no nosense, no frills and very direct attitude to training. What better place to test the Shadowboxer VRT out but with his students.

So Nigel (Bald guy, professional PT, 20 years of Jujitsu) and I took them through their paces with a 15-20 minute work out. See the video clips for a taste of the session.
After a nice gentle loosener we got them doing some military press sets...just to warm those shoulders up and great for developing punching power and stamina...

As you can see it's hard work and it really works those shoulders. I won't go through the entire workout. But we also did some punching (milling) sets with pads. You don't really need to do this with pads but it is a martial arts class so we thought it would be rude not to.

We finished off with some reverse crunch situps (see 1st picture) and paired resisted sits ups. All in all the Krav Maga students seemed to like the workout and realised how versatile the VRT truly is. As we always say "the proof of the pudding is in the eating". The Krav Maga guys have voted with their pockets and bought quite a few units.
Thanks to Stewart McGill for graciously inviting us to his class and allowing us to teach and thanks to his students, whom gave it everything they had for the workout, they didn't hold back and were truly knackered after the workout. If you would like to know more about Krav Maga Stewart McGill, despite being pretty lethal, is a friendly, approachable guy and would, I'm sure would welcome enquiries.

Work Those Legs...Drive with the HIPS!

Sorry we haven't had a chance to blog recently, but is seems that everyone's is rushing to buy the VRT's for Christmas, so we've been rushed off our feet!

Here's a little exercise that we borrowed from a boxing gym, courtesy of Tony Cesay. We have shared this with many fighters and here's a picture of Dean Amasinger, MMA Team Rough House, trying it out.

Wear the Shadowboxer VRT as shown in the picture and make sure your coach or training partner has a firm grip of the handles.

1. Get within range with a heavy bag and then make sure your trainer/partner pulls back so the cords are under tension.
2. DON'T LEAN FORWARD from the upper body. which is the temptation but instead use your legs to drive forward from the hips keeping the body position upright. Get your trainer/partner to periodically correct you.
3. Do your usual punching sets or sequences on the heavy bag

Advanced tip:
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If you're feeling energetic your partner should move rapidly from side to side destabilising your stance. This means you really have to grip the ground with your legs and drive forward from the hips to hit the heavy bag.

Boxers and martial artists use this to develop strong footwork and using the Shadowoxer VRT in this way makes you very aware of your footwork so you can work it.

Have fun.

Independent Review from Boxingcapital.com

We are interested in feedback from everyone that uses our product but it's always nice to hear views and reviews from boxers, fighters and fitness professionals alike as you know that these people are likely to be more discerning than the average person (you and I).

Boxing Capital is a new website that uniquely combines Boxing News, Comprehensive Equipment Reviews, Technique Tips, Betting and Travel advice. It is run by boxers and enthusiasts for boxers and enthusiasts so we supplied them with a Versatile Resistance Trainer gave them a quick demo in a London Pub which got some strange looks, then we sat back and eagerly awaited the review to see what they thought. In total three guys with fight experience literally fought over trying the product out! A good start.

In summary they said "We believe this products really is an essential training accessory and an item every Professional Boxer and Amateur Boxing Club should give serious consideration to. It is so easy to use absolutely anywhere and can be used in a wide variety of exercises. Add in the potential benefits from regular use and the price of GBP 64.99 represents excellent value."

For the full, detailed, unedited review click here.

Dean 'The Renagade' using Shadowboxer VRT on a Heavy Bag

We've been really busy at Shadow Boxer UK and so apologies for not posting for a while. Here's a great little clip of Dean 'The Renegade' Amasinger using the Shadowboxer VRT on the heavy bag. The VRT is designed so that you don't have to hit things and risk damaging your hands but if you want the best of both worlds...

Look out for us in the upcoming issue of Fighters Only Magazine. Keep training.

Warning: Do not attempt this unless you are used to hitting a heavy bag, BARE KNUCKLE.

What George Hillyard (Pro-Boxer) thinks...

I recent met George Hillyard a young professional boxer who uses the Shadowboxer VRT. After a short discussion and sharing some ideas on how we both use the VRT, I just had to film him. Remember, we don't sponsor George but I loved his enthusiasm so much that I just had to get him talking about the product on camera, hence you can hear me laughing in the background. See the two video clips.


Suffice to say that we are now looking at sponsoring George such was his enthusiasm, added to the fact that he is just such a nice bloke. He is truly a good role model and we want to support George in the challenges that lie ahead of him.

We have been invited to film one of George's training sessions and will post this also so you can get an idea of the wide range of things that you can use the shadowboxer for.

Fighters Only Review This Month

So you don't have to believe us harp on about how good the Shadowboxer VRT is here's a recent independent review...

You should be able to double click on the article so it's not so much on an eye test.

After some exercises that we recently recommended, Dean Amasinger, a professional MMA fighter said "It increases (punching) speed and power and that snap that you really can't explain...giving you that extra inch that you're really going to need in a fight...it will add to your cardio and your muscular endurance massively...today we were working the abs also and I couldn't believe how hard it was, it was really working the lower abs and it took a lot of focus to use."

After George Hillyard, a professional boxer was recently shown the ropes on how to use it he said "For my punching it makes me sharper and helps with faster hands speed and power. I'm not just saying this 'cos you're here, but its like a mini multi- gym. I was initially using it just for shadowboxing but now I know I've tried that range of exercises I think it's unbelievable. When you think of it like that it's great value."

MORE than just a PUNCH -- Reverse Crunch

Recently, we met George Hillyard, a light middle weight boxer who uses the Shadowboxer VRT. Apart from being a throughly nice chap, it became apparent that after a short discussion that he wasn't aware that the VRT could be used for a wide variety of exercises aside from punching. So we decided to give him a quick run down and he was very impressed after our short session. So it is with this in mind that I have included the following exercise.

THE REVERSE CRUNCH
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1. Loop the Shadowboxer VRT over your feet as shown on the image.
2. The start position is to lay with your back flat against the floor with your legs vertically pointing up to the ceiling. Your feet should flat, do this by pulling your toes back. Your hips is on the ground at this point and you will need to pull the handles back to your waist to they are taught. (hold the handles however feels most comfortable for you, personally I hold the handles in a gun like position by the orange plastic body)
   
3. Now as you breath out lift your hip in a controlled manner (i.e. don't throw the hips) 1-2 inches off the ground, keeping the legs in a vertical position.
   
4. Slowly lower them back to the floor, in a controlled way, breathing in.
5. Repeat 15 reps, 3 times.

This exercise targets the lower part of your abs, which many people struggle with. It is a very tough exercise and so an easier version is to do this laying on your back with your knees bent and the VRT over your shins, so there is less tension on the cables.

These muscles are very important for posture and weaknesses here are the root cause of a lot of lower back pain due to bad hip position. If you exercise this area not only will you look considerably slimmer but your posture will improve. If a beer belly is your probem a few weeks of this and you'll be shocked by the difference.

George and the numerous MMA fighters we work with loved this exercise and that's why we're sharing it...Enjoy.

Warning: if you feel back pain when attempting this exercise, stop immediately and seek the advice of a doctor or professional gym instructor.