The bumpy road to competition training
For many years I have trained in martial arts, across different styles and disciplines. I've always been drawn to the traditional side of things, the self defence side. Competition has never been of interest to me. Even during the short stint I had at a Kickboxing club in 2013 a small group of us would spar for the last part of the session, but I had no desire to ever compete, at any level, be it a small interclub or regional competition. The only person I've ever been in competition with has been myself. As a cyclist, my long rides have never been about speed, always about taking in the scenery and enjoying the ride. As a runner, running 10km organized runs with my wife, who has a naturally slower pace than me, I prefer to run alongside her for company than to run ahead and get a better time. When taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks, I waited for the slower members of our group, even though that meant missing our target time of 12 hours. Even when I took part in a ...