#thepathtodan

Tagged by @wiredtokill for the six selfies of 2015 thing.

Well this year has been memorable. I have made a lot of new friends, set a lot of new goals, achieved a lot (which I wasn’t even sure I would achieve) and had a total blast.

For all of you who have been following me before 2015 you would have known that I completed my Bachelor’s at the start of the year and did my Honours year this year. I have accomplished so much doing that degree and it has made me open up as to what I want to venture into in my life. I have managed to maintain good grades and make new friends at my university and have had a joyous year in that department.

Next comes to martial arts. A lot of you will know I stopped doing TKD for a bit to focus solely on study. A high number of lab work and hours spent into writing my thesis made it difficult for me to keep going to class, also I was getting bored with my dojang. I wasn’t getting motivated and I was putting on weight again. Then I managed to find my current gym! A mixed martial arts gym that offered a lot to me. Of course I started my path into BJJ and I instantly fell in love with it. It was so much more technical and made me helpless, something I didn’t find in my TKD training. By the time I started training at the new gym it was already July. I was unfit due to a lack of training and unsure of how well I would improve but little by little I started to get back into it. 

Fast forward 5 months and it’s december. From training only a couple of times a week and just doing BJJ, I am now doing 5 days a week and doing a kickboxing or boxing class as a warmup before doing BJJ. Imagine how much has changed, I am more confident with my bjj. I don’t feel so helpless anymore and also my fitness has greatly improved. Although I may not look like a chiseled greek god and am not looking like Arnold, I am comfortable in my body and happy with how I am going. Overall I am still at the start of my journey and am looking forward to what 2016 will bring me.

On other notes here on tumblr I have made some good friends over this past year and some I feel will last a lifetime! To all of you thank you and I hope you all have a good 2016 ahead of you!

I’m going to tag these beautiful people because I want to see your gorgeous faces and also hear about your journey throughout 2015!

@assassinwannabefitness @evanncmd @dan-does-newaza @sparkseeker97 @girlinkarate @jitsbeginner33 @indomitablespiritfingers @fightsinlipstick @throwtime @notallthingsjiujitsu @journeyto45kg @strengthinstone @valanseong @roundhousechick

Woke up sore from a hard training last night. New guys rocked up at boxing meant we went harder than normal to push everyone to their limits followed by a slow BJJ class because it was only new guys in that too. Combined with the workout I did in the morning it meant getting up today was much harder. Also the cold that I am still trying to fight is still lingering which is making recovery much slower.

I did Pandora again today after a 45 min walk with the dog. I am taking a rest day because of this cold and since I am unable to go to training tonight since I’ve got a family thing. But back to training tomorrow and will be pushing myself. Going to go for a hike around the nearest mountain range during the day so it will be a tough day!

Over the past 6 weeks I have definitely grown stronger, faster and fitter in terms of my martial arts and overall fitness. I am slowly growing happier with how my body looks and how I feel.

Starting from today I am upping my training plan from 5-6 days of training a week doing bjj + boxing/kickboxing to an additional workout during the mornings. I am starting to go for runs with my dog in the morning to kill two birds with one stone. Then I am doing a basic workout that will get harder as the months go on (if you want to follow it, here it is):

20 pushups 20 crunches 20 sec leg lift (hold 6 inches above the ground) 20 bicycle crunches 20 toe touches (with your back on the floor and your feet straight up in the air)

repeat 3 times. With time this will increase to 30, then 40, 50 and so on.

With motivation from @thephysicalarts​ I am also starting the Pandora workout from Darebee (http://darebee.com/programs/age-of-pandora.html). @thephysicalarts​ and I are going to try and finish this 60 day challenge before moving on to the Avatar challenge (http://darebee.com/programs/avatar-program.html)