HOLIDAY BREAK #1: CNY

With the Chinese New Year kicking off, I've been taking advantage of the first real opportunity this year to relax and process the last three weeks of running the studio. My wife and I came back to KL for the long weekend and we've been having a lot of fun meeting up with friends and going to family reunion dinners.

I went to Open Mats at KDT on Saturday afternoon and spent most of it talking with Sam and Mike, before having a couple of quick rolls. The place looks quite different now as there's been a few new coats of paint slapped on ("apple white", say they) and some racks and such put in to make more efficient use of the space.

Sunday I met up with Vince and had a chat over some dim sum, which was also a lot of fun. As would be expected, I got a lot of great ideas out of this talk, and that's always cool with me. Tomorrow evening there's another get-together with the KDT people and I'm totally looking forward to an evening of great food and catching up with friends.

After almost a month of coaching, I think I'm starting to see things in a whole other light. It's really an eye-opening experience not just to be a once-in-a-while backup for the backup, but to strap in and do this full time, with no safety net, as it were. It's given me a new appreciation for what coaches go through on a day-to-day basis.

The Fizfit classes are pretty fun to do, as I've been working on some new stuff. CMD is always great as because the format of the class is so simple and set, I don't have to worry about what I'm going to coach, and just go focus on my clients - which adds a lot to the fun factor. BJJ is also starting to really pick up, and I'm playing round with some things now which I think will work out well.

Everyone kept telling me about funny stories and incidents I missed while I was gone, and what they're doing now, which was quite the reminder that while I'm not alone, I'm on my own. Far from being something I regret, however, running my own place is definitely one of the most rewarding things I've ever done - so far, so good!

CMD PRO-ONLINE OPEN DAY

The Crazy Monkey Defense website is having a free open day for its Pro-Membership section.

In case you've never been, there are two main sections to the site: a free membership section, and a paid Pro-Membership section with instructional videos and a Pro Forum. There's a whole bunch of good stuff to be had, definitely more than any normal person can get through in 24 hours.

If you're up for it, all you have to do is to register for the free forum and log in from 5pm EST on Friday, 16th January. In Malaysian time, that's 5am, Saturday 17th.

Link in the sidebar, or go to www.crazymonkeydefense.com

Any questions, come and talk to me.

ONE WEEK LATER

It's been a mad few days. Contractors are still going through the building, we haven't got all our furniture in, blah blah blah. I knew it was going to be busy but I should be able to be forgiven for underestimating what we actually got. By Thursday I was so drained I thought I was going to pass out. And then I went and wrestled on Saturday.

The Fizfit classes have been doing alright, some sessions smaller than others but it's all good. The BJJ side already has a small core of people who look to be regulars, so I'm happy with that. I'm also having a lot of fun coaching CMD.

Not really much more to add right now...I'm still without a fridge but I'm working on getting one in by the end of the week.

Week #1 down, #2 starts in less than 4 hours.

IT'S FINALLY HAPPENED...

Oh yeah.

In the last few days I've officially become the owner of a gym. We had our launch on the 1st of January and there were, for me, a shocking number of people. My wife led some workshops and demonstrations for her dance classes, followed by BJJ and CMD demos by me (ably accompanied by my lovely assistant, Patrick). We finished off with a Fizfit class.

It was a lot of fun, made all the more special by the presence of friends from KL! Vince, Kate, Cliff and his wife were there, which was very cool. They even brought me a special "eyes, meet tears" kettlebell sporting a custom design by Daniel at KDT, pictures of which will definitely be posted if I can remember to.

Classes start tomorrow. It's a bit intimidating but I know I've been well trained and have a lot of support from a lot of good friends. I'm looking forward to seeing what God's got in store for me.

Studio 23
152, Lorong 8, Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, 93150 Kuching
studio23.my