Thailand Camp 2023 Chi Sao Pressure Rounds – 9 Rounds of Fire

Hi Members

On our Thailand Camp we really worked hard on internal development and skills, but also, we pushed out of the comfort zone.  Pressure rounds test one’s control of skills, control of ego, fitness, energy control, mental strength and much more.

Often people have goals to get good at martial arts, but really, they are not doing enough to achieve that.  This can be not enough training, not enough focus, not enough understanding plus many other elements.

Learning martial arts is not easy. One must challenge the ego and learn to understand it. Ego is not all bad, it is part of motivation, but if one is attached to it then it becomes a heavy weight to carry.  I often push and test my students to see how they react under pressure. Sometimes via pressure testing, sometimes via levels of focus and discipline in tasks.  The key is can you control it. Can you stay focused.  Can you take the positive when in pressure situations. Being in the moment and still be able to functional with a calm clear mind is the goal while in a stress environment.

Over the first few days I pushed the buttons of the group to see where people’s ego’s where at.  This is when you can really see a person’s soul. It’s hard to hide who you are. Some it’s a lack of confidence that makes the ego fragile. Some it’s the lack of self-belief, others its more to do with insecurity of skills and the feeling of not wanting to fail or lose.

So, after seeing people reactions to the pressures, I gave them to deal with and solve, I was aware that we have lots to unpack and repack over the week.  Invest in lost is not about given up, it’s about knowing when do push physically and when to reset and mentally acknowledge the lesson in front of you without being emotionally invested.

So, at this point it was time for a pressure test and see at what point everyone was at. Some did very well in terms of what we set out to achieve and others fell short in the mental control required. It is not important to on who did or did not, but it is important that everyone made growth and could reflect and learn from it.

In order to show it’s not about strength, it is about control of energy and the mind. I did all the nine rounds back-to-back and everyone only had one round each.

These are the rounds below. Each one is different, the pressure I gave each person was the pressure they were giving me. So, the secret was they had control of the pressure if they were aware enough.

Not everyone was a student from my group, so the learning curve different for some.

Also, I did have a pulled muscle in my hip and had to control that in order to not injury myself, but I didn’t say anything as dealing with your own issues in combat is part of the process.  I could not turn in my foot in my stance but was still able to control the force in my body without a problem, which is what one has to do under pressure. Pressure comes in many different forms.

Everyone was at different levels and the pressure was individual and the geared towards what they needed at that time.

After we sat down and discussed how everyone done and what they learnt from it. I was very proud that the group was up for the challenge and the stress of the pressure test.

Enjoy !

1 Adam

2 Tom

3 Lauri

4 Jim

5 Sam

6 Cedric

7 Aziz

8 Jules

9 Aaron