As one of the more popular member benefits of the CMD Program, the Open Mats session is usually well attended. Not because it’s free but because the members have little restriction in deciding how to spend those 2 hours of their Saturday. Often, it is spent sparring and members get a lot of enjoyment and learning from it but is it the best way to improve their skills?

I have mentioned this before to earlier members and those who have been training a while; that is, while “training = sparring” is very fun, “training = practicing drills” will be more productive. The challenge is to find a balance between these two as they make up both sides of the same coin.

Without the necessary skill set, your “training = sparring” will resemble a sloppy, drunken, swinging bar fight. With the right tools, your sparring will be precise, economical and effective. To get those tools or techniques right, my advise is to drill them ad nauseum. Practice them so much until your really, truly sick of it then stop. Now go and spar. Repeat for each technique or flow sequence. You will see improvement much faster this way.
As a beginner, more often than not, and especially when sparring with one of the seniors, you notice how quickly the sparring session ends up being a semi-instructional? This is because the culture that we have instilled from the very beginning in all our members is to help others improve. When one of the senior members pauses to offer some suggestions, first understand that they may have spotted something which could improve your sparring experience or your movement has reminded them of a common error that should be fixed straightaway. I know I’m guilty of that, however, please understand that it is up to you whether you want to heed the advise. Above all, it is never a personal statement or be misunderstood as criticism on your present abilities.

In the 2 hours, my formula is as follows:

Do your physical and mental warm up. You know your body best. You know what day you’ve had. You know how well (or not) you slept the night before. Use the same music to get you ready for the open mat session everytime so that you know you are coming for training. You know it will be a positive, productive experience because you have told yourself that and have visualized the outcome ahead of time. As you know your body and it’s limitations, use the warm up to work on improving the areas of concern and to improve your strengths. While you do this, add in positive self-talk based on the visualizations and training objectives.

Select your training partners carefully. Always choose a wide range of training partners with varying levels of skills. Communicate with them about your training objectives and adjust the timing and intensity of the sparring/drill so that you achieve the desired outcome. Once you are able to achieve the same results with one partner, be sure to return the favor and if you are still able to achieve the same results with them, move on to someone with better skill and so on. Even if you can’t “succeed” with a better skilled training partner, you realize that you haven’t “lost”, on the contrary, you have gained by understanding where your mistakes are. More often than not, the better skilled partner will offer some suggestions on improving your technique. Naturally, this works best when you have clearly defined a specific drill and desired outcome.

If you have currently sustained an injury or other physical limitation, you should ideally rest off the mats. You are more than welcome to come over, practice the same visualization and be immersed in the energy of Open Mats. I personally find that when I am injured (rare nowadays), and come in to watch a session, I find that I improve after taking a short rest and let my visualization go to work. As much as I learn from watching people do the correct technique, I also learn from their mistakes and make mental notes with reference to my own training.

During my training, I usually keep unnecessary chatter to a minimum, preferring my training to do the talking and focus on what I am trying to achieve. I find that when I keep too many thoughts and training ideas, talk about 1001 things and still try to train, I become distracted and my performance becomes a reflection of that mental traffic. So, the simpler I keep things the better my training becomes.

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to train. Of course there is a lot more however I will prefer to keep those to share with you in person on the mats.

Best training!

CMD Malaysia

Are you looking for a fitness gym or a better, simpler way to get in shape and stay in shape?

CMD Malaysia is a unique fitness centre in Bangsar. We have a track record of being in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur since 1998 and have recently moved to a new, larger location also in Bangsar on Jalan Riong off the busy Jalan Maarof.
We’re conveniently located within 7 minutes walking distance of the Bangsar LRT and the popular mall, Bangsar Village. Easy to find, free parking and secured CCTV location. We offer a clean, hygenic, safe training space that is privately owned and operated.

What makes CMD Malaysia unique?
Apart from being the only complete, full-time martial arts gym in Bangsar, we also provide a very unique fitness program that is simple, effective and fun.

This program is called FizFit and it is focused on using bodyweight-based exercises as it’s foundation to develop strength, mobility and flexibility. All FizFit classes are led by a trainer who will teach the techniques starting from beginner all the way to an accomplished athlete. However, you may not be surprised to know that many of our clients have not exercised in a long time or have found the typical chain-gym routines boring. The FizFit classes overcome this by never repeating the same workout class to prevent the body from getting used to the same workouts. So when the FizFitter reaches Level 2, you will often see the introduction of fitness toys that include Swiss Balls, medicine balls, jump ropes, power wheels, dumb bells, boxing gloves, resistance bands, barbells, kettlebells, suspension cables, club bells, and more. Throw these toys into the mix and you get the idea! The classes are fun, challenging and most importantly, gets you a great workout.

Typically when a new visitor comes to our Bangsar fitness centre they usually ask us where we keep our exercise machines. We smile and tell them that they are their own exercise machine! Come over and let us show you all the wonderful and complex movements your exercise machine can do!

Our fitness objective is to be able to move the body through all the angles and degrees of the clock. Can you do that? Yes you can!

There are currently 2 levels of FizFit Workouts to cater for the different fitness levels but we have plans to add more in the future.

Many of our clients also suffer from some form of joint injury or mobility limitation from other activities. Common culprits are futsal, tennis, golf and even yoga! Surprised? Don’t be! If a client has a chronic joint mobility condition, typically in the knees, shoulders, back, ankle and neck, then the trainers will educate the client on an alternative exercise to avoid worsening their condition and suggest other ways to strengthen the surrounding muscle if applicable.

Before you visit us, quickly ask yourself why you want to train? Is it to lose weight? Gain weight? Tone up? We don’t do body building here but we do want a high quality lifestyle and to enjoy good meals, live easy and travel far! You can do that in a body that is trained to do that!

The culture at the CMD Malaysia gym is also very different from many others in that we are non-competitive, non-judgmental and provide a supportive, friendly community that often hang out beyond the gym. We don’t care what you look like, what you wear or why you are here. If you want a serious but friendly workout, you are most welcome to join us! In fact, if you register online, we will give you a complimentary workout for a week.

The other unique thing about our Bangsar Fitness gym is that we are the premier kettlebell club in the country. We are not boasting or tooting our own horn but we have the highest qualified trainers in the country. Chui Lee is the only woman in Malaysia holding the IKFF Level 2 Kettlebell Teacher certification (there are only 2 levels) while Vince is a IKFF Level 2 Kettlebell Teacher and is also the regional IKFF Level 1 Examiner.

The third unique thing about CMD Malaysia is the CMD Program itself. This is a complete martial arts experience that is designed for the everyday guy. We prepare you for full contact living!

I’ll write more about the unique martial arts experience in Bangsar and how the CMD Program in Kuala Lumpur is going from strength to strength in another article next week!

No idea what kettlebells are? I’m sure you’ve seen them in some gyms, usually neglected in the corner somewhere collecting dust. Believe it or not, they are low tech, high performance fitness tools that will improve your grip strength, cardio vascular improvement and work capacity gains. You can improve your stamina and endurance as well as your strength and physique if you want. These physical performance gains can be achieved irregardless of rain or shine as you can safely practice kettlebells indoors as well as outdoors. Most people in Kuala Lumpur prefer to exercise with kettlebells indoors, away from the sun, mosquitos and car pollution so can you! We currently offer the most kettlebell group classes in the country and probably have the most kettlebells in any gym in the country!

Don’t be put off by the size of the kettlebells. They all come in a standard size, and they are called Competition Kettlebells. The lighter weights are hollow inside while the heavier weights are more filled inside but from the outside, they are all the same size but are coloured differently.
We will be happy to teach you how to lift them safely and correctly then explain the benefits of each exercise. After that you can decide to practice in the comfort of your own home or join us in a group class to workout under the watchful eye of a certified and experienced trainer.