The Natural Connection | Health & wellness website

The Natural Connection

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Public figure
• Health & wellness website
• Athlete
• Sportsperson

25.01.2022 So good working with Marcelo Rodrigues Zerbeto Combat Room Sydney Alex Scott !! Big congratulations Marcelo!!

25.01.2022 7 day mini coursers- Some answers to some of the questions that have come up from the spinal waves on day 1 of the course

25.01.2022 Working with the team at combat room BJJ today for their transverse/rotating patterns and control. These guys are beasts! Smashed through the foundational work and they learn things so fast- not to mention really good people :)

25.01.2022 Hey guys, If you don't follow this guy, then you should. I'm lucky enough to have him as a coach, which has been by far the most positive martial arts coaching experience I have had. He's also an incredible practitioner and athlete in general- while he's too humble to ever tell you himself, he's reached a professional level of two combat arts (BJJ, as well as representing NZ in the commonwealth games for fencing). Get around his page!!

24.01.2022 Its an absolute pleasure to work with surfing and how to do it, so it feels better and is more fun. Its especially great when you get to help some one who has so much style to spare!! Diego Acevedo Llosa-Ceasius Kakius

23.01.2022 Playing around. This movement isnt something Im training at the moment, but if you approach to your movement and strength work is intelligent then you can maintain and always build on your foundations- and keep tricks like this up your sleeve!

23.01.2022 Some loaded mobility with the BJJ competition team last night. Getting load through the hips at the end range (or nearly end range is safer) is really useful for these guys to get further control through the hips, especially with the exaggerated lower back curve (arching lower back rather than tucking tailbone under) as its often neglected as a movement in BJJ, which means it can cause unnecessary weakness/risk of injury down the track.

22.01.2022 Stiff hips and lower back from a surf trip? Here's a great set of stretches you can do to avoid that - click on the photo to check them out on our instagram. During my latest surf getaway, I used these couple of movements to avoid the normal stiffening of my hips that comes after surfing a lot for a few days combined with sitting down to drive etc. They’re some of the best (and simple) ones I’ve found! If you want a full set of stretches for the whole body go to our site here: https://www.naturalconnection.com.au/stretches-for-surfers

21.01.2022 INJURIES Ive adapted this to BJJ guys but can easily write the same post adapted to another sport/ a more general approach. As a partner to the post on training plateaus (below), lets talk about Injuries, reasons they might be happening and ways to prevent them. BJJ is right up there in regards to your chances of getting injured, so Ill again split this into a 5 part post.... The reasons for not wanting to get injured are obvious, and yet many of us will often do one of the following things- ignore warning signs/niggles/things dont seem right, or flat out push through an injury, for more often than not ending in.... more injury. We probably do this for a variety of reasons- no the least of which is that getting hurt is part of the game and therefore it can be harder to know what you are looking at with pain. Its also very annoying, especially when a solution isnt immediately obvious- and often not even remotely obvious- and training is fun. So training wins out and away we go. Further reasons we will visit later when discussing motivations, perspective etc. People all bring a different and individual level of physicality and athleticism to training, but Id highly warn against having a higher than average in on of these areas allow you to sit back and not worry about injury. See why below. For all BJJs great ability to improve our general movement, co-ordiantion, strength, endurance etc etc, we still have to remember that we are human before we are movers, and then we are movers before we are BJJers. This means that an human (genetic, existing, created) imbalance playing out physically we have as humans can be exacerbated when we try to become better movers if approached incorrectly. And then in turn we bring this to a more specific, highly demanding scope of BJJ and we can have quite a sizeable imbalance to try to take through each roll, movement, technique etc. So where to start? First is to understand the huge positive carry over we can create by using movement to help balance existing imbalances, instead of making them worse, and in turn open doors of ability and possibility in our more specific training. In the next "injury" post ill layout main physical abilities you need to learn to self balance.

21.01.2022 As surfers, the health and function of our shoulders is so critical to our being able to surf well and unhindered (ever tried paddling without using your shoulders?? ) This is @motasmoris starting to unwind some long term strategies he has had in his shoulders, which were starting to cause him to feel a little weaker. It’s important to note that before we approached his shoulder function, we dealt with any pelvis or hip pain he was having. Why? Because the pelvis can act as an ‘anchor’ for the shoulder stability- and vise versa. This ‘shoulder stabilising hip’ scenario is often what happens for surfers, and if you take away the shoulder strategy before the stabilising the hip, the hip can become even less stable!!. SO! If you’re going to do this one, make sure you don’t have any pelvic stability or hip stability issues first.

20.01.2022 What does speed mean for a surfer? It largely means we need to be able to change direction, while keeping our weight centred, and doing it fast enough to not fall behind the waves demands. Why are steeper waves harder to surf? Because they demand more of the above with more finely tuned finesse! The problem with learning to do this while in the surf, is that sometimes, our body just has too many things to figure out at once. Maybe you get 10 waves in a session. That’s probab...ly not enough repetition to learn the basic attribute (ie speed) that you need to take into the actual technique (ie the weight shift and body positions for a given turn). So, sometimes we do the turn with a bit of a sacrifice to our postural integrity, because we can’t do it fast enough while HOLDING our postural integrity. This is what leads to overuse injuries. Enter speed and strength training!! This is where the benefit lies!! The real key is knowing which, when and how much of each exercise you need, so your body actually has the needed capacity to do the turns that you want to do! Lucky for me I have @silviamartini_27 to throw medicine balls at me

19.01.2022 Loaded mobility level- beast! Took a while obviously for ligaments/tendons and tissue etc to work into these but the result is pretty cool.

18.01.2022 This is great!! This is the outcome of having the appropriate approach to your conditioning- tons more ability to adapt and perform new movements. Anna is a couple months into our programming now and its very cool to see her just doing stuff she couldnt do before. Note that these are reverse grip and legs are pretty damn straight. Beast!

18.01.2022 Ill be doing some video chats on the needed components of conditioning for BJJ over the next month. Jump on over to my Facebook group specifically for BJJ conditioning if thats your jam and check them out there over the next month. Link in comments

18.01.2022 Hip + pelvis stability I recently mentioned that working toward changing the shoulder function can sometimes be counterproductive if your pelvis isn’t stable. This is one of the last exercises @gee_cormack had to nail before moving her out of rehab and into to surf relevant conditioning training. It’s a way to train a surf specific position through each hip, without being able to use the other side leg to compensate if there is any luck of stability in the femur/pelvis. Th...at piece of equipment she is standing on (the Oov) is foam based and pretty hard to balance on. So we are using an unstable ground connection point to increase the amount of proprioception she gets to her hips (she has to work harder to balance, and in doing so, her brain gets a better ‘map’ of the hip/pelvis/femur and therefore gains more control of the area). The bent forward position can only be worked like that once there is stability in the lower core/abs, and, overtime, Gee will work at keeping her spine less rounded. Give it a go (on something unstable- but be careful!!), make sure your back isn’t rounded over (stick your butt out) and try to spend 1 minute slowly moving through the movement each side without losing your balance.

17.01.2022 Injuries post 3. OK so we have covered off that to keep injury at bay, we first need to be able to self organise the major junctions in the body, so that they arent being used as a stabiliser for other parts of the bodys movements that cant be self organised/self stabilised. Ie left knee has ended up being injured/ stuck at the end of the line as the Right shoulder couldnt self organise in the transverse plane (rotating), and then through a chain of events down the body/sl...ings/diapragm the left knee has ended up being the joint in the structure that cops it (this could of been anywhere though, Ive found the most far fetched links in my experience so dont be surprised to find out its an ankle issue/wrist/hip etc.) How do we create a scenario where we can get each of the joints to self organise? We need to train them, but what type of training? A lot of people propose that that resistance training alone can create that for us. Resistance and use of LOAD is definitely necessary, but unfortunately the more common approaches to weights/ gym cross training etc only provide us with a small amount of what we need here. Ideally we would learn to self organise with the spine and diaphragm neutral via the use of an aid or tool, however people have been acheiving the ability through all sorts of movement practices for a long time now, they just have had to look outside the box so to speak. *I should note here that in the next blog Ill mention the hierarchy of things, and breathing means more to your survival than movement does so breathing always needs to be addressed throughout your programming. This is also true in relation to mastication, eyes ability to level on the horizon and the cervical spine. We need movements that give the body a chance to learn how to handle a given movement/range of motion. We also need to have a variance of speed, ranges of motion, load and also deloaded movements. This can totally be achieved in your gym program, but it isnt going to look like bench, push press, back squat kettle bell swing etc.. SOME of those things MAY be in there in a small amount, but realistically the USE OF THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME IN GYM can be so so much better utilised. Ill post some basic loaded mobility work, along with some cues around breathing later in the week to get you started.

17.01.2022 Link for anyone who is into BJJ- The group below provides ideas and education around conditioning for BJJ effectively.

16.01.2022 Wellness and travel. Seeing as Im currently on the road, both for competition, and outside of comp times, for pleasure, its been a nice experiment to figure out what works when routine is out the window, the food is different and the lifestyle entirely depends on which country youre in!! Below are three things you can rely on to keep your body happy whilst still having FUN!! 1. Dont Snack! Lets face it, youre probably going to eat (maybe drink) a lot when youre away, i...ts going to be different and its going to be sugary/alcohol/processed/higher carbohydrate etc than youd normally have. So do that, and then give your body ample time to properly go through its process. Please note Im NOT saying "dont eat much" (Im in Italy at the minute, and Im eating.. much) But eat, and then give it a rest for 4 hours plus. Limit things to three meals and you will feel much better for it in the long run. 2. See the sun rise and sun set as much as possible. This will help keep your normal rhythms happening, which will in turn allow you to have more adaptability to new foods/ new lifestyle etc. 3. Water is king. Find good water, and drink it. Unless its really cold, in which case make herbal teas out of it, but find good water!

16.01.2022 The injury cascade situation- where one thing is corrected only for the next injury to appear. It can feel like quicksand, happens to a lot of people and needs the right approach to fix the situation once and for all. I can help! Post in the comments below for further info!

16.01.2022 Hello everyone, Im working on a new combined approach to performing and staying well.. Mixing movement training, yoga and breathing techniques, along with diet and lifestyle plans and hacks. I need your help! If you have 3 minutes spare, please fill out the survey below, and as a thank you Ill send you a 4 week program in video format of my go-to mobility routine. Thank you in advance!

16.01.2022 Hello everyone, I'm working on a new combined approach to performing and staying well.. Mixing movement training, yoga and breathing techniques, along with diet and lifestyle plans and hacks. I need your help! If you have 3 minutes spare, please fill out the survey below, and as a thank you I'll send you a 4 week program in video format of my go-to mobility routine. Thank you in advance!

16.01.2022 Hey guys, my 12 week movement, strength & conditioning for BJJ online course is up and running, and Im looking to shout 3 people 3 weeks of online training at no charge :) Im looking for 3 people who are currently training BJJ at least twice a week (preferrably 3+), and are looking to either a) Bulletproof for injury b) Break through a training plateau... c) Increase their strength and movement possibilities on the mat. If youre interested, you need to be available to commit to the program for the full 21 days. If youre interested and would like to feel stronger, faster and bulletproof for recurring or future injury, then comment yes below, or DM me and Ill send you a quick questionnaire to fill out, so I can then pick 3 people. If you know anyone else who might benefit from the training, please tag them in the comments also! Programs will be starting from Monday the 3rd December :)

15.01.2022 Your mobility, like any of your training/practices needs to be individualised to your needs. Theres no point ignoring a feeling you need to add something or change something because it isnt part of the program etc. I added the bridge to this cossack squat/toe balancing work as I kept feeling my chest had been taken too far into flexion when doing the first part. For someone else it might be different!

15.01.2022 Hey guys, If you dont follow this guy, then you should. Im lucky enough to have him as a coach, which has been by far the most positive martial arts coaching experience I have had. Hes also an incredible practitioner and athlete in general- while hes too humble to ever tell you himself, hes reached a professional level of two combat arts (BJJ, as well as representing NZ in the commonwealth games for fencing). Get around his page!!

15.01.2022 EVER GET HIPS/JOINTS/MUSCLES AFTER SURFING? WHAT ABOUT AFTER A LING TRIP TO GET TO A SURF DESTINATION? This wave was in warm up for one of the last pre-covid competitions I took part in, and I distinctly remember this wave when I watch it as it felt like there was lead in my legs and hips!! I’d been on a plane and then in a car for a couple of hours and things certainly weren’t feeling as limber as I would have liked!! If you can relate to feeling a little tighter than you’d like after, during or before surfing, jump in the link in bio for a free set is stretches you can do to sort the issue out!!

14.01.2022 MOVEMENT, BREATH AND DIET FOUNDATIONS. 12 week coached online program. Enrolments open today until 20/1. Learn to move, breath and eat in a way that helps you rehabilitate from injury (or stay uninjured), get stronger and clearer. ... If youre looking for a way to move toward a healthier + stronger version of you into 2020, hit me up and Ill DM you information .

13.01.2022 Getting @alexscottbjj prepared for his conditioning phase, which is in preparation for his upcoming #superfight May 14th. As always, @freerangebjj training alongside. Were just getting some of the existing stability and mobility patterns we had already worked on primed again, before we rip into some more specific conditioning work. Cant wait to watch him rip in!!

13.01.2022 A snippet from the Free 7 day online mini course I created. Jump in the link below to get involved- we start next Monday (13/4/20) The course covers principles and applications of movement, breath and diet. Day 1 and 5 of the course will explain and show some ways in which you can create the type of movement foundation for yourself that leaves you with .. options. Ill fill you in about more of the course as this week goes on Hope you enjoy it... https://www.naturalconnection.com.au/foundations-primer

13.01.2022 Pain and breathing. Ive discussed this a few times recently with clients and people on my online programs, its good thing to keep in mind when dealing with pain or discomfort in your body. Breathing function is responsible for a lot of the issues with pain I see. Why? breath is really important (obviously), and therefore will be done at any cost. Cost, in this case, usually being some other part of the musculoskeletal system. ... Take ongoing shoulder blade pain (ever had that "knife in the back" feeling between your shoulder blades?). If the WAY you breath is causing you to constantly overwork/overstress/create tension in that area, it will unlikely stop, or keep coming back after treatment, if you dont change how you breath. If this is you, comment below and Ill send you a free starter breathing exercise to help change things.

13.01.2022 In this fortnights newsletter, I give a few home based remedies for lower back pain Jump on and subscribe at Naturalconnection.com.au... Scroll down and hit subscribe for the full video tutorial!!

12.01.2022 Specifically for the BJJ guys- Lets talk about training plateaus. Ill split this into a 5 part series, so look out for the following posts in the next few weeks. Who has had the experience of improving their game steadily for 6 months, one year, maybe even two years, when suddenly there is some invisible wall that appears where things dont move forward as they were anymore? Sometimes it can actually feel like things are going backwards. Motivation can take a hit, confidenc...e in your game may be next in line and training in general can become a far less enticing experience than it was perviously. Whilst it is entirely healthy to have to deal with these minor ups and downs through out any physical pursuit, the ongoing version needs a fresh look through a different lens. Lets break it down over the 5 posts in this series. Our body has rhythms, cycles, peaks and troughs. It will adapt to a particular stimulus for a period of time, and then that stimulus will no longer have the same potent effect. A new and appropriate stimulus needs to be experienced to continue development. BJJ demands many different physical attributes and skillsets, so obviously for a period of time there will be enough new stimulus to be experienced and adapted to, with new skillsets developing on the way, on the mats via rolling. Keep in mind that the needed movements and loads naturally get more complex as you improve. So why would someone then hit a plateau? The answers lie between us and the the art- what were bringing to the table to to speak. Were going to start macro and get more detailed as these posts go on. As we adapt to BJJ, we often neglect other ways of moving. Time constraints, enthusiasm and a number of other factors play out here. The first physical port of call to look for is: Do we have the foundations needed to create and repeatedly find equilibrium in the body- the way it holds tension, twists, anti-rotates, slows down, speeds up, adapts to load and holds a midline? You will have had parts of the needed abilities to create balance to some degree to begin your journey, but no matter how far along the path you are, this is highly likely be a part of any training plateau you have hit. Ill be sharing 3 basic tests to figure out if you can hold a midline on my BJJ specific closed group- if this is something that interests you please comment below and Ill add you to the group! Mitch

11.01.2022 End of session balance and conditioning for the lower body. Probably 2nd or 3rd program work for most people who are somewhat conditioned so dont go throwing yourself into them straight up! The first one you need to be super wary of knees and ankles- some previous build up exercises have to be done, and the second movement is clearly risky if you cant hold proper bodylines- reach out in the comments for some build ups to these rather than going straight into them if theyre foreign!

10.01.2022 Legend!! Cant wait to see what @marcelozerbetobjj does in the coming few years. Really stoked to have been able to work together toward the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation world champs just gone and excited to work even harder for next year.

09.01.2022 Picking the right approach to your conditioning for surfing takes some thought!! Most of our energy is probably going to surfing itself, so we want to make sure we’re getting bang for our buck if we’re doing work in the gym. This exercise does that- you’ve got scapula stability, good paddle position training and strength endurance rolled into one. This is clip is taken from one of our free mini courses, coming out next week, which will take you through the type of movements that both I and many others have used to stay performing and uninjured in the water. Let me know what other areas and exercises you’d think like to know about!

09.01.2022 Pain and breathing. I've discussed this a few times recently with clients and people on my online programs, it's good thing to keep in mind when dealing with pain or discomfort in your body. Breathing function is responsible for a lot of the issues with pain I see. Why? breath is really important (obviously), and therefore will be done at any cost. Cost, in this case, usually being some other part of the musculoskeletal system. ... Take ongoing shoulder blade pain (ever had that "knife in the back" feeling between your shoulder blades?). If the WAY you breath is causing you to constantly overwork/overstress/create tension in that area, it will unlikely stop, or keep coming back after treatment, if you don't change how you breath. If this is you, comment below and Ill send you a free starter breathing exercise to help change things.

09.01.2022 Breathing... we need it. So, makes sense to train it so we do it well, right? And now the tricky part... Which modality should we use? Whats the best starting point? What are the important aspects? Do we wim hof? Do we find a pranayama teacher? Jump onto my free 7 day course in the link below, and Ill help create some clarity around this for you. https://www.naturalconnection.com.au/foundations-primer

08.01.2022 3 basics for being well! Travelling makes these things all the more obvious- being away from the normal environment might just be the best way to get clear on what makes your physical health tick. Delivered from everyones happy place (Im assuming)- the Amalfi Coast.

08.01.2022 Zen therapies .. Active learning of some ways to work with qi//yoga//TCM//yi in movement. Working with movement from the totalitarian approach of working everything, together, in the appropriate sequencing at the appropriate time! Doing things this way allows you to develop sensitivity to subtleness in the way you move, along with the effects that different postures and approaches have to the moving you are doing. Mixing the internal world we all have with the external one we all move in. Seen here in the studio . Gotta learn from someone whos done enough to know, ya know?

08.01.2022 Follow up on day 2 of the 7 day mini course- some aspects of breath you might like to consider Hope youre all Enjoying the second instalment of breathwork today!!.

08.01.2022 Food and better recovery. Below are 3 things that are critical to allow better recovery from a nutrition perspective! 1. Whole foods are king- We all probably know it, but theres few extra, often unsaid aspects to this also. A whole food generally comes complete- the nutrition you need, along with the enzymes and catalysts you need to use said nutrition is all within the food. When looking at extras, like supplements, it is highly likely the further broken down/pasteured/pro...cessed the ingredients are, the less likely they are going to be taken on by your system. So, eat whole foods over every thing else whenever you can, especially at times of lots of training, coming back from injury or pre competition. This is a deep topic obviously, so please ask any questions. 2.Find out where the produce you buy is grown. Food is information, from the sun, to our body. When food is grown on a similar latitude/near where we live/are going to eat it, we can more easily assimilate the DNA of the food into our own DNA, as each of those is inextricably linked to the environment each of them is grown in/lives in. Pretty cool hey? 3. Fasting and intermittent fasting can be great for both general health and performance, but often needs to happen AFTER you have made sure of, or corrected, something called your leptin sensitivity. Anyone with constant cravings, lethargy whenever going too long without food and late night sugar cravings can be someone that this will work really well for- and its not that difficult to do/ can all be done by eating meals on a schedule, that are comprised of the right amounts of macros. See more

07.01.2022 A big congratulations to Hope Douglass for taking out the Tokyo grand slam last week! Hope was recently made a black belt for her outstanding competitive performance, she then entered this and took everyone out! Go Hope! Ive had the pleasure of working with Hope in the lead up to this competition via my online programs (personalised) for her strength and conditioning, she gets some serious work done!

07.01.2022 LONGEVITY What a topic! We all want to be better for longer, and I had plenty of people ask me about it in my recent survey (thanks again for filling out). A bit of a longer video as the topic is huge! But have a listen and comment any questions. Thank you!

07.01.2022 Wellness and travel. Seeing as I'm currently on the road, both for competition, and outside of comp times, for pleasure, it's been a nice experiment to figure out what works when routine is out the window, the food is different and the lifestyle entirely depends on which country you're in!! Below are three things you can rely on to keep your body happy whilst still having FUN!! 1. Don't Snack! Lets face it, you're probably going to eat (maybe drink) a lot when you're away, i...t's going to be different and it's going to be sugary/alcohol/processed/higher carbohydrate etc than you'd normally have. So do that, and then give your body ample time to properly go through it's process. Please note I'm NOT saying "don't eat much" (I'm in Italy at the minute, and I'm eating.. much) But eat, and then give it a rest for 4 hours plus. Limit things to three meals and you will feel much better for it in the long run. 2. See the sun rise and sun set as much as possible. This will help keep your normal rhythms happening, which will in turn allow you to have more adaptability to new foods/ new lifestyle etc. 3. Water is king. Find good water, and drink it. Unless its really cold, in which case make herbal teas out of it, but find good water!

06.01.2022 Anna Fitzgerald getting strong! Her bodyline and control work is coming together more and more... allowing her to quickly be able to build effective strength. Gotta get the foundations team- when you got them theres all sorts of movement fun to be had.

06.01.2022 Sometimes you have a competition heat and kind of just sit there wondering whether you should be there... or not... or if you should paddle over there.... or not... or take this wave... etc. And then you do none of those things, get frustrated and take it out on the only wave you get that has a bit of wall but is also a close out hehe. Even in the midst of a heat-not-going-my-way annoyance, having the freedom to ride waves is a privilege! Having a body that allows you do this is quite literally the main ingredient here, so, if you’re someone who was thinking about dipping their toes into the world of on land conditioning for your surfing, take it from someone who’s has been through the entire surgery/rehab/training process, starting training now is much better than after you can’t move very well and surfing is no longer an option.

05.01.2022 If you want to do turns that throw spray, you need to have the strength in the right body positions, to hold the right mix of balance and tension!!

03.01.2022 How do we get the board on rail and drive through a turn? To put ourselves into this type of position, we need to to understand where our centre of mass is, and also to be able to drive the the heel or toe side of the foot while keeping our mass directed over the desired side of the surf board. To drill these types of positions, we can use single leg jumping work, box jump work and task based exercises that challenge us to keep our balance while completing a task- ie catch/throw a medicine ball while standing on one leg in a 1/4 squat position.

02.01.2022 INJURIES POST 2 Ok so if you read through the first injury poet you ill have seen that I want to talk about some foundational abilities we all need, to be able to roll and adapt to movement and different loading of each joint and the body as a whole, without getting injured. To be effective in finding possible injury risks, we need to be open minded enough to see that the body is a SINGLE ORGANISM, made up of MANY SYSTEMS. This seems obvious until were faced with a scenario ...where we want a DIRECT ANSWER- why do I have knee problems/ recurring injury x? etc. We tend to focus in on the knee in question- In this scenario it becomes much harder to draw the links between why our knee is inured, and another part of the body seemingly unrelated to the knee, ie left shoulder, cervical spine, right serratus etc etc is the culprit. In keeping a global perspective of the body, we can start to see the links more clearly. The first thing we defntely need to buffer against injury, is for the body to ACCURATELY know where it sits in space in general. Each of the major junctions needs to be able to SELF ORGANISE. That means it can stabilise itself, and to do that it will have a healthy brain body connection (you will need to have the needed neural pathways that accurately show the brain where that limb/body part is relative to the rest of the body when it moves). If, via our sedentary lifestyle, or old injury, or internal health related issues (swelling in the organs, hormonal dysfuntion, genetic issue,etc etc), you have lost or dont have the connection you need, you will develop a STRATEGY, which brings another part of the body in, to stabilise the part/movement of the body part in question THAT IT CANNOT DO ON ITS OWN. Bringing things back to our movement scenario, if much of the left knees use has been to be an anchor for the movements that the right shoulder doesnt perform with enough control, but still regularly does anyway- it gets overloaded trying to stabilise the shoulder, the slings between it and the shoulder, and also in turn is being deteriorated due to over use, and then finally injury occurs. Clearly sometimes a trauma is so big that injury was happening regardless, however I would still argue that in this case the recovery scenario is looking better for the person who can otherwise self organise. Any questions please ask in the comments. Ill get into how we can learn to create better brain body connections on the next injury post.

02.01.2022 For 7 day mini course participants- how did you guys go with A) Yesterdays spine waves and movement session b) Todays breath technique and breathing session? ... Post or ask about any day of course, any day of the week :)

02.01.2022 If BJJ is your jam, have a look at this free resource for better movement and injury prevention https://www.facebook.com/groups/667838106888811/?ref=share

01.01.2022 It's an absolute pleasure to work with surfing and how to do it, so it feels better and is more fun. It's especially great when you get to help some one who has so much style to spare!! Diego Acevedo Llosa-Ceasius Kakius

01.01.2022 Specifically for the BJJ guys- Lets talk about training plateau's. I'll split this into a 5 part series, so look out for the following posts in the next few weeks. Who has had the experience of improving their game steadily for 6 months, one year, maybe even two years, when suddenly there is some invisible wall that appears where things don't move forward as they were anymore? Sometimes it can actually feel like things are going backwards. Motivation can take a hit, confidenc...e in your game may be next in line and training in general can become a far less enticing experience than it was perviously. Whilst it is entirely healthy to have to deal with these minor ups and downs through out any physical pursuit, the ongoing version needs a fresh look through a different lens. Lets break it down over the 5 posts in this series. Our body has rhythms, cycles, peaks and troughs. It will adapt to a particular stimulus for a period of time, and then that stimulus will no longer have the same potent effect. A new and appropriate stimulus needs to be experienced to continue development. BJJ demands many different physical attributes and skillsets, so obviously for a period of time there will be enough new stimulus to be experienced and adapted to, with new skillsets developing on the way, on the mats via rolling. Keep in mind that the needed movements and loads naturally get more complex as you improve. So why would someone then hit a plateau? The answers lie between us and the the art- what we're bringing to the table to to speak. We're going to start macro and get more detailed as these posts go on. As we adapt to BJJ, we often neglect other ways of moving. Time constraints, enthusiasm and a number of other factors play out here. The first physical port of call to look for is: Do we have the foundations needed to create and repeatedly find equilibrium in the body- the way it holds tension, twists, anti-rotates, slows down, speeds up, adapts to load and holds a midline? You will have had parts of the needed abilities to create balance to some degree to begin your journey, but no matter how far along the path you are, this is highly likely be a part of any training plateau you have hit. I'll be sharing 3 basic tests to figure out if you can hold a midline on my BJJ specific closed group- if this is something that interests you please comment below and I'll add you to the group! Mitch

01.01.2022 FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT LIKE TO GO ON SURF TRIPS- these are for you