It was a great experience teaching for four days in Hong Kong.

On Monday, which was my last day teaching there, I had the pleasure of leading two courses in Muay Thai Heavyweight World Champion Alain "The Panther"  Ngalani’s Impakt gym. You can find information and footage about Alain on youtube and elsewhere on the net.

The afternoon class was Animal Based Conditioning, in which I taught the participants various traditional martial arts calisthenics that are particularly well suited for fighters in developing integrated, full-body strength.

For the final 30 minutes of the grueling 3 hour class, I taught the students qigong for recovery and to impress upon them the importance of caring for their energy and health and not just the physical conditioning components.

When I completed that section, it occured to me how ironic it was for me, a ’round-eye’ to be teaching an ancient Chinese system of health to students in Hong Kong! It goes to show how much the world has changed and how in many respects East and West have exchanged and even reversed roles.

It is always fulfilling to teach anyone and everyone, but to teach martial arts and qigong in a Chinese state is particularly rewarding.

I am in mainland China now and am blown away by the generosity of my hosts, which I will discuss more in detail in the next blog. Yet another reminder to not take too seriously the media’s portrayal of a country or its people as the real experience may be very different than the preconceived ideas that we are fed via media reports.

In the month that I have had www.ikff.com online, the response has been overwhelming.

I have not done any advertising yet and no specific promotions, because I want to make sure to be able to give my full attention to the students that are taking part in the initial courses. Word of mouth goes very quickly however, and shortly after I scheduled courses in Hong Kong, I received emails from a group in Malaysia and have now also scheduled a course next weekend in Kuala Lumpur. It’s amazing to me that I have been able to develop an international student base in just one year’s time. The power of the internet and youtube, combined with the power of giving my heart and soul to every course that I teach.

In addition to Hong Kong and Malaysia, I have a few days scheduled in mainland China, where I will have a business meeting in Qingdao. I have never been to mainland China, so it will be a unique experience for me. Qingdao is famous for its beer. Apparently, it was a German military base starting in late 19th Century, and the Germans taught the Chinese there how to brew.

I have also been invited to attend some of the Olympic events in Beijing later this year, so I am going to try to clear my schedule for a few weeks this summer and bring my family to experience the intensity of the world’s greatest sporting event.

Off to sleep now, its been a tough 3 days of training.

Spent some time with my friend Duane Carlisle today.

Duane was recently promoted to Head Strength and Conditioning coach for the San Francisco 49ers www.sf49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php

There are only 32 such jobs in the world, so he has an insight into training that even some of the greatest coaches in the world do not have. That is, he in a NFL locker room and sees things day in and day out about training athletes that cannot be replicated from any number of fitness bootcamps or seminars or workshops or certifications.  These athletes have particular needs that have to be addressed from a program design and implementation perspective and there is tremendous interest in the success of these athletes.

That goes way beyond what most trainers or coaches will relate to. So, of course I am always excited to sit and talk with a coach of Duane’s caliber. To me, he has that winning quality you want in a coach because he is constantly picking the brains of people who he thinks can benefit his players in some way. That is a lesson for all of us. Consistently, the high level performers have an extreme curiosity and openness to learning. Way more questions than comments.

How cool is that? Sitting and talking with a professional gives a very clear perspective about what is practical and meaningful amidst the myriad of ’stuff’. There is so much happening now in the fitness business, yet it is important for all fitness educators and leaders to recognize and remember that it is service first and foremost that we provide.

It is personally very gratifying when a professional with Duane’s pedigree expresses his views about the fitness and training ‘industry’, because in the world he operates in every rep, every set and every aspect of every workout is taken extremely seriously, and that entails the off time as well. Jobs are won and lost over the onfield performance of the players. So for a strength coach, the right program is the program that puts Ws on the scoreboard and keeps the players on the field and off the DL. It is this high-pressure performance atmosphere that gives perspective to the entire ‘industry’ revolving around reps and sets and various movements.

In addition to meeting with me and exchanging ideas, Duane is doing some work with Todd Durkin who is known for his personal training work with some of the elite athletes such as Ladanian Tomlinson, Carson Palmer, Drew Brees and others. Also, Carlisle is going to check out some of David Weck’s training ideas and methods while he is in town. David has a brilliant mind and is most known for his BOSU invention, however he is also one of the most innovative trainers and educators in and has a wealth of experience with movement dynamics: www.bosufitness.com/