UPDATE- My 100,000 technique challenge- nearly 4 months on

Wow, this challenge is more difficult than I imagined it would be! It’s still slow-going and I am currently on just under 30,000 punches. I’m persevering and trying to make time to punch when I can, but it’s definitely going to take me more than 6 months. And that’s OK... I will get there.

I spoke with a few people on the last Masterclass and they were finding it difficult too, so I guess I’m not the only one. I don’t want to be hard on myself for not being on target, so rather than feel bad I need to just remember how many I have already done- that’s quite an achievement in itself. I just worked it out and I’ve probably spent around 30 hours on the challenge so far. That’s actually a really long time!

November has also been a bit of a strange month; I have been for 2 lots of x-rays on my right wrist. I’m not getting pain from punching at all, but I injured my wrist/hand a few months back and it hasn’t been right since. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint!) I can’t put any weight on my wrist when it’s pushed back, i.e. to do press-ups, burpees, squats etc. I have been training around this, but I’m still waiting to find out exactly what’s wrong. It may be tendonitis, as nothing much showed up on the x-rays. It has made me a bit more cautious about punching, especially on the days where I’ve been getting pain. I have been doing lots of the punches into the air, which isn’t as satisfying as hitting a pad! But, like I said, punching doesn’t seem to cause the pain, so I am carrying on with the challenge.

I wonder what December will bring…

I will let you know how I’m getting on next month.

Sarah Wilson x

UPDATE: I realised I never did update the blog with how I got on with the challenge in the end! My final total was 35,500 between 7th August 2011- 8th January 2012. Not bad for 5 months, but nowhere near 100,000! 

Since that time I have continued training with Geoff Thompson after being invited to do his Black Belt Course. Over the course of my training with Geoff my punching has improved considerably after working with him and other amazing punchers on improving my technique. Still working hard and still loving it...