Author: John Swift

Striking Fitness & Conditioning with Kidderminster Harriers Football Club

‘VERVE Martial Arts – Kidderminster Harriers collaboration’

We were asked to deliver a striking, fitness and conditioning session for the men’s first team at Kidderminster Harriers Football Club as they enter the final stages of their pre-season training preparations – from the ‘get go’ you could see their super focus and workrate!
As such we turning it up to another level … from the pad drill start, to the high volume power striking, to the team building aggression tests at the end, it really was a ‘top-draw’ session leaving them all sweating, smiling and learning!

Quality work boys!

All the very best for the season ahead – go smash it!

Check out my facebook for more photos and videos of the session!

British Championships 2024

British Taekwondo Championships 2024

Where do I start ?!?! Feet are sore, completely exhausted and lost my voice but I wouldn’t change it for the world – it was truly EPIC !!

Nearly 12 months ago we set out a vision for hosting our first international tournament since 2019 gathering support and traction as time unfolded … and after a HUGE couple of months it finally arrived and was everything we hoped for and more!
After brief introductions our International Teams opened the event with a head to head between England and USA
The team walk outs and national anthems were passionate and heart warming and it was wonderful to see all the competitors, families and friends stood so proudly supporting x
From the very first bout you could feel the atmosphere lift, the respect but also camaraderie and competitive buzz off all ages and teams, you had to be there to truly feel it!
Going into the adults it was all square with both the men and women’s going down to the very last fighter in the sparring – USA won the international trophy by a narrow 2 team victory overall !
Congratulations everyone who was selected and competed, you did us all so very proud!!
It was then the turn of our Individual Categories – students and competitors literally came from all round the UK, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and of course USA!
The standard was high and all categories keenly contested with medals being shared across all clubs and countries – I have totally lost track of everyone’s results so will need to sort out the areas sheets. So in the meantime i will continually add to this post over the next couple of days and I will share as many photos and videos as I can … but I literally can’t keep up with them at the moment there are so many and they are so amazing!

I’d like to personally thank all the referees and officials who worked exceptionally hard all day doing an amazing job for which we all are forever grateful!
Mrs Emma Swift, Davina Weston, Cath Gannon and front door staff doing an exceptional job as always managing entry, merchandise and enquiries.
A special mention to Mr Tom Gilbert who took on the job of floor manager to alleviate pressure and problem solve where required, amazing job sir!

What a team!

Thank you also to those who came in at 7.30am for the crazy set up but also those who stayed to knock down and tidy up afterwards, there are soooo many moving parts with an event of this magnitude and it simply could not happen without you!
I truly value everyone’s hard work, trust, loyalty and support in helping create a safe platform for our people to perform, challenge themselves but also create memories and friendships that will last a lifetime x

Respect as always
Master John Swift
and the Team at VERVE Martial Arts

strong than yesterday

‘stronger than yesterday’

Quality workout today with Thomas aka camera man and son 😂
We got chatting on the value of exercise, healthy habits and the impact of good people in our lives, and bad ones too!
The inquisitive nature of the convo gave me goose bumps #prouddad and it got me thinking.

It has been a tough year so far in so many ways, battling personal injuries, house move don’t mention it😏, business challenges, self doubt (yes me self doubt 😂) and more!!

zero excuses given, zero sympathy required and zero apologies made

We have persevered and are smashing this year so far! 💪🏻
Be confident enough to make decisions and necessary changes quickly but thoughtfully, believe in yourself and those around you as it is a lonely journey by yourself, be consistent not forgetting the struggles are where the successes are truly earned 😉

Much love & respect as always x

PS – I am not posting for this for the likes, I am posting in hope that maybe just one person will take the time to read it, get fired up and pass the positivity forwards – together we all grow

life gets better by change

‘your life doesn’t get better by chance – it gets better by change’

I have had numerous conversations over the last couple of days highlighting a point I have written about before but it is most definitely worth revisiting 🤔
Whether you know it or not, everything has a potential ROI (return on investment) and I am not talking about the monetary aspect.
Ever felt empowered after spending time with certain people, ready to take action and level up whereas others seem to steal your time, energy and generally just made you feel crap 😏
Chose who you give your time and energy to, don’t be an arse about it, just understand everyone has a role to play and value to bring so position people accordingly.
Remember the ability to make change is in your hands, you are just one small step and decision away from something completely different, very often even subtle amendments can have an impact beyond comprehension.
So be bold, be brave, don’t be afraid to make decisions, make changes but above all be true to yourself …
I believe in you, you got this!
Much love & respect as always x
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On a side note and because it was discussed this week, have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?
Or perhaps you are more familiar with the power of the compounding – if not it is definitely worth taking a look with a number of good books I could recommend by a similar title.

Thank me later 😉