Off to hema tomorrow, in talks with a few striking clubs to go check them out. Im still working on my gym stuff primarily as my inflammation after surgery is still a little persistent
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I ended up getting a Century Bob XXL for the apartment. I’ve been doing drills and bag work on it. I want to get in better shape on my own before I join anything or whatever.
I got into the diabetic range a while back so I’ve been losing weight. Lost about 20 pounds so far. The last ten pounds I need to lose has been stubborn. They said to lose 30 pounds. I’m not there yet.
I injured myself here and there.
Didn’t start slow enough. Long bikeride injured my lower back. I may have hit a curb too hard. I injured it again (worse) upon adding pike push-ups and uphill sprints to my weekend calisthenics. It was really bad for about two months. I got x-rays. Slipped disc sort of situation. Some arthritis and degeneration. Almost 100% again now. Well, 100% for a fifty-two year old man. Myeh.
I hurt my wrist last year. Irony of ironies, it was not from hitting things without gloves. Well, maybe. It started out because I punched the cement floor on accident. I never meant to make contact (I hadn’t fully clenched my fist) but I misjudged the distance because it was dark and I was filming it (so I was distracted), I guess.
But, what hurt it the most was a second injury while looking at the camera (and talking). I pushed into the Century Bob’s chest with an open palm in MMA gloves. The pleather material of the glove caught on the latex(?) of the Century Bob at a weird angle. I sort of overextended my wrist that way(?). Weird. Injured by the safety equipment. Haha.
The bag is a bit over-filled but that’s not the issue. I have been able to punch it just fine this whole time. I still wear a wrist brace under that glove most of the time just to feel safe. I feel a bit weak when I push on things (still) with an open palm. But, I can do push-ups no problem. Pushing fast is the issue. It’s weird. Got an x-ray. No breaks. Examinations showed no rips or torn ligaments. I was worried about a scaphoid fracture but it seems okay. I just need to keep doing rehab and stretches and resistance training. For both wrists. Ankles. All my joints.
Why was I filming?
Well, just practice videos. Practice for some demos I want to make. I want to make a YouTube channel to share the unique aspects of my personal style with others. Having studied a variety of martial arts in the 1980s and 1990s, I came up with a custom style for my own benefit. Researching more martial arts (more casually) for another twenty years added to my knowledge. I have a fairly unique custom style.
I don’t want to run a school. I don’t want to compete in MMA to get attention (I’m too old). All I want is to present my ideas so people can experiment with them and take what works for them.
Also, martial arts are too expensive now. A lot of people are priced right out of self-defense anymore. I want to put it out there for free. Maybe put a book online somewhere. Just put it out there.
I mean, whatever. Way worse people are teaching way worse stuff online. Why not share my two cents?
But, I need to be in better shape before I make the real videos. I’ve been making practice videos to get used to filming myself and talking on film and just to motivate myself. I haven’t done any videos with a partner yet. Just me and the Century Bob here at the apartment. Myeh.
I just want to pass on what I’ve learned so it’s not lost forever when I die. Share my innovations with my cousins and whoever else wants to see it.
I also want to join a gym/dojo again but it’s kind of expensive now and I’m working mandatory overtime again (smh) and I’m working on my art projects. I work nights. It’s hard to schedule things and pay for things because I’m underemployed so I can work on my illustration career. They said overtime would never be mandatory. Kept promising it was temporary. It lasted over a year. Gone for a few months and now it’s back. I daydream about busting myself down to a part-time job and living out of my vehicle. I just want more time to draw.
I wish the economy didn’t suck. I don’t mean to criticize any single administration. Wages have stagnated going on forty years now. They barely enforce antitrust laws. Citizens United. It’s all so dumb.
“No one party can fool all of the people all of the time; that’s why we have two parties.” ~ Bob Hope
Been shutting off my phone a lot so I have more time to draw. Sorry I’m not on here that much. I turn this phone off and shove it in a Faraday Cage. Heh.
Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to these days.
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So I found a small club out of those ones I was talking to that teach a system that claims to be a hybrid of… Lethwei, Escrima, Muay Thai and JKD… Now this I need to look at
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A krabi krabong sort of set up?
not really sure, most of what I’ve seen of them looks very muay thai pads with headbutts in their combos. Not seen weapons stuff yet but I’ll go check it out after my surgery finishes healing. There’s been some moderate concern about fluid build up
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I can count these fools on one fist.
Maybe two.
would you also ante up and kidnap that fool?
It’s the perfect timing, you see the man shining
Get up off them goddamn diamonds
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next throwdown?
Always room for another.
Let’s talk about mental training and dream interpretation.
Friday night I had fun dreams. Saturday night was tough but manageable.
Last night I had a dream where I was harshly molested by Michael Madsen and shot in the head, but I survived (this is because Reservoir Dogs has been on cable a lot lately).
I survived and kept fighting him because I was in the process of defending Alec Baldwin (a well known real life killer, and member of the terrorist Film Actors Guild). I was not about to die that day (Sunday). There’s always tomorrow.
At one point in the Friday night dream , an English teacher I used to have a crush on (she taught Shakespeare) tries to seduce me. Nothing happens because back in the real world, Son #1 wakes me and reminds me it’s time to do our Hannukah ++ celebration. And now it’s Saturday.
See, the last night of Hannukah was Thursday. Technically it ended Friday at sundown. Saturday, I’m awakened from good dreams. By Sunday, the dreams are just getting on my nerves and I’m in the mood to throw down.
But liberal Jews don’t give a fuck. Saturday was Hannukah ++ because Son #1 and I have been doing OOP in C++ together for 4 weeks. I hate programming, but it’s one of my gifts. Thanks, God, I would have taken a genetic predisposition to alcohol instead. So Saturday was spent eating both homemade and Trader Joe latkes, and honestly, both were fine.
Reminding me that now it is Sunday, the candle oil is spent, it’s time to light Christmas trees on fire and now that I’ve finally watched the Barbie Movie, spend the rest of 2023 sobersplaining existentialist philsophy to all my drunk friends and relatives.
Martial arts wise, I’m teaching half a dozen grade school kids how to do below the knee takedowns from your back, basic ukemi, and Muay Thai.
Somebody has to, their parents are all cheapskates who took their kids out at white belt
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that certainly sounds like a weekend. I spent mine with someone special at the christmas markets before getting home tonight and doing chores
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Ah, I took alcohol back up years ago. But I am somewhat more controlled with its use now that I have access to legal cannabis.
In the weeks since I made the previous post I have been fully rejuvenated and never more excited about learning as I am right now.
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My training is getting to be pretty demoralizing to be honest. Being early 40s, natural, a hobbyist, and 160 lbs or so on a mat populated by mostly people in their 20s is not fun.
Starting to consider packing it in if/when I move, which will potentially be in the next couple years. On the other hand, I don’t really have any other hobbies, particularly ones that keep me in contact with other people, so I guess I’ll see.
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could just move into a different style? I doubt Judo is going to last forever for me and I just turned 32. Probably got a good five years in me before I wind it down and swap it for lower impact stuff. Same with striking, plan is to get good at that while Im still young and then move into shit like taichi and jeet kune do or something later
Or just become a muscle mommy
I moved to boxing, you just have to watch your rotator cuffs, wear and tear is just too intense for grappling now. Boxing you can still be fairly competitive with the younger guys and the strain on the body isn’t as intense. Brain trauma is a bit more of thing but you can regulate that on how often and who you spar with.
I have pretty much stopped competing with the hard chargers. And just explore the position.
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That is age appropriate, and wise.
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You can cut the sparring, still low impact training if you want to stay fighting fit.
I do cycling to keep my legs strong, yoga for flexibility and stabilisers, mostly own body weight with a bit of weight training (and some kettlebells) for strength. Then bag work and technical training like shadow boxing for dynamic movement. I do other things like golf, archery and chess, but i guess that doesn’t really count for fitness. Although the long golf walks are also worth gold when it comes to working on alignment. The more you understand about how your body moves the better. Things like knee pain often come down to understanding basic movement. Like i don’t think a lot of people understand how something basic like walking actually works and what correct movement looks like (heal strike movement to the outside of the foot, shifting to big toe, shifting outwards, etc.).
My flexibility and strength are both better now than it was in my early thirties after a few surgeries on my knees. I have no knee pain anymore and i have full range of motion. One thing i’ve done a lot of is learning how to recover from injuries and building up my body with intelligent training. I could beat the guys in their 20’s with conditioning training and that was just because they are young and don’t training smart.
i’ll say i’ve been a bit lazy the last two months, started picking up momentum again two weeks back. I’m all about routine and breaking my routine through my gym closing down messed me around a bit.
You people should try having kids.
You haven’t lived until you’re in your mid 40s and your kid comes home from high school and wants an immediate ride to Planet Fitness because he doesn’t have a full license. Yet.
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I’d rather be the lesbian auntie who has a lot of money to go on cool holidays and spoil my nephews and neices at christmas than risk the responsibility of raising a kid myself