Daryl of the Pines

I meant to post a while back, when I got my new throwing knives in the mail. Despite what this particular grouping might suggest, I wasn't all that successful on my first go around. In fact, it was somewhat frustrating. As to be expected, being new at it. But it's hard not to feel a little discouraged, knowing that my ability with my tomahawks is much higher. Makes it easy to just put the knives away for a while, and stick to the hawks.

It's been a rocky couple of days, but I keep managing. I felt quite ill yesterday, so I skipped my YMCA visit. However, somehow I managed a short walk in the evening, despite the sub-zero temperatures. I also substituted sitting meditation for my qigong. It's good to mix things up from time-to-time. Tonight wasn't one of my planned outing nights, but I felt compelled to get out anyway. The weather was a little bit milder, and I felt the need to get out into some woods. I went to one of the county parks, about 10 miles away, and it's pretty darn woodsy. If it wasn't for the sound of the nearby interstate, it would be perfect. But it was still pretty damned good, especially after my walk took me farther away from the noise. Walking in the winter woods in the dark is mesmerizing. I must remember to make this a regular thing. I feel rather accomplished, not just for the exercise, but for my willingness to do it in spite of...no, because of...the cold. It feels good to beat it like that.

Not much to report. Missed on day of qigong, but still hanging in there.

Today was another very cold day, but I accomplished my walks and qigong, nonetheless. I even managed to do some of my qigong outside in the cold. Guess I couldn't pass up an opportunity for some moonlight practice, underneath the wolf moon. My lower back has been sore again today. Switching out my usual standing qigong for the "Swimming Dragon" qigong seems to be helping. Swimming Dragon, as the name suggests, is a fluid, moving qigong rather than taking a static posture. It seems to gently stretch all the right areas to alleviate some of the tension. Walking in this neighborhood seems to be carrying further risks of slipping on ice as this winter progresses. People are just shit about cleaning off their sidewalks. They don't clean it when it snows, and allow people to trample over it for days, then the combination of sunlight and deep freeze gives it a lovely, and deadly, polish. My street is of course in impeccable condition, because my household and neighbors give a damn. Anywhere else, I don't recommend walking (unless you have years and years of training in various karate stances).

I accomplished everything I set out to do today, despite the cold. I gave throwing knives a good try, but the results left much to be desired. It will take much more practice. But I sense that I will always be more of a tomahawk guy. They fly and stick into the target with so much less effort. I made sure to take some time for tomahawk throwing today as well. It just feels right.

Yesterday was a massive success! I started my routine with opening up my new set of throwing knives and giving them a try in the backyard. As I expected, they have a much steeper learning curve that my throwing tomahawks. Not only that, but there is a great variety of ways to throw them. I played around with a few styles, but mostly tried the "no-spin" style as that seems to be best suited for these knives. Then it was off to the Y for a quick one mile walk on the track, and then 20 - 25 minutes in the sauna. My lower back, which had been quite sore earlier in the week, is now feeling infinitely better, thanks to the walk and the sweat. And then I finished the night off with some qigong. Tomorrow I aim to be out in the yard practicing with the knives one again. This time I think I will focus deliberately on what's called the "Fedin style" of no-spin throwing. We'll see how it goes.

I'd say intuitive eating is a fairly accurate description. Tomorrow my new throwing knives should arrive in the mail, so the plan is to play with those for a while, then do my usual walk and the rest of my Thursday routine.

Time for another update! I managed to get my extra walk in yesterday, to make up for the one I missed on Sunday. But I missed my qigong. My mind really hasn't been at its best. But today I think I made up for it. I did qigong in the morning and again in the evening, and got a walk in earlier today. In addition to the challenge minimums, I've taken on another sort of challenge in the last few days: being more mindful about what I eat. In all my time messing around on NF, I've never really addressed the nutrition side of it. Most of the time, I'd say my diet has been passable, at worst. But during the lead up to the holidays, and even since, my eating habits slowly but steadily got worse. So now I'm simply being more mindful, both in terms of quantity of what I eat, and quality of what I eat. I don't have a detailed, step-by-step plan. I'm certainly not getting into counting carbs, or anything like that. Anytime I sit down to eat, I simply ask myself "well I be better or worse off for eating this?" So far it's been leading me to more mindful choices, such as noticeable increase in fruits and veggies, fewer processed foods, and cutting out the right-before-bedtime snack entirely. Future plans: get back into throwing the tomahawks on exercise days. Also start with knife throwing, which I understand to be slightly more difficult.

Things have not been going according to plan lately. On Thursday I opted out of going to the Y for hot tub and sauna. I will still feeling a little ill, and not at all people-y. But I still got my long walk in. Yesterday was good for exercise in that I went swimming at the Y with my little one. No long walk as I usually do, but the swimming was more that sufficient exercise. We intend to make it a weekly thing. But the big downside to yesterday is that I completely forgot about my qigong. We had a evening social gathering, which was great (Cards Against Humanity!), but in the excitement I just completely spaced the qigong. So my meditation app, which I use to track my daily qigong/ meditation, is back to zero on the counter once again. Oh well. As for today, I have woken up with an incredibly sore lower back, so that puts a severe limitation on what I'm willing to do. Qigong only I think. Not much for moving around today. We'll see how I feel in the morning. If I can get a decent night of rest in a comfortable position, I may be up for a walk then.

Thanks. I'm doing well today, went back to work at 100%. Qigong today, and then qigong and a walk and sauna tomorrow. Still opting to stay out of the cold, at least for today. We'll see how tomorrow goes. Usually I am at home in the frozen north.

No walk today, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I'm sick. Seems the virus my family has been dealing with finally caught up with me. Second, it is massively windy outside. Illness + cold wind = worse illness. So no, no walking today. Qigong and rest will suffice.

Yes.

Ok, day one, here we go. I've already been working the challenge over the holiday break...for the most part. A few missed goals here and there, but hey, it's the holidays! Now it's back to business. Monday is one of the "easy days" for me, as I just need to do my qigong. But I may work some tomahawk throwing in, just because. And some hand-sanding on the gunstock war club I am making.

I also remember seeing Jason Momoa on a late-night show throwing axes, as a tie-in to the Netflix show Frontier (which I thought was awesome). It takes a little time and patience to start out, but less than one would think. Once you get the range/ rotation thing worked out, it's all fun from there.

Mainly tomahawk (as melee weapon) paired with a knife, and 6 ft staff. Now also expanding into war clubs, especially the gun-stock style of club. I'm slowly shaping one out of a maple plank right now.

That's who... ...and that's what.

I'm back, for my first FULL challenge with the Adventurers Guild. And much like the last time around, it's all about meeting a simple set of minimums, and then seeing where things go from there. 1. Daily Minimum: Qigong (or sitting meditation) every day. Presently, I favor a basic form of standing qigong. It's good mindfulness, and strengthens my center. 2. Weekly Minimum: Walking 4x/ week. I am opting for walks over rucks (walking with weight on my back) for the simple reason that I am more likely to follow through and do it as planned, regardless of the weather conditions outside. Part of the challenge is adapting to those weather conditions, whether it be cold, blowing, snowing, or a sloppy January thaw. I'l put the weight on my back if I feel up to it, but it's purely optional. Planned walking days are Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun. 3. Weekly Minimum: Self Care Day. I have a good habit of taking my Thursday evenings as time to get away from obligations and do something for me. In the last few months, it has been to go to the YMCA and take advantage of the hot tub and sauna. No additional workouts (other than my planned walks), just using the facilities for relaxation. That's it, the basic minimums, done with maximum effort. I will do other stuff along the way, as I have a number of other pastimes ranging from tomahawk throwing to karate. However, the point here is to at least hit the minimums, and then use that momentum to accomplish other things. Ever since I got into tomahawk throwing last year, I've expanded into other types of "frontier" weapons practice to augment my basis in karate. I continue to mess around with these concepts in my "backyard dojo." I'll be posting what I do along the way.

I know the challenge is over, but I am still plugging away here. I missed one day of qigong (yesterday) but have picked up right where I left off today. I still managed a short walk (to the library and back) despite the 0 degree weather outside. It's good to get out and persevere under the elements.

Well now, I suppose this is it, the final day of the challenge. I guess this should come as no surprise, since I only hopped into the game for the final week. I managed to do what I set out to do. Had another decent walk today, qigong, and again worked in a little backyard karate practice. Karate may have to become a thing for my next challenge.

So the "big Christmas" (the one with all the extended family) went well. It went very well, actually. As one would expect, it's nice to have everyone together with good food and drink, fun and games, and even a little token snow outside. I still got my walk in (sorry, not a ruck...or maybe we can call it an unencumbered ruck), with a little karate kata on the side (Jion again, I'm living that kata). And finished off with my qigong practice. It's all part of a very modest challenge, especially since I came on board only for the last week, but a worthwhile endeavor nonetheless. I'm glad I made the effort to pop in and see what the Adventurer guild is about.

*sneezes, ears feel hot, eyes puff up uncontrollably* Awww damn it. Such wonderful animals, but such suffering. It's...a conundrum.

Today is not one of my scheduled workout days, but I still did a generous amount of activity after work. It was more to relieve anxiety and stress, than any deliberate effort to stay active and healthy. The state of the world, my world, and the world at large, has me pretty wound up with the holidays approaching. My family and I have suffered some pretty egregious losses these past few years. The most recent, and most significant, my father, passed at the end of this last summer. The extended family is having our "big Christmas" tomorrow. While I look forward to it, I'm also afraid of what it may bring up. Somehow I always manage, and manage appropriately, with these things. But I'm more afraid this time than I have been in the past. There's just so much wrong in the world right now. And so, I keep training. My qigong, walks, martial arts, and other stuff. It helps. It helps me focus on me, for a moment. The martial arts practice is especially significant today. It is perhaps the one thing I've been doing the longest, as far as exercise goes. After messing around with some weapons practice (which I do NOT have significant experience with) to burn off the excess stress and anxiety, I blasted through one of my old karate katas. Jion. Just one time. And I was immediately reminded of why I love performing kata so much. For that brief, 1 - 2 minute span, nothing else outside of me existed. I was completely present. Everything working in harmony. Body, mind, and whatever one prefers to call the third thing. I only performed it once. I only needed to perform it once. I was whole again. I really must get back into making that a routine again. It doesn't necessarily have to be karate. I can get that same feeling from a number of other things as well. Archery is a good one for that. And I feel I am approaching the feeling with tomahawk throwing as well. I guess karate just holds a special place with me, since it's the one practice I have done the longest, and the first practice where I experienced that feeling of being completely present. There's a lot of history there, between Shotokan karate and me. Good and bad, but mostly good. While I am not sure I am up to a return to full-time membership at a dojo, perhaps it is time to make it routine again. My backyard is as good a dojo as any.

Thanks for the welcome and the support. I've been ill today, but I still managed to get outside for a good walk. No rucksack, but something is better than nothing. Plus some tomahawk throwing, and my usual daily qigong.

I'm new to the Adventurer Guild. Just straggling in at the zero hour, hoping to test out some new habits in this final week.

And for the record, I did my ruck (w/ a 30 lb pack) and my qigong for today already. This was my first ruck in years. It feels good to take up the old pursuit.