[JediNickD] World 4 Level 11: "Your Eyes Can Deceive You."

[JediNickD]

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.  World 1 was my first extended stay through 22 challenges.  I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. In World 3, I continue to develop my fitness, getting my body in the best shape of my life, even with the Degenerative Disc Disease, Arthritis, Disc Fissures, and more.  Through physical therapy exercises and karate, I have maintained my core and back muscles to ease the pressure off my spine, but in the end I defeated World 3 by transforming my life into a new form.  With chiropractic care healing my spine, reaching the high ranks at karate, blazing through the new Toastmasters education program called Pathways, and working to complete Novice rank at IJRS, World 4 is something new everyday. 

For Level 10, I decided on another new experience.  I have moved over to the Monks to reach for more diversity in my workouts and culture as my focus has been more on my karate training in the recent months.  My next rank will be Probationary Black Belt which will consume my time more than ever before.  As I actively take on more responsibility of coaching, mentoring, and teaching in all aspects of my life, I can see a different me forming with World 5 on the horizon.

 

I just keep on L-I-V-I-N, fight the good fight lightin' it up, and level up my life!

 

Challenge Lesson:  "Your Eyes Can Deceive You."    

 

Quote

Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi: Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them.

 

 

Obi-wan is training Luke to use the Force and Lightsaber to defend himself from a training droid's blaster.  He lowers blast shield on Luke's helmet blocking Luke's vision forcing Luke to use other senses: namely, the Force; however, in the real world, losing your vision forcing you to rely on other senses: smell, feel, hearing, and, if necessary, taste.  If temporary loss of sight, then it is difficult to quickly adapt, but over time, one can train those other senses to be enhanced to where a permanently blind person can learn to read through touch, navigate with sound, and identify with smell and taste.  Personally, I train my ears and nose while I meditate.  I wouldn't say it is great training, but I am just working towards improving, which is all one can really ask for in our short existence, is to be better than yesterday. 

 

The lesson is also about perception.  Your view is not perfect.  There are always other angles, views, sources, which have information which you are missing out on.  Be sure to put yourself in another person's shoes, change your outlook, read multiple sources with different biases.  You can paint a picture from your perceptive and create a nice work; however, if you were to try to sculpt it, then you would need to have multiple perspectives, or it would not look right. 

 

Don't trust your eyes.. collect information from all your senses or sources.

 

 

My Main Quest and Mission:

My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow.

 

World 4 Level 11 Challenge:

FITNESS:

• Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 400 min total, 100 weekly.  Track time and distance. 

  STA +1
   

• Walking: Fortify the Spine - 1000 min total, 250 weekly. 
  CON +1
   

• Exercise: HIIT Lifting and Bodyweight - 240 min total, 60 weekly. 

  STR +1, STA +1
   

• Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 560 min total, 140 weekly.  

  DEX +1
   

• Karate: Training and Practice - 1500 min total, 375 weekly.  Track progress towards belt.  Track improvement on all material. 
  DEX +1, STR +1
   

DIET:

• Weight Control - Track weight. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4.  Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days.  Track lunch portions for 24 of 28 days.  Track "fasting" after dinner nightly for 24 of 28 days.   
  CON +1
   
• Keep on cutting out the crap - No CheezIts, limit snacking at work, 5 Dr Peppers a week, and limit cheese to 5 meals a week.
  CON +1

 

LIFE:

• Get Stuff Done - Complete 88 Hours of various Chores and Maintenance, with at least 22 hours each week.  Chores and Maintenance are the following areas (goal hours for challenge)
  • Dishes (16), Laundry (10), Cooking/Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming/Trash/Other (32), Yard Work (2), Animal Care (24), Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance (10)

          WIS +1, CHA +1
 

• Epic Quest - Complete something EPIC!  I want to be able to look back at my four week challenge and say, "that was the challenge I did X".  My challenges tend to be a lot of the same old.  I've given myself plenty to improve in small steps, but I also want to see big strides in the things I've been working on.  What box can I check?  What have I been procrastinating?  What am I focusing on?

          WIS +2, CHA +2

 

 

INCENTIVES!  Working hard for CASH!  ($186.35 carried over)
 

1. REWARD:  For each week in which I complete 25 or more hours of Chores and Maintenance, I will put aside $10 to spend how I see fit. 
   CONSEQUENCE:  For any week where I complete less than 22 hours, I will give up $10 of saved cash.
    
2. REWARD:  $5 for each Personal Project hour
   CONSEQUENCE : Lose $10 for each week without at least one hour for Personal Projects.
    
3. REWARD:  $5 for each HIIT workout.  For a healthy heart among other things, HIIT is recommended by my health coach.  I don't like them, but they are a necessary evil.
   CONSEQUENCE: Lose $5 for each week without a HIIT workout.
    
4. REWARD:  $10 for each day with weight below 150.0 lbs.
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $10 each day with weight above 151.0 lbs. 
    
5. REWARD: $5 for 1 Sprint/Run/Bike workout (minimum 10 reps/30 min/10 min), $10 for second, $20 for third and up. 
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $10 for each week without one of these workouts.

 

BONUSES: 

• $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training (mentoring, reading/writing, charity, meditation, IJRS lessons). 
• $2 for each hour working on Toastmasters including meetings.
• $2 for each Home Renovation or Auto Maintenance hour

 

PENALTIES:

• Lose $10 for eating pizza, candy, popcorn, CheezIts, pretzels, potato chips.
• Lose $10 for more than 6 Dr Peppers a week or more than 6 meals with cheese a week.

[sarakingdom]

Welcome back!

 

This is a lot of goals. Are most of them continuations of existing habits?

[JediNickD]

12 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

Welcome back!

 

This is a lot of goals. Are most of them continuations of existing habits?

 

Nothing really new this time around.  The challenge is a continuation of habits I'm building.  I went back and underlined the changes from the last round.  The major change will be High Intensity Interval Training where I control my rest time between exercises.  Typically, I have allowed myself to catch my breath and my muscles recovery time between exercises, because I was more worried about correct form and avoiding injury than building muscle or stamina, or burning calories.  I am shifting gears to build better stamina.  In karate class, reducing rest time is critical to maximizing class time, especially during spar warm up.  I need better stamina so that all my reps are good reps.  During class, I want to avoid risking injury because I was tired while maximizing my reps.  If I feel I need rest to do that, then I need to increase my stamina to reduce my needed rest. 

[JediNickD]

Downloaded a HIIT timer app.  Worked really well.  I set it for 20 sec work 10 sec rest for 8 rounds first.  I felt all were too short, so I upped it to 30 sec work, 20 sec rest, and 16 rounds.  I need to watch those lunges!  My hammies are sore.  20 sec rest was too long though.  Move to 15 sec next time.  Probably do 3 sets with 10-12 rounds each.  Just need to pick the exercises and order.  Today, I did a variety picking the exercise during my rest period and avoiding repeats in a round.  I did push-ups, one-leg squats, crunches, bicycle sit ups, hollow body, superman, and batwing holds, planks, leg lifts, heel raises, mountain climbers, burpees, lunges, flutter kicks, elastic band pulls in a squat, bend-and-reach... good variety, but I want to have some more challenging stuff for the middle round.  Hmm...

[Kishi]

Hey, good work! Just remember to be careful. Pushing oneself to failure can take a lot of different forms, and failure of form is a form of failure.  Track your form more than your reps - since you're trying to burn out anyway, you should find that your reps will go up over time anyway, and you should be able to reap some good benefit.

[Devlin]

Subbed for some Karate Badassary.

[JediNickD]

152.6 lbs this morning.  A 4 mile Pokeman Go Run yesterday with good sprints in the dead zones.  This morning I pounded the bag with spar combos, switch kick roundhouses, and tornado kick out-to-ins.  I'm working to turn my foot for a tornado roundhouse, which would work better to score a point in spar than the out-to-in as I would pull the foot back instead of following through (and possibly accidently kicking a head or face).  Stretched hard and worked a few Ko Ryu speed and power as well. 

 

Two Toastmaster meetings yesterday and I didn't get a prepared speech in.  How sad... :-P  I just didn't prepare for it.  Too busy elsewhere, but if I want to finish my award for this TM year, I need to get the 4 speeches done in June.  We'll see.  We ran elections for new officers in one club.  I am doing the unthinkable again.  Vice President of Education in two clubs.  Its a bad idea and I'll be out of town all summer, which means delegating my new duties for the first 4 meetings in each club. 

 

 

[Devlin]

Sounds like a good run, and nice job keeping your weapons sharp.

I assume fro what your saying on the turning kick you can't kick to the head in training/completion?

[JediNickD]

20 hours ago, Devlin said:

Sounds like a good run, and nice job keeping your weapons sharp.

I assume fro what your saying on the turning kick you can't kick to the head in training/completion?

 

You can make contact with the side of the head (or helmet), but it has to be controlled power.  A foot to the head area can be called for a point without contact and I have been close on the turning kicks, but I'd be able to get closer if I didn't have to judge my follow through.

[JediNickD]

153.4 lbs this morning, but my belt still fits loose.  I may need to add a hole or buy a new belt soon.

 

I did HIIT workouts this morning.  After stretching, I did a 30s work 10s rest 10 interval set, then after a 3 minute break, a 25s work 15s rest 10 interval set with burpees, flutter kicks, plank transitions, diamond push ups, lunges, air squats, hollow body holds, mountain climbers, and a few others.  Then I took a 5 min break before doing a 10s work 20s rest 10 interval set of only shuttle runs.  I was wiped after that.  Probably keep it the same next week, but increase intervals for the non-sprints to 12 per set.  Though I might do sprints in a separate workout.

 

Karate class tonight.  Karate class last night was a kata spotlight with students offering praise to the performer.  The goal was to demonstrate the necessity of spotlighting (and receiving feedback) and build those up who are afraid of spotlighting.  It was a great class, but unfortunate that there were more students than time allowed.  I was fortunate to demonstrate my Ko Ryu speed and power.  My wife and eldest daughter got to spotlight as well.  My youngest was quick with her hand to give feedback quite a few times, but not quick enough to get a chance to spotlight.  Maybe we will do it again tonight for those that missed out.

[JediNickD]

Between cancelled classes and my goal increase, I finally missed a weekly goal for exercise.  The Dojo was closed for Memorial Day and Sunfest (this past Saturday), which means I had limited opportunity to attend class.  I fell 100 minutes short of my goal for the week by only attending two classes and one sempai class, then not paying attention to this minor detail to make up for it with my own practice.  Instead, on Memorial Day, I got in cardio and Saturday I did nothing... shame on me.  I'm not sure I would have got 100 minutes, but I could have done something if I was paying attention.

 

This week, paying attention.  The Dojo is closed Thursday for High School graduations.  Thursday is my big day for doubling up class and sempai.  I'll move it to Wednesday, but I can't get Tuesday class, because I have my monthly Chiropractic seminar.  That means increasing on-my-own practice through the roof.  I practiced Monday morning, then went to class for 85 min.  I'm hitting the gym for lunch time for 40 min, but I did side kicks after my 3 mile run this morning for an extra 10 min.  Double class tomorrow for 90 then practice Thursday morning for 40 gets me to 275 min.  I need 100 more between Friday and Sunday night. 

[Kishi]

Well then! Best be about it. That class time isn't going to see to itself.

[JediNickD]

Ugh.  Busy week and one of the kids is sick, so we will miss out on our concert festival tonight.  It would have been therapeutic to go and let loose a bit, even with the kids in tow.  We can do that at home, but it would have been nice to get away.  Since we will be in town, now, we will be able to make it to karate class on Saturday, which I need to take advantage of.  Work is being a pain in the ass with some equipment not operating the same as yesterday.  Ugh.

 

To snowball on top of that, I just found out one of my favorite streamers is an awful, terrible human being.  It has shaken me a bit.  In the internet age, celebrity's skeletons come out all the time toppling their image, but this seems different, because he isn't a well known name outside of his community, which I see myself a part of even though I do nothing to contribute or participate currently.  Through my Extra-Life fundraising, Toastmasters practice, and Jedi training, I am improving myself to be able to be a content creator to spread my knowledge and messages.  I thought this streamer was someone I could look up to and take notes from, and in some ways I can still do that, but I certainly do not want to promote or view his content anymore.  I thought he might be someone I'd want to meet, share experiences, and get feedback from, but I certainly don't want to do any of that any more. 

 

I had a similar experience recently, where I found out one of my karate instructors was cheating on his wife who is also an instructor (harmless compared to the streamer above).  He is someone I admire as an artist, so it shook me in the same way.  Our wives have become close friends, which had given us the opportunity to get closer.  I considered him a friend, but I never saw him as someone I wanted to hang out with, but just as someone I was comfortable around.  Our personalities and passions just don't line up for us to be closer.  So now, I still view him as a martial artist I can learn from and trust inside the dojo, but he is only an acquaintance outside the dojo.  Life is hard, mistakes will be made, and forgiveness has no bounds in my view, but with a limited amount of time on this Earth and so many other people to spend my time with, I don't see me growing a friendship with this guy.

 

Maybe that is how I move on from this streamer who I admired.  I can appreciate his past work and take what I can from it, but I will find others who align better with my morals and ethics while hoping they don't have skeletons to tell otherwise. 

[JediNickD]

153.4 lbs this morning after racquetball and my 50 side kicks.  At spar class last night, we started with a warm up of 30 burpees, 30 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, then 20, then 15 of each... I had my doubts, but knew that mentioning the impossibility of completing the warm up would not go well.  We partnered up and got started.  I was partnered with another athletic adult confident we could keep pace with each other.  We started with burpees and did well until 20, then slowed down considerably to finish the 30, then knocked out our sit-ups and eeked through the push-ups.  Back to slow motion burpees and the instructors started to have their doubts.  One said "This warm up could take all night."  They let us get to the sit-ups, then called it off and let us stretch.  The other two groups were struggling through their 30 sets still.  We did some kick combos focusing on targeting and advanced technique (turning, flow, footwork, etc).  We wrapped up by testing the Probationary Black Belt with three 1 minute matches against the three other students with gear: me, my wife, and the other athletic adult.  Three bulls against one slow moving giraffe (he is tall and long, but a little uncoordinated and slow).  He kept his energy up and had good stamina, but he took a ton of hits and was on defense falling back almost the entire three minutes.  If he learns to use his legs and move faster, he'll be dangerous.  Until then, he'll be overwhelmed every match.

 

Saturday, we'll be back at Spar class.  I'll probably attend two other classes to work on completing my stripes and class count.

[Kishi]

Isn't it funny how warm ups can quickly turn out to be something horrible? It's like something out of a 70s Kung Fu movie or something.

[JediNickD]

It's been a hectic final challenge week with not a lot of room for my workouts, karate classes, or even chores.  I get home at 4pm, eat dinner with the family, and squeeze in as much as I can before we leave the house between 5 and 5:30.  VBS at the church for 4 hours, setting audio/visual equipment and running the music and videos plus my wife and I running the Imagination Station.  Getting home around 9pm to work on proposal writing for my contract. Wednesday night I got 4 hours of sleep, last night only 5 hours. 

 

On Saturday, I might do 3 classes to catch up, which means I'll go to bed early tonight... after the last night of VBS, of course.

 

This week, I've had a bit of nasal congestion and throat irritation early in the morning, which I am combatting with cough drops.  They are excellent at opening up my nasal passages to help drain everything out.  In relation, I regularly have difficulty breathing deep through my nose (it's little, but I also have very active mucus glands).  I just can't pull the same volume as I can through my mouth.  With Ko Ryu speed and power, breathing is critical for finishing the kata without wearing myself out.  I've been focusing on attempting to breathe more deeper more consistently through my nose, but I can manage it better with the cough drops.  They have menthol and eucalyptus oil.  I might take a few to class tomorrow to see if I can enhance my breathing skills. 

[Kishi]

Heck yeah. I find that a lot of what's asked of us as martial artists is really about breath control and managing body tension in the right places at the right times.

 

Also, gotta admit, didn't see cough-drops-as-ergogenic-aids as a turn this would take.

 

So! How'd it all wind up?

[JediNickD]

Wow!  The challenge wrapped up quite a while ago, but I'm just now returning to normalcy after an amazing vacation.  Epic Nerd Camp was a blast!  The Space Quest LARP (like a Star Trek bridge simulation and away mission) was the highlight as I enjoyed playing 5 different characters.  On the first day of camp, all campers doing the LARP had to attend the Spacefleet academy to learn the Artemis video game controls for their position on the starship and learn the laser tag app for the away missions.  I trained all the ENC Spacefleet Cadets in the N.E.R.F. Laser Ops Division Alphapoint sidearm blaster playing the character SGT Hurtz, 401st Division, Small Firearms Specialist.  I also worked security as SGT Hurtz for the Captains Meetings with ENC Spacefleet commanders.  Next year, I believe the character should be a first class sergeant ;-).  We ended up ditching the app due to spotty cellular service.  The laser tag guns' free play mode turned out a lot better for the LARP keeping people in character.  Next year, the training for the weapons will be a lot simpler; therefore, I'll train the cadets on tactics, as well.

 

In the morning of the third day of camp, I was another NPC as a Royal Guard for an alien world queen.  I didn't bother with a name or title since I would not do much talking.  I patrolled the area around the queen in garden in front of her home, intercepted the human away team and escorted them to the queen, secured the area during the meeting, and defended the humans and queen during an hostile alien ambush dying valiantly.  One of the humans dropped a datapad in the firefight, which the queen's guard and sent a Special Envoy to the Queen, LT Sharlk (me), to the human starship to return the lost datapad and deliver a message that the hostile aliens were repelled and the planet was safe.

 

In afternoon, I joined my crew for our mission on the ENC Starship Windrunner.  I had purchased yellow and red shirts expecting to run Engineering, Comms, or Captain.  After discussions online before camp, we assigned roles based on primary preference, which left Weapons and Engineering for me and our last crewmen who signed up late.  He choose Engineering, which meant I had the wrong color shirt... boo.  Since, our captain planned to come in a blue Star Trek cosplay uniform, I decided I could wear the Yellow shirt as a recently demoted captain with her the recently promoted, explaining the opposite colored uniforms.  It made for fun banter between me as Weapons Officer Shenanigans and the captain and crew.  We started rough losing two Deep Spacestations in the first two minutes of the mission as everyone got comfortable with their position and our captain developed a plan, then we worked expertly together to stomp out the hostile ships with excellent efficiency.  We started out surrounded with the spacestations far away and under siege, which didn't give them much of a chance, but dropping us into a tough situation at the start was the point forcing us to adapt quickly.  It was quite amazing how it came together.  Our away mission brought us to the alien queen to retrieve an artifact dropped by the hostile alien invaders.  The artifact was considered to be part of a powerful weapon or energy source and the alien queen wished it to be studied by the more technologically advanced human scientists, but we had to prove our worth first by passing a series of tests administered by an alien council.  The first test was recreating a legendary battle between rogue elementals and heroic adventurers with miniatures and specific movement similar to chess pieces.  The goal was to checkmate the elemental leader in exactly 4 strikes to accurately recreate the battle.  Originally, we misunderstood and found checkmate in only 3 moves two different ways, before our time had run out.  The alien council gave us a clarification and a few more minutes, then we solved it easily.  Next was two puzzles with metal pieced interlocked.  We had to solve how they come apart and then go back together.  I recognized one of them and volunteered to work on it with two others.  We solved them both quickly.  The last one was a riddle of which council member held a gem out of two, one who always lies and one who always tells the truth.  We all recognized the riddle from The Labyrinth, but didn't fully remember the solution and reasoning.  We role played it with one crewmen asking the question "If I asked him if he had the gem what would he say" and walking through the responses in both cases to logically understand it.  The true answer is always the opposite of the given answer no matter which is asked, liar or truth teller.  The council was impressed with our team's ability to work together to problem solve.  With each test, we huddled up to discuss our individual strengths for solving the particular issue, brain stormed solutions together, and worked through proofs to ensure we had the correct answers before moving forward.  Our work as a team proved our worth to receive the artifact.  We returned to the ship victorious in the away mission, but still had plenty of work to clear more hostiles and alien space monsters from the sector before embarking home. 

 

The fourth day of camp and final day of activities climaxed perfectly for Space Quest.  A group of hostile aliens had setup an outpost on an alien planet after laying waste to the civilization.  I played one of the hostile aliens as our general debriefed us.  He riffed hard developing character and story for the aliens.  One of the story creators was there to help document it for later, but the improvisation was priceless and hilarious.   Just as we finished our prayer circle, the humans ambushed us and a laser battle broke out.  It was a phenomenal fight with our side hurling insults and just overwhelming them with numbers, but eventually they worked out a strategy to take out our general and we had to flee.  It was an epic event with plenty of laughs over the improvised insults and riffs on the characters. 

 

Epic Nerd Camp lives up to the name.  Next year plans are already underway at the house.

 

   

 

[Kishi]

Holy wow, that sounds awesome!

[JediNickD]

World 4 Level 11 Challenge GRADES:

FITNESS:

• Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 400 min total, 100 weekly.  Track time and distance. 

  STA +1  A = 480 min, weekly met.  Some good runs, biking when my back was sore, and a ton of racquetball.  Cardio-wise, I am in great shape and feel like I could run 5 miles any day, any time. 
   

• Walking: Fortify the Spine - 1000 min total, 250 weekly. 
  CON +1  A = 1440 min, weekly met.  If I get a pedometer, then I can convert this to steps. 
   

• Exercise: HIIT Lifting and Bodyweight - 240 min total, 60 weekly. 

  STR +1, STA +1  A = 240 min, weekly met.  I hit my goal each week and the HIIT workouts were great, but I kind of mailed in the effort as I didn't go above the bar like I wanted to.  I have two formalized 30 day workout routines from trainers which utilize HIIT.  I want to get through both at some point before next summer.  After reading through them, I have pulled out good stuff, but I see the impact would be greater if I stuck to their guide. 
   

• Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 560 min total, 140 weekly.  

  DEX +1  A = 580 min, weekly met.  Easy peasy. 
   

• Karate: Training and Practice - 1500 min total, 375 weekly.  Track progress towards belt.  Track improvement on all material. 
  DEX +1, STR +1  A = 1390 min, weekly missed twice.  I missed classes, but didn't make up the time as I intended.  I made my class counts and striped my belt before my work travel.  I'm ready for my advanced test in August (just need fine tuning).  I'm also on pace for my side kick count to go over 5600 before the test.  Looking at last challenge, I beat those marks, so I probably set the goals this round too high for what was reasonable between closures for Memorial Day and High School Graduation, plus my week long absence for VBS volunteering.  110 minutes short is ~2.25 classes.  I think I rocked it. 

DIET:

• Weight Control - Track weight. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4.  Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days.  Track lunch portions for 24 of 28 days.  Track "fasting" after dinner nightly for 24 of 28 days.   
  CON +1  A = Weight fluctuates, but I am lean as ever.  My tight pants are loose.  I had to make a new hole in my belt.  My six pack is getting more defined.
   
• Keep on cutting out the crap - No CheezIts, limit snacking at work, 5 Dr Peppers a week, and limit cheese to 5 meals a week.
  CON +1  A = Cheese and Dr Pepper goals were just made.  I need to do a better job having healthy snacks to limit my reliance on the unhealthy options.  No Cheezits or Popcorn! 

 

LIFE:

• Get Stuff Done - Complete 88 Hours of various Chores and Maintenance, with at least 22 hours each week.  Chores and Maintenance are the following areas (goal hours for challenge)
  • Dishes (16), Laundry (10), Cooking/Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming/Trash/Other (32), Yard Work (2), Animal Care (24), Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance (10)

          WIS +1, CHA +1  A = 92.3 hours, weekly met, except for VBS week (3.2 hours short), but I put 23 hours into the church that week.

• Epic Quest - Complete something EPIC!  I want to be able to look back at my four week challenge and say, "that was the challenge I did X".  My challenges tend to be a lot of the same old.  I've given myself plenty to improve in small steps, but I also want to see big strides in the things I've been working on.  What box can I check?  What have I been procrastinating?  What am I focusing on?

          WIS +2, CHA +2  A = Week 1 we went to Sunfest and witnessed the dojo's demo team show off some amazing skills.  Week 2 we did a ropes and zip-line course.  Week 3 I ran a public speaking training event for a group of 30 people at work.  Week 4 was VBS all week teaching science and running A/V equipment. 

 

 

INCENTIVES!  Working hard for CASH!  ($186.35 carried over)  $218.85 carry over.  The weight consequence killed my savings, but I wasn't watching my portions tight enough when my weight was over the mark to come back down, so I'll take the penalty.  I felt my body needed the calories to build muscle.  I'll probably loosen that incentive up next round.   

1. REWARD:  For each week in which I complete 25 or more hours of Chores and Maintenance, I will put aside $10 to spend how I see fit. 
   CONSEQUENCE:  For any week where I complete less than 22 hours, I will give up $10 of saved cash.
    
2. REWARD:  $5 for each Personal Project hour
   CONSEQUENCE : Lose $10 for each week without at least one hour for Personal Projects.
    
3. REWARD:  $5 for each HIIT workout.  For a healthy heart among other things, HIIT is recommended by my health coach.  I don't like them, but they are a necessary evil.
   CONSEQUENCE: Lose $5 for each week without a HIIT workout.
    
4. REWARD:  $10 for each day with weight below 150.0 lbs.
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $10 each day with weight above 151.0 lbs. 
    
5. REWARD: $5 for 1 Sprint/Run/Bike workout (minimum 10 reps/30 min/10 min), $10 for second, $20 for third and up. 
   CONSEQUENCE:  Lose $10 for each week without one of these workouts.

 

BONUSES: 

• $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training (mentoring, reading/writing, charity, meditation, IJRS lessons). 
• $2 for each hour working on Toastmasters including meetings.
• $2 for each Home Renovation or Auto Maintenance hour

 

PENALTIES:

• Lose $10 for eating pizza, candy, popcorn, CheezIts, pretzels, potato chips.
• Lose $10 for more than 6 Dr Peppers a week or more than 6 meals with cheese a week.

[JediNickD]

I will be taking a break from challenges until September.  From Epic Nerd Camp at the end of June through my work travel and vacation wrapping up at the end of August, I had planned to take a break.  It would be difficult to set and manage goals through all that.  I will stick to the habits and gauge my personal growth without the daily tracking. I have plenty of projects to work on as well (IJRS Exam and Essay, Toastmasters speeches, Extra Life planning, Karate practice and test preparation for Probationary Black Belt, Contract Proposal writing, hiking and sight seeing), which I'm calling a Boss Battle. 

 

I'll probably post some updates here, but if I don't then I'll see you in September for World 5!

[JediNickD]

Karate class last night was adult spar.  A probation black belt high school kid was there to stripe for spar which is three consecutive 60 second matches.  We had 5 students in the class, but two were nursing injuries and one was a white belt with no gear.  There was also no spare black belts lurking around to jump in a match.  They gave me all three rounds against him.  It was a blessing for him, since he wouldn't be getting fresh fighters.  My cardio is tuned up, so I lasted.  My turn backs were lazy at the end, but I was able to give him hell and vary my technique to give him what might seem like 3 different fighters.  He's a tall kid at 6' 2 with a dominate reach over me.  He has gotten much faster since our last clash. 

 

The first minute I was pushing him around and out of the ring like last time.  The instructors coached him up to stay in the middle and own the ring.  In the second minute, he had me fighting for ground.  If I gave him space, then his long legs were trouble.  I was quick enough to get out of the way or block (took a few uncomfortable blows on the elbow and forearm), but I was retreating too much.  I need to work on my side steps for countering long leg kicks (in the past, we drilled these "one-step" combinations with the opponent partner backing away, which is just terrible habit building). I found my best technique was to be shoulder to shoulder in his space firing punches, but one time he caught me with a snap kick in the solar plexus which I am still feeling this morning.  After the fight, I felt like I would have a foot shaped bruise on my abdomen, but after the kick, he backed away, and I took a brief second to recover and then jumped right back in.  I was lucky to not get the wind knocked out.  I tend to be tense and rigid when sparring, which means my abdomen muscles were hard and protected me well.  If I am going to be stiff as a rock, then I will be an unmovable one as well.  A better technique would be to be watching for that snap kick, so that I can slide and counter.  The third minute, I tried to flow more and be looser with more turning techniques, but he stayed aggressive while I got sloppy and tired.  The tornado kicks were solid and effective, but my spinning back fists were useless. 

 

The important part of last night was that he got to work and earned his red stripe.  If I wasn't there, then he wouldn't have got the opportunity.  It was a lot of fun, too.  One of the other adults commented on what she learned, basically picking up on what we were doing to counter.  At 5' 10 200 lbs herself, she called me, at 5' 6 150 lbs, intimidating, which I found hilarious.  She is a tough-looking woman, but still learning how to use her techniques and body effectively.  She is couple ranks behind me, so I know where she is coming from.  I'm happy to hear that another student thinks I'm a scary opponent, but I have not found that I dominate any fighter the instructors pit me against just stepping into the ring.  I do force my opponent to bring their A game, but that is because I am naturally competitive and aggressive, but I do not feel like I intimidate or strike fear into my opponents.  My belt rank and loudness are the only assets I really have that are intimidating.  I guess I'll see how that changes when I get to black and my opponent pool changes.