Fall wizardry

[@mu]

I'm going to revamp my goals with a little bit of magic.

 

Persian

 

Well, magic comes from a Persian word (cf Magi), right, so it totally fits. I will focus on contemporary Persian:

 

Read (literature / newspaper – social media do not count) – 7x/week

Possible variations (I must at least have 5 reading sessions though, that's the primary focus):

> Watch a movie or listen to a radio programme

> Start a Persian diary/notebook? Work on calligraphy (or least a decent hand writing )? Copy and translate bits of texts? Maybe include some drawings too? Ok this might go somewhere else entirely but I'll have it as an option as long I read regularly enough.

 

Levitation charms & anti-gravity spells

 

Last challenge, I managed my very first press to HS (with love, to Gravity, gotcha!).

It will still be the main focus of my parallettes practice because, well, it was my very first rep and it will take a while before I can manage those on a regular basis.

I need to practice 2x/week and it's not going to be easy (cf next section).

 

Mana mana-gement

 

I'm starting 2 new circus classes next week and I will have to re-organize my personal practice around those.

 

One of the classes is aerial - I know roughly what to expect but it has been a while! And the other one is cross-disciplinary (aerial / handstand / acrobatics / expression / juggling...), and I have no idea what it will be like in terms of intensity and impact.

 

My current plan is to keep up with my usual parallettes and flexibility sessions. I will be super lenient though (ie if I need rest, I will take it). My first trick will be to reduce intensity, and remove items that will be covered in class. I could easily let go of one HS consistency session for instance and merge my 2 flexibility sessions in one. Since I have 2 days rest, I can also be flexible and swap days if I need it.

 

What I will do is track

> how fresh vs tired I am (make sure I sleep enough)

> how motivated I am (having enough sleep can also help that one)

> take note if any body part feels really cranky for too long, with a special attention to my rotator cuff and the love-hate relationship between my rhomboids and my traps.

> track progress - or lack thereof, the usual wizard grind, that mostly means venting out my frustration here!

 

That's it! I will take the first week easy, it's actually deload week. I will start tracking seriously from next week on.

 

[JuiceeTarget]

I really like this challenge you have. I am interested in how you will be tracking your mana management. Are you using a program or pen and paper? Or is it a calendar? I would love to know.

[WhiteGhost]

Accio Handstand Press!!!   I think that's the spell,  isn't it? 

 

Following

[@mu]

8 hours ago, GoodDoug said:

I really like this challenge you have. I am interested in how you will be tracking your mana management. Are you using a program or pen and paper? Or is it a calendar? I would love to know.

 

Welcome! I have been using a spreadsheet for a while. I plan for the week and adjust as I go along (ie if I need to swap day or change an exercise).

 I search for phone apps that would allow for a custom library of body weights exercises so reps and endurance logs + if possible a way to tag exercises (push / pull / physio etc...). And the possibility to plan practice sessions with a simple drag and drop. But I haven't found anything I was happy with. If you have any recommendation?

 

2 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Accio Handstand Press!!!   I think that's the spell,  isn't it? 

 

Following

 

I wish, it seems saying it is not enough though

 

This morning was press to HS, and from the negatives warmup I could tell I was a bit off. I had a case of elbow beding + not leaning enough. So I did manage presses on my bench, and books, but not from parallettes oh well, I knew that would happen. I went back to books for the grind. HS consistency was not exactly on top either: 15/25

Freshness: 3

Motivation: 4

My body is feeling totally fine. The middle of my right palm feels a bit cranky during wrists/hands warm-up, when I put my palms flat on the floor and put some of my weight on them leaning forward. The right side doesn't flex well / I feel more pressure. But it has been that way for months and it goes away after warm-up. I also probably broke something in my left big toe a year ago. I hit it against a parallette while coming out of a HS negative - and the hit was ... brutal, seriously - the nail is a bit colored now. I thought I might lose the nail but apparently not. The toe is just a bit sensitive at times. But none of those are raising any alarms really. Shoulders are ok. Quads are always a bit grumpy from biking but I now spend a bit more time stretching them during warm-up.

 

Yesterday I also read a lot in Persian. And I copied a little poem by Pouria Alami, called "Gidjgah", "temple", as in the side of the forehead not the place of worship - no relation whatsoever in Persian. Gidjgah means “the place of dizziness” (word by word) because if hit right there, one would fall out of consciousness.

So that's my hand writing, and I hurried the last line a little bit. Persian hand-writing is basically nastaliq,  that's how they learn hand writing at school (I can't imagine using a latin calligraphic style as a kid when barely learning to write!). @WhiteGhost maybe you can say how it goes in China?

 

 

 

Translating in English it means something like that:

 

Tiri khatakar hastam

I am an arrow of wrong doing

 

Ke shelik shode

That has been shot

 

Be gidjgahe gavazn nazdik shode

To the stag's temple – it is closing up

 

Va darad khoda khoda mikonad khata beravad

And it is - oh God God make it go wrong

 

I will let you reflect on those words

 

[WhiteGhost]

11 minutes ago, @mu said:

@WhiteGhost maybe you can say how it goes in China?

Handwriting in China is very standardized, and in the beginning requires very precise strokes and stroke order. Because the characters can get very complicated, when they get written quickly the stroke order makes all the difference in legibility. Chinese also has calligraphy (which is a required class starting in about 3rd grade) in which students learn the Chinese equivalent of cursive. 

 

ETA: cursive in Chinese is not as standardized as it is in English, it is more of an art form although it still needs to conform to the basic rules about proportions and stroke order. 

[JuiceeTarget]

10 hours ago, @mu said:

 I search for phone apps that would allow for a custom library of body weights exercises so reps and endurance logs + if possible a way to tag exercises (push / pull / physio etc...). And the possibility to plan practice sessions with a simple drag and drop. But I haven't found anything I was happy with. If you have any recommendation?

I use Strong on the iPhone. I tried Gymatic (and one other that I can't remember and wouldn't recommend anyways)

They are never perfect, but after a while I realized I just needed good enough. I could write my own, but I think I would spend time doing that rather than working out... there is a condition in woodworking where we spend too much time making or acquiring tools and not enough time acquiring the skills needed to use the tools we have. I think that applies here. You'll likely never find the app that does exactly what you want, but can you find one that is good enough? You could do a spreadsheet, but then you might find yourself in the position of spending more time working on the spreadsheet than on the things the spreadsheet is supposed to be tracking  

 

P.S. That Persian script is beautiful and the poem is very thought provoking, thank you for that.

[@mu]

23 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Handwriting in China is very standardized, and in the beginning requires very precise strokes and stroke order. Because the characters can get very complicated, when they get written quickly the stroke order makes all the difference in legibility. Chinese also has calligraphy (which is a required class starting in about 3rd grade) in which students learn the Chinese equivalent of cursive. 

 

ETA: cursive in Chinese is not as standardized as it is in English, it is more of an art form although it still needs to conform to the basic rules about proportions and stroke order. 

 

Same in nastaliq, you are supposed to use the dot as the proportion setter. It's kinda hard with an average pen. But I have seen very beautiful handwriting made with a simple pen too.

Random digression, I remember using OCR when I started learning the script. At the time, I had a tablet with a pen, so I'd write with the pen and check the system would detect the word I was writing I was kinda forced to follow the expected ligatures. Not the least frustrating method, but it had its uses

 

13 hours ago, GoodDoug said:

I use Strong on the iPhone. I tried Gymatic (and one other that I can't remember and wouldn't recommend anyways)

They are never perfect, but after a while I realized I just needed good enough. I could write my own, but I think I would spend time doing that rather than working out... there is a condition in woodworking where we spend too much time making or acquiring tools and not enough time acquiring the skills needed to use the tools we have. I think that applies here. You'll likely never find the app that does exactly what you want, but can you find one that is good enough? You could do a spreadsheet, but then you might find yourself in the position of spending more time working on the spreadsheet than on the things the spreadsheet is supposed to be tracking  

 

P.S. That Persian script is beautiful and the poem is very thought provoking, thank you for that.

 

True! I also thought about coding my own ha ha, and I might still do something because I kinda like coding too If I do, I'll certainly add a Nerd Fitness plugin to it to automatically generate beautiful logs according to a theme And maybe a story line along with and animated gifs

But these days I'm too busy with daily tech wizardry at work and I don't fancy starting a new side project.

You're right that getting absorbed by the tools can be a trap though (been there done that – every so often I still get in a chart-generating rut).

 

Today was flexibility with a bit of legs (ham curls), ball flex extensions, lunges, splits, shoulders, cobra & back drops + HS bananas in the middle.

Freshness: 4

Motivation: 3

Motivation definitely improved as I went along. Probably because there was some HS in there

I also read a bit of Persian yesterday evening + some writing.

 

[KB Girl]

Really love these little glimpses into (very) different languages  

 

8 hours ago, @mu said:

Freshness: 4

Motivation: 3

On a scale of? 

It's a really smart way to calibrate the rest of your work to the start of classes

[Mad Hatter]

Love the language/calligraphy discussion, always learn a thing or two here.   

 

I remember going to an exhibition (V&A in London I think?) ages ago on modern Islamic calligraphy and I absolutely loved it, one of my favourites. The shapes are so flowy and beautiful and the artists used that to make very creative artwork, it was cool to see. 

 

Funnily enough I've also been toying with the idea of improving my handwriting. But I'm not sure how to go about it for quick note taking, where I'm prioritising speed over prettiness or neatness...

 

23 hours ago, GoodDoug said:

They are never perfect, but after a while I realized I just needed good enough. I could write my own, but I think I would spend time doing that rather than working out... there is a condition in woodworking where we spend too much time making or acquiring tools and not enough time acquiring the skills needed to use the tools we have. I think that applies here. You'll likely never find the app that does exactly what you want, but can you find one that is good enough? You could do a spreadsheet, but then you might find yourself in the position of spending more time working on the spreadsheet than on the things the spreadsheet is supposed to be tracking  

So very true!

[raptron]

SOOOO EXCITED FOR YOUR CIRCUS CLASSES TO START.  

[Mike Wazowski]

YAY CIRCUS CLASSES!!!! You excited to go back to the classroom environment?

 

Also, love the idea of tracking your fatigue and your mood - I've been toying with playing with something similar for my own dancing.

[JuiceeTarget]

On 9/10/2019 at 10:46 PM, @mu said:

True! I also thought about coding my own ha ha, and I might still do something because I kinda like coding too If I do, I'll certainly add a Nerd Fitness plugin to it to automatically generate beautiful logs according to a theme And maybe a story line along with and animated gifs

I sense a collaboration coming...  

[@mu]

On 9/11/2019 at 6:02 PM, Mad Hatter said:

Funnily enough I've also been toying with the idea of improving my handwriting. But I'm not sure how to go about it for quick note taking, where I'm prioritising speed over prettiness or neatness...

 

same here!

 

On 9/11/2019 at 6:44 PM, raptron said:

SOOOO EXCITED FOR YOUR CIRCUS CLASSES TO START.  

 

On 9/11/2019 at 8:58 PM, Mike Wazowski said:

YAY CIRCUS CLASSES!!!! You excited to go back to the classroom environment?

 

Also, love the idea of tracking your fatigue and your mood - I've been toying with playing with something similar for my own dancing.

 

Cheers guys! I'm really looking forward to a more social practice, very excited!

 

On 9/11/2019 at 3:59 PM, KB Girl said:

On a scale of? 

It's a really smart way to calibrate the rest of your work to the start of classes

 

over 5, sorry! I wish I had a done it a bit earlier because a week is not going to be enough to sense a significant change. I'm a bit tired this week.

 

Spoiler

A few difficult days as I closed an old bank account in the UK in July, and I'm still waiting for the funds to be released, to the point that I thought I might have come in the midst of some kind of fraud (I got very inconsistent info from the bank in the UK) but there is hope still. I do have a formal complaint folder ready to go with a bag of evidence / paperwork just in case. It also seems that my French bank made a request for funds release in … French... in what world are they living in seriously?

 

That's some stress. And the other one is that we have to start looking into renewing E's residency papers because the process takes 4 months and his visa expires on February 1st.... The appointment service has been dematerialised... and pretty much hacked. There is a black market of appointment trades and the actual service is not offering any. It has been fully booked by black market vendors.... And the administration hasn't done much to fix the situation (it's the same all over France). It has gone to court in some places because it's pretty much a denial of public service but that court judgement has been been limited to a couple of cities. The only option left is an emergency button when your visa has expired or is about to expire. This is crazy.

 

The good news though is that E. has started uni and his level in French is very good for the level he is in. This is giving him a boost in self-confidence, plus he has started to meet more people so his mood has improved a lot

 

Anyway yesterday was rest day! I'm off to custom P2, unless I do it tomorrow maybe. I'm only mildly motivated. It's the end of the week and I'm a bit “meh”

Freshness: 3/5

Motivation: 2/5

Not much Persian yesterday. But I said this is a slightly off week. It's nice to be off challenge for a few days.

 

 

[@mu]

11 hours ago, GoodDoug said:

I sense a collaboration coming...  

 

Possibly!! Lots of tech wizards around here

[@mu]

P2 done. I'm doing some drills on the rotational grips and parallettes otherwise. Still tough and still not locking as I should on those grips.

HS to crane is getting really closer! I “just” have to overcome that final slight face plant

 

 

 

[Mad Hatter]

That's so COOL! You absolutely had it there for a second! Such beast.

 

Man that visa situation is bonkers!!  And yet unsurprising.  

 

Yay that E's enjoying uni.  

[KB Girl]

On 9/13/2019 at 6:27 AM, @mu said:

Spoiler

The good news though is that E. has started uni and his level in French is very good for the level he is in. This is giving him a boost in self-confidence, plus he has started to meet more people so his mood has improved a lot

 

that's very nice  

 

I thought you had it (the crane) there for a second!

[@mu]

On 9/14/2019 at 5:06 PM, KB Girl said:

that's very nice  

 

I thought you had it (the crane) there for a second!

 

Sort of. When I set up for crane from the bottom, I can choose where my knees go. But from HS, they end up where they end up... and I can't always balance well from there + the speed of the butt coming down is quite something  

 

Persian: not much this week-end, a bit of writing and I'll read a bit in bed.

 

Levitation: 1 more press from parallettes today I fell over though (so much push I couldn't control at the top). Endurance was meh, barely managed one 28s and lots of kick fails, short holds.

 

Mana: motivation 4/5 freshness 3/5

I know it's the week-end I should be fresh, but nope and I ate a bit too much, training upside down even a few hours afterwards was not great.

[Mad Hatter]

12 hours ago, @mu said:

Endurance was meh, barely managed one 28s

Terrible  

[@mu]

14 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Terrible  

 

Right, I may have sounded like an ass (without meaning it) - acknowledged

 

Ok the challenge begins!

 

Mana

This morning: flexibility (pancake / backbends) ~45mn

Freshness: 3/5 Motivation: 3/5 (like a Monday morning)

I had a lot of reluctance with elbow stands, the fear has come back and needs work...

 

I had a freaking headache the whole day....(eyes getting annoyed by screen time possibly)

And an annoying phone call with my bank in the UK after work...

But I was still super motivated for the aerial class... (5/5) and after popping some ibuprofen I'll up freshness to an artificial 4/5.

 

Then, just one hour before class, I got an allergic reaction with the worse eruption ever... on my face. I still went to class ...with half my face covered with massive spots. And they took me in (circus for the win). It's the second time it's happening since we moved to France. It's super weird. I did not eat any cheese or anything.

 

And well, unfortunately that was the most disappointing first class ever. We didn't even put a foot on rope or silks. Just a lot of talk, getting to know the group with games, and a warm-up + cool downs towards the end. And well, while I missed the social bit, I was really disappointed. Seems next week will be a bit full on. I sure hope.

I'll move to Thursday night because somebody can't make Thursdays so I will swap with her. It doesn't make much of a difference to me.

 

I still have the cross-disciplinary on Wed, but I expect it to be less intensive than the “aerial” course lol. Anyway first class, let's see what happens next. People had very interesting backgrounds though (theatre, dance). But I'll get to know another group.

 

The place is great otherwise, lots of apparatus, and security looks good too (it's a FEDEC circus – ie member of the EU federation of circus arts).

But yeah, I was very impatient and looking forward to climb freely, because I'm bit fed up with my aerial setup at home that looks so ironically like a bird cage

Ok I'll be patient, and wait for the actual classes to unfold. It's actually nice to have a human emphasis. I have been training on my own for too long maybe.

 

 

[@mu]

Also, nobody knows what parallettes are here.

 

At work, they didn't know. I had a work medical, the doctor didn't know (fair enough). And at the circus class, nobody knew. Like the word is not even remotely familiar to people. I'm a bit puzzled.

[@mu]

This morning I was definitely motivated to work on press (4/5) but still mildly fresh (3/5). I could have slept a bit more tbh.

Session was so so, lots of floats and some presses but issues with pushing up. I frogged up most of the time. I suspect the quads (yesterday I did pistols before flexi stuff + Monday biking to work is always harder). I worked on the bench and the books at 8cm, did not bother trying from pbars. HS consistency was 20/25 so good but I felt my legs bending here as well.

Off to a shower and work!

[Mad Hatter]

Aww I really hope you get to cliiiimb next time! It's nice that they spent time in class for everyone to get to know each other, but not for a whole class!  

[raptron]

It sounds a lot like the first day of a university course where you spend the whole time going over the agenda.  

 

I also hope the talking part is over! Sorry about your face (hah!), has the reaction calmed down any?

[WhiteGhost]

17 hours ago, @mu said:

Also, nobody knows what parallettes are here.

 

At work, they didn't know. I had a work medical, the doctor didn't know (fair enough). And at the circus class, nobody knew. Like the word is not even remotely familiar to people. I'm a bit puzzled.

To be fair, I had never heard of parallettes until I came to NF

 

Hope the aerial class has some practical exercises and isn't secretly a theoretical aerial studies