[Sovalis]

I really admire how emotionally aware you are and how you express that here. 

[Kishi]

On 1/23/2023 at 8:50 AM, The Most Loathed said:

Tap her. Then you're tapping a higher belt. It's always a good day when a white belt taps a blue belt. 

 

I will! She's good, but I'm stronger, heavier, and I know how to use those things.

 

23 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I really admire how emotionally aware you are and how you express that here. 

 

Thank you. I really do have the Rebellion to thank for that. A lot of folk were here for me at a lot of times I needed them to be, and I don't think I would have developed the skill without their encouragement and the space to do so.

 

*

 

Goal 1: 18/22

 

Goal 2: 18/22

 

Goal 3: 20/22

 

Docked a sleep point. I went to bed on time on the Sunday night leading into Monday, but I didn't really sleep. Too bitter to sleep. I'd actually told my folks on Sunday that I was thinking about quitting martial arts all together. Because it's too much to learn and nothing sticks and everyone else is getting better while all I'm getting is hurt.

 

I found myself grappling with what that would look like and whether I'd still want to once the emotion was done and I was back to baseline here. That emotion isn't completely done, but it's giving me enough space to think a little more clearly about it, and I keep concluding that even if I was never recognized for it, there's enough potential for positive experience and memories, and I don't want to abandon that. Also, the Academy is on my way home from the office, and given how hard the job is working to get us back in the office no matter what we want, I don't want to be stuck driving by this place and being reminded of my failure.

 

I need to remember that as regards my belt, there's only thing I control. I don't control its stripes. I don't control its color. The only thing I control is whether I'm going to put it on and go to work.

 

Hopefully I get the chance to start that again today. Ortho appointment's at 3; it'd be nice to get clearance to go back, but that too is not within my control, and luckily I have a plan in place in the event that I'm not cleared.

 

Otherwise, as regards yesterday, meditation was a little easier, and research continued in terms of what kinds of abilities my protagonist has and clarifying those. Dinner with SFF friends was fine and fun.

 

Today is today. Some kind of strength work and such is happening at the very least. With the return of overtime, I might wind up doing that tonight instead of hitting the mats, assuming that's something I even get cleared to do. I'll play this out and we'll see what happens.

[Treva]

Wow does work sound like it's truly on fire on fire some of the time.   I'm glad you've found a lot of techniques to help with your rehab and getting you back to fighting.

 

But whoa I am so sorry you've been feeling bitter.  Injuries suck and can make us question our why way more than is appropriate.

 

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

 

I found myself grappling with what that would look like and whether I'd still want to once the emotion was done and I was back to baseline here. That emotion isn't completely done, but it's giving me enough space to think a little more clearly about it, and I keep concluding that even if I was never recognized for it, there's enough potential for positive experience and memories, and I don't want to abandon that. Also, the Academy is on my way home from the office, and given how hard the job is working to get us back in the office no matter what we want, I don't want to be stuck driving by this place and being reminded of my failure.

 

I need to remember that as regards my belt, there's only thing I control. I don't control its stripes. I don't control its color. The only thing I control is whether I'm going to put it on and go to work.

There's the Kishi we all know and love.  Work ethic beats talent every time.  It sounds like you've approached your sense of failure with a healthy attitude and an honest nonjudgemental look at where you are and where you'd like to be.  From what I know of you, you have always struck me as someone who's training is a part of their "why", and that a drive for constant improvement is a part of you.  I'm glad you decided to keep going; I confess I'd worry if you didn't.  

For what it's worth, you're still our a** kicking guild leader.

 

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

 

Today is today. Some kind of strength work and such is happening at the very least. With the return of overtime, I might wind up doing that tonight instead of hitting the mats, assuming that's something I even get cleared to do. I'll play this out and we'll see what happens.

Hoping your appointment goes well; but you seem prepared to optimize your workout and your work ethic in either case.  The orthopods are usually invested in getting their athletes to return to play - most of them are athletes themselves and know how important that is.  I hope they give you some good news.

[Scaly Freak]

8 hours ago, Kishi said:

Too bitter to sleep. I'd actually told my folks on Sunday that I was thinking about quitting martial arts all together. Because it's too much to learn and nothing sticks and everyone else is getting better while all I'm getting is hurt.

 

I found myself grappling with what that would look like and whether I'd still want to once the emotion was done and I was back to baseline here. That emotion isn't completely done, but it's giving me enough space to think a little more clearly about it, and I keep concluding that even if I was never recognized for it, there's enough potential for positive experience and memories, and I don't want to abandon that.

 

I feel this... I've had similar thoughts about lifting, and I can only imagine how much worse they would be if lifting was a team sport, or at least something that can't be done without a partner. You're dealing with it much better than I was/am  

 

Good luck on the appointment! Unless, of course, the appointment is in the past, in which case I hope it went well and you received good new and encouragement, and a way forward.

[Kishi]

On 1/24/2023 at 2:09 PM, Treva said:

Wow does work sound like it's truly on fire on fire some of the time.   I'm glad you've found a lot of techniques to help with your rehab and getting you back to fighting.

 

Thanks! I was able to show a TGU to my ortho yesterday. Apparently, he'd never heard of it before, which, I mean, what. Their PT office is just down the hall.

 

On 1/24/2023 at 2:09 PM, Treva said:

But whoa I am so sorry you've been feeling bitter.  Injuries suck and can make us question our why way more than is appropriate.

 

Thanks. I'm feeling better. Thank you for being part of the space I get to take to be myself. ❤️

 

On 1/24/2023 at 2:09 PM, Treva said:

There's the Kishi we all know and love.  Work ethic beats talent every time.  It sounds like you've approached your sense of failure with a healthy attitude and an honest nonjudgemental look at where you are and where you'd like to be.  From what I know of you, you have always struck me as someone who's training is a part of their "why", and that a drive for constant improvement is a part of you.  I'm glad you decided to keep going; I confess I'd worry if you didn't.  

For what it's worth, you're still our a** kicking guild leader.

 

Thanks. Yeah, some of the older folk there have mentioned that I strike them as a humble, earnest student, and being known for that... well, it feels good. Maybe I'll be known now for being overcautious, but I can live with that too.

 

On 1/24/2023 at 2:09 PM, Treva said:

Hoping your appointment goes well; but you seem prepared to optimize your workout and your work ethic in either case.  The orthopods are usually invested in getting their athletes to return to play - most of them are athletes themselves and know how important that is.  I hope they give you some good news.

 

Um, yes and no. It's a net positive overall, see below.

 

On 1/24/2023 at 8:56 PM, Scaly Freak said:

I feel this... I've had similar thoughts about lifting, and I can only imagine how much worse they would be if lifting was a team sport, or at least something that can't be done without a partner. You're dealing with it much better than I was/am  

 

Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry you been there too, but I'm glad you get it. Helps me feel like I'm not alone and I'm not overdoing it, like my feels are fact enough. I appreciate you for saying so.

 

On 1/24/2023 at 8:56 PM, Scaly Freak said:

Good luck on the appointment! Unless, of course, the appointment is in the past, in which case I hope it went well and you received good new and encouragement, and a way forward.

 

Well, some bad and some good. See below!

 

*

 

Goal 1: 19/23

 

Goal 2: 18/23

 

Goal 3: 21/23

 

All right, bad news out of the way first: ortho has not completely cleared me for training. I passed his initial movement tests, but then he made them harder and was able to reproduce my symptoms, so I'm not completely healed yet, and I wasn't completely cleared yet.

 

Good news is, he did clear me to resume the bulk of my training and has also allowed me to return to drill classes! I'm not really cleared yet to do handstands, and I can't spar, but I can show up and drill. I relayed the good news to my OGs and reserved a spot before I could think my way out of it.

 

Got to class and decided that in addition to taking notes of my videos (h/t to @The Most Loathed), I'm also going to list out all the techniques I can remember that we go over in class and refer back to them a week on for review. Fortunately, I can run a Google doc and watch the videos at the same time, and I've already started doing that just in my meandering reviews. It's really helped in terms of engaging with the training material. I like it.

 

I came back home afterward and ran through training. Did TGUs with weight again; shoulder can handle up to 12 kgs at this point but I had a dull soreness afterward that didn't really abate until sometime this morning, which, uh. I should probably mind that. I think I've got a decent idea about how to progress my weights for KB work - at the moment, I'm using them for loaded carries for my lower back. I would imagine that the carries being the lowest-skill could reasonably be scaled to be the highest weight. The weight down below would be for get ups and swings, and the weight down below that would be for snatches, since my bells are separated in 4 kg increments. So that means my walks are at 12 kgs, so my TGUs and swings would only be at 8 kgs, and my snatches... are off the menu, since I don't have a lighter KB for that. Yet. I know, I know, Strongfirst and their ilk would say it's too light for a training effect, and to that I say, Practice is a training effect.

 

So, yeah. Definitely in higher spirits today than I've been in the past while. Even if I had to skip training today to go do laundry. I suspect that this may have been a blessing in disguise, since it gives me extra rest. I'll still end up doing some kind of work tonight, though. Just antsy. Kind of feel a need to.

[Scaly Freak]

52 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry you been there too, but I'm glad you get it. Helps me feel like I'm not alone and I'm not overdoing it, like my feels are fact enough. I appreciate you for saying so.

 

Definitely not alone, and definitely not overdoing it. And any feelings about this kind of situation are completely valid, obviously. I would caution against making significant decisions about training while the feelings are attempting to run the show, but you've already come to that conclusion on your own.

 

54 minutes ago, Kishi said:

So that means my walks are at 12 kgs, so my TGUs and swings would only be at 8 kgs, and my snatches... are off the menu, since I don't have a lighter KB for that. Yet. I know, I know, Strongfirst and their ilk would say it's too light for a training effect, and to that I say, Practice is a training effect.

 

Oh screw them, that's a ridiculous statement . 🙄

 

Snatches with 2 kg count as/towards a training effect, if 2 kg is the perfect weight for a person to lift. For another person, 20 kg might be he ideal weight for a training effect. Patience, technique, focus, are all things that can be practiced with a lower weight, and if we are recovering then that's a perfect opportunity to practice those things at a lower weight.

 

Back to my own experiences for a moment... I've been barbell squatting with 55 lbs for about a month now, and with no indication of getting that to a higher weight at any point in the near future, because when I add more weight than two 5 lbs plates to the barbell, one of my knees and one of my shoulders start screaming at me via pain synapses. They're not screaming as loudly now as they were a couple of weeks ago, which makes me optimistic, but I have learned the hard way that if I try to add more weight before the joints are ready, I make things worse for myself. 

 

Or, to rephrase, do what works for your body, and make the most of what you have to work with. That is how strength training is supposed to work.

[The Most Loathed]

10 hours ago, Kishi said:

Got to class and decided that in addition to taking notes of my videos (h/t to @The Most Loathed), I'm also going to list out all the techniques I can remember that we go over in class and refer back to them a week on for review. Fortunately, I can run a Google doc and watch the videos at the same time, and I've already started doing that just in my meandering reviews. It's really helped in terms of engaging with the training material. I like it.

I hadn't written down the techniques we cover in each class until I started doing it on NF last week. It's already paying dividends that I didn't expect. I think we all get exposed to so many techniques and they just slip through our grasp but being able to go to the next class, having brushed up on what you did last class just before has been super helpful.

[Mistr]

On 1/24/2023 at 11:49 AM, Kishi said:

Because it's too much to learn and nothing sticks and everyone else is getting better while all I'm getting is hurt.

 

I found myself grappling with what that would look like and whether I'd still want to once the emotion was done and I was back to baseline here. That emotion isn't completely done, but it's giving me enough space to think a little more clearly about it, and I keep concluding that even if I was never recognized for it, there's enough potential for positive experience and memories, and I don't want to abandon that. Also, the Academy is on my way home from the office, and given how hard the job is working to get us back in the office no matter what we want, I don't want to be stuck driving by this place and being reminded of my failure.

 

I need to remember that as regards my belt, there's only thing I control. I don't control its stripes. I don't control its color. The only thing I control is whether I'm going to put it on and go to work.

 

It is really frustrating when you don't feel like you are making progress and see other people getting better. A long long time ago, one of the senior students in my dojo said that progression in martial arts is a series of plateaus and upward slopes. It is normal to have a plateau for several months, then for no obvious reason, things start to click. You are still learning things during the plateau phase, even though you are not seeing it.

 

I think you are on the right track in pondering what you want to get out of your martial arts training. You are not on the path to become a professional competitor or instructor. Maybe you could be, but you have not mentioned wanting those things. So you need to figure out what you get out of training at a level that fits with your other life goals. One of my friends at the dojo does not like testing and does not care about rank. He took his first white belt test so that he could attend the intermediate classes. He has been training steadily for years and is happy with that. Contrast that with young people who love the activity and don't have a lot of responsibilities. They can train 6-10 hours a week and advance quickly. It is silly to compare your progress to someone with different circumstances.

 

On the injury front, you need to advocate for yourself. Trying to do too much before you are completely healed will lead to long-term problems. Certainly you want to train. You also want to be able to train next year and beyond. You need to enforce boundaries now so that you can meet your long term goals. That means communicating with your training partners about what you can and cannot do. It may help to put a piece of red tape on the elbow of your gi to remind people.

[KB Girl]

Completely understand your feelings though, I've had that mix of pride in them / joy for them (or not) / envy, sadness, frustration for myself. In the end we do these sports because we get enough experiences and personal development and joy from practicing them, no matter how well we do compared to others.. but that doesn't mean we don't want to excel. Or at the very least see some improvement dammit- but that one is complicated by negative feelings, we rarely have a completely objective view of our own progress. 

 

Anyway.

Journey before destination. 

 

Glad you're well on your way to being cleared! 

[Kishi]

On 1/25/2023 at 11:49 PM, Scaly Freak said:

Oh screw them, that's a ridiculous statement . 🙄

 

Snatches with 2 kg count as/towards a training effect, if 2 kg is the perfect weight for a person to lift. For another person, 20 kg might be he ideal weight for a training effect. Patience, technique, focus, are all things that can be practiced with a lower weight, and if we are recovering then that's a perfect opportunity to practice those things at a lower weight.

 

Back to my own experiences for a moment... I've been barbell squatting with 55 lbs for about a month now, and with no indication of getting that to a higher weight at any point in the near future, because when I add more weight than two 5 lbs plates to the barbell, one of my knees and one of my shoulders start screaming at me via pain synapses. They're not screaming as loudly now as they were a couple of weeks ago, which makes me optimistic, but I have learned the hard way that if I try to add more weight before the joints are ready, I make things worse for myself. 

 

Or, to rephrase, do what works for your body, and make the most of what you have to work with. That is how strength training is supposed to work.

 

Yeah. I think you're completely right. I've been steeped in their propaganda a long time and they've stuck by 8 kg jumps in their kettlebell progressions for as long as I've studied. They reason that these jumps necessitate perfect technique and they act as a preservative against injury, because the trainee will know if they're too hurt and doing it wrong.

 

I call shenanigans. I think they're leaving a lot of strength and progression on the table doing that, and practice is completely possible using smaller jumps.

 

On 1/26/2023 at 9:44 AM, The Most Loathed said:

I hadn't written down the techniques we cover in each class until I started doing it on NF last week. It's already paying dividends that I didn't expect. I think we all get exposed to so many techniques and they just slip through our grasp but being able to go to the next class, having brushed up on what you did last class just before has been super helpful.

 

Yeah, man. I honestly underestimated how much we were doing until I went back to write it down and it turns out to be, like, 8 different things. Which is fine, but it's a hell of a lot of information to keep.

 

On 1/26/2023 at 11:52 AM, Mistr said:

It is really frustrating when you don't feel like you are making progress and see other people getting better. A long long time ago, one of the senior students in my dojo said that progression in martial arts is a series of plateaus and upward slopes. It is normal to have a plateau for several months, then for no obvious reason, things start to click. You are still learning things during the plateau phase, even though you are not seeing it.

 

Yeah. And I should know better. I've lived that out often enough. I keep forgetting that.

 

On 1/26/2023 at 11:52 AM, Mistr said:

I think you are on the right track in pondering what you want to get out of your martial arts training. You are not on the path to become a professional competitor or instructor. Maybe you could be, but you have not mentioned wanting those things. So you need to figure out what you get out of training at a level that fits with your other life goals. One of my friends at the dojo does not like testing and does not care about rank. He took his first white belt test so that he could attend the intermediate classes. He has been training steadily for years and is happy with that. Contrast that with young people who love the activity and don't have a lot of responsibilities. They can train 6-10 hours a week and advance quickly. It is silly to compare your progress to someone with different circumstances.

 

Well, for me, it's not a purpose issue so much as it's a gut check. I feel like I don't have enough excuses for how much worse I am than these kids who have a similar amount of responsibility and yet get so much better so much faster. There are people who started this, like I was there for their first class, who made blue this past promotion when I've been stuck here for years. Gives me impetus to ponder.

 

On 1/26/2023 at 11:52 AM, Mistr said:

 

On the injury front, you need to advocate for yourself. Trying to do too much before you are completely healed will lead to long-term problems. Certainly you want to train. You also want to be able to train next year and beyond. You need to enforce boundaries now so that you can meet your long term goals. That means communicating with your training partners about what you can and cannot do. It may help to put a piece of red tape on the elbow of your gi to remind people.

 

Well, thankfully that's been going great. The folk I train with have been really good about being delicate with my shoulder and communicating with me and being receptive to it when I talk to them. People honestly just seem to be glad to see me again, which in itself has been pretty great.

 

On 1/28/2023 at 11:01 AM, KB Girl said:

Completely understand your feelings though, I've had that mix of pride in them / joy for them (or not) / envy, sadness, frustration for myself. In the end we do these sports because we get enough experiences and personal development and joy from practicing them, no matter how well we do compared to others.. but that doesn't mean we don't want to excel. Or at the very least see some improvement dammit- but that one is complicated by negative feelings, we rarely have a completely objective view of our own progress. 

 

Yeah, but in my field of endeavor, it's not like the people recognizing you have an objective view either. Not really. It's more of a vibe than anything else, which isn't fun if nobody's picking up what you're putting down.

 

On 1/28/2023 at 11:01 AM, KB Girl said:

Anyway.

Journey before destination. 

 

 

And thank you.

 

*

 

I... don't have time for an update now. Things are fine. Could be better, could be worse. I'm coming off terse right now because of time crunch but it's really okay. I'll update y'all later.

[KB Girl]

16 hours ago, Kishi said:

Yeah. I think you're completely right. I've been steeped in their propaganda a long time and they've stuck by 8 kg jumps in their kettlebell progressions for as long as I've studied. They reason that these jumps necessitate perfect technique and they act as a preservative against injury, because the trainee will know if they're too hurt and doing it wrong.

 

I call shenanigans. I think they're leaving a lot of strength and progression on the table doing that, and practice is completely possible using smaller jumps.

Oh I should have mentioned, in kettlebell sport we use 2kg increments because otherwise it's just impossible to progress smoothly. And there are these little round 1kg weights that you can attach to the bottom of a bell so you can use even smaller increments. I don't like how they change the weight distribution of the bell, but otherwise they're genius. They also come in 2kg, so that's a cheap way to increase your range of weights. 

[Kishi]

5 hours ago, KB Girl said:

Oh I should have mentioned, in kettlebell sport we use 2kg increments because otherwise it's just impossible to progress smoothly. And there are these little round 1kg weights that you can attach to the bottom of a bell so you can use even smaller increments. I don't like how they change the weight distribution of the bell, but otherwise they're genius. They also come in 2kg, so that's a cheap way to increase your range of weights. 

 

I take that to mean that y'all are sensible on the other end of the KB spectrum. That's something I can take and use on my end. I shall. :'D

 

Also, little incremental weights for kettlebells! That does sound like genius! Where do they usually go? I would think you'd have to mount them on the handle or something.

 

*

 

Okay, here we go:

 

Goal 1: 24.5/29

 

Goal 2: 23/29

 

Goal 3: 21/29

 

Part of the reason I was terse yesterday was that there really isn't all that much to report. I missed the mark with last Friday in terms of getting up on time to go striking, but given that Friday is the sparring day and given that I'm not cleared to spar, I'm not sure how much it actually matters. Of course, you could say that I could have practiced for it anyway, and I didn't do that, although I did get a full night's sleep. So, docked half a point.

 

Writing's been super-productive. Character studies continued. I wrote prose I liked, which was good for me, because I sometimes forget that I can actually write prose that I like. It's good to remember I can do this.  Um, I decided to start in on the Snowflake Method, because I think that's a somewhat looser format that will give me both a structure to build on and some room to improvise. I still hope that I get to keep my ear for conflict and response that the Scene-Sequel Method gave me, but I'm hopeful that I can add that in as a necessary spice rather than being forced to build it in a weird way like what I was trying before. We'll see. There's a lot of changes in between this last draft and the next, so I'm not gonna call anything for sure just yet.

 

Meditation's been rocky. I haven't really been doing it. Not even taking a few slow breaths before going to bed. Just been too... not tired, really, but kind of anxious to go to sleep. Not making enough time to convince myself that meditation was a good idea, but looking at the numbers now, I can officially acknowledge to myself that I've been shortchanging myself.

 

As far as training goes, Thursday was a strength-training day. Wound up going to write instead of going out on the mats. It feels like something I should do while I can and as I can, since Writer Friend is getting ready to move away and while there isn't a timetable for it, the days feel numbered. Long term, I suspect this will revert to a training day, and I don't mind that. Friday was an easier training day. Saturday was a mat-time drilling day; was partnered with a good white belt who was sensitive to my arm, which was damned decent of him. Also one of my favorite coaches teaches that day and he was good enough to keep an eye on me and check on me throughout, which I appreciated. Strength trained afterward, as I'm trying to make that my habit. Shoulder was okay with this.

 

Sunday I slept pretty late; I had enough time to play a run of Hades and talk with friends for a while before having to go off and visit my folks. Took time. Enough time for me to not be able to train. As happens every now and again. Dunno if I necessarily needed the rest, but I'm at a point in my training journey where I accept it when it comes and I enjoy it as it comes.

 

So far today, I've bought a 4 kg kettlebell (her name is Baby-bell) and took up that snatch-walking protocol that I mentioned a challenge or two ago. No real sense of strain or exertion, but it feels good to practice. Since I didn't do it yesterday, I paired it today with the farmer's carries I've been doing for my lower back, and everything carried off just fine. Not exactly my first choice, but Mondays/Fridays/Sundays are basically practice days of some kind or other and it's really not bad to work stuff in and around as life allows at this point. Once I'm cleared to begin inversions again, I'll have to revisit, but I'm not all that worried about it.

 

In any event I am on track to get done and get onto the mats for striking practice and further grappling drilling. Fun times.

[KB Girl]

3 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

Also, little incremental weights for kettlebells! That does sound like genius! Where do they usually go? I would think you'd have to mount them on the handle or something.

They attach to the bottom of standard competition bells by magnets, but I just realised that not everyone uses competition kettlebells x) 

https://www.truegritkettlebell.com

there they are^

[The Most Loathed]

16 hours ago, Kishi said:

Sunday I slept pretty late; I had enough time to play a run of Hades and talk with friends for a while before having to go off and visit my folks. Took time. Enough time for me to not be able to train. As happens every now and again. Dunno if I necessarily needed the rest, but I'm at a point in my training journey where I accept it when it comes and I enjoy it as it comes.

I haven't played Hades in a bit. I was never great but now I kind of want to blow the dust off.

[Kishi]

21 hours ago, KB Girl said:

They attach to the bottom of standard competition bells by magnets, but I just realised that not everyone uses competition kettlebells x) 

https://www.truegritkettlebell.com

there they are^

 

Yeah, I can see how that makes sense. In KB sport, y'all have "standard issue" bells where they're all the same size and you just change up the weight. I can see how that would work. It'd be kind of weird with the non-regulated sizes, but given that the alternative is just gripping multiple bells in hand, maybe that makes sense out here in the wilds, too. I could see how that would help with my loaded carries especially. Cool! Thanks for pointing this out!

 

4 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

I haven't played Hades in a bit. I was never great but now I kind of want to blow the dust off.

 

It can be a challenge. The game gets fun if you can build your character enough to feel powerful in the runs, but if it helps any, the game also tries to reward failure too and it always tries to be encouraging. Loss and failure are genuinely necessary parts of the gameplay loop, which is weird and kind of hard to accept, but ultimately worth it. At least I think so.

 

*

 

Goal 1: 25.5/30

 

Goal 2: 23/30

 

Goal 3: 22/30

 

Gugh. Yesterday was fine, but it was rough going. Basically, the nerd night got moved to Thursday this week, so I had a training opportunity. I took the training opportunity and was glad for it; it's just that I'd forgot how logistically rough this all gets sometimes and being out ultimately delayed a bunch of stuff.

 

The biggest thing is the flexibility work that GB wants me to do. Gymnastic Bodies has these long stretch videos where they basically want you to find an hour and just stretch out every little thing. And I just couldn't find it yesterday. Not and get my work done and get to the mats. And this is a pretty consistent problem; I just can't seem to find the extra three hours a week I need to do all the stretching they want me to do.

 

There are options here.

 

1. Brute force this; try to find those three hours and make whatever sacrifice is necessary in the name of health and longevity. This would be tricky. I'd get to work on flexibility, but I'd probably lose mat time and this challenge has, if anything, really clarified for me just how important that time is to me. So, not really realistic, but an option nevertheless.
2. GMB stretch protocols. GMB doesn't offer this anymore, but I retain access to an old stretching protocol of theirs which had tailored routines for martial arts and for obtaining front and middle splits. May even have a bridge/postural series for me to work in too, which would be dope.
3. Homebrew it. The resources I'm using for qigong also have a stretching routine which I could probably implement really easily. As far as thoracic work is concerned, I could just go ahead and take up the Convict Conditioning series again. I'd probably homebrew that again too, though, and just shoot for sets of 20 as opposed to the sets of 50+ reps that Wade programs.

It's something to think about. All of these are mixed bags in terms of good and bad, so it's an optimization problem where I try to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs. But hey. Is life, no?

 

Anyway, I'm at the office today. Had stuff to take care of, so here I am. Getting to work through some logistics in terms of planning out and packing my food for the day. Not quite sure what a long-term strategy looks like, since the sequence of places is going to be job-academy-gym, but it's better to know that now and experiment than to be caught flatfooted later.

[Scaly Freak]

7 hours ago, Kishi said:

It can be a challenge. The game gets fun if you can build your character enough to feel powerful in the runs, but if it helps any, the game also tries to reward failure too and it always tries to be encouraging. Loss and failure are genuinely necessary parts of the gameplay loop, which is weird and kind of hard to accept, but ultimately worth it. At least I think so.

 

Aha, like Dark Souls.  

 

8 hours ago, Kishi said:

The biggest thing is the flexibility work that GB wants me to do. Gymnastic Bodies has these long stretch videos where they basically want you to find an hour and just stretch out every little thing. And I just couldn't find it yesterday. Not and get my work done and get to the mats. And this is a pretty consistent problem; I just can't seem to find the extra three hours a week I need to do all the stretching they want me to do.

 

What is the benefit to doing it for one full hour, compared to doing 30 minutes per day?

[Kishi]

22 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

Aha, like Dark Souls.  

 

Very, but a lot more forthright with its story.

 

22 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

What is the benefit to doing it for one full hour, compared to doing 30 minutes per day?

 

Well, it's one full hour dedicated to a particular range of stretching. So none of the three main routines are full-body, but it's like 45 minutes on everything related to front split, 45 minutes on everything related to middle splits, and 45 minutes on everything related to a "thoracic bridge," which is basically a longer-form bridge with the bend primarily in the thoracic rather than the lumbar spine.

 

In the meantime, the rest of the stuff you're supposed to be doing in the GB program involves what's called "integrated mobility" as a form of active rest. So you do whatever progression of whatever move and then your active recovery is the mobility work.

 

So, really, another thing that stops me from doing the stretch work is that I feel like I get a lot of benefit just as is, you know?

 

*

 

So, I looked up and compared GMB's programs and, actually, I think I like GB's program better. GMB does have a MMA-specific stretching protocol, but it still takes about 40 minutes or so and they want you to do it every day, so it'd actually be more time spent on the work than I was spending already, and that'd be on top of the integrated mobility I'm doing now.

 

That's not exciting. 😕 But it's good to know. I know that the present integration I'm doing generally calls for the stretches to be done after martial arts, but it may be that I should just cram one after the other, if that's hard for me to do. And it is. So. I guess I'll have a chance to test that theory tomorrow, then.

[Scaly Freak]

5 minutes ago, Kishi said:

So, really, another thing that stops me from doing the stretch work is that I feel like I get a lot of benefit just as is, you know?

 

In my world, that's a perfectly valid reason. If the current routine/program is working and providing the results I want, there's no need to change it.  

[Rurik Harrgath]

23 hours ago, Kishi said:

It can be a challenge. The game gets fun if you can build your character enough to feel powerful in the runs, but if it helps any, the game also tries to reward failure too and it always tries to be encouraging. Loss and failure are genuinely necessary parts of the gameplay loop, which is weird and kind of hard to accept, but ultimately worth it. At least I think so.

14 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Aha, like Dark Souls.  

 

Which part of Dark Souls feels encouraging?  🤣

 

 

That loss and failure are part of its gameplay loop reminds me so much of real life that I can't help but love the whole series, Elden Ring too.

 

Now I'm further intrigued by Hades though!

 

14 hours ago, Kishi said:

Very, but a lot more forthright with its story.

 

Coming from Warcraft where the story is basically spoon fed to me like I'm a peasant simpleton in need of kindergarten-level storytelling, having to decipher the lore through item text and exploring the world is simultaneously frustrating AF and a thorough treat.

 

14 hours ago, Kishi said:

Well, it's one full hour dedicated to a particular range of stretching. So none of the three main routines are full-body, but it's like 45 minutes on everything related to front split, 45 minutes on everything related to middle splits, and 45 minutes on everything related to a "thoracic bridge," which is basically a longer-form bridge with the bend primarily in the thoracic rather than the lumbar spine.

 

Programming or not, 45 minutes is pretty much my sweet spot when it comes to any sort of training.  Hell, I can even split up a big session into two 35-45min sessions for greater success!  haha

[Treva]

On 1/25/2023 at 10:46 PM, Kishi said:

Thanks! I was able to show a TGU to my ortho yesterday. Apparently, he'd never heard of it before, which, I mean, what

I just screamed in disbelief.  ALL the ortho bros know what TGUs are!!!  For shame!

 

On 1/25/2023 at 10:46 PM, Kishi said:

Thanks. I'm feeling better. Thank you for being part of the space I get to take to be myself. ❤️

❤️ right back at you

 

On 1/31/2023 at 1:35 PM, Kishi said:

Gymnastic Bodies has these long stretch videos where they basically want you to find an hour and just stretch out every little thing. And I just couldn't find it yesterday.

Dear GB,
With all due respect, where the hell does a normal human find an hour in their day to stretch
Regards,
Literally all of us.

 

That is so much time spent stretching!  So much!  I do not know enough to know if it is beneficial but geeze!  Sorry, not over it, will keep further comments to self.

 

On 1/30/2023 at 4:00 PM, Kishi said:

 

So far today, I've bought a 4 kg kettlebell (her name is Baby-bell)

I LOVE this.  Do you name all your kettlebells?  Do we get to learn the names of your kettlebells?

 

On 1/30/2023 at 4:00 PM, Kishi said:

Writing's been super-productive. Character studies continued. I wrote prose I liked, which was good for me, because I sometimes forget that I can actually write prose that I like. It's good to remember I can do this.  Um, I decided to start in on the Snowflake Method, because I think that's a somewhat looser format that will give me both a structure to build on and some room to improvise. I still hope that I get to keep my ear for conflict and response that the Scene-Sequel Method gave me, but I'm hopeful that I can add that in as a necessary spice rather than being forced to build it in a weird way like what I was trying before. We'll see. There's a lot of changes in between this last draft and the next, so I'm not gonna call anything for sure just yet.

This is a looser format?  It seems quite structured.  Based on what you've told me, it seems like you can probably use both of these techniques to build a really rich book and world.  Should be fun and exciting!

 

On 1/31/2023 at 1:35 PM, Kishi said:

 

There are options here.

 

1. Brute force this; try to find those three hours and make whatever sacrifice is necessary in the name of health and longevity. This would be tricky. I'd get to work on flexibility, but I'd probably lose mat time and this challenge has, if anything, really clarified for me just how important that time is to me. So, not really realistic, but an option nevertheless.
2. GMB stretch protocols. GMB doesn't offer this anymore, but I retain access to an old stretching protocol of theirs which had tailored routines for martial arts and for obtaining front and middle splits. May even have a bridge/postural series for me to work in too, which would be dope.
3. Homebrew it. The resources I'm using for qigong also have a stretching routine which I could probably implement really easily. As far as thoracic work is concerned, I could just go ahead and take up the Convict Conditioning series again. I'd probably homebrew that again too, though, and just shoot for sets of 20 as opposed to the sets of 50+ reps that Wade programs.

I'm always in the homebrew camp, but I am also widely known as crazy.  It seems like all three options offer you good benefits - the brute forcing though seems like the least appealing, because you're dealing with an injury and "forcing" anything is a good way to get another one. 
Can I ask what you mean by thoracic work?  Legit curious.
Maybe you can homebrew a combination of the resources you're using to achieve the functional end that you want.  Maybe I am also missing a point you made somewhere, so correct me if I am wrong.

 

I'm glad you're able to do more on the mats and ortho gave you an ok to do more!

[Kishi]

On 1/31/2023 at 11:07 PM, Scaly Freak said:

 

In my world, that's a perfectly valid reason. If the current routine/program is working and providing the results I want, there's no need to change it.  

 

I mean... yeah. Yeah. It's weird because on the one hand, I feel like I should want more and better than I have now, but on the other hand my hips feel nice and loose and I can kick as high as I need to without pain or tightness anywhere. I guess I'm just satisfied with where I am right now.

 

More is not always better, and sometimes enough is enough. It may be more productive to make my peace with that.

 

On 2/1/2023 at 1:07 PM, Rurik Harrgath said:

That loss and failure are part of its gameplay loop reminds me so much of real life that I can't help but love the whole series, Elden Ring too.

 

Now I'm further intrigued by Hades though!

 

Oh yeah. The cast basically comments on your progress throughout the game and in some ways death becomes an almost preferable outcome. The return to the main hub is almost a reward in some ways, although to get the most out of it, you really do need to make forward progress.

 

But like, even on the game's easy mode, you're going to die a lot. It's just how the game chooses to tell its story. And so the game tries to make it easier to deal with.

 

Here's a Wisecrack video about it if you don't mind some spoilers:

 

 

On 2/1/2023 at 1:07 PM, Rurik Harrgath said:

Programming or not, 45 minutes is pretty much my sweet spot when it comes to any sort of training.  Hell, I can even split up a big session into two 35-45min sessions for greater success!  haha

 

Yeah man, same. If I can go shorter, I like to, just because less time on the other stuff means more mat time in general. For all that I screw around with a lot of different stuff, I do prefer to get in and get out and be done.

 

On 2/2/2023 at 5:16 PM, Treva said:

I just screamed in disbelief.  ALL the ortho bros know what TGUs are!!!  For shame!

 

I know, right? I know for a fact that his PT underlings know what a TGU is, so how he doesn't know, especially as a shoulder specialist? I just.

 

On 2/2/2023 at 5:16 PM, Treva said:

Dear GB,
With all due respect, where the hell does a normal human find an hour in their day to stretch
Regards,
Literally all of us.

 

That is so much time spent stretching!  So much!  I do not know enough to know if it is beneficial but geeze!  Sorry, not over it, will keep further comments to self.

 

Well, yeah, and like. Even with the normal programming, everything is still superset with mobility work of some kind. So it just feels excessive otherwise.

 

On 2/2/2023 at 5:16 PM, Treva said:

I LOVE this.  Do you name all your kettlebells?  Do we get to learn the names of your kettlebells?

 

Sure! I started off with a 16 kg (Isabel), then a 24 (Anna-bell), then a 32 (Mary-bell). These were mine for a while before I started to double-up and invest in lower weights as well. So there's my 8 kg (Mirabel), and my 12 (Christa-bell), as well as my most recent addition, the 4 (Baby-bell).

 

I like to joke further and say that while my friends are engaging in poly-amorous relationships, I engage in a poly-bellicose relationship.

 

On 2/2/2023 at 5:16 PM, Treva said:

Can I ask what you mean by thoracic work?  Legit curious.

 

Sure! So the basic idea is to engage in stretching and mobility work with the ultimate goal of accomplishing this kind of bridge:

 

 

So it's a lot of stretching the shoulders and the traps and opening up the ribs and attempting to minimize the lumbar component.

 

On 2/2/2023 at 5:16 PM, Treva said:

Maybe you can homebrew a combination of the resources you're using to achieve the functional end that you want.  Maybe I am also missing a point you made somewhere, so correct me if I am wrong.

 

I think I could! And in fact that's probably what I'll wind up doing in some way or other. I've noticed that I do really well with daily doses of stretching and mobility, just in terms of compliance, and the qigong stretching routine would slot pretty neatly with that. There'd be a bit of a challenge in terms of being mindful and not pushing too hard, but I don't think that's a bad thing really.

 

*

 

And so we come to the end of the challenge. Or at least, we did yesterday.

 

I really haven't been tracking much the past few days. Basic gist is that my sleep's been fine, training's been fine, but meditation and writing have not been. These are areas that I need to continue to work on, and will probably be the center of the next challenge.

 

That or stretching/flexibility work. It could really be both/and, if I'm being real about it. I'll give it a dry run this week to see how it all feels, and build my challenge around the observations.

 

Otherwise, though, this challenge had a lot going on. Lots of ups and downs and having to adapt to things I don't control. A good challenge, really, and humbling in a lot of ways. Hopefully I can learn something from what happened here.

 

And, yeah. That's that. My thanks as always to everyone who made time to stop by in whatever way y'all could. @Treva, @Rurik Harrgath, @Scaly Freak, @The Most Loathed, @KB Girl, @Jupiter, @Everstorm, @Mistr, @Sovalis, @Tanktimus the Encourager, @Stronkey Kong, @analogwatch, @sarakingdom, @Maggie-Miau, and anyone else I missed along the way.

 

See y'all next round!

[The Most Loathed]

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

And, yeah. That's that. My thanks as always to everyone who made time to stop by in whatever way y'all could. ... @The Most Loathed ... and anyone else I missed along the way.

 

See y'all next round!

oh wow. I had no idea it was over already. I appreciate the heads up.

[Kishi]

6 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

oh wow. I had no idea it was over already. I appreciate the heads up.

 

No worries! I'm here for you.