Osu

[Kishi]

2 hours ago, Urgan said:

 

Do we now? Does he want a sparring partner when he returns?

 

Well, I haven't seen him since the class when I got 'shot.' I took Tuesday off to complete some chores that I had let slide on account of Monday travels, and I didn't know I was hurt that bad when it happened. I'm sure I'll tell him and we'll go kind of light, right up until something (probably me) snaps and we go hard again.

 

Anyway, not sure how hard we can go if his waifu is there, since she can't handle hard work.

[Urgan]

13 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

Well, I haven't seen him since the class when I got 'shot.' I took Tuesday off to complete some chores that I had let slide on account of Monday travels, and I didn't know I was hurt that bad when it happened. I'm sure I'll tell him and we'll go kind of light, right up until something (probably me) snaps and we go hard again.

 

Anyway, not sure how hard we can go if his waifu is there, since she can't handle hard work.

 

Hey, well maybe we found an upside for waifu--she might be your active recovery from injury.  

[Kishi]

On 8/24/2017 at 2:06 PM, Urgan said:

 

Hey, well maybe we found an upside for waifu--she might be your active recovery from injury.  

 

True!

 

*

 

So, went to class last night. First thing I said was "So, remember when you got me with that side kick?" And he said, "Oh no."

 

So we went light and nothing terrible happened. Lots of movement and technical practice, nothing hard. Felt good.

 

Got up this morning to find I had taken the day off... and that the plans had been mislaid and were meant for tomorrow. Tch.

 

Oh well. Ran S&S with light weights today. Feels wrong for a practice this easy, but easy is better than nothing. I forgot to mention, my elbow hasn't hurt in a couple of weeks. It'd be premature to go back to the heavy stuff, but so far it appears that this small advance and hold thing is pretty good.

 

Ran measurements today as well, and looks like it's static again. Which isn't unacceptable. The macros were set with a goal of 1 lb per week, and so far I'm on track for that. Bodies are weird and all that. If we miss next week, though, I think I'll make a deeper cut. I've already decided to cut the running regardless - it could be too much stress between me trying to heal an injury and trying to cut useless weight. But that's something to worry about next week. And it's nice to have gained a pound and kept my body fat percentage the same.

 

So, today, I'm going to go help with the packing and see what comes. Might hit Kali tonight, and might not. I don't know yet.

[Kishi]

So! Hello again, errybody!

 

It's been a few days, so let's catch this thing up. I'm going to try a gif from work and see if it functions.

 

 

... holy crepe. I didn't expect that.

 

Anyway. I spent Friday night helping my friends get things packed. It was a way lighter workload than expected. I spent the night commiserating over my rib w/ one of them who also had a bruised rib and we spent the night talking about writing and art and life. It was good. I didn't go to Kali, though. But I think the trade was a good one.

 

Saturday... whoof.

 

Saturday, I was invited to watch my brother's grading. This meant going back to the kwoon, the place where it all started. Going back was a bittersweet feeling. It was good to be there again. It was good to see that not very much had changed.

 

We watched the test, though, and... whoof. Just. Whoof. I'm actually having a hard time writing about it.

 

Okay.

 

So, what we saw was the last portion of a 6 hour test that was spread out over 3 days. So he was tested in 3 different 2-hour chunks. What we caught was the final 2-hour chunk of testing. Essentially, they spent 1:15 on kicks, and 0:45 on sparring.

 

In fairness to my brother that's a very tiring two hours. Although, in further fairness to my brother, it really didn't look like a test so much as it looked like him getting a 2-hour seminar from the blackbelts. He didn't spend that entire time kicking. There was a significant amount of time spent going over the nuances and details of his kicks.

 

Afterwards, he sparred.

 

So here's the list of things that he did wrong. Not because of the art, but because good effective movement is universal no matter what art you use:

• Front snap and roundhouse were done without any kind of hip recruitment. He had a good line off the ground for the front snap, but he tended to drive upward (standard problem) rather than correcting with driving forward. Roundhouse had no swing in it; since it was done with the rear leg as opposed to the front, that's inexcusable.
• Side kick was done with the rear leg. No. Just. No. Ironically, this is taught as a 'speed' kick, but it's so much faster done off the front leg that it doesn't make sense to throw off the rear.
• Roundhouse and side kick were done with minimal pivoting of the supporting leg. This is a symptom of poor hip recruitment and drive and indicates no power. "But they're taught as speed kicks!" That's fair, but it doesn't follow that they can't be powerful or hit hard. If anything, the whipping motion of the hip should make it really sting.
• Speaking of power, his 'power kicks' weren't powerful. There's a 'Leaping Forward Kick,' a 'Step-In Side Kick,' and a spinning back kick. None of these had any hip in them. To verify this, I actually practiced them on the heavy bag. The Leaping Forward could be a good kick, but it's essentially a rear-leg Push Kick with a helluva wind up. Still requires the hip, and I was able to generate the same power off a regular Push Kick (done with the front leg) simply by skipping my rear leg into supporting position. So, no need to wind up (although, if driving someone around the space, that seems like it could be a good way to do it). But whatever, that's not the point. Point is, no power where there's supposed to be.
• When sparring, he fought with one hand up and one hand down. Holy Jesus, that's a terrible idea when the ruleset allows headshots. Because if the ruleset allows headshots, people will take headshots. This happens in all arts, even in the offshoots of Kyokushin which allow headshots (for clarification - kyokushin rules say you can't punch the head. You can kick the head, but since a lot of the shots are to the body, they tend to play with lowered hands. Which makes sense. Context, man). So he basically fought a bunch of blackbelts with a huge hole in his defense and he got clocked a bunch of times for it. I tried to write that off as him being tired, but when I asked him about it later, he said it was partially a deliberate choice because he "didn't want to take body shots." I just. I can't.
• Also, when sparring, he fought from a sideways kind of stance. For clarity's sake, imagine that your stance exists on a spectrum from fully facing forward to fully facing sideways in relation to your opponent. You see a lot of forward facing stances in judo and Muay Thai due to their tendency to get up close and personal, and even at striking distance that's a valid choice. Gives your jab and cross about an even distribution of power. Fighting with a slant is a valid strategy too; it's our chosen one in Shotokan. We trade away some power in the jab for a really nasty cross. Fighting sideways is a strategy for presenting a small target, very popular in TKD and point-based tournaments. You trade away the ability to use your rear limbs in any meaningful capacity unless the opponent circles around to your front. Which if he's any good, he won't. It can still work, though, if you're willing to throw lots of kicks. Which he didn't do.
• He got taken down to the ground a few times. Which is rough and a shock over there, without padding. He could shrimp great. I'm really surprised that he didn't know how to bridge.
• Further, he didn't present any kind of movement beyond 'retreat.' I'm not sure if he even knows to do any differently.
• And his conditioning sucks. I'm sorry, but it just does. That test didn't look any different than a regular class for me. Albeit a kick-heavy one, and it's rough, and I get that. But sensei would beat me like a small child if I failed to keep my hands up even after something like that.

But none of that's actually the worst part. Sure, they're problems. But they're skill and practice problems. They can be fixed. The conditioning problem can be fixed as well, although that does require more time. But yeah, all of this can be fixed. Hell, I could fix this. He could come practice with us and fix this. We could do him up in a month.

 

But the worst part is he won't fucking do it because we're not a CMA and our things are so simple and stupid and not interesting. That's the worst part. There's a problem, and I can fix it, and he won't let me.

 

Anyway, a similarly bad part for me personally which I have to deal with was watching everyone fawn over him while I had to sit there and put a grin on my face and congratulate sloppy, artless work. I'll admit it: I'm jealous of the attention. Not just because I know I'm a better fighter who can put on a better show, but because I know that nobody would show up to my exam when it came. I'm trying to remember the line from the Gita which says that a man has the right to his labors, but doesn't have the right to be rewarded, but the jealousy is presently metastasizing into bitterness, as it does.

 

But that's my problem, and I have to deal with it. As for my brother, well, he was so happy that he wept for the joy of it in the car before we drove home. Which, I mean. He did survive. I can at least give him credit for that.

 

Hit the gym after.

 

HBP PE 2 Easy!

 

RC PE 2 Fine

 

sPL PE 2 Easy!

 

Worked the bag for a while afterward.

 

Sunday was quiet.

 

FL PE 2 Fine

 

SL PE 2 Easy!

 

MN PE 1 Easy!

 

MN PE 1 is a little rough to do with my ribs still banged up. I tried to experiment with MN PE 2 and skip a few steps and discovered that my hamstrings are way too stiff to make that work. So, I'm going to have to make time to work on that. GB has a stretch program for this very thing, but I'mma have to shuffle some things up to make it work. I could probably do it over lunch break some day, but I'll probably wind up writing it down and doing it that way as opposed to follow-along video because my signal is garbage at work.

 

Afterward, I was so stressed out that I ate a whole pizza and a thing of gelato. Felt very, very full afterward, but given that it's the first real 'cheat'-style meal I've had in two weeks, and given that I'm healing an injury on a cut, I don't feel bad about it. Might make the numbers weird when I go to measure.

 

I swear I woke up this morning with my ribs feeling a bit better. And it's a rest day today. Sensei's off at the beach for a week, so no karate either. Probably just a lot of rest and relaxation, relatively speaking. Not sure if I trust traffic enough to let me make a go of hitting the bag all night, although I suppose that even if I did wind up losing a lot of time in the commute, I'd finish so close to home that the added transit time wouldn't amount to any serious obstacle.

 

Aaaaaaand, that's today. I'm honestly kind of hoping we don't game tonight.

[Urgan]

First of all, major martial arts tests fascinate me. Riding around in Kishi's head during one would be doubly so. We don't even have to agree on what we're looking at, this is one of those things that is worth the experience. 

 

This seems to me a bit parallel to watching someone you care about struggle (the extent to which they may never know because they lack the context) and you know you can help them live a more fulfilling, healthy life with strength training, but they reject it. Possibly in favor of something that is just a scam of their time or money. More complicated when it's family, the jerks. They don't necessarily value your input more than from a random stranger.

 

Jealousy is a dangerous thing, even if the human in me would be right there beside you in those circumstances. I wonder if part of it is the fundamental difference in training philosophies permits someone with shall we say unpolished technique to test. Different dojos are more or less forgiving in general, not sure if that's what is going on here. 

 

I cannot imagine no one would watch you test, easier to surmise you are engaging in a bit of pessimism and self-pity ATM. That's okay, you're stressed by grappling (harrrrrr) with what your brother's test showed you, your relationship with your brother by way of martial arts, and in general operating on less than all cylinders. So much so you had to scarf a pizza as a reset. A lot of what's at play is beyond your power to do anything about and you can be as right as anything for all the good it does (see the bit above about strength training). Your brother's dim view of your art, the judgment call made to let him test, etc. His shortcomings are his to recognize and own. 

[Treva]

Ermergerd I am so sorry I have been the worst at keeping up I blame the OR.

On 8/23/2017 at 0:51 PM, Kishi said:

 

Yeah. And that's honestly a hard question. Simply because a lot of what's done to train martial artists typically revolves around coaches from other sports training them as if the coach's own sports will do the most to help the athlete. So you get a lot of advice to pursue a huge squat or a huge deadlift or to get good at the O-Lifts and to just pour all your energy into that, without acknowledging that getting a huge squat or a huge deadlift really isn't the point of a martial artist's training.

 

Which isn't to say that one should or shouldn't do those things. They have value and merit. But they have to be considered in context with whatever else the artist is doing. And I know this. It's just... hard to figure out what belongs and what doesn't, when all the information I get tells me that everything does. You know?

 

 

That is a really interesting point; I didn't realize that a lot of martial arts training came from coaches in other sports. The crosstraining you do should serve the art you're practicing...right?  The point as a martial artist isn't to do that mongo lift, it's to have the muscles from the lift be conditioned to Kick The Butt.  

And that would be incredibly hard to parse.  I wonder if understanding muscle groups involved in each strike or kick or flow would help you understand which muscles need to be trained more specifically, and then workouts can be tailored to something more than "back".  

Another thing that's sort of unique to martial arts is that it's very full body, like swimming.  You need ALL muscle groups, to work in Strength and Speed, not just strength (that deadlift) or speed (dat sprint).  

But I dunno now I'm spitting out loud too.

 

 

On 8/24/2017 at 10:00 AM, Kishi said:

 

 I'm in the gym to get lucky~

 

*

 

So, on the cusp of having to make a decision, I considered my pain versus what would exacerbate it and what wouldn't. In the end, I elected the strength work. Judo has a history of exacerbating that stuff, and I said I'd help some friends move this weekend.

 

seriously why tf does everyone move I don't get it I should charge them for this

 

So I went and had Leg Day, which was pretty easy and felt pretty good. Someone grabbed the bag before I could, so I decided to do an old Abs and Mobility workout that I had from a guru back in the day when I was (more) concerned about LGN. So, a little skipping rope, a little abs, lots of stretching and walking on the treadmill. And... it felt good. I felt looser last night, and this morning I feel looser compared to yesterday morning. So, I think it was a good move for me.

 

Tonight's docket is HS work. If I have time, I might see about doing more mobility stuffs. No biggie if not.

 

I've been checking my left side and after having done some palpations, I don't think it's my lat that's the problem. I don't really feel any pain unless there's pressure on my ribs or if I breathe deep. There's no bruising or swelling, but looking at the symptoms I'm not sure that it's not a cracked rib or something like that. Probably need to get this checked. Which I can afford to now, but I'm still going to wait until the paycheck because, man, I've been poor for too long. And fortunately, the treatment appears to be to let it heal on its own. I may just need to go lighter on sparring for a while, or forego it altogether. Or just do movement drills. Ugh.

 

Ugh I hope your rib feels better soon!!! I feel like I missed when that injury happened; I went back through your battle log and couldn't find it but I dunno.

 

You should totally charge people for helping you move.  At the rate you're going, payment in pizza is no longer acceptable.

 

 

2 hours ago, Kishi said:

So! Hello again, errybody!

 

It's been a few days, so let's catch this thing up. I'm going to try a gif from work and see if it functions.

 

 

... holy crepe. I didn't expect that.

 

Anyway. I spent Friday night helping my friends get things packed. It was a way lighter workload than expected. I spent the night commiserating over my rib w/ one of them who also had a bruised rib and we spent the night talking about writing and art and life. It was good. I didn't go to Kali, though. But I think the trade was a good one.

 

Saturday... whoof.

 

Saturday, I was invited to watch my brother's grading. This meant going back to the kwoon, the place where it all started. Going back was a bittersweet feeling. It was good to be there again. It was good to see that not very much had changed.

 

We watched the test, though, and... whoof. Just. Whoof. I'm actually having a hard time writing about it.

 

 

 

That was a super interesting read.  I really like hearing your perspective on things.  A+ use of gif.

 

2 hours ago, Kishi said:

Roundhouse and side kick were done with minimal pivoting of the supporting leg. This is a symptom of poor hip recruitment and drive and indicates no power. "But they're taught as speed kicks!" That's fair, but it doesn't follow that they can't be powerful or hit hard. If anything, the whipping motion of the hip should make it really sting.

uh, maybe this is a dumb question, but why would one not pivot during a round house?  You get a lot of good centripetal force that way, and my understanding of the motion is that you really could generate some speed that way if you work the physics right.  But also know exactly nothing about a roundhouse other than how it looks.

 

2 hours ago, Kishi said:

Also, when sparring, he fought from a sideways kind of stance. For clarity's sake, imagine that your stance exists on a spectrum from fully facing forward to fully facing sideways in relation to your opponent. You see a lot of forward facing stances in judo and Muay Thai due to their tendency to get up close and personal, and even at striking distance that's a valid choice. Gives your jab and cross about an even distribution of power. Fighting with a slant is a valid strategy too; it's our chosen one in Shotokan. We trade away some power in the jab for a really nasty cross. Fighting sideways is a strategy for presenting a small target, very popular in TKD and point-based tournaments. You trade away the ability to use your rear limbs in any meaningful capacity unless the opponent circles around to your front. Which if he's any good, he won't. It can still work, though, if you're willing to throw lots of kicks. Which he didn't do.

So this is very interesting because it carries over into swordwork too.  A sideways stance is pretty much exclusively a fencing stance, where you're not getting up close and personal, and the small target you mentioned is ideal for a point based scoring system that utilizes chest quadrants. Can't poke the chest, can't score points.  But fencers don't need their rear limbs, they work on a strip and just want to stick the other guy with the pointy thing.  Literally, that's the only thing you do.  You don't worry about power, or mobility, or any of the other variables that come into play when you've got two hands and a lot of room to move around in.  You might like the longsword I've been doing then, since it's also a slant strategy and uses the rear foot to generate power, and a more solid stance to accommodate the larger weapon.  You'll tip over if you used a fencing stance, but you can borrow fencing maneuvers to close gaps and finesse some of the winding you can do once you contact the other guy's pointy stick.  That forward stance sounds a lot like sword and buckler, where you're going to use that buckler to whack the other guy, in addition to closing the distance with your sword.

Bottom line is I think if you're hand to hand it is a silly idea to come at it sideways, because outside of competitive fencing, I don't know why you would do that.  My understanding is that the scoring for fencing vs other martial arts is very different, so you gain absolutely nothing by trying to shove your chest target area out of the way in a martial art.

 

2 hours ago, Kishi said:

But the worst part is he won't fucking do it because we're not a CMA and our things are so simple and stupid and not interesting. That's the worst part. There's a problem, and I can fix it, and he won't let me.

Uh, call me a crotchety washed up jedi, but if he's having conditioning issues and these problems that sound like they're baseline technique problems, isn't going back to the "simple" basics the best way for him to move forward?  Isn't, yah know, having a good foundation really critical to beautiful technique?

I'm sorry he's not letting you help him.  

 

2 hours ago, Kishi said:

Anyway, a similarly bad part for me personally which I have to deal with was watching everyone fawn over him while I had to sit there and put a grin on my face and congratulate sloppy, artless work. I'll admit it: I'm jealous of the attention. Not just because I know I'm a better fighter who can put on a better show, but because I know that nobody would show up to my exam when it came. I'm trying to remember the line from the Gita which says that a man has the right to his labors, but doesn't have the right to be rewarded, but the jealousy is presently metastasizing into bitterness, as it does.

 

But that's my problem, and I have to deal with it. As for my brother, well, he was so happy that he wept for the joy of it in the car before we drove home. Which, I mean. He did survive. I can at least give him credit for that.

Ugh.  I'm glad you were there to support him but like.  This is butts.  You have every right to be jealous and it's stupid and silly that people wouldn't be as supportive of you and your good, well practiced, solid technique.  From what you said yes, he did survive, but he still has a lot of work to do to reach that beautiful art form, rather than surviving a test.  I guess this is a lesson in why you really need a good teacher and a good set of trainers.  As is said in my family, I am sorry everyone else is stupid. 

If the just got rewarded, we wouldn't have a word for bitterness.  

 

2 hours ago, Kishi said:

Afterward, I was so stressed out that I ate a whole pizza and a thing of gelato. Felt very, very full afterward, but given that it's the first real 'cheat'-style meal I've had in two weeks, and given that I'm healing an injury on a cut, I don't feel bad about it. Might make the numbers weird when I go to measure.

 

Appropriate response.  I'm a firm believer in eating your feelings once in a while.  I should probably not be supporting you in this then, but hell I think sometimes you gotta.  @Urgan has a much healthier perspective on this than I do, so i'm glad he got here first.

 

Anywho, you're a boss and we know it, and I'm sorry your brother doesn't necessarily see it that way.  I'm glad you went and supported him anyways, even know it sounds like it was an exercise in frustration.

 

 

[Mistr]

On 8/23/2017 at 11:51 AM, Kishi said:

Yeah. And that's honestly a hard question. Simply because a lot of what's done to train martial artists typically revolves around coaches from other sports training them as if the coach's own sports will do the most to help the athlete. So you get a lot of advice to pursue a huge squat or a huge deadlift or to get good at the O-Lifts and to just pour all your energy into that, without acknowledging that getting a huge squat or a huge deadlift really isn't the point of a martial artist's training.

 

Which isn't to say that one should or shouldn't do those things. They have value and merit. But they have to be considered in context with whatever else the artist is doing. And I know this. It's just... hard to figure out what belongs and what doesn't, when all the information I get tells me that everything does. You know?

 

Excellent question. I agree with @Urgan that martial arts need whole body movement. Core work would be my top priority. I see a lot of people who are not able to coordinate their arm and leg movement and have trouble with rolls because they have weak core muscles.

 

Next would be mobility work specific to the person. Stretch the stiff areas, strength the weak ones. I found that floating lunges made a big difference for my form getting up from rolls. You might need something completely different to strengthen your shoulders for striking. S&S is great in working on both strength and control.

 

Cardio is important, as you observe about your brother's test. Any kind of interval training would work. I think intervals are a better approximation of most martial arts interactions than distance running.

 

Plain strength would be my lowest priority. Sure, being strong helps with many things. However, having a huge deadlift does not translate directly into having a strong punch or kick. Even when you do throws in judo, balance is more critical than strength. Doing something that combines bodyweight strength with balance and control would be better than pure lifting.

 

There. Here I am all the way out on a limb. Let's see what happens.  

 

On 8/24/2017 at 9:00 AM, Kishi said:

I've been checking my left side and after having done some palpations, I don't think it's my lat that's the problem. I don't really feel any pain unless there's pressure on my ribs or if I breathe deep. There's no bruising or swelling, but looking at the symptoms I'm not sure that it's not a cracked rib or something like that. Probably need to get this checked. Which I can afford to now, but I'm still going to wait until the paycheck because, man, I've been poor for too long. And fortunately, the treatment appears to be to let it heal on its own. I may just need to go lighter on sparring for a while, or forego it altogether. Or just do movement drills. Ugh.

 

Good to hear you are taking it easy. Those soft tissue injuries and cracked ribs take a long time to heal.

 

4 hours ago, Kishi said:

Saturday, I was invited to watch my brother's grading. This meant going back to the kwoon, the place where it all started. Going back was a bittersweet feeling. It was good to be there again. It was good to see that not very much had changed.

 

We watched the test, though, and... whoof. Just. Whoof. I'm actually having a hard time writing about it.

 

Excellent analysis of the test. And it speaks well that you were able to get past the feels and write it in the first place.

 

4 hours ago, Kishi said:

In fairness to my brother that's a very tiring two hours. Although, in further fairness to my brother, it really didn't look like a test so much as it looked like him getting a 2-hour seminar from the blackbelts. He didn't spend that entire time kicking. There was a significant amount of time spent going over the nuances and details of his kicks.

 

Did they point out the same problems you did? That would indicate that your brother just has a lot to learn. If they didn't call him on those things, it means that he is being taught poorly. That is a whole different problem. Less blame on him for believing his instructors who have bad form.                                                                                                                                                          

4 hours ago, Kishi said:

But none of that's actually the worst part. Sure, they're problems. But they're skill and practice problems. They can be fixed. The conditioning problem can be fixed as well, although that does require more time. But yeah, all of this can be fixed. Hell, I could fix this. He could come practice with us and fix this. We could do him up in a month.

 

But the worst part is he won't fucking do it because we're not a CMA and our things are so simple and stupid and not interesting. That's the worst part. There's a problem, and I can fix it, and he won't let me.

 

How frustrating for you! Sounds like you were gracious under trying circumstances. You totally deserved all the comfort food after maintaining your composure through all that.

 Excellent adulting! Go Kishi!          

                                                                                                                           

4 hours ago, Kishi said:

I swear I woke up this morning with my ribs feeling a bit better. And it's a rest day today. Sensei's off at the beach for a week, so no karate either. Probably just a lot of rest and relaxation, relatively speaking. Not sure if I trust traffic enough to let me make a go of hitting the bag all night, although I suppose that even if I did wind up losing a lot of time in the commute, I'd finish so close to home that the added transit time wouldn't amount to any serious obstacle.

 

Aaaaaaand, that's today. I'm honestly kind of hoping we don't game tonight.

 

Take it easy and enjoy it. Lots of sleep and good food to recover. You know what you would tell us, listen to yourself here.  

[Urgan]

I offer that if everyone on this thread could increase their overall strength half again, they would be a better martial artist whatever their present skill level. They would hit and take hits better, they would be more agile, and able to stand up to the endurance demanded by their art more effectively.

 

In aikido, we do not lean on strength in favor of letting uke provide the muscle. However, in the heat of a real crisis, where technical advantage fails (surprise/panic is a jerk), strength bridges the gap. In training we fall down and get up over and over and over, we do randori, we take unexpectedly awkward falls and blows just like any other art or sport. We want to have as much strength as possible to be as durable as possible in the best case scenario where all you have to fear is an accident.

 

I can't speak directly to a striking art, buuuut I would not volunteer to take a punch from a man sporting an 600lb+ deadlift or 370lb bench. His lats and hips would bring the force. Now it's implied that some random dude with big lifts wouldn't inherently be a great martial artist out of the box. And you're right. He won't have fine technique on his side, but get him in the dojo and he will have a major advantage over a sedentary person when exposed to the demands of martial arts.

[Mistr]

2 hours ago, Urgan said:

I offer that if everyone on this thread could increase their overall strength half again, they would be a better martial artist whatever their present skill level. They would hit and take hits better, they would be more agile, and able to stand up to the endurance demanded by their art more effectively.

 

In aikido, we do not lean on strength in favor of letting uke provide the muscle. However, in the heat of a real crisis, where technical advantage fails (surprise/panic is a jerk), strength bridges the gap. In training we fall down and get up over and over and over, we do randori, we take unexpectedly awkward falls and blows just like any other art or sport. We want to have as much strength as possible to be as durable as possible in the best case scenario where all you have to fear is an accident.

 

I can't speak directly to a striking art, buuuut I would not volunteer to take a punch from a man sporting an 600lb+ deadlift or 370lb bench. His lats and hips would bring the force. Now it's implied that some random dude with big lifts wouldn't inherently be a great martial artist out of the box. And you're right. He won't have fine technique on his side, but get him in the dojo and he will have a major advantage over a sedentary person when exposed to the demands of martial arts.

 

Good points. I agree that being stronger is absolutely a Good Thing™. The physical training and body control from weight lifting will make a difference in martial arts and everyday life.

 

I have a personal stake is strength not being the most important thing for being an effective aikidoka. I will probably be over 60 when (or if) I take my sandan exam and don't expect to be stronger, even with a great exercise program. One of my friends pointed out that our sensei is a great example of power not equaling strength. When I moved to this dojo, she was in her mid-50s and had great movement. She has had several serious health problems over the last few years. Most recently, she is back on the mat after a hip replacement. Her movements have gotten much smaller. That does not mean her technique is less effective. If anything, she is more powerful than she used to be. She takes the center line and drops uke HARD. She often uses the biggest person in the dojo to demonstrate. He is about 6'4", around 250 lbs and has a black belt in jiujitsu in addition to aikido. That doesn't matter. It's fun to watch his face as he goes from being a mountain to crumpling in a heap.

 

As far as learning how to use "internal power", being stronger is more hinderance than help. Strong people have a harder time feeling the difference between taking uke's balance and pushing uke over. Looking at my current beginners, the one who has done a lot of yoga is having the easiest time learning aikido. He has good body control and knows how to keep his posture. One of my other beginners is very strong. She struggles with using correct movement instead of strength.

 

I expect that strength would be much more helpful in a striking art.

[Urgan]

1 hour ago, Mistr said:

I have a personal stake is strength not being the most important thing for being an effective aikidoka. I will probably be over 60 when (or if) I take my sandan exam and don't expect to be stronger, even with a great exercise program. One of my friends pointed out that our sensei is a great example of power not equaling strength. When I moved to this dojo, she was in her mid-50s and had great movement. She has had several serious health problems over the last few years. Most recently, she is back on the mat after a hip replacement. Her movements have gotten much smaller. That does not mean her technique is less effective. If anything, she is more powerful than she used to be. She takes the center line and drops uke HARD. She often uses the biggest person in the dojo to demonstrate. He is about 6'4", around 250 lbs and has a black belt in jiujitsu in addition to aikido. That doesn't matter. It's fun to watch his face as he goes from being a mountain to crumpling in a heap.

 

Age isn't really a limiting factor, my parents are both >50 years and on a strength-training regimen. Helps if you have someone to program for you.

 

It sounds like the unfortunate condition of her hip necessitated becoming very, very efficient in her movements and efficiency is deadly. 

 

Having someone my size or shorter has demonstrated that doing technique on someone in that range comes less naturally than working with people who are taller. That or my status as the second shortest person in class is what I am accustomed to.

 

1 hour ago, Mistr said:

As far as learning how to use "internal power", being stronger is more hinderance than help. Strong people have a harder time feeling the difference between taking uke's balance and pushing uke over. Looking at my current beginners, the one who has done a lot of yoga is having the easiest time learning aikido. He has good body control and knows how to keep his posture. One of my other beginners is very strong. She struggles with using correct movement instead of strength.

 

I expect that strength would be much more helpful in a striking art.

 

The way I see it, this is equivalent to having to rummage for the right tool. We're not just trying to force uke around in lieu of actually doing things properly, but having the option to muscle a movement means having to also choose self-control. Sometimes we're in a fighting situation and sometimes we're just doing kotegaeshi for the nth time in class. Muscling is 9/10 clunky and inefficient, self-punishing if the other guy out-muscles you (and they usually will). You can feel it if you're trying to drag uke around, it's pretty silly. On the other hand, it's important to be a good uke and demand nage deal with a strong grip/attack appropriately, yes? 

 

 

 

Congrats Kishi on being the destination for all things Aikido, lol. 

[Kishi]

18 hours ago, Urgan said:

First of all, major martial arts tests fascinate me. Riding around in Kishi's head during one would be doubly so. We don't even have to agree on what we're looking at, this is one of those things that is worth the experience. 

 

Oh yes! Definitely fascinating and worth seeing. I've always hated missing out on the tests I've heard about around here.

 

18 hours ago, Urgan said:

This seems to me a bit parallel to watching someone you care about struggle (the extent to which they may never know because they lack the context) and you know you can help them live a more fulfilling, healthy life with strength training, but they reject it. Possibly in favor of something that is just a scam of their time or money. More complicated when it's family, the jerks. They don't necessarily value your input more than from a random stranger.

 

Yeah. I seem to recall that that's something you've struggled with as well. It's a tough place to be.

 

19 hours ago, Urgan said:

Jealousy is a dangerous thing, even if the human in me would be right there beside you in those circumstances. I wonder if part of it is the fundamental difference in training philosophies permits someone with shall we say unpolished technique to test. Different dojos are more or less forgiving in general, not sure if that's what is going on here. 

 

I think it was the case that they were more forgiving, yes. As far as they were concerned, he was technically ready, and he can at least execute the specific things that they ask, even if poorly. And, to give my brother credit, it's a pretty strenuous curriculum. They have him do a lot of techniques. That quantity may be a source of clemency in his case.

 

20 hours ago, Urgan said:

I cannot imagine no one would watch you test, easier to surmise you are engaging in a bit of pessimism and self-pity ATM. That's okay, you're stressed by grappling (harrrrrr) with what your brother's test showed you, your relationship with your brother by way of martial arts, and in general operating on less than all cylinders. So much so you had to scarf a pizza as a reset. A lot of what's at play is beyond your power to do anything about and you can be as right as anything for all the good it does (see the bit above about strength training). Your brother's dim view of your art, the judgment call made to let him test, etc. His shortcomings are his to recognize and own. 

 

 

I really felt like you needed to be told this.

 

Anyway, TBH, it's hard not to see it that way. I mean, I'll grant that there was some pessimism and self-pity, but there is some truth in it as well. Last time I tested, I didn't have any friends come by to watch or cheer me on. Even when I posted video of it, those friends of mine whom I mentioned it to told me they didn't even watch because "That stuff's kind of weird and awkward." Because they'd figured it would just be kata and shouting, instead of watching and seeing that it was 10 minutes of brawling. At the time, I told myself it wasn't that important, and looking back at it, it probably isn't all that important, but it would have been nice to get some kind of acknowledgement.

 

Still, you're right. A lot of this isn't really controllable, and as such it's not really worth carrying.

 

19 hours ago, Treva said:

Ermergerd I am so sorry I have been the worst at keeping up I blame the OR.

 

Oh you stop it. The OR is important.

 

19 hours ago, Treva said:

That is a really interesting point; I didn't realize that a lot of martial arts training came from coaches in other sports. The crosstraining you do should serve the art you're practicing...right?  The point as a martial artist isn't to do that mongo lift, it's to have the muscles from the lift be conditioned to Kick The Butt.  

And that would be incredibly hard to parse.  I wonder if understanding muscle groups involved in each strike or kick or flow would help you understand which muscles need to be trained more specifically, and then workouts can be tailored to something more than "back".  

Another thing that's sort of unique to martial arts is that it's very full body, like swimming.  You need ALL muscle groups, to work in Strength and Speed, not just strength (that deadlift) or speed (dat sprint).  

But I dunno now I'm spitting out loud too.

 

Well, so, the other side of the coin in the S&C community is that a lot of the 'sport specific' weight training winds up being not very good. That's when you start getting into the weird stuff like the bosu balls and swiss balls and 'stability training' and doing 15 kinds of movement for your piriformis, just for example. It's not like sprints and squatz and the O-Lifts can't connote benefit, but they can't be programmed like they're the only thing the athlete is doing. That's where a lot of programs come up short, I think. They're either all about maximal strength or all about explosive strength or all about conditioning, and they don't take the martial arts into account at all, except as 'active recovery.' The degree of truth in that perspective... varies.

 

20 hours ago, Treva said:

Ugh I hope your rib feels better soon!!! I feel like I missed when that injury happened; I went back through your battle log and couldn't find it but I dunno.

 

I might not have mentioned it? I dunno. I've been here for the whole thing, and when it first happened I didn't think it was what it turned out to be.

 

20 hours ago, Treva said:

You should totally charge people for helping you move.  At the rate you're going, payment in pizza is no longer acceptable.

 

Especially if I'm only going to take one slice. 'cuz I'm trying to be a gentleman. That's highway robbery in pizza. XD

 

20 hours ago, Treva said:

That was a super interesting read.  I really like hearing your perspective on things.  A+ use of gif

 

Thanks! I had a good teacher when it came to looking for gifs. I'm just glad I can actually do it from here again.

 

 

20 hours ago, Treva said:

uh, maybe this is a dumb question, but why would one not pivot during a round house?  You get a lot of good centripetal force that way, and my understanding of the motion is that you really could generate some speed that way if you work the physics right.  But also know exactly nothing about a roundhouse other than how it looks.

 

It's not a dumb question at all. And it's not just a matter of getting good force/speed production. Your knee joints aren't meant to twist and turn. The pivot keeps your knee safe. If you do a roundhouse w/o a pivot, you make problems for yourself - you can't complete the full range of motion, the range of motion you can complete is weakly so because there's no swing, and if you try to go too hard, you'll twist your supporting knee something fierce.

 

20 hours ago, Treva said:

So this is very interesting because it carries over into swordwork too.  A sideways stance is pretty much exclusively a fencing stance, where you're not getting up close and personal, and the small target you mentioned is ideal for a point based scoring system that utilizes chest quadrants. Can't poke the chest, can't score points.  But fencers don't need their rear limbs, they work on a strip and just want to stick the other guy with the pointy thing.  Literally, that's the only thing you do.  You don't worry about power, or mobility, or any of the other variables that come into play when you've got two hands and a lot of room to move around in.  You might like the longsword I've been doing then, since it's also a slant strategy and uses the rear foot to generate power, and a more solid stance to accommodate the larger weapon.  You'll tip over if you used a fencing stance, but you can borrow fencing maneuvers to close gaps and finesse some of the winding you can do once you contact the other guy's pointy stick.  That forward stance sounds a lot like sword and buckler, where you're going to use that buckler to whack the other guy, in addition to closing the distance with your sword.

Bottom line is I think if you're hand to hand it is a silly idea to come at it sideways, because outside of competitive fencing, I don't know why you would do that.  My understanding is that the scoring for fencing vs other martial arts is very different, so you gain absolutely nothing by trying to shove your chest target area out of the way in a martial art.

 

Hey preach!

 

And you know, longsword might be interesting, since Shotokan borrows a lot from kendo and other Japanese swordfighting. Good movement will out and all that.

 

20 hours ago, Treva said:

Uh, call me a crotchety washed up jedi, but if he's having conditioning issues and these problems that sound like they're baseline technique problems, isn't going back to the "simple" basics the best way for him to move forward?  Isn't, yah know, having a good foundation really critical to beautiful technique?

I'm sorry he's not letting you help him.

 

You'd think! But any time I try to bring it up it's just a nonstarter, and, the last time I tried to bring him to the dojo when he said he wanted to go he spent the class sitting and watching before trying to get up and demonstrate a form and insisting that his approaches to throws and such were better for Reasons.

 

Doesn't make my blood boil like it did at first, but definitely a simmer still.

 

21 hours ago, Treva said:

Ugh.  I'm glad you were there to support him but like.  This is butts.  You have every right to be jealous and it's stupid and silly that people wouldn't be as supportive of you and your good, well practiced, solid technique.  From what you said yes, he did survive, but he still has a lot of work to do to reach that beautiful art form, rather than surviving a test.  I guess this is a lesson in why you really need a good teacher and a good set of trainers.  As is said in my family, I am sorry everyone else is stupid. 

 

Well, I mean. It's frustrating. I don't want to need the validation of others, and I don't, not really. My work speaks for itself. It's been tested, multiple times in multiple cases against multiple arts and multiple fighters. And sometimes, I do come back wanting. My movement is improving, but it's not all that great yet, and I do have a tendency not play my game well. I just feel like I work so hard. Much like my brother, I really don't have a lot of a life outside of the training, but to see him get reinforced for it, just. It's frustrating.

 

21 hours ago, Treva said:

If the just got rewarded, we wouldn't have a word for bitterness.

 

QFT. You ever consider being a writer?

 

22 hours ago, Treva said:

Appropriate response.  I'm a firm believer in eating your feelings once in a while.  I should probably not be supporting you in this then, but hell I think sometimes you gotta.  @Urgan has a much healthier perspective on this than I do, so i'm glad he got here first.

 

Yeah, she's pretty great, especially given how patient she is in putting up with me.  And anyway, this present dietary program is about behaviors and not about calorie counts. They also say you should take a day off to relax every week, and frankly I haven't been doing that, so, you know.

 

20 hours ago, Mistr said:

Excellent question. I agree with @Urgan that martial arts need whole body movement. Core work would be my top priority. I see a lot of people who are not able to coordinate their arm and leg movement and have trouble with rolls because they have weak core muscles.

 

Next would be mobility work specific to the person. Stretch the stiff areas, strength the weak ones. I found that floating lunges made a big difference for my form getting up from rolls. You might need something completely different to strengthen your shoulders for striking. S&S is great in working on both strength and control.

 

Cardio is important, as you observe about your brother's test. Any kind of interval training would work. I think intervals are a better approximation of most martial arts interactions than distance running.

 

Plain strength would be my lowest priority. Sure, being strong helps with many things. However, having a huge deadlift does not translate directly into having a strong punch or kick. Even when you do throws in judo, balance is more critical than strength. Doing something that combines bodyweight strength with balance and control would be better than pure lifting.

 

There. Here I am all the way out on a limb. Let's see what happens.  

 

A lot of it, then, in other words, is about doing the sport to get the adaptations to be good at the sport. It seems, then, that your program is pretty well-suited to your needs.

 

I don't need as much shoulder strength as you might think. Good punching starts in the feet, moves through the hip, and whips the arm out almost like an after-thought. You don't get tight right up until the instant before you land. That being said, S&S is phenomenal for grip strength, and I imagine GB will be as well once I graduate beyond rows and start suspending my body off the ground.

 

Interval training, right... you know, I wonder, if I could do something like that on the bag... maybe, like, a Tabata round followed by a movement round... hm....

 

You are right that a huge deadlift doesn't translate to punching or kicking. However, it makes you monstrous in judo, when it's all about that grip. I've given my teachers a hard time before when they told me to grip hard so they could demonstrate a breakout... and then couldn't break out.

 

21 hours ago, Mistr said:

Good to hear you are taking it easy. Those soft tissue injuries and cracked ribs take a long time to heal.

 

It's not by choice. I'm still thinking about doing judo tomorrow. Maybe it could work! Maybe.

 

21 hours ago, Mistr said:

Excellent analysis of the test. And it speaks well that you were able to get past the feels and write it in the first place.

 

 

21 hours ago, Mistr said:

Did they point out the same problems you did? That would indicate that your brother just has a lot to learn. If they didn't call him on those things, it means that he is being taught poorly. That is a whole different problem. Less blame on him for believing his instructors who have bad form.

 

Yeah, they did actually! I'm not sure that they understand the connection between foot and hip in the same way, or if they just assume it's a thing that should happen as a result of your foot turning. But a lot of my observations jibed with their observations, yes. One thing that stood out for me listening to them was that they caught him trying to substitute strength for technique. That hit pretty close to home, as someone who's been there and some days is still there. Makes my heart heavy, knowing that I could help him and knowing that he won't take it.

 

22 hours ago, Mistr said:

How frustrating for you! Sounds like you were gracious under trying circumstances. You totally deserved all the comfort food after maintaining your composure through all that.

 Excellent adulting! Go Kishi

 

Thanks!

 

22 hours ago, Mistr said:

Take it easy and enjoy it. Lots of sleep and good food to recover. You know what you would tell us, listen to yourself here.  

 

Yup. Rest week might not be a bad idea.

 

*

 

Geez, that took a while. More stuffs to say later, but thank you all for putting up with me waxing pugilistic. Y'all the real MVP.

[Kishi]

On ‎8‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 11:56 AM, Urgan said:

I offer that if everyone on this thread could increase their overall strength half again, they would be a better martial artist whatever their present skill level. They would hit and take hits better, they would be more agile, and able to stand up to the endurance demanded by their art more effectively.

 

In aikido, we do not lean on strength in favor of letting uke provide the muscle. However, in the heat of a real crisis, where technical advantage fails (surprise/panic is a jerk), strength bridges the gap. In training we fall down and get up over and over and over, we do randori, we take unexpectedly awkward falls and blows just like any other art or sport. We want to have as much strength as possible to be as durable as possible in the best case scenario where all you have to fear is an accident.

 

I can't speak directly to a striking art, buuuut I would not volunteer to take a punch from a man sporting an 600lb+ deadlift or 370lb bench. His lats and hips would bring the force. Now it's implied that some random dude with big lifts wouldn't inherently be a great martial artist out of the box. And you're right. He won't have fine technique on his side, but get him in the dojo and he will have a major advantage over a sedentary person when exposed to the demands of martial arts.

 

I've seen enough "Bodybuilder Vs" type videos to understand that this is true. The skill guy can beat the strong guy, but the skill guy has to work a lot harder than the strong guy does, and there's a real risk that it won't work. Strength serves to mitigate that risk.

 

That being said, I'm not sure how much I subscribe to the idea that Strength Is The Cure For, Just, Everything. Speaking for myself, I didn't find that pure strength made me more agile; if anything, it made my joints hurt and made me feel heavier. The present things I do seem to be working to address all this, but that's because strength is being worked in tandem with all those other qualities.

 

That's not to say that a 600 lb DL or a 370 lb BP wouldn't make you punch good. They would. But I can't shake the feeling that in order to get there, you'd have to throw a lot of other sport-specific training under the bus. Conditioning in particular. Remember: in post-fight interviews, nobody says that if they'd benched 5 more pounds that they would have had it.

 

On ‎8‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 2:32 PM, Mistr said:

As far as learning how to use "internal power", being stronger is more hinderance than help. Strong people have a harder time feeling the difference between taking uke's balance and pushing uke over. Looking at my current beginners, the one who has done a lot of yoga is having the easiest time learning aikido. He has good body control and knows how to keep his posture. One of my other beginners is very strong. She struggles with using correct movement instead of strength.

 

That's something I'm finding for myself also. Having strength is awesome when you need it, but it's not a substitute for technique. And if your power is tied up in technique, and you don't know how the technique feels, it's perfectly plausible to try to strength it through, just because you want to feel like you're doing the thing right. It's more satisfying to hit something hard w/ poor technique than to hit weakly w/ perfect technique. But good technique with strength layered on top of it...

 

On ‎8‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 2:32 PM, Mistr said:

I expect that strength would be much more helpful in a striking art.

 

Not as much as I'd hoped.  Again, you can hit someone hard with a strong arm, but if you want to hit powerfully, that requires technique and intent and feeling the whip, and the ability to keep a good base despite your movement. Strength does help, particularly as it correlates with power development, but you have to marry it to technique before it really comes into itself.

 

On ‎8‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 4:01 PM, Urgan said:

Congrats Kishi on being the destination for all things Aikido, lol. 

 

Wee bit of a change, eh?

 

*

 

Okay, let's catch it up.

 

Monday's game wound up being on despite not having a full docket of characters. So, one of them got killed immediately, and my character died too. He then got his body transferred into a wooden golem. It's been a weird game. I might die again, too. I don't know. Team's not exactly functioning all that great right now.

 

Tuesday, I went to the gym and hit S&S. Swings feel better. I was able to swing with 44 lbs and felt fine. I must be getting better. Also did a couple bottoms-up TGUs with the 18. Afterward, I did some walking and a little ab work and called it a night to go get food and ingredients for Pain Tea. And then ran out of time to brew it. Because of course I did. But they're all ready to go; just have to do it first.

 

And, that's that. Thought about Judo tonight, and I've gotten a lot of recommendations, but I think I'm going to sit this one out. I know, some things I need a body to practice, but those things that have been pointed out to me to practice I've devised ways to practice on my own. I know they work; I've been told that my movement had improved since last time, so might as well keep things simple while I'm healing. Besides, I am healing. No reason to jinx it.

[Kishi]

So, without Judo, just Leg Day and a while spent on the bag.

 

Not a whole lot else happened last night. Good times.

[Kishi]

So, let's talk about Thursday.

 

Thursday was another food day at work. It was our Summer 'Gala' if you will. Lots of summertime foods and lots and lots of junk food because of course.

 

Still, I was cunning. I filled up on protein and did squats in the bathroom before eating, and then ate more protein and veggies and the starch there before digging into the junkfood. Someone made a chocolate éclair cake - graham cracker crust with a cream filling and chocolate pudding for the frosting. It tasted like the best parts of my childhood. Loved it.

 

Of course, being me, I did keep partaking of junk food, but I kept taking exercise breaks and between that and the protein I just never found myself with a huge appetite for that kind of thing.

 

I managed to eat some more protein afterward, but I spent so long chilling out between work and training that I think it didn't do me any good. But, after having brushed back up on my Sisson, I think I can reasonably conclude that I'm fat-adapted at this point. I have a lot of excess energy, and I seem to maintain it regardless of whether I'm fasted or fed. I'll probably keep taking nutrition if I'm going from one training to the next, just to keep the tanks topped off, but beyond that it doesn't really seem all that necessary anymore.

 

Now if only the body comp would follow suit. But I'm becoming more capable as time goes by, so it's not as worrisome as one might think.

 

Training afterward was handstands and mobility. Handstands went up nice and smooth and easy. Cardio and abz afterward were fun too.

 

After that, managed some writing and then bed afterward.

 

Today's weather is bullcrap, so I'm going to be training indoors at the gym w/o the heavy bells. I'm trying to convince myself that it's okay, because it'll be an opportunity to dig into and feel technique and practice, but I'm not really sure I believe it. I'm thinking about switching up and doing GB upper body stuff today, but I don't have the rings with me. Of course, I could probably make do with the suspension trainers they have there at this point... I just need to be able to row and rotate at the wrists... hm. Have to assess the situation when I get there.

[Urgan]

Harvey knocked out the power to the gym very specifically, so feel ya on this whole how do fitness thing this week.

[Kishi]

15 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Harvey knocked out the power to the gym very specifically, so feel ya on this whole how do fitness thing this week.

 

Aw, what a pain! And that is rather specific. Weird. o_O

[Urgan]

19 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

Aw, what a pain! And that is rather specific. Weird. o_O

 

Considering that there's 2 states between me and Texas....definitely. 

[Kishi]

Wow, it feels like it's been so long, even though it's only been 3 days. Weird.

 

So, uh. Let's get this caught up.

 

Friday, I played with light kettlebells. I've tweaked something in my lower right back due to some morning exercises and while it definitely responds to stretching I didn't want to take a chance on it. Followed up with Kali. We've got to the point where we're using fencing masks and fake blades. Trying to find a way to make kata out of these movements, which Manong has encouraged.

 

Saturday, I ran measurements and determined that I've achieved new baseline. 187.8 at 17.1, as assessed with a nice, simple calculator because I don't need perfectly accurate information so much as I need something consistent. Fascinating, considering that I'd cheated on my caloric totals a couple of times. This nutritional protocol's pretty great, since it gets me back to eating real food fast as opposed to wallowing in self pity and chicken nuggets. So, considering that my hands are warm and my energy's doing well, I decided to cut a bit deeper.

 

And to forestall any worry, just so it's clear, this isn't going to last very long. I've been tracking how long the cut's been going, and I'm coming up on a month. Most of what I've read and researched since learning that living in perpetual cut is bad seems to indicate that a cut should be anywhere from 1-3 months, depending on how you're doing. This is the last cut I intend to make - if I stall out, or if my hands go cold, or if my energy flags, or if something else happens, then I'm jumping back to maintenance. It might be sooner rather than later. My hands have been warm, but there's been a couple of times where my fingers were cool. So, that's probably a sign that my metabolism is beginning to down-regulate.

 

OTOH, the new numbers are a thing to meet loosely. If I hit them, great. And if I go over? That's okay too, because I'm just as likely to go over via correction w/ real food as opposed to just eating all the salt and sugar I can find.

 

Bodies, man. They're weird.

 

I dunno

 

Anyway, Saturday I went and got breakfast with a friend and introduced him to kettlebells. After that, I went and saw to my own training:

 

HBP PE 2 Fine

 

RC PE 1 Easy!

 

sPL PE 2 Easy!

 

Sunday, I went and trained my clients and then went to train myself:

 

FL PE 2 Easy!

 

SL PE 2 Easy!

 

MN PE 1 Fine

 

Monday was a rest day. I tried to start on the stretch work, and couldn't finish due to chores and writing and the gaming group wanting to start early because of course they did. That having been said, we did a one-shot where I managed to bring out a water mage who turned out to be pretty daggum useful. We wound up wading an underground river in the winter and facing a mind-flayer; she managed to keep everyone from getting frostbite and then managed to beat the mind-flayer at its own game. I am pleased with her, although I find her lack of wilderness skills to be offputting. Should have thought of that. Also, her social skills need some work, but that's what happens when you don't speak the same language as the rest of the party.

 

Onto today. Back is feeling better with repeated stretches. Hands are... fluctuating. I'll probably swing and get up lightly again today before karate tonight.

[Kishi]

Tuesday wound up not being bad! Practiced with the light bell on account of my back and me being paranoid. I wound up having to do TGUs with a 30 as opposed to the 18, on account of some class stealing all of them. Form was okay and my elbow didn't hurt, although I'm not sure I didn't feel a twinge in there. So, you know, something to watch.

 

Karate afterward was interesting. I elected to forego periworkout nutrition, just to see if it had any effects on how I felt. I wouldn't say there was absolutely no effect, but I can't tell if it was cut feelz getting in the way or if it was a lack of sleep or what exactly was going on. I had energy when I needed it, and I didn't have any brain fog or anything like that, so I'm leaning toward being sleepy rather than a nutritional cause. Only way to find out is to try again, now that I've had a good night's sleep.

 

Today, my hands are warm, my elbow doesn't hurt, and I got news that I'm cleared to work overtime and gather more fundage. Groovy! Ribs don't hurt either, so I figure I'll go to judo and practice lightly. It's a thing. It can be done.

[Kishi]

Wednesday's in the books!

 

SLS PE 3 Easy!

 

Honestly, leg stuff is kind of a joke so far. I don't mind taking my time with it, but compared to the other stuff it's been a cinch. But OTOH, these are just bodyweight squats. I'm sure the variations will start up in the next element and that's when things will get interesting.

 

Judo wasn't bad. Had to get over those "I been gone" jitters that always come up when you step off the mats for a while, but felt good once I was on there. We practiced lots and lots of uchikomi, and I covered every throw I know as well as got to work with some black and brown belts to refine my techniques. Got a mix of making progress and seeing how far I have to go, which is a good mix. Have a lot of commitment issues with my throws - I don't go deep enough or close enough very often and I've got to work on that if I want my judo to get better.

 

Still. Even managed to take a few throws. Ribs complained a bit toward the end of the night, but I stayed up late to make Pain Tea and today I don't feel a thing.

 

Also managed to get Saturdays clarified and it turns out that it's more like 1100 rather 0900. That's huge. I can actually make that. Not sure how to manage OT and Saturday judo... but OTOH, given my luck, the OT will run out next weekend anyway and it won't be a problem.

 

So, yeah. Good times.

[Urgan]

Yay for ribs being a team player.

[Kishi]

3 hours ago, Urgan said:

Yay for ribs being a team player.

 

Yeah. You really don't get how much of a team effort this whole movement thing is until part of the team isn't playing anymore.

[Urgan]

12 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

Yeah. You really don't get how much of a team effort this whole movement thing is until part of the team isn't playing anymore.

 

Truer words.

[Kishi]

I keep wanting to update the blog - Battle Log, come on, it's a blog - but I keep running out of time, and I'm out of time again.

 

So, the highlights:

• switched up my core and handstand training days due to gym crowding, and it went swimmingly.
• realized that Manong doesn't mean for us to spar with kali, which has me feeling A Certain Kind Of Way. I like playing with the knives, but I'm not content to just have this tool in the box and it not be useful. Started watching sparring vids and, as I thought, what we do looks nothing like what actually comes out in noncompliance. Gonna have to fix that.
• slept in too late on Saturday and missed judo. Worth it. Took measurements and saw my weight go down without a corresponding drop in squishy. Not worth it. Back on maintenance calories for the next month. It feels like someone turned the heat on.
• reintroduced farmer's walks to my training because I missed them. Just the walks, though, and only with a care toward weight and distance as a single long finisher at the end, and only if I have time, and only if it makes sense. So far, there was one twinge in my left arm, but after that, nothing.
• speaking of, leftie's feeling pretty good. Reckon it's time to start lifting the 35 on TGUs again. If it all proves to be too much, I'll either limit the lifting or scale it back, but with more calories coming on, I don't think it's going to be a problem.
• finished a chapter of the novel. I feel so sad that it feels like a big deal. Gotta keep writing.

And that's the highlights. Stretched in the office workout room using the GB front split program while listening to podcasts. It was pretty great. I'm not doing the whole routine yet but even the little bit I have done made me feel a lot better around my calves and ankles. But oh my God so much time in seiza. I want to feel glad that I'm learning the differences between discomfort and agony, but man, that's a fine line in that position for me.

 

Which means I need it. Phew. Okay.

[Treva]

On 9/11/2017 at 5:05 PM, Kishi said:

speaking of, leftie's feeling pretty good. Reckon it's time to start lifting the 35 on TGUs again. If it all proves to be too much, I'll either limit the lifting or scale it back, but with more calories coming on, I don't think it's going to be a problem.

Yay!! Glad to hear it!  Less problems are best problems.  Well, no problems are, but hey.  Less is good.

 

On 9/11/2017 at 5:05 PM, Kishi said:

finished a chapter of the novel. I feel so sad that it feels like a big deal. Gotta keep writing.

It is a big deal!! Congratulations!! I know you've been working on this for a while now, so it's great that you reached a milestone!

 

On 9/11/2017 at 5:05 PM, Kishi said:

Stretched in the office workout room using the GB front split program while listening to podcasts. It was pretty great. I'm not doing the whole routine yet but even the little bit I have done made me feel a lot better around my calves and ankles. But oh my God so much time in seiza. I want to feel glad that I'm learning the differences between discomfort and agony, but man, that's a fine line in that position for me.

 

Which means I need it. Phew. Okay.

That sounds pretty great and like a nice way to break up your day.  It's a great thing to learn that boundary, we talk about it a lot in yoga.  I'm glad that you are stretching and sounds like you're doing awesome!!