SugarRay's Comeback Match.

[SugarRay]

Hey guys!

 

SugarRay here. After a disastrous last challenge (TKO - 2(6) - Friday), it's time for a comeback match! =D

 

1. Conditioning

 

Now, my last challenge I was juggling between rock-climbing and gymnastics.

I've chosen gymnastics. Why? Because my rock-climbing gym is like, seven miles away and the gymnastics facility is less than a mile away. Maybe I'll pursue climbing seriously later, but for now, gymnastics is where it's at!

 

Nothing too specific here. Just attend gymnastics twice a week and spend at least an hour on the still rings.

 

Str +4

 

2. Eat lightning, cr@p thunder!

 

Couldn't think of a better title, heh.

Now, I had a couple physics exams last month and I managed to ace the mechanics and thermodynamics exams. However, the electrodynamics? Not as good. 

This challenge is split between becoming well versed in circuit theory and putting time into getting the concepts of electrodynamics down.

Revise electrodynamics every day.

 

Int +4

 

3. Rhythm

 

I used to play my guitar every day. However, nowadays I only ever pick up the guitar when I'm bored! This cannot continue.

I'll be playing guitar everyday for this part.

 

Cha +3

 

 

4. Box!

 

My challenges must have boxing. Tis the fate of a guy who calls himself SugarRay!

Gonna be a bit more relaxed this time around. At least two days a week should be enough to keep me sharp enough. Probably going to go for more than that, though! =D

 

Dex +2

 

-------------------

 

Here's to a good challenge! =D

[RisenPhoenix]

Nice! I was just wondering where your challenge would be this time. Looks like you saved me the trouble of having to hunt you out. Thanks for that.

Sorry last challenge was crap for you, but new year, new challenge! You got some good plots ahead!

[Kishi]

Hahaha, welcome back, man! Good to see you again. You went to play with the Assassins last time, right?

[Lou_be_Lou]

Welcome back!

[SugarRay]

Thanks guys! Great to be back. =D

 

Nice! I was just wondering where your challenge would be this time. Looks like you saved me the trouble of having to hunt you out. Thanks for that. 

Sorry last challenge was crap for you, but new year, new challenge! You got some good plots ahead!

 

 

You win some, you lose some, eh? =D

This year ought to be great. I'm probably moving out of my current location soon enough, so I'm hoping on getting some exposure from arts I haven't tried before. Of course, I'm keeping boxing, but I've wanted to try some Judo for a long time now.. I hope my next location has a judo school. =D

 

 

Hahaha, welcome back, man! Good to see you again. You went to play with the Assassins last time, right?

 

 

I was indeed! I'm probably sticking with the monks from now on, I'm much more a monk at heart. I only really do assassin-based activities to get better at being a monk!

 

Welcome back!

 

 

Thanks! Good to be back, now I just have to stay. =D

[SugarRay]

Boxing today!

 

5 rounds of conditioning, ten rounds of bag work, three rounds of sparring.. I'm shattered. My energy levels have been low since I woke up and as I write this it seems as though my throat is getting sorer.

I hope it doesn't get worse! Need to go to gymnastics tomorrow. I better load up on the orange juice. =D

 

So far, the academic part of my challenge has gone.. okay. Man, I hate circuits. It sucks that they're integral to a large chunk of physics. But yeah, I'm fighting through my study books somehow. 

The music part of my challenge has gone off to a strong start. Not learning any songs for now, but I am looking up scales and improvising, which is always super fun. =D

[SugarRay]

Aaaaaaand, yeah, I'm ill. =/

 

My throat feels like I've just eaten a swarm of locusts. 

No gymnastics today, I guess. =(

 

Week Summary:

 

Conditioning: Didn't go gymnastics at all this week. Fail!

 

Academics: Did revise electrodynamics, so pass!

 

Rhythm: This was easy enough, pass!

 

Boxing: Twice a week done. Pass!

 

Due to the gymnastics, I'm grading this week as a B-

[Kishi]

300 ccs of Yoga, walking and bedrest, STAT!

[RisenPhoenix]

My throat feels like I've just eaten a swarm of locusts. 

 

That is a terrifyingly descriptive phrase to describe how your throat feels.

 

Tea and rest!  Don't kill yourself trying to do things!

[SugarRay]

If there's one thing people figure out about me quickly, it's that I don't have much common sense and I generally leap before I look.

I went boxing yesterday whilst ill.. which was the day before a university interview. Woke up at 6AM today, took a two hour train to London whilst still feeling like shite and was coughing my way through the whole interview. The interview went well either way, so that's no big deal.

However, I'm at home now and I feel worse than I did before.

...it's okay, guys. I will take no offense if anybody calls me out for being a dumb-ass. I fully acknowledge that the faculty in my brain that governs common sense was on strike for some reason.

 

On the bright side, I have kept up with my studies and music practice. In addition to getting back to grips with my guitar, I've also decided to really learn how to play the harmonica. I can only do this when my cat is outside, because he really doesn't like my current skill level.

 

..aaaaaaaaand the chicken soup is ready. Let's hope this works! I really don't want to miss gymnastics tomorrow. I'm going straight to bed after this.

 

---

 

300 ccs of Yoga, walking and bedrest, STAT!

 

 

Walking? Check! Bedrest? Uh.. 50% Check? Yoga?

Wait, Yoga improves illness recovery time?

...do tell me more! My mother, who's an avid yoga practitioner, keeps telling me to start yoga for it's myriad of health benefits, but I haven't heard about this particular benefit.

 

That is a terrifyingly descriptive phrase to describe how your throat feels.

 

Tea and rest!  Don't kill yourself trying to do things!

 

 

Looking back, I'm super surprised I came up with that! I'm not very good with words. 

And yeah, I've been drinking a lot of tea. Green tea, mostly, which seems to help a little. However, I do need to work on the rest part!

[Kishi]

 

Walking? Check! Bedrest? Uh.. 50% Check? Yoga?

Wait, Yoga improves illness recovery time?

...do tell me more! My mother, who's an avid yoga practitioner, keeps telling me to start yoga for it's myriad of health benefits, but I haven't heard about this particular benefit.

 

I shall! Yoga is basically linked to an increase in white blood cell count - basically, it enhances the immune response. That's not to say you should do it all the time when you're sick. Your best friends then are broth, bed, and veggies. But it does present another avenue of attack that you can use to fight off the sick.

 

Glad to hear the interview went well! Hope you get good returns from it.

[The Shogun]

If there's one thing people figure out about me quickly, it's that I don't have much common sense and I generally leap before I look.

I went boxing yesterday whilst ill.. which was the day before a university interview. Woke up at 6AM today, took a two hour train to London whilst still feeling like shite and was coughing my way through the whole interview. The interview went well either way, so that's no big deal.

However, I'm at home now and I feel worse than I did before.

...it's okay, guys. I will take no offense if anybody calls me out for being a dumb-ass. I fully acknowledge that the faculty in my brain that governs common sense was on strike for some reason.

 

Come on! You can't call yourself a true monk until you have trained sick! Try training ukemi and rolling with a hangover! Worst training of my life =D.

 

I'm glad that you did good in the interview and I do hope you're getting better. 

[SugarRay]

Argh, forgot to update yesterday!

 

So yeah, I felt completely fine and made gymnastics training yesterday. All was going well until I tore calluses on both my hands swinging around on the high-bar! Yeah, no hanging apparatus after that. I spent the rest of the time working on floor techniques and support apparatus.

As any gymnast will tell me, I should have used bar grips. However, I wasn't planning on doing insane full swings! I didn't think I needed them, but the gaping cuts in my hands tell me otherwise.

On the other hand, I guess this just a stepping stone to getting rock-hard palms. 

 

Summary for the week:

 

Conditioning: Once due to illness.

 

Academics: Complete.

 

Rhythm: Done.

 

Boxing: Only once due to illness.

 

I'm grading this week as a B-

 

----

 

 

I shall! Yoga is basically linked to an increase in white blood cell count - basically, it enhances the immune response. That's not to say you should do it all the time when you're sick. Your best friends then are broth, bed, and veggies. But it does present another avenue of attack that you can use to fight off the sick.

 

Glad to hear the interview went well! Hope you get good returns from it.

 

 

Thank you for the link, and even more so for the advice! It was very informative and it explained a lot. I didn't do yoga, but I did do some basic body-weight exercises and instead of a morning run I went for brisk walks.

It sucked. Low intensity is not my thing at all. However, on the plus side, I'm certainly better now. Again, thanks a lot for the advice. Yet another example of me learning something super useful from this community. =D

 

---

 

Come on! You can't call yourself a true monk until you have trained sick! Try training ukemi and rolling with a hangover! Worst training of my life =D.

 

I'm glad that you did good in the interview and I do hope you're getting better. 

 

 

Now, as a man with very little common sense, I often find myself training when training isn't a good idea. =D

But let me tell you, the worst training of my life would probably have to be that session where I had an upset stomach. I'll spare you the details, but I wouldn't wish such an experience upon anybody.. thinking about it is making me break into a cold sweat. 

[Kishi]

Geez, ripped calluses sound nasty. Never had to deal with that one myself. So much for a super-useful thing. :/ Still, glad to hear you're feeling better!

[Teirin]

Oh ouch, ripped calluses are nasty.  Hope they're starting to heal up.  *crossed fingers* that the interview has some good results.

 

Judgement goes off when you're sick and sometimes you do things that seem reasonable at the time but weren't.  Hindsight  *shrugs*

 

Any recommended resources for someone looking to start playing guitar? 

[SugarRay]

Back! Well, I wasn't ever gone, I've just been too busy lazy to update this challenge. 

 

Well, in hindsight, this week went really well! I attended everything I had to, did everything that needed to be done and, looking back, I had no junk-food at all last week and I'd only just realized now. Pretty good stuff! 

 

Conditioning: Complete! Went gymnastics twice for the whole week.

 

Academics: Revised electrodynamics every day this week, circuit theory is starting to become less of a chore. 

 

Rhythm: Again, too easy. Spent a lot of time with the harmonica last week too, mostly because I've had "Smokestack Lightning - Howlin' Wolf" in my head for almost six days straight!

 

Boxing: Twice a week done. I might be taking a long break from boxing soon to focus on my exams, but we'll see how it goes.

 

Damn happy with this. I'm grading this week as a A+

 

---

 

Geez, ripped calluses sound nasty. Never had to deal with that one myself. So much for a super-useful thing. :/ Still, glad to hear you're feeling better!

 

 

I certainly hope you don't deal with them! They're a right pain and they can actually be prevented by sanding down existing calluses. Oh, don't get me wrong, calluses are really useful, they just have to be maintained properly.

 

Oh ouch, ripped calluses are nasty.  Hope they're starting to heal up.  *crossed fingers* that the interview has some good results.

 

Judgement goes off when you're sick and sometimes you do things that seem reasonable at the time but weren't.  Hindsight  *shrugs*

 

Any recommended resources for someone looking to start playing guitar? 

 

 

They're healing up, but they look awful. My hands in general look battered (not as odd as some high-level rock climbers, but still quite battered!). On the plus side, the areas that are starting to heal up have become really tough, which is always handy.

 

That's definitely true, but judgment just.. isn't my strong point! However, the bright side is that I've ended up being pretty good at thinking on my feet to get out of situations that I've been in due to bad judgement. Optimism! =D

 

Absolutely! Here's a pretty indepth site with a beginner's course that you can use to learn: http://www.justinguitar.com/

I've been using this site for the Blues and Jazz resources and I highly recommend it.

 

Whilst it's good to learn theory and basic technique, that's no fun! Here's an excellent website that pretty much every guitarist knows about where you can get guitar tabs: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/

I only recommend using this site after you're comfortable with BC-101 to BC-109 on Justin Guitar's beginner course. 

 

If you have any further question, please ask! I'll happily answer to the best of my ability.

[Teirin]

That is unsurprising.  Hope they finish healing up soon.  Did your instructors/gym mates tease you about it?

 

Way to look at the benefits   The capability to think on your feet will help a lot through life. 

 

I will check those out, thanks!

[SugarRay]

Okay week this time around!

 

Conditioning: Complete! Went gymnastics twice for the whole week. I'm entering a competition in a few weeks for beginner adult gymnasts. Let's see how it goes!

 

Academics: I've done so much of this that I'm starting to think in terms of circuits. Yay!

 

Rhythm: Spent a lot of time on the harmonica, not enough on the guitar.

 

Boxing: Once this time around. Yeah, boxing's going to take a backseat for the next few months. Might do a couple more fights, but then I'm focusing on exams.

 

 

 

That's a B+ for this week.

[Lou_be_Lou]

yep, sometimes exams have to be a priority...... shame, but essential.  Well done with all your studying.

 

YAY for competing in a gymnastics competition - sounds great!

[RisenPhoenix]

Nice!

 

What are you going to be doing for the competition?  You know yet?

[Kishi]

Mm, exams. Rock 'em out.

 

And then do flips over them, 'cuz gymnastics.

[SugarRay]

yep, sometimes exams have to be a priority...... shame, but essential.  Well done with all your studying.

 

YAY for competing in a gymnastics competition - sounds great!

 

 

Yeah, massive shame. I guess exams ultimately lead to more satisfying results than amateur sports, better keep that in mind!

As someone whose future plans are riding entirely on academic success, getting my priorities straight is step zero.

 

It sounded great at first, but now I'm actually dreading it!

 

Nice!

 

What are you going to be doing for the competition?  You know yet?

 

 

Just a beginner's competition so nothing I can't handle, but I'm expected to pull of a somersault, a round-off back-handspring, a five-second handstand and a series of rolls and leaps. Individually the skills are easy enough, but the real tough part is gluing them together to make the routine seamless.

 

There'll also be spectators, so everybody can see me mess up.

 

*shudder*

[Teirin]

You'll do well and hopefully have a great time.  You've been practicing.  This is just pre-performance jitters. 

[Lou_be_Lou]

Have fun learning your routine for gym!  Great stuff.

[Kishi]

Oi! Did you take the gold against the Soviets?

 

...

 

I may not know how gymnastics competitions work.