Kishi Watches the Shadow Rising

[Kishi]

 

Hey there, guys. Remember that last challenge? I do. It was great.

 

I didn't show up to put a proper end to it, but the gist is that I kept up my training, ate well, passed the test, kept the job, got to double digits on pull ups, fixed my knee, and botched my writing goal in the process. And, as if that wasn't enough fun, one morning, I woke up, got out of bed and got a real bad case of dizziness for my trouble, which didn't go away until I ate something.

 

I think that's a sign that I've burned the candle down even farther than I thought, and that's not ideal. We got to fix that. No more about morning routines and esoterica. Back to basics - eating well, sleeping well. There'll be plenty of time to get a morning routine again when I get to an actual unit and start on a standard schedule. Up at 0600, work at 0900? Oh yeah. But 'til then...

 

Anyway. We get to some of my favorite fictional badasses in this book.

 

 

That's right. The Aiel. Fighting Irish meets Native Americans meets Zulus. These are hard, hard people, who will run 20 miles and fight a battle at the end of it, and they will make it look like dancing. You will not find fiercer friends or more implacable enemies. And frankly, I think they're cool enough that I can give the Big 3 a break.

 

 

Sleep More

 

I've been getting by on less and less sleep, and the authors who romanticize that crap clearly never did it for a living. Goal is 7-9 hours per night, and cutting back the morning routine when necessary to make this happen.

 

 

Eat More (and better)

 

I... cleaned out my junk food again. Except for the Arctic Zero and Halo Top ice creams, which it turns out are right in the freaking Kroger just around the corner, and not just in Whole Foods all the way away from me. Yes, even the Arctic Zeros are good, if you can find the ones that are 300 calories or so in the pint. Those actually have some flavor to them. I know, right.

 

Anyway, I refigured my caloric intake so that I'm averaging 1800 or so, as opposed to the 1650 I was averaging before. Have I ever mentioned how happy a problem it is to learn that I'm going to have to eat more rice and fattier grass-fed meat? It's true.

 

 

Train More

 

This is going to be a trickier one to manage until the end of this month. I'm not really wanting to do much more at this point so much as I'm wanting to wave S&S up a bit. So, basically, keep every thing else up, and just go from 2 S&S sessions to 3 per week. My back's loving this load so far - that near-perpetual tightness has finally released, thanks to a fairly steady application of divebomber push ups (another experiment in anti-frailty that's been fun). I think I'm ready to take a step forward and plant myself again.

 

Once the month is over and I'm reassigned to something with reasonable hours... I think I'm going to go back to judo officially. Sensei's been going back to the original dojo, and if I can swing the sleep, I think it'd be a good investment. The only trick to it is, if I keep up with IF, I'd have to manage another day of low food. And while I can make the math work, I just don't know what that's going to do to me.

 

 

Write

Reading and writing. I got a thing I'm working on. I finished Guards, Guards! before I started again (thanks, @sarakingdom!) and the story shows some evidence of influence already. A friend of mine's got me listening to China Mieville as well - he was dismayed when I mentioned I was going through the Wheel of Time and said I needed something good to balance it out. Bastard. But I like how it's shifting my tone, so I'll run with it.

 

I'm going to try to creep my way back to being a part of things around here, now that the worst is behind. But sleep and challenge have to come first. But dammitall, I miss my Nerds. I wanna be back here too.

 

[mightstone2k]

I just finished The Dragon Reborn and opened The Shadow Rising on my Kindle today. The Aiel rock hard. It's tough to say whether they are more badass than Warders or not. And by Warders, I mean Lan. Those other stooges give the name a bad rap [emoji1]

Is being both allowed?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sarakingdom]

China Mieville's great.  And your next Pratchett book for Vimesian spoiler purposes is Men at Arms.

 

11 hours ago, Kishi said:

I think that's a sign that I've burned the candle down even farther than I thought, and that's not ideal. We got to fix that. No more about morning routines and esoterica. Back to basics - eating well, sleeping well. There'll be plenty of time to get a morning routine again when I get to an actual unit and start on a standard schedule.

 

Very wise.  You're still in a transitional period, and you need to accommodate that.  Till then, hammer the basics to keep everything ticking over properly.

 

11 hours ago, Kishi said:

The only trick to it is, if I keep up with IF, I'd have to manage another day of low food. And while I can make the math work, I just don't know what that's going to do to me.

 

What's your current IF plan?  I have a lot of IF underpants collected right now.

[Solunaria]

Sleep, Eat, Train, Write! I love how similar that is to mine, and how SIMPLE! 

 

Best of luck today. Knock em dead!!

 

::bow::

[Kishi]

On 8/20/2016 at 4:38 AM, mightstone2k said:

I just finished The Dragon Reborn and opened The Shadow Rising on my Kindle today. The Aiel rock hard. It's tough to say whether they are more badass than Warders or not. And by Warders, I mean Lan. Those other stooges give the name a bad rap

Is being both allowed?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Seriously, the other Warders gotta step their games up.

 

And you know, I don't see why you couldn't be both. Aes Sedai just don't think to ask.

 

8 hours ago, Solunaria said:

Sleep, Eat, Train, Write! I love how similar that is to mine, and how SIMPLE! 

 

Best of luck today. Knock em dead!!

 

::bow::

 

Thanks! I like simplicity. I prefer it, actually. The best things happen to me when I keep things simple.

 

On 8/20/2016 at 1:18 PM, sarakingdom said:

 

What's your current IF plan?  I have a lot of IF underpants collected right now.

 

Currently, the Warrior Diet with a couple of lower-calorie days a la Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat. So, basically, 2140 calories on normal days, 1000 calories on a couple days, just to help me keep up with my social life. I track like I do so that I can keep up with what's basically a normal eating intake. Otherwise I forget to eat and bad things happen. Bad, bad things.

 

If I took a third day at 1000 calories, I'd have to hit at least 2400 on the other days to average out to 1800. The math checks out, but I don't know if the rest of me can get on board with this or not. Sounds too much like crash-dieting to me.

 

Then again, though, having drank enough this weekend to have my first hangover in years, I have to admit. The idea of crash-dieting for a few days sounds pretty tempting right now.

 

*

 

Right, then. So I posted this early on Saturday morning before going to bed. I spent the rest of the weekend drinking and partying.

 

No, really. Some writers that I've been dying to meet for a while were in town and one of my friends had a hookup. I ended up back out on her farm again, hanging out with friends and with these authors... whom, I'm pleased to say, were pretty awesome people. I hope I get the chance to meet them again sometime. Hopefully with some stories under my belt.

 

It was time well-spent. I spent all last night drinking and eating good Southern home cooking, and then today hiding from the sun and reconnecting with friends. It means that training went down the tube this weekend, although I did manage 202 KB swings in a row with 53#. That was pretty cool.

 

Also, I burned through some Halo Top and I gotta say, the Mint Chocolate Chip is really good.

[sarakingdom]

12 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Currently, the Warrior Diet with a couple of lower-calorie days a la Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat. So, basically, 2140 calories on normal days, 1000 calories on a couple days, just to help me keep up with my social life. I track like I do so that I can keep up with what's basically a normal eating intake. Otherwise I forget to eat and bad things happen. Bad, bad things.

 

If I took a third day at 1000 calories, I'd have to hit at least 2400 on the other days to average out to 1800. The math checks out, but I don't know if the rest of me can get on board with this or not. Sounds too much like crash-dieting to me.

 

Nice.  I'm tempted to add 5:2 (which sounds like Eat Stop Eat, except the calorie limit is lower) if Warrior Diet plateaus for me, which it might be doing.

 

So if I've got this right, you're thinking of adding another day of low calories because you want to increase your calories on training days while maintaining the same daily average?  Wouldn't the training itself add a bunch of calorie deficit?

[BlackTezca]

I like this challenge!  I like the idea of doing more of stuff than less (Sleep More, Train More, Eat more).  That's awesome and especially with the "Eat more', I like how you add 'Better' as well.  More and better are always great things to aim for

 

Mmmm Ice Cream sounds good.  I need to look into Halo Top for ice cream yum!

[Kishi]

On 8/21/2016 at 11:18 PM, sarakingdom said:

So if I've got this right, you're thinking of adding another day of low calories because you want to increase your calories on training days while maintaining the same daily average?  Wouldn't the training itself add a bunch of calorie deficit?

 

I'm thinking of adding another day of lower calories because basically people only want to do things with me on week nights, and the only way I can figure to keep IF going and meet with them and get enough sleep is to simply not eat and make up the difference when I have time.

 

In theory, yes. In practice, I'm skeptical, although I find that typically when I go out with friends that I get a lot more food in me, and it all kind of seems to balance out as long as I swing low.

 

On 8/22/2016 at 4:08 PM, BlackTezca said:

Mmmm Ice Cream sounds good.  I need to look into Halo Top for ice cream yum

 

DO IT. It's like the regular stuff, only with fiber and protein. It's pretty amaze.

 

*

 

On the heights, the paths are paved with daggers.

 

Eat: 2/2

 

Sleep: 1/2

 

S&S: 0/3

 

Write: 2/2; 7%

 

Ah, yeah. This is where they started to go long.

 

So far so good for the most part. Sleep got a little dicey last night, since DM-Monday-san just does not hear it if you have to go before the session is done. Still did okay, but gotta get down early if I'm going to have energy for tomorrow.

 

Training was good, but nothing noteworthy. I'm presently toying with the idea of a lean bulk next month if I stagnate this month. Just for fun. It'd be nice to shake things up a bit. But then again, Mom asked if I was losing weight again, which may be because I was coming off a low-calorie day and also because I've gotten flexible about abdominal training, breathing hardstyle when I got nobody around, and practicing vacuums when I do. Still, it was nice. And I'd only want to change things up if the present approach wasn't working, and so far it's been working its slow and steady magic for the past couple of months.

 

Anyway, that's that.

[TheAccountant]

This is the advice from the professional trainers I work with, not my own advice. I would like to acknowledge that I have almost no eating discipline because weight loss is not a goal of mine, so I am somewhat of a hypocrite when I talk about eating. Just wanted to encourage you, I know you probably know all this stuff:

 

Sleep:

1-Without it your wasting your workouts. Ask anyone in bodybuilding, there is no muscle growth without sleep. Also, memory retention.

2-Power of habit. Get up early instead of staying up late. I know it feels like you get artistic bursts late at night, but if you need extra hour to write, try AM instead of PM.

 

Eat:

1-Calorie Counting: Honestly, not sure that's a good idea. Wood and Gasoline have calories, the body won't do anything healthy with those calories. Calories from simple sugars prevent the burning of fat. Calories from most *natural* fats are better if you are an ectomorph (but like everything else, can be bad if over done).  

2-The only proven supplements: Whey Protein, Creatine (post workout), fish oil. If you have a high protein diet you shouldn't need whey protein, but if you can't eat right after a workout then it's better than nothing.

3-Chicken, brown rice, broccoli. AMRAP. If you have a craving for sweets, eat fruit and/or drink milk (yes, milk solves sugar cravings, packs healthy protein and fat, plenty of body builders drink a gallon a day). If you have a craving for salt, eat natural protein (meat, nuts).  As for meat, the fewer legs the better (fish is better than poultry is better than hoofed animals). As for vegetables, the more colors you can mix in, the better. As for starches, the browner the better.

5-Don't skip meals, it really screws with your metabolism, and your body will eat muscle before it eats fat, especially if you regularly consume simple sugars.

6-Drink a gallon of water a day.

 

 

[RisenPhoenix]

On 8/20/2016 at 1:56 AM, Kishi said:

 

Anyway, I refigured my caloric intake so that I'm averaging 1800 or so, as opposed to the 1650 I was averaging before. Have I ever mentioned how happy a problem it is to learn that I'm going to have to eat more rice and fattier grass-fed meat? It's true.

 

O_O

 

Jesus.  How the hell were you FUNCTIONING?!

 

I'm not that much larger than you, and if I went into aikido with only 1200 calories (since I eat dinner afterwards), I would be DEAD.  And you workout MORE than me.  How are you not a pile of mush! Seriously.  What the hell is your secret...

[Mistr]

1 hour ago, RisenPhoenix said:

 

O_O

 

Jesus.  How the hell were you FUNCTIONING?!

 

I'm not that much larger than you, and if I went into aikido with only 1200 calories (since I eat dinner afterwards), I would be DEAD.  And you workout MORE than me.  How are you not a pile of mush! Seriously.  What the hell is your secret...

 

I was wondering the same thing. @Urgan is doing heavy lifting and some martial arts, generally the same level of activity you do. She is eating 2100-2200 calories a day and is maintaining her weight at 115 lbs. How much weight are you trying to lose anyway?  

 

I understand you have some days where social obligations mean you have to eat more, so you want to eat less on the other days. Just be sane about it, okay?

[Machete]

2 hours ago, RisenPhoenix said:

 

O_O

 

Jesus.  How the hell were you FUNCTIONING?!

 

I'm not that much larger than you, and if I went into aikido with only 1200 calories (since I eat dinner afterwards), I would be DEAD.  And you workout MORE than me.  How are you not a pile of mush! Seriously.  What the hell is your secret...

 

My thoughts as well. When I was training for SFG 2 I was on about 2100 at 135 pounds, and it was barely doable. I had to drastically reduce my training volume. Eventually my form suffered and I injured my back. (Still got through, as I had built a rather decent base of strength, through S&S no less.) But yeah, that discipline that I do not possess is something I really admire in bodybuilders.

[Urgan]

1 hour ago, Mistr said:

 

I was wondering the same thing. @Urgan is doing heavy lifting and some martial arts, generally the same level of activity you do. She is eating 2100-2200 calories a day and is maintaining her weight at 115 lbs. How much weight are you trying to lose anyway?  

 

I understand you have some days where social obligations mean you have to eat more, so you want to eat less on the other days. Just be sane about it, okay?

 

It actually needs to be a bit more than that to maintain, I'm actually dropping weight in the process trying to clean up the quality of my food choices, but same difference. Eat Moar plz. 

[starpuck]

There's my Kishi!!! HII HI!  I following!

 

I like that you're getting things in order, and setting priorities!  That is such a hard thing to do!    We're all rooting for you and know you's gotta do what ya's gotta do.    We still <3 ya!

 

And when you're ready to add a wee little thing back in, I really wanna try some forum RP and try my hand at running a play by post inspired by my tabletop game.

 

[Kishi]

Oh. The good it does my heart to see everyone worrying. Not that I'm glad I made you worry, you understand.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 6:45 AM, MiddleAgeMutantNinjaPanda said:

Sleep:

1-Without it your wasting your workouts. Ask anyone in bodybuilding, there is no muscle growth without sleep. Also, memory retention.

2-Power of habit. Get up early instead of staying up late. I know it feels like you get artistic bursts late at night, but if you need extra hour to write, try AM instead of PM

 

Yes. This is something I need more. You train for adaptation, and that happens during sleep.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 6:45 AM, MiddleAgeMutantNinjaPanda said:

1-Calorie Counting: Honestly, not sure that's a good idea. Wood and Gasoline have calories, the body won't do anything healthy with those calories. Calories from simple sugars prevent the burning of fat. Calories from most *natural* fats are better if you are an ectomorph (but like everything else, can be bad if over done). 

 

Counter-point: I am not eating wood and gasoline. And for me, at the end of the day, I measure everything because for years I've had to ration my food. Make it stretch, you know? Since I was already measuring everything, adding on a little math has never really bothered me.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 6:45 AM, MiddleAgeMutantNinjaPanda said:

2-The only proven supplements: Whey Protein, Creatine (post workout), fish oil. If you have a high protein diet you shouldn't need whey protein, but if you can't eat right after a workout then it's better than nothing.

 

Yes. Provided you have the right suppliers.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 6:45 AM, MiddleAgeMutantNinjaPanda said:

3-Chicken, brown rice, broccoli. AMRAP. If you have a craving for sweets, eat fruit and/or drink milk (yes, milk solves sugar cravings, packs healthy protein and fat, plenty of body builders drink a gallon a day). If you have a craving for salt, eat natural protein (meat, nuts).  As for meat, the fewer legs the better (fish is better than poultry is better than hoofed animals). As for vegetables, the more colors you can mix in, the better. As for starches, the browner the better.

 

I am familiar with this tradition. It must be true for many people and must have been for many years, in order for it to become so. As for me, I've found my body doesn't care for it. Chicken and broccoli, yes. But too much fiber and my body stops up, and my sweet cravings are managed between fruit, sweet potatoes, and Greek yogurt.

 

As for meat, protein is protein. Fish is polluted and chicken is imbalanced with hormones, if you want to believe the hype. And it's worth pointing out that the hoofed stuff in particular is demonized pretty bad when it's high in zinc, iron, and b-vitamins. Man-and-woman-food, it is.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 6:45 AM, MiddleAgeMutantNinjaPanda said:

5-Don't skip meals, it really screws with your metabolism, and your body will eat muscle before it eats fat, especially if you regularly consume simple sugars

 

I'm not convinced. Muscle is an adaptation of utility. You use it, you keep it. You don't use it and it doesn't matter how much protein you eat how often. It disappears. That's the whole point behind IF. Which isn't to say, of course, that the whole 5-meals-a-day thing doesn't work. It does.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 6:45 AM, MiddleAgeMutantNinjaPanda said:

6-Drink a gallon of water a day.

 

I did that. My body hated it. No more.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 9:10 AM, RisenPhoenix said:

 

O_O

 

Jesus.  How the hell were you FUNCTIONING?!

 

I'm not that much larger than you, and if I went into aikido with only 1200 calories (since I eat dinner afterwards), I would be DEAD.  And you workout MORE than me.  How are you not a pile of mush! Seriously.  What the hell is your secret...

 

Lots of nutritious food. I don't eat a serving of veggies, I eat the whole damn bag. Just enough protein to repair muscle and balancing the energy macros depending on activity. Keeps the hormones moving well.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 10:41 AM, Mistr said:

I was wondering the same thing. @Urgan is doing heavy lifting and some martial arts, generally the same level of activity you do. She is eating 2100-2200 calories a day and is maintaining her weight at 115 lbs. How much weight are you trying to lose anyway?

 

More than I have so far. It's worth pointing out though that eating as low as I do on a day by day basis allows me to eat without any real restraint when out with my friends, which happens a lot more than I make it sound like. Last week, on Monday, a friend wanted to go get dinner. I ended up getting good lamb curry with rice, and then I did my 1000 calories on top of that.

 

This past Saturday, I ate my 1000, and then indulged in southern cooking and apple pie and lots and lots of alcohol. I don't know how much food that was. But it was just the start of the weekend's dietary shenanigans.

 

I don't let my discipline preclude me from enjoying my life, but rather I... take it in concentrated doses, so as to increase my joy. It's like most medicine - it's only harmful if you dose it wrong, and I think I managed to find a good dose finally.

 

Also, a hundred grams of protein before a night of drinking is super-powerful when combined with water between every drink. It's a very sane choice.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 11:16 AM, Machete said:

My thoughts as well. When I was training for SFG 2 I was on about 2100 at 135 pounds, and it was barely doable. I had to drastically reduce my training volume. Eventually my form suffered and I injured my back. (Still got through, as I had built a rather decent base of strength, through S&S no less.) But yeah, that discipline that I do not possess is something I really admire in bodybuilders.

 

Oh, I wouldn't say I was disciplined. I take the opportunities to indulge. It's probably the reason I'm leaning out so slowly, but to hell with it. I'm enjoying the ride.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 0:08 PM, Urgan said:

It actually needs to be a bit more than that to maintain, I'm actually dropping weight in the process trying to clean up the quality of my food choices, but same difference. Eat Moar plz.

 

I do. Really.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 4:21 PM, Starpuck said:

There's my Kishi!!! HII HI!  I following!

 

I like that you're getting things in order, and setting priorities!  That is such a hard thing to do!    We're all rooting for you and know you's gotta do what ya's gotta do.    We still <3 ya!

 

And when you're ready to add a wee little thing back in, I really wanna try some forum RP and try my hand at running a play by post inspired by my tabletop game.

 

 

It's always so good to see you! Sorry I haven't been around. I owe you that.

 

I'm glad I have you and everyone in my corner.

 

Also, you are right about that. I want to go back to that too.

 

*

 

 

[Kishi]

"Egwene, do you ever wish you were back home? That none of this ever happened?"

 

Hell no, Mat. I know where I came from. I don't want to go back.

 

Anyway, sorry that I'm not copy-pasting anything. My computer's hardware finally appears to be giving up the ghost. I guess it's time to go ahead and work on getting the new laptop. Won't be much longer 'til next paycheck, and it'll be a cinch then.

 

Can't believe I get to say that.

 

Anyway, let's see. Training is good. Went out to go work with Sensei on Wednesday. Brother came with, but he's too in love with his training pedagogy; all he wanted to do was watch. Watch and try to practice forms in the few minutes he had in the space. It was awkward and frustrating to watch him trying to justify himself - we kept trying to build bridges between what we did and what he was doing, but he just wouldn't have it. Raises up some... ugly thoughts which exceed my ability to make graceful.

 

All I'll say about it is that he tried to demonstrate flow by taking my arm and running all these strikes with the idea of 'neurological overload.' "But I won't hit your ear, because that's just mean." "Yeah, but bro, I still feel like I can punch you in the face." And I could. One day, he will understand that certain pedagogies yield certain results in certain time frames. Maybe then he'll be peaceful with Chinese-flavored LARP instead of trying to compensate.

 

Eating's been going well as well. The added food was a fun eat. I ended up making room for a croissant in the macros. If it was something homemade and good, I would have thrown it on top, but it was store bought crap, and it's not worth considering as an indulgence.

 

Sleep has been kind of crap, though. I've got a lot more sleep, but I can't seem to crack 7 the way I've been going. Need to cut everything off even earlier. Damn. But on the plus side, more time for reading which, hey, speaking of which:

 

I'm finally on track with my reading. Ooooooh my word, what a long book. This is where the politics start. It's fun and indulgent, but lean prose this is not. After a couple of forays into Pratchett and Mieville, I can see why my friend was so snobby. He's still a bastard for that, but more like a gentleman bastard, you know?

 

Writing's not so good, though. Like I said, the hardware's dying on the computer, and they ride us pretty hard at the job. I ended up losing some writing, which, wow, that sucked. More incentive for to buy that new computer. Just one... more... week...

[Urgan]

I ask mostly tongue-in-cheek, but have you considered punching him in the face? But I guess that's just mean, lol. 

 

Family dynamics are fun; you'd think, coming into your House, so to speak, he'd display more curiosity to learn about what you spend time on if only for the intellectual exercise. Ah well. At least you got a nice session in and the food was good, yeah? 

[Mistr]

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

"Egwene, do you ever wish you were back home? That none of this ever happened?"

 

Hell no, Mat. I know where I came from. I don't want to go back.

 

Anyway, sorry that I'm not copy-pasting anything. My computer's hardware finally appears to be giving up the ghost. I guess it's time to go ahead and work on getting the new laptop. Won't be much longer 'til next paycheck, and it'll be a cinch then.

 

Can't believe I get to say that.

 

YAY!!!!!  I am sooooooo happy to see you achieving your goals and moving into the life you have worked for.

[Kishi]

1 hour ago, Urgan said:

I ask mostly tongue-in-cheek, but have you considered punching him in the face? But I guess that's just mean, lol. 

 

Family dynamics are fun; you'd think, coming into your House, so to speak, he'd display more curiosity to learn about what you spend time on if only for the intellectual exercise. Ah well. At least you got a nice session in and the food was good, yeah? 

 

Yeah, and I think that's what really frustrates me. I'm not trying to start the pedagogy fight again, honestly, I'm not. People can train any way they want to, provided they accept the consequences of their choices. It's just that whenever we (he and I) talk about martial arts, it's always about how great the Chinese martial arts are and how karate is not, and how garbage karateka are when they go to train with the Chinese and can't hack it because, "all (the Chinese martial artists) want to do is fight." I doubt he apprehends the irony of the situation.

 

But more than that. I feel like I really tried to reach out to him, you know? I'd been keeping an open invite for him for weeks, and he really seemed to enjoy himself when he got in the ring with us the last time. Sensei liked him too, and he really wanted to see him. We bring him out, and he sits in the corner for two hours and then spends 15 minutes showing us how deeply he's drank of the kool-aid.

 

It's freaking insulting, although I doubt he sees it that way. He's made it clear that he has no interest in karate or judo, and I think what he expected was a duel of dogmas, and that's just not how Sensei does things. He's not a devotee of Funakoshi or Kano or the Gracies. He's about effective movement (given a certain definition) and while he has strong opinions about that kind of thing, he's way more about building bridges (you know. So you can fight on them).

 

Sensei, for his part, appears to be more amused than anything else. I feel bad, but he doesn't seem to want me to carry on that way. And if he, who should be insulted, ignores it, then what business have I to be angry on his behalf?

 

48 minutes ago, Mistr said:

 

YAY!!!!!  I am sooooooo happy to see you achieving your goals and moving into the life you have worked for.

 

Yeah! Friggin' weird, though. I talked to a friend of mine who does computers as a hobby and I was able to tell him that price wasn't an object.

 

So weird.

[Urgan]

2 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Yeah, and I think that's what really frustrates me. I'm not trying to start the pedagogy fight again, honestly, I'm not. People can train any way they want to, provided they accept the consequences of their choices. It's just that whenever we (he and I) talk about martial arts, it's always about how great the Chinese martial arts are and how karate is not, and how garbage karateka are when they go to train with the Chinese and can't hack it because, "all (the Chinese martial artists) want to do is fight." I doubt he apprehends the irony of the situation.

 

But more than that. I feel like I really tried to reach out to him, you know? I'd been keeping an open invite for him for weeks, and he really seemed to enjoy himself when he got in the ring with us the last time. Sensei liked him too, and he really wanted to see him. We bring him out, and he sits in the corner for two hours and then spends 15 minutes showing us how deeply he's drank of the kool-aid.

 

It's freaking insulting, although I doubt he sees it that way. He's made it clear that he has no interest in karate or judo, and I think what he expected was a duel of dogmas, and that's just not how Sensei does things. He's not a devotee of Funakoshi or Kano or the Gracies. He's about effective movement (given a certain definition) and while he has strong opinions about that kind of thing, he's way more about building bridges (you know. So you can fight on them).

 

Sensei, for his part, appears to be more amused than anything else. I feel bad, but he doesn't seem to want me to carry on that way. And if he, who should be insulted, ignores it, then what business have I to be angry on his behalf?

 

It'd be one thing if he refused to go (saves everyone time and awkwardness) or if he joined in while upholding his position re: the superiority of Chinese martial arts. Can't fault him for that, we both have very strong opinions about many things as well, yes? One can disagree without it being dishonorable, but that's just kinda what he chose, isn't it?

 

I don't mean to cut down your brother, he just sounds very insecure and I feel for you. You tried. Perhaps you just cannot relate to him on this level (for the time being). Maybe some day he'll grow up~?

 

10 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Yeah! Friggin' weird, though. I talked to a friend of mine who does computers as a hobby and I was able to tell him that price wasn't an object.

 

So weird.

 

 

[TheAccountant]

14 hours ago, Kishi said:

Counter-point: I am not eating wood and gasoline. And for me, at the end of the day, I measure everything because for years I've had to ration my food. Make it stretch, you know? Since I was already measuring everything, adding on a little math has never really bothered me.

 

1. I'm not smart enough for the math, nor am I disciplined enough to take my own advice on any long term regular basis. So you do you!

 

[Kishi]

On 8/25/2016 at 10:31 PM, Urgan said:

It'd be one thing if he refused to go (saves everyone time and awkwardness) or if he joined in while upholding his position re: the superiority of Chinese martial arts. Can't fault him for that, we both have very strong opinions about many things as well, yes? One can disagree without it being dishonorable, but that's just kinda what he chose, isn't it?

 

Yeah. Sensei and I used to visit other schools with other systems, and regardless of our personal reservations we always knew we were guests in someone's House. We kept our opinions to ourselves until we were asked to spar, and then our actions would speak for us. But we didn't hide in the corner and wait - we got up and played.

 

On 8/25/2016 at 10:31 PM, Urgan said:

I don't mean to cut down your brother, he just sounds very insecure and I feel for you. You tried. Perhaps you just cannot relate to him on this level (for the time being). Maybe some day he'll grow up~?

 

Maybe. I dunno. I guess I just thought he was more grown up than that. But there's no sense in carrying on with that sense of disappointment.

 

14 hours ago, MiddleAgeMutantNinjaPanda said:

 

1. I'm not smart enough for the math, nor am I disciplined enough to take my own advice on any long term regular basis. So you do you!

 

 

Oh, I mean to! I do myself just as I mean for others to do themselves. Bodies are weird and are all alike up to the points where they aren't, and one must do what works for oneself.

 

*

 

"Death cannot be healed, Rand. You are not the Creator."

 

Oh, but see how hard he tries.

 

Today was another day. Ran some preliminary measurements just for curiosity's sake. I think I might have hit the plateau... but I gotta say, after checking my logs, it's been 5 months coming. A good five months of getting stronger and getting leaner, bit by bit.

 

I was taken by a touch of madness and decided to go back to RPT protocols for my weighted lifts. I don't know that I could articulate why. I certainly wouldn't do it with my calisthenics. Just... felt like the thing to do. And it wound up being a lot of fun. I was studying That Guy I Follow and while his explanation for why didn't really sway me, his implementation did. Takes everything and makes it nice and simple.

 

Warmed Up

 

Pull Ups: 3x10,10,9

 

OHP: 4x45

3x70

6x95

8x85

10x76

 

Deadlift: 5x110

3x138

1x165

6x185

8x165

10x149

 

Hardstyle Sit Ups: 3x3,3,1

 

Cooled doown

 

20 minutes on the recumbent bike.

 

Notes:

• Pull Ups were a bit of a let down. I was shooting for 3x10, but just couldn't land that final pull. Eh. Get 'em next time.
• Going harder on the OHP was a lot of fun, actually. I dunno... like, it was heavy? But it was light too. Like as heavy as it was, I never ran out of strength, and I moved substantially more weight than I have before. Which will hopefully translate to more strength. Which will hopefully translate to HSPUs. In time.
• As fun as OHP was, Deadlifts were funner. I did them powerlifter style, as opposed to lifting with my back and just touching base and going. Every time I brought the weight back down to the ground, it boomed and echoed like I was dispensing justice. There was this little old lady trying to do her routine around me while I worked. I wonder what she must have thought.
• Flexed my abs so hard that they cramped. That was new. Stretching them out felt necessary rather than just good.
• The time on the bike is part of what I've done to fix my knee. Basically, the knee appears to respond to a patellar tendinitis treatment regimen. So, bone tea, the pain cave stretch, and some time working my legs to get blood flowing through the tissue without having to take my full weight.

Diet's been good. Sleep was even worse last night - just can't seem to get down in time. Still it's only a failure if I let it be, and the only way I let it be is if I fail to learn. The truth is, I probably need to accomplish things earlier - start cooking dinner earlier, things like that. I can do it, there's time, but I haven't been the best about that kind of thing. No excuses.

 

I'm basically caught up with the book, and I'm going to try to take tomorrow to get even further if I can. If I take tomorrow and just do chores and listen to books, I think I can get ahead in the reading. Besides, it's getting epic now.

 

I'm hoping to watch some world-building lectures by Brandon Sanderson this weekend too. Since my Word War appears lost, I might as well sift in the ashes and see what I can find. Came up with a fun thing I want to develop. Like y'all haven't heard that before.

 

Onward!

[mightstone2k]

"Egwene, do you ever wish you were back home? That none of this ever happened?"

 

Hell no, Mat. I know where I came from. I don't want to go back.

Amen, brother. Amen.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheAccountant]

On ‎8‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 5:47 AM, Kishi said:

 

Yeah. Sensei and I used to visit other schools with other systems, and regardless of our personal reservations we always knew we were guests in someone's House. We kept our opinions to ourselves until we were asked to spar, and then our actions would speak for us. But we didn't hide in the corner and wait - we got up and played.

 

 

Wait... You sparred at other schools using Akido? Were these Akido schools? Are you guys Shodokan Aikido?

[starpuck]

On 8/25/2016 at 9:15 PM, Kishi said:

Sensei, for his part, appears to be more amused than anything else. I feel bad, but he doesn't seem to want me to carry on that way. And if he, who should be insulted, ignores it, then what business have I to be angry on his behalf?

^ I have a hard time with this sometimes.  I get mad on behalf of people all the time.   I always tell myself it's because I care, but you're right... if they potential target does not get upset, perhaps the lesson was more for us in the grand scheme of things.  

 

Glad you're trucking along well, Kishi.   I'm getting all caught up again now that I am back and done with trips for a while!