Osu

[Urgan]

40 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 

What sorcery is this. You're saying I can do all of that just through the search engine itself w/ my Google account?

 

I know, right?? It's like the Instant Pot of job hunting, I swear it. No more scouring Google Maps and random company websites every day for a chance at a better life. Unless, you know, you want to.

[Machete]

13 hours ago, Teirin said:

You absolutely deserve better than this.  

 

 

Someone posted this on the Instagrams the other day. It hit me hard. Now if I could find a way to progressively overload self-esteem...

[Kishi]

22 hours ago, Urgan said:

 

I know, right?? It's like the Instant Pot of job hunting, I swear it. No more scouring Google Maps and random company websites every day for a chance at a better life. Unless, you know, you want to.

 

Oh no, no, I got quite enough on my plate right now, thank you very much. I'm completely happy to outsource the work to a machine on this one.

 

*

 

So, ran sprints yesterday. They were as much fun as I remembered. And I'm pleased to say that my ankles don't hurt any today for having done it. But the day is young, and Karate awaits.

 

I managed to get to Judo afterward. J-sensei was in a mood. Lots of uchikomi with we the students bellowing the counts, and when people failed consistently to bellow the count, we'd have to plank. Amazingly enough, it was our senpai and dan-ranked students which had the most trouble with this concept. Abs are feeling it a bit today. Thanks, senpai!

 

Anyway, I spent a very great deal of my night playing training dummy for a white belt who needed to work on ogoshi and harai goshi. Managed to hit my throws well when asked; I guess the footwork practice has been paying off even as intermittent as it's been, although I still need to keep working on that final position.

 

Tonight will be upper body work and Karate. I'll be dropping back on a couple of those to work on and cement form for a bit. Things should be good, I think.

[Kishi]

Yesterday happened. I think there was something off about it - it wasn't a bad day, I even slept in for mental health and was super productive at work as a result. But my heart wasn't in my training yesterday and I'm not terribly satisfied with how I did as a result.

 

So, started with GST.

 

Incline Push Ups: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Push Ups: 5x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

• So, huh. These were harder than I thought they'd be. I was really grinding it out towards the end there. A part of me is paranoid about the programming, thinking that I need to be advancing faster, but the truth is, I can deload from here just as easy as I can anywhere else, and there's no reason to chase the reps.

High Rows: 4x15

Integrated Mobility: DONE

• Well, at least my biceps are looking better and my elbow doesn't hurt.  It's fascinating to me, though, that these are so easy, but then, this is just the first step.

Scap Push Ups: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Protracted Planks: 5x36s

Integrated Mobility: DONE

• These started hard but got easier? I'll be staying at this level for a bit.

Kneeling Push Ups: 2x7,8

 

Karate afterward was a challenge. It was me and K-sensei again, so we started in on the finer points of movement and countering. I got a big problem with my movement in that I tend to think with my legs rather than my hips (my words, not his). So, like, when I try to block and counter, instead of getting off the line of attack with my hips, I tend to stay and take it. This is not good technique; it's bad not just because it leaves me in the way but also because it lends itself to half-assing two things (the block and the counter) as opposed to whole-assing one thing and then another. Whole-assing takes longer, but the neat thing is that when you commit yourself fully to one thing and then the next, you actually manufacture a lot of extra time for yourself to do what you need to do.

 

Except for the times when it doesn't work, but half-assing isn't going to put me in a better position for that.

 

K-Sensei also really, really wants me to focus on a bladed stance, like more than I am now, which has me 15 different kinds of paranoid for putting my heels on a line with each other and closing off my hips for power.

 

Oh, and also I'm apparently a bad uke for practicing blocks when he's trying to demo techniques. I told him I do this for self-preservation. "But I'm not going to hit you hard." "Yeah, you say that."

 

And I need to keep bouncing. And I need to shadowbox more. And I need to hit the bag more. And on and on and on.

 

So yeah, bitter training day yesterday. But these days happen. Truthfully, I've known for a while that I've had some problems, and I was probably due for something like this. I don't really have an excuse - I'm really, really busy, but the truth is effective practice doesn't take but 5 minutes or so, and if I'd just buckle down and take those opportunities when they're presented as opposed to sitting around watching YouTube, it'd probably make a difference.

 

Weight and measurements are down this morning, which is awesome, but given the monthly trends of my body I suspect this is temporary. I'll probably bounce up about 4 lbs or so in the next week. I've restructured the distribution of my calories throughout the week from  ~1000-3000 to ~1700-2400, which certainly feels more manageable and leaves me feeling saner, but it doesn't really free up a lot of calories for cheat days or anything like that. Which is fine. I suspect that those are the things that cause my weight to bounce like it does, and it might not be a bad idea to forego those for the most part except every now and again.

 

Anyway. Handstands and practice on the docket tonight. Not 100% certain whether I'll go to hit the heavy bag or not - I'm really not in the mood to do it and it's so far away, but it's not something I get to do all the time and it'll help. Somehow. (it doesn't seem to have done anything for the problems that are immediately on my mind, but that's just me carrying some negativity with me that I need to shake off).

[Urgan]

32 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Karate afterward was a challenge. It was me and K-sensei again, so we started in on the finer points of movement and countering. I got a big problem with my movement in that I tend to think with my legs rather than my hips (my words, not his). So, like, when I try to block and counter, instead of getting off the line of attack with my hips, I tend to stay and take it. This is not good technique; it's bad not just because it leaves me in the way but also because it lends itself to half-assing two things (the block and the counter) as opposed to whole-assing one thing and then another. Whole-assing takes longer, but the neat thing is that when you commit yourself fully to one thing and then the next, you actually manufacture a lot of extra time for yourself to do what you need to do.

 

Rule #1 of Aikido training is, Don't Get Hit. Particularly with a bokken. Or so we jokingly remind ourselves as a way to say the pressure of getting the technique right shouldn't come at the expense of getting conked on the head because you space out while trying to remember the way the technique should begin AND HERE COMES THE ATTACK. If you do one thing right, it's Get Off the Line. 

 

Creating space = life-saver

 

32 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Oh, and also I'm apparently a bad uke for practicing blocks when he's trying to demo techniques. I told him I do this for self-preservation. "But I'm not going to hit you hard." "Yeah, you say that."

 

Did I tell you about the time I got punched in the face by a buzzed black belt while he was demoing on me? Good thing my hand was between him and my jaw. Good ukemi is even more important with the darn black belts, I tell ya. Lol. It wasn't a hard punch, just an atemi, but still. What is self control again? Just a quick refresher plz.

 

AKA I don't blame you for not quite putting all your stock in that one.

 

32 minutes ago, Kishi said:

And I need to keep bouncing. And I need to shadowbox more. And I need to hit the bag more. And on and on and on.

 

So yeah, bitter training day yesterday. But these days happen. Truthfully, I've known for a while that I've had some problems, and I was probably due for something like this. I don't really have an excuse - I'm really, really busy, but the truth is effective practice doesn't take but 5 minutes or so, and if I'd just buckle down and take those opportunities when they're presented as opposed to sitting around watching YouTube, it'd probably make a difference.

 

I think your Sensei wants so much from/for you--in a positive sense--that it risks becoming a negative because you need little encouragement to work harder. You do have life outside the dojo, it's up to you how much of one you want to have. 

[Teirin]

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

Oh, and also I'm apparently a bad uke for practicing blocks when he's trying to demo techniques. I told him I do this for self-preservation. "But I'm not going to hit you hard." "Yeah, you say that." 

 

The three lies of Judo:

1. You can trust me
2. I won't throw you
3. This won't hurt

It's hit in this case, but it applies.

 

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

 

So yeah, bitter training day yesterday. But these days happen. Truthfully, I've known for a while that I've had some problems, and I was probably due for something like this. I don't really have an excuse - I'm really, really busy, but the truth is effective practice doesn't take but 5 minutes or so, and if I'd just buckle down and take those opportunities when they're presented as opposed to sitting around watching YouTube, it'd probably make a difference.

 

These days do happen, but I will also say that there is always something to improve.  You're fairly unlikely to hit a place where you're completely happy with your performance in your art.  Keep in mind how far you've come too. 

 

On the Youtube side of things:  You also can't be "On" all the time.  The human brain needs to shut down and passively take in stuff at times.   That said, I'm considering an alarm because I still do it way too much.  Maybe install a productivity addon that kicks you off the problem sites until you Do a Thing?

 

1 hour ago, Urgan said:

 

Rule #1 of Aikido training is, Don't Get Hit. Particularly with a bokken. Or so we jokingly remind ourselves as a way to say the pressure of getting the technique right shouldn't come at the expense of getting conked on the head because you space out while trying to remember the way the technique should begin AND HERE COMES THE ATTACK. If you do one thing right, it's Get Off the Line. 

 

Creating space = life-saver

 

 

Did I tell you about the time I got punched in the face by a buzzed black belt while he was demoing on me? Good thing my hand was between him and my jaw. Good ukemi is even more important with the darn black belts, I tell ya. Lol. It wasn't a hard punch, just an atemi, but still. What is self control again? Just a quick refresher plz.

 

AKA I don't blame you for not quite putting all your stock in that one. 

 

 

I think your Sensei wants so much from/for you--in a positive sense--that it risks becoming a negative because you need little encouragement to work harder. You do have life outside the dojo, it's up to you how much of one you want to have. 

 

AAALLLLL of this ^^^^

[Treva]

On 7/20/2018 at 10:47 AM, Kishi said:

Weight and measurements are down this morning, which is awesome, but given the monthly trends of my body I suspect this is temporary. I'll probably bounce up about 4 lbs or so in the next week. I've restructured the distribution of my calories throughout the week from  ~1000-3000 to ~1700-2400, which certainly feels more manageable and leaves me feeling saner, but it doesn't really free up a lot of calories for cheat days or anything like that. Which is fine. I suspect that those are the things that cause my weight to bounce like it does, and it might not be a bad idea to forego those for the most part except every now and again

 

You may be onto something there. I was at a class that advocated cheat meals instead of cheat days, and you probably know why. I'm glad you're seeing a downtrend in your measurements and weight! That's great progress! 

 

On 7/20/2018 at 10:47 AM, Kishi said:

So yeah, bitter training day yesterday. But these days happen. Truthfully, I've known for a while that I've had some problems, and I was probably due for something like this. I don't really have an excuse - I'm really, really busy, but the truth is effective practice doesn't take but 5 minutes or so, and if I'd just buckle down and take those opportunities when they're presented as opposed to sitting around watching YouTube, it'd probably make a difference

 

On 7/20/2018 at 11:23 AM, Urgan said:

 

I think your Sensei wants so much from/for you--in a positive sense--that it risks becoming a negative because you need little encouragement to work harder. You do have life outside the dojo, it's up to you how much of one you want to have. 

 

I dunno, I think sometime when people train as hard and are as disciplined as you are, letting the brain go a bit and having to watch some youtubes isn't always a bad thing.  You work really hard to stay on program, and I'm just here to echo @Urgan that having the encouragement to work harder and positive beneficial reinforcement helps people train better, which is how it works for me. As always I defer to your greater experience, etc etc.

 

also judo people sound scary just saying.

[Kishi]

On 7/20/2018 at 11:23 AM, Urgan said:

Rule #1 of Aikido training is, Don't Get Hit. Particularly with a bokken. Or so we jokingly remind ourselves as a way to say the pressure of getting the technique right shouldn't come at the expense of getting conked on the head because you space out while trying to remember the way the technique should begin AND HERE COMES THE ATTACK. If you do one thing right, it's Get Off the Line. 

 

Creating space = life-saver

 

You are not wrong. It's similar in Shotokan and Kali as well - Shotokan's emphasis on a bladed stance keeps the head back and presents a smaller target whilst ostensibly not compromising movement, and rule #2 of Kali is "Make a path for the opponent's blade (one that doesn't cut you)." 

 

On 7/20/2018 at 11:23 AM, Urgan said:

Did I tell you about the time I got punched in the face by a buzzed black belt while he was demoing on me? Good thing my hand was between him and my jaw. Good ukemi is even more important with the darn black belts, I tell ya. Lol. It wasn't a hard punch, just an atemi, but still. What is self control again? Just a quick refresher plz.

 

AKA I don't blame you for not quite putting all your stock in that one.

 

Well, and I mean, I'm my teacher's student, you know? He's not big on control, and he doesn't feel how hard he hits people. I'm there now, and it's gotten me in trouble. And he expects me to buy it?

 

But. This is something I need to learn to be indifferent toward. Truth is, even if he hits me hard, it's probably not going to be as hard as I've ever been hit. Like, I've seen stars in sparring. He wouldn't hit me that hard in demo.

 

On 7/20/2018 at 11:23 AM, Urgan said:

I think your Sensei wants so much from/for you--in a positive sense--that it risks becoming a negative because you need little encouragement to work harder. You do have life outside the dojo, it's up to you how much of one you want to have. 

 

I agree. At the same time, though, I've experimented with extra training off the mats before and it takes a relatively small amount of work to get a large amount of benefit. Small enough that it feels ridiculous not to do under most circumstances; of course it'd feel ridiculous on the heels of a bitter training day. #FeelingsAreNotFacts

 

On 7/20/2018 at 12:44 PM, Teirin said:

The three lies of Judo:

1. You can trust me
2. I won't throw you
3. This won't hurt

It's hit in this case, but it applies.

 

1 hour ago, Treva said:

also judo people sound scary just saying.

 

The three lies of any hard practice. I think the reality is, you have to learn to reframe your experience of pain. You have to learn the difference between hurt and injured. Judo is very good for that. Shotokan as we practice it is also very good for that. It's a lesson I need to dig into.

 

On 7/20/2018 at 12:44 PM, Teirin said:

These days do happen, but I will also say that there is always something to improve.  You're fairly unlikely to hit a place where you're completely happy with your performance in your art.  Keep in mind how far you've come too.

 

Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely. I've had a lot of opportunity to reflect on that. There's lots going on in the details of the movements which frankly I wouldn't have caught or understood 9 years ago. I've had lots of moments like that, and I know I'll always have work to do.

 

I think in some ways it's just frustrating that we don't really get that much time together to work on me, now that we have more students. A lot of it falls on me now, and I don't like feeling like I've been derelict in my duties to myself. It's like finding out that I have a lot of homework to do that I haven't done.

 

On 7/20/2018 at 12:44 PM, Teirin said:

On the Youtube side of things:  You also can't be "On" all the time.  The human brain needs to shut down and passively take in stuff at times.   That said, I'm considering an alarm because I still do it way too much.  Maybe install a productivity addon that kicks you off the problem sites until you Do a Thing?

 

I do have one! But it won't activate itself or follow me around egging me into doing things.

 

1 hour ago, Treva said:

You may be onto something there. I was at a class that advocated cheat meals instead of cheat days, and you probably know why. I'm glad you're seeing a downtrend in your measurements and weight! That's great progress!

 

Yeah! And I'm glad I've been taking notes. I've been losing pretty steadily at about 2 lbs a week or so; as of yesterday I was at 179.8 lbs from a starting weight of 189 five weeks ago. The math seems to indicate that I'm losing about a pound of lean mass for every pound of fat, but I don't think that's right - most of my strength-related issues have been stemming from tweaking my training tempos more than anything else, as I'm not feeling/getting weaker. By tempos, I mean focusing on the eccentric and concentric parts of a given movement, as opposed to just executing.

 

I've been studying that more, though, particularly in regards to my attempts to optimize my T, and having clarified this I suspect that I will be able to break through some of these plateaus sooner rather than later. Apparently, the research suggests it's better to focus on the concentric portion, to lift with explosive intention and minimize the time in the eccentric, to maximize the work done by explosive fibers which apparently do the most for androgens in the body.

 

Maybe. Still ironing all this out.

 

1 hour ago, Treva said:

I dunno, I think sometime when people train as hard and are as disciplined as you are, letting the brain go a bit and having to watch some youtubes isn't always a bad thing.  You work really hard to stay on program, and I'm just here to echo @Urgan that having the encouragement to work harder and positive beneficial reinforcement helps people train better, which is how it works for me. As always I defer to your greater experience, etc etc.

 

Nah, you don't have to defer to me. I've been a fool often enough to know that sometimes I shouldn't be deferred to, and I don't know when those times are.

 

I don't want to feel like I'm "on" all the time. I'm "on" for a great deal of the day already as it is, actually; being a case worker for disability is like being DM for the worst game of D&D. But that's an excuse too. If I want to make time for my writing, I need to be "on" for that. If I want to make time for my training, I need to be "on" for that too. If I was in a relationship with someone, I'd need to be "on" for her. There is a time for shutting "off" and resting, but I feel a need to be more responsible with that time and to use it better. I and my situation will not improve the more time I spend "off."

 

*

 

Quick note before Kali. Went off to hit handstand training yesterday, did some shadowboxing, skipped some rope. Figured out the trick about transitioning between skipping and swinging the rope to the side to catch your breath and slow back down, which was exciting to have happen out of nowhere, but kind of throws a wrench into the idea of 15 minutes of continuous skipping which I've seen bandied about before and arbitrarily decided to use as a benchmark to build toward.

 

Got to hit the heavy bag afterward. I'm pleased to say that I've developed this idea of approaching the bag with a concept to practice as opposed to just killing myself to practice All The Things. So far I have:

1. Stick And Move - getting off line behind a punch and stepping into a roundhouse. Goal is to move off the line and focus on keeping guard.
2. Block Off Line - getting off line with the hips behind a block, then countering.

This way, I can condense a lot of technical work into just a few minutes and use the bag as a form of feedback for how I'm moving.

 

Kali and kettlebells today. Let's get to work.

[ReturnOfTheDad]

I’ve been there man, sounds like you are on a learning plateau. When I’ve been there in the past I feel like I’m off, things aren’t making sense or I’m not able to pull them off how I want to, and I’m typically not ‘clicking’ with my Coach or Instructor. Sometimes it just takes time and consistency, and eventually it catches. You are tackling some big developments movement wise and I have no doubt they will come in time. The fact that you keep trying is what it’s all about.

[Treva]

9 hours ago, Kishi said:

I've been studying that more, though, particularly in regards to my attempts to optimize my T, and having clarified this I suspect that I will be able to break through some of these plateaus sooner rather than later. Apparently, the research suggests it's better to focus on the concentric portion, to lift with explosive intention and minimize the time in the eccentric, to maximize the work done by explosive fibers which apparently do the most for androgens in the body.

 

Maybe. Still ironing all this out.

 

 

I have never heard of this but it sounds right. I trust you on your research, sounds like something I should read up on.

 

9 hours ago, Kishi said:

Nah, you don't have to defer to me. I've been a fool often enough to know that sometimes I shouldn't be deferred to, and I don't know when those times are.

 

I don't want to feel like I'm "on" all the time. I'm "on" for a great deal of the day already as it is, actually; being a case worker for disability is like being DM for the worst game of D&D. But that's an excuse too. If I want to make time for my writing, I need to be "on" for that. If I want to make time for my training, I need to be "on" for that too. If I was in a relationship with someone, I'd need to be "on" for her. There is a time for shutting "off" and resting, but I feel a need to be more responsible with that time and to use it better. I and my situation will not improve the more time I spend "off."

 

Yeah but the wise man is also aware that he may be a fool. I respect your point.

 

i hear yah. It sounds like you have the wisdom and experience to know that being present in what you do makes it a quality thing and worth your time, and also you have the insight to know it is bleeping exhausting. As long as you feel you are getting enough "off" time for you, that's what counts. Sometimes for me I know walking away from a piece is what lets it ferment and mature, and when I come back I'm a better player with that piece.

 

also you are a case worker for disability excuse me while I go nominate you for sainthood in every western and eastern religion that's has them, that is a hard job I am told and you are a gift and a treasure for doing it.

 

 

 

[Urgan]

Just remember that it's okay to be Off and that even with relationship you have to have Off time there, too. Otherwise we'd be dead. Pretty sure. The last thing you need is to use Off time "more wisely" IMHO. That's like, the whole point of Off Time, isn't it? Just sorta existing while operating on Power Saver mode.

[Kishi]

On ‎7‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 9:41 PM, ReturnOfTheDad said:

I’ve been there man, sounds like you are on a learning plateau. When I’ve been there in the past I feel like I’m off, things aren’t making sense or I’m not able to pull them off how I want to, and I’m typically not ‘clicking’ with my Coach or Instructor. Sometimes it just takes time and consistency, and eventually it catches. You are tackling some big developments movement wise and I have no doubt they will come in time. The fact that you keep trying is what it’s all about.

 

Oh yeah. It's not the first time I've tried to catch on to something only to not. These things. They happen.

 

On ‎7‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 11:57 PM, Treva said:

I have never heard of this but it sounds right. I trust you on your research, sounds like something I should read up on.

 

If you like! You're a Doctor-in-Training, and I'm sure the last thing you want is more homework, but it's fascinating stuff if you have the time. The dude whom I'm studying lists all his sources at the bottom of this blogpost here.

 

On ‎7‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 11:57 PM, Treva said:

i hear yah. It sounds like you have the wisdom and experience to know that being present in what you do makes it a quality thing and worth your time, and also you have the insight to know it is bleeping exhausting. As long as you feel you are getting enough "off" time for you, that's what counts. Sometimes for me I know walking away from a piece is what lets it ferment and mature, and when I come back I'm a better player with that piece.

 

Oh yeah. And as y'all have pointed out, I got a lot of people wanting me to be stuck in the "On" position. "Off" is as much a part of that as anything which, frankly, most people don't seem to appreciate enough. Maybe it'd help me to think of multiple "On/Off" switches so that I could be on in certain ways and off in certain ways?

 

On ‎7‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 11:57 PM, Treva said:

also you are a case worker for disability excuse me while I go nominate you for sainthood in every western and eastern religion that's has them, that is a hard job I am told and you are a gift and a treasure for doing it.

 

*hand behind head, grins bashfully* Thanks.

 

On ‎7‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 10:45 AM, Urgan said:

Just remember that it's okay to be Off and that even with relationship you have to have Off time there, too. Otherwise we'd be dead. Pretty sure. The last thing you need is to use Off time "more wisely" IMHO. That's like, the whole point of Off Time, isn't it? Just sorta existing while operating on Power Saver mode.

 

I know it's okay to be Off, but so much of my On time is spent on things that I don't want to do that if I don't stay On a bit more, I won't do the things I want to do either. I have no interest in living my life for this job; the only way I see to do the things I want to do like writing and training and getting better at both is to be On a bit further than is comfortable for me to be right now. I just don't see another way forward.

 

*

 

Whee, busy for the past few days and can't really seem to get time to get on here like I like to. Bah.

 

Short version of it is that things have been going well! Kali has more bodies, kettlebells are being moved, etc. GST went well on Sunday; movements felt good and powerful.

 

Last night, we were exposed to a "Short" game of Harnmaster on account of missing people, and we keep buying the idea that it'll be done in a night as opposed to taking a month or two like it always does. Because we are foolish.

 

Got back too late to do any kind of the prep work I needed to do, so decided to pull an impromptu extra fast today to make up for it.

 

There's a meeting at the Dojo tonight that Manong wants me in on, I guess on account of wanting me to be ready to train people? Not sure what the purpose is there. But it'll be an hour or so before Karate, so I'm not going to have time to do kettlebells tonight on top like I like to do.

 

Also, there's a Con this week that I'm hitting up, although it seems that my friends are playing catch as catch can as far as whether we'll be hanging out or not, which is annoying because if I don't have people to hang with, then I'm basically just spending money for the opportunity to go spend more money, and I have plenty of opportunity for that right now as it is.

 

Also, K-Sensei challenged me to read Marx's Capital so I'm starting on that.

 

So much going on this week. Phew. Well. It's not going to do itself.

[Teirin]

I hope you can hang out with your friends :-(

 

7 hours ago, Kishi said:

Last night, we were exposed to a "Short" game of Harnmaster on account of missing people, and we keep buying the idea that it'll be done in a night as opposed to taking a month or two like it always does. Because we are foolish.

 

More delusional, but we all do it.

 

Good luck with the meeting!

[Kishi]

11 hours ago, Teirin said:

I hope you can hang out with your friends :-(

 

Me too! They are my friends. I like them.  And they're really the reason that I'm going; frankly, fan culture just doesn't interest me all that much otherwise.

 

*

 

So, I wasn't terribly contributory to the meeting. Basically, it told me something that I knew already - we're spinning our wheels as a school in terms of getting students and such. We've got just enough coming out to the mats to keep us in the black, but we just lost a student for the next month and a half due to a broken arm (because he posted out taking a fall) and that's gonna hurt us a bit.

 

We're running our mouths about the dojo on social media, but it looks like most of the people who interact with that data are people who are attending already - students and their families. We're not getting a lot of turnover or word of mouth or anything like that.

 

There are plans in place, though - setting up tables at local street events and passing out flyers, and there's a thought about printing out shirts with our website on the back. We also want to get in with the local school district around here too, to see if we can garner students from the local body.

 

Kali has a bunch of students on account of the fact that a bunch of RBSD etc. folk want to come out and study it as a supplemental art, but they're only doing Kali and the reduced rates are basically just enough to pay the electric bill. Nobody comes out for karate because we're too hard and too unorthodox when there's a traditional school just down the road.

 

We're not beaten, obviously, but there's a hurdle we have to get over that we just haven't managed yet. I honestly didn't need to be at the meeting to know that, and I didn't have anything to contribute to get us over. Waste of my time to go. Especially since it cost me some quality Bell time.

 

Karate was bitter, but good bitter this time. There's been a major problem with my counters where I tend to get to close and cut off my strike too early (which can be worked around, ofc, but shouldn't be default). We managed to diagnose the issue, though, and while one class can't fix things I'm definitely on my way to getting it addressed. It'll actually fit in with the concept trainings I have in place already anyway, which is nice and also proof of concept.

 

I went up for a few rounds of sparring. I rocked and got rocked. A normal night.

 

Today's docket wants to be sprints and judo, but the weather's not good for sprinting today, and the closest gym doesn't have good kettlebells. Guess I'll have to switch it up a bit.

 

In other news, eating for T is proving to be a puzzle. Lower protein and higher C/F seems to be a good idea, and fasting does help, but I'm trying to figure out if one kind is better than the other. I remember, the first week I began, I was, ah, symptomatic for higher doses of T in the body, but my body fat levels were staying constant. Since lowering those to a certain degree helps T, I introduced breakfast back into the mix, and my body fat is dropping but I'm back to being asymptomatic, and I'm kind of scratching my head about what to do. I'm thinking it's time to go back to a restricted eating window again for a bit with occasional dips in calories like I'm doing now, and see if maybe that's the ticket to get both sets of benefits. Energy will remain constant.

[Teirin]

1 hour ago, Kishi said:

Karate was bitter, but good bitter this time. There's been a major problem with my counters where I tend to get to close and cut off my strike too early (which can be worked around, ofc, but shouldn't be default). We managed to diagnose the issue, though, and while one class can't fix things I'm definitely on my way to getting it addressed. It'll actually fit in with the concept trainings I have in place already anyway, which is nice and also proof of concept.

 

Always a good feeling to start figuring that out.

 

The eternal new member problem: A table at a market is a great idea!   We tried running a monthly self defense class (for a donation) to try and recruit new people.  You may have more luck with it than we did?  Lack of advertising played an effect.  

 

Are any of you active on a local FB page, r/martialarts or a local subreddit?  May be able to recruit people looking for a club/activity there.

[Kishi]

21 hours ago, Teirin said:

Always a good feeling to start figuring that out.

 

Yeah. I tell K-sensei, it's about 4.5 years from one belt to the next under him. He says he doubts that, but then we pick apart the techniques and it turns out I'm not humming along like I need to, and as soon as we fix one thing something else breaks. The years are needed.

 

21 hours ago, Teirin said:

The eternal new member problem: A table at a market is a great idea!   We tried running a monthly self defense class (for a donation) to try and recruit new people.  You may have more luck with it than we did?  Lack of advertising played an effect.  

 

Are any of you active on a local FB page, r/martialarts or a local subreddit?  May be able to recruit people looking for a club/activity there.

 

Well, as far as social media and reddit goes, we might could do better there. We do have our own FB page, but the only people who are interacting with it are people who either are there already or who are established at other dojo in the community. Side note: love the local judo community; it's been very supportive, at least those of us who I've seen. I'm sure we have some rivals or people who don't like us, though, somewhere.

 

Getting onto the subreddits might be a thing. Also, possibly Meetup; that's where we seem to get a wide swathe of our kali people from.

 

*

 

So, out of nowhere, that blasted hamstring decided to act up again. It's not as bad as it was last time, and I know what it is this time so I can be more efficient in treating it, but still. Priniciple of the thing, you know?

 

Definite kibosh on judo and sprinting last night. I actually went back and did GB's hamstring series, and I think I see where I went wrong. I basically misunderstood a lot of the cues and what I was seeing demonstrated, and there were some underlying movement pathologies that I really wasn't addressing. Things got better for a while, but. They didn't stay that way.

 

Anyway. I'm looking up some treatment protocols because I'm sick and tired of getting hurt and waiting for injuries to come. I found a protocol that I think will work; unfortunately, if SFG anecdotes are anything to go on, I'll have to spend some time away from the Bells. Which bothers me, but not being able to walk without pain bothers me more, so. Guess I won't be so good at lifting couches for a bit.

 

Although, part of the reason I'm in such a hurry to get moving on this is that I've been called upon to move couches next week.  Dammit.

 

But then again, maybe not too, you know? I can still play with the therapy bells and practice cues, and that's not nothing.

 

I still plan to go to con, just because the gentle movement will be good, but I don't think I can do anything exotic as far as gathering death photos or anything like that. Then again, showing up with a NVCR ID badge might just be the first step I need.

 

Upper body work tonight. I ran into K-sensei today while I was walking my rounds and explained my circumstances; he said he'd work around it if I showed up tonight. I really do want to show up; in the worst case, I can hold pads and help with the new students, engage in some mental training as far as looking for cues and ish like that. The mental stuff does help, it's no joke.

 

Onward.

[Urgan]

You can make some lemonade out of those lemons--Time to work on things you had been putting off as a way to deflect from not training as normal. House clean yet? Jobs been researched/applied for?

[Kishi]

8 minutes ago, Urgan said:

You can make some lemonade out of those lemons--Time to work on things you had been putting off as a way to deflect from not training as normal. House clean yet? Jobs been researched/applied for?

 

Wait, wait, don't tell me, there's a quote about this. Something about burning houses down with lemons...

 

Seriously, though, I'm gonna have a bunch of energy and nothing to do with it, so I might as well put that energy to work getting ish cleaned up and the resume updated and the search robot set up.

[Urgan]

7 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Wait, wait, don't tell me, there's a quote about this. Something about burning houses down with lemons...

 

Naw, that guy was dying from cancer caused by wallowing in gel created by ground-up space rocks. You just have a pissy hamstring lol.

 

8 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Seriously, though, I'm gonna have a bunch of energy and nothing to do with it, so I might as well put that energy to work getting ish cleaned up and the resume updated and the search robot set up.

 

A clean house is definitely better than hating yourself because you're injured, LBR. 

[Kishi]

4 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Naw, that guy was dying from cancer caused by wallowing in gel created by ground-up space rocks. You just have a pissy hamstring lol.

 

BUT IT FEELS LIKE LEG CANCER, THO. I AM LITERALLY ON MY LAST LEG. NOT MY FAULT I ONLY GOT TWO

 

5 minutes ago, Urgan said:

A clean house is definitely better than hating yourself because you're injured, LBR.

 

Hai, hai. TBF, I'm still not over how good cleanliness is for mental health. My mental health in particular.

[Urgan]

1 minute ago, Kishi said:

BUT IT FEELS LIKE LEG CANCER, THO. I AM LITERALLY ON MY LAST LEG. NOT MY FAULT I ONLY GOT TWO

 

I got your song...

 

 

1 minute ago, Kishi said:

Hai, hai. TBF, I'm still not over how good cleanliness is for mental health. My mental health in particular.

 

It's the fastest way to a better outlook on life.

[Kishi]

On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 1:28 PM, Urgan said:

I got your song...

 

It's uncanny how you seem to have the best music for these situations.

 

*

 

So, as you may have inferred from my radio silence for the past few days, I ultimately wound up going to con. I think my friends did not know that I was going and I presented it to them as a happy coincidence that we were all going there, so we wound up being able to hang. It wound up being worth it.

 

But let's back up and complete the record first.

 

Thursday, my hamstring got to the point where it couldn't even handle a little footwork, and it was to the point where standing was painful. So I canceled. K-sensei says he wouldn't have even had me on my feet that night; I am skeptical of this claim. I was able to do some upper body work, though, although I had to really drop back on a lot of the stuff I was doing, focusing on earlier variations. However, I focused on fast, controlled, explosive work with these, and the result was that they were plenty challenging that way.

 

Got up the next morning, took my measurements which were trending up following my return to fasting. However, was symptomatic for high T, which is the overarching goal anyway. I also decided to swallow my pride and buy a cane to help me with the con, because I could walk okay, but there was pain in my gait and I was having a hard time with getting up off the ground. I didn't want to trust my friends to help me, because my friends are soft and weak and smoll in various combinations. It hurt my pride to do it, but I figured it was either this or find myself seated on the ground with no one to help me up. But with that done, I made my way to the Con.

 

SuperCon, like Animazement, is held at the Raleigh Convention Center, which is downtown. It's this big, bright, modern building with a warehouse section and the outer walls made of glass. I got there early and spent my time just wandering the place and feeling the energy. I was vaguely disappointed that I wasn't able to join in the cosplay, but I did wear a shirt I got from some nerds a while back, when my nickname here was "The Unspeakable." I wore the NVCR Intern name badge and in the name's place I wrote, "THE NAME! DO NOT SPEAK IT" which seemed appropriate for Night Vale.

 

Wandered until my friends got there, got the business of the cane out of the way - "Knowing you, that's either a prop or you're hurt." "It's the latter." "OH NO WHAT HAPPENED LET US LOVE YOU" - and then proceeded to Wander With Friends for the next couple days, which was a way better way to do this. We cracked jokes, wandered the warehouse. There were a lot of cool guests that showed up, but TBH I felt enough out of step with the concept of fandom that I didn't actually go up and approach any of them. I felt... shabby. That is, I felt like I hadn't accomplished enough that I could look these creators and such in the eye, and I didn't think of myself as enough of a consumer of pop culture and media to take up space.

 

In hindsight, that was stupid of me; I am resolved that this will not happen again if/when I get another chance to go.

 

On the flipside of that, though, I got the chance to see friends I hadn't seen in a long while. I'd forgot that I had a lot of local people with whom comics and gaming and such were common interests.

 

Panels were kind of a miss for us this year. I went with a bunch of cosplayers, and they were interested in the cosplay panels; these panels were put on by the 501st, which is the local chapter of Star Wars Imperial cosplayers, and they didn't do too good. The topics were pretty great, actually, but in execution it really wasn't much more than a chance for them to brag on themselves and try to pitch membership in the 501st. It was funny actually; I went to one with a friend who was cosplaying as Matt the Technician (a throwback to Adam Driver's bit character on SNL and freaking slayed) and she called them out on it in the panel we went to together, which I thought was just wonderful.

 

And... yeah. For me, my friends were ultimately what made this, as I figured they would be. Like I said, not a big consumer, and further I didn't have a lot of money to spend even if I'd found things I wanted. A newer friend joined us on Saturday, but he's kind of this awkwardly Lawful Good type, the kind that tells you he's a feminist and you suspect him, even though he's legit a good guy. He actually grinds my nerves pretty badly, but I got the chance to talk to him and get in depth on some things, and it turns out he's got a lot in common with me. Which of course makes me second-guess and question just about everything I think about myself as far as whether I'm as charismatic or as easy to get along with as I think I am.

 

We also bonded over playing Detroit: Become Human, which everyone else in my friend group is over the moon about. They're crazy about it because they see it as this form of interactive storytelling that straddles a lot of the lines between book and film and game. Myself, I am not so enamored - I think it co-opts a lot of Western Slave-era/Holocaust/Civil Rights imagery to clumsily execute on a story that doesn't say what I think everyone else is saying about it. But having had the chance to play it some, I can see why they like it, and I wonder if some of the problems that I've cited were due to processing problems or something like that. But then again, when they told me that this game was released years after a tech demo and considering that in context with the final product... not sure.

 

But whatever. Everyone else wants to group cosplay from this game next year, and I said I'd join them. So, play I shall. It's worth pointing out that I want to, if for no other reason than that we're all kind of using it as a litmus test for each other to see what kinds of decisions we make in the situations we're presented, and I must admit that it's fun surprising them with the things I do.

 

Sunday, I went to go see a film Maquia: When the Promised Flowers Bloom, which is an anime about an immortal girl who adopts a baby boy and the story of their relationship as he grows old and she does not. It's a high fantasy story about motherhood and the nature of change. Very, very good; it punched me in the feels and I didn't even know it until I was crying in the car on the way back home.

 

Sunday was also D&D with the folks, in which we solved problems with fire. It was glorious. We almost died.

 

Otherwise, I continued to do my training. I hit advancement on the Manna progression, but it's definitely getting to a point where I'mma need the Sidebars to hang on to. Need to look into this a bit more; may have some gym options to get into for this.

 

Today, leg is feeling better, but I still need to keep recovering, so keep recovering I shall. Shall change up the game a little bit with my training to reflect the new un-weighted reality of things, which should be good. Diet numbers adjusted according to reflect the new energy needs. Rest night with gaming again.

[Urgan]

27 minutes ago, Kishi said:

It's uncanny how you seem to have the best music for these situations.

 

In the dojo, we keep it on radio station 444.4 with DJ Urgan quoting random songs to break partner's concentration and/or get late 80s, 90s songs stuck in heads because the best atemi is to make uke double over laughing. Fact. I am srs aikidoka at all times with such srsness.

 

You'd probably hate me on the mat lol.

 

27 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Wandered until my friends got there, got the business of the cane out of the way - "Knowing you, that's either a prop or you're hurt." "It's the latter." "OH NO WHAT HAPPENED LET US LOVE YOU" - and then proceeded to Wander With Friends for the next couple days, which was a way better way to do this. We cracked jokes, wandered the warehouse. There were a lot of cool guests that showed up, but TBH I felt enough out of step with the concept of fandom that I didn't actually go up and approach any of them. I felt... shabby. That is, I felt like I hadn't accomplished enough that I could look these creators and such in the eye, and I didn't think of myself as enough of a consumer of pop culture and media to take up space.

 

In hindsight, that was stupid of me; I am resolved that this will not happen again if/when I get another chance to go.

 

Kishi is not worthy to scream alongside the fangirls...

 

LBR the con experiences I went to were almost exclusively to do one of two things:

1. Spot the Cosplay

2. Buy crap. Lots and lots. Of crap. Like I could turn around and set up a small booth of the crap hauled from the con back to the hotel and back into the car when it's time to go home (because of course you take it all out of the boxes in the hotel room before you leave...).

 

27 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Sunday was also D&D with the folks, in which we solved problems with fire. It was glorious. We almost died.

 

Why can't more problems be solved this way? So elegant in its simplicity. 

[Kishi]

18 hours ago, Urgan said:

In the dojo, we keep it on radio station 444.4 with DJ Urgan quoting random songs to break partner's concentration and/or get late 80s, 90s songs stuck in heads because the best atemi is to make uke double over laughing. Fact. I am srs aikidoka at all times with such srsness.

 

You'd probably hate me on the mat lol.

 

Oh hardly. I already have a steady disregard for one of my fellow judoka; the dude talks a lot about how he's working out and doing this, that, and the other, but he'll show up later than me, roll for maybe ten minutes, and then spend the rest of the time talking with people like he has something to say. Which he doesn't.

 

You cannot be worse than that.

 

19 hours ago, Urgan said:

Kishi is not worthy to scream alongside the fangirls...

 

Well, you put it that way and suddenly I don't care so much.

 

19 hours ago, Urgan said:

LBR the con experiences I went to were almost exclusively to do one of two things:

1. Spot the Cosplay

2. Buy crap. Lots and lots. Of crap. Like I could turn around and set up a small booth of the crap hauled from the con back to the hotel and back into the car when it's time to go home (because of course you take it all out of the boxes in the hotel room before you leave...).

 

That's true, and I think a lot of it would have been fun to buy, especially the artbooks and such, but I passed it up as I'm trying to get rid of the crap I've got and I didn't want to add more to it. I ended up with an artisanal tin cup and a couple of decals for fictional bureaucracies for which I'd rather work.

 

21 hours ago, Urgan said:

Why can't more problems be solved this way? So elegant in its simplicity.

 

Right? I was actually rather pleased that we got to finally dig into a problem this way.

 

*

 

Rest day was restful.

 

Game wound up being a lot shorter than we thought it would be. We were one-shotting a scenario where we were looking for a holy relic that is desired by an evil god. We get to the place where it's kept and we find a demonic minion of this god. We were braced for a long, epic fight that was going to carry us for hours and take everything we had with a very good chance that most of us were going to die - and then the demon botched his spellcasting and proceeded to blow himself up within the first minutes of combat. DM-san's gast was well and truly flabbered.

 

We still got blowed up pretty good, so my combat medic wound up getting put through his paces something fierce. He acquitted himself quite nobly, however.

 

Got back home, thought about stretching but the hamstring's still pretty stiff and I didn't like the character of the discomfort I had in extension, so I sat back and took it easy.

 

I've been looking at the GB forums and they seem to think that GST is good enough for general physical prep. I've decided I'm going to test that claim, as long as I have to stay unweighted anyway. I'll have a lot more rest time this way than I had before, which is a strange sensation that doesn't feel comfy on a mental level. But so be it. I see no reason to disbelieve the claim, since I'll continue to move through a wide range of different motions and I'll also be working directly on the connective tissues and such like that.

 

I also suspect that I didn't ever really need to sprint. KB swings are a ballistic explosive movement, for all that they're low to no impact, and I think that sprinting in combination with the heavier work was just too much. One wasn't a problem, and the other wasn't a problem, but both together seem to be. Oh well. Live and learn, right?

 

Anyway, just Karate tonight. I'm feeling well enough for footwork and movement, but it's still a little stiff for kicking. So weird to not have extra work. Not sure if happy or sad.

[Urgan]

2 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Oh hardly. I already have a steady disregard for one of my fellow judoka; the dude talks a lot about how he's working out and doing this, that, and the other, but he'll show up later than me, roll for maybe ten minutes, and then spend the rest of the time talking with people like he has something to say. Which he doesn't.

 

You cannot be worse than that.

 

Last night's top hit was Smash Mouth's All Star. Because we are heckin' clever like that.

Somebody once told me the world was gonna roll me...

 

Technically my partner started it, but anyway....

 

4 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Well, you put it that way and suddenly I don't care so much.

 

The precise image I had was you clambering to catch a glimpse of Vic Mignogna, for the record.

 

5 minutes ago, Kishi said:

That's true, and I think a lot of it would have been fun to buy, especially the artbooks and such, but I passed it up as I'm trying to get rid of the crap I've got and I didn't want to add more to it. I ended up with an artisanal tin cup and a couple of decals for fictional bureaucracies for which I'd rather work.

 

So you would have actively been working against your best interests to do more than you did. 

 

6 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Right? I was actually rather pleased that we got to finally dig into a problem this way.

 

The answer can almost always benefit from a blowtorch, I find.

 

7 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Game wound up being a lot shorter than we thought it would be. We were one-shotting a scenario where we were looking for a holy relic that is desired by an evil god. We get to the place where it's kept and we find a demonic minion of this god. We were braced for a long, epic fight that was going to carry us for hours and take everything we had with a very good chance that most of us were going to die - and then the demon botched his spellcasting and proceeded to blow himself up within the first minutes of combat. DM-san's gast was well and truly flabbered.