Osu

[ReturnOfTheDad]

Glad the leg is feeling better!

Sounds like the Con was a blast.  

[Kishi]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 1:08 PM, Urgan said:

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....

 

Well, now, wait, that's actually a good song for judo.

 

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 1:08 PM, Urgan said:

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

 

It would have been Steve Blum, actually, in this case. There were a bunch of seiyuu there, including Dante Basco and the cast of RWBY. Also the mains for Cobra Kai, and some folk from GoTG. I could have met some really cool people is what I'm saying, but man, it's just not my thing.

 

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 1:08 PM, Urgan said:

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

 

Right, hence my initial reticence to go.

 

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 1:08 PM, Urgan said:

 

 

Yeah, the look on his face, tho. We thought he'd killed us.

 

13 hours ago, ReturnOfTheDad said:

Glad the leg is feeling better!

Sounds like the Con was a blast.  

 

It is and it was! I have better ROM on that leg today than I did a week ago. Excellent progress so far.

 

*

 

So, plan was Karate last night. Plan botched, tho. I was out of food back home, got out of work late, and my gi wasn't clean. So, I elected to do the responsible thing. Besides, it's not like I'm hurting for the extra rest.

 

Speaking of, 1 week into recovery and so far I'm feeling really good. I have better active ROM on my leg and my passive's not doing bad either. Also, my elbow feels even better thanks to the rest. So, on the whole, things are getting better.

 

Leg is feeling good enough for lower body work and judo tonight. Should be good, I think.

[Urgan]

32 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Well, now, wait, that's actually a good song for judo.

 

Well that's our kind of sense of humor. I'll frequently break out Circles by Soul Coughing when we roll around the room practicing ukemi.

 

33 minutes ago, Kishi said:

It would have been Steve Blum, actually, in this case. There were a bunch of seiyuu there, including Dante Basco and the cast of RWBY. Also the mains for Cobra Kai, and some folk from GoTG. I could have met some really cool people is what I'm saying, but man, it's just not my thing.

 

33 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Right, hence my initial reticence to go.

 

It's kind of nice to say you were in the same building as sorta well-known people and had the luxury of deciding whether you could scrape together the Fs to go peer in that direction. Oh look, way too many people over there and my Introvert switch suddenly flipped.

 

38 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Yeah, the look on his face, tho. We thought he'd killed us.

 

 

39 minutes ago, Kishi said:

So, plan was Karate last night. Plan botched, tho. I was out of food back home, got out of work late, and my gi wasn't clean. So, I elected to do the responsible thing. Besides, it's not like I'm hurting for the extra rest.

 

Food is kind of important, good call. 

[Kishi]

And, Wednesday down.

 

This week is/would be a deload week, so reduced the volume.

 

Assisted Squats: 1x21

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Half Squats: 1x15

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Full Squats: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Deck Squats: 5x5

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

One thing that I'm finding helping with the deck squats is to use Pavel's Irradiation Principle, clenching my fists when I'm on the way up. It really helps to stabilize me, and I think I'm even getting to the point where I can close squat (ie, feet less than fist-width's distance apart) to the point where my hips are below parallel. Pretty neat.

 

I had some time to spare, so I hit up the exercise bike afterward to promote some active recovery for the hamstrings. Nothing strenuous.

 

Judo afterward went pretty great. Small class, so after newaza, I got paired with a gentleman whose impairments restrict him to newaza. He's very good, actually, so we did nothing but this for the rest of class. He dumped a lot of techniques on me without really getting much opportunity to practice any one, which I wouldn't have preferred, but there were some principles I could learn to apply, I think.

 

Anyway, upper body and karate on the docket tonight. Everything should be in order, but I have this feeling of impending change, like some part of the routine's about to up and become unworkable on my home set-up. It's deload week this week, so it's not yet, but the part of me that looks for logistical problems is twitching.

[Treva]

On 7/30/2018 at 3:17 PM, Kishi said:

 

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.

 

Honestly, solving problems with fire is the best way to do anything.  I'm biased.  
Thanks for sharing everything about the con!  I've never been to one, so it was nice to hear all about it!! I am glad you got to see your friends, sounds like (as you said) it made it very worth it to go.  It is always good to be among your people, and any WTNV shenans are good shenans.

GLOW CLOUD.

Ahem.

Thanks for letting us live vicariously though your cool adventures and all the fun, interesting, and maybe frustrating with the 501st that happened.  Sounds like you got to see and do cool things and I'm glad we got to hear about it.

 

I'm sorry to hear you had to use a cane though!  You're too young for that!

 

On 7/31/2018 at 12:58 PM, Kishi said:

 

 

*

 

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.

 

I love this.  The monster blew himself up.  This is great.  I love this.  

(I will have to look up GST but) I am glad you were able to identify what the difficulty was in your training and have taken steps to help heal and fix it.  Any development in how you feel not having the extra work?

 

5 hours ago, Kishi said:

 

I had some time to spare, so I hit up the exercise bike afterward to promote some active recovery for the hamstrings. Nothing strenuous.

 

Judo afterward went pretty great. Small class, so after newaza, I got paired with a gentleman whose impairments restrict him to newaza. He's very good, actually, so we did nothing but this for the rest of class. He dumped a lot of techniques on me without really getting much opportunity to practice any one, which I wouldn't have preferred, but there were some principles I could learn to apply, I think.

 

Anyway, upper body and karate on the docket tonight. Everything should be in order, but I have this feeling of impending change, like some part of the routine's about to up and become unworkable on my home set-up. It's deload week this week, so it's not yet, but the part of me that looks for logistical problems is twitching.

 

Good on you for taking it easy.  I've got like seven things to read up on based on all your posts.

I'm glad you found things in the exercise to apply, even though you felt dumped on.  And hey, maybe the twitchy part will identify a new area of growth!!

I dunno you have good judgement you got dis ting.

[sarakingdom]

9 minutes ago, Treva said:

I'm sorry to hear you had to use a cane though!  You're too young for that! 

 

Hey, no stigmatizing assistive technology! It's hard enough getting people to use the tools to make their lives easier because they're embarrassed. Use the glasses if you need them to see better. Use the cane if you need it to walk easier. Use the subtitles if you need them to follow the movie better. Use the wheelchair if you need it to get around better. They are tools to improve quality of life and the experiences open to you.

 

Go you, for using the tool you needed to have a good time! You won at doing stuff like a boss.

[Treva]

11 minutes ago, sarakingdom said:

 

Hey, no stigmatizing assistive technology! It's hard enough getting people to use the tools to make their lives easier because they're embarrassed. Use the glasses if you need them to see better. Use the cane if you need it to walk easier. Use the subtitles if you need them to follow the movie better. Use the wheelchair if you need it to get around better. They are tools to improve quality of life and the experiences open to you.

 

Go you, for using the tool you needed to have a good time! You won at doing stuff like a boss.

whoa hey now, I think you missed my meaning.  I'm not stigmatizing the tech, I was sorry our fearless leader wasn't feeling his usual bouncing off the walls self and is waiting for his leg to feel better/was in a position where no one would be able to help him in a way he might like.  I'm not sure how that got to stigmatization, but that's not where I'm coming from.  I don't want to choke up the feed with a side conversation, so if you want to continue this conversation, feel free to PM me.

[sarakingdom]

14 hours ago, Treva said:

whoa hey now, I think you missed my meaning.  I'm not stigmatizing the tech, I was sorry our fearless leader wasn't feeling his usual bouncing off the walls self and is waiting for his leg to feel better/was in a position where no one would be able to help him in a way he might like.  I'm not sure how that got to stigmatization, but that's not where I'm coming from.  I don't want to choke up the feed with a side conversation, so if you want to continue this conversation, feel free to PM me.

 

We're cool, don't worry.

 

I did get your meaning. I was just pointing out that your wording of it had some unintended side effects. It was the "you're too young to use a cane" thing. The "canes are for old people" stereotype is one that makes things difficult for younger people who need them. And while this isn't Kishi, just like if you say, "you're too pretty for glasses", sometimes what people hear isn't that you're trying to say they're pretty, but that pretty people don't wear glasses, so they have to choose between the glasses and being pretty. Some people you say that to aren't going to hear the sympathy first, they're going to feel ashamed of needing the cane. (Again, totally not Kishi, I have no worries about that.)

 

And it was genuinely cool that Kishi just went and made the fun happen. A hell of a lot of guys would sit home and moan about not being able to do things. I thought that was awesome.

[Kishi]

15 hours ago, Treva said:

Honestly, solving problems with fire is the best way to do anything.  I'm biased. correct

 

FTFY

 

15 hours ago, Treva said:

Thanks for sharing everything about the con!  I've never been to one, so it was nice to hear all about it!! I am glad you got to see your friends, sounds like (as you said) it made it very worth it to go.  It is always good to be among your people, and any WTNV shenans are good shenans.

GLOW CLOUD.

Ahem.

 

Happy to share! Cons can be a lot of fun. They've got something for everyone. If you want to meet people, you go; if you want to get merch, you go; if you want to compare notes, you go; if you want to cosplay, you go; if you want to stare at cosplay, you go. That being said, I'm just very aware of my rationale and my reasons for going, and for me it was about being with people I wanted to be with. I was perfectly happy to stay home and chalk up the tickets as a loss/learning experience, but I'm way happier that I went.

 

I WOULD HAVE HAILED THE GLOW CLOUD

 

As it was, though, I ran into a Carlos and there was a Kevin somewhere around. I think when I do this again I'll need to have a more explicit costume than just the badge.

 

15 hours ago, Treva said:

Thanks for letting us live vicariously though your cool adventures and all the fun, interesting, and maybe frustrating with the 501st that happened.  Sounds like you got to see and do cool things and I'm glad we got to hear about it.

 

Well it was frustrating because the 501st is actually really awesome and made up of awesome people. They're very involved with hospitals and charity work locally. But at the same time, the panel I went to was about cosplay as a mental health tool, and instead of it being a discussion (like it was billed as), it was basically a bragfest on how they'd all been through shit and how they were working their way to health, and my friend was like, "So... what does cosplay have to do with that?" And that refocused them pretty hard, but it was annoying to have to sit through 35 minutes of useless material to get 10 minutes of promised and useful material. You know?

 

15 hours ago, Treva said:

I'm sorry to hear you had to use a cane though!  You're too young for that!

 

14 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

Hey, no stigmatizing assistive technology! It's hard enough getting people to use the tools to make their lives easier because they're embarrassed. Use the glasses if you need them to see better. Use the cane if you need it to walk easier. Use the subtitles if you need them to follow the movie better. Use the wheelchair if you need it to get around better. They are tools to improve quality of life and the experiences open to you.

 

14 hours ago, Treva said:

whoa hey now, I think you missed my meaning.  I'm not stigmatizing the tech, I was sorry our fearless leader wasn't feeling his usual bouncing off the walls self and is waiting for his leg to feel better/was in a position where no one would be able to help him in a way he might like.  I'm not sure how that got to stigmatization, but that's not where I'm coming from.  I don't want to choke up the feed with a side conversation, so if you want to continue this conversation, feel free to PM me.

 

11 minutes ago, sarakingdom said:

I did get your meaning. I was just pointing out that your wording of it had some unintended side effects. It was the "you're too young to use a cane" thing. The "canes are for old people" stereotype is one that makes things difficult for younger people who need them. And while this isn't Kishi, just like if you say, "you're too pretty for glasses", sometimes what people hear isn't that you're trying to say they're pretty, but that pretty people don't wear glasses, so they have to choose between the glasses and being pretty. Some people you say that to aren't going to hear the sympathy first, they're going to feel ashamed of needing the cane. (Again, totally not Kishi, I have no worries about that.)

 

And it was genuinely cool that Kishi just went and made the fun happen. A hell of a lot of guys would sit home and moan about not being able to do things. I thought that was awesome.

 

I heard the sympathy, FWIW.

 

Although you know, I gotta admit, I really did have to get over my pride re: cane use. I know people who have to use canes to get around, and I felt like I was artificially claiming victimhood that I didn't have a right to? If that makes sense. People were actually super-sympathetic to me, holding open doors and such and I'd be like, "whoa, no man, it's just a temporary bust, I'm cool, let me get the door for you." Things like that.

 

But ultimately I was glad I did. Walking turned out to be harder than I thought it would be at first, and I was really glad for the help transferring from sitting to standing, particularly as chairs weren't much of a thing and I'd have to go from floor to stand. But being able to gently transition my way to weightbearing over the course of a couple days was really good for me, and I think it's part of the reason that my leg feels so recovered now.

 

If anything, I'm more disappointed that they didn't have badass wooden walking sticks or a shillelagh. But it's not a perfect world.

 

15 hours ago, Treva said:

I love this.  The monster blew himself up.  This is great.  I love this.

 

So did we.

 

15 hours ago, Treva said:

(I will have to look up GST but) I am glad you were able to identify what the difficulty was in your training and have taken steps to help heal and fix it.  Any development in how you feel not having the extra work?

 

GST is just an acronym for Gymnastic Strength Training. It's a program-specific acronym and generally doesn't get a lot of play in fitness circles.

 

I feel right now about recovered to the point I was when I started throwing kettlebell work back on the docket. This is the part where I have to be mentally tough and rest it out, because the discomfort is down to what I consider to be a tolerable level. That won't work. This isn't something to be tolerated, it's something to be healed.

 

15 hours ago, Treva said:

Good on you for taking it easy.  I've got like seven things to read up on based on all your posts.

I'm glad you found things in the exercise to apply, even though you felt dumped on.  And hey, maybe the twitchy part will identify a new area of growth!!

I dunno you have good judgement you got dis ting.

 

Ah, more homework on top of all the homework you have already. I am not such a good GL, I think. ;; But thank you, though!

 

*

 

Thursday was awesome.

 

Training happened. It went like this:

 

Incline Push Ups: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: Done

 

Push Ups: 5x4

Integrated Mobility: Done

 

High Rows: 5x7

Integrated Mobility: Done

 

Scap Push Ups: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: Done

 

Hollow Planks: 5x18s

Integrated Mobility: Done

 

Wall Push Ups: 3x50

 

Good, solid work. Felt good to touch base with this. Was particularly pleased that I still had the standards for wall push ups after having not practiced them in months.

 

The twitchy thing about this is I think I'm going to have to switch this over to Saturday, because I'm going to need some gym access for some particulars regarding the integrated mobility, and I have no time to work, travel, get food in the IP, and get to the gym to do the things I mean to do in the time it'd take to get it done.

 

It's going to drive me a little nuts, but so be it. Maybe use that time for writing or cleaning house.

 

Went to the dojo and had a new student on the mats who was just a decent person overall. Big guy, moved well, had excellent timing. Played really humble, and something in the way he moved told me he was sandbagging pretty hard.

 

We go to spar, and K-Sensei asks, "Right, so you know how to kick?" And the dude's like, "Yeah, a little." We go to spar and he throws this pretty, pretty hook kick that made me flinch. And K-Sensei's all :O  and I'm all like, "God. Dammit."

 

Gives me some extra things to practice.

 

I dunno what practice is going to look like today, though, as I've got a friend in from out of town and I got folks wanting me to lift couches tomorrow. So. I'll run with it.

 

Although, leg is improved to the point where I can do sport-specific motion without hurting after, so good sign. Need to keep recovering, but glad that I'm back on the mats.

[Urgan]

9 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Although you know, I gotta admit, I really did have to get over my pride re: cane use. I know people who have to use canes to get around, and I felt like I was artificially claiming victimhood that I didn't have a right to? If that makes sense. People were actually super-sympathetic to me, holding open doors and such and I'd be like, "whoa, no man, it's just a temporary bust, I'm cool, let me get the door for you." Things like that.

 

But ultimately I was glad I did. Walking turned out to be harder than I thought it would be at first, and I was really glad for the help transferring from sitting to standing, particularly as chairs weren't much of a thing and I'd have to go from floor to stand. But being able to gently transition my way to weightbearing over the course of a couple days was really good for me, and I think it's part of the reason that my leg feels so recovered now.

 

This is a bit of a bleed-over line of thought from my thread, but you weren't hamming up your temporary handicap next to a guy with an amputated leg or anything. You did the right thing and were able to have a fun time without setting your recovery back, so win-win. 

 

15 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Good, solid work. Felt good to touch base with this. Was particularly pleased that I still had the standards for wall push ups after having not practiced them in months.

 

The twitchy thing about this is I think I'm going to have to switch this over to Saturday, because I'm going to need some gym access for some particulars regarding the integrated mobility, and I have no time to work, travel, get food in the IP, and get to the gym to do the things I mean to do in the time it'd take to get it done.

 

It's going to drive me a little nuts, but so be it. Maybe use that time for writing or cleaning house.

 

Sudden Traumatic Rest Day Disorder. STRDD.  Lol. We know this feel and it is an awful thing. Tomorrow is Saturday, at least.

[Treva]

40 minutes ago, sarakingdom said:

 

We're cool, don't worry.

 

I did get your meaning. I was just pointing out that your wording of it had some unintended side effects. It was the "you're too young to use a cane" thing. The "canes are for old people" stereotype is one that makes things difficult for younger people who need them. And while this isn't Kishi, just like if you say, "you're too pretty for glasses", sometimes what people hear isn't that you're trying to say they're pretty, but that pretty people don't wear glasses, so they have to choose between the glasses and being pretty. Some people you say that to aren't going to hear the sympathy first, they're going to feel ashamed of needing the cane. (Again, totally not Kishi, I have no worries about that.)

 

And it was genuinely cool that Kishi just went and made the fun happen. A hell of a lot of guys would sit home and moan about not being able to do things. I thought that was awesome.

 

1 minute ago, Kishi said:

I heard the sympathy, FWIW.

 

A personal statement on a personal battle log being recognized by the person it was intended for.  That was the point.

I said Kishi the individual was too young for chronic cane use, I didn't say canes were for old people (although on all my rotations we usually recommended other devices, since canes are usually a transition to something else/you need PT like yesterday).   I don't feel like this is the right setting for me to go off on this, because as I said before this is someone's personal log, so again if you want to continue talking PM&R/sports/ortho, feel free to PM me about it or take it to my blogspace.

 

7 minutes ago, Kishi said:

GST is just an acronym for Gymnastic Strength Training. It's a program-specific acronym and generally doesn't get a lot of play in fitness circles.

 

I feel right now about recovered to the point I was when I started throwing kettlebell work back on the docket. This is the part where I have to be mentally tough and rest it out, because the discomfort is down to what I consider to be a tolerable level. That won't work. This isn't something to be tolerated, it's something to be healed.

Oooo.  ooo.  Oh.

 

I hear that.  A lot of the big problem in treating musicians and athletes is taking it easy when an injury needs to heal.  I never want to rest my injuries out either--I've got my lateral epicondylitis going at it lately because I started back practicing too vigorously, and now I'm scaling back too.  You're not alone, if that helps.  Everyone, when injured, has to take time off and rehab.  The best of the best do!  I like your perspective, I think it's a solid take on the problem.  

 

10 minutes ago, Kishi said:

15 hours ago, Treva said:

Honestly, solving problems with fire is the best way to do anything.  I'm biased. correct

 

FTFY

golly gee, I suppose that does look better.

 

 

11 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Happy to share! Cons can be a lot of fun. They've got something for everyone. If you want to meet people, you go; if you want to get merch, you go; if you want to compare notes, you go; if you want to cosplay, you go; if you want to stare at cosplay, you go. That being said, I'm just very aware of my rationale and my reasons for going, and for me it was about being with people I wanted to be with. I was perfectly happy to stay home and chalk up the tickets as a loss/learning experience, but I'm way happier that I went.

 

I WOULD HAVE HAILED THE GLOW CLOUD

 

As it was, though, I ran into a Carlos and there was a Kevin somewhere around. I think when I do this again I'll need to have a more explicit costume than just the badge.

Awesome!  although I think the badge was a great idea; the point of nightvale is that everything normal is weird, and everything weird is normal (or it was when I last tuned in).  

THE GLOOOW CLOUD.  ALL. HAIL.

 

16 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Well it was frustrating because the 501st is actually really awesome and made up of awesome people. They're very involved with hospitals and charity work locally. But at the same time, the panel I went to was about cosplay as a mental health tool, and instead of it being a discussion (like it was billed as), it was basically a bragfest on how they'd all been through shit and how they were working their way to health, and my friend was like, "So... what does cosplay have to do with that?" And that refocused them pretty hard, but it was annoying to have to sit through 35 minutes of useless material to get 10 minutes of promised and useful material. You know?

Totally hear you.  People with unrecognized/rare/"invisible" conditions (like mental health stuff, because it doesn't show up written on people's foreheads...usually.) have a history of needing to fight twice as hard as everyone else to have the condition recognized and appropriately treated.  It comes off as having an axe to grind against the world, because frankly, that level of anger is needed to get people to pay attention sometimes.  People who are able to get through that crap will brag about it as venting, or as a way of validating themselves (I'm not "weak", I got through this).  It's hard to go public with mental health stuff, and bragging about it may be a method of still working it through.  Doesn't mean it's right, and sure as f*** isn't helpful for somebody going through hell at the time.  Glad they got refocused.  It's important to link the venting feelings to, you know, helpful stuff/techniques/tools that can actually be used by other people.  Like, you know, maybe that was the point of the panel.

Don't let me lecture you, I know you got all this.

Although cosplay as a mental health tool is a cool thing I shall add it to my homework list

 

Dont' worry, it's good homework, and you're a solid GL, so like 

 

[Kishi]

16 minutes ago, Urgan said:

This is a bit of a bleed-over line of thought from my thread, but you weren't hamming up your temporary handicap next to a guy with an amputated leg or anything. You did the right thing and were able to have a fun time without setting your recovery back, so win-win. 

 

I only would have if I knew the guy well enough for them to be cool with it. "You got an amputation? Yeah. I got a strained hammy. They'll probably cut it off at the butt. Should be any day now."

 

18 minutes ago, Urgan said:

Sudden Traumatic Rest Day Disorder. STRDD.  Lol. We know this feel and it is an awful thing. Tomorrow is Saturday, at least.

 

Don't mind me, I'm just rocking in the corner muttering "100 swings... 10 get ups... 100 swings... 10 get ups..."

 

9 minutes ago, Treva said:

Oooo.  ooo.  Oh.

 

I hear that.  A lot of the big problem in treating musicians and athletes is taking it easy when an injury needs to heal.  I never want to rest my injuries out either--I've got my lateral epicondylitis going at it lately because I started back practicing too vigorously, and now I'm scaling back too.  You're not alone, if that helps.  Everyone, when injured, has to take time off and rehab.  The best of the best do!  I like your perspective, I think it's a solid take on the problem.  

 

Yeah. It's like I told @ReturnOfTheDad - if exercise is a coin, then training is one side and recovery is the other. You need two sides of a coin in order to spend it. Otherwise, you're just inflating your currency and setting yourself up to not be able to spend further down the line.

 

11 minutes ago, Treva said:

Awesome!  although I think the badge was a great idea; the point of nightvale is that everything normal is weird, and everything weird is normal (or it was when I last tuned in).  

THE GLOOOW CLOUD.  ALL. HAIL.

 

Yup! Still is.

 

12 minutes ago, Treva said:

Totally hear you.  People with unrecognized/rare/"invisible" conditions (like mental health stuff, because it doesn't show up written on people's foreheads...usually.) have a history of needing to fight twice as hard as everyone else to have the condition recognized and appropriately treated.  It comes off as having an axe to grind against the world, because frankly, that level of anger is needed to get people to pay attention sometimes.  People who are able to get through that crap will brag about it as venting, or as a way of validating themselves (I'm not "weak", I got through this).  It's hard to go public with mental health stuff, and bragging about it may be a method of still working it through.  Doesn't mean it's right, and sure as f*** isn't helpful for somebody going through hell at the time.  Glad they got refocused.  It's important to link the venting feelings to, you know, helpful stuff/techniques/tools that can actually be used by other people.  Like, you know, maybe that was the point of the panel.

 

Oh yeah, and to be clear, they were really big on advocating for mental health and encouraging that sort of thing. They absolutely did that part right, and I do consider the whole thing to be a net positive. I just think that it could have been handled more skillfully. But then, critique is always easier than creation, no? And besides, maybe this was a learning experience for them and maybe if/when they do it again, they'll take the lesson.

 

16 minutes ago, Treva said:

Although cosplay as a mental health tool is a cool thing I shall add it to my homework list

 

Yup. They were quite clear on the limitations of it, but they also explained how it's a good way to develop a community with like-minded people, and how the costumes themselves can be good ways to get out of one's own head. To sort of engage in temporary reprogamming for a bit, using the character as an OS, and using that as a springboard for longer-term reprogramming. Good stuff.

[Treva]

22 hours ago, Kishi said:

Don't mind me, I'm just rocking in the corner muttering "100 swings... 10 get ups... 100 swings... 10 get ups..."

You are my favorite weight swinging monster.

 

22 hours ago, Kishi said:

Oh yeah, and to be clear, they were really big on advocating for mental health and encouraging that sort of thing. They absolutely did that part right, and I do consider the whole thing to be a net positive. I just think that it could have been handled more skillfully. But then, critique is always easier than creation, no? And besides, maybe this was a learning experience for them and maybe if/when they do it again, they'll take the lesson.

okay well then that was A Good.  And if it's the first time they've done a panel like this, there are almost certainly kinks and things to work out.

 

22 hours ago, Kishi said:

Yup. They were quite clear on the limitations of it, but they also explained how it's a good way to develop a community with like-minded people, and how the costumes themselves can be good ways to get out of one's own head. To sort of engage in temporary reprogamming for a bit, using the character as an OS, and using that as a springboard for longer-term reprogramming. Good stuff.

I actually love this concept.  A nonthreatening way to approach difficult issues in a supportive community.  Yo.  I am aboard this vessel.

[Kishi]

Weekend was busy, elsewise I would have been here!

 

So Friday night, the Cultured Friend was back in town, and it gave me an excuse to see a man who is a friend and whom I've been arguing with on FB. We broke bread together. There was no awkwardness. It was great.

 

Saturday, I went to go help some friends move furniture. We joked about what a shame it was that they only ever see me whenever they need me to move something. And now I have an invite to a party they're throwing next Saturday, which I think will be pretty great.

 

Then it was back to hang with the Cultured Friend as he was driving back to Charleston that evening. He decided to critique my reading of Marx's Capital, I pointed out some logical flaws in his thinking. Good times. Afterward, went to hang with another mutual friend, wound up at his place playing boardgames all night, including King of Tokyo and Clank, which I liked a very great deal despite never winning. Clank is one part dungeon crawl, one part deck-building, and one part screwing with other players; it's got a lot of different systems to track and keep up with but it's still a lot of fun. I'll probably wind up picking it up at some point if I can find it.

 

Saturday was also notable in that Manong and I have ironed out some time for me to go teach. It'll be Friday nights now at a RBSD/MMA school in Durham; I'm apparently to be paid $50 for the work. I dunno if that's $50 per person or if that's per night or what, but I'm slated to go early to dojo on Tuesday so we can hammer out some basics and make sure that I'm able to teach proper. (although he's not going to just throw me to the wolves on this one, we'll go together to this place. Sometimes).

 

Sunday was pretty chill. Got up, hit the gym. Last day of the deload.

 

Hollow Body Tuck Hold: 1x9s

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Hollow Body Tuck Rock: 5x18

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Russian Twists: 1x30

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Side Plank Twists: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Elevated Arches: 5x3

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Tuck Ups: 1x9

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Straddle Tuck Ups: 5x7

Integrated Mobility: DONE

 

Watched my bro's stream afterward, and after that... well. I decided to go ahead and download WoW. Just the trial version, to see if I've got enough time for this to be worth it. I doubt I do, but some part of me is itching to get back to it, and it's not like I'm filling my time with exercise now.

 

Anyway. Today will be rest and some stripe of gaming I'm sure.

[Urgan]

59 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Watched my bro's stream afterward, and after that... well. I decided to go ahead and download WoW. Just the trial version, to see if I've got enough time for this to be worth it. I doubt I do, but some part of me is itching to get back to it, and it's not like I'm filling my time with exercise now.

 

[Kishi]

22 hours ago, Urgan said:

 

 

Ha! Hardly, I reckon I won't have any time to play as it is. See below...

 

*

 

So, Monday wound up quiet. Just work and gaming with friends. This time one-shotting as the captain of a seafaring vessel and having to battle some pirates. Played a powerful water mage who I built very well. I've not had the chance to play an authority figure much, and it wound up pretty exciting, although given how magic works in this setting, I really need to be more careful with how I approach things. There are consequences to magic.

 

Today on the docket, Manong wants me to come in early to the dojo to go over some stuff for teaching on Friday. So, looks like I'll be clocking 4.5 hours on the mats tonight, which should be fun. Karate will be complicated by some drama from K-sensei and Waifu regarding the fact that they had to let their dog go, as the biting incident turned out not to be a one-off. They're understandably a little raw about that, and it'll mean walking on eggshells even moreso than normal.

 

I didn't get back in time last night to get the judogi washed up, and I might be able to start that tonight, but best case I won't be able to finish until tomorrow night, because the dryer is weak and the gi are double-weave. So, yeah, judo's out. Might WoW it up then, but not before doing a little more cleaning first. There won't really be time for it Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, as I will have a bunch of obligations to people to meet. So.

[RisenPhoenix]

On 7/25/2018 at 11:29 AM, Kishi said:

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.

On 7/25/2018 at 1:10 PM, 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.

On 7/26/2018 at 12:45 PM, Kishi said:

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.

 

I'm *finally* getting my dojo to do social media things.  Or at least allow me to do them for them.  And at the camp I was just at I accidentally ended up hanging out with some instructors who were griping about a meeting they went to, and how outreach and social media usage in aikido needs to ramp up its game.  But for my dojo, I've was blocked years ago from doing anything social media because *Those Other Guys* might get mad.  *eyeroll* . Super annoying and I gave up because I don't have to bandwidth to change the mind of a board who's average age is 65.  But new young whipper-snapper on the board I feed ideas to?  He has bouncy energy and motivation and time, so I set him loose on it.  So far, so good.  If I figure out some tips I'll let you know.

 

 

Also, hi.  Caught up.  Yay paid teaching, boo work being dumb, boo schools needing money, and yay for progress over all!

[RisenPhoenix]

Re: Social media.

 

Last night I discovered (through the book of faces) that my Sensei is one of the guest instructors at a dojo for their 20th anniversary that we're friends with.  No idea that he was doing it, only found out because I'm facebook friends with the chief instructor.  I shared the post on my dojo's page (since I'm an admin there), and through that one of the major second generation instructors who I met at the summer camp started looking at my dojo's facebook page.

 

Not a huge external draw, but cross pollination is a damn good way to get visibility and recommendations *within* the community.

[Urgan]

24 minutes ago, RisenPhoenix said:

Re: Social media.

 

Last night I discovered (through the book of faces) that my Sensei is one of the guest instructors at a dojo for their 20th anniversary that we're friends with.  No idea that he was doing it, only found out because I'm facebook friends with the chief instructor.  I shared the post on my dojo's page (since I'm an admin there), and through that one of the major second generation instructors who I met at the summer camp started looking at my dojo's facebook page.

 

Not a huge external draw, but cross pollination is a damn good way to get visibility and recommendations *within* the community.

 

I wish ours social'd more. I think they do the book of faces as well, but with the I-know-better-than-you algorithm they put in place, it has been confirmed that very, very active members of the dojo may or may not get postings there so I sorta wish they'd branch out. 

[Kishi]

21 hours ago, RisenPhoenix said:

I'm *finally* getting my dojo to do social media things.  Or at least allow me to do them for them.  And at the camp I was just at I accidentally ended up hanging out with some instructors who were griping about a meeting they went to, and how outreach and social media usage in aikido needs to ramp up its game.  But for my dojo, I've was blocked years ago from doing anything social media because *Those Other Guys* might get mad.  *eyeroll* . Super annoying and I gave up because I don't have to bandwidth to change the mind of a board who's average age is 65.  But new young whipper-snapper on the board I feed ideas to?  He has bouncy energy and motivation and time, so I set him loose on it.  So far, so good.  If I figure out some tips I'll let you know.

 

Well, I'm lucky that I don't have to deal with that, but social media is way bigger and with way more going on than it used to be and way more than I personally tend to take part. I wonder if I might bring that up with the teachers or with Manong as he's the one who's mostly over this stuff. It couldn't hurt.

 

Also, hey, it turns out that my dojo's high opinion of Aikido is informed by time spent around Boston Aikidoka versus the local crop which is apparently pretty weaksauce, so. One of our biggest shodans got to talking about being humbled on the mats up there and I was like "What? Good aikido? Where the hell?" and he was like "Boston, yo," and I was like "OOOOOOOOH"

 

21 hours ago, RisenPhoenix said:

Also, hi.  Caught up.  Yay paid teaching, boo work being dumb, boo schools needing money, and yay for progress over all!

 

Come on in, boss, glad to see you!

 

*

 

Tuesday in the bag.

 

Spent a few hours talking things over with Manong as far as teaching Kali goes. It's... hard. Kali as we learn it is a thing of flow and energy. People come to us looking for techniques, and the way we teach and study, technique is a consequence of flow. We have two rules: 1) don't cut yourself, and 2) don't get cut by the other guy. Both combatants have flow, but the catch is, you can use your flow to interrupt the flow of someone else, and when you do, that's when the bleeding starts.

 

But you don't go looking for it, you know? That's not something I understood for some months. It wasn't until we had a class one day where we all of just paired off and started doing random ish, and I found myself forced to just flow with things. Something clicked - the only wrong answer to the problems I was presented with was to get cut. I could flow around it, and I could interrupt flows as they came to cut me, and I could flow and interrupt with my own to cut the other guy. And I just found myself in places where the techniques, disarms, etc... they just happened.

 

This is an incredibly difficult thing to sell in our market down here, because Krav people and RBSD types really, really want discrete techniques, or to feel like they worked out, and that's not really our style at all. Teachers come to Manong and they get lit up, and they're like, "Teach us like you learned," and then he does, and they lose all patience/hope. I damn near did myself, so it's not like I can't see it coming.

 

But what else can I do? We tried to distill down some distinct techniques, but they feel stilted and unnatural outside of flow. I suspect we'll do well with experienced martial artists who have that strong background in the basics but the newbies will probably bounce off. Oh well. Better to have a target market anyway, right?

 

Karate afterward really wasn't bad, although I got picked on a lot for my mistakes. A lot of "get your knee like this, turn your foot like this" type stuff which I just don't get time to practice on my own. I honestly don't think K-sensei gets how much time I'm spending on the mat and how that affects my time to practice on my own. Alternately, I really need to get my effing apartment cleaned up so I have room to practice.

 

After sparring, he mentioned that with the newest guy, I really need to use my cardio as a weapon and push the pace. Damned if that didn't make me want to go home and bust out some swings, even though I'm still not fully healed yet. I resisted. It was hard.

 

Speaking of that, though, hamstring is feeling better. Most of the discomfort is now settled at the muscle insertions underneath the right glut; the belly of the muscle feels a little tight but it's not to the extent that it was. And even then, the discomfort I feel now only happens with forward flexion; I really don't feel anything when walking.

 

Tonight's docket, without judo, will be deck squats again. Going to add handstands on, since I can't really do them on Fridays anymore (that'll be the teaching night). I'd do them on Thursdays (since I'm shifting upper body work to Saturdays as I need gym access now) except that I really want/need to free that time up for kettlebell work, and it's better I think to practice with that schedule in mind. And anyway, handstand practice is done at a gentle enough pace that the only major concern is how much time I'm spending there. Then again, though, J-sensei ostensibly doesn't care when I show up, and newaza is supposed to be a pre-fatigue thing anyway. I can totally do that myself.  You know, when my gi are clean.

[RisenPhoenix]

10 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Well, I'm lucky that I don't have to deal with that, but social media is way bigger and with way more going on than it used to be and way more than I personally tend to take part. I wonder if I might bring that up with the teachers or with Manong as he's the one who's mostly over this stuff. It couldn't hurt. 

 

It's gotten to the point my facebook is mostly Nerds, Aikido, and November Project.  It's a pretty good way of seeing what's going on in various locations, rather than locally, I've learned.  Though it does help that I cull things a whole bunch...

 

11 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Also, hey, it turns out that my dojo's high opinion of Aikido is informed by time spent around Boston Aikidoka versus the local crop which is apparently pretty weaksauce, so. One of our biggest shodans got to talking about being humbled on the mats up there and I was like "What? Good aikido? Where the hell?" and he was like "Boston, yo," and I was like "OOOOOOOOH"

 

Okay, first off, am I going to have to smack you next time you're in town?  Good aikido what the hell, my ass.

 

Also now I'm wondering where he was at.  Boston Aikikai and Shobu are probably the most polished aikido places in Boston.  I love my place, but since it skews older, people are more stiff, prone to not wanting to go hard, and not super frequent practitioners.  One of the reasons I started training with Harvard is so I could play with younger people who could possibly handle the falls...  But they are all so new it's hard to go full steam with them most of the time.

 

13 minutes ago, Kishi said:

But you don't go looking for it, you know? That's not something I understood for some months. It wasn't until we had a class one day where we all of just paired off and started doing random ish, and I found myself forced to just flow with things. Something clicked - the only wrong answer to the problems I was presented with was to get cut. I could flow around it, and I could interrupt flows as they came to cut me, and I could flow and interrupt with my own to cut the other guy. And I just found myself in places where the techniques, disarms, etc... they just happened.

 

Oh.  So you mean you did Aikido.

 

 

[Urgan]

28 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Spent a few hours talking things over with Manong as far as teaching Kali goes. It's... hard. Kali as we learn it is a thing of flow and energy. People come to us looking for techniques, and the way we teach and study, technique is a consequence of flow. We have two rules: 1) don't cut yourself, and 2) don't get cut by the other guy. Both combatants have flow, but the catch is, you can use your flow to interrupt the flow of someone else, and when you do, that's when the bleeding starts.

 

But you don't go looking for it, you know? That's not something I understood for some months. It wasn't until we had a class one day where we all of just paired off and started doing random ish, and I found myself forced to just flow with things. Something clicked - the only wrong answer to the problems I was presented with was to get cut. I could flow around it, and I could interrupt flows as they came to cut me, and I could flow and interrupt with my own to cut the other guy. And I just found myself in places where the techniques, disarms, etc... they just happened.

 

This is an incredibly difficult thing to sell in our market down here, because Krav people and RBSD types really, really want discrete techniques, or to feel like they worked out, and that's not really our style at all. Teachers come to Manong and they get lit up, and they're like, "Teach us like you learned," and then he does, and they lose all patience/hope. I damn near did myself, so it's not like I can't see it coming.

 

But what else can I do? We tried to distill down some distinct techniques, but they feel stilted and unnatural outside of flow. I suspect we'll do well with experienced martial artists who have that strong background in the basics but the newbies will probably bounce off. Oh well. Better to have a target market anyway, right?

 

14 minutes ago, RisenPhoenix said:

Oh.  So you mean you did Aikido.

 

He so totally freaking did.

[Kishi]

13 minutes ago, RisenPhoenix said:

Okay, first off, am I going to have to smack you next time you're in town?  Good aikido what the hell, my ass.

 

You might just. I'd love the chance to randori if/when we get together next. Genuinely so, with no ego, I promise.

 

But as it is, the local Aikidoka are more about culture and polish rather than technique. They're weeb schools, good for people who have a love of Japanese culture, but they don't seem to turn out effective practitioners. I don't know where our Shodan went, but it would have been some time ago.

 

15 minutes ago, RisenPhoenix said:

Oh.  So you mean you did Aikido.

 

1 minute ago, Urgan said:

He so totally freaking did.

 

Now, see, I'm not explaining it well, because there's a difference in how you do it and how you explain it than how we do and explain. When I've watched your practice, you have a flow, but there's a name for it and there's a goal attached to it. We don't even have that. We just have the two rules to act as First Principles, and things just happen off of that. I don't have names for blocks and strikes or for specific flows or anything like that, which is part of what has me on edge for teaching. I don't have a goal or a position except not to get cut, either by myself or by the other guy.

 

I don't mean to disavow a parallel, you understand, but I'm not sure they're the same thing.

[Urgan]

6 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Now, see, I'm not explaining it well, because there's a difference in how you do it and how you explain it than how we do and explain. When I've watched your practice, you have a flow, but there's a name for it and there's a goal attached to it. We don't even have that. We just have the two rules to act as First Principles, and things just happen off of that. I don't have names for blocks and strikes or for specific flows or anything like that, which is part of what has me on edge for teaching. I don't have a goal or a position except not to get cut, either by myself or by the other guy.

 

I don't mean to disavow a parallel, you understand, but I'm not sure they're the same thing.

 

...randori? In the final analysis, it really is all about don't get hit. There is plenty of room for "play" where there isn't a named technique, you just sorta mix and match with whatever you feel like doing in the moment. 

[RisenPhoenix]

8 minutes ago, Kishi said:

You might just. I'd love the chance to randori if/when we get together next. Genuinely so, with no ego, I promise.

 

Just don't break my finger like the Giant did.

 

8 minutes ago, Kishi said:

 But as it is, the local Aikidoka are more about culture and polish rather than technique. They're weeb schools, good for people who have a love of Japanese culture, but they don't seem to turn out effective practitioners. I don't know where our Shodan went, but it would have been some time ago.

 

I mean, yea, that is a thing some Woo Woo places get tapped into.  It can be a fuzzy line to work with.

 

Also always curious about how "effective" practitioners get judged.  At CNF I had to bow out of some judo/jujitsu people rolling around, because their start point would be my "you fucked up" point.  So I got to look like I wasn't an effective person, when in reality the positioning was not good for aikido and had I done things it would have seriously injured others.  Everything's got a weak point, but I feel like aikido tends to get some shit because it looks weird.

 

6 minutes ago, Kishi said:

Now, see, I'm not explaining it well, because there's a difference in how you do it and how you explain it than how we do and explain. When I've watched your practice, you have a flow, but there's a name for it and there's a goal attached to it. We don't even have that. We just have the two rules to act as First Principles, and things just happen off of that. I don't have names for blocks and strikes or for specific flows or anything like that, which is part of what has me on edge for teaching. I don't have a goal or a position except not to get cut, either by myself or by the other guy.

 

In aikido you learn the technique to not be bound to the technique.  Later on you learn most of our forms/positions/kata/throws look very, very different when in motion than when dissected and discussed.  Hell, it was the First Doshu who looked at his dad and went "We have no way of teaching this shit, let me work on that" and came up with what we have today.  So, yea.  Not that different than what you did.