Rough and/or Tumble

Tonight my judo/BJJ plans fell through with my nephews, so we had a friend over for some 3rd-of-July burger grilling. I had my mats out in the living room so we decided to horse around. My buddy has never had any martial arts training - he just works out a couple times a day religiously. His "style" (if you'd call it that) is brawler/wrestler. A real Tank Abbott, but really lean and in shape.

Los is strong as an ox, and can really crush you with his mere 168 pounds. Feels more like 230 when he's crushing you. Early on, I had a successful Leg Hook Takedown (that I've been watching on the Gracie Combatives DVDs), right into mount and pretty quickly got an Americana on him. For the next 4 or 5 rounds, Los would end up giving up his back. I'd rear mount and go for RNC after RNC, but I think the muscles in his neck kept getting between me and his arteries. I did pretty well maintaining rear mount though, and I was able to conserve my energy while he spent all of his trying to get out.

As the night went on, I got less and less successful, and had to tap more and more. Los figured out that keeping control of my arms pretty much neutralizes me. I've noticed this trend with Cody and Trey as well - they're much stronger than me, so they can clamp down on my arms and keep me from moving or getting any leverage. I was thinking "Why is it I have so many freakishly strong friends?", then it dawned on me: I may just be freakishly weak.

In any case, I need (at some point), to learn how to deal with much stronger opponents, because so far, even if they're "unskilled", I'm not able to prevail.

What did I observe tonight?
1) I actually saw my opponent gas out while I calmly conserved my energy. That was pretty neat.
2) I eventually need to learn to deal with opponents who use unorthodox methods and strategies.
3) I need to develop a little more strength of my own (and a LOT more technique)
4) Practical proficiency in this stuff is going to take time.

Rough and/or Tumble

Tonight my judo/BJJ plans fell through with my nephews, so we had a friend over for some 3rd-of-July burger grilling. I had my mats out in the living room so we decided to horse around. My buddy has never had any martial arts training - he just works out a couple times a day religiously. His "style" (if you'd call it that) is brawler/wrestler. A real Tank Abbott, but really lean and in shape.

Los is strong as an ox, and can really crush you with his mere 168 pounds. Feels more like 230 when he's crushing you. Early on, I had a successful Leg Hook Takedown (that I've been watching on the Gracie Combatives DVDs), right into mount and pretty quickly got an Americana on him. For the next 4 or 5 rounds, Los would end up giving up his back. I'd rear mount and go for RNC after RNC, but I think the muscles in his neck kept getting between me and his arteries. I did pretty well maintaining rear mount though, and I was able to conserve my energy while he spent all of his trying to get out.

As the night went on, I got less and less successful, and had to tap more and more. Los figured out that keeping control of my arms pretty much neutralizes me. I've noticed this trend with Cody and Trey as well - they're much stronger than me, so they can clamp down on my arms and keep me from moving or getting any leverage. I was thinking "Why is it I have so many freakishly strong friends?", then it dawned on me: I may just be freakishly weak.

In any case, I need (at some point), to learn how to deal with much stronger opponents, because so far, even if they're "unskilled", I'm not able to prevail.

What did I observe tonight?
1) I actually saw my opponent gas out while I calmly conserved my energy. That was pretty neat.
2) I eventually need to learn to deal with opponents who use unorthodox methods and strategies.
3) I need to develop a little more strength of my own (and a LOT more technique)
4) Practical proficiency in this stuff is going to take time.

More Fitness

Tonight I made the decision to buy an exercise ball on the way home. I also decided to try the 30 minute workout on the included DVD. I made it through 20 minutes of it actually got my heart rate up more than I expected it would. It seemed like the balance involved really will help my core strength.

Oh, and I didn't stop at 20 minutes due to fatigue, or lack of will, or anything like that. My 13-month-old daughter brought me a book she wanted me to read with her. I decided to go with the far more worthwhile option.

Every decision matters.

More Fitness

Tonight I made the decision to buy an exercise ball on the way home. I also decided to try the 30 minute workout on the included DVD. I made it through 20 minutes of it actually got my heart rate up more than I expected it would. It seemed like the balance involved really will help my core strength.

Oh, and I didn't stop at 20 minutes due to fatigue, or lack of will, or anything like that. My 13-month-old daughter brought me a book she wanted me to read with her. I decided to go with the far more worthwhile option.

Every decision matters.

Fitness

I've had several false starts this year with my fitness goals. I'm hoping my current motivation doesn't wane so easily.

I've set an arbitrary target date of August 3rd for myself. I don't have a measurable result I'm looking for by then. Rather, my idea is to see just how much I can accomplish in that short amount of time. Basically, I'm committing to making good great decisions with regard to my diet and exercise every day for the next 5-and-a-half weeks or so. I'm just going to take it one day at a time and live by the mantra:

"Every decision counts".

So last night, I didn't eat the skin of the chicken I BBQ'd the night before (the skin is my favorite part!). I stayed clear of the "Ooey Gooey" dessert bars my wife made, and opted for a banana instead. I drank only water. I put in my Hip Hop Abs DVD, intending to do the 30-minute workout, but decided I've had enough of that one for a while. I put on my gi pants, and made up my own routine:

• 2 rounds of the ground mobility cycle (on a heavy bag grappling dummy)
• a set of crunches
• a set of push ups
• another set of crunches
• a set of bench pressing the grappling bag
• repeat from the top

I started out at a moderate pace, focusing on correct form (particularly with my holds and transitions during the ground mobility cycle). I increased speed and intensity with each round of the routine. Pressing the heavy bag was pretty cool, because it's oddly shaped and balanced, with no places to grip, which added to the difficulty of lifting it. It weighs around 50 pounds. After 35 to 40 minutes of this cycle, I was dripping sweat. Way more so than I usually am after 30 minutes of Hip Hop Abs. I like this routine better anyway - it provides a chance to drill judo holds.

We'll see how this goes!

Fitness

I've had several false starts this year with my fitness goals. I'm hoping my current motivation doesn't wane so easily.

I've set an arbitrary target date of August 3rd for myself. I don't have a measurable result I'm looking for by then. Rather, my idea is to see just how much I can accomplish in that short amount of time. Basically, I'm committing to making good great decisions with regard to my diet and exercise every day for the next 5-and-a-half weeks or so. I'm just going to take it one day at a time and live by the mantra:

"Every decision counts".

So last night, I didn't eat the skin of the chicken I BBQ'd the night before (the skin is my favorite part!). I stayed clear of the "Ooey Gooey" dessert bars my wife made, and opted for a banana instead. I drank only water. I put in my Hip Hop Abs DVD, intending to do the 30-minute workout, but decided I've had enough of that one for a while. I put on my gi pants, and made up my own routine:

• 2 rounds of the ground mobility cycle (on a heavy bag grappling dummy)
• a set of crunches
• a set of push ups
• another set of crunches
• a set of bench pressing the grappling bag
• repeat from the top

I started out at a moderate pace, focusing on correct form (particularly with my holds and transitions during the ground mobility cycle). I increased speed and intensity with each round of the routine. Pressing the heavy bag was pretty cool, because it's oddly shaped and balanced, with no places to grip, which added to the difficulty of lifting it. It weighs around 50 pounds. After 35 to 40 minutes of this cycle, I was dripping sweat. Way more so than I usually am after 30 minutes of Hip Hop Abs. I like this routine better anyway - it provides a chance to drill judo holds.

We'll see how this goes!

Study Group 5/25/09

I'm on vacation from work this week. While I'm staying pretty busy around the house, I've still been very fortunate to be able to work in some extra training. If you count study groups, I've been able to train 4 times over the long Memorial Day weekend!

The other day I met my buddy Mario, who's just joined our dojo, at his Tang Soo Do dojang. We had the place to ourselves, so it was nice not having to worry about space. We only rolled for a dozen rounds or so...I prevailed maybe 3 times, and those were all near the beginning. As I got exhausted, Mario kept going strong and winning more and more. But I maintain one of my losses was due to his unexpected use of some chin na finger bending, or some such. Speaking of "chin" another loss may have been due to a knee to my chin. You really have to watch those strikers!

So, what observations did I come away with?

• My lack of fitness/endurance is really hurting my judo. Not just costing me rounds, but interfering with my learning process. Enough of that. "Game on" for getting in shape, as they like to say on The Biggest Loser. I recently listened to an interview of Loren Christensen on the Paladin podcast. He was asked how much physical conditioning plays a part in a self-defense encounter. He responded that since most encounters last a few seconds, endurance and conditioning are much smaller factors than your training, HOWEVER, conditioning will enable to to train better, more often, and more efficiently, so it does have an indirect effect on the potential encounter.


• I really need to learn how to deal with opponents with superior strength. Lots of times, my arms get pinned and I can't do anything at all.


• I still suffer from weak guard passing and sweeps. I need to substitute some of my time spent rolling with drills.


• Watch out for knees and finger-locks!

Study Group 5/25/09

I'm on vacation from work this week. While I'm staying pretty busy around the house, I've still been very fortunate to be able to work in some extra training. If you count study groups, I've been able to train 4 times over the long Memorial Day weekend!

The other day I met my buddy Mario, who's just joined our dojo, at his Tang Soo Do dojang. We had the place to ourselves, so it was nice not having to worry about space. We only rolled for a dozen rounds or so...I prevailed maybe 3 times, and those were all near the beginning. As I got exhausted, Mario kept going strong and winning more and more. But I maintain one of my losses was due to his unexpected use of some chin na finger bending, or some such. Speaking of "chin" another loss may have been due to a knee to my chin. You really have to watch those strikers!

So, what observations did I come away with?

• My lack of fitness/endurance is really hurting my judo. Not just costing me rounds, but interfering with my learning process. Enough of that. "Game on" for getting in shape, as they like to say on The Biggest Loser. I recently listened to an interview of Loren Christensen on the Paladin podcast. He was asked how much physical conditioning plays a part in a self-defense encounter. He responded that since most encounters last a few seconds, endurance and conditioning are much smaller factors than your training, HOWEVER, conditioning will enable to to train better, more often, and more efficiently, so it does have an indirect effect on the potential encounter.


• I really need to learn how to deal with opponents with superior strength. Lots of times, my arms get pinned and I can't do anything at all.


• I still suffer from weak guard passing and sweeps. I need to substitute some of my time spent rolling with drills.


• Watch out for knees and finger-locks!

Push and Deny

I recently read a post from the 24 Fighting Chickens Blog about what it takes to become a world champion. While I have no interest in becoming a champion fighter, one thing he said jumped out at me:

Self-discipline...consists of two different components:

Push - The ability to make yourself do something you want to do
Deny - The ability to not do something that you want to

Each of these two components is completely separate from one another. Some people are gifted with push, and others with deny. After observing people doing karate for three decades, I feel very comfortable saying that some people are gifted with push, some with deny, some with neither, and some with both.

I was thinking about this in regard to my quest for fitness. I seem to be better at "deny" than "push", but frankly, I find I lack both. Thinking about it in these simple terms may help me improve at things like getting out of bed, and skipping dessert.

Push and Deny

I recently read a post from the 24 Fighting Chickens Blog about what it takes to become a world champion. While I have no interest in becoming a champion fighter, one thing he said jumped out at me:

Self-discipline...consists of two different components:

Push - The ability to make yourself do something you want to do
Deny - The ability to not do something that you want to

Each of these two components is completely separate from one another. Some people are gifted with push, and others with deny. After observing people doing karate for three decades, I feel very comfortable saying that some people are gifted with push, some with deny, some with neither, and some with both.

I was thinking about this in regard to my quest for fitness. I seem to be better at "deny" than "push", but frankly, I find I lack both. Thinking about it in these simple terms may help me improve at things like getting out of bed, and skipping dessert.

I Hope the Journey is More Important Than the Destination

I've been doing much better with my workout routine. Since my last post about skipping trips to the gym, I've only missed one day of training. This morning, I woke up with a headache (I think I need a better pillow), and could hardly drag myself out of bed, much less to the gym to exercise (it's a treadmill day - UGH!).

But I got up, got dressed, and headed to the gym, regardless. About halfway there, traffic on the interstate was stopped. Not slow - stopped. I gave it 10 minutes, then decided to risk a cop seeing me, and drove in reverse on the shoulder to the previous exit. I headed home citation-free, to get ready for work.

The thing is, I'm not kicking myself today like I normally do when I miss a workout. I mean, it would have done my body better to actually have exercised, but I think it did my mind better that I actually made it out of bed early, and tried to get there. I'll consider it a win. I think it shows me that the real challenge I face in getting in shape is not physical. It reminds me of a recent post over on the "things worth believing in" blog. I'll quote some of my favorite bits below, but I recommend you read the whole article.

I’ve always believed that the real benefit of exercise is in the persons mental development rather than the physical results.

*****

Intense exercise, the type that makes your internal dialogue start telling you “this sucks, I cant go on anymore, just slow down, just stop, just quit”…but you don’t…that type of exercise sows seeds that you will reap later when you are fighting for your life and are approaching exhaustion. When your opponent is approaching that same threshold the person who quits is going to loose and reaching that quitting point almost always originates from the mind.

*****

The body and the mind are a unit and the mental/physical benefits of training cannot be separated and measured.

*****

Push yourself. REALLY push yourself on occasion. I don’t mean just get sweaty or breathing hard. I mean a “I cant do one more rep, lungs burning, gonna die, mommy I wanna quit” push. You don’t have to do it every workout, but if you are coasting you are cheating yourself. Its not only your body that will benefit, it builds mental toughness that translates directly to fighting.

I Hope the Journey is More Important Than the Destination

I've been doing much better with my workout routine. Since my last post about skipping trips to the gym, I've only missed one day of training. This morning, I woke up with a headache (I think I need a better pillow), and could hardly drag myself out of bed, much less to the gym to exercise (it's a treadmill day - UGH!).

But I got up, got dressed, and headed to the gym, regardless. About halfway there, traffic on the interstate was stopped. Not slow - stopped. I gave it 10 minutes, then decided to risk a cop seeing me, and drove in reverse on the shoulder to the previous exit. I headed home citation-free, to get ready for work.

The thing is, I'm not kicking myself today like I normally do when I miss a workout. I mean, it would have done my body better to actually have exercised, but I think it did my mind better that I actually made it out of bed early, and tried to get there. I'll consider it a win. I think it shows me that the real challenge I face in getting in shape is not physical. It reminds me of a recent post over on the "things worth believing in" blog. I'll quote some of my favorite bits below, but I recommend you read the whole article.

I’ve always believed that the real benefit of exercise is in the persons mental development rather than the physical results.

*****

Intense exercise, the type that makes your internal dialogue start telling you “this sucks, I cant go on anymore, just slow down, just stop, just quit”…but you don’t…that type of exercise sows seeds that you will reap later when you are fighting for your life and are approaching exhaustion. When your opponent is approaching that same threshold the person who quits is going to loose and reaching that quitting point almost always originates from the mind.

*****

The body and the mind are a unit and the mental/physical benefits of training cannot be separated and measured.

*****

Push yourself. REALLY push yourself on occasion. I don’t mean just get sweaty or breathing hard. I mean a “I cant do one more rep, lungs burning, gonna die, mommy I wanna quit” push. You don’t have to do it every workout, but if you are coasting you are cheating yourself. Its not only your body that will benefit, it builds mental toughness that translates directly to fighting.

SitRep

Well, we're now 9 days into the new year, and therefore, 9 days into my new, healthy lifestyle. I thought I'd post about how it's going so far.

I have craved more Little Debbie snack cakes these 9 days than the rest of my life combined. Out of 6 days I planned to go to the gym, I actually made it to 3. Don't get me wrong - that's 3 more days than I went last year. But I missed my goal by 50%! This morning, I overslept by only fifteen minutes, but it was still too late to make the workout and get home in time to get ready for work (part of the challenge is, I need to get up around 4:45am every day in order to get the full workout first thing in the morning). I'm looking forward to this coming week. It's another chance to succeed.

I jokingly whined to my wife this morning, "I went to the gym 3 times! When is this extra weight going to go away?!?" I know, I know. The work comes first, the reward comes later. Reminds me of one of my favorite Earl Nightingale quotes: "You can't stand in front of a fireplace and say 'Give me heat, THEN I'll give you some wood.'" Water the seed now - it will bloom later. There. 3 motivational quotes, and I'm ready to tackle my fitness goals all over again!

SitRep

Well, we're now 9 days into the new year, and therefore, 9 days into my new, healthy lifestyle. I thought I'd post about how it's going so far.

I have craved more Little Debbie snack cakes these 9 days than the rest of my life combined. Out of 6 days I planned to go to the gym, I actually made it to 3. Don't get me wrong - that's 3 more days than I went last year. But I missed my goal by 50%! This morning, I overslept by only fifteen minutes, but it was still too late to make the workout and get home in time to get ready for work (part of the challenge is, I need to get up around 4:45am every day in order to get the full workout first thing in the morning). I'm looking forward to this coming week. It's another chance to succeed.

I jokingly whined to my wife this morning, "I went to the gym 3 times! When is this extra weight going to go away?!?" I know, I know. The work comes first, the reward comes later. Reminds me of one of my favorite Earl Nightingale quotes: "You can't stand in front of a fireplace and say 'Give me heat, THEN I'll give you some wood.'" Water the seed now - it will bloom later. There. 3 motivational quotes, and I'm ready to tackle my fitness goals all over again!

Pre-Year's Resolution

I imagine the most popular resolution people make for New Year is to get in shape. Seeing the obvious need for it in myself, I'm going to go ahead and do the same, although I'm not usually one to make resolutions for New Year.

But I can't wait until January 1st. To me, that just gives me license to eat like a pig and sit around for a couple more days. Procrastination will not serve me for this need, so I've begun already. For the last couple of nights, my wife have done 30 minutes of strenuous (for me) cardio exercise with the "Hip Hop Abs" DVD (I'm secure enough to admit that, haha!). I plan on getting back up to my old habit of 1 hour of cardio per day. The other things I'm going to do are not that complicated: I plan to cut out sweets, cut out fried foods, and change my beverage consumption from 100% PowerAde to 50% water, 50% PowerAde (I've tried quitting completely, but it never took....so I'm taking baby steps). Portion control will figure in as well. I'll add some resistance training, as well as yoga/flexibility development.

This stuff coupled with my (hopefully) regular mid-week judo/BJJ "study group", and continued Saturday morning Judo, may be just what I need to finally get in shape.

Pre-Year's Resolution

I imagine the most popular resolution people make for New Year is to get in shape. Seeing the obvious need for it in myself, I'm going to go ahead and do the same, although I'm not usually one to make resolutions for New Year.

But I can't wait until January 1st. To me, that just gives me license to eat like a pig and sit around for a couple more days. Procrastination will not serve me for this need, so I've begun already. For the last couple of nights, my wife have done 30 minutes of strenuous (for me) cardio exercise with the "Hip Hop Abs" DVD (I'm secure enough to admit that, haha!). I plan on getting back up to my old habit of 1 hour of cardio per day. The other things I'm going to do are not that complicated: I plan to cut out sweets, cut out fried foods, and change my beverage consumption from 100% PowerAde to 50% water, 50% PowerAde (I've tried quitting completely, but it never took....so I'm taking baby steps). Portion control will figure in as well. I'll add some resistance training, as well as yoga/flexibility development.

This stuff coupled with my (hopefully) regular mid-week judo/BJJ "study group", and continued Saturday morning Judo, may be just what I need to finally get in shape.