2 hours of Muay Thai and Kali. Today was an exciting day. Every last Thursday of the month we have a testing day. Those that are testing, or have had enough training to be told they are testing. I just tested last month so this was not a testing month for me. However, we did have a teammate who wanted to be tested, and he was ready for his level 1 test.
Muay Thai – Level 1 test
For reference I have tested and been awarded a green armband so far. Level 1 test produces a the red armband. We all started with line up and showing different Thai moves. For instance all the Elbows, 1-8, then all the kicks, then all the knees.
Then we worked on some drills, and after that it was time for D’s Thai test. Where we were supposed to cheer him on. I am losing my voice so I was assigned counting of all knees that were put in silently. =)
Level 1 test round 1
Level 1 test round 2
Kali/Silat – pummeling 4 ways
On Tuesday we worked on a Silat Puta Kapala from pommel entry. This time we were working on the same thing, but we got to work on 4 ways to pummel.
Pummeling:
Traditional pummeling where you swim between each others arms. Often used in Jui Jistsu.
Bicep pummeling, where you are controlling one bicep, and your training partner is controlling the other side. Where you make a c with your hand to control their bicep and slide your other hand under to get out of their c clamp.
Neck pummeling, where you control the neck, you pawk or hit the arm to make space, mouse their arm right above the elbow, and then you shoot your arm in behind their head. This is great when some one has a weapon and you are controlling that hand so that they can’t hurt you. You could side elbow their hand away or or downward elbow their hand out of your neck as well then grab their head/neck.
Then we did the wrist pommeling. First single hand wrist pommeling, where you grab their wrist and then they twist that same wrist and grab your wrist. Or you hit down on their hand to remove their hand and you grab their wrist and upper arm to keep control. You could hit up on the wrist from below and then control the arm by holding the wrist and right above the elbow as well.
We then did the Puta Kapala throws, and we drilled all of these pummels. Switching through all 4, and having fun. Almost like sparring with just pummels. It was fun to see who could get the upper hand, and win control over the other person.
So that is all for me today. Its always exciting to see a Level 1 test. This is the 3rd Level 1 I have seen. Class was great again. I love Muay Thai, and Kali, and can’t wait till next class. I need to shower, and go to bed.
I just finished my first 2 hour private Muay Thai class. Our instructor Tony is amazing. He is a very traditional and he and his family come from Thailand. His father taught him and he teaches fighters to fight in the ring. I am honored that he was willing to teach us.
So because he is traditional we started with the Wai Kru. I have heard of it. I have seen it done, but never have I learned it myself. Every class we have we will start with the Wai Kru. It is a sign of respect for your teacher/instructor, it is used to show how flexible and where your problem areas are (in a fight people will size yo up and see where you are tight when watching you), it is a dance, and it is used to warm you up, and stretch you out. Think yoga when you think Wai Kru. It helps you work on things/areas you are tight in.
Each persons Wai Kru is different. Each one tells a story, of their respect for their parents, and their instructors. I will put a few videos below so you can see some different Wai Kru’s. Mine is going to have some of the things that my instructors have taught me and some things that I will bring to the Wai Kru that will be just mine.
Wai Kru : These are worth viewing if you are interested.
Those are just some examples of Wai Kru. There are many many different ones. Like I said they are all different.
Look how strong she looks. Also how elegant and flexible.
We then worked on three of the Thai B’s as Tony called it. They were Bit, Bong, and Bat/Bap. Bit = Closing, like closing the vertical blinds. You Bit when you pillar block. Bong is when you parry a high kick or a hit. You cover your head and hit with the other gloved hand. Bat/Bap is when you scoop the teep.
He had us doing blocks, to see how good our shields/checks, and blocks were. I got a compliment on my blocks being solid. I also got a compliment on my balance.
We did a drill where we blocked with our gloves a kick, checked/shielded a kick with our leg, then checked shielded a second kick, then returned a kick right away with our rear leg. For me an orthodox fighter that is my right leg.
We then did 3 minute conditioning rounds for 30 minutes, which was fun.
Then he had us Wai Kru again to cool down and show respect.
After all that we had to do 3 sets of 50 crunches where some on/your partner hits you in the core muscles while you do the crunches with a Thai pad.
Thai pads are these:
These are the Thai pads I own and these were the ones that hit me today. =)
Anyway that is all for today. I had a great time. I loved getting a more traditional class, and really getting a feel for the culture. I love the richness and it brings for me so much more meaning to what we do when we know the value, meaning, and reasons behind the moves.
Have a great day, and tomorrow is my regular Muay Thai class and Kali.
Today was a great day in class again. We did 2 hours of martial arts, Muay Thai and Kali/Silat. I had a great time working with my class mates. I came into the class very annoyed with how the children were acting and treating me today. (They are getting older and talking back, and I am the enemy today.) I know I am not special. Every parent deals with this at some time or another. I was really at my wits end, and while I am not feeling 100% about today. I only mention it to maybe help other parents know this is normal and for me, exercise is sometimes the ticket to re-centering myself. It really is cathartic to just hit and kick things, focus on my form, and trying to get better.
Muay Thai – Distance Management, and Flow
So today in Muay Thai we worked on distance management and flow. Really we strive to making our strikes flow from one to another. Not just staccato da…. da…. da… but flowing da da, da, or da,da,da. If you have played music you will know what I am talking about. However, in the real world, or even in a professional fight. Your opponent is not going to stand there and let you hit them. You have to hit them multiple times, and the theory is you will get one hit in. You may not get all hits in. You most likely will not get all hits in. They will block some of your hits if they are smart, but one or two will land and then you switch it up.
When we work on distance for instance, we work on entries from far away to up close or in the “box”. Meaning the opponents box around them, or personal space. For this drill we were working on starting in the box, or in elbowing range. The theory is that when you elbow some one, they will naturally move away from the damaging elbows, to now knee range, where you can knee them further away from you and then you can land a kick further damaging them.
As you can see… I have a lot to work on with my knees. I baby my back a little bit due to the previous injury, but every day it gets better. However, I need to eject more, and as you can see when I do eject the person more with my knee, I have to make up the distance. Which means I should do a hop kick or some other way to get in. I can see where I need to improve. This is the top reason I take these videos. They help me see where I am failing and what I should work on.
Kali/Silat – Puta Kapala with an Axe kick
Today in Silat, we worked on Puta Kapala from the grappling entry. Where we are “swimming” in each others arms, trying to get the the upper hand. Or in this instance the over hook. I get the over hook, lock out opponents elbow, step out, knee his head, then lift my inner leg up in an axe kick, then push him over and around with my leg.
Kru Kristen did a great job with class today, and I am so grateful for such talented instructors that take their job seriously.
I had a great time in class. I worked up a fantastic sweat. I got some great compliments about my elbow, to knee, to kick combinations. I take it as I am doing something right. Maybe not perfectly but I am doing it right or improving. Kru Kristen is not the kind to give hollow compliments. So she means it when she does.
Thank you all for reading my blog. I am always amazed that you are, and that there are so many of you from all over the world. I never thought I would have 52 people following me. Comment if you have any questions. Have a great day!
Today’s 45 minute workout was great but I have to say I am hurting. Per doctors orders I have stopped BCAA’s and boy can I feel it. My muscle recovery is taking an extra day and by last Friday I was pooped. After Tuesday’s test I hope to be able to take my supplements again. Doc just checking that the protein he is seeing is from BCAA’s.
This week’s Monday/Wednesday/Friday HIIT run and weight lifting workout. I did the weight lifting portion in a superset.
Workout:
24 minute HIIT run 1.5 min run, 30 sec sprint 3 min warm up 1 min cool down
Superset (meaning you do each exercise rep set back to back with a 30 second rest between sets of exercise.) 1) Skull crushers 30 lbs reps- 10, 10, 10 2) Bulgarian Split Squats and press 12 lbs each hand
3) Lat cable pull 70lbs reps- 10, 12, 13 4) Double leg pike ups reps- 10, 12, 14
5) Dead lift 60 lbs reps- 10, 10, 10 6) Plank with hip dips reps – 30, 30, 30
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Saturday I do my Martial Arts training, Muay Thai, Kali, Bo staff, and Krav
This my take on a fast Caprese salad. I used tomatoes, cucumbers, dried basil because I forgot to get fresh basil at the store, and mozzarella pearls. For the dressing I used balsamic vinegar and a garlic olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.
This is quick, easy, healthy, and most importantly delicious.
Recipe:
Tomatoes diced
cucumber diced
pearl mozzarella
balsamic
garlic infused olive oil you can sub regular olive oil
basil fresh preferably or dried
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Chop veggies to bite size
Toss veggies and mozzarella
in a separate bowl lightly mix oil, salt, pepper, and basil. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy
Stats:
Calories 253, Fat 17.7 g, Fiber 3.7 g, Carbs 11.6 g, Sodium 146 mg, Protein 17.1 g
Thanks for reading this far. Let me know what you think if you get to try this.
2.5 hours of Bo Staff and Striking training today. Yeah you heard it Bo Staff training! Heck yes. I was and still am excited. We have started Bo Staff training, as an offshoot of our Kali training.
I have to say I am so pooped from class/training today, and I am going to be sore tomorrow. =)
Kali/Bo Staff
Did any of you ever want to be a Ninja Turtle when you were little? No? Maybe? Well I did. So getting to play with Bo Staves was so awesome.
We warmed up with single stick first inside the academy. We practiced (heaven watik, low strike, then high strike), (heaven redondo, low strike, high strike), (equise, low strike, high strike). This was a warm up for our Bo Staff practice.
We then went outside. Where it was sunny, but it was so so windy. It was so cold that after an hour I could not feel my fingers. I think it was about 45 degrees Fahrenheit or 7.222 degrees Celsius for those not in the states. But through all of that I had such a blast. Kru Krysta was amazing and she had her instructor Kru Mossy with her. We learned to perform the moves by pushing the top hand and pulling the bottom hand to perform a strike.
I felt clumsy and uncoordinated, but I was surprised how fast I was picking it up with a longer weapon. There are some things to think about when blocking with a longer weapon so save yourself from extra pain. Like moving your foot out from under your staff when you block so that your opponent does not slide down your staff and hit your heel. I need to remember to do my footwork. Kru Mossy hit my thigh to help me remember to do my footwork. Because we are learning a martial art that is meant to do damage, and I don’t want to learn bad habits.
Also for those that don’t know what a Bo Staff is, here is Donatello from Ninja Turtles to show you. We have not learned this move yet. *joking* =)
Striking, Sore
We worked on teeps transition to Thai four counts again. We also were working on a 7 count drill as well. In this drill my partner and I were working on flow and movement. So we were moving around, getting out of the box, and out of striking range, making sure to our feet moving.
7 count drill Left Teep Left kick Cross Hook Cross Right Knee Right Kick
We also worked on elbows. Working on some on both sides, but one of note is we did a front teep/left teep, left kick, left knee, jab, left elbow. In this we were working on our distance management. Where for teep we are making them move away, we then do a kick, which is long distance, then move up to knee short distance, and jab shorter distance, then elbow shortest distance.
I am super tired, and going to be sore tomorrow. I should take a bath in Epsom salts. I held pads for Kru Mossy and he hits hard as he demonstrated. I feel like I might have some bruises from holding the pads. This may sound like a complaint but it is not. He is full of wisdom and he was helping us learn more. Not only that, feeling his full force, shows me what can/may achieve if I keep working at it.
I had a wonderful time today. Learned some things on a Bo Staff, and cannot wait till the next class Bo Staff class. I worked hard in striking and got a fantastic workout in. I feel accomplished.
Thank you for reading and if you have an questions, please let me know.
2 hours of Muay Thai and Kali and I had an amazing class. I was asked to spar in Muay Thai and while I was totally nervous I did it. Yay!
I am a little exhausted at the moment. I have had on top of my normal routine, two extra cake orders. You see if you did not know I am a Pastry Chef and I have people ask me to do birthday cakes, pastries, wedding cakes, etc.
I am not complaining by any means, but I am just tired. I have been trying to get more sleep in. My average sleep last month was 4.5 to 5 hours of sleep a night. Lately I have been averating 5.5 to 6. So that is an upward trend. I know it takes about 2 weeks for my habbit to stick that I go to bed earlier. That is good. Enough rambling back to my workout stuff.
Muay Thai – Punctuating the sentence, Sparring
Kru Kristen had us all warming up. Then we were working on elbows. Feeling the resistance from our training partners then doing a forward elbow thrust then a side in elbow, to tie up in a full plumb, and get knees strikes in.
Then I was asked to spar. I kinda made a meep sound and said yes… sure. Sparing is both hard and scary for me. I fear I will forget all the things I have been taught. I know that forgetting is normal, and I know we all forget some of what we have learned in the moment when the adrenaline drops. However, I want so much to do well, oh and also not get hit a lot. I have gotten better about being scared of being hit. I have been hit a number of times in the head, I have been kicked in the side, and kneed in the leg and kicked in the leg. However, the fear is still there. One day it won’t be so scary but it still is. I don’t plan on being a fighter professionally, however, part of me is excited about the next time I get to spar.
Anyway I got into the ring and did it. I sparred again. I think this is my third time. I stepped up and did it. I did get punched in the face twice and I ate some leg kicks and a torso kick. But I got in a few face punches, some torso hooks, and I got a 5 or 6 good kicks in. I felt accomplished. We were sparring to help one of our team that is going to go fight in a professional fight. He is training and those of us who were asked to spar all helped him do conditioning. We were coached by Kru Kristen that when throwing we want to throw a cross in afterward. “It is like punctuating your sentence” as Kru Kristen says.
Kali – Silat from the ground, Langkah
We had a guest instructor named In Chun Kim. He was amazing. He brought us back to basics of Silat. He had us learning the kicks from the ground.
This video is similar to what we did. It is not me or my video.
Then we worked on foot work or Langkah and learning where our opponents balance breaks, so that we can better get our opponent off balance and it helps with our Basset Dal, and Basset Luar, Sapu Dal, and Sapu Luar. Or our foot sweeps inside and out, or our trips inside and out.
Langkah: Stepping and footwork 1) Langkah Lurus: Linear stepping 6) Langkah Persegitiga: Triangle stepping 4) Langkah Sigsag: Zig zag stepping
For this we did the above, 1, 4, and 6. All great practice, and really gave me insight to why and how we to do the moves better. If you understand the basics better you can understand the moves better. Sometimes I try to muscle the persons foot off the mat, but all you have to do is off balance them correctly and it becomes so much simpler.
Today was a great day and a lot of great information. I had a great amount of a-hah moments. Punctuating the sentence with a cross, and the langkah or footwork and how to do our Silat moves better. Where some of the things just clicked. I also had a good time trying something I did not know if I could do those cool Ground kicks.
Thank you for reading… if you have any questions let me know. Have a great night. I need to get to sleep. =)
Two hours of Muay Thai and Kali. It was a blast. This day was not a huge cardio day for our class. Meaning we did not do a lot of conditioning today. However it was still a lot of fun.
Muay Thai – Cross
In Muay Thai we worked on the cross, elbows, and clench work. While not the exciting dynamic kicking, boxing 20, or Thai 15 routine. I believe there is value in taking a step back and working on the basics. For instance my cross. While I can hit a cross just fine, there are a lot of fine tuning things I need to work on so that I get full extension.
At 5 foot I am short and so I often short change my punches. Because I feel like I don’t or cant get the distance in. However, today I was working on just that. As an orthodox fighter, I have to step out to the left and pivot on the back foot, throw the punch where I turn my hand at the end and point my first two knuckles at the opponent. What this does is extend my body and covers my right hands side of my face with my shoulder.
Sometimes it is good to just focus on one thing and try to make it the best you can. Then trying to do all the things the best. Kru Kristen, says she would rather us be great at a few things than mediocre to horrible at all the things.
Here is a video of me practicing just that. Again not the cool flashy, fast drills that we do some days, but a necessary step back to get these strikes closer to perfection.
Kali – Silat Sapu Dal, and Sapu Luar
In Kali we were working on Silat again, and while we did Basset Dal/Basset Luar before, where our back is toward our opponent. Sapu is where we are facing our opponent. Luar is outside leg sweep, and Dal is inside leg sweep.
We worked on off balancing our opponent only to sweep the leg out from under them just at the right time. This is very fun to do, and gets simpler once you understand the physics behind body movement.
We worked on a take down where you weave your arm between the legs lock out our elbow grab their hand. Pull their hand to the 3 point in the triangle and nudge them with your shoulder. This is a move you can do from the ground if they have hit you and you fell.
We also worked on if we are prone, just fallen, coming back up into combat ready stance, and then grabbing the persons arm and behind the knee to pull them down. Place knee on belly and then punch them.
Today was fun. We got to do sticky legs and work on some strikes where we take steps back and just work on our form and techniques.
Have a great day and thank you for reading. I am so amazed. I now have 51 international subscribers reading my blog. Who would have thought.
I got myself a treat for adulting and doing the adult thing of going to my doctor.
The dreaded annual check up. I have a fear of doctors. Bad doctors and bad bedside manner when I was very young and in and out of hospital for my uterine problems… left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Tests tests, and more tests were their go to. Also had doctors tell me at the age of 12 I would never have children. Well I hiked up my big girl panties and decided I should get in for an annual heck up.
(note: I am not a doctor and you should go see your doctor if you think something is wrong. Don’t be like me… =) )
1st Doctor visit 3/13/2019
I am happy to announce that I am healthy. Well for the most part. My High Density Lipoproteins -HDL, and Low Density Lipoprotiens -LDL’s are perfect, my blood pressure is perfect, my triglycerides are slightly elevated but doctor is not at all worried about that. I am severely Vitamin D deficient, and doc is checking into me passing protein in my urine. More to come about that.
Nurses scared me saying I needed to come in for a consult due to triglycerides, and that my vitamin D levels were slightly low. So me being me I looked up triglycerides and vitamin D deficiency on WebMD and of course I found I am dying everything from kidney failure, to Cancer. (Note: I am saying this all tongue and cheek I don’t really believe I am dying but it is common when you look up symptoms there.) The nurse got them mixed up. She mentioned fixing my diet, drinking more water and getting more exercise. After which my brain went to, ok how do I tighten my diet up more, how do I squeeze in another workout, and I am going to have to drink more than 3 liters of water a day!
My triglycerides are fine, but my vitamin D levels are dangerously low. In reality Doc wanted to talk to me about the vitamin D and get me on vitamin D supplement.
The day in a half between doctor appointments I became an “expert” as much as I could on Vitamin D, Triglycerides, and protein in urine. =) Googling everything was what I did.
Did you know that vitamin D affects more than just your bones and calcium absorbtion? I did not. Also blocks the release of parathyroid hormone that will absorb calcium in your bones and make them brittle. It helps with muscle function and growth. It aids in your immune function. Research and controversy surround vitamin D’s affect on the body. Some researchers hesitantly say that it may prevent, breast, colon, and prostate cancer. But not enough evidence to prescribe for prevention. Some research points to vitamin D preventing and treating, Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and Multiple Sclerosis. Also
Passing protein in my urine. This was the only other thing that had him concerned. So I looked that up. Most of the responses online were about kidney failure or about cancer. That did not help me at all. But you can also have this happen if you have a UTI, or stones, or a few other things.
2nd Doctor Visit for Vitamin D and protein 3/14/2019
Doctor visit went well, he has me on daily Vitamin D supplements. He is concerned about the protein in my urine. He said it might be dehydration so he had me do a test again. Doctor said everything else looks good. Nurse was mistaken. Triglycerides are fine, and he is not worried about any of my other numbers. I look healthy.
You might be wondering what a severe deficiency in vitamin D is. My score was 10, and a deficiency is 40 still. You want to shoot for a 50 to 60 point score. So I am very severely deficient. Yay me!?!
I said to my doctor I don’t know how I will add any more exercise into my life. I workout 5 to 6 days a week.
He laughed and said, “no you don’t have to do that. You do enough.”
I sighed and said thank you, cause I could not figure out how to add more to my schedule.
I got a call from the nurse saying they see protein again, and he wanted to see me. So again we go back in.
3rd Doctor Visit for protein 3/19/2019
I go in, and Doctor asks about my supplements. I said I take BCAA’s and all my other vitamins. He thinks that the protein in my urine may be from the BCAA’s. What ever supplements your body does not use will be excreted in your urine. This is natural. So he is having me not take any BCAA’s for the next week. We will test my urine to make sure that it is what is causing the protein.
He also wanted me to get an ultrasound just in case. I went today to get an renal ultrasound. Everything looks great. I do not have any kidney stones, I don’t have any cysts in my kidneys, I don’t have any fluid build up, and my kidneys look great.
Picture of my kidneys!
So now I wait to see what happens. To see if it is the BCAA’s that are adding protein in my urine. After that I don’t know what other tests we will be doing. Doctor keeps telling me that I am healthy and not to worry. He just wants to make sure its the BCAA’s
So I am healthy… for the most part. We just need to see what that protein is and where it is coming from.
On a side note:
The imaging center I went to get my ultra sound at looked and felt like a spa. I was surprised at how nice it was.
In the end on the way home. I was so happy that my test came back great, and I don’t have another kidney stone and have been stone free for 3 years. That I got myself a treat. An Oreo custard ice cream sandwich. It was so tasty.
Thanks for reading as always. Have a great day! I am off to my Martial Arts training for the night.
Have you ever seen those girls go to the gym wearing make up and leaving looking great still? I have… and I got to conduct an experiment today to see how much my face will melt. I accidentally forgot to take off my full face of make up before going to the gym today. So I got a chance to see if and how well my make up stood up against the onslaught of my workout today.
Let me get into my actual workout first, then we can get on to the silly stuff. Ok for this workout this week. I did a 46 minute workout. 20 minutes of HIIT Run, and 26 minute of weight lifting. I did the weight lifting workout in a super set.
Super sets are two exercises done back to back with out a rest between them. Usually using differing muscles but not always. So you do a set of lunges for example and then you do a set of push ups. You take a small break between the two groups of exercises then do a your next set of lunges and then push ups right away. The reason for doing this is it is a good way to train in Hypertrophy.
Hypertrophy is where you make your muscles fatigued and make them active rest like you do in a HIIT workout. Suffice to say you put your body in a position to build more faster. There is plenty to read on it, but you get the gist. Knowledge is power and, reading up on this will only help you get better.
I will be doing this workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I will be doing Muay Thai and Kali Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Workout for 3/18/2019:
HIIT run 20 minutes. 3 minute warm up, 10 minute HIIT, (sprint 1 minute, run (active rest) 1 minute), then 3 minute run, and 4 minute cool down
Superset of weight lifting workout each two exercises were done together one after the other with rest only after both sets of exercises are done.
Reverse Lunge and curl 12 lbs each hand reps 12, 10, 8
Squat and Press 20 lbs each hand reps 12, 10, 8
Tripod tricep row 30 lbs reps 10, 10, 14
Hip thrustors 30 lbs reps 12, 14, 16
Lat cable pull downs 70 lbs 10, 10, 8
Alternating pike ups 30 seconds for three reps
Let me just say I am so amazed at how well my make up stayed on. I really thought I was going to look like a melted clown.
However as you can see my make up stayed on. Yay!
Both these were before my workout. So clearly on and not a problem.
This was after my HIIT run, and clearly I was sweating. But it stayed on.
This is after my complete workout. I have survived and I did not melt. Wow!
I used Urban Decay eye shadow primer, and eye shadow, and I have Bennifits Hello Happy foundation on. I am amazed and it all stayed on.
Thanks for reading, and have a great night. I am off to work.
Thinks with Spinks 