Today I was feeling over all okay. Just a general feeling of meh. I got enough sleep because after work, I finished work at 10:45 pm, I passed out. I had some bad news yesterday where a friend and former coworker died this week. I have shed tears but over all… just been meh. But my workout was a blessed distraction from current emotions. Maybe not a great coping method but it was nice to make my body exhausted and focus on something else.
Three hours and 50 minutes of martial arts training. I am pooped. On Saturday we wake up early (that is 8 am to get to the gym by 10 am) and as a family take Krav Maga for an hour. Because don’t you know… that is what normal families do. Learn how to take down an assailant together. After Krav I practice Muay Thai with my husband for an hour while we wait for our Mixed Striking class. In the Mixed Striking class we can cover anything from Kali, to JKD, to Wing Chun, to Panantuken, to Silat, and Muay Thai. This class we worked on Muay Thai boxing.
One hour of Krav we worked on our boxing, and slipping. We did jab, cross, slip, cross, jab, slip drills. We did jab, cross, hook, slip drills. The goal is to get smoother in your movements and keep from getting hit. We moved into learning transitions to the double leg take down. How to shoot your leg in between your opponents leg, lift them up after bringing your other leg up, and dumping them on the ground. This is the only class that the kids and I attend together.
Here are two videos of me working on the jab, cross, slip, cross, jab, slip, and jab, cross, hook, slip. If you watch these are taken after about 3 hours and 30 minutes. I am tired, and my hands are dropping, I am not guarding my face as well as I should be. These are things that I have to keep working on.
After Krav we worked for an hour on various Muay Thai techniques, including a catching a kick between your bicep and fore arm in a tight bite. You then lift the leg and push forward with so the person falls over. Also how to lean into the person and clench up, if they catch your leg.
Mixed striking class we worked for one hour and 50 minutes on boxing, cover and responding to a hit. My slips seem to be getting tighter. The movement is getting tighter. However, I am still going to the side a bit still. I need to do more of a forward head movement. Tight head movements where I get off the line are the key, so I am improving. Then we did asymmetrical sparring. Where one person does only jabs and crosses and your opponent does hooks and upper cuts. This forces us to figure out how to get into the opponents box, and get our hits in. Also allows us to know what kind of hit is coming and helps in training.
Here is a video of me working on what we learned in class. I normally cut the videos down, so that you only see one move/drill but this I left long so that you can see how we drill different drills. Again this was taken after I have been at it for over 3 hours and 20 minutes. I am tired, and have a lot to work on. What you are seeing is: 1) Parry an incoming jab, high cover, return jab at same time, cross, hook, jab. 2) High cover, cross, and high cover, jab. 3) Cover body shot, to opposite upper cut. 4) When you see us stop we are talking about what I am doing wrong, and how to fix it.
Linner (lunch-dinner) was had afterward, cause we were all pretty hungry, and now I am at home under my electric blanket typing this out. Its cold and I want to nap. =) Full hibernation is pulling at me.
Thanks for reading this far, have a great weekend. I am going to rest now. Leave a comment if you want.
Some days are just mediocre. Here is what I mean. Some days are annoying I am struggling to get the new techniques or even my body to do the old techniques in the correct way. Then there are other days where it is fantastic, I am learning new things, I am buzzing along, and I am doing great while I still make mistakes I am jazzed and doing fantastic. Then the pendulum swings back and hits the middle, where I am doing the techniques I have learned already, and helping less experienced students develop their skills. Helping others is a different kind of satisfaction then beating my body into submission. I am getting some work in but nothing to write home about. Well today was one of those days.
We worked on elbows today in Muay Thai. We went through all 9 elbows. 1 = horizontal elbow, 2 = upward diagonal elbow, 3 = downward diagonal elbow, 4 = vertical up elbow, 5 = downward vertical elbow, 6 = side in elbow, 7 = side out elbow, 8 = tach malach (spelling is probably wrong) or spear elbow, and finally 9 = spinning elbow. We worked on the parry or scoop and entry with elbow. We also worked on scoop, elbow entry, and then followed up with spinning elbow. I have two videos of me doing some of those elbows.
In Kali we worked on Espada Y Daga. Which translates to sword and dagger. This was fun, and surprisingly easy. I say this even though I made plenty of mistakes and needed to work on my footing. I was able to figure out how to cut my opponent and get out of the drill as well. We then got to spar afterward. Where if we had actually used real weapons I would have died many times. However, I got many good strikes in and would have been able to win a few fights. One of my friends even laid me out on they floor. We say in a knife fight the winner bleeds and the looser gushes. So if you end up in a knife fight expect to get cut. Anyway enough of my babbling. Here is a video of me doing the drill.
If you made it this far, wow, I have rambled. But this is the reality of a fitness journey. Not every day is going to be sunshine and sparkles. Not every day is going to suck. Some days are going to be meh… but I have still shown up, and put my time in. These days are days when it may seem like I am not learning a lot, but it will all culminate in the end.
1.5 hours of Muay Thai. For the first 30 minutes of my training, I did 200 kicks over a foam roller, and 100 knee number 3’s into a heavy bag. We then worked on basics again. It’s amazing even though I know these techniques I was having a hard time with them. It occurred to me when I was working on my jab, cross and then horizontal right elbow that maybe I am stiff cause of weight lifting yesterday. Or I just might be having an off day. We worked on entries after the jab, cross.
Then we worked on off ballances so that we could get range from opponent to get your knees in. We got to do the leg bump off ballance which is my favorite. I was asked to come up and demonstrate it to the class where normally I would hesitate and be embarrassed. But to my surprise as I sit here and think back on it, I jumped at the opportunity and to do the move on guy taller than me. I was able to execute it so fast and accurately that he almost fell over and my instructor was impressed. It’s a great off ballance for me cause I am short and shorter than everyone in our class. My instructor always says use what you have to your advantage. If you are tall use that if you are short use that. So I get in close and my opponents cannot see my hits coming if I am fast enough.
The mind bending Kali was also fun. We worked on off beats in Kali. Where we were performing standard six and adding a witik into it. I like the outside deflection witik and the lower back hand almost gunting type off beat. I messed up a lot, and you just have to keep going and pick up the beat again.
Shower and sleep is in order next.
Anyway here is a video of me doing it slowly cause I just learned it today and need to practice.
Again think you for reading and watching. Talk to me if you want. Let me know if you like anything, or want more information on anything I am doing.
I look like a hot mess after a workout. I have never been that kind of girl that can look like she just left a salon after a hard workout.
Workout: 2 hours and 20 mins of Muay Thai and Kali.
We worked on Jab and to left kick transitions, and jab cross to left kick transitions. Smoothness and quickness of transition is important. Your opponent will not have the time to react and or will not see it coming if you do it fast enough. We were working on the basics of Muay Thai and It’s was amazing to see the changes I have made. I can see some of my improvements in the art. What was once hard to just get my body to do I am am able to do and hoping to get tiny changes in form to stick so that I am able to get power in. You see in Muay Thai if you try to force/muscle the move your kicks for instance will be slow and not powerful. If you focus on form and laying the kick in using all of your torso it will be more powerful and devastating in a fight. The move almost becomes effortless. I say almost cause after a ladder of kicks ( 1 kick then 2 kicks up to 5 kicks in a row then back down again to 1) that is gassing. But much less so than when I first started out. Thank you Kru Kristen DeBruycker.
In Kali we had a guest instructor called Inchun Kim. He was an amazing instructor and he taught us some great movement with intention. Not just hitting sticks but focusing on hitting with the intention to hurt, maim, and damage. Where some drills we tap the sticks he wanted us to change our intent and using foot work advance on our target. I have said it before and I will say it again Kali melts the brain. Especially brain blending when wielding double stick and reverse gripping the stick in left or right hand or both.
I am exhausted and need sleep. First shower and then to bed. Thanks for reading. As always let me know what you think.
I am going to try to document my Tuesday, sometimes Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday Thai and Kali workouts here.
I just got home from 2 hours of Muay Thai and Kali. In Muay Thai we were working on our transitions from punch to kicks. I am at a point in my training where it’s it’s minute changes that I have to make. Like kick through the person, after kick bring back and keep knee up. Things I have to consciously apply to get my body to do it. I got a compliment on my speed again from a few people and a compliment on my punches to kick transitions from my Kru. Just have to keep knee up.
In Kali we worked on High box, Low box, and Middle box. Double stick is a brain workout. Making your body do the things you need it to do and avoid getting hit is a full time mental activity. My practice partner was talking to me and getting my brain to think other things. To hold a conversation about something completely different to what my sticks were doing was like listening to a skipping record. I had to start and stop my sentences to keep my hands and feet moving. It’s like trying rub your tummy and pat your head. Or for us even less skilled walk and chew gum! 😃
Thank you Kru Kristen DeBruycker, and Kru Krysta Scharlach
As I write this up I notice a bruise blossoming on my foot just now. Lol 😆 I did not even register I might have hit the edge of the Thai pads wrong.
Anyway thanks again for reading and my adventures will continue on. Let me know what you think, what content you are curious about.
We just got home from Muay Thai
practice and Kali, and I can tell you no other sport, or physical activity can
melt my brain faster than Kali.
I sit here after class trying to
type up what I wanted to, and I have a combination of tired body, and exhausted
mind.
So, we worked on sparing in Muay
Thai, where we were learning some of the entries that we could use to get into
the “box” and be able to get our hits in on our opponents. You will
get hit in the face and other parts of the body. This is not negotiable. It happens,
and it teaches you to get your hands up and block, parry, or move (slip/bob and
weave). I got hit twice in the face today. It was not hard, and I am totally
ok. But that makes your body and head tired.
Now after Muay Thai we did Kali.
Kali ask you to use both your right and left brain at the same time. It asks
you to use your right and left hands at the same time. It is both an art and
a… I was going to say science, and while there is science, to it… it’s more
of an art and a deadly dance. A DANGER DANCE!
Anyway, I am rambling on. For today
I did a 30-minute warmup/workout before Muay Thai.
1 minute stretching
200 kicks over a foam roller
100 # 3 knees, which are the side in knees
Then 10 minutes of ladder work to work on foot work and getting faster in my transitions.
One hour of Muay Thai:
We shadowboxed/jumped rope to warm up
We worked on parry jab, while coming in with a jab entry, then getting out of the box.
We worked on outside parry where I slip under the jab and hit a jab into the midsection of my opponent.
We worked on the boxing 20.
We worked on using the entries to get into the box, then a upper cut, hook, and cross, bob and weave to get out
We then worked on sparing and using what we know and have learned to avoid getting hit.
I can tell you I got hit a couple of times, but I am getting more used to it.
1 hour of Kali:
We started with heaven figure 8s then earth figure 8s
We then worked on Running Saint Gabriel, the right side first
We worked on the Running Saint Gabriel right then left
Finally we worked on the heaven box.
I am tired and should go to bed. Its 11:39 pm right and I have to be up at 5:30am tomorrow. This is a bit of a rambling post, but this is what I do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. =) If you like hearing about what I am for my workouts let me know. I am still figuring out how often to put out content to my blog.
Also see below, me practicing the Running Saint Gabriel. This is about the 30th time worked through it. I did it about 30 more times till the end of class after this.
I started out life athletic. I was lucky and tried various things, soft ball, volley ball, tennis, swim team, and water polo. I had the traditional tiger mom, that wanted me to have a sport, have straight A’s and play at least one instrument. Tiger Mom: a strict mother, who stereo typically is Asian, rules with an iron fist, pushes her kids to succeed in academics, music, and sports. She uses tough love, strict rules, and discipline to force her children to succeed. What ever bad or good she did, I have a drive to do well, and be the best I can be.
Swimming was what stuck. I loved swimming and the feeling of the water. I loved the feeling of getting better at a skill and seeing it in my competitions and winnings. I loved how my muscles felt after an intense day of training. I loved it all. My strokes were 200-meter Butterfly, and 500-meter Free Style. As you can see I am a distance athlete, and always have been. I swam through part of college and then life happened. I stopped doing it and during my early 20’s I stayed pretty much the same. But always that drive to be the best at everything I do.
Fast forward to 28 and having my first child. I let my body go after stopping swimming. I did not take care of it, and I did not do any exercise. When I was pregnant I was told not to start a new workout routine, and since I had not been doing anything before pregnancy. That meant I could keep my sedentary life. I don’t need to explain that I became soft, my cardio was shit and I did not care because I had my new little one, and another one on the way only 9 months after my first was born.
Fast forward again to 37 and I am 3 years 6 months into my fitness journey. I have been lifting weights as well as running. I feel because I started off as an athlete I was better able to get myself a schedule and set myself goals to strive for, then execute. Repetitions, cardio ladders, burning muscles, and sore delayed onset muscle soreness (D.O.M.S.) is all normal and expected.
My husband the love of my life, an introvert, handsome, amazing father, and
computer geek, that did not do a day of workout in his life. Decided he wanted
to start getting healthier. He started running and about one- or two-months in.
I am not certain the time frame I was not keeping track of his workouts only
mine. He said he was interested in checking out this gym. My curiosity had me
asking 20 questions. Because if it can interest him there had to be something to
it. To my surprise he wanted to try out Muay Thai. I was shocked, and impressed,
and super supportive. I did not have a desire at first to try it. I was squarely
ensconced in my routine of running cardio and Heavy Weight Lifting. I was happy
to have him have something to investigate and look forward to doing.
For two weeks his love for it burned so bright, he would come home buzzing.
Telling me the things he learned, how hard it was, and how even though he was
tired he was so jazzed. I laughed as he went through the learning process, about
gassing, body confusion/muscle confusion, and his D.O.M.S. He would say wow I
did not know it would hurt this much but also how much I just look forward to
doing it. For you see he did not understand why I regularly went to the bench
and did a super set to fatigue and would hurt the next day, then do it again.
There is a high, an adrenaline that you get when doing it and a satisfied
exhaustion that takes over your body when you ask it to do that hard thing and
it comes through.
I was intrigued as to what would get my husband to go and keep wanting to
go. So I decided to check it out. I was hooked after the first class. The
energy in that gym was fantastic. There was no judgement at my inability to do
the things they were asking. Yes, I am strong, yes I can lift heavy weights but
this was a completely different skill set. Asking different things of my muscles.
So now I have been learning/practicing Muay Thai for 9 months. I started
April of 2018. I love it, and I sit here right now slightly sore from last night’s
class and know tomorrow morning I will be a little sorer than I am now. Then I
will go to another class that afternoon and will loosen up and start the muscle
abuse all over again.
What is it like to start Muay Thai, a combat martial art, at the ripe old age of 37?
What is Different:
Frequent
D.O.M.S. – I feel D.O.M.S more frequently
than before. For me I feel it about 24 hours after my workout. It seems for
husband it’s more like 48 hours.
Joints
hurts – When I first started my joints
hurt a lot more now it seems to have evened out.
Stretching
– Stretching is more fundamental to my
survival now, than it was when I was teens to early 20’s. If I don’t stretch
well I will pull a muscle.
Exhaustion
– I am exhausted but still have to deal
with my kids, household chores, and work. =)
Supplements- Pre
workout drinks, B.C.A.A.’s (Branch Chain Amino Acids), and caffeine, are really
helpful.
Muscular Skeletal support – Glucosamine, and Chondroitin are also helpful.
Muscle gain, and weight loss – not as rapid as before.
What is the Same:
The muscle burn is the same at any age – at least for me.
Cardio has bounced back fantastically
D.O.M.S.
seems to resolve itself in the same amount of time as before. – As I mentioned before I will be slightly
sore the day after, late the day after or early morning second day I will be
sore, but it will be a non-issue after second day concludes.
The satisfaction of learning how to move your body, get
it to do what you want.
Tired satisfying exhaustion after an intense workout.
Team comradery
What is New:
Bruises – So many bruises and having to explain to my customers that I am ok and not battered. I did it to myself. I am training in a martial art.
Being amazed at the power of my body at my age.
People being impressed that I am learning this amazing art form.
Confidence – I am surer of my actions, and I know I can handle myself if for some reason an altercation happens.
Coming into myself – you see when I had my kids, they were my world, I did not do anything for myself, and I lost my sense of self. After 9 years I did not know who I was any more. I was their mom. I loved them. But I was not the same as before.
Getting hit, punched in the face, kicked – Not as scary as it was before. Still getting used to it, but much more used to it now.
I would be leaving something out if I did not say that the thought that I am too old to start something like this has not crossed my mind. I worry that maybe people are laughing at me. But then I find myself in the gym, and I forget all that. I am at a place I love, doing something I love. I will keep doing it till I can’t any more.
So yeah, I am much older now than when I was swimming. I let myself go for a while but decided one day to pick up the reigns and untangle all this mess. I have a family, and a rich full life. I have a hobby? No… A sport?… Maybe… I have a new love, and it is Muay Thai. I am growing and learning and will continue to do so. At this point in my training I am third prajioud or armband/orange armband. (Armbands are similar to belt system in many other martial arts.) That means I have passed three tests. The armbands have a tradition of being given to the fighters for good luck. Now we are honored to have our Kru give it to us. I have risen in the ranks. I have surpassed some of my fellow gym mates. I am amazed that I have gotten this far. I will keep going and keep learning. I will…
Thank you for reading this far again. I am amazed anyone reads my blog. I
started this blog just as a place to put my thoughts down. I seem to be able to
unpack everything inside my head when I put it on paper. As always talk to me,
leave a comment and have a wonderful day.
Today I went and worked on Muay Thai for 1.5 hours. Today is New Years day and we did not have class today so we thought we would get into the gym during open mat time and get some work in. More practice makes me better.
My goal for this session is to warm up with footwork. Being able to move helps you avoid being hit. Then work on cardio/conditioning rounds that fatigue the muscle. This makes it harder to execute the exercise and creates muscle memory during fatigue and stress. The theory is your body will know what to do in auto pilot when in a fight when you are tired and stressed out. Finally I always need to practice form and execution of the moves. The more practiced and relaxed I am the harder I hit.
Workout/Training:
I started off with a warm up of the agility ladder for 10 minutes, and then some stretching.
We then worked on the boxing 20 combination.
I then did a set of conditioning rounds that were 3 minutes each with 30 second rest period in between them. (I am a puddle of sweat and sucking air after those.)
We worked on four counts, they consist of left kick/cross/hook/right kick, left kick/cross/hook/left kick, right kick/jab/cross/left kick, right kick/jab/cross/right kick.
I then did another set of conditioning rounds that were 2 minutes each with 30 second rest period in between them. (I was dead after that.)
Worked on some elbows, off balancing your opponent, and clench work.
Then it was time to go home. I needed to make new years diner for us. Can I tell you that using the vegetable spiral noodle maker after punching tells you just where your muscles are sore and tired. I need to remember to roll out my muscles later tonight.
It’s a special time in our family. New Year we celebrate on English New Year but with Japanese food. Because you see I am haffa, or half Japanese. So we had rice, chicken, and veggies. We ended with the traditional mochi and other special sweets. The kiddos loved it and we all enjoyed our time together.
It was a great way to punch in the New Year. Keep being awesome and kick some ass everyone. Happy New Year to you all. I hope this year is filled with love and happiness for you all.
(I added a video under Moving Pixels, it is of me doing a Thai 4 count. I am still a novice and have to work on so much, so keep that in mind while watching. I have received the Orange band or third band up.)
Thinks with Spinks 