Tag: Kali

Saturday Muay Thai and Kali… update, not whining, fear of losing progress

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Kali Escrima, Muay Thai, Weight LiftingLeave a comment

Hello there… I did not make a Thursday post. I was concerned that it would be thought of as whining. So this is an update, hopefully not toooo whiny. Note: This was just my fear, no one said anything to me that I was being whiny.

I still have congestion and trying to give my lungs a break. Its been 10 days. I still have lingering congestion and coughing. I am still on antibiotics today is the last day. I have not had to use the inhaler in the last two days! Yay! I am still tired, but that might be a side effect of the many medications I am on. Doctor predicted that it would take 14 days to get over this cold, and ear infection.

So as I sit here not doing anything… that creeping fear is rattling around in my brain. That, you are sitting on your butt, not doing anything and you are losing muscle, you are losing your skill in Muay Thai, and Kali, you are stalling in your fitness journey and you are going to start going backwards.

So now I am doing what I always do, when my fears start to take control of my thoughts, and start making me scared. I am doing research.

Research:

https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/exercising-when-sick#1

“A neck check is a way to determine your level of activity during a respiratory illness,” adds Neil Schachter, MD, medical director of respiratory care at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. “If your symptoms are above the neck, including a sore throat, nasal congestion, sneezing, and tearing eyes, then it’s OK to exercise,” he says. “If your symptoms are below the neck, such as coughing, body aches, fever, and fatigue, then it’s time to hang up the running shoes until these symptoms subside.”

http://www.muscleforlife.com (how fast you lose muscle when you stop working out) (this link did not want to copy correctly so here is the website and the title)

“This drop in water and glycogen can cause muscle volume to shrink about 10 percent over the course of a month. This loss of lean mass returns quickly when people start lifting weights and eating more carbs.

So, even though studies have shown lean mass starts to disappear after about two or three weeks, it may take slightly longer for you to lose actual muscle.“

The take away from this muscle for life article is:

“If you take a week or two away from the gym, you probably won’t lose strength or muscle mass.

If you take more than three weeks off, you’ll lose at least a little bit of strength and muscle, but you’ll regain it quickly when you start lifting again.

You can maintain your strength and muscle mass by lifting weights at least once per week.”

So what I am reading is this.

  1. Yes I am losing some water and glycogen in my muscles.
  2. You should do the neck check, and if it is above the neck then you can still do a light exercise.
  3. With my cold/virus/sickness, I have had to have an inhaler for congestion and breathing,
  4. I am on antibiotics and today is the first day where I don’t feel like my body is just hurting.
  5. Don’t workout with a fever ever.
  6. I will regain my muscle and skills again faster due to muscle memory.

Does knowing this help? Yes a little bit.

Did I already know some or most of this? Yes

Do I often have to look up the science behind the body and working out when I have these thoughts and fears? Yes, yes I have done this many times. This is my coping mechanism.

Are the fears still there in the back of my head even though I know the science behind the body? Yes, this does not make them go away altogether but it quiets them down.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and today I am not doing Muay Thai and Kali. I am still giving my body a break. Even if the mean voices are creeping up in my head.

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Tuesday Muay Thai and Kali…on the mend, been about a week

On By Thinks with SpinksIn FitnessLeave a comment

Its been about a week. I first started having symptoms Wednesday night of last week. I did not go to Muay Thai and Kali yesterday/Tuesday. I am still coughing, but last night I slept much better, and had a stretch of night where I was not hacking and coughing up a lung. Pseudophedrine makes my skin feel weird. I have not had a fever in about 2 days now, my ear still feels weird, and has some popping sounds.

So yeah did not go to Muay Thai or Kali yesterday. I still feel really run down, and under the weather. But I feel less like I am dying and more like I have a horrible cold. I believe I am on the mend. Still on my antibiotics, and hoping that by Saturday I will feel loads better.

I have been doing no workouts at all, and to be honest for Thursday 5/9/2019- Monday 5/13/2019, I did not have the ability to do more than just lay there like a lump on a log and try to live. I am now thinking more about and am more concerned about my workouts and my loss of progress. So this seems a good thing? The rational part of my brain says its ok, you will get back into it. The irrational part says… oh my gosh, look how much down time you have had. You are going to lose all of your progress and become a giant rolly polly.

I hope your week is going well. I don’t know how I will feel tomorrow, and if I will be able to do any kinda cardio at all without hacking. I will take tomorrow as it comes.

My friends and team mates from Muay Thai and Kali sent me well wishes and a picture. =) That made me smile. I miss them and they seem to miss me. Whoda thunk it.

Thanks for reading, I am going to go sucks down some more water.

Thursday Muay Thai and Kali…When your body tells you no.

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Opinion2 Comments

Wednesday night I got home from work and at around 10:30 pm. I had a slight cough and then my chest felt funny. I went to bed thinking needed to just sleep. Slept horribly and woke up Thursday feeling like truck hit me and ran me over.

I was coughing and everything just felt tired and hurt. I was running a low grade fever. I had a lot of stuff to do, errands, and stuff for the family. My husband insisted I lay down and just rest for the day.

So that is what I did. I did not do any of my chores I had to do, I did not run any of the errands I had to run. I did not work out. I did not go to Muay Thai or Kali, did not pass go, and did not collect 200 dollars.

When your body tells you no in this way. You have to listen. It nearly knocked me on my butt… no wait it did. My body said nope, and I need to rest. Today I feel better. I slept better. I am still coughing but don’t feel like I have been run over by a truck. I will see how I feel when Saturday morning rolls around.

I was upset to miss training, and working on Muay Thai and Kali skills. I really wanted to go and even debated going in and pushing through my sickness. I however, did not want to get anyone else sick.

I am still on my fitness journey. This is a little hiccup. Keep up the good work. Keep being awesome, and thanks for reading.

Tuesday Muay Thai and Kali…Boogie Out, Rubbing is to Racing as Bumping is to Boxing

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Kali Escrima, Martial Arts, Muay ThaiLeave a comment

2 hours of Muay Thai and Kali training. It has been a busy day, but had a fantastic time at training. We worked on boxing and head movement in Muay Thai, and redondos again in Kali.

I had so many things pulling at me for my time. I had my usual teaching my kids, and regular household things (cleaning, feeding people). I also had to work on fondant flowers due for a cake I have to make later on this week. So super super busy today. I made these flowers for the cake all by hand.

Enough jabbering, here is what we did no class today.

Muay Thai – Boogie Out, Rubbing is to Racing as Bumping is to Boxing

In Muay Thai we were working on boxing again. Mainly Kru Kristen wanted us to work on our head movement. I can tell you mine is not great. If we can move our head and keep it moving, we can possibly avoid getting hit in the head. That is at least the theory.

We started with slips. We did a slip drill. Your partner throws a jab and you slip to the right, on the cross you slip to the left. We had to do 50 of them. Then we switched up and fed for our partners.

Then we did a bob and weave drill. We would start on one side and our partners would throw a cross and touch the opposite shoulder making sure we squat, turned correctly and then stood up, only to do it again by bobbing and weaving to the other side. We had to do 50 of those as well, then we switched up and we fed for our partners.

Next Kru Kristen taught us a really cool move called the Boogie Out. What it is, is after you have bobbed and weaved out of a hook that was thrown at you, you do a shuffle turn so that you can cut the corner, or get around your opponent. Because if you can get behind or to the side of your opponent, and all of their weapons are pointed away from you, that is great for you. Then you can hit them when they are not able to block, from behind or the side. I have taken video of me doing this below. What you will notice when I focus on a new skill I am working, my strikes often times suffer. In this video I see my strikes sucking. My hooks look like caca, and I am not bringing my hands back fast enough. However, I am getting that Boogie Out move. However, if I practice enough I think I will be able to include this in my repertoire.

  1. Jab, cross, body hook, head hook, cross, bob and weave, boogie out, then strike the head.

After that we worked on shoulder bump cut corner/step out to take the back of your opponent. Here Kru Krsiten said rubbing is to racing as bumping is to boxing. In boxing bumping your opponent as you step out/cut corner, is a way to off balance your opponent. You bump them not only once but then you do it again from behind. This gets your opponent off balance, messes up their stance, and then you can hit them from behind or the side. I filmed this as well. Kru Kristen says that this is great for a short fighter like me. I can cut out/step out and still stay in the pocket. However, all the while getting out of range and away from my opponents weapons. I can then hit them after stepping out and around.

  1. Jab, cross, upper cut, cross, bob and weave, shoulder check through, then shoulder check behind, and hit again.

After this we did survivor drills. This is where we get put up against the wall and we are not allowed to do anything but avoid getting punched with our head movements. We can block or catch hits with our gloves, but Kru Kristen just wanted us to avoid the hits. She had the other half of us punching our team mates, trying to hit them not hard but trying to think around their defenses.

Kali – Redondos

Today in Kali we worked on redondos again. Kru Krysta is a great teacher. It felt good, and I felt like I knew these moves pretty well. We worked on high redondo, low redondo, low back hand, high back hand. We also worked on the figure 8, with low back hand, high back hand. I filmed us doing this as well. My knees are hurting a bit today, probably because I did to much yesterday, then we did a lot of bob and weaves today. =) Generally they don’t hurt, but once in a while they will hurt. When that happens I just baby the hurt area, and then train around it.

After that we we did the Running Saint Rafael. I was able to do it no problem when I was the aggressor, however, when I was feeding, I would keep messing up the last heaven six. If you block with the wrong stick you will be out of alignment and have to quickly reset for the last heaven six.

Anyway thanks for reading. I hope you all have a great week. I must get to bed.

Thursday Muay Thai and Kali… Boxing/Feeding, Double Ordabis, Finding my niche?

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Kali Escrima, Martial Arts, Muay ThaiLeave a comment

2 hours of Muay Thai and Kali training. In Muay Thai this month we are working on our boxing. In kali we were doing double stick , ordabis, and Saint Rafael.

Today was a mixed bag for me. I felt good boxing, and am working on my cross still. I got a compliment on my bob and weave. Conversely for Kali, I was frustrated… I kept making mistakes.

Muay Thai – Boxing/Feeding

In Muay Thai we are starting on focusing our boxing. We started with the Trigg 10.

Trigg 10: (this is a boxing drill that the feeder counts out the number and you execute the corresponding strike. Example: Feeder says 3 and you perform Jab Jab Jab.)

  1. Jab
  2. Jab Jab
  3. Jab Jab Jab
  4. Cross
  5. Cross Cross
  6. Cross Cross Cross
  7. Jab Cross
  8. Cross Jab
  9. Jab Jab Cross
  10. Cross Cross Jab

Now feeding is just as much a skill as knowing and executing the strikes. When you have a good feeder you look like a million bucks. They make you look good and can prevent injury. When a feeder is new and does not know how to provide the correct resistance with the pads you can hurt yourself. For instance when punching at a focus mitt. If the feeder does not respond with the correct force, you can hyper extend your elbow. I have had feeders that are new and go home with sore elbows. I have since learned that if a feeder is new and does not know how to feed. Even with coaching them on how, I will save myself and just not throw the punches in there with a lot of force. Better to work on form and not on speed and strength in those instances.

We worked on combination of throwing a double jab, responding to a strike with a backward u slip, then returning a cross, and then bobbing and weaving a cross. I got a good compliment on my bob and weave. Yay!

After that the more experienced students worked on a wall drill where we took turns punching at our fellow class mates while their back was to the wall and they had to move their heads to avoid the punches. Then we switched places. We had to move our heads and avoid the blows while our class mates punched at us. This is good for head movement and understanding how to avoid incoming strikes. This is all relatively light and we are not trying to take each others heads off with a punch.

Kali – Double Ordabis, Heaven Drill, and Saint Rafael

We worked on double stick today in Kali. There is a strike called the redondo. That is a strike that goes around the head. If it is a forehand strike then it is an Umbrella strike. If it is a back hand strike then it is a Ordabis.

Kali was a bit of a brain melt-er today. I have done these flow drills before, however, it was 4 or 5 months ago so I had to pull back in my memory banks and try to remember. However, towards the end I started to pick it up again. I took video of me doing the double ordabis with sticks pointed to heaven. Then the double ordabis flow drill with some standard strikes, and a heave 6 flow drill.

This was the Saint Rafael. I took video of it. I have not done this saint drill for months. I was pretty happy at how fast I picked it back up again. However, as you can see I am very rusty still.






Finding my niche?

So officially I have been studying and practicing Muay Thai and Kali for a year now. It seems that some people have their thing. That one thing that they are known for in the class to the team mates and to the instructors. One person say is fast, another is very agile, still the next has great kicks. I don’t feel I have a niche yet. It is kind of disappointing. I get compliments on my form, and on certain things. I have plenty to practice and fix. I have a long way to go before I am proficient in any one of these arts. However, I don’t have a niche yet. Nothing I stand out in.

I love kicks, I love teeps, I love take downs, and I love off balances. Kru Kristen says find something you love and work those all the time. I do and still have so far to go. I guess I am just feeling down about myself. I want to be good at something. Maybe one thing… right now I don’t feel like I have that niche. Will it come? Who knows? I will keep practicing and trying till I do get it, or find it.

That is all for tonight. I need to sleep. Have a good night. Thanks for reading.

Tuesday Muay Thai and Kali…Same side flow like water, Thai shirts, 7 count knife drill

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Kali Escrima, Martial Arts, Muay ThaiLeave a comment

2 hours of Muay Thai and Kali training. Today was so much fun. I was excited to unveil the shirts I had made. Also thought today was going to be a test day. But alas it was not. Kru Kristen had to do some book keeping and see where everyone is first. And then we worked on espada y daga or sword and knife drills. Kru Krysta took over an taught both classes.

Muay Thai – Same side flow like water, Thai Shirts

So today was a great day for training. We worked on same side flow from, teeps, to kicks, to knees and back again. But all on the same side. So this make it difficult cause if your balance is not correct you will fall. You will not have power if you balance is off, and if you do not step out. If you do not teep your partner hard enough they may not step back far enough for you to get your kick in, so then you have to step off the line.

So I took video of me doing some of the drills. Meh…

  1. Lead round house kick to lead tee
  2. Rear round house kick to rear teep
  3. Lead round house kick, to lead shield of kick, to lead round house kick to lead teep.
  4. Rear round house kick, to rear shield of kick, to rear round house kick to rear teep.
  5. Lead round house kick, to rear teep, rear feint, to lead knee.

Ok let me pick this crap apart. For some reason today I was dropping my hands, all the time. That is going to get me punched in the face. I was a bit off balance today that is not great for teeps, or kicks. My shields of kicks were down right sad. I need to remember to keep my foot flexed tight to shield, but I kept failing at that. My timing was not great and I felt slow, sometimes waiting for a few seconds to long to move to the next move. The strikes should be smooth and flow like water. So many things wrong with my drilling today… my body was just not doing what I wanted it to today. I know what I need to do, but just not executing it today.

And don’t get me started on how I looked. A hot mess is what comes to mind. But I digress, I know focusing on that does not help me flow like water.


I made Thai shirts for my team. I made the design, and had them printed up. I was able to hand them out today. I was so excited to do this. But the back of my head that little mean part of my brain was saying what if they hate it, what if they don’t like it? Trying to make me doubt myself.

So I ignored that mean chatter, and took them in anyway. My team loved it. They thought it was so cool and thanked me for it. I was very happy to do it and relieved that it was received well. It was a surprise and they did not know it was coming.

It says:

Crew AmpliThai

Nak Muay (means Thai Fighter) 
Respect
Hard Work
Perseverance
Dedication

Then Kru Kristen’s quote:
“Less Talking, More Hitting”

I like the way the shirts came out. =)

Kali – 7 count Knife Drill, T drill, all with Espada y Daga

Today in Kali we worked on the 7 count knife and stick drill or espada y daga (sword and dagger). We worked on the T drill separately, then hubud drill, then the 7 count separately. Finally we worked on the T drill and 7 count together in one full flow drill.

I filmed the T and 7 count full flow drill. Here is the video in all its um… glory? Well its something.

It is 12 pm here, and I must go to bed. I have a 5 am wake up. Weeee! Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Saturday Bo Staff, Striking class…Thrust and Slash, Panantukan/Dirty Boxing

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Kali Escrima, Martial ArtsLeave a comment

2.5 hours of Martial Arts training today. Have you ever had a morning that rolls around and don’t want to get up, but I can’t sleep any more? Yeah? Me too. Even so, today was a great day of training. I picked up some new drills without much trouble, some others were a bit of a pain in the butt.

Bo Staff – Thrust and Slash

Today’s drills included thrust and slash flow drills. The first drill I picked up with ease. However, the second one kept tripping me up. Something about it was just not clicking today with me.

I took video of me doing the drill but for some reason it is flipped on its side. However, here it is anyway. It was super windy out today as well so the wind is blowing through the microphone. It was a beautiful day though.

I attempted to mess with the video editor and was unable to flip this video over. I am sorry. One day I will figure it out. =)

Here is a video of my instructor for the day showing us the second drill.

As you see he is much more fluid in his motions than I am. I am still working on that. And as you can see I am not that fluid in my movements. I am trying to remember every step while getting my footing right.

Class was fun, and it was beautiful outside.

Striking Panantukan/Dirty Boxing

Today in Striking class we worked on Panantukan. Our instructor was nice enough to type up what we did in class, and post it for us so here it is.

Panantukan/Dirty Boxing


-3 counts on female triangle. (Jab, Cross, Hook, JC Uppercut, JC BodyHook, Overhand/Uppercut/Overhand) 
-3 Counts on focus mitts with a lead switch in between each combo. 
-BLITZ: CRISS-CROSS, HOOKS, UPPERCUTS, BODY HOOKS. – repeated as fast as possible. 
——————————————————————————————————————
-Split Entry counters the Jab into combinations Left and Right (Follow W/ Lead Knee) — 
1.CHC (cross,hook,cross)
2.CUC (cross,uppercut,cross)
3. CBHC(cross,body-hook,cross)
4.OUO (overhand, uppercut, overhand)
——————————————————————————————————————-
Cover Up to Elbow & Knee Series (Follow W/ L Elbow-R Elbow-Knee or R Elbow -L Elbow – Knee) Feeder feeds a left or right wide shot to the head.
1. L Cover
2. R Cover
BLITZ: L Elbow – R Elbow – R Knee, R Elbow – L Elbow – L Knee. (fast as you can)
——————————————————————————————————————-
Cover & Ride Series (Follow W/ CHC Knee or HCH Knee) Cover headshots, ride body shots (move with the punch on body shots)
1. L Cover 
2. R Cover
3. L Ride
4. R Ride
5. 2 to Head
6. 2 to Body
7. 3 to Head 
8. 3 to Body 
9. 3 Mixed Head/Body
BLITZ: CHC L Knee, HCH Right Knee.
——————————————————————————————————————-Cover & Hit Series 1 ( Counter the following & Finish W/ L Elbow-R Elbow-Knee OR R Elbow – L Elbow-Knee) Feeder feeds Jab then Wide Cross. Parry the Jab and Inside Stop the Wide Cross with your left arm (the John Wayne) while simultaneously throwing one of the following with your right hand. 
1. Vertical Punch 
2. Finger Jab
3. Claw (Ze Clouww)
4. Vertical Elbow

The dirty part comes with the grabbing of the hair to control the head. We just mimed this part, but in Panantukan, you are not looking to be nice. This is not a sport. This is an art to save yourself, your family and your fellow soldiers. So this particular style favors eye gouges, hair pulling, and eye raking.

Today was great. I got to learn some new things. I got to practice and have fun with my friends and team mates. I could not ask for anything more. Thank you for reading and have a great weekend. As always let me know if you have any questions.