CIC – The Return

Now I’m standing at the other side of Civilian Instructor Certification, and I don’t know where to start as I try to describe it. I can’t give you a play-by-play of each day, but I do have some milestones to share.

Day 1 – I met my classmates and the instructor. I was nervous but excited. We began by taking a moment to introduce ourselves to one another before jumping into physical activity. CIC involves a lot of review, but by the end of the day, we were sparring using whatever we knew (not just what we’d re-covered in class). We also did some pretty demanding circuit training. At the end of the day, I felt like I had a handle on what was expected of me, and the next nine days, while daunting, looked attainable.

Day 3 – I felt AWESOME at the end of the day. My body had acclimated to the demands I was putting on it. Waking up early, working out for eight hours, and crashing out at home was becoming the norm. Here are the chronicles of my bruises from Day 2 and Day 3.

Day 2 – inside and outside defense using the arms.

Day 3 – defense against kicks using the legs (with shin guards)

Day 4 – I cried. A lot. Some of it was adrenaline, some was frustration, and some of it was the good old fashioned shock of being punched in the face. Regardless, I got up on Day 5 and went back.

Day 4 – The Crying

Day 5 – The Triumphant Return

Day 7 – After class we all went out to eat together. I’d hung out with some of my classmates at lunchtime or during short breaks, but this was the first time we were all in one place outside of class. I listened to the conversation at the table go from being full of lulls to being full of jokes and laughing.

Day 8 or 9 – Our instructor acquired a drone and used it to film us fighting outside. Words don’t describe how badass it is to be filmed by a drone fighting outside of a warehouse.

Day 10 – Test Day. It was a grind. We tested levels P1-P4 (the P is for practitioner, if you’re playing the home game) and then did various fighting drills (3 on 1 with pads, eyes closed 1 on 1 reaction drills, ground work drills, 4 on 1 defending drills, and 1 on 1 light fighting). We ended with a fitness test (50 squats, 50 pushups, and 50 situps in any order). At one point I was so exhausted I was crying while fighting, and I didn’t even care. I remember fighting with my friend, and while we were hitting each other, we were also saying (through our mouth guards) “You got this. We’re almost there. You’re killing it.” I was the last one to finish the fitness test, and I got up to the sound of my friends cheering me on. I made it.

Day 10 – I passed!

I didn’t score high enough to earn my P4 rank, but I did score high enough to get a P3 rank. I already have my P3, so I didn’t get a new patch or certificate or anything, but it was gratifying to see that I was where I was supposed to be.

After it was all said and done, the instructor took me aside, asked me how I was doing, and told me that I’m on the right track. I have detailed feedback from my test, and I’ll use it to fix my mistakes as I continue my training.

I’m not sure what’s next. There is a CIC Part 2, but I don’t know that I can get the time off or the funds to go in June (plus I don’t think my body is ready). I want to progress, but I’m not sure how. In the meantime, I’m going to keep on keeping on – practicing, teaching, and working out.

Last Wednesday I worked out at Krav along with the class and then put in some extra practice with Michael and the Three Bears afterwards to work on P4 skills to get us ready for CIC 1.

On Thursday I took a Lyra class. It was all bodyweight – no cardio – but a fun challenge for me. I was able to do the moves and felt super proud of myself!

Starting Friday after work, my students and I helped with the SCA demo at Pensacon… in addition to regularly scheduled practice. Tiny Nick! and I met at the Bay Center to do a very brief demo and then cut out to go to UWF practice. My kiddo came into town just in time to go with us, so that was pretty cool. We also had some newcomers that night.

On Saturday and Sunday, we fenced intermittently more or less all day. Demo fighting is fun because you can do weird and flashy stuff you’d never do in a tournament. I wore my “Merida dress” with chain maille under, and that seemed to be a big hit. It’s important to me that little girls see that you can be a pretty princess and still sword fight.

Monday was another Krav night. I let Michael take the lead on that once since I wasn’t really prepared after my busy weekend. We stayed after and worked on a few more P4 skills. We’re almost finished working our way through that level!

Yesterday morning I got some bad news and stayed home from work. I slept a lot in the morning hours, but in the late afternoon, I felt well enough to go to the gym with Nik. We fenced with Tiny Nick!, lifted some weights, did some cardio, and then met up with more students and fenced a little more. When I was working out, I wasn’t so sad. I really appreciate my friends and students – more than they know.

Tonight is a Krav night. I actually organized the lesson and feel pretty good about it. February seems to be moving as quickly as January did slowly (if that makes sense), so I want to get as much floor time in as possible before April!

I’m two weeks post-op from LASIK. I can get sweat and tap water in my eyes, I don’t wear the shield when I sleep, and I’m allowed to enjoy swimming pools and hot tubs. I still take eye drops more than usual, but other than that, it’s a dream come true.

Monday’s post-practice Krav practice went well. Michael and I burned through four skills fairly easily (without breaking a sweat). Then we talked about pedagogy stuff and whether or not we want to pare down how much we teach in a given day. I’m working on tonight’s lesson now, and I think I have a decent plan going with two skills plus a backup if the class is picking it up quickly.

Last night Nik and I hit the gym. We skipped the rock wall but will be back at it next week. I thought hauling my body weight up the sheer surface might count as strenuous lifting. Instead, I did very light weights but with more reps. I can feel it today, so I’m happy with it. I also did some cardio. I alternated laps (walk 1 / run 1) and did my mile in 13 minutes while keeping sweat out of my eyes.

After that we met up with a bunch of our students (I think there were seven of us total) for extra UWF fencing practice. It was a fun day – plenty of goofing off. I mostly took films, corrected form, and hung out, but I did get some Valentine’s bouts in with my loaf.

Today I am one week post-op. As of tonight, I don’t have to take the drops anymore, and I can get sweat and tap water into my eyes. Should the occasion arise, I can now wear make-up. My next milestone will be 10 days, when I no longer have to wear my super high-tech eye shield when I sleep.

On Saturday I went to extra practice at UWF with Nik and Tiny Nick! I did a long sword drill that didn’t require me to wear a mask and walked the track. Of the 8 laps I did, I jogged 3 (not all at once – I spread them out). No sweat.

Yesterday we had SCA practice. Because we had a lot of new people, I got to do some mask-off instruction. I sparred with a few of the more experienced students – again in short bursts.

Tonight I’ll be back at Krav. I expect teaching will be the same as usual, but my practice time after class may be limited.

Last night Nik and I went to the rock wall and attended the clinic. I learned how to tie knots and how to belay (including belay calls). I belayed for Nik, and then I climbed up. I went even higher than I did last time – 2.5 panels from the top! It occurred to me later that I don’t fall. I just kind of get up there and bail out. I don’t know if I’ll feel better if i let go a couple of times or what, but as long as I’m making progress, I’m happy.

After that, we didn’t really have time to work out, so we ran a couple of laps and then met up with our students for fencing. Nik fenced a bit and then his the weight room, but I wound up fencing for about two hours. I was working on my aggression (and helping one of my students with his), so I feel like I got enough cardio. My shirt was drenched when I took off my fencing jacket.

Tonight is Krav night. Michael and I are going to be working on hammer punches (or hammer fists) and advancing/retreating punches in class, and then we’ll start looking at P4 for ourselves after that.

Tonight Michael and I taught our first Krav class on our own. I was nervous at first, but it went well.

After class, we talked about our plans for the class and our training, but we didn’t really work on anything. We’ll practice on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, I went to yoga after work and hit the pool after class. I ended up swimming only 15 minutes, though, because I was worried about bleeding hair color all over the pool. Few things are more embarrassing than making your workout space look like a scene from Jaws. Nik has begun his quest to fence every day, so that’s what he was up to while I was at class and at the pool.

Wednesday night was Krav night. We did more P1 review. During P3 class, I asked some questions I had about kicks. I’ll be meeting up with The Ladies to work on groundwork over the weekend.

Last night after work I met Nik and some of the UWF fencers at the gym, and I worked primarily on long sword. I’m picking it up fairly quickly – I’m far from the best, but I’m doing good things. After fencing, Nik and I took a quick run because I still needed some cardio. My mile is down to 9 minutes. Last night was Nik’s Day 5 of #fencingeverydamnday.

Today after work I’m going to use the elliptical to get my heart rate up, come home, rest (probably have a snack), and head to UWF fencing practice. Tonight will be my Day 3 of #fightingeverydamnday.

If it sounds like a lot of activity, it is. Nik is training for a big tournament, and I’m training for that tournament while simultaneously preparing myself for CIC 1.

In the midst of all of this, I lost a pound and a half last week. I’m down 5 lbs total since I started tracking. I also recommended that Nik start tracking to make sure he’s getting enough calories for his amount of activity.

I meant to post sooner, but honestly, waiting only four days instead of a whole week or more is progress, and that’s really what this blog is all about.

On Monday I started tracking my food again. So far things are going well on that front. Fortunately I’ve been able to make very minor changes – primarily, I’m being mindful of what I’m eating. I’ll let you know how that pans out in a few weeks.

I’m not entirely sure how to measure progress since my goal here isn’t necessarily to lose weight or inches (though it would be nice to have a nicer fit in some of my dress pants). I’m trying to improve performance in a field that i find hard to measure. In running or lifting, you can measure speed, reps, or weight. With fighting, it’s a little more subjective. I figure the more “good days” I have training, the better I’m performing.

Anyway, Monday was the first day I really got to teach in Krav. It was a little bit nerve wracking, but your first day teaching always is. It helps that I’m learning how to teach this skill in a friendly environment with people I know. I expressed to Kita that I’m still learning which types of errors to look for. For example when I teach fencing, I know that new fencers tend to roll the ankle when they lunge, so I pay special attention to their feet when they learn this skill. I’m working on figuring out some “common errors” for Krav. More importantly, I’m working on finding ways to make warm-ups dynamic and appropriate for the exercises we’re about to do. This is all awesome and exciting; the bad news is that I don’t really get to work out on class nights anymore.

Tuesday was a yoga night, but I need to work on cardio, so I hit the pool after my night class. I was on the swim team in high school. That was a long time ago, and I wasn’t very good to begin with, but I really enjoy swimming. I managed to keep at it for half an hour – not too shabby by my book!

Last night was another teacher night. I spend about an hour teaching P1s, and then after they leave, I have about a half an hour to work on my own P3 training. We’re working on finding some days to meet and train outside of class.

Scheduling Krav practice time for the next two months will be difficult partially because of my schedule and partially because I have a HEMA event coming up soon, and I really want to participate in longsword. I want to learn enough that I won’t embarrass myself in front of the other fencers.

I don’t expect to update tonight, so I’ll tell you now that I plan to hit the gym after work and use their punching bag. If the gym is closed, I’ll come up with something else to do. If all else fails, I still have the Dreaded Exercise Bike at home.

Nik and I have made the decision to attend UWF fencing practice on Friday and then drive to Birmingham(ish) right after for a weekend SCA event. That drive should be fun. I’m looking forward to fencing with my friends on Saturday. There won’t be practice on Sunday.

I did not, in fact, push through and go to Krav, but that’s also the last class I’m skipping for a long time. Now I’m focusing on getting ready for civilian instructor certification level 1 (CIC1) in April, so I can’t afford to slack off. I’ll be moving into a more active teaching role in my own little Krav school (I feel like a Krav TA) before I head off.

I did go to yoga on Tuesday, and I made it back to Krav on Wednesday. The calf is still sore, but moving around and stretching helps.

Thursday was a rest day, and Friday I (finally) made it to UWF fencing practice. We had a special guest for that practice – Prissy got some teaching experience by warming us up with some yoga. I focused primarily on rapier during that practice, but the room was busy with rapier, dussack, and ringen.

Yesterday I went to the beach, took a walk, and did some sun salutations. The jellies were out, so I elected not to swim. Nik and I took a Poke-walk on the beach after lunch.

Today, SCA fencing practice is cancelled. We lost one of our own last week, so all local SCA activities are cancelled, and we’re spending time with our loved ones.

I believe that’s all I’ve been up to this week. Looking forward, In addition to getting ready for CIC1, I have a big fencing event coming up in November, and I want to participate in as many tournaments as possible, so I need to tune up my dussack and long sword skills. November is a big month for me in general. I have somewhere to be (involving fencing) every single weekend that month. I’m excited, but I also expect to be exhausted.

I’m hoping that some of the adjustments I’m making to my diet and fitness levels for CIC1 will help me make it through that month. I’ve installed MyFitnessPal on my new phone, and I’m keeping track of what I’m putting in (again – I use this app in phases). I’m considering getting a fitness tracking device, but I’m not entirely sure which one I want. They’re pricey, so I want to make sure I get the right one!

I think that’s it for now. I’ll try to update more consistently. I really hate these weekly walls o’ text, but my schedule has been hectic. Thanks for bearing with me.

I pulled a muscle at Krav on Wednesday night. I’m not seriously hurt or anything – I just had a Charlie horse.

I took it easy on Thursday. On Friday, instead of going to fencing, I went to visit my mom. We took the dog for a walk Friday evening and again Saturday morning. I did some swimming on Saturday as well. It was a chill, low-impact weekend.

I came back to Pensacola on Sunday for SCA fencing practice. We ended up chilling with our friends, sharing food and stories. I’m okay with that.

Despite taking it easy this weekend, I’m pretty tired today. I’d like to push through and go to Krav, especially since I’ve made up my mind about civilian instructor certification. I intend to pursue instructorship next year, so I need to train seriously. On the other hand, I can’t get anything done if I get hurt (which is more likely when I’m fighting tired). We’ll see how I feel this afternoon.