Tag: krav maga

I missed fencing practice on Sunday and Krav last night because I’m nursing a middle ear infection. I am not a happy camper, but I am improving. I should be back at work tomorrow, but I probably should lay off the fighting until next week.

Krav on Wednesday went well. If I’m not mistaken, we’ve covered all of P2 now.

We spend Ladies’ Night working on Relay for Life stuff, fencing practice was cancelled Friday, and I was too sick to go to fencing on Sunday. At least I got to prop myself up in a lawn chair and be sick outside on such a beautiful day. It looks like i’m too sick to fight tonight too.

I am grumpy.

I do have some good news, though. I don’t need to have surgery on the finger. I have a bone bruise, and I start occupational therapy at the end of this week.

Wednesday night in Krav we worked on some kick defenses. Those were pretty cool. I have no idea how my training partner ended up with a bruise on her upper arm, but it was an evening well-spent nonetheless.

On Thursday I missed ladies’ night so that Nik and I could hunt for fabric for his elevation. We came back empty-handed, but we did spend a nice evening together.

We went to UWF practice on Friday night. It was just us and Quinn, so we just played King of the Hill for awhile and called it a night. We also did some knife fighting, just for fun. Nik and I compared notes on knife fighting, me from Krav Maga and him from historical texts. It was pretty dynamic.

I spent Saturday at the beach dressed like a mermaid and rolling around in the surf because I can.

Sunday was SCA fencing practice. We’re in the midst of planning an event, and I got stressed out and frustrated at one point, but Nik and I fenced it out, and I think I’ll make it. It was our first practice coming back from Gulf Wars, and we have a new person showing interest, so that’s cool.

Last night we did a different set of kick defenses in Krav. I’m going to need help keeping the names straight so that I don’t do the wrong thing during testing.

This morning I woke up bright and early and went in for an MRI on that injured finger. I’m a little over 6 months past the injury, and my range of motion isn’t getting better. I’ll follow up with the ortho on Friday. I’m hoping for good news – proceed with PT. Friendly readers, keep your fingers crossed because I sure can’t do it.

Krav on Wednesday was a review class. I noticed that there are a few techniques that I understand in my head, but my body isn’t doing them properly. It would have been a good idea to review those concepts in detail on Thursday, but I didn’t go. My best friend wanted to hang out, and I hadn’t seen her in awhile (the first thing she asked me was “What did you do to your hand?”), so I figured I could skip one.

I had my follow-up appointment with the ortho on Friday afternoon. I need to have an MRI done to check for scar tissue. If everything is okay in there, it’s time for “aggressive physical therapy.” I’m ready to not be hurt anymore.

I was sore from my exam, so even though I went to an SCA event on Saturday, I didn’t fight. It was nice to see my friends though, and I got some business done, so I think it was time well spent.

Sunday was my first beach trip of the new year! That isn’t really fitness related unless you count my walks, but I’m super stoked to be back on the sand.

Last night in Krav we worked on backwards rolls and putting together combinations. I had a really good night, even though I did jam my finger a couple of times. I’m still trying to work out exactly how much tape I need when I’m training. I wear buddy tape during the day, and I have some on my gloves. However, I didn’t wear my gloves to do rolls, so maybe I would have been better off keeping the tape on from the day. Then agian, when we worked on combos, I did end up needing the gloves. Maybe I could do the Miochael Jackson thing and just wear one glove… Any thoughts?

Last night was my triumphant return to Krav class. I’d missed my friends.

It was an evening of little victories, the first of which being running all the way around the building without feeling like I was going to die. I hate running with the fury of a thousand suns. I’m bad at it, and I find it generally unpleasant. This time, however, I managed to do the run without wishing for the sweet release of death, AND I managed to stay near the front of the pack. It’s not a race by any means, and i’m sure most of my class could take me if it were. However, not huffing and puffing and bringing up the rear was huge for me.

We spent the class outside, and I had my fair share of attacking and being attacked. At one point we were visited by a surprisingly friendly possum (meaning it was fairly close to us and not biting us, so that’s cool). We tried to keep an eye out for the little guy while we were training. The last thing you want to do is step on a possum when you’re fighting in an alley.

Class really got me back in the groove, but it also showed me how much stuff I can forget if I’m not doing it regularly (ahem, bear hugs). I’m feeling super motivated despite being very sore.

I missed out on a visiting fencer because I was at Krav instead of fencing, but I did get to hang out with him and Nik (since our practices ended at the same time). Pizza and beer is a great finish to a workout.

Holy cow it’s been wild.

Monday March 17 was my last night at Krav before I left for War. I led the class’s stretching, so that was pretty cool. I don’t remember exactly what we covered, and I’ve missed three days of class, so tomorrow will be one hell of a night.

Nik and I left for Gulf Wars Tuesday after work (so I skipped yoga). We set up the tent and visited with friends that night.

On Wednesday, Nik got up and mustered for the armored ravine battle. I volunteered to be a water bearer so that I could be near the action. After that, we mustered for the rapier field battle. Our army is small, but we held off the other side as long as we could – they had to send wave after wave of reinforcements to deal with us. I was especially proud of my fencers – my sub-unit consisted of six fencers, four of whom had never been in a big melee before. They did me proud.

On Thursday I attended my first Meridian Order of the Blade meeting. I was elected chairperson and am looking forward to filling this new role. I went to muster and walked down to the town battle, but it was canceled because of the weather. Nik tried to minimize the wetness in our leaky tent, and we hung out with friends until court. Court went well until the storm hit. I learned a new term: microburst. Apparently a microburst is “a small downdraft that moves in a way opposite of a tornado.” The wind was moving in a single direction, and it was gusting, not constant. I helped people get inside, and once I had done so, I made sure that my little SCA family was safe. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it was pretty scary. I’m glad there was a permanent structure were people could take shelter, and we’re fortunate that there were no serious injuries. Our tent was undamaged but absolutely drenched inside, so we had a sleepover in Mikolaj’s RV – high and dry!

All activities for Friday were cancelled, so we spent the day packing up. We had planned to pack and leave on Saturday, but we went ahead and got our act together Friday instead since we had another trip looming ahead of us. While we were doing so, Her Majesty stopped by to check on our camp and see how everyone was doing. While she was there, she told Nik that if court had not been cut short, he would have received his writ to join the Order of Defense. It’s still official, even though it was issued privately. We have a LOT of work to do to prepare!

Now we’re caught up to Sunday, March 20. After spending two days washing and drying clothes, cleaning the rugs, and otherwise doing damage control, we packed up and got back into the car to head north. It had been awhile since I’d seen my family, and Nik had never met them at all, so we were overdue for a trip. We visited my aunts in Clarskburg, MD. Unfortunately I was too wiped to get Nik to fencing practice while we were there, but I promised we’d come back up and fight some Marylanders. We didn’t have an opportunity to practice while we were in Media, but we did do a demonstration.

See, my grandparents had never seen me fence, so I told my grandmother that we would bring our gear so that she and my grandfather could see. I told her that if any of their friends wanted to see, we could work that out – I was picturing a couple of passes in the courtyard or something. I should have known better! My grandmother contacted the activities director and secured some time in the auditorium for us. We saw flyers posted in the mail room and heard announcements in the dining hall! We had a decent turnout, and Nik and I talk about fencing with some regularity, so we had a presentation ready to go. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and my family managed to get some good pictures too. The retirement community even gave us an honorarium, so now Nik and I are professional fencing lecturers.

We got in last night and are getting settled today. I have to go back to work tomorrow, so we wanted to have a day to get re-oriented before getting back to the daily grind. In addition to rejoining our humdrum professional lives, Nik and I are getting back into our healthy habits. I’m looking forward to getting back to the activity level where I was in January. I feel like I’m full of energy that’s just bursting to get out. I want to harness that and take my fight to the next level.

Anyway, I’m back in town and will stay here for… oh, I don’t know… five days? However, when I come back from that trip, we are taking a much needed BREAK.

My shoulder felt better on Thursday, so I went to Ladies’ Night and went over the material I missed at Krav on Wednesday.

On Friday, I went to UWF fencing. I can hold the sword in my right hand! I figure it’s a good idea to use a lighter sword if I’m using my right hand, and I can’t attack in all hand positions, but I can use it, and I intend to (responsibly) at War.

Speaking of Gulf Wars, I’m working on getting my act together to go. I leave in three days!