Tag: krav maga

Boy, have I been busy!

Magna Faire was a success! I showed up Friday evening in time to prepare for Francois’ vigil (For you non-SCAdians, that’s when someone who is about to be presented with the highest award in his field sits in quiet reflection and invited people to visit and give advice and well-wishes. Also there’s usually some sort of food.). We went to bed at 6 AM because Francois is a popular guy.

I slept in a tiny bit on Saturday but was on the rapier field around 10 AM. I participated in three tournaments and did a lot of pickup bouts. I felt like I did good fencing, and the advice I got from other fencers was specific and helpful. I conked right out at an embarrassingly early hour and slept like I needed it until Sunday.

Nik, Francois, Lucilla, and I literally spent all day Sunday packing, unpacking, and repacking. I made it home around midnight on Monday morning.

Naturally, I went to Krav last night. I hate that I missed so many classes last month, but I’m back, and there’s plenty of fight in me. I need to train as much as possible if I’m going to test at the beginning of the year. At any rate, we reviewed inside and outside defense and then added knives to those actions. Knife defense is my jam, so I had a great class. I’m looking forward to Wednesday night; we’ll be doing ground work.

Other than that, there isn’t a lot else left to report. I’m exhausted but in a good way. Things should be calming down soon since everything shuts down for winter break all at once.

I have been ridiculously busy doing non-fencing things to get ready for my next SCA event. I did make it to Krav this week (after having been out for two weeks), and it felt good to be active and fighting again. I have a few bad habits I need to break, but other than that I’m doing well in class.

After Magna Faire, I’ll finally be able to breathe for a bit!

Yoga yesterday was just what I needed to recover from Serfo.

I skipped Krav on Monday, but I went back tonight. Class was intense and rewarding. We kicked things off with some sparring. We put four people into a small space and tried to force one another out. That got our blood pumping, and then we did forward momentum exercises.

Now my bruises have bruises, but I’m feeling rejuvenated and in high spirits.

I didn’t go see any doctors about the leg. I slept a lot because of the meds. I felt marginally better on Monday and went to work. Walking around and moving seemed to help, so I put on a brace, stretched thoroughly, and fenced that night.

…and I’m fine. I have no idea what the problem was. Tonight was yoga night, and I talked to my yogi about stretches and how the muscles in the core interact with the muscles in the leg.

I was super proud of my fencers again. I’m still having a personal mental block with cuts. I just don’t see them (in addition to my problems with cuts to the head).

Tonight after yoga, Nik and I spent some time in the studio. I practiced some punches and palm heels against my new strike pad because I’m skipping Krav this week, and we got out the swords and messed with tempo a little bit. I’m working on seeing cuts and parrying up instead of just side to side. I feel like I’m 2D fencing in a 3D world.

I don’t have work tomorrow. I may spend some extra time training, or I may indulge in doing absolutely freaking nothing.

Last night I had a great time helping in the ladies’ self-defense class. It’s challenging to teach something relatively new to me, but I’m understanding the material much better now.

Now I’ve shifted gears. I have a tournament coming up next week, so I’m working really hard on training for that. Tonight I went to the club meeting and did some drills and free sparring. Expect to hear about a lot more fencing.

Last night at Krav we reviewed static chokes from the front and went over static chokes from behind. We did a bunch of plucks, but this time my back isn’t as sore. I guess those muscles are getting stronger (or I did a better job stretching since I knew what I was getting into).

I also had the chance to talk to a friend about some lady fighter stuff. Any of you fellas out there who fight with women should know that adrenaline affects us differently than it does you, and it can be very unpredictable. I’m still gathering my thoughts, but expect a longer post about adrenaline dump and training with lady fighters.

I also realized that Serfo is next weekend, so I’ll be taking next week off from Krav to practice fencing more.

Yesterday I turned 30! Happy birthday to me!

It was yoga day, which was just what I needed since my back muscles were super sore from plucking those chokes Monday night. My yogi noted it was my birthday and asked if I had any special requests. She’s so thoughtful! I told her about the soreness, and her class really helped stretch out those muscles between my shoulder blades.

…Now to do it again tonight.

Nik gave me a striking pad for my birthday, so now I can punch to my little heart’s content at home. I’m excited at the prospect of training with a person on non-class nights. I’d like to do more fencing too, but with the weather and all our other activities, I just haven’t been practicing much outside of class time.

Krav was challenging tonight. We’re putting several steps together to escape a choke, and it was hard to coordinate my hands and feet. We’ll see how it goes once I sleep on it.

Last week I didn’t have a lot to say. Krav was cancelled Monday , so I fenced instead. Yoga was good. Very relaxing. Wednesday I went back to Krav, and we focused on technique. I had other plans on Thursday, so I didn’t make it to the women’s seminar In Friday, I FINALLY WENT TO FENCING. It was my first Friday in awhile. Fridays are short, so I was glad I went Monday. All in all, I didn’t get to do a lot of fighting last week. I’m hoping to fix that this week.

Tonight I had the chance to introduce five lovely ladies to Krav Maga. They had fun and felt empowered. I’m really looking forward to next week’s class.

Even more than that, I’m excited for fencing. Practice is tomorrow, and Panhandle Skirmishes is this weekend. I can’t wait to see my friends and on and fight some melee scenarios!

Tonight in Krav we spent pretty much the whole class learning how to get up from the floor. It’s more strenuous than it sounds.

I’m super stoked about helping in the women’s self-defense seminar tomorrow night.