Tag: krav maga

I haven’t been doing much fighting, so I haven’t been doing much updating. I haven’t even attempted progress on my lunges.

I went to Krav on Wednesday and had a good and productive practice, but I was sore for days afterward. I’m going to both classes this week, but I’m going to tape my shoulder and tell my instructors what’s up. I think it’s pressure, not movement, that’s causing my problems.

I’ve been resting up as much as possible since then. It stinks, but it also really helps.

I see my GP on Thursday. Wish me luck.

I had an awesome night at Krav Maga. We did some HIIT at the beginning and end and spent the rest of the class throwing each other around in an alley.

Tonight I realized that I make weird faces when I fight but never had to confront them because of my fencing mask. Also, if you need to do sit-ups and are prone to frequent gas, next to a Dumpster is the best place to do it.

My right shoulder is fine, maybe a little tingly after practice. My left shoulder is tight. I feel invincible right now, but I’m not going to lunge until tomorrow. I think the ~2lbs of steel at the end of my hand is what’s worsening the situation, so I’m not rushing back in yet. There will be a sword in my hand this week.

Yesterday I did yoga and felt pretty good. The tingling on the right side hasn’t gone away, but it does seem to be lessening. The left side is super tight and almost hurts. I noticed the difference when I was threading the needle in reverse prayer. I could extend my right arm forward, but I had to keep my left arm flexed.

Since I felt pretty good, I considered trying to work in some lunges, but Nik told me to hold off for another day. His shoulder bothers him sometimes too, so I’m taking his word for it. Tonight I’ll go to Krav and spend an hour fighting my way out of bear hugs (surprisingly not too bad on the shoulders). Maybe I’ll try to lunge tomorrow or over the weekend. I definitely want to go to fencing on Friday.

I hate being laid up, but I know that if I don’t rest now, I’ll just be injured longer and more severely in the future. I’m really hoping my doctor will be able to help me with a minimally invasive option (home rehab routine, cortisone shot, etc.).

Also, for those precious few of you following me, I hope you don’t mind that this blog is shifting away from its focus on fencing. I want my injury to be visible so that people know there is a reasonable alternative to playing through the pain.  With luck, I’ll be back to my regularly-scheduled ass kicking in no time.

Days 10 & 11

Today I did an hour of Krav Maga and then came home to do 200 lunges.

Technically I reversed the days. I did 100 lunges in first. Then I went to do 100 lunges in fourth. It took me three tries to find fourth hand position.

I did third… No, that’s not right…
I did second… Nik spoke up and asked, “Fourth with your palm up?”

I reacted as only a sane, mature adult can and threw myself on the ground for a quick tantrum.

In addition to the 200 and false starts, I used tape to figure out the discrepancy in my lunge distance for different hand positions. Then when I did the drill, I was still inconsistent.

I guess you can’t do the same lunge twice. How’s that for a fencing proverb?

Story time!

In addition to fencing, I practice Krav Maga. Studying Krav has had a huge impact on my fencing mindset, so I don’t mind sharing an occasional story or two about it on here. This is one of those stories.

Last week we were practicing getting out of bear hugs. We were doing a drill during which one person (for this story, the person is me) stands in the room with her eyes closed. Two things might happen. Either someone with a hitting pad will yell her name, and she’ll open her eyes and either kick or hit the pad (depending on her position), OR someone will bear hug her, and she will open her eyes and get away.

So we were doing this drill, and it was my turn in the middle. The room was very quiet. I have to set the tone here, so I want you to imagine this quiet, serious scenario. Suddenly someone ran up and bear hugged me. I was more or less ready for this, but having someone suddenly grab you is usually startling. This fellow wrapped his arms tight about my midsection, and I farted. Loudly. In a very quiet room.

To my classmates’ credit, they tried to act like they didn’t hear it because this was a room full of adults, not second graders, but there was no denying exactly what just happened. So as I was fighting my way out of the bear hug, I yelled, “It’s part of my defense!” Then it was okay for everyone to laugh. Fortunately that squeeze got it all out of my system, and it didn’t happen again (plus I was lucky that it was just loud, not gross).

The moral of the story is if you ever find yourself being attacked, just let one rip. Be loud and proud. That person will probably just let you go.