Last weekend was the Weekend of Tactical Decision Making in Atlanta. Nik was invited to teach on Sunday, do we traveled up for that. I wanted to go for more days, but we couldn’t work out transportation.

His class was really good, and it felt good to have a sword in my hand again. After lunch we had free time. I sparred a little bit, but I was having a rough time. I wasn’t necessarily doing poorly, but I didn’t feel in my element, and I kept crying for no reason. It really cramped my style.

I’m back home now. I went to Krav this evening. I had intended to teach defense against chokes from an angle, but we had a lot of new faces, so Eddie took lead. Plus I was late, so he already had the class warming up when I got there. I’m glad we followed his vision tonight. The class had a great energy.

I’ve made arrangements to fence on Wednesdays, and this will be my first practice in months. I’m looking forward to being there.

CIC 2 Day 10

Test day!

I went in today calm and ready. We tested B1, B2, A1, and families (plus a fitness test and some sparring drills). I passed!

I am now a full instructor for Krav Maga. It was one of the hardest things I ever did, and I made a lot of progress.

Now I’m drinking beers with my friends and defragging.

CIC 2 Day 9

Today we did our teaching tests before lunch. I wasn’t nervous while I was teaching, but I was so relieved when my lesson was over. I still have ways to improve, but I passed. All that’s left now is the physical skills test.

We practiced after lunch and did some yoga to cool down. I feel so ready and serene. I was fairly calm this morning, but when we bowed out this evening, I felt so focused and ready.

Tomorrow we meet at 9 to do our final test. Tonight, we rest.

CIC 2 Day 7

Today we worked on lifted bear hugs in the morning. We learned some tools for working with tall people who are unlikely to be picked up off the ground during regular practice.

We also did a mock test. I understand the skills we covered, but I get nervous and make bonehead mistakes. I hope that doesn’t trip me up on Monday.

I led the afternoon warm-up. I felt much more like myself today than I did yesterday. It was a good warm-up, and I’m working on being more mindful with my language.

After that, we took turns doing stress drills and final drills from the lessons we prepared. Finally, we studied the curriculum. I studied some skills that I haven’t practiced very much but are crucial to my test.

We received our assignments for our teaching test. I’m fortunate to have drawn a skill that I’m comfortable with. I started on my lesson plan tonight, and I’ll do the rest tomorrow.

All in all, I’m nervous because I want to do well. I need to trust my abilities and trust my principles, and I’ll be fine. All I can do is my best.

We’re down to the last few days!

CIC 2 Day 6

This morning we did some challenging techniques. I finally did a successful machine gun takedown! I didn’t have it done to me (by happenstance); it’s a little scary to be tipped over like that. If I can’t face my fear on test day, I’ll make sure she knows. I did fine with the big leg sweep and with having it done to me. That’s a big step for me.

We worked on defending ourselves against an attacker with a stick. Those were challenging and demanding.

After lunch, we took turns teaching. Everyone was kind of out of sorts. We all had our worst classes. That kind of stinks, but I’m glad we all hit the rut together.

My roomies and I came home and “defragged.” My homework for tomorrow is done, and I feel pretty good about my lesson. I want to feel like myself again to do the after lunch warmup.

CIC 2 Day 5

Today was less physically demanding, but it was mentally exhausting. I didn’t use the inhaler at all!

We covered several techniques in the morning. In the afternoon, we went over the principles of Krav Maga, and then each student taught part of a lesson. We did only the introduction and exposition, no drills. Every person had a turn. It was kind of tough to cut off part of a lesson like that, but we all did pretty well.

I’m still working on being comfortable with teaching a single combative. I’m really struggling with the simplest things. I overthink for sure.

After all that (but wait, there’s more), we studied the curriculum in small groups. We stayed later than usual (until at least 6 p.m.). The instructor stopped us only when our brains couldn’t absorb any more information.

Oh, by the way, lunchtime today was the halfway point of CIC 2.

CIC 2 Day 3

Today we literally kicked off the morning. We practiced front kicks and defenses from straight kicks. I hadn’t practiced some of those defenses, and I fine tuned the ones I had done.

I led the warm-up after lunch. I skimped on cardio (no surprise) because it felt monotonous (I did get some feedback on how to add to it in a dynamic way). My game was a disaster (equipment didn’t do what I wanted it to), and I wasted some time trying to fix it. That being said, my group was warm, and they did have fun. I had good presence, voice, and body position.

We learned about the timelines after that. The best way to explain is to show you.

The horizontal timeline explains how much time the threat has to get to you, and the vertical timeline describes when you notice the threat. It’s a very dynamic way to approach Krav Maga, and having it explained visually really helped me.

After that, we broke into groups to practice teaching. Yesterday we were in three groups of three. Today we were in a group of four and a group of five. I was in the group of five. I ended up being the last person to teach (which is cool with me – I can learn a lot from hearing others’ feedback). Since the other group had already finished teaching, I got to do the first student-led whole group instruction!

I was a little nervous, but my classmates said it didn’t show. I met some stumbles and flubbed some words, but on the whole I had a good lesson. I got lots of high fives and genuine compliments.

I’m working on my homework now. I’ll be teaching a simple skill, and that can actually be more challenging than teaching a multi-step defense. I’ll be asking some questions before class tomorrow.

CIC 2 Day 2

Today was a bit more active than yesterday. We worked on break falls and rolls in the morning and practiced teaching in the afternoon. Every student had a chance to teach a lesson to a small group today, and we planned a new lesson for tomorrow (for homework).

I haven’t led the class in a warm-up yet, but I’ve had one prepared for a couple days. I know I’ll get a turn, so I’m in no rush.

My teaching today felt good. I actually messed up the technique a little bit and added something that shouldn’t have been there, bit I’d rather add a step than leave out something important.

I slept like a log last night, and I expect the same tonight.

CIC 2 Day 1

Today I woke up before my alarm, even though I didn’t feel like I slept well last night (according to the FitBit, I got over 6 hours).

Day 1 started at 9 this morning. I finally met Megan, our instructor for CIC, in person. She’s a great leader, and I love her teaching philosophy. We all got to know each other and talked about our expectations. Then one of my classmates led us in a warm up. We practiced some basics and discussed how to teach them until lunchtime. After an hour lunch break, we learned about pedagogy. Our homework for tonight is to write a lesson plan for a basic skill.

We were supposed to work out some more, but we ran out of time because we had a women’s self defense seminar this evening. We all helped and watched Megan teach. After a quick de-briefing, we were dismissed.

I’m feeling pretty good. I expect tomorrow will be more active. I didn’t reach my step goal today. My back is really sore, and I’m not sure why. I used Michael’s foam roller before i finished my homework, and my treat for finishing my homework was a soak in the bathtub.

I’m ready for tomorrow.

My last day at RASP was bittersweet. I learned a lot, but I hated for the weekend to end. I think I took three pages of notes that day alone, and Nik took plenty too. Then we made the long drive back to Florida.

This morning I got up early to meet Tiny Nick and Emmers at the gym. Here’s my “set list.”

I’m trying to vary my workouts, so I’m working out with different people instead of sticking to Nik’s routine.

Tonight we returned to fencing. We showed our club new warm-ups and games. Then we debriefed about our weekend, and Nik showed them the format he wants to use for future classes. I’m excited to get started!