Nik and I went to Black Axe last weekend. I felt like I did some good fencing and some bad fencing. Fortunately it feels me like I’m having problems I can fix, not weird head space problems.
I also still had symptoms from last week up until last night. I actually visited the doctor.
Yoga was about my speed. I like using a class where I can literally curl up in the fetal position at any time as a means to get back to myself.
Last night’s practice was much better than Monday’s. I still made mistakes, but they were the kind that I could see and fix. When I left class last night, I realized that this is the best I’ve felt in a couple of weeks. I’m finding my way out of the Dark Place. It’s a slow process, but I’ll see some changes in my fight and in my desire to practice, and that’s good enough for me. My class is taking an official break for the month of June, but some of us will still meet informally during that time. My plan is to keep doing Krav on Wednesdays but take advantage of having Mondays off by going to fencing.
This weekend is Art/Sci/Crown. I’m looking forward to seeing my SCA friends this weekend and possibly having some guests come to UWF fencing practice on Friday.
I didn’t feel well enough to go to UWF fencing on Friday, and the extra Krav practice on Thursday didn’t happen, so things have been quiet on here.
I did have SCA fencing practice on Sunday. A bunch of people came over from Terra Terminus, and a couple of new fencers came out. It was a busy afternoon!
Now Nik and I are gearing up for Art/Sci/Crown this weekend. We’ll have some of our friends visiting and staying with us, and we’re hoping to introduce some of them to our students. It’s been awhile since we’ve attended an event, and I’m looking forward to getting out there!
It took long enough for them to come up, but I have some nice stripes from doing cut & thrust with our new left-handed friend (new to CT – he’s done armored fighting before). All my bruises are on my upper right thigh and my right butt cheek. Apparently I have a blind spot…
Last week Krav was great on Monday and Wednesday, and yoga was a nice stretch break in between. I was studying hard, going to Ladies’ Night to study, doing my thing.
Friday rolled around, and I came home from work and crashed out. I missed the last UWF fencing day of the semester. I woke up Saturday to find that I was very very sick, so I cancelled SCA fencing on Sunday (I was sick enough that I didn’t want to be left alone, so Nik couldn’t fill in for me). I ended up missing work (and, by extension, Krav) on Monday.
I went to yoga yesterday to ease back into activity and because i was so stiff from lying around all weekend. I’m wicked sore today. I honestly doubt it’s from yoga since we did literally the most minimal form you could do short of yoga nidra. I’m suspicious of the uphill trek to my office at that campus.
Regardless of the cause, I figure I shouldn’t go to Krav tonight, not even to watch. It kills me, but my test date has been pushed back, and I’d rather have some gas in my metaphorical tank for the demo on Friday.
Rehab is still happening. I’m noticing some improvement in my range of motion but haven’t tried holding a sword, striking an object, or anything of that nature. I’m optimistic.
True to my word, I was back at work on Wednesday, but I didn’t go to Krav, and Ladies’ Night was cancelled. I was wrestling with whether or not to go to fencing on Friday when Nik reminded me that we were foregoing practice for the sport club banquet.
I made it to fencing on Sunday! It was nice to move around and fight for the first time in ages. There’s a new guy in town who has done rapier before and just authorized with us. I also talked to a gal who is interested in taking up the hobby, but I got pulled away and didn’t get a chance to fill her in on any more details, so I hope she comes back.
Tonight I go back to Krav, but I’m going to try to take it easy. I still have a bit of a cough from the sinus stuff that came with the ear infection, so I’m not looking forward to running around, but I am excited to go back because…
…I need to start cramming for my P2 test next month! I’m super stoked and a little bit nervous. I’m sure I’ll be ready when the big day comes. In the meantime,I’m trying to remember what everything is called so that I can be a good partner as well as get my hand rehabbed so that I can use it.
I started therapy last week, and I have exercises I’m supposed to do on the finger every day. Range of motion is improving, but it’s still painful. It’s coming along. We’ll see where I am in four 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?
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.
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