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On Saturday I went to extra practice at UWF with Nik and Tiny Nick! I did a long sword drill that didn’t require me to wear a mask and walked the track. Of the 8 laps I did, I jogged 3 (not all at once – I spread them out). No sweat.

Yesterday we had SCA practice. Because we had a lot of new people, I got to do some mask-off instruction. I sparred with a few of the more experienced students – again in short bursts.

Tonight I’ll be back at Krav. I expect teaching will be the same as usual, but my practice time after class may be limited.

I rested a lot on Wednesday night and had full sight on Thursday. I still passed up on fencing to nap. It seems like when I rest my eyes, I end up asleep.

Today I went to fencing! I was a little nervous, so I spent some time working with new folks. Then I put on my mask and was able to see! I fenced Tiny Nick! and my reaction time was so much better.

I could do only a few passes because I’m not allowed to get sweat in my eyes, so i called it in early and then walked a couple laps on the indoor track.

Today was a good day.

Tuesday was not a rock wall night. I came home from work and sacked out on the couch, and Nik let me rest a bit. I appreciated that.

We lifted weights and did cardio. I noticed that when Nik bench presses, he doesn’t quite hold his arms the same way, so I helped him keep an even posture on both sides. Then Tiny Nick! met us at the gym for an extra fencing practice. I fenced a little bit, but I mostly watched the fellas fence. I took videos so that they could see themselves, and I think that helped. I was definitely Coach Marie on Tuesday.

Yesterday I had LASIK done, so I didn’t work out at all. I didn’t even get my steps in. I’ve worn glasses since I was 10 and contacts since I was 15, so this is a huge change for me. The procedure was scary because I was awake, and when they cut that flap out, you can’t see for a few seconds, but my doctor was fantastic. He and his assistant had a great manner. I was allowed to hold Lord Mousington during the surgery (sometimes quite tightly), and I was allowed to talk. My fencing for yesterday consisted of babbling at the doctor about swords to distract myself from any discomfort I felt during the procedure. We’ll count that as theory.

I know this is my fight blog, not my eye surgery blog, but because of the surgery, I can’t get any sweat or tap water in my eyes for about two weeks. I’m allowed to fence, but I’m not allowed to sweat. I’m thinking that today will be another theory day, or it’ll be a drill day. I don’t intend to dress out. I’m excited, however, to see how this procedure has affected my depth perception and reaction time. I’ve been assuming I’ll be in the same boat as I was when I was wearing my contact lenses, but I’m not sure. Only time will tell, so expect occasional eye updates. 

I’d like to do some light sparring tomorrow, but I’m not making any promises to myself that I can’t keep.

Wow, I’ve been slacking. Sorry about that, friends.

Last Wednesday I taught Krav with Michael. That went well. I worked with the P1s while he took the P2s, and then we worked on some really sweet looking kicks (P4) after everyone left.

On Thursday Nik and I met up with our UWF fencing students for some extra fencing time. I didn’t feel too hot, but I went anyway. I figured some fencing was better than no fencing. I found a “hole” in my defense. I was also having issues with one of my toes. I dropped a book on my foot a little while ago, and apparently my toe decided to swell up on Thursday. I taped them together on Friday, and everything has been peachy since then.

Friday was a regular UWF fencing practice. Nik helped me deal with the “hole.” Knowing about it seems to help. Tiny Nick! and I have been exchanging lessons on knife fighting – mine from Krav Maga and his from Fiore. It’s a beautiful conversation.

On Saturday I helped teach a Krav seminar in the early afternoon. I had trouble generating volume when teaching; I don’t know if it’s because I was outside or if I was feeling froggy in my throat. It’s easier when we’re in the gym. I came home and swapped out my Krav gear for my fencing gear and headed to the gym with Nik for extra practice with the UWF fencers. We fenced a bit, and then I got in a quick run. I managed to squeak in a mile under 10 minutes, and I only wanted to die twice. Progress!

On Sunday Nik and I went to the park for SCA fencing. Tiny Nick! joined us and helped us show the basics to some new people. We had a pretty good turnout.

Yesterday was Krav night. Michael and I taught kicks (high knees and front kicks for P1; roundhouses and stop kicks for P2s). Everyone did the stomp kick because why not? After practice we worked on some P4 blocks.

Tonight is going to be a rock wall night. I’ve slept on it, and I’ve thought critically about my fears, and I think I’m going to make it to the top this time.

Last night Nik and I went to the rock wall and attended the clinic. I learned how to tie knots and how to belay (including belay calls). I belayed for Nik, and then I climbed up. I went even higher than I did last time – 2.5 panels from the top! It occurred to me later that I don’t fall. I just kind of get up there and bail out. I  don’t know if I’ll feel better if i let go a couple of times or what, but as long as I’m making progress, I’m happy.

After that, we didn’t really have time to work out, so we ran a couple of laps and then met up with our students for fencing. Nik fenced a bit and then his the weight room, but I wound up fencing for about two hours. I was working on my aggression (and helping one of my students with his), so I feel like I got enough cardio. My shirt was drenched when I took off my fencing jacket.

Tonight is Krav night. Michael and I are going to be working on hammer punches (or hammer fists) and advancing/retreating punches in class, and then we’ll start looking at P4 for ourselves after that.

Krav went well enough last night. I didn’t do exactly what was on my lesson plan, but the plan was flexible, and people seemed to learn and have a good time. I did get punched in the face while demo-ing how to block. NOT LIKE THAT, OBVIOUSLY. I have a good idea of what I want to do differently next time to make my class more effective.

There’s an opportunity to fence with the UWF club tonight, but I need to be with a friend. Fencing can wait. Did I mention that cancer can go eat a bag of dicks? Because it totally can.

Last night Nik and I went to the gym and climbed the rock wall. I made it about halfway up, got stuck, got nervous, and bailed out. Then I watched him climb to the top. I tried one more time and made it almost to the top (four panels shy) before I got stuck and bailed (I didn’t really give myself time to be scared the second time). I had a really good time, and I think I climbed pretty high, even though I didn’t ring the bell. We’re going to try that again for sure!

After the rock wall, we did some weight lifting. Then we met up with Marco and Tiny NIck! for some fencing. We planned to fence 8-9, maybe 9:15. We closed the gym at 10. I’d say that was a good practice.

We did some sword and dagger work and made the boys practice sword and dagger against case (or brace – two swords). We also played with the dussacks. I showed some “hand sniping” techniques as well.

Tonight will be my and Michael’s second day of teaching Krav unassisted. I came up with my lesson plan yesterday and feel pretty good about it.

Tonight Michael and I taught our first Krav class on our own. I was nervous at first, but it went well.

After class, we talked about our plans for the class and our training, but we didn’t really work on anything. We’ll practice on Wednesday.

Today I wasn’t having a great day, but I got to fence. A member of my family is very sick. That sucks. Also, I planned to fence, but the weather was bad. I resigned myself to not fencing. The weather cleared up. I fenced anyway.

Today still isn’t great, but it isn’t terrible either. Fuck cancer. Keep fencing.

Last night I went to UWF fencing. We’re still working on using daggers – myself included. I’m working on holding my dagger higher and further away from my body. It’s a challenge, but it’s coming along. As we learn, I’m trying to help my students avoid mistakes I made when I first started using a dagger in my left hand (and… let’s face it… more recently than that).

I have big news! Tomorrow I go to a surgeon to be evaluated for LASIK. I’m excited and nervous. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was in fourth grade (about 10 years old). I’m 31 now, so that’s two thirds of my life. I’m elated at the prospect of waking up in the morning and being able to see the world around me, but I’m nervous as hell at the prospect of LASERS IN MY EYES.

This procedure is related to my training because I haven’t been wearing my contacts since the new year. I know that my eyes need to be their usual unaltered shape for the surgery, and I don’t know how long it takes to get to that condition, so I’ve been playing it safe (also I was suffering from sinus issues, so contacts weren’t an option anyway). Uncorrected, my vision is -4 in my right eye and -5 in my left. For those of you who aren’t optometrists or who don’t wear contacts, that’s blind enough that I can’t even tell that there are markings on the eye chart. However, I can see people (just not details), and I can delineate colors (like the safety tip on a sword). Fencing blind has been helpful for me because I don’t get tripped up in the details. I’ve had a better time of connecting to my “lizard brain” this past month. I’m grateful that I’ve had this experience. I’m also ready to be able to see. I’ll keep you all posted.

(Oh yeah, and today is apparently a rest day. I planned to work out before work, but the fitness center isn’t open until after I clock in. New plan next week!)