Tag: uwf fencing

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.

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.

I did not fence last Thursday, but I felt my time was well spent with my friend.

I ran UWF fencing practice on Friday since Nik was out of town. I spent some time working with some newer students, and Tiny Nick! stepped in to introduce the new students to some drills. He’s shaping up into a good instructor.

On Saturday I had informal practice at my house with my students from UWF. We fenced until the sun went down and then had some “mus’ go soup” (made when you have a bunch of ingredients that “mus ‘go” in the soup)..

Nik came back Saturday night, and we had an SCA demo on Sunday. We had an informal tournament, and I feel like I did some good fighting even though I didn’t win the tournament. I saw good sportsmanship and good fencing from my students, and our bouts ran well even though people were sharing gear and trading weapons between rounds.

Last night Michael and I were back at it at Krav. I think we’re building our new core group. We have some people from before the break and a couple of new faces. I’m hopeful that we can keep the momentum going.

My biggest challenge right now is that one of my students has some trouble with coordination because of other medical issues. I’m working on figuring out the best way to adapt what we’re teaching to suit his needs.

After class, Michael and I ran through some ground work and a kick defense for P3 and worked on figuring out a schedule for ourselves. I think we’ll probably look at techniques after class and then work on conditioning at other times (either together or reporting back to each other). Last night I came home and used the medicine ball for some core work while I was watching TV. I did sit ups (wihout the ball), twists (with the ball), and ball drops (obviously with the ball). I need to inflate my yoga ball a bit more so that I can get off the floor and do some more dynamic stuff during TV time.

Tonight Nik and I are hitting the gym and then meeting up with some of our students to do some fencing (speaking of momentum). I’ll probably do some light weight lifting, but i need to do more cardio to get ready for CIC.

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!)

Last night’s trip to the gym went well. Nik was having chest & ab day, so I worked that circuit with him. I didn’t bench press partially because I wasn’t sure how my recently healed shoulder would like it and partially because I heard that the bench press can cause problems for healthy shoulders.

I tried to approach the workout like rehab, not like a workout: low weight, plenty of breaks, etc. It felt like someone was pinching my muscles – not enough to hurt, just enough to put pressure on. I iced the shoulder when I came home, and I feel pretty good today. I won’t be trying the chin-up bar anytime soon, but I definitely feel like I’m making progress.

I also worked on cardio. That will be a challenge for me at CIC. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical (with one bad earbud and more commercials than I’d like on my playlist). I’d like to try for 35 or 40 minutes in a week or so. I don’t have a particular goal or cap in mind. I just want to increase my endurance.

Tonight is fencing practice at UWF. Michael and I start teaching Krav next week, so this Wednesday will be my last one at fencing – I’ll be doing just Fridays again from now on.

I rested up and felt a bit better for the weekend.

First i assisted in a Krav seminar. The official instructors did the instructing, and I and some of my cohorts worked the room, helping people adjust form and answering questions. I committed to teaching P1 and P2 with my CIC partner. We start next week. I’m stoked and nervous – just like when I teach English.

After that I hit the road. Nik and I visited our friends in Castlemere/Jacksonville for fencing practice (shout out to Zhao for following my adventures!). I fenced a few rounds and made some new friends. I tried not to over-exert myself and had a great afternoon. 

When we got back to Pensacola, we rested a bit and then went to UWF practice. I did much more fencing (but still took breaks). I’m still standing, so I feel pretty good and think I may finally be over this cold.

Tonight after work Nik and I are hitting the gym. I’m not sure what I’m going to try to do (light weightlifting? incorporating running? finally trying the rock wall?), but I’m definitely ready to get back to being active.

There hasn’t been much to report lately. I’ve been taking it easy.

I bought a FitBit. So far I like it. I explore a different feature every day or two. If you’re into that sort of thing, I bought the Flex 2. I was a little bit disappointed because it doesn’t measure heart rate, but then I saw that none of the ones that measure heart rate are swim proof, so I feel like I made the right choice for my needs. I mention the FitBit because it helps me see the merit in walking – even just short walks to the water fountain or around campus.

In addition to generally moving around during the day, I’ve been taking walks on the indoor track at UWF. At first it was frustrating because I wanted to move fast – run, jog, or even just power walk. I had to stop thinking of it as exercise and approach it as rehab instead. I used the walks to get my lungs used to activity again. I did that for several days, and I felt really good.

Last night I fenced for maybe a quarter of the allotted practice time.I worked on a couple of specific techniques and then played in some melees. I felt pretty good but a little sore when I got home.

This morning I was miserable. My throat is sore, and I have a headache. I’m hoping that I just pushed too hard and not that I’m getting sicker. I’ve done everything I was supposed to do. I don’t know why I’m still feeling so lousy.

Tonight I’m taking it easy. I’ll get my steps wandering around work and forgetting to bring things downstairs at home.

I typed a post (painstakingly slowly) on Monday with a lot more detail and then lost it. I’m not a happy camper, so this will be a little terse. 

Saturday was a good workout/fencing day. I lifted some weights with Nik, and then I practiced long sword with Nik and Nikita.

Sunday instead of fencing, I practiced Krav with Gaby and Kita. I did a high forward roll poorly (after doing it mostly right) and crunched my shoulder. I iced it, dealt with it, soaked it… realized I needed to go to the ER. The shoulder isn’t broken, but it is quite painful. I have to wear a sling, and no fighting for at least a week.

I stayed home from work on Monday and slept weird tramadol dreams all morning. I felt better in the evening and visited Krav to drop off the pads and help call out activities.

I was back at work on Tuesday, and I explained my situation to my yogi. She came up with some yoga that I could do, and when I couldn’t do something, I visualized myself doing it and focused on my breathing instead.

Tonight I’ll go watch Krav some more. This has been a nice exercise in teaching using verbalization since I can’t demonstrate anything.

I see the ortho on Monday. I’m going to ask for a fast (if temporary) situation so that I can possibly still fence at SERFO. At the very least, I’d like to do rapier and dussack left-handed. I really really want to do long sword though. Really. Keep your fingers crossed.

At any rate, #fightingeverydamnday is on hold. In the meantime, though, I can read, watch films, and visualize… and be jealous as Nik continues with #fencingeverydamnday

On Tuesday, I went to yoga after work and hit the pool after class. I ended up swimming only 15 minutes, though, because I was worried about bleeding hair color all over the pool. Few things are more embarrassing than making your workout space look like a scene from Jaws. Nik has begun his quest to fence every day, so that’s what he was up to while I was at class and at the pool.

Wednesday night was Krav night. We did more P1 review. During P3 class, I asked some questions I had about kicks. I’ll be meeting up with The Ladies to work on groundwork over the weekend.

Last night after work I met Nik and some of the UWF fencers at the gym, and I worked primarily on long sword. I’m picking it up fairly quickly – I’m far from the best, but I’m doing good things. After fencing, Nik and I took a quick run because I still needed some cardio. My mile is down to 9 minutes. Last night was Nik’s Day 5 of #fencingeverydamnday.

Today after work I’m going to use the elliptical to get my heart rate up, come home, rest (probably have a snack), and head to UWF fencing practice. Tonight will be my Day 3 of #fightingeverydamnday.

If it sounds like a lot of activity, it is. Nik is training for a big tournament, and I’m training for that tournament while simultaneously preparing myself for CIC 1.

In the midst of all of this, I lost a pound and a half last week. I’m down 5 lbs total since I started tracking. I also recommended that Nik start tracking to make sure he’s getting enough calories for his amount of activity.