.. it’s no good putting off the inevitable any longer, I’ve got to crack on with this fitness malarky..
Went down and renewed my gym membership today. I figured that sticking actual cash money on the line should be a good reason not to waste it! I’m out and about a lot this week so whether I actually get to train before the weekend is unlikely but it’s a start. next step is to make a shopping list and clear the decks for a detox.
Not the best start to my day being woken up by the stench of smoke from downstairs – again. I ended up wide awake at 7:30 which is a good 2 hours too early for me.
Having set off to a bad start wasn’t really helping the mental state at the mo. It’s all starting to transition from that surreal phase into the painful reality that no matter what I say, do or feel it’s not going to make a blind bit of difference to Kel as it seems that chapter is well and truly closed.
I’m finding it all a bit odd that after eight years she can just switch off and carry on as if nothing happened. That’s the bit that’s hurting the most at the mo, because it just makes it feel like I meant absolutely nothing to her and my brain just doesn’t want to compute that, it just doesn’t add up after everything she use to say to me. I dunno, I guess that’s just Kel’s way of dealing but it still feels like the most incredible slap in the face.
Anyway I did at least get to enjoy a nice little bubble of ‘me’ time tonight at the school because at least when I’ve got my belt on I tend to switch into ‘Black Belt mode’ automagically and at least then I get some of the old confident me back. Tonight was all about intensity and focus which meant I had to demonstrate those traits to a higher level than I’d expect my students too and that tends to rub off on them too and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because the more energised they are the easier it is for me.
As we often do, in my ‘Masters’ training session we started out on one topic and a question from one student led me off on a tangent into a pretty deep discussion about the psychology of confrontation and dealing with real aggression etc. Bit of a shame that some of our students don’t make the effort to stay for that part of the class because it’s where all the ‘real’ training begins.
Talking about that stuff and thinking back to some examples from my time on the door did me some good confidence-wise. Need to get out and hook up with some old training buddies I think and get a bit of the mojo back.
Anyway, best get some shut-eye. Off up to Manchester to see Rammstein with Huw tomorrow, then we’re coming back via Birmingham on weds to see them again 
\m/ O \m/
Getting there, slowly 
And the scary bit is that in the photo on the left I’d already lost a stone by then…
*shudders*
Most excellent sesh in the gym last night, and don’t my arms know it today
Starting to formulate a plan already for my own mini-ultimate-test-thingy. I intend to include goals different areas including not only physical/fitness challenges but also a wide variety of other areas as covered in the UBBT…
So far, my goals for the 12 month plan include the following:-
This list will probably grow over the next week and my first priority is to have my goals list finalised by next weekend so I can start my challenge properly on June 1st.
Some time ago I got a letter to inform me that I had been nominated for the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame as “Master Instructor of the Year”.
The nomination was related to the work I have been doing online for the past couple of years in bringing together a group of high ranking martial arts instructors, initially to investigate the wrongdoings of one particularly unscrupulous instructor from Canada, and later to form a focus group to the study and ressurect some of the more traditional aspects of martial arts training and make them more relevant today.
Well, I got a letter today to confirm that the nomination was accepted and I am to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Yay me!
There are of course several of these hall of fame thingies, but this is actually one of the more well known ones and includes many well respected Martial Artists such as Chuck Norris, Cynthia Rothrock, Eric Lee, Don Wilson, George Dillman and others.
Means fuck all in real terms, but it will look good on my CV…
So many Martial Artists become complacent after reaching their Black Belt. I have seen it hundreds of times. They lose their drive to push themselves forward, they hide behind excuses like “it doesnt matter what belt I wear I am the same inside” etc…
Yeah, fair enough, as a Black Belt we know that the belt around out waist is not necessarily a true reflection on what we know, what we do, who we are….
So then, what can you do to test yourself? Forget what others think, say or do, how about the ultimate personal challenge…?
That is the goal of the test devised by legendary Martial Arts guru Tom Callos and his instructor, the legendary Ernie Reyes.
Take a look at the test requirements on the site: http://www.ultimateblackbelttest.com.
First time I read it I thought it was a wind up, the requirements seemed unsurmountable, then one by one I saw a group of the worlds finest black belts were signing up for it… some of them have been pivotal in my own martial arts career, people I have looked up to in awe on many occasions. These are the type of people who are prepared to push themselves this far, it is that that makes them who they are.
So, what am I going to do about it… given my current state of fitness I am not going to be able to apply for the test this year as it starts in a few weeks time so instead I have set myself the goal that I will do this test next year. In the meantime I am going to define my own mini-version for the 12 months leading up to it.
Need to actually define some goals and some time-scales. As soon as I do, I’ll post them here then I’ll have to stick to them wont I!
Starting to get more than a bit frustrated at my rapidly decreasing fitness level, and my rapidly increasing waistline…
Biggest problem I have at the moment is not the lack of my will to train, but the fact that since I had pneumonia a couple of years back my lung capacity is somewhat shafted and as soon as I do train to a half-decent level my right lung (presumably as a result of the damage caused by the pneumonia) hurts like fuck.
There is bugger all I can do about it apart from put up with it and just grit my teeth and carry on but it not that simple as although I have a phenomenally high pain threshold, this takes the piss.
The problem is that I really need to hit the training hard to get on top of it, and at the moment I can only realistically manage what I would normally consider a light warm-up… nothing like enough to kick my metabolism into any kind of decent shape again.
Going to get up in the morning and map out a plan. Don’t be suprised if I whinge a lot over the next few days…
Been a long day today.. up at 9 after a top night catching up with the crew in Frome and then all day officiating at a grading examination at my school.
Pretty important exam too, as in addition to the group of regular students, I was testing two for their first degree Black Belt and three more (including Kelly) for their final coloured belt, which indicates their status as official Black Belt Candidates.
I was sat at the grading table from 10:30 this morning until 6:30 this evening and boy did I know it! Worth it though as all the candidates were up to scratch and hence I now have two more Black Belts in my school, making a total of 10 so far. Not bad for a small school eh…
Nice quick workout, shower, NCoT.
Sorted
Bonus : Kel’s leftover curry from last night in the fridge for lunch!
It seems that my plan to shift to a slightly more conventional timezone may be working as I managed to fall out of bed at 9:30 this morning without the aid of a crane..
I’m just off to test stage 2 of the plan with a quick session in the gym. I have blocked out a set of early morning (well ok, not *early* but first thing when I get up) work-outs every day over the next couple of weeks to help me ramp up to some fairly intensive training again. So, in about 30 minutes time I’ll prolly be posting again to say that I am either :
a) Feeling fantastic as I am surfing on a wave of endorphins and adrenaline, or
b) I’m fucked, pass the bacon sarnie will you…