If I were a rich man

One of the great things about getting older (and older...) is having an ever-increasing sense of "self":  what you value, and who you are.

My job is the best job I have ever had:  interesting (usually!) work that is useful to society, with good co-workers, a good boss, and a good boss' boss.  I used to say that if I won the big lottery I'd still keep working half-time.

But, over the Easter weekend, I realized:  nah.  I have way too many things that I enjoy doing -- such that working half-time still wouldn't leave me enough time to accomplish everything that I'd want to.

On March 31st, I wrote this note to myself:  “I need to retire now, just to accomplish all my songwriting/recording/instrument-learning/woodworking/gardening/reading/exercising/martial arts goals!!!”


If I had the time, and didn’t think my muscle memory would get confused, I’d take two martial arts a week: maybe a grappling style plus a striking-based style, to minimize the muscle memory overlap.

Oh:  and I'd take tap-dancing lessons.


Here's some preliminary planning -- in anticipation of winning the lottery.


Activities:

-Martial arts
-Woodworking
-Film/video shooting
-Recording songs
-Tap dance
-Learning instruments
-Weightlifting
-Yardwork
-Typing up my backlog of notes and such from over the years.


Most weekdays, here's my preliminary schedule:

-Take the kids to school, then drive back home
-A quick breakfast
-Practice instrument #1 for 15 mins
-Practice instrument #2 for 15 mins
-Spend 3 hrs 45 mins doing something creative (recording music or shooting and/or editing film or doing woodworking or writing a screenplay)
-About 15 mins cleaning up (e.g. showering, if I've been woodworking)
-A quick (late) lunch
-Go get the kids from school, bring them back home
-About 15 mins on the punching bag
-Evenings:  help w/ kids' homework some nights; martial arts classes other nights


It's actually a moderate drive to my kids' school -- so two days a week I'd just hang out in that neighborhood during the day, rather than making two round trips.

The plan would be:

-Drive the kids to school
-Borrow one of their music practice rooms (more like little booths) for a half hour and practice an instrument
-Put the instrument in the car and jog to the local gym
-Work out for about four hours
-Jog back to school
-Get the kids and bring them home (while sweating like a monkey)


Weekends:  mostly yardwork, plus errands


Anyhow -- that's the plan.  Now I just need to win the lottery...  ;)


--GG

That was weird

That was weird.  After work I was walking to my bus stop, which is under the downtown shopping center.  Just as I entered the building, a skinny, dishevelled middle-aged guy, my height, was exiting the complex.  He was walking briskly along the same hallway as me, but in the opposite direction, and was talking in some nonsensical language.

All of a sudden, just as he was passing me, he looked in my direction, saw something in my face he didn't like, turned toward me and kicked me in the leg.  Luckily he didn't kick very hard.

I was surprised!  I got into an open-handed fighting stance and waited for whatever would come next.  He looked at my face, and either he decided better of it, or (more likely) he just went on to his next thought, because he walked quickly away.

In hindsight I should've gone after him -- because who knows how many other people he'd kick -- but I was already late for my bus.


I'm not sure how well I handled the encounter.  I lost points by not giving him a wider berth, and by not blocking the kick -- although I'd like to think that if it had been a punch, or a kick to the crotch, that I would've reflexively blocked it.

I get credit for reflexively going into a good stance.  My hand positioning of my right hand was a little low:  my left hand was correctly at face height, but my right hand was more at chest height.  But I think my right-hand positioning was because my right shoulder (which I dislocated a month and a half ago) still doesn't have full flexibility -- so when I think I'm moving it to a certain location, it takes more effort than I expect.  But at least I got it up there. 

And I'm pretty sure I looked like I knew what I was doing:  so, that's something.

Points for reacting calmly:  instead of an adrenaline surge, I just thought "Huh.  Now what?"  I credit that to the Krav Maga class that I took (although it's been several months):  it just kind of seemed... normal, somehow.  Certainly, I didn't feel at a loss as to what to do next:  I was in my fighting pose.


But, yeah:  I should've missed my bus, followed him at a safe distance, and called the cops on my cell phone.  Next time.


Regardless -- pretty odd.


--GG

Female garb

My daughter is in early middle school.  Today we were going out to run some errands, and she was wearing an outfit with a skirt and knee-high boots -- but with only a little bit of a heel.

I gave her some advice, as her father:  "I don't want you wearing anything you can't fight in."

By that I mean:  no super-high heels.  No constrictive dresses or skirts.


Guys' clothing tends to be fairly neutral:  flat, comfortable shoes; some variety of pants.  Whereas female clothing -- especially as they get older -- can let "fashion" override practicality.


I should probably add "...or run in."  But "fight in" is more empowering.


As I've probably mentioned, she and one of her brothers take Tae Kwon Do once a week.  When she turns sixteen, she's going to take a term of Krav Maga with me.  The boys, too, when they're of age.


Taking Krav Maga is like taking an "un- first aid" course:  it teaches you how to not get hurt.


--GG

TKD whacking stick

Two of my kids take Tae Kwon Do.  One of the exercises that they do at TKD is the instructor walks around and strikes at them with a padded stick, and the students block it.  Yesterday The Girl asked me if I could make one of those, for practicing at home.

So today, when we were out running some errands, I noticed a box of those "swim noodles" at a cheapy store, for three bucks each.  I picked up a nice color (purple).

When I got home, grabbed my stash of misc. broomsticks and large dowels (note:  All are "found" and "rescued" -- freebies!).

I cut the purple swim noodle to length:  "my arm plus fist", I decided. Then I selected one of the dowels with the correct diameter, cut it to length, and rounded off the snubbed end with a rasp, then with a file.

I made sure that there was a padded section at the tip, as well -- for simulated "straight punches".

As I usual, I finished by writing the "completion date" and my initials on it.


And, here's me trying it out with The Girl.

Seems to work.  :)


Also tried it out with B2, who also takes TKD.  No photos of that, though.


A three dollar outlay, plus maybe 15 minutes of labor.   And I got to customize the length.

I'm pleased.  :)


--GG

Great Krav class

Had another Krav Maga class.   **Really** enjoyed it:  it's everything I've been searching for in a martial arts class for the last fifteen years.

Did some review of previous sessions' techniques, including a "friendly" escape from a one-handed shirtfront grab.  Then did an extension of that, where you've messed it up and your arm gets tangled -- how to turn it into an armbar-style takedown.

Then did a defense against a two-handed shirtfront grab -- with the anticipation that the attacker is trying to headbutt you.  It ends up with a wristlock and a takedown.

I **love** arm throws and wristlocks!!!  (Sometimes I miss Aikido a bit...)  So I particularly enjoyed this session.


The other thing that was great about that nights' session was that we closed out the class -- as we often do -- with a controlled free-for-all:  in the school hall (basically the gym), four of the painted lines formed a rectangle, which was the zone in which everyone wandered around.

Four of the students were attackers, and everyone else defended.  The attacker with the kick shield would "boomf" another student, who would then defend and retaliate.  Two of the attackers had medium-length sticks, and would attack the beginner students with a "pin" across the chest (which would then get countered), or -- against the more senior students, with an overhand strike (which would get blocked and countered).

And the fourth person -- me! -- had a dagger (a short wooden dowel), with which I would attack people with a circular attack, and they would block and counter.

With all of these, the more senior the defender, the broader the range of counter-attacks they would throw.


Well, this time -- I'm not sure why -- the instructor joined in.  (Usually, he just watches.)  So when he was nearby, I took a stab at him -- and because he's advanced (of course!) part of his counter was a weapons take-away, plus a wristlock takedown.  Except, because he was being considerate, he didn't complete the throw -- he just put me off-balance a bit.

"Go ahead -- throw me!"  I said.  He looked hesitant.

"It's OK -- I've had two semesters of Judo!  Go ahead!  Wait -- reset!"  I backed off -- then re-attacked.  And, he did the takedown -- and I slapped the floor, and "fell" safely.

(Hm.  I can't remember whether the floor is concrete, or fake wood.  Certainly it's not a "sprung" wooden floor...)

A few minutes later, he was "open", and in my vicinity -- so I attacked him again.  This time he threw me right away.  (And took the "knife" away.  And helped me up.  And gave it back.)


So:  two takedowns, including a wristlock -- and I got thrown by the instructor!  A good night.  :)



P.S.  Technically, it was only one semester of Judo.  But I've had a little Aikido as well.  So it probably equals about two semesters of doing "hard falls".

I don't remember much about the throws or wristlocks.  But golly, I do remember how to fall!  :)


P.P.S.  He's a really good instructor.  If you're in the Brisbane area, you should stop by.


--GG

Bruised hand

Thurday night at my Krav Maga class we practiced rolls and breakfalls.  Now, most of the things we do in class are either new to me, or so different to my previous martial arts experience that my old habits just mess me up.

But breakfalls and rolls?  Yep:  can do those.  Granted, it's been about ten years -- but I took a semester of Judo, and two semesters of Aikido -- and all you do in those styles are throw and be thrown.  So, a fair amount of practice.  :)


We started out by doing rear breakfalls -- like these:


And we spent 10-15 minutes doing them. 

My hands were getting kinda sore -- but I kept going.   They were especially sore around here:

Then, the next thing we did in class was practicing escapes from wrist grabs.  But the funny thing was, I couldn't grip with any strength with my right hand!  The pad of my hand -- the circled part -- is basically the thumb muscle.  So I could grab with my fingers -- but not my thumb.

It felt better the next day, though -- and by Sunday it felt fine.

But today is Monday -- and for some reason I was looking down at my hands at work, and I noticed this weird bruise:

(It was difficulty to get a good photograph of it.  It's more obvious in person.)


I don't think I've ever had a bruise like that.  Also, a little weird:  the **palm** of my hand was sore -- and yet the "web" gets the bruise.  Kinda like bumping your nose, and then ending up with a black eye.




--GG

Darndest thing

Last week was my second Krav Maga class.  Different instructor -- the first one was just subbing -- and we had a tougher opening workout.  Not brutal -- but we had to do several brisk laps around the gym, which  made me realize that I'm out of shape in terms of running.

(I do a moderate amount of walking -- but I haven't run more than a few yards in years and yeas.  I'm OK with most forms of exercise -- but I've never liked running (or sit-ups).)

So, at the end of the class the instructor said that it's up to us, but he recommends putting in some work on our own time, or else our in-class exercises aren't going to get any easier.  I can believe that.


I've learned that for my own body, at least, my body starts to adapt to exercise in two or three days.  So I've started doing some light jogging -- mostly jog a bit, walk a bit -- in front of my house.  Done it twice since the last class -- and allowing a full day of rest before the next class.

I don't enjoy it -- but I'm hoping the investment in discomfort now will save me some discomfort later.  I'm enjoying the Krav classes except for the jogging -- but it's part of the package, so whatever I can do to make it less unpleasant during that part of class...
 

The jogging went well enough.  Oddly, my quads are fine -- but after I got done with my run my butt was sore. So I guess running -- or at least, the way **I** do it -- uses the butt muscles a lot.  Hm!

The butt-soreness may be due to the slight incline along my street.  It's subtle enough that you don't notice it while driving -- but you sure do while running!  I reckon it's a five degree incline.  And I tried to have my "walking" segments going downhill, and my "jogging" segments uphill.


We'll see if my exercising makes the warm-ups for this next Krav class any easier.


--GG

Lovin' the Krav

So, when I was in Seattle, I dabbled in about eight martial arts.  Sadly, I didn't spend enough time to get actually good at any of them:  some were for a month, most were for a semester; the longest was about two years.  In order, they were:

• Aikido
• (long break)
• Karate
• Shaolin five-animals kung fu
• (short break)
• Hung-Gar kung fu
• Judo (there was a semester where an evening class conflicted with Hung-Gar)
• A different Aikido (one summer, instead of Hung-Gar)
• Mantis style kung fu (two or three weeks, visiting Australia)
• Tae Kwon Do (another summer, instead of Hung-Gar)

(Note:  If I don't specify the style of Aikido, Karate, etc., it's because I don't remember.)

During the period that I was dong Hung-Gar, I also observed a friend's fencing session, and did a session of archery.

(I also did wrestling in middle school for a season.  It was OK; I think I'd get more out of it now, given my broader martial arts context.)


Then, since moving to Australia about ten years ago, I've intermittently shopped around for martial classes (roughly once every two years).  I've observed a class session of:

• Zen Do Kai (met at a local community hall)
• Aikido (at the university gym where my wife worked)
• Capoeira (also at the university gym)
• Lei Quan Gong kung fu (also at the university gym)
• Jeet Kune Do + Escrima/Kali (a few neighborhoods away)
• Black Crane (a few neighborhoods away, in a different direction)

...and, nothing panned out.  For a variety of reasons. But essentially, they all had good points -- but also had aspects that I didn't want. 


So:  My kids are taking a Tae Kwon Do class once a week at the local gradeschool.  About two weeks ago they had their first belt testing.  And as I sat in the bleachers and watched them going through their moves -- I got the itch again.

There's a local Ju-Jitsu class (traditional style, not Brazillian) that I'd been considering over the years.  I e-mailed the instructor, asking if I could observe the class.  No reply.  OK, then -- never mind.

I also did a web search on local Wing Chun and Krav Maga schools.  All the Wing Chun classes I could find were too far away from where I live.  Conversely, I found two Krav Maga branches ten minutes away from home:  each in a different direction, and both part of the same organization.


I went and observed an "Intermediate/Advanced" session of Krav on Thursday night, March 13th.  Very promising!

The Krav webpage said that Thursday, March 20th was the start of the new term at the other branch -- and the first class is free.  That was tonight.  So I attended.


I'm sold, I'm in.  Signed up.


Krav Maga won't suit everyone.  Different people do martial arts for different reasons:  fitness, spiritual development, sport, sociability, self-defense -- the groovy katas ("forms").

But so far, at least, Krav has everything that **I'm** looking for -- and none of the things I want to avoid.

We'll see how things go.


--GG

Bruce Lee ping-pong w nunchucks

Did not even know that this existed.  Bruce Lee plays ping-pong -- with nunchucks!

Remarkable control.


--GG

Sandbag training

Here's a link to a guy's blog post that discusses sandbag training.  Sounds interesting, and it has  fitness applications for martial artists.

Basically, a duffel bag filled with sand, with an extra handle or two.  Lift it, throw it around.

Based on the exercises in the video at the end of the above-linked post, sandbag training seems to have elements of old-time medicine ball training, plus kettle bells (see above photo).

If you have some rope, some duct tape, and an old gym bag -- and some sand -- it seems like an inexpensive but effective way to go.


--GG

MMA guy vs Obama

Found this on this website (if you want to see the original interview).

Basicially, some Mixed Martial Arts ("Ultimate Fighting") guy says in an interview that he'd like to fight Pres. Obama. (As the "comments" section under the original video clip notes, that's a **really** good way of getting on to several national security watchlists.)

Anyhow, here's Jay Leno's (reasonably non-partisan) take on the situation:




(March 11, 2012 -- update -- OK, so that link has expired. Luckily, someone else posted a copy to Y'alls Tube. Unfortunately, they've disabled embedding, so you have to go to that YouTube page.)

--GG

Gun kata

A fictional gun-based martial arts style -- from some movie called "Equilibrium", which I have not seen.

Unfortunately, embedding has been disabled for this YouTube video. But, here's the link.


--GG

Review of recent Karate Kid movie

So, last night I managed to see the 2010 remake the The Karate Kid.

A bit of a misnomer, as there's only kung fu, not karate. But understandable, as with a more correct name they couldn't tap into the franchise.


The movie recycles -- presumably intentionally -- about 90% of the plot, and many key lines of dialog, from the original Karate Kid movie. Even (paraphrased) "Sweep the leg, Johnny" -- but in Chinese.

Uses "hang the jacket on the spike" (over and over and over) instead of "wax on, wax off". Not as plausible (IMO) a training technique as the original -- but good job trying something different.

Unlike the original, which has realistic martial arts moves, this version -- esp. in the tournament -- clearly used "wire work" for gravity-defying feats of acrobatics. Annoyed me. Also: no Wing Chun stylists, which was odd.

Jackie Chan played the "Mr. Miyagi"-ish role well. And the kid was reasonably believeable, too (and **insane** flexibility!).

The pacing was a little slow.

Effective musical score: I teared up at all the right places, despite my cynicism.


I have no intention of buying this DVD, or even renting it again. I'd say to rent it if you're **totally** out of rental options, or if you **really** like martial arts things, or if you are interested in comparing it to the original (and, superior) Karate Kid movie.


Not horrible -- just... fine.


--GG

Score

Today is Tuesday. Tuesday are cheap night at the local DVD rental place.

Back when I worked from home, I'd pick up The Girl from school, then swing by and rent a DVD. Since starting the new job (downtown), I can't do this anymore. But today I left work early to do the school pickup (The Lady had a meeting).

Flicking through the "surplussing their excess that have dropped in popularity" bin, as I do. As usual, nothing appealed. But then!

Good stuff!!!


--GG

Chin na sparring

Another martial arts one. Two guys having a fun time sparring with Chin Na (the jointlock-ish aspect of kung fu.)



Interesting that my blog topics come in waves. Recently there's been a fair amount of songwriting/music, and martial arts entries -- and not a lot of woodworking ones.

--GG

Yet another nifty one

Yet another neat-o one.



Dang! **Really** need to get back into martial arts...
--GG

Myths about martial arts

This is a good (and short!) article about seven myths about martial arts.

Good stuff.


--GG

A good haul

Yeah, Christmas is about more than just giving and getting presents. But: it **is** nice to receive some nice stuff...

This year was pretty balanced, covering nearly all of my hobbies and interests.


GARDENING: A book on building outdoor structures.



ARCHITECTURE: See above


WOODWORKING: The above book. Also some wooden clamps. A backsaw. And a one-person crosscut saw!!!




MARTIAL ARTS: A neat-o book on Chin Na (joint locks, etc.).



MUSIC: A cable tester. Also a silver "Flying V" guitar Christmas ornament. And a guitar calendar.


(Note: Those aren't gang signs: that's a "K" to remind me that it was from the kids, and an "F" to remind me it's from my family.)


GREEN STUFF: A green froggie paperweight. And a drawing, from my wonderful daughter. :)



--GG

Scott Pilgrim vs the World

On July 26 of this year, I posted a blog entry about how excited I was for the movie Scott Pilgrim versus the World. (Please don't suck, please don't suck...) Well, due to work and family commitments, I ended up not seeing it in the theatres. And now it's December.

So, then I waited eagerly for the DVD release, so I could rent it. It was supposed to come out on December 16th, which is a Wednesday; however, the "cheap days" are Tuesdays. So, I had a moral dilemma as to whether to grab it immediately when it came out, and pay the five bucks or whatever (I have no idea what the cost is, it's been so long since I've rented a DVD on a non-Tuesday) -- or wait an extra six days until the following Tuesday.

As luck would have it, though, my wife was browsing the video rental shop with the kids, saw it, and picked it up for me -- yesterday, **Tuesday**. Excellent: the best of both worlds.


Sat down and watched it. I had hopes.

It did not disappoint.


I had been a little concerned, as it had received mixed reviews. The negative reviews that I'd read had complained that there was no plot, and that it would only appeal to hard core video game players.

Rubbish on both parts. I was amused and engaged the whole time, laughed several times, and when I re-watched it to pick up the parts that I missed (it was on DVD, and I kept getting distracted by kid-wrangling), I ended up just watching it straight through again, rather than fast-forwarding through the parts I'd already seen: that's a good sign.

For me, it was an intersection of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon, and the1960s Batman t.v. show. It wore its comic book and video game influences proudly, and did not take itself too seriously.


An observation: the female lead had a husky, lower voice (for a female), and the guy had a thin, higher voice (kinda David Spade-ish). The result is that the female had a lower voice than the male. Huh.


In sum: I'm not sure if I can honestly say that I **loved** it: my hyperbole is mellowing with age. But certainly I was giddy through much of it, and babbled about it to my wife afterwards -- and that's a good indicator that I enjoyed it.


--GG

Defense against a headlock

See, **this** is what I like about martial arts: the clever application of body mechanics.

I doubt I ever would have come up with this myself.




Also -- the instructor is from Australia! :)


--GG