I'm in the process of packing for my flight tomorrow. I have to fly to KL and then catch a connecting flight to Manila. I'm looking forward to the trip. A bit nervous, and I won't write very much about this just yet...
Weight is alright, I'm on target. Feel pretty strong, and I should be fine on the day if I can get a good clean meal tomorrow night. All the conditioning has paid pretty good dividends. I could go posting half-naked before and after pics of myself on the net, which I won't, but I will say that for a month's training, I look pretty damn good.
If you are so inclined, please pray for the health and safety of all the competitors, officials and spectators, and also of course for an atmosphere of good sportsmanship.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
COMPETITION JOURNAL, 2009:4
Day 23 (Apr 21)
Weight check: 71 kilos with gi. So. Close.
Training: Finally managed to get my hands on a good skipping rope, have been playing around with it. I’m thinking of giving the Chelseas a rest for the time being.
Day 24 (Apr 22)
Weight check: 71 kilos with gi. I think I’m weighing myself too soon after eating.
Training: After 2 days of skipping rope I think that yes, I will stop the Chelseas until after Manila and then start picking them up again. I really miss working with a good skipping rope which, I have to say, was actually quite painful to find.
Day 25 (Apr 23)
Weight check (after BJJ): 70.5-ish kilos with gi. I think. I can.
Day 27 (Apr 25)
Training: Had a great open mats today. I’m looking at this as the last chance to train at a slightly higher pace before Manila. For the coming week I’ll be focusing on lighter rolling and maintenance cardio work.
Weight check after open mats: 69.5 kilos with gi and belt. I love you, Gameness Pearl Weave! My competition gi has been with me for something like 2 and a half years. It’s been put through a whole bunch of crazy, interesting and monstrous wringers and still looks in near-perfect shape. Best gi I ever owned.
Day 28 (Apr 26)
A woman I know walks up to me and asks if I use protein supplements (I do not, and have never done so). I say no, and she asks me to talk to her son, who seems convinced that I do.
Him: “But how did you get so big?” (I thought this was cute – I weigh 69-ish kilos at the moment, keep in mind I’m talking to an Asian kid in his early-mid teens)
Me: “Lots of pushups”.
Weight check: 71 kilos with gi. So. Close.
Training: Finally managed to get my hands on a good skipping rope, have been playing around with it. I’m thinking of giving the Chelseas a rest for the time being.
Day 24 (Apr 22)
Weight check: 71 kilos with gi. I think I’m weighing myself too soon after eating.
Training: After 2 days of skipping rope I think that yes, I will stop the Chelseas until after Manila and then start picking them up again. I really miss working with a good skipping rope which, I have to say, was actually quite painful to find.
Day 25 (Apr 23)
Weight check (after BJJ): 70.5-ish kilos with gi. I think. I can.
Day 27 (Apr 25)
Training: Had a great open mats today. I’m looking at this as the last chance to train at a slightly higher pace before Manila. For the coming week I’ll be focusing on lighter rolling and maintenance cardio work.
Weight check after open mats: 69.5 kilos with gi and belt. I love you, Gameness Pearl Weave! My competition gi has been with me for something like 2 and a half years. It’s been put through a whole bunch of crazy, interesting and monstrous wringers and still looks in near-perfect shape. Best gi I ever owned.
Day 28 (Apr 26)
A woman I know walks up to me and asks if I use protein supplements (I do not, and have never done so). I say no, and she asks me to talk to her son, who seems convinced that I do.
Him: “But how did you get so big?” (I thought this was cute – I weigh 69-ish kilos at the moment, keep in mind I’m talking to an Asian kid in his early-mid teens)
Me: “Lots of pushups”.
Friday, April 24, 2009
SO I GUESS I'M REALLY DOING THIS THEN.
ibjjf@ibjjf.org to me 1:22 AM
Thank you for registering for the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2009/International Open Novice Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2009
I mean, I already bought my plane tickets and all, but this had a nice little air of finality about it.
Thank you for registering for the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2009/International Open Novice Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2009
I mean, I already bought my plane tickets and all, but this had a nice little air of finality about it.
Monday, April 20, 2009
COMPETITION JOURNAL, 2009:3
Day 18 (Apr 16)
This morning was the first time in 7 months that I’ve actually seen my weight dip below 70 kilos. Pretty encouraged by that.
Day 19 (Apr 17)
Training: Kettlebells at KDT. Am in town for a John Will BJJ seminar, so had a go at the Fizfit session. Was a lot of fun – good, super solid workout with great friends, loads of pain and lots of laughs besides. My favourite kind of workout.
Found out that the link to online registration for the Mundials is live. However, there was a problem when I tried to verify my info. Bah.
Registered online for the Pan-Asians. Looking forward to a great competition. I found out that Aziz will be going, which was excellent news, it’s always a more enjoyable experience with that one around.
Day 20 (Apr 18)
Spent hours watching BJJ videos on Youtube. So addictive. It’s making me really nervous but I can’t help but watch. I don’t even know if this is a “healthy nervous”.
Training: John Will seminar at KDT. John was in KL in between his seminars in Singapore and England, so he stopped by KDT and went through a bunch of stuff with us. I found it tremendously informative and interesting, with a wealth of concepts to work with. I had a pretty big hole in my game filled up, so I’m happy. I only had the time to attend his BJJ seminar though, MMA on Sunday mornings is all well and good, but all the same I’ll pick church.
In exactly 2 weeks I will have competed at the Pan Asians, barring an Act of God. The excitement level is picking up, which is good, hopefully it can give the anxiety level a run for the money. This is the last week I’ll be doing any real training, so I’m going to start tuning it down. Which isn’t to say that I’ve been doing anything Cobrinha-esque in my routine, I’m just saying is all.
Day 22 (Apr 20)
Tried to register again for the Mundials but ran into the same error. Sent them an email, hope this gets sorted soon.
This morning was the first time in 7 months that I’ve actually seen my weight dip below 70 kilos. Pretty encouraged by that.
Day 19 (Apr 17)
Training: Kettlebells at KDT. Am in town for a John Will BJJ seminar, so had a go at the Fizfit session. Was a lot of fun – good, super solid workout with great friends, loads of pain and lots of laughs besides. My favourite kind of workout.
Found out that the link to online registration for the Mundials is live. However, there was a problem when I tried to verify my info. Bah.
Registered online for the Pan-Asians. Looking forward to a great competition. I found out that Aziz will be going, which was excellent news, it’s always a more enjoyable experience with that one around.
Day 20 (Apr 18)
Spent hours watching BJJ videos on Youtube. So addictive. It’s making me really nervous but I can’t help but watch. I don’t even know if this is a “healthy nervous”.
Training: John Will seminar at KDT. John was in KL in between his seminars in Singapore and England, so he stopped by KDT and went through a bunch of stuff with us. I found it tremendously informative and interesting, with a wealth of concepts to work with. I had a pretty big hole in my game filled up, so I’m happy. I only had the time to attend his BJJ seminar though, MMA on Sunday mornings is all well and good, but all the same I’ll pick church.
In exactly 2 weeks I will have competed at the Pan Asians, barring an Act of God. The excitement level is picking up, which is good, hopefully it can give the anxiety level a run for the money. This is the last week I’ll be doing any real training, so I’m going to start tuning it down. Which isn’t to say that I’ve been doing anything Cobrinha-esque in my routine, I’m just saying is all.
Day 22 (Apr 20)
Tried to register again for the Mundials but ran into the same error. Sent them an email, hope this gets sorted soon.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
COMPETITION JOURNAL, 2009:2
Day 9 (Apr 7)
Training: Played around with a new - to me, anyway - drill in BJJ…roll, full speed, until you get a dominant position, then consolidate and hold it (the guy in the poor position has to keep going and try to escape, thereby forcing the other guy to resume going all-out). 3-minute rounds. No submissions, just positional control. Lot of fun and a great workout besides. Not sure what to call this drill… “Full throttle”? “Gas-jitsu”? “Death Roll?” (this one is my personal favourite so far) Help?... I want to see if I can get this up to several rounds (ideally 6) @ 6 minutes each by May.
Day 11 (Apr 9)
Conditioning: Chelsea x18 sets. May have been OK after this, but made the mistake of gulping down a bottle of water right after, which killed me off for about 9 minutes (the approximate play time of Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” and The Cure’s “The Lovecats”…so far, every time I’ve stopped my Chelsea sets, it was because I chose to do so in the interests of slowly building up. Which is encouraging in that I know I can push myself further). Bear crawls x2 laps (approx. 23m each), crab walks x2 laps, bear crawls x2 laps, running x20 laps, running x30 laps. Not as hard as I remember the workouts at KDT being, but I also don’t have anyone else here to push me along.
Later spent about 20 minutes working balance with a stability ball.
Day 15 (Apr 13)
My situation (see previous post) was not helped by the fact that I need glasses to see properly and haven’t worn contacts in years. So to put a contact in one eye when my other is a) damaged, b) already myopic, and c) covered by a patch – and then try and coach – proved to be extremely disconcerting and just generally not one of my more brilliant ideas. Fortunately classes were really fun nonetheless.
Day 16 (Apr 14)
Decided to bin the patch and already feeling better.
Conditioning: Chelsea x21 sets – I stopped voluntarily when I felt fatigue settling in. Quite happy with this progress, at this rate I’ll hit my target of 30 sets within 2 weeks.
Training: Played around with a new - to me, anyway - drill in BJJ…roll, full speed, until you get a dominant position, then consolidate and hold it (the guy in the poor position has to keep going and try to escape, thereby forcing the other guy to resume going all-out). 3-minute rounds. No submissions, just positional control. Lot of fun and a great workout besides. Not sure what to call this drill… “Full throttle”? “Gas-jitsu”? “Death Roll?” (this one is my personal favourite so far) Help?... I want to see if I can get this up to several rounds (ideally 6) @ 6 minutes each by May.
Day 11 (Apr 9)
Conditioning: Chelsea x18 sets. May have been OK after this, but made the mistake of gulping down a bottle of water right after, which killed me off for about 9 minutes (the approximate play time of Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” and The Cure’s “The Lovecats”…so far, every time I’ve stopped my Chelsea sets, it was because I chose to do so in the interests of slowly building up. Which is encouraging in that I know I can push myself further). Bear crawls x2 laps (approx. 23m each), crab walks x2 laps, bear crawls x2 laps, running x20 laps, running x30 laps. Not as hard as I remember the workouts at KDT being, but I also don’t have anyone else here to push me along.
Later spent about 20 minutes working balance with a stability ball.
Day 15 (Apr 13)
My situation (see previous post) was not helped by the fact that I need glasses to see properly and haven’t worn contacts in years. So to put a contact in one eye when my other is a) damaged, b) already myopic, and c) covered by a patch – and then try and coach – proved to be extremely disconcerting and just generally not one of my more brilliant ideas. Fortunately classes were really fun nonetheless.
Day 16 (Apr 14)
Decided to bin the patch and already feeling better.
Conditioning: Chelsea x21 sets – I stopped voluntarily when I felt fatigue settling in. Quite happy with this progress, at this rate I’ll hit my target of 30 sets within 2 weeks.
Monday, April 13, 2009
FORMER DIRECTOR OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
So anyway, yesterday my eye started really bugging me. Extreme light sensitivity and such. A while ago while training (this was actually in KL) I took a shot to my left eye and since then it's been giving me problems whenever I rub it accidentally. It's been a decidedly minor irritation for me until now and I finally decided to see a doctor about it.
Turns out I have some kind of corneal erosion. The cells that are trying to repair my eye don't get the chance to stick properly and get pulled off, causing the irritation. This wasn't helped by my pathological need to keep touching my eye. So, my wife had to step in. One quick trip to the pharmacy later and this is what I look like:
"I'd like to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative..."
***
On a completely unrelated, and much happier note, congratulations to my friend and BJJ-brother Rizan, on the birth of his daughter Sierra!
Turns out I have some kind of corneal erosion. The cells that are trying to repair my eye don't get the chance to stick properly and get pulled off, causing the irritation. This wasn't helped by my pathological need to keep touching my eye. So, my wife had to step in. One quick trip to the pharmacy later and this is what I look like:
"I'd like to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative..."
***
On a completely unrelated, and much happier note, congratulations to my friend and BJJ-brother Rizan, on the birth of his daughter Sierra!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
COMPETITION JOURNAL, 2009:1
Start: March 30, 2009
Day 1 (Mar 30)
Made initial payment at bank for US visa application.
Day 2 (Mar 31)
Conditioning: Chelsea x10 sets. Wanted to go on but timing was bad – had to stop as clients started arriving for Fizfit session. Also had a large meal immediately before.
Initial goal to reach by May 1, 2009: 30 sets. Am not sure if that is pushing it a bit too far.
Set date and time for US visa interview. Flying to KL this Sunday for interview Monday morning.
Day 4 (Apr 2)
Conditioning: Chelsea x15 sets. Slightly burned out from recent workouts, towards the last few sets the chinups were very sloppy.
Day 7 (Apr 5)
Training: Went to Ivan’s Judo place. Trained standup and newaza with a bunch of the guys. Good thing I went today, as it’s Gary’s (their black belt instructor, nice guy) last Saturday there, he’s moving to Penang. Pity that, I was hoping to train with him more.
Flew to KL for the night.
Day 8 (Apr 6)
US visa interview. Went off without a hitch and I got it. Everyone was very nice to me, I didn't see any of the horror stories so many people told me about. A huge weight off my shoulders, now I can focus more on Manila and the Pan-Asians.
Day 1 (Mar 30)
Made initial payment at bank for US visa application.
Day 2 (Mar 31)
Conditioning: Chelsea x10 sets. Wanted to go on but timing was bad – had to stop as clients started arriving for Fizfit session. Also had a large meal immediately before.
Initial goal to reach by May 1, 2009: 30 sets. Am not sure if that is pushing it a bit too far.
Set date and time for US visa interview. Flying to KL this Sunday for interview Monday morning.
Day 4 (Apr 2)
Conditioning: Chelsea x15 sets. Slightly burned out from recent workouts, towards the last few sets the chinups were very sloppy.
Day 7 (Apr 5)
Training: Went to Ivan’s Judo place. Trained standup and newaza with a bunch of the guys. Good thing I went today, as it’s Gary’s (their black belt instructor, nice guy) last Saturday there, he’s moving to Penang. Pity that, I was hoping to train with him more.
Flew to KL for the night.
Day 8 (Apr 6)
US visa interview. Went off without a hitch and I got it. Everyone was very nice to me, I didn't see any of the horror stories so many people told me about. A huge weight off my shoulders, now I can focus more on Manila and the Pan-Asians.
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