The update

I haven't written anything on this blog in a while so this is going to be a wrap up on what I've been up to.
Mostly I have been working Saturday included. We got some deadlines to meet at any cost.
Although a bit inconsistent I have tried to keep up with my healthy habits, training at least three times a week. I am currently doing martial arts, boxing and some gym work (weights). Unfortunately, not only I spent last week on the DL with a tedious neck injury that was causing headaches, but I was kinda unable to restrain myself from overeating. Some setbacks are normal, they are part of training. Tomorrow I will go back to the gym, do some light weights and see what happens.

Deadly injury? I will survive!

My family and I haven’t been anywhere except from our annual visit to Cross Plains where the first week of June the town celebrates the life of Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the barbarian and Solomon Kane.

On the road!

Howard ended his own life on June 11 th 1936 just a few minutes after his mother died.

Since I had the kids with me I was unable to listen to the various panels that are offered, but they all look interesting with very good guests.

Howard's house is quite typical and features the room (formally a patio) where Howard slept  and wrote. One interesting feat is that his mother’s room had a window facing inside his room. So much for privacy.

Howard's room. Notice the window on the left.

Part of his books collection, his possessions and a manuscript (postcard) by H.P. Lovecraft are all there for the visitor to see.
Each year during the REH  days Cross Plains Public Library is open extra hours. Howard’s original typescripts and several copies of Weird Tales are located there and can be consulted .

Great original copies of Weird Tales.

In addition, the town celebrates the Barbarian Festival, which is located close to Howard’s house. There is live music, food and a car show. The Festival is quite small, probably not worth the trip; however I have to admit that this year I had an amazing smoked Turkey Leg. I am still drooling thinking about it.
I will go back next year, just to buy the yearly t-shirt and to have an excuse for a day trip.

On our way back we hiked for about an hour at Lake Mineral Wells State Park. It was quite beautiful.

Other thing we did was going to watch several College baseball games, including the WAC finals and some AirHogs (Independent League) games. Given the price, free parking and atmosphere I think that’s the best value you can get at a baseball game. After the game no one cares if you go on the field so the kids and I played some catch in a real ballpark. That was really fun!

The children sitting by the bullpen are MLB scouts in disguise.

Gotcha! 

On the field with the winning team!

We also went to a local medieval festival, here some pictures:

Lately I have read only two books, “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Bottom of 33 rd ”, which I will review soon. I also started going to the local chess club once in a while, so I studied some of Averbach’s works on endings, just to have a better idea.

Tang Soo Do: The injury and the poem.

A while ago I read a poem.

“I fight.Not simply with my opponent. I fight  With the demons of doubt, With my exhaustion, With my past failures, With my injuries, With my anonymity, With the unrelenting voice that tells me to stop. But I am a fighter.And one thing is sure: I will be victorious.”

I simply love this poem because it encompasses all the problems that a martial artist - from the Bruce Lee-Chuck Norris-Van Damme-cool-and-strong-guy type to the most out of shape-sucky-guy  type like me - will face.

When I joined my Tang Soo Do dojan, as with many other activities, I did not realize how difficult it would be. The most important thing I failed to understand is that the difficulty is not only physical, but mental too.

It is incredibly hard to go and practice after a tiring or boring day at work. It is hard to kick and punch without a decent physical flexibility. Much of it is often discouraging; I find myself asking “what am I doing in this dojan? I am overweight, I am not flexible and my core strength would be considered a joke by most human beings, let alone martial artists!”. I feel mental and physical pain many times, but luckily my family and most of my fellow practitioners are supportive and amazing.

Right now, I am injured. The doc told me I have plantar fasciitis and, as he described, some “internal bruises” in my foot. A google search would confirm how common it is and how painful it could be (get informed and find what to do to prevent it, such as good shoes and stretching). It is not a tragedy, but still something that gets in the way of life. When I asked the doc about martial arts he told me that I will have to avoid any martial arts training for at least a month, then if pain is gone I might try to practice using shoes with arch support. Otherwise I will have to wait at least three months before I can come back. He was happy that I went to see him as soon as the problem started showing, but he was very afraid that it could get out of control. Apparently plantar fasciitis is very unpredictable and subjective; many people were left out of their favorite training even for several years.

Here’s the thing. How will I react? I have never been consistent; sometimes I would miss two weeks of training in a row, sometimes I would go there every day. Life and spur of the moment get in the middle sometimes.

But today, I want to react. This small, stupid, common, injury made me think about the need for a change. Radical changes will be needed in diet, training, and especially, mentality. I weight about between 180 and 185lbs. I have to reach 160-165lbs. And most of the fat I don’t lose will need to become some sort of muscular tissue.

So here, I have two choices:

1)      Wait three months, don’t practice, stay in front of the TV and just wait while I slowly turn into a potato.

2)      Exploit and insult this injury, by training, losing weight, gaining some muscles and flexibility.

I hereby declare that I will take the second option. I know that my family and tang soo do friends will support me even on this journey.

Basically, I will use this time off… to get better! No distractions, no complications. There is only one goal: to get better.

This is how I have to see myself:

  

I will have to not worry even if I will probably look like this:

So, here’s what I am planning (my other plan, the writing routine plan, is perfectly working. I am at almost 5000 words and I am probably 10/15 days ahead than planned). I will go to the gym every week day - It doesn’t matter if it is for 15 minutes or 2 hours because what I need the most right now is a routine - and I will do one or more of the following:

a.       Cycling (doesn’t affect plantar fasciitis)

b.      Elliptical

c.       Swimming

d.      Stretching

e.      Lift weights (upper body only at first and very light weight training for legs if I don’t feel any pain)

In addition I will change my diet but without being paranoid. A good steak or a good barbecue might not be the best and leanest choices but they might bring some happiness, which is a necessary element in any effort, even if it requires more gym work. Breakfasts will have to be more nutritious and a more positive attitude.

If I don’t have any problem after two weeks I will start throwing punches at the punching bag at the dojan, pivoting my feet and snapping the waist as I should but without any jump.

This is what fighting with my past failures and with my injuries means; I will make the unrelenting voice stop telling me to stop. And when I go back to train, I will be better than when I left. This is what a martial artist does and this is the most important teaching I learn from the higher belts in my dojan;  I just hope to be able to do it. Wish me luck.