It's been a while...

Still Level 1, missed my Level 2 test by a few hours.  Not a biggie, just a few months behind where I could have been.  So I'm training three times a week now and its a kick in the junk.  Last time I trained I helped out some guys who are going to compete in the Integrated Martial arts System style, which is really a mashup of Taekwondo and MMA.  I won't bother explaining it here, now, too complicated.  I tapped a couple of guys out a few times, it was a fun deal.  The biggest problem I'm having in Krav is getting my flinch reaction to pistol disarms down.  I'm doing pretty good with knife techniques and defense, but I need to remember when doing inside and outside defenses I need to use my forearms and not slap with my hands.  I'm accurate with my hands, but that was something that I learned in Muay Thai.  I was not sure if I would be happy with Krav Maga when I started, mostly because I was not used to getting exhausted BEFORE I did technique work nor was I used to drills that kept you exhausted.  The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program really never kicked my butt the way Krav does, or the instructors that I had during my active duty time sucked really badly.  I'm so happy I'm doing Krav, and I would love to get my kids into it once they've gotten a little older.  I'm not sure how a 4 year old Kravist would look defending himself in preschool.  They do enjoy hitting the Asp kicking pad that I have though.  My daughter is good at knees from the clinch.
For strength and conditioning I started Matt Wiggins Championship 2.0 workout ( http://www.workingclassfitness.com/ ) and so far I am really enjoying the length and variety in the workout.  I am not compensated for my "endorsement" of this program, I just really enjoy doing it.  Long story short, you go through some phases of training that build upon each other and the program is flexible in terms of rest and weight so that you can do what YOU need to do.  You decide how long you rest and how much weight you need.  The workout was made specifically for an MMA Fighter, who chose another S&C Program and lost his fight.  Matt built the program to be specifically flexible for time as well-he already has suggestions for variations and deviations from the original 12 week program.  Additionally, Matt Wiggins is very approachable and available on Facebook.
My problems are that I am not back to where I used to be in strength, or flexibility when I was in the Corps and actively PT'ing before a Doctor had me cut to no PT due to a head injury.  My whole body is weak, as individual parts and as a system.  I can barely do 5 chin-ups and no pull-ups, getting up off of the ground is a pain and doing burpees w/ a pushup at the bottom are almost impossible.  I started Week 2 of Championship 2.0 today and I love it.  I have a weight bench that doubles as a squat rack so I can do some of the workouts in my garage but the rest of them do not require complicated equipment.  I could do them with some of my military gear, and I can do another workout with my TRX and a pair of kettlebells.  Thanks Matt!

Slice and Dice

Two out of the last three times I went to class were knife defense oriented.  Very fun!  The instructor went over how to block two live side cross body slash with the slash pattern essentially making an "X",  and another live side low slash.  I'm still somewhat proficient from my time in the Corps with knife fighting, although I will not claim to be an expert nor would I willingly engage in a knife fight if I can get away.  At the end our training partner had his choice of the three slashes to use and it was my job to evade or block.  Something I've experienced, and my partner did it tonight, is that guys get too caught up in blocking every single move.  It does not have to go down that way.  Be patient, evade the attacker's strikes/slashes until the attacker throws something you can easily block, parry, or grab. 

Death by Sharpie

Today at Krav class we did knife fighting/sparring using sharpie markers and expendable tshirts.  Having some experience in this I did pretty well, I thought.  I faced the other two students a few times and an instructor once.  We went over general tactics, offensive specific and defensive specific strategies as well as how to avoid appearing as an aggressor and ending up in jail with charges if you didn't start with a knife but ended up with it.  During the sparring I got punched in the left side of my face twice, which was an eye opener since it has been a while since I got punched.  Not an eye opener as in "Oh crap that hurts really bad!" but more of an eye opener like "That did not hurt bad at all, I can take more than I thought I could."  I'm a little sore on the upper part of my jaw, but I'll survive.  I have what amounts to rug rash marks all over me from the continuous sparring, about 30 min worth.  There is some kind of sparring or aggressive technique practice at every class, which is refreshing because you get immediate feedback on whether or not it works correctly.  Additionally, it places an immense stressor to learn the move right.  We used this as a training technique when I was a Section Leader:  teaching the difference between cover and concealment is one thing.  Going to the paintball range to do force on force and test it is a whole different ball game.  You can also see it in how people act when opfor is using blanks; if they're using sim rounds the planning considerations and situational tactics become much more important to people.  In the end, pain retains.

Krav Maga: The Beginning

Took my first two Krav Maga classes last week.  During those classes the first thing I learned is that most Krav Maga training I'll be involved in is under stress and exhaustion.  I was ready to puke a few times throughout the warmup, we haven't even gotten to the training drills or technique training.  Spent quite a bit of time punching, elbowing and kneeing a pad being held by a training partner, while wearing grappling gloves.  After that we spent some ground n' pound time with a dummy bag on the ground, with a couple of transitions from one side to the other, finished by pistol disarms.  Second class we went over ground survival concepts, mostly transitioning from having a foe mounted on us to sweeping/rolling into their guard, passing the guard and gaining the mount.  Once we had that down we sparred and tried to stand up first.  Person on the ground attempted to reverse position or tap the upright person out, and the upright person was trying to escape the guard and stand up.  If the person on the ground was able to reverse position and become upright, it was their task to now escape and stand up.  Tons of pushups, crunches, squats, lunges and kicking drills.  I tried to explain it to my wife as an hour long fight, as break times were measured in seconds and transition from drill to drill, exercise to exercise and technique to sparring was however long it took to move to that portion of the training mats.
Went down to the local YMCA after my wife got us a membership and enrolled in a new workout program, for heavy intensity and endurance.  We'll see what happens!

GSP Rushfit Assessment

I got 52 squats, 42 pushups, 35 situps and 17 burpees in the alloted time: 1 min of exercise w/ 20 seconds between each exercise.

Next 3 months

Thinking of taking until April off of martial arts training and sticking w/ just Crossfit.  I love Hybrid Training Center but their Muay Thai and BJJ schedules just don't match mine, and an academy that is close friends with Hybrid is just 3 miles away from my house.  15min drive for quality training or 35 minute drive for quality training.  I may just use my tax return, pay my final two months and start at Bushido.  I love Hybrid, I just can't make it there and my wife will only let me train twice a week there, whereas I can train 4-5 times a week at Bushido.  I am moving Academies, just when to do it is my problem.

Catholics murdered in Baghdad

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/10/31/hostages-freed-iraqi-church/

Essentially religious violence is the name of the game for today.  Extremists went into the church, held hostages for a few hours and were taken down when government forces stormed the area.  The big issue here is, the Catholics were Iraqis.  Why are they killing their own people? More on this later...