One Last Hurrah

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Kung Fu Training and Health
21

saturday- nobody showed up for the workout, leaving me out front of the locked gym, which is 30~40 min from my house. it was too late to drive back to bxf and get in a workout, so i ended up at best buy.

sunday- had a good workout at onespirit down in virginia. wasn’t as hard as when we were doing crossfit, but i was able to expand my toolbox a bit.

I’m a big fan of technique and relaxation. everyone likes to talk about conditioning, conditioning, conditioning and I’m starting to wonder about that advice. I’ve seen so many guys kill themselves hours on end in the gym without getting too tired, then get in the ring and gas in 30 seconds.

On the other hand, you’ve got guys like James Toney: a guy not known for training all that hard, a guy not known for eating all that well, a guy who smiles more than a fighter should, and a guy who’ll never win any swimsuit competitions. Yes, Toney’s got sick technique and better than average conditioning, but I really think being able to relax is a major factor. Having more tools in the box, knowing what to look for, and when u wanna use them can go a long way.

22

Monday

This proves it, I’m definitely back.
Worked out again tonite.

10 minutes on the elliptical- pretty weak performance, but i’ve had a lot of torso soreness (abs, back, shoulders, obliques).

Went to do jump rope, i kept screwin up- like 10 times straight in the first 30 seconds, it was pathetic. I wasn’t tired, it just wasn’t workin.

Instead, I started doing laps around the gym. I got at least 3 rounds worth of laps around the gym doing various warmups, stretches, footwork drills, etc- straight through, no rest interval.

After that I went and got some handweights. I did shadow with the handweights for 2 rounds. First round was combos w/ explosiveness. Second round was mostly footwork. Last 30 seconds of each round was continuous punching.

At this point it was 9:30, only 30 min left so i jumped on the heavybag.

I did 3 rounds straight through (no rest interval) on the big bag, dropping bombs. First round was mostly jab, footjab, and 1-2. After that I got more creative. Been trying to develop a cross that stops, a round kick that breaks legs, and a push kick that’s quick, powerful, and sneaky. I was pretty dead after this.

Next was 2 rounds, no rest on the banana bag. I was working various combos; mostly tryin to stay busy and do what I could to improve my pushkick.

Finished up with more ab work: 3 sets of 15 crunches w/9lb medicine ball. 1 set of 30 medicine ball twists.

Got a bunch of calls on my job hunt today. things r lookin pretty good.
Attitude wise, I’ve been feeling so much better since I decided to get out of this messed up situation I’ve got going on here. I think it’s really helped me to make it back to the gym. I got a lot riding on this move and there’s a lot that could go wrong, but for once I’m not focusing on the bad stuff. I’ll take what comes; coz even bankruptcy is better than feeling like a criminal.

23

yesterday was my restday.
went to work and was draggin azz hardcore until about 6:30 in the evening; afterwards i started wakin up a lil bit.

takin some time off today to do phone interviews for my job search.
Hate to waste the leave, but i really need to take care of this and i can’t exactly do it at work.

back to the gym tonite

24

had fun with the workout today, felt a lil short, but i made do with the time i had.

10 minutes on the elliptical; better than monday, still not back to normal.

3 rounds of jump rope. had some rough rounds but i saw it through. rope kept twisting.

3 rounds of shadow: 2 with hand weights, 1 without. First was hands, second hands and feet, third hands and feet for speed & relaxation.

3 rounds of jumbo heavybag: really trying to keep my pushkick from being lazy. Problem is that a lot of my combos feel more comfortable with the lazy push kick and it doesn’t help with controlling the swing of the bag. I’ll get it eventually. I got tired during this; but not sure that ever shot was hard as i could- or at least i didn’t get burned as if i was. Not sure what’s going on here, but the more i do it i guess the better it’ll get.

1 round of slip bag. i’ve got this one down nice.

1 round of peanut bag. this is super loose, but i was nailing the crud out of it with power combos. Tried to work in my head and body movement.

1 round of double end bag. this one is tighter, but still not one of the insanely tight ones. I was ripping off sick combos on it and rarely missing. worked in head movement on this one too. doubling, tripling, quadrupling up on the jab.

1 round on the uppercut bag. was a bit tired from this one, but felt a little short too. was really getting the power from the feet in this one. finished up with 30 seconds knees that seemed short too.

Probably should do some pushups and abs. might still do it if i remember to before bed, might do it tomorrow mornin.

Lots of job responses today didn’t even get to go to work till 3:15 coz of all the phone calls. Things looking pretty good.

25

long day today.
we were talking about food the whole time at my second job so after work i was hungry and didn’t go work out.
i pulled something in my back; not sure i could do the cardio anyway.
still managed to go on 2 good 15~20 minute walks anyway.
if i get m,w,f in this week, that’s nothing to scoff at- better than i been doin.

26

Back’s still buggin me, didn’t sleep well Thursday night (or last night either rather).

Worked out Friday but i didn’t want to aggrivate my back.

Jogged for 14 minutes at a good clip (for me).

Jumped on the heavybag from 8:50 or 9 till 9:30.
There was no rest.
I was working all my combos and treating it almost like shadow with good contact; so I could get more of my form back.

Feeling like an azz right now.
My gf put me through a guilt trip last night coz she’s been feeling sick.
So I agreed to stay home and not go to NY to support my teammates; so I could be here for her.
Feel like i"m letting my bros down.

27

Great workout this evening.
Went to the kung fu school to work out with baltimore san shou.
Helped me forget about letting down my boys from One Spirit (Muay Thai) a little bit.

3 rounds of jump rope- was having trouble with my rope; had to switch by the last round.

3 rounds of shadow- been feeling lazy about this. During shadow i try to stay relaxed and work combos and strategies I’ll use when i fight. i also try to string out long combos. it can be a pretty low-intensity endeavor; eventhough I’m trying to get my form back.

15 minutes straight on the heavybag. Tried putting everything together: big shots, leg kicks, high kicks, fast & sharp combos with hands and feet.

After that I took a short rest and did some grappling.
We were switching out partners at the submission.
First one felt less than 30 seconds- i got lucky.
Second one felt like 10 minutes (probably 5 or less) and was all work- ended up quitting when we started to go off the mat due to exhaustion.
That second round gassed me.

Worked a little with Rahsaan on my olympic lifting form. Learned a lot in a short time. We were using weight and going kinda easy, but i did get a lil tired.

28

Took sunday off.
Didn’t wake up till noon anyway.
Never quite felt awake all day.
Didn’t sleep until like 2:45am but still woke up this morning at 6:45.
Today (monday) i had to rush home to do some career stuff so I can lock down this job I’m shooting for.
Feeling exhausted.
Was draggin pretty bad at work; till i got the email that said my job search may be over soon.
i’ll post updates as i know 'em.

29

The more I think about it the more i feel like i’m making excuses, but i didn’t work out tonite. I was feeling hyped earlier this evening, but they kept us at work late, and my energy kinda faded. I never work out tuesday evenings coz i don’t wanna bump into those bjj jerks. Gonna try to get to bed soon so i can get some decent sleep.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday will be a good schedule- Thursday all the coaches are there, whereas Tuesday it’s only the bjj guy.

30

worked out tonite (wednesday)
omygosh

“warm up” on the elliptical. Sprinted it out on level 20. scored my best calorie rating yet. took me 5 or 10 min to recover.

3 min rounds

3 rounds of jump rope. Had a little bit of trouble keepin the rope going.

3 rounds of shadow. wore the weight vest. first 2 rounds i had the 5 pound hand weights. My shoulders weren’t used to both the vest and the weight, it hurt. last round, no hand weights.

3 rounds on jumbo bag. still wore the vest for the first 2 rounds. Was going power shots. First round was leg kicks and punches. Second round was stressing more of the punches. Third round was combos with high kicks (no vest).

1 round on maize bag (no vest)

1 round on peanut bag (no vest)

1 round on double end bag (no vest)

1 round on uppercut bag, wearing vest; last 30 seconds knees.

I think the vest is the secret to my endurance. Gonna try to wear it every workout that I can.

31

i’ve decided to break up with my fiance.
was going to do it tonite but apparently she’s at work and not returning phone calls.
skipped the gym tonite of course.
freakin out a little. not all that happy about it, but not devastated. She might not take it well; however i kinda feel she’s been pushing for it.
i’ve never been head over heels for her, but we’ve gotten along real well (until recently), she helped me out a lot, and she’s been my best friend.

32

Okay the last 24 hours have been pretty rough.
Came out and told the woman my problems yesterday and today.
There was a lot of crying and some yelling.
We talked about everything going on.
Apparently there’s been some miscommunication and misunderstandings.
Taking tonite off as well to kinda work things out.
Love the gym but my personal life sometimes has to take precedence.

Tomorrow it’s work and the kung fu school.
Julio says he’s coming, so that should be fun.

33

Just not my week to workout i guess.
Saturday i took an hour nap after work and drove 30+ min through a snow storm to get to the kung fu school only to have nobody show up.
No call beforehand, even still no return calls to my phone messages, nothing.
Waited there till like 20 after and then just went back home.

Snow fell hard saturday night after i got home.
Internet went out late at night; and stayed out till the morning.
Nobody bothered to plow our neighborhood streets till the afternoon.
There just was no way I was able to drive an hour down to Virginia.

Ate too much today; I’ll do better.

Hate this cold, only one more month of this mess.

34

killer workout monday:

Ran a mile in under 9 minutes, which is way fast for me.
Joints were bugging me from the cold so I went right into shadow boxing.

3 rounds of shadow with weight vest. admittedly was a little lazy on this. Did get some footwork in.

2 rounds of jumbo bag with weight vest. couldn’t kick high and my pace, while dropping bombs, was just too slow for my tastes.

2 rounds of jumbo bag without vest. Still dropping bombs, but tried to speed my combos up a bit.

3 rounds of banana bag. Worked on combos and a bit on speed.

3 rounds of boxing bag. just hands. sprinted out last 30 seconds, went for long, sharp combos. tried to keep up with this 160~170 pounder near me known for his speed. Did well, think I managed to stay busier than him all my rounds on the bags.

1 round on maize bag - head movement head movement head movement.

1 round on peanut bag - combos with power and head movement.

1 round on double end bag - combos with speed, timing, and head movement

finished up with a minute straight of knees on the uppercut bag.

Was pretty dead afterward.

Took valentinte’s day off. Went out to eat and didn’t keep up the diet.

Not working my main job today (wednesday); still eating leftover V-day food.

35

Wednesday, good workout, kinda cut short.
Old friend from Lloyd Irvin’s came back to the gym so i was gabbin a bit much.

“warmed up” 10 min on elliptical, best yet, wore 22lb weight vest.

3 rounds of shadow with vest & hand weights (these rounds were 2:30 min with 30sec rest).

2 rounds of big bag w/weight vest (back on 3 min rounds)

2 rounds of big bag no vest

1 round of maize bag - slipping

1 round of peanut bag

1 round of double end bag

finish with 1 min of continuous knees.

Yeah, shorter workout but i really tried to step it up.

Today (Thursday) I been cranky & grumpy all day. Just tired of having to be patient with everything going on and sick of this grind. Broke down and got some dinner. Had a big salad for lunch at least (with a minimal amount of iceberg lettuce, and tons of good stuff like broccoli).

Lot on my head.

36

just didn’t make it today. no excuse, just didn’t get there. really burned out lately with all the stress and let it get in the way.

there’s some fights tomorrow in richmond. it’s like a 4 hour drive from where i live, 2.5 hours from the guys who already live in VA. I’m supposed to go to dinner with my mom sometime this weekend in Delaware and i’m pretty sure it’s tomorrow. My mom’s in from Houston so i gotta go see her. Not gonna make it down to virginia. have 2 friends fighting down there and feel like such a flake for not going- heck, i could be fighting myself maybe. I’ll be down there sunday morning. I’m also going to hit 2 gyms saturday before going to dinner. I’d like to think that i’d fight, given the opportunity, but i just don’t think i can make it before i go.

Only 1 month till i move.

37

Yeah, I was right, it’s 7 o clock in Delaware. Only going to be at the kung fu school in Timonium for a short time. Going to try to do the majority of my workout at BXF beforehand.

Just found out that I do have an interview this upcoming week. Might have an offer in a couple weeks. :smiley:

38

Saturday I just went to the kung fu school early instead of trying ot hit 2 gyms- just didnt wanna do that much driving.

Did like a 30 min “warm up” of footwork drills.
Shadowboxed with the vest for 15 min straight.
Jumped on the bag and banged out 15 min straight.
Did 3 sets of jumps onto some mats (5 reps each)
Did a minute of medicine ball throws.
Did 3 laps of this drill we got where you push a standing bag across the floor.
Did a sprint round of 1 minute bag sprint & 1 min abs w/weight.

after that i was pretty done

Today (Sunday) I woke up late but still made it to the gym.
Gym was real cold so footwork drills just werent happening.
After some shadowboxing, we did some Tabatas.
The tabatas turned my legs to jelly.
I had a really hard time with the round of bag work and 3 rounds of pad work after that. Could barely stand up so my combos were just coming out cruddy.

Diet’s been atrocious last couple days but I’m starting that 1 glass of red wine each evening, i hear it helps with digestion in addition to everything else.

Didn’t get home from seeing my folks in Delaware till after 1, which is why i woke up late.

Got a phone interview sometime this week; which is a huge load off my chest.
I could have an offer in 2 weeks.

39

can barely walk today so working out just doesn’t seem likely.

at least i had my interview today and it looks like things are a go.
the hr guy told me to put down a “desired salary” much higher than I was even thinking and they’re definitely going to give me relocation.
the situation’s not exactly 100% locked down, but at least 90 to 95 i figure.

40

dude, is LM hiring? :slight_smile:

also, have you looked much at ft. worth’s schools?