Awesome weekend...

I know, I know, the title says "awesome weekend", but I am going to go back a little bit to Wednesday because, I think that is where the streak of awesome days happened.

 

Wednesday - Worked sucks, but after work, my softball team won (bringing out record to 1-1) with a score of 23-8. It was a good old fashion beat down.

 

Thursday - Speaking of beat downs, I passed my test into 1st brown belt. 6 more months and I'll be testing for 1st black. I can't wait. I did pretty well on the sparring portion as well = ).

 

Friday - Conditioning class was rough this week. In fact, it's rough every week. Friday was a rather stressful day at work. I ended up leaving a little bit later than I had wanted to, but I avoided having to work over the weekend which was really all I cared about. After work, Victoria and I just chilled out at my place, ate dinner, watched a movie, and fell asleep.

 

Saturday - I want to my first Shaolin tournament. I participated in every even that I was able to except open forms. I didn't know there was an "open forms" event. I would have done 1st road of Golden Leopard had I had known... anyway. I took 1st place in 1st Brown level forms and 3rd in Chen tai chi. You might be thinking "3rd, that's not so hot". Well, when your competition is Sifu Paul and Sifu Mikey Tran, both guys that have been doing this way longer than I have, 3rd is something to be very proud of.

 

My sparring sucked ass this weekend. I was really not happy with it at all. Although I got some good hits in, I did not win any of my matches. One of my friends told me that I wasn't myself and I agree. I guess it was just an off sparring day. Oh well, can't win em' all.

 

Master Joe gave a talk about sparring techniques to use to basically "unfocus" the mind on being so fixed on the "if he does this, I do that" strategy. I wish I would have heard that before my sparring matches = ). It's stuff that I had heard already but always like to be reminded of.

 

In light of my crappy sparring and Master Joe's talk. I am starting to incorporate Open Focus back into my daily routine of things. If you see me on a regular basis and know me, please bug the shit about me about open focus. Thank you.

 

The best part of the tournament though, was being there with all of my friends and some who I consider family. I cannot express what great things have come from this school and this thing that we all do together. It was great to be part of the competition, but it's also great to cheer your friends on and see what awesome things they too have accomplished. There are lot's of pictures and I will post them... AS SOON AS PEOPLE SEND THEM TO ME.

 

After the tournament was all over, I went over a party at Victoria's place. It was small, but a lot of fun. I stayed over there that night.

 

Sunday - I went to Target to get some new stuff for the guest bathroom as it was looking pretty bare. After that, I got a bug up my ass to get a new bed set. I went to 6 freakin' places and didn't see anything that I liked. I think that I may have to turn to the info tubes for this one.

 

When I got home, I just did some stuff around the house like laundry, cleaning, vacuuming. Victoria came over and we hung out for a bit, then I went to the Black Belt Banquet at Dave & Busters. That was a lot of fun. It was really awesome to spend the evening with people that I not only work out and train with but admire and look up to.

 

Master Joe put together a short video about his history in this art. It was so great to see him as a younger guy in sparring matches, in competitions, doing forms, and just really doing what we are all doing now. It was a really fun night.

 

When I got home, Victoria was there just chillin ( she stayed at my place when I went to the BBB ). We just chilled for the rest of the night and eventually fell asleep.

 

Not to kill the mood or anything, but... now, I'm ... at... work... feh. The cycle begins anew. The only thing keeping me going is the new leopard class that starts tonight (aww yea...).

No more security

Good news everyone!!! I have removed the security from my blog, so if you were having problems RSSing it, you shouldn't anymore.

Today's OM

Do you know a complainer? I know a few, and am one myself at times. I liked this article, so I thought I would post it.

February 12, 2008
Tearing Down To Rebuild
Rethinking Complaining

We all know someone who has elevated the process of complaining to a high art. Sometimes funny, sometimes exhausting, these people have the ability to find a problem just about anywhere. In its more evolved form, complaining is simply the ability to see what’s not working, in one’s own life or in the external world, and it can be quite useful if followed to its natural conclusion—finding a solution and applying it. However, many of us don’t get that far, and we find that complaining has become an end in itself. In small doses, this is not a big problem, but if complaining has become a huge part of our identities, it may be time to take a good look at how we are spending our energy.

Complaining is a person’s way of acknowledging that they are not happy with the way things are. In a metaphorical way, when we complain or criticize, we are tearing down an undesirable structure in order to make room for something new. But if all we do is tear down, never bothering to summon the creative energy required to create something new, we are not fulfilling the process. In fact, we are at risk for becoming a stagnant and destructive force in our own lives and in the lives of the people we love. Another issue with complaining is that we sometimes tend to focus on other people, whom we can’t change, as a way of deflecting attention from the one person we can change—ourselves. So transforming complaining into something useful is a twofold process that begins with turning our critical eye to look at things we can actually do something about, and then taking positive action.

When we find ourselves complaining, the last thing we need to do is get down on ourselves. Instead, we can begin by noticing that we are in the mode of wanting to make some changes. But rather than lashing out at somebody or an organization, we can look for an appropriate place to channel this energy—not our neighbor’s house, but possibly parts of our own. Finally, we can ask ourselves the positive question of what we would like to create in the place of whatever it is we want to tear down. When we do this, we channel a negative habit into a creative process, thus using our energy to change the world around us in a positive way.

Guido'd

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my god. Thank you, Ryon, for sending this shit to me. This is the funniest thing I have seen in quite some time. For those of you that don't know, what you see below are referred to as "guidos". If you are interested in learning more about this pathetic breed that hails from the area I like to call home, go here:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=guido

Personally, my favorite definition is as follows:

A sad pathetic excuse for a male; not necessarily of Italian descent, but most likely; usually native to the New York/New Jersey Tri-State area.

WARDROBE: tight zipper shirts, tracksuits, designer jeans, fuzzy kangol hats, tiny hoop earrings, fake gold chains, and related Euro-trash garb and tacky cheese-wear.

NATURAL HABITAT: Known to frequent Tri-State area malls looking for club gear to waste their week's pay on (most likely spotted shopping at "Bang Bang" in Staten Island). During the day when not at their food delivery, telemarketting, or construction job, can be located at their local gym tanning or lifting weights. Can be found nightly at mainstream danceclubs they read about online (SF, Webster Hall, Etc.). Most notable for cruising the Jersey shore in an old car (Honda, Mustang, etc.) which has been tinted, painted and sports $1,000-$3,000 rims in a feeble attempt to look like new. Guido cars usually have a boomin' system through which cheesy music like freestyle, commercial club/trance and hip-hop (anything KTU plays) is loudly blasted.

GENETIC LINKS: Directly related to modern day urban-guidos, A.K.A. "wiggers," A.K.A. "wegros;" urban-guidos are white males who once exhibited the traits referenced above, but have now instead opted to keep it unreal, with wardrobes consisting of clothes from labels like FUBU and Rocawear which they bought on sale at Macy's. These individuals still listen to the same music and drive the same type of car as their predecessor; it is usually just their choice of attire and use of slang and poor speech skills that differentiate them from the classic guido. Most guidos are distrusting of non-whites despite the fact some of their attire and music can be traced to non-white origins.

PASSTIMES/RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES: Guidos enjoy beating up a non-white or homosexual while assisted by a group of 5-10 guido friends backing them up; engaging in date rape; and displaying their lack of rhythm by dancing poorly in the middle of a club's dance floor while non-guidos look on in disbelief.

If you know a Mike, Joe, Rob or Tony, he's probably a guido.

Please to enjoy the pictures below. They made me laugh... really, really hard.

January 21, 2008

New Jersey Freakshows

by El Presidente (elpresidente@barstoolsports.com)

 

I can't... I can't... I am crying from this...

I love MSN email

I have an MSN account that I have had since before 2000... so, a while now. I don't really use it for much of anything anymore, but occasionally, a contact from back in the day will email me on it. Recently, I installed "Windows Live Mail" (ridicule away) so that I could check my SCE mail at work. I also added my MSN account for shits 'n giggles.

 

I love spam email. It's hilarious. Check this out:

hi sexy thaddeus it is Greta!

ya no it's probably been a couple months since i've spoke ta you!

ya no i've got a brand spankin new website u no you should cum c me u will adore it! hugs n kisses!

<address removed so that you don't click on it>

Need... food... argh...

I am roughly 40 hours into this whole juice fasting business. I have 8 hours left. Interestingly, I have gone an entire work week without eating anything. That's pretty good. I think that the last 8 hours will be cake.

 

I don't feel nearly as bad as I thought I would before I started. Yesterday, at around 10-12 hours in, I felt very irritable. I also had a headache and my stomach wouldn't shut up. Last night, I wasn't really thinking about it because I was at class and practicing stuff.

 

After class, I stopped by the new girl's house to hang out for a bit, then went home. I couldn't fall asleep so easily last night. I am not sure that it was all because of the fasting, but I think it certainly played a part. I was REALLY hungry around 1am. Luckily, I finally fell asleep.

 

This morning, I feel more hot than anything. I feel like my body is producing heat. I'm not sure exactly what that is, but I like it. I am going to start doing this more often. Maybe I will try for 72 hours next time. I think it would be bad ass if I could get it up to a week. Overall mood wise, I feel really good. Still... I can't wait for 630 when I can eat something.

 

Anyway... time to work or something.

From the Ross Training Blog

I saw this video and wanted to post it... when you think you have no more...

Take a moment to watch this brief video (you must watch the end to appreciate the significance).

This video reminds me of a famous Thomas Edison quote.  In his words, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

I’ve seen truth in these words at all levels.  I know professional fighters who have starred in main event title fights on national television who still doubt their ability.  The physical talent is there, but the mind is still trying to hold them back from reaching their true potential.

The mind is certainly powerful.  There is no denying this fact.  Unfortunately, the mind’s power can work in both directions.  The mind can either propel you forward or hold you back.  More often than not, the physical talent and potential is present, but the mind prevents the athlete from moving forward.

There are times when you need to turn off that little voice inside your head.  Turn it off and go!  Don’t think about what you can or cannot do.  Just go.  Think less and do more.  Challenge yourself.  You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish.

As mentioned in the past No Excuses article, I often see athletes who constantly search for a new and better plan.  If something isn’t going right, they rarely take personal responsibility.  It must be something else, right?  Wrong!  Often times you simply need a reminder of what REAL work is all about.  Hard work is interpreted differently by different people.  

For a combat specific example, we occassionally call for additional rounds of sparring when the athlete thinks he is in the final round.  For example, the athlete believes he is sparring 6 rounds, but we may call for 8 or 10.  Initially, you may be mentally conditioned to assume that you are fatigued in what you believe to be the last round.  When you are forced to “suck it up” and continue however, you’ll often surprise yourself (and realize that you have more gas in the tank).  Clearly, this isn’t something that the novice should attempt, but as you climb the ladder, you need to do more than is expected of you.

Ross