Getting Back In the Game

[Gregster]

I just got back from Oak Ridge talking with the head of a school that I've been dying to train at for some time but only now have the time, money,and medical insurance to do so. I expect to take a couple of intro lessons next week then start full-on immediately afterwards.

I've not trained at a school in about 10 years, and having finally found one worth training at again, I'm pretty psyched. The head of the school has 30 years experience in MA and has trained with some one the best in the world, bar none (while we were talking, his former instructor Paul Vunak called to sort out some details for a seminar for the Navy SEALs that the two of them are working on, I shit you not). He's got a really cool hybrid program that teaches Kenpo, kickboxing (with elements of Muay Thai and Savate as part of that), Kali and Phillipino weapons, and BJJ; he has a former Brazilian champ and Gracie Barre alumni named Pedro Brandao teaching the grappling (anyone heard of this dude)?

No controversial topics to discuss, I'm just glad I finally am going to start not only training again but training in a way which is going to take me in new directions and teach me a helluva lot I wanted to learn and don't yet know and am feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve right about now.

 

[aaron_mag]

Congratulations. Looking forward to hearing about your new insights as you train. Let us know how it goes. Hope it isn't too painful a process to get back into shape!!!

 

[Sinister]

Word. I had a 4 year layoff through 2000-2004, it sucked BALLZ. I hated every moment of not being active in the fight-game even though myself and my students were something of outcasts in our Community, we stayed plugged into the who is who and what was going on. Definitely keep us posted.

 

[Gregster]

Congratulations. Looking forward to hearing about your new insights as you train. Let us know how it goes. Hope it isn't too painful a process to get back into shape!!!

Well, it's not as though I've been sitting on the couch eating jelly donuts the past 10 years...though I've not been sparring and getting hit. I predict I will jump in and, at age 35, try training like I was 25 and be hurtin' for a bit.

I'm particularly looking forward to the grappling training (lack of ground fighting be a glaring hole in my repetoire) and learning some weapons, though it'll be a little while before I progress to that. From what I gather, the first few months are focused on striking, which is my background, though I think my biggest challenge will be unlearning TKD and learning to kick Muay Thai style.

 

[CHawkins]

Welcome to the "old guys trying to get back into fight shape" club. We have meetings every evening over icepacks and Tylenol.

 

[phenomfan1529]

congrats. good luck with it dude

 

[Gregster]

Welcome to the "old guys trying to get back into fight shape" club. We have meetings every evening over icepacks and Tylenol.

Sweet! I'll bring the Ben-Gay. I propose tonights' topic for the round-table discussion: "Is It My Imagination, Or Did This Shit Used To Hurt A Lot Less?"

 

[aaron_mag]

Sweet! I'll bring the Ben-Gay. I propose tonights' topic for the round-table discussion: "Is It My Imagination, Or Did This Shit Used To Hurt A Lot Less?"

Sign me up for that one too. At 34 I qualify.

Even if you are not out of shape you can get sore from jumping back into training. I played midfield Lacrosse in college. Tons of running. When I went back to class right after college they said, "You might be a bit sore tomorrow." I laughed at them since I was in as good of cardiovascular shape as I had ever been.

But then again it had been a long time since I tried to stick my foot up that high. It was totally different muscles. Yep...I was hurting.

 

[Gregster]

Even if you are not out of shape you can get sore from jumping back into training. I played midfield Lacrosse in college. Tons of running. When I went back to class right after college they said, "You might be a bit sore tomorrow." I laughed at them since I was in as good of cardiovascular shape as I had ever been.

But then again it had been a long time since I tried to stick my foot up that high. It was totally different muscles. Yep...I was hurting.

Oh yeah. Even when I trained ardently, if we focused one night on a kick or technique not oft used employing different muscle groups, I'd be sore. Hell, in the best shape of my life, I've gotten too stiff to move easily *bowling*, not a sport known for its' physical demands.

A couple weeks ago I did front snap kicks for the first time in forever...my hamstrings were hatin' it in spite of the fact that I average 30 minutes on the heavybag 3 days a week (30 pretty intense minutes) and throw hundreds of kicks.

 

[possenti]

Wow. This thread is for the old-timers. I guess I'll chime in...

I'm 35 too. Almost same story with me. I went to a boxing gym for about a month, and they didn't impress me at all. No one was ever around to train with. Gave up on it quick. It's not stand-up, but I practically stumbled across a local BJJ club where I train for FREE. They have no affiliation and don't advertise. They "screen" all new members, and if they show a bad attitude, they're not invited back. It's a group of about a dozen guys (and a gal) that have trained extensively at other schools over the years. I even ran into one of my old BJJ instructors the other night. The building we train is an office/medical building that's owned by one of the members. It's a sweet set-up. I call it the area's best-kept martial arts secret.

I used to roll at a Gracie Training Chapter 7 years ago. Before that, I did some JKD. I was in the best shape ever at 28. Everything came to a halt when my job and schedule changed. Now, I have the time and money to get back in the game. Most guys are in their prime at 18-20. Not me. I smoked, drank and partied too much them. I want to be 28 again. I think that's do-able.

Good luck with your training also.

 

[aaron_mag]

30 minutes three times a week *is* fricken intense. I need more bag work myself. Trying to fit all this crap in while having a life and a family is a pain in the fricken ass!!!

 

[Gregster]

UPDATE

Well, my initial enthusiasm was rapidly diminishing into nothingness, it seems.

Drove out to the school, talked with the owner, discussed starting. I am apparently required to take 2 intro classes before starting. Repeated e-mails and phone calls to arrange these intros have been required to get an answer, the answer typically being "sorry, we're booked." This includes my most recent attempt, which I asked for a Monday (the only day I'd be able to slide into one of his intro slots) no more than 7 minutes after getting a reply from him inquiring about open intro times whereupon I was advised that got filled too.

Plus, I'm looking at the schedule and thinking that because of my job (I am an IT instructor, and get a new schedule every 10 weeks) I'd be lucky to consistently train once a week in whatever he's offering...at $95 a month, that's not much of a bargain.

So I went back to the drawing board and started looking. There's a place spitting distance from my house that teaches Jun Fan, Kali, Silat, and boxing (I'm interested in those too). Again, it looks like scheduling is going to be a problem; to judge by his schedule, I find myself wondering how he manages to stay open, though I suspect the fact that all of Monday is given over for private lessons might have something to do with it. Plus, grappling is mentioned, but there seems to be no grappling program. Shit.

I finally checked out a place my girfriend was looking at, which is closer than the school I was originally looking at, teaches both BJJ *and* Vale Tudo, and where it seems the guys running it are more involved in the instruction (2 BJJ guys who apparently trained under Pedro Sauer, according to the lineage I found online). And they have a class schedule much better-suited to my schedule(s).

So it seems that I may be better off then when I started (yay!). I've e-mailed them with some questions about the details (fees, etc) and plan on talking to them soon.

 

[aaron_mag]

I was wondering about how your training was going.

I understand your scheduling problems. I can only make it to the Sambo class once or twice a week because of work and other stuff. And I only get to do training for myself in TKD like twice a week.

Plus I have a new addition to the family coming soon (a girl it seems) and that will screw everything up. We'd all be in so much better fighting shape if we were all just independently wealthy!

Good luck. Let us know how finding training goes.

 

[Sinister]

Congratulations Aaron. Hey man I can't wait to have my own little army of Ninjers to train that are all 50% clones of myself and some poor unfortunate willing chick (that would be my girl, lol).

 

[aaron_mag]

I'm not going to hold my breath. My experience has been that children of martial artists hate martial arts with a passion (with the exception of those with the last name Gracie for some odd reason). I'll probably end up going to dance recitals.

What I really want to see are posts by Gregster. I want to here about soreness, misery, lost flexibility, etc, etc. But at the end of the post I want to see him say, "I showed those young bastards a thing or too. Old age and treachery man...old age and treachery....

 

[Sinister]

Heh heh. I don't know man. Maybe you should look into Boxing? Shanoy Bramble (son of Livingstone) is going Pro, Aaron Pryor Jr. is debuting soon, Buddy McGirt Jr. is doing rather well for himself, as is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is second-generation with his father and two Uncles. But what kills these guys is commentators constantly talking about their Fathers though. So I think it's best to let them come into their own with it. If it's in their blood it's in their blood, you know? They'll only be able to run from who they are for so long, and they're 50% you. lol

I won't pressure my kids, but I know the male gene in my family all-too-well to think they won't be fighters. There's I think 4 generations of Military service before me and one beneath me. And if I know the female genes in my family, the girls will be MORE tenacious.

Anywho, yes Gregster must share this information. Veterans are the best, I don't care what anyone says. I'm so looking forward to the next fight in December between the 41 year old Bernard Hopkins and 26 year-old Jermain Taylor it's nuts. Only because it's like a kid fighting his Uncle. And the Uncle is more dangerous in many ways. Hopkins put it on Taylor in the final 4 rounds of their last 12 rounder despite losing the split decision, but Taylor went straight to the Hospital. Old dudes will do that to ya young bucks!

 

[aaron_mag]

Yeah...I saw something on Chavez and his son on the TV. I was rooting for Chavez against De La Hoya way back when.

I think the reason we instinctively love veterans is because they have put in their time and proven their heart. And we all want to believe that it is all a matter of heart. That we can defy the odds and even beat the aging process if we put our minds to it.

And I think it is important for girls to get some sort of martial training. Whenever you hear about the too infrequent survival story of a young woman the difference always seems to be that she just wouldn't go down without a fight. So I guess I'll use that as justification to force her to, at the very least, do pushups, pullups, and squats with dad in the morning and evenings.

 

[Gregster]

I won't pressure my kids, but I know the male gene in my family all-too-well to think they won't be fighters. There's I think 4 generations of Military service before me and one beneath me. And if I know the female genes in my family, the girls will be MORE tenacious.

Well, I guess it's good to acknowledge that you don't want to pressure your kids to do stuff; that'll just make them hate what you're trying to pressure them to do. At the same time, I supposed it'll be a reall challenge not to try and steer your kids towards something you love. I've often felt that martial arts is a lot like religion, and that'd be just one parallel.

As for my slipping back into training...we'll see how that goes. I've maintained stretching as part of my workouts, so I still have most of the flexibility I had 20 years or more ago (ahich is to say: more than I shoud have). I've worked out consistently since then, that includes lots of striking (bagwork), so I don't expect physical activity to leave me too crippled with pain to move when I start. Though if my current plan goes through, I'll be doing mostly grappling, which is a whole new ball game for me; I expect it'll tough and I'll not have much to show the young Turks like if I decided to go back to TKD. It'll be tough, but I expect the reward will be I'll be a more well-rounded fighter than I've ever been.

 

[aaron_mag]

Your flexibility will serve you well in grappling. You'll be able to pull guard where most people beginners 'our age' have trouble. Same with guard sweeps. They'll come more naturally to you because you are used to using your legs for more than walking and running.

That being said it is still foriegn as heck at first. I'd be lying if I said I was good at it even after the 9 or so months I've been doing it. But I'm a heck of a lot better than when I first started it. I can at least survive for a bit against the more advanced guys and get some ego boosts from tapping guys who started after me. Lame, I know, but everyone needs the occasional validation that they are getting better (rather than "Yay. I survived for five minutes on the bottom despite almost being smothered and submitted several times!")

You'll do well. It is frustrating at first to be the 'low man on the totem pole', but you get over that quickly.

 

[Gregster]

You'll do well. It is frustrating at first to be the 'low man on the totem pole', but you get over that quickly.

Yeah...being the newbie who is so new that the other newbies have someone to whip up on is a bitch. Been awhile since I've been in that place, and being a spazz who doesn'tknow anything will be humbling. I just look at it as being one of those tests of character like the one the hero has to endure when he's taken in by the mysterious, cryptic master: "First, you must-ah wax car..rike dis! Wax on! Wax off! "