365 Days of Compassion

I kind of like my routines. Every Saturday and Sunday I get up early and take Rex, the dog also know as my Training Partner, to the Aptos Dog Park. We usually walk a couple of miles, look at the bunny rabbits then head to Starbucks. I then pick up a couple of non-fat hot chocolates, then head home. Once home, Rex and I climb back on the bed, wake Kelly up and read the newspapers, both the San Jose paper and the Santa Cruz paper. Last Sunday was no exception.

I climbed up on the bed, gave Kelly her hot chocolate, and tore into the newspapers. While reading the San Jose paper, I came across a full page advertisement. I usually don't give those kinds of ads a second look, but something about this one caught my eye.

The headline read "365 Days of Compassion - A Challenge." The ad started out talking about what a difficult year 2009 had been. It acknowledged that everyone hopes for a new beginning along with the new year, but recognizes that it doesn't come automatically. It goes on to say that for change to happen, we must all work at it. It then issues the "Challenge."

The "Challenge" is for everyone to do good, to show compassion for others, and to help each other out, everyday, for the next 365 days. It suggests donating some clothes, buying someone a cup of coffee, or even sending money to the Haiti relief effort. The "Challenge" isn't about changing the world overnight. It is about small steps, taken daily, that become part of our life. The "Challenge" is about making compassion a habit and individual responsibility.

This ad was cool for a lot of reasons. I really like the idea of individual responsibility, and I really like the idea of making compassion a habit. The coolest part was the ad wasn't by some religious group, a corporate entity, a political organization, or even a social services provider. The ad was placed by a group called Engine Company One.

I did a little research on this mysterious organization. In the ad, they called themselves "People who believe in attempting the improbable, pursuing the implausible, and maybe someday, with your help, resolving the unsolvable." I looked up Engine Company One and it turns out they are a design group based in an old firehouse in San Francisco. The group asks people to make a pledge to show compassion everyday for the next year, and to share their experiences on Twitter @365compassion. There is no paperwork, no cost, and no formal anything. Just people asking people to try and make the world a better place.

Well the ad kind of got me. I shared it with my wife, and we both agreed that we would join the program. We are trying to make the world a better place, and we would like to ask you to join us in this experiment. Just think what we can accomplish if we all take even small steps.

New Year, New Workout!

Well it's time. It's a new year and time for a new workout.

Ever since last summer, when I came home from fight camp, I've been looking for a new fight gym. I wanted to find a place where I could train in stand-up kickboxing or muay thai. I wasn't so concerned about working on my Brazilian Ju-Jitsu. What I really wanted, was to punch stuff really hard, burn lots of calories, and sweat. Oh yea, and it had to work with early evening classes, to work with my job and regular life.

One day while taking my training partner, Rex the dog, for a run, I noticed one of my neighbors, Louis, getting out of his car. The dude had a shaved head, and a really bad cauliflower ear. He was wearing a pair of Combat Sports brand shorts and carrying an Everlast gym bag. We said "Hi", did the guy head nod thing and kept running.

Over the next few days and weeks we would see each other in the neighborhood and say "Hi." One day we ran by and Louis was in his garage with the big door up. He was working a heavy bag. We stopped to talk, and I asked him if he went to a fight gym in the area. He told me no, but he does go to a Kick-Boxing facility run by his cousin. He told me where it was, and invited me to come out.

The next day, I hit the facility. I met Luis's cousin. I introduced myself, and his first comment was "I want you to know, that this is a gang neutral facility." "OK" I replied. I then thought to myself..... I'm a 50 year old white guy. What kind of gang affiliation does he think I'm sporting? Does he think because I'm Italian that I'm Mafioso? Well the other students started to roll in. There was about 25 Junior High kids, Louis, myself and one other adult. The other adult was a biker, a lot shorter than me and a whole lot heavier. I instantly sized him up as my probable training partner.

The biker introduced himself to me, noticed my Harley shirt and asked what I rode. I told him I rode a 1979 Shovel Head (Harley Davidson), when it ran. We talked about old bikes and then he gave me the laugh of the day. He said "You're going to really like it here. You know all those punk kids that walk real slow crossing the street and they make you wait for ever? Well here you get to beat them up."

Well most of class was spent with the Coach trying to get all those kids to pay attention. We never got to hit anything. We just did some drills and shadow boxed. The class was probably good for them, but not so good for me.If we were ever going to hit stuff, I really don't want to punch on some 120 pound kid. So I thanked everyone and continued my search.

I found lots of schools and classes, but could never find the right set-up at the right times. Then last week I hit the jackpot. I found a great new facility, less than 2 miles from my home. They have stand-up kick-boxing Monday through Thursday evenings, from 5 to 6:15 and the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu from 6:30-8. On Friday they have a conditioning class from 6-7:30. The class is small, and the instructors patient. I though this might be the perfect place for me.

I went for the first time, and had a blast. I had a great workout, and was completely exhausted when we were done. The next day I could barely get out of bed. This was so cool. The next Monday I decided to join. My wife Kelly told me "You really need to increase your flexibility. You should start doing Yoga with me." "Uhhhh yeah, ok" I replied, not really expecting to have to follow through.

After work, I headed to the gym. When I got there, it was just me and the instructor from the previous kids class. Now this guy might be 6' tall and about 170 pounds. He can't be over 25. I'm 6'5" and about 240. This guy is trying to get ready for some amateur fight. So he wants to work out hard with me. I'm game for anything. After having a wire stuck in your eyeball (that's another long story, ending at Stanford hospital but with a happy ending) you know that nothing can ever hurt that bad again. After doing our warm-up, push-ups, and stretches, we did 3, 5 minute rounds of full speed, all out pummeling. This guy had great technique, but I was able to do pretty well just with my size and strength. This is a real tiring workout. About the time we got done, some other students showed up and we did some drills and exercises. We got to hit the bags and we sweat a lot. Then I headed for home.

I walked in the door, and Kelly had two yoga mats out in front of the TV. Some new wave music and a cheesy yoga DVD was in the player. Oh crap, I wasn't expecting to have to do this. I was already tired and sore but I had told her that I would do it with her.

I took a protein recovery shake and took my position on a mat. I think of myself as being in pretty good shape. Actually, I think of myself in outstanding shape. I lift weights, I do cardio, I walk. I do lots of exercise everyday. I had a body composition analysis that showed I had 8.6% body fat. I should be able to do a little stretching with my wife. Was I in for a surprise!

The workout started with some positions for stretching. They all have weird names, and they even call them poses. What kind of guy does Yoga? My body just doesn't bend that way. I hung in there and tried throughout the entire disk. Some of the stretches I could do, but I felt every single one of them. They hurt. As we were working through all of these near impossible stretches I noticed that my wife was doing great. With all of my workouts, nothing prepared me for Yoga.

I don't know what it was, but as soon as I started doing the stretches, I became quite gaseous. I mean every stretch pushed air right out of me. It was bad. It was so nasty, I could not imagine doing it in a formal class. I would have to be one of those deniers. You know one of those people on the cardio machines at the gym who let loose, then look around and try and make it look like they didn't do it.

As the disc ended, I told my wife to check out my next pose. I called it the lazy facing doggie, and I climbed up on the couch, next to Rex. As I started to relax, I realized that the Yoga must have helped. I wasn't near as sore as I expected. When I got up in the morning, I could definitely feel muscles that had been stretched, but I felt pretty good. Maybe there is something to it. I think it will give me some very needed flexibility in my MMA training. The worst that could happen would be I exercised for half an hour with my wife.

I wouldn't say it was fun, but I think it was beneficial. I definitely have a new found respect for Yoga practitioners. I'm planning on continuing to do the yoga with my wife as part of my new workout for the new year. You might also want to try it, but if not, at least try out the new pose. You know, the lazy facing doggie.

Walk it off.......

When you are a kid, how often did you hear the phrase "Walk it off?" It seems like every time a kid got hurt, either a teacher, a parent, or a coach would use that phrase. It was intended to make you not focus on the pain. The idea was to get your mind back to a good place, so that you could move on. Not bad advice back then, and maybe not so bad now.

Before my Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), when I was over 400 pounds, walking sucked. I couldn't do it. One of the most basic things in life. I just couldn't do it. I was forced to walk with a cane. I was carrying so much weight, just walking a couple of blocks would make my back hurt, my knees hurt, and my feet hurt. I couldn't even stand up straight. I was going in for steroid injections into my back 3-4 times per year. Take it from me, this is not a good way to live.

After WLS one of the things they recommend is that you start walking right away. In preparation, I adopted my first training partner, Rex, the American Bulldog, to aid in my walking quest. He would keep me company while we walked circles around the big meadow at the Dog Park. Our first couple of adventures were kind of sad. I could barely make it once around the half mile loop. Rex wanted to run and play. He would run ahead, then run back to make sure I was still breathing, then run ahead again. Slowly I got stronger and skinnier. Soon walking 2 or 3 miles with the dog was no big deal. Eventually we got to where I will even take him out for a run, however it all started with a small walk.

Most loyal readers to this blog know that I work for the Human Services Department of the County of Santa Cruz. I'm classified as a Systems Analyst, which means I spend most of my days sitting in front of my computer. Luckily, I work with a bunch of people who like to exercise. I know, not what you would expect since most of them are computer folks as well. They had a group that would go for a walk at morning break time, and then for a second walk at the afternoon break time. I decided to join this group.

The morning walk is a 1.64 mile round trip. It starts at our building, winds through the County Complex on Emeline and up the hill. It is a steep hill. For the longest time, I couldn't make the trip. I could only go part way up before I had to turn around and crawl back to work. I got to where I can now do it easily, but the grade is so steep that it still gets the old heart a pumping.

The afternoon walk is a 1.8 mile round trip through the surrounding neighborhood. It is a little longer than the morning walk, but since it is completely flat, not near as challenging. We used to do a shorter afternoon walk until one day the Big Boss went with us. She showed us a different route and ever since, we go for the longer one. I mean if the Boss takes us, it must be ok. :-)

Recently I've added a lunch time walk. At lunch, one of my buddies and I do the afternoon walk as well. Sometimes we even do a double lap. That means that on a normal day of walking, morning, lunch and afternoon, we log 5.24 miles and if we pull a double, we log 7.04 miles while at work. Not bad before going to the gym.

I've gotten into this walking thing into a big way. Between walking at work, running the dog, using the elliptical machine at the gym and walking with Kelly, I did over 245 miles in the month of October, 191 miles in September, and 231 miles in August. All that walking has to burn off some major calories.

So remember, after a big Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, get up and "Walk it off!"

Characters I Have Met.......

Back in June, I had the experience of a lifetime. My wife, Kelly, sent me to a professional Cage Fighting Training Camp, at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. (Check them out at: http://xtremecouture.tv/)

I detailed this experience here on my blog. See my posts from June 14th, "Countdown to Training Camp," June 23rd, "Back from Camp and a Little Bit Sore," June 24th, "Back From Camp Part 2," and June 26th, Back From Camp Part 3."

While at this camp, I was able to receive instruction and work out with several World Class Athletes, including Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, Forrest Griffin. My training partner was a 38 year old guy name Matthew. Mathew was almost as tall as me, and probably 20 pounds lighter. He had a lot more experience and was gracious in showing me some of the finer points of MMA. He had told me that he was a published author, and was now working on a book about MMA. I asked him the name of his book, and he told me it was "American Shaolin." He was very humble and said it was moderately successful. I figured he was probably over stating his success and didn't think much more about it.

Fast forward to August 23rd. I'm looking at the Xtreme Couture Blog, longing to return, when I notice a story, and a link to the Las Vegas Sun newspaper. It turns out that not only was my training partner pretty famous, he actually continued on to train at Xtreme Coture after camp, to continue researching his next book. He also went on to have his first fight which he won.

(Check out the article at: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/23/coutures-son-victorious-best-selling-author/)

This got me to thinking, "hey I should read this guys book." Well I just finished it and it was great. It is the story of Matthew Polly, dropping out of an Ivy League College to chase a dream of becoming a Shaolin Kung Fu guy, like David Caradine in the old "Kung Fu" television show. He went to China, not even knowing where the Shaolin Temple was located. He found it, and actually lived with the monks for 2 years while training in Kung Fu. The book chronicles his journey as he challenges his beliefs on life and begins to learn who he is. During this incredible journey, Mathew actually fights in a National Chinese Kick-Boxing tournament, and actually takes second place.

The book is fascinating, even for those not into the martial arts. This book can stand alone as a travel book, or even a philosophy book. Matthew was being extremely humble when he described the book as moderately successful. He has won numerous awards, made the talk-show rounds, promoting the book, and his book has been optioned to become a major motion picture.

On an interesting side note, one of the guys I work with immigrated from China. One day on our morning walk, I told him that I was reading a book called American Shaolin. He got very concerned and replied "There are no American Shaolin." I told him there was. He was my training partner at Xtreme Couture. I went on to briefly tell him about Matthew's story. He said, "Oh yea, I remember him now. He was very famous in China. He was on television often. He speaks Chinese very well."

The book based upon his MMA adventure is tentatively titled "Full Contact Writer." It is scheduled for release around March of 2010. The book will chronicle his journey to learn Mixed Martial Arts, including his journeys to Brazil, Russia, and of course Las Vegas. I'm expecting at least one chapter on the big, tough guy who was his training partner for Fight Camp at Xtreme Couture!

Adopt A Training Partner - Part 1

Want to stay motivated? Want to help out a deserving animal? Want somebody to love you unconditionally? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you need to adopt a training partner!

When I first received a date for my Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), I told my wife that I needed to get a dog. She looked at me kind of funny. Our dog Emma had just been hit by a car and killed a few months earlier. We had kind of talked about waiting to adopt another family member so I think she was kind of surprised. I told her that I needed a dog to serve as my training partner after the big surgery. I explained that if the dog was dependent upon me for a daily walk, it would force me to get out and get some excersise. Not wanting any excuse for failure, she agreed.

We started out our search on the Internet. Most local shelters have pictures of dogs that need to be adopted. After viewing hundreds of dogs on-line, we went to the Watsonville shelter. My wife immediately started looking at little dogs. I reminded her that the dog was for my training partner, so he would have to be big enough to walk some real miles. I spoted a big, goofy looking dog. When we went up to the cage, he wouldn't even come see us. He looked lost and scared. He looked like he had given up. We moved on down the row of jail cells. We picked out a couple possibles. The shelter worker took us outside to a visiting area. She brought the possibles in for us to interact with.

The first two dogs they brought in, just didn't seem like a good match. Finally I asked the worker about the big, goofy dog we had seen. She said that he had been abused and wasn't taking to people very well. She said they would probably have to put him down. I asked her to bring him out. She said she would, but not to expect much. She said to stay seated and see if he will come to you.

The worker brought him in to the visiting area. My wife was in a chair on one side, me on the other. The dog came in and walked straight up to my wife and gave her a kiss. The worker was suprised, Kelly was suprised, and I was jealous. That dog didn't want anything to do with me. It turns out that most of his abuse came at the hands of men. He had some issues.

Well, as you can guess, he came home with us. He didn't have a name, so we named him Rex. That only provided a little trauma to my daughter Tammy. You see we had told her many years ago that if she had been a boy, we would have named her Rex. I don't know why she was so stressed, I mean why waste such a great name?



Part 2 will talk more about my partner