Anniversary Extravaganza - Part 2

Our tour started out slow, but picked up quickly. We started off watching a raccoon, but quickly got into some neat critters. We got to see a huge African Porcupine. Kelly even was able to get one of his quills that had fallen out. One of my favorites was from Africa. I can't remember what he was called, but he was the largest rodent. He had fur like a rabbit, teeth like a gopher and kind of funny looking legs. We worked our way through the animals. We got to see Gators, Baboons, Monkeys, Lemurs, even a Ferret. Two of the coolest guys were the Kangaroo and the Hyena.

After a couple of hours we finally got to play, one on one with both a lynx and a little monkey. Kelly purposely did not wear any jewelry to distract the animals. She did wear kind of a black and white animal print shirt. Even though it was black and white, the Lynx took exception to her shirt and kind of gnawed at her. Even the trainer was surprised. The monkey went a little smoother. They put a diaper on the little guy and let him climb around on us. He was a little snuggle bug. He climbed up and just cuddled with me. Kind of like I would expect a grand kid to do, if I had one. Hint, Hint.

Next we had lunch with a couple of trainers then headed off to meet the elephants.

Wild Things has merged with the Elephants of Africa Rescue Society (EARS). They currently have 5 African elephants at the facility, one male named Butch, and four females named Paula, Kristi, Buffy and Manilika.

After we got to meet the elephants, the Trainer asked if we were ready to give Butch his afternoon bath. We jumped at the chance. We walked Butch over to one of the special elephant barns. An elephant barn is huge, but what is really big is the coral fencing they have to use with the elephants. Posts and rails are not wood. They are huge pieces of pipe set very deep in concrete.

Kelly and I got to scrub him up, and hose him down.

I'm going to post a couple of pictures and save the rest of the adventure for the next post. Stay Tuned!

Anniversary Extravaganza - Part 1

Hi Everyone - I know, I know. Where has Rick been? Why hasn't he updated that award winning blog? Well... I dislocated and broke a toe, and I've developed a rotator cuff issue. I've had a cortisone shot and am currently in Physical Therapy. I've had to take a little time off of my MMA training and a little time off from the gym.

Last week was my 30th Wedding Anniversary. My wife Kelly and I went on a special Anniversary Extravaganza to celebrate. We went to a place called Wild Things, Vision Quest Ranch, Safari Bed and Breakfast. I know that is a mouthful, but let me tell you a little bit about this place.

Back in the day, way back when we lived in Prunedale, we used to drive down highway 101 into Salinas. Often times, we would see a guy out walking a lion alongside the road in the strawberry fields. I kid you not. A full maned lion walking on a leash.

Well it turns out there was a place in Salinas called Oxton Kennels. They trained animals for movies, TV, Commercials, and print ads. Working the animals was just a way to finance their rescue efforts. Kelly had actually taken the kids there several times to visit the animals. One of the highlights was a giant snake. That was probably why I didn't visit back then!

A few years ago, there was an article in the Santa Cruz paper about the opening of a bed and breakfast with a Safari twist. The owner of Oxton Kennels had moved out to 51 acres on River Road. He had expanded his rescue efforts and opened a Bed and Breakfast amongst the animals. Kelly and I had talked about going, but had never quite made it. The truth is I was so out of shape, I don't think I could have physically done it. I had told one of my co-workers about the adventure, and her and her husband went and had a blast.

Now up to the present. Kelly and I were looking for a short adventure to celebrate our Anniversary. I remembered Wild Things, and now being in a little better shape, I booked the trip. On April 19th we headed down to Salinas.

Driving up the driveway, we passed a camel, some ostriches, and some zebras. When we got out of the car, we could hear lions roaring. We knew this was going to be fun. We had booked a special VIP tour. A 4 hour behind the scenes tour of the facility. It turns out that Kelly and I were the only ones on this tour, and our guide was the head trainer. It was amazing.

I'm going to tease you a bit here. I'm going to post a couple of pictures and tell you more about the trip in the next blog. I promise stories about giving the elephants a bath, and tucking them in for the night. Stay tuned!

Win for Team Kugtar

I first joined Kugtar back in January. Kugtar is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) gym. It's what was called a fight gym back in the day, but is now called a Martial Arts Academy. The main facility is located in Salinas, but they have opened a second facility in Watsonville, located within a couple of miles from my home.

The people at Kugtar are great. The coaches are fantastic, and everyone is extremely patient with the old guy. :-) The workouts are unbelievable. I literally can wring my t-shirt out after every single workout. This is definitely stuff that I could never have done prior to my Weight Loss Surgery (WLS).

What is cool about MMA is that it combines boxing, wrestling, ju-jitsu, kickboxing, and muy-thai. Some of the guys working out here have aspirations to be professional cage fighters, while some of the guys just want a hard workout and like to punch stuff. Gee.... guess which group I fall into?

A short time after joining Kugtar, we got a new Striking Coach, a guy named Pat Castillo. Pat is an awesome coach. He has fought professionally and done pretty well. He is very motivating, a great teacher, very patient, and an all around straight up guy.

One day, he tells the class that one of our students, Mike, is going to have his first official fight. The California State Athletic Commission was going to sanction their first ever amateur MMA fight, and it was going to be held in Salinas. This was exciting news. Pat then went and explained how as a team, we would help Mike prepare for his fight. He said that each of us have specific strengths that can help Mike train.

Pat said my strength was my right hand. He said that I didn't have any form, style or rhythm, but that I was super strong, and I put everything I have into every punch. Each punch has the kitchen sink behind it, and that I had true knockout power. He then said if he could teach me some things, I would be making people go to sleep. He also said that if he was ever in a bar room fight, he wanted me on his side.

At first I thought wow, that was kind of cool. Then I thought about it. Hmmm, does that mean I'm just a big, dumb brawler? Well.... I do throw every punch about as hard as I can, I do drop my hands when I get tired, my footwork is awkward, and my ju-jitsu is terrible. Hmmmm, ok maybe he was right.

Over the next few weeks we worked on drills to prepare Mike for his fight. One drill put mike in the middle of the ring. For 30 seconds, Mike would take us down. We would stand back up, and do it again for the full 30 seconds. Then we would switch. For 30 seconds we would keep taking him down. When the buzzer rang, a new guy would come in to face Mike and it would start all over again. We would do a similar drill with all out sparring. Mike would get in the middle and every 30 seconds or a minute, a new fresh guy would come in to spar. Not only was this really good for Mike, it also gave us the benefit of some very intense training.

I think the drills did the trick. Mike went out and won his first fight in about 94 seconds. The fight started off with his opponent taking him down hard and really beating him up. Mike kept his composure and put on an arm-bar forcing the guy to tap.

Check out the video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcIyf0wWpsg

Due to the limitations of Blogger, you will have to cut and paste the address into your browser to see the fight.

Congratulations Mike!

A New Form of Torture

Ready for a new form of torture? Since I started going to my new Fight Gym, Kugtar, in Watsonville, I've learned many new types of torture. I used to think I was in pretty good shape, that is until I started working out with all of these 20-30 year old fighters. Check out this form of torture they call an ab workout......

Abs Workout:

1) 100 Crunches - Lie flat on your back bend your knees and lift your feet off the floor. Interlock your fingers behind your head and touch your elbows to your knees.

2) 100 Bicycle Toe Touchers - Lie flat on your back, bend your knees and lift your feet off the floor. Move your legs like you are riding a bicycle, as a knee comes closest to your head, reach across and touch your opposite hand to the toe.

3) 100 Leg Lifts - Lie flat on your back. Place your hands under your rear end, touching thumb to thumb and index finger to index finger. Point your toes straight. Lift your legs together off the floor about 2 inches. Keep your toes pointed. Lift your legs up till they create a 45 degree angle from the floor. Lower them back to 2 inches from the floor. Don't let them hit the floor. Count 1 each time they are at the high point in the arc.

4) 50 Iron Cross - These are so hard to do you will hate them. You are kind of sore by the time you get to this one anyways, but these will finish you off. Lie flat on your back with your arms extended straight out on the floor. Lift your legs like you would for leg lifts. On the count, you take your right leg, rotate it over your left and try and touch it to the ground on your left side. Then back to neutral position. That was 1. Then you take the left leg and rotate it over the right and down to the ground on your right side. That was 2.

This is what they like to call a good ab workout. I call it torture, but one thing is for sure, it will definitely build your ab muscles quickly.

Have Fun!

The Word....

This blog edition is a little different than most. Usually, I post about my adventures losing weight, working out, or just trying to survive. This time, I'm actually turning over the page to a guest writer.

One of my co-workers has a nephew named Samuel. Samuel just turned 17 and has Down Syndrome. Samuel is an amazing kid, and has overcome many trials and tribulations. This post is actually from my co-workers brother, Samuel's Dad, and taken from his blog, Samuel's Heart, at http://samuelsheart.blogspot.com.

Please take a second to read this one, it just might make you think. :-)

Thanks,
Rick

It's just a word.

Posted: 28 Feb 2010 08:41 PM PST

The whole language debate about what's cool to say and not say is back. This time it's the "R" word, retarded or retard. I find myself in a most uncomfortable position, in agreement with Sarah Palin in believing that Rahm Emanuel should have been fired for his words about liberal activists. I'm a hard-core bleeding heart liberal, so bear with me while I deal with that reality.

I've said it before, and I will say it again, the word "retard" is valid when used to describe something that slows you down or gets in your way. It's not a term to use to abuse or belittle someone. Because when used that way, that's just what you are doing, just not to the person you might think or intend.

I can be in agreement with Sarah Palin because she has a child with Down Syndrome, like I do. There are certain things she and I have in common. We know and experience things through our children that no one else that does not parent a child with notable developmental and cognitive disabilities will ever truly know.

I agree with her that Rahm Emanuel should have been fired for saying that liberal activists were "f***ing retarded". If he had said some group of folks were "chinks", or "spics", or…, his head would have been on a plate before dinner time. I don't question that. Do you? Yet, somehow, it's okay that he called them retarded. Why?

I voted for President Obama and to say I'm disappointed at the lack of any further discussion on this is an understatement. To date, no further intelligent discussion on this issue appears to be happening in this country. There has certainly been plenty of unintelligent discussion on the issue. To the extent there has been intelligent discussion in the media, in particular Stephen Colbert points out the irony of Sarah Palin not calling out Rush Limbaugh on his use of the word "retarded." Colbert's bit, while offensive for it's unabashed use of the word, was an actual case of satire. That Sarah Palin not only belittled the issue of Limbaugh but brushed it off as satire, is sad and cognitively dissonant.

My son Samuel has needed his parents, his family, his church, teachers, friends, all to be with him in the process of reaching his full potential. My and my wife's' roles in this process, to the extent we are able, has been to be his advocate. That is my interest in writing this piece; not just for my son, but for all of those with developmental and cognitive disabilities. The truth of the matter is, our kids, our loved ones, our friends with these disabilities are not be able to march on Washington for their rights and for their dignity. Perhaps because of this, the nation, certainly our schools, and now our main stream media seem to feel this word is okay to just toss around (6:35 - 6:45 in the clip).

I'm really quite angry at the lack of sensitivity to a whole population who among our global population are least able to stand up for themselves. As a people sharing this same speeding ball through space, we have a responsibility to be more, to do more, to do what we can to reach our own full potential. Using this term, retard not only diminishes the developmentally and cognitively disabled, it diminishes us and makes it less likely that we as a people will reach our potential.

Being angry and writing about it isn't really good enough for me. I need to do more and I've finally decided that I want to do that directly with Jon Stewart. I'd like to ask him why this language is okay? Stewart has become perhaps the most important journalist of our time, albeit a "fake" journalist. Some of the work he does is quite in depth and he's asking political and social questions none others in the media ask. He speaks to the younger generation like no other media outlet does.

I'd like to find out why it is that attacking this group of people has become free game? I'd like for Jon Stewart to meet my son on his show and look at him and explain why using "retard" is funny. I think I win that debate. From there, I want more. I want Stewart, Colbert, Limbaugh, Emanuel, Ben Stiller, and President Barack Obama to connect with Special Olympics and pledge their support to end the use of the "R" word. I want them to make PSA's to help inform the nation that the time has come to respect and for us all to be that village that supports those in our societies that need it the most. This was the basis for the creation of the Special Olympics, and this should be the basis and opportunity for this country to continue to mature and provide simple human compassion to those with developmental and cognitive disabilities.

I need your help. Please pass the link to this blog post to your friends, family, co-workers. I need a contact at the Daily Show who can get me a spot on that show. I want to do my part to help Spread the word to end the word. Because sometimes, words hurt.