Month: June 2011

Perspectives on competition vs. combat

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Tim passed along this article on the similarities and differences of civilian competition vs. combat shooting. The author talks about how the two compare in terms of stress reaction, realities of context, and gear.

Tim commented on the article and offered another article with a different perspective. Both give you something to think about.

The take-away for me is you have to know what your reasons and goals are for shooting. Is it competition? is it self-defense? is it part of your job (e.g. military, police)? What are your reasons? All shooting has stuff in common and so most any sort of education and training will help you out (e.g. a novice needs fundamentals of trigger control, trigger control being critical to getting accurate, acceptable hits, which matter no matter your goal/context). But as you get further along you need to train more specific to your context. Non-specific training can be useful (e.g. shooting IPSC still gives you trigger time), but you have to keep it in perspective and ensure you’re still getting specific training.

Funny… I’m reading Practical Programming by Mark Rippetoe right now and the parallels to this discussion are interesting.

Jury Duty

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

A couple months ago I was summoned for jury duty and today was my day to appear.

I headed down to Austin municipal court, went to the room, signed in, sat down, read a book, and then was sent home. There were 21 cases, and all decided against trial by jury (plead no contest, plea bargain, whatever). So, no one was needed and after about 2 hours total I was home.

Interesting that all of my jury duty experiences have been the same in that regard.

I will say, upon entrance to the courthouse there’s a full screening process, like at the airport only without the abject humiliation. I was surprised it was handled by a private security firm and not Austin Police Department. I of course set off the metal detector. I was wearing a pair of 5.11 covert pants, so more zippers than normal; belt with buckle; steel shanks in the soles of my cowboy boots, and I figure all that just was too much for the detector. Wand me down, off I went. Oh and once again, the spare battery for my MacBook Pro confounds the x-ray operator; happens quite frequently.

Here’s the thing.

I had to fully disarm to go to the courthouse: no gun, no knives, no Leatherman, no nothing. Something felt wrong about being forced to do a civic duty while being stripped of my basic rights.

2011-06-15 workout

/ hsoi

Today’s workout was kinda fun because it was comprised solely of “the big 3 lifts”: squat, bench press, deadlift.

Squats

  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x55
  • 1x3x85
  • 1x2x115
  • 3x5x145 (work)

The bar felt heavy today. Not in a bad way, just in a “wow, never squatted this much weight before” way. I’ll discuss this more at the end.

Form continues to improve, and that stands to reason given I squat every workout so it just gets more reps, more time to condition that muscle memory. I did also play around with stepping back from the rack. The gym doesn’t have a full power rack, it’s one of those “half rack” sort of incline peg things. It’s certainly sufficient for the task, but because of the incline and that I have to start with the bar pretty high I have to step back a little further to ensure when I’m in the hole I don’t bang the bar into the rack. But I found I don’t need to step back as far as I thought I did, which is good, especially as the weight gets bigger. Plus, I’m trying to work on minimizing my steps, just step one foot back and plant it, then step the other back and plant it and that’s that… no step back, another couple steps, shuffle, etc. because that’s a waste of energy and only gets more difficult as the weight gets heavier.

Bench Press

  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x60
  • 1x3x85
  • 1x2x120 (should have been 110# but sometimes I suck at “plate math”)
  • 3x5x125 (work)

Remember how I mentioned that I was having a rough time with waiting for 4-5 minutes between sets? Well, that’s getting easier to manage with the squats. Here on the bench I didn’t wait so long, maybe 3 minutes at most between my work sets. Basically tells me that I have a lot of strength still to go, a lot of room to improve. So that’s all good.

Gripped the bar  hard, but my right wrist still feels the pressure. We’ll see how this pans out for my wrist. A little discomfort is one thing, but sheer pain is another. I can’t afford hand injury due to my line of work.

Deadlift

  • 2x5x95 (supposed to be 60#)
  • 1x3x95 (supposed to be 90#)
  • 1x2x125
  • 1x5x150

The initial warmup sets are supposed to be at a calculated low weight, but it’s just not practical to do since I lack the bumper plates or very high blocks on which to stack things. So, 95# (i.e. a 25# plate on each side) is going to be my minimum until I of course improve beyond that weight.

I really felt like I could do more here, but I’m going to be patient. Rip talks about how 1 set is enough since deadlifts take a lot out of you so better to get some work then rest rest rest. Furthermore, I do the math and if I progress on the route I’m on…. well, back up. In theory, your weights should be deadlift > squat > bench press > press in terms of weight you can move. Presently that’s the case for me, however at my rate of progression that’s going to change with my squat overtaking. But, that’s only based upon simple math predictions, not reality. I know that eventually I won’t be going up 10# per squat session but I betcha I’ll continue to do 15# deadlift jumps for a little while longer. I figure the stats will be all wonky while my body comes to terms with everything, but it’ll all even out at the end. What matters more isn’t what I have now, but what things will be like when I’m done with this SS/PP-based program months from now.

Commentary

This was the first workout where I started to feel like gosh, everything feels heavier. So I know I’m getting closer to what I can actually lift. It’s all pretty cool, but it’s creating an interesting internal dialogue.

I’ve never done this before. I’ve never lifted heavy like this. Oh sure, it’s not heavy compared to the big boys, but for me it’s heavy and heavier than I ever did. And what’s more, the nature of the program makes me always lift heavier. I am constantly having to push myself. This starts to create massive internal “fear” dialogue. From the fears of overprotective mother not wanting me to get hurt, to Wife not wanting me to get hurt, to me just growing older and getting more conservative and not wanting to get hurt… all that sort of “holy shit that’s heavy! what the hell are you doing!” that enters my head. So there’s that whole thing… and I reckon it’ll still come. But what’s cool is that it’s starting to change, or at least to give way to another dialogue. One that says “holy shit, that’s heavy! but damn, that’s awesome!” because I know I’m going to move it, because I know I’m going to set another Personal Record (PR) this workout. That’s a neat thing about this sort of program because you get tangible results constantly. You get constant feedback (and ego gratification, let’s be honest) that you are better than you were just 2 days ago… you are stronger, you are more capable, you are able to break through barriers, you are tougher, you are more disciplined, whatever and everything. It really feeds and makes for a positive experience. I swear, I want to go to the gym more! Of course I know that’s NOT useful, nor is it useful to stick around and fiddlefart in the gym — get in, do your work, get out, eat and rest. But geez if it isn’t an interesting mental and internal change of mindset.

I was telling Wife about this and she thought it was pretty cool. She asked me how long I’m going to be doing this and I said that I don’t know… but I’ll deal with it when I get there. Yes, part of me thinks joining the 1000# club would be cool, but I’m not sure how much I care. I’m not doing this to be a lifter, I’m doing this to be healthy, strong, and useful. So where I end up? We’ll see. It’s just a fun journey and it’s starting to wander a path that I didn’t expect but am quite enjoying.

EDC blades

/ hsoi / 14 Comments

Inspired by this post over at The Packing Rat, here are my EDC (Every Day Carry) blades:

The leftmost is a Leatherman Wave which is certainly the most action-packed of the EDC blades… because it’s more than just a blade. In fact, I use it more for the non-blade tools than the blade. But certainly if I want a saw or a serrated edge, that’s what I go for.

The other two are Spyderco Delica‘s. Yes, I carry two of them, one in each front pant pocket, both tip-up. This is a training artifact from an Insights Training Center Defensive Folding Knife class. You don’t think you need two knives until you can’t get to the one you need….  I like plain blades because it gets the job done just fine, and honestly it makes the knife less scary to grass-eaters. I also like the simplicity of the Delica… small enough in the hand so it’s not something to fumble or difficult to manipulate, but big enough to handle most chores. The large thumbhole is very easy to operate, even under pressure. It’s very sturdy. Holds a good edge. And if it gets lost or breaks, it’s not too expensive to cry over and easy enough to replace. The only trouble I keep having is the clips keep catching on various things that I brush up against so I’m always having to fix the clip (#6 torx bit is your friend). At least the clips are metal so it’s easy to bend back into shape with even a little overbend for better holding power.

One thing I often hear from folks is to not use your “self-defense” knives for anything else. Uh… why not? You should use it for everything. Need to open a letter? Use it. Need to open a box? Use it. Need to cut something? Use it. Or like Derek at TPR, “I’ve cracked open crabs, gutted fish, open beer bottles, cut tinder, start fires, etc.”  It’s a tool, use the tool. The more you use it, the adept you get at manipulating it, drawing it, opening it, and having it feel comfortable and usable in your hands. So the blade gets dull…. sharpen it!

Knives are useful tools. Oldest has a pocket knife but despite my constant prodding for him to carry it he won’t. Daughter adopted my old Leatherman Micra and did carry it around some but lost it. I figure a replacement will come eventually. Youngest, he needs to gain more confidence in using a knife first. But we’ll get there. 🙂  Hrm… maybe a Delica or a smaller Leatherman for Christmas stocking stuffers…. hrm…. 🙂

I refuse to be prey

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I know a fair number of my readers come for the gun stuff, the self-defense stuff, etc.. Given that, a lot of you probably find my fitness stuff something to ignore.

Don’t.

If you don’t want to care about my nitty-gritty, certainly that’s fine.

But you should care about fitness. You should care about the state of your body and what it can (and perhaps can’t) do.

One good aspect of self-defense? Being able to run away, and I do mean run. People have a mistaken notion they will rise to the occasion — you won’t. Or even if you will, and even if you get that fabled super-human strength well… can you bank on that happening? Should you bank on it?

If you struggle to get out of your desk chair, that’s not good. If you can’t squat down to pick things up off the floor, apart from the fact bending over probably makes your concealed handgun print like crazy or just be flat-out exposed, if you can’t move around your own bodyweight either you need to shed some of that bodyweight or get strong enough to carry it around.

When the fur flies, you need to be able to handle the physical aspects involved, even if that’s just running away. If the struggle is physical, can you handle the event? And while being and presenting the appearance of a big strong lion doesn’t prevent attacks (I believe one of Karl’s students, big huge muscular badass guy, was explicitly targeted during a gang initiation attack because they wanted to try to take out the biggest baddest dude they could), on the whole I’d say looking like the baddest sheepdog will tell the predators to go find easier prey.

Can you run to the end of the block and not bat an eye? Or does it kill you just to walk to the end of the driveway? Can you lift your range bag into the car without a struggle and carry it around the range without huffing and puffing?

Be honest with yourself.

Sure, I’m really enjoying lifting weight and working on a strength-building program. I even had a fleeting thought that it might be fun, once I get up there in poundages and if I’d be competitive, to try out an amateur powerlifting meet. But I’m not doing this because I want to be some big strong guy.

I do this because I don’t want to be decrepit.

I see how many people 50+ years of age have trouble getting around and even doing simple things like picking stuff off the floor or getting out of a chair. I see people with canes and walkers and struggling to get around. Heck, going to Mass and all the sitting, standing, and kneeling that Catholics do and I see how many people struggle to just get through a Mass! It’s not that strenuous, but there’s also no reason to be that way… it’s preventable.

Now I’m not talking people who might have medical conditions or other issues that necessitate such assistance. And I know that I can’t guarantee that I won’t have a stroke at age 50 and need walking assistance. But apart from those extenuating circumstances, I lift because if I do live to be 80 I want to still be able to bounce around and enjoy the life I have while I have it.

And who knows… if I’m 80 that also puts me in a position of being more vulnerable to predators. I refuse to be prey.

Veggies affordable

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

Continuing in my veggie saga, the next thing I wondered was how the box of local veggies compared to the local grocery store.

This past Saturday, Wife gathered some prices of veggies at the local HEB. Last night we did some rough math.

We couldn’t do a straight apples-to-apples comparison because the veggies aren’t totally the same, we don’t have scales to weigh out what we have and so on. So it was a lot of estimating and “well, this veggie was the closest thing” and so on.

But more or less it seems to work out, may even be cheaper in some regards… like we got a huge bunch of basil, and herbs are expensive. That there makes up (for) a big portion of the cost.

We’ve got 3 more boxes in our initial “subscription”. Once that’s up, we’ll see what to do from there. Who knows… the farm is trying to raise a lot of up-front capital to purchase more land and are offering things like a 1-year weekly subscription for $1500 (works out to $28.85 per box, and thus a $216 annual savings provided the regular box price doesn’t rise from its present $33). Maybe we’ll do that because we’re going to buy and eat veggies… I’m all for 1. long-term cost savings, 2. if it helps them grow their business, awesome!

Anyways, I’m satisfied in the financial aspect of this and the food/quality and every aspect of this. All feels good to me.

Huzzah!

2011-06-13 workout

/ hsoi

Got to the gym early this morning, lots more people (to be expected at that hour). A quick look around and everyone was either on cardio machines or weight machines. The squat rack was collecting dust. Excellent! 🙂

Squats

  • 2x5x45 (empty bar warmup)
  • 1x5x50
  • 1x3x80
  • 1x2x105
  • 3x5x135 (work)

OK, silly male ego time, but it felt cool to be squatting with the 45# plates on the bar. 🙂 Rest between warmup sets was just enough to change plates. Rest between work sets I didn’t time, but was around 3-4 minutes… not much but still a little more than I usually do. For me, to consider a 5 minute wait between sets is difficult to do because geez… what do you do during that time? I don’t go to the gym to socialize, I want to stay in my mental zone, I do poke a bit at my iPhone to check Facebook or Twitter or something, but that’s “light” and doesn’t bug me much. One can only pace the gym so much or just sit and stand around… but I guess I’ll learn to get over it. 🙂  I mean, I’m making it to 3-4 minutes now so I guess that’s progress. 😉  Just not used to it, just breaking old habits.

Press

  • 2x5x45 (empty bar warmup)
  • 1x5x45 (formula calculated this to 35# but that’s not going to happen, so I just used the empty bar again)
  • 1x3x45
  • 1x2x55
  • 3x5x70 (work)

I couldn’t remember if I did 2 or 3 work sets, so I just pounded out another to be sure. In doing the presses I found not only better form than last time, but I also was exploding upwards. That pointed out to me that I wasn’t as explosive as I should have been during squats.

I’m noticing in both my squat and my press that I was favoring my right side. Stands to reason, but being aware of it I can work to stop it and work to have my form more balanced.

Chin-ups

  • 1x8xbodyweight
  • 1x7xbodyweight
  • 1x5xbodyweight

Since I’m still doing the inverted rows hanging off a low-pegged Smith machine bar, I’m finding better body positioning. That is, in that setup the body doesn’t have much room to move or adjust itself since you have hands on a bar that doesn’t rotate and feet (heels) in contact with the floor. But I’m working on the mechanics a bit, finding a better position that works through the whole range of motion. So that said, I was able to get just about every rep with my chest to the bar and chin above the bar, save the last rep of each set which I just pushed out because, as I mentioned previously, I’m remembering the negative… when I go down it doesn’t need to be uber-slow, just a bit slower than the up and that I’m still focusing on the muscles during that motion.

Overall, the workout felt good. Yes, squat weights are feeling heavier and there’s some mental games going on in my head saying “whoa… you shouldn’t be doing this… that’s fucking heavy!” but it’s only heavier than I’ve done before and in the end my body can handle it. It’s all in my head. I need to ensure I keep focused on form, especially during the warmups. I know when I came into the gym I was a little distracted because on my walk to the gym I was thinking about my day ahead and didn’t start thinking about the workout until I was almost there. But once I got into things I was there and good and frankly, if I hadn’t figured out my day that would have nagged and distracted me during the workout. It’s just me, so I got it out of the way up front.

I keep feeling like I could do more weight, more sets, more reps, but that’s not the point of the program. Just be slow and steady, slow and steady. Hell, if I can keep up this 10# increase per workout in my squats, I’ll be squatting over 200# for reps by the end of the month. No idea how I will progress and if that’s a realistic expectation, but even if not by the end of the month, it’s not like it’s years away or even months… maybe month or two. So, just stay slow and steady, in into the gym, do my business, get out of the gym, feed myself well, and lots and lots of rest.

Next workout… deadlifts. Can’t wait!

Another round of classes at KR Training

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This past Saturday was another day at KR Training. Two classes, Basic Pistol 2 and Defensive Pistol Skills 1. Not only was the usual crew out there, like the TXGunGeek but a couple of others came out to help with DPS1 like Deputy Jay!

Both classes went alright. The BP2 folks were actually doing quite well for students of that level, and Karl switched things up at a the end of class for a bit of fun shooting steel. I believe TXGunGeek said he had folks shooting a 4″ plate at 15 yards no problem. That’s very good for people at the BP2 level.

In DPS1, it was nice to see a larger number of women in the class, some of which had previously come out for the Rangemaster Ladies-only course a few weeks ago. One of the ladies I knew (Mrs. foo.c), but I wasn’t sure of the rest. I was watching how they shot and asked one “did you come out for the Rangemaster course a couple of weeks ago?” The answer was yes, and the reason it was evident? They had solid fundamentals of grip, stance, and so on. Good shooters stand out from the crowd, so what does that tell you about the crowd?

I must admit, that was one of the harder parts of this DPS1 — fundamentals. DPS1 is not intended to be a fundamentals class but we did end up spending a little more time correcting fundamentals of grip and trigger control than we usually do. I do think the students in class picked up on the DPS1 class material pretty well, but I think a fair number of folks in class would do well to come back and take a class like Basic Pistol 2 where we can focus on fundamentals. This isn’t a slight on anyone, but a sober assessment. We could see it in students: when they would relax and press the trigger, no problem. But then they’d start yanking the trigger, slapping the crap out of it, and wind up hitting nothing. We try to make it clear in DPS1 that as a shooter you are accountable for every round you fire. If now we’re talking a gunfight, you must make acceptable hits, which means hitting the assailant in vital areas as accurately and quickly as possible to stop the fight as soon as possible. Anything less is an unacceptable hit. That means you can’t just blaze away and pray (remember, in a fight you’ll perform at 75% of your worst day at the range). You must have the fundamentals of trigger control solidly down, and if you’re not doing as well as you should be, be honest with yourself and step back to work on those fundamentals. There’s potential for ego to get in the way here… but ego isn’t going to save your life and could cost someone else theirs. Again, this isn’t to say the folks in class were horrible, merely that taking a class that provides instruction on the fundamentals and then working on those particular skills would be useful.

A few things:

  • Slow down and get acceptable hits. If you need 0.5 seconds to (re)verify your sight picture and ensure a smooth trigger press, better to slow down and take that time vs. throwing the gun out there, yanking the trigger, and getting a fast unacceptable hit. Then you have to shoot again, and likely you’ll rush that one even worse because you feel you need to make up for lost time, and it just goes downhill from there taking too much time and not getting the job done. That 0.5 seconds doesn’t seem so expensive now, does it?
  • You will fight like you train. So train like your life depends on it… because it does.
  • Every movement you make is a repetition. Every time you do something, you are training muscle memory. If that’s the case, how should you treat every movement? Make it a useful and worthwhile movement. For instance, when dry firing, don’t rack your slide just enough to cock the action, fully rack it. Don’t build up a “short-stroke” muscle memory, just build up the single muscle memory of full rack.
  • Remember, when doing a reload, first put your hand on your spare magazine to ensure you have one! Don’t risk dumping a partially full magazine on the ground only to find you didn’t have a spare and now you’ve got nothing.
  • One question we tend to ask a student when we check their gear upon arriving at the range is “Do you have a CHL?”. If the answer is no, then we proceed. If the answer is yes, then we follow up with the expectation that they arrived with their gun on their person. Unfortunately some people don’t arrive in a “street-ready” manner: they may not have their gun on them, or maybe they have their gun on but they have it in a “class ready” manner (e.g. using FMJ rounds instead of proper “social” ammo). Folks, YOU do NOT get to decide when you will get into a gunfight. YOU do NOT get to decide when you will be attacked. What if you stopped at the gas station on your way into class just as the place was being robbed and the dude opted to point his gun at you? If you have a CHL, carry your gun — else why did you get the CHL? And when you carry it, carry it in the proper manner; those FMJ rounds don’t stop much and have a penchant for overpenetration… remember what we said about you being responsible for every round fired?
  • Don’t argue with the instructor. If you don’t like what we’re teaching you, you’re free to reject it later. But you came to the class, be willing to hear what we have to say and try what we have to teach — there may be good reason for why we do what we do and teach what we teach. Be willing to consider it, evaluate it. Afterwards, like Bruce Lee said, “Retain what is useful, discard the rest.”
  • If you are not on the line shooting, you should be drinking water and loading magazines. However, while you do that stay near the rest of the class and/or the other group that’s on the firing line. The instructors may have a new skill to teach and class runs faster if they only have to demonstrate it once. Furthermore, if you watch the other group on the line, you’re bound to learn something. One thing you can do is put a bunch of loose ammo in your pockets; while standing behind the line and paying attention you can reload your magazines from the loose ammo and you only need to go back to the tables to quickly refill your pocket. As well, buy more magazines (how many? yes.). I like keeping at least 10 magazines fully loaded in my range bag… tends to make classes and practice sessions run smoothly because I can go and don’t have to spend time (re)loading mags; do that in front of the TV in the comfort of air-conditioning and no time pressures.
  • It’s good to bring extra gear, like ammo and guns. However, circumstances for using that extra gear may or may not happen. For instance, I’ve had numerous classes where folks bring multiple guns and want to switch guns throughout the course. While that COULD be possible, it’s generally not possible because class moves quickly and the time it takes to change your holsters and other support equipment is time-consuming. Plus, to actually change the gun you’d have to go to the other range (no gun handling behind the line) and that again takes time and takes you away from instruction (see above point). So generally, come with a gun and run that one gun. But that said…. if your Glock happens to KaBoom! (kB!), it’s good to have another one handy. Yes, we had a Glock go boom during DPS1… he was using hand loads and the hypothesis isn’t a double-charge but likely the case wasn’t empty (e.g. cleaning media stuck in there) and thus less case volume and thus way too high a pressure. He had another gun in his bag and was able to get back in business without much downtime.
  • Drink water. Use sunscreen. After last weekend’s classes where I wore shorts and my short-sleeved KRT shirt (and sunscreen), I opted to totally cover up this class. While shorts and such are usually OK for me, something about last weekend’s sun just baked me and drained me heavily. So for this class I wore some long pants (actually, BSA Switchback pants), long sleeve white Under Armour shirt and then my KRT instructor shirt atop that. I was fully covered, but all lightweight, very breathable clothing. I did sweat more due to the double-shirt, but overall I felt a lot better because my skin was covered and not baking. At the end of the day I was tired but not drained.
  • I need to learn to put my beef jerky out of reach of thieving dogs. 😉  (it’s my own fault… I keep treating her, I left it within reach, she just helped herself since I wasn’t around to fed her. He he he).

Veggies consumed

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

So the veggies were ordered, brought home, and now consumed.

I knew it would be wonderful. 🙂

Given what was in the box, Wife made a ratatouille (ish) side dish with it all. I think what stunned me the most was the eggplant. I’m not a fan of eggplant, but boy this was much better than the big-ass purple eggs you typically find at the grocery store with their thick leather skins.

Now I knew it would be like this. I knew that it would taste so much better. All I kept saying through dinner was “man, I really want this to work out”. I just have to be mindful of how to afford it. And realize, it doesn’t necessarily have to just be a dollar-for-dollar exchange. It can also mean that we find something else in our lives to cut back/out so we can afford this — prioritize, determine what’s more important, and so on.

Of course, we have other adjusting to do as well give my new fitness program is having me consume food like a zombie at a brain-festival. Need more red meat. 🙂

And you know, I really need to get better about taking pictures of things. Like here, taking a picture of the ratatouille.