Even if you don’t homeschool, this is bothersome.
Author: hsoi
Flow with it
Yesterday was my first class and today I worked out at home trying to remember all that I could.
First, I spent some time on the heavy bag.
- 3 minute round, working on skills. 4x
- 30 second round, punch-out drills (fast as possible, hard as possible). 4x
- 3 minute round, working skills, 4x
Thank you rossboxing.com. Some jump rope too.
Then well… get this. Some long time ago my in-laws bought me some 8′ long bamboo sticks. They meant well, but the sticks are not something I could actually use because they are too brittle to take impact; I could tell from their dye job that they were made for home decor. Nevertheless, it was thoughtful of them, and I just kept them in a corner of the garage. Well, they came in handy today! I cut one down to 3′ lengths and viola… some makeshift baton to practice with. I will not actually use these since again they cannot take impact, but for now doing drills in the air to help me remember what I learned in class until I get proper sticks, they are just fine and will do the job. Plus they have a larger diameter and are a bit heavy, so that’s good for training.
So I worked on my drills, what I could remember from my first class. Just basic movements, trying to remember what I could, trying to not feel awkward, especially on transitions and not getting my arms all tangled up now that they’re 3′ longer. I even put the sticks down and used a dan bong as a makeshift knife, doing the same drills but now with a knife. Then put the knife down and try it empty handed, same drills.
I really like this. It flows. It’s simple. It works no matter what’s in your hand, including nothing. I’m doing my best to not think about what I’m doing, especially risking over-thinking it. Just relax and let it flow.
Gah, I’m excited and invigorated. 🙂 I think I’m going to like Kali.
Second impressions
Ended up taking my first class tonight at the new martial arts school. I haven’t signed up, but took this as a trial class.
First impressions
My actual first impressions came on a motorcycle ride.
A New Journey – Part 3: Moving Forward
This is part 3 of my story of my new martial arts journey. If you have not yet read “Part 1: Getting Started” or “Part 2: Things Fall Apart“, you should go back and read them before continuing. Once you’ve gotten caught up, please continue reading on how I’m now moving forward.
A New Journey – Part 2: Things Fall Apart
This is part 2 in the story of my new martial arts journey. If you have not yet “Part 1: Getting Started“, you should go back and read it before continuing. Once you’ve finished reading part 1, continue on to read how Things Fall Apart.
A New Journey – Part 1: Getting Started
There have been a lot of changes going on in the household. As Wife and I look at them, they’re all very good things towards taking us individually closer to where we want to be and also as a group/family taking us where we want to be. Here I want to talk about one big change that I’m making in my life:
My martial arts study.
Continue reading
Smaller mag, bigger capacity
I just learned that Springfield Armory is selling factory 13-round magazines for their XD-9 Subcompact. Clicky. I don’t know how long they’ve been selling them, but I only just learned about it.
When I bought my XD-9 SC it only had 10-rounders that would fit flush. I had seen some things online about how you could modify magazines to fit more… I think it was take the XD-40 SC magazines, fiddle with the feed lips, and viola, a couple more rounds, but I never wanted to trust that. Range maybe, but for carry and betting your life on it? I wasn’t so sure.
But now Springfield is selling them from the factory. Awesome.
I named a drill!
Over at pistol-training.com, ToddG and Scott Warren of Warren Tactical were working on a new drill. Here’s the skinny:
Earlier this week, I [ToddG] was shooting with Scott Warren (of Warren Tactical) and we worked on something he’s adapted from one of Rob Leatham’s drills. It’s a pretty straightforward transition routine. You start withfour steel chest plates at a range of 10yd, spaced three yards apart. On the buzzer, draw and engage one shot per target back and forth for 20 rounds. Goal is 100% hits in less than 10 seconds. Note that you do not “double” the targets on the end, you shoot them once and then reverse direction. So the sequence is: T1-T2-T3-T4-T3-T2-T1-T2, etc. There are no makeup shots. If you miss a plate, it’s a miss … move on to the next plate.
Trouble is, the drill needed a name, so ToddG had a contest on the website to name it.
I posted my submission:
1. “Target Transition Drill”. Not a sexy name, but a practical one. Tells you exactly what the drill is about.
2. “4×20 Transitions Drill” (or “4×20 Target Transitions Drill”). Again tells you what’s going on, and can even open the door for variations to be made and appropriately labeled, e.g. 5×25, 3×10. Once you know the base drill (and name), it’s easy to perform variations on the drill by just calling out the numbers.
That’s all I’ve got for now.
I just got an email from ToddG saying that I won!
The drill is going to be known as the “4×20 Transition Drill”. I don’t know why the name was chosen (ToddG didn’t say), but I’d like to think it may have to do with my explanation. That is, once you know the drill, you can just change up the numbers (5×25, 3×10) and viola you have variations… as this drill was a variation on a Rob Leatham drill, it’s fitting.
Now that I think about it, I do wonder if the name should be revised slightly, e.g. “4x20x10” that is, 4 plates, 20 rounds, 10 seconds. But that’s up to Scott I guess.
Anyway, I won a set of Warren Tactical Glock sights. Now I just need a Glock to put them on! 🙂 I have been eyeing a G20.
Whoo!
Going back for more
That place I visited? Shortly I’ll be returning there, going back for more. I’ve got butterflies in my stomach. I’m excited, nervous, and looking forward to it. No idea what will happen, but I’m expecting it to be fun and enlightening.
If it goes as I’m hoping, I’ll be able to stop all of this mystery and reveal things.
Stay tuned….
