Congratulations to everyone at the test!
Sorry there were no new posts recently: the end of the school year is really cramping my style. Hmmm . . . if there was only a nice long break for teachers after the insanity that is June! Until then, here are a few videos I never get tired of watching!
Kyohide Shinjo and his students on the Discovery Channel
This Human Weapon episode goes into more detail
Saulo Ribeiro: Lessons from a Champion
Classic Randleman vs. Fedor suplex!
Has anyone read The Botany of Desire? I felt like a slave to my new garden over the long weekend. I never really thought gardening counted as exercise until reaching old age, but I am mistaken. Breaking ground and turning earth by hand–even a small patch (9′ x 12′) is hard labor. This morning I was back at it. I’ve never seen a gopher in my neighborhood before. No sooner than I plant a few vegetables I start making furry friends. Hence the fence. And edging. And rocks. Hopefully he’s to wimpy to dig under all of that. Otherwise I might need to break out the C-4. I’m too tired to bolster any more defenses . . .
My neighbor, who bears witness to my outdoor workout shenanigans, mentioned that she’d never seen me sweat so much. My lower back and hamstrings are pretty fried. My red neck felt nice at jiu-jitsu this morning as well.
A modest start . . .
Aside from the exercise, the nutritional and environmental benefits of growing your own food are numerous, well documented, and are trending pretty heavily right now. My parents, avid gardeners, wondered what took me so long to realize what they all ready knew.
Here are a few websites that might help germinate an interest in gardening.
http://www.organicgardening.com/
As always, thanks for reading. I’m just getting into this, so any tips are appreciated!
Caption contest! Post your best one-liner in the comments!
All joking aside, Machida’s loss raises some serious questions. Throughout his career, and especially before the rematch with Shogun, Lyoto has had his critics. Just before the fight, an interesting article published by Jake Rossen (Sherdog.com) explains:
“Much will be made this week on whether or not Rua can make additional adjustments to figure out Machida’s style. If the first fight is an indication, it’s Machida who needs to worry about figuring out Rua’s. If he can do that, and decisively finish a man who gave him such trouble, it will be another episode in a storied career. If he cannot, then karate will fall into the same suffocating fate as every dynamic new method of professional fighting to come before it: It will become familiar.”
Was familiarity the issue in this fight? It seems to me like Machida was figuring out Shogun: he avoided leg kicks better than in their first bout, scored a few takedowns, and was landing knees up until the very end. The problem was that Machida, in his efforts to vindicate himself from the poorly-decided first fight, was way over aggressive. He abandoned his defensive style and feared “leaving the fight in the hands of the judges.”
Here’s the fight–sorry for the poor quality. If you skip to about 3:40, you’ll see the beginning of the end for Lyoto. The angle is a little off, and the action is really fast, but you can see that he was really gunning for Rua here. At about 4:50 you can see a replay that shows Lyoto’s mistake: in his haste, he lead with a reverse karate punch–a primarily defensive move. This concept isn’t exclusive to karate. How often does a boxer lead with a cross? Even when throwing a reverse punch on the attack, most karateka will do something to distract their opponent. Machida just dove in with a chambered punch. His face was wide open.
I don’t mean to over-analyze Machida’s performance. I certainly don’t mean to criticize him. He’s my favorite fighter! But it’s plain to see that the his style in this match is a complete turnaround from the ever-evasive, switch-kicking, couter-striking master that became the UFC champ. It seems that karate hasn’t abandoned Lyoto Machida, Lyoto Machida abandoned karate.
I think this is temporary. The Machida family are geniuses for adapting Shotokan to MMA; however, becoming too aggressive to impress the fans and the judges is a mistake. I expect them to right the wagon and for Lyoto to get back to his roots.
What do you think? Weigh in here.
My last day of trying out/breaking in my new pair of FiveFingers KSOs consisted of finally running. I did about two miles around my neighborhood–mostly hills. I immediately struggled to figure out how to run in these things. Would I have to run on my toes the whole time? I could see why athletes rely on FiveFingers to strengthen their lower legs, as my calves were burning after about two minutes!
I especially had trouble running downhill. I like to open my stride and let gravity, and my cushy shoes, do all the work. That wasn’t an option in my new shoes. Trying to run downhill without heel-striking was nearly impossible for me. My workout was definitely enhanced by FiveFingers. My legs fatigued pretty quickly, and maintaining form sapped my cardio as well.
Is this the proper way to run “barefoot?” Can any runners out there provide some assistance?
I could barely walk for three days after this run. I felt like a dog was gnawing on my calves with each step. Again, runners, should there be so much soreness? I thought since I wasn’t starting from scratch with the barefoot training concept I would be all right. Boy, was I wrong!
My final verdict? FiveFingers rock five stars! I’m glad I made the investment. Despite the soreness caused by running on pavement my first time, I love working out in these shoes. I plan on trying many other activities and will post on them if you’re interested.
Be on the lookout for a long-overdue post on Machida’s loss to Shogun and some requested posts about building a practical home gym. Thanks for reading!
PS – I just received a back-ordered pair of Flows. They’re a bit heavier and made of a neoprene upper to help insulate in cold weather.
I tried these out over the last few days, and I like the fit better (they’re a men’s 42), but they’re a little harder to put on. The toe pockets are thicker, so you have to press the material down between your toes. I look forward to wearing these a lot more when the temps drop again. They should be especially nice when rolling in my friend’s garage: my feet usually turn blue!
Ok. This was the longest I wore them yet, and they still feet good. I strapped on the weights and mowed for a little under two hours. The shoes don’t provide much protection, so I wouldn’t recommend them for many yard chores (weedwacking and wood chopping are probably out), but mowing was fun. As I mentioned in previous posts, the barefoot feeling isn’t hype. I enjoyed the sensation of walking on grass the entire time.
I tried to emphasize digging in to work my calves–especially while walking uphill. I could feel them engage much better than the work boots I usually wear. Afterward, my legs were more fatigued than usual after this type of workout.
The last installment is coming up next. I’ll finally hit the road in FiveFingers!
Here’s a break from FiveFingers–an excerpt I wrote in an e-mail response to a reader who had some questions about almond milk. I thought it might be useful to those who haven’t tried it:
I really like almond milk. I’m lactose intolerant, so I grew up on Lactaid and soy. I got really into soy for awhile, but I started reading about how unfermented soy is actually toxic, so I switched to almond. One book that really changed my thinking about this is In Defense of Food. In this book he decries American nutritionalism and advocates for of a practical version of the whole foods diet.
You can check it out here.
Milk is milk, but other “milk” is really a juice mix, if you think about it, so you have to try a few out to see which you like best. I like the organic unsweetened milk from Trader Joe’s featured on the blog, but it’s a bit watery–not good for some mixing or cooking. Another milk called Almond Breeze is pretty good, but it has additives that make it creamier. This is a good thing though if you want to put it in your coffee or to cook with it.
Here’s the link.
Plyometrics highlighted Day Three. I wore the shoes while performing a mix of box jumps, lateral jumps, band pulls, plyo push-ups, and similar exercises. The comfort and grip was impressive; I do many of these exercises barefoot anyway, but the shoes helped improve traction for sure. I have slipped a few times on my mats when I’m sweaty, and that problem was negated. With maximal strength training and overhead lifts, FiveFingers will really help!
I definitely saw the need for more padding while doing the jumps–especially if jumping down off the box. The impact can be pretty jarring, and I might prefer thicker soles in this instance. I used to wear sneakers before I got mats because jumping barefoot on concrete didn’t seem like a good idea. Even with mats, you’ll want to avoid injury!
Next up for Day Four is old-fashioned yard work and my first real test wearing FiveFingers for an extended amount of time.
Day Two included another walk and a martial arts workout. It was hot around here last week, but the mesh ventilation keep my feet reasonably cool–about the same as normal sneakers. The pavement was probably raidiating some heat, but it didn’t bother me either.
The martials arts workout consisted of katas (forms) and bagwork. As I moved more slowly through the katas, I immediately felt the grip of the shoes. (Think karate barefoot on a wood floor on a really humid day.) It took a little while to adjust to the feel. While I could flex and grab the floor with my toes, it was a little tricky to turn or pivot at first. If you train on a rough or uneven surface though, FiveFingers will definitely increase grip and mobility while protecting your feet.
Moving faster through a few rounds of bagwork was pretty nice. Having become more acustomed to the shoe’s tackiness, I could move well, and I liked the little power boost I got when digging my feet into each hand strike. If you like to kick with your toes, these are the shoes for you! I always lose this ability in the winter when my garage gets to cold to go barefoot, forcing me into wrestling boots. My toe strikes penetrated the bag instead of sliding around in my shoe.
So far, so good! On Day Three I did a strength workout with plyometrics. Check back when you can.
My first barefoot running experience this week actually occurred before even trying on my new pair of FiveFingers: I had just got out of the shower and shamelessly trotted out to meet the UPS man. He handed me the box, thanked me for remembering to wear a towel, and left likely wondering about the exchange. I was all smiles and politeness if not appropriately attired.
When I dried off and unboxed my new FiveFingers KSOs I tried to get them on. And tried. And tried. I was actually sweating from the effort and frustration. Then I looked at the instructions on the inside of the box which cleared things up. As I mentioned, I bought these online and in a women’s size, as this was the only 42 I could find ANYWHERE. I tried on a pair of men’s Classic 42’s at REI and they felt a little big, and I read that only the shoe lasts (soles) are a little smaller on the women’s, so I went with them. (See here.)
They’re a little snug after all. I wish I read this article before buying. (See Barefoot-running.com.)
So I have a pair that’s not exactly the ideal fit, but I like them. For day one, I went for a long walk with my wife. It took some coaxing, but I managed to get her to be seen out of the house with me. She commented on my stylish new look and the practicality of wearing thin-soled shoes to improve my athletic performance and my posture. In response to her sarcasm, I had fun stepping on things to see what they’d feel like; surprisingly similar to being barefoot, you can feel grains of sand, the discomfort of pebbles and gravel, and the soft, resilient spring of grass. I would advise avoiding dog poop–bet it would feel all too realistic.
After trying them out my calves felt a little tight, but not much. I mostly train barefoot, but, as I’ll write about later this week, even that won’t prepare you for some of the new experiences FiveFingers provides.
Stay tuned for Day Two for a martial arts workout.
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