Hump Day From Hell

4/12 WEDNESDAY- So…. For the past several days, there has been a group of 5-6 very tough looking guys visiting from out of town….very tough looking indeed. Well anyway, I have been tapping them out as any hometown ninja would do. So today after another grueling AM workout (details to follow), I asked where they were from and one fellow responded "We are visiting from Virginia Beach…" well right then I put 2 and 2 together (5) and knew they were SEALS. Not just any SEALS, but the elite covert operatives from SEAL TEAM 6! I recognized this by the fact that their beards, longer hair and that "yep, I've killed….more than once" look in their eyes. We shot the shit for a while and compared experiences (I was stationed on Little Creek, VA. special operations base and an EOD Diver) and went on with our days. It feels gratifying to be able to tell my grandkids that I choked out a SEAL unit with my bare hands (and legs I my case) and be 100% honest- lol! In all reality, they are killing machines that could likely slit my throat in my sleep at will, BUT that's not what happened on this day- lol! Its funny how "sport-specific" fitness can be- I know that SEALS are very, very well conditioned athletes but in the context of Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu, they were all huffin and a puffin J . Its very cool that the Navy pays for these guys to fly across the nation fro a week intensive course the most effective hand 2 hand combat training. I digress… so I worked with James and 1:00, did the usual- 4 rounds shadow boxing, then did 4 rounds on the heavy bag. All the training with James follows the same theorem; basic, strong defensive and direct, effective combinations. Things like slap to the ear and leg kick, jab right, kick, circle, etc. Very cool stuff. We got into sparring drills as well, very basic, common scenarios that teach the involuntary systems to react. Things like blocking and returning firs (call and response)- all basic, as I have no time to get fancy. Every workout with James Cook is demanding- we only rest 30 seconds in between rounds and we do 10 pushups during the rest periods! I am starting to feel another level of "lungs" as I am able to push hard for over an hour! I need to sprint to increase my VO2 max, whatever that means. I am on track (give or take) as far as bodyweight, probably 221 or 222. By Friday I need to be at 221 but 219 would KICK ASS! I will train again tonight (MMA/Grappling) with Jake and I feel up for it…. I think…. Man, I can't wait to spend all weekend with Liz. At the risk of getting mushy, this chick fucking rocks! She is laid back, beautiful, smart, hilarious and just as weird as me. I am happy on all levels at present. Thanks to whoever's listening upstairs for that.

But wait, theres more....I went to the 7:00 PM MMA class in SF and got the worst beating to date! After a brief but intense warmup, I did a few rounds of grappling and was called over by Jake to train MMA. JAke is "peaking" now for his world totle tourney in HAwaii next week (Rumble on teh Rock) and is in total kill mode. Mind you, this was after rolling with Giant Travis, some other huge guy and Gilbert Melendez (ranked 2nd in the World and likely the galaxy). So Jake proceeds to elbow, punch and knee every meaty spot on my svetle frame for 3 rounds. Add some chokes and armbars and you get a recipe for fun! So I am thinking "fuck, I survided, way to go Fletch!" and Jake makes me do 3 more rounds against the cage with Fresh opponents which included a giant angry guy and an accomplished fighter called Moses Baca who sports tattos on his neck, a tell-talle sign of an individual not to be fucked with. Ate a shitty salad and now I'm going to pass out. Please, God let the saying be true: "The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in the fight." Fuck Spell Check, sorry but I am done!