4/whatever- MONDAY

Over the weekend, I ate clean, bought a scale, drank alot of "light" beer (they got ligher w/each sip), chilled, helped friends move, had fun with Parkie doodle... and thought about the fight. non-stop. Cool though. Jake called me from HAwaii after winning the ROTR WORLD TITLE to check on the training and schedule one last week of serious ass whuppins..... Monday I taught JJ then rolled with Canadian Mike for whie, rested and then did a GREAT mtn bike ride, pushed it to the point of lightheadednesssssss (word?) and chilled with Jason and Jeff... weight 218, WILL BE 215 by Next Monday.... then teh real HELL starts... cutting weight. I am already fucking starving; ate small bowl bra cereal, 1 banana, chicken cesar fro lunch and small bowl pasta (turkey meat) fro desert. Weed for desert. yum.

Jake kickin ass!!!! :

4/21- FRIDAY!!!

Last night's Mtn bike ride was very cool, headed up with Zeb and Dave (DD) and pushed it HARD. I find some outdoor training essential- I always leave the sick ass forest completely centered and free of stress, both mental and physical. Ate clean (meditaranean (sp)) wrap and 4 beers. I Was supposed to indulge in one but fate dealt me a gracious blow as I happened upon an old acquantience who has just purchased a local dance club called "Groove".....he extended an invitation to check it out and we did.. to do otherwise would have been just rude!

Friday, did a technical JJ session first. I focused on a very methodical, tight strategy, the goal of which will be to never compromise position and place constant pressure on my opponent (this will sound funny as hell if I get KTFO the first minute). Then I did 6, 30 second rowing hard sprints with 30 second rest intervals.

My weight isnt dropping at the rate is should be, I was 220 dry and 218 after- a loss of one lb. Probably the huge itallian dinner a week ago and some "hops" scattered throughout the week. Anyway, ate light lunch, said what up to Liz and called it a DJ day. DJ= the Daily Journal, my unauthorized sponsor and place of employment. THEN, already starving, went for a run around the Lafayette Reservoir...logged in the 2.8ish miles in :23::16. I can run all-out faster but I focused on explosive speed/recovery- bustin ass up all the hills at full speed then slow jogging in between.

Boxing at 10:00AM is the plan for Saturday. And f*ckng starving. Need to lose some serious weight in teh next 7 days (6 lbs.) Go Fletchy.

Let the COuntdown Begin (Bitches)!!!

4/14 THURSDAY- still a bit blasted from last night. Taught Jiu Jitsu to some students and the frogmen…rolled a bit and did the usual Muay Thai grueler, rounds and rounds……and rounds. Thousands of legs and fists a flyin. Rapped with Royce Gracie a bit… had a great conversation…out. Was 218 after workout. Sweet. Rested in evening. Vital energy= crap.

5/15 FRIDAY!- I made it! Weighed in at 221 BABY!! Give or take. Did light, technical grappling session and explosive rowing workout (500/500/300/300 SPRINTS). I am fucking sick of the gym, dinner and flick with Elizabeth sounds awesome. And some lovin for good measure. Ate granola, and chicken cesar so far and I am fucking starving. And GR, yeah I know "dinner and movie" is so fucking suburban, kitsch, lame, non beatnik and way North American. But I love it so save it my bearded hombrelito. I am going to have a coupls FUCKING BEERS! Win or Lose, I need the brewwwwwwww!

5/20/06- Monday I didn't do squat, it felt very good. I felt like crap and was all mucucy, not good. Tuesday I did a nice hour- long mtn. bike ride with Zeb and the new neighbor Jeff. Jeff is a cool cat and I look forward to learning rock climbing from him after the fight. Wednesday back in action, did hill sprints in Berkeley hills ad nauseum. Went with Liz and I was stoked at how well she kept up, I did a nice 2-3 mile warm-up and flew up all the hills faster than shit. She was shocked by the beauty and diversity of this enchanted land that nature hath bestowed upon us….. what the fuck did I just type???

Oh, I found out that Steele, MT, GR and SuperDave are making the trek up for the fight! Likely Jason, Dave and perhaps a handful of other comrades have expressed interest as well. Not to mention Jake and Todd from the Daily Journal! Given the distance and obscurity of this event, I am very moved (in the lower G.I. region especially) by the level of support I am receiving. Kick ass friends make for kick ass carnage!!!

Thursday I taught Jiu Jitsu for Jake (he called me last night from Hawaii and asked. I gladly obliged). I then did 4 solid grappling rounds from standing and concentrated on not losing position or taking bottom. Did very well ad rolled into standup. Same Same. 3 rds shadow, 3 on pads, 60 kicks, 50 knees, some footwork and ab lab….Photo Todd (Daily Journal) was there to document the standup and my slightly improved physique…I will grab some shots from him for my blog when I can. Tonight I will hit an hour Mtn. bike ride to get my cardio and fat burning in. Damn, I feel great but great enough??? I will know in just over 2 weeks. I fell 3-4lbs behind the weight loss schedule but I can make it up. I was 218 after the workout and 222 before…. Wanted to be 217-218 by tomorrow and 213 by next Friday. If I was 22 I would be way more motivated I guess but I am not doing too bad…. Or am I?

Mental state: I dream of fighting every night, cant help it. It crosses my mind every more than sex (every 3-5 seconds!). Much like Spears and tequila. I always win in these dreams, knock on wood. I find myself not as nervous to fight as to get the process over with regardless of the outcome (Bruce Lee style). And I like beer. A lot. John Wayne, Steven Segall, Jackie Chan, James Dean, James Bond, etc- these guys don't fucking train; they show up and kick fucking ass!

Look, I really am training!!!

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!

Off The Deap End

4/11 Tuesday. Had a great workout, blah blah but first, check out the injury list thus far: 2 shiners, sprained ankle, one broken toe, sprained or broken fingers (2), jacked up elbow, bruised rib(s), sore jaw. Slept in (need those 9 hrs/day you know). Went right into 3-4 rounds of grappling, 4 rds of takedowns and then a marathon with James cook, like 3 rds shadow boxing, 4 rds pad work, 3 rds on heavy bag, 60 kicks on heavy bag, then sparring drills (3 rounds), THEN a round of non-stop ab work! FUCK!!! But, the harder I train, the luckier I get. Saw Royce Gracie in the gym, pretty cool. Man, this guy James is THE MAN, full of positive reinforcement and great strategy. THE MAN. I guaran-fuckin-tee that I will take tonight off…and feel great about it. James had agreed to do 3-4 days/week with me up until the fight. This will result in the FletchTerminator. Wait, that would mean terminating myself…..er…… the Fletch2000? Fletch 2.0, FletchMachine, FletchHechy??? I am punch-drunk. Poopie doopie. Nipples. Ass.

3.5 Weeks LEFT- Cookin With Gas Baby!!!

4/3 Monday- Did the AM grappling. Weight: 226 (OUCH!).Worked on getting out of bad positions when getting blasted in the ribs. And the face. Then did rowing machine sprints (800/500/300/200/100) with Jake yelling in my ear. I actually did Ok, was only a few seconds of his times in all sets. I was very sore from the long run yesterday and the rowing made me want to puke. I am glad I had a partner, as there’s no way I would have pushed myself that hard solo. Had Parkie doodle (my son) at work so met Lizz for some Chicken Katsu at the tempura whatever joint. Sometimes I get weirded out because she’s such a sweetheart… what’s the catch? I am grateful for her because I know that chicks seldom list “guys with kids out of wedlock” on their “must have’s fro a dream guy” list. dream guy. Geeze she is sweet. Man, I am sore. Went home, made a light crap dinner (pot pie) and enjoyed some wine. And 5 cigarettes. This will ensure that my lungs can perform at less than ideal oxygen levels.

4/4 Tuesday- Slept in, got to training around 11:30 and jumped right in. Did 7 HARD rounds of Jiu Jitsu with different opponents. Started from standing position to simulate the challenge of avoiding and/or performing takedowns. I did very well, no matter how tired I felt I listened to the inner voice that said; "push it!" and it worked. James Cook was there and right after Jiu Jitsu we did 4 rounds of shadow boxing, then 3 rounds of pad work. The sequence is consistent with each workout: focus on defense, basics, uses my great reach to set up stiff jabs, straights and kicks. After 3 rounds (14 including grappling and shadow boxing), I didn't feel that winded! Then we did the routine 60 kicks on the heavy bag, then hundreds of ab exercises…My recovery is improving, as I am ready to start each round fresh. This guy really uses positive reinforcement to make me work hard. I am developing significant power…. hopefully I will get to use it in the fight! Having completed the grappling and Muay Thai, I will likely CHILL tonight and try to eat clean and not smoke/drink. My mental state fluctuates on a daily bases, from warrior to weakling, based on how closely I deviate from, or STICK TO the plan. I watch a lot of fights and visualize constantly… I know I have the tools to do this. I have trained nearly every day for 3 years!!!! But emotion eclipses logic and the "fight" concedes to the "flight" sometimes. As of Thursday I will be 4 weeks out, when will I fucking put 100% into training? I have to quit making excuses and train as if my opponent is Tito Ortiz. I feel great but in 3 weeks I need to be a lean machine. Mediocrity is much worse than doing this fight; maintain focus on what you are training for. Poontang!!!! Not really. One more thing- I need to watch some Rocky movies n shit to get fired up…..

4/5 Wednesday- Went to MA session and did some Jiu Jitsu worm-up followed by 4 rounds of MMA with new opponents. I did very well, didn't get too winded! Jake was yelling positive demands so I pushed it the entire time. BUT, he tricked me! He was yelling "last round" so I gave all I had for 5 minutes and THEN he said "good job man, now lets do a rowing workout.!! BASTARD!! He had me do 6, 30/30 (seconds/rest) intervals. This made me want to puke but I gave it all I had as he was, once again, yelling superlatives in my ear. Went home and CHILLED, ate and conked out.

4/6 Thursday- Still 226 after breakfast…. um, one month out, time to shift gears… YIKES!!! I did some Jiu Jitsu and photographer Todd came in to shoot my standup session with James Cook, only it never happened, he showed up with 5 stitches above his eye from sparring (he forgot to use Vaseline on his face- a tried and true cut avoidance tactic). He invited me to train Saturday, which I will definitely do instead. So instead of standup, I had the privilege of doing 3, 5-minute MMA rounds with JAKE SHIELDS. Jake is training for the Rumble on the Rock WORLD TITLE in just 2 weeks. He will likely face Trigg in the finals and I think he will whup his ass! I actually did OK, tapped 2 or 3x and got a black eye, BUT he said he was pushing the pace and I never "broke." Once again I was pooped and dizzy so I opted to go home, invite buddies over for "ultimate fight night live" and have 3 beers. Fuck, now I have 4 weeks to drop 15. Doable…I think.

4/7 Friday baby!- slept in a bit and went to AM session. Worked with Travis, huge black belt guy with tons of MMA and Jiu Jitsu knowledge. I worked on my strengths (guard, sweeps, elbows and knees). Had a decent workout that ended with a hellish series of rowing intervals. 500/400/300/200/100. Did ok, one was there yelling at me but I still pushed hard and ended up retching on the floor…I know I should go kick box tonight but I just don't fucking feel like it so there. What a paradox- I am training harder than I have since I was 19 and its 40% les than I should be doing. I need to train Saturday and run Sunday and get into the 2x daily workouts for the next 3.5 weeks or I won't get there (weight). I know what I need to fucking do, just do it!!!!!

4/8, 4/6 WEEKEND! Ok, now we made some notable progress. After a mellow Friday evening, I woke up Saturday feeling great! Took Parkeeto back to SF on BART (poor fella, spent his spring break watching me train and on trains in the rain.) Showed up for noon MMA class, did 30 minutes of takedowns, than guard passing with strikes, then some MMA rounds, THEN Gilbert had be do 2 more MMA rounds…. Urghh!!! To my surprise, I felt GREAT! I tapped a black belt Dave Meyers, then went with 250lb. Rich something or other and whupped ass one more. Left the session at 219!!! Water weight but I think I am 3-4 down. Ate clean all weekend. Hung with Liz, wrassled nakkid, roamed the yuppie avenues, went on a great hikeHad 4 beers Sunday, not a big deal….

4/10 MONDAY! Urgghhhhh, hard to wake up, but made it to the Daily Planet by 09:00. Ate some Berkeleyesque healthy kashi bran cereal that tasted like tree branches and tam bark….cup o java and a light Cesar/chicken salad for lunch (can you say fucking cheese steak please?!?!?!) Trained at 11:30, after I was exhausted, had o roll with 2, 210 lb. guys that were strong as oxes…tapped one with triangles and other was neutral. Then did rows 500/400/300/200/100 sprints…. Felt better than ever. When you are about to do something that you know will make you nauseous, you have to disconnect mind from body and just project yourself forward to the point in time when the workout is over and you feel great about yourself, however light-headed you might be. Easier said than done but I am finding that once suffering becomes a habit, its easier to take one for the team (er, uh.. yourself). I am much like a battered wife in this way I guess. Lol! Oh yeah- the coolest part- I weighed 223 before my workout and 219 after!!! Woo hooo!!!! I set some target weights in weekly increments leading up to the fight: 4/14- 221 lbs, 4/21- 217 lbs, 4/28, 213 lbs. Let’s see how close I can come!

Um......When's The Fight Again?

3/28/06 Tuesday- I woke up extremely sore, stuck to the clean diet and went to the 11:30 session. I grapple 4 rounds and run into my second lucky break; James Cook, a world champion kick boxer at Fairtex is training in grappling (future MMA plans?) and agrees to train me on Tuesdays/Thursdays in Muay Thai in exchange grappling work. I did 4 warm (shadow boxing) rounds, followed by 4 rounds of pad work. I could immediately tell this guy is an expert as he immediately gears my training to my lanky body and need to learn enough to survive within 6 short weeks. I focus on the basics; stance, keeping my hands up, pivoting etc and leave this intense session with a “light at the end of the tunnel” feeling. I have a long way to go, but at least now I have a road map!

3/29/06 Wednesday- Chilled with Liz last night in SF, made an early dinner (chicken and rice) and got some R&R (after an amazing…never mind). Had a light breakfast, coffee, oatmeal and banana. Went to Jiu Jitsu, at 11:30 and did 3-4 hard rounds starting from standing position. Jake was motivating me to keep moving and I did well against 3 opponents. Ate side sales and chicken sando for lunch. For some reason, my mindset has started to turn fro the better, probably because I haven’t been punched since Monday.

3/30 Thursday- I worked with James Cook and recruited a few other fighters that have fights coming up. I feel very privileged, as James is an extremely talented fighter and trainer. I think he sees the explosive growth of MMA, even eclipsing kickboxing and wants to compete. Luckily, he will have to develop his Jiu Jitsu and this is where I come in. Back to the training….we did 4 solid rounds of pad worked and focused on effective MMA combinations (striking to set up clinches, knees and takedowns). I feel my defense getting better. Oddly enough, James feels that you don’t need to spar hard before a fight, rather work on second-nature techniques that will carry you through the fight. I am skeptical of this as I think you should train like you fight and I need to become more familiar with getting whupped on. Anyway, I slacked Thursday night fro no good reason. Not only did I skip the evening kickboxing, but I went out with Dave and Jason for “a quick game of pool” that ended in taking a cab home at 4:00 AM from an unknown street in an unknown town in which my method of getting there was……yep- unknown.

3/31 Friday- This was one of the most productive days yet! I woke up at 8:30 drooling on my couch, infomercial piercing my brain, checked my work email and went to sleep until 2:00 PM. Woke up. Ate. Slept. Went to dinner and Mr. Lucky’s for a quick drink. Got home at 2:00AM. Repeat. “Put me in coach- nothing can stop me now!” It’s funny how an athlete’s (and my own) confidence level maintains proportion with effort. Friday I felt like a complete piece of crap and was determined to turn this bus around Saturday and I did just that…

4/1, 4/2- Weekends! After a nice long slumber, I grabbed a train to SF for a beer and oyster festival- I mean, it is Saturday after all- the day I get to “cheat” a bit, slack on my diet and break away from the monk-like regimen I have been subjecting myself to for the last week. Liz rode back with me and we actually played it cool, nice dinner and retired early. Sunday, woke up and we did a 4.5 mile run! Yes, we woke up and ran. I am so back in training now, a well tuned FletchMachine. Look out! Cant walk, should have ran 1 mile and increased distance daily but the middle ground is for wussies. Whether it’s beer or miles, “one” as not a number I can relate to. No worries, I have 5 weeks left to turn up the gas….why do in 6 what you can in 5?

rock star redux

No Pain... No Gain

You should have seen the other guy!

Ayyyy YA!