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?