Scott's Case Files

Back To Duke Roufus

I cringe to look at my old blog posts about working out at the Duke Roufus Gym here in the Milwaukee area.  It has to be two years since I last threw a muay thai kick and meant it.

The sad thing is that I was in some seriously prime shape at that time.  Probably the best of my life cardio-wise.  And nothing pumped up my treasured biceps like working the heavy bag.  I just got lazy and stopped seeing past the effort (and pain) to all of the positive things that the workouts did for me.

Well, ready or not...here I come!  Tonight I'm heading in to take care of the financial end of things and make sure I have everything I need to get back in the swing of things.

As an added bonus, it looks like not only will I have the opportunity to get into muay thai workouts, but I'll also get some groundfighting experience in jiu-jutsu instructors there.  I'm looking forward to both!

Kiai Is Crap

I remember as a kid LOVING to watch martial arts movies.  Black Belt Theater was on late nights hereabouts and it was a thrill to stay up late to watch the badly dubbed kung fu movies and see them do the impossible.  Later on I graduated to watching Kung Fu with Carradine and then The Master with Lee Van Cleef.

The bottom line was that deep down I wanted the martial arts magic to be real.  Wouldn't it be cool to defend yourself with just a length of cloth that you spun so fast that it was as strong as a bo staff and could even support your weight?  Or how about using qi to harm an attacker's very life force ala dim mak?  Wow.

The fact is that the real martial arts stuff that looks incredible can be explained scientifically - even breaking bricks and that kind of thing.

Embedded below is a video that first shows a Kiai master combating his students.  Kiai, in the context of this video, is using qi force alone to attack someone resulting in physical blows - not even having any actual physical contact with the target.  It continues on to show the fight between the Kiai master and an MMA fighter, the master having wagered $5000 that he could beat any MMA fighter.

I think that you will agree with me that the master, in reality, has no such skill and his students went along with the act (consciously or subconsciously).  I'd be interested to see any of the multitude of bruises that the Kiai combats should doubtlessly have caused to those students...

I've seen this same kind of thing before in a qi demonstration filmed in China and believe that was equally crap.

Hurts So Good

I'm having a good time at the gym.  The interaction with the other students really makes the classes for me - to help me with my skill level, to urge me on, and to have that sense of comeraderie.

I got batted around a bit last night during some play-fighting, which I consider a good thing.  I'm a big believer in pain in training where fighting is concerned.  Don't get me wrong - I'm not a masochist.  I just think that if you don't learn how to take a hit and keep going you're not going to be a superior fighter.  That's my personal non-black belt, non-advanced level opinion.

Muay Thai Intensity And More Level 1

I saw my first real Thailand-based muay thai kickboxing tape yesterday and then proceeded to hurt myself during class at the gym. I'm doing just fine today - just sore - and I'm all done whining, so you are spared that.

Level 1 Rocks

I've been having a great time in the level 1 muay thai kickboxing classes as of late. In the beginner class you mainly worked on the heavy bag developing some technique, while in the level 1 class you get to interact with another person to see how you would actually apply that learned technique. I've yet to meet a fellow student who wasn't eager to teach what they could and just be a good opponent - it's really still a family environment at Duke Roufus Gym, moreso now that I'm out of the beginner class.

The techniques that we're learning, both offensive and defensive, are really something to watch.

Welcome To Level 1

Well, I survived testing - I'm now a level one muay thai kickboxer, which basically means that I'm a higher level of beginner. But you came here for the action and play-by-play and you shall have it...

UPDATE: Check out my new Duke Roufus Gym photo album HERE or through the link in the left column of my blog under photo albums.

Testing...Tomorrow

So tomorrow is my Level 1 testing and I think I'm ready. I'll be first out of the chute, so to speak, and it's a little stressful being in the big ring in front of god and everybody to see me do my thing, for good and for bad. I'll make it through, though. 6 minutes isn't that long, right? :P

I would normally be going to workout today, but I want to be fresh for tomorrow. With the summer schedule, I do some stretching and weightlifting before class (with the normal schedule, I'll be lifting after class). On Monday I worked a muscle that I haven't trained in a while (relax, ladies!) - my lats. My lats (or latissimus dorsi for you anatomical sticklers) are my second favorite part of my body next to my biceps. The lats, for any lifting laymen out there, are the muscles on either outer edge of your back that work pretty much whenever you pull something toward you. They're the muscles on men that give them the distinct V-shape. I've been disappointed in mine lately - I used to flex them and look like my body was a cobra hood. Right now, they're not so impressive so I started working them again on Monday. So today...I still ache. That'll pass, though.

So taking tonight off and spending some time stretching and eating well.

Then Friday I get to hang out with two of my gal-pals at a Pat McCurdy concert. It'll be my first full-on McCurdy experience. More on that after the concert!

Closer To Testing

Well, I'm closing in on the 19th and my kickboxing testing.

Went to the gym yesterday and had a good workout - I'm aching as we speak. We did a little of everything in the way of drills - jab, cross, hook, push-kick, low-kick, switch-kick. Ben was my instructor again and was really helpful with my questions about how to use the techniques in a real sparring/fighting situation. (ALL of the Duke Roufus instructors are right on the spot to answer any such questions - I think asking them questions like that really gets them positively fired up that you're taking that kind of an interest in what for most of them has become their life/lifestyle).

Training earlier in the week was curtailed due to medical problems with my ferret Simon. Monday I had to transport him to the vet for surgery and Tuesday I had to come home directly after work to check on him, this being his first full day back since the operation.

So, closing in now. I'm going to do the workout thing on Saturday and some bike riding inbetween. My endurance is improving if still lagging behind where I'd like it to be. I just have to last six minutes in the ring, right?

Testing Is Imminent!

I was at the gym the other day for a kickboxing workout, doing a set of switch-kicks on a pad that my class-partner was holding. Ben, one of the instructors, who'd actually been checking my progress the class before walked over to us and said, "Hey Scott, you can go ahead and tell Scott [Joffe] that you're ready to test."

Back To The GYM!

I've been a really lazy bastard. After my trip to India I got very sick (running a 103 temperature) for several days and then was just totally drained after that...and that's all that it took to get out of the rhythm of going to the gym. But I'm back now. I weighed myself and found myself at exactly the same weight...which means that I've lost precious muscle and replaced it with fat in an equal weight. Evilness. I'm stuck forever at 220 pounds.