Martial Vitality

  I've decided to retire from martial arts, for now at least. I started this social media presence in January 2016 , so the seven year journey is now concluded. I took my last BJJ class in March 2020 , as Covid-19 was first surging in the US. I injured my back in that session, and my left arm and shoulder had been bothering me for months. I figured some time off might help anyway. In April 2021, after getting my first two vaccinations, I had another round of shoulder surgery . The rotator cuff fix combined with a bicep repair was worse than my previous three shoulder surgeries. It took about a year to return to a relatively pain-free life, even with diligent physical therapy and care. I originally had a goal of staying with BJJ for the long haul in order to earn a black belt. Given that it took me  2 1/2 years to pass my blue belt test , I had many years ahead of me, even before Covid hit.  I think of earning my blue belt as one of the five toughest physical challenges I...

  Today, 18 January 2022, the Martial Vitality project is six years old. I started it as the Rejoining the Tao blog in  January 2016 . The Martial Vitality brand arrived later, when I was considering open a school. I consolidated both projects under the Martial Vitality name in  July 2020 .  Martial Vitality captures what I find interesting about martial arts, outside of martial arts history. For example, the  #martialartstechniqueoftheday  from my  Instagram account  shares images of techniques, generally from very old grappling texts. If you prefer  Twitter  or  Facebook  I post using the same hashtags there. In my last post I wrote that I Am Indeed Recovering from Shoulder Surgery . Due to the pandemic I have not trained since March 2020. I am considering whether or not to return to jiu-jitsu. Since the pandemic started, my school closed and reopened under new management and trainers, and in a new location. Some of my favori...

I wanted to share in a quick post that I am indeed recovering from shoulder surgery! In my last note I said that I had a rotator cuff and bicep tear repair operation on April 27, 2021.  The first month after the operation were much tougher than I expected, probably due to the bicep tear complication. I had a very difficult time sleeping and managing pain. I did not experience much of any relief until the 5th week, at the beginning of June. Since then I have made great strides. My physical therapy has been extremely helpful, although I've had a few setbacks. I had hoped to return to jiu-jitsu in the fall, but I doubt I will do that due to the delta and other Covid variants. I am immuno-compromised, so although I am fully vaccinated I am at risk for a breakthrough infection. This is disappointing, but I started a new routine of watching a martial arts (usually jiu-jitsu or judo) instructional video every day. Check out Instagram  or Facebook  or Twitter for more. 

When I posted the above photos to my social media accounts, one of my friends wondered if I had shared pictures from the Mars lander. Those are actually images taken inside my shoulder, by a doctor on April 26. During the middle of 2020, probably in June or definitely by July, I noticed that I had severely injured my left shoulder. I was familiar with the pain caused by a rotator cuff tear. I had partially torn my right rotator cuff during Air Force Academy training in 1991, but didn't get it repaired until I experienced three surgeries in 2007 and 2008. I tried to recover on my own using exercises from the last sets of therapy sessions. In the summer of 2020, in the middle of the first US Covid surge, I was reluctant to see a doctor, have an operation, or attend months of physical therapy. By the end of March 2021 I was vaccinated. I made an appointment to see a doctor and also got MRI scans of my arm. The doctor informed me that not only was my rotator cuff fully torn, but that I...

  What did I do to lose almost 13 lbs in two months? Introduction About two months ago, in early February, I decided that I was carrying too much weight. I'm 5'9 and 49 years old, and I prefer to walk around at approximately 150 lbs, or 68 kg. That's within 2 kg of the 66 kg (145 lbs) weight class for many BJJ and judo events. I don't compete, but I like to think that if I were to compete, that would be a good division for me. On February 8 I recorded a weight of 166.8 lbs, or 75.6 kg. That was still 20 lbs under my all-time highest weight of 186 lbs, but over 16 lbs heavier than my preferred weight. I decided it was time to take action. The Plan I took the following three steps to get my weight gain under control. 1. Food choices: I took a close look at my calorie intake. I eat a fairly narrow diet anyway, but I made sure those choices would not add weight. 2. Eating times: I restricted my eating times from 7 am to 7 pm, and when possible, 7 am to 6 pm. This was a sort...

  I enjoy listening to the Shintaro Higashi podcast, and a recent episode addressed dojo etiquette . Shintaro said that he had heard that it is a breach of etiquette for lower ranking BJJ players to ask higher ranking BJJ players to roll. In other words, it would be odd for a white belt to ask a blue belt to roll. I have a limited view on the subject, having only started training in January 2017, and having only trained at one school. I have attended seminars and camps outside my own school, but those settings are a bit different. I am also only a blue belt, so I do not have much experience being a "senior belt." For what it's worth, at my home school, One Spirit Martial Arts , I have not encountered this situation. As a white belt, or as a blue belt, I did not feel any concern asking to roll with a higher belt. I do not feel weird when a white belt asks to roll with me. I believe this is a cultural norm set by professor Sauer and the head instructors at the academy. I...

Four years ago on January 30, 2017, I took my first jiu-jitsu lesson at One Spirit Martial Arts in Herndon, VA. It was a Gracie Combatives lesson. Someone took photos for the school's social media pages, and I ended up barely appearing in the back row of one of the photos.  In March it will be one year since I stopped training due to Covid-19 . Since then I have been trying to keep mentally and physically engaged with jiu-jitsu, despite not attending classes at the academy. For example, beginning on January 1, I started my "90 Days with Danaher" program. Every day I watch a John Danaher instructional. I started with the first two volumes of Feet to Floor, then continued with Go Further Faster 1 Pin and Turtle Escapes. I am now in the second volume, Go Further Faster 2 Guard Retention. I take notes on each video and screen captures for private reference.  Go Further Faster 1 Pin and Turtle Escapes screen capture with annotation Each day I share a few screen captures ...