See them run. Run Run Run.

Another snowstorm smacks into the East Coast. This picture (parents deck in NY, this morning) should be used as a billboard that reads

"California. That's Why."

So....we should have no excuse not to get out and enjoy the mild weather we get 'round here. Sure it's been kinda rainy, mildewy, and athlete's foot-y these past several weeks, but there are occasional pockets of sunshine. Take advantage of those!

Running requires nothing more than a pair of good sneakers

-- one $80 pair should last you 400-500 miles. That's a year for some, several lifetimes for others. Anyway, it's a fundamental way to both build up endurance and strengthen your support muscles around your ankles and knees. All it requires is that initial will power to lace up, and take that first trot.

Here's a loop that starts and ends at the dojang. It's a hair under 3.5 miles, minimal traffic, and completely flat. If you live in the area, or if you're a parent with time to kill, try it out sometime.

Deep Thoughts

Long day at the Robinson's Invitational at Sacramento yesterday. Fighting roster was: Williams sisters, no, not Serea and Venus, but rather the more famous Tess and Eva Williams; Jose, Rei, and Anna. Kind of a weird set up, in that sparring happens immediately after forms for every weight/age class. So you had weird situations where Anna would be done fighting before Rei even began forms. Not the most efficient setup, but oh well.

Here's one where Jose rips through his first opponent:

Think it was generally a good day, but for some of the bouts, the scoring was mysterious, even by local standards. Sure, locals is locals and it's to be expected, but it's so black-box and inconsistent that you may as well be watching Olympic curling.

On a side note, I secretly suspect that Olympic Curling does not actually exist. Let me explain. I have never met anyone who Curls, nor have I read anything about this so called sport except every 4 years during Olympic time. Hmmm...? I think that Curling is a giant hoax cooked up by NBC as an elaborate joke to us unsuspecting viewers. How else can you explain the terminology used in the color commentary? "Ohhh...the Canadian skip spooned the rock so cleanly that it Martinezed the chop right down to the kindle." Right-o. A quick Google search using reverse 256-bit desampling of the first three letters of each syllable reveals the Greek phrase for "Sucker." Almost too easy. I'm on to you NBC.

Be that as it may, it was good ringtime for the fighters. Lots of tourneys coming up in the next few months -- Santa Cruz and Fresno Regional Qualifiers for starters. Crunch time!

Friday already?

Wonder why there's IT training every week now? Remember studying for your last social studies exam? You crammed for a day, then puked out the answers on the test, right? Do you remember any of it now? Probably not. Example: I spent eons studying geography back in the day. Fast fwd a few decades. Today, I can no longer name the capitol of South Dakota if my life depended on it (answer: South Dakota does not have enuf people to have a capitol. It's also a part of Canada).

But I digress.

Point is, physical movement, muscle memory and endurance are all very perishable items. If you do not maintain through consistent repetition, you quickly forget. Don't believe me? Do you think pro athletes just show up and compete once a week? 'Course not. They practice over and over again; probably 10x what you see on the field. When someone says they're "out of shape," it simply means that their bodies have forgotten how to keep their endurance up - seriously, their cells literally have gotten less efficient at processing oxygen due to lack of use...

So be thankful that KJM enfores this repetition with the weeklies. And also be thankful you're not in South Dakota.