R-E-S-P-E-C-T

What is respect? Is it having people move out of your way, when you approach? Is it having them hold the door for you or invite you to go first? Perhaps it’s the immediate and unconditional obedience of people who are under your authority… Different people have different definitions of respect but not all of them are correct or accurate. I know that for some older generations, that last one is usually the case. I can remember my grandmother, who always DEMANDED immediate and unconditional obedience and respect from her grandchildren. That doesn’t always produce the best results and in today’s modern world, respect can be a fleeting thing.

Without muddying the waters too badly, respect can be easily defined as admiring someone based on their abilities and achievements, while having due regard for their feelings, traditions and rights. So, what does that admiration entail? Is that obedience aspect a requirement? Most people would be inclined to say no. I respect my friends. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say I would obey them. Would I hold doors open for them? Absolutely. The concept of respect has the tendency to be subjective and not always clear to some people.

Let’s take one of the most commonly assumed shows of disrespect: a disgruntled customer. Now, the concept of “the customer is always right” hasn’t really been a thing in quite a long time. For the most part, retail chains are beginning to understand all too well that the phrase that was coined in the early 1900’s in order to ensure customers didn’t feel cheated or deceived, is no longer being exercised in that spirit. But that doesn’t stop certain customers from using the slogan and expecting it to be obeyed.

So, a disgruntled customer comes up to your till. You scan their items and they immediate take notice that the $3.99 item they wanted didn’t scan as $3.30 as they expected. This is an actual scenario I dealt with, back in my retail days. The customer immediately becomes irritated and agitated, perhaps even name-calling and berating the cashier, who is basically powerless to do anything beyond scanning and charging the listed price. Then, they pull the classic trump card out of their pocket… “Get me your manager, NOW! Don’t you know that the customer is always right?”

I walk up and ask the customer how I can help, who then proceeds to spit out the story in as exaggerated and emotional manner possible. All while demanding respecting (DEMANDING) as she is the customer and her patronage pays our salaries… yada, yada, yada… While she’s busy unloading a flood of verbal diarrhea on me, I send a merchandiser to check on the item to see if we had incorrectly priced it. The result was that the price was correct but the item next to it was a bottle with a lesser amount, which resulted in the lower price. I could only assume that the customer’s current bottle was sitting in the wrong slot when she picked it up.

Without getting into the law and applicable legislation that pertains to pricing on retail shelves, I could see that there was no clear way of dealing with this person as they were absolutely adamant that they were right. So I did the only thing I could think of to diffuse the situation and end it before my cashier broke down in tears: I pulled three quarters out of my pocket and handed it to her. When she asked me what i was doing, I responded that I was paying her back the difference in price. She was floored, and said she couldn’t take money from pocket as it should come from the till. I calmly explained that no, it shouldn’t because we don’t provide refunds because something was picked up from the wrong spot on the shelf. But since she believes her patronage pays my salary, she’s welcome to money out of my pocket.

This is only one example, and a pretty common one, of how this customer disrespected the employee. The irony is that the employee was simply doing her job, one in which the customer likely wouldn’t want to do. And what’s even more hilarious is when someone irate is making a total ass of themselves but yet still seems to consider it appropriate to DEMAND respect.

Respect is a fluid thing, and subjective to the person. Respect should be earned and never demanded, although there are instances where respect can be given depending on the situation. The important thing to remember is other people’s perspective. If you can respect someone else’s perspective, it makes it all that easier for others to respect yours. ☯

Clean Yourself Up…

Cleanliness is important, especially as it relates to physical fitness. This means cleaning yourself, as well as cleaning the equipment you use. When you work out, you sweat. That’s no big secret. So, what happens if you don’t clean up properly? Believe it or not, it can be quite important to your overall health. It sure as hell affects the people around you, when you don’t.

Sweat is your body’s main function to control overall body temperature. You get too hot from working out, you sweat. Pretty simple, right? There are a few problems with that. Your body has pores, and that’s usually where your sweat comes from. Over the course of the day, your pores fill up with dirt, dust and bacteria. Part of your body’s sweating function is to eliminate all of that. You know, along with the elimination of a bunch of other nasty stuff. But it’s the bacterial content that usually makes sweat smell bad.

There’s nothing worse than an unwashed body. I know a lot of guys who go to the gym, then sit in their own sweat for the remainder of the day. The thing is, sweat is composed of ammonia, salts and urea. In case you’re not familiar with that last one, it’s one of the main components of piss. That’s right… Sweating is basically pissing out of every pore in your body. If that doesn’t gross you out enough, think about laying on a piece of gym equipment that hasn’t been wiped down!

If you don’t shower or clean yourself up, your pores will tend to clog as the sweat dries. Not only does that lead to some pretty nasty “B.O.” but it can also lead to rashes, infections and illness. Even if you don’t work out regularly, you can potentially face these issues if you DON’T wash your body on a regular basis. When you don’t bathe regularly, it can lead to a build up of dirt, sweat and bacteria. That’s where you’ll start to notice increased acne and sores, rashes and skin issues.

This might seem like a pretty obvious post, and I don’t think I’m sharing any new information. But I’ve trained in enough gyms and dojos to know that a lot of people don’t take personal hygiene to heart. And the big clue is when someone has an extreme level of funk BEFORE working out. And there are those, and those are they, who make the gym all the more difficult for others. Don’t take wiping down gym equipment for granted. Not only for yourself, but for other users. Launder your damn karate gi or gym gear and for the love of all the light, shower or bathe daily! Ax Body Spray is not a substitute for soap! ☯

As Good As Your Word…

I was always raised by my family to not only always be on time, but to always be a bit early to accommodate any unforeseen circumstances that may arise. This applies to all aspects of one’s life, professional or personal. I was also raised that when you say you’re going to do something, you follow through and do it. Today’s post may be a bit more on the ranting side than anything useful, but sometimes you just have to pour it out in order to move on and lighten your soul.

I don’t maintain friendships easily. In fact, there aren’t many to whom I am able to give that title. Maybe I’m just stubborn or perhaps my personal code of ethics and beliefs is so deeply ingrained that I don’t suffer ignorance easily, even when it applies to my friends. I’m totally on board with the concept that we can sometimes go days, weeks and occasionally even months without speaking to each other due to life’s obligations. After all, life doesn’t care about one’s plans. What bothers me, is when someone states they’ll do something and doesn’t follow through. THAT’S when it becomes an issue…

I can provide some pretty specific examples. I have a friend that I used to make efforts to spend some time with. Nothing fancy, just the occasional meeting for coffee or beer. During one meet-up, we decided to grab some dinner at a local restaurant. It was only once the menus were in our hands that it was revealed that the friend was actually short of cash and probably shouldn’t order anything to eat. I’m usually pretty game for letting people find their own way and I agree that if one can’t afford to eat out, one shouldn’t.

That being said, I could hardly sit there and order food when the friend I invited out would sit there with a glass of restaurant tap water. Even if we had gotten together for the conversation and company, it would still throw a wrench into the energy of the evening, so I offered to buy dinner. After the usual back and forth, the friend relented and “agreed” to let me buy dinner. Okay, no big deal, right? If I can’t buy a friend a meal every once in a while, then what’s the point? But there was plenty of other things we could have done that would have cost nothing and been just as pleasant, so I felt a bit off at the fact that dinner was agreed to in the first place.

On the second occasion, we decided to go out for coffee. It was agreed that I would pick up the friend so that we could make our way somewhere to relax and have some good conversation. Once I picked the friend up, I was asked to make a “quick stop” along the way… Seems the friend had lent out a vehicle to someone and it was now dead and required a boost. Basically, I was needed to reach the lent vehicle and use my own vehicle to provide a boost. Nice. After attending to that matter and spending some time out in the cold (it was deep winter, at the time) it was late enough and I had grown tired and we called it a night.

I’m a strong believer of giving people the benefit of the doubt, so I agreed to meet on a third occasion. This time, I provided conditions that worked in my favour. I agreed to meet the friend at a local pub that was only five minutes from my home and the friend would have to find their own way there. It was agreed that we would meet at 6 pm. As is my custom, I arrived at about 5:50 and ordered the first round so it would be ready when the friend arrived. 6 o’clock came and went with no appearance from the friend. Okay. 6:30 hits and I had consumed my beer, so I texted the friend asking when I could expect an appearance.

6:45 struck and I still hadn’t received a response. It’s unconscionable to waste cold beer, so I decided to start on the second round I had provided for the friend. Another could easily be ordered upon their arrival. I texted my wife and asked her opinion on how long I should wait. She replied that it was up to me but that I had already waited far longer than necessary, especially since my messages were going unanswered. Since I was on a second round, I would remain and allow some time, since I still needed to make my way home.

Shortly after 7 pm, the friend finally phoned me and provided some reasoning for being well over an hour late, despite it changing nothing of the current situation. I was asked if I was willing to wait a little bit so they could join me. I declined, since I had already consumed two drinks and still had to make my way home. The friend apologized and indicated that we’d make plans to get together on another night. Needless to say, I stopped trying after that. And this is only one of the examples of why I find it difficult to maintain friendships. There are many others.

For example, I have a long-standing friend from back home, who only ever seems to come visit me when he’s working. Seriously. He’ll only stop in if he can sit and catch up while on his company’s time, which seriously sucks. Just recently, I invited him to my home for a beer, to which he agreed. He was supposed to pop in around 6 o’clock after we had all eaten dinner. At 6:30, he sends me a text message to say that he wanted to walk his dog before driving up and would be at my place around 8 o’clock. Seriously??? With a young son and a toddler to get to bed around that time, I didn’t feel right about hanging out in the garage with beer while my wife dealt with both kids. Light knows she does enough of that in the mornings while I’m gone to work. But what’s more is it pissed me off that he only contacted me half an hour AFTER his agreed time to show up.

Why the hell would you agree to a 6 o’clock meet-up, only to change it to two hours later? Did he not know he’d be wanting to walk his dog? Was it a spur of the moment decision? Couldn’t he have either skipped walking the dog for one day and made an exception or have someone else walk the dog in his stead? Who knows, maybe I’m being the oversensitive asshole, here. I declined his later offer, since I wanted to be able to help out with the kids, plus I was kinda pissed. Just for some clarity, these examples feature two different people. So I’m not just picking on one person.

I always show up. In fact, I always show up a bit early. I consider that practical, but it’s my hang up. However, it’s important that if you say you’ll do something or be somewhere, that yo follow through. I think that’s not only an important social convention, it’s simple manners. I’ll take the friend I haven’t spoken to in a month who actually shows up as agreed, over the one who flakes for no good reason. I have one friend that I meet up with on occasion. The beauty of this friend is that if she isn’t available for something, she’s honest and upfront about it. And if we agree to meet, she always shows up. On time. Maybe that’s why we get along so well. That, and a shared twisted sense of humour.

The hand of friendship is one that should be freely given. But to an extent, it also needs to be earned. That’s what defines the difference between a “friend” and an “acquaintance.” And WHAT you do is at least as important as HOW you do it. Keep your promises. Keep to your commitments. And always show up. Believe me when I say that your friends will be eternally grateful. And if you have even one or two friends who fall under that good category, be sure to keep regular contact and treat them like gold. They’re a rare lot. Food for thought… ☯

Learn To Be Still

I was sitting at the open mouth of my garage with my son Nathan, last Friday. I was enjoying a cigar and much-needed after-work beer and he was being his usual energetic, hyper self. Nathan has never been much of one to sit still, and he comes by that honestly. Especially considering I come from a long dynasty of ADD and OCD individuals. I’ve always had difficulties sitting still for extended periods of time, and I’ve developed a number of noticeable (and sometimes annoying) ticks in my attempts to control it.

Lucky for me that I’ve had martial arts and meditation to help control and focus my energy and attention. I’ve been able to get through my childhood without the usual doctor visits and the medications that can sometimes ensue when doctors diagnose a kid with multiple acronyms. But not everyone has that benefit or can pursue that lifestyle. Although I was willing to put the time and effort in, especially since I spent my childhood watching my older brother swallow tons of pills every day, Nathan is very much his own person and prefers to ride the wave. He enjoys his energy and prefers to run, jump and use it in tandem with his youthful energy.

He finally came to a momentary halt when he realized I was watching the final fight scene from Avengers: Endgame and came running over to watch with me. He set up a chair next to me and watched until the clip was over, then indicated he wanted more. I then suggested that he simply sit still and observe life. He laughed at me and said I was being weird. But he sat in a chair and looked at me expectantly, as though I would be revealing some great, unknown secret. So I did…

Here’s the exchange that ensued:

ME: “Look outside towards the street. What do you see?”
Nathan: (Laughs) “Nothing!”
ME: “Look closer. There’s a lot going on, out there. What do you see?”
Nathan: “I still don’t see anything…”
ME: “Want to know what I see?”
Nathan: “Yes…”
ME: “There’s a breeze flowing through the branches of the trees. Some squirrels are wandering the grass and trees. I can hear some birds chirping, here and there. I can also hear some of the vehicle traffic coming from the highway. There are clouds in the sky and people walking on the street.”
Nathan: “Wow, you’re right…”
ME: “There’s always life happening around you, if you’re just able to sit still and watch. And listen. Sometimes, sitting still is good. And important.”

We sat there for almost half an hour, with it being one of the rarest cases in memory of Nathan sitting still without being told to be quiet or sit still. I didn’t want to break the spell, despite the time and the fact that it was only 1 degree outside and actually quite chilly. I like to think that he may have learned something and actually recognized the importance of controlling his energy and sitting still. The follow day, he was back to his usual, rambunctious self.

We don’t always see everything that happens in the world around us. Our daily lives make it as such that we usually only focus on our own existence while concerning ourselves about the worries of the future. But there is so much more to the world, even in our own small piece of it. Maybe if we could see it from high above, we’d recognize that fact. But sometimes you’ll notice all the life around you, if you can simply learn to be still… ☯

You Say “To-May-To,” I Say “To-Mah-To”

A punch is a punch. Until you learn that it isn’t. To the untrained eye, nothing seems quite so basic as throwing a punch. But in reality, there are many small intricacies involved in the proper execution of a punch. Keeping the fist tight, proper bone alignment and technique are all critical aspects to making sure that your target will feel your strike as opposed to pointing and laughing as you sprain/break your wrist, fingers and/or knuckles against a hard, bony surface. So keeping this in mind, different styles train to throw a punch in different ways. This has been widely debated and written about, so I’m not providing anything original here; simply putting in my two cents. I’m referring to punching with your fist vertically or horizontally.

Example of a horizontal punch. You can ignore the terrible guard by sticking the other fist against the face!

In Uechi-Ryu karate, I’ve always been trained to punch horizontally. This means that my arm extends and the hand is horizontal to the ground, with the two foreknuckles of the fist being used as the striking surface. It’s what I’ve been training to do for over thirty years. For the most part, it’s always served me well and has always seemed to be effective (as effective as an individual person CAN make their punch).

Over the years as I’ve studied and examined other styles, I’ve come to realize that there are a number of different martial arts that use a vertical fist as opposed to a horizontal one. This means that the arm extends and the hand is vertical, with the striking surface being the last three knuckles of the hand. Some styles will still use the two foreknuckles for a vertical punch, but I personally feel it forces me to turn my wrist downward, compromising proper bone alignment. But to each their own… So, which is better? IS there a better one? Interestingly enough, I’ve used and trained with both.

Probably one of the most famous examples of a vertical punch, is Bruce Lee. yes, yes, I know… Not everything martial arts related needs to be compared to Bruce Lee. But the reality is he represents one of the clearest and easiest examples of the vertical punch, a fact that confirms that many (if not most) kung fu styles rely on this method. There are some benefits to vertical punching. Of most importance, it feels like a faster punch, as it relates to how it’s executed. Maybe that’s all in my head. But I definitely feel as though I can execute more vertical punches in the same amount of time than horizontal punches.

Another important issue is the fact that a vertical punch involves less telegraphing of the strike, since the elbow stays down. Considering most students train poorly during repetitive drills and tend to throw out their elbows when executing a horizontal punch. This is an important aspect, especially as it relates to letting your opponent know what’s coming. It also opens up your rib cage in an extremely uncomfortable way. Unless you train and execute for the horizontal punch correctly. You can do the horizontal punch without your elbow flaring out, and in fact you should!

Not all styles of karate use a horizontal punch. In fact, Isshin Ryu is a style of Okinawan karate that originates from very much the same source as my own style. They use a vertical punch that has a unique thumb placement involving pressing the thumb down on top of the second knuckle of the index finger. Many styles of martial arts use a vertical punch, but Isshin Ryu has made a point of having it as their way of doing it, with a unique twist.

A great article posted on Jesse Enkamp’s blog (KARATEbyJesse) outlines some of the differences, pros and cons of horizontal vs. vertical punching. Depending on the martial artist you speak to, everyone has their preference. Especially as it relates to their specific training. What’s important to remember is that just because a technique is done differently than how you’ve been taught, that doesn’t make it bad or incorrect. It’s all in how you execute it. As Jesse pointed out in the last sentence of the linked post above, “The tool depends on the target.” ☯

My Kids & Karate

I decided to put out a brief video clip of my two boys, imitating their daddy! The first part is Nathan, doing a horse stance with a double-handed downward strike. The second part is Alexander having a pretty fair go at the punching bag after watching me on it for about 30 minutes. What’s interesting is that both boys were just a bit older than 1-year old in their respective clips, and I never formally taught them any of what’s seen in the video. It just goes to show that some skills can be inherent. ☯

Life Is Like A Camera…

One of the better aspects of returning to social media, is the fact that I’ve had the opportunity to reconnect with some friends I’ve been out of touch with for decades. Considering the fact that I graduated from high school twenty five years ago, it’s no surprise to learn that many of us have changed and taken a direction in life that may not have been assumed, at the time. One of those people has a tendency of sharing little nuggets of wisdom and motivation on his Facebook feed, and I wanted to share one of them with you, today. I don’t know what his source was, and it’s translated from French, so bear with me…

Life is like a camera…
ZOOM in on what’s important…
CAPTURE the food moments…
DEVELOP the best ones and
DELETE the rest!
If you don’t get the results you wanted or wished for,
RELOAD and RESHOOT.

I felt the comparison, as well as the thought behind this was nice. I feel it sends the message that although there’s good and bad in life, it’s important to acknowledge that you should focus on the good and capture those moments that make you happy. I don’t know, maybe I’m just feeling wistful today. Happy Saturday, everyone! ☯

Pitfall! Not Just An Old School Video Game…

I’m probably dating myself a bit, with the above title. Pitfall! was an excellent, 8-bit video game that was released in the early 80’s and that my father used to let me play on his Commodore 64. Yes, you read that right! A Commodore 64! If you have no idea what that is, Google it and prepare to be awed at the current state of technology, when compared to what we had available three decades ago. Games that gave you a finite number of lives and if you died, you started ALL the way at the beginning. None of this “save point” bullshit! But I digress…

Enough reminiscing about how I used to spend my weekends as a child. The pitfalls I’m referring to in the title relate to the use of an insulin pump. Just to be clear, I LOVE my insulin pump. Besides the fact that it makes insulin delivery a breeze at mealtimes, my current pump maintains pretty tight control of my blood sugars when properly used in conjunction with a CGM or Continuous Glucose Monitoring system. But innovations and technology are only as good as the user allows them to be. And user error is always a possibility.

In six months, I will have rounded the corner on seven years of insulin pump therapy. Being as obsessive as I am, I used to be in the habit of testing my blood via finger pokes almost a dozen times a day; something not everyone can afford to do, for various reasons. The use of an insulin pump with CGM has allowed me to have some freedom from the glucometer, at least as it relates to how often I used to test. A couple of months ago, I managed to achieve the best A1C reading that I’ve had in decades, a direct result of tighter control through the micro-bolusing provided through the SmartGuard technology and CGM.

As good and wonderful as all of it has been, and as often as I like to quip that I’ve become a cyborg (since I have both biological and mechanical/electronic parts sustaining me), there are definite pitfalls to the use of an insulin pump. Hence the title. I know that I tend to harp on Diabetes a fair bit. But it’s for good reason, since, well… Diabetes sucks! I often like to speculate about how life would have turned out for me, had I not been diagnosed with type-1 Diabetes. But the reality is that I have it, it’s here and I deal with it. And I think a big part of who I am has come from how I’ve had to fight against Diabetes. I remember reading a quote somewhere that said, “Diabetes is the leading cause of bravery, determination, resilience, maturity, empathy, strength and compassion.”

While it’s true that I’ve learned to be as strong as I am due in part to my condition, the pitfalls are quite measurable and user error can occur unintentionally. I recently wrote a post about how the pump had been waking me every couple of hours throughout the night. There’s nothing quite like being woken up because your levels are “too good” and the pump wants constant blood sugar readings to understand why nothing’s changing. But I worked with the pump manufacturer and managed to stem that issue. But now, I have a different problem keeping me up at night… My gut!

A few nights ago, my wife and I decided to get an early night’s sleep. This tends to happen at least once a week, where we crash very shortly after we put our kids to bed in an attempt to stem the increase of overall fatigue throughout the week. That night was just such an instance, and we ended up in bed prior to the 10 o’clock hour. At roughly 10:30, I was awoken by the sensation of my pump vibrating. It’s annoying as hell but I prefer to be woken by it, than having it escalate to the audible alarm that ends up waking my wife as well. I rolled over and took the pump out, thinking it was going to request a BG reading again.

Instead, the display told me that insulin flow was block and to consider changing my infusion set. I had barely been asleep for an hour and still had well over a hundred units in my reservoir, so there was no way in hell that I was changing out my set. I wiggled the cannula on my gut slightly, then start the arduous process of getting the pump back to functioning order. You see, if the pump thinks that insulin flow is blocked, it’ll do three things:

  1. Sets off a “blocked flow” alarm. This starts as a vibration, followed by an audible alarm that gets louder, the longer you ignore it. This is important, as non-delivery of insulin can lead to high blood sugars and a whole host of problems;
  2. Turns off Auto Mode. This is where I start to get pissed off. There should be some way for Auto Mode to continue working for the few minutes it takes me to correct the “blockage”; and
  3. Turns off SmartGuard. This is linked to Auto Mode and uses CGM sensor data at five-minute intervals in order to control overall blood sugar levels.

It doesn’t look/sound like a lot when you read the words, but getting all that shit started back up, takes between two to five minutes, which is more than enough time to wake me up to a state akin to poking a grizzly bear’s ass with a bar-wire wrapped baseball bat. So just imagine if that happens a few times, throughout the night? See my problem? A few nights ago, I was woken up this way at least three or four times. Bearing in mind that my blood sugar levels remained ideal, the insulin WAS being delivered. It took until the last time for me to realize that it was my gut, pressing against the cannula that was the issue.

It turned out that every time I turned over in my sleep, the pump would encounter resistance in delivery due to laying on my front. Teaching yourself not to move in your sleep is difficult, if not altogether impossible. The placement of the infusion set is critical, as well. I’ll admit that I have a bit of a “Buddha belly,” so the angle the cannula sits at, can mean the difference between a comfortable night’s sleep or having the pump lose its freakin’ mind every few hours.

As you can see, there are definitely pitfalls to the pump, despite the noticeable and measurable benefits that it provides. As smart as the machine is, it can’t recognize and adjust if I’m physically doing something that interferes with its proper function. On a separate note, it may be a helpful reminder that with the summer season I need to work on trimming my “Dad bod!” ☯

Didn’t Your Mother Teach You To Stand Up Straight???

It’s a classic scene. You’re at the kitchen table or in someone else’s home and your mother will quietly but firmly tell you to “Sit up straight,” or “Stand up straight…” Who’d have thought that you should have perhaps listened to that advice as it would serve you well, as it relates to your martial arts journey. I’ve witnessed and trained in a lot of different styles; sometimes for fun and sometimes to add a little something to my self-defence repertoire. And of all things that I’ve learned over the decades, one of the most important ones is to maintain a proper posture and a good centre of balance.

Standing up straight and keeping your weight centred are integral aspects of martial arts and self-defence. When you lean or all your weight is moved forward over a single leg, you put yourself at risk and expose areas that you should probably be thinking about protecting, instead. It often seems that so many arts are willing to allow practitioners to overreach, stand on one leg through extended techniques or have their heads bobbing and weaving every which way… Don’t even get me started on the concept of holding your hands in FRONT of your face.

Have you ever had that ONE friend who, when you were younger would suddenly push you for no good reason other than being a jackass? No? Just me? Alrighty, then… My point is, if you’ve ever experienced this you’ll notice that you can fall over quite easily once your centre of balance is no longer directly below you. And just to be clear, I’m not referring to issues surrounding forms or pre-arranged techniques; I’m referring specifically to issues surrounding a real-world combat scenario where you need to defend yourself.

I’ve always noticed that a strong tendency with some people who fight is to bob and weave their bodies back and forth to avoid strikes. I suppose that if you’re faced with an actual fight, you’ll do whatever is necessary in order to avoid being struck and to ultimately win. But if you bend at the waist in order to avoid a punch, your centre of gravity suddenly finds itself over open air, which will leave you vulnerable in a way that’s much much than what the above-mentioned jackass would cause.

I’m going to be a bit of a bully for a moment and pick on boxers because they’re the best example. They’re definitely not the ONLY ones, but they have a tendency to bend and sway in a variety of directions and what’s worse, they do it with the torso OR the head. I’ll remind all of you that I categorized this post under the “opinion” tab, so there’s no need to lose your cool. The worst is when I’ve seen people who do that frowny, lowered head posture that they believe makes them look so bad-ass. In reality, you’re obscuring your field of vision and exposing sides of your head that will get you smacked!

In traditional Okinawan karate, we’re taught that not only are extremely high kicks dangerous, as they expose the groin and various other areas, they throw off your centre of balance. A quick, prepared opponent can take advantage of this and send you spiralling to the ground. Once you’re down, the game’s pretty much over unless you have increased skill in defending against a standing opponent who’s dropping his boot down on your head. (Cue the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi… “Don’t do it, Anakin! I have the high ground…)

The same applies to hand techniques and you head, as well. If you overreach during a strike, you face the possibility that someone quick who may have training in grappling (or even someone who doesn’t) could grab your hand and drag you forward. Once you’re off balance, you’ll be too busy trying to regain your footing to avoid the plethora of strikes that may come at you, immediately following your stumble. And anyone I’ve ever sparred against who’s taken the chance of lowering their heads to give me a frowny look has usually been rewarded with a hook punch to the visual cortex.

Although getting into a real world fight scenario is a fluid and unpredictable situation, you should bear the following things in mind:

  • Stand up straight and keep your centre of gravity beneath you;
  • Keep your hands in front of you, but don’t block your face. You don’t want to obstruct your view of the opponent;
  • Keep your head up. Avoid burying your head in your fists as you’ll be unable to see and/or block, if your opponent decides to throw a kick or some other technique at you;
  • If you’re going to perform kicks, be reasonable and keep them at waist-height or lower. High kicks may result in a loss of balance; and
  • Don’t overreach! You should be able to know the distance of your reach. If your opponent is outside of your reach, the proper recourse is to step in BEFORE punching, not try to overreach.

You can get into the proper mindset on all of those with one simple method: drills! Drills, drills, drills! Keep practicing and build that muscle memory. If you develop safe habits and techniques in training, you’ll have a much better chance of doing the same in the streets if you find yourself in a fight situation. ☯

“Keto” – It Ain’t All Fad Diets And Workout Plans

Last April marked my entry into my 39th year as a Type-1 Diabetic. I’d love to sound like an old sage; able to say that I’ve seen it all and done it all. But the reality is that Diabetes continues to throw me for a loop and never ceases to surprise me. The latest instance was getting my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and having my blood sugars skyrocket into the low 20’s as a result. Yesterday’s post and YouTube video covers that experience, if you haven’t had a chance to check it out.

Anyway, I was talking about the “incident” with some colleagues and when I mentioned the increased blood sugars, I made a point of commenting that, “At least I didn’t get any symptoms of ketoacidosis…,” which prompted the all-too-often puzzled look, accompanied by the question, “What the fuck is ketoacidosis???” If you don’t have Diabetes and have no one in the family, some of the jargon can get a little confusing. When people here the term “Keto,” they automatically associate it with ketogenix or the Keto diet. Believe me when I say that those are entirely different things and have nothing to do with Diabetes.

I guess I should by defining this bad boy, and will do so using a quote I found from a page on MedlinePlus, as its online medical encyclopedia provides the most accurate definition. It states, “Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening problem that affects people with Diabetes. It occurs when the body starts breaking down fat at a rate that is much too fast. The liver processes the fat into a fuel called ketones, which causes the blood to become acidic.” Nice, eh? Kinda makes you think a type-1 Diabetic will turn into one of those acid-blooded xenomorphs from Aliens. Given the foul mood that strikes when blood gets that high, that’s not too far off the mark…

The problem is not the breaking down of fat into ketones. Ketones can be a good thing and are useful to the body as a source of fuel when its been too long since you last ate. The problem starts when ketones are built up too quickly. This is where you get ketoacidosis, or DKA, as I will refer to it as from here on in. Otherwise, I’ll give myself carpal tunnel trying to type out the full term throughout the post. And we wouldn’t want that, would we? Alright, I’ll quit rambling and get on with the actual material.

When your blood sugars get too high, you don’t have enough insulin in the body to compensate, which is why the body starts to produce ketones too quickly. Heavy buildup of ketones in the blood stream cause your blood to become acidic. Okay, this sounds a little to similar to what was already defined in the previous paragraphs, so maybe I’ll move on to symptoms. For some, DKA can be an early warning sign that they may be developing Diabetes. Contrary to some sources, people with either Type-1 or Type-2 can get DKA.

Some of the more common symptoms will include nausea and vomiting, bodily aches and pains, weakness and fatigue, shortness of breath and confusion. Let’s not forget the two symptoms that lead to what I call the “Diabetic cycle.” First, you’ll have excessive thirst, which is a symptom of DKA. So you’ll consume more water, which is important when you reach the DKA stage anyway. You’ll have frequent urination, which is also a symptom of DKA as the body is trying to spill out the excess ketones. You’ll drink more because you’re thirsty, which will aggravate and increase the frequent urination. Then you’ll drink more water. Wash, rinse and repeat. A lot. It’s annoying.

For the most part, bolusing to adjust your high blood sugars and consuming plenty of fluids, especially electrolytes, is important as at-home methods of treating DKA. You should consult your doctor if an increase of blood sugar fails to bring your blood sugars down for an extended period of time. The Mayo Clinic recommends seeking emergency care if you’re consistently above 16.7 mmol/L and are experience any and/or all of the symptoms mentioned in the previous paragraph.

DKA is some scary shit. Coming from someone who’s experienced it, it can be a surreal feeling, doubled over in pain and puking, blood sugars refusing to come down and literally feeling like you must be dying. But there’s plenty you can do to prevent it. Regular exercise is a big help. I may have mentioned that exercise is good in some of my previous posts. Test your blood sugars frequently and educate yourself properly so that you can make adjustments to your insulin, should you need to. Last but not least, don’t ignore high blood sugar and act on it immediately, should you get a high reading.

Lastly, DKA is one of those Diabetic side effects that can actually kill you, if you ignore it. Take ownership of your health, train through your endocrinologist and insulin pump trainers (if you’re on the pump) and exercise like your life depends on it. because it often will. Taking those steps will go a long way towards preventing DKA so that you don’t have too experience it’s horrific effects. ☯