Sunday, October 24, 2010

Commandeer this blog

Well the past two weekends have been full. Just not entirely Kassa full. My wife and I made the journey up north for my highschool reunion last weekend and so Kassa got to stay with his good buddy Tequila. I have a feeling he made short work of many of Tequila's toys. Tequila's peps sent Kassa home with a few indestructible ones that he had taken a liking to. Kassa and I enjoyed the baseball diamond early Saturday morning however Saturday brought a whole new adventure for me.

As some may be aware I am involved in a local Judo club. One of my instructors and his instructor have been working a new style of competition called Xtreme Judo Grappling. It involves teams of 5 guys. Each guy on the team fights his corresponding opponent on the other teams. There is no kicking or punching in Judo competition under this or the traditional rule set. In a nutshell, you try to thrown your opponent hard, flat on his back. If you fail the match continues on the ground where you try to choke him, arm bar him, or pin him for a period of time. Under the Xtreme rules they have added some leg locks and wrist locks as well as more flexibility in the gripping rules. on Friday I found out that some of our more distinguished club members were not going to be able to compete and so (dispite the fact that I haven't trained in months) I volunteered to be part of the very first ever XJG competition. There were three teams. One from Atlanta, one from Dickson TN, and ours from Columbia TN. I would say the guys on the other teams was probably in the late twenties or early thirties. The average age on our team was probably about 42. Our lightest (and probably most accomplished competitor) was coming off a serious knee surgery in august and so our hearts were in our throats anytime he stepped out on the mat. Luckily he came off unscathed. My matches were pretty quick, and not in our favor unfortunately. I fought a guy 20lbs heavier than myself and lost in a hold down. Then I fought a guy whose pedigree was a long read. He fought on the National Judo team. Again I lost to a hold down. But regardless of the outcome, I had a good time and got to be part of the first ever XJG competition. When I got home I had another surprise. My wife had watched the prelim of the UFC Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez fight and agreed (offered even) to go and watch the fights at a local pub. I seized the opportunity (before it disappeared) and watch the fights we did. There was a great line up and we a really good time.

Sunday was back to sitting on the coffee shop patio with Kassa and reading a book and moving very very slowly. It was a fun weekend and I got to let my alter ego out of the box. Rest assured though that Kassa had a good time as well.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Heel work

We have been down one vehicle for the past week. This has meant no morning runs in the dog park or baseball diamonds. We have gotten in good morning walks and hit the tennis court a few times. In my efforts to ensure my boy stays healthy and active I have found myself exercising vicariously through him. While this is easier than actual exercise it really has none of the benefits. So in efforts to make lemonade I worked a bit on some heeling and got my own fat behind moving as well. Now I know this isn't probably a 'formal' heel but I'm not competing so I'm not going to stress to much about it.

Monday, October 4, 2010

High and Low

This past week we had the pleasure of watching an adorable greyboy named Odie. Odie and Kassa got along swimmingly however other than both being greyhounds there temperament was very different. Odie is not food motivated at all. Kassa on the other hand is HIGHLY food motivated. Of course as one would suspect.. When I got home for lunch I discovered Kassa had gotten Odie's breakfast. This lead to a new feeding strategy. (Notice Kassa in the doorway) Kassa is also classified as a high prey drive boy. Odie.. not so much. However Odie is a lovable playful goof around boy and even he likes to cut loose once in a while. Today is our last day with Odums.. we will miss you big boy.

Friday, October 1, 2010