Tryout

Grappling is a funny thing.

People grab each other, and try to beat each other up. This all seems simple enough, but it most certainly is not.

If you don't know what you're doing, you can't win.

Let's say you've wanted to be tough for some time, and the route you've been taking has been pumping iron. You've made yourself big and strong. You've decided to give Jiu-Jitsu a try, confident that you can do well because of your power.

You show up, and ask somebody to roll with you. They agree. You are a little unsure about all this, so you've picked somebody considerably smaller than yourself.

For safety with a beginner, you both start on your knees. You grab him, and start bulling him around. He seems calm. You cannot know that he sees you as hyper and spastic. You use your strength and size to force him down and onto his back.

As you do, he grabs your head and pulls it down. You don't like this at all, and push up and away.

He's got your arm and is bending it backwards. His legs have managed to end up tangled with your shoulder. You refuse to tap, and your opponent releases his grip, and slips his leg around your neck. He shifts, and squeezes, and ignores your flailing. The world starts to sparkle and go black. With no possible escape, you tap.

He releases you. You are stunned that it all went so fast.

Your partner expresses concern that you were so reluctant to tap when he had you in an armbar earlier. He informs you that he might have broken your arm, and you believe him.

Should you be surprised at your effortless defeat? Of course not. You are no more likely to find big muscles useful when rolling than you would if trying tennis for the first time, or yoga, or dance.

Perhaps that's too harsh. Muscles can be useful, but not until you learn what to do with them.

The funny thing is, while people don't think they have a built-in tennis or yoga ability, most think they can fight.

They most assuredly can not. At least, not effectively.

Machida

On Saturday, one of my favourite UFC fighters had a match. It's funny how few people understand his fighting method.

I've included some quoted material from the an article posted on MMAJUNKIE on December 21 that was written by Mike Bohn

That fighter's name is Lyoto Machida. He originated in the world of Karate, and fights that way. Watching him is like watching any good, Karate-tournament fighter in action. Of course, he has modified what he does in order to adapt to the realities of mma fighting, but he's still clearly a Karate guy.

Take his kicks. He launches them with a highly bent knee, snaps the kick out, and snaps it back. This makes Karate kicks about the fastest around, admittedly with the loss of some power compared to kickboxing style. People think Machida's kicks must be weak as a result. They are totally missing the advantage that speed gives. If you kick faster, you will hit more as your opponent will have less time to react.

On Saturday, “Machida became the fifth fighter in UFC history to earn three or more knockout victories stemming from a kick.”

Somehow, while kicking without any power he knocks a lot of people out.

Machida also punches like a Karate guy, and not boxer-style like almost everybody else. I've heard people claim that he cannot possibly be generating any power using what look like totally relaxed straight punches.

Saturday, “Machida landed the 13th knockdown of his UFC career and moved in to a tie with Melvin Guillard for the third most knockdowns in UFC history behind Anderson Silva (17) and Chuck Liddell (14).”

Somehow, for somebody who doesn't know how to punch, he seems to hurt a lot of people.

And what about the way he moves. He refuses to cover up and take shots boxer-style like everybody else. He stays just out of range until he decides to engage. This drives purists crazy. They seem to want him to trade shots.

On Saturday, “Machida became the first fighter in UFC history to absorb zero strikes in two main event fights.” Get that? He's been only fighter ever avoid taking any shots at all in a main event.

Strangely, there are still people insist he fights wrong. I'd think more fighters would try to copy what he does.

LA Training

Training in Los Angeles with the Gracies is really great.

It is different at home. Here, we work diligently through the curriculum that's been released by Gracie University. It's very interesting and challenging, but is aimed at lower level technique.

In Los Angeles, they cover this same stuff, but they also teach technique appropriate for Purple Belts, Brown Belts, and Black Belts.

I am only able to retain parts of this higher-level stuff, but find it fascinating none-the-less. Last time I trained down south I came away with a bunch of things that fit nicely into my repertoire.

The way they normally do it is to start with something not to difficult. The class works on that a bit, then the instructor shows a progression, and we go work on that. Perhaps at that class there are six of these progressive steps.

By the end of the class we'll have done the opening movement tons of times, and have it down pat. Each higher addition will have received fewer reps, and be less deeply engrained. The final stuff is often well beyond my comprehension. I'll normally be able to perform it during that class due to it being the next logical movement beyond what I already understand from the earlier layers, but it will fade rapidly after class.

Even so, it often opens my eyes as to what somebody can do above that people my level are up to. It also let's me understand how critical certain parts of the seemingly easy lower stuff must be performed to lessen a higher Belt's ability to exploit weakness.

It tightens up my game.

Last time I was there, I attended every available advanced class. This meant that I'd get the same material presented both at mid-day and in the evening. This gave me more instruction and practice on each of these technique progressions.

This, of course, only covers the formal instruction part of the learning.

Down there there are hundreds of people to roll with, from Blue Belt to Black. There is a great deal to learn from this wide selection of opponents.

Some are aggressive, some are defensive. Some use basic movement, some fight fancy, and some are reckless.

There is no way I can do all the sparring. It runs for about half an hour after the main class. Doing that 13 times a week would see me battered and bruised.

To manage this, I would sometimes train for the entire session, and sometimes stay for just one opponent. Other days, if I were particularly tired, I wouldn't roll at all. I'd say I averaged one opponent per class. As I trained there for 101 classes, that added up to quite a few partners to learn from.

I'll likely do the same thing when I go south for two weeks this winter, and for four more weeks in the fall.

Balance

Right now the plan is to visit the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu for 2 weeks this winter, and 4 more late next fall.

When I'm there I train like a maniac. I go to every class my level, which means 13 classes per week. That's as much as I do at home in a month. When I go, I go to learn.

The only way that I could do better would be to add some private lessons. One can arrange this at a cost of $80 for a Purple Belt instructor, or $100 for a Brown Belt, or $120 for a Black Belt. The price drops significantly if one books blocks of a dozen lessons.

It is also possible to book Ryron or Rener Gracie, but the price is right out of sight.

When picking a Black Belt, a student can choose one of the full-time academy's full-time instructors. I'd want either Alex Stuart or Jordan Collins.

Should I go the private lesson route? This would significantly increase the cost of training, but it would also increase the effectiveness.

If I added two privates per week for all 6 weeks I'll be in LA during 2016, I would quality for the 12-lesson discount. This would likely be a good amount.

If I were to do this, I'd likely drop two of the group classes; perhaps the evening classes on Monday and Wednesday. That would mean that on those two days I'd be finished after midday class ends at 1:30pm.

The problem is, it's hard to justify the price, no matter the value. Jiu-Jitsu is a hobby. We spend more just travelling and staying in LA, but that is also a holiday for both of us. Paying a bucket of cash for extra lessons is money poured straight into the hobby.

I doubt I'll spring for a block of 12 lessons. Maybe I'll do some much smaller number. Instead of twice per week, maybe only once will be enough. Perhaps, even less than that. I think a single session would be meaningless, as part of that would be spent with the instructor just figuring out the student, and the student getting used to the instructor.

What would I do if I were a stinking rich? I think the group lessons are important, so I'd still do the 6 midday classes each week. Two private sessions per day seem doable to me, so that would be 12 of those per week.

They don't have training on Sundays.

It's all very interesting to think about.

Rank doesn't matter?

So somebody earns their Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt. What happens next?

They start attending the Master Cycle classes, of course. That's the fancy name that the Gracies have given the sessions for Blue, Purple, Brown and Black Belts. Personally, I hate the name as it seems to imply we think we're a bunch of martial arts masters. What it really refers to is the procedure of cycling through techniques in order to gain some level of mastery. Anyhow, the name isn't up to me.

Every single Blue Belt that I've ever seen joining the Master Cycle class reacts the same. They are a bit timid and shy, and act like they've just been fed to the lions.

There will be a bunch of material taught, and practised with more experienced partners. What could be wrong with that? I think it's the free rolling they fear. There is usually at least a little bit of that at every class.

So they roll with somebody who's been in the class longer, maybe that person has a stripe or two on their belt. Normally, people go easy on the new arrivals. During that first free roll, they'll experience stuff they've never seen before. They'll try stuff that will get magically countered, and anytime they get anything, it will be pretty clear that their partner let it happen. Most likely, in mid roll their partner will show them something or give a tip or two.

It won't turn out to be a bad experience, but it will be pretty clear how far they have to go?

It's funny; everybody says rank doesn't matter, but it really does. In Gracie Jiu-Jitsu every new Blue Belt reacts the same.

There is a likewise effect when Blue Belts get their first stripe. This will be awarded somewhere after 8 months in the Master Cycle class. The recipient will have learned a great deal of technique by then, and will have rolled hundreds of times. After they get that stripe, they seem to change.

The stripe acts as a visible acknowledgement that they are no longer rookies; not the bottom of the free-rolling food chain.

The reaction isn't as immediate as with a Blue Belt, but it's just as real. Within a few weeks the new one-striper becomes more relaxed and confident in their abilities. This, in turn, makes them much more effective when rolling.

I can't really say what effect receiving a second stripe has on a Blue Belt student, as that has only happened at our school twice. It's too small a sample to work from. In about two months we may see a few more awarded, and maybe a pattern will emerge.

Around here, a second stripe does have a big effect on the other students. When I got mine, it was right after I'd returned from a couple of months training with the Gracies. In my 8 weeks there, I trained as much as most people do in 8 months. While this was a great training experience for me, the others seemed to magnify it several times over.

Everybody seemed to see me as much more advanced than anybody else even if it wasn't really true, and associated perceived skill with my two little stripes.

When Scott got his second stripe, everybody seemed to think he must be equally advanced.

I'll give you an example. Let's say we are all learning a technique new to everybody. At practice time, somebody will always grab me as a partner. If they have any difficulty, they will ask me how do do things. Even if I say that it's just as new to me, they will expect me to be able to do the technique and to explain all its subtleties to them.

They do the same thing with Scott.

So rank means nothing, except a Blue Belt makes you humble, a stripe makes you relaxed, and a second gets you seen as some sort of tutor.

I look forward to the next few months when we should be seeing more stripes handed out, including a couple of third stripes. The group should end up with a healthy mix of people with from zero to three stripes on their Blue Belts.

I think that with three stripes you get the ability to fly.

Another test

About a year ago I completed my bloody-huge BBS1 exam at Jiu-Jitsu.

Nobody around here has done that since. A few have expressed interest but none have put in the necessary effort. They are smart.

It is now time to get involved in that process again.

The next technical exam in the series had just been made available; BBS2. I have no intention of doing that test anytime soon. Eventually I will, but no rush.

There is, however, pressure on the instructors. While there is a grace period, they have to complete every technical exam that becomes available. That means our teacher has to get going on it.

That also means he needs helpers. His son Scott is his usual training partner, so he's in. I'm the other one.

As our instructor practices the curriculum, Scott and I will be practising the role of the technique recipient. We have to display the correct behaviours for the technique to be demonstrated against. It's not as hard as learning the candidate's roll, but it's hard enough.

It's actually all hard. A video is made in which about 75 moves and counter moves are demonstrated. This all has to fit into 15 minutes, so there's no time to stop and think.

When that video is completed, and good enough to submit, there are still two more just like it covering different material left to record.

These are the parts we need to help him prepare for, and to help perform.

Beyond that there are still three five-minute sparring videos to record, but any Blue Belt can help with those.

We worked on the first section of the test this week, and I'd say our instructor is about ready to shoot it. He plans on doing his second section in January, and another in February. This seems realistic to me. It's all that difficult.

Tomorrow we train for the test again, with no distractions.

I'll have my camera around just in case any filming is called for.

Holiday Diet

I've been on this weight loss kick for 34 days so far, and have lost an impressive average of one third of a pound per day. Sadly, this is all about to come apart with my goal in sight.

This is the last day of Jiu-Jitsu classes until January 6^th. That's 19 days away.

Jiu-Jitsu classes have burned over a day-and-a-half's worth of calories per week all on their own.

Calorie burn has been a huge part of my weight loss program. All I'll still have will be running. That works, but it isn't as fun. There is also a limit to how far I can run in a day. It's a pounding type of activity, and I ain't no spring chicken.

Running is also highly weather dependant. If snow hits, I won't hit the road at all. If things just remain cold and rainy, some days I just can't get myself motivated.

It will also be officially the Christmas season. That implies lots of food temptations. I fully expect to consume at least a couple of billion calories on Christmas Day alone.

I'll be lucky to just hold my current weight until things get back to normal in January.

If I can, and things go back to how they are now I'll be hitting my weight goal after a week back at full activity and dieting.

That will make me 175 pounds. I intend on going for another week and getting down to 173. There is always a rebound after weight loss, and that 2-pound difference will be my buffer.

After that, any time my early-morning weight goes over 175 for two days in a row, it's all on again until I get under 173. That will be as much weight variation as I will allow myself; 173 to 175.

The cool part is that with all the Jiu-Jitsu and running that I normally do I get to eat more than most people and not increase in chubbiness.

The thing that ever does me in are vacations. I end up eating more in the form of restaurant meals, and far less exercise. Cruises are the absolute worst in this regard.

Our next cruise, and all its dangers, isn't until late spring.

Teaching Style

In my thirty-some-odd years in martial arts, it has been my privilege to train with a great many instructors. All have been different, and because of this I've managed to figure out the type that works best for me.

Some are demanding and push students incredibly hard. For me, those are a waste of time. You know the type; lots of hard exercises taken to excess; pride in standing motionless in stance for long periods of time; lots of yelling.

Some teach by rote. They often say things like, “there are 23 ways of striking with the human hand.” I find this to be nonsense, as even if it were true that there are exactly 23 of hitting with the hand, who cares about the number. It's like learning that there are 25 prime number smaller than 100, rather than learning about the prime numbers themselves. Did you know that there are 178 prime numbers smaller than 1000? Do you care?

I also dislike instructors that invite questions, and then clearly don't know, and yet answer anyway. I like instructors that either have an answer that clearly indicates that they've previously thought about the problem, or who don't know and admit it.

What works best for me is a detail-oriented instructor. I like one who has analyzed everything that they can think of regarding a technique. I like it when they present the material in a logical and complete fashion. If asked a question, they usually have a well-thought out answer, and if not, they say so.

My first instructor in Shotokan Karate, Perry Foster, was a detail guy. I've attended many, many seminars over the years featuring guest instructors. The very best of these was Yasuo Sakurai. He is the finest Karate teacher I've ever met. His knowledge and attention to detail is truly astounding.

When I joined Jiu-Jitsu a few years ago I went to watch and try out a couple of classes before committing. If the instructor wasn't right, I would have walked away. He was a detail guy, so I stayed. I'm still there.

A perfect example can be seen in the two chief instructors of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I am referring to the brothers, Ryron and Rener Gracie. Both are brilliant instructors.

Ryron is more likely to include something a little wacky in his teaching. If questioned about something, like, “what is your knee doing during the roll,” he'll usually say that he doesn't know. He'll then do the move again, and then explain what he did in relation to his knee.

His brother Rener is very different. His classes seem perfectly prepared. He includes about twice as much detail as his brother does. If he received a question like, “how is your hand moving during the transition,” he'll have the answer ready, in detail, and with reasons for everything.

I am happy training with either, but for me Rener is by far the better match. I come away from his classes easily twice as well-informed. It's just how my brain works.

Other people prefer great motivators, or instructors who encourage students to find their own way. I understand this, but it doesn't work for me. I'm always 100% motivated, and trying my best to figure things out on my own already.

Everybody has their own learning style.

Changes and views

There have been three different sets of expectation regarding rank during my short, Jiu-Jitsu career.

When I started, there was a well-established route from White Belt to Blue. It proceeded with mathematical precision, and culminated with a comprehensive exam. This all took an average of a year. This hasn't changed a lick.

For Blue Belts, there were four little stripes to earn and add to one's Belt. Beyond that was the mythical jump to Purple Belt and beyond.

To get each stripe there was a daunting amount of curriculum to master, with exams that made the one White Belts took look like a cake walk. When I was a White Belt this was all theoretical. The curriculum was only released for the first of the stripes, and the test for that level did not exist. Nothing beyond that was out at all.

That meant that for students at an outlying Certified Training Centre, the highest practical rank was Blue Belt.

About the time I left my White Belt behind, the first Blue Belt stripe exam came out, and the ceiling became Blue Belt with one stripe.

Headquarters wanted us to know that they were working hard to get the higher stuff out more quickly, but somehow I doubted it. This was important as it wasn't the speed that the students progressed that determined their rank, but rather the speed that the curriculum could keep up.

Just recently, the test for second stripe was released. This took about 2.5 years. In comparison, at the headquarters school students progress at the rate of a stripe every 8 months.

This all mixed together was the first expectation of progress in my Jiu-Jitsu career.

I worked very hard as a Blue Belt, and got my first stripe after only a year and a half. This banged me right into the glass ceiling. At that point I had caught up to the curriculum.

The Gracies decided to put things more in line with headquarters rank.

They decided the same rules of HQ would prevail, and that Certified Training Centres could award stripes on that basis.

These rules were that a student amass 8 months of training and attendance of at least 100 appropriate classes. After that the local instructor could choose to promote them.

This was great. Instead of the four Blue Belt stripes taking 10 years to earn, they would now take only 32 months.

Everybody started talking as if promotions were now 8 months apart.

This was the second rank paradigm that I laboured under. It was just as wrong, except this time on the side of over-optimism.

We are coming up to the 8 month anniversary of 6 of our students since their last promotion. Of the 6, only 2 will become eligible for promotion. The others are no where near completing their attendance requirements.

My own 8-month period ended at the start of November, but I won't have the attendance requirement completed until just over two months later.

Promotion is now possible in 8 months, but the average time will be closer to a year.

This is my third understanding of how promotion works in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

It isn't 10 years to do one's Blue Belt stripes, nor it is 32 months. It looks like it is closer to 4 years.

The step after that is to Purple Belt. There is no fixed amount of time or attendance, and it isn't awarded locally. It represents about what a Black Belt does in most other arts.

A candidate must be evaluated by Ryron or Rener Gracie in person, or by a Black Belt designated by them. This means setting up an evaluation when a seminar is close to home, or by travel to their school in Los Angeles.

Then there are four stripes for Purple Belt; another evaluation to get a Brown Belt; four more stripes for Brown; and another evaluation for Black Belt.

This road to Black isn't the 37.5 year road it first seemed, nor the 10 year one that is theoretically possible, but rather more like 15 years.

All very simple really, until I found out that one of the instructors at HQ went from White Belt to Black in 7 years. SEVEN YEARS?

How the hell is that even possible?

Do it, or not

Dieting is a lot like running, and both are similar to martial arts. I'm sure that other things can also be added to the list, but I'm going to stick to things I know.

To be successful, all of them require a long-term, sustained effort.

Let's say somebody is trying to lose weight. They come up with a food-control plan, and get rolling. They resist temptation, and stick to what they are doing and start to see results. They are pleased, and continue along.

Somewhere in their journey, they will fail to stick to the plan. It has to happen. They go out to eat with friends, and have something wonderful. Or, perhaps a holiday rolls around; like Thanksgiving or Christmas. Maybe they just can't walk past the ice cream freezer at the supermarket again without grabbing some.

Maybe they are not on a diet. They have themself running several times a week. The weather gets a little nasty, and it's just too hard to drag themself out onto the road. Maybe a vacation pops up, and for several weeks they are doing other things.

Maybe they are training in Jiu-Jitsu, and enjoying it greatly. Something gets them off the mat. Perhaps they are away on vacation, or they have an injury, or maybe some big sporting event is on TV.

The activity gets missed, for whatever reason. I'm sure you've known dieters who've had a setback, thrown up their hands, and quit the whole thing.

If too much running gets missed, it is physically hard to get rolling again. This can be very discouraging. Instead of wanting to run, they might find it harder than ever to get motivated.

Miss a Jiu-Jitsu class or two, and it's easy to let it become three.

The danger is for all of these things to expect perfection.

If you diet all week, and go for pizza on Friday that isn't a failure. Likely, in your pre-diet life you would have gone for pizza just the same. One day on your old diet with 6 days of calorie reduction is a successful weight reduction strategy.

Missing a sporting activity is just a break. Let it be nothing more. If you train 9 times in a row, and then miss one for no real reason, it's still 90% participation.

This is all predicated on the idea that you want to continue. It can also be an excuse to quit the diet, or to quit running or training. You've failed and might as well quit. Perhaps with dieting this is most tempting. You've failed, and quit, and instantly binge eat.

With training, the reward isn't so massive and immediate. It might just mean staying home to watch TV.

If you want to stop any of these activities, you don't need an excuse. Make a decision to do so. It's your right.

I think you should be honest with yourself. If you don't want to run, don't run. If you don't want to do Jiu-Jitsu, stay home. If you don't want to diet, have a sandwich. Either that, or chose to continue past the irregularity in your commitment.

This all seems very controlled. Do I ever have bad days? You betcha. Today we went out for breakfast for fun, and then went to a Chinese-buffet for supper. Although my day included an hour's run, I still suspect that I ate more than I burned. However, it was close. I expect tomorrow to be a full-on diet day again.

Do I ever not run? You betcha. Crappy weather kicks my butt when it comes to hitting the road. I can handle light to middling rain, and moderate cold, but not more than that. I also don't run on my super-busy Jiu-Jitsu days, but I could.

Do I ever miss Jiu-Jitsu training without a good reason?

Nope.

Normal

There's about a week of training left before things shut down for Christmas, and they're finally getting back to normal. It's been a while.

I headed to Florida in the middle of October and stayed a month.

Getting home didn't return me to normal training as our instructor was doing his own holiday down in Mexico. His son, Scott, has been doing the teaching.

So now, it's back to normal, but only for a week.

Then we shut down for two weeks of Chistmas.

Maybe then it will really be normal.

Light on my knees

So why am I hurrying to lose weight?

Well, I hate the process, so I want to get it over quickly. That answer belies the deeper reason.

I need to get lighter to be easier on my knees. They have to be able to handle my mass grinding them into the mat. The smaller I am, the stronger my knees are in comparison.

I've picked 175 pounds as my goal. I seem to be my most fit at around that weight, or maybe a sliver smaller.

Taking care of my knees in this way is a fine idea for my home-base Jiu-Jitsu training. I do a little over ten hours a week. Of these, only 3 are intense and knee-dangerous.

When I go to Los Angeles, and train with the big boys, I do 13 classes a week totalling 17.5 hours of training. All of these are intense. Very intense. Majorly intense.

Although my knees are OK at a heavier weight at home, they would not be in Los Angeles. I like tough training just fine, and if the weight on my knees is 15 pounds less, they'll like it, too.

I will be in LA for a couple of weeks this winter, so getting ready now makes sense. I will be monitoring my weight closely after achieving my goal to prevent any slippage. My body will just have to get used to being 175 pounds.

Once in LA, I have to be careful in an opposite way. I train so much that it's hard to keep from accidentally getting too skinny.

Around here I burn about 450 calories per hour doing Jiu-Jitsu. Let's just say 500 calories an hour will burn in LA. That means that if I eat an exactly normal amount of food, I'll still end up shrinking by 2.5 pounds a week. I lost weight last time I was there, but not that much.

My preventative is to do lots of American-sized portion restaurant eating.

This year, I intend taking my fancy-pants digital scale with me to monitor things. Last time I winged it, and lost weight. As I was a bit heavy at the start, it was not a problem.

This time I'll already be at my correct weight, and so don't want to lose more. My body composition will change, but that's OK.

So here's my plan. Get to 175, and then monitor and maintain it. Go to LA, train like a lunatic, while monitoring and continuing to maintain my weight.

Come home, weighing 175, and with both knees intact.

Dark and stormy night

I get a little obsessed.

I've been plugging away at weight loss for about three and a half weeks now. Started at 190, with a goal of 175. It's been going very well.

Some days progress is noticeable, and others it is not. Overall, I've dropped 12 pounds so far.

I've cut back on food, of course, but also have tried keeping my level of activity high. I do about 10 hours of Jiu-Jitsu a week, and do a bit of running as well.

The running started off really well, but weather here on the coast is not the most pleasant during November and December. We are lucky in being the only part of Canada where we often see totally snow-free winters. What we get is cold, and rain.

For the last few days we've also been having freakishly high tides, and extremely high winds, along with heavy, driven, rain.

Very yucky. So I've not been running.

Then I weighed in today, and was down well over a pound over the day before. Now that's performance. I realize that it's a normal fluctuation, just as on some days my weight actually goes up a bit.

No matter; I am inspired. The momentum must continue.

Today there are two hours of Jiu-Jitsu, which really is quite enough exercise. At least, for somebody who has not been inspired to burn the fat. Therefore, I'm sitting here with a coffee, all suited up to run in the high-wind, rain-driven cold. Not only shall I run in the storm, I will do so along the town waterfront.

I shall be rain-lashed and soaked, and running through the wave-battered dark day.

I shall feel tough, and virtuous, and wet and cold.

Running wait

I've been back running for a few weeks now.

All is well. The first few runs had me pretty euphoric at just being able to do it. That hadn't been possible for about 11 months.

Now the novelty has worn off a bit. Each day that I set out, I am confident that I will finish with my knee still in top shape.

I used to actually enjoy running. Not always, but often. I'd start approaching the turn around point of a run, and just keep going. I haven't felt this kinda thing recently.

Granted, almost all of my recent runs have been through cold and rain. I've never been a fan of that stuff.

Still, no running high, nor any desire to run forever.

Likely these things will come, and I'm content to wait.

Wait while running, of course.

Fatburner

My weight loss scheme has a weird rhythm to it.

I was way up around 190 pounds, which made my goal of 175 not all so very ambitious. I did, however, want to get it all done as soon as possible.

I use a handy little app called MyFitnessPal to track my calories. It says that somebody my size needs to consume 2330 calories in order to perfectly maintain weight. It has most food items on its list, and you can input data for those that are not. You can also put in your exercise activities and it will modify things for that as well. Not all of my activities are listed.

It's not as good on the exercise side, so I got myself a heart rate monitor that talks to my iPad. It gives a much more accurate picture of how much energy I burn.

Anyhow, I consider my weight loss week to start on Tuesday. I track my input and keep that as low as seems sensible. I always keep that well under my 2330 calorie level. That, however, is not the effective part of my day. Tuesdays I spend 3 hours doing Jiu-Jitsu. I burn between 1200-1500 calories doing that. Sometimes I run as well.

If you keep in mind that 3500 calories equals a pound of weight loss or gain, you can see why Tuesdays get me results.

Wednesday is exactly the same, except for an hour less of Jiu-Jitsu. Thursday is the same as Tuesday. These three days of the week are the backbone of my losing weight.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are the same with the amount of calories consumed, but not with how much gets burned. I go to Open mat time at Jiu-Jitsu for about an hour on Friday and again on Saturday, but it is not the same. It's usually me working slowly on learning or reviewing technique. There are sometimes spurts of activity, but not for very long. Last night, for example, I sparred for about five minutes each with Rob and with Wan. It's a good burn, but not for long enough.

I try and go for good long runs during this part of my week, but don't always manage to get myself out on the trails. If I do, it's maybe an 800 calorie effort.

I've averaged a bit more than 0.3 pounds lost per day this way overall. That's more than enough for my needs.

Sadly, willpower is always a big part of these things. I should run every single day, and I shouldn't vary from my most disciplined level of food intake. I can't stick to that. Sometimes it's too cold and wet to get myself running, and food temptations are everywhere.

I do what I can, and it seems to work.

At least my way, progress is readily apparent.

Old Fart

I am the oldest person around here doing Jiu-Jitsu. I am currently 58. I'm pushing pretty hard for rank, and figure I'll earn a Purple Belt at age 60.

Beyond that my goals become less driven. I hope to be able to train for a good many years. Rank will come when and if it will. Being Purple is enough for me.

My body is holding up remarkably well, but I can't expect this go to on forever. I'll have to train smart in order to keep going. It is conceivable that I could earn a Brown Belt some day, but I'll leave that to fate and time.

Can I expect to train intensely until I'm 65, or 75? Who knows when I'll be forced to back off? Better that I do so by choice, and not due to injury. That way I'll be able to do this stuff for a much longer time.

I might end up on the mat at age 75, but not if I keep chasing rank.

Smart and playful. That's how I'll play it.

Missing Women

Within the world of striking martial arts, there are a very large number of women. Take Karate, for example. About a third of practitioners are female.

Jiu-Jitsu is even more fun. You learn neat tricks, and get to roll around on the mat. 35% of our kids class are girls.

Strangely, this changes in the adult classes. In our White Belt class of ten people, there is only one woman, and in our 13-person advanced class, there are two.

That's only 10% and 15%. What makes those classes so different than either adult Karate, or kids Jiu-Jitsu?

I interpret the data to mean that boys, girls, and grown men all like rolling. Grown women? Much less so.

If they like it when young, I assume they should like it as adults. Perhaps they don't like the idea of doing so with adult males?

Maybe I'm onto something there. What makes rolling with adult males something that women do not want to do?

Men typically are a lot bigger and stronger then their female counterparts. This is not true in the kids class. There, the girls are typically larger than the boys.

Is there anything else?

Sweat jumps to mind. Boys, girls, and women don't seem to sweat all that much. Adult males do, especially the really big ones. This has to do with cooling a large-massed body, but it is also kinda gross. I'm not crazy about rolling around with a sweaty man, and I am one. Some of us are hairy monkeys, too. Big, sweaty, hairy monkeys. Perhaps I should be writing about how surprising it is that any women ever wants train in a grappling art at all.

There is also, perhaps, the fear that some males will interpret contact with female partners to be somehow sexual in nature. I call this the creepy factor.

In our group, I can think of nobody who is creepy. If anything, all the guys make an extra effort to be just the opposite. Few are even very hairy. About half work up impressive amounts of sweat.

There is, however, a physical size difference. We currently have 13 people in our advanced group, and our only 2 women are the smallest students there.

Perhaps this is why some schools in larger towns have some female-only classes. These seem to be a big success wherever they are presented.

We see this locally with our Women's Self-Defence program. It runs three times a year, for a couple of months each time. It is always well attended, with between 10 and 20 participants. Some of them do the course repeatedly.

If you consider them to be an adult part of our school, and mix in our White Belt group and advanced class, we are over 1/3 female.

Imagine that. The same percentage as in Karate, or as in our kids class.

Now, if we could just get them into a full-scale Jiu-Jitsu program.

Prep

I've been lodged in my big chair, feet up and all comfy.

While sitting, I've been going over the list of techniques on the first part of the BBS2 exam. There are 62 of them. It's very hard for the candidate to remember exactly what is required for each, but that is not my job. I'm trying to learn the partner's role.

Sometimes it's easy. After item 6, I end up face down on the mat. I get up, climb into mount position on my partner. When he turns to his side I hop into modified side mount, and let him and gravity do their thing for movement 7. I get up into mount again, hop into modified side mount again when he moves, and get flung away again with move 8. Easy as pie for me.

Sometimes it's harder. Moves 1, 2, and 3 are all woven together. In this sequence, I have to present the proper movements at the appropriate time for my partner to interpret and counter.

At least once in the test there is a sequence where my partner takes a position, I counter it, he counters my counter. I then physically refuse to let him complete his move, so he counters that.

It's a lot to get ready for.

Shawn is our instructor, and he's the one getting ready for the exam. It's a rule of the Gracies that every instructor must be up-to-date on all the Gracie University exams. The current BBS2 exam was just made available. Until an instructor passes the new BBS2 exam their ability to issue rank promotions is put on hold.

I was hoping to get promoted by the middle of February. We have about a half dozen students whose last promotion was in June. Their 8-month minimum training period will be up in February as well, and they should become eligible for their next promotions. We're all on hold.

Shawn has said he is hoping to do 1/3 of the test as soon as possible, another third in January, and the last in February. This is a sensible pace for this type of exam.

My best guess is that if he performs on that timeline, he might just be finished in mid-February. Likely Headquarters will be getting swamped with submissions from instructors trying to keep up their qualifications. Even if this causes only a normal-but-long grading turn around of 3 weeks, Shawn's pass won't be back before March.

For some in our club this will mean a slight delay of maybe a month in their next promotion.

For me, it will be a bit worse. If I cannot get my next stripe by mid-February I'll be gone south until April. I've gotten used to the idea that is what will happen, but I'm going to do whatever I can to accelerate Shawn's test.

Therefore, I'm getting ready to be a prepared training partner for him. This just might get things going in a slightly accelerated manner. Likely it won't speed things up at all, but it costs me nothing except for a bit of effort.

I'm also happy to be able to help him any small way I can. He does a lot for our whole group.

Shawn's Test

It can be hell being retired. We have to fit all our lovely trips into our year in a logical and satisfying pattern. It can also be a hassle trying to fit Jiu-Jitsu progress into the bundle.

Neither Helen nor I wish to do any travelling in the warm months, except maybe to visit friends and family fairly close to home. That means we stay close to home from April until October.

December holds Christmas, and that's spoken for.

That leaves November, plus January through March as our travel times.

We like having two trips a year; one in November and one after Christmas.

In 2015, our after-Christmas trip starts in the middle of February and and runs just past the end of March. We are headed to Arizona, with a two-week LA stop for Jiu-Jitsu training with the Gracies on the way down. This isn't really a training trip, but I couldn't pass buy without tacking on a couple of weeks on the HQ mat.

Our November 2015 trip so far is looking like a month in LA again. More Jiu-Jitsu. Twice as much this time.

I am hoping for a promotion to Blue Belt Stripe Three before we head south in February. This would make it possible to be Blue Belt Stripe Four in time for the November training month.

Why does that matter?

If I am rolling around with four belt stripes in November, the Gracies will know that my next step is Purple. I will get treated differently than if I'm still wearing three. They will expect more, but also give help and advice appropriate to that next step.

Everything was on schedule perfectly with my Jiu-Jitsu ranks, but a good thing has just made it all kind of shakey. Headquarters just released the next level of Gracie University examination. That's the good thing I'm talking about.

That means all local promotions are on hold until the instructors are able to complete the exam. The exam requires a major commitment of time and energy to complete.

I'm sure our instructor, Shawn Philips, will get right on it. First, he has to get back from Mexico. As soon as he does, we shut down for two weeks over Christmas. Let's say he gets it all done in the month after that, and submitted on January 31^st. This assumes nothing pops up to delay him. Let's say that the flood of exam submissions does not overload the system beyond a normal, longish wait period for results. Let's assume that this takes three weeks, and that on February 21^st he can again issue promotions.

That has me already in LA training with the Gracies and unavailable for promotion. When I get home early in April he'll likely award my my third stripe.

This means I won't be eligible for a fourth until December, a month after my fall 2015 visit to LA. No special attention from the Gracies for me. Crap. My next time in LA won't happen until fall of 2016 at the earliest, and that will be the one where I get evaluated for Purple Belt.

It all still works, but will be slightly less ideal for me.

So let's look at it pro-actively (I hate that word). What can I do to get things to turn out the way I want them?

I certainly can't get the rules changed, nor can I speed up HQ's evaluation of Shawn's BBS2 exam. I can, however, try and help him get his exam done as quickly and easily as possible.

He usually uses his son Scott for his own training, but I can try and keep myself ready to be a spare. It takes almost as much work to be a good partner as it is to prepare the drills themselves. The partner needs to know all of the appropriate behaviours for the test candidate to react to. Being retired, I certainly have the time.

I suppose all of this might make it possible for me to do the test soon, too. I hadn't been planning to do so, but if it falls in my lap why not? I just might, as long as this doesn't slow Shawn down at all. Perhaps I'd do mine after his has submitted.

Doing the visit the Starbucks thing

I've been running lately, which is a nice change from being stuck on the couch. The only problem is all I've been doing is running. Running in cold, wet, rain, deep-puddle November.

Today, it's cold but nice and sunny. To start my run off on the right foot I've gone to Starbucks. I'm sitting in a comfy chair, with a big, steaming, coffee. The atmosphere is cozy and congenial.

This could be a big mistake; starting off with cozy and then going off to run in the cold, but we'll see.

I actually don't feel like running at all today, so I'm forcing myself. Tuesday through Thursday I burn thousands of calories at Jiu-Jitsu. Today and tomorrow, I train in an unstructured way with nowhere near the intensity. Sunday and Monday there is no JJ at all.

I'm trying to slim down my boyish figure, and calorie burn is a huge part of it. Weight has been melting away at an astonishing rate and I'd like to keep up the momentum. Therefore, I must run.

Running and Pounds

All settled in again at home, and it's been a really great week.

Helen is back at music, and I at Jiu-Jitsu. She's had friends over several times, and we've even gone to a dance.

I shall list as two of my favourites this week to be related strictly to me.

The first is I have been on 3 runs. These are my first in a long time. I didn't do any when we were down in LA for the months of January and February, and my knee got hurt shortly after our return in March. I've been off of running ever since.

Now I'm back. I've stuck mostly to trails to limit repetitive heavy impact on the joints, and that is going really well. I started with 3.2km, and then have taken it up to the 8km range. The knee has had absolutely not issues. My quads have been a different story. They've totally forgotten that we do this kind of thing.

The other big, cool thing has been weight loss. I didn't weigh myself until we were home from vacation for a couple of days. When I did, it showed 190 pounds. That's up ten pounds. This would be bad enough, but my mass was already up five pounds above my ideal weight when the holiday started. That had me needing to strip off 15 bloody pounds.

Been controlling my diet severely, as well as running, and being back at Jiu-Jitsu full speed. I use an app to track my calorie and exercise balances, and then enter the results into a big spreadsheet on my laptop. I use a heart rate monitor when rolling or running to get an accurate picture of how much I burn.

Anyhow, started at 190, and ten days later weighed in at 182. Won't be long.

It's cool that the running is helping the weight loss, and that the weight loss also helps me to run. The danger to the run is the impact involved. The lighter I get, the lower the stress on my knee becomes. I've already reduce it by 4%, and will have brought it down by a total of 8% if I make my 175 pound goal.

Think of it this way. If I run up right now, at 182 pounds, each knee supports 91 pounds. A week ago that would have been 95 pounds. Less stress, but big deal. Pretty much any adult knee can handle 95 pounds, or 91.

I stand on one leg. That knee now supports 182 pounds instead of 190. That matters more, but standing still still isn't any kind of an issue at either weight. Now, what if I start jumping up and down on one leg....and landing mostly on my heal. That's what running is like. They say it magnifies the force on a knee by up to four times. If so, that's a pretty hefty impact. Any kind of force reduction, be it 4% or 8%, is a huge deal.

So anyhow, I'm getting lighter, and running, and home, and loving it all.

Cruise end

The cruise wrapped up, and we took a cab to our Fort Lauderdale hotel by the beach.

It was funky as the dickens. Helen and I had a room that was about ten feet from the bar. This made sleep potentially a problem.

We spent two days exploring the nearby beach and shops, and unwinding from all our unwinding. The night-noise problem wasn't anything. I slept right through it, like usual, and Helen had great success with her earplugs.

My favourite part was swimming in the surf. There were tons of jellyfish, but we same through unstung.

*

Fly-home day sucked.

When we got the machine to spit out our tickets, we got no seats assigned. The screen said that the flight was overbooked, and to see the agent. Lola and Bernie got seats.

We rushed through to our gate, but of course there were no agents there.

Several showed up for the flight before ours, but couldn't help us. Likely they could have, but they were swamped trying to care for their own passengers. They vanished immediately after their flight left.

I went online, and found that the issue was only with our Florida to Chicago leg, and that we actually had seats for Chicago to Vancouver. There were a few seats on Florida-to-Chicago available in the class called EconomyPlus. For $50 each, we could snatch a pair of them. I ran back out through security to try and find an agent. By the time I did, the seats were all gone. The agent did issue us corrected boarding passes showing our second flight seats.

Back through security again. The agents were there, and Helen was on them. I waged in, too. They tried to assure us that we would get on. I stood nearby and waited. They kept asking people to accept a later flight for a $300 reward. They seemed to need 9 seats. A few folks went for the money deal. A couple of folks missed a connection, and their seats went into the pile, too.

We eventually got seats, but not until everybody was already lined up for boarding. Not everybody did.

I hate the airline industry.

Parted with Lola and Bernie in Chicago, as they were flying home to Vernon through Seattle.

We ate while waiting. Our Vancouver flight left half an hour late, but somehow managed to make up the time and land almost on time.

Caught our train and rode for three stops, then walked a km to our hotel.

The next day we set out about 8am. We walked back to the train, and from there every connection went smooth as silk. It went train, walk, bus, ferry, bus, bus and walk. We were home by 2pm., and you can't do better than that.

And then we collapsed.

Self-inficted

Well, I did it to myself.

All cruise lines have loyalty programs that are tiered depending on how many times passengers have sailed with that line.

All four of us started together on this line as rookies this year. Our first Princess cruise was in September, and we had no status, and were issued Blue keycards. November first, we sailed again, were considered Gold Members, and got Gold keycards. We stayed on board on November sixth, and continued with Gold.

Princess mixed things up a bit by mistake as we continued on board on November tenth. Having sailed three times previously, we were now Ruby Members and should have received Red keycards. We were issued with Gold ones.

This all means nothing. Effectively, Gold and Ruby members are entitled to perks that do not relate to us at all. These are things like 10% off deposits on future cruises, and cruise collector stickers. The only thing that might effect our lives are invitations to repeat-cruiser events on board. We qualified for one of these on our November sixth cruise segment, but nobody wanted to go.

On our current leg, Helen got keen to attend. She thought it would be like one we had on another line that had yummy snacks and drinks. We all went along. It turned out to be more like a sales pitch, and had no snacks. They did give everybody present a drink coupon.

Well, there we were, with inaccurately coloured keycards, and none of us cared. I decided to get mine fixed, and to show up with a fancy schmancy Red card and pretend to be all superior and uppity. I visited the loyalty program desk on board and swapped Gold for Ruby, and then flaunted it before the others. We all laughed, but then Lola wanted one, too.

As a fine friend, I took her up to the loyalty desk where she straightened out her card. All fine so far, but she was also given an invitation to the Ruby-level loyalty event. Next thing I knew, we were all invited to the event, and everybody all excited about going.

We were assured that this, much fancier event, will have snacks.

The big drawing card is the snacks, and likely another drink coupon. This entire ship is a 112,000 ton pile of non-stop snacks. I would much rather lounge about someplace, or maybe eat, or swim, or go to the gym.

Even worse; unlike at the Gold event, I'm going to have to wear long pants.

Did it to myself.

*

So we went for afternoon tea. Keep in mind that three of us prematurely terminated our afternoon naps to do so, and were staggering around just a little.

We had tea. I greatly prefer coffee, but it was afternoon tea.

Around came the trays of tiny, over-mayonnaised, crust-trimmed-off, triangular sandwiches. Following this were several rounds of little, thickly-frosted cake particles.

About halfway through the nibbling, a piercing alarm sounded and the P.A. called for the "first-response" team to a location down on deck three. That's down in the crew area.

A while later the Captain announced that smoke had been discovered on decks three and nine, and that the cause was some welding repair work in the engine area.

So no free cruise, and chance to ride in a lifeboat.

The waiters all seemed very distracted for a while, which is very understandable.

Turns out Helen might have gotten food poisoned by the mayonnaise sandwiches. How can people eat that stuff?

Formal Night Not

Small glitch with our turnaround. As we had to change cabins we were supposed to receive new key cards. We didn't, nor any letter explaining the correct procedure for obtaining them, or how to do the next cruise stuff at all.

I questioned the desk when I got up at my usual, stupid-early time. They said go to the meeting place, and somebody would have the cards. Were first in line at the meeting place, and they said to sit, relax, and talk to their partner who would be there soon. The partner arrived, and said they would check.

Nothing happened, so I bugged her again. She said to have a seat, relax, and that she'd check. A bit later she announced on the room speaker that our party should disembark, and that we'd receive our cards on shore.

As we can't get back aboard without our cards it was seeming like a game of pass-them-off-on-the-next-person, and that they'd get stuck dealing with us. Meanwhile, we'd be off our lovely boat for an indeterminate amount of time.

Nope, once unloaded, she showed up with all our shiny, new cards. Huzzah, and back on board.

We moved our stuff to our new cabins without waiting for the staff to get around to it. All moved in, and happy, and it's almost lunchtime.

I like lunchtime.

The girls played cards a bit, and I went to the gym. My treadmill machine gave me a fitness test that cranked up to a 10% slope. I don't run up real hills that steep. I think the treadmill wanted to kill me.

A bit later, We all ended up together again, walked the deck and saw three manatees lumbering along. I got a pretty fair video of them. We keep trying to find shore-based free wifi, but so far nuttin'.

*

Twas a lovely, Bahamas beach day at Princess Cay. Helen and I snorkeled, ate, and did a camera safari. To round it off, Helen hit the water again while I flaked out in the shade.

The only downer was that it was a formal dinner night, and we didn't try and bring those kinda clothes on our tiny-packing trip. Most cruises let you in anyhow, as long as you have slacks and a button shirt, but not Princess. No problem; off to the buffet. It was closed.

They had a fancier buffet set up at the next eatery. I think Princess thought they were doing the non-formal folks a treat. The food was a notch up from the usual buffet, but the venue was not.

Princess doesn't seem to get 21st century, Vegas-style such as ALL the other cruise lines use for their buffets. Vegas style has lots of guest room, and stations for different types of foods. There is no expectation that guest go through the entire food line. In fact, there is no food line. It's wander and discover.

Princess had us at a buffet which was clearly designed to have everybody enter a food queue at one end, and remain in place until you squirt out the other end. I was having none of that, as our line was stalled at the custom-made-salad station. I skipped the salads altogether, but it was a squeeze to do so, and on a ship like this I count as a slender guy. I popped into holes in the queue and snagged my assorted entrees and was done in maybe three minutes. I was off to my table before the guy just ahead of "my queue spot" was even half way out of salad land.

This would be understandable if this ship were designed long ago, but it's actually a 21st-century-built vessel.

Ship Home

After eight days on board, we've hit the wall. Bernie skipped dinner altogether. Lola's entree was small, and neither Helen nor I finished ours. The wall.

This was reflected in our activities as well. Part of the day saw Helen and Lola playing cards in the Piazza. Bernie does what he calls his photo safaris. After the Zumba exercise class, I went running in the gym.

We are treating the ship like our home.

*

Today it's our ship's second return to Fort Lauderdale. We had to pack up this time as we couldn't get the same cabins. We move a few doors down. Actually, we just do the packing and the stuff gets moved for us.

We didn't receive any information like we did last time telling us how to do the turn around. With the room change things are a little weirder, as our key cards will have to be replaced. They are supposed to have our new key cards at the returning-passengers meeting place, but we'll see.

A good benefit to the turn around is that we got some room booze. None of us are willing to pay bar prices, but like the odd drink. At the start of every cruise it is permitted to bring aboard a bottle of wine per person as long as you keep it in your room. Ours is about used up.

They do sell bottled stuff on board for low, duty-free prices but they only let you have it at the end of the voyage. The final day of the trip is different. They keep selling bottles, but don't have time to do the last-day room delivery anymore, and just give it out over the counter. Bernie got some Grand Marnier, and I picked up a bottle of Sheridans.

It is always good to learn the system.

*

By the time our last leg is over, we should understand this boat pretty well. I think we'll be ready to move things ashore. Most people disembark looking pretty grim. They are looking forward to an immediate airport meat grinder, with a flight or two to get them home that same day.

I've never considered that the way to do things, even on our first cruise 20 years ago.

In five days, when it's finally our turn to leave the ship, we have a beach-front Fort Lauderdale hotel booked. Much less pressure that way. No worried rush off the boat. No deadlines that day.

Normally we'd fly home the following day, but Mister Internet could only find us pricey flights. Huge savings were to be found by delaying 24 hours. This we are doing, which more than pays for another day at the beach hotel. Another day at the beach free? Sign me up.

Flights are never perfect. There are no direct flights at all between Florida and Vancouver. The best trips involve a single stop over and plane change. This time we do so in Chicago.

Due to the magic of time zones, we leave at 11:30am, fly for 3 1/2 hours, spend 4 hours in Chicago airport, then fly for 4 more hours, and arrive in Vancouver at 8pm. My guts will think it's 11pm, but what do they know.

Getting in at the hour means we can't catch the ferry home. Therefore, we bunk down in Vancouver, and take it easy getting home the next day. This will include a walk, a train ride, another walk, a bus ride, a ferry ride, two more bus rides, and a final walk to our front door.

In a way, our trip home from the ship will take about 3 days. No need to rush these things.

Cozumel

I am really, really enjoying this cruise. We are on board for 15 days in total. It's a bit of a weird one, as it's actually three shorter cruises hobbled together.

Bernie and I are both freakishly early risers, and normally find one another and sit for coffee, and for what we call "first breakfast." After seven we return to our cabins, and by 8 all four of us meet up for our real breakfast. Then, it's ashore if we are docked someplace. If it's a ship day Helen and I go to Zumba, and then I go to the gym.

We all meet up for lunch. Afternoon is nap time, or sit-about time.

Then dinner at 5:30. We are all early diners. We get done in time for the early show. Post-show, Lola and Bernie head for bed while Helen and I go dancing.

Bedtime, then repeat.

Tomorrow will be especially good for me. We will be docked at Cozumel. Helen and I have booked a novel tour. It is a day at a snorkeling beach, but that's not all. The interesting part is our transportation back and forth. No bus, nor shuttle; we will be riding Segways. We've always wanted to try them and this seemed like an ideal opportunity.

We get a little lesson, then scoot to our beach through town and return the same way.

***

Last night we had to set out clocks back another hour as we've sailed that far west. My body is confused. We changed time three hours ahead by flying to Florida, and then an hour back last weekend for the end of daylight savings, and now this. It's currently only an hour off of where we started.

The problem is that my body has gotten used to both of the first two changes.

Tonight we sail away again, and our clocks go ahead to remove the adjustment for Cozumel. A week later we fly home and gain three hours. That will have been a total of five time changes in a single month.

This morning I was finished sleeping and got up at 4:30am, which feels like 5:30, and back home would be 2:30. Thank goodness for coffee.

Our Cozumel day was perfect. Our tour wasn't to meet up until 11:20am, so Helen and I went ashore as early as possible to do a walk about.

It was dang hot, but almost at once some cloud cover rolled in. It kept the temperature pleasant, and cut the risk of sunburn.

Half of the pier is a cruise-style shopping area set up as a gauntlet that the passengers have to bottleneck through. However, we were there so early that they were letting folks avoid this by using the crew express walkway.

Off of the pier there is a big shopping area geared to the cruise tourists. Lot's of tshirts, jewelry, and junk. There are a bunch of restaurants and bars. What kind of idiot leaves a cruise ship to go eat? Beyond that is the town.

In no time at all the entire cruise shopping area was packed. I suspect that 75% of those who go ashore never set foot beyond of this zone. To them, this is Mexico.

We checked out a couple of these tshirt shops on our way to the egress towards town. It's still tourist-land, but at least it is all Mexican controlled.

The little straw-market shops were just waking up. We slowed for a moment at one, and in no time the guy had us looking at silver jewelry. He was charming, and slick. He kept playing with his prices. It was so much fun that Helen bought a lovely little pendant for $20. Then we escaped.

Everybody was very nice, and perfectly polite. I don't know how many times we smiled and said, "no, thank you." At least a few hundred.

Helen also found some beadwork rings, and bought three for another $20. I picked up a couple of tshirts.

We headed back to make our 11:20 tour, but first we took our purchases back to the ship. This time we had to cram through the bottleneck. For me the worst part is the perfume stink area. Yuck. We got through, and put our stuff in our cabin, and re-ran the bottleneck to get ashore for the second time.

I had chosen our tour, with Helen's enthusiastic agreement. It could handle 12 people, but there were only 6 of us. Our guide lead us out of cruise/tourist land to a small, enclosed area. There were a bunch of traffic cones, and a bunch of lovely, Segway vehicles.

They gave us a lesson, with everything demonstrated, and then it was time to mount our trusty steads. They are controlled by a combination of leaning, and handlebar manipulation. We went around the course a few times, and then we were lead single-file out into the world.

We had a guide in front, and another in the rear. Behind that we were followed by a truck that was carrying all our stuff. We rolled about a kilometre, then stopped for a break.

They warned us our legs would tire fast, and they weren't kidding. At the stop, they walked us over to a lovely fish-filled sink hole. The guide chatted about the island a bit. This was a pleasant way to rest our ankles and such.

Back on the Segways, for the rest of the run to our real destination.

It was a nice, little spot for swimming, snorkeling, sunning, eating, and drinking. We had about an hour there. I've done better Caribbean snorkeling, but this was good.

Back onto our vehicles, and we rode back. Altogether, we did about 5 kilometres on the Segways, and did some lovely snorkeling

After our tour we wandered on a bit of a photo safari.

Finished the day with a splendid dining room meal as we pulled away from the dock; with a show; and with some dancing.

Cruising is hard work.