RingoAnother year down and I return home yet again without having earned a medal. Last year I received one but did nothing to help the team get it and this year we came close but were edged out by the French. We beat them in qualifying rounds but when it came down to the end we were unable to make it count. That sucked. Alot. What sucked worse was remembering the plays later realizing there was more I personally could do. I made the same play I’m used to doing at home, knowing that it wouldn’t work with our line up. I did it knowing it was counter to the plan we had come up with.
It sucks looking at tape and watching yourself make the mistake. I probably couldn’t have made my team win through personal action, but I definitely contributed to the loss. God do I not want that to happen again. When I leave the field next year, win or loss, I want to know that I did not only the best I possibly could have, but the absolute maximum any single person can for there team.
Time to up my training. My gas tank emptied once on the field. Cardio needs to improve. I barely had any takedowns. Got to get that grappling game on point. I slipped once and allowed myself to get caught on the rails 4 times. Running isn’t where it needs to be. I checked numerous people and they all stayed up. Apparently I hit like a bitch; fix that. My weapon strikes, kicks, and punches were mostly useless. I maul like a baby tiger when I need to be an angry momma grizzly. Lastly, while my analysis off the field isn’t bad, on the field I’m still making poor decisions and taking to long to do.
So how do I build a better Ringo? Start with the body. Cut the fat. Increase the Cardio. Build muscle to the point of excess. Going keto for a bit, 2 months probably. No goal weight but at least under 10% bf and really when I know that I’ve shed all the extra. Meanwhile I’ve started running in addition to regular work outs. 3 days a week trying to build up to my old long distance endurance. I want to be able to run a Half Marathon at a nice jogging pace(9 minute splits maybe) without really digging into reserves. Muscle. I need to add at least 20 pounds. I want a 350 pound squat, 400 deadlift, a 275 bench, and able to press my body weight. These are super aggressive goals for where I am now, but if I want to be a monster on the field I need the strength to back it up against the titans I’m facing. I’ll start with a 5X5 4 days a week for a month or two to get back in the habit then find a trainer to help build a better program.
Body is covered. Time to improve Technique. Running is my life as a small fast dude. Need more ladder drills. More time working in at least partial kit. Legs only on agility courses. Spend some time sprinting on wet grass and trying to make hard cuts. Really work on the balance aspect. In addition if I can’t flatten a guy when I hit him at a run I’m only half a fighter out there. Get some pads and practice checking. Maybe put together a series of drills where people simply mill around and try to knock each other over. At least one day a week needs to be dedicated to the art of running in armor.
After my running I need to handle my striking. First and foremost is leg sweeps and low kick drills. I threw at least a dozen and not a single did anything. It’s far too effective of a weapon not to be competent. And competent isn’t enough. I need to master it. Twice a week bag work just kicking 10 minutes per leg. Kicking isn’t my only problem though. Shield punches and chopping soften people up and open opportunities. 5 days a week 10 minutes punching on the back, 5 minutes russian drill, 10 minutes of pell work with falchion, 10 minutes pell with axe. To test this need a day of full on sparring, knight fight rules, at least every other week.
Lastly for technique comes grappling. Cat’s rule 1 for Grappling is DON’T and I did a bad job following that in Portugal. This time I will do better and as such it’s my least concern. However it’s still a huge part of the game. First and foremost I’m gonna work on escapes. Once a week I’ll be doing a grappling practice, with drills focused on breaking the grapple in different positions. Part of that practice will focus on throws though, with one throw being drilled every week, and a sparring portion at the end trying to master the art of tossing and not falling down.
With plans to hone my body and skills I’ve left the most important thing out. My mind. Learning good decisions is hard. The best way to do it is just spend a crap ton of time fighting figuring out what works. And I’ll be doing that with a goal of at least one melee fight a month. But that isn’t enough. That’s only 12 days of fighting minimum and maybe 20 if I’m lucky. Hard to learn anything useful in 20 days. So instead I will watch and review 2 melee videos a week. My thoughts will be posted here. In addition I’ll be pushing for team practices drilling movement and plays at least once a month for The (S)Executioners.
This is alot of work I’ve put in front of myself. I thought fighting might take a back seat to life stuff this year. And realistically it probably should. But I’m not built like that. This is what I care about, this is what I want to be good at. And now it’s time to work. I’ve said enough. Deeds.