First Batch of Ear Juice

So… About 2 weeks ago I noticed my ear was a bit swollen and the first thing that came to mind was, “I am not going to get cauliflower ear.” After a few days the swollen part of my ear (top of ear)  did not seem to be getting any better so I played around with it a bit and noticed that there seemed to be fluid in it.  I went on a trip to Texas the next day and that week got my girlfriend, Adriana, to try and poke it with a safety pin.  I don’t think we stuck the pin in that much because all we got was a tiny bit of blood.  When I got back to Bainbridge I picked up a medial needle and syringe and poked it and sure enough, lots of pretty clear fluid came out and a touch of blood.  I thought, great, glad that worked.  About 24 hours later the ear seemed to be filling back up with fluid so this time I drew the liquid out with the syringe rather then just poking a hole and squeezing my ear.  As you can see by the picture I took, there was quite a bit of fluid and that was only half the amount from what I was able to get out of my ear just 24 hours previous.  Over the next couple of days I went on a trip to NY and sure enough, the ear filled back up with fluid.  I was able to acquire a insulin syringe and needle from my long time friend June who had just gone though a bout with cancer and had some unused ones in her medicine cabinet.  I got back to my fathers house and was able to draw about 2 CC of fluid out of my ear.  This is when I decided to do some research on Cauliflower Ear.

Here are two articles I found.  I have post the links to the original sites as well as excerpts from each of the articles. Looks like a trip to the Dr. or a bandage on my ear is in the near future.

Medicinenet.com Article on Cauliflower Ear

http://www.medicinenet.com/cauliflower_ear/article.htm

KidsHealth.org Article on Cauliflower Ear
http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/cauliflower_ear.html

I know I went to MMA and we drilled ground and pound as well as did some light sparring where I was teamed up with Sifu Rick.  It is the best working with him because I know that he will not really hold back and give me my monies worth every single time we roll or spar.  I noticed when I was sparring with him how quick and accurate he was with his punches and shots.  On the other hand I was very telegraphed and slow because it is not second nature to me.  I felt like he could probably land shots on me at will.  It was actually a good feelings to be able to assess some of these things because it really helps me to be aware of where I am at and what I need to work on to get to that next level.  Great night.  I loved the sparring and I feel like I am getting better even though I have a long way to go.

Thanks MMA…

Anyhow, the training was great.  I really love it and I had a great workout.  I did about 15 minutes of jump rope and a couple of Tabata sets before practice but not a full workout.    See you all tomorrow…

My next workout was at Next Step Conditioning with Coach James.  Myself and about 10 other Bainbridge Island Fire Department members worked for an hour doing lots of kettlebell work, snatches, cleans, swings, wood chops, and combination of all of those together.  We also did some wind sprints with resistance bands and an ab workout using the kettlebells.  Lots of sweat.  I will go heavier next time.  I used 20KG kettlebells for 90% of the workout.

I ended my training day with a great MMA workout at my adult class at Bainbridge MMA.  We worked pummeling, pummeling for position and then shooting for the double underhooks and takedown into mount and side control.  We also drilled 4 out of the 5 moves we drilled last week from the guard.  Guillotine Choke, Triangle Choke, Kimura and Hip Bump Reversal.  We first just went through the motions.  Then added some resistance and finally tried to attack them live.  I played in my training partners guard most of the night because I am trying to get better in the guard.  I did really well.

Warm-up:
Suicide Drill w/ 3 burpees
7 rounds

WOD
For time:
800m Row
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
Wallball
KB Swing
800m Row

After the CrossFit workout I went to Bainbridge Family MMA and sparred with Tony a bit.  We also did some jumping and diving drills with the kids.  The sparring was great.  We are trying to amp it up while at the same time get some good hits in so we can work out fitness conditioning as well as condition ourselves to live movements and reaction time.  Hope to spar some more on Monday after the Tabata Class.

Warm-up:
3 rounds of “Cindy” (not for time — go slow!)
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats

WOD:
500m row
9 burpees
12 pull-ups
15 box jumps
3 rounds for time

Next was MMA.  Adult class.  I had missed the last Adult MMA class because of the Yankees winning the World Series that night.  If you know me you know there is little that will throw me off my MMA training schedule but I had to make an exception that night and I am glad I did.

We worked some great ground and pound drills today.  Mainly staying in guard but working both top and bottom we were able to get a great workout in and learn some good skills.  We also spent time drilling 5 basic moves from bottom guard.  They are as follows:

Guillotine Choke
Hip Bump Reversal
Triangle Choke
Kimura
Straight Arm Bar

It was a good night.  I felt good and refreshed.  Good night for MMA and a great day overall.

Tony

Sal

Come and join the fun. Plus, we need training partners…

Today was a light workout.  No CrossFit, no Killsport Kettlebells.  I went down to Bainbridge Family MMA at 10 and hit the bags for 20 minutes with Tony.  After that we had 3, 4 minute rounds of ground and pound defense.  I was on bottom.  I wanted to train this so that I could better work my jiu jitsu during a real mma match, not just jiu jitsu.  It is a lot different when you have someone on top of you actively hitting you pretty damn hard.

The first round I took some good shots to the head.  I was able to use my legs, knees and wrap up his arms a bit but he was able to get me good with some shots.

The second round was a bit better.  I wrapped his arm a bit and was able to break down his posture.  He still hit me a few good times but I was able to apply a move we learned in class.  I loved to my left when he threw a big right at me and wrapped his head and arm together.  I held on super tight so he could not get his arm free.  I got so excited that I got on the side of him so I eventually had to work my way back under him.  After doing that I was able to get my feet on the inside of his legs and while holding on I swept/turned him over.  When I was on top I held the arm and head which was not set up perfectly for an arm triangle.  I moved out to the side and applied the choke.  It worked great.  I was 100 times more happy then usual because it was in a live drill and not just practicing reps.  I really had to concentrate when I was on bottom just to clear my mind enough to remember to apply the move.  Once I was able to do that it was great.  So much of this sport is just being able to remain composed, remember what you learned and have the balls to attempt it in a more live situation.

The third round was pretty good too.  I was able to get on top for a bit, scramble and also work my bottom guard.  All in all it was a good workout.  Made me want to work more and more.  I need more training partners so we can all get better with more sparring and training.  Come on peeps, come out and play. I will come to your park or you can come to mine.  Doesn’t matter to me…

Thanks to everyone who helps me on this journey.  I love it and continue to work hard.

Warm-up:
1000m row

WOD:
5 rounds for time of:
2 muscle-ups or 15 pull-ups
20 wall balls
8 Sumo dead-lift high pull (115 for men / 52lb KB for women)

When I got to class we were working with the Thai Pads on some kicks.  We worked a series of 9s and 10s/ lefts and rights both mid and low.  All in all we did about 115 on each side.

We also drilled a few combos:
single knee/double knee/jab,cross,knee/jab,cross,knee, right round kick.

After those drills we did some light sparring.  We sparred the combos we learned as well as a few 4 minute rounds of full kick boxing.

I love MMA.  I had such a good time at practice.