Thinking about stuff.

Couple things.. wholly unrelated.

Before this season on The Ultimate fighter, I couldn't stand Rashad Evans, and always liked 'Rampage' Jackson. Rashad always show-boated, and danced around, and Quentin just got down to the business of beating people up. After last week's TUF, I've completely changed my story. Evans is a great coach, he understood his weak points and brought in people smarter than him to help his guys. He picked experienced fighters, and picked guys based on performance rather than appearance. When they had good days he kept his guys focused, and when they had bad days he kept it in perspective... and well he's 5 and 0 and rolling. Rampage seemed to think it was all about him. Focusing on draw and face time than getting his guys ready, and when they lost he just walked away shaking his head.. and his guys keep losing. He's not working on making them better fighters, he's having them work on the things HE's no good at. Now that he's losing, he's just making fun of and bullying the fighters on the other team. He's a jerk. I still can't stand Rashad's fighting style, but I have a whole new respect for him.

A couple of people have approached me about a 'Push Present' for the wife. What a horrible term, and what a disgusting idea. It creates a huge divide between the mother and father, and it basically says "You (the mother) have the reproductive power, and I (the father) have the financial power. If you allow me to breed with you and bear my progeny I will give you a shiny bauble."
How patronizing, and how crappy does that make everyone feel. The wife is my partner, if she want's something shiny she goes and gets it. She wants this offspring as much as I do. The idea of payment for services rendered to my wife is kind of disgusting. Thankfully the wife agrees.

Mike Boyle has a great video out from his new DVD set (which I covet) about why not to squat. It's great, and I agree with a lot of what he says.. except: I still tell anyone who wants to add body mass to squat.
Also for certain populations.. One of Boyle's criticisms of the lift is that low back strength is a limiting factor, but dealing with rugby players (who spend a lot of time pushing loads across their shoulders, and rowers who are terrible at hip hinging under load, I want to bring up that limiting muscle group so that these athletes' low backs can stabilize a load in their sport.
No exercise is for everyone, and very few exercises are for no one.

Wrestling.. in high school, I was a pretty mediocre wrestler at best. We had a great high school program, but my high school coach sucked (we had a great Boy's Club program feeding my high school we won in spite of our coach, not because of.. I learned more about how not to coach from him than I learned about wrestling). While I won about as many as I lost, I could have been much better. My baby brother was a damn good high school wrestler. He had a great coach, and I learned a ton just by supporting chico (not his real name) when he was in little league and high school. He had moments where he was an absolute artist on the mat.
When I went to college a couple of the guys on the wrestling team talked me into coming to practices for a while, and I had a blast, learned a lot, and realized that the idea of dorm life and weight cutting were not mutually conducive. So I quit.
Now, I'm helping guys at the jiu-jitsu academy with their take downs. I have learned that I really do know a good bit about wrestling (at least on the feet). It's a good feeling taking what I'd always considered to be a weak point, and turn it into a strength.

Training:
Friday fun:
Mine:
TGU left/TGU right, chin up
x20

6x 1 minute pummel with others.

everyone else 4 rounds:
1 minute each of:
push prowler, pull rope
man-makers
bw split squats
athlete's choice (unless you're competing, then you pummel with me)

Saturday:
Jitz, americana to arm bar. Cool set up, one that really fits into my game. Actually hit it in sparring that same day.
Couple guys came up from Tacoma to roll. I always feel weird asking people I don't know to roll. I'll roll with just about anyone, but I always feel weird asking. I'm usually bigger than they are, and I feel like a bully.. it's weird. I don't like it. I'll have to get over that eventually.

in the gym:
Hang cleans
worked up to 4x185

speed deads:
7x2 at 315 very fast.. felt good.

Mahalo.