Coming down to the wire

With Gregor definitely fighting in crown, my chances of winning have dropped significantly but, at the same time, I am even more likely to rent a car and drive up there, because if you do win a list with a super-duke in it, there is far more glory. Plus I get to see and maybe even take part in some great fighting.

REHAB
Rehab goes well. My Achilles has been aching a bit, especially after spending all day on those marble floors at the Cathedral of All Saints, in Albany, for Coronation. And my shoulder was really acting up this week. Got to keep those rehab exercises going.

WORKOUTS
While I did not do a lot of cycling last week, I did get to work out. I went hunting on Monday, which involves a lot of walking, much of it up hill. I did a killer WOD on Wednesday: eight sets (I did nine) of push-presses. On Friday I did one of the no equipment WODs, with jailhouse sets (that's the countdown--ten reps, then nine, then eight, etc) of box jumps and squat thrusts.

FIGHTING
There were only three fighters in armor on Thrusday night, and I only got in a few sets with Landon, but I fought to exhaustion and did some great stuff. He is good for me because he fights with a center-grip oval, like Marcus, and because he brings the fear. He hits harder than anybody in the Southern Region, and so I really don't want him to strike me. I noticed he was tabling his shield and I took his leg and then wrapped his head. After that he knuckled down and got tough. He also backs out a lot. The best thing that happened to me was when my thrusting tip got knocked off at the end of our first set. I had re-taped it back on that it had made my sword even tip-heavier than normal. Without the tip my edge work was flying. The best thing I did was in our second set of fights. I took his leg using the old Martin the Temperate hidden leg shot, but flashing my shield before throwing it to get him to flinch. Then I threw a wavy fake, a hesitation, stepped tot he right and hit him on the head.

The thought did occur to me that I should fight without a thrusting tip in two weeks, but that way lies madness. I need to make new swords and balance them well, but taking my tip off now is foolish. I always get in trouble when I change something right before a tournament. By the same token, I have come tot he conclusion that I need to re-hang my shield because, as I discussed last week, my hand is a little bit too low. I am losing my leg more than I should be with a 36" shield, and it is hard to keep in the most comfortable position for my arm because if I do I blind myself with it (again, why it works well in an A-frame defense), and it get in my way if I am thrusting over the top or sometimes when throwing a backhand. I find I have to set up with the shield closer to my body than I normally like, which exposes my leg more. But I am trained to this shield, it is really well strapped for fighting against left handers or with a sword-forward stance, and I am winning fights with it. Changing now would be stupid.

It is ten days till Crown. My next time in armor will be Wednesday at Nutley. After that I will fight Thursday at McCarren Park and possibly somewhere on Sunday. After that I rest for a week.