Where have I been?

It’s been about 3 months since I have posted a new blog, or broadcast an email. That’s a long time, especially on the internet. Some of you might be wondering what I have been up to.

I’ll go chronologically. First, I proposed to the love of my life, Jamie. I took her to Red Rock Canyon, and hiked up to a scenic cliff, before I dropped to a knee. She said yes, and we enjoyed watching out the distance for some time.

Then, we went on vacation for a few weeks in the Mexican Yucatan. We visited Tulum, Cozumel, Valladolid, and Isla Mujeres – getting in dives on the reefs and cenotes. I managed to pound away at enough tacos to satisfy my thirst for Mexican cuisine for what lasted about 2.5 months.

When I got back, I hosted another grappling camp at my house, which as always is a lot of fun. We spent the week covering shooting doubles and singles, leg locks, Kimuras, guillotines, and guard passing.

Afterwards, I had my whole family in town for Thanksgiving for the first time in years. It was a great time, as I got them all to practice archery (which the kids ended up getting bows for Christmas), and we got to hang out a bunch. I also got to treat them to my bison and elk obsession, and now have my family ordering bison from Miami as a result.

I then got married in December, which was a great way to end the year on a high note. It was a small private ceremony between Jamie and I, so we will have a honeymoon in February in the Maldives, and celebrate with family around her birthday.

Throughout this time, I have been training more frequently at Xtreme Couture. It had started by accepting an invite given long ago by Chad Lyman. While I was training in his class, Jake Shields was there, and I came to figure out that he was living in Vegas this whole time unbeknownst to me. So he invited me to his classes, and I have been training pretty regularly with him, occasionally teaching when he goes out of town. 

I have stayed on my fitness and diet regimen, and have managed to pack on some mass, which appears mostly lean. I’m sitting around 208lbs at somewhere about 13% body fat, which is a bit more than I would like. I would rather be under 205lbs at 5’9”, but I haven’t been doing enough cardio to shed weight, and it’s tricky during the holidays and cold to lose weight.

I also managed to ring in the new year by finally catching COVID. I blame myself for this, as I was walking around outside for a few hours to get my steps in, and I believe I overdid it. Fortunately, I handled it well. I got a fever, chills, and body aches overnight. My fever broke that night though, and the following day I was exhausted from the lack of sleep. By the next day, I was close to normal, and spent my time at home. I got back my positive test the following day, and now today I tested again and am negative. Overall, about 24 hours feeling crappy, followed by 48 hours feeling okay. I’m happy I got that over with, although this breaks my 4 year streak of not catching an illness. Oh well 🙂

I also started writing a book. When my family came over for Thanksgiving, my nephew and I had a conversation which inspired me. I started on December 1st, and I think I will be done within a month or so with the first draft. I believe this book will be useful for everyone seeking to improve their performance and outlook in life, and especially for those in the martial arts. 

I think that about catches you up with me. I’ll be back soon. 😉