Things are getting crazy!

You can cut the tension in the air. Sometimes I don’t know if I should talk or just wait until something comes out of her mouth. She is tired.

Up at five am, she takes off for her run with Earl. He ‘s our Husky Lab Shepherd mix, Arleigh, our pitbull, well her hips wouldn’t handle the hour run. I tuck her into bed. I’m usually off for my bike ride to workout (by workout I mean TRX, which is enough for me to stretch and work my total body in under an hour) or instruct TRX.

Today I woke up to a flat tire and used it as pour excuse, to just stay home and skip my morning workout. I relaxed with my morning joe, read a bit, and watched Nickie and Earl take off.

Morning run complete.

I pack my gear into my backpack and head off to work, again like passing strangers, I’m able to get her to pose for a pic, (which she will hate, not going to get into it) kiss her goodbye and head off to work only a mile away. I got my Dropkick Murphys on, great music to wake up to.  Meanwhile Nickie is getting ready for her shift at the hospital, which is in forty five minutes.

Cut to the end of the day, which is just the next round. I’m covering instructing back to back classes at Cyclone Cycling studio, and Nickie is off to Forca MMA for her training sessions. (In case you’re wondering, my buddy Devin took care of the dogs for us today.) I roll in around seven to an empty house, and get to relax a little before I have to prep meals for my lovely wife. One less thing she needs to worry about. We follow a strict routine in the final three weeks, with only a few pounds left to shed in the end. Makes life so simple and we have it down pat. She makes it home much later than usual, probably refining technique, don’t want to ask because she’s got that look of fatigue.

Seventeen more days. Here’s a little advertisement for the promotion. She’s probably a little nervous, but I know she’s ready to rumble!

Have you seen my wife?

No? Neither have I. Joking aside, just over seven weeks remain until the fateful day! Nickie has been killing her workouts and training. With each day, she is improving. There is absolutely no question of her fitness or cardio. She has maintained her level so high, when even pushed to the max, she is noticing (as well as others) that her recovery is fast. Very important in the world of MMA I would say.

Her coaches know that she is ready for this fight. Still keeping my fingers crossed though. Her coach has been beating on her more lately, literally and figuratively. She came home the other day with a couple of contusions. Nothing surprising. Guess she will have to move her head a little more hey? She still has a big smile when she comes home and that’s always nice to see. She isn’t dreading anything.

Or is it? The next day she comes home from training, I can tell there is something obviously wrong. Nickie has this thing, where if she isn’t satisfied in her training, no matter the amount of reassurance she gets from myself, teammates, coaches, she feels she is missing something. Of course the waterworks start and the sniffling, (you need to see Juliano imitate this), and I guess I hear it has been a regular occurence. Nickie has always worn her heart on her sleeve. I coached her in rugby and have seen this, I guess I should have warned her coaches. She would get smashed on the field, ( in rugby they don’t stop play if someone gets injured, the play only gets stopped if the injury is in the way of play), so the coach/me would run out and check on her. Of course being sympathetic like I am, I’d ask her how what is broken, only to the reply through tears, she will be fine, regain her composure, and run off and smash someone back.

I think she feels sorry for me sometimes. We don’t spend a lot of time together so the times we do, we try to make them special. Like getting our haircut together at SAILOR BUPS. If you’re in Halifax and need a shave or haircut, not a bad place to visit. Tell them Ronnie sent you!

We watched the last couple of UFC fights and nothing was really a surprise. Meisha Tates’ fight was pretty to watch. We were looking forward to the matches in Brazil but I think deep down in our heart we know what the results were going to be. We decided to go camping instead. This didn’t stop Nickie from training. She would drive back to the city in the morning go to training and come back to the campsite. She is just trying to fit a little time in with me when she can. On Sunday, Nickie’s day off, we managed to do a 15 km hike. Pretty huge for me but it was a start. The intention was to walk in a klick or so to see a waterfall, but what the author of the blog about the said waterfall failed to mention, was that the road to our destination is barricaded. We made it though!

I love watching Ronda dismantle her opponents and everytime she fights she is just getting better. Glad I got to see the thirty four seconds on the interweb the next day (saved the $60 too). I am hoping to see the same results from Nickie. I love sitting listening to her coach Juliano explain the fights as we are watching them, the technical side of the fight. “See Nickie, squeeze the legs, they don’t go down, punch them in the head!” or something along those lines. I like the way he thinks. Juliano showed us his collection of his fights. I think he knows a thing or two. Very impressive! Anyhow he reminds me “Nickie, when we first started, she was here, (making thumb and forefinger tiny indication), now she is here, (arms spread apart), (BTW I’m writing this down trying to talk with a thick Portugese accent). She will be good!” Those words are reassuring.

 

Nickie’s new do.

Nickie and I have been together for the last 8 years, and she has grown her hair since before then. Today I feel like I have a new woman! Look at that smile!

Look at that smile!

Set to Work

I guess she can come home.

Earl.

Well , it’s been a busy couple of weeks since I last visited. Nickie was successful in Montreal, taking gold in her weight class. She made the mistake of not entering the open where she could have had more rolls with more experienced women. Next time.

I was busy building a deck with an old Navy buddy. Nice to finally enjoy this sun.

Oh ya, Nickie signed a contract. Pretty big news too I guess. She started her camp two weeks ago. What’s this mean?

Well let’s take her last two weeks for example. Pre-contest weight is a bit higher than usual so I started cutting her calories. She is on a healthy regimen of fruits nuts veggies eggs and chicken. We throw the odd cheat meal in to rejuvenate her, letting her body know she can still burn more calories.

Training twice a day still, six days a week, working odd shifts, nights this week, I don’t even bother trying to fit in time with her. Bills still need to get paid. We manage to get a Sunday in here and there. But for you readers  out there that happen to read this and have a significant other in MMA,  you can relate. But maybe you’re the fighter, this is what you can expect and maybe take into consideration how your significant other may feel.

All I can say is be supportive no matter if you’re the ME or the fighter. Nickie is always texting me, telling me the meals are “Delish”. It brings pleasure to get up early to ensure her meals are made, (I know weird huh?) and knowing that’s one less thing she has to worry about. The amount of effort she puts into her training deserves that much! She asks how my day was even though she knows I do the same thing everyday. I don’t tend to worry about myself when she is in training mode, although we have had little breakdowns in communication, or stressful days where she hasn’t felt like she hasn’t accomplished anything from a training session. As of lately though, with the inclusion of her new BJJ coach, and training partners, she comes home happy feeling good. Everything is finally coming together.

I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks, maybe I won’t be as cheery. Someone has to keep their cool, and I tend to be the one (insert wink) I can hear my friends laughing all the way from Prospect.

Oh by the way, her fight is slated for September 19th 2015, Halifax Nova Scotia.

I’m back

So good to be back. Finally off my crutches! It feels good to be free of those wretched things. Ten pounds heavier and one leg half the size of the other, still good considering circumstances.

Last weekend I had the chance to do some light TRX. I wanted to get a feel of how my knee is going to hold up to light exercise. I convinced Nickie to join me even though it was her birthday weekend. Ken led us through sixty minutes of class at Cyclone fitness Studio.
After class we grabbed the dogs and went to watch my fifteen year old daughter play rugby. After coaching for twenty or so years it’s nice to sit aside and watch. My daughter’s team, the Halifax Tars RFC, beat the Windsor Machine modestly, subbing in the youngest of girls, some fifteen years old, to get a run in.

Nickie is still plugging away at her training. We went to her BJJ class. She’s training for an upcoming roll in Montreal. It’s hard to comprehend, why someone would have/want to travel a couple hundred of miles to compete. Some insight to this problem on the East Coast of Canada, from my prospective, particularly with womens’ BJJ, is everyone trains but no one wants to test their new skills. I get the aspect of not wanting to lose, but I feel BJJ is a little different. I think if you would apply those new skills to practical use,  instead of practicing on loved ones at home, ( “I learned this new move today, let me show you!” Ya you know you have done this!) and compete, there would be more satisfaction out of the couple of hundred bucks you spend on club dues. I couldn’t imagine joining a club and not competing. Whether it be dance, rugby, pool, darts, etc. you should compete!

There is my little rant. So as it stands she will have her MMA fight September 19th, and with that, more training (as if she ever stops). She is loving her training with her new BJJ coach Juliano Pereira Macario.  They will be driving twelve hours, with a car load of teammates, to Montreal this weekend, and she will get to compete with more ladies in this tournament than she has in all the tournaments she has competed on the East coast, (typical for Nova Scotia tournaments, might, being generous saying might, have three ladies competing). I am proud of her that she wants to bring her level of BJJ up and if the only way is to travel 1200 kilometres to do so then so be it. All I leave her with is “Bring back Gold…or don’t come home” Not really, but I want her to learn to make herself better and it will only help her confidence, win or lose, she is learning through competition.

 

Sunny Days

“Sittin stoned alone in my backyard Askin myself why should I work so hard…” Well not so alone. I got this  chicka. The few moments in between her training and work are few and far between.

Say cheese!

 

Wonderful World of Amateur MMA

Given a date for a fight, you may as well expect the unexpected.

Illnesses and injuries. Check. Special events that coincide with training/fight. Check. Cancellation of fight. Check, check and check. Typical instances that can and will happen. Frustrating. you better believe it. Not just for the fighter, but everyone else involved.

Nickie received word that the fight isn’t going ahead. Not enough fighters available for the card. This will be hard on the whole team.

The two a days will still go on. There are BJJ tournaments to go to, to hone her skills. Her coach wants her to stay on form. Another practice weight cut is still on the menu. Why stop now when she has gone so far. What motivates her? What inspires her? I guess I have some investigative reporting to do.

Hopping along on these crutches really sucks. Six weeks of suck. Hope the Doc lets me ditch them sooner. Enough of my whining, and I apologize for the two followers I have for not updating sooner. I haven’t given up, and I’m sure we will have some news in the future. Peace out.

 

Sacrifices

New BJJ Coach, Juliano Pereira Macario.

We all make sacrifices everyday. Today is just another day for Nickie. She had to cart my ass to the Hants Community Hospital for day surgery. That means after her late shift, a few winks, she was up again, but not for training.

Coach Rob Walker gave her the day off to take care of me. It sucks because Forca MMA hired a new black belt and she is missing out on premium training time. Good timing in a way. It will allow her to rest and recover from a chest cold.

She let me know that she has two weeks of nights. Oh yay! More lonely nights, but I feel she gets her best training on these days. More one on one training, fighter training, and hopefully training with the new BJJ coach, Juliano Pereira Macario.

As for myself, I will plug along with my youmeandmma, get my knee better, and support Nickie the best I can. The separation is tough on the relationship, but we always manage to do little things that cheer each other up. A special meal here or there, or maybe an unexpected visit at work. Maybe a chore, or prepping foods for meals.  It doesn’t need to be much, it just lets us know we are still there for each other.

 

Nights

“It’s been a hard days night, and I’ve been working like a dog…” The week I don’t see my wife could have been the title. Nickie works nights every other week at the hospital. Still an eight hour shift, but four until midnight.

She gets home typically around midnight, but I have seen her get in as late as 0330. Same thing as before, she gets up at 0445, picks up Coach Rob Walker, and they meet the other fighters that may have decided to join in for the fight camp, which is only one other fighter, Aaron Wilson. He is looking to get in on the card in June. She works out and drops me off at work. Eats her breakfast, then sleeps only to get up at 1130 to go for noon training. If she is lucky, she is done after an hour and a half or so, which may leave her enough time to have a nap before she goes to work. So until the weekend, I see my wife for two hours a day, no conversations, just a passing in the gym, a smile, maybe a whisper or mouthed words and a drive to work.

Most people find an eight hour day hard enough, let alone trying to learn how to be a MMA fighter. She’s doing both! There are days that I am jealous at her opportunity. Then the other days I don’t envy her at all.

But as we remind each other everyday, it’s her face or her opponents. Time in at the gym is a must and we understand that. It’s those sacrifices of not seeing each other, committing to getting up when you are sore and tired, missing parties with her friends, or chowing down on steaks or a good burger from Cheese Curds.

It takes a special breed of person to be a mixed martial artists, and I’ve learned that my wife is one of those people.

 

 

Mayweather VS Pacquiao

Tired Daughter and Wife…first fight just ended lol!

The day started off at the Burnside turf. We watched our rugby club, Tars RFC, play in a sevens tournament. I’m not about to explain the art of rugby. Watch the next World Cup, or the next Olympics to truly appreciate the sport.

The next stop was the gym. A couple of guys were rolling, a few lifting weights, Peter Simas owner/trainer/coach of Forca MMA, was behind in the office. Rob had the fighters warm up. I’m not allowed to interrupt class, as Nickie like to remind me, every time, always. So biting my lip, I mosey over and hang out with Peter. We have the typical gym banter amongst older gentlemen. What injuries we have, which doctor we are seeing.

“Mayweather versus Pacquiao, who do you take?” Everyone has their say, Peter being the sage old Master that he is, speaks up. “Do you know who is going to win? The people watching are going to win!”

Man he is good. He isn’t as crazy as everyone thinks he is.

Which leads to now. Coach Rob put the fights on at his place, and I grabbed some grub to put on, the last good feed for the fighters. Clean eating tomorrow and on. Well for Nickie anyhow.

With that, I leave you to probably the greatest fight. Ever. For the meanwhile. Until the rematch! #PacquiaoWins