Two years ago I said the following:

Quote:

I actually went to a martial arts class last night for the first time in seven years. I am in much better shape now than I was, so it was pretty easy by comparison, but it was just a standard Kenpo class. I'm not sure if it is for me.

As it turned out, the class was not just standard Kenpo, it is Chinese Kempo and it was for me. I began to go 4 days per week and with the exception of vacations, sickness, and injuries, I haven't missed a day. No matter what is going on with my life, I have made getting to the class a priority.

This Saturday I will be testing for my second degree brown belt and in November I am scheduled for my black belt test. I will have 500+ hours of mat time accrued at that point.

About a year and a half ago I also began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for 90 minutes per week on Tuesdays. The learning curve is much higher on ground fighting, at least for me. This past Tuesday I was awarded my Blue Belt per the Carlson Gracie linage.

During the last two years I haven't taken any medication for my OCD/ADD and I haven't had any long term depression or significant bouts of angst from my disorders. Life has certainly become more serious, but coping has become easier.

My goal is to continue to participate in martial arts going forwards. I know that four nights a week might not be feasible if I ever end up having kids, however, I still plan for it to be a part of my life.

For better or for worse, my total video gaming time has been significantly reduced over the last few years, but for those who are friends with me on Steam, you can see I've still managed to take the time to plow through quite a few quality titles.

So yeah, just an update to a two year old post, but it has been a meaningful journey to me.

username wrote:

good job GP. quite impressive you have kept it up for the past 2 years. and good to hear that you arent taking any more medication, yet you are doing 100% better

Well... I haven't done this again... so for the most part it is working.

Last night I passed my 2nd Degree brown belt test. It was 3.5 hours long and I was taken down over 120 times. Thank goodness I learned how to slap out properly.

Good times!

LOL... wtf?

This past Friday I completed my final pre-black belt rank, "Third Degree Brown". Our normal instructor didn't handle this test... it was one of his fellow master ranking 5th degree black belts. I have been sore for the last two days and can't lift my arms over my head. The weekend before Thanksgiving is my big test, so I have some time to recover and prep on the items I feel need work.

2 hours 17 minutes until it begins.

I passed.

I had to run 3.4 miles, do about 500 pushups, and about a bazillion other things.

I was punched in the face once, I have a slight black eye, but it didn't hurt because I was drawing back when it struck, so it was deflected. Superficial wound.

I was punched in the gut once too... that knocked the wind out of me and I was grounded for a few min. That hurt like hell, but I was fine two minutes later and I won't have any other marks from it.

All in all though, I dished out a fair share and never stopped. I was very happy with the results.