My Time Away Taught Me Something
/Man..... I just spent the longest time in two and a half decades away from the mats.
11 days to be precise.
Now I have spent that much time away from the Academy for fights. But..... Mandy, or another fighter from the Academy was with me. And there was always some training involved.
And.... I have had that much time off of training. Injuries. Surgeries. Tattoos. Whatever. But, all that time was spent in the gym on a daily basis.
This..... Was a monster dog training seminar tour (my other "newer" passion). It was damn near every weekend for about 5 weeks, and finished with this last 11 day straight, out on the road, gig.
I learned a couple of things.
A- I hate being away from the culture for that long. This is the longest stretch in possibly my life, that I've been disconnected from a fighting culture. Most dog training folks don't "get" me. And, I am really aware of my "difference".
B- I have neglected my training, and my Academy. That saying "don't know what you got, till it's gone"..... That's no joke. The Academy. Getting on the mats. The whole culture..... I have so much access, that my brain has developed a "meh" kind of attitude. I'm like that guy that is married to the hot partner that just totally takes them for granted. I didn't realize that until I experienced a life devoid of all things BJJ. No training. No family. Out in the "normal" world. Huge slap in the face.
I wrote an article a long time ago about "putting lipstick on a pig".......
Well.....
I'm back at noon today! And I'm bringing lots of lipstick.