(I'll try to make this more show than tell.) So, I was OUT for a week at the end of March. I'd enrolled in a training at Budokon University in Miami. "Budokon" is a movement-fusion approach, put together and led by Cameron Shayne:
I've been following that dude's more dynamic and flowing approach to yoga since I started practicing, and if you've been to many of my vinyasa classes, you'll probably recognize elements from the BDK primary series.
This particular training was five full days focused on calisthenics (gymnastic rings, bar work, parallettes and floor acrobatics). I had a good time, fumbling around:
...and at times, I was a little bit spacey, from all the effort:
There was quite a bit of yoga and martial arts work, too. About 8-10 hours a day of exertion, after which everyone would sleep on a light pad on the concrete floors. I was a bit anxious and amped-up, so I didn't actually do a whole lot of sleeping, but now that I've been back home for two weeks, I'm just about caught up on some needed rest.
It was fun. And it was eye-opening. I was in my element, with the yoga. I was competent but suddenly aware of strength gaps with the calisthenics. I was pretty much lost and flailing with the martial arts portion, where I got punched in the face and choked more than a few times. There were about 30 students there, from all over the world (maybe 30% American), about half and half male-to-female. Everyone came from much different backgrounds, with different strengths and weaknesses, and it was great to spend the time with people who were so serious and focused on learning and moving.
Unlike me, there were people there who definitely knew their way around the martial arts stuff:
426 Likes, 12 Comments - Cameron Shayne (@cameronshayne) on Instagram: "Preparing our brother the BDK beast UFC lightweight fighter @joshburkman for our upcoming February..."
174 Likes, 7 Comments - Brynnen McIver (@martialmovements) on Instagram: "#Balance is the object of the game. Always maintain your balance, while looking to disrupt, or take..."
...and there was a good bit of goofing around as well: