Bebot

Bebot, by the Black Eyed Peas, could not have come out at a more opportune time. When it debuted in Monkey Business, 2005, we were living in Japan. My kids, who are of Chinese, Filipino and Japanese descent, were going through an identity crisis of sorts. Their classmates accepted them as Japanese. Through the diligent efforts of my wife, the kids spoke fluent Japanese though they were born in the USA. They also looked native, or nearly so. The fact that my kids spoke English so well caused their friends to question just what kind of Japanese they were, which in turn sparked some introspection in my girls.

"Bebot" is a diminutive term of admiration applied to women and children, in the song it refers to beautiful girls. As an anthem for Filipinos in America (or in our case, Japan), the immigrant experience, Bebot struck a chord in me. The catchy refrain attracted my kids even though they didn't understand the lyrics. Soon enough, they were shouting out "sige" with gusto.

bebot bebot bebot be (3x) you are my
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) you are my
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) you are... Filipino (4x)

Verse 1:

Hey man, you've got to hear what I/we have to say
I/We am/are a/the true Filipino/s
Straight from the humble small-town of *"Sapang Bato"
Went to abroad/L.A. to try and make a living
I/We did it to help out my/our mom/family
I/We had to do it in order to survive a difficult life
Despite of how hard it was, my/our colorful life was still blessed
When I/we eat **rice and *** "chicken adobo," we still use our **** hands
With ^^"balut", let's buy it from the street corner,
Fill up the glasses, man
Let's drink up to this song!

[Will]

Filipino (4x)

bebot bebot bebot be (3x) you are my
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) you are my
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) you are... Filipino (4x)

Verse 2:

Take a closer at the beautiful Filipina/Filipino people
I can never get enough of your grace
I can never get enough of your gentle-nature
I would really like to be with you
Like a house or the ^ "kubo"
Your passion is really true [Will: Ha!]
My/Our heart/s is/are always beating because of you. [Will: Ho!]

Filipino (8x)
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) You are my
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) You are my
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) You are my
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) You are my
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) You are my
bebot bebot bebot be (3x) You are... Filipino (4x)

Come on, if you're Filipino, shout for me! [Will: Ha!]
If you possess the Filipino's beauty, shout for me! [Will: Ho!]
If your life matters to you, shout for me! [Will: Ha!]
Thank you for all you've done for me! [Will: Ho!]


Filipino (repeated several times...until fade)

[Fergie]

lalala-lalala-lalala-lalala-loooh-wooh
lalala-lalala-lalala-lalala-lalala-loooh
(transcribed and translated by: Bizmarckie; Winnipeg, Canada; June 7, 2005; Revised June 19, 2005)

'til they get punched in the face

That's right! "Everyone's got a plan," said Mike Tyson "'til they get punched in the face." I don't normally refer to Iron Mike for words of wisdom, but this little nugget sparkles with brilliance. I've been thinking a lot about this since I got punched and head-butted in the face. No, I wasn't assaulted in the street by a mugger, I signed up for the beat down and paid good money too. Yup, the martial artist in me just had to find out what years of karate and judo practice would avail me against a skilled MMA competitor. My discovery, precious little.

There are no good possible outcomes from getting your brain rattled by blunt force trauma. OK, there's one: learning to avoid future brain trauma. This is how my plan evolves. Any activity that does not contribute to maintaining a healthy mind and body gets relegated to the dust bin. More on this in later posts. Lots of details to sort out.

So, where am I?
945 burpees down, thousands left to go. Getting closer and making improvement on the 50 burpees time. Somewhere under 7 minutes for 100 burpees would be nice.

I'm thinking of getting a lighter KB to work on technique. Meanwhile, I'll be doing lot's of overhead pressing and static holds with the db's to improve shoulder endurance.

spring has sprung

Right about now, the cherry blossoms are in bloom around Tokyo, Japan. The period lasts about a week to 10 days, after which the flower petals fall and litter the ground. During this time-it depends on the latitude, southerly climes early and northerly later- the Japanese spread blankets beneath the tree canopies and marvel at the ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossom. The musings can get quite profound due in no small part to the large quantities of alcohol consumed. OK, maybe my recollections are colored by the large amounts of alcohol I consumed. These are cherry blossoms in Meguro, Tokyo.



NYC doesn't mark the seasonal change. There's no ceremony. It was winter, now it's spring. The clothing on the shop window mannequins will be different, more flip flops and less Ugg boots on pedestrians, and sunbathers make their appearance on park benches. Here's a crocus in Central Park.



Today's workout:
-100 burpees
-L-sit chin-ups

rambling

Just a few weeks ago, The East Coast was hit with record snow. This was the view from our apartment. The snow had accumulated nearly a foot when this photo was taken. Schools were closed. The United Nations shut down.

This week, the weather has changed quite dramatically. Tulip bulbs have not even sprouted and yet women are sunning themselves in bikinis on park benches. People are walking about in shorts and flip flops. Ah spring! Sorry, no pictures of said women. Just believe me.

With the change in the seasons, you might expect a change in my exercise routine. I suppose I'll be running more. I'm a fair weather runner to be honest. If I were preparing for a marathon, then of course I'd be battling the elements, but that's a long way off. I'm on the 10 year plan: a decade between marathons. I've got seven years to prepare for the 2017 so no hurry. In the meantime, I'll be working on my kettlebell technique, among other things.

I recently discovered a great kettlebell resource in Denis Kanygin. He has written a series of articles that have vastly improved my kb experience, particularly when it comes to grip transitions. Check him out here.


If you've been curious about my exercise routine, this was yesterday's:
-Burpees (50 in 3'20")
-OHP (7,9,9)
-squat (2x10)
-alternating single-arm roll-outs (kneeling)

The squats and overhead presses are intended to develop my core and shoulder stability, same with the single-arm rollouts. Today, it's more burpees & brushing up on kb clean & jerk technique.

girevoy sport

March 27, 2010, mark it on your calendar. The American Kettlebell Club is hosting a kb lifting tourney at the Reebok club in Manhattan. I'm a complete newb when it comes to this sport; no technique whatsoever, at least not yet. I'll be attending this event & hopefully will pick-up some tips and make some contacts.

Details are here.
http://www.americankettlebellclub.com/blog/

Kathmandu

As I watch the wind stir up white caps on the East River, I'm thinking about my friend Christopher and his family who just moved to Kathmandu. I thought moving to Tokyo was a great adventure. Kathmandu! How can Tokyo compare? It's like the East Village of New York in comparison.

castle towers

When I lived in Japan from 2003 to 2007, I was impressed by the juxtaposition of old and new. You saw it in traditions and costumes, for example the tea ceremony and the wearing of kimono, and you saw it quite dramatically in the architecture. Every major city had a castle dating back centuries nestled in a maze of automobile-jammed streets.

When you talk about old buildings where I live now, you're talking about pre-WWII construction. The buildings might have thick plaster walls, high ceilings, and ornate moldings but also might suffer from slow elevators and cranky elevator operators. Pre-war buildings have an aura of faded splendor. When touring a Japanese castle, despite the majestic views from its towers, I often thought how much it would suck to be under a siege. Different times.

I snapped a pic of a castle tower on the island of Shikoku, Japan, and one of the Flatiron Building in New York City. The Flatiron Building, pre-war and iconic, is as close as you'll get to a castle tower in my town. Still in use, it's updated with all the latest conveniences and safety features: optical fiber, maybe; archers' shooting ports, no.

A journey of 10,000 burpees

A journey of 10,000 burpees starts with one jump. A challenge was issued by my friend Chris,10,000 push-ups was his goal. Sounds good, I thought. Might as well join in and go for the trifecta, tendonitis in the knees, elbows and shoulders, by adding a squat thrust and jump (burpee=squat thrust, push-up, jump). Sounds crazy, no?

Actually,the burpee is a super-efficient conditioning exercise. Four summers ago, I was on a diet of 50 burpees a day (VB50). In one month I whittled my 100 burpee time, around the 8 minute mark, down to 6 and a half minutes. It works out to about 3 minutes of conditioning per day. Even if you have a busy schedule, it's not hard to find a slot for three minutes.

These days, I'm a little older and a little thicker in the middle, and my VB50 time is around 3 and a half minutes. I've taken up the challenge, but dang, looking forward to 50 burpees a day makes you want to stay in bed. One week into the challenge and I've only done 320. Time to get grinding.

While I'm on the subject of training challenges, I'm working on several others concurrently:

-One Armed chin-up (OACU), This one was inspired by my daughter, who asked me innocently last night,"You can do one of those, right daddy?" Curse you, YouTube! "Not yet," I responded. I can do regular sets of 5 with a 24 kg KB. A bit of a way to go and I'm stuck at 5 reps with 24 kg on the belt. Argh!

-Sub 7 minute 2K on the Concept II. About the same time I was on the daily VB50 plan, I rowed 2k in about 6 and a half minutes. These days, it's a wheezy 7'45." I'd like to get that time down.

-Secret service snatch test (200 KB snatches in 10 minutes). This one is really daunting. Single arm swings and high-pulls are no problem with 24 kgs, but snatches?! We don't need no steenkin' snatches!

Stay tuned or train along with me. Today's workout will be VB50, a KB breathing pyramid, and assisted OACU negatives.

Healthy as a horse, he says.

I recently had my annual check-up and my doctor concludes that I am healthy as a horse. The good doctor specializes in cardiology and internal medicine, and not veterinary medicine by the way, so I wonder how accurate the equine simile is. He didn't even ask for a urine sample. Actually, the examination comprised history, blood-work, EKG, a listen to my breath sounds and a minute or two with the blood-pressure cuff.

My blood pressure was measured as I sat on the examination table: 114/68. My heart rate, 53 beats per minute. These numbers mean something to me, especially the resting heart rate. In my 20's my resting heart rate was once tested at 38 beats per minute. At the time, I was running 5k's on a treadmill at a pace just a tad slower than what would cause me to fall and get launched off the belt. The doctor who tested me was impressed by my resting heart rate. Olympic caliber, I was lead to believe. Since then, I've been interested in maintaining a low resting heart rate. Now in my 40's, however, I have no interest in running like George Jetson, "Help, Jane, stop this crazy thing!"

For the past five years, my fitness regimen has consisted of high-intensity interval training with an emphasis on short training periods (20 minutes or less) and minimal equipment (my wife would argue this last point). The Tabata protocol figures heavily in my training, but other interval schemes are also observed. My favorite tools include a Concept II rowing ergometer, adjustable dumbbells, kettlebell, pull-up bar, Akro wheels, dip stand and a kitchen timer. Tools are not necessary. The burpee, for example, is a simple bodyweight exercise as challenging as you will find. I call it vitamin B (VB), an essential part of my daily regimen.

So I asked my doc during this most recent exam, "What should I be doing if I want to live longer?" He chuckled and said, "keep doing what you're doing."