10,000 Shrimps
2018
10,000 shrimps
I am having an off-week have slept in on 2 mornings and hit 3 classes this week. Lately have been shooting for 5 days of muay thai and BJJ back to back. Hard for me but they are complimentary. Muay Thai is harder cardio and different techniques. BJJ for me is more hips and fluid technique. I mean to say that is the challenge. My technique is not so fluid.
An off week mentally and it is jarring. Normally am able to get up and get moving before I really consider ‘why’. On Monday I sat on the edge of my bed at 445 finding it hard to move further. 3 mornings this week was able to push through and was glad when I goth there. This morning however I took a break after warmups in BJJ and went home.
Odd think is that I just got a 4th stripe on my white belt which is nice. It also shows I have no idea what I am doing much of the time. During drills it means getting reps in and when possible working with a higher belt. Muay thai is even newer. I am going into my 6th week.
Walking back I thought about the process so far. And why I do it. The why is a moving target as the relationship with the activity changes.
A week or two ago while warming up I found myself wondering how many shrimps I had done. Shrimping is a warmup activity where you lie on your back angled to one side; shoot your hips out and pull yourself along the floor. It wakes up your core and hips and at the same time connects your knee and elbow, forming that line which acts as a barrier. At first it was very hard to learn and I didn’t go very far with each shrimp. Over time I figured out how to connect breath with the activity and the yoga-like alternation of creating space and filling it.
But how many shrimps? I think I have been doing this for 64 weeks. With vacation and injury I averaged 3 days a week so I am getting up to my 200th class. We do 2 runs backwards and 2 forwards. About 12 to 15 per run. So 50 per class times 200 and I am approaching 10,000.
A myriad. Important number in Buddhism