Lots of things

It’s been a while since I wrote anything on my bog. I don’t see any of my 9 followers complaining though 🙂

A lot has happened since my last post- I have grown in my job, got a new apartment in Singapore, visited Vietnam for an ultimate frisbee hat tournament, attended and kind of ran my best friends wedding AND I got married!! And a new year cam by! I also made new friends and what not. So yes, lots of things.

Oh I also ran a few more runs including my second full marathon

I think each of these deserves a separate post and I will follow up with these. Life is becoming more interesting.

Downstream Dandeli

A few weeks ago a bunch of us had gone to Goa and decided that a visit to Dandeli was a must. The reason behind this absolute conviction was the Kali river and the white water rafting adventures it offered.  A very bumpy ride through the western ghats could have diminished anyone’s enthusiasm but luckily for us, the adventures were worth every crack in our rented Maruti Swift’s axle. The river was beautiful and when we  were asked to jump into the river (to practice rescues) during the little training session that we had, no one thought twice. After reluctantly returning to the raft we started our 9 km expedition.

The  rapids aren’t very difficult and on the “International Scale of River Difficulty” go to a maximum of “Class 3”. This translate into “Waves numerous, high, irregular; rocks; eddies; rapids with passages clear though narrow, requiring expertise in maneuvering; scouting usually needed. Requires good operator and boat.”

I  had a brush with death when I went overboard and went down…to all of 4 feet! As I discovered from experience, the river isn’t too deep but has a very rocky layout and can hurt in case you aren’t equipped, either with the right gear or the right experience.

A great experience and something everyone can enjoy. You don’t really need to know how to swim, but you need to be smart enough to keep your life jacket tightly fitted.

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Getting a kick out of it

A few weeks ago I started on a new mission- learn kick boxing. The end objective here was very clear, learn to kick ass, with style & poise. The style & poise is yet to come but the pain has definitely arrived.  Any assumptions that I was somewhat fit because I ran a full marathon took wings pretty quickly.

Kick boxing like any other martial art is one where you respect your opponent. It starts off with greeting and after that moves into some serious business. The first day was non-technical (no kicks, punches, sparring- only inflicting pain to self) and involved a non-stop workout for 1 hour. At the end of that I had done more crunches and push-ups than I had in the last two months. Next day sitting down was a problem.

Some days have passed by and I have improved but it will  need dedication and practice to get all my kicks (round house, front, side, side front, left, right, WHAT NOT) & punches right!

Everyone loves kung fu fighting, but I definitely am loving kicking boxing too.