So Glad To Be Back

It’s good to be back home.

I like to write occasionally about eating healthily, cheaply, and deliciously, but since I’ve been in Japan for the last year, I don’t think that much of what I’ve been writing has been particularly relevant to most of you. Frankly, it hasn’t been that relevant to me either, insofar as being in Japan generally requires me to sacrifice one of the three; Japanese food is delicious and healthy but not cheap, and my own cooking can be cheap and healthy but it’s not usually particularly tasty, especially because most of the ingredients I know how to use are expensive overseas.

Pictured below is today’s Welcome Back lunch: Black beans, spinach, chorizo, and two eggs (not pictured) with mozzarella cheese, all over some basmati rice. I got a light morning workout in (4×2 minute rounds of alternating between burpees and shadowboxing every thirty seconds, then some crab walks, frog walks, etc.) so I’m not sweating the carbohydrates too much. 

To put the US – Japan price difference in perspective:

18 eggs here cost me the same as 10 eggs there, spinach was about 3x as expensive there, and you can forget about black beans and chorizo.

But! Living with the lady, who has been reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, has motivated me to start buying higher quality groceries. Well, next time, anyway.

In fact, a blog entry on Pollan for competitive athletes – which he is most definitely not – might be some interesting stuff for this blog.

Next, the gear porn, as promised:

The shirt is one of my favorites – an old Millenia Fight Team shirt from my former BJJ instructor Gabe Ruediger’s first WEC title match, I believe. I like the logo, though it’s a little crowded. The shorts are nothing special – picked ‘em up at Uniqlo for about $9. Cheap, comfy, but I wouldn’t train in them.

The centerpiece here, of course, is the Reversal Black Belt. Sadly, it’s not “real” – it just holds up pants – but man, it’s cool.

pat m.

Back from Japan!

…and ready to try and make another effort at this blog, now that I’m officially Unemployed.

Haven’t joined a gym yet – currently thinking about Open Door BJJ and Eduardo Rocha BJJ, both in Oakland. I should probably find an apartment first, though. And maybe something to pay the bills…eventually.

Got a light workout in this morning, shaking off some of the jet-lagged muzziness with pushup intervals (oddly enough, my folks purchased some Perfect Pushups. Not worth the hype, but I might borrow them since they’re “free”.), squat intervals, burpees, and then some light shadowboxing. Not bad, considering I’m somewhat limited by my lack of running shoes. I should get on that.

Finally, what better way to apologize for missing a few months of blogging by posting some gear pics? Here’s day one of Pat’s New Stuff-o-Mania:

Here we have the red and white Inspirit New Spec Model 1s (red and white, embroidered logo). They retail for $68, but I got them from Hatsu Hioki as a going-away present. Haven’t trained in them yet, but they’re roomy, less baggy than the Bull Terrier shorts I’ve got (which is good – they’re not really great for ground work) and plenty comfy.

The top is a Reversal-brand fight shirt for Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Got it at the American Casual store in Nagoya for about $12, used, which suits me fine because it looks good “distressed”. Reversal designs tend to work with black and white, mostly, but I can’t stop coming back for more. And really, you can’t say no to a shirt that says “STOMP ‘EM ALL” in big letters. Love it!

pat m.

Gear Musings, and Why Bull Terrier Shorts Suck

I’ve made two trips to the American Casual store since picking up the Killer Bee shirt, and come away empty-handed both times. The first time, at least, I ran into Amazon there, which got me a shoutout on his blog, along with a somewhat disapproving “So, you think that the martial-arts t-shirt stuff is cool, huh?” Today’s trip didn’t even give me that, though – saw a neat Reversal RVDDW orange t-shirt with a funky picture of a hamburger stuffed with black belts and a caption that said Vale Tudo, but it wasn’t my size. Broke my heart, too – it was only 800 yen. Alas.

I wish MMA wasn’t such a white bread sport. Then maybe we’d see clothing designs that don’t have gothic motifs. Only white people wear that stuff. Yuck. Stupid Affliction.

There are three reasons I’m hating on the Bull Terrier combat shorts, which I’m wearing in this picture:

One: they cost fifty bucks, and those flames are damn ugly. My instructor said it’s cheaper than other combat shorts (Reversal, Inspirit, etc. cost about $75) because the guy who owns the Bull Terrier shop designed them himself instead of hiring a designer to do it. Fifty bucks could have gotten me a pair of Sprawls if I was in the US. Stupid Japan and its stupid gear prices.

Two: they ended up being a waste of money because I didn’t end up competing in the tournament I bought them for, since no one else entered in my weight class. I guess that’s not the shorts’ fault, but still. Grrrr.

Three: the flame print started deteriorating after two rounds in the washing machine. Seriously, that’s some shoddy work.

Yeah, I guess it doesn’t really matter what my shorts look like when my thighs are wrapped around the necks of sweaty men, but come on. That was fifty bucks. Shame, Bull Terrier. I’m saving my money for some Korals or Sprawls when I get back home.

I suppose there is a plus side – they’re soft and comfortable, though I find myself having to readjust them rather frequently while rolling because the pant leg can bunch up on the mats. So they’re not too bad. Just overpriced.

pat m.

 

Gear – Killer Bee X Futura Laboratories T-Shirt

The last gear post about the Purebred shirt was just the beginning, I’m afraid.

I mentioned that I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the Purebred shirt in the used clothing racks at Komehyo. When I went this last weekend, though, that surprise turned into dread.

Dread, because instead of one neat MMA shirt, I saw three. Those bastards have found my weakness. Fortunately, one of them was hideous, so I didn’t get it. It was a toss-up between a neat GRABAKA t-shirt which was a little too tight on the arms and loose on the chest ($10) and this hot Killer Bee t-shirt that was $30. I guess that’s not too high a price to pay considering the new Killer Krazy Bee gear costs like, $80 for a shirt or something, but still, ouch.

It’s a heavier t-shirt than your average Hanes, and it definitely feels like a quality piece of work – no garage printer transfer operation here. Still, I’m going to make sure I wash this bad boy inside-out because I have a feeling it’d look like garbage if the logo started to fade or peel. Now I just need to find a sufficiently dope fitted cap or beanie to go with this. 

Wish me luck for next time. If they’ve got some of the hoodies there, my wallet is fucked.

pat m.

Gear – Purebred Long Sleeve Shirt

So I’ve been frequenting a particular used clothing store here in Nagoya, and about a week ago I decide to look through the t-shirts section because the weather’s been getting warmer lately and I’m not really in the market for jackets (my perennial used clothing store fetish – especially since shoes here don’t fit me) at the moment. The store, for anyone who’s curious, is the American Casual branch of Komehyo, a mega-store in the Osu area. Since it’s focused on American casual clothing, they’ve got plenty of recognizable brands in big-people-friendly sizes.

I was pleasantly surprised – among the nonsensical English shirts, the vintage anything t-shirt look, and wannabe hip-hop clothing, I found this shirt for $10. Nothing too special, but a nice shirt. Though I’m glad the “Yamato Damashii” isn’t very big, because I definitely don’t have a Japanese soul by any means.

So no, I’ve never trained at Purebred Tokyo, but I’ll rock the gear. Might not wear this one around the gym, though. At least not until I can cop an Alive Academy t-shirt or something.

pat m.