Sick Call

As the winter time starts to roll in and the seasons change, you can probably expect someone in your household to get sick. That someone on this end was me, only it was nat at the house.

Worst Case Scenario

I caught a cold while teaching a class in California, I felt it the first night I was in town and day one was pretty easy. I figured I would be over it quick. Sometimes what helps me getting it over the illness quicker is working out. Getting my body going has helped me work the junk out of my system and get me healing faster. So, naturally I hit a local Crossfit gym after class. It was at that point I realized this was no ordinary cold, my work out was cumbersome to say the least. While I made it through the workout I realized I was certainly not at 100%, it really did seem like the weight of the world on each end of the barbell.

The Injured Lion

What typically happens when you get a cold? I know everyone is a little different, but I believe we all share fatigue as a common sympton. When fatigue sets in, it is very easy to take shortcuts. Shortcuts in just about everything we do, especially if there is a physical component. Defending your life is pretty much a physical evolution. How do you handle this level of exertion when you are not at your best. About the only thing you can do is turn your situational awareness to full blast plus, you literally have to break the knob and turn it past the highest setting. My instincts are pretty much fully engaged. Almost to the point I feel they are really obvious to the rest of the world. Like I’m walking around in a Kung-Fu stance sizing everyone up. Forget about it if I have to sit still for a little bit, like at meal times. Good lord, talk about my brain being hyperactive.

There Are No Time Outs

Just because you are having a bad day doesn’t mean you get a free pass. You cannot call a time out and ask to reschedule or do over. When it is go time, it is go time and ready or not it is about to get real. During the class I found my level of concentration had to be set to high the whole class. Luckily I had a great class with safety minded folks so my life was made a little easier. I still have to conduct the lectures and shoot the demonstrations. The hardest thing about the lectures is just making sure you don’t forget anything. I’m pretty sure I covered the whole subject and if I did overlook something I was able to add it in during a break. As for the demonstrations, it was a great opportunity to really evaluate myself and my skill.

Dig Deep

On the last day of class we run our Strong Hand Only evolution among many others. It’s a fairly complex evolution with multiple drills. I believe we cover the subject better than anyone and while it is just a familiarization you still shoot quite a bit. As I went through the demonstrations I will sometimes linger longer than I should, but not during those demo’s. I wasted no time and got on the sights, then the trigger in short order and laid waste to the target. I had a little bit of swagger in my walk back to the break area, albeit with a coughing spell and trophy level phlegm. But, it was good to know that if things are in a bad way, skill set and more likely instinct take over.

I think it is a bad idea to mess with a wounded animal, you are probably going to get hurt even if trying to help. Same thing here, all the preparation, training and skill development might be tempered under normal conditions, but not then.