JR 137
Grandmaster
Very well said. Add to that everyone starts as a white belt who knows practically nothing, and everyone wears the same plain white uniforms with the same patches.
How does age change what you need out of martial arts?
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JR 137
Grandmaster
That’s going deeper than I had in mind, but absolutely. If I’m not 100% focused during sparring, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be lights out. If I’m not focused during partner drills, I’m probably going to catch a punch with my face.
Be even the solo stuff like kata has my undivided attention. Maybe it’s due to some Pavlov conditioning type stuff. Maybe it’s because I really can’t halfass anything. Most likely a combination of the two.
I’ll admit my mind can and does drift during warmups. Especially lately with all the nonsense going on in my life. Double especially tonight because I’m taking prednisone for some poison ivy and I’m like a squirrel on crack. But once we get into it, I’m all in.
Sometimes I look at others and can’t figure out for the life of me how they can just go through the motions. I don’t see it too often; mostly in a certain few kids. But then I remember that what they’re doing has zero bearing on me. If and when they’re paired up with me, they can’t just go through the motions
now disabled
Master Black Belt
And there my friend is what your art means to you .......It is your path
JR 137
Grandmaster
Exactly. I’m there to get the hell away from everything and to perfect what I’m doing, and they’re there for... whatever. Doesn’t matter. As long as they’re enjoying themselves.
You have my sympathies on that. I haven't needed prednisone for a poison ivy reaction in many years, but I still remember it all too well. I actually have an all-too-large rash on my right arm as I type this, hoping it isn't going to turn out to be one of those.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
I was clearing poison oak last Thursday from the area around my driveway, was wearing a full tyvek coverup, but got exposed where the sleeves end at my gloves, and a bit on the face around the hood. My wrists have been covered with oozing blisters ever since, they feel like bubble wrap when I run my fingers over them. Been using topical cortico-steroid cream, haven’t done prednisone, it’s finally showing signs of improvement. I’ve been wrapping my wrists every day because they are oozing constantly, so I look like I tried to commit suicide.
lovely miserable ****. Satan’s houseplant.
When I had to have the prednisone injection, I apparently mowed some. One eye was shut, and I was a mess, especially on the side where the ejection port was.
JR 137
Grandmaster
Wow. I’m no where near that. My lower leg is swollen up pretty good, but that’s about it.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
Yeah, if an eye is swollen shut then it’s time to see a doctor.
I have an allergy to my cats and it produces an occasional eczema on my hands from handling them. Because of this I have a supply of some prescription-level cortico-steroid creams, both moderate and stronger options. They have potential issues as well that you need to be careful about, but for short term I have been using them on my poison oak, so I didn’t need to see a doctor. Still, it’s slow going. No magic overnight cure for this stuff.
Just a couple months ago I had another round of poison oak exposure, I had been working an internship with the National Park Service and was exposed while out clearing some invasive species. Got a bunch on my forearms and it sucked, but nothing like these oozing blisters. I wonder if having had such a recent exposure already made this one extra bad. I dunno.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
I’ve got some additional areas on my forearms, upper arms, chest, and hip. They aren’t oozing blisters, but are merely maddeningly itchy.
I guess it’s not bad though, considering I spent about four hours pulling the stuff out from heavy brush by hand and bagging it up. I’ve got four and a half contractor’s bags full of it.
Silly question time, what's a contractor's bag?
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
What sort of capacity?
I use "dumpy bags" for clearing up garden cuttings/waste - they're roughly 1 cubic yard.
Not really as far as I'm aware, except for the specimens cultivated deliberately.
We have stinging nettles, but they have different active compounds with different time frames. A nettle sting hurts straight away, causes a rash (oftentimes with small blisters), the effects last from a few minutes to a few days depending on how much you got stung.
(Sidenote, this week I cleared 5 dumpy bags of nettles and brambles from around my garden... I really should weed those areas more often.)
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
I am not sure of the capacity, but I would estimate maybe 50% larger than a typical yard waste bag, which is definitely bigger than a kitchen trash bag.
We have stinging nettles as well, I would take them over poison oak any day. I don’t find them terribly painful and for me they typically last a half hour or so. Easy stuff.
Poison oak, ivy, and sumac are closely related species, they might be limited to certain regions, I’m not sure. They all cause irritation with the same chemical, which I cannot remember the name of. Google-Fu could answer that question in a hurry.
The plants issue an oil that you get on you if you touch them, and the oil holds the irritant. It is subtle and you won’t realize it is on you if you don’t realize you brushed up against it. It could be on your clothes, and from that it gets spread to other parts of your body. If it is on your hands and you rub your eyes or pick your nose or take a pee, you’ve got real trouble. If your dog runs in it, you can get it from his fur. I think most animals are immune to it. Then it takes a day or two before you get symptoms, and it can take a week for all of it to materialize, so it seems like it just keeps getting worse. So if you don’t realize you were exposed, you might have no idea what is happening to you. Then it takes 3-4 weeks to finally go away, and the itch can last a week or two after the rash is visibly gone.
If you wash thoroughly very quickly after exposure, you MIGHT avoid it. But it chemically bonds to your skin and then it’s too late. The severity of reactions can vary from person-to-person, and some few lucky bastards are immune to it.
The oil does not break down, it needs to be washed away or you can get re-contaminated. Contaminated clothing has been put in storage, then taken out 30 years later, and caused reactions in people who handled it.
I wonder how the early European settlers handled it, before they knew what it was. Probably not washing much, not knowing what was causing the problem, wearing contaminated clothing, the delayed symptoms making it more difficult to identify the source, must have been miserable if they didn’t have Native Americans to teach them about it.
I have been told that British nettles have a worse sting than the ones found in north America, but I don't know how accurate that is.
I do know that the 'power' is variable, even here.
Some I can pick up with bare hands and barely have a reaction at all - and I've been stung through riggers gloves and that was painful and itchy for days.
Even so, I think given the choice I'd probably choose a nettle sting - as long as it's not the variety capable of causing lockjaw (or the one that's had fatal effects).
Still nasty little blighters though - and burning them was oddly satisfying
I do know that the 'power' is variable, even here.
Some I can pick up with bare hands and barely have a reaction at all - and I've been stung through riggers gloves and that was painful and itchy for days.
Even so, I think given the choice I'd probably choose a nettle sting - as long as it's not the variety capable of causing lockjaw (or the one that's had fatal effects).
Still nasty little blighters though - and burning them was oddly satisfying
Urishol.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
That does sound like you’ve got a tougher species of nettle than we’ve got. I’ve never heard of one causing lockjaw or death. My experience with them has been pretty mild.I have been told that British nettles have a worse sting than the ones found in north America, but I don't know how accurate that is.
I do know that the 'power' is variable, even here.
Some I can pick up with bare hands and barely have a reaction at all - and I've been stung through riggers gloves and that was painful and itchy for days.
Even so, I think given the choice I'd probably choose a nettle sting - as long as it's not the variety capable of causing lockjaw (or the one that's had fatal effects).
Still nasty little blighters though - and burning them was oddly satisfying
You had mentioned the possibility of some deliberately cultivated poison oak in Britain. I cannot imagine that. The plant has zero redeeming value for humans that I am aware of, it is absolutely noxious to humans, and it grows rampant. We have entire hillsides, in entire regions overgrown with it along the coast in Northern California. So the thought of deliberately introducing it into a region where it does not grow naturally seems to me like just about the worst ecological idea I’ve heard of in a long time.
Do you know if it has been done in Britain, or was that mere speculation?
It's other varieties of the same species that are that potent - possibly Javanese (I'd have to look it up).
Ours aren't quite that strong (unless you have a severe allergic reaction maybe) but they do cause epic bouts of swearing sometimes...
Seeds and plants were sent from north America to europe (notably France and the UK) by botanists and made available to plant collectors and medical and other researchers, definitely cultivated at Kew gardens and recorded in multiple private locations.
There are recorded instances of it being successful in treatment of some skin problems (the body fighting the urushiol reaction promotes other healing), but these are from the Victorian era, so a grain or two of salt may be required.
You think that stuff grows rampant, try some Japanese knotweed - that'll grow four inches per day in summer and easily survive being composted. If you shred it, every fibre will grow a new plant. It's policy in most councils that they can issue a fine if it's disposed of through normal "green waste" channels unless burnt first and there are companies dedicated to specialist removal and soil treatment.
That was introduced to the UK in the 1800s as a quick growing and hardy ornamental garden plant, especially suited to amateur gardeners...
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