What the Body Knows

I did a little training while working outside and around the house today. Hauling bags of yard waste, throwing them over fences and then climbing or vaulting the fence and continuing on to take the trash to the road. Dive rolling over lawn bags and bushes, and also taking breaks to do some top outs on a small wall.

At one point my wife asked me to get her a shovel from the shed, and off I ran. I did a few jumps, drop s and vaults getting across the yard, and over the deck. On the way back I was carrying a large shovel in one hand and a small garden spade in the other and without thinking I ran and jumped off the deck. While I was in air my mind checked back in saying "You idiot, you have oddly shaped, sharp, metallic objects in your hand and you have too much momentum! Keep these things away from your body and do not roll!"

The second my toes touched the ground my body did exactly what it has done thousands of times before. The forward momentum was too much, so my body sent me into a roll. I've done rolls with weapons before in my martial arts training, but never after running and jumping off something 5 feet in the air. Regardless, my body tucked the shovel and spades against my forearms and before I knew it I was already out of the roll and sprinting back towards my wife.

There have only been a few times in my life that I have ever felt like all of the training that I have done became practical and saved me or someone else. I'm not sure why, but this little event today has boosted my confidence quite a bit, and it has me even more excited to continue training.