Sucker punch

Finally!!!! Derby training starts up for our league this Friday night but instead of joining my team mates on the track I'll be on the physio's table that night trying to get my knee back in some sort of working order. (Derby) love hurts. I'll be the first to admit I'm a pain in the arse when I'm injured. I'll have my whinge first and then move on and try and deal with it. Maybe next time someone can save me some time and just bitch slap me out of it :P

All hope is not lost. My trainer Suzie has modified my training schedule so even though I can't skate, do much leg related exercise or *sob* run I'm still exercising so that I don't fall too far behind with my fitness while I'm off skates.

I might not be able to skate right now but I can still do boxing (which believe it or not benefits derby). The duck and weaving and emphasis on quick footwork is only going to help me in derby. I've known from the beginning that I'm not blessed with natural skill in either sport so it means I have to work twice as hard just to be ok. What I lack for in natural ability I'm trying to make up for with technique and heart. I've put a heavier focus on trying to improve my technique so that when I step onto the derby track I won't be a doormat which brings me to my next point.

I know I've mentioned this last year but alas I still didn't deal with the issue in all that time. I'm a soft arse when it comes to sport and life in general. I don't like to knowingly hurt people, so why the hell am I doing derby and boxing I hear you say? Good question. Without ego I think given the size of me and the right technique I could probably cause some damage on the derby track. Instead over the year's I've developed a sort of victim mentality, I've held back in sport so that I don't hurt anyone and I've been guilty of cotton balling myself in fear of another injury. The thing is when I start scrimmaging no one is going to hold back, they're going to want to put me on my arse or get me out of the way. If I continue with the approach I've taken up to now I'll be useless to my team mates that they'll effectively be playing one skater short. It's the same with boxing, for week's my brother in law has constantly been telling me to hit him harder and to aim for his head instead of deliberately avoiding punching him in the head. Yesterday I was doing a lot of thinking during the day about the being nice and passive attitude I have that it was actually hurting me in the long run because I was stunting my own development by holding back. Halfway through my boxing class something snapped in my head and I was doing the drills with full strength punches. It got my brother in laws attention as he was forced to try and block all the punches coming to his head :) I know this is going to sound crazy but suddenly it felt as though that invisible barrier of control was gone. It felt freeing somehow and both my technique and speed improved too. Now to see whether this will translate onto the derby track.   

Coming from a football (soccer) supporting background I'm used to seeing players swap shirts after a match and supporters decked in their team's kit, lots of them with their favourite players name and number on the back of their jerseys. Ever since I joined the world of dar-bee I've wondered why league's don't try a similar merchandising approach. As long as people pre-paid for the customised shirts and are aware that they're non-returnable unless they're faulty it would cover the league's so that they're not stuck with a lot of customised shirts, the fans will be happy and I'm sure the skaters would probably get a kick out of seeing people supporting them.

To end on a happy note this goes out to my friend Cass (Apocalypse Pwnie) from NRDL. She's scrimmaging with the big kids up there :D From the moment she messaged me out of the blue one day last year we've clicked. We've progressed up the derby ranks at the same pace while everyone else around us moved up to bouting level. It's been great to have something to talk to who knows how you feel with all the high's and low's of the sport. I'm proud as punch of her scrimmage achievement, I'm hoping we get to scrimmage with each other at least twice this year :) There's no one I want to see get to bouting level more than her.