MARCH!!...

march was pretty much a continuation of february. so i picked a few highlights for you.

 1st. MACP. the modern army combatives program. 

30 of us from my class had the opportunity to certify in MACP lvl 1 while we were at bolc. it was a lot of work but worth it for sure. i enjoyed the PT which started about 5 every day. it wasn't your normal stuff either, it was all these horrible basic training style drills that just sucked the life out of you. being a gluten for punishment, i rather enjoyed it. but for those who aren't really into that, here's some of the more fun stuff we did. 

choking. cause its fun.
i enjoyed challenging our instructor...for a few reasons. first, being the little
punk i am, i just really wanted to choke him out.
it sounded like a good idea at the time. second, the more rational
reason, he always used level 2 and 3 moves that i picked up on and could use
on other people.
needless to say, after getting stuck in a triangle choke, my throat
got bruised so bad it hurt for 2 weeks. and no, i never beat him.
but it was totally worth it and i was a lot better for it in the end.

all that said and done, i didn't get it  nearly as bad as some people got it in the clinch drill.

.

punching. in this case, we were the punchees not the punchers.
the "clinch drill" is where you have to move in, take control of your
opponent, and take them to the ground. to make it fun, they find
a bunch of really big guys, give them boxing gloves, and tell them to hit
you in the face. this is pretty much how it happens.

i specifically remember watching one of the smaller females in the group
get matched up with this 6 foot 3 inch massive tower of a man.
im not sure but i think he knocked her head straight off once or twice. 

now this was some fun. a shock knife. its kinda like a mini taser.
i've provided a short video for you. 

 this little guy will make a pretend knife fight a lot more interesting.

next up, blauer suits. 

(high tech suits designed to allow people

to beat the living daylights out of each other and walk away

mostly unhurt)

and there you have it. MACP. level one. check. 

level 2...someday

on a different note...

so one of my good friend's friend knew a guy...and yes that's the way i'm starting this story. anyway, this guy

owned a pecan farm out on the guadalupe river. this old guy happened to love army guys and told us

any time we wanted, we could come out and use his old farm house on the river, burn whatever we wanted, use the grill, and of course, the farm truck. gotta love those old army lovin texans!

also gotta love those ex ranger reg / contractor / crazies who bring 

assault rifles outfitted with night vision scopes out to the farm.

the friend of my friend made his way through all of PA school by 

hunting boars on this old guys farm and we made it a point to get one or two.

here are a few pictures from the weekend trip to the guadalupe

what would you give for a 2 mile long driveway like this??

bonfire, football, jumping out of trees into the water, a 40lb catfish
on the trotline. it all happened here.  

gotta love a good old fashion farm truck!

the hunt...just had to be careful not to mistake the cows for boars. 

dinner. 

a final note to close out march.

the end of march marks 1 year since the end of my cancer treatment! 

my new friends made it a great night...mexican food, live music, and good company.

my old friends who lived the gospel for me through that year made sure to check in.

you all know who you are and i want to say thanks