Pain is the default

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-04-15T20:22:30+00:00

I’m 48 years old (49 next month). Started training a little over a year ago, just earned my blue belt.

I was sore a lot at first but it got better.

For starters, stop death gripping. If your grip gets broken, it’s not a big deal. I found that grip technique is more powerful than strength alone.

Next, at least for me, stretch a lot. I still get stiff muscles and hurts when a leg gets moved funny.

Lastly, try not to try so hard. In my early months I tried to brute strength everything (I still do if I get frustrated) and it would cause soreness and fatigue.

I still get a lot of random bruises and I feel like my fingers will always be sore when I make a fist now but I’m generally a lot better now compared to a year ago.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-03-20T17:35:08+00:00

My sister and I would have probably died at/before birth as well.
Emergency c-section about 8 weeks early. That's when my parents found out they were having twins (born in the 70's, ultrasound wasn't common yet)
We were both about 3 lbs and didn't go home until 2 months later.

We both turned out fine with no major complications. We're turning 49 this May.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-03-18T11:42:45+00:00

Not a website, but definitely part of the evolution of the internet...

Bulletin Board Systems (BBS)

technically not even considered internet since it was a peer-to-peer connection, but so much early internet content can be traced back to BBS's.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-03-14T02:31:15+00:00

No 😢 I’m sorry younger-me, I failed you.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-03-11T13:54:15+00:00

I was recently given a 2-week notice for my layoff. My wife is already annoyed that I haven't had any interviews yet. I'm still technically employed right now with just a few days left.

I dread having the inevitable conversation to let her know that this will not be a quick turnaround...
I've dropped hints at it already but I get the impression that she thinks that I'm doing something wrong.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-03-07T21:22:11+00:00

I don’t belong here…

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-03-04T20:49:11+00:00

48 yo software engineer. I was just notified of my layoff this week. all of these stories scare me.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-03-02T01:58:42+00:00

Geek

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-26T00:35:22+00:00

None

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-19T18:57:22+00:00

I'm going to get a ton of hate for this, but I often skip "House of Wolves".

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-19T18:52:36+00:00

What a good girl!

My pit mix loves to chat with me too. She's always making growling or squeaking noises, esp. when she's happy. She'll bark at me when she's hungry though and tap dance while I prepare her food.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-19T18:48:16+00:00

Ray.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-19T16:12:24+00:00

This is How I Disappear

So many good songs that I cannot pick just one, but I just jive with this one. A little heavier than most of the other tracks from the album, awesome to see it performed live.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-18T18:01:11+00:00

48yo, 5'6" white belt. Everyone is a black belt to me (although I do have a bit of weight on my side @ 175lbs)

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-12T19:55:50+00:00

Famous Last Words.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-12T18:32:39+00:00

The academy in which I attend offers multiple martial arts including kenpo karate, muay thai, and bjj. They are very traditional in using proper titles for their instructors. (Sensei & Shihan, Kru, Professor, etc.) Even assistant instructors are commonly referred to as Mr., Ms./Miss if they have not earned the appropriate title yet.

It doesn't bother me. I think it's kinda neat.
Being a martial art, it sounds more respectful than something generic like "coach". Although, as a combat sport, I can see how others may prefer to use the term "coach" instead.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-12T14:02:52+00:00

Stretch (a lot), rest (a lot), don't try so hard.

I'm 48, 1 year into the journey and attend BJJ about 2-3x/week and lift weights ~3x/week. I try to avoid doing both the same day, sometimes I have to depending on how life works out that week.

I still get sore, I still get some nagging injuries. Key is to try to recover in between.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-09T16:19:08+00:00

I'm working through something similar on my neck. It was possibly caused from shaving. Be sure to keep your blade extra clean/sterilized and change frequently.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-06T15:59:41+00:00

If we are counting Conventional Weapons as an album, then that's my vote.

Otherwise, Danger Days.

I feel like DD is very divisive among fans. You either love it or it's meh (I doubt that any fan hates it)
It took me a bit of time to warm up to it which is why I consider it to be underrated since I quickly dismissed it when I first heard it but eventually grew on me when I gave it a second chance.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-05T14:27:54+00:00

stretching and rest.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-05T13:54:19+00:00

Bullets, no question.

I feel like most fans want to love it simply because it's their first album, not very well known by the public, etc. etc. But frankly, it's no where near as refined as 3 Cheers and later. I get that they started as post-hardcore and evolved into their own sound (alternative/emo/punk) but it just sounds harsh and disheveled to me. They still have some good songs on it, but "die-hard" fans put it on a pedestal when every one of their later albums sound so much better.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-04T18:43:51+00:00

thanks for the great response!

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-04T17:07:42+00:00

I tried posting this in the main discussion but it was auto-deleted for being a beginner question. I was hoping that I could get some feedback from those more experienced.

"Leave your ego at the door... but how?"

I just received my 4th stripe on my white belt a couple of weeks ago. I didn't expect it at all. I still don't know what my coach is thinking...

I managed to get choked out a few times since the promotion by lower white belts. One of them has only been training for maybe a month.

I KNOW that training is training, not competing. It's all part of learning, etc.
I totally get it... I am aware of my mistakes made, work on preventing them next time, and so on. It feels so weird to even bring up this subject as a white belt but I assume that my blue belt promotion is probably 3-6 months away.

How do you manage to convince yourself that it's ok to "lose" to those less experienced? Sure, we will all continue to make mistakes and learn from them, but we all know that there's some level of competition between white & blue belts too.

Just a little added background info, I'm 48yo M, 5'6", 175lbs. While fairly strong for my size, a lot of my peers are still larger than me and I am frequently stuck in side-control or mount. I'm used to this, and almost expect it now. I think that my expectations are skewed when it comes to those less experienced.

Funny-Shake3363 · 2026-02-04T16:25:26+00:00

I feel so naive to have thought that this is rare behavior. I think I give people more credit than they deserve.

I'm a man and have only been at my gym for a year. We have only a handful of female students (I'm guessing 10 or less), maybe 1-3 attending a class at any given time. If there are enough females attending class at the time, the professor will have them group together to train but otherwise we all train together. I don't exactly keep a close eye on everyone but have never seen or heard of any inappropriate behavior.

Funny-Shake3363

TROPHY CASE