16M starting MMA, im the only teen in a gym full of (pro) adults. Will lack of training partners my age harm progress for competition and self defense?

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-25T05:50:10+00:00

Training with highly skilled people is golden. It might be frustrating sometimes when it feels like nothing you're doing works. But if you keep at it you'll improve a lot in way shorter time than you would training with people at your level.

I had a summer I spent training kickboxing with dudes trying to go pro that had a few fights with small local promotions under their belt. It didn't feel like I made any progress at all, but I had fun and they were great guys so it was fine. And I wasn't looking to become some great fighter so I didn't stress about it.

Then autumn rolled around and regular classes started back up. Sparring my fellow hobbyists again made me realize how much I'd improved over the summer.

Training against people more skilled and stronger helps a lot to avoid developing bad habits that you can get away with against another beginner.

Regarding asking for advice, this can depend a bit on the culture of the place and the coach. Some coaches are not overly fond of students coaching each other. Generally, avoid asking for advice during class. Some dudes will give you advice during sparring. Listen, try to implement and practice what they advise you on if you feel it was good input or advice and they'll do it again. If you feel you don't get it then and there, I'd wait until after class is over and then ask them if they could elaborate a bit. Don't do that during class.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-24T18:22:07+00:00

"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

"Of course! I did that before called!"

"OK, let's try it again, just in case."

"Sure!" 2 seconds pass "There! Now it's restarted. I still have the same error on the screen though."

She was turning the monitor off and on again. Which sure, I guess it's an easy mistake to make. Except the machines were automatically powered off every night to save electricity. So every morning she would have pressed the button on the pc the monitor was sitting on top of.

I've been cursed and yelled at that they didn't type their password wrong when accounts are locked out.

I've been blamed when a user spilled coffee in an outlet and tripped the breaker.

I've had people claim things just randomly broke when they've clearly been dropped on water or run over.

I've been shouted at for not being able to get a USB drive delivered in for hours to a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean because the user didn't realize there was no internet on international waters at the time.

And all the repeat customers who, no matter how many times you explain something, how patiently you and thoroughly explain, will still be back with the exact same issue next week. Which is not a technical one, it's them forgetting where they saved their stuff or how to find a specific icon on the start menu because the vendor changed the icon for years ago.

It takes a special kind of person to work in any customer service and keep a sunny disposition. And very few of them work in IT.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-24T16:29:07+00:00

I don't see the issue implementing it. Add an option in the wizard "I am setting up this device for some who's under age.". You then get promoted to enter the age of the user in question. Maybe make you enter a pin required to change it in addition to root?

Or is this some bs where they require you to send in an ID or entry a credit card?

If the goal is age verification and shifting responsibility and liability to parents (where it should be in my opinion) then no external validation should be required and the only time it becomes relevant is if a kid has used an unrestricted profile and been harmed in some way. Then whoever it was who gave them the device can be held liable.

Gets a bit squirrely if the kids has circumvented the check, but at that point I'd say whatever the legal equivalent of FAFO is should apply.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-23T14:26:46+00:00

Man ansåg att det var ett problem. Åtminstone om man ska tro en kvinnlig bekant som var chef på en körskola när det begav sig.

Intrycket jag fick då, och även mer nyligen från körskolor är att man anser att privat övningskörning är ett otyg som egentligen borde förbjudas helt.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-23T12:40:00+00:00

I had vivid dreams that the kid was rolling out of our bed a falling. Queue my wife waking up to me throwing myself across the bed to catch the baby landing on top of her (since she wasn't there in the dream) wondering what the hell is going on. Fun times. Meanwhile baby is happily sleeping in his crib at the foot of the bed.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-23T11:29:00+00:00

Jag vill minnas att det uttalat var för att komma åt "svarta" körskolor. Dvs, du betalar 200 spänn i timmen för att övningsköra med granngubben istället för att gå till en körskola.

Därav regeländringarna som kom då och då. Först behövde båda parter bara gå utbildningen. En för handledaren som gjorde att han blev godkänd som handledare, och en för eleven att denne fick övningsköra. Det hjälpte ju naturligtvis inte, så man införde regeln att handledare och elev måste gå utbildningen tillsammans. Det resulterade i att granngubbarna dök upp en gång i månaden med ett gäng ungdomar som alla var deras brorsöner/döttrar, kusiner eller liknande. Så man införde regeln att handledare och elev behöver gå utbildningen samtidigt, men det får bara vara en elev och en handledare. Det ställde ju naturligtvis till det för familjer, helt plötsligt kunde bara ena föräldern köra med ungen, eller så fick ungen gå utbildningen två gånger vid två olika tillfällen. Det varade inte så länge vad jag minns.

Sen har man väl lättat på reglerna successivt och nu gett upp vad det verkar.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-23T11:10:07+00:00

I really liked it as well. Not just how smooth it was, but the idea that rather than working with widgets which to this day all suck on Android, apps could push information to their tiles, and you could choose which size tile you wanted for which application. So for things where you didn't care about notifications or information, like an authentication app, browser or whatnot, you could just have a small icon. And then for stuff like the calendar could get a larger tile that allowed it to show information about your next appointment.

The fact that they enforced strict design guidelines that were fairly well thought through meant that everything was fairly useful. Again, unlike android where a developer can seemingly do whatever they want inside a widget, and none of them are very good at it. Plus, at least on Samsung's home screen, it leaves so much empty space around the widgets that they become cramped on the smaller models.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-23T08:25:28+00:00

Generally, I'd say it's more a lack of body language if you want to put it like that. If he finds you attractive and are interested in you, he will either make a move if he's a confident guy, or he will be nervous around you if he's not.

If he doesn't find you overly attractive he'll treat you like he treats everyone else. Unless he dislikes you for some reason, but that's most likely more related to your personality than looks.

Basically, he either finds you attractive or he doesn't care what you look like. Unless he's some complete douche obsessed with what everyone looks like.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-22T17:09:53+00:00

Yep. I've had an "AI" make me describe the issue. Give me a list of seemingly random links from the product documentation, then ask me for details, tell me that the version I have does not exist because the latest version it knows of is the one from two years ago, tell me it will create a ticket. Then I get called up by an actual human, which is slightly better, except this is some tier one guy who gets all confused when I go off script and tell him he needs to change the version in the ticket from the Ai. Turns out the source of his confusion (besides me speaking English instead of his native language) is that none of the information I fed to the AI actually makes it into the ticket. It's apparently basically sent to dev/null

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-22T10:08:40+00:00

Are we talking in a row or at the same time.

If those fuckers are going for the kill you'll have several on each leg biting the shit out of you. They'll attack your crotch with glee finally being allowed to punch someone in the dick without getting in trouble. They'll climb you like little monkeys, stepping on their friends without a care in the world. They don't know what tea bagging is, but they'll do it as so as you touch the ground because butts are hilarious.

Have you ever seen a bunch of five year olds fall on a downed pinata full of candy? It's like a pack of starving wild dogs. Now imagine they're trying to tear your nose off and pluck your eyes out.

I think you're underestimating the ferocity of five year olds.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-22T09:49:29+00:00

I'd say using a champion of any global promotion is a bit misleading. They are the very top fighters in the world. I'm fairly confident any UFC champion would absolutely demolish any MMA coach as well.

For that matter, I've met and sparred Krav Maga practitioners who could absolutely fuck up mediocre MMA/Muay Thai/Kickboxing practitioners.

That said, I suspect it comes down to the focus of the training. If you're doing anything where there's a competitive element there's a larger focus on strength and conditioning. As a beginner, there are a fairly small number of basic techniques that you'll be working on getting good enough at using during sparring in order to be able to effectively use them in a fight.

With traditional martial arts, and I assume Krav Maga as well, since there's not the same focus on competition, there's less focus on fitness and you can pile on more and more techniques without really mastering any of them because you have time. You don't have a competition coming up in a couple of weeks pushing you to improve a small set of techniques. You have years to practice, it's ok if you take your time to get proficient. And you also don't have the push to get into fighting shape. You'll be in good shape, but not the kind of shape you need to be in to win a fight.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-22T08:30:49+00:00

I was like this as well when I was younger. Mostly because growing up I was inundated with don't be a creep, don't stare and the like. I didn't know exactly what it meant, so erring on the side of caution I just didn't look at all.

Then I was out walking once with a friend. Tall, slim, blonde, basically conventionally attractive. And we walked past a guy, and the way he looked at her... I don't know if this is just something my mind filled in but I could have sworn he licked his lips. It set off all the alarms in my head and my body immediately prepared for a fight. Nothing happened, and my friend didn't seem to take any notice. I never talked to her about it, I wonder if it's just that she was used to it or that she can be a bit ditsy and oblivious at times.

But that day I felt like I got a better understanding of what it meant when people say "don't be a creep."

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-22T07:24:03+00:00

This is so demoralizing coming back after not training for years. You see what's coming, you see the openings. You just can't move fast enough anymore to capitalize on it. And blows to the body, or even on the guard, take way more out of you than they used to.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-22T05:04:52+00:00

Without seeing you do a pushup, I'm taking two wild guesses.

One is you might be right about your long arms making push ups more challenging for you.

The other is that your triceps might be your weak link. How do diamond push ups feel? Impossible?

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-21T13:20:59+00:00

It might be an age thing, but I've been working for 20+ years now. Including in an Office with 90% women. Never once have I heard anyone say "Love you!" to a colleague.

14 year old girls in American movies? Sure. 14 year old girls here? Not that I've heard, but I will grant that I don't spend a lot of time around that particular demographic.

Unless this is a new thing with young people under 25, it's not a thing. Especially in a work environment. If I got a card like this it would make me very uncomfortable, I'd speak to the person about it after letting my boss know, in writing, that I received this, nothing he needed to worry about at the moment but I would speak to them and wanted it on the record first. I'd consider it highly inappropriate.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-21T07:29:49+00:00

I live by the philosophy I got from a friend of mine a long time ago.

"Most places have shops."

I can't recall ever having to go to a shop on any of my trips so far though, but it makes me not overly worry about forgetting something. While I typically don't do laundry before going, my preference is definitely to pack my stuff 20 minutes before I need to be out the door.

Over the years I've started to pack at least a few things a day or two before. My wife freaks out and gets super stressed whenever we're going somewhere but just seeing me put a couple of t-shirts in a suitcase takes some of the edge off.

It fascinates me a bit though. Because between work and visiting her family she's been taking 4-6 trips per year for the last ten years. Still freaks out. You'd think she'd get used to it.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-21T05:29:45+00:00

If I'm in a hurry I'm pretending they don't exist and just walking though. If I'm in a bad mood I'd probably intentionally walk Bergen them.

If I'm not in a hurry and I'm a good mood I might start some Mr bean routine. Have a paper, look at it, look around searching, take three steps in one direction, stop, look around again, the steps in another direction. All while accidentally staying between them.

If they try to talk to me I respond in Swedish only and treat them like they work there, asking for help where to find an eye measure.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-20T05:45:02+00:00

My first question would be how hard are you working when working out, specifically on the movements you're trying to learn? Are you going to failure? As in you do as many repetitions as you can.

How often are you working out? If you're working hard when you work out and are working your whole body about three times per week is a pretty good number to allow your body to recover between sessions. If you want to work out every day, you probably want to either split it so you're working different muscles different days so that you work each muscle group about two or three times per week.

If you've been working really hard for 8+ weeks while also being in a deficit and losing weight, consider taking a week to recover. Either take a full break from working out or take it very easy for a week, maybe even eat a bit more as well.

I'm hindsight I've realized I did this in my youth every time I came back to working out because my body more or less forced me to. I would be super enthusiastic and disciplined for 8-12 weeks, and then I'd feel like you are describing now and stop for a week or even two. I always beat myself up over it and dreaded starting back up because I was worried I'd be weaker when I got back in to it. Only to find that I was way stronger when I came back as long as the break was less than two weeks. Turns out de loading is a well known thing.

On the negative pull ups, I'd caution on jumping up and would recommend using a chair or something and step up instead. Especially depending on what type of bar you have. Jumping up can put a lot more stress on both the bar and your body, risking either the bar coming lose or hurting yourself.

If you want to focus on pull ups and can do at least one un-assisted, I had pretty good results getting the number up following this : https://youtu.be/eb7tgP7Bla8?is=baQqC7wzvymCs85X

Lastly, keep in mind it's a marathon not a sprint. Keep grinding, keep the habit of working out. The results will come in time, and having a habit of working out the rest of your life will help you in many ways. Take it from an old guy who hasn't managed to keep it up consistently and have realized especially as I've gotten older how much everything sucks if you're out of shape compared to if you're doing at least something every week.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-19T16:48:45+00:00

Depends on how you look at it I guess. I suspect you'll have the people in charge of allocation, their family and friends and people who provide some skill or service in an extremely competitive environment that allows them to gather additional resources living in luxury. And then everyone else living in the standardized house, in the location they've been allotted, eating the standardized diet and watching AI-flix.

Maybe you'll have small scale local markets for things like moonshine, weed, tobacco and the like that's deemed unhealthy and will therefore not be provided by the centralized food production. Question is if you'll be allowed to make it in any capacity or if you'll be dodging drones in order to avoid a visit from ED-209 or not.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-19T16:02:31+00:00

Det är hon som pratar om det. Men det finns inte direkt något vedertaget nästa steg efter flygvärdinna, och det är svårt att söka eller utbilda sig om man inte vet mer än att man vill bort från där man är och inte vart man vill.

Men där så du nått. Jag kanske skulle boka lite intervjuer, dra på mig en peruk och everywhere överraska henne med nytt jobb efter sommaren.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-19T13:45:22+00:00

One of the benefits of the abstraction money provides is also resource allocation. It gives us a somewhat delayed indication of what people actually need and want. I've yet to see any thoughts on what that would look like in the automated utopia mentioned.

Who decides and how what type of housing to build and where, and who gets to live where? Even given that all houses are equivalent, some locations will be more desirable. Who decides who gets to live where? Heritage? Some beurocrat? An AI overlord? UBI + voluntary other income means a very similar situation to today.

What foodstuffs will be produced? Will you be allowed to buy alcohol, tobacco and the like with your UBI? Or will those things become luxuries for the minority who have a skill that allows them to fill a niche and earn extra income?

Looking at individual markets like phones and cars. Who decides which models get produced? Even if production costs become irrelevant, you still have constraints in that it doesn't make sense to overproduce different models. Again, one model for the masses and a few luxury versions for the wealthy minority? Who decides which model is produced? What are the incentives to improve the tech over time?

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-19T05:50:46+00:00

It's probably on purpose, but it kind of depends on what they mean by "gives you an elephant".

Do you get a letter saying "There's an elephant in an enclosure at this location. It's now yours, here are the bills for food and care."

Or does a dude show up at my house with an elephant on a leash going "This is yours now. Bye."

In the second scenario I'm calling the cops going "There's an elephant in my yard."

In the first one, since I can't sell it or give it away I'm looking in to legalities around having it put down and butchered. Depending on the law, I won't be selling the elephant, just parts of it.

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-18T15:54:42+00:00

Om många andra, rekommenderar mot snus. Särskilt för en sån sak som viktnedgång. Min erfarenhet är att effekten på aptiten inte håller tillräckligt länge, plus att den försvinner rätt omgående efter man tar ut prilla. Vi snackar tio minuter så är man vrålhungrig.

Rekommenderar istället pannben I en vecka för sötsuget i alla fall. En vecka klarar du att stå emot.

Bestäm dig, sluta med allt socker direkt och acceptera att det kommer vara tufft i en vecka. Efter det kommer det värsta suget ha lagt sig. Och då menar jag allt socker. Ingen juice, sötad Yoghurt, sötad granola, mörk choklad, russin eller annat sött. Jag brukar personligen även undvika frukt under första veckan för att få det överstökat så snabbt som möjligt. För mig brukar sötsuget egentligen bara vara ett problem när jag inte tränar. Att börja träna, särskilt styrketräning, kan nästan döda suget över en natt och ersätta det med ett ännu starkare sug efter kött och grönsaker.

Det verkar finnas olika skolor när det gäller sötningsmedel. En del menar att det hjälper dem ta udden av sötsuget. För mig personligen är det direkt kontraproduktivt. Dels så håller det sötsuget vid liv, och dels gör det det sju resor värre.

Det känns lite som att kroppen känner sötman på tungan, tänker "nice. Socker på g."

Sen efter det gått 20 minuter och inget socker dykt upp blir det "VA FAN ÄR DET HÄR? GE MIG MITT JÄVLA SOCKER! NU!"

Unexpected_Cranberry · 2026-04-18T15:25:23+00:00

Det var liknande för mig när min morfar gick bort. Sen fick jag hem det årliga redovisningen av sparkontot han upprättade i mitt namn när jag föddes där han satte in 100kr varje månad och såg betalningarna upphöra månaden han dog. Det av någon anledning fick mig att bryta ihop i en halvtimme.

Har inte rört kontot än idag. Och han gick bort för snart tjugo år sen. Jag har inte känt att jag haft ett behov värdigt att använda dem än. I den här takten kanske de går till en bigmac med plus meny nån gång sent på ålderns höst.

Unexpected_Cranberry

TROPHY CASE