Return to training....but I can't tell you why.

Over the past few weeks, folks close to me may have noticed that I have been spending more time training than I have in years. There is a reason for this,m but I can't talk about what it is. There ain't no law, however, against me talking about my training.

I don't have much time right now, so I w ill just start by saying I started in the 4th worst shape of my life. My strength was down, my endurance was down, and my armor needs an upgrade. I blame it on simply not choosing to actively, regularly exercise to keep in shape. I have allowed myself to do things like edit videos, write about various Captain Marvels, and correct people who are wrong on the Internet. I also have an office desk job, and I have been in a play or two.

While those plays did involve dance workshops. rehearsals, and warm-ups, it was not regular enough, or long-term enough to really affect my fitness. Likewise, my daily commute which involves a light jog and climbing up a significant number of stairs, was already factored into my unsatisfactory fitness level.

My diet is what I would call "casually healthy"; I try to avoid things like excess sugar, high fructose corn syrup, monosodium glutimate, excessive fat and sodium, French-fried potatoes, pasta, and more than a small serving of cakes and other desert-y baked goods. I try to have vegetables and/or salad at every meal, choose juice and tea drinks over soda, drink green tea every day, and eat healthy, all-natural breakfast cereal.

But I am not a vegan, I do eat chocolate, and I like cookies. I probably do not eat enough fruit, and energy drinks keep me going more often than I would like to admit. I am also more sedentary than I was before my knee surgery.

In fact, two of the three worst shapes in which I have been have been since my surgery. These were periods in which I was not actively training for anything, did not have the money to keep up my gym membership, and was involved with work that had me sitting at a desk for long periods of time. I know my shape was terrible because I have pictures top prove it. Also, when I went to the Pennsic War, after marshaling one battle, I would be so exhausted, I would have to sleep half the rest of the day.

So I am grateful for this impetus to get off my ass and do something again. I have found, however,. that I have a ways to go until I am in top shape. I discovered that I was about 215 lbs, that where I used to be able to run 5 laps around the park in my gambeson and helmet, carrying sword and shield, now I can barely to three laps, even without the helmet, that while I used to be able to do three sets of ten reps of 135 lbs, now I am back to doing "almost two" reps. Also, I have not been able to fit into my 34-waist pants in a couple of years.

So I will try to post reports of my training here, so we can all see how  hard I am working and if it doing any good.

Stay tuned!

Captain Zorikh at Wicked Faire this weekend!

Hi Friends! Happy new year to all of you! Every single one! Let's make it a great one together!

This year is starting off with a bang for me. This coming weekend I am returning to the wicked Faire at the Hayatt Regency in Princeton, NJ, where I will be making music and screening video!

AS has become tradition, the Time Travelling Bard will be singing songs and telling stories covering everything from Cyborgs to cowboys, from viking ships to railroads, from the War Between the States to a Galaxy Far Far Away, most often with tongue firmly in cheek, twinkle flashing in eye, and head lost in the clouds! This will happen Friday night at 11:30 PM.

https://www.facebook.com/events/155312868523540/

Then on Saturday at 3:30 PM, for the first time ever, the documentary "Return to Pennsic" will be screened for the public in its completed form! There will be a Q&A afterwards about the making of this project and what it means.

https://www.facebook.com/events/320926065068547

Finally, at 1:30 PM on Friday. I will be hosting the Three Chord Monte Open Jam! This is a jam session that happened spontaneously at the Steampunk Worlds Fair last year and was so much fun we will be doing it again! basically it means we will play every song we can, and some songs we shouldn't, with a 1-4-5, three chord arrangement. That means if you know any one of those three notes, you have a one in three chance of playing the right one at the right time!

https://www.facebook.com/events/194423891295116/

So come on down, it will be a blast!

And yes, I know there has been some drama in the organization, and for those who are involved in any part of it, it is a serious matter. But this event has been, for a lot of us, a wonderful, amazing, fun way to hang out with like-minded people and share a culture we love in an environment where we can be who and what we are and what we want to be without judgements and with appreciation.

In addition to me, there will be lots of amazing, fantastic, spectacular entertainments, activities, and vendors, and there are some rooms still available at the hotel. The parties can be epic, and the memories will last forever!
http://www.wickedfaire.com

I hope to see you there!

What should I do about my knee?

OK, here is the story with my right knee, and I will need some pros and cons: The ACL is completely torn, disconnected. There is a little tear in the rear meniscus, and some arthritis beginning to kick in. I am a perfect candidate for ACL repair, which would take one day, outpatient, have me on crutches for a couple of weeks, and then therapy, and I would be back to full strength in about 9-12 months. I have insurance that will cover it, with Dr. David Pereira, one of the best-reviewed doctors specializing in ACL repair at NYU-Langone, doing the work.


Here is the video that shows the original injury:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsmiZiwwNgc
If I don't get this work done, I could spend the rest of my life simply doing things that do not require any twisting or pivoting at the knee, like elliptical machines and bicycles, and I could wear a knee brace at any time that I feel risk. So no more swing dancing, basketball, soccer, BJJ, sword fighting, armored combat, and even stage combat would be limited.

I am currently unemployed, and will start receiving benefits this week. I have some part-time work opportunities that will help me extend the benefits (performing at birthday parties, working for a comic convention, etc). I have a plan to use my unemployment period to train for work in film production that (if all goes will) will start early next year. If that falls through, my back-up plan is to go back to work in an office job in the insurance industry when the open enrollment season begins.

Of course no surgery is without risk, so I have to consider these risks before jumping into the surgery.

Some options being presented to me are:
1. Get the surgery done right away. This would limit my birthday party work for a few months, so I would be living mostly on Unemployment, but the work would be done sooner.
2. Wait until I get a "real" job, so I can take sick leave to get the surgery and recover (at one hour of sick leave earned for 30 hours of work, it would take me 1200 hours of work to earn one week off. That's 30 weeks of full time work).
3. Never get the surgery and live a careful life, using a knee brace for anything risky, and changing my physical activity to those that don't twist or pivot at the knee.

So what do you think I should do? My Facebook friends have never been shy about sharing opinions and I have found a wealth of new information that I would never have found on my own without you. So now I need to hear some pros and cons so I can make the best decision.

Captain Zorikh on NY Rocks TV!

Here it is folks, the lates appearance of Yours truly on Phil Fiumano's NY Rocks TV show! Skip ahead to 50:20 to get to my segment, although starting at 24:52 you can see my stuff on Phil's table.

Captain Zorikh on City of Fame

It works best if you pause the video until it fully loads, the play it.

Go to http://cityoffame.newyork.com/watch/20d2abefe558796b9958/Cowboy-Zurich to comment on and rate this video.

Captain Zorikh's Birthday Gig Crawl!

CAPTAIN ZORIKH'S BIRTHDAY OPEN MIKE CRAWL!

Hi Friends and Fans. It's that time of year again! Yes, every September 6th I celebrate the anniversary of my first exposure to this fabulous mystery we call Life. This year it happens to fall upon this coming Saturday.

I have decided that this year I will do not one, but TWO open mikes!

The first one will be at Banjo Jim's at 700 E. 9th Street, just off Ave C. Sign up is at 2:45, and the music begins at 3:00 PM

The second one will be at Paddy Reilly's, the famous bar the Black 47 used to do weekly gigs at. It is located at 519 2nd Ave at 29th Street, and they know how to pour a proper Guinness! Sign up is at 5:30The action begins there at 6:00 PM.

If we last that long we might make it to the open jam at Fat Cat on 75 Christopher Street at 1:30 AM.

There will be a diner stop along the way at a place to be determined.

I would love to see as many people along this “crawl” as possible. Those of you who are musicians (and I know who you are) are invited to jam with me or to sign up and do your own open mike performance.

You can join in at any point along the crawl. Just call me at 917-865-1214 if you are not sure where I am at any particular moment to join (like if you want to join in the “to be determined” dinner stop).

Happy Birthday to Me! (If you were there last year, you know how old I am this year!)

Captain Zorikh
zorikh@juno.com
917-865-1214
http://www.captainzorikh.com