The Author and His Mask

 To be quite honest, I struggle with what to write about for this project.  I'm obviously not a professional.  I haven't been training Muay Thai for decades, and what little insight I have might only be helpful to just a small percentage of an already minuscule number of people in the first place.  As I write this, I'm only three months into my Muay Thai journey, and already I feel like I've maxed out my ability to convey my situation.  But until I utterly bore or overly repeat myself, I'll keep going...

     I'll just start out by saying that I'm a mask wearing type.  Oh sure, I hate the government, too, and don't believe they ever have humanity's best interest at heart.  I also love going down the messy hole of a good old fashioned conspiracy theory once in a while.  But this shit...this wash-your-hands-and-wear-a-mask shit, and don't have a wedding this year shit, this stay away from even your best friends shit,  this stink eye to the maskless shit, and especially the OH LORDY - Why can't they get their act together in the state that I grew up in shit...I am a firm believer in all this shit. 

     The gym I go to has a mask policy.  It's San Francisco in late 2020, so of course it does, right?  I'm totally down.  You've got to wear a mask to get in the door, and basically everyone wears one throughout training.  I say basically, because, well, it gets a little dicey at times.  Sometimes a coach will drop their mask to be able to be heard over the music.  A lot of the BJJ crew simply does not wear masks after they enter the building.  Mostly, with my crew, the Muay Thai beginners,  masks are worn until someone needs a little extra air, and their nose gets a little peek-a-boo action for a minute or so.  Every now and then, a drilling or bag holding partner will ask if I mind if they can lower their mask below their nose, and I always comply.  I appreciate the concern, and understand the feeling of suffocation that can occur in the gym with a mask.  It's not ideal, and I wish the joint was a little more strict about the situation, but I have my personal lines I have drawn, and nobody has crossed them yet.  I'm thankful the place is able to legally remain open, and I try to maintain an air of respect on the very few occasions I have made a comment about the mask situation.  I'm not the only one who has drawn their own lines, and I'm not the only one that is scared of contracting this shit, or unwittingly transferring it to a loved one that doesn't fare too well, afterward.

    Let's move forward - I wear a really good mask.  It's not a scarf, or a hanky, neckerchief, or even the adorable, super thoughtful ones my mom made and sent out here when the shit first went down.  I wear the high dollar, double layered, nose clamped, filter pocket on the inside kind.  I've got a few of them and I wash and change them often.  Starting Muay Thai?? 'No big deal', I thought.  I have enough masks to rotate and wash an extra one a few times a week, right? Holy Fricken Cow, was I wrong about that!  I don't remember if it was my first or second class, but I do remember, vividly, ripping my mask off and hovering over my knees, gasping for breath, in the middle of the drill.  "How am I this out of shape?" I thought.  Even considering my age, the decades of alcohol abuse, and even considering the years of inactivity, I still found it hard to believe that i got gassed so hard, and so quick.  Now, I'm not going to pretend that these factors weren't real, because I really did mess myself up for a long, long time.  I really did become a fifty year old man, trying to be wildly physical in a group of twenty-something year olds.  That's just a reality.  

     Something I noticed, though, when I stood up straight (most likely to see if anyone noticed the out of breath super old guy in the corner), was that everyone was wearing super lightweight masks.  Shirt sleeves, bandanas, homemade clip-less scraps, and disposable-yet-medical grade stuff.  That's what I wear now, disposable things.  I breathe a lot better, and rarely get gassed in the middle of class.  It still happens every now and then, as some classes are much more brutal than others.  I guess that's it.  That's my advice for the day.  Wear a mask. Wear a good mask.  Maybe the best mask that money can buy isn't the best idea for a super physical journey, but hey, maybe you got some killer lungs and don't need to listen to me.  That's fine.  Until next time...

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