[nagdu] Amount of walking was BOOK ON SELF-DEFENSE

Fri Mar 12 00:03:47 UTC 2010

Sounds good. I'm starting to do a little yoga now as well as walking. Now
that the snow is gone I hope to get out on my tandem. I now have found two
pilots who are willing to learn but haven't ridden with either. If they work
out it will be great because they live in my neighborhood. I'm with you
though there's nothing like a long exploratory walk to stimulate the mind.
Especially if it's intentional.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Bryan Brown
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 6:08 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Amount of walking was BOOK ON SELF-DEFENSE

I lift weights 5 days a week and I usually do yoga but the class I was 
taking just ended, I'm trying to find a class that my better half would 
enjoy taking with me. Ad on to that the physical nature of the work I do and

"well, sometimes I feel like I want to fall over dead!"

I really try to balance out cardio with strength training, walking with 
Tarik is my favorite way to get the cardio in, it's good for me, it's good 
for him, it's fun plus there's the bonus of keeping my o/m  top notch as 
well as keeping him sharp.

I've done Jujitsu and judo, but after about 7 years I got bored with it , 
it's just not a practical everyday thing. Now if I want to stir things up in

my "work out" program I go out with the intension of getting lost. "I know" 
it doesn't sound like a very bright thing to do, but have you ever noticed 
that when you are lost you've got no clue how far you're going to walk? 
"smile" try it sometime, just wear a good pair of shoes.

Well I guess that was enough of a ramble, I've got to get back to work.

    B

 ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joy Relton" <jrelton at verizon.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:51 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Amount of walking was BOOK ON SELF-DEFENSE

> Brian, you are a motivater for me. I usually walk a couple of miles a 
> day and more a few times a week but not six to ten at this point. Are 
> you into any other types of exercise at all?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Bryan Brown
> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 8:50 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Amount of walking was BOOK ON SELF-DEFENSE
>
>
>    I try to cover at least 6 miles a day, no matter what the 
> weather,,, 6 to 10 is my average but I'm kind of a fitness freak. Most 
> of the streets that I travel on don't have sidewalks and the streets 
> that do have sidewalks
>
> are very uneven. I only take public transportation if I have a very 
> heavy load to carry or if it's just plain to icy to get a footing.
>
> I am a massage therapist so fitness is very good advertising for me 
> and
> when
>
> I walk with my GSD Tarik, we're like a walking billboard, I try to 
> keep
> him
> as accurate with his work as I can and walking and working with him is 
> truly
>
> my favorite sport.
>
>    Bryan
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joy Relton" <jrelton at verizon.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 7:01 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] BOOK ON SELF-DEFENSE
>
>
>> Hi folks,
>>
>> I believe that taking self-defense classes or studying martial arts 
>> would help a great deal. I studied karate several years ago and one 
>> of the most important things that I learned was awareness of my body 
>> and how to use my strengths and weaknesses to my advantage. Very 
>> often it isn't practical for a blind person to flee in the event of 
>> confrontation, so, there are other techniques that work to help to 
>> fend off attacks or make yourself less venerable to attack. For me, I 
>> believe that one of the most important things that one learns in 
>> studying martial arts and self-defense is to have self-confidence. 
>> Sometimes, the simple ability to say to someone that you
>> are in control of yourself   will serve as a deterrent. This is all part
>> of
>> being assertive, which is very different from being on the offensive.
>> This
>> whole thing about self-confidence helps when you want to be received as 
>> an
>> equal in a restaurant or any other setting. If you don't believe it, 
>> watch
>> people. Those who walk in as though they belong there, without apology or
>> aggression are much more likely to be admitted without hastle than those
>> who
>> walk in tentatively and aren't sure of what they are doing. It makes you
>> venerable. Having said all that, I'm not advocating that you charge down
>> dark alleys. I mean, gain confidence in your abilities and go forth.
>> Develop
>> and use good travel skills and good thinking skills to solve problems.
>> It's
>> a process and you won't always succeed and you won't always feel that
>> confidence inside. It takes a lot of self talk. I encounter this
>> frequently
>> just crossing certain streets because my sense of direction and ability 
>> to
>> "hear" buildings and the like has been changed due to an aneurism which
>> burst in my brain. I am determine not to become a couch patatoe so I
>> obtained some tools to help me overcome some of the physical problems, 
>> and
>> some extra training from an O&M instructor to help remind me of certain
>> physical land marks that I can use to confirm my direction. When I was
>> working with the O&M instructor the other day and we went to cross a
>> street
>> whose curbs, of course, don't line up I asked what I could do to help me
>> be
>> sure that I didn't miss the curb completely and she showed me some
>> techniques, like simply intentionally aiming in from the corner a little
>> and
>> then working my way back once I was across the street. What I have found
>> is
>> that a big part of my travel errors and problems relate to confidence.
>> When
>> I step out and walk in normal steps at a good rate instead of taking
>> tentative and slow steps I cross better. So, I have taken the phrase "sin
>> boldly" from Martin Luther's writings as my mantra to give me that kick. 
>> I
>> have no doubt that there will be times when it isn't the whole answer, 
>> but
>> it will get me closer to what I want to do. It's all about taking a 
>> chance
>> and going forward.
>>
>> A question relating to this whole issue of venerability and 
>> confidence is, how often does the average blind person actually walk 
>> in their environment for more than a block or two. In working with 
>> the Seeing Eye instructor who came to do the juno walk with me this 
>> week, I found that an increase number of blind people are using Para 
>> transit as their only means of transport and
>> movement. So, they walk from the house to a van and from the van to their
>> office building and reverse that whole process. As a result their travel
>> skills aren't well used or developed, and the dog doesn't get a chance to
>> keep his/her guiding skills finely honed. I'm curious, how many of the
>> people on this list actually walk more than a mile a day? Of those, how
>> many
>> take different routes? How many use mass transit extensively to go to
>> shopping malls, restaurants, doctor's appointments, or to the office. I'm
>> asking these questions to get a feel for what sort of travel folks are
>> doing, and not as a form of criticism. We all live in different areas and
>> have varying levels of travel skills and physical abilities, I'm just
>> curious.
>>
>> Joy
>>
>>
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