JLP Blacksmith Teaching Center.

[George N. M.]

I met my late wife, Martha, at a meeting of the local chapter (Grotto) of the National Speleological Society (NSS).  So, we would tell folk that we met in the early '70s in an underground organization.

Caving was a major activity when I was younger.  I even have a small cave in central Wyoming named after me, "Monsson's Mud Cave."  A very minor sort of immortality.

GNM

[Scott NC]

  You are all crazy.  I'm claustrophobic.

[Steve Sells]

I am not denying that Scott.  One big reason I quit was because I got stuck in a cave in southern Indiana for a bit my last trip.   The charts said 44 inches max for passage, I was 42 at the time.. But I got stock crawling through, so I had to exhale and have the others pull me through to pass...

[JHCC]

I'm not generally claustrophobic, but the thought of getting stuck in an underground crack gives me the willies.

[jlpservicesinc]

I'm claustrophobic,  deathly afraid of heights, and huge fear about being in front of people. 

I've had underground forts, I rock climb solo.

Going over bridges in a car is always a challenge.  

Not to be grotesque but some of the caves I've dove you can see where people have got lost and ran out of air. 

You can see the scratch lines in the side of the cave.

Most deaths with cave diving happen near the entrance or cavern. 

Mostly untrained people who venture out of the sunlight .

Very sad because there are signs about the dangers everywhere and they were only 100ft or so from sunlight and air. 

[jlpservicesinc]

Steve, one of the Ninja skills was body conditioning to be able to fit thru a hole..  With your head straight or in line with your neck.. If you could fit it thru a hole from front to (back Nose to back of head) then you could fit thru a hole that size.. 

This for me turned out to be a cinder block sized hole.. from to back was 8"  and I needed 2X that for shoulders and hips..  So about 16"    There were a few times that I was able to get thru some narrower spots when I was able to completely relax and let gravity help..    Once I was able to fit my heads ear to ear measurement which was about 5", that was when I was training all the time and was a 42, 28,43

In training I would have students jump on my rib cage to help it stay flexible..  

Fear changes everything..  Breathing off the top of the lugs, etc, etc..  The thoughts if not controlled can spin and death from fear is a reality. 

Now I have a hard time fitting thru a front door..  LOL.. 

[jlpservicesinc]

It's really interesting all the things that I have done..   And all the things I am afraid of or instantly just to fear and anxiety yet still do them.   

I jump back when someone on the TV goes near the edge of a building.. Yet I'm sitting on the couch.. 

The scariest thing I have ever been thru is when I had my stroke (type 2 DCS)..  That was in 2001 IIRC..  Still have partial paralysis on my whole left side. 

Things I can't see are the scariest. 

[jlpservicesinc]

I was just going over some of my "should have died" exploits..  LOL.. 

As for the most intense pain in the shortest time, that was back in December when I watched my arm bend back at the elbow like a chicken wing BBQ dinner.  that was enough for going into instant shock..  That was " iNTENSE".

When I blew both L4 and L5 that was the highest level of constant pain for about 2 months scale of 1-10..  15 Easily.. 

When I took a tree to the side of the head at 25mph mountain biking was probably the longest I have ever been knocked out..   I remember tumbling down the hill completely knocked out telling myself to grab the ground when my hands touched it again..  

I tumbled down about 45ft into a stream and woke up about 15min later shoulder deep in the stream end of Oct. 

Took me 15min to find the car and I was only 75ft from where I was parked. 

Greatest distance aka fall onto my head is 35ft..  Left me with a scar that looks like Frankensteins. 

The farthest fall with no injuries is 50ft..  Landed on my feet.. 

Rock climbing with my buddy freestyle solo,  Completely inverted on the under face of a rock 30 ft up..  Reached to the outside edge to work my way back to the front,  grabbed a mound hand hold and the whole rock came out maybe 50pounder. 

Spun over righting myself and stuck the landing.     (Ninja training skills)..   

:Most interesting climb with highest skill and body control..    

25ft up a pine tree which was missing the last 3ft..   Climbed up and stood up on the single center trunk that was 2.5" in diameter, stood up to grab the tree that was 5ft above it.   My training buddy Kajikia also did it. 

Highest backflip 25ft.   We'd practice from the ground up to about 20ft on a regular basis. 

Ice burg running the river for fun..  That was always a wet and wonderful adventure.  Super sketchy and have to be on the game.   Some of the bergs were 2-2.5ft thick..  At 5miles per hour of river flow on a 10or 15ft wide berg.. They are flying Semi's at that speed..   Never had a problem.  Very few of the students got to ice berg run..   

We would train on thin ice and once the students got enough knowledge  (they would get cocky)..  I'd take them out for their first self-guided adventure.   One of my guys came up to bubble ice and I was like so..  Where you going and how..  LOL..   He said.. I'm going to walk over the clear ice and then belly crawl over the bubble ice..  Ok sounds good.. Do you want the rope..    Nah.. I got this..      Well, if you say so..   few seconds go by and he looks at the ice then looks at me.. 

Ah, maybe I should use the rope..   Well, if you really want to..   just before the bubble ice..  bloop..  Where is Benjamin..  

In a river when the ice forms on the water it creates hydraulic pressure and the ice can rise.. So someplace that was only 12" deep can now be 4ft or more but you'd never know it..  That and the moving force of the water under the ice.. Bad mojo.. 

Anyhow, I was ready for him to go thru so had anchored the rope on a tree just as he went in..  

next thing you know here come Benjamin out from under the ice with him pulling on the rope and me pulling him out to.  

We had him in a Swedish climber seat.. 

He came out of the water and said " Thanks for mentioning the rope, I would not have used it had you not said anything".    He is currently training as an Army Helicopter pilot.  We trained for another 3hrs after this..  about 20F out.. 

Swimming on this same river under the ice a distance of 30 to 75ft..  My Buddy and I would go down the river and cut a hole in the ice close enough to where the water would break at the rapids so there was no ice.  by the way.. We were 9 at the time.. 

We would jump in and super women it till the ice sheet broke above and could see light. ..    We did this for years.  We were always so excited to find the ice thick enough to walk on.. 

I have hundreds of true stories like these..  

I have done so much and so many things..    It's fun to reminisce.   Stories not over yet.  So many more adventures lie ahead. 

[Shainarue]

I love all of this. 

I was just talking to a friend about the concept of doing stuff when when scared. It opens up a whole other world of awesome stuff. Kinda funny though that no matter how many times I do some things, I never get over the fear. 

Anyway, thanks for sharing some of your adventures. I really enjoyed reading about them. 

[George N. M.]

In caving it is common for guys to hang up in tight places in their shoulders and upper torso.  For women the tight part will be in their hips and butts.  There are plenty of exceptions but those are the general rules for most folk.  I'm kind of a long, lanky guy and was able to get through some spaces that a shorter, stockier guy could not.

I have discovered that as I have gotten older my body has gotten more acrophobic.  This is strictly involutary.  If I see someone on the computer near an edge or has Go Pro while they are up on a radio tower I have to close my eyes or look away.  Martha used to say it was because my body knew that my reflexes were not as accute as when I was younger.  It kind of annoys me when I rationally know that I am not in any danger, e.g. seeing something on the computer, and my body is acting like my hair is on fire.

GNM

[Scott NC]

  Maybe claustrophobic was a bit of a strong word but being wedged 300' down in a rock hole at some crazy angle is more than I can think about. 

[JHCC]

The worst pain I’ve ever experienced is not something the details of which I will discuss publicly, but it was an emotional pain so intense that it became physical. Ever since, I have never had any difficulty believing that someone can die of a broken heart.

[jlpservicesinc]

Jhcc emotional pain is really all there is..

It's a crazy sounding to most who have a body they believe is failing them. 

Some will even say they have never had a stressful nor emotional upset that would trigger such a physical manifestation. 

I won't argue the semantics of someone's beliefs as they are their own and this is true for them.

Believe, don't believe. It's all kinda the same. 

Every incident in my life I have asked for with open arms.  After the fact not so much, but..

It doesn't mean I understood it at the time or fully understand it now. 

I just see things much differently and can see the same is the same.  

Stress is perceived.  There are no small upsets. 

I won't bore the group with my understanding. 

I can say that when I was a child I saw everything with a golden hallo. 

I had seen 2 people murdered in NY when I was 6. 

I had been around violence for years and this golden hallo was always there with a hush of love.

Lol. 

Wasn't until I was 17 that this hallo came crashing in on my own accord. It was the first time I did not turn the other cheek. 

I fell in love with the thoughts of what Ninjutsu represented.  

Escape and evasion vs confrontation and the accumulated debt that goes with that. 

No one can be wrong. A person can have the wrong idea but eventually they will see it for themselves.  

It's not my place to offer anything other than love.  Well do my best to. 

[JHCC]

Love you too, Jen.

[jlpservicesinc]

Shaina, the subject of fear is a huge one.

Different things are more or less fearful to different people. 

Fear is the most common emotion.

As parents we tell our kids about what will or won't harm them based on our experiences and thoughts.

It has nothing to really do with them and their experiences.  It has to do with ours. 

Every ninja student I have, always had the first lesson is.  I am the creator of my own universe and limits. The mind is limitless.  Therefore if my mind is in the right place, I am limitless.  

The realist (body centric) will argue it till its ready to be thrown out.

People want and need limits. This leads to a sense of control and order over the environment and surroundings.  Aka a sense of well-being and safe.

One of my buddies usta say. "If you don't mind, than it don't matter".. 

The only thing that really should be controlled are my thoughts. 

AKA Fear

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shugendō

JHCC John thank you and love you too. You are amazing.

[anvil]

Fear,, A strange thing with me has become a fear of heights. I've been driving the Colorado high mountains all my life in every conceivable weather situation and loved every trip. But for some reason these last 5 years a fear of heights has been growing and its becoming worse. Strange, I often pick longer routs just to miss the fear deal. 

[jlpservicesinc]

So I have added a few items to the school. 

A 25lbs little giant.  Picked it up at my Buddy Eric J. place.

just picked up a very early 50lbs Little giant. 

A 10HP dual wheel belt grinder 

And a pantograph machine.    Die sinker..  Alexander 3A I believe it is. 

[George N. M.]

OMG!  Is that green grass and leaves coming out on the trees???  Amazing!  We had 2-3" of snow last night and the high today was about 25 degrees.  I don't look for those conditions here for another 6 weeks or so.

[jlpservicesinc]

George that photo was from last Fall.   No green grass yet.  Our crocuses are just starting to come up where there is no snow.   

I've been lax on posting photos..   

Here is the 50 LG.  A very early example from what I have been told. 

Has a hole in the neck..     It's running but needs some TLC. 

 

 

[George N. M.]

OK, I'm just hungry for green.  In a few weeks we'll be able to drive down to Ft. Collins, CO, about 2500' lower, and the grass will be green and the leaves coming out and when we get back to Laramie it will still be iron winter.  The 10 day forecast maily has highs in the upper 30s and low 40s.  It will be awhile before the snowdrift in the front yard is gone. :-(

GNM

[jlpservicesinc]

Last Tuesday we had 30" of snow dumped on us.  On the north side of the school the snow was 8ft deep.

Still have piles here and there but overall the winter has been mild with not much snow.

Problem I have is I'm always living 5 weeks out.  In December it's not so bad scheduling into February.  But now I'm scheduling out 5 weeks and I start to panic about winter again.

 

Snow just complicates and makes everything I do that much harder. 

If all the winters were like this past one it would help. 

 

Fingers crossed your greenery shows up sooner than later. 

[jlpservicesinc]

Just now, woke up to Bixby alarm and the weather said snow..        We will see..  

Of course this time of year snow really greens things up fast.  

Snow late in the season was known here as "Poor man's fertilizer"..   

 

Snow Delivers Moisture and Nitrogen

Snow also helps conserve soil moisture over the winter. Plus, did you know that nitrogen attaches to snowflakes as the snow falls through the atmosphere? That's why The Old Farmer's Almanac calls snow a “poor man's fertilizer.” Nature provides a gentle fertilizer boost to plants!

[JHCC]

I did know that! We had an extensive discussion about that on a science-based gardening group I used to belong to (before smithing started taking up all my extra time).

[Shainarue]

Learned something new today! That's really cool about the snow, aka 'poor man's fertilizer'. I'm a bit jealous of the snow y'all have - as we seem to have only gotten ice this year and a few dustings of snow. Grass never wasn't green. Upside to the wonderfully mild winter was that I could be outside forging more often. Downside is my allergies are roaring.

[Frosty]

WOW we got nearly 100" of fertilizer this season and it's not over!

That's a heck of a haul Jennifer, you lucky gal you.

Frosty The Lucky.