at the gym with mike

mike is turning 40 this december, a fact that surprises a lot of people. syempre ikinakahaba yan ng hair niya kahit na skinhead siya ngayon! i'd like to take credit for keeping him young hehe :) but the reason why he looks that way is because he keeps himself fit.

he took judo and karate lessons when he was young, got into basketball, and now, in his late thirties, he's getting into mixed martial arts. he takes jiu jitsu and boxing classes and still finds time to play basketball every week.

one time sloan and i accompanied him to his jiu jitsu class at fist gym. it's a small gym along timog, but mike swears by it, saying that the coaches are really good.

i always tell mike to stay away from me when he's all sweaty, to which he always replies, "hindi ka pwede mag-jiu jitsu, palitan ng pawis don e." hehe :) para namang may plano ako :P

but there are girls who do get into this sport, like mike's good friend and sloan's ninang carol, who even competes abroad.

ispatan ang skinhead ni mike:

while mike and the rest of the class did their arm bars and grappling, i went through quite a workout myself watching over the little boy who had the time of his life trying out the gloves, punching the boxing gears, and running inside the ring.

when sloan grows up, we plan to also enroll him in martial arts classes or get him into sports. it will be a great way to channel his energy and teach him discipline. both mike and i were into sports when we were kids and know the many benefits of engaging in one.

mike says one of the things that pushes him to keep fit is so he can keep up with sloan, who's such a ball of energy. i'm really thankful he not only has the stamina for this but also the patience to run after sloan, rock him to sleep, and play with him. i think not all dads can or would do that, but he happily does.