Finished week 3 of the Academy yesterday. Thursday was actually very enjoyable. Did clothed personal searches and a grid search out front in the large open courtyard.
Our instructor had two tables full of contraband (n. Any item or substance not authorized by the department or law to be possessed by an inmate or person within the facility (<=Hint: Test question!). It ranged from a normal Bic lighter to a 3 foot lawnmower blade made into a machete.
Our class of 36 was split into two groups and we got to take turns hiding some of this stuff on our person while the other group had to come in and perform clothed searches. You would be surprised how much crap you can hide on your person and even someone doing a REAL “thorough” (another test question!) job can miss. Cuff keys seemed to be the hardest to find which really opens your eyes to the risks we have just showing up for work everyday.
It is a fact.. you will NEVER get it all.. but getting 90% of the contraband off the yard and out of the inmates possession is a huge step.
The grid search was entertaining as well. It was a HUGE space and some of the stuff just blends right into the ground and is easily missed (It didn’t help they had just mowed and didn’t use a bag to catch the clippings!). This was a great learning experience but I am so very ready to get back to work.
3 more weeks!
Sound off.. 1 2.. Sound off.. 3 4.. Guess what, my ass is sore!
Man.. Week 2 of the academy started today. Got to meet our self defense instructor. He is a 20 year veteran of the DOC and a retired Marine drill instructor. Do the math on that one. I have been working out on my trusty bowflex for a month or so now and I am still hurting.
Lets see.. Patterns of movement. Patterns of movement are 12 steps (like dancing) that help you to move and position yourself in a fight to strike or “tactically relocate” (We don’t retreat.. we tactically relocate). They are diagonal movements to the front, rear, and both sides. It was a good aerobic warm up to the REAL exercises.
The trusty ol’ push up. The vertical leg lift. The “roll and lunge.” We would be on our backs as if knocked down. With your right foot behind your left knee, you would bring your knee to you chest to make a rocking chair with your back, rock back to gain momentum and LUNGE forward to pounce and strike your target. You would land on your forearms with your legs slightly apart and on your toes in a half push up position. Then we would do about 10 push ups from this position, roll over, and repeat.
Now.. in the middle of these, there were a few of my brothers and sisters that were getting lazy and resting their hips on the ground. This really pissed the instructor off and we had to do army crawls from one end of the 25 yard room to the other.
We learned about four to five other blocks and strikes and did lots of reps. All in all, it was only about a 45 minute workout but effective.
Needless to say, I sweat my ass off.
Weight Update: When I started at the wall I weighed 244 lbs. After 2 months inside and 1 week at the academy I am down to 227. 22 more to go!
