Greetings:

I most certainly hope that you had a wonderful carnival and will continue to experience carnival again and again.  Throughout my experiences at carnival I can tell you two of the biggest mistakes that I’ve seen people make which are so basic.

As a world class martial arts instructor who has coached Olympians, World Champions and served as the Head Judo Coach for the Bahamas Judo Federation, I can tell  you this.

Mastering THE BASICS trumps anything else when it comes to preparation. You can do the fancy stuff but mastering the basics is key.

In the book, The Ultimate Road Ready Guide, I speak about the importance of many things, but the 2 basic things that I want to address today are communication and hydration.

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Communication
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I tell my virgins over and over again and even this year, one of them was hard-headed and did not want to listen and they paid dearly, so I will tell all of you and hope that you listen.

GET A PHONE and GET A CAMERA. 

Do NOT use your phone as your camera.

I know. I know. It’s seems redundant. 

But…… you and you alone will be that person that loses their phone because they are always taking it out or it will get hit with water or it will get hit with paint at J’Ouvert.  Or your picture taking opportunities will be reduced once the paint and water starts flying.

The reason why you should have a separate camera also is because battery-life is at a premium.
  You are on the road for 14 hours. It is difficult to text, talk and take pictures ALL DAY off of one charge.  Most can’t do it and even if you have a back up charger, everybody in your crew needs a charge too.  As my veteran Winston Williams told me, “Telling me that your phone is out of battery is irresponsible.”  At the end of the day, being able to post pictures “real-time” is NOT as important as being able to communicate on-the-ready when I need too. 

I have no desire to write about the ill-occurrences at carnival in this post but please be aware, having a FULLY CHARGED phone or one with plenty of battery is necessary. As well as putting the number to the local police station in your phone when you arrive.  PLEASE TAKE THIS ADVICE!

Your ability to communicate is of paramount importance.

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Hydration
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Water and coconut water are your best friends.

You must stay hydrated. Once you “feel” thirsty, you are already dehydrated. The rough part about taking in water is that you don’t want to because it is so cumbersome to use the restroom when on the road or inna fete but you must drink water. 

Also the most important time to drink is when you get back to your room.  Often times you think that you are hungry but you are really thirsty. Make sure you drink before your meals and after them.  And also drink water after every drink when on the road or in the fete.

Stay hydrated.

This will especially be of great service to those that have lost weight before carnival.  When you lose fat, your alcohol tolerance decreases.  You need to be aware of that because the same amount of drinks that you could handle at a weight 25 pounds more than you are currently will knock you on your ass now.   Be aware.

Drink!!!! …… water!!!


Peace and blessings.

Please, once again, govern yourselves accordingly.

Blessings From Here To There,

Rhadi Ferguson, PhD
"The Carnival Doctor"

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