The Sinister Scribe

Tonight was more mentally challenging. Well, the “impact” exercises were certainly physically challenging! But they were blessedly short. LOL!

Sensei had us thinking about practical applications of different moves. We worked on the open/closed fist drill again. I like how he asks us to analyze  the what and whys of the moves. Even though I rarely know either.  I like too that there can be more than one “right” answer.

Then we paired up to work on blocking punches. I am learning that I can take a much harder hit than I would have guessed. Granted this is from someone who is not trying to hurt me. However I’m confident that if he felt a harder punch was needed to get my attention… I’d have a nice bruise to remind me of that “lesson” within the lesson.

My first tourney is just one week away. Eeeekk!

This is how my 12yo son makes it…

4C water and 3 bullion cubes
2 eggs
1/4 tsp ginger powdered
2T corn starch

Optional:
chopped green onion

Beat eggs, set aside. Mix 3/4 cup of the water with starch, set aside. Put remaining water & bullion in pot. Add ginger.

Bring pot to a boil and using a fork, drip in egg. Shake starch mixture and add to pot. Stirring carefully until thickened. Add green onion if using.

We like to ladle ours over rice.

You can use broth if you have it on hand. If so, you may want to add some salt or other seasonings. I usually have one or the other on hand. Found a good deal on WF bullion cubes not too long ago so that is usually what we use right now.

Delish and frugal too!

Last night was a good practice. After the kids, Sensei worked with the adults. Which was me… aaaand 3 black belts.

I need to work on the low stances in fukyugata ichi and my turns into them. Also need to look a little more intense during presentation. I’m coming up neutral. That’s not bad, but intense is better. Intense “sells” you to the judges. I feel funny doing it that way but will do it.

Did quite a bit of sparring. Amazing what a workout that is! I don’t realize I’m even breathing a little hard until I hear “break!” I’m “boxing the ring” well and hitting targets consistently. Yay me! Wish I was more conscious of it. But in this context “just doing” is better than thinking, no?

When sparring with Sensei I feel like I”m waiting for that other-shoe-to-drop. ‘Cuz I know eventually he’s going to ramp it up and really make me work. I gotta figure out how to block and counter his hook kick! Something besides punching his backside.

Felt more comfortable in the ring. Even weathered my first “injury”… a fat lip. (no mouthpiece yet) Sam got to watch and according to him I look quite fierce even though I swear I was smiling… not fiercely… just an I’m-having-fun sort of smile. Maybe that will work to my advantage in two weeks if I can manage it there.

So, I’ve got things to work on and I’m looking forward to them.

I finally picked up a copy of Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrara and it has shed some revealing light…

I’m not doing an effective job teaching Latin. :\ Or not thoroughly according to Sam’s worksheet answers. But if you have him translate the chapter in the book, he can do a pretty good job of getting the jist of it. He can certainly memorize the vocab easily enough.

So, as I type this, I am thinking it is perhaps a case of not enough practice exercises utilizing the chapter’s focus points…? There is something I can do to be more effective anyway…

Loosing my focus now. Barb, of Harmony Fine Arts fame,  had some good information on creating rubrics in her recent blog post. Mebbe that will help.

Enough of that for now. Off to make pancakes! Did you know it is Pancake day?

freewrite style…

Worked on hip rotation tonight. I don’t have it quite right. Must practice more! Sensei says it is because women hate to make their butt jiggle. LOL! I don’t think I have a problem with that because at 42… EVERYTHING JIGGLES. Seems to me that it is more my lack of balance at full power. If I really put everything into it I end up off balance. (shrug)

Sparred for the first time. Weird. Fun. But weird. Didn’t do as bad as I thought I would. Managed to land a few and not hurt my sparring partner in the process. Go me!

Feeling pretty good with Fyukugata Ichi. Did the full presentation tonight. When asked what I thought I did right, I said I remembered all the moves but Sensei had a look that seemed like he was saying I forgot something. Speaking of forgetting, I forgot to ask what that look meant. LOL! Other than that he was very complimentary. I’m so bad at taking compliments! Makes me feel like I have to do more afterward to really deserve them. Hmmm… not explaining that right. Oh well. Moving on.

Sunday is Panther Practice. Will be a two hour thing… first hour for the kids… second hour for the adults. Man! I can’t believe I’m going to do this tourney NEXT MONTH.

Feeling much better now. Karate kicked my funk all away. And with that I am going to bed so that I can get up and prepare lessons for the day. I’m hoping that if I leave them until morning I will get my lazy butt outta bed on time.

Yep, I’m rather behind again. I’ll catch up and get week 5 up if/when I can. Wanted to get this one up at least since last night Bob and I sat down and worked out next week. I even have my shopping list all ready to go! Woohoo!

On Sunday I got all meat prepped with marinades and into the freezer so mealtime prep has been a cinch and the meat has been extra yummy.

1. Fooshi rolls (see picture) or “faux sushi” IOW, no raw fish (sadly), tamagoyaki, egg drop soup
2. Oyakodon & rice: Changes: calrose rice, fewer eggs and chicken broth rather than dashi.
3. Coriander Teriyaki Steak with stir-fry veg over rice
4. Soy Glazed Chicken with stir-fry veg over… rice
5. Beef Bowl over… you guessed it, rice (a repeat recipe)
6. Teriyaki Chicken, sesame green beans and… more rice
7. Potstickers, rice and egg drop soup

Will get links up soon…. errr… soon as I can. Taa Daa!

Forgot to add the jobusai (freezer/fridge stash for lunches): Carrot Kinpira, honey mustard salad pickles and Spinach with sesame sauce.

Last night’s class was great. I think I was overly ready to get out of the house after a challenging day because I got to class 30 minutes early. Woops!

One of the things we worked on during class was “fighting stance” and what that means in different situations (class line up vs sparring for example). Something I haven’t really thought about. I am enjoying these thinking parts of the classes more than I thought I would. Sensei asked if I would bring Sam’s fighting gear with me next class for some light sparring exercises. (GULP!) Sparring scares the beejeebers outta me. Other than the fact that I have not done it, I don’t know why.

When I got home afterwards  I felt great mentally. Set up the coffee pot, filled the kids workboxes and took something for my hip. Felt good to be prepared for the next day by 10:30.

I meant to get up and exercise this morning but my hip WAS NOT HURTING for the first time in 4 months. So I stayed in bed for a while and just enjoyed not hurting. Mentally I feel recharged and a little excited to attack the day. Weird. Good! But weird.

Off to it!