The Sinister Scribe

Tonight was one of those classes where I didn’t really feel like going. I’m blaming the weather but… whatever. In the end I was very glad I went. I hope all this makes sense in the morning. I kinda feel like I was in that moment where I’ve just woken up from a dream and things make sense… for a moment.

Zen stances… One of the Senseis (can you plural that?) told me to really emphasize the cover and another told me to keep the front foot on toe until executing the block. Hehehe! I did it! My gi made noise! And I was complimented {insert big cheezy grin}.

Cat stance. It is not new. But… Finally realized tonight that the hips are square to the front and it is ONLY the shoulders that are bladed. Ah-hah! Makes one hip feel torqued a bit (torqued hips was a recurring theme) which helps position the foot better. And then… the turn for it… is weird. Dunno if I can explain it but here goes… the hand that is lower in the block moves up and covers the opposite ear. The hand that is out pulls in and then shoots out when you’ve turned (performing the cover) then you perform the block.

Orizuki or is it orezuki? (I really need to find these things out) Did it “on the line” rather than slightly angled. Back leg is bent and up on ball of foot. Hips feel torqued and there’s this whole body twist going on. Leading with hips to punch. Turn doesn’t have to step when you’re on the line.

What else… I’m mostly doing a brain dump here so bear with me… ummm… zenkusadachi gedanuke… we worked on just turns. Must remember to do that this week. It helped a lot today. Also the front foot was up on the ball of the toe too? I think. That clear moment is fading. Oy!

Things to practice for yellow belt test: basics (jodanuke, chudanuke, zenkusadachi gedanuke, sekansuki, giyakuzuki, orizuki, nekoachidachi chudanuke and gedanuke) fukyugata ichi, oyotanren, count to 10 in Japanese, Orginator of the system, name of the system, origin (birthplace) of the system (which island), Current Grand Master. Teacher’s lineage wasn’t mentioned tonight but has been previously. Better add that to the list.

I WILL PRACTICE THIS WEEK.
I WILL PRACTICE THIS WEEK.
I WILL PRACTICE THIS WEEK.

G’Nite!

Well, I survived and managed to have fun.

The waiting was hard. We got there at 8:30 and didn’t compete until after noon. Gah! But such is the way with these things. Sam and I were competing at the same time of course so there are few pictures of either of us.

There were 4 women under-black-belt competitors. One was older than I, one was in her 20s I’d guess and one in her 30s. They were all great to compete with and easy to talk to. Really helped me relax and just enjoy the competition. At points during sparring there was even laughter. Great group of women!

My Kata scores seemed decent if I remember correctly. 8.50 being the lowest and 8.7-something the highest. I noticed that the 8.5 judge scored everyone around that point. I remember doing my presentation, stepping back, taking a breath… then I was done. Somewhere in the middle my mind fell into a black hole and my body just went on auto pilot.O_o Sam confesses to have the same experience so maybe this is normal. LOL!

Sparring… still can’t believe I did that. The idea terrified me back in college but now it is almost fun. I certainly got hit more and harder in the dojo. LOL! Yesterday I had to remember I was not there to be nice. Inside the ring it is “business.” Outside the ring we’re all friends and family. Man! that seems to weird to type. Again there was that unconsciousness of movement where it was almost like my body knew better what to do than my brain did. One time in particular I don’t remember thinking “throw a ridgehand” but that is what I saw my right hand do. Is this normal?

At first they weren’t going to have us really compete against each other as there was one white belt (me), one green, one orange and one blue. But in the end I competed against the orange in kata. She took first and I second. Her kata really was crisp. (but I kiai’d louder ) And I sparred against the orange and the green. Won both matches and took first in sparring. Yeah, hows that for weirdness?

Afterward we and a couple other families met for a celebratory icecream. Much thanks to those moms for helping me wrangle Jessie. She had a couple run ins with boys who were not playing nicely but by the end of the day they were all playing together and calling each other friend. Ugh!

Jessie was even telling me that she practiced her presentation with a “judge”…??? Not sure at what point this happened (when my head was turned apparently) but a big “thank you” to whomever sat and listened! She is really gunning to take classes.

Today I am stiff and sore but no unpleasantly so. My hip even feels pretty good. Maybe I can convince the kids to go to the ARC for a swim later today (and I can get into the hot tub). MMmmmmm!

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!

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.

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.

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!