Bork! The Year in Review

Since this will probably be my last entry until the new year, I thought I'd reflect on what I learned this year.

Aiki- We struggled (all of us, head sensei included) with the new aiki book bestowed upon us by head honcho sensei after his impromtu change of direction back to "the old ways". This means, basically, that our aiki is more like a traditional daito-ryu aiki class. He also came up with the idea of having us wear hakamas, and our first week rolling around in them could have been set to Benny Hill music. I taught Verizon Guy, Big and Little T, and two other senseis how to tie their hakama- some more successful than others. I earned my "yellow chevron patch" and am now working on "red chevron patch". I also learned how to sew patches. I have the needle marks to prove it.

Karate- Despite a turbulent year, I actually got a lot accomplished. I finally caught up to green belt in May and earned my stripe in October. I stand to earn my purple belt very soon *fingers crossed* I went and competed in the tourney and got a 4th in kata, 3rd in kumite. I learned rohai dai, ichi-bo, and saifa. (Today, head sensei looked at my bo kata and said I moved like a sword student. Big surprise. It was nice though- I got some badly needed advice for saifa, and a couple pointers to clean up the bo kata.) I also got my very own bo, and it is so much fun to drag both a bo and a sword case into class, and some blue sparring gear, to which I have broken in on the likes of aiki sensei, and Tank.

Iai- Iai has been nuts. I went to my first iai clinic outside of our little school, and meant other kids, who are also studying at other schools. Most of them are brown belts in karate, or are san-dans needing iai for their next rank- nothing like belt color paranoia. I did my first kata with tameshigiri. I jumped up to sho-dan this year at the end of September. And, I taught five new people. Crazy. Mostly, I have learned to be pay attention to subtleties in kata, how to be patient with dumbasses, and how to teach. I even ran a class once :) I enjoy teaching, much to my surprise. I am starting to study katori shinto ryu now- I know the first three and the last two kata (only 6 more to go), and I have learned kumitachi 4 and 5, and kata 7, 8, and 9. Good stuff. I am a kata junkie.

And now...for the awards (the winners get a big glob of cookie dough on their heads via my imagination).

1. Most Annoying, a title once held by Nerdverd, he had finally been dethroned...by an entire group of kids I call "Greenies".


2. Best moment was when I got my sho-dan in iai (duh). Actually, most special, was when we lined up at the kamiza and toasted the occasion with sake.


3. Worst Moment was when I locked myself in the ladies changing room at the hombu.


4. Stupidest Moment- Behold, this conversation: Cig Man: what's up now? Nerdverd: I wanna go to X college, but my girlfriend wants to go to Y. We keep fighting over where we wanna study kendo. Cig Man:...okay... Nerdverd: I wish I knew what women wanted so I'd know what to do. (hysterical laughter from all the married males in my class)


5. There is a God Moment- the days that head sensei made the kids do 20x, 40x, 50x, 100x pushups for kids who refused to shut up.


6. Most Likely to reach Black Belt- This year, probably Prince Valiant and Brown Belt girl from karate, those pint-sized karate senseis for iai.


7. Most Likely to Drop Out- Pot smoking guy, and hopefully several Greenies.


8. My Greatest Ally- Verizon guy. Thank Goodness for conversation.


9. My Worst Enemy- Greenies. All of them. And the Purple peoples. They will not pass me *grumble*.


10. My New Year's Resolution- I'd like to hit brown belt by the end of next year, but who knows?

Tabi holidays

Ho ho ho! It's that time of year again where we put those expensive things we need for martial arts class on our Christmas lists. This year I got my classes for the month of December paid for. I also got some nice black tabi from head sensei. When he gave it to me, I was quite surprised, especially since I bought him white tabi. Tabi socks are a running joke at our dojo. I always wear them because I think they are comfy- I do have a large space between my big toes and the rest of my toes. I first got them in Japan some-odd years ago, and I typically wear them to Saturday class because that's when I run out of clean regular socks. Head sensei has been wanting a pair of white ones, unable to find them in his size. I finally found someone who carries them. Sadly, they won't be here in time from Christmas. *grumble*

Not much has happened recently. I sparred with aiki sensei and Tank the other day, and while I am very happy to do so after such a long time, I am really, really sore. I felt so little and inadequete sometimes.

Kill your television, Unplug your internet

If anybody ever asks me what is the secret to learning iai, I will tell them "Kill your television, and unplug your internet." Nothing kills enjoyment of teaching faster that someone who declares that they know what they are talking about before they even step into class. They know nothing- they regurgiate all the bad stuff they find online and in movies. I have told every new student in the past few months to stop reading and watching all that junk and commit to what we teach you. And they nod and say, "sure sensei, I know what you mean." Do they? Do they do what it means when they have sword in their hands that, even if they are 100% careful and mindful, they could injure somebody, or (if fate really smiles upon us) themselves? The newest guy, I call him Dopey (for both the literal and suggestive reasons) gave me the same speal to me and says, "Oh yes, I don't see it like that. I see it as an art." Yes, it is. It is an art for its original purpose was to kill people. Should you be so obsessed with a waza looking "cool" or even "real" that you forget its intentional meaning in the first place? It is an art, yes, but in the end, it is also an exercise in stretching your mind. Hmm, thinking for yourself. That's a novel idea.



Some added notes, not really pertaining to anything. Verizon guy and I got promoted to yellow belt- er, chevron patch looking thingy. Mom joked they looked like girl scout patches. She's right. This is it on the left hand side here. Dumb looking. Not as cool as my red stripe for iai. Purple belt girl's gonna need a new nickname- despite her best efforts she finally got promoted to brown belt, and she better get her butt moving because the two purples are right behind her. There's yet another greenie today, bringing the grand total up to 10. Too many greenies, ack! I relearned a new katori shinto ryu kata, which I like but hurts my feet. When my finals are all done, I'll be able to practice it more. Oh, and the newspaper did an article on the school. It was your usual fodder- cutest kids they could find for the pictures, fluffy stuff about the importance of discipline. I got a quote in there, which was printed up as a run-on sentence. Stupid newspaper editors.

Ahhh! They're multiplying!

There are now two more kids in iai- a goth kid, and another cigarette smoker. I came to class early- senseis hadn't arrived so we were locked out. There was this guy buzzing around, and in the ten minutes it took to open the place, the guy sucked down three cigarettes. I figured he can't be doing karate. Anyways, he and goth kid bonded. We were sparring with our goshinken sticks, and I overhear- "Yeah, a naginata, that's like a Sepheroth sword." I dunno which one said it, but when I find out I'm gonna punch him. It's hard enough to be a young kid in iai. Why don't you write in big red bold letters- I BELIEVE EVERYTHING I SEE ON TV AND THE INTERNET - to your forehead while you're at it? And then they got talking about how they too have "sparred" with bokkens and stuff with their equally stupid stick buddies, and then the cigarette guy asks what a shinai is supposed to be used for. You have no problem beating your friends with it, but you don't know what it's used for? Arghhh! No more Nerdverds, please!

Bork! Another roll call.

I'm having a terrible time trying to concentrate on school and martial arts. I have no money, no social life, and I'm constantly getting into fights over my future with the family. On top of that, it turns out I could be really sick. More on that later.

I've decided I need to update the class roster, since I am anticipating a huge turnover in the next month or so. Everyone is getting on everyone's nerves in karate and I don't think too many people are going to survive if the class keeps ballooning and people don't shut up. So, here goes;

Karate

• brown belts- Prince Valiant (10-ish) is now the highest ranking kyu in the class (with two stripes), and will probably make junior sho-dan by April of next year. Three others are also brown belts- they don't have nicknames, really. One is the only female kyu that outranks me, and two are 13 year old boys.
• Purple- There is Purple belt girl, who is called that because she's been the same rank of purple with stripe for two years. There are two more in the same rank, Wheezy Kid and another who have become so annoying that they are interchangable to me. The only regular purple belt is Verizon guy.
• Green- I am the oldest green with stripe, after that is Little T and some professional kid who's in a whole family of black belts. After that is Tank and a whole slew of horribly behaving green belts.
• Orange- Big T, a pair of twins, and a six year old.
• Yellow and white- So many little brats, it's crazy.

Total in karate class= approx. 30

Aiki

• Brown- two of my iai senseis
• Blue- Verizon guy, a karate sensei, and me.
• White- Cigarette man, Wally (if he comes back)

Total in aiki class= 8 or 9

Iai

• nikyu- little senseis
• sankyu- Prince Valiant
• Yonkyu- two guys without nicknames, Nerdverd, Cigarette Man
• Mu- Peanut, and a lady and her son.

Total in iai class= 10

Beagle-do- the art of persistance.

Peanut came back! Plus, we had two new people join iai- a mother and her son, who also study shotokan karate. The mother seems more into it than the kid. That brings our iai class up to 5 kids, and 4 adults (including me and excluding the senseis). That was about how big the class was when I started two years ago. Yesterday as I practiced, I thought about how many kids should have been sho-dans before me. Two people, Valleyboy and Prince Valiant (I call him that because of his haircut. He's the kid my mother wants to kidnap 'cause he's cute') started in class the same day I did. Today, Valleyboy has moved away to college and brown belt boy is occasionally in class. He recently got promoted to san-kyu in iai, but his attendance in karate and iai is so sporadic that it's hard to teach him anything. Before me were two others- the kid with the papparazzi dad and his blond friend, both quit. Also, there was the little senseis (before they were senseis, of course)- they have decided to concentrate on karate. Frankly, they have all the time in the world to reach sho-dan in iai, unless they quit when they're old enough to play football or something. The iai sensei that left a while back had a brother in the class that quit couple months after I joined. Since I joined, the only people to really stick around has been Nerdverd and Cigarette man. The latter had his wife in the class, but she dropped out too. Then there was that boy who came twice in his first month, once a month for three months after that, then not at all.

It is thinking about these people, and about my dog's eagerness to steal food, that remind me that skill is nothing without persistence. Here in the picture above is a blind beagle who did not let his vision impairment (or the fact he just ate) sway his desire to rip the bag open. I guess my beagle knows something of what I am talking about.

Where are you, Peanut?

I think Peanut quit. He hasn't been to the last 3 classes (but then again, neither has Nerdverd). I hope he didn't because that would suck...and after I gave him a nickname. Speaking of nicknames, I bestow a nickname on that guy in iai and karate- cigarette man, bcause that's what he smells like. You'd think eventually I'd learn actual names of people. Hmm.

So other than that, I have been working on getting a purple belt and some sword stuff. I tried unsuccessfully to teach one of the little senseis the fourth kumitachi, but I couldn't remember the footwork. We finally had to break open three different manuals to find the right steps. I know I'm not crazy- I did just learn this one two months ago. Ah well. I work on #4 and 5, and I'm also working on bo stuff and my new karate kata, Saifa. This one is nice. The next one, nijushiho, is apparently quite a bitch. So I'm using the time now to clean up all my other katas so I can learn that one when I get to it. Too many katas. Josie brain is swimming.

Now and Zen- a Perspective on Teaching

Two weeks or so ago, this 10 year old, who I will call Peanut (for his shape, but definitely not his size), started iai. He was the first to join iai class since I made sho-dan, so I have pretty much been given responsibility of him. So far, I enjoy 1-on-1 teaching. Sometimes I think he actually listens to me. The karate bunch, on the other hand, need to be poked a couple times with a hot pitchfork.


It astonishes me how bad the kids have gotten recently. Normally, they do not push head sensei, but now they could care less. My mom's dog has more discipline- at least bribery with food works on her. This is made worse by the influx of white belts and the lack of adult blackbelt supervision. For the most part, the little senseis have been taking the teaching reigns- horrendously. The two, although are young, know nothing about the earning of respect and appreciation for others. Admittedly, I'm not sure I can do much better- but at least I know not to leave a 5 year old white belt in a horse stance for twenty minutes. I guess that doesn't bother me though, as much as some of their comments to the kids. They say stuff, first off, in a very snotty voice, and they expect way too much out of their students. Just because they were blackbelts at ten doesn't mean that a 10 year old greenie has the same skill or attention span. Plus, if the kid is a little on the chubby side, he's not going to be able to do a perfect pushup (as if any 10 year old could). With these things in mind, I really can't fault the kids for wanting to rebel all the time. It's just insulting for someone to do that to you, never mind the age difference.


I think in order to teach kids, there has to be an adult figure- NO EXCEPTIONS! That five or ten year age difference can mean a lot when it comes to knowing how to control your group. There are some in class that are nice, well-meaning, and do an overall good job with running the show when head sensei is busy- most of them black belts, but some of the kyu ranks too. Others, like Uke Killer, are freaking useless. Uke Killer spent a class flirting with purple belt girl while the brownies crawled the walls. Then when head sensei yelled at him, not the group, he was surprised. Well, black belt to me signifies that you have the maturity to do as you're told, not what you feel like.



So I hope Peanut stays, and I hope he learns good manners as well as iai from me. As for the rest of the kids- God, I hope Darwin's theory of natural selection is true.


On a (rather large) side note, this guy (I still need a nickname for him) who's been in our iai class for a while decided he was going to take aiki and karate too. I guess he bit off more than he could chew, because by yesterday, he was back to just iai again. We did pick up another aiki uke- a guy about 400 pounds. You know he's big when one of my karate senseis turns to me and says, "I have no idea how we're gonna throw that guy!" Eep, me either. I'm calling him Wally, although our Tank probably can't knock down this wall. Big T came back to aiki, minus Little T, whom I wonder if he quit. Speaking of which- that iai kid hasn't been back lately either (overscheduled tikes *grumble*). Big T brought in Girl T as well into karate, so now all that's really left is Medium T (who I hear is awful) and Mom T. I bet Mom T would be quite a fighter. I haven't seen Verizon guy in a while. Hmm.

Trapped in the Closet- the aiki version

I got my stripe on monday! The good news is, thanks to being in aiki, I have most of the requirements for purple belt already. I also purchased a sparring gear set, and learned two sword katas. All was going well this week. That was, until I went to the hombu with aiki sensei this week. We decided to go up there and get more help with the new techniques in the "red belt" section of our book. We arrived late, missing the announcement not to shut the closet door on the ladies changing room. I shut the door, changed, and realized I locked myself in. There was people pulling on the knob from the outside, and me tugging on the inside. All I could think of was, "I'm trapped in the closet". I thought if need be, I could kick the door down. Finally, someone picked the lock, and I mortifyingly started class with everyone else. I had a good time though. We worked on mostly kneeling techniques. My partner was very helpful, and freaked out at how flexible I was. I forgot his name, though- I'll call him Buzzcut guy. While I was there, I finally bought a new white gi top. No more holes

Bo knows pain.

As life as a greenie continues, I am once again reminded that my life is very short- perhaps, it has only gotten shorter as I plug away at that stripe requirement. I have now learned all the ten bo wazas, and have been practicing very hard with them. I found one of my dad's old walking sticks, but it pales in comparison to the one in the dojo. I need my own. Thanks to the low ceilings, I have hit the celing, overhang, and the balance bar they use for pilates at least a dozen times each. It is only a matter of time before I smack myself in the face, or knock out one of the stupid little kids who don't look before they run across the floor to get a drink. I tell myself, Darwin was so right. To wipe out a couple kids would not only be an accident, but probably a good way to thin out the stupider lower belts. "No, I swear- it was an accident. Look at it this way, sensei. He won't be running across the floor again."
I hope we'll be getting a new place soon. It's been talked about, but I don't know how seriously. I hate the place we're in. I'm sure whoever gets it after us will appreciate the redecorating of the ceiling I leave for them.

March of the Greenies

I am convinced they are out to kill me. Or put me on trial for murder. One of those two. The kids have been off the wall all week and the presence of several teachers is not helping. I heard head sensei utter the phrase, "If I hear anyone speak one more time, I'm gonna assign 100 pushups." Some of these kids complain about 10. This week, a six year old earned his orange belt. He was so young, he didn't quite have the knack for bowing yet. It was extremely cute, but I have to wonder what six year old is ready for that kind of focus.

So many greenies! The gaggle is up to 7. I noticed that every year around beginning of school year, attendance spikes and a gaggle of white belts comes in. Then, around January, they level off, and in May when the weather warms up, there's a big attendance drop-off. The big numbers are sitting in at white belt (currently about 9-10), green belt (8, counting me), and brown belt (4, sometimes 5- there is question as to whether 2 more will come back). Green and brown tend to be the dumping grounds- green being the last rank a lazy, insubordinate gremlin can handle without being bored, and brown being the big purgatory waiting for St. Peter to call you up to the front desk. Uke killer was a brownie, two stripes, from the time I started going to martial arts, 2 1/2 years ago. Kids lose interest so easily these days, and adults tend to let class be the first thing to go if their life changes. So it's verizon guy and me left to fend for ourselves within the mass of awful brownie warmup leaders and gaggle of greenies. It's a good thing we know aiki.

Bork! Life as a shodan

I survived my first week as shodan, and thankfully, so did my teacher. After the heartattack that I'm sure he was having the week before, things have calmed down...kinda. It turns out Uke killer is moving to Ohio in November. It took me all week to get this story straight, for my informants were greenies. I heard he was going to every state from Iowa to Idaho to Indiana (I dunno how they got that last one). But I thought it was funny when brown belt girl (now with a stripe) said she was going to have a party afterwards to celebrate! Thank god, I am not paranoid in thinking this kid was dangerous.
I have rededicated myself to karate- I've gotta stave off those greenies. Green belt is like purgatory. You NEVER leave! Verizon guy used to joke about being a green belt forever, now I understand why. It's a good possibility though, that one or more greenies will pass me, thanks to the junior level ranking system *grumble*.
I learned a new kata yesterday too, despite my sore wrist. I can almost cut straight again, a tell-tale sign it's getting better. Now I know a new kata, I really wanna get out with my sword, but I'm trying to let my wrist heal.
Speaking of wrist, I accidently hit my aiki sensei with my brace. Oops. Bork!

A sprain, a pancake, and a shodan ranking

Well, I got back from my first day of class as a shodan... Wee! *happy Josie dance* It was a long, long weekend. First, on saturday I watched then uked for the brown belt kid, who is now (thanks to the ranking fairy) a black belt. After his test, I'm giving him a new nickname- Ukekiller. He hurt three kids on the test. One of greenies he kicked so hard, he made him cry *roll eyes*. The funny thing was, he was so cocky, and when it came to the vocab section of the test he nearly bombed it. Ah well.

Then after that, they announce instead of going to lunch as planned, they were going to do my aiki sensei's nidan test and get it over. Well, funny thing happened then. As an uke in aiki class, head sensei likes to joke that a tori can hurt anything on me, just not my sword hand. So, the first move that my aiki sensei does makes my wrist pop like a bowl of rice crispies. I get wrenched all the time in aiki- it's a result of being so flexible, people forget I have bones. I didn't think anything of it. I thought the horrified look on my sensei's face was funny.

So then, we finally break (2hrs behind schedule) for the chinese restaurant next door. Eating with 30 kids is quite an experience. I beared witness to the biggest garbage guts elemetary school had to offer- average eating was 3 plates and 5 (yes, 5!) bowls of ice cream per kid (with cookies on the side). So then, we reconvene for the aiki clinic, and we pick up a few moves. Head honcho sensei taught us the difference between jiujutsu and aikido ways of doing some of our moves. It was interesting how the aiki class is making an obvious shift from the judo and jiujutsu to the old-style aiki. It's gonna be a headache to relearn this stuff.

So after that (4pm) my family picks me up and we debate for an hour where we want to eat. I suggested the IHOP because I was dieing for choco-chip pancakes. The problem was the nearest one was an hour away. So, we go there, and after a merry misadventure finding it and a bathroom on the way there, I promptly devoured my pancakes. It was then I noticed my wrist was a bit sore. It was ten by time we got home and I wen to bed after that.

I only slept 4 hours. I was so wired and anxious for the test, which was scheduled to start at 10am. My family roll out of bed at 9:20. I panically kick their butss out and we head to the school. Head Honcho sensei arrives at 10 and we don't start for twenty minutes. I finally stood before three of my teachers; head honcho sensei, head sensei, and sword sensei. It took 2 hours. I was nervous. I had some problems with my saya being too far out when I did my notos, but I think I hid them as well as I could. I had one sticking point when I couldn't spit out that a tsuba was a "guard". I explained it using every word by that. The funny thing was, head sensei told me not to worry about vocabulary! Then I did all my wazas and katas and then he had me do cuts and cuts in iai goshi. I did okay, though I could have worked it more. Head honcho sensei had me doing some stuff off the nidan page too. Then I did my kumitachis, with (not head sensei as we'd planned it to be) sword sensei and that threw me, but thank god I only was asked to do 1-3. After that, it was over.

Head honcho sensei gave me some constructive criticism, including how I needed to get my shomen uchi cuts more in the center, and how I needed to draw faster. I was awarded a red stripe to signify that was a shodan on my hakama, and I received a new beautiful brown kaku obi, which ties very nicely. After that was a short clinic, and we cut gozas. I cut beautifully the first time around, but my second times suffered a bit due to my wrist blowing up like a balloon. Lastly(4 1/2 hrs later), we lined up at the kamiza, made an offering, and downed some sake. that was the best Japan memory-triggering moment I have had in a long time. I was even happy that the sake was still as I remember it- like lighterfluid. I gave the people who attended my test a postcard, which I think they liked, and my gifts to my senseis of daruma dolls received rave reviews. I was happy, and extremely relieved. I had a long talk with a friend of mine the night before to burn off the excitement before finally turning in.

My wrist though, finally had it. It turned puffy, and I could no longer move it. Today, it's better, though for future reference until the sprain goes away I should refrain from punching, reverse shutos, and kiriage cuts. I feel strange, though not much has changed. I think the gaggle of greenies could care less about whether or not I'm a shodan in sword. One thing is for sure. Now I can assign pushups to Nerdverd! *evil grin*

The waiting game

So, here I am...one day after my last class before Hell Weekend:

saturday
10:00am - junior sho-dan test. I must be uke.
12:00pm - lunch
1:00pm - aiki ni-dan test. I must be uke.
2:00ish- aiki clinic. uke, uke, uke.
3:00pm - pick up hakama from tailors
Rest of the Day- fret

Sunday
10:00am- My iai test
11:00ish- goza cutting :)

I got a lot of practice in with my kumitachis with head sensei, but I am very nervous. I haven't been able to get out with my sword thanks to the rain all week. Adding to the anxiety is my mom being ridiculously sick. Thankfully I had some relief this week as well. Our benevolent matriarch/drill sergeant came back, which means those little rat *astards will fall in line again. I got to talk a bit with verizon guy too, which was nice. My gifts for my teachers came- and though wrapping them sucked- they look nice, and hopefully will be enjoyed. I am reviewing parts of katana (or rather, how I will explain them) and reading my manual. Until it stops raining, that's all I can do. I will try and write again after saturday. 'Til then, nyo.

Anxious and chubby

I have noticed how much more I am snacking since finding out I'm testing for sho-dan. Nervousness has set in since turning into September, and the more it draws near, the more worries I found. Here is one:

About a year ago, I posted a question on the BS board. The question was about obi knots, and what kind I should do. The answers were varied, and the response level what everything from "here's 20 websites." to "what kind of cookie-cutter dojo do you go to?" and I wasn't very happy. Not only was my intellegence insulted, so was my schooling. I decided that comparing myself to the knowledge-bases of others was unhealthy, and simply set out to grow my own. I learned how to make a kaku obi, a very formal obi that took me several websites to figure out. I learned a jiu-jitsu obi knot too. I also kept an eye open to how others tied theirs. Head sensei ties a flat fancy knot. New dad and son have yet to buy one- they have a karate belt (now keep in mind, this is the pair that have been practicing for 4-7 years). I went to a clinic and saw one newbie tie a kaku obi, and another tie it off in a simple knot. The moral of this story is two-fold; (1)one should tie it however is comfortable to them, and (2)little issues like this one is not worth worrying about.

Yummy food and new kata

So my test date's been finalized- September 16th will be brown belt kid's karate test and an aiki clinic, and the 17th is my iai test and an iai clinic. No price yet-please lemme find a new job soon!

This past week was crazy. I've been reviewing kumitachi mostly in iai. Monday I was paired up with a kid 1/3 my height. We spent half the class listening in on the teachers talking about how they were going show our ranks on our hakamas. Since we have a few new people and the class demographic is either high-rank kid or new adult, I guess now it's important to show off your "color". That's so wrong for iai, anyway. Why can't we just be kyu ranks like we have been? Well, anyways, the kyus will now wear little stripes of colored cloth (put on with velcro backing for easy "upgrades") on their right hip to show off rank. If I were to get one now, I would have a brown stripe with two little white horizontal lines indicating I'm an ikkyu, or a brown belt with stripe in iai. A bit tacky, yet it's small, so I don't mind. Understand that? This is where it gets weird. Since I'll hopefully be a sho-dan, I will get a red stripe embroidered on my hakama. So, none of the previous discussion pertains to me. Heh.

Then this week for some reason kids have been going nuts. NUTS! What sane child thinks it's a good idea to tag-team on his 5 year old brother in an attempt to pile drive him? Or, what sane child thinks ro-sham-bo is a sensible game to play before class? And so, head sensei misses these two instances, and catches one brother riding the other brother around like a pony across the dojo floor. Oh, and did I mentionall of this crap was taking place in about two minutes? Crazy brownies and greenies.

Oh, I learned ichi-bo on monday! Yay! I got to spend all of monday on it. It took three teachers- one to start it, one to try remember how it went, and one to point out all the things I missed right at the end of class. I'm so used to a bokken, that the extra feet of wood throws me off. I want a bo now though. I must perfect this kata *obsessiveness sets in*

Today was my birthday! I went with my family to Tokyo Seoul, which was very good. I even had ramune! I got pleasure too in watching my family try to eat with chopsticks. I feel good. If you live in the Syracuse area, I highly recommend it. I'm going back for the fried ice cream! Tokyo Seoul

Times, they are a-training...

I still don't know when my sho-dan test is. I paid for it, so it'll be soon, but I'm nervous, and who wouldn't be. After just two years of training in iai, I am testing. It seems more real now after this past week. The little senseis were moved up to ni-kyu yesterday, and judging by their current speed of being ranked, they'll be sho-dans in two arts in a matter of a year and a half. That's nuts.Head honcho sensei is coming down September 16th and 17th, for two clinics and a sho-dan test for brown belt kid. My brother and sister have fond memories of him. They visited the week my brother flew in from Austin, and brown belt kid was getting his butt chewed out by his mother for not practicing with his $65 bo. Ah, the luxuries of parental investment.

I'm not worried about not being ready. Despite only having been doing iai for two years, I have 3 years of kendo under my belt as well as 5 years of Japanese language training, which contributes to the ease of ranking, I guess. I practice every day with my sword, 30 minutes a day if I can, and I study my book. Now is as good a time as any to test, because once I get into Chiropractic college or a medical college, I won't have time. I guess there's one good point of testing early.

Next week, I'll be 23 years old. I still look like a 14 year old, and sometimes I get reviewed by teachers out of the juniors book because they don't know any better. Some of the kids in karate think I'm as old as they are. It's a little embarrassing to tell people I do karate for that reason. It's unheard of for adults my age to be a lower rank. At our school, it's me and Verizon guy.

Change flies around the school like a beagle on a sugar high. Last month, orange belt girl moved away to the Philippines, but not before getting her green belt and being forever immortalized as a member of the greenies. Valleyboy from iai left after he graduated from high school and has not been back since. One guy (I'll have to come up with a nickname for him) left iai after he got laid off but now he's back again, though his wife decided not to. I saw Applebee's guy working the other day- couldn't talk to him, he was too busy, it's become a contest to see who can bug him into coming in for a class first. Nobody likes the new aiki book still. Yet some things never change. Nerdverd is just as bad as ever.

Bork! The Last two weeks

The last two weeks have been interesting. I haven't had time to post to share all the things that have gone on. We cut again last Monday. Head sensei pulled us out of class one at a time so he could work with us individually. He did a special setup for me- four gozas in a square shape, and had me do a kata, completing cuts as I go. So I made a little Josie eep sound and preceeded to try. The first cut in the kata was an upward diagonal right out of the saya, which is a tough cut. It was the first time I cut from there. He said he was surprised I had no trouble with it, and so was I. Next was a left to right diagonal cut, then from there, a horizontal cut. EEP! My stepping became really crucial. Oh, and, did I mention we cut goza on a gravel parking area? I can tell you that turn and cut is fun to spot *scarcastic roll of the eyes*. But I did okay, I cut through. The last cut was another right to left diagonal, except head sensei had placed not one, but two half gozas there. That was tough. I don't have quite the arm strength yet to make a complete cut. On my first attempt, I cut and broke the goza stand. The support came right off the base- dunno hwo I managed that one. Then he had me practice cutting straight from the draw, which I did okay at. He told me I am still conserving goza, but I'm getting much better at fixing that. I use the rubber bands now to space out my cuts. So, them head sensei says, "one more thing" and pulls out a couple full gozas. Now- half gozas are one tatami mat rolled up, and full gozas are two. Basically, one is about 3 inches thick and the other is almost half a foot. Big difference. I tried and made cuts, but it hurt my arms. I kept having the goza shed into layers like dinner bread mocking me when I cut it with a butter knife. Then, I cut, and crack the goza peg. Head sensei laughs, instructs me to stand back, and comes over to put the peg precariously back together. Adding to the humiliation, head sensei goes to cut, the peg breaks into two, and as the goza falls over, he cuts it in half. Holy crapulence, Batman. So that was fun. It was a good thing we only had four people that day, because I used up more than half of class time. I'm sure the other kids waiting loved that. So I did a kata, broke some things. It's all good.

So that was just last monday. Since then, a variety of things have happened. I put in my two week's notice at work- it seems rather than hire me full-time, they want me to continue to do full-time work at a temp.'s salary. So I decided to leave, and pursue my dreams of a career in medicine. So now I have to find another job, part-time, so I can study and afford classes.

The aiki requirements have changed- head honcho sensei has decided to encourage more people to join aiki by adding more belts, which in turn is causing everyone already in aiki more headaches. Verizon guy and I have been spending the last few classes studying the new aiki book for belt adjustment day. So instead of getting a green belt, we'll probably get a yellow one. That sucks. Another thing that sucks is being small. I got drilled into the mat accidently by Tank while reviewing a move with him. There's probably still a Josie-shaped splat grooved into the mat. I fell much in the way that Wile E. Coyote does off a cliff. I'm still shaking that one off. We also have one new doormat, I mean, uke in our aiki class. Let's see if he stays.

The thing that's probably most significant of this past week is when head sensei told me he wants the head honcho to come down, run an iai and aiki clinic, and oh, by the way, test me for sho-dan. EEP! Other than this mention, I have heard nothing else. I don't know if this is what he's still planning. Head Honcho sensei's visit is in two weeks. Most (at least, what I have seen before)are informed of the date of their test one year in advance. Soemtimes, like in the case of the tiny senseis, the test date is moved up. But I dunno- I'm anxious about it, and I don't want to come right out and ask. The visit's "rain date" would be the third weekend in September, which would be the date of the brown belt karate kid's black belt test. I may test that same day, that would make sense.

I thought it'd been fun to write down some people's rank as is now, so when I read this later, I can see how ranks change:

karate
*little senseis (aka professional children, interchangable, as far as I'm concerned)
*brown belt kid who never comes to class- brown, two stripes
*girl with same haircut as me- brown
*# of brown belts who I haven't seen in weeks- 3
*girl who comes...sometimes- purple w/stripe
*wheezy kid w/glasses- purple
*verizon guy- purple
*little T- green w/ stripe
*me- green
*numerous gaggle of greenies
*Big T- orange
*Tank- orange
*Cage Fighter- Yellow
*Tiny T

iai
*me- ikkyu
*kid with paparazzi dad- nikyu
*little senseis- san-kyu
*Nerdverd- yon-kyu
*Aiki teacher- yon-kyu
*no-ranks- newbies dad and son, a karate sensei

Aiki
*aiki sensei- ni dan?
*Applebee's young'un (okay, so he's only two years younger)- brown, two stripes
*Karate sensei- blue
*verizon guy- blue
*me- blue
*Big T, Little T- white

I love swords

I love swords. thought I'd say that. I got to cut on monday. It was a lot of fun. I got to cut a 1/2 goza, and a finished off someone else's too. Wish I could have cut more, but it's amazing how attendence spikes on cutting day. Four of us and the two sword senseis roll a butt load of gozas, which was a fun exercise in finger-curling and rubber band breaking. We rolled more than we ended up using so hopefully we can cut another time this summer.

Cutting was so good! So gratifying! I felt good knowing I didn't botch anything. I even cut a branch from a nearby tree (on purpose of course *giggle*). Nerdverd botched his cuts, and so did the new older guy. The older guy stuck his sword on every cut, and then afterwards, turns to his son and says, "that's a lot harder than I thought". I don't remember how his son cut. One of my karate senseis had hurt his shoulder really bad prior to class, and didn't think he could cut. Head sensei had him cut with a wakizashi with his good arm. He did pretty awesome for that. The sensei that took me to the hombo and the iai clinic cut amazingly. He works out a lot, so I wonder if that will help me too.

One of the kids dad's is a paparazzi nut. I'm surprised his kid could cut without being annoyed. He gave us all a CD of pics he took in October. I'm looking away in all of them because he took about 5000 shots that day. I've gotten used to it now.

Bored and hungry :(

Not much going on. It's been pouring on and off, and it's still hot. I have a nasty sinus infection that has lasted for two weeks. I'm also hungry and I want food. Dumplings, sushi, stir-fry, rice balls- if only I could cook! I'm stranded in my house with no food, and I can't get to class tonight because the roads are flooded. well, good time to reflect. Nerverd has mentioned bringing a few friends to class- a girl (which he met on the internet- insert your own joke here) who he says does chONaBARah *roll eyes*, and a friend and his dad who came to class monday. They used to do muso jikiden eishen ryu- the son did it for 4 years and the dad for 7. This is where my concern arises. They had been in the ryu long enough, surely, to learn how to cut properly- all style cut different, true, but these guys couldn't cut cheese. Their arms are bent, and their cuts are so off-level it looks like the wind is blowing their bokkens. I can tell from watching the dad that they did a lot of stuff from seiza, and not much standing work. And then, there's the matter of their swords. The dad's sword has purple wrap on it (bleh!) and has a 30" cutting edge. What the hell does he need 30" for? Those extra thick pumpkins, I guess. And the son has a sword that is sharpened only at the last 1/3rd of the edge. Hmmm. I guess I have to watch them a bit more. I fear that Nerdverd has been teaching them, making matters even worse. *sigh*

Good Grief, even my dog can defeat me!

I think this drawing says it all, for what's happened to me the past few days. I am beginning to hate little kids. I know, it's wrong- still, I hear their little flapping mouths talk, and the grown-ups and I have fantasies about duck tape.

It's the end of the world! Celebrate!

Is is the end of the world? Have I lost my identity? Is it the end of all things as we know it? Here's hoping so! I got my karate green belt today! Yatta!

It was fun, though I had to do my kata in 6 different directions. And, of course, it's a freaking long kata. My hair was soaked in sweat. Then, I had to do self-defense, which I am pretty weak in. I need to think more karate, less aiki. And, I need to kick first to establish distance instead of punching first, then kicking when I'm in too close. Bah.

I like my green belt :) Karate Koala likes his too. *Happy Josie Dance*

A happy little swordperson :)

I got ikkyu today. I'm very happy. The day didn't start out so well. I came into class with about 3 hours of sleep. Big T was running the vaccum cleaner, raising the temperature about 10 degrees in an already tiny space with no windows. We spent the whole class beating each other senseless. Head sensei showed us a nifty move where the uke punches, and the torii spins under the punch and backs up with an elbow into the uke's floating ribs.Ouch. Head sensei did it to Big T and sidelined him for about 5 minutes. So after that class, the little tikes came rolling in and raised the temperature some more. I was sweating like crazy. I finally got some badly needed instruction with my green belt requirements. *sigh* Lots of work on that is needed, that's for sure. So then that class was done, and we had sword kids come in.We had more people show up today than the past 3 months. I was sweating like mad. Head sensei called me over at the beginning of class and told me to get my book (and the grinning begins :) ). So I showed my ikkyu stuff, and though I really didn't do as well as I would have liked, I still did okay. I got taught a new kata which I really like. Head sensei said it was his favorite kata. :)So anyways I got ikkyu. I I attribute my flying up the ranks to all the (practically) individual attention I've been getting. It's helped to piggy-back with senseis when they got bored and need someone to "play" with. I now have four certificates of rank for iai, some I bought a poster frame and framed them. They look nice. *Happy Josie Dance*

kiai on the last motion, please

My work has hit a new low. I found my sister is now going to join me at work, so now my martial arts is my only thing that isn't trampled upon by my family. It's a bad thing, I have found, to let it define me, because every bad training day seems to sink me for days. I haven't been working iai ans much as I should. I've been really going through the motions. Lastsaturday I went to an iai clinic at a sister dojo. I never felt so stupid. I felt like I was getting outclassed by these beginner tikes. I cut too- not well, either. the 9 year old cut better. Yay, another prodigy- black belt by ten, quit by 12. Anyways, I've been trying to keep it in perspective. My sensei told me that the teacher at the sister dojo really teaches much differently than I'm used to. If I can, I'll see if I can get a video clip of my cutting my sensei took- though, he didn't get the good cuts. On monday, it was just me and Nerdverd. I guess this contributes to my slacking too- the fact that nobody comes to class regularly. Even if I could be ranked at this point, there is nobody to work with at my current rank now, so what's the point. We did #3 kumitachi almost all class, and probably by next class Nerdverd will forget it. I wish I wasn't the only one who took training seriously. Karate seems to prove even more of a challenge keeping focus. I want to ring the necks of those little ewok children everyday. Why does it take 10 mintues to get a drink? 15 minutes to change? I guess I've gotten old, or maybe it's the fact I don't feel special anymore.

So much uke, so little time

A lot has happened since my last post. I went to the tournament. I didn't do self-defense because I ran out of time finding ukes, so I just did sparring and kata. I did my kata 2nd in the group, got 7.2's across the board. I ended up finishing 4th out of ten, and got a nice shiny yellow ribbon. Going so early and doing it a little fast were the only things I would change. The kid who won did it with the kata I am just learning now for green belt. And the 2nd and 3rd placers were Alfred kids who did heian ni-dan. Now, heian ni-dan is kinda my arch nemesis of katas. Because I learned it first at Alfred, I had to learn it a different way when I started karate at my current school. I like the way I do that kata now, as supposed to the Alfred way. The main difference is at the beginning steps and end blocks. The beginning of the alfred kata has a crossover step between the hammerfist block and reverse punch- it's just weird. I have trouble doing the kata because I tend to mash the two versions together, otherwise I might have done that kata instead. But I chose heian go-dan because I was more confident in that. Next year, I'll probably jump into the green to purple division and get slaughtered by guys doing brown belt level kata, so I plan to take my kata I'm learning now or another higher ranked one (ro hai dai, maybe) and plug away at it so I am at the very least competitive. Anyways, I did sparring and being that there were ten of us I thought they'd mash us all in together but they separated us by gender. So there were three of us. First match was a good one. I fought an orange from Alfred, and being they concentrate way more on sparring, I knew she'd be good. I barely lost. I might have won another time, so I'm not too concerned with that. It was a long match, and I had to fight right after that (great exercise for an asthmatic). So being winded, I got my ass kicked by a white belt and that was the end of that. I don't know much I could have done differently. I managed to score one really good point on the orange belt with a roundhouse kick (kicks aren't my forte) so I'm proud of that, but I wish I could have done better. Again, I plan on getting my ass kicked next year by soon-to-be brown belts. I find that the older I get, the less competitors there are to deal with. I guess it's hard to stay in karate as you get older. So, that was the tournament. Today, I had my aiki test, and yay I passed! *happy Josie dance* It's a very nice blue. It's not the bright smurf blue belt my friend and a karate sensei have, it's a blue-grey. I'm pretty happy with it, I feel like I earned it. I did a lot of improv on my test, which was fun. I'm glad I'm not as clueless as I used to be. Now, if I could just learn that karate kata...

forgotten sakura

I'm increasingly feeling like I'm just on the bottom of the training totem pole. I don't know if it's me becoming more aware of what I don't know, or frustration from not being able to use what I know. I'm sure that makes no sense at all. I'm really tired and I've lost direction completely. I'm not sure if I am going to the tournament now. My kata still has a lot of problems, and my sparring is just as bad as ever. Head sensei let me borrow some sparring equipment so I can start sparring with everyone. I have since sparred twice. It's been a year since I sparred regularly- it's just not my school's thing. I got my ass kicked by a purple belt, and barely won a match with a thirteen year old brown belt. I just don't have any confidence in my kicks to use them, and it makes me a sitting duck. I don't wanna get my ass kicked by some professional tae-kwon-do sparring opponent. Bah. Other than that, not much going on. There's too many brown belts. Two of them have been a brown belt for like two years because they don't feel like coming everyday. What sucks is that they'll all have to be prepared for black belt at the same time. And there are a million orange belts now. Can't wait until one or all of those little brats pass me. In other news, the sakura trees in front of my dad's workplace have bloomed. Gotta love New York, where cherry blossom season's three weeks late.

A boring recap post...I wonder where I put that cookie...

Not much news in the way of martial arts. I've learned #4 kumitachi both sides and #5 one side. There's talk I might get ikkyu soon (I sometime wish I would stop eavesdropping on my senseis). I'd rather get my green belt in karate but that's just been one frustrating practice session after another. It looks like I might not be going to the tournament after all, as my brother's flying in from Austin that week.

So, anyway, I've decided on writing a little update and commentary post to clarify some things for my new friends at B.S. (hehe, funny initials) and peeps from school.
Here goes:

Aiki Still a white belt. Well, it's actually more grey now- lots of feet marks and frays. I got my rank sheets for Aiki finally a couple weeks ago and the blue belt rank is nothing special. In fact, I knew most of that stuff from karate or iai. I know a great deal on the green belt (next rank up) sheet. I think now, looking at the pace of the class, it will be a while still before I get ranked. I think head sensei plans to rank the kid ahead of me or one of the senseis first. But, hell, I could be surprised. I realized there's a couple personalities I haven't mentioned. The first is a father/son duo which I refer to as Big T and Little T. Big T is a fun guy, though he's built like a tree, and Little T is so unenthuised it's funny. They decided to join the class full-time a while back- casualities of head sensei's "New uke drive". The other guy is refered to all the time as "Cage Fighter". This guy is freaking huge- has to be 300lbs of solid muscle. He loves UFC and wants to eventually try out for it. We tease him a great deal about it but none of us would be dumb enough to find out if he's good.

Nerdverd Nerdverd has become legendary within my sick circle of friends. I continue to give him the benefit of the doubt and he in turn gives me more reason to doubt his sanity. He's the subject of my very first entry, and yes, I have even more nerdverd-isms to add to the list. Keep in mind, this are actual quotes this kid has said.

Nerverdisms:

(Upon achieving first rank)"Alright! Now I'm one step closer to achieving my dream of being san-dan and opening my own kendo dojo!" (note: kendo is not taught at our school)

"I don't care how much it costs to go to Japan, I'll sell my kidney."

N:"I practice all the time and I still don't get any better."
Me: "Are you practicing what we do in class?"
N: "Kinda..."

"Hey sempai, got any dating advice?"

"Hey sempai, if you see Bob (Bob is this nickname he's given to another kid
in our class that doesn't like him and avoids him like the plague), could you kick him in the nuts for me?"

I'm sure there's more, but there's so many, I forgot them.

The Lifetime Orange Belt Plan This was a joke started by a friend and I when I first started karate. I wasn't going to class all the time then; I went to karate just on saturdays because it was between aiki and iai classes. Anyways, he was an orange belt at the time, and I was simultaneously training in another style of karate at college (something I'd not recommend to ANYONE!). He joked he couldn't advance in rank because of his job and I joked I was just hopeless. The update on him is a good one- he is now a purple belt looking to get his first stripe, and he has a blue belt in aiki as well. I guess he was on a different plan! Who knows when I'll get green belt. I have yet to learn a kata needed for rank, the only requirement I don't know, and God knows when head sensei will have time to teach it. He's been busy with the little senseis, and now that they are black belts, he's concentrating on the group of tikes making brown belt. My orange belt is suffering some serious stress. It looks like my dog chewed it (probably did) and everwhere I go I leave a trail of orange thread behind me. Poor orange belt. Retirement is deperately sought after, I assure you.

The Age Gap I've been asked to explain the population of people I take classes with. In short, several kajillion little kids, a couple of high schoolers, and some older guys. You can count the girls/women in my class on one hand still- renshi (or benevolent matriarch/woman you don't piss off), white belt girl, orange belt girl (who is the living proof that sugar and too much TV rots a kid's brain), purple belt girl, and me. The closest personin age that I can relate to is my friend in karate/aiki classes who's two years older than me. The next person is 5 years younger, a senior in high school, who I call Valleyboy. He seems to have way too much pep for a sword student. Plus, he likes to club me with a goshinken a little too much. The other teens are really young- 8th grade/freshman/sophomore territory- can't relate to them AT ALL! It's so amazing kids have parents that can pay for all their stuff. At their age, my parents would have said, "Get a job." It's hard sometimes to try and put yourself in their shoes- see why it's more important that they get ranked. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt when I can. Doesn't make it easy though. We used to have two senseis, one in karate and one in iai that I liked. They were two years younger, but they both quit. I still see them around sometimes but I feel kinda weird saying hi because I didn't get to know them very well. Our school is very small, and when someone in the higher ranks quits, it's weird. In the lower ranks, it happens all the time. Students in karate are like a revolving door. At one point this year, we had 20 white belts. That's insane, considering our training space. In aiki, new people are usually drafted from karate. Chances are, if you're in karate here and you're over 5'4", head sensei has tried to recruit you. That's how Cage Fighter and Big and Little T got into it. I remember the day I asked head sensei if I could try aiki- his eyes got as big as dinner plates. I should have known then what was in store.

The Kitties from "Kitty Budo" post Yes, Sherry, they've all been adopted. No, there is no "Dojo Cat", though head sensei does have a beagle named Satchel, who I am told, like my beagle, is a sumo wrestler.

I think that's it for now. I wonder what I'll think of this stuff when I am older (and possibly a black belt).

Something smells rank here...

I'm starting to enter the "middle phase" of my kyu training. It's an interesting time, and I won't have a lack of things to study, that's for sure. I've just finished learning heian godan, a kata I really like. I hated ni dan and I'm glad I have something to balance it out with when I practice. I'm going to karate full time now, and I bought a nice new black gi (no more white aiki gi on monday when there's no aiki going on!). Haven't really learned anything new in sword other that my blocking basics have taken a slide. I'm starting to think about what katas I want to do for the tournament in late April. It'd be nice to do some aiki in the self-defense division. It might be funny to see a little me kick the butts of ukes twice her size. I dunno about competitiveness, but hell, it'd be fun. Last year the kid who won did some crazy crap that'd I never in a million years do on the street (tomoe-nage was one move). My goals this year are:

compete in kata, SD, and kumite divisions

not finish last

not break something

Lofty ambitions, huh? Well last night, a friend of mine made purple belt. He's about my age, and he shared my frustrations with not being able to keep up with everyone else as far as rank goes, so he's someone I've grown to respect. I'm really glad for him. I'm still on the lifetime orange belt plan, and the belt is starting to fall apart. Stupidest reason ever for wanting a green belt? My poor build-a-bear named Karate koala. This is an old pic of him, he wears an orange belt now (came with all the colored belts). One of my friends saw him and says, "He's only an orange belt? My dog can take him." Poor K.K. Tough as nails, soft like his basic skills.

How important is it to you?

I had a recnt run-in with kids in my iai class. They were talking in class- actually, while waiting in line. One of them, Nerdverd, complained that he practiced all the time but seemingly wasn't getting any better. I almost snorted- I had this vision of Nerdverd with his katana while copying moves from "kill bill". I wanted to say, "maybe you're not practicing correctly", but hell, who knows? Then they started talking about ranks. Another kid complained that because he played hockey, he couldn't get higher-ranked. He's been there longer than I have, and could be my rank or higher if he didn't skip classes from october to march every year. It's kind of a "Well, you can't do both and expect to be good in both" type thing. So the conversation switched to me and how I was ranked higher than all of them, and then they started kind of bickering about how it was because I went to class all the time, unlike them. Then, head sensei gave him a dirty look for talking so much, and I told them, "Hey, maybe it has something to do with not paying attention." They shut up.

So tired...bork.

I've been recovering from starting a new job these past couple weeks, and nothing much has gone on. I've been working on my new sword kata and painting my sword case. It should (in theory) look pretty nice. I'm really tired though and my asthma is starting to creep back into my class routine. Last aiki class I thought I was going to have an attack. I'd like to go to the doctor but right now I have neither the time nor the money. I hope something happens soon so I can concentrate on something else- a new kata or something. My dog is driving me crazy. He loves to wake me up at night now that I have a day job. Bork! I have class tomorrow, and if I hear that again, I'm gonna take him to class to be an uke. That is an appropriate job for a dog named Bucket, after all.

That rubber-necker who watches class through the window

I had a rewarding and perhap roughest week of martial arts so far. I got promoted to ni-kyu in my iai class. It was unexpected for me, though I thought I was probably close. I'm happy, though a bit nervous as the next test for i-kyu is the last one before sho-dan. I feel knowledgeable, maybe moreso than some of my fellow students, but I feel also like a little kid sometimes. I enjoy the challenge of a new rank. Now, if I can only get the people around my rank to show up for class. I had a rough aiki week. On wednesday some chick showed up taking pictures for the paper and if there's one thing I hate most, it's probably a camera in my face. I was so pissed off at the presence of the camera that I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing. I think the only pics she took of me was when sensei had to help me out with a technique. Blah, cameras. Anyways, at the end of class one of my sensei asked if there was anyone who wanted to go to the hombu the next evening for aiki class. I'd never been there, and since I didn't have anything to do, I went with him. From the time he picked me up, I learned new things- even how to get out of a ticket in a particular county. I got there, and it was packed. A lot of sensei go to class at the hombu, and I felt quite out of place. The closest to me in rank was a purple belt. Hnashi taught the class- he was really patient, and he helped me out a lot. I paired up with a brown belt in karate who seemed a little lost too, so that helped a bit. My ego, if I had any, was completely smashed during this class.There was one point where we lined up and did throws- since I was only a white belt, I felt kinda stupid, and I didn't know what to do. They told me "Do what you know" so we worked on o-uchi gari. I had a lot more trouble doing in on the senseis than I ever had in class. It was like hitting a brick wall. I learned I really have to work on off-balancing more, something they work at the hombu a lot, apparently. I learned a lot, but at the same time, I felt insecure. I shouldn't expect much being a white belt, I guess, but even so. I think when I actually do earn my blue belt, it'll be worth more than any black belt I ever get. Being dyslexic, asthmatic, and built like a stick doesn't do much for my ego in this art. Because of that I think I wanna earn this belt more than any other. Maybe even more than than elusive karate green belt. I went back to aiki on saturday and my senseis asked how I did. The sensei I went with told them all I did great job and that I was getting picked on all class (which I was)- apparently that's a compliment. Hanshi kept saying stuff like, "Where is she from? Does she have a note?" Head sensi laughed and said if Hanshi asked about me he'd deny alll knowledge of me by saying, "Who? Wait, you mean that red-headed kid who watches class through the window?"

The Lifetime Orange Belt Plan

I haven't been think clearly lately- my training's been faulty as of late. I'm not sure if I'm getting better or worse, and a couple things are to blame. I've been practicing a lot lately when I can- the weather hasn't been too nice recently for sword practice. And the job I had for two months- 3rd shift, 11:00pm to 7:00am. It sucked! I cannot believe people do this for years on end. I missed the summer when I didn't have to worry about how I was gonna pay bills and martial arts classes.Bork, says Bucket beagle, who likes to wake up Josie when she's trying to sleep. The lack of sleep's made me irritated at class. I know I'm not performing at aiki class like I should- the names of techniques I know and have done hundreds of times fly out of my head when I'm called upon to name them. Bah. I'm also having a hard time keeping focused. I feel like I'm doing nothing but the same kata over and over and over- not that it's stupid, I believe practice makes perfect, but geez when the class days all blend together, it sucks. Last saturday was tough. I was tired, and I bumbled a lot in aiki. Karate was okay- I'm working on my basics so I can get off the lifetime orange belt plan. It's a bad sign when the kids who were white belts six months ago are passing you. I'm attempting to turn around my slump. I'm gonna paint my sword case really nice, and I'm gonna practice my katas more often. And sleep.

I think the squirrels are better swordsmen

I got to close out class yesterday. Boy, was that an experience. I stood up there in front of everyone- the pair of caddy soon-to-be blackbelt 9 and and 10 year olds, the married couple, and two of my senseis from karate that just started. Eep! Good thing I've been recently practicing this on my own. We were taught the eight basic Toyama-ryu kata in a matter of three days, so i have them all sloshing in my head. Luckily, I was smart enough Saturday to take notes right after class so I remember the frist four clearly. Monday, I had to work 11-7 shift, and scribbled what I remembered on a red faulty part card the size of a business card. Not good, though I'm glad I remembered something. This was at 2 in the morning that I'm trying to figure this out. I forgot #6 completely. It must have been a simple kata because I took extra care to replay the harder ones in my mind. And there is nothing worse than tryign to remember kata at two in the morning under bright flourescent lights while 70s classics are playing. When I woke up at 2pm today I went outside to practiced all the new kata. I did alright...needed my red "cheat card" though. Now that I've worked through them all, I can add them to my growing list of kata to practice, which makes me happy and keeps me busy. Still, I was doing a form and I noticed a squirrel staring at me. It's probably paranoia, but I wondered if maybe he was a reincarnated ancestoral sensei of the sword style saying, "What the hell are you doing to my kata??? Oh my god, you Americans bastardize everything!!!" On a light note, I'm going to see Tim and Carrie from high school tonight. Tim is a blackbelt in judo, so I'm gonna swap throwing techniques with him.

Year in Review

In retrospect, it looks like I haven't gone very far, but then they always say it's just the beginning, and it's a long road. In karate, I've still studying heian ni-dan. The kata's been like a bit of a koan, or meditation study question for me. Still, I can see progress, though I keep wishing I knew that awesome ichi-bo kata I keep seeing. In iai I've learned a lto about what I need to polish, and that the extra pratice I'm putting in is really paying off in the memory department. I'm starting to recognize who practices in my class and who doesn't. I've learned a new kumitachi, katas from two different sword styles, and some really cool chiburis. That's actually a lot in one year. Next May, I'll have been at my school for 2 years.And Aiki's come a long way too. I still have trouble comitting some of the terms to memory, but I've learned to improv better and I'm much smoother in my techniques. I feel happy right now. I can only imagine what another year will be like.