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.