I feel uke. Oh so uke.

I heard today that Verizon Guy might be leaving. He got a job offer in another state, and it makes me sad. He is my training buddy and partner in defense against the kiddies. He's also a brown belt. So he will probably be leaving very soon. Another greenie is leaving us as well- I never mentioned him other than the time he got his orange belt and couldn't remember to bow to the blackbelts and shake their hands. He was a green belt with stripe. Unfortunately, as depressing as it is, the class is in need of a shrink.

With Verizon Guy gone, that makes me top uke. This makes me tweak. The techniques in nikkajo are brutal and so much fun to be the uke on *roll eyes*. Today we worked shitouzume (spelling, anyone?) and something else with the uke's fist spins in the palm of your hand. Aiki is still as frustrating as ever.

Karate....ugh. Today was a good class- 6 people. And they were quiet! *heavens open up, sunlight shines down* I worked on tatekatte seishin for all of it, in which sword sensei politely pointed out that some of my angles were wrong. AHHH! I've had this kata for how many weeks?! This is what I get for working with tween brownies. The dojo too is so damn small, I don't know how people do any kata correctly. Unfortunately, Target is moving somewhere else which means we are going to stay. Rats.

Iai made me feel better though. The katori shinto ryu kata work is really paying off. I was surprised that I did so well on my cuts in iai goshi. I will have to fix my kiri oroshi cut though for ni-dan, which may come as soon as this fall. Hmm.

Sprint to the finish....a concrete wall

Would people get over their rank issues already?! I am so sick of kids wanting to work on stuff way out of their rank requirements The greenies and purple people eaters have sucked the oranges into their quest for class domination. They have become so disrespectful that they will talk back and over anybody to make themselves feel important. But boy, do they want those next techniques for their rank! Suddenly, they need you again. Well...if I forgot a move because you're being a little bastard, I guess you'll have to study harder by yourself.

I am tired of teaching. It's time these new blackbelts and the brownies start cracking down on this disrespectful behavior. I told head sensei that the two twins were being jerks, and he nodded with a sense of normality. We had a discussion about the continued misbehaving and I suggested since pushups aren't working anymore that we give them a rag and make them wash the mirrors and walls. He thought it was funny and said it was a good idea. *Ka-ching, ka-ching* There's my two cents.


The other thing I can't stand is how people are being allowed to buy things that are not even in their rank requirements yet. It used to be you bought it when you needed it. Head sensei got a price break on stuff, and now everyone's got a sword, bo, hakama, etc. It irks me. I waited a year before buying my sword, and I waited 'til green belt to get my bo. Now, a whole slew of kids have bos now, much to the danger to everyone else. They fight over where to put up their weapon, which tells me they aren't ready for it. Then, they carry it horizontally. Can you say, loss of an eye? Even more irksome is the adults with money. Professional mom has a kaku obi and a nice iai top. The new girl in iai got to do the same thing. I got those when I hit shodan. So much for exclusiveness. Two kids that aren't even in iai or aiki bought hakamas. What the hell do they need it for? Just because it's there and they have the money doesn't mean they should buy it. Why not let them buy kamas and nunchaku while we're at it? Because it's stupid! Bork!

Bork! How the times change...

This weekend was my Doppleganger's junior shodan test. She passed, of course. It was one of the more decent tests I've seen this year. The little senseis passed theirs, too. So now, they have nothing to do until they are eighteen- five and six years from now *roll eyes*. I made them all hankos as gifts, which impressed Head Honcho sensei. Maybe I can start charging for them *cash register*.

Oh, the day before that, my doppleganger kicked me in the throat- accidentally, mind you, but with a fairly hard roundhouse. Judging by everyone else's reaction, it looked like I got shot. Head sensei looked me over in disbelief I was still standing. I told someone later that it was a lot like when Wiley Coyote realizes the boulder is about to fall on him and whips out an umbrella. Four days later, it still hurts.

So the test day was fairly fun. I talked with the adults, the teens embarrassed themselves, and I learned it takes 20 little lemmmings to move one five pound mat. Bork. I was happy to learn I wasn't the only one who has had thoughts of putting the tweens in a wood chipper.

Today, we have finally got our new rank in aiki- san-kyu, or stupid brown chevron patch thingy. I'll go with the former. We are through all the omote of ikkajo and most of the ura. Nikkajo is next. Verizon Guy also got his brown belt finally, and I am happy. Horray for adults! Down with Tweens!

Omote, ura, to kenkounashi (Forward, backward, and no change)

In life you have three options and two directions to go in; forward, backward, and stay where you are. The third isn't really an option, yet it's sometimes the most desirable. In aiki, the same is true. In the daito ryu techniques, there is omote and ura for everything, and we have been diligently working to finish off the ikkajo techniques. I think it's going well. Last night I had a dream I was cagefighting and broke a girl's arm with the ura version of ippondori. What can I say? I've been watching way too much Ultimate Fighter. I'm hoping after this next weekend of insanity comes more clarity and maybe even a definitive rank in aiki.

I have done a lot of thought after last wednesday when I got my stripe on my purple belt. I do no longer want to be concerned with problems involving brats. In the end, they don't pay for my classes, so they shouldn't ruin it for me. I want to concentrate on reviewing techniques from now on. Despite my miserable journal entries, things have been going well. I am now a yonkyu, which means light at the end of the tunnel. I know have approximately two years left before I go up for my blackbelt test, so I want to be ready. Given the fact that there are so many brown belts may actually work to my advantage. I can almost guarantee a couple will quit, and I won't have to worry about any junior ni-dan tests next year because doppleganger will be making the switch to the adult book, and Prince Valiant is lazy. So then, it is all me from now on. I want to help Verizon Guy get up to test too, sometime. If he gets attention from Head Sensei, I can piggy-back on the review sessions, which also means less waiting time for me.

So, push forward. That is the lesson. I don't want to be the same rank forever, and I don't wanna be stuck with all the kids behind me, either.