I tried something new at the gym today: There’s a guy who teaches karate and does (light) open sparring both standing and on the ground on Sundays. He’s around 220 pounds of solid muscle, has perhaps 2 inches of height on me, and is wicked fast. I worked in, with some nervousness. Stand-up sparring is . . . → Read More: Level up
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I passed. Got the certificate and everything. The only mishap was my own dumb fault, when I got kicked in the fingers. If I had, for example, been making a fist like they tell you on day one, I wouldn’t have four kinda-sorta-jammed fingers now. All things considered, a small price to pay. Also lots . . . → Read More: Test Today I test for a new belt at the karate school. I’ve eaten my high-carb dinner and breakfast, I have my bottles of water, and I’ve got the *material* pretty much down (though at this point there’s enough stuff that I’m sure I’ll blank on something). I’m in good enough shape that while several hours . . . → Read More: Test I may have mentioned the news crew that came by the dojo to film some self defense footage. Well, it aired. Yup. That’s me on TV. Yup. I have a couple of public beatings scheduled for the next few days: On Sunday, I plan to enter the Mass State Judo Championships. I’m eligible in two divisions: Seniors (over 17) and Masters (over 30). The seniors will be, by far, the larger division, so there will be subdivisions by skill level. I will . . . → Read More: Public beatings On the first Friday of any given month, the Judo club I’ve been attending has an “open workout.” Anyone, from any school (or no school) is welcome to participate. Tonight was the first one of these I’ve been to. I learned a couple of valuable lessons: 1) If someone has a big “USA” patch sewn . . . → Read More: Judo open workout |
