All systems are a go
I pre-tested tonight. The week before kyu testing, we all run through all our material (kata’s, weapons, waza’s, etc.) to make sure we know what we’re doing. Our instructor has to give us the o.k. to show up at testing. It saves time at testing, and allows the instructors to see what your material looks like when you’re not a nervous wreck.
Testing this weekend is supposed to be huge. We have a large number of white belts testing for their next stripe, some yellow belts going for green, some greens testing for stripes and two brown belts looking for their next stripes (myself included).
Pre-testing went well. Kata feels different in a heavyweight gi. Punches and kicks snap, and with the bo there’s a huge difference too.
If all goes well this weekend, I will be a 2nd kyu, which means only one more test before black belt testing. If I make it to black belt testing, I’m finally be living up to my namesake here.
And while we’re on the subject of karate, I had one of my proudest moments as a Mommy yesterday. Lil C heard me talking about karate and going to class, and out of the blue she said
Dojo.
It was clear as day and she’s been saying "dojo" (which means school for training) almost as much as she says, "Kitty, me-aw." It’s pretty exciting. In utero karate training really has its benefits.
It’s HERE!
My new gi’s came this week. Yes, I said gi’s, as in plural. I was only going to get one, but my friend over at Karate Depot asked me to give a certain gi a shot to see what I think of it (the sweet deal didn’t hurt either).
They are everything I hoped they would be and more. I know all the karate folk are wondering what I got. The decision was a difficult one. I spent a lot of time researching, asking other karate-ka and trying on the gi’s of those at my dojo. I knew I wanted to get one I would love, one that would fit nicely, and one that although heavyweight, wasn’t uncomfortable.
I went with the Shureido, and Karate Depot also hooked me up with the KD Elite.
I know, I know, Shureido’s are a lot of money, but when I tried my instructors on there was a HUGE difference between the Shureido and other gi’s. The material, although heavyweight, was very soft and comfortable. I didn’t want to buy multiple gi’s to find one I liked. I knew I’d love the Shureido and I was right.
I do LOVE IT. What I wasn’t counting on, was how much I was going to like the KD Elite. For a martial artist who likes the look and feel of a Shureido, but not the price, the KD Elite is an awesome gi and a more than suitable substitution. There are only four major differences I have found between the two of them:
1. The KD Elite pants are a little roomier in the seat and wider throughout the leg than the Shureido. That could be because the gi I got is tournament cut. (I’m not sure if this is one of the qualifiers for being considered tournament cut or not.) I was worried that the pants would be capri length, but they are long. In fact, I have to roll them up once or twice.
2. The Shureido has a blueish color to it while the KD Elite does not. Shureido’s website says this blue color will fade over time. I don’t mind it because it’s subtle, but the KD Elite feels just like the Shureido without the blue issue.
3. The stitching around the neck/collar of the KD Elite is a little less stiff than the Shureido. When I first put the Shureido on, it felt a little uncomfortable around the collar, but the KD Elite has no such side effect.
4. The price. The Shureido sells for $179.00 and up, while the KD Elite is currently on sale for $99.00.
Without the KD Elite label on the gi, one could easily be tricked into thinking that the gi is in fact a Shureido.
Having a heavyweight gi is going to take some getting used to though. Both gi’s are bigger than my lightweight gi and I feel a little like I’m swimming. My one instructor told me to go bigger though, because I can "take up some room" and have a presence.
I’m also not used to draw string pants, although these are soft enough that they actually move. With some of the other brands I tried, I could barely pull them tight enough around me because they were so stiff. I didn’t want that.
And the jackets are much longer than my lightweight gi. I used to have to make sure I had neutral undergarments with that gi. With my new one? Break out the leopard print (o.k. if I had leopard print, which I don’t).
I figured I would spent the money and get something I really wanted and be happy. I knew if I went with some of the cardboard like gi’s, I’d be disappointed and end up spending more money trying to fix my mistake, so I bit the bullet. Plus, it was my birthday so, Happy Birthday to me, from me! I wasn’t counting on having and liking two new gi’s, but I now have a Shureido and a Shuriedo-ish gi and I couldn’t be happier.
Thank you so much for all your suggestions and warnings about other gi’s. More than anything, you helped me to weed out the ones I didn’t want and come to my final decision. Now it seems the only gi-related problem I’m going to have is with my instructor, who told me there’s a stiff penalty for a karate student who has a better gi than her instructor.
Once I get used to my new big, bad self I’ll post some pictures. Maybe after testing next week. . .
Soapbox time
I’ve had it up to my eyebrows with people being offended by mothers nursing their babies in public. I’ve also had it with the old "cover up with a blanket" junk, because any nursing mom knows that from the time the baby is about three weeks old, that is no longer an option. Trying to cover up with a blanket only results in a cranky baby who rips the blanket down, and frustration and exposure for all involved.
I’m not advocating that women just whip out their breasts wherever and however they choose. There’s something to be said for being discreet, which describes 99.9% of nursing mothers.
It’s not an attention getting thing. It’s a nourishment thing, as in the baby is hungry, so I will feed my baby the way Mother Nature intended. Although I am no longer nursing, I have nursed my babies in public locations many times: restaurants, malls, doctors offices, on the beach, etc. I highly doubt anyone ever realized what I was doing, and if they did they were looking a bit too closely.
I found out this week that my state, the state of Pennsylvania, is one of only 13 states that has no legislation supporting a Mother’s right to nurse in public. That has to change.
It’s not that Mom’s want to sit topless somewhere in the middle of the grocery store, or that I think they should be doing that because I don’t. But there should be something protecting a woman and her baby’s right to feed and be fed.
I would invite anyone who thinks that Mom’s should go to the bathroom to nurse, or cover up with a blanket to eat their meals in a public restroom with a blanket over their heads. I think we all need to show a little more understanding and empathy towards other human beings in general. And there’s no better place to start than with Mom’s and babies.
If you live in the state of Pennsylvania, there are many people you can contact. If you don’t live in the state of PA, find out who you can contact if your state is one of the 13. In the state of PA, the contacts are as follows. Click on the name to go to the site where you can send your email.
For more information on this topic and for specifics on what nursing Mom’s are dealing with this week, go see IzzyMom. You won’t even believe what she posted about this issue.
And just in case there are any dissenters out there, this is not your soapbox. Comments will be deleted if they are in any way rude or inappropriate. It’s my blog after all. And as a warning, IzzyMom was able to track down the employer of a rude commenter and promptly reported the threatening emails to the employer today. We bloggers are pretty computer savvy, especially when we’re ticked off!
Edited to add: Apparently there is already legislation in process in the state of PA. To make sure it gets passed this session, please contact your House Representatives. PA House Representative Babette Josephs has introduced this legislation. I’m already getting some excellent responses from the House Representatives in support of this bill, and will be sure to post the names of those in support.
New Tagline in Order?
I don’t know how it happened, but somehow a picture of me got submitted to a website called www.imageoak.com under the category of "karate women." My traffic has exploded in recent days because of it. I went to the site and was trying to figure out what exactly it is and how and why I’m on there. Apparently, someone has to submit a web page/picture for inclusion on the site. It’s an image directory so to speak.
So, what I want to know is, who submitted my picture to the site? I’ve been getting hits from all over the world from this site and I’d really like to know who to thank for all the additional traffic. So, I’m calling you out. Who are you?
I’d also like to mention here that I am the number # 1 site for the following searches on Google:
"i suck at sparring"
"black mama sex"
"sexy female black belt"
So, with that in mind, I’d like to thank all those lonely guys in Ireland, England, Spain, Italy, Indonesia and other countries throughout the world for such wonderful search engine optimization help. It makes me proud. I think I’m going to add a tag line to my blog that goes something like this:
"Black Belt Mama: Disappointing Men Looking for ‘Black Mama Sex’ since 2006".
Tell me one good thing
I thought that testing for 2nd kyu was going to be at the end of March. All this time, I’ve been concentrating on getting through the birthday hell month (Big I and Mr. BBM) and then I could concentrate on testing. That’s not going to work now. Testing is now the first week in March, which means I have less than two weeks to be fabulous.
The good news is that this is the same material that I did in December, but just didn’t have enough time in yet to get the rank. And I will have a new gi to wear by the time testing is here too, which I’m sure will give me an additional boost in the way of snappiness if that’s even a word. (I’m keeping the lid on what I got until it has arrived.) Thank you, by the way, for all the great suggestions and cautionary tales about what gi’s you have. It was very helpful.
Last night in class, we had our instructor, another black belt, the other brown belt and myself. We each took turns doing an individual kata and then everyone had to say something good and something that could be improved. I can’t remember doing this before at the dojo, but I think it was a very good learning device.
I was thrilled to hear that my techniques are good, that my kicks are high and that I do the kata well. I was also very receptive to the suggestions for improvement: must add the kiai’s (which I always forget to do), and try to stay on a more level plane as in no bobbing up and down through the kata.
My open hand kata is Pinan Yondan, and I’m actually starting to like it, which is amazing considering it’s a Pinan kata and they are not my favorites. I also have to do Odo No Nunchaku and Choun No Kun, which is a bo kata. I used to be so afraid of the nunchaku kata, but I now feel that I have a very good handle on it and that I do it pretty well.
When my instructor was doing an individual kata last night, I told her that the good thing about her kata is that she becomes a completely different person when she does her kata’s. It’s amazing to me that one minute she’s my instructor and as soon as she begins the kata, she becomes this wicked looking karate master. It’s very cool. I think I need to work on developing some multiple karate personalities of my own. Maybe the new gi will help. . .
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