Tagged-Weird things
I have been tagged by Sesame for the six weird things meme. I did this last year around this time, but because I am relatively certain there are more than six weird things about me, I’ll play.
1. I have an uncanny ability for screwing up song lyrics to almost any song. It provides my husband with great amusement. For example, if you’re familiar with the song "Take my Breath Away" circa the Top Gun era, you probably know that towards the end of that song, the singer says, "Looking through the glass I saw you. . . ". Well, for years I belted along with her, but my version was, "Julio Iglesius saw you. . . " According to Mr. BBM, I’ve also screwed up many other songs. But most of the time, I prefer the lyrics my way.
2. Poor eating habits of other people can make me physically sick. Some of my major pet peeves are people who chew with their mouth open, double-dippers, finger lickers, and oh man, I think I need to go be sick. I can’t even think about nasty table manners without feeling nauseous. Gross.
3. If I seem kind of in a zone, it’s probably because I’m doing mental karate, mostly kata. I imagine myself doing kata’s while driving, while drifting off to sleep, during commercial breaks, when I’m cooking and even when I’m in the shower.
4. I form strange attachments to inanimate objects. For example, I will not allow my Mom to get rid of many of my toys/stuffed animals, etc. from childhood. I feel bad for the toys/stuffed animals. I blame my parents for raising me with empathy. Apparently it went too far. I also have a problem getting rid of clothing that is either out of date or no longer my size, especially when said item of clothing has sentimental value attached to it. For example, if I wore that blue shirt on our 26th date or something equally ludicrous. I thought adulthood would bring more rational thought on this issue, but now I just blame the Toy Story movies for putting on the big screen what I’ve imagined all along: toys do have feelings.
5. I have taken karate for several years now. I insisted on having a high tech security system installed in our home. I am always on alert when I am outside of the house and am a stickler for safety. Having said that. . . I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have left my keys hanging in the front door of my house for anyone to just waltz right on in. Once I even did so overnight, when my husband was traveling. It took me a good 45 minutes to find those keys, because there was "no way I could have left them in the door-not me! NEVER!" and there they were.
6. I have every piece of baby clothes, baby towels, baby toys, baby equipment that we have ever received as a gift or bought ourselves. I can not even fathom the idea of getting rid of any of it. Most Mom’s willingly hand out outgrown clothing to other Mom’s with little ones, but I CAN NOT bring myself to do this. Every piece of clothing is attached to some type of baby memory, and I don’t want to lose that physical reminder. It’s just such an amazing time that I can’t part with any of it. (I guess this one goes with #4 but my crawl space full of baby things says this one deserved a number all its own.)
So, who to tag? Who to tag? I’m going to go with: Papa Bradstein, Forging Ironman, One Crazy Chick, thatblackbeltchic, and Junebee. If you’re not tagged and would like to play along, go for it and let me know you did. I tried to pick bloggers I haven’t tagged before, so play if you’d like to or feel free to just ignore me; everyone else does.
Did I guilt you into playing? Good.
“I’m too big”
Dear Big I,
Today, at 1:29 a.m., you will turn six years old. This is not news to you because you’ve been counting down the days since about December. Tonight at the grocery store, instead of climbing into the truck shopping cart with your sister, you stood back and watched her climb in before saying, "I’m too big to get in there." Daddy said he felt his heart break a little bit, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that mine did as well. This is nothing new for either of us because each year of watching you turn a new number has brought excitement mixed with a bit of sadness. You’re growing up so fast.
This has been such a year of changes for us. You went from being a stay-at-home kid to being a Kindergarten girl. It wasn’t a transition that was easy for either of us; but you weathered it like a pro and have made Daddy and I so proud. You’ve learned many things over the past year: how to tie your shoes by yourself, how to sound out words, and count to 100. You’ve also learned that sometimes kids can be mean. But along with that, you’ve learned to let things roll off your shoulders and to stick up for yourself when necessary. That was a lesson I was hoping you would wait a few more years to have to learn.
I’ve watched you grow from a little girl into a big girl this year and saw your independence like never before. I’ve also seen the struggle you’ve gone through between wanting to remain a baby versus growing up. I don’t blame you on the days you’d rather stay little.
Today was a beautiful day and we spent much of the day outside playing together, you, me and Lil C. It was an ordinary day except that I kept thinking about the fact that on this day six years ago, I was in labor anxiously awaiting your arrival. Six years later, you stand tall enough to be on a collision course with my elbows on a daily basis, but I am still your number one playmate. I don’t know how many more years that will be the case. So, today will be one of the many days that I lock away in my memory for safe keeping.
When I think about the fact that Kindergarten is quickly coming to an end, and that you’ll be leaving me to go to school all day next year, I could just sob. There are some days that I just can’t wait until you get home from school. But I’m going to try not to get ahead of myself and instead think about the whole summer we have to spend together.
You are a beautiful young lady, inside and out. I can’t wait to see what "6" brings. Happy Birthday Big I!
I love you,
Mommy
If you’d like to read Big I’s birth story, you can do so here.
When all the black belts gather
The black/brown belt class I’ve been attending for the past few months usually ends up being private/semi-private lessons for me. Tonight was a big switch. There were six black belts in attendance and one very clueless brown belt (that would be yours truly).
I’ve been feeling good lately because I am relatively close to knowing all the kata’s I need to know up to black belt testing. Tonight I got to see the great beyond.
In kobudo, there are four weapons needed up to black belt: one nunchaku kata, three bo kata’s, two tunfa kata’s and two sai kata’s. After that, things get crazy. There are two-man weapons kata’s, and a whole slew of new weapons to learn as well. Tonight I got a taste of some of the other weapons that I had only seen hanging on the wall before.
We worked on eiku and nunte bo kata’s tonight and although extremely confusing, it’s always fun to try something new. Eiku is like swinging around a large oar. It is heavy and awkward for someone who has no clue how to use the thing. For someone who bought a youth bo so that I would have something nice and light, this was a big switch for me. The neat thing about using these weapons is that you can see the history to the weapon, and easily know what its everyday use was and how it could be converted into a weapon if necessary.
Even more heavy than the eiku, was the nunte bo. I believe the intended use for this weapon was as a means to catch fish, Survivor style. The first time we ran through this kata, I just used my bo. One of my instructors gave me a nunte bo to give it a try the next time we ran through it and there is a big difference. The center of the nunte bo is completely different than on a traditional bo, and it is HEAVY. Forget Pilates; if I want to tone my arms, I’ll just need to start swinging around a nunte bo more often.
I also worked on bunkai a bit before class. For black belt testing, I’ll need to know basic bunkai for all of my kata’s. But I’ll need to have a showcase open hand and weapons kata that goes a bit beyond. I think that I’d really like to do a sai kata for my showcase bunkai. I’ve always really like the sai, and I feel comfortable with them which is important.
Of course, every time I thought I had a good handle on a weapon, I realized that I was in fact wrong. . . very, very wrong. So, we’ll see what happens.
I’m being too nice
Since Monday I’ve been working on my first kata, Nai Hanchi Shodan, every chance I get. I figured that if I’m going to go kata by kata and start fixing things, I might as well incorporate bunkai (application) into my practice as well.
Mr. BBM has been a great help to me with this and has been a fabulous uke. He has continued to stay a good sport, even when I demand that he come over and punch towards my face within minutes of him walking in the door from work, so that I can block and throw him around a bit. He didn’t even mind that much when I was experimenting with joint locks and completely wrenched his arm unintentionally while I was deep in thought.
The problem in working with him though is that when you’re first trying to work out the application, it goes very slowly. Slow kata means that you forget where you are in the kata as you go. So, I keep having to start from scratch, figure out where I’m at and then continue on. If he knew the kata he would be of greater assistance to me-yet another reason he needs to get his butt back to the dojo.
I’d been thinking about the bunkai for this kata all day today and when he walked in the door tonight from work I had to try it out. Instead of using a double block and back fist as simply a block against a punch, block against another punch, followed by a back fist to the head, I wanted to change it up a bit. I blocked his first punch, and then pulled the other arm up underneath and around his arm I just blocked, and then back across centerline so as to twist his arm up behind his back. Basic bunkai is cool enough, but finding a move in there that you didn’t know was there is even more exciting.
When I got to class tonight, I asked my instructor how one would do the back fist after that arm lock without it being awkward. So, we started off class with a basic bunkai demonstration for the first kata, followed by a not-so-basic demonstration that was really cool.
The other cool thing is that right as class was beginning, a black belt walked in, which meant he got to play the role of uke (i.e. person who gets thrown around), not me. Bonus.
When all was said and done and both demonstrations/explanations were finished I came to the conclusion that I am being entirely too nice to Mr. BBM. Kosa steps are not simply steps; they can be kicking the leg out from underneath someone. Bringing one’s hands back to an on guard position on the belt isn’t preparing for the next attacker; it can be breaking an attacker’s neck. I was shocked at how many kills there were in that kata and am now seeing it in a whole new light.
I think Mr. BBM will be seeing me in a whole new light after I try some of those moves on him too, like possibly the light that he’ll be staring up into when he’s found himself flat on his back with no warning(rubs hands together and evil laugh ensues).
Everything you wanted to know. . .
You may all be asking what that new thing in the sidebar is over there on the left side. My friend has a son who has Type 1 Diabetes. You can visit his website at Kroll Books. He is participating in a School Walk for Diabetes and is hoping to raise $500 that will go towards research in the fight against Diabetes. My Mom is a Type 1 Diabetic so his daily struggles hit close to home for us. We are planning on sponsoring him. He is a fabulous kid, and if you’d like to donate, click on Chase’s name in the sidebar and you’ll go directly to his donation web page. I’d love to see his $500 goal blown out of the water. If you have an extra $5 laying around, please consider donating to Chase. If you do, shoot me an email so I can properly shower you with love.
And now, back to business. . .
The questions have been rolling in (or not). Scott, my new friend, from Forging Ironman asked these questions.
What is your favorite "karate movie"? Least favorite? And why?
Although it’s been a while, my favorite karate movie is probably The Karate Kid. My least favorite? I’d have to say that any of the more recent martial arts movies that incorporate all the wires and artistic stuff that looks beautiful, but is in no way realistic. I remember watching The Karate Kid for days at a time when it was on the channel Prism. My parents had to turn the TV off and make me go outside. I loved that movie. I guess I liked it so much because it showed that hard work pays off and that the good guys can and do win.
I assume you plan to teach or assist the instructor when you reach black belt. What are you most excited about with teaching? And least?
I would LOVE to teach someday. Although many probably think that my M.S.Ed. degree is wasted since I’m not in the classroom anymore and wasn’t for very long, I have been looking at that degree as a stepping stone to knowing good teaching techniques to one day teach karate. I am probably most excited about teaching kobudo (weapons). I am probably least excited about teaching sparring. I think I’d like to try to teach the Little Dragons some day, just to see what it would be like. I don’t know if I could take that for long though.
Have you ever competed in a tournament? An out of state tournament? An international tournament? What events did you do?
No, no, and no. I have absolutely no interest in tournament competing. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with entering tournaments; it’s just that it’s not for me. I’m not interested in the trophies or the competition. For me, it’s always been much more of a personal thing. If I were to enter a tournament, I would compete in kata and weapons, but I highly doubt I would compete in sparring. I’ve heard horror stories, especially about sparring against woman, and I am not interested at all in that aspect.
What is your favorite book?
I absolutely loved The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I think it’s one of the best books of all time and that it will become a classic. I also loved Suspect by Michael Robotham; and for a nail-biting, stomach-churning thriller, Intensity by Dean Koonce was a fabulous read.
What was your favorite subject in school?
It was not math or science, that’s for sure! I’d have to say English. During my senior year of High School, I took three English classes: 12th grade English, Journalism, and World Literature. World Literature was an amazing class. On the first day of class, my teacher slammed a copy of War and Peace on each of our desks and that was what we read until November.
What do you like most about being a mother?
There are so many things I love about being a mother that it’s difficult to choose just one thing so I won’t. I love staying at home with my girls and watching them grow and change. I love all the new little discoveries, like when Lil C says a new word or tries to jump for the first time. I love seeing the lightbulb turn on when Big I sounds out a new word or ties her shoes for the first time (which happened last week). I absolutely LOVE when one of my girls curls up on my lap with a book or snuggles up to me when they’re sleepy. I could go on, but you get the idea.
PSU Mommy wants to know: I know you love the city I live in now…what’s keeping you from moving back?
The city she’s referring to is Pittsburgh. I lived there for seven years. Towards the end of our stay in Pittsburgh I had a lot of complaints: the weather, the distance to my family, and I wanted a change. But since I’ve moved away, I find myself missing so many things about Pittsburgh: the fact that I could walk around downtown and feel completely safe, Johnny’s Place on Craig St.(amazing wings and burgers), the Mexican restaurant Cozumel, the Union Grills’ garlic mashed potatoes. . . O.k. I admit it; I mostly miss the food.
What my husband does for a living now isn’t a big industry in Pittsburgh. The job market was not what we wanted it to be when we lived there, and so we moved. Something tells me he’d have a hard time finding as good of a job out there in his industry. And, my entire family currently lives in the same county I do, including my soon-to-be 90 year old Grandmother. As much as I’d like to pack up and go somewhere else sometimes, it’s very hard to do that when you know that you have fabulous babysitters surrounding you.
Thanks to everyone who submitted a question to help get me out of my writer’s block! I have some of the best readers on the planet!
Copyright
© Copyright 2006-2019 blackbeltmama dot com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Follow Me
Blog Designed By
My Creations
Things You Could Care Less About
