March 11, 2009

Our Family Is Becoming MMA

On Monday night, Big I and the rest of our family went to watch a Danzan Ryu Jujitsu class to see if she might be interested in taking some classes. I have taken a seminar or two during annual trainings in the past and it was always really cool stuff. There are plenty of moves to learn, but no kata. Interested doesn't even begin to describe how into it Big I was while watching, and even after we came home.

As she watched the two students and instructor demonstrating the things that she would learn, she sat quietly. I heard an occasional "wow, that was cool." The instructor is starting a children's program in a couple of weeks and it looks like Big I is going to be one of his first child students. Because I stayed for karate class later in the night, I didn't get to really ask her about her interest level, but I had a feeling she was hooked.

My suspicion was confirmed yesterday as she asked Mr. BBM if she could try out a couple of the moves she learned on Monday night. He grabbed her arm and she made him take a seat on the ground in mere seconds. She's definitely excited about starting jujitsu, and I am thrilled she's staying with the martial arts in one form or another.

On Monday night, after watching jujitsu for a while, I went upstairs to karate class. There were only four of us and we worked on bo kata and bunkai. There's nothing quite like bunkai to realize how many cobwebs have grown in the karate portion of your brain. Lacking practice and polish, I hit Ikigai on the ankle with my bo twice. I said "sorry" too. Here's hoping that push-ups for sorry's isn't instituted anytime soon.

When class was finished, I asked the very forgiving Ikigai to help me get Chounokun back in my head. It took a good 20-30 minutes, but I left the dojo reaquainted with the kata enough to be able to come home and get through it on my own.

I've decided that I'm going to run through all the kata I know well every day. I'm avoiding the ones where parts have gone missing. I don't want to practice and repractice it the wrong way. If I keep doing that, then hopefully the cobwebs will clear a little faster.

Through it all, my knee has been holding up great. I'm wearing my brace and that has provided a little extra support of the mental and physical variety. The most uncomfortable thing so far has been the rei at the beginning of each kata, class, etc. I just don't have the same extension I have with the other leg. Without even realizing it, I tend to try to make the legs match and my left knee always protests with a big enough shot of pain to remind me to knock it off.

I can't tell you though, how nice it is to replace knee bruising with some bo bruising on the arms. I didn't think it was possible to be happy about the bo bruising, but this is one girl happy to have some bo bruising back in her life. It's about time.

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