Visiting the Old Haunts and Corrupting the Children
On Thursday morning, Mr. BBM and I packed up the kids and headed off to Pittsburgh. A couple months ago, my parents took Big I to the "happy valley" or as we Pitt grads like to call it, "enemy territory." She came home with a Penn State hat and a Penn State t-shirt for her little sister which is currently being used as a cleaning rag residing at the bottom of her drawer. Big I also came home with the idea that she was going to attend Penn State one day. Mr. BBM and I have been silently biding our time.
The time was Thursday.
We arrived in Pittsburgh and when she saw the Cathedral of Learning, she was intrigued. Who wouldn't be?
We quickly passed by the Pitt campus and went to one of my favorite places where I waitressed while in school, the Union Grill on South Craig St.
Everyone who reads here knows that I kind of watch what I eat and try to eat healthy. It's part of the martial arts lifestyle (or should be anyway) and I do my best to eat well. Well, for the past four days, I ate really well, but not exactly the healthy way.
My favorite thing to eat when I worked there was a cheddar cheeseburger (that was seriously like the size of my head) along with a generous side of garlic roasted mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy. I used to make myself feel a little better by putting a slice of tomato on top of my burger. Vegetables, you know.
I did the same thing on Thursday and I enjoyed every single bite of that delicious enough-calories-for-an-entire-week meal. The mashed potatoes and burger which have frequented my dreams over the years tasted the same. It was like the entire world disappeared when I was eating that meal.
After gorging ourselves, we headed a few blocks over to Pitt's campus. We both knew that the girls would be impressed with the Cathedral of Learning so we started our tour there. Big I and Lil C both thought it looked like a castle and couldn't believe that we had taken classes in that building. We took them up to the 36th floor and showed them the rest of the campus and the city from above. They were impressed.
Next we walked through the library before taking them to the fountain in front of the Frick Arts building.
We let them walk around in the fountain with their shoes off and we knew we had them both. Happy what? That's right.
The art building was equally impressive and they enjoyed walking through the countyard garden around the fountain on the interior of the building.
Then we let them ride the new carousel on the lawn. After that, Mr. BBM bought them some kind of Asian bubble drink. We knew we had them both at the Cathedral. We were laying it on thick and they were loving it.
"So what do you think?" we asked Big I.
"I'm so going HERE!" she yelled out.
We bought a Pitt sweatshirt for Lil C and a new Pitt hat for Big I and we drove off to drop off Mr. BBM for his business meeting.
We spent the night in a nearby area with Renovation Girl and had a great time. I literally ate my way through that entire visit too. I need that orzo recipe RG!
In the afternoon we went back to Pittsburgh to retrieve Mr. BBM and decided we'd have dinner at Johnny's Place on North Craig St., the place where Mr. BBM and I met many years ago, instead of fighting with traffic to get out of the city. It wasn't 20 seconds after we walked in and Johnny was already asking us how we've been. I swear the man forgets no one.
Johnny and his wife Karen, used to keep their place open late at night and it was the place to be in North Oakland back in our day. Johnny used to mix up new shot concoctions and let us try a pitcher of them on the house to see how we liked them. He always had the best drinks and the most amazing food. His burger rivaled the Union Grill's and his wings. . . there is no comparison.
Several years ago, Mr. BBM had a trip out to Pittsburgh. He asked me if I wanted him to bring anything back for me and I told him "wings from Johnny's." They survived a flight home beautifully and I was a very happy girl. When we walked in, Johnny immediately asked Mr. BBM how those wings turned out after the long trip home. It was like no time had passed. It has been at least six years.
Most wings are too gummy, not cooked long enough and either drowning in hot sauce or completely dry. Johnny's Place has the most perfect wings; and one of these days when this wonderful couple retires, we're on the list for the recipe. The heat is not overwhelming, but just right and there's this spicy hint of asian sweetness to the sauce that is just amazing. Many of the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed his wall and call ahead to get their wings there too.
We sat at the bar with the girls and like old times, Johnny gave us one round on the house. Each time we have gone back over the years, it's been like visiting old friends, old friends who really know how to entertain.
Johnny's Place is currently for sale and there's no telling how long they'll continue to remain a glorious little spot in Oakland for wings and conversation. But as long as they're there, we're going to continue visiting.
I'll deal with the extra ab exercises that this weekend's caloric intake will require. It was so worth it. Pittsburgh, I really miss you sometimes.
The Desire to be Better
Tonight there were only three of us in class, including the teacher. Allow me to let you in on a little secret. Even when you're a black belt, it's still possible to be the one on the training floor with the least amount of experience. It's still possible to feel like a complete and total beginner.
I had sort of hoped that the promotion would bring with it less self-doubt and that I'd catch on to stuff more quickly but that's definitely not true. Where are the black belts with super powers people? Mine was not pre-loaded! Tonight I had to resist the temptation to tap it and say "Is this thing on?"
We started off with simple moving blocking drills and then, as always on Monday night classes, things got a little more challenging. Soon we were working on off-balancing techniques. Then it was no longer in a straight line and it was free form. One attacker, one person working the techniques.
I found myself getting really frustrated at times. For the most part, I was able to get out of the way of the incoming attacks (besides the overhead strike that landed on my eyebrow and a few others that didn't repel away from me like I had sort of hoped they would. Oh yeah, and minus the time I went skidding across the floor on my butt like some cartoon character), but I was putting myself in such a position where I was eliminating any opportunity for a counter-strike.
Thankfully my teacher, who's been taking martial arts since he was practically in diapers, has super powers. He seems to have the ability to be able to read my thoughts, notice exactly what I'm doing wrong, and simultaneously figure out how to help me fix it.
It happens in baby steps, but at one point I was not moving on the 45 naturally and an hour later, without even realizing I was doing it, I was moving the way I was supposed to be moving. He mentioned that I was doing it right, at which point I probably thought about it and screwed it all back up again; but that's just me and the way I train.
Working drills like these can be so overwhelming. It's impossible to think about your feet, the way you move, your hands, keeping a point of contact with your attacker, figuring out a way to off-balance your attacker, and even just breathing, all at the same time. That's the whole point though. You're not supposed to think about it. You're supposed to feel it and just let things happen (Tell that to a control freak like me). Turning the mind off is perhaps the most difficult thing of all to accomplish.
By the end of the night I was far from perfect, but I was a long way from where I had been only two hours earlier. This is why people continue to train, because you are always learning something new and the desire to be better than you were two hours ago, two weeks ago, two months ago, two years ago, two decades ago, is a constant pull on a martial artist who truly loves the martial arts.
The Beginning and No Super Powers
There have been two common questions when my family and friends heard that I was successful at my black belt test. Yesterday, my grandmother watched the DVD and then said, "Well now that you're a black belt, you're done so you can be at home more with your children, right?"
"No Grammom!" I told her, "this is just the beginning." I explained to her that most of my training time is in the evening, and that a good portion of it happened when my girls were already in bed.
"Well what do you do now? You're already a black belt."
"You keep going and you keep learning and training," I told her.
I've been absolutely shocked by the number of people who think that getting a black belt is the end. For martial artists, this is just the beginning. I was telling Mr. BBM about the conversation with my grandmother and said that it would be like going to the grocery store for a ton of food and then not cooking any of it, instead just letting it rot away. It would be like working hard to get a degree and then deciding to take a job that requires no education or experience. What's the point?
The other question I've been getting is "How does it feel to be able to kick anyone's butt?" That one just makes me laugh. My sister asked me the other day and I explained to her that the black belt does not hold super powers. It doesn't make you invincible. Anyone who thinks that is setting themselves up for a very rude awakening. I told my sister that what feels best about getting to Shodan is knowing how much hard work I put into it and reaching a goal that I thought was previously unattainable.
These videos are for John of Martial Views, by special request. The first is kata Wansu. Click here if you can't see it below.
Here is Seisan. . . If you can't see it here, click here.
Black Belt Means Starting All Over
Tonight was my first night back in the dojo since annual training and testing. There was a sea of black belts in attendance. I now know why people say when you get to black belt, then you're really ready to learn.
We wasted no time getting into black belt kata territory. I spent a lot of time being extremely lost. I kind of felt like a white belt all over again. In addition to several new open hand kata, we also worked a kama kata. For those who don't know what kama are, they kind of look like sickles, you know, those crazy hacking things for fields? Yeah those.
Experienced black belts often use bladed kama. Hanshi handed me wooden ones and I was grateful. I think I would have taken foam if available. I wasted no time dropping one of them. When you have to swing them around between thumb and pinky finger, it gets a little overwhelming, especially when you're also trying to get your feet and hands in the right location and direction.
Hanshi made a joke and had us all drop our right kama to the floor so we could get it out of our system. Then another black belt dropped his and I felt a little better. It's amazing how much less it bothers you when you drop a weapon when it's not black belt testing.
At the end of the night, we lined up to rei out. It was such a thrill to line up where the yudansha stand, on the side. There are three more of us now and I think I can speak for us when I say we're pretty excited to be there.
Tomorrow morning, I'm meeting one of the other new Shodans who will now be known on BBM as "Tree Trunk." "Tree Trunk" makes working wrist locks especially challenging, which is how he got his name. His wrists are about five times the size of mine and they just don't bend. It's really not fair, but that's another story. We're meeting at an embroidery place to have the kanji put on our gi jackets. Then we'll officially look like we belong in black.
Choun No Kun: BBM in Actual Real Video
I'm gradually getting my act together with all things media from black belt testing this past weekend. Today, I thought that I would show you some video. That's right, I said video.
In the past, I've had no problem showing my mad lip syncing skills, but kata? Well, you could all just imagine me doing kata. Video and I just don't mix.
Until today. . .
The first video is of the kata Choun No Kun. It's a bo kata and I doubt you'll have any trouble picking me out. Think blonde. Think ponytail. Think only girl on the floor. Sometimes it's difficult to see me, but it was the best angle Mr. BBM could get. If you can't see it below, go here to view directly.
The second video is of my kobudo bunkai. I did Choun No Kun. I thought it would be interesting to show you the kata and then my take on the bunkai (application, i.e. how it would really work instead of just fighting the air). There are a million different variations of bunkai for each kata. Featured in this video is "Ax-Kick Eric." I'm the one with the ponytail again, obviously. If you can't watch it below, you can go here.
Enjoy! I'll post more in the coming days.
***Speaking of video, why not enter the Summer Serenade contest? As Nike would say, Just Do It!!!
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