Learning Again
Last night, I had every intention of staying home and curling up with a book. It had been an early start for me yesterday and I was tired. Couple that with the fact that my knee is feeling cranky and I had no intention of going to karate, much as I wanted to be there mentally.
I made dinner and sat down to eat with the family and the whining began. Lil C wanted two spoons and she had taken one from Big I. Big I then complained about the food and stated that the rice "had no flavor" despite the fact that I had cooked it in chicken stock and covered it in sauce and mushrooms from the chicken marsala I also made. Then Lil C started screaming at the very top of her lungs about the spoon and I lost it. I ate my last bite, took my plate to the sink, put my shoes on, grabbed my karate bag and I was out the door.
"See, you whined so much you made mommy go to karate!" Mr. BBM said.
I'm glad they did.
I was able to learn two new kata tonight that I'll need for 2nd degree black belt (not that I'm even thinking about that at all in the slightest way possible). It's just nice to learn something new every once in a while. I learned the dreaded Suiyoshi Nokun Ni which I wouldn't even watch before last night because it's so similar to Suiyoshi Nokun Ichi and easily confused for those about to test for black belt. I also learned Odo No Sai Ichi which I remembered a lot of from a training camp session I attended in the summer.
It was nice to concentrate so much on something new that I was actually able to sort of forget about my knee for a little while. It was nice to have a mental break from that.
Today, I'm going to force myself to work out in an attempt to strengthen my leg muscles further. And Thursday, if nothing comes up between now and then, I may actually be able to make it into a second night of karate in the same week. It's good for my soul; my soul needs it.
9th Kyu in the House
On Wednesday night, Big I was promoted to 9th kyu in Danzan Ryu Ju-jutsu. The week before, she tested and it was so awesome. It was a very serious event and she did quite well. At one point she had to do a hip throw and she did a great job.
Here's her partner, taking her down with a wrist escape.
She was tested on the basic ju-jutsu foundations like breakfalls and rolls, and then demonstrated various techniques for getting out of a finger hold, wrist grabs, lapel grabs and chokes, etc. Here she is doing a hip throw.
And here's some actual video of it happening. . .
If pride had the physical properties of helium, I would have been taking photographs from the ceiling. Here she is with her proud little sister right after testing.
The big reveal. Sensei removes the blue tape from his gi.
Getting striped. . .
The assistant instructor and all around cool guy, giving Big I her congratulations. . .
The new promotee's. Check out those grins. Check out those blue stripes!!!
I am so proud of her and so happy she's found the martial art that is right for her. It's the one thing she looks forward to doing all the time and she frequently talks about how much she loves it.
If she can throw people now, just imagine what she'll be able to do by dating age. . .
All the Answers or Not
After the day I had yesterday, I knew I had to go to karate last night. I needed to punch and kick and get my frustrations at the world out. I tried to tell myself I should stay home and take care of Big I, who is home sick for the second day in a row; but then I realized that Mr. BBM is perfectly capable and I had no excuse to not get my butt to the dojo.
Off I went.
Last night, I was the only black belt besides the instructor. At our school, we have so many talented black belts that a new one like me is sort of like being in 13th grade. When people have questions, they go to the higher ranked black belts who have been there forever. They don't come to the newbie with questions; but last night that changed because none of the ones with the answers were there.
Our instructor was going around the dojo and asking each person to do a different waza. A green and brown belt made their way over to me and whispered, "What's mine?" I had to know ten of them for black belt testing. Back in June, someone could pick one and I could do it without a problem. But we don't do waza that often in class. Ask me any kata up to Shodan and I can show you; waza is a different story.
I started with one and mentally made my way up to around six. If I do them in order, I can get them sometimes. If someone shows me the first move, I can usually let my muscle-memory do the rest. Last night, unfortunately, the poor brown belt was pretty much on his own. So was I though, because when my instructor asked me to do ten, I had to ask him to get me started. I don't know why waza are so difficult to remember, but they are so slippery in my brain. They just don't stick around long before sliding off into oblivion. I need to fix that.
With dojo testing coming up this weekend, the white belts were preparing their testing materials. My instructor asked me to take any white belts who wanted to do their material in front of me downstairs. Two little girls showed me their stuff and did a great job. It was nice to teach them little things without having them roll their eyes at me like some of my university students do, when I simply ask them to take out a sheet of paper. I had a good time going over things with them and then went upstairs to practice some of the higher waza.
There are some green belts getting ready to test as well, so we did much of their material which is always good review for me. As the end of class was nearing, my instructor asked me to run the green belts through the first bo kata. We went through it a couple times and it felt weird to be up front, teaching someone else. I'm just never really in the position to do that at my dojo. It felt weird, but it definitely felt good that my instructor handed things off to me a few times. I take that as a huge compliment.
When the class was over, one of the Mom's of one of our green belts congratulated me on my black belt. I haven't seen her since before I tested. This particular Mom and I used to hang out on the sidelines when I was injured. She had ACL reconstruction when she was in college and we used to compare notes. We frequently talked about whether or not it was worth it to come back and risk re-injuring the knee. During the time when I was sidelined, I must admit that I often thought about not going back. ACL reconstruction just sucked so badly that I didn't want to ever risk going through that again.
But last night, as I drove home from the dojo, I gave myself a mental pat on the back. I'm so proud of my comeback; and it's exciting that I am now in a position where I am being asked to help other people reach their goals. There is nothing better than doing that.
Not That Black Belt
Before I tested for my black belt, I already made up my mind. I wasn't going to be the black belt that gets the belt and then drops off the face of the Earth. Coming up through the ranks, I had seen that happen. There were several people who would test, get their belt, and then only show up occasionally. Sometimes when I asked them questions, they couldn't give me an answer or remember a kata. I didn't want to be that person.
Yesterday I realized I was quickly becoming that person.
I hadn't been to the dojo in two weeks and I was missing it. However, once you miss a class or four of them, it's difficult to get back on the horse. I was talking about this phenomenon with my students yesterday who were concerned about another student who hasn't come for the past three classes. They couldn't understand his behavior, but I can.
What happens is simple and it happened to me my freshman year as well. You miss one class and then when the next class comes up, you don't want to go because you're afraid you'll be called out or that you missed something important in the class you already missed. So you don't go again. Now you've missed two, so missing the third class is even more likely because now you're a week behind! It's easy to fall into a bad pattern.
I didn't want that to be me either. It felt lousy as a college student and it feels no different as an adult.
I quickly ate some leftovers and told Mr. BBM that I was going to both classes last night. Tuesday night is really the only time this is even an option for me since it's the one day that Mr. BBM works from home. I haven't attended a Monday night class in months. Asking Mr. BBM to work an entire day, drive an hour plus commute, and add on top of that an extra 20 minutes to get to the dojo to pick up and take the girls home so I can stay for class just doesn't seem fair.
So for once, I arrived at 6 to take the early class and I was glad I did. Warm-ups were brutal because I am out of practice. We did about 140 jumping jacks to start and I thought my left calf muscle would be rendered useless for the rest of the class. Thankfully it wasn't. This marked only the second time that when we lined up to rei in, I had to take my spot where the yudansha stand. Being the only other black belt in attendance at the early class last night, I was the only one in this spot and it felt weird. Thankfully, I knew what to do for the rei in. The Rei out was a different and embarrassing story, but you have to learn somehow.
We worked on basics for the entire first class and it felt good to get back to the bricks and mortar of training. We have so many new white belts whose names I didn't even know so it was nice to attend the early class and get to know them a little better. The best part of the night had to be thrust kicking the bags. It felt so incredibly good to really kick something. Although training for my Shodan test was intense and almost every night of the week in some way, shape, or form, I can honestly say that I miss it. When training every night, you can feel yourself get stronger and better at what you're doing. This two weeks in between classes has got to stop for me.
When the night was over, I was drenched in sweat and felt completely exhausted but good. I doubt anyone else noticed (Thank God) but during the two hours of training, I had hit myself in the face once when I got confused during a moving drill, and I cracked myself on the head with my tunfa too. This is what happens when you're not there on a regular basis, and when you're exhausted to begin with.
Exhausted or not from trying to mold resistant university students into responsible hard workers, I have to make more of an effort to get into class. I felt like I was neglecting my family and other responsibilities during those few months leading up to the shodan test, so there has to be a balance when you have a family, when you're a mom and also a teacher. But I also know that I'm a better person when I train regularly.
Oh, and I know, I know, I know. Pictures of Lil C's birthday and the infamous mermaid cookies are to come, probably tomorrow.
Self Defense-Getting People Through the Door
During our annual training camp, I took the first part of training to become certified in teaching self defense classes. We wasted no time scheduling a couple free sessions at the dojo. I used my email address book and mass mailed to everyone I knew. I posted about it on Facebook for the local people and pretty much everyone who goes to the dojo printed out fliers and hung them up at work.
Last week we had four people show up (one under duress as her black belt parents made her come). This week, we had two people show up.
The head of the program was at a conference this week, so it was up to me and two other black belts to teach it. Through a series of emails and craziness, it was determined that I should take the lead and teach it. It felt like the first time for anything. I was a little nervous and felt kind of stupid and awkward, but I made sure to hand it off to the other black belts plenty and that took some of the pressure off of me.
When all was said and done, we had one married couple that was feeling pretty empowered and thanking all of us for our time and asking if they could come back and do another session. Last week, many of the women there seemed unsure of themselves and you could tell they felt awkward when asked to yell in another person's face and put hands on them. This week, you could just see the one woman in attendance gaining confidence. It was exciting to watch.
We have another free session on Saturday and then it's time to regroup and figure out when the best time is to offer classes, how often we should do it, and how to get more people in the door! I spent time contacting the local newspaper, local TV stations, women's groups, etc. and our attendance was still minimal.
So without spending big bucks on advertising, how can we get more people in the door? Why aren't they coming? Are they afraid? Too intimidated? Not thinking anything will ever happen to them? A combination of everything? If you've taught self defense classes, what have you done to get people in the door?
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