May 29, 2006
Karate Mama’s & Papa’s
The great Mommy Blogger Love Fest is going on all over the place. It started here. I was flattered to be listed here. I wasn’t sure if I was going to participate or not, because I was in a bad mood so many are participating that I just didn’t know if I could write an original post. I’m a little late getting in on this game to begin with. But, then I thought about all these cool karate mama’s out there who have been stopping by this site, and I thought "Now there’s an idea!"
My first Karate Mama is Junebee. She was my faithful and loyal commenter over at my syndicated blog site that my hometown newspaper publishes. My visitor stats over there are really great, but I rarely get a comment (let alone a nice one). So, Junebee hooked me up with praise on a regular basis, before she decided to come over to this site where I post more. She is a black belt in hapkido, and studies Tae Kwon Do as well.
Wayward Goddess always stops by and comments (and makes me feel like my work outs are completely inadequate!) She’s got a cool new site with a graphic on it that just makes you want to get up and dance. She is outranked by her son, or should I say sensei son. I doubt that will be for long though.
Lost Cheerio found my site recently. She is a green belt in Tang Soo Do. She’s witty and seems like she’d be a lot of fun to get to know. Her American Idol commentary alone is worth a visit.
Crouching Mother, Hidden Diva is a purple belt in shaolin kenpo and has an upcoming test for a blue belt. It should be interesting to see how it goes for her.
And honestly, I know it’s supposed to be all about the ladies, but I would be seriously remiss if I didn’t mention the karate papa’s. . .
"Frogman" of "Taming the Horse Stance" takes karate with his son and works diligently on the things in karate that he likes the least. He goes to tournaments and competes along side his son, which is just way cool.
John of "Martial Views" is the Yoda of karate. . . at least that’s what I tell him. He is a 2nd dan black belt in Isshinryu Karate. If you want to learn a whole lot about martial arts in a short amount of time, his site is the place to go. His posts are brain food for anyone interested in the martial arts; and he’s got three sons too.
Curtis has three kids and is at the beginning of his karate journey. He is very dedicated and is lucky enough to be training with some of his very best friends (instead of with elementary school kids like I do.)
If you are a mama or a papa and take karate, let me know. I’d love to check out your site and I’m sure others would as well.
May 27, 2006
“Vacation, all I ever wanted. . .” (minus the head injury)
If your comments take a while to appear, or if it seems I haven’t been a good commenter lately, it’s because I’m on vacation, y’all. Yeah, I said "y’all". My family and I are vacationing in North Carolina at the beach; and after living in the Northeast for almost my entire life, it always shocks and amazes me how nice the people are down here. Nice, y’all, really nice. You may ask why I am blogging while at the beach on this gorgeous afternoon; but it’s because I am on hotel room nap duty. Lil C is out like a light and is enjoying her first uninterrupted nap since Thursday night. I’m blogging before digging into my pile of books I’ve been saving for such an occasion. It all works out.
So far, we’ve only had one little problem on our trip. This little problem has brought to my attention yet another difference between men and women. Let me ask you this. . . when you are driving and you put the car in reverse, do you simply turn your head and use your mirrors to see where you’re going? Or, do you need some help from your arm, as in drape your arm over the back of the passenger seat in order to facilitate your turning around? When I reverse, I turn my head. When my husband reverses, he puts his whole body into it.
Last night, this little physical anomaly caused some serious head trauma. We were backing out of a restaurant. My husband was driving. I turned around and was in the process of retrieving some toys that had been thrown on the floor by Lil C. The next thing I know, I am being clothes-lined by my husband’s arm. As he flung his arm from my seat, back to where it should be, he hit me with an outside block to the ear and head so hard that all I could hear for a few seconds was, "whop, whop, whop." When he made contact, my head moved at a very unnatural angle to my neck and sent pain shooting up my neck and into my head. I felt like the entire left side of my brain was throbbing.
So, as I’m reeling from the blow and trying to figure out what just happened, he decides to school me on not putting my head there while he’s reversing. Because his response wasn’t a resounding, "I’m so sorry. Are you o.k.?" right away, I was slightly peeved. So, I decided to accuse him of having a genetic defect that many men seem to have. . . the inability to reverse a vehicle without using their arm to turn their body. What is up with that???
A few sucker punches to his arm later (and one well deserved apology), I felt a little better about the whole thing; but that didn’t stop the raging headache that lasted until this morning. Ouch. I am hoping that this will be the last of the vacation injuries.
I am happy to report that when leaving a grocery store today and reversing, my husband was able to do so without the aid of his arm. It’s progress people. I’m hoping I can break him of this potentially head-rattling problem by the time our vacation ends. But let’s not talk about that, because this vacation has only just begun. . .
May 24, 2006
If you can see it, you can do it
It has been very hectic lately around here, what with Lil C suddenly becoming extremely mobile. It has not allowed very much time for solitary training. My work out has definitely taken a back burner. Until I can figure out how to contain Lil C without her having an absolute fit or figure out a way to somehow wear her in a baby wrap that won’t interfere with kata (not possible), I have to resort to other ways to continue to learn my material for testing. The other ways don’t necessarily have to be physical.
I had a biopsychology class when I was in college. I passed by the skin of my teeth despite a ton of studying. One thing I will always remember from that class though, is something my professor said about neural pathways and learning. If you read something, or study something before bed, while sleeping your brain works on it and makes it easier to remember. She said it much more scientifically than that, of course; but I’ve found it to be very true. In college, if I studied right before bed, the information was easier to remember the next day. I didn’t remember everything; but I remembered enough to make me want to continue the habit. (I only wish it would have worked a little better with bio-psych.)
Recently, while trying to fall asleep at night, instead of going through a mental to-do list like I frequently do, I’ve been working on visualizing my kata’s. You have to know the material well enough first to do this; but visualization is a great tool for committing kata (or anything else for that matter) to memory. It helps you work out the details. It also helps with application (bunkai). If you can visualize yourself doing something, you’ll be better prepared if you have to take action. This is great mental training for self defense. Lately there’s been a lot of talk about this in the karate blogging world.
John of Martial Views, (or the karate yoda as I affectionately call him) posted about this imagery the other day. Mat is also a good read for understanding the martial arts journey. He’s really good at seeing the big picture, even though he doesn’t always think so himself. He has devoted so much time to the martial arts that reading about his training regime is really quite inspiring. I can’t keep up with him; but reading about what he’s doing makes me at least want to try. At Taming The Horse Stance, you can also read about this visual imagery.
Everyone has a different reason for taking up the martial arts. For most though, the journey is as much a mental one as it is a physical one. Lirian Fae of Karate Talk writes about her inner voice and how important it is in karate. Karate isn’t about physical conquest and domination. The majority of people studying the martial arts don’t derive enjoyment from hurting other people. Studying the martial arts is about listening to that inner voice and about respect: respect for others, respect for the art, and respect for yourself. It is evident by the way the majority of people treat each other in a dojo. Karate is a state of mind, that hopefully one can translate into daily life.
I have as much respect for the 10-year old brown belt as I do for the 50-year old white belt. Actually I have a TON of respect for that 10-year old brown belt because when I was fumbling with my belt once, she approached me and went step by step to show me how to tie it properly. She wasn’t intimidated that I was an adult; and I wasn’t bothered by the fact that a 10-year old could correct me on something. I often joke about being one of the oldest ones in my class, but stature aside we’re all really in the same boat and working towards a common goal.
May 24, 2006
Trouble
At karate class this week, I’m going to ask what to do if someone is pulling your hair with both hands in two separate locations and two separate directions. I need an action plan for this scenario. I’m also going to ask how to deal with someone who is biting you with two extremely jagged and sharp little teeth. Ouch. And now I reveal to you the perpetrator. . .
They don’t look like much, those two little nubs; but I can not even begin to tell you how bad it hurts to have your shoulder used as a teether on a somewhat constant basis. Also, your leg, arm, finger, face. . . yeah, that one was really good.
Lil C has gone from this cuddly little baby to what Big I refers to as "The Baby Monster." She can have about 1000 toys out on the floor that are her own, but she will find a way to get to: cords, remote controls, phones, Big I’s toys, books that don’t belong to her, etc. etc. etc. Today, she crawled over my stomach and across the living room. She finally ended up here. . .
Despite her face in that picture, she was actually quite thrilled with herself. She then decided that she wanted to stand up underneath the exersaucer. . .
Followed by deciding to work her way out from underneath the equipment. . .
And then, then people, she went from her belly to a sitting position (which is old news here). I wasn’t that concerned, until I saw her reaching up for the exersaucer. Seconds later. . . you guessed it. . . she was standing holding onto the saucer. No, I don’t have a picture of this little feat because I was busy holding both of my arms out in an attempt to catch her when she finally let go. I am so in trouble people. I need to baby proof NOW! I kept thinking I’d have more time. I thought she wouldn’t be on her feet or attempting to be on her feet for a while now. Boy, was I wrong. I have now officially begun my full time 24/7 job of being Lil C’s constant shadow. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
May 21, 2006
I fought the law. . .
We are going on vacation very soon, and my husband mentioned the other day that our one car needs to be inspected during the month of May. He then shrugged it off and said, "Well, it can wait until we get back (in June). It’s not like we’re driving that car on vacation." My eyes popped wide open and I yelled, "NO. That car must be inspected before we leave." The memory of what happened a few years ago is still very fresh in my memory.
Fade to four years ago. . .
We bought our car back when Big I was a baby. We bought it new and had it for a few months at the time of the incident. We had two months left before our registration had to be renewed. We were under the wrong assumption that the registration and inspection due dates were one and the same. I was on the way to the store with Big I, heading east on a windy back road. I was going the speed limit. A police car passed me heading west on the road. Several minutes later, the police car is behind me, lights flashing. Because a van had just pulled out in front of me and was speeding by a playground going at least 40 in a 25 mph zone, I promptly pulled off the road to allow him to go around me and go get the guy. To my shock and horror, he pulled up behind me.
The officer walked up to my car window and asked for my registration and license. I was fumbling around trying to find everything to hand to him, wishing I could just work up some tears. I had heard that tears work wonders. Unfortunately for me, tears don’t come on demand.
"Do you know why I pulled you over?" he asked.
"No. I know it wasn’t because I was speeding though, because I wasn’t."
"No, you weren’t," he responded. "Your inspection sticker is expired."
"My what?" I looked at him baffled.
He tapped the window and repeated himself. I remember saying something about how I didn’t know and that it wasn’t yet time for our inspection because I was falsely thinking that both the registration and inspection were due at the same time. I may have said, "My husband takes care of these things." He wasn’t impressed.
He walked back to his car with my license and called it in. I sat there shaking. I had never once been pulled over in my life. Not when I was a stupid teenager driving way too fast so I would make it home by curfew (Don’t fret now Mom. I’m grown and I’m alive and well). I wasn’t even cited in the one car accident I was in where I accidentally rear-ended a car when it slammed on its brakes to avoid hitting a cop who was in the middle of the street, at night, painting lines on the road. Idiot. So, I wasn’t familiar with how this drill went down. I was getting more upset by the second.
The officer walked back to me, handed me back my license and registration and then handed me a ticket for $90.
"$90??? You can’t just give me a warning? I have never been pulled over in my life. I am driving a BRAND NEW CAR. I’ll go get the car inspected TODAY. It’s not like I was putting anyone in danger or anything."
"I can’t do that," he said smugly. He walked back to his car. I wasn’t shaking anymore because I was upset. Now I was fuming mad. I’m not the type to cry; I get ticked off instead. Unfortunately, that’s not good for the whole "getting a warning" thing.
I drove home, and then went straight to a Jiffy Lube to have the car inspected immediately. I ranted to my parents, husband and anyone else who would listen about it. Sure, I was in the wrong; but did he have to be such a jerk? I was driving a brand new car. . . a stay at home Mom with a baby in the backseat. I mean, weren’t there some criminals more worthy of his time? I decided to fight the ticket. I figured that my pre-law major for the first year of college would get me through it. I spent the weeks before the trial getting ready.
When my trial date came, I had a babysitter and showed up for court. For some reason, they had to reschedule me for the following week. I couldn’t get a babysitter this time, so Big I had to come with me. She was only a little over a year old at the time. I was already ticked off that my I had to bring my child along because they were too stupid to be prepared on the day of my court date.
So, I showed up for court armed with my Jiffy Lube inspection receipt and my clean driving record thinking that I would have absolutely no problem getting rid of this $90 charge. I had to wait a good hour to get called in and by then, Big I had fallen asleep on my shoulder. The court clerk finally called my name.
The Judge began the proceedings and my friendly non-warning-friendly cop was there. He took the stand first. Armed with his police report he stated that I had been driving east on the road and that he had pulled me over, blah, blah, blah. He finished his testimony and started to get down from the stand. The Judge took a cursory glance at me and asked if I’d like to cross examine the witness. I think he was a little shocked when I said yes. So was the officer as he sat back down.
Me: "Officer, can you tell me which direction I was driving in when you saw my expired inspection ticket?"
Officer: consults notes, says smugly "East."
Me: "In which direction were you traveling?"
Officer: rolls eyes "West."
Me: "Was I going the speed limit when you saw me?"
Officer: "I think so. Yes."
Me: "Well to clarify, yes, I was. After you saw my expired sticker, how much farther did you have to drive in order to turn around to head back east in my direction?"
Officer: getting flustered "I’m not sure."
Me: "Well, judging from where I was when I saw you, you had to at least travel a distance of about three blocks, before pulling off and turning back around, pulling out and heading east after me. Would you say that’s a fair estimate?"
Officer: "Yes."
Me: "So, in order for you to catch up to me, you would have had to go above the speed limit. You would have had to speed. Is that correct?"
Officer: stumbles around his words, "Well, um… "
Me: "Yes or no, officer. It’s a simple question. In order to catch up with me, would you have had to speed?"
Officer: ears flaming red "Well, yes."
At this point, the judge clears his throat because he is trying not to laugh. The cop is looking at me with complete and utter disbelief. He so did not see this coming.
Me: "When you pulled me over, were you aware of the van that had pulled out in front of me? The van that was speeding by a playground?"
Officer: "No."
Me: "Well, for the record, there was a van that was speeding in front of me. In fact, I pulled off the road so quickly because I thought you were going to go after the van. Officer, my question for you is this: In your professional opinion, who is more likely to cause harm to society, a van speeding by a playground or a stay-at-home-mom driving the speed limit in a brand new car who forgot to get her car inspected?"
Officer: extremely flustered "Well, it depends. . . "
Me: "Officer, let’s be honest here. Who truly is likely to cause more harm: someone speeding by a playground or someone driving a new car whose inspection sticker is expired by a week? Who can potentially cause more harm? It’s a simple question that requires a simple answer."
Officer: grumbles "The person speeding."
Me: "Really, Officer? So, in other words, you and the van in front of me were more likely to cause harm than I was on that day?"
Officer: "Well, it depends. If you’re driving an unsafe car. . . "
Me: "But the car was brand new, was it not?"
Officer: "It was." hangs head
Me: "So, it’s not like I was driving a lemon or anything right? It’s not like my car was likely to lose a wheel or fall apart and cause harm?"
Officer: Face now matches ears in their fiery redness. Sighs tiredly.
Me: "I have one last question for you officer. What type of ticket brings more revenue into your township: an expired inspection ticket or a speeding ticket?"
Officer: stutters, sputters, grasps at straws, "That doesn’t matter. . . "
Me: "But it does. Answer the question please. What ticket brings in more revenue?"
Officer: grumbles quietly "Inspection ticket."
Me: "So, in other words, bringing revenue in to the township is more important than catching people who might do harm to people?"
Officer: defeated, sighs.
Me: "I have no further questions."
I then presented my evidence: my Jiffy Lube receipt and asked the judge for a warning. I testified to my extremely clean driving record. I was holding my baby in my arms, sleeping on my shoulder during this whole ordeal. I mean, For God’s sake, have a heart already. I need $90 worth of diapers, not stupid tickets.
The officer called me to the stand and only asked me one question. He asked me whether or not my inspection sticker was indeed expired. Well, duh.
The judge thought an entire 10 seconds before he handed down the verdict of Guilty. Apparently, beating up the officer verbally had been the only reprieve I was going to get.
My jaw dropped and I stood up and started yelling. I told the officer and the judge that I didn’t even know why I bothered to come fight it. I told them they were pathetic for not giving someone with a perfectly clean driving record a warning. I then left the court room, and told the entire waiting room to not bother wasting their time and to go the hell home instead. I told them they’d have better luck telling their argument to a wall. I wrote my check for $90 and stormed out of there.
Needless to say, the car will be inspected in May.
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