Sunday, July 30, 2006

WASPS!!!!

I went outside in the backyard to do some Bo staff practice.

Now, we've had a really dry summer around here, and even the grass has become straw beige instead of green from the lack of rain.

I was happilly training away with my staff. I felt a light thump on my right ankle, and I looked down to see what I had accidently tapped. To my horror there were a whole bunch of wasps by my feet. You see, I had been sweating from my training, and leaving a trail of moisture on the grass. The wasps scented the water, and had come to get some for their hive. There must have been a good dozen wasps flying and crawling near my moving bare feet.

I FROZE in position. Flashes of how I had trained in Basics for 45 minutes, and had just finished doing the Bo kata without looking down for the past 15 minutes passed through my head, and I realized just how wonderful it is that I have trained to keep my feet on the ground, and slide them sideways rather than pick them up, and thump them down. Oh gosh! I would have had plenty of wasp stings on the bottom of my feet had I stepped directly on top of them.

I decided to bow out, and allow the wasps to take over my backyard dojo. I backed away carefully, and in awe at how such small creatures can instill such fear in me.

6 comments:

Mathieu said...

Problem is with their "skin" or shell or whatever.

we're soft, they're not.

Therefore, they can potentially hurt us bad before we can actually kill them.

I hate wasp. UGH.

Lizzie Woolley said...

I answered your questions in my post again.

When I was little, I stepped on a yellow jacket. That was my first time getting stung.

Mir said...

Oh I KNOW what you are saying Mat! The worst thing is that wasps can sting you many times over.. not just once.

Mir said...

If I take a little time between visits to your weblog lizzie, it's just because I'm a very busy mom right now. I have all of my kids at home looking for things to do, and the words "clean your room" just doesn't interest them.

Those stings burn! I wouldn't want one on the bottom of my foot.

Ruth said...

Eeeek. Wasps. Eeugh.

Which kata were you doing? Was it jitte?

Mir said...

No, Ruth, the kata wasn't Jitte. I was doing a Bo Staff kata called "Chion". Picture Heian Shodan in an upside down T shape instead of the usual "I" shape, and with a Bo staff in your hands.