The latest and greatest news

Well.. my cold is still holding on, but not strongly. I've been keeping up with the housework, training, and other needs of my position as Mom, and Black belt making sure that I drank lots of various liquids, and ate as much Vitamin C as I can to help support my immune system. One thing that I learned is that my body has no desire whatsover to invert into the upside down position when it has a cold.. no way. It doesn't feel nice at all. So.. I have relaxed on my headstands. I've also stopped putting mental pressure on me to try for a handstand. I just decided that I have succeeded on my first goal, and that I need to give myself a break before I start working towards a handstand. Handstands always bring up that inner "terror" reaction within me at this moment. I think that it would be best to let that demand relax a little, and keep practicing headstands until I'm so comfortable with them that I can do them in a heartbeat.

...And what does my little 7 year son come running up to me to state with joy, and declaration? "Mom! Watch me! I can do a one handed handstand, and hold position. OH.. and look at this Mom.. I can walk forwards on my hands while I'm in a handstand.. see???"

It appears that my little boy has been training on his handstands with even more gusto now that he has seen me doing my little headstands everyday. It's a good thing that we are competing. That little one is advancing beyond me in leaps and bounds when it concerns "going upside down".

I've been focusing my home practice on doing my basic kata starting from the opposite side. I am striving to make it so that I can do my kata starting from the right with the same comfort level as if I started from the left. This is far harder to do than to say. At first I would hold position, and my body would yell out that it's supposed to turn left at this part of the kata, but since I'm moving in the opposite direction, I knew that I had to turn right.. BUT... How? Which leg does what? It was quite a challenge at first.

I've also been adding time to my Bo Staff practice. Winter is coming soon, and I will have limited ability to swing a 6 foot Bo around my head. The wasps are all hibernating now, and the weather is just warm, and cool enough to allow me to go outside and take advantage of the space. My neighbour looked over the fence, and saw me practicing my Bo staff kata, and he yelled out "Go get him! That opponent is DEAD the way that you swing that thing!" in the middle of my kata. I was quite proud with the fact that I held concentration, finished the kata, and then responded to his encouragement with gratitude.

I've also been working on moving forwards with a 360 degree spin in front stance. I've been fighting to keep balance, use the placement of my feet properly, and control my eyes/ head so that it supports the movement.

Also.... I've been doing extra "tutoring" of a couple of students of my club that may be testing for Shodan in the near future. I've been giving them extra attention, guidance, and suggestions to help them feel prepared for the challenge mentally, physically, and spiritually by showing up very early, and giving them as much as almost an hour of extra training before normal class. I've seen alot of progress in their skills, and I am confident that they will do well on their rank test.

I learned an important life lesson during one of the children's classes during which I assist. We were doing "frog hops" across the floor. In an attempt to gain in distance of the hops, I leaned forwards rather than keeping my back in proper straight alignment. I knew that I was risking injury as I did this, but I was willing to face the risk in a gamble that I could cover more ground. I did 3 hops like that.. and felt a sudden sharp pain erupt from my large gluteal muscles ( my posterior/ my butt) From that moment I felt pain. I couldn't sit, stand, lay, crouch.. nothing.. everything hurt. Oh dear.. oh dear.. I was at a loss. It took me a good half hour of stretching of the leg/ back/ and butt muscles just to be able to lift my leg again.
I learned a REALLY good karate lesson: Keep good posture when executing movements/ and technique unless you want to feel a very bad OUCHY in embarrassing spots. Also I learned the life lesson of: Proper posture can help prevent headaches, back aches, even digestion problems. So! Shoulders back, hips in, and back straight people.. if you want to stay healthy.