Is it March already?

Oh I've been so busy! Work, family, work, karate, work, family, karate... etc.

I've learned some important things from the past weeks.

a) If I chose to do kata on my break, I only need to do it with no speed/power, and smooth out the movements. When people approach me to ask what I was doing, I just smile, and say that it's something "like" Tai chi, but faster. I still get to work on the pattern's timing, and movements without looking like a Martial artist. I even add some stretches in between the kata to make it look like I'm just an old sore lady clearing out the kinks from the demands of work. People just smile, and nod at me as they walk by.

b) I NEED to rest. I come home, look at the condition of the house, and then retreat to the bedroom, and lay down for half an hour. I find that I need to shut down, release stress, and regroup before I tackle meals, and housework. Those breaks at work just don't help me mentally, nor physically. Truly, there is just enough time to eat something, drink some water, go to the washroom, and do a couple of relaxed kata.

c) Karate has become more important as I find that I'm burning off the stress of the day when I go train. I come home feeling better, and I can almost call it "rested". Except for one day in these past three months, when I felt totally exhausted as I entered the dojo. It was a very demanding day at work where I had to wash down the whole seat of each row of each section of the stadium. The back, and bottom of the seat involved much bending over, and squatting. OH man.. that was a hard day at work. I felt it in every muscle of my body. Then, when I went to karate, I ended up feeling like I was moving through molasses. I understood what was happening to me physically, and I decided to lower my expectations on my performance. I gave 100% of what I had, but to be honest, I only had 20% energy left. I was reduced to the "point of no return" tiredness. Ladies, you know what I mean.. I'm talking about that moment when your eyes fill up with tears for no reason, and you don't know if you are going to start crying, or giggling.

d) I still train on my own. I just went through all the belt rank requirements from white belt up to my level in Kyokushin. I managed to put in some bo staff training, and to work on my latest Kyokushin kata thanks to the generosity of my daughter's TaeKwondo Master who allows me to train on my Kyokushin in the other half of the gym where he teaches, or to do my Kyokushin basics at the same time that his students are doing their Taekwondo basics.

Some people might get the mistaken impression that I'm training in TaeKwondo because I won the "Student with best manners" award in this club. I have to tell you that I am not studying the Art of TaeKwonDo, I have no knowledge of their "Poomse" (patterns), I do not participate in the sparring, I do not seek any rank advancement there either. I don't belong to that club as a student. I am a current Kyokushin Karate student with Shotokan karate background. So, Please do not ask me about Taekwondo information. I have some wise experienced TaeKwonDo Martial art friends that I can direct you to if you would like to know more about your Art.

e) I love to do Origami! I have been learning about origami since last Fall, and each month I am learning how to do more complex patterns. I'll collect my hard work in paperfolding, and take a picture of it. I'll add the picture to this posting as soon as I can.